Author's Note: Hey everybody. So this one is based sometimes in England and mostly in Japan, so two languages are being used here. Since it's not a movie and I don't have the convenience of subtitles, I'll italicise the Japanese speech to make it obvious.

Nocturnal Lights
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Chapter I

The hustle and bustle of Starbucks on a Monday at lunchtime had always been the same. People wearing business suits and ordering drinks to go was a constant buzz at the counter. Groups of girls were giggling and browsing their smartphones, surrounded by bags of different colour and size. The repetitive tapping of a keyboard came from those two-seater tables with someone focusing on the screen of their laptop, while several empty cups grouped in front of the empty chair. The rest of them were sat waiting for a companion. Two hot cups of coffee were sat steaming on the table and a pair of eyes darted to the door every few seconds.

With a jingle, the door opened and a girl with pink hair struggled through, her arms full of bags and one hand gripping a sleek white phone. Several heads turned to look at her and then turned back to their table, looking displeased it was another unfamiliar face. She looked around and, after noticing her friend, headed quickly towards the table. He sat upright when she got near enough and smiled, finding it amusing how out of place her usually neat hair was.

"I'm so glad you came to meet me today." Sakura said, a little breathless.

"It's fine." Naruto replied, watching her struggle to put her variety of shopping bags on the floor without any of them spilling their contents. He leaned forward in his seat and helped her push them upright, picking up a book that had fallen on the floor titled 'Special Occasions', which had a bouquet of flowers on the cover. He looked at it curiously, and was about to flip it open until Sakura took the book from him.

"Oh, thank you." She pushed her hair out of her face, looking a little flushed.

"I guess you've been busy." Naruto grinned at her widely. "Haven't heard from you in three days, that's not like you."

She laughed nervously, shoving the book into one of the bags on the floor as she sat down. "I know, I'm sorry. I've just been all over the place, with my mum and-"

"It's okay, you don't have to explain." He pushed one of the cups on the table towards her. "I ordered it with skimmed milk this time since you were going on about your figure recently."

She smiled a beautiful smile, and held the handle with her dainty fingers. "Thank you, Naruto."

"So," Naruto sat back in his chair. "How have you been?"

"I've been great; just had so much going on recently. My mum has been putting a lot on me with - well, with the shop and all. And we've been trying to have the house re-decorated as soon as possible. Lee's been more supportive than I deserve." She smiled down at her coffee, almost shyly.

"I'm glad to hear it." Naruto raised his coffee to his mouth, taking a long drink. He couldn't help but feel suspicious. Shyness was probably the last characteristic he'd associate with Sakura, and he couldn't help feeling that she was holding something back. "He impresses me. Lee's always been able to handle you no matter what. I know how crazy you can get sometimes when you want something done."

"You've always been there for me as well, Naruto. Since we were kids. No matter what kind of mood I was in." She placed both her hands on his, smiling at him affectionately. It was contagious, Naruto couldn't help but smile back, feeling his stomach jump with the sentimentality.

"Of course I was." He put his cup back on the table and rested his other hand on top of both of hers, stroking her soft skin with his thumb. "And you know I always will be, right?"

She nodded and squeezed his hand. Her eyes glimmered slightly, as though she was about to cry. Naruto rolled my eyes.

"Are you getting emotional? Is it that time of the month again? I told you it's your boyfriends job to look after you during that time, not mine."

She scoffed and punched him in the shoulder. "Shut up, Naruto!"

"Hey, that hurt. I was only joking." He laughed, and she just shook her head looking unsettled. "So come on, what's going on? I've known you since we were five, I know there's something you're-"

"I'm engaged."

Naruto stopped short. It's quite possible his entire body froze, and he looked into her solemn green eyes. "What?"

"Lee proposed to me a few days ago. That's why I've been so busy. My mum wants me to get everything organised as soon as..."

Her words faded into meaningless noise. Naruto's mind went blank. Time passed by slowly. Everything that moved was an unfocused blur. Noises were muffled. He couldn't even understand what she was saying. He could see her mouth moving, hear the delicate sound of her voice, but none of it made sense to him.

