The next few days flew by and Sasuke couldn't help but notice that Naruto avoided him. He never even picked fights or asked for a round or two of sparring. Sasuke's heart ached more and more by the day and before he knew it, he was almost praying for death to come. He became reckless during missions and Kakashi noticed this and pulled the boy aside.
"Sasuke, talk to me." He said. Although his expression didn't show it, his voice held a slight hint of concern.
Sasuke schooled his expression to one of cool indifference, "What do you mean?"
"Sasuke..." Kakashi's tone made the boy flinch.
"I don't want to talk about it, okay, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Kakashi noticed a subtle wince, but dismissed it and let the boy go back to his training, keeping a weary eye on him. He knew how deeply the Uchiha felt for the fox boy. The fact that any Uchiha cared for another living soul was a joke in itself, but when the occasion came along, it never went without notice. Usually there were always barely traceable hints that one could only notice if looking underneath the underneath at what said Uchiha was thinking, feeling. Just like the jonin, himself, the Uchiha clan had been an enigma to everyone and sometimes even themselves. He sighed, crossing one arm over his chest while the other held an Icha Icha novel.
After their lesson was over, Cell number 7 was off the training grounds. Kakashi headed home, Sakura headed towards her own new home and Naruto and Sasuke were left alone. Just walking. The raven-haired boy felt a pang of dread in his heart when Naruto said his name.
"Yeah?..."
"Uhm... A-about last week," The fox boy rubbed the back of his neck almost nervously. Nothing ever really set Naruto on edge, but whatever it was had him almost shaking.
"I told you I was sorry, alright? Just forget it ever happened." Sasuke said coldly, shoving his hands in his pockets. He glared at the ground under him, as if to burn hole into it. He felt a knot rise in his throat as the boys walked side by side. If he said anything, he knew his voice would crack and he'd break down right in front of Naruto.
"I know, but..."
The blond rolled his shoulders a bit, eyes downcast before he jerked
them up to Sasuke, "I don't know what you want me to say, I mean...
I know we're close and everything but..."
"That's why I said
forget it!" Sasuke snapped. His voice cracked and as soon as his
mind registered how his tone came out, the boy fled, leaving a
confused Naruto in his dust.
The fox rubbed the back of his neck again, looking down again. He never wanted to hurt the Uchiha, but he wasn't sure if there was anything he could say to the boy with fix their problem. Naruto had never been this confused in his life. He was caught between Sakura and Sasuke, with no idea of who to be with. Brushing back his wild blonde hair, he sighed and made his way to Ichiraku.
Sasuke, once home, sighed, falling back on his bed. He gritted his teeth a bit, rolling onto his stomach and wrapping his arms around his pillow, forcing his eyes shut and taking in a shaky breath. He had to get a hold of himself before this whole thing went over board. No... He had to stop it. Sasuke slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes and hopping off the bed. He made his way to the front door, hesitating a moment before opening it and running out. There was only one place the other boy would be at this time of day, and that was Sasuke's destination. Moments later, he got to the resturant and tugged Naruto's sleeve, jerking the blonde out of a daydream.
"Wha-? Oh... Hey, Sasuke, what's up?" The boy looked at him, blinking his crystal blue eyes a few times.
"Naruto, I just wanted you to know that I really am sorry... You can believe it if you want, I don't care. But I love you, and I have for awhile. Nothing you could ever say can change that," the Uchiha's voice was barely above a whisper when he spoke. Naruto barely caught it, but luckily understood what Sasuke was saying to him.
"It's..." Naruto sighed, "It's okay, Sasuke, don't worry about it."
The raven-haired boy nodded, hands in his pockets, "Right... Well, I guess I'll see you later, then." With that he turned and walked away from Ichiraku and Naruto, back to the Uchiha Estate and the solution to his problem. Once again, he faced his bedroom window, staring out at the cherry trees which stood in such tragic beauty. The trees themselves witnessed the massacre. Witnessed the bloodshed and fear, soaked the fallen blood into their roots. Ever since that day, the blossoms had held more red. They'd been much darker, a constant reminder of the horrors of what happened those years ago. Sasuke looked at them a final time that night, for he was sure it would be his last vision before darkness took him.
The door flew open to his room and both Naruto and Sakura came in with a unified scream of, "Sasuke! Stop!"
The boy turned,
dropping the kunai to the floor at the sight of two terrified and sad
faces. "Sasuke, please. Don't do this!" Sakura held her hands to
her chest, biting one thumbnail to try and hold back her tears. Her
sea green eyes filled with undoubted worry. Naruto, himself, seemed
speechless.
"And why shouldn't I?" Sasuke's voice shook. His
eyes were wide with an unusual gleam in them that made him look all
too much like his brother. Sakura shuddered at this, but kept her
ground, as did her teammate.
"Sasuke, we both need you!" The girl finally let go, tears falling in uncontrolled streams, "You're a part of Cell 7! You're family!" Sasuke froze, gritting his teeth and turning his back to them.
"Shut up!" He
snapped, "We're not family, Sakura! We never have been and never
will be, so forget it!"
Naruto looked back at Sakura, "Let me
talk to him..." He said. Sakura nodded, backing out of the room
slowly and closing the door.
"Sasuke, please
think about this. It's a permanent solution to a temporary problem-"
"This isn't temporary, Naruto!" Sasuke took a trembling breath,
still with his back to the other. His voice softened considerably
then, "I was stupid to think you'd feel the same for me. It's too
late! Stupid!" He slammed his head on the wall, then did it again
and again with more force each time until blood stained it and his
forehead. Without his hitai-ate to protect it, he created a bloody
mess before Naruto could move to stop him. One last bang and Sasuke
slid to the floor on his chest, holding his head and looking, for the
most part, dizzy. Naruto was frozen to the spot. Sasuke had really
lost it, and all because of him.
He waited for a minute until he heared whimpering to move. Naruto, very carefully, wrapped his arms around Sasuke's shoulders, "Calm down," he whispered, resting his head over Sasuke's shoulder so what their cheeks were touching. He didn't mind the blood that leaked onto his own hitai-ate, or the tears mixed with the drops that fell on his arms one after the other. He didn't mind it, because he knew what it was like to hurt. Naruto felt his heart being roughly pulled at as Sasuke completely broke. It killed him to see his hero break down. That's right; Hero.
Sasuke had been Naruto's hero since they'd met. The stoic boy had been so strong, driven by a force of hate and bloodlust that had gone unseen by everyone Cell 7 came across, and even amongst the team itself. Sasuke had been the object of affection for every female in Konoha, and possibly even beyond. Naruto knew that deep down, Sasuke was scared. Terrified for his life and for the lives of his team. He knew that deep down inside, Sasuke was just a little boy who needed someone to love, and for that someone, him, to love him back. The lonely Uchiha boy was like a lost child, afraid of never being found. Afraid of dying alone and far from home.
The two sat there,
and throughout the night, Sasuke cried. Harder than he ever had, but
still almost as silent as a church mouse. Naruto knew he couldn't
leave the boy, not in a million years or even if he tried. After a
few hours passed the raven-haired boy had fallen asleep in the fox's
arms.
"I love you Uchiha, Sasuke," Naruto whispered, gently
stroking the other's messy hair. "Believe it..."
