Someday, I promise
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it.
--
Kiba felt that Naruto wasn't fully focused on their spar. The blond had asked him to train earlier that morning, and Kiba had agreed. Now, as they were fighting in the middle of the practice field, Kiba felt something distinctly off with each parry and punch. Naruto was as unpredictable and determined as usual but there was also a faintly distant look in his eyes. Attacks that he would usually block easily were finding their mark. Kiba threw his arm out, catching Naruto in the stomach and knocking him to the ground.
"Hey, are you okay? You seem sorta out of it today."
Naruto only brushed himself off and grinned.
"Maybe we should go get some ramen? I'm hungry! Please can we go eat? It's lunch time and I know that such a generous friend like you wants to treat me to some delicious…"
Kiba rolled his eyes as Naruto continued to ramble on about his favorite food.
"Okay, okay, I'll treat you. But only one bowl!"
Naruto tackled Kiba in an overly energetic hug.
"Thanks! I knew I could count on you! I can't wait to go to Ichiraku's. Maybe I'll have pork ramen…or miso…."
Perhaps he was imagining things. The rambunctious boy was the same as always, cheerful and loud and totally focused on his favorite food. Kiba nodded to himself. He took a sideways glance at his friend. Naruto caught his gaze but his only response was to grin even wider. Yes, Kiba must have been imagining the shadow of resignation in Naruto's eyes.
--
Iruka saw Naruto wave at him from across the street and hurried over to say hello.
"Iruka-sensei! I just came back from a really tough mission with Sakura-chan. You shoulda seen me fight off all those bandits!"
Iruka smiled at Naruto's enthusiasm.
"You really have grown up quite a bit, haven't you?"
"Yep, I definitely have!"
And Naruto stretched his lips into a wide grin. Iruka spotted Naruto's favorite ramen stand a little ways ahead.
"Tell you what. To celebrate your recent success, I'll treat you to ramen!"
"Really? Iruka-sensei, you're the best!"
Iruka chuckled and patted Naruto's shoulder fondly.
"You'll never be too old for ramen, huh?"
"Of course not! How could anyone ever be too old for ramen?"
Iruka just laughed again. Naruto looked happier than he had in a long time. Oh, of course Naruto was always laughing and being the mischievous prankster that he always was, but lately, the ever-present strain of his former teammate's absence had seemed to increase. Naruto's smiles had become slightly smaller, faker, and less frequent. Tonight, though, there was nothing but unadulterated mirth in his eyes.
Iruka watched carefully as Naruto slurped down his second bowl of noodles. Naruto really did look happy. Iruka wondered what had caused the change…
--
Kakashi heard a rustle of cloth and fading footsteps. He opened his eyes and noted that Naruto was gone. When the blond had not returned after twenty minutes passed, Kakashi stood up and went to investigate.
Smiling wryly, Kakashi examined the hurried and messily concealed footprints. Where had Naruto gone in such a rush? Kakashi continued to follow the trail and stopped when he thought he sensed Naruto's chakra signature. It was not too far off and Kakashi could hear no sounds of fighting or other danger. He sighed in relief. Perhaps Naruto was just out for some late night training? It was a peculiar thing to do in the middle of a mission, but Naruto was an unusual person. Kakashi decided to turn back; after all, he needed to sleep. He began heading back towards their campsite. Suddenly, he frowned.
Kakashi could sense a second, less vivid, chakra signature. His brow furrowed as he tried to make out who it was. It seemed strangely familiar, for some reason, but he couldn't place it. The person was masking his chakra quite skillfully. Kakashi hesitated for a moment. Naruto didn't seem like he was in any danger, but who was this mysterious person he was meeting in the middle of the night? Curiosity won out in the end and Kakashi slowly retraced his steps.
He moved slowly, almost reluctantly. It really wasn't his business what Naruto was doing as long as there were no threats to endanger the mission and Kakashi wasn't the sort to pry. But the odd tingle of familiarity of the second chakra signature drew him closer. He was very close now, in fact, he could see a clearing ahead of him and the outline of two bodies. They were sitting back to back, and Kakashi could make out the bright shock of hair that belonged to Naruto. He hid himself behind a tree and listened. Kakashi could vaguely make out snatches of conversation.
