AN: This is my first fic, and the first one within the Naruto world. It had been a while since I read the Naruto manga (6 years), and therefore my memory of certain details is pretty hazy. Sorry if I make any mistakes. Because of this the story is in canon but divergent, with mild AU as it splits off from the main story's plotline. the story begins about a month and a half after Sasuke has returned after the epic fight with Naruto. Sasuke did not defect which is why this is divergent from the canon. Also mild OCCness due to the AU quality of the story and my selfish desires. Let me know if it is gratuitous.
Right now this a long one-shot - however it has an opening to become a more developed plot, which is what I hope to do. This is Sasuke/Naruto with possibly other romances if they do not over complicate the plot. There is a lot of open-endedness, intentionally because I am leaving room for the story to grow.
Genre: Adventure, mystery/horror, romance, slow-romance, yaoi
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Go Oeste (West)
Chapter 1: In Media Res (and a New Beginning)
"Why do you have to be such a dic-" he spluttered, not caring that they had left the restaurant but were still within hearing range of the village, at least with the vocal range Naruto was using. The blond chuunin had happened to run into Sasuke at a nearby hotpot restaurant. He had taken the opportunity to confront Sasuke about his month long avoidance. That opportunity had turned from a verbal altercation into a physical one quickly.
His angry yells were cut short with a swift kick to the head, that he blocked easily, but was quickly pushed back again when a couple of kunai came flying his way. Irritated, he crouched low as he looked around for Sasuke. One hand curled into a fist. It itched to punch the stubborn brunette in the face.
His opportunity came soon. Sensing Sasuke moving in quickly behind him, but feigning ignorance, Naruto turned, jabbed and then threw an uppercut, which landed squarely, sending Sasuke a few feet away. Spitting, the shinobi whipped off some blood where his lip was cut.
Eyes unreadable, but body language visibly irritated, Sasuke rolled through his spine and shifted weight. Naruto sniffed.
The slight pause ended with a fire jutsu directed at Naruto's head.
"Ok, ass, I didn't think you were this serious!"
"I'm not"
This irked Naruto more than anything Sasuke had said previously (not much), and he quickly shifted weight and flew towards Sasuke.
Expecting a punch or a kunai, the other ninja moved with one arm to block, the other outstretched to grab the attacking arm.
Thus, Sasuke was totally unprepared for the full, ungraceful body slam he received. The two toppled to the ground in a jumble of arms and legs.
"Umphh"
Naruto panted. Restraining Sasuke. He hadn't planned this out fully. He didn't even know what to do with himself now that he had Sasuke all ears. All he had wanted to do was beat the shit out of Sasuke for starting the fight in the first place, and also for having the fucking audacity to not talk to him for a good month.
He took a good long look at his former rival, who in turn, was refusing to look him in the eye.
"Apologize!"
"For what?" Small victory, Sasuke had engaged.
"You know what" spluttered Naruto 'did he really have to spell it out to him?' That had never been something Naruto disliked doing. "For not talking to me for a month, for avoiding me, and for being being a general dick!"
Silence. Sasuke was now looking at Naruto curiously. He started for a second and snapped his gaze away, frowning in the direction of the forest. Naruto was suddenly aware of how dark the forest had become. A firefly flitted in and out of his range of sight.
"I couldnt.." Sasuke began. Then shrugged, as though changing his mind. Silence.
Then Sasuke's whole body tensed, and his head turned away, a weary expression across it. He seemed as though he was carrying the weight of a million on his back.
All of a sudden arms moved forward, Naruto flinched, but instead of an attack they moved to wrap around his lower back. Naruto was surprised to feel Sasuke's arms were trembling.
He sat still, his mind blank. He wanted to say something, but didn't want to ruin the strange and out of character openness the other was exhibiting. Then the other grabbed his sides and crushed, nearly slammed Naruto against him in a bizarre hug.
If it was a deliberate ploy to avoid eye contact as Sasuke delivered his next words it would never be discussed again.
"I can't talk to you- be with you Naruto, especially if I want to be"
Naruto wasn't sure what this was a confession of, or how he felt, but the strongest feeling of protectiveness be had ever felt towards Sasuke washed over him, and suddenly found himself hugging the other tightly to his chest.
Blonde hair fell like a curtain over black and hands came up to grab hold of hands.
He sighed.
"And you call me the number one idiot. Where is the Sasuke who does whatever he wants?" He smiled into Sasuke's neck, although he wasn't great with people he knew implicitly that Sasuke did not need his pity.
"I have to be what I need to be. What Itachi made me."
"You wouldn't be my rival and best friend if you weren't the the best how you are." Naruto stared at Sasuke for a long moment.
