I Only Have Eyes For You
Chapter 4: The Runaway
Author's Note: I'm so very sorry I took forever!! Enter the home-wrecker... Haha, I'm kidding.
If I woke up alone, I won't stop til I find you
And you are with me
Cause by now, I know you better than you know yourself
And I know what you really need --Something Corporate
--
Dear Sakura-chan,
How you doing? Konoha must be nice this time of year.
I'm leaving Suna tomorrow morning. God, it's hot as hell here! Why would anyone live in the middle of the desert? If Gaara didn't live here, man, I wouldn't have bothered to show up.
But this week has been fun. Sparring with the Kazekage in the morning, eating awesome feasts with him at night. Kankuro tried to introduce me to these girls but don't worry I only have eyes for you (wink wink).
Staying here really opened my eyes. I got to see Gaara's view from his position as a leader and I can't help but feel fueled. It makes me wanna get home quick and prove to the frickin' world that I'll be the best damn Hokage ever!
But damn, I miss Konoha. I miss everyone. And you. I should make it a point not to travel alone. That's why I can't wait to come back and take you along! It'll be great! While we search, we could see the sights, eat our meals together, share a tent... Heh-heh, I get excited just thinking about it!
I should be coming home in a week or two. Remember, ramen!
-Naruto
--
Sakura could hear the ropes squeaked as she set herself down on the swing's seat. The view of the Academy's inside was dark; Iruka had locked up hours ago.
She had walked into Naruto's apartment, only to quickly pick up his mail and walk out of the place, locking the door behind her.
His presence was so strong, she couldn't handle it. For weeks, months even, she fought with herself, scolding herself for letting her feelings falter between two men.
But damn, she couldn't control how her heart wavered when she was in his apartment or the mentioning of his name. Seeing his picture. Or when she saw a frog in the grass, for that matter.
Before she knew it, he had gotten to her.
She kicked her feet from the ground underneath her, causing her body to swing back and forth.
Memories started pouring in, like a water faucet set on full blast.
The blond boy her parents told her to stay away from.
The boy who talked big and dreamed big.
Naruto, who was on her team.
Naruto, who promised to reunite their broken family.
Naruto, who cried alongside her.
Naruto, who comforted her at her parents' funeral.
Naruto, who always asked her out.
Naruto, who made her laugh.
Naruto, who worshiped her.
Naruto, who would go to Hell and back for her.
It was as if the curtains were lifted from her eyes and dawn filled her vision.
For years, Naruto worshiped and cherished her like some sort of angel. Sakura only realized then that she too cherished him. He was a source of strength, sturdy and true... like a rock. How could she have not seen that? Naruto was her ground, her foundation... and she could not live without him.
But Sasuke? What about Sasuke?
She loved him.
But was it impossible to love more than one person? The two boys were very different, affecting her in different ways. While Sasuke made her heart rush, Naruto made her comfortable. While Sasuke made her heart feel so much agony, Naruto did everything he could to soothe it.
"So, what really is love?" she asked out loud.
She did not know... After months of wondering, Sakura came to a realization. These 'new' feelings for Naruto were never 'new'. They were a slow progression, a process contained with years of bickering and comfort.
It wasn't completely impossible to love two men, right?
Sakura stepped off the swing and headed home.
Naruto was returning tomorrow; she wanted to get a good night's rest.
--
"Sakura-san?"
She blinked. "Yes, Shizune-san?"
"Are you alright?"
Sakura's eyes returned to the mortar and pestle before her and then continued her task of mixing herbs together. "I'm fine." She peered at her work, realizing she had yet to turn it into a paste. Sakura grind the ingredients together.
"Naruto isn't back yet?" her teacher asked when she walked in.
Sakura regarded her teacher's appearance, then continued her task. She shook her head quietly.
"Shouldn't he have been back a week ago?" Tsunade added.
"I think I've just been anxious, that's all," Sakura divided exact equal measurements of the paste and dropped them in small vials. "We were supposed to leave together soon."
"I wouldn't worry too much," Tsunade reached for a book at the bottom shelf and skimmed through the table of contents. "He's probably looking for the perfect souvenir for you." She turned to her student and smiled.
"He's such an idiot," Sakura said without any malice.
--
"What do you mean ' prepare for the worst'?"
Tsunade sat quietly in her chair right behind her desk. She knew bearing bad news came with the territory as Hokage, but she hated the expression her pink haired student was giving her. "No one has seen him, Sakura."
"But this is Naruto we're talking about!" Sakura felt her heart jump to her esophagus. "He can't just... die!"
