Declaimer: Don't own Naruto.
Some jutsus used aren't real or don't actually do what I have them doing. SASUNARU, one sided SAKUNARU.
"Mmm, w-where am I?"
"Naruto, hey Naruto you awake?"
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Sasuke. You ok?"
"Sasuke, what happened?" Naruto mumbled getting up from the forest floor.
"Don't get up. You fainted after some sparring," Sasuke said as he picked up Naruto bridal style. "Let's get inside."
"S-Sasuke, don't treat me like a girl," squealed Naruto trying to get out of Sasuke's arms.
"It's alright if I hold you like this, right? I don't want you to walk around too much," Sasuke asked.
He walked out of the forest that was in the back of Naruto's and Sasuke's home and headed toward the back door.
"Yeah, it's fine," Naruto sighed, holding onto Sasuke tighter.
Getting into the house, Sasuke took Naruto upstairs to their bed and laid him down. The house was a grand two story home, in the secluded part of the Land of Forests country. Though it was known as a criminal hideout, it was just right for what Sasuke needed. He found the area when he first escaped Otogakure after killing Orochimaru and thought it was a perfect place for him and Naruto.
After letting Naruto settle into the bed, Sasuke headed out of the room.
"I'll be back with some ramen and damp cloths, so stay put," Sasuke called as he made his way downstairs to the kitchen to make his boyfriend's favorite food.
"Ok!" Naruto shouted making himself more comfortable on the bed.
When Sasuke got downstairs he set the water on the stove to boil and got out the ramen cup. While waiting for the water Sasuke made his way out the back door. He took his scroll out and performed the seals for a barrier to surround the house and surrounding area about two miles out.
"Kekkaimon Gofū Jutsu: Hachimon Heijō," Sasuke whispered not too loudly, so Naruto wouldn't hear him. Now that the area is both separated by a river and the gates, it made them invisible to those who happened to pass by.
With the jutsu, four gates would create an invisible barrier and anyone that passed by this part of the forest would just end up on the other side without realizing they went through a jutsu. The same went for the people on the inside; it just keeps them going in circles, that way Naruto doesn't get too far away if he wonders off on his own.
He had let the barrier down earlier to explore beyond the gate and to check if everything was okay while Naruto was inside, but then got distracted about putting it back up when the boy came out wanting to join Sasuke. It had been a risk keeping them down, so Sasuke raised the gates quickly.
He had learned of the jutsu while with Orochimaru. When he saw it, Sasuke thought it would be useful someday and stole the scroll that told him how it's done before he left Otogakure. The barrier was extremely difficult to get at first, because it required a blueprint of the surrounding area and a lot of Sasuke's concentration. He practiced it for months until finally getting it right and knew the barrier would be effective even against the most skilled of ninjas.
Coming back into the house, Sasuke heard the whistle of the kettle and went to pour the water into the ramen cup. While waiting the three minutes for the ramen to get soft, Sasuke went into the bathroom to get wet cloths for Naruto. When the ramen was done, he brought the cup and the damp cloths up to Naruto.
When Sasuke came into the bedroom, he saw that Naruto had fallen asleep. He put the ramen on the night stand and placed one of the damp cloths on Naruto's forehead to cool him down.
Sasuke looked down at Naruto with a smile. What he had done was for the best, he has no regrets and didn't feel shameful in the least. As long as he has Naruto, he doesn't care what had been done to bring them together.
"Hey Naruto, wake up. You have to eat something," Sasuke said while lightly shaking Naruto up from his short nap.
"I don't feel like it," Naruto mumbled after a yawn. Sasuke sighed and grabbed the ramen.
"Fine, you sleep and I'll just eat all this ramen," he smirked when he saw Naruto fly towards the ramen.
"Ok, ok I'm up. Can I have my food now?" Naruto asked with his puppy dog face looking towards Sasuke.
"Yes, you can have it, but only under one condition." Naruto just nodded quickly to Sasuke. "You have to let me feed you," Sasuke said with another smirk on his face.
Naruto blushed and looked down. "F-fine." Naruto opened his mouth to receive his favorite food made by his favorite person.
After Naruto finished the food, Sasuke told him to lay down so he could put another damp cloth on him forehead. Sasuke left the room to throw away the empty cup and put the other cloth in the laundry. As he made his way up, he thought back on how life had become this way. Everything worked out perfectly for him and he never expected to get Naruto to be with him so fast.
Flashback
After all these years Naruto would see Sasuke again, without Orochimaru this time too. He was happy and scared at the same time. Happy, because this time was different. Sasuke actually sent a message for him to come. Scared, because he didn't know what to expect. Was Sasuke ready to come back? He sure hoped so.
Naruto was willing to go alone but once the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade, got wind of the message for Naruto to visit Sasuke, she immediately rounded up a team to accompany him. The team consisted of Naruto's teammates Kakashi, Sakura and Sai, as well as Neji, Shikamaru, Lee, and Chōji. Naruto was not happy about the fact that others had to go with him, but he understood the Hokage's concern for him going to see Sasuke alone. He was sure that Sasuke would also understand why they had to bring others along. No one trusted him anymore.
Once the team was ready they all set out to the meeting place. They were meeting in the forest that separated northern Konoha and southern Otogakure in a field that neither Konoha nor Otogakure claimed as their own.
Naruto held up the front of the group, while everyone else followed him. Sakura came up beside Naruto trying hard to keep up with his pace.