She's engaged.

A new touch of her hand on his made him jump and he looked at her face. Her smooth jawline and pink lips, her unblemished skin and her eyes. Eyes that held nervousness and affection, focused entirely on his.

"Naruto," She spoke softly. "I wanted you to know first because your friendship means everything to me. You've always been there, and I know you always will be. It's like we're soul mates, you know me inside and out. What's good for me and what isn't. I don't know what I'd do without you. So please...I need to know. What do you think?"

'What do I think?' Naruto wondered. He cast his mind out only to receive silence. He didn't know what to think. What could he say?

"Sakura.."

She leaned in closer and squeezed his hand tightly. He probably spoke quieter than he meant to. This is the girl he's grown up with, shared his life with. He cared about her more than anyone. She deserved everything she wanted. He shouldn't be hesitating. He cleared his throat and put on the most genuine smile he could muster.

"This is brilliant. Lee is the perfect guy for you, he can give you everything you deserve in life. I completely approve."

She choked out a relieved laugh and leaned over the table to hug him tightly. She turned her head so her cheek rested on him, and he felt a wetness on his shoulder. "I love you, Naruto."

Naruto released a breath he didn't even know he was holding and wrapped his arms over her back, resting his forehead on her shoulder. "I love you, too."

"Sakura's engaged?"

"Yeah." Naruto stared solemnly at the blond girl taking up the screen of his Mac. The high ponytail was a thing she loved to fashion, but tonight her long hair fell about her shoulders. It accented her light blue eyes which, he hated to see, were full of pity.

"You know you can't hold onto her forever, Naruto. This was bound to happen at some point. I mean they've been together, what, five-"

"Four years." He corrected quickly. "But still, I really don't know how to take it. I think she thought I'd be upset. No, she definitely knew I'd be upset. She was so nervous about telling me and when she did she cried and said… Well, it's done now."

"What did she say?" Ino leaned closer to the camera. Her words were slurred slightly by her Japanese accent.

"She said she loves me." Naruto admitted weakly.

Ino sat back, shaking her head. "Of course she does, you grew up with her. You're probably closer than most siblings."

He scrunched up his face. "That kind of sounds weird…"

"Well it's true! That's how she sees it anyway. She looks at you like her brother." Ino smiled softly. "Maybe you should learn to look at her in the same way. If-"

Her eyebrows furrowed and she glanced over her shoulder.

"What?" Naruto asked, looking at the room behind her curiously. She stood and shouted something he didn't quite catch in her native tongue then leaned down to the camera, letting him look straight down her top. Naruto could feel his face turning red hot.

"I'll be back in a minute. Stop being a pervert!"

"You're the one bending over in front of the camera!" Naruto sputtered indignantly, but she had already turned and walked rapidly out the room, leaving the door ajar.

She wasn't happy anymore. He could tell that just by looking at her. Her engagement with her supposed 'dream man' wasn't what she'd thought it would be. Not that Naruto could talk, he wasn't having much better luck than she was.

He sighed, massaging his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. 'I'm tired,' he realised. The gentle massage offered some relief.

"Urgh!" Naruto looked up to see Ino re-enter the room and slam the door shut, throw herself back down in the chair and put her face into her hands. Naruto didn't bother asking what had happened, she had many fights with her husband-to-be. Soon enough a muffled voice said, "I am so done with men!"

Naruto laughed. "Why are you talking to me, then?"

"You know that's not what I mean." Her eye peeked at him from between her fingers.

Naruto leaned back in his chair and stretched out his arms, bringing them back to rub at his eyes. "What happened to the good old teen days, eh? None of this love crap. Just games and porn."

"For you maybe. It was too full of hormones for me."

Naruto chuckled, watching her wipe her eyes on her sleeves. "It would be so great to go back to that, though. Any problem was solved by simply moping in your bedroom until it... went away."

