(a/n: got into a bit of a slump on my other projects, so i did this to break through my metaphorical wall haha. inspired by a daydream i had during my English class so let me know what you think and if i should continue. i appreciate feedback! :/)
WARNING: this is not a yaoi, merely a fanfic; my apologies to my smut fans.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the god known as Kishimoto-sensei owns it.
Two silhouettes stood on the hillside, illuminated by the light of the moon. One figure, a blonde, stood panting, his right arm slightly outstretched as if trying to reach for the raven haired figure, who stood at the peak of the hill-top, his back to him.
The sound of the rain drops left an ominous feel to the already tangible desperation hanging in the night air. The illusion of loss shattered only by the blonde's heavy breathing as he stared at the figure in front of him.
It had felt like hours since he'd left the village after news had spread that the Uchiha was sighted nearby. Afterwards a chase had ensued, but the raven had stopped suddenly at the peak of a cliff, leaving the two in utter silence.
"Why are you still trying Sasuke?" the blonde finally asked.
The raven haired man didn't answer.
"I understand...really I do...but why...why can't you just forget him."
At this Sasuke noticeably stiffened, angling his face slightly to the side, still unseen.
"Naruto," Sasuke acknowledged, rolling the 'r'.
"I don't...I don't want you to do this anymore," Naruto choked out, his hands furiously tugging at his golden spikes, tears threatening to spill from his cerulean eyes. Sasuke was here, standing just a few feet in front of him, but every time these rare moments of closeness occurred and he tried and failed again to convince him to stay, it tore him up worse than the first time...like he was losing Sasuke all over again.
He couldn't take it!
"Sasuke," he gasped, his nails clawing at his scalp. "It's not...it's not FAIR!" he roared, the tears finally spilling fear from both his sadness and his anger at Sasuke's stubbornness. "HE ISN'T YOUR ONLY FAMILY! HE DIDN'T LEAVE YOU ALL ALONE!"
The wind rustled Sasuke's hair, but otherwise the raven haired man stood still as a statue.
"I AM YOUR ONLY BROTHER NOW SASUKE!" Naruto shouted, choking on his sobs, "and you're leaving me," he breathed, his voice holding none of its usual volume as he realized the truth of his own words. He clutched at his heart, surprised even now at the pain that clawed and tormented him. It was a nagging, continuous, agonizing and unbearable pain!
It was raining harder now, so much so that Sasuke's form was blurred and Naruto felt a panic attack rise, running closer to make sure Sasuke was still there.
He couldn't leave
Not again
He couldn't watch Sasuke walk away anymore
It would kill him!
He reached out; catching Sasuke's shoulder and the solid contact calmed him.
He was still here...still here.
"Still holding on to that foolish sentiment," Sasuke muttered, and the lack of emotion in his voice caused another squeeze of Naruto's heart. Did Sasuke truly no longer care? Had he broken the bond between them completely?
"No," he breathed aloud. "I refuse to believe it," he clutched Sasuke's shoulder tightly, his voice breaking as he shook the doubt that threatened to cloud his mind. "I refuse to believe you've lost yourself Sasuke."
Sasuke turned to look at him now, Naruto still refusing to relinquish his hold.
Sasuke's features had become more pronounced over the years, the same with Naruto. They were both adults now. Sasuke's expression was unmoving, those obsidian eyes were cold and intense, but as he spoke Naruto could hear the arrogance in his voice that had always been there mixed with disdain and the underlying tones of pain. "You've got it wrong Naruto," he purred. "If anything I'm closer to finding myself now more than ever...it's you, Naruto...who is so foolishly attempting to keep me from my destiny." Naruto choked on his sobs as his words caused another wave of pain to crash over him. So wrapped up in his misery, he didn't catch the movement until a sickening crunch was heard and pain shot up his arm as Sasuke broke the arm of the hand that rested on his shoulder. He twisted and Naruto was brought to his knees. "Listen to me Naruto," Sasuke commanded calmly, kneeling slightly to look into Naruto's endless cerulean eyes. "Know that you are not significant enough to serve as an obstacle for me. You are nothing," he told him and despite his blank expression, there was a smirk in his voice as he stressed each word slowly, "I said you could try...but it is a futile, pathetic attempt at best."
Naruto stared, eyes wide. "Sa-Sasuke," he breathed, the tears threatening to spill again. "When did you become so lost?" he asked almost desperately, his voice muted with the pounding of the rain drops around them. Sasuke only stared. Naruto's eyes fell. "I...I've tried to-nngh," he whimpered briefly at the pain in his broken arm, "-I've tried to think back...tried to find what was the cause, when was it...that you truly left us. If I could go back and find that moment...I'd do anything I could to stop it from happening."
Silence reigned between for what seemed like an eternity, before Sasuke twisted his arm with a sickening pop and Naruto let out a startled whimper before he was pushed harshly away by an almost disgusted looking Uchiha. "You still don't understand," Sasuke muttered darkly through the rain and Naruto had to strain to hear him, "And how could you, you've never felt loss before."
"Y-You're wrong Sasuke," Naruto tried as he cradled his arm. "I've lost someone who meant everything to me…I've lost you," his voice drifted off in volume as he spoke, the blonde unable to speak louder than a whisper at the pain in his heart; again it was caused by the realization of how true they rang even to his own ears.
"It doesn't matter," Sasuke said now. "I'm no longer looking for someone to understand. There is only one thing that matters to me now…nothing else matters." With that the Uchiha slowly disappeared, almost as if he'd never been there in the first place.
