Author Notes:
Okay, before anything, there's a review from a 'guest' that I really want to answer, since it made me laugh. No, the necklace will not be used in a cliché manner, and it will not save Sasuke's life from any bullet. The thought didn't even cross my mind 'til I read your review, and God, it made my day! Hopefully, you'll like the twist the necklace will produce into the story, but that's all for the next chapter to tell, for now, enjoy this one, and very sorry for the late update, my Beta was still busy being examined and finally she's done. So, optimistically, there will be no more delays into the updates. :D
And again, thanks to all of you who are still following me and my stories, I love you guys. And XxDreaming of RealityxX, you already know how grateful I'm to have you with me, thanks a million, darling!
With no further delays, enjoy~
Neji frowned at the unconscious blond sleeping soundly on the comfortable hospital bed he'd arranged for him, and his frown shifted as a sigh escaped his lips. Now, with this new development, his chances of getting home to his lovely Gaara were ruined. Well, he had accounted for this to happen the moment Naruto's face had turned ghostly pale at the hospital's front hall, but to be hit with the realization so suddenly had that little spark of hope inside his heart die down. The doctor that had seen Naruto told him that there was no apparent reason why the other should faint, except for mental exhaustion, since his body was alive and kicking. Which led the raven to believe whatever had caused Naruto to lose his memories truly did reside inside this old hospital's wall.
But yet again, what would be troubling enough to cause one to lose a bunch of his memories?
The answer was still vague. He did come up with theories but how much truth they held was irrelevant; because they were just that, theories made by his brain since he refused to grasp the truth. Feeling annoyed with this puzzle that still declined to open its doors to him, Neji stood from the chair he was welcomed into and walked out of the room, thinking to get himself some refreshments since his stay was extended now. His legs took him to the nearby cafeteria and he smiled at the small coffee shop placed there.
Going with certain steps towards his drug, Neji grinned his way into getting himself a sweet-smelling cup of caffeine. He started blowing on the hot beverage as his pocket began vibrating, signalling an incoming call or a text. Neji's mouth curved into a tender smile when he read over the nonchalant words from his roommate. He sent a set of his with assurance to the other that they'd only be one day apart. He got an answer asking for the reason, and he only replied with a curt 'business needed to be taken care of'. Another text about how he shouldn't be doing something naughty was delivered to his warm hands. Neji allowed his locks to fall gently over his face, hiding the happiness that was only meant for Gaara to see there.
He finished with his caffeine and decided to head back to the room, but on his way there, his brain started thinking. If he wasn't wrong, this was the same hospital that Sasuke had made a huge commotion back then to be taken out of. Maybe what had happened to Naruto had something to do with Sasuke's incident. His legs shifted their destination from Naruto's room to the recipient's desk as an idea started forming inside his well-organized brain.
Maybe this puzzle wasn't all that hard to crack, after all.
"Stuuupid, it's not done like that!"
Pale fingers snatched the set of flowers out of his tanned hands, and the blond teenager found himself pouting at the raven haired male with a dissatisfied look on his lovely features.
"Fine! If you think you could do it any better, be my guest! But I'll laugh my ass off when you can't, Jerk!" He stuck his tongue out to make himself clear.
"Just shut up and watch, Dobe, this is how it's done."
Naruto refused to admit it to himself, but the pale, working fingers were keener to how it was to make a bow out of the flower bunch sprayed before them, than his were. A pleased Sasuke thrust the finished bow to Naruto's face. His lips formed a smirk when Naruto's eyes flashed a white flag signalling their surrender.
"Stop smirking. So what if you knew how to make a lousy bow?! It doesn't make you anything big; in fact, it just shows how much of a girl you clearly are!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes, standing up. "Sourpuss, just admit to your defeat already. I always top you."
"It's just this time! Next time I'll show you what's what!"
Flaming orbs faced his still hazy ones and against his better judgment, Sasuke felt his inner soul rise with a sense of excitement over their next meeting. He quickly drained his lips from any form of happiness and retorted.
"What makes you think there's a next time? I had only humoured you so far, but I may not be doing it next time."