"Naruto, slow down. I know you're in a hurry, but we can't rush this," Sakura told Naruto as she started to fall behind him. Naruto slowed down a little to allow the others to stay closer behind him.
"Sorry Sakura," he answered while still not looking her way.
Sakura smiled and looked over at Naruto. She could see the determination in his eyes, as well as the fear and excitement of finally being able to see their old teammate again. She knew that Sasuke held a bigger part in Naruto's heart than she ever did or ever will and after all this time she was both jealous and envious of Sasuke.
She knew it was selfish of her to have Naruto promise to bring Sasuke back. At first she really thought he was working so hard for her, but after some time and when she finally asked him to stop, she knew that it wasn't about her anymore. Naruto wasn't trying to get Sasuke back for anyone else's benefit.
After that talk with him, she grew fond of Naruto. She let herself realize how great of a person Naruto was and finally found herself falling in love the boy. Sakura already knew it was too late for her to try to pursue Naruto, but she also knew that she could not, at least not anytime soon, let go of that love. That love for him was far beyond any crush she had on Sasuke when they were younger.
Losing Sasuke was not as hard as she thought it would be, but she couldn't even imagine losing Naruto. That kind of pain was something she hoped to never experience. All she needed was to know that Naruto was safe and close by; that was enough for her to feel content. Her maturity towards this hurt of never being Naruto's number one was held down by the knowledge that she could see the joyous boy almost everyday.
"Naruto, are you sure about this?" Sakura asked. Even though she knew what Naruto's answer was, she still had to question his choice of meeting the boy that had hurt him so badly over the years.
"Yes, Sakura, I'm sure about this. You know that this is what I have been working for. I want Sasuke back home," Naruto answered her with every bit of sincerity in his voice that she would have suspected from him.
Even though she knew that Naruto loves Sasuke, she still couldn't help the tightening in her cheat as she heard Naruto talk about Sasuke with love and determination in his words.
She smiled, ignoring the tightness that she had grown accustomed to after all the time that had passed.
"We'll get him back," Sakura said. Naruto finally turned and smiled at her. "We'll get him back for you Naruto," Sakura whispered to herself when Naruto had turned his head forward and continued jumping though the trees to their destination.
~oOo~
Once the group finally arrived at an open field that Sasuke's message told them to meet at; they stopped and surveyed the area. Not trusting the surrounding area Kakashi told half of the large team: Neji, Shikamaru, Lee, and Chōji to stay hidden in the thick of the of trees that surrounded them.
Neji searched the area for any sign of Sasuke in the area and could not see him or anyone else. He radioed to the other four in the field that Sasuke was not in the immediate area and would watch if anyone came close.
Shikamaru, Lee, and Chōji stood not too far away in the trees waiting for any movement to indict that someone was there.
"Are we sure about this?" asked Chōji as he waited impatiently for anything to happen. Forgetting that the radio was on, Naruto answered them instantly.
"If you don't want to be here, then leave. He didn't call any of you, just me," Naruto growled out getting aggravated that they would be questioning their mission when they were already here.
Chōji remained silent for a moment and felt bad that he had voiced his thoughts.
"I'm sorry, Naruto. I didn't mean it like-" all that was heard through the radio was static as the radio connect was cut off.
"Hey, you guys. What's going on out there?" asked Kakashi. When there was no reply, Kakashi asked Sai to go out and see what had happened to the rest of the group.
As Sai left, the other's were getting a little nervous thinking that something might have happened to them almost right when they all had gotten there.
Sai arrived shortly at the location of the group and hiss at what he saw. Looking up at dark eyes Sai tried radioing a warning back to the rest.
"Guys, get-" his connection dying before he could finish.
"Sai? Sai! What the hell is happening?" Kakashi shouted, but received no answer.
Even without the finished warning, they all knew that something bad had happened and that they were not safe in the location they were in. But before any of them made a move to get to their other teammates, he appeared.
Sasuke stood in front of his old teammates and examined how they all changed. After all these years, they had all matured into adults, but he could still see that they had not outgrown their childlike emotions at seeing him. Naruto seemed on the verge of tears, but held back. It surprised Sasuke to see the determination in his eyes and he was rewarded by the boys voice calling his name.
"S-Sasuke," Naruto said in a low voice.
Sasuke's eyes were only fixated on him and he had forgotten completely that the other two were standing on either side of Naruto until one decided to speak.
"Sasuke, what did you do to the others," Kakashi questioned knowing that whatever was going on involved him.
"I don't know what you mean. Where there others with you?" Sasuke played ignorant as he was irritated at being brought out of the gaze that he held with Naruto.
"I know you did something" Kakashi said with more strength behind his words. He hesitated asking what was really on his mind as to the whereabouts and condition of the rest of the team, but Sasuke seemed to sense his thoughts and answered.
"Don't worry, I didn't kill them. They were just in the way, so I got them out of the way," Sasuke answered casually.
Naruto and Sakura remained silent the whole time as the two exchanged words. Naruto could not believe how much Sasuke had changed and yet was the same as he had remembered him. He looked more developed physically, but carried himself with the same confidence and coldness that they were used too.
It had been six years since he had left Konoha and three since Naruto or any of his other teammates had seen him. Naruto felt like crying with happiness at seeing Sasuke again and Sakura felt like crying for an entirely different reason.
