Disclaimer: Sasuke and Naruto are not my genius. SasuNaru isn't either. Shame, really.
I have serious procrastination issues, something this fic has taught me. I really wanted to get it done, but it was on its way to being one of my best, so I vowed to only work on it when I could devote my time to it and really write something good. Well, those times were few, and that's why this fic took me nearly two months to write in its entirety.
Although, for all my work, I must say I am pleased with it. At first it was just meant to be a little something for a friend on deviantART, but it escalated into this novel. She's going to be pleased.
So... review please?
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"Damn it!"
Sakura slammed her fist down on the table, watching as it continued to twitch out of her own indecision, and she laid her head down beside it.
She was preoccupied; not only with the latest events that had ruffled Konoha, but with Naruto's ties in it all.
He loved Sasuke, and she was sure of it.
REBIRTH
When had it all gone astray like this? Hadn't they always just been Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto? She liked Sasuke, Naruto liked her, Sasuke liked revenge.
When had Naruto come to love Sasuke?
And, more importantly, when had Sasuke come to love Naruto?
Flashback
Things were hazy and unclear, but the shouts of men and the bursts of smoke weren't. Sakura found herself in a mad dash through thickets upon thickets of trees, trying in vain to get to the place she wanted to be more than anything.
Sasuke was here, and the fight raging around her was for him.
Anyone and everyone was fighting to reclaim him, but they were opposed by those who wouldn't give Sasuke back for the world: Orochimaru's Sound shinobi.
Sakura leapt into the nearest bramble bush as one Sound member darted by, and it was from this hiding place that she found her quarry.
Sasuke was arguing heatedly with Naruto, but there were no weapons drawn, no hostility to the way the held themselves. They were mere inches apart, engaged in a loud shouting match, and from what she could gather, Naruto was yelling at him for being a careless bastard and telling him to bring his ass back to Konoha, and Sasuke was blatantly refusing.
She watched them in silence for a moment, blindly registering that her Sasuke-kun was right there, and she moved to see his face better.
She felt an electric shock as she looked into his eyes, fierce and set firmly on Naruto. There was something in them she'd never seen, and as she craned her head to look at Naruto's eyes, she found it there too.
The more she watched the pair of them, and as their shouting became more desperate, she could almost feel the tension between them. It was strange. It wasn't the normal kind of tension shared between enemies in any way; rather, it seemed as though as every fiber their bodies possessed were fighting just to keep the two of them from throwing themselves upon each other with... lust.
She raised her head in agony and crept from the bush.
End Flashback
With her head still sideways on the table, she glared at her own knuckles as though they had caused her personal harm. She remembered that day so well, even if it had only been a week previous.
She remembered coming to her own realization, and even more vividly, she remembered Naruto storming back into village, screaming his rage and sobbing like for all the world his heart had been torn from his chest. He had failed, again, to retrieve Sasuke, even when Sasuke had walked right back into his palm.
Her anger had been nowhere close to his, she could tell that easily; Naruto was smoldering with a passionate fury.
For Sasuke.
She brought her hand to her face as she thought it over again. That look in their eyes, when they had been so close and arguing, it wasn't anything hostile.
It was almost... love.
She slammed her fist down again beside her head.
Why? Whydid it have to be this way? Her heart was pounding with furious jealously, unbridled envy that Sasuke could love someone other than her, and that it had to be Naruto.
She was so sure that she was right that she felt she couldn't take it anymore.
Her head snapped up as the door opened, and she felt anger consume her for a moment as Naruto entered the room, but in an instant that anger melted away as she took a closer look at him.
He looked aged, and he was rubbing at his red-blotched eyes, which told her he's been crying again. The monster of envy awoke inside her for a moment more as she wondered how Sasuke could send Naruto into this depression. Hadn't she always been the one to get torn up because of Sasuke?
But she sank back down into her chair wordlessly as Naruto sat down across from her at the table.