"There's no trace of him. He could have been captured."
Sakura gulped. "You mean the Akatsuki?"
Tsunade held her head up, eyes to the ceiling. "I was stupid to allow him to leave." She turned back to the girl before her. "I'll send Kakashi out for information and by next week, I'll send out a search party."
"I want to be on that assignment," Sakura insisted.
"I figured as much," Tsunade showed her the paperwork, showing her name, along with Hatake Kakashi and Inuzuka Kiba. "Still, Sakura, I'm telling you to prepare for the worst."
--
She was scrubbing down a stain off the wooden floor by the time it started to hail.
Naruto should have been back three months ago. So where was he?
"I think it's about time we head back home."
Sakura stopped dead in her tracks, crushing the twig underneath her foot.
"You sure about that?" Kiba glance over to Sakura, then back to their team leader.
"We do have cold leads," Shino added.
"But didn't we figure his last whereabouts were heading northwest from Suna, straight to Konoha?" Kiba added. "He can't be that far off."
"Unless he wandered off his path," Kakashi suggested.
Sakura swallowed. "Like Otogakure?"
All three men turned to her. The sudden image of an older man with a long, vicious tongue slithered into their minds.
"I wouldn't see why," Kakashi explained. "Orochimaru is dead. I don't see why Naruto may chase after Sasuke there."
"But Sensei!" she exclaimed. "This doesn't feel right! It's as if Naruto fell off the face of the earth!"
"He may have gotten kidnapped then," Kiba said out loud while stroking Akamaru behind the ears.
Her heart paused. A blurry image of Naruto's figure writhing in pain came to mind. "Then we have to find them," she said with her lip in a thin line.
Akamaru barked.
"Oh my god, you're nuts," Kiba rolled his eyes away from Sakura. "He's rubbing off on you."
"That's too dangerous, only with the four of us," Shino interjected.
Sakura watched as Kakashi approach her from a few feet in front of her. "Kakashi-sensei...?"
Kakashi's hands rested upon her shoulders. "Sakura... I know you're scared but there is nothing more here that we can do. Let's go home."
She felt as if that month long search was in vain. What if it were true, what if the Akatsuki got to him? She remembered how Gaara looked after the Jinshuuriki was extracted from his body.. Naruto was as good as dead without her.
Thunder crashed and the room's lights flickered.
No, she couldn't think like that. She had to be positive.
But if he was really gone, she would have never known what could have been.
As Sakura looked to the floor, she realized the spot she was scrubbing was not a stain at all, but a dark spot on the wood. She sat up, her feet tucked under her bottom as she threw the rag down. She gave up cleaning for the night; she couldn't concentrate.
A part of her was wondering if she should have accepted Ino's New Years Party invitation. They would all have a late dinner at her house and then head over to the temple at midnight. Frankly, she wanted to be alone... After that mission, Sakura did not want company. She could have gone to the temple at least and asked for Naruto's safe return, but...
...Being here in Naruto's living space was like being embraced in his presence. Slightly scattered with random paraphernalia, but filled with character and warmth.
God, she missed him. She wanted to see him again. She already lost one teammate; she didn't want to lose another.
Even if she did see him, what would she say? 'I love Sasuke-kun but I love you as well'? It sounded horrible in her head, twice as horrible out loud. Doesn't matter if it were the truth, it didn't sound very pleasing... But she wanted to talk to him. She wanted to tell him that she missed him terribly these past 9 months. She wanted to confess to him that she finally realized his importance, that he was her foundation, her solid ground and even though she wasn't good at showing it, she appreciated his adoration.
Lightning crashed and then the lights went out. "Perfect..." she muttered. Using the moonlight coming through the window, she crawled over to the bed and sat down on it. Curious, she laid down, feeling the old mattress give under her weight. Sakura rested her head on the pillow and subconsciously took a deep breath. Ah, so that's what he usually smelled of... his detergent...
And the sudden realization that she may not smell him, hear him, touch him, see him... She could feel a stinging sensation pool in the corners of her eyes.
Sakura let the scent of Naruto's sheets calm her heart and mind to a gradual sleeping spell.
--
She was vaguely aware of a presence in the room... but the presence didn't feel threatening, so she did not move. She could have sworn she heard a soft voice telling her to scoot over. She could have sworn she felt warmth, like a breathing blanket, being wrapped around her trunk. And she may have been imagining things but she may have heard a steady heartbeat and the whispering of a voice...
