Somewhere Only We Know
By SleepyFox48
Summary: What do you do when you're surrounded by happiness, but you only feel dim and broken? Naruto is fading inside and he doesn't notice, but someone else does. The blind can see more then they let on. Post-Sand Invasion.
Okay, so I was watching glee. Now the only reason I actually watch it is because of Chris Colfer and Darren Criss. (Kurt and Blaine) I was sitting there on the edge of my seat and when I heard Blaine sing to Kurt 'Somewhere Only We Know', I had an epiphany! In that moment the perfect plot popped into my head and now I'm aiming to write a fantastic romance. No fighting. Only light training or a quick and short sword-slashing scene. And it's all for my favorite character, Naruto Uzumaki!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Kishimoto does… But if I did own it, that would be really cool. I own all OC mentioned the story though! Enjoy ^_^v
Naruto fell to the ground, completely exhausted. His face was shiny with sweat, and Naruto's cheeks were flushed with heat and exhaustion. It was already dark out, and the stars were twinkling merrily above him. He had been working on his stamina and Rasengan all afternoon none stop, and it definitely wiped him out. Some of the broken trees around him were proof enough. His limbs were stiff, and his knuckles were cut and bleeding. He had half a mind to suck them, but opted not to.
"I'm spent. I've got nothing left in me." Looking around, he noticed that the trees were a lot thicker in this area. That meant that he was a good distance from Konoha because the forest trees closer to the village were more spaced out. (Ninjas breaking down trees when they practice)
"Well this isn't good at all." Whined the tanned boy as he scratched the back of his head. Sighing, he picked himself off the floor and staggered onto his sore feet. Humming a soft tune under his breath, Naruto made his way through the thick foliage, but he was so tired that he barely got anywhere after walking for half an hour.
"This is so messed up, believe it. How am I supposed to get back to the village this way?" In his frustration, Naruto tripped over a high root, sending him flat onto his face. Blue eyes glaring at the ground, he picked himself up again and was about to continue walking when he heard something. Concentrating on the noise, he realized that it was running water. Looking back at the direction he was going before, he shrugged his shoulders, and gave a foxy grin. "What ninja hasn't camped out in the wilderness, anyway!" Cheered Naruto. It wouldn't be too bad if he soaked his feet, washed up a little, and then slept for a few hours. He could go back home in the morning. Kakashi wasn't even going to be at the bridge until eight-o-clock. They were having a group mission with the other genin teams, so someone else was bound to be late.
Naruto headed towards the direction the sound of the water was coming from. After walking for a little bit, he finally made it to where the trees were less dense and the roaring of the water was clear. Breaking out of the forest, his mouth fell open at the sight before him. In the moonlight, he could clearly make out a large shining lake, which pooled around a grand waterfall. Two large statues, built into the stone cliff, were standing on either side of it.
"Wow! This place is so cool! Haha, I should come here to practice water walking!" Yelled Naruto. Kicking off his sandals, he jogged over to the edge of the lake, and dipped his feet in.
"Holy fu… that's cold! Okay so maybe it's not the best idea to stick your feet in a lake at night. Not doing that again." Naruto decided with a shake of his head.
"I don't know. It's pretty fun swimming here at night."
Naruto screamed in surprise, toppling over; head first into the freezing water. Resurfacing, he spat out the water that had slipped into his mouth and shook the water out of his hair. The golden locks were plastered flat on his head, so he had to run his shivering fingers through it, so it would stay out of his eyes.
"Ok… that wasn't cool, believe it! Who are you and what do you want!"
Dragging himself out of the water, he reached for his weapon holster, when he realized that it was gone. Looking around curiously, he heard laughter come from the trees.
"Over here. I'm over here."
There hanging from a tree was his weapon's pouch. Rushing in, he grabbed it and backed away. "What do you want, bastard!"
Don't worry, I'm Konoha… kind of. I'm just enjoying nature out here and I really didn't feel like go back to the village." The mysterious man answered.
"Huh, I guess we're on the same boat. You don't mind coming out, do you? Cause it's really annoying talking to a tree." Said a pouting Naruto.
There was a moment of silence, when a man appeared in a blur, a few feet from him. He wore a long black coat that covered his body, and a white mask. Interesting enough, it didn't look like an ANBU mask. Backing away cautiously, Naruto looked at the man again. "How do I know you're Konoha anyway, Bastard?"
Not even saying a word, the man pulled his mask down, but only where you could see the headband, but not his face. It was kind of scratched up, and the blue cloth that held it in place was frayed, but the symbol of definitely Konoha.