"Hello, Sakura-chan," he said softly, and the name stung: Why was he still calling her that? It wasn't as though he liked her anymore.
"Naruto, I..."
But she fell silent as he looked up at her with tired eyes, cerulean pools that still held that look of love reserved only for Sasuke but were swimming with intense sadness. She rose to get him a cup of tea, and he smiled weakly at her as she set it in front of him.
"Naruto, you need to let it go. There's nothing you could have done."
"No, I won't let it go," Naruto said, both of his hands gripping the cup tightly. "He was right there, and we were talking, even..."
Sakura listened to the way his voice wavered, his tone of misery blending with something she'd never heard from him before, but knew all too well what it was.
"...And he just left. I... I couldn't stop him..."
Naruto lifted a hand to run it across his eyes as silent sobs wracked his body once more.
"Naruto," Sakura said, slowly and carefully. "Do you... love Sasuke?"
Naruto looked back up at her in shock, blue eyes wide and still shimmering with tears. "How do you mean?"
"I mean, are you in love with him?"
Naruto's cheeks flushed a dull pink as he sat up straighter. "No, I'm not..."
Sakura sighed, a small smile finding its way onto her lips. She almost felt... joyous... that Naruto could love Sasuke and so innocently not know it.
"Can you tell me what love is?"
"It's..." Naruto sat up, still holding the cup between his palms. "Well, I guess I don't exactly know, but... it's when you really like someone, and you want to be around them, and you'd do anything for them, and you just..."
Naruto felt his skin burning a deeper crimson as he and Sakura both realized that he was describing the very feelings he had for Sasuke.
"...really really love them."
Sakura closed her eyes, finally content with the truth.
"And all this time, neither of you could see it," she said. "With everything you've been through, it's no wonder."
Naruto looked back up at her in embarrassed incredulity. "Are you saying you think he..."
She gave a small nod and stood up.
"I'm going to find Kakashi-sensei," she said. And leave you to your thoughts...
XxX
"Kakashi-sensei?"
The silver-haired jounin looked up from his reading (she scowled as she saw that it was his beloved 'Icha Icha Paradise'), as she sat down in the chair beside him, at the table in the conference room. Her eyes sought the fire burning in a grate at the other side of the room.
"Yes, Sakura... my, it's late. Shouldn't you be asleep?"
"There's no time for that," Sakura brushed off his words impatiently. "It's about Sasuke and Naruto."
Kakashi's visible eye raised to hers, and he shut his book before placing a hand over top of it.
"What about them?"
"They're in love... and they don't even know it."
She watched the flames as she heard, rather than saw, him smile.
"And?"
Her composure was instantly shattered.
"You knew?!" She whirled around in her chair to see Kakashi's amused eye watching her.
"It was obvious to anyone that paid them any attention at all."
"But I-"
"Paid attention to Sasuke, and I see that you've finally learned something from that. Tell me-"
"It was how they looked at each other," she said blushingly, quietly, ashamed at having been thrown down at her own game. "I've never seen such..."
"Love."
"...between two people before."
"And so they don't know it," Kakashi said, his cheek now resting on his palm. "They never have."
"But how can they love each other?" Sakura cried passionately, bringing her fist down on he table as she had done before. "It's not... like that..."
"How could you know?"
Sakura stared at him with a fast-beating heart and with her mouth hanging half-open. He shook his head.
"If they were forced to come to terms with their feelings, I think they'd both understand it a little bit better, together."
XxX
Naruto's head was in his hands, his palms pressing stars behind his closed eyelids.
Do you... love Sasuke?
He shook his head in frustration, lifting his head and draining what remained of his tea. Sasuke's face lingered in his mind, sending a not-unpleasant chill down his spine, as he thought about what Sakura had asked him.
A snarl rose in his throat, and he hurled the cup at the opposite wall, glaring as it broke into countless shards.
He put his head back down onto the table, his eyes moistening and his throat choking up again. He gripped the front of his shirt as a single sob coursed through his frame, and he closed his eyes.
