Disclaimer: Don't own… continue to wish I did tho…

Tides and Ebbs of Honesty


Ebb 1: Worth

The hospital room decided to spin randomly now and then, but he didn't mind. It wasn't that he had been beaten to hell and back. It wasn't that the Kyuubi was being an ass and didn't really do much to help him heal faster for whatever reason the damn fox found entertaining. It certainly wasn't the fact that he had been glued to Sasuke's bedside, refusing to return to his own bed, unless Tsunade threatened him with further physical harm. He'd be damned if Sasuke woke up to find him in a shape worse than he was after their fight with Itachi. Too humiliating to have that happen in the hospital of the village you intend to become the Hokage of.

His blue eyes again moved over the raven's bandages, making a short and quite incomplete account of the new scars Sasuke would be left with. They had both managed to survive keeping their promises, but whereas he had expected the world to lift off his shoulders, the feeling had been tainted by Sasuke's unexpected apathy to the achievement of his goal. Naruto could not pinpoint it, but there was something resigned about Sasuke's attitude when it was all over that thoroughly unnerved him. When they had crossed paths during his time with Orochimaru, and even right before the clash with his brother, there had always been an air of hubris surrounding the Uchiha that was uniquely his- a certain no small amount of confidence and determination that had made Naruto at times be in awe of him and others to want to beat the living daylights out the damn smug bastard.

And there he was now, watching Sasuke's unconscious form, willing him to open his eyes, holding his hand in his as a tangible reminder that he was really there.

"Gaki."

He closed his eyes, not really ready to talk to anyone other than maybe Sakura or Iruka. He had been expecting Jiraya to come find him. It was actually almost surprising that it had taken him this long. Perhaps he had no words for him. Jiraya was not the father-figure that Iruka was and not a casual friend either. They had a rather pervert mentor-reluctant student kind of relationship and Naruto trusted him with his life. "Yes, Ero-Sennin?"

He could feel, without turning to look, Jiraya's smirk at their joined hands. "What is that- handcuff no jutsu? Didn't think you had it in you…"

Naruto shot his mentor a dirty glare. That man had once straight-out asked him if the reason he was obsessing over Sasuke was because he was in love with the boy. Naruto had simply gapped at him then watched the older man's retreating back as he laughed himself to the nearest bar for another "information gathering" session. To this day he was unsure if the pervert had been expecting an answer. "Was there something you wanted?"

There. No "Ero-Sennin", no "pervert", no nothing. He was not in the mood. Jiraya must have picked up on it because he sobered up. "Tsunade is meeting with the Council today to discuss Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto's ears perked up at that. "What is there to discuss?" he asked anxiously.

"Don't be naïve, Naruto." Jiraya chastised the boy. "Uchiha Sasuke is a missing nin with little making him any better than Orochimaru."

By then he had realized that he had a lot on common with his mentor in this. Jiraya had tried to bring Orochimaru back and failed. Well, he hadn't. "He is nothing like Orochimaru."

The Sannin's eyes became cold and stern at that. "Does he not summon snakes? Did he not name his own team of vagabonds Hebi? Did he not wear Orochimaru's colours? And you don't even know what crimes he committed while you were tailing after him."

Naruto shook his head at that. "Orochimaru killed the Sadaime-"

"Sasuke almost killed you."

He tightened his grip on Sasuke's hand as if it gave him all the assurance he needed. "He wouldn't have. He had his chance."

Jiraya's patience seemed to be wearing thin. "He would have killed you, Sakura- anyone he had to- if it meant getting an inch closer to killing Itachi."

"No." he repeated stubbornly.

"Wake up, Gaki!" the Sannin's voice picked up several octaves in volume. "This is not the boy you knew."

Naruto could never hope to explain how absurd this all sounded to him, so he settled for a glare. "Keep your voice down. We're in a hospital."

There was something about being lectured about hospital regulations by a loudmouth brat that made the veins on his temples almost pop. Naruto could tell that a thousand and one perverted comebacks tempted the older man's lips, but he remained silent, returning the glare.

"Make sure you tell Baa-chan to get him off the hook." He said quietly. "He survived his clan's massacre, Orochimaru and Itachi. I did not bring him back to die in Konoha."

Jiraya's eyes fixed him with a strange look. "And if she can't?"

This time he did look up. He wanted Jiraya to know how serious he was. "I did not bring him back to die in Konoha." He repeated determinedly. "She is the Hokage and Sasuke is a Konoha ninja."

A huff. "No-one has even heard that from the brat's mouth yet. You go a long way vouching for his integrity."

"I know-"

"Knew."

"- Sasuke." He finished, ignoring the interruption. "If I were Hokage, I would protect him. And if being Hokage means you cannot protect your own, then to hell with it. I don't want it."

The Sannin's eyes widened at the impact of those words. He was quite shocked. "Naruto…"

"Being Hokage has always been my dream- to be recognized by the villagers and protect them with my life. If that's not what it means, then I don't want it. I'll do things my way." He continued. "And I will protect Sasuke. With my life if I have to. Against Konoha if I must. Please don't make me."

Silence stretched for a moment that seemed too long. Sasuke may not be the boy he used to know anymore but the same could be said about Naruto. "Alright…" he said finally. "I will convince Tsunade to fend for your precious Uchiha. But even if she succeeds, these things usually come with a price. I hope you are prepared."

Naruto nodded. "Bring it on."