He closed his eyes, imagining his room as a teenager. He could remember it, back in Japan. Before they moved to England, and they were all happy. Back when they were friends... before Ino's engagement was announced to the love of Sakura's life. And to Naruto's closest friend.

Sasuke.

Naruto sighed and rested his forehead on the palm of his hand.

"Naruto…"

"Hmm?"

"I have a crazy idea."

"You're going to Japan." Shikamaru drawled, his face betraying no emotion. He was sprawled out on the sofa, staring at the mute screen of the television showing black and white footage from world war two. The remote was at his side, almost invisible on the black material of the sofa.

Naruto shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "Why not? I haven't been there since I was seventeen, this is the perfect opportunity. And I have three weeks holiday left at work, I had no problem getting the time off. Who wants a holiday during the winter months anyway? Besides, it's doing Ino a favour too. She hasn't been to England in a few years, she wants to come visit London again. She really needs a break with that fiancé of hers-"

"And this has nothing to do with Sakura's engagement?" Shikamaru eyed him skeptically. Naruto cursed that man for knowing him inside out. Though to be fair, he knew everyone and everything inside out.

"Nah!" Naruto tried to grin, but only grimaced at the unnatural pitch his voice took. Shikamaru just rolled his eyes.

"So I have to put up with the female equivalent of you, essentially."

"Essentially." Naruto repeated, wringing his hands together. "So it's no different from everyday life now. You remember each other well enough, so it won't be awkward. She'll be staying in my room and she can use my car to get around..." He just grunted. Naruto gulped. "So...you're okay with it then?"

He paused for a moment before he replied. "If she leaves hairs in the bath, crumbs on the side, her things laying around-"

"No, she won't. I'll tell her." Naruto said quickly. "I'm sure she won't. She doesn't seem like a messy person. She's always really clean."

He stared at Naruto, frowning. "Being personally clean has nothing to do with keeping an apartment tidy."

"I've seen parts of her house, it's really shiny." Naruto winced at the choice of words he used. Shiny?

"Alright. I don't really seem to have much choice here, but she better know her boundaries."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to him, opening his arms. "Thanks Shikamaru, you're the best housemate ever. Really I-"

"Don't hug me."

Naruto stepped back from the sofa, scratching the back of his neck and laughing awkwardly. "Okay, not like I wanted to anyway, you know."

Shikamaru looked up him, his expression showed a little softness through his agitation. "You'll be alright?"

Naruto didn't rightly know the answer to that. So he just punched the side of his head lightly and gave him a cheeky grin. "Who do you think you're talking to, Nara?"

He batted Naruto's hand away and un-muted the TV. "A considerably idiotic and stubborn man."

"Two traits I take pride in having!" Naruto announced loudly, leaving his side to go upstairs and pack.

"You should call Sakura, tell her you're going."

Naruto paused with his foot on the first step, glancing over his shoulder. "Yeah... I will. By the way, I told Ino you'd pick her up from the airport around five tomorrow. Don't be too late!"

Shikamaru's head turned to look at him, but he'd already started sprinting upstairs to his bedroom. A sly grin crept onto Naruto's face at the thought of his angry grumbling downstairs, but he was too lazy to argue so it didn't matter.

Naruto dragged his suitcase out from under the bed and tossed it on top, flung the lid open and started pulling clothes out the cupboard and grabbing his toiletries from the bathroom. It didn't take long, he was packed within ten minutes. A relieved sigh escaped his lips as he stared at his bright orange suitcase, and fell backwards onto the bed next to it, spreading his arms and legs wide. Everything was ready. He was going to leave the country early tomorrow morning. He could just spend time alone with his thoughts.

His fingers brushed something on his bed, so he picked it up and saw it was his phone. He opened the contacts and stared at Sakura's name, his thumb hovering over the call button. What would she say?

Naruto closed his eyes and dropped the phone onto the bed beside his head. He wasn't going to call Sakura. He didn't know what to say to her, and she'd probably get suspicious. No. He just wanted to forget about it. Just for now.

One thing Naruto hadn't known about life was how easy it was to leave everything behind. As the clouds brushed past the windows of the plane while it descended into Narita airport it felt like they were filtering through metal and skin and thoughts, taking his troubles with them. He didn't know if it was the fact that he was coming back home to Japan for the first time in five years, or if it was simply that he was no longer in a place that was filled with sensitive memories. Either way, he welcomed the refreshing feeling.

The airport was busy, filled with clattering and chatter, but he remained serene. It felt like barely any time had passed when he saw bright orange stand out amongst black on the carousel. A line of taxis were waiting outside the airport, and soon enough all he saw were streaks of red and white as he and his driver whizzed along the expressway.

Naruto checked the time on his phone, it was only five in the evening. 'It's probably morning already back in England,' he thought sourly as a yawn tugged his mouth wide open. It was a long drive, and he watched the yen count gradually upwards as they finally travelled into the countryside. There were small houses dotted about here and there, all of them very traditional. Naruto made a mental note to go jog into the countryside. There wasn't a lot of it back where he was in England, it was definitely going to be a more refreshing jog than down the side of busy roads.

Then a row of tall trees cut out his vision, which irritated him a bit. And when he looked ahead he realised they had cut down a narrow driveway with tall, narrow trees either side. "Are we here?" Naruto asked, but the taxi man just looked in the rearview mirror at him, confused. Naruto raised my eyebrows then realised that he was Asian, not English. "Oh sorry, I meant: are we here?"

"Yes, sir."

Naruto smiled and leaned forward, ignoring the drivers scowl, waiting to finally see this wonderful house with his own eyes rather than through a camera. And when he did, he was gobsmacked.

A circular fountain stood in front of it, which was obviously where cars had been driving around to get in and out. The gentle trickle of water was audible even over the crunching of stones under the tyres. And the house itself was a sight to behold. A set of stairs led up to double front doors, beautiful shrubbery surrounded it and it was pure white. So white it made the bright, overcast sky around it seem a dull grey. It looked far too much, even for the Uchiha's. The cab halted to a stop at the base of the entering staircase.

"Erm, are you sure we're in the right place?" Naruto asked, looking back at the driver. He checked the scrawl on the piece of paper Naruto had handed him arrived and he nodded, grunting. Sceptically, as though Naruto was going to be pranked any second, he slowly handed over the cash and got out of the car. When the crunching sound of the car's tyres finally faded to nothing he walked up the stairs, dragging his suitcase behind him, and checked behind the plant pot on the left as Ino had instructed. And she was right: the keys were there as she'd said.

Naruto entered the key and pushed open the front door, closing it slowly behind him. No matter how slowly he closed it, when it shut into place the sound echoed around the entrance hall. It echoed across the high ceilings and probably through the whole building, it was so quiet. Naruto took a breath and shook his head. "Stop being amazed. This is just that bastard's money after all." He told himself sternly, ignoring the house echoing his words back at him.

But as he travelled through all the rooms he couldn't help looking around them in awe. Everything looked so incredibly expensive, not to mention that the rooms were huge. "I don't know if I'll be able to help my clumsiness, Ino. I really hope I don't damage anything too much." Naruto smiled slightly at the idea of Sasuke returning from his trip to find everything a complete mess and stains all over the light beige carpets. If Sasuke was the same as he was five years ago, there was no way he'd appreciate that.

Naruto walked back through the hallway to the entrance hall and ascended the stairs, which curved around a huge chandelier. The crystal stems glimmered at him as he passed it. "What an asshole." Naruto muttered, unable to help himself. Sasuke had not changed; he was as much of a show off as he ever was, obviously.

Naruto opened the first door on the right, and was delighted to find it was a bedroom. He dumped his suitcase and bag by the wardrobes and jumped on the bed, sinking deep into the mattress. Another yawn struck, and instantly he felt exhausted. He pulled his clothes off until he was only in his boxers and shuffled beneath the covers, dragging his phone out of his jeans pocket to send a text to Ino and Shikamaru that he'd arrived safely. Then his eyes closed, and that was the last thing he knew.