He wanted to see Sasuke. He wanted to argue with him. He wanted to be around him. He wanted to hold him.
"No one ever bothered to tell me what love is," he said out loud to himself. "Sasuke is like a brother to me... how could I possibly know if it's actually what people call love?"
Thoughts ran through his head faster than he could comprehend; his mind was sent spinning as he began to question everything he thought he knew. Did he want to kiss Sasuke again? Did thinking about him send shivers down his spine?
A flood of emotion suddenly raged through him as he remembered the things they had said to each other barely a week before.
He was running; running like he was a part of the and the wind was a part of him; running to find Sasuke.
His heart was pounding out a rythmn of desperation as his breaths came short and fast; he was forcing his body to go even faster, almost past the point of exertion. He'd never thought that in all his life he could want something so badly, and even less who it was.
He was furious with Sasuke, but not even that could make him want the raven back any less. He owed it to himself, to Sakura, to the village... especially to himself to make sure Sasuke returned and stayed.
He wasn't the only one searching, he knew; there were shouts and the sounds of fighting all around him. But he knew without a doubt that no one else in the world could possibly be consumed by the determination that was possessing him at that moment. No one needed Sasuke as much as he did.
He snarled as he continued to run, seeing leagues of Sound shinobi spreading out to battle with Konoha's shinobi, trying to protect what didn't belong to them to begin with.
And as Naruto came around a gathering of trees, he was met with the face of all this confusion.
But their reunion was far from bittersweet; his exhausted body slowed to a halt a few feet from Sasuke, and he stood heaving for breath as Sasuke took several steps forward. Naruto raised his head in alarm as Sasuke stopped a scant distance from him; he could smell the war on the Uchiha's skin.
He could do nothing to voice everything he wanted to shout simultaneously, as his lungs were still screaming in protest and he was reduced to having to continue panting while Sasuke calmly watched him.
"You..." he said hoarsely, but clutched at the front of his jacket again as he struggled to breathe. For a moment, Sasuke lifted a hand, but lowered it just as quickly as Naruto stood up straight.
"Sasuke... you... why..."
Sasuke smirked as Naruto's words tumbled out between heavy breaths, but in a moment, the blonde had regained his voice.
"I don't even know what to say to you, Sasuke."
"It's nice hearing that obnoxious voice again after all this time."
"Whose fault is that?"
Sasuke shrugged, throwing his shoulder in the careless manner Naruto missed so much. He clenched his fists until he found his nails digging into his sweaty palms.
"Come back."
"No."
Naruto had expected nothing less than that, and his tension drained as he smiled from the irony of it. To his shock, Sasuke's lips turned up in a smile mirroring his own, and for those few seconds, they were friends again, friends smiling at each other for some simple reason.
But they weren't.
Naruto knew they could never be simple friends again; if anything, they were much more than that. He sighed.
"Sasuke, why?" he asked gently, and then Sasuke looked troubled. He ran a hand through his precarious ebony hair.
"It's complicated."
"You're telling the truth."
"Do you think I'd leave if I didn't have a reason?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto marveled at how Sasuke could open up to him like this, when he knew the raven would never do the same for Sakura or Kakashi, or anyone at all.
"But I know that!" Naruto threw his fist to his side angrily. "And you know that we can help you more than Orochimaru ever could!"
"But I need the power he's offering."
"You don't need anything!"
Naruto was shaking. He wanted this to work more than he could ever remember wanting anything. He'd give up his dream to be Hokage, even, if it meant Sasuke would stay with him.
Sasuke shook his head, slowly, sadly. "Naruto."
Naruto threw his abandon to the wind that lifted their hair, and stepped into Sasuke's face, prepared once again to use all the force he possessed. He watched as Sasuke's eyes glinted with malice, and he glared into them with a passionate hatred.
"You bastard! You don't care!"
"I care just fine! But I can't come back!"
"You have to!"
"I don't!"