"…what are you saying…"
"…dead, but I don't know what…"
"…could just come back, we can…"
"…do you think I would be welcomed?"
Kakashi gasped. All the pieces seemed to slide into place as he recognized the second voice. It couldn't be! But who else would it be? He leapt out from behind the tree with his sharingan uncovered. Both figures stood up immediately as he intruded. Kakashi's suspicions were confirmed as he saw Sasuke's face illuminated in the moonlight.
The next minute was a blur as Naruto jumped in front of Sasuke so he was between the two sharingan users. Kakashi ran forward, but Naruto met his attack before he could get too close, kunai raised. Their weapons clashed. Kakashi almost stumbled in surprise at the fierce protectiveness written on Naruto's face.
"Run, now!" Naruto barked out the command without looking over his shoulder. Sasuke did not reply and was gone in the blink of an eye. As soon as he was out of sight, Kakashi lowered his kunai and Naruto relaxed his stance. The intensity had faded from Naruto's glare and now he seemed uncertain. Kakashi coughed, uncomfortable with the whole situation. He sighed and looked Naruto in the eye.
"You need to tell me what happened."
Naruto returned his kunai to his weapons pouch.
"Um, I'm sorry for…attacking you like that."
"I just want you to tell me what you were just doing. How did you know to meet here? How long has this been going on, exactly?"
Naruto nodded and swallowed.
"I don't really know when, but I think it was a few months ago. I couldn't sleep, so I took a walk and ended up going to the old training grounds when Team 7 first became a team. And when I got there, that prick was just sitting there, like he was waiting for me. I yelled at him and punched him and we sparred. You know, just like we used to. And for a little bit, it felt like…I dunno, like he'd never left. I mean, it's just, well, being with him, talking, fighting, arguing, whatever, it always just feels so…normal. Even if he is a bastard most of the time."
Naruto paused. Kakashi's eyes softened as he listened to Naruto struggle to explain their relationship. Sasuke and Naruto had always been complicated, even before Sasuke had heard of Orochimaru and left the village. The two boys had always been bickering and getting into meaningless fights, but at the same time, each had depended on the other. The insults they threw at each other seemed to lose their bite after a while. Kakashi gestured for him to continue.
"I tried to get him to stay, but of course he wouldn't listen to me. He never does! Always acts like I'm stupid or something, that stuck up… Anyways, we talked for a bit and somehow we spent the night there, at that practice field. I don't remember falling asleep, but when I woke up, he was gone."
"Did you talk the whole night?"
Naruto blushed and Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, sort of, I guess. Yeah, we, um, talked."
Naruto fidgeted and glanced away. Kakashi gave him a look that clearly said "I don't believe you" but otherwise let it go.
"Is this the second time you've seen him since then?"
"Well, I never know when he'll show up, but he usually comes to see me about once every two weeks, I'd say. That jerk always picks a random time to just barge into my life and he never lets me know ahead of time."
Kakashi took a deep breath.
"So you've actually seen him a lot recently, then, haven't you. And you haven't told anyone about it."
Naruto was silent.
"You do know he is a missing nin?"
"He-well he told me that if I tried to capture him, he would—"
"Sasuke would what?"
"He would leave."
Naruto's voice was no more than a whisper.
"Naruto, it's hard to accept, but Sasuke is a missing nin."
Naruto stubbornly looked away. Kakashi sighed. He wouldn't push the issue. Naruto and Sasuke…well, they had always been different.
"Alright, let's just get back to camp. We do have a mission to complete tomorrow, after all."
"This is the first time he's come during a mission."
Naruto's tone was defensive and almost challenging. Kakashi didn't reply and began walking out of the clearing.
During their walk back, Naruto was uncharacteristically silent. When they reached their campsite Kakashi touched Naruto on the shoulder.
"Get a good night's sleep, okay? We still have a lot of travelling to do."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine."
