A/N: I'm going to continue fiddling with this one. Not entirely happy with it.
Warnings: very mild language
Genre: Angst
2. Takes place in a similar universe to the previous. Post-war Shippuden. Naruto never really could stop visiting him.
XXX
He doesn't have as much time for this as before. Granny Tsunade has only lectured him about this a thousand times, and even Sakura will pull him back by the shoulder and tell him that he has to review the files first.
Files, etiquette, maps, politics. The scrolls he has to read over and memorize are endless. The amount of people he needs to meet and have connections with are numerous, and Naruto does his best to do it all with the enthusiasm he always carries.
Training, geography, economics-all of these things have become the cornerstone to his life, and never did he appreciate all the mental efforts that went into being the Hokage as much as he does in the past few months.
Even so, there are some things Naruto refuses to compromise. The Council can wake him up earlier than needed, have him converse with nobles and various Daimyos, and even convince him into eating a healthier diet. But he won't let them cut into his time of visiting.
The ANBU Shinobi gives him a nod as he lets him pass through the openings of Konohugukare's top guarded imprisonment cave, and Naruto walks down the hallways, carefully holding the container in the crook of his arm.
When he reaches the cell he's looking for, the guard stationed outside gives him an acknowledgement as well, and opens the heavy metal door.
Inside the room is a small space of sand and earth, and then a transparent barrier that covers the length of the cavern. It is lined with paper seals (among other protection) and the shinobi Naruto is looking for crouches on the other side, in plain sight of anyone who comes to visit.
Naruto clears his throat to announce his presence, but the boy on the other side doesn't turn around.
"I brought you food." He says, after a pause. "Sasuke."
He wishes things were as easy for them as they had been in the past. Now, Naruto cannot even add the familiar title of "teme" to the end of his name.
"You're visiting again, Naruto?" Sasuke looks over at him from his shoulder, and his lips twist into a bitter look. "It's the fourth time this week. I thought you would have better things to do."
Naruto wishes for the times that his best friend called him dobe. Or idiot. Or useless. Anything. Anything is better than just his name.
"I can make time to see you."
"Then you're not paying enough attention to the village."
The accusation irks him, and he clenches his fists tightly before taking a deep breath. Restraint. It isn't something that comes naturally to the blonde boy, but it's a skill that he'll master for the sake of his friend.
"You're a ninja of the Hidden Leaf. Showing attention on you is part of my attention to the village."
Sasuke doesn't say anything for a second and then grunts.
Naruto walks up to the barrier and presses his palm against it. The swirling pattern presents itself, and the seal loosens just enough to where he can push the container through the now rippling wall.
Sasuke looks over at the package, and then turns his head away.
"They're…they're going to make me Hokage in another week." Naruto blurts out.
Sasuke stills, but there's no other reaction from him.
"And, I think…things will settle down more when that happens. We can let you out of this damn cell. The village will feel safer…after the ceremony."
It isn't his fault, and he shouldn't feel guilty, but Naruto does anyway.
The war is over, and regardless of his efforts for all Shinobi, no one can forget that Sasuke had tried to kill all of the Kages. He had succeeded in murdering an elder of the Leaf, and had earned the title of an international criminal.
By all laws and rules, the last Uchiha should be dead. And maybe it's even because of the Uzumaki that he is alive-and at the end of their last fight, a decision had to be made.
Sasuke had come willingly back to the village.
And when the rest had insisted that he could not be trusted, he had even suggested that they could do with him as they pleased.
"The Uchiha helped found this village. You cannot turn me away, it's in my blood."
He had said arrogantly, chin raised high and dark eyes glinting against the Council.
And in the end, they had finally come to a consensus.
Sasuke was sentenced to prison for an unmentioned extent of time.
Sakura had cried when she had first heard. Naruto was just numb.
"Sasuke…" He says again, addressing his friend once more. Sasuke's pale skin seems to glisten in the odd light of the cave, and his dark hair has grown another few inches. Confinement would have driven anyone else mad maybe, but the stoic Uchiha takes it with all of the usual calm demeanor he is in possession of. "Did you hear me?"
"I'm not deaf, Naruto. Of course I did."
Naruto can feel his emotions boiling to the forefront. "Well then? What do you have to say? You're finally going to be free, isn't that something?"
Sasuke looks at his face with a carefully composed, carefully calculating expression and Naruto resists the urge to break through the barrier and punch him right in the bloody nose.
"If they let me out, it would be less of a hassle in some ways, yes." He says in a bored voice. "But I honestly couldn't care less."
Something in his words causes a reaction out of the blonde, and he finds himself yelling. "What the hell do you mean by that? How could you not give a damn what happens to you?"
"I didn't say that." Sasuke says coolly. "I said I don't care if they decide to let me out or not. I'm not in need of your charity, Naruto."
The words are like a slap in the face-and to be honest, Naruto would rather face the full power of Susano'o hitting him across the ribs again than to hear them.
It's really the last little crack to the dam, and he doesn't care if the guards come barging in at the ruckus, he doesn't give a damn-
The barrier is down in the next second, and he yanks Sasuke by the hem of his shirt lifting him up.
The dark haired ninja, grabs his wrist with enough force that it should make him wince, but he doesn't let go.
"You think I'm doing this because I think you're a charity case?" Naruto shouts, blue eyes furious.
"Why else are you here?"
"I'm here…because…" He trails off, not knowing how to finish his sentence. In all honesty, Naruto doesn't think he understands himself.
The entire world has moved on, and he is standing in front of a jail cell. Kakashi continues to go on missions, Sakura is in charge of the hospital and Team 7 isn't fully whole but they all have some semblance of normalcy returned to their lives.
It's only Naruto that is left standing here, searching after his friend even when he is only mere inches in front of him.
It's only ever Naruto.
"Spit it out, Naruto, before I break your wrist."
There's one heated moment where the future Hokage tightens his hold on the other boy's collar, and Sasuke's own pressure on his hand increases, and then finally he relaxes.
He steps away from him, lets the barrier reform itself, and walks towards the door. Naruto racks his brain for what he could possibly say that could make it better. The years may have evened him out, made him more mature, and the numerous political lessons might have even made him understand the jargon that some of the feudal lords use. But after all this time, a dobe like him still had no clue how to give a speech.
"Because I don't see myself as just your friend, Sasuke." He settles for saying, finally. It doesn't contain half of what he wants to convey, but they have never really needed words to understand each other. Naruto prays that it will work in this moment, considering everything else has already been shot to hell.
And I'm good at waiting, teme.
There's a long pause, and Naruto is sure the other boy is not going to say anything. He creaks open the door and already has one foot out when he hears him finally speak up.
"I really hate ramen, you know that?"
He turns around, to see Sasuke sitting across from the container, taking a small slurp of noodles from the bowl. Naruto's chest tightens, and a strained smile falls onto his lips as he watches his best friend continue to eat the food gingerly.
"You've always had bad taste, but I'll try to keep that in mind."