"But not if you act like a fucking idiot." His hand came up briefly and slapped the other's face, before moving to brush against Sasuke's cheek again. Sasuke became rigid for a moment before relaxing.
"I'm sorry...for that" Sasuke murmured.
Night fell around them as they sunk unthinkingly into the dark.
One beam of light broke through the window, and made a sword shaped stroke across the bed. The room was still. Small flecks of dust floated in the air.
The only inhabitant stirred. Sasuke eyes flickered open. His head hurt from emotional strain, and he was thirsty. He licked the inside of his mouth trying to get rid of the dry cotton like feeling. His dark eyes flicked around the room and settled on a blue shirt with an orange uzumaki on it.
Uzumaki.
His mind raced to last night and small garbled pieces began to materialize in his mind's eye. He hadn't been drunk, but it still felt like a dream.
Anger, and then sadness. Or maybe not sadness, but weary frustration. He had decided he would never confront Naruto, would never act on his affection, or perverse loyalty to the other.
He had goals to obtain. Yes he had been returned to Konoha, or rather had returned, reluctantly. However, that didn't mean his goals had entirely changed.
His short sighted plan had simply become more long sighted. Sasuke didn't have the specifics, but he had a duty to revive the clan, or at least commemorate them. But more so, he had a duty to find Itachi, and, and...
He needn't complete the thought. Instead he squashed it down, thoughts turning to training and how he could improve his endurance. His genius was partially his ability for self control, and when he had returned his self-control's focus shifted to his emotional stability. He had goals, he would focus and be patient.
He had not returned to Konoha when he had defeated Naruto at the gorge, instead several hours later he decided to return to the village covered in crusted blood and bruises. He had returned to almost everyone's shock. His intentions seemed strange to the villagers, the ninja, and the Hokage, and his punishment had been as severe as expected. He had been given an anklet that kept track of his location and chakra, and his house was bugged with surveillance. Kakashi was kept in a house on the Uchiha compound most of the time. In addition, he was restricted from ninja activity, and given another mask that slid over his head, similar to Kakashi's, that restrained one eye to keep his Sharingan from fully activating. Finally, a military tag was around his neck that restrained his ability to activate most of his chakra, accept the bare minimum for protection. What a nuisance.
It had been Sasuke's extreme weakness with Naruto, and the injuries that he had sustained that had changed his mind about leaving. Calculating as usual, the risks of going off alone, extremely injured, without trustworthy protection and as the lone surviving heir to Uchiha legacy was extremely dangerous and stupid. His weakness had been proven in the gorge- and although his anger motivated him to gain strength, and he longed for the strength Orochimaru possessed, he could not reasonably trust that he would not be killed, or unalterable damaged in the process.
He pushed those thoughts away as well. Whatever his reason for returning, and sometimes he was not sure that was ill-advised as well, here he was.
He most certainly was. The objects around him loomed starkly against the white walls. The room was plain. Clearly this was one of the cheaper units on the south west side of Konoha, although Sasuke had not being paying too much attention when Naruto dragged him here last night.
However, the plainness of the room, and the memory of the block-like and utilitarian structure of the outside alerted him to the nature of the residency. It was certainly government subsidized housing. He supposed this made sense for someone like Naruto, who had probably lived on government subsidies for most of his young life. Now the ninja received compensation for their work, but until you had worked for several years, and gathered savings, it would be difficult for one without an inheritance to afford a new apartment.
The bed was a simple wood frame made of light material. It was close to the ground, a more Japanese model. The bed was a full rather than a king or queen sized. The objects in the room were minimal. Naruto's clothing items were in a small blue laundry bin on the floor. A few pictures were tapped to the walls, providing the only decoration. Books were stacked next to the bed.
Sasuke stood up gingerly and moved to the pictures. One was of Iruka-Sensei and Naruto. Sasuke vaguely remembered Iruka from his academy days. The next was a picture of the Hokage monument at early dawn. It was unclear if Naruto had taken the picture or if it was a souvenir from a Konoha gift shop. The third picture was easily recognizable. It was the early picture of team 7. Sasuke eyes took in the images, and he felt a tug of nostalgia for those more simple days. Although really, had anything ever been simple?
The next picture was an odd one. A young Kakashi could be seen. Instantly recognizable from his silver hair, next to him was a blond man with a startling resemblance to Naruto. Sasuke felt a tug at his memory and realized it must be the Yondaime, whom he recognized from history textbook descriptions. He looked more closely, noting the differences now between the Yondaime and Naruto. The Yondaime's hair was a slightly darker shade of blonde, compared to the almost bleached shade Naruto obtained in the summer. His skin was also slightly more pale, although Sasuke attributed that more to Naruto's penchant for remaining outdoors at all hours without sunscreen. Their features were similar, with the same blue eyes that were an oddity for the dark people of Konoha. Naruto and the Yondaime had eyes of the same shape, although Naruto's were slightly larger and less slanted. Yondaime's nose had an aristocratic, Balkan, hook. Sasuke thought of Naruto's nose, which had changed in the past years, elongated and had a slightly upturned quality. Yondaime also had a more finely structured face, with a longer shape to it. Sasuke wondered for a moment why Naruto would have the picture, and tucked the piece of knowledge away for future reference.