"Well, it's not like you have anything better to do. Besides, being with me beats those white walls a hundred times!"
"No, it doesn't. I feel the same way whether I'm with you or in my room."
"Sasuke, you're such a liar! I can see you having fun with me, and you like it, just admit it already, you like spending time with me."
The raven spoke as he started walking towards the familiar road, leading to the outside of the great garden that he was introduced to by the blond behind him. "I'm not. And whatever you try to tell yourself so you can sleep at night is fine with me; just don't involve your wild speculations with me."
"They're not wild speculations!"
"Yes, they are."
Naruto started following behind the half-blind teen with the flower bow tightly held in his hands, disregarding the bench they had been sitting on when they came to their secret base this afternoon.
"By the way, Sasuke, how come you know how to make a flower bow so well? Normal guys won't."
"Are you taking your old words back?"
"Shut up, I'm not taking anything back. I'm just admitting that you could do it well, but not better than me!"
"Hum, still seems like you're admitting defeat to me."
"Agghh! Fine! Whatever you like, I'm admitting defeat. So, would you tell me about it or not? I'm not going to beg your stinking ass for it."
"It would be interesting to see you try."
"Teme…!"
"Hn." Sasuke felt the wall with his hands and made a detour to the right to get to his room, his ears picked up on Naruto changing his tone to a more friendly one when a couple of nurses passed them by and he remained as antisocial as ever. "My mother taught it to me. She liked flowers, and worked with them for a long time. So, sometimes when I had some free time, she would teach me a thing or two about flowers."
"Hmm…That sounds pretty cool. Introduce me to your mother next time she visits you, okay?" An excited Naruto chirped to him.
"I don't think that that's possible."
At the dark tone, Naruto closed his mouth of this topic. He followed Sasuke silently into his room. Yes, it wasn't his first time inside, but every time he would come in, he'd be amazed at the huge, magnificent room. Sasuke had refused to give him any sort of information about him, and he didn't push it much. Yet, it was apparent that the raven wasn't some ordinary person taken from the street. He was something, and judging from the first-class room he was in, he was something big. Probably a child of some rich family.
But all of that didn't matter to Naruto.
He closed the door behind him and watched Sasuke slowly make his way towards his bed, then rest on it with one hand placed faintly over his forehead.
"Get out. Go back to your room; your physician must be looking for you."
Naruto grinned sleekly and made his way towards the comfortable-looking bed. "No worries, today's her day off. No one's looking for me; I can spend some more time with you without anyone interrupting us."
"No, you can't. Because I don't want to, so just leave."
"What's really wrong? You have been acting out for a while now. What's going on with you?"
Tender, tanned hands found their way towards his disoriented locks and as much as Sasuke wanted to push those hands away, he couldn't. So, he released himself a sigh.
"Nothing's wrong. Just leave me alone."
"Hmm…you don't feel sick…and you're not flushed over a fever, either. Then is it something that you can't tell me?"
"Get ou-"
"Or don't want to tell me?"
"…Even if there was something, be certain you'd be the last person I would tell anything."
Naruto withdrew his hands to fold them over his chest. "I take it you still don't trust me."
"That's a given. You're still a stranger."
"Well, to me you're not. And I won't complain or push you into anything, it's plenty enough you told me your name. I just have one thing I would like to ask you."
"Don't ask."
"Here it comes then," Naruto grinned when Sasuke released a groan. "Why am I so interested in you?"
Before Sasuke could know what's what, a heavy weight hopped on his midsection, he closed his eyes knowing that it would be best to look with his inner eye instead of the lights dancing before his blind orbs like that, and snorted when Naruto brought both his hands on either sides of him to steady himself from falling all over him.
"That's because you, my friend, are gay. And you can't keep yourself from falling in love with me."
"Nah…that's not it. Another reason please."
"There's no other. This is the only reason there's to get interested in another male."
"No, it's not. I can name you multiple characters across history who have been interested in another male and it had nothing to do with love or them being gay."
"Ooh, look who has finally read himself a page outta the history textbooks in his closet."
"Ass. I'm serious here. No matter what, I can't seem to let you be alone. But no matter how hard I try, I can't figure it out. What's about you that makes me this interested?"