Sasuke held himself back with restraint as he found himself overcome with a sudden... well, he couldn't think of any other word than lust. The pulse that throbbed in Naruto's throat as he continued to shout was tempting him in the strangest way, and as he shouted back, he could see the same temptation burning in Naruto's eyes.
And Naruto felt it too. He felt the desire within his body, felt it, but couldn't bring himself to understand it. His hands were aching to reach out that small distance and pull Sasuke closer, closer...
"Sasuke..."
And then Sasuke had moved those few centimeters; his hand grasping Naruto's wrist and pulling them as close as could be; they were cheek-to-cheek. His cool words whispered down Naruto's neck as he pulled the boy even closer.
"I'm sorry..."
Naruto's tears were flowing freely now as he remembered Sasuke's apology. All he remembered after that was blinking, only to find Sasuke gone from his side, leaving him cold and alone.
His eyelids fluttered shut over troubled irises as an image of Sasuke, gentle and smiling, swam before him again. Even if Sasuke wasn't loving and nice, Naruto still adored him, would still do anything for him, still...
But Sasuke was a...
Naruto's eyes opened. If the only reason he was pushing himself away from the idea of loving Sasuke was because Sasuke was another boy, then that was his problem.
He closed his eyes as fatigue began to wash over him, and he buried his head under his hands.
God... I want to touch him...
XxX
All of the blood racing through Naruto's veins was bubbling for Sasuke as he took to the streets again in the vain hope that the raven might still be around.
He still couldn't accept his feelings; not that he wanted to ignore the emotions he couldn't deny, but that he couldn't even begin to understand them for a moment. When he elaborated on it, it wasn't so hard to believe, really. He could begin to recognize the tension between him and Sasuke, and he knew, somehow, that he wouldn't resist if ever there came a moment when...
His heart fluttered in his chest at the thought.
He knew it without a doubt.
XxX
Sakura watched him go silently, a forlorn smile on her lips. If this was how it was meant to be, then she certainly wouldn't get in the way.
She turned her back to the window, smiling a little more vividly. Sasuke was still in the village, and Naruto would surely find him.
XxX
He got away, again, though... Naruto thought to himself, still wandering intently through Konoha's outskirted forests. I can't be the only one who thinks he's still around... shouldn't others be searching for him too?
But then his question was answered as he spotted movement in the trees beside him; he looked over to see a jounin squad obviously out with the same intent as he had. One of the men caught his eye, and Naruto scowled at him, because he knew they didn't want him to get in the way.
But I'm the only one who can do this, Naruto thought hotly. None of you know him like I do.
Naruto turned toward a hill, shielding his eyes against the bright sunlight.
He saw the movement on the crest of the hill a split second before the jounin did, and then there were shouts, screams, and the sounds of weapons being drawn as the entire squad threw themselves forward with fury. Through the confusion, Naruto's mind registered that silhouette.
Orochimaru.
Hatred surged through Naruto's body as he threw himself up the hill toward the man who had lured Sasuke from him; his heart was aching to kill the monster. But he flung himself to the side into the open clearing as the squad nearly knocked into him. He stood back for a moment, watching more Sound shinobi and more of his own village's jounin arrive to aid their sides.
His throat was constricting again; where was Sasuke? He refused to believe that he had come all this way, and fought so hard... for absolutely nothing.
Time stood still. His eyes were being drawn to another silhouette, one with spiky hair and a katana at its side... a figure Naruto knew and loved better than any other. His heart drummed out a few more frantic beats before halting in his chest.
"Sasuke..." he said, his voice quietly astounded. He stiffened as he saw Sasuke begin to walk toward him, still only a silhouette, dark black against the shimmering sun. His heart jumped into life again as his feet moved forward to meet him.
Barely there, he made up his mind. This is it.
Feet from each other, he stretched out his hand tentatively, watching in sheer astonishment as Sasuke did the same. But there was no hesitation: those hands met faces, and those faces were drawn together, and their lips met.
Naruto relished the feeling for a moment before he drew away, now wrapped securely in Sasuke's arms. He buried his face against Sasuke's chest, letting both of their breathing even, and he closed his eyes into the warmth of Sasuke's body.
"Sasuke..."
"Naruto, if you love me, just say so now."
"What?" He raised his head to look into Sasuke's eyes.
"I was there, outside your window last night."
"Sasuke..." Anger prickled at Naruto again. "You were there the whole time, when I was confused and suffering like that?"
He stared into Sasuke's impassive eyes.
"But... if you'd have just come in there...! We could have figured it out..."
"Naruto," Sasuke said slowly, and a small smile lit upon his lips. "I think we both know what would have happened had we been alone together on a night like that."
Naruto's cheeks flushed a deep crimson. "But then... does that mean you-"
"I was out there questioning everything Sakura said just as much as you were in there."
"So do you-"
"I guess that depends on your answer."
"Well, I..." Naruto averted his eyes to the ground. "I wouldn't even think to call it love, but what she said... that's how I feel... about you."
He looked up to see Sasuke nodding slowly, a grin on his face. He cocked his head to the side. "Same here."
"So what does that mean?"
"...It means I love you." Sasuke laughed. "Or something like that."
Naruto's skin tingled at Sasuke's words, and he thought, maybe, that he could finally see something other than death in Sasuke's eyes. And before he could stop it, he felt a classic Naruto smile spreading across his lips, and he brought his hand to Sasuke's cheek, pulling him down closer, and Sasuke didn't resist-
And then, at much the same time, they realized that they were not alone on this battlefield. With a glance at each other, they both turned their eyes to the side to see everyone frozen, staring at them.
Sasuke's hands held Naruto firmly against him, so the blonde couldn't have moved even if he'd wanted to. He looked like a dog claiming a bone, he knew, but by this point, he was way past caring.
Naruto's eyes were drawn to a figure in red at the forefront, and warmth washed through him as Sakura smiled.
"Sakura..." he said, disengaging his head from Sasuke's grasp as best he could. "Are you sure?"
"Naruto," she said, still smiling as she straightened up. "You've finally done something right."
Naruto smiled and turned back to Sasuke as Sakura began to usher the Konoha jounin away, many of whom were displeased as they raised their weapons to the Sound again.
"Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru's voice sounded, and Naruto stiffened with hate, but Sasuke calmly turned to the man.
"Give my regards to Karin," he said with a smirk, before turning his back on them all and leading Naruto down the hill. He looked back at Sakura, gratefulness swelling throughout his body, and then back to Naruto.
"You're not going to leave me, Sasuke-kun!" Orochimaru's voice held a considerable amount of panic, but Sasuke ignored him, smirking in satisfaction as he heard the battle re-commence behind him.
"Shouldn't we go to fight, Sasuke?"
"We're the reason they're fighting... what good would it do?"
"If I gave you back to them, it would stop."
Sasuke chuckled, stopping at the bottom of the hill and placing his hands on Naruto's shoulders. "Who said you took me in the first place?"
"But I just..." Naruto glanced back up at the sunlit crest. "I just can't see you leaving them... just like that."
"Eh..." Sasuke said, stretching his arms above him. "I've been dying for something new."
"I still say we go back and help."
"I say you're still as stubborn as ever."
It threw Naruto off balance as Sasuke grabbed him, enfolding him firmly into his arms again. Their kiss this time was long, passionate, and soft, and Naruto had turned several shades of red by the time Sasuke broke away to let him breathe.
"Sasuke..." he murmured, bringing a fingertip to his lips.
"Come on then, dobe," he said, surprising even himself at using the name he hadn't used for so long. "Let's go fight."
Naruto beamed as he took Sasuke's hand, and they ran back up the hill to defend what they were building within themselves. He knew it would never be easy, but that with time, their rebirth might just get a little easier.
OWARI
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A/N: Tralala... done! And another thing I've discovered... I fail at good endings. ;