"Don't kill me, alright?" the male pleaded softly, "Just please... for the next few hours, let's stay like this. Can I just pretend you're mine? And that I can keep you? After this..." The voice broke gently, choked, and then released a ragged breath, "After this, no more. I promise."
Was the roof leaking? She could feel drops fall onto her left temple.
--
Her eyes felt so heavy as she forced them open. She expected to wake up face to face with her striped wallpaper or her stuffed teddy bear from childhood. Instead, she found the face of a snoring man sleeping beside her.
Man. Sleeping. Beside her.
Sakura let out a scream, punching him in the face, sending the man to the floor. It took a few minutes to realize that she was not in her room and the man who now sat cradling his face indeed had blond hair.
It was before seven in the morning but Sakura's thought process began to work. "Oh my god! Naruto!" she jumped off the bed and launched herself at him, hugging him tightly around the neck.
"Ow! Ow! Knee! Crotch! The hell!" he exclaimed in quick bursts, hunched over due to the pain.
Sakura pulled back. "Sorry..." and then she shoved him hard in the shoulder. "What the hell is your problem?! You were supposed to have come back in October!"
"I got... sidetracked," he said, scratching the back of his head.
"For three months?!" Sakura raised her voice, holding him by the collar.
"I had good reason--!"
"You didn't even write! We even went out on a recon mission to find you! I thought you were lost--!"
"Sorry!"
"Or killed! Or worst than that, kidnapped by the Akatsuki, then slowly killed!" Sakura's voice seemed to rise with each passing second.
"I didn't mean to take--."
"We were all so damn worried! How the hell did you think it felt, thinking you were dead?!" Sakura's eyes watered up as her worries began to pile up full force. Although, relief showed up, seeing him before her... it was all too much to handle.
Naruto reached out to her shoulders and held her down. "Look, I'm sorry, but listen alright?"
Sakura hiccupped.
"I'm sorry I made you worry but I had no choice. I had to take the chance."
"Chance?"
"Yeah. With Sasuke."
Her eyes widened at the familiar name. "Sasuke-kun? What about... what about him?"
Naruto took a long deep breath before admitting, "I ran into him. I fought him. And I brought him back with me."
The words did not fully compute in her head. "What? You... what?"
"I brought him back to Konoha," he told her again. "He's back."
She could feel a new set of tears welling in her eyes. "Wh-Where is he?"
"At the hospital. I'll take you to him."
The next few minutes were like a rush. They had locked the door behind them and they quickly jogged to their destination. As they did, Naruto explained what had been happening for the past three months: as he was passing nearby River Country, he heard Sasuke was close. He had tracked him down throughout four different countries before battling him in Lightning Country.
The whole time, Sakura couldn't believe it. Although a part of her was relieved of Sasuke's return, she couldn't help but wonder how he would react to being in Konoha. Their last encounter years ago was so cold... Frankly, she was scared of Sasuke's indifferent stare...
He led her to a room at the north end of the second floor. He passed two ANBU soldiers standing outside the room and opened the door, letting her in. There, lying on the solitary white bed was her lost teammate. Sakura's heart leaped to her mouth. She slowly stepped to his side, almost afraid that it was an illusion and that it was not him. His face was longer with age, new and old scars marred his skin... it looked like Sasuke... "Sasuke-kun..." she muttered, almost afraid her voice would break the sight of him before her.
His closed eyes tightened and then relaxed, slowly fluttering open, revealing his dark eyes. He took a moment to drink in his surroundings, including the company in the room. Slowly, he sat up with his own strength and turned his eyes to her. "Sakura..."
His dark eyes. His voice. It was really him.
She leaped towards him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Sakura let go of her tears, letting them fall on his bare shoulder. She couldn't believe it. It was real, he was real.. She always wondered what it would be like to see him again, wondered when he would come back. He felt thin and he looked as if he had not received enough sleep in years. But his skin was warm... he was warm; his body was real... The thought reassured her, causing tears of joy to fall. "Sasuke-kun..." she muttered his name again.
Sasuke blinked, slowly reached his hand up to her head and ran his fingers gently through the ends of her hair. Slowly, he let his forehead fall towards the side, letting his temple fall against hers.
She heard the faint sound of a door, quietly being closed. Sakura was about to turn her head but froze when she felt Sasuke move. He reached up to her, cradling her jaw in his hands, holding her steady as he lightly pressed his forehead to hers. "I'm home," he whispered.
Sakura nodded, forcing herself to breathe. "Welcome home..." she pulled him in for another hug, holding him close.