Sasuke sighed and rose slowly from the bed, causing Naruto to relax backwards on his legs before his head could collide with Sasuke's, and he knew the other would not appreciate that very much.
"Naruto, what makes you interested in me is that I'm vague, mysterious and something that's utterly new to you. If you got the chance to know me better, you'd lose all this false sense of interest. So, you don't need to think too hard about this, let's just enjoy our time together 'til the day I get discharged comes along. Then each has to go his own path."
"What do you mean 'go his own path'? You're planning on stopping being friends after we get out of here?"
"Precisely. I have no need of friends, and befriending me will only bring you troubles. That's why it's best to cut this budding friendship when we leave here."
"What if I don't want to?"
"You don't really have a say in the matter. When I want something to happen, it happens. And I say we'll cease to be friends when I get discharged; you just have to live up with that. Agree to it or don't, it doesn't really matter to me, but for your own good, you should."
"Why are you saying such harsh words?"
Sasuke put both of his hands on Naruto's chest pushing him upward and away. "The result of hanging out with me further is far worse than my words."
"Sas-"
"Enough. Move out now. I need to get some shut eye before I meet the doctor. I'd appreciate it if you closed the door behind you, too."
With those as his finalizing words, Sasuke returned back to the bed; he turned his back to the blond above him and ignored his presence. Sighing, Naruto decided it was best to leave with his dignity still intact, and rose from Sasuke's bed towards the door. He spared the other a final look before releasing yet another sigh and closed the door silently behind him.
Golden hair was ruffled as Naruto turned in his sleep, holding the sheets tightly between his hands as his body continued sweating the heat inside it away. He groaned loudly but in the dark lit room no one could hear his agonizing cries and he had to grind and bear it as this heart-wrenching dream continued to play out inside his mind, providing him with zero time to catch his breath.
He'd decided to respect Sasuke's wishes to sleep without being disturbed, but when he was acting like that just to push him away and said all of these ridiculous things, Naruto just couldn't let it go and return to his white-walled room like that. So, he'd made a detour and walked back towards the ass's room. Yet, as he neared the said room, he frowned at the view of his blind friend being led out by three grown up men wearing black.
For a second, he thought them to be related to him, his bodyguards or something, but then, there was this twitch in Sasuke's hand that made a cold feeling descend on his stomach and he just couldn't sit right with that. He frowned when the three men took Sasuke to the elevator and closed the door behind them. Relying on his hunch, Naruto followed closely behind them. He got to the floor at which the elevator had stopped at, then continued to trail them silently. His suspicion only deepened when they had walked out to the ground floor with Sasuke's face giving off an annoyed expression.
What business would Sasuke have with this floor? As far as he knew, there was nothing in this current floor except the entrance to the hospital and the recipients with some offices related to the people running the hospital. So, if Sasuke wasn't going to be discussing how this hospital was run, he was going to get out of the hospital. But why go out? Didn't he just tell Naruto that he was going to sleep because he had an appointment with his doctor later today?
And as far as Naruto knew, the raven couldn't leave the hospital without being discharged by his appointed doctor. Then what the hell was going on here? Who were those guys taking his friend out? What business did they need with Sasuke? His stomach made turns as he came to the entrance of the hospital and frowned when the guards appointed there weren't in their position. The butterflies in his stomach made a chaos and he went out of the hospital, moving like lightening, he searched for the familiar raven locks he knew very well.
His mouth fluttered into a relieved expression when he found the other teen. Running towards the car that was about to force an unwilling Sasuke inside, Naruto stood in its path and started shouting.
"Who the fuck are you?! Let him go!"
Blind orbs widened when their owner recognized the voice shouting for his release. "Idiot! What the hell are you doing here?! Get back to the hospital! You have no business with this!"
"What are you talking about?! They're abducting you here!"
"It doesn't concern you! Just walk away!"
"Kid, it would be best to do as he says," One of the three guys with glasses smirked down at Naruto as he showed him the gun placed on the anterior pocket of his black tux. "We don't want any noise or attention here. So, go back to your little hospital and we won't harm you."
"Like hell I will! Give Sasuke back!"