Naruto felt his blood run cold at that and there was nothing but the pain in his heart which felt like white hot pin-pricks being inserted at a painfully slow pace.
There was nothing but the pain. Sasuke was gone…truly gone and the rain grew louder in his ears as the pain welled up inside him so powerful he was sure he would die soon. He wouldn't survive this time.
Not even Naruto's heart was that strong.
He clutched his chest, whimpering at the unbearable feeling. Only people who have never felt loss believe that a broken or bleeding heart was an expression, but Naruto knew otherwise, there was nothing further from the truth. It was actual, physical pain.
His vision began to blur and despite the loud rain he could only hear the loud and slow aching beats of his own heart in his ears.
As the colors around him began to fade into black as he lost consciousness, he wished desperately that his heart would stop beating…the feeling grew with each beat and he just wanted it to stop.
The last thing he heard before his eyes closed was a female voice in the distance which cried out desperately, "NARUTO!"
(1 Year Later)
Sasuke heard the protesting groans of his group as they continued to make their way through the forest which they'd now been walking in for a few hours now.
He didn't care how long it took, there was information he needed and he was going to get it one way or the other.
It'd been a year since he'd killed Orochimaru, Itachi and thousands of other nameless people he didn't care for, but now there was something else he needed, a book, which told the secrets of certain kind of jutsu; one he needed almost desperately although he'd never say so aloud.
The problem was that he had little to no idea where it was, which brought them to this forest.
Before he'd slain Kabuto he'd managed to weasel information about where he could find it. That is where he'd learned of Michiko, a powerful kunoichi and a prophet who was revered as all-knowing. According to Kabuto, she'd left her village hidden in the clouds years ago for reasons known only to her and that although she was fairly easy to find, no one ever sought her out unless they were of dire need. This was supposedly due to the fact that she did not offer her sight to just anyone and it was extremely hard to earn the woman's trust. Anyone who tried to force the woman to offer her sight, were killed before they could even try.
Sasuke was not one to be so easily deterred however as he tracked through the god forsaken forest that would lead to the cliff she could be found.
Finally he approached the break in the trees, which opened up to reveal the cliff…but there was no one in sight.
Suigetsu sighed beside him. "Well this was a big waste of time, she's not even here," he complained.
Sasuke ignored him and walked forward, glancing up at the sky which was a swirling mass of clouds. He saw one in particular that stood out to him. It looked like a swirling star burst and he knew instantly that it was not a natural cloud.
"She's here," he said simply.
As if hearing him, the cloud slowly descended, revealing a rather beautiful kunoichi lying on the swirling cloud like it was a bed. There was also a very large ram lying on the cloud with her which the kunoichi was leaning casually against. She was wearing a flowing white silk hooded tailed coat with black pants and white knee high boots. Her eyes were obsidian, black as night but they were intense and full of wisdom. She had jet black hair which was artfully layered to her shoulders and there was a tangible regal and dignified air to her presence.
Silently, her expression annoyed, the kunoichi stepped off the cloud and onto the ground, facing Sasuke. "What do you want lesser being?" she asked eyeing Sasuke with disgust.
"You must not be as all-knowing as they say you are if you truly think you're more powerful than me," Sasuke bluffed expertly. The amount of chakra he sensed from the girl was nothing to sniff at.
Michiko stepped forward, the sunlight shining through the vapors that surrounded her making her look like an ethereal goddess. "I do not call you a lesser being because you are not powerful," she calmly explained in a soft voice. "I call you a lesser being because knowledge is power and your level of knowledge about even the most commonplace subjects is vastly underdeveloped."
"Hey you can't say that to him!" Karin shrieked suddenly but Sasuke silenced her with a glare. He needed Michiko's cooperation and that was already unlikely as she clearly did not like him.
Michiko sighed, running her fingers casually through her hair. "I hate being in the company of ignorant people," she muttered but then a smirk graced her face. "Would you like me to tell you what you do not know Sasuke?" she asked. "Anyone who comes here whom I have not named a friend…can only ask of me one question…but choose wisely and ask the right one or there will be no answer."
Sasuke stared.
"How's he supposed to know what the right question is?" Karin spat incredulously.
Michiko smiled, chuckling elegantly. "It matters not, I've seen your past and your future Sasuke and I know that we could stand here for years and still you will never ask the right question…because I know what you're question is."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He had no time for games. "If you know my question, then tell me where it is."
Michiko's eyes flashed and when at last her eye returned to their normal obsidian color, suddenly she was laughing. "Oh how I love the way the fates of time work," she said after her laughter died down, but there was a playful sinister smirk as she leapt back onto her cloud. "You have not asked the right question Sasuke…but I'll tell you anyway because your question, while not being the wrong one, will lead you to finally ask the right question."
Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" he asked almost annoyed.
She was slowly ascending back towards the sky. "I cannot tell you where it is because there is only one person who can know its whereabouts," she started with a large smile, raising her voice as the distance between them increased. "If you want your book Sasuke…you'll have to ask Naruto!" with a ghostly elegant laugh she was gone and Sasuke glared at the space she once stood.
"Naruto," he repeated under his breath.
"Naruto?" Suigetsu repeated. "Oh yeah, wasn't he your BFF or something?" he asked with a smile, flashing his pointed teeth.
Sasuke didn't answer as he turned and walked away.
"Where are we going?" Karin asked after they'd caught up with him.
"To Konoha," he answered simply, speeding up his pace.
He needed that book!