Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
"You'll always be Sasuke to me."
"You'll always be Sasuke to me."
"You'll always be Sasuke to me."
It was echoing farther into his mind, in tune with the beating of his heart aflame. Blue so welcoming, yet intimidating, slid across the white of their eyes to keep the gaze as Naruto turned his head slightly towards their sensei. Sasuke felt the hard edge of the seat meet his dangling legs, the grip on his shirt loosening. It was quiet, and Kakashi's tightened grip on the blonds' shoulder was like the whir of strained leather in the silence.
Sasuke couldn't tear his eyes away from the ice blue irises leering at him just from the corner of Naruto's eyes. They were like pins. Darts, thrown right into him, almost all seeing, but not quite. It felt like hours they were staring at him, questioning. Searching; raising hot fires of energy exploding inside of him. Then, it was over in seconds. Suddenly, they wandered away from him, diving behind tan eyelids, and Sasuke's fire drained quietly.
A tired sigh blew strong, Naruto's chakra releasing into the tense air. "…okay,"
Sasuke dropped into his seat, Naruto's open hands hovering over the raven's head. Naruto looked down into his empty hands, and Sasuke knew that if they turned ever so slightly, Naruto would be looking at him again. They never turned. Naruto closed his eyes as he dropped one hand to his side, and ran the other through his hair. He turned to their sensei, and Sasuke's heart slowed rapidly, almost freezing. His chest felt cold again.
Sasuke dropped his eyes and placed a hesitating hand over his exhausted heart, now beating ever so slowly. It was almost as if the cold was a poison, crawling back onto his heart now, wrapping around his lungs. The air was freezing again; ice coating the inside of his lungs. Sasuke's fingers scraped the material roughly as his fist closed around it. It was cold.
Sasuke's eyes widened as a warm, heavy hand settled on his shoulder. That hand gave a slight squeeze, patted his shoulder, and then it slowly slid away, leaving the warmth in it's wake to tingle and spread. Sasuke's head slowly rose, watching Naruto walk away at a leisurely pace, his hands resting in his pockets.
Sakura watched as Sasuke stood unsteadily, staring after the blond astonishingly. She worried her bottom lip, looking between her sensei and teammate, wondering just what was going on. Why don't I understand? This is my team… and I can't even see what's going on right in front of my eyes. Sakura's brow furrowed, her eyes dropping to the ground. Why?
"He'll come around. And until then… I'll come back for you."
Her eyes stung, and a sharp pain ran through her lip as her jaw grew taut. Why?
"Sakura?"
Sakura's head shot up, catching Sasuke's dark eyes. They seemed hazy, though almost as if they realized a great deal. Why don't I know? Why am I-
"You're crying."
Sakura's eyes widened, and slowly, she reached up hesitantly, touching her wet cheek. She brought her hand back, and stared wonderingly at her dripping fingertips. A white cloth was placed in her hands, and she sniffled profusely at the sight of it. She went to dab her eyes, when a soft chuckle made her freeze. Her shining eyes slowly rose, and Sasuke's amused smirk sent a light feeling through her chest.
"You're still annoying, you know." he murmured, leaning against the counter, looking fatigued.
Sakura's light chest fluttered, and her face contorted with worry. "Sasuke-kun! Are you hurt? Are you okay? You look-"
Sasuke raised a hand to cut her off, his smirk lingering still. "I'm fine, but you-" the words froze, his eyes drifting away, and he sighed. "but you look confused…" Sasuke turned his eyes back curiously. "Why?"
Sakura flinched as Sasuke's eyes questioned her. Why? "I… I don't know what's happening to our team…"
Sasuke was quiet, contemplating, then he chuckled weakly. Sasuke looked off, a far away gaze, seeing something only his eyes could view so full of distraught. "Truthfully… I don't either…"
"He'll come around. And until then… I'll come back for you."
Sakura's hands tightened around the cloth given to her so effortlessly. Sasuke stared on, lost in his thoughts. "…Naruto… he knows." Sakura swallowed hard, clearing her throat as Sasuke lowered his eyes, his hand still hanging on above his heart. Sakura's hand twitched at her side relentlessly, and her stomach hardened. She narrowed her eyes determinedly, and reached for Sasuke's free hand. Grasping it, Sasuke's surprised eyes darted to hers, and she gave a weak smile, pulling Sasuke into a walk after their blond companion. "…He'll show us."
Kakashi leaned on the back of his heels, his one visible eye gazing prominently after his students. An amused smile creased his mask as Kakashi followed in an upbeat fashion after them.
"I don't understand this, sensei." Kakashi turned his eyes down at his student, and Naruto's gaze was a longing one, focused on the far, shadowed figure just ahead of them. "I just… want to know."
Kakashi lowered his eyes further, Naruto's overpowering melancholy getting to him. He lay his hand atop the blond head, ruffling the locks so easily gliding under his palm. "Naruto," he began softly, "people change. You can't guarantee someone will come back from such an experience radiant and joyful."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, feeling a hardening and numb feeling crust along his skin. "No, sensei, that is not what I meant. I know, I guarantee that he will be Sasuke, I know he will."
Kakashi's one eye opened a fraction wider.