"Hey, I'm acting nice now. Stop shouting and go back. You don't want me to lose my cool; because I won't be held responsible for what may happen to you if I do." The man replied to Naruto's demands.
The blond bit his lips and ran forward to them, he head-butted the one with the gun, causing Sasuke to be pushed back to the bushes nearby because he was standing behind him. The guy he had just attacked delivered a heavy punch to Naruto's cheek, and the other two stood, smirking as the other got back the price for the silly head-butt he was just given.
All Sasuke was able to see were distinct lights dancing and the sound of hits being made to Naruto's body. He felt his body move towards the noise but before he could interact into the fight, one of the standing-by two males, got a hold of him and cuffed both of his hands, pointing the hose of the gun to his back, then smirked sinfully when Sasuke's body ceased moving.
"Nice thought, bocchan. Now, if only that friend of yours was this smart. You know what, since you're being obedient today, I'll let you in on something. See here, your stupid friend will mostly die, but because he doesn't want you to be worried, he'd put his useless hands on his mouth to prevent his screams from being released. Isn't that sweet? He's being hit to death, and the only thing he used his lousy hands for is to prevent his voice from cracking out. So fucking adorable!"
Sasuke's eyes went white at this. He felt his core shake and his nails dug into his flesh, and with everything he had, he cursed everything inside of his black hells.
"STOP IT!"
His abrupt shout had the man who was using Naruto as a punching bag stop in his mid-kick, and look at the kid he was supposed to kidnap with curious eyes.
"What?"
Sasuke suppressed his will to hit the other to death and said calmly. "Our agreement was to not involve anyone. I am to go quietly with you and, in return, you won't hurt anyone. He is included in that agreement."
"And I didn't break my word; he was the one who brought his stupid ass into this mess. You heard when I gave him a choice, didn't you?"
"Yes. But it's still not his problem. If you hurt him any further, I assure you, the documents you want to hand to your boss will be burnt paper and you'll be held responsible for it. I can only image the hell you yourself will be put through to compensate the huge amount of loss you willhave delivered to your pathetic boss."
Naruto was left to his own agonies as the guy went and grabbed Sasuke forcibly by the collar, steadying him in position. "You threatening me, punk?!"
"Merely foretelling the future. If your lousy head is better for anything other than hitting people, then you'll agree with my words."
The other two males tried to calm down their third comrade, knowing the truth to the words that were unmistakably threatening them. Luckily, they got to him before he did something to their hostage that wouldn't just have him only endure a hellish treatment, but they too would be dragged into it.
"Have it your way, kid! But one pipe out of him, and he's dead!"
With that Sasuke was let go off. He nodded. "No problem. Just give me a minute with him."
"One minute, that's it." The leader to the three clarified, he looked at one of his comrades and ordered. "Time him!"
Knowing that he probably had less than a complete minute, Sasuke went to where his eyes could glimpse a golden hue and kneeled on the dirty ground above a very-beaten up Naruto. He bit his lower lip hard, drawing blood.
"That's why I told you not to follow me. I knew this was going to happen. Nothing good ever comes out of mingling with me. So this will be the last time we'll ever meet in our whole lives. I dearly hope that you forget everything that you know about me, it's safer for you that way."
Naruto raised his hand up, feeling too tired to be able to raise it fully, but Sasuke grabbed it and gave it a tiny squeeze. His mouth failed him as the blood from his broken teeth filled it, making his ability to form words utterly diminished.
"The times we've had together were really precious to me; I will always keep them in my mind. Be well, and let go of me…"
Sasuke leaned down to deliver a soft kiss to the beaten up cheeks and slowly moved away, removing his hands from Naruto's and, with hazy looking orbs, said to the lying blond the words that his lips weren't able to convey right now.
"I'm sorry, Naruto. Thank you and goodbye."
The last thing Naruto's eyes saw was the picture of Sasuke walking away as he got into the car, which sped quickly and moved away from the place he was in, and the hospital. The blond tried to scream, but all that his lips were able to release was a small whimper and a reminder of how weak and powerless he truly was, causing everyone who was dear to him to be taken away by something much more stronger than he was.