It was long after Naruto's breathing had deepened and evened out that Kakashi allowed himself to admit what he had been thinking since coming across that clearing. He walked over to sit between his two former students' bedrolls. Kakashi looked down at Naruto's peacefully sleeping face with a slight crease in his brow.
Naruto still smelled like sex.
--
Sakura tapped Naruto on the shoulder. They had just finished a relatively easy mission and were back in Konohagakure for the time being.
"Hey, Naruto, can we talk?"
Naruto blinked in surprise.
"Sure, Sakura-chan! So what do you want to talk about?"
Sakura licked her lips and squared her shoulders before speaking.
"Kakashi-sensei told me about you and Sasuke-kun."
Naruto tensed and he closed his eyes briefly.
"And what exactly did he tell you?"
"He told me that you two have been meeting for the past few months now. How could you not tell me, Naruto? Don't we trust each other? You've been seeing him all this time and haven't said a word! Not a single word! Why? Why didn't you tell me?"
Naruto only noticed now that Sakura's fists were clenched and shaking at her sides. He stumbled backwards, not knowing what to do.
"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry! I just couldn't…he asked me not to tell anyone."
Sakura pinned him with a hard glare.
"But how could not tell me? We've been through everything together, to bring him back. And you've been able to see him, to talk to him! I was on team 7, too! And I…I… Aren't we teammates, Naruto? Comrades?"
"Of course we are!"
"We could have been doing something; all this time he's been visiting you, to keep him here! But you didn't tell me! Naruto, aren't we friends?"
Naruto stepped forward again and reached a hand out, but seeing the anger and confusion in her eyes, kept his arms by his sides.
"Of course we are. We're friends."
Naruto's voice was low. Sakura looked up at him with a bitter smile.
"I know. We're friends. But he'll always be your best friend, won't he? I'll just be second best. There's no getting in between you two. The bond between you and Sasuke-kun, it's just impossible for anyone else to even compare. And I always end up on the outside, left behind. Feeling useless."
"That's not true! You aren't useless, Sakura-chan! You're an awesome medic nin and you have crazy strength! You are definitely not useless!"
Sakura sat down and put her head in her hands. She didn't look up for a long time and when she did, her voice had lost its previous hysteria.
"So why haven't you been able to make him stay? Isn't that what you promised to do?"
Sakura knew here words were cutting and harsh, but she was too frustrated and tired to care.
"I've tried! We've argued and fought and I've tried so hard to convince him to stay and come back to the village. You know I've tried! But Sasuke, he…"
"But what? What happened to your speech on how you would bring him back even if you broke your arms and legs? He's been here, in the village, and you've just let him go!"
Naruto clenched his jaw and was silent for several minutes.
"Look, Sakura-chan, I'm sorry, I really am. I know that I promised I would bring him back, and I will, but right now, I can't."
"What do you mean, you can't? People always tell you that you can't do something, but that's never stopped you before, has it?"
The malice was gone from her words and Sakura's tone was pleading.
"Well I—It's just—When you have a precious person, you do anything you can to make that person happy. And even though sometimes you don't like what you have to do, you do it anyway, because that person's happiness is everything to you."
Sakura's eyes widened at the raw emotion in Naruto's voice and his eyes.
"Oh, Naruto…I… Wouldn't we be able to make Sasuke-kun happy here, in the village? We could help him, right? "
Naruto gave her a hollow smile.
"The funny thing is, Sasuke, that asshole, he isn't even happy. Actually, I don't think he's been truly happy in a long time. But making him stay here would make him even less happy than carrying out his stupid plan for revenge. How screwed up is that? I want to make him stay here but he would feel trapped and he would really hate it. And I can't do that. So I have to let him go."
Sakura hugged Naruto with all her might.
"I'm sorry, too. I'm so sorry. For all of us. But we'll be a team again, right? We'll work together and bring Sasuke-kun back."
Naruto smiled again, this time more genuine.
"Yeah, someday. Definitely. We'll bring that bastard back to his senses. I promise."
--
A/N: So I typed this up in about half an hour. And edited it in even less time. The four parts are sort of unrelated to each other and occur at different times. I'm not really sure where this idea came from, but hopefully it kind of works. Confused? Good. Please review!