"But… his feelings, they're so- dark." Naruto couldn't help his pride from diminishing, his chin falling to rest against his chest. "I just wish I could… I want to know that I can save him from them…"
His heart ached for his student; he couldn't describe this irritating sensation in his chest any other way.
Emerald eyes glistened with astonishment, darting awkwardly around the small room. The piles of sake bottles in the corner of the stuffy office seemed to be alive as they slowly rolled about each other. Sakura's fingers grabbed at the material of her dressings and her bottom lip was caught between her teeth as her nervous habits shown through. The great hokage's office was chilling to say the least, and not an improvement to the earlier situation.
Sakura's eyes slid to the left, and she slowly scooted toward her orange counterpart, knowing Tsunade had special respect for Naruto. She felt him acknowledge her presence in the calm way his chakra settled, and as hard as Sakura tried to keep a grasp on her braced and anticipating nature, she relaxed next to her teammate.
Sasuke stood to the right of Sakura, his weight shifted onto his right foot, though he would never admit the more placid feeling he gained when he stood so close to his teammates. His eyes were trained on the Hokage's cold stare defiantly, though his posture was relaxed. Tsunade raised a skeptical eyebrow at him, and Sasuke mirrored her. The hazel eyes narrowed, and the great hokage stuck her tongue out at the raven haired brat. Sasuke's eyes grew exceptionably wide as he blanched at his hokage.
Naruto fidgeted in place, his earnestness getting the best of him. "Come on! What do you want you old hag?!" he squawked.
Tsunade's eyes shot to the blond disturbingly, and Naruto glared right back. "What did you call me gaki?"she hissed.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, his tongue clucking against the roof of his mouth. "Old. Hag." he spat.
Tsunade stood from her seat so fast it tipped over in an unsettling crash. Her pointer finger snapped in Naruto's direction, a vein popping under her eye. "Listen here brat! I can give you a month's worth of vacation if you want to disrespect your hokage like that!"
Naruto flinched excessively with wide eyes, and shook his head animatedly.
Tsunade smirked, plopping down into her seat sloppily. She leaned forward onto her elbows as Kakashi sighed agitatedly. "There is a special job needed of you."
Sakura tensed, feeling Naruto stiffen at these words. She dared glance at him, surprised to see such a rigid expression from the normally lively look he had about him. To further worry her, Tsunade's eyes focused solely on the blond.
"You are to scout the immediate area around the village, mainly near the river you had just relieved of garbage. The recent activity there has been nothing of regularity, and I want to know the best form of action I must take so that my village is safe, and my shinobi be at the best of their ability."
Sasuke and Sakura had no doubt in their minds that she was only trying to convince one them, that being Naruto.
Tsunade continued, making her voice as soft as possible. "Your clones would be the best choice as to searching the entire sight without harming yourself, and even if something were to happen, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Sakura would be there to-"
"No." Tsunade paused, closing her mouth as the next words were lost. Naruto's eyes creased crossly, the hurt shining through. "I thought I told you I didn't want to put my team in danger."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes, forcing the power of her stature upon the boy. "You are the only one with experience of the incident that is able to enter the sight and get out alive. Do you not want to help your village?"
Naruto breath was thin, coming from him like a hiss. "It was decided that if I was needed, it would be me, not my team. Are you saying that what we discussed was a lie?"
Tsunade stood angrily once more, her hands tightening into fists against the hard surface of her desk. "Damn it, Naruto! I also said that I would not let you enter that damned sight alone!" Tsunade stopped herself from continuing in such a way, lowering her voice. "We need this Naruto. If not your team, would you send anyone else into that situation without the experience you possess?"
Naruto was silent, his lips dry with the oncoming of words, "I-"
"Are we not good enough?" Naruto froze, his eyes turning slowly, settling on a shadowed mass that looked upon him with gray eyes. "Are you afraid we can't handle it, scared-y cat?"
Comprehension, he could not grasp. Naruto watched as Sasuke seemed to fade into a tunnel vision, slowly moving away into a white light. Crisp sheets so clearly outlining the dark figure he was in Naruto's memory.
"He might not hold out over night,"
"Are you listening?"
"He might be gone by morning."
"I'm staying. I'm not scared."
"That's beside the point. He-"
"Shut the hell up, teme!"
Everyone but the quarrelers jumped at the unexpected outburst. Sasuke smirked, turning his eyes down. "I just thought you needed to be reminded of how stupid you sound right now."
"What'd you say?!" Naruto growled.
"Naruto." Naruto turned aggressively to his hokage, and she sighed. "The mission."
Naruto grumbled, flexing his fists. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."
He was annoyed yes, but… Naruto turned away from all the eyes, his smile forcing his teeth to show. I knew you'd come back!
A/N
I am so so so so so so sorry!
This is like forever late!!
Home is just impossibly uncooperative right now- so much going on, and my testing was UNGODLY.
I will get these as fast as i can so i can get back track next Sunday-
again, I'm soooooooooooooo sorry!! T_T
Sasuke was in the hospital fataly(if you didn't understand - -')! Tsunade goes against Naruto's wishes, and if you don't remember, Tsunade had held interviews and that was when they had the discusion they speak of..
Chapter Three! Review to Continue!
-MM(: