Repost A/N: Sorry for keeping you guys waiting on this fic for so long. It got pushed back severely and I've only just now had the time to work on it. I finished MITS so I've got time. Thanks for your support. Here's the repost.
Original A/N: Hello again. Bet you didn't expect me to be writing another story while I still need to put out the next chapter of Messages in the Stars, ne? Well the truth is that lately I've been really into SasuNaru and have some what lost the spark I had for that story. THIS DOES NOT MEAN I'M GIVING UP! Nay, this means that I must try harder to re-ignite my youth, which won't be hard with all the flames I'm going to get on this story! This one was actually fueled by some dreams I've been having about a statue and some... well I can't say anymore without spoiling it for you! And I do have chapter eight of MITS half way done, it's just hard for me to write romance. I'm the kinda girl who'd rather recieve a set of kunai then a bouquet of roses. Well time for me to stop blabbering and get on with the story!
Angel's Kiss, Mother's Embrace
Chapter 1: Secret Garden
Disclaimer: Why would I want to own Naruto? I already have an underground organization bent on taking over the world! But... I'd still make Kishimoto-Sensei an underlord. : P
Naruto had discovered the place when he was about seven. He had been slacking off again and was being chased around by Iruka when he noticed a small cave in the side of one of the hills close to the Hokage monument. Knowing that his sensei wasn't far behind, the blonde trouble maker had willingly run inside. He had paid no mind to intolerable length of the tunnel. He had paid no mind to the horrible lack of sunlight. And he had paid no mind to the disgustingly humid atmosphere. No, he had been centered on one thing. Escape. At least that had been his objective at first. Though as he had raced along the slippery corridor he had experienced the then insatiable need to reach the end. When he had arrived he had been blown away.
Before him lay a rather large field, surrounded on all sides by steep cliff sides. Plants grew all around him, trees covered in vibrant green leaves, vines working their way slowly up the rock, thick green grass swishing in the breeze. A waterfall trickled down one side into a large pool, where a small island held a beautiful statue of an angel. But despite it's unbelievable beauty the place was in poor repair. Moss and vines flourished on the statue, the grass was thick in some places and thin in others, and the pool was choked with weeds and various debris. It looked as though this place hadn't been tended in years. At that time a large grin had pasted itself on his face. This place belonged to him, and no one else knew about it. There would be no mean kids to trash his secret forts and play weapons, no despicable adults to whisper about him when they thought he couldn't hear, and definitely no stupid senseis to chase him around. Over the years Naruto had tended this place, bringing it back into it's former glory, pouring his heart into it.
Even now, eight years later, he still enjoyed laying under the widespread branches of the oak, cooling himself in the small lake, and kneeling before the angel statue. To some this would look ridiculous, but to Naruto she held a very sacred feeling one that he respected. It was like whenever he was here, she would be watching over him. He would tell her his dreams, wishes, worries, and fears without hesitation. She seemed reliable, because -unlike him- she didn't change over the years. Her expression never changed, she always looked pained, like her heart was breaking, with one tear sliding down her cheek and her right hand out stretched and her left held to her chest where her heart was. When he was younger he had made it his mission to cheer her up, repay her for listening to his troubles. And even as he grew up and realized that she wasn't real, a small fraction of that dream was held in his heart.
She had been the hardest part of the garden to fix up. He hadn't wanted to break or damage her but there was quite a bit of stubborn moss clinging to her base and hands. He had worked some away with time and he remembered letting out a triumphant cry when her base was unearthed. This cry was forgotten as he noticed the edge of some long forgotten text and started to remove the rest of the dirt and algae to read it. He had worked on that for a few days until finally he could make out what it said.
'Call on her when the most precious thing is lost'
Naruto had almost laughed out loud. That was the most pathetic one liner he had ever heard (And he had heard some pretty bad ones)! But part of it still had gotten to him. Call on her? Statues couldn't come to life, let alone be called on. He had shrugged it off, and noticing how low in the sky the sun was, run home to eat a late lunch of instant ramen.
This place held so many memories for him. He remembered running here and beating the crap out of a practice dummy while he complained about Sasuke, collecting flowers while he crushed on Sakura, and gushing to the statue about how cool Kakashi-Sensei was. He also remembered sneaking out of the hospital to come here the night after the Uchiha left Konoha to sit and gaze at the stars whilst fingering the inscription.
That was also the place he went when Uchiha Itachi's corpse was escorted back to Konoha. And Sasuke didn't return.
Naruto had waited for eight months. He would sit atop the village gate for hours, wishing and waiting. He wanted to be the first one to see Sasuke when he returned, wanted to be the first one to beat the shit out of him, he... wanted so much. Most of all he wanted to figure out what the hell that feeling in the pit of his stomach was. He only had that strange discomfort when his thoughts centered on the Uchiha. For a while he had considered asking Kakashi or Jiraiya about it, but he reconsidered when he realized they would only have some kind of perverted answer. After about three months of heavy thought, an unussual pratice for him, he came to a mature conclusion. He had erm.. 'feelings' for Sasuke. As soon as he accepted it, he locked it away. Shinobi couldn't have feelings, let alone for a guy.
Yet despite this, those feelings wouldn't leave him alone. So he did the only thing he could to get rid of the burning, breaking feelings. He got rid of them. Cutting himself off from his feelings had been hard work, but after he accomplished it he gained a new calm. He had not only removed his feelings for Sasuke, but all of them, gaining the kind of emotionless calm that the Uchihas possessed. His face was expressionless, his eyes showed no emotion. His smiles grew faker and his friends grew distant. He stopped caring for the garden.
After about a year of this cold existence Naruto thought he was invulnerable to everything. Until he was assigned a retrieval mission by the Hokage herself. His mission; Return the corpse of Uchiha Sasuke to Konoha. They had given up. All they were focused on now was protecting the secret of the Sharingan. And somewhere deep inside the Jinchuuriki something broke. This broken piece led him back to a small hill with a tunnel inside, to a garden now choked with weeds, and to a statue covered in moss and vines. There he knelt before the weeping visage, cold rain weaving its way through his golden hair and down his back. And that broken piece of himself, his shattered, pathetic heart, that's what forced him to draw a breath, and speak to the beautifuly sorrowful angel before him.
"I," He croaked, his voice not used to carrying emotion, "I know that it will be of little use for a demon such as myself to speak to an angel, let alone a statue of one, but... but I could careless. So this I request, no, this I pray. I pray that when I set out on this mission to retrieve the corpse of my most precious thing, my most precious person, that I find him alive and well, for either way I will bring him back, he has been lost for too long."
Naruto clasped his hands in prayer, and made to stand up. That had been one of the most foolish things he had even done. He had prayed to an old statue for an un-needed complication in his mission. He stood sighing, and turned away, tears silently mingling with freezing rain.
In this moment of silent weeping Naruto would have never expected strong arms to wrap around his middle, to be pulled close to a warm body, to feel hot tears trail down the back of his neck, to catch the sound of aged stone cracking, and to hear a soft voice, hoarse with disuse, whisper,
"I will help your wish to come true, I will help your prayer to be answered."
Repost A/N: There were only a few minor spelling infractions and such, but I rewrote a few paragraphs and I think it flows better then it did before. Of course my chapters are naturally fast paced so I do plead with you to hang in there and not give up on this fic.
Original A/N: Wow, this has to be the lamest chapter i've ever writen. -headdeskslambang- But remember people, READ AND REVIEW!!! Even if you have absoulutely nothing good to say about this story review! I'll use your flames to ignite my youth! It keeps going out... -Holds lighter to youth- ... Whatever... Anywho I do hope you liked it, this will turn into a Shonen Ai at some point... EVENTUALLY! I appreciate your support always! Ja Ne!
