Warnings: I am considering this an AU. Some parts are canon. Manga spoilers abound. And although I write some of Sasuke and Naruto in character, they will definitely have their moments of OOC-ness.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But I would loooove to own Itachi. And I do own Aya. She's my creation.
a/n: Thanks again to all my reviewers/alerters. Hopefully I can continue to live up to your expectations. More Sasuke in this chapter yay!
Hiding Behind Masks
Ch. 2 - Memories and Reminders
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Thoughts: 'blah blah'
Speaking: "blah blah"
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The man, known to this small village as "Ruka," sat back in the chair and watched the flames, his thoughts in chaos. He never thought he'd see his rival again, let alone here in bird country - a non-ninja village. Sure, he had mouthed off for years about bringing his friend back to Konoha, but he had given up hope after the last time he had a glimpse of what used to be his best friend. And of course now Konoha was just a footnote in his life.
He thought back to the last few eventful hours. He had healed most of Sasuke's surface wounds, stitched up the gash in his side and wrapped his torso. He had also checked over Aya and Takashi, took care of their wounds, and fed them before sending them home. Aya had fussed like mad, wanting to stay with her "savior," until he told her that she could come back in the morning. She finally agreed and left them with a smile and wave. It seems even away from Konoha, Sasuke still has the ability to attract fangirls.
The two young teens were fortunate that the ex-Konoha nin arrived when he did. But now that he was alone and stuck with his thoughts, questions kept going through his head. What was he doing in this area? Why did he help them? Where were his teammates? If he was here, did that mean Itachi and Akatsuki were around? He couldn't see any other reason why Sasuke would show up in a place like this. So many questions.... If only the teme was awake so he could get his answers.
He closed his eyes with a heavy sigh and wrapped his hand around the blue stone that sat against his chest. Just seeing his former teammate brought back so many memories. He missed Konoha. He missed his friends and his makeshift family of Iruka, Kakashi, Tsunade, and Sakura. When he had first settled in this tiny village in the middle of nowhere, he sent letters to Tsunade through Gamakichi. He never revealed to them where he was, just that he was ok and bits of small talk here and there. The toad would come back with a pile of mail from all of his friends, his precious people. And all of their notes were precious to him. It was proof that none of them had abandoned him. Tsunade had done just as he requested upon leaving and told them all, not just about his banishment, but also about the Kyuubi. In the end, every one of them accepted him as he was. In fact, all of them were angry at the council. In their letters they all swore to do whatever they could to get him back, even if he knew there was nothing that could be done.
It was good to hear from them from time to time. They would always give him the latest news and sometimes they would even send him things. He would get ointments from Hinata, medical stuff from Sakura (even with his less than extensive knowledge, somehow he had ended up taking on the role of unofficial village healer), scrolls of easy medical jutsus from Tsunade, chips from Chouji, pictures from Iruka, even a shogi set from Shikamaru, although he hasn't found anyone to play against yet. Kakashi even had the nerve to send books...those hentai things made good fireplace fodder.
He leaned his head back against the chair and turned to look at one of the many pictures that adorned his walls. This particular one was a simple ink drawing, but he considered it to be one of the most precious things he had gotten – and of all people, the picture came from Sai. Whatever the happenings, events, and changes around the village, Sai would capture it in print and send it and he was grateful. While he may not be in Konoha anymore, at least he could have Konoha with him. He now knew that Sakura and Lee were engaged, Hinata and Kiba were dating, Konohamaru and his friends were all chuunin, Ino and Sai – strangely enough – were an item. He even had a picture of Gaara and his siblings, taken the last time they were in the village. He smiled softly as he remembered his side trip to Suna after he left Konoha. He ended up having to convince Gaara not to nullify the treaty. At hearing what had happened, Gaara's face had taken on a ferocity that he hadn't seen since the Shukaku days. The Kazekage had been ready to bury the entire village in a desert coffin. Fortunately, things between Suna and Konoha have smoothed out a bit since then. Although, his red headed friend still has no love for the council.
His smile faded as he went back to staring into flickering orange and red flames. The man in the other room unsettled him. It was rare he felt that way anymore. It was easier to forget about everything when there were no reminders. Feelings faded. Life went on.
It was easy to forget how lonely he was…..until now.
A persistent knock on the door woke him up. He opened his eyes and noticed how light it was. With a yawn and a stretch he got off the couch and opened the door to find a brown haired, brown eyed ball of energy in the form of Aya bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"Good morning Ruka. Breakfast?"
Naruto rolled his eyes and opened the door wider as an invitation knowing she wasn't really there to see him anyway.
"It's too early." He mumbled between yawns and ran his hand through his bed head.
"Not that early Ruka." Aya replied cheerfully
Naruto just shook his head. "Should've known you'd be here at the crack of dawn. It's too early to be that happy." The teen gave him an indignant glare.
"I said it's not that early."
"Whatever you say Aya."
She grinned as he waved her away and she walked past him, tossing a bag his way before going into his bedroom and checking on her new favorite male patient. With a sleepy chuckle, he opened the bag and pulled out a pastry and ate it. Naruto met Aya not long after he got to Bird Country. For some reason he could never figure out, she immediately became attached to him like a shadow. She followed him everywhere. It wasn't long before he learned her story. Her father had been a ninja before he died. Her mother brought her here, not wanting her growing up in a ninja village. But despite her mother's intentions, she couldn't stop Aya's natural ability from shining through. He knew he was in trouble the first time she picked up a medical ninjutsu scroll. Her curiosity was peaked. The next thing he knew, he couldn't get rid of the girl. With her bubbly personality and her desire for knowledge, she quickly became Naruto's right hand girl. After much begging on her part, he began training her in how to use chakra and chakra control. In time, he had to admit that she made his new life interesting. He could hear her in the room moving things around. 'Better get in there before she finds some way to kill the teme.' He threw the empty bag into the trash and went to his bedroom and found the girl sitting in a chair with another bag in her hand.
"How is he?" she whispered.
"He'll be fine. He's just resting now."
A rustle of the sheets brought their attention back to the dark haired patient. "Sasuke?" Another grunt sounded as the man slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear them. He looked to the side and saw two almost identical grins.
"Would you both quit that. You'll blind me," he mumbled and turned to the other side. A moment later he whipped back around - a bit too fast for his injured limbs. Pain shot through his side, causing him to moan. But he ignored the pain in favor of addressing the shock of seeing someone so familiar. "Naruto?"
"Uhh...yeah?" 'Real intelligent there...' Naruto brought one arm up and rubbed the back of his head.
Fortunately he was interrupted from having to say anything more by Aya. "How do you feel? Are you any better? I don't know how to thank you for saving us…." She went on and on, completely oblivious to the growing tension between the males. An impromptu staring contest began and neither was willing to give way. Suddenly the dark one snorted and slipped into territory both he and Naruto were familiar with. Arguing.
"Dobe."
"Teme," the blonde growled back with a glare. "Don't call me that. Besides you should be showing some gratitude to the guy who saved your life."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. I was just fine without you. I didn't need any help."
"Sure you didn't teme. And you could walk just fine without practically being dragged by two injured 13 year olds on their horse."
"Hn...usuratonkachi." It was amazing how quickly they both reverted back to old habits. No one could get under each other's skin like they could, even after all the time apart. Aya had, by now, unpacked breakfast for him which consisted of some soup. He gave the girl his best Uchiha glare, but like the Dobe next to her, it meant nothing. She just grinned back at him and held up a spoonful of soup to his lips. Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned his head stubbornly in refusal.
"I can feed myself you know." This time it was Naruto who snorted.
"Sure you can teme. With what hand?"
Sasuke looked down and, for the first time, noticed that both of his hands were wrapped. He looked up at Naruto for an explanation. The blond shrugged before explaining.
"You got stabbed in the ;eft hand and you had some burns on your right hand. Used Chidori too much didn't you?"
Sasuke, for some reason, felt tempted to pout. Of course, as an Uchih,a he wouldn't dare. Instead, he gave a long suffering sigh and endured the humiliation of being fed, by a little girl no less. 'Well at least it's not the dobe feeding me. That would be even more humiliating.' Once he finished the soup and the dobe checked all his wounds, the enigmatic girl took her leave. Thank goodness, because she was annoying him with her constant fussing over him. As soon as she was gone dark eyes slowly slid back to blue ones and held.
"So Dobe, what are you doing here?
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Edited 02/19/2010