She knew that Naruto would be happy to see Sasuke, but she hoped that Sasuke would keep his face of indifference when he saw Naruto and would treat him as he treated others; with cold eyes that never betrayed any emotion. But what she say was only something that someone who loved another so deeply would notice. Though Sasuke tried to hide it, that split second that she saw his face change at the sight of Naruto, she knew of Sasuke's feelings for Naruto were not only one sided on Naruto's part like she had allowed herself to hope.
Kakashi's questioning had stopped and they stood there as the three looked at Sasuke and Sasuke just stared at Naruto. He smirked and saw the flinch that they were unable to hide. They knew what he was capable of and the realization that he might had just single handedly taken out five people of their team made them unable to hide their discomfort.
"What is it that you want from me, Sasuke?" Naruto asked after their long pause.
"Simple really. I want you," Sasuke said, as he heard both Naruto and Sakura gasp at his declaration. Sakura knew what he meant and now had evidence that her previous suspicious was correct, but Naruto seemed to misunderstand what Sasuke was implying.
"If you want me dead then go ahead and try, but I'm bringing you back home Sasuke," Naruto said as he crouched into a fighting stance ready for what was to come.
Sasuke smirk deepened as he saw Naruto ready himself. He was excited to see that Naruto still had that determination to bring him back, but it was not the reason he had asked Naruto to meet. Though he was annoyed with the others for being there, they were only minor distractions that he could rid himself of easily.
"I don't have a home, Naruto. I'm not going back to Konoha, you are coming with me. Instead, you are coming with me." Kakashi immediately moved in front of Naruto to protect him from whatever Sasuke was planning to do.
Naruto was too shocked to answer and just stared at his three teammates. Sakura could not hold her tongue any longer for she saw that the situation would get worse in no time.
"I won't let you take him away. He will never leave the village and people behind to come with you Sasuke," Sakura spoke seeing as Naruto was still unable to answer.
Sasuke finally looked over at Sakura and frown. He could see and hear the courage in her eyes and voice and also saw the love that she had for Naruto that she tried to hide. He knew it would have happened sooner or later, but that was not going to stop him from what he was planning to do.
"Sakura, you're grown over the years," Sasuke said making useless conversation as to try to distract them.
Kakashi could see what he was doing and was going to intervene, but Naruto finally got his voice back.
"Sasuke, w-what do you want with me?" Naruto asked as his confusion became clear on his face.
Sasuke didn't speak, instead his impassive face returned and he activated the Mangekyō Sharingan that he acquired after his brother's dead. No one was able to react in time and all three of their bodies dropped as Sasuke pulled them into an illusion that would render them useless for a while, even after the illusion was deactivated.
He had done nothing further to the other's that were in the woods and was somewhat expecting more from his former team. Just as he was making his way towards Naruto, Kakashi's body dissipated and a kunai speed towards Sasuke. He easily dodged it and looked over to see Kakashi standing off to the left side of the field. Sasuke narrowed his eyes in annoyance and wonder as to how Kakashi was able get out of his illusion. Almost as if he could hear Sasuke's silent question, he answered it for him.
"You're not the only one with the Mangekyō Sharingan, Sasuke," Kakashi told him.
Sasuke didn't care how exactly he used his Dōjutsuto (eye technique) to get out of the attack, but he wasn't going to be phased by the knowledge that Kakashi had developed his own version of the Mangekyō Sharingan. It wasn't going to stop him for a moment.
Sasuke knew that Kakashi was not fast enough to get a clone in place when he activated his illusion, so his escape had something to do directly with Kakashi's eyes. Being careful to avoid eye contact now, not wanting to see what would happen if both of nin's eyes connected in a gaze, Sasuke looked slightly away and chose to attack with only some aid from his eyes.
Kakashi knew that Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan was stronger, so he immediately looked away from them. He also knew he was the only one standing in the way of Sasuke getting to Naruto, making Sasuke more determined and less caring of what would happen to his old sensei. But that also made Kakashi want to fight harder so he would not lose another one of his former students.
Escaping the first and what Sasuke must have thought was going to be his only attack didn't take much thought from Kakashi's part, but it did drain much of Kakashi's chakra. The Mangekyō Sharingan that Kakashi wielded had the ability to manipulate space and in that split second he was able to send Sasuke's illusion jutsu into another dimension. He knew that he would not be able to last long in this fight and to save Naruto, he would have to fight as if wanting to kill Sasuke.
Kakashi and Sasuke clashed in a blink of an eye. Swinging their kunai's so fast that the fight was a blur, all that could be heard was the clinging of their weapons. The fist came so fast towards Kakashi that he barely had time to move out of it's way and ended up hesitating enough for Sasuke to send a powerful hit to his abdomen that slammed Kakashi into a tree. Kakashi slowly picked himself up, still weak from escaping Sasuke's initial attack and now this one. As the tree behind him fell over from the force of the collision, Kakashi looked over at Sasuke.
"Why are you doing this, Sasuke? You must have known that other's would come with him and that you would have to get rid of us before you could get to Naruto. Were you fully prepared to kill anyone that stood in your way?" Kakashi asked while both were shortly catching their breathes.
"Of course I knew you guys were coming, but as you can see I took out most of your team in no time and I don't have to waste my breath killing them. You are the only one in my way and trust me you will not stop me from getting Naruto," Sasuke answered as he got ready for his next attack.
Appearing in front of Kakashi, Sasuke channeled his Chidori Current into his fist and swung at him, but this time Kakashi was ready for it and got out of the way and appeared behind Sasuke.
"Don't do this," Kakashi urged, pressing a kunai against Sasuke's throat.