One more picture was there, it was a picture of Sasuke in his hospital bed. It must have been the day he returned to Konoha or maybe several afterwards. He had been in the hospital almost a week before he was allowed to leave, mainly because of the curse seal which had to be contained, as well as the surveillance that had to be placed on him. In the picture Naruto sat a little to the side of him, his head resting in his arms. Both ninja were asleep in the picture, with the serene contentment of unconsciousness on their faces. Sasuke speculated that Sakura must have been the one to take the picture, as she spent many hours in the hospital as well.
A rustling noise was made behind him. He turned as Naruto opened the door.
"I thought you had left." Sasuke had thought that, as the room had been empty and it was nearly midday, according to the light flickering through the window.
Naruto eyed him, one eyebrow quirked, incredulous. "I wouldn't do something like that." Not after last night was the unspoken sentiment attached to the statement. Naruto turned slightly pink.
Sasuke's mind flashed to last night. Naruto had insisted he come back after their semi fight. Especially when Sasuke had almost (definitely had not) dozed off in his arms. He had slept in Naruto's bed, while Naruto insisted on taking the floor.
Naruto set a bag of groceries down on the table, his face under control now. "I'm going to make eggs, how do you like yours?" The chuunin smiled his characteristic grin, holding up the bag.
"I should get going." Sasuke murmured instead of answering the question. He couldn't decipher his own emotions towards Naruto, which was alarming. The night before he had initiated the interaction with him, his actions fueled by pent up emotions. Now he felt emotionally drained and confused. He wanted to go to his home on the Uchiha compound where he could have peace to decipher his emotions.
A flash of hurt flickered across Naruto's face, but quickly was replaced by a large smile. "I know, but you have to eat first!" The other turned and quickly began cracking eggs.
"Tch." Sasuke humphed. He noted Naruto's tense shoulders and clumsy hand motions as he began to make breakfast. 'I guess I'm not the only one confused'.
Before he knew it his legs moved on their own accord. He was standing next to Naruto. "I've got it." He stated and brusquely grabbed the bowl from Naruto.
Noticing the look of pleased shock on Naruto's face he added reflexively. "idiot.."
A half an hour later and the meal was finished.
For the most it had been eaten in a rather clumsy silence. Naruto attempting to make conversation, or at the very least arguing with Sasuke, with Sasuke mainly remaining quiet or engaging in the argument with the other.
Not that Sasuke was always quiet, and could not hold conversations with those he liked. However, he still didn't know how he felt and what he wanted to do about it. He needed to be alone to sort through his thoughts.
When the meal was over Sasuke made a hasty goodbye and headed home.
Naruto waved at him with an air of exaggerated casualness. "Ja - see you later."
Tsunade sighed as she gathered her papers around her. Another attack. This time much closer to the outskirts of the Fire Country. Her messengers reported a group of traveling merchants had been attacked, with the only surviving members the horses. Fat lot of good that would do in terms of information.
She would have to assemble a team for reconnaissance. The attacks had become more frequent and troubling. The only ones attacked were often helpless, non-militants.
It was unclear what was attacking them or why. Although it seemed non-human, it could certainly be a strange form of ninja attack. They needed more information.
Although she was keenly aware that within the ninja world itself many problems were shifting under her feet. Not simply with the defection of the Uchiha a month and a half ago, but also with the attacks by Orochimaru who had seemingly retreated for the time being. She also had heard the warming from Kakashi, that a greater group, and more powerful group than Orochimaru, was on the prowl, stalking the Jinchuriki. Not to mention the ordinary problems that occurred between the shinobi in the Hidden Leaf, and the daily troubles of trade and protecting the Fire Nation's borders.
She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. These mystery attacks were a problem, but perhaps a problem that was the least of her worries, and certainly a non-critical problem as of now.
She would have to send a team. She smiled as a face swam into her mind. She had the perfect person.
The Uchiha would be livid to be sent on a such a low-profile mission, and she would have to set up fairly strict restrictions on him to keep his power checked. However, she was sure she had one incentive that would keep him obedient throughout the mission.
Her smile widened.
End Chapter One
Cool! Glad that is over! Sorry for the abrupt entry into Naruto and Sasuke's romance or rather non-romance...The romance will probably take the back burner for awhile now as the plot establishes.
R&R