"Well, now that I know you're not an evil ninja who wants to kill me… I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage!" He said with a wide grin on his face.
"You're kind of short and girly looking to be a Hokage."
"Hey! You just watch bastard! I'm gonna be the strongest person in my village someday. Believe it!"
It was silent for a few seconds, before the man started to walking towards him.
"Oh I believe it. But you won't be anything if you die from hypothermia." The man disappeared, and reappeared behind Naruto. Grabbing Naruto's jacket he swiftly took it off. Naruto stuttered, and tried to hide his blush. "Don't undress me you pervert! God! Why is everyone I meet perverted!" Blushing even brighter at saying the last comment out loud. He ducked his head, but sighed in relief when he heard soft chuckling.
"Is that so. You must have a hard time training then." Summoning a stack of wood, the man lit a fire from a flame jutsu out of his hand, and laid the jacket next to it. Moving in closer Naruto sat on the other side of the fire.
"You have no idea. I kinda have two senseis right now. Pervy Sage and Kaka-sensei, but both of them are obsessed with this perverted series! But they have their moments… once a month. Or less."
"Is that why you're training by yourself? And your teammates? You must have friends?"
Naruto wrinkled his nose, but his face brightened up instantly. "Yeah! I have this really pretty girl on my team. She has pink hair, and green eyes!"
She must be really nice for you to mention her with such charisma." The man responded. For a moment, Naruto thought he heard sarcasm laced in the voice, but passed it off as his imagination. "Well kind of. She hits me a lot though. And yells a lot. And likes the Bastard a lot more then me." A frown marred his face at the new thoughts, but quickly banished them. Sakura wasn't really that bad.
"Well, to me it sounds like your just taking what comes to you. Like you don't deserve it or something. She doesn't sound so great to me."
Naruto's mouth fell open at the blunt statement, and he dipped his head down before standing up, shoulders tense.
"You're wrong! She's the nicest girl ever! Believe it!"
"Just seeing it as I hear it. Literally…"
Naruto plopped back onto the floor, calming down. This guy was so frustrating! If Naruto wasn't so completely wiped out, he'd punch this guy's face in.
"So what's your name?"
"I don't feel obligated to say. I'd have to kill you if I did anyway." The man stated smugly. What was with this guy! Fuming, Naruto clenched his hands into tight fists and glared. "That's not fair."
"I don't have to be."
Slouching back down, he looked up and picked at the grass. "You remind me of my other teammate. He's a real bastard. But at least you say more than just 'idiot' and 'hn'. Uhh…so what should I call you?"
Chuckling dryly, the man took off his black cloak. Naruto couldn't help but stare. The ninja's hair, blue-black as a raven's feather, glistened in the light of the fire. It was down to his shoulders, but tied back into a thin ponytail. Through the long black shirt, and shinobi pants, Naruto could clearly see hard, lean muscles. He briefly wondered if his face was good-looking but killed the thought before it became anything.
"I don't really care. If you want a name then… you can call me Atsushi."
"Pure ambition? Hahaha and it sounds like the food, sushi!"
"At least its not my real name, Fishcake. Now take off your pants or you'll get a cold."
Growing red, Naruto started to stutter and fidget. What was this guy doing to him! He was acting like a complete idiot! (by his standards) Snapping out of his shock he forced out a few words, growing confident during each refusal.
"Wh- What? N-n-no. No. Hell no. Hell to the no! I'm not giving a free show to some pervert!" It was quiet again before the man spoke, his words emotionless.
"Don't worry. I can't see anyway."
Sensing that he was touching a sore subject, Naruto didn't question what he meant. So he just tugged of his pants and set them by the fire next to his jacket. Laying on his back, he stared up at the stars. He sadly wondered if his parents were looking down on him. Were they disappointed? Were they proud? I bet his parents are proud of him. Naruto thought in his mind, as he took in the man's strong frame. After a few minutes of silence, his eyes started to feel really heavy. Ignoring the fact that he had company, he smacked himself in the face and tried his best to stay awake by rubbing his eyes furiously with the palms of his hands, but gave up. Letting his arms fall to his sides, he faced the fire, barely seeing 'Atsushi's' masked face over the bright flames. Before Naruto even noticed, he was fast asleep. He didn't even hear 'Atsushi' leave.
When Naruto finally stirred, the morning was almost afternoon. Opening his eyes, he drowsily looked around. Suddenly remembering his company last night, he looked around. But the only evidence that the man had been there was the slightly visible scorch mark on the ground from the fire.
"Shit, shit , holy shit! I can't believe I slept all morning, even with that bigass waterfall right next to me!"
Scrambling onto his feet, he grabbed his discarded clothes and then slipped on his shoes; pants and jacket in hand. Making sure Tsunade's necklace was still around his neck, he jumped in to the canopy of trees. His feet barely touched each branch before he was soaring off another. It was a really nice day, but Naruto had bad feeling growing inside of him. Looking up at the slightly visible sky through the tree leaves, his mind flashed back to 'Atsushi'. "I can't believe he just left me there! The least he could do was wake me up!" Naruto said as he yanked on his jacket and pants. In truth, he was surprised the guy didn't try to choke him in the middle of the night, like every other ninja he met when he was by himself. But at the same time, a little part of Naruto reassured him that that guy would never hurt him intentionally. Something in his voice actually calmed Naruto. Had he met the guy before somewhere?
"The fuck am I thinking! I'm acting like a pansy!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs, making a few birds scatter from their perches in fright. Taking one more giant leap, he made it on the main road to Konoha, and ran through the large gates. Slowing down slightly so that Izumo and Kotetsu would recognize that it was him, and let him pass, Naruto waved at them quickly. The streets of Konoha were busy today but in his panic, he didn't think about taking the rooftop route, and ended up bumping into a few street venders on the way. He hated going through the market during this time of day. A lot of the older men and women shopped at in the middle of the day, so majority of the populace was trying the glare holes into his body. Sometimes it was funny seeing them glare and then get frustrated when Naruto continued to smile, but most the time… it hurt. Sprinting into the Hokage building, he didn't even check his disheveled appearance. His jacket was unzipped, hair matted, bruised knuckles, and dirt was plastered everywhere on him. He didn't even fix his Hitaite, which fell from his forehead the night before and hung from his neck.
"…id a good job."
That was the first thing Naruto heard as he skidded to a stop in the middle of the mission's room. All heads snapped in his direction; the room quiet enough to hear the wind outside and his deep breathes. His lungs were burning from running so long, but the only thing he noticed were the annoyed faces of his friends and senseis.
"Naruto, would you like to explain why you missed today's group mission." Tsunade said, full glare looming over him. He didn't even have time to put his ten cents before Sakura pushed past Ino, which she was standing beside, and stomped towards him. Her eyes were blazing with fury. And was it just his imagination, but was fire behind her? He really was expecting this and that's what disturbed him. His blue eyes searched her face in confusion as she approached. When did he start thinking like this?
"Naruto, you idiot! Why do you have to be so annoying! Sasuke and I had to work extra hard today to carry your weight! Are you even listening to me? Kami, Naruto! Sometimes I think you don't even want to be a ninja!"
Slapping him across the face, something started to crack inside of him.
"Why are you so…"
You must have a hard time training then?
"…frustrating! We all.."
And your teammates? You must have friends?
"…had to start the mission late because…"
Sounds like you're just taking what comes your way.
"…you weren't there! You embarrassed me and..."
She doesn't sound so great to me.
"…you need to grow up! Stop being such a dead last!"
Just seeing it as I hear it.
As he was dealt another slap from the furious girl, he looked over at the other people who were rolling their eyes and laughing, like this was okay. I mean it happened all the time, but when was this ever okay? Did he make this okay?
"Ah- ah, Sakura I was…"
Don't tell me! Tell Tsunade-sama!" She yelled. Naruto looked at her face, trying to find something, but all he saw now was just a regular, angry, big-fore headed kunoichi. Weren't they worried? Did they even care where he was?
"That was a little harsh don't you think." Ino muttered under her breath. Only Naruto was able to hear the little comment. (Kyuubi hearing) Naruto guessed they did care, but not enough to stand up for him, like he'd done a million times before for them. I mean he wasn't unbreakable! Facing the front again, he lowered his head, a gesture unlike what Naruto would usually do in front of people.
"I was training last night, so I was tired. It was a little far off, so I decided to camp out. And I me…" Stopping in the middle of his speech, he wondered if he should even tell them someone else was with him. "So I stayed…"
The door opened softly behind him, showing the ever-comforting face of his old sensei. Iruka walked in, but stopped mid-step when he noticed the court like feel in the room. Glancing at Naruto, he saw the distressed look that plainly showed in his features. Sighing under his breath, he rubbed his forehead. "Does the mission room decide to become a gossip bar every time I choose to come a little later?"
The question sent everyone back to their jobs, not wanting to be submitted to the anger of Iruka Umino. Looking at Naruto again, his eyes widened. "Oh god Naruto. You look like you fell into a lake! Don't just stand there like you're on trial! Go get cleaned up!"
Glad to have Iruka always on his side, he looked back at everyone before sprinting out of the Hokage building feeling a little different from when he first went in. He was a little embarrassed at the fact that Iruka had to bail him out like some two year old. Was that what he was to them? His eyes burned and felt moist at the thought. Rushing home, he threw open the door and ran inside. Entering his bathroom, he turned the water and kicked off his clothes. By the time he jumped in, the whole room was thick with steam. It made it skin turn red, but it was a distraction from the hot liquid threatening to pool out from his ocean blue eyes.
"No wonder you don't like cold water."
Slipping in the shower, he banged his head on the wall in shock. Holding his head, he looked towards the bathroom door, which was currently occupied by 'Atsushi'. A warm chuckle rumbled out of his chest as he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against.
"Are you okay, Naruto?" His voice as teasing and light but Naruto could clearly hear the purr under it.
"Pervert! Don't walk into the bathroom while someone else is using it! How did you even get into my house?"
"Through the front door. I was going to take the window, but the door looked more convenient."
"Uggh! Just… just wait in the kitchen!" Naruto said while he nursed the bump on his head. He would've normally put up more a fight, but 'Atsushi' was the only person right now who didn't make him feel like crap or two years old. Snatching a towel from the rack, he pushed the taller man out of his way. Watching the man walk away slowly, hand lightly touching the wall, Naruto wondered why he was even here. Entering his room, he pulled on a black shirt and tried to find a pair of clean pants. Rummaging through his closet, he noticed that pretty much all his clothes needed to be washed. The day really wasn't giving him a break. After a little more shifting, Naruto found a pair of white pants Iruka had given him to wear. Naruto made sure his hair was dry and made his way to the small living room/kitchenette where the man was hopefully waiting in.
'Atsushi' was messing with an empty ramen cup that was sitting on the table but his head snapped up when he heard Naruto's feet tapping closer and closer.
"So why are you here?" Naruto nervously voiced.
"Just checking if you made it back alright." He said simply.
Naruto was completely mystified by him. He acted like they had known each other all their lives! Why was this man, that he barely even knew, so interested in him? Scooting into a chair across from him, Naruto stared at him for a while, both of them sitting there in silence for a couple of minutes.
"How old are you?" The question popped out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
"No-not that you have to tell me! I-I me-mean… well yeah."
"It's fine. I'm not going to beat you up over it. I'll be seventeen this year."
"Ehh! Really!" Naruto couldn't believe it. He had thought the man was closer to twenty, but he assumed the mask muffled the voice enough to where it sounded deeper. The older 'boy' (since seventeen wasn't old enough to be counted as a man) got up and circled the table, letting his fingers lightly glide over the surface. Coming so that he was next to him, he reached his hand out to Naruto's face. At first Naruto pulled back, but stopped when the hand did, too. What was the worst he could do? The hand was removed from the black glove that previously covered it, revealing pale, long fingers. His hand touched Naruto's face, feeling the scars that lined his cheek, running them over his eyes, and then his lips. Giving a breathy hum, he retracted his hand and let his chin fall onto his palm. Naruto was practically radiating heat.
"What was that for?" This guy kept him asking questions, didn't he?
'Atsushi' looked up like he was trying to decide whether or not he should say anything.
"Well I'm blind…temporarily…maybe. I got hit by something in a battle and then it just went dark after that."
"But, but you knew where my holster was and you don't bump into things! You can't be blind!"
"I'm a ninja. Enough said."
Naruto laughed. He was starting to like this guy.
"Will I be expecting you around more often?" Naruto responded in a teasing tone. It was kind of sad, but this guy probably wouldn't be sticking around for long.
"If you want." The simple statement made Naruto fall out of his seat.
"Re-really? Why would you want to hang around with me?"
'Atsushi' got up from the seat next to Naruto and brushed himself off. "Because I want to. But on two conditions."
Naruto tensed at the last statement. I knew this was too good to be true.
"Don't tell anyone, and I would prefer it if we met somewhere only we know."
It sounded kind of suspicious at first, but Naruto somehow felt that he could really trust this person. Nodding his head vigorously he smiled, but remembered that 'Atsushi couldn't see him and was still waiting for an answer.
"Yeah. I'd like that."
He hadn't been this happy in a long time.
Cool! So this is going to be a full story. But since I'm working on my other one at the same time, the updates for this story will probably second the other one. So if The Path We Once Walked is updated in three days, this one will be in four. Get the idea? The rating might change later in the story. It depends on how far I want things to come along, if you know what I mean. Tell me what you thing/want because I'll definitely consider it. This story isn't just for me to read, after all! I'm having fun writing this, and I hoped you enjoyed! Review!
Chapter Two: Not Your Teacher