His azure blue orbs blinked the water inside them out and Naruto rose from his bed. He felt his heart squeeze in pain, and with the back of his hand, he wiped the tears coming out of his eyes. Now, everything was clear to him. All the events concerning Sasuke were crystal clear to him. How could he have forgotten? Even if it was Sasuke's request for him to forget all about him, how could he do that? How could his brain just accept such a cruel fate to uphold him? Now if he had never met up with Sasuke, would he be able to continue his life not knowing anything about the other? Would he be able to lead a normal life with a part of him missing without him even knowing?
Naruto allowed his tears to cascade freely down his cheeks at the gush of old memories flowing into his mind. He remembered everything now. how Sasuke's face would secretly light up when he called him by his name, and how they would be caught by Nana when he would go stay in Sasuke's room for far too long and she would be forced to come there and search for him. Or how it was always a joyful occasion to him when Sasuke would forget for instance that he was with company and act utterly childish. He bit his lower lip when his tears were coming down in merciless relents, forcing his voice to turn into hiccups out loud.
He slowly stood up from the bed and clicked the door open. His blurry vision was skewered even further by the strong lights in the hall; a part of him was happy that no one was there to witness his crying face, and with hesitant steps, he made his way towards the rooftop. The first place where he'd met up with Sasuke.
As he opened the door there, the cold air hit his clothed body. Naruto begged for his tears to stop flowing, but they refused. His emotions were like a rollercoaster inside his body, and he just couldn't stop them to concentrate on one place. He was happy, sad, angry, glad, guilty, irritated, sorrowful and remorseful. As he walked towards the familiar road, Naruto saw flashes of the first time he made contact with Sasuke. The tiny figure holding the weight of the world on its shoulders with bandages hiding his black jewels, flashed with a black hue to him.
It was too much, his emotions and memories were too much and he couldn't take it. Stumbling backwards, he hit the wall and slide down it with cold hands closing over his eyes, hiding his tears and shame and crying with the loudest voice he had for the pain throbbing inside his chest to subside and his heart to quiet down a little.
Sasuke turned the curtain hiding the falling drops from his eyes. He frowned at the heavy pour and glanced at the clock on the wall. His frown turned into an uneasy feeling when it read ten in the evening. Shaking his head and assuring himself that nothing bad would be happening, he lit the cigarette that he never usually would, and took a lethal dose of the addictive nicotine. The familial, old friend that had gotten him through high school was welcomed with open arms into the neighbouring nostrils. Sasuke moved away from the window and checked his cell in case there were some missed call from his beloved, but none were there.
Okay, so Naruto told him he was staying at that guy's house…umm…named Kiba or something…yeah, but why couldn't he settle with those words? It felt as if there was something the blond was hiding from him, and call it hunch or his long experience into dealing with lies, but he just didn't believe that flat out lie one bit. Naruto was up to something, and probably it was something to do with him. His brain quickly jumped to the worst case scenario, and again he had to take a deep breath of the cancer stick in his fingers to calm his nerves down before he goes and informs his security system to dig out his lost friend.
Which wasn't a very good idea, because then Naruto would be mad at him. And he didn't want to deal with an angry Naruto right now.
Sighing when his aching muscles forced him to sit down on the bed, Sasuke's brain began thinking of a way to find out where Naruto was without exposing himself. Yet suddenly, before he was given a time to form a sane thought, his cell began ringing. It didn't talk more than five minutes for his face to drain from all colours, and for his legs to fly to his car. Because that one phone call had brought all of his suspicions to light and Naruto was caught in a swirl of danger.
Neji cursed himself for making that call, but in the state he found Naruto in, he had to, there was no one who could mend the emotional male to shape other than Sasuke. He waited by the door, expecting the arrival of the short haired raven, which to his dismay took longer than it should have. He looked out of the window and frowned at the weather. If his information were correct, Konoha would be caught in a heavy downpour right now. He sighed as he went to relax on the comfortable armchair beside the front hall. If he was going to wait, he wasn't going to do it standing the hell up.