Sasuke was surprised by the quick move, but wouldn't expect anything less from his former sensai. He knew he could redirect his Chidori Current through the kunai potentially killing Kakashi, but stopped short when Kakashi continued to speak.
"You don't need him. I'll let you just leave, just not with him." Kakashi told him with the full intent of letting Sasuke go if that would mean that Naruto would not be taken away. Instead of disappearing quickly as Kakashi hoped, Sasuke spoke to his old sensei.
"That's where you're wrong, Kakashi. I do need him," he said, murmuring the last bit, but it was enough for Kakashi to hear.
"Why?" Kakashi asked desperately.
"Because I love him," Sasuke answered honestly.
With the new information, Kakashi hesitated and pulled the kunai slightly away from Sasuke's neck. Sasuke looked down at the weapon and met Kakashi's widened eyes in the reflection.
"I'm sorry," Sasuke said softly as his illusion started to take hold of Kakashi and instantly he dropped to the ground.
End Flashback
"Naruto!" Sakura shouting, startling herself awake from the nap she had taken while resting against a tree. She was waiting for her team to meet her.
Looking around, she knew that Naruto was not there nor any sign of her students. It had been around two years since Sasuke had taken Naruto away from the village and the memories of that day still hunt her dreams.
After everything had happened and she woke up in the hospital only to learn that Naruto did not come back with the team, she changed. Not longer was Sakura focusing on working as a medical nin, because that would not help bring Naruto back. She tried to wait on the side lines while others went to chase any leads that would help find Naruto, but the feeling of uselessness was too much.
When she went to go talk to Lady Tsunade about what more she could do, the Hokage let it be known that the tracker nins had everything under control. That statement did not appease her so she stated that she wanted to become a tracker nin as well. The Hokage tried to persuade her to rethink her decisions, but Sakura wouldn't let up and only when a compromise was made did the Hokage agree to it.
Sakura would only be a tracker nin until Naruto was found and was then to restart her training as a medical nin right away.
Almost the next day Sakura began training as a tracker and in a short time became extremely good at it. She was given a team of genin and with them she had never failed a mission. There was only the exception of finding Naruto or anything that would led her to him that always kept her from acknowledging that she could do a greater job at being a tracker nin then most others.
Standing up from her previous resting area, Sakura continued to remember the day that she felt like a part of her was ripped away.
The village was in an uproar when the team came back without Naruto. Tsunade had yelled at their inability to keep Naruto safe from Sasuke and set all ninjas that were free to look for him. After months of searching and with nothing to show for it, Tsunade was forced to reduce the amount of nins that were looking for Naruto. She only took action when any information came to them instead of anyone looking for anything that would help find the boy.
Sakura had thought that most of the villagers would be happy to see Naruto gone, but she was wrong. Once the villagers got wind that Naruto was missing, everyone became scared that Konaha was not protected anymore. Naruto had become an extremely powerful ninja and to have him disappear from the village so easily had the villagers thinking the worse.
Tsunade had to hold a village meeting to ensure the people that they were still safe in their homes and that the kidnapping of Naruto would not led to any danger to the village. She sounded more convincing then she felt. She knew that Sasuke would not be the danger, but that there would be other villages that would take advantage of the situation.
Her fear was realized when she learned that once the other villages knew that Naruto was gone, they all set out to find the jinchuuriki. Not for the purpose of helping the Konoha, but to get to the power that they knew Naruto had deep inside him. They searched for Naruto almost as hard as Konaha did, but after the first couple of months they gave up almost completely when it seemed useless.
Tsunage was relieved to hear that the other villages gave up on looking for Naruto, but at the same time hoped that he would be found soon. When the ninjas that were chosen to look for Naruto were reduced, Tsunade had told Sakura that she was not to go on her own looking for Naruto either. There was a lot of shouting, but in the end Sakura stopped using any free time she had to go out of the village and gather any information on Naruto's whereabouts.
She sighed getting rid of the unwanted memories. The only thing that was keeping her going was that she knew from the expression that she saw in Sasuke's eyes that Naruto was safe.
She'll keep her hope that he will come back to the village someday.
"Sensei?" Sakura turned as she heard her team members voice.
Sakura saw their worried expression and smiled to reassure them that she was okay. Her team was assigned to her a year ago and she had gotten to know them well.
The one that spoke to her was named Daisuke. He reminded her so much of Sasuke, with his dark hair and his even darker eyes that she almost wanted to punch him in the face the first time she saw him. Luckily, she stopped herself and after hearing him speak to her she knew he was nothing like Sasuke. Daisuke had a hard childhood growing up and from all that had happened to him, he learned to respect everyone around him and was one of the most trustworthy people that anyone would ever meet. He was also a very skilled ninja that quickly became the leader of the team.
Standing next to the boy was a girl named Reika. She seemed like a handful and she most defiantly was. She knew how to speak her mind and she would only listen when something was worth listening too. When Sakura first met her, she thought that the girl would rebel against her and ignore everything she said, but Sakura was surprised that the girl listened to any instruction that was given by any of her teammates. With her short, bleach blonde almost white hair that framed her face and deep hazel eyes, Reika was an attractive enough girl who didn't care much about appearance and a ninja that was a vital part of the team.
Lastly, standing of the other side of Daisuke, was Kiyoshi who Sakura thought Daisuke had a crush on. He was a lovely boy, nothing like she would have thought after seeing his bright smile, blonde hair and golden eyes. He knew when to be a follower and when to be a leader. He would follow his team into any mission no matter how hard and he made it known that he cared for his teammates by either thanking them for being there for him or even hugging them. That being the reason why Sakura had thought that Diasuke liked him; he would blush like crazy whenever Kiyoshi would give him one of those hugs.
Her teammates knew of her connection to Naruto and that when he came back she would no longer be their sensei. They were prepared for it and would try to welcome any new sensei that came.
She had gone through a lot over the years, but they never talked about it which she was thankful for. Sakura was also thankful that they never complained when she would sometimes diverge from a mission to look into anything that could be of any use in finding Naruto. Even with that, they knew that she would always get the mission done no matter how distracted she would become.
"Hello guys. Ready to train?" Sakura asked already seeing her team pairing up and going out into the field to test their skills. She smiled as she watched the two boys fighting. She knew that Naruto would be proud of what she had made of herself and only wished that he was here to see her accomplishments.
~oOo~
"Sasuke, we have to go out today. I don't want to stay home all day," Naruto said as he made his way over to the couch with two cups of hot tea.
Setting them down on the table and sitting next to Sasuke, Naruto looked over to see that Sasuke had a frown on his face. Every time Naruto mentioned getting out of the forest to go shopping or do something entertaining, Sasuke would use the excuse that Naruto's body was not strong enough to allow for a trip from their home that day. It got on Naruto's nerves for sometime, but he understood his lovers concern.
Though, even knowing that his body might not be up for the task, Naruto could not stay in the house forever. He needed to get out once in a while and nothing was going to stop him from going to a shop he knew had just opened. From the last time they went out together, he explored many of the shops and talked to some of the locals to learn that they were opening up a new market that was to have the freshest of ingredients.
Naruto loved to cook, since he was suck in the house a lot, so learning that a market was going to have fresh ingredients daily excited him to the point of wanting to see the place for himself.
Sasuke knew about the new market and wasn't comfortable about going when he had yet to check the place out for himself.
"Maybe I could just go and you can tell me what you need. There is no reason for you to go all the way out there when you just fainted the day before," Sasuke urged Naruto to change him mind about the trip, but even as he was talking he knew Naruto would not budge in his discussion to go.
"I should have never let it get that far when I knew that you couldn't take it," Sasuke sighed with obvious concern in his voice.
That concern made Naruto hesitate a little. The training was his idea in the first place. He would always see Sasuke out in the field in their backyard, trying to get stronger and more powerful and he wanted to do it too. He doesn't try often, because he gets tried quickly and doesn't seem to have much chakra to allow for him to do very much, but he liked the feeling of his muscles expanding and contracting while he trained and the burning sensation he got when he had exercised for a certain period of time.
The other day, Naruto wanted to try to fight Sasuke and told him not to hold back. Sasuke wouldn't go to his full power, which Naruto was not sure what it was, but they did fight intensely and for a long time. After Sasuke dodged one of his punches, Naruto's body following the momentum of his fist and he fell with it. When he landing on the ground, he had already been unconscious.
Still seeing the worried look on Sasuke's face, Naruto turned to get him mind off of the fact that he was going against what his love wanted. He had to get out of the house. Naruto's last visit to the nearest village was about a month ago and he needed to see what had changed since he was last out. Sasuke would always go to the stores to buy anything they needed when he was taking a nap after he ate or even at random times of the day, because his body would sometimes chose to become extremely exhausted even when he wasn't doing much.
"Please, Sasuke." Naruto pleaded, "I really want to get out of the house today and walking around the forest doesn't seem like much fun. If I even slightly feel tired, then we could come back right away." Naruto told him while sporting a pouty face that Sasuke could barely resist. Sasuke sighed and knew it was time to give up a losing battle, plus Naruto's expression was just too adorable to ignore.
"Fine. But if I see that you look tired, we are heading back right away. Even if I have to carry you back," Sasuke said while smirking at the blush that spread on Naruto's face.
"Thank you Sasuke. I'm so excited. I'll go get ready right away." Kissing Sasuke on the lips, Naruto sprang off the couch and into his room to get ready.
Sasuke got up and took the two cups of forgotten tea that had cooled down while they had been talking and poured them out into the sink. He knew that it was a risk to take Naruto away from the security of the forest, but even though Naruto's memory of his old life was forgotten he was still the same person that Sasuke fell in love with.
Naruto was never sure how they got to the town, but felt that he just didn't pay close enough attention and always happened to walk upon it before he knew it, so he never questioned it. It was actually across a river and a little ways into the next country, but Sasuke would not let Naruto know that they were actually far away from any connect with the outside world.
As they made there way around town, people didn't remember Naruto at all but he learned to get over it quickly. People here never seemed to remember him when he came back, even when they talked to him for a long time on his visits. He got used to it and kept telling himself not to make friends with these people, but he always managed to strike up a conversation with someone and end up wishing to talk to them again the next time he visited.
As much as Sasuke dreaded going into this small town, he was happy to see Naruto interacting with others so happily, even if they won't remember him the next time he came by. Sasuke could not risk these villager's telling anyone that asked if they have seen anyone even closely resembling the boys, so it was necessary for him to erase any knowledge of them being here.
He knew that Naruto was sad that the people didn't know who he was when he came back, but erasing Naruto's memory of these people would be harder on him than Sasuke thought he could handle. Thinking that no one else was out there that he knew would make Naruto go crazy, so the small amount of sadness that he felt at first was something that Sasuke could deal with to get Naruto from feeling absolutely alone.
"They don't remember me again," Naruto said with a sad smile and acceptance in his eyes. No matter what he still had to stop himself from hoping.
"Naruto?" Sasuke looked at Naruto, but couldn't say more as he saw Naruto had started walking into the market. It was tightly packed with many booths that had various different fruits, vegetables and other fresh items for his choosing.
Naruto walked over to the nearest booth that was selling fresh fruits and picked out a few ingredients that would be perfect for a fruit salad or pie. Turning around, Naruto saw Sasuke was behind him and told him to pay the guy so he can go on to the next area.
After shopping around for a few hours, Naruto and Sasuke carried their large amounts of bags into a small cafe and sat down.
"Man, that was a great day of shopping. I got so much and talked to so many people," Naruto said with excitement.
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. After we get something here, you ready to head back?" Sasuke asked with a smile creeping onto his face. Even though he wasn't happy coming out here, seeing Naruto's face always made the trip worth the risk.
Naruto nodded to his question as Sasuke looked up at the waiter that was making his way over to the couple. Smiling down, Sasuke noticed that there was flash of remembrance in the waiters eyes. Sasuke tensed, thinking that the man would say something that would tip off Naruto. Instead, he just asked what the couple wanted and walked away with a more strained smile on his face.
Sasuke knew that over the years, the jutsu that he used on the villagers might be less effective but for some reason this kid always seemed to have that look on his face when he saw them. Like he knew who they were, but never said anything because he wasn't sure what he was seeing was really true. Sasuke always tensed when he saw him knowing that if he said anything he would never bring Naruto in town again and this village would only be a lost memory to them both as well as they would be to the village, but so far nothing had happened.
As they drank their coffees and Naruto ate his lemon tart, Sasuke was watching out for anything out of the ordinary that might have changed since they were last here together. He saw the same patrons, same workers and that nothing set off any bells.
"That was great! I always love their desserts," Naruto said happily as Sasuke was paying the bill and getting up to leave.
Sasuke looked back into the cafe and saw the same waiter looking at them with confused and concentrating eyes. He sent a warning glare that made the boy break his concentration and look away as he followed Naruto out the door. As they got to the edge of town, Sasuke told Naruto to look at him.
"Are you feeling okay? Do you feel tired?" Sasuke asked with a concerned look on his face.
"I'm feeling a little tired,but I think I can make it home this time." As Naruto finished his sentence, he could feel himself going under and seconds later he was out.
Sasuke put him on the ground slowly and turned to look out at the village. He had this village already sealed and started to perform the proper hand signs to erase the villagers memories. Though the seal was meant for him to be inside of it to work, he figured out that sending a clone to do part of the work would allow the job to be done without having to sacrifice his memories. To the villagers, their visit would be just a vague dream and nothing more.
Coming up to their room, Sasuke settled Naruto onto the bed and walked out to put all the items that they bought in their right places. He knew that Naruto would be out for some time so he decided to do the cooking for tonight. Though Naruto loves to cook, he also loves to see that Sasuke cooked for him. It made him feel special to wake up to the house smelling like the amazing food Sasuke managed to create and see that there was something that his love had cooked for him.
A couple hours later Sasuke had a big meal ready and just as he was finished setting up the table he sensed Naruto waking up. Naruto walked down the stairs following the aroma of the dinner that Sasuke made.
"Mmm, something smells really goo," Naruto said with a smile on his face. "I can't wait to dig in." He walked up to Sasuke and gave him a kiss on the lips that lasts a moment, but felt like eternity.
"I'm glad to see you up. Are you alright after your nap?" Sasuke asked as he served Naruto one of the fresh fish he grilled up.
Naruto helped himself to all the sides that were offered before answering Sasuke's question, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry I always manage to pass out after we go into town. I must have been more exhausted than I thought."
Sasuke smiled as Naruto started to eat. The guilt that he used to feel from knowing the cause of Naruto's weaken had subsided, but would never entirely go away. But he knew to keep Naruto he couldn't let the Kyubbi even have a chance to be known to Naruto.
At first it was hard to fight the big beast inside Naruto and to completely get him separated from Naruto's consciousness, but working with the Akatsuki with the pretense that the jutsu he was working on was for their benefit Sasuke was able to perfect it. It only took a week for Naruto to forget the life he lived without Sasuke and allow the memories of them together to be imbedded into his mind, even those that never happened.
Sasuke put stories of Naruto's and Sasuke's childhood in the boys head that could never be true, but Sasuke felt they were necessary in making Naruto believe that they were meant to be together forever. Naruto thought that the two meant in grade school and later became closer when their fathers would always visit, because they had been great friends. Then as they grew older and closer to one another, they were their for each other when Sasuke's parents died in a car accident and Naruto's died in a house fire a few years later. Sasuke never told him that he had an older brother and made sure that Naruto thought they only had each other.
It was easy enough for Sasuke to begin to love his life with Naruto and Naruto to love and trust Sasuke. Sasuke knew that he had done the right thing every time he saw the love of his life smiling at him. The way they live might have not been the most ideal, but Sasuke told Naruto that he loved seclusion and with Naruto's health, it was not the best idea to interact with too many people.
Naruto accepted it as another part of his memory; the forest was the place where they belonged. He also knew that he would never be able to find a way out since he had walked forever one time and never got anywhere. It felt strange to him that Sasuke showed up in front of him after his long walk, but he trusted Sasuke enough to know that he must have been following Naruto so the boy could eventually be led home. He was never sure how far he went because he woke up at home after figuring that he fainted again.
With dinner finished and cleaned up, Sasuke told Naruto to go find a movie and he would make some popcorn. As Naruto sat on the couch, Sasuke slipped out the glass doors in the kitchen and outside to check that everything was stable.
Even after all these years out here in the forest, Sasuke was still paranoid that the gates were not working and had to go out every night to make sure they were still preventing people from knowing that they took up this area of the forest.
After a good check, he came back and as the popcorn finished its popping he spilled the contains into a bowl. Coming into the living room, Sasuke saw Naruto sitting on the couch waiting for him. As he sat down Naruto took a handful of the popcorn and they settled down to watch the movie.
~oOo~
The waiter from the cafe Naruto and Sasuke visited couldn't shake off the feeling that he was losing his memory or at the very least part of it. He felt like something was preventing him from accessing part of himself and he didn't know if he was just thinking too much or if something really was wrong.
On the other side of town, a team of Konoha nin came into the village to rest. Going into the nearest inn, the team settled down for a good nights sleep knowing they would need to be ready to head out in the morning.
~oOo~
Sasuke woke up before Naruto as he usually did and walked into the bathroom to get his day started. Most of the time all he would do was either get dressed and wait for Naruto to wake up so they could make breakfast together or he would go ahead and make it by himself.
Since they had a their trip to town the other day, he decided to make the meal himself again so Naruto could wake up to the fresh small of french toast, eggs and bacon.
"Wow, you made us a meal again. I always love your cooking," Naruto said as he was waking up to the smells of the kitchen.
Sasuke turned to see Naruto heading to the cabinet to get cups to pour in the orange juice he had placed on the table. "Glad to hear it," Sasuke answered with a small smile turned smirk as they dug into breakfast.
"So, what did you want to do today? I was thinking maybe a walk," Naruto started as he was grabbing for more food.
Sasuke didn't like the idea of Naruto going out again and made his views knew to the boy.
"But I don't want to stay in here all day. I want to get out more, even if it is not the best thing for my health" Naruto counter trying to make Sasuke see it from his point of view.
Sasuke always knew that keeping Naruto in the house and in this secluded forest would get to him, but kinda hoped that it would be a little later rather than sooner. Naruto was not feeling as bad as he used to when his faint spells would come, so he was asking to go out more and more.
When they had first got here and Sasuke placed him under the jutsu, Naruto would get so sick and tired that he wouldn't be able to get out of bed for days. He knew that he couldn't strengthen the jutsu on the boy without fear of hurting him so he had to deal with Naruto getting his strength back, even if it was just a little. Now instead of passing out every couple of hours, his faints were more random and sparse. Sometimes, like the trip from town, Sasuke would even have to put him under.
"You can't go out today Naruto, I need to go into town and check out somethings," Sasuke explained knowing that he just decided to do that that very moment.
"What? Why do you have to go? Can't I can with you than?" Naruto pleaded as the questions kept coming.
Sasuke held up his hand to stop the boy from asking anymore and answered him.
"Because I don't think your health will take the amount of time I will be gone. I can't leave you alone there as well," Sasuke told him knowing that an argument would come.
"Stop going on about my health! That's your only argument when I ask to go out!" Naruto yelled getting sick of the topic always being brought up.
"That's all the argument I need Naruto. You are so important to me and I don't want anything to happen to you. Please don't question me on this," Sasuke begged hoping that Naruto would let it go.
He saw the sadness in his lovers eyes and Naruto knew that he wouldn't argue about the subject anymore. There was never a point, but he always found himself fighting it even if it was just for a moment.
"Fine, I'll stay in the house all day. When do you think you will be back? In time for lunch or dinner?"
"Probably closer to lunch. I shouldn't be too long," Sasuke explained as he got up to wash the dishes from their breakfast.
Naruto signed, he hated when Sasuke would go on out to town on his own. He never questioned it after the first time when Sasuke looked at him with the most serious look on his face and asked him never to question what he does. Naruto decided that whatever it was would be best left unanswered and just had a sad smile on his face whenever he would leave.
"Okay, well have fun with whatever you are doing. I'll just stay here like a good little wife," Naruto mocked as Sasuke was heading out the door.
"I wouldn't expect anything less from my homemaker," Sasuke chuckled at the pout that showed on the younger boys face. Sasuke smiled and kissed Naruto before closing the door.
Naruto walked to the living room to see if he could clean anything up while Sasuke was gone or if he could just lounge while the boy was out. Deciding that he would just make himself comfortable on the couch, Naruto put in movie and sat down for some non-relaxation without Sasuke.
As Sasuke walked out of the house, he made sure to seal all the doors and windows so Naruto would not be able to get out. He didn't like barracking the boy in the house, but after the last time when he found Naruto unconscious after walking around for a while he decided that Naruto might not actually listen to him as much as he thought.
Naruto figured out that he was locked in the house soon after and was extremely mad, but got over it since Sasuke kept reminding him of what happened before.
~oOo~
The Konoha team woke up early and packed their things for the trip back home. They had retrieved a scroll from an ally country close to this village and were heading back to Konoha before they decided to stop here to rest. They had gotten the scroll a day earlier than needed and decided to take a breather before heading out again.
"Let's stop by and get something to eat before we officially leave. I don't want to eat anything that the inn is serving so we might as well go look around," one of the teammates said as they finished packing.
Leaving their things there to grab when they were ready to get out of the village and with the scroll securely on their person, they headed outside to check out the village that they had stayed in. They were in civilian clothing and covered their chakra to lessen their exposer to the other villagers knowing that these people would know nothing about their world.
The village was a small tight knit community that seemed to center around a newly opened market. Passing up all the booths and people shuffling around to buy the best the market had to offer, they finally found a small cafe where they could grab a decent meal.
As they sat down and looked over the menu, a waiter came up to them and asked what they would like to drink. They ordered drinks and food right away and started to make conversation about random things that got them away from thinking about the mission. Even in these parts, they never knew who was listening so they stuck to things that didn't relate to their business.
The waiter came back minutes later with drinks and as he was putting it down, looked up and out the window. "Sasuke?" the waiter mumbled softly feeling like the name was foreign to his lips.
The Konoha ninjas all stopped and looked up thinking they heard something that should not have passed through the guys lips.
"Excuse me, what did you say young man?" one of them asked, thinking that she was hearing things just as the others were thinking.
The waiter shook his head and his eyes went back from the blank stare to a more pleasing gleam, "I'm sorry, here are your drinks and your meal is on its way." The waiter smiled as he walked away.
The four teammates looked at each other and shrugged it off as nothing more than their ears playing tricks on them because they wanted to desperately hear news of that man and the one he had taken from them.
-o-
Sasuke walked around the village and went to their only post office, if you could even call it that. He would come to town every once in a while to check and make sure that nothing about them were in the towns paper. He had never found anything more than a description of a boy being kidnapped the first week he was there, but after that he never stopped looking in on the village.
He than spent some time making sure that the people of the village were living normally and without suspicion. Though the people were all civilians, Sasuke still masked his chakra so the feeling of remembrance would not potentially come over any of them.
Sasuke made sure to swiftly walk by the cafe and to not come across the waiter again, just in case any of the vague dreams about his previous day were still in his mind. He stayed away from this place for long periods of time so they could forget about them completely and nothing could trigger their memories. It would have been more reassuring if Naruto didn't go around introducing them to everyone that he could though.
-o-
The team picked up their things from the inn and started to head out towards Konoha. Speeding out of the village, one of the teammates were still thinking about what happened in the cafe. He knew that he must have heard it, he could just tell that no one wanted to make it into anything that it wasn't.
Not paying attention, the Konoha nin lost his footing and slid over the ground, picking up dirt and debris as he went.
"Ouch, damn it," Kiba said as he finally stopped five feet later in front of the tree that prevented him from going any further.
"Nice job, smart one. What were you doing to happen to fall like that?" Ino asked him as she stood next to her fallen teammate.
"Something got in my way. I didn't fall out of no where," he replied pretending that his own footing was not the cause of this embarrassment.
As Ino was about to retort back, one of the others stopped them from going any further into their argument.
"Guys, take a look at this," Shikamaru voiced as he bent over to look at the dirt.
"What is it?" the ever quiet Shino asked, as he looked over his teammates shoulder.
Shikamaru brushed off more of the dirt and looked closely. "I think it's a seal," he spoke softly, not believing it himself.
Just then the team looked up and the whole town glowed for an instant, but it was enough for them to see what happened. They all looked at each other and knew that they weren't just hearing thinks back in the cafe. All of them turned and rush back to Konoha.
~oOo~
Sasuke walked back into the house in a hurry. He knew what he saw after performing the memory erasing seal on the villagers. Though they were safe in this area, he didn't want to take any risks.
The nins that were speeding away were easily recognizable by Sasuke's eyes even though he had only a moment to see them. He eyes had widened for a split second, than went back to his calm self. Retreating quickly as possible to the place he called home, Sasuke needed to see Naruto.
"Hey, you're back already. I just finished making lunch and just in case had made something for you too," Naruto smiled at Sasuke as he placed the freshly made sandwiches and a bag a chips that he knew Sasuke loved to eat with this meal on the table in the living room.
"Y-yeah." Sasuke cleared his throat trying to speak again, "Hn, what would you have done if I didn't get back in time?" He smiled looked at the plates on the table.
"I would have waited for you. I know you'll always come back," Naruto said making Sasuke catch his breath for an instant. The boy really knew how to pull his heart strings without even realizing it.
Finally settling down on the couch and picking up his lunch, Sasuke asked with a lighthearted voice, "How were you while I was gone, anything exciting happen?"
"Oh, so exciting! I watched a movie, than some comic show that was on, cleaned up a little and finally made lunch. A full and busy day if I do say so myself," Naruto answered with a wide grin and sarcasm evident in his voice as he seated himself on the couch and started stuffing his sandwich in his mouth.
Sasuke chuckled, "Well, I'll make sure to leave you alone more often so I won't bother you."
Naruto pouted and looked away, "I don't want you to leave ever again."
Sasuke's eyes soften and though he knew it was just joking around, his heart thumped harder hearing those words. Setting down the two plates, Sasuke looked over at Naruto and spoke quietly, "Promise me something."
"Anything," Naruto smiled welcoming Sasuke's embrace.
"Whatever happens, you will still stand by my side," he replied with emotions in his eyes that Naruto only saw when they made love and Sasuke would tell him over and over again that he loved him.
In the heat of those moments, Naruto thought Sasuke was messing with him to get him blushing and looking away in embarrassment. But now, seeing it outside of the bedroom, Naruto could not look away and answered without hesitation.
"I would never leave you Sasuke."
Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Will be a week or so till next one is out.