Jiraya was at the door when he asked. "Is he really worth it, Naruto?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

There was a small pause. Really, after all this time he wasn't sure he could muster up the words. "If I can't save a friend, I shouldn't be Hokage."

Jiraya nodded and left the room.

Naruto went back to watching Sasuke. He almost looked at ease, but he had seen him in this state before, over three years ago- again thanks to his brother… it's a good thing Itachi was already dead or he'd have to kill him all over again- and he knew that it wasn't peace, but oblivion. Sasuke never had restful sleeps during their missions. He was always frowning, muttering words in distress. Naruto had spent enough nights with him to know. Wake up, Teme… He kept thinking those words at him like a mantra, but thus far he was being stubborn as ever. It was simply impossible for an Uchiha to do what makes sense and make things easy on the rest of the world.

"Wake up…" he whispered.

Though the prognosis was encouraging, it offered no specifics as to when he would awaken. A day after Tsunade had given him the news, Naruto was losing patience. Kakashi had once told him that the pivot of torment was not the severity of one's suffering, but the indefinite duration. Anyone can take anything, as long as they know it will end. He had not understood back then, but now, having had to chase after Sasuke's ghost all this time and been reduced to waiting for a change, he felt rather close to an epiphany on the matter.

A soft moan.

At first he thought it was his mind playing tricks after too much wishful thinking, but then he saw dark eyes slowly fluttering open, a slight furrow of delicate brows denoting the Uchiha's discomfort at the morning light. I guess Neji was right… he really was in the dark.

Naruto smiled, his eyes stinging strangely. Could be the medication making them dry or something. And he might also be coming down with a cold because his voice was thick and hoarse. "Hey…"

Sasuke turned to the source of the sound and immediately shut his eyes with a groan. Vertigo must be a bitch after losing so much blood. Almost more than he could afford to spare.

"Are you okay?" he jumped to his feet, unconsciously squeezing the raven's hand tighter against his chest.

"I've lost feeling in my hand, Dobe…" Sasuke grunted out.

He dropped the hand on reflex, feeling the uncomfortable heat crawl to his face. It was a fever, no doubt. "Excuse me for ever being nice to you, Teme!"

Sasuke smirked for a moment, then frowned as he took in his surroundings.

"I told you I'd bring you back." He said with a smile, but something in him sank at the non-reaction his comment was received with. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but that wasn't it. Nothing stirred in those black eyes- not even the slightest trepidation about the consequences of being on Konoha grounds. Yes, Sasuke had refused to come back, but he had always believed that there was a part in the bastard that counted on his persistence to offer an alibi when he was done with Itachi and wanted to come back home. Home… Did he even recognise Konoha as his home anymore?

"How long was I out?" Sasuke's strained voice broke through his reverie. The raven was observing him, obviously puzzled by his silence.

He shifted under the stare. "About two days. Sakura-chan did a great job on you."

"… Sakura did…"

His voice was distant and hollow. Naruto didn't like that. It made him feel helpless. "You almost died, Teme." His own voice was uncharacteristically hushed. "Don't do that again."

Those unfathomable eyes bore holes in him. A million different thoughts and emotions seemed to suddenly pool and animate them, all flashing by too fast for Naruto to even hope to grasp them. It made his stomach feel weird for a moment. It was officially the flu.

Out loud, Sasuke only said, "Hn."

"So…" the blonde started reluctantly, unsure if it was too soon to touch on the subject. Still he had to know. "What now?"

Sasuke took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. The silence stretched and Naruto wondered if maybe he fell asleep. But then he moved, eyes opening and brows forming a cloud of discomfort. He shifted a little to tag at the bandages on his right arm.

Naruto grabbed his hand. "Stop that- you'll re-open the wounds."

The raven tried to reach for the bandages again, resulting in his hand being pulled away. He did not reclaim it, but he did glare. "Those bandages are too tight. They are cutting off my circulation."

Some part in him found it amusing that the Uchiha would still complain like that. He couldn't help the tart remark. "You were circulating all over the place. Now let go."

If possible, the glare intensified, but after a moment he complied. Neither spoke for a while. Naruto realized that he was still holding Sasuke's hand and that he hadn't pulled it back.

"I don't know." He whispered.

Blue eyes snapped up to him. "Huh?"

"I said, I don't know what now." He reiterated sounding rather irritated.

Naruto knew him well enough to recognise that he was in fact frustrated. He smiled. "You know what?" he waited for Sasuke to meet his eyes, before he continued. "Neither do I."

Sasuke's eyes widened somewhat for fleeting seconds, then he huffed muttering something about Dobes and settled on the bed.

Naruto studied him, watching the embers of who was purely Sasuke slowly burn in those charcoal eyes. It was that intractable part of him that had managed to survive the Uchiha Massacre, Orochimaru, Itachi and even Sasuke himself. "Let's find out together… ne, Sasuke?"

Sasuke held his gaze for a long moment then closed his eyes again. It was barely perceptible, but Naruto thought he felt a soft squeeze back at his hand. It could have been his overactive imagination, but he chose to believe it was Sasuke.


Teme: bastard

Dobe: dead last

Gaki: brat

Ero-sennin: along the lines of "pervert hermit"… I think?

Hebi: snake

Sadaime: the Third Hokage

Baa-cha: old-hag… in Naruto's cute way. )

Probably should have done that for the previous chapter… Anyone who didn't know what Usuratonkachi means it's "clumsy idiot". Okay… that's chapter 2. I think that after this I owed to edit the summary about possibly implied shonen-ai… If anyone's reading, you can tell me what you think.

Ja!