It took about one hour and a half until his doorbell rang, but it finally did and Neji gladly opened it to welcome the other in. It was apparent from the dishevelled appearance that Sasuke had run his heart here. The long haired raven was just glad the other hadn't gotten himself into an accident with the speed that he must've driven with here.
"Where is he?"
The calm tone didn't hide much of the rashness Sasuke was emitting, Neji smirked. "Inside, in the room on your left. To make it easier for you two to talk, I booked myself another room. I'll be going to bed now. Handle him, he gave me enough trouble."
With that, Neji had left his childhood friend to the mess inside and closed the door behind him. Sasuke swallowed hard the lump inside his throat. His sweating body seemed to cool down now that he knew there was nothing wrong with Naruto and that he hadn't gotten caught in another trouble because of him. He walked further inside and two rooms came to face him, a whimpering sound came from the room on the left, and that was the room he'd chosen to get into.
"Naruto?"
Sasuke had to switch on the lights to get a better look at the room, but the moment he did so, a cry had him switch them immediately off.
"DON'T!"
He closed the door and walked towards where he was able to see the curled form of Naruto huddled in, which was a corner of the room. His blond was holding his legs close to his chest with his back against the huge windows on the fancy hotel Neji had picked for them to stay the night in. Sasuke sighed and continued walking closer.
"Naruto…"
"Don't get any closer!"
"…it's me, Sasuke."
"I…I know who you are, but I can't face you just yet…why are you here?"
Sasuke sat where he was and allowed Naruto's wishes to pass. "Neji called me. He told me about what you two have decided to do."
"…"
"Did you remember anything?"
The only reply he got was the sound of Naruto's teeth colliding against each other, releasing the whimpering sound he'd heard earlier from his lips. Sasuke gave off a soothing aura and continued talking.
"I guess you did then. I don't really blame you for it, since it was I who had requested it. But after meeting you again, I couldn't stop myself from getting angry that you'd actually gone and forgotten about me, even when I was spending all of my time searching for you and remembering you. I guess it just came as a shock to me…that's why I was extremely mean to you…and for that I'm sorry."
"It…it's all my fault…I shouldn't have forgotten about you…I'm the one to blame here not you Sasuke. Sorry, I'm so sorry, Sasuke…!"
"Naruto, what are you talking about? It's not like you wanted to forget. Your subconscious was the one that made you forget. It's not your fault."
"N-No, it was…I wanted so much to forget my humiliation at not being able to help you…to forget that there was another being who I wasn't able to save…I made myself forget, it was all so I wouldn't feel any guilt or remorse…I'm sorry…even when I could've told the cops and they could've rescued you…I'm so, very sorry…forgive me…please…"
Sasuke shook his head at the great misunderstanding Naruto's brain had harboured and stood up, walking towards the snivelling blond who in his own fit of confusion was unable to detect the change in Sasuke's status. The raven kneeled down beside a messed up Naruto; he extended a pale hand to pet Naruto on the head quietly with, and made him aware that he was here.
"Naruto, listen to me good, okay? Right now, you're experiencing a great misunderstand about what had happened that day."
The blond refused to give him any indication he was listening, but Sasuke ignored it and continued with his explanation, believing that along the way, Naruto was bound to pay attention.
"What had happened that day, I had known it was going to happen. Do you remember when you'd asked me back then if there was something troubling me? Well, there was…I had to participate in a stupid plan to trap some thugs who were targeting me. Kakashi was the one who had come up with the plan, and I was used as bait. I was troubled because I didn't know what may happen if something was to go wrong and someone who wasn't related to me was to get hurt…I was scared that you might get hurt. That's why I tried to get you to move away from me. But in the end, the thing I was most afraid of had happened. And I couldn't face myself anymore. I couldn't stand the thought of you getting hurt another time. So, I stayed away from your life. But I couldn't stop thinking about you. You were like my good luck charm. I would always remember your cheerful words, or the way your golden hue would mix so sweetly with your tan coloured skin. I had your picture memorized inside my mind."
Sasuke adjusted his position when Naruto raised his face slowly to look at him. He stifled a snicker at the puffy face drenched in tears and snot and helped Naruto clean it up a little. Yet, when Naruto's right eye released a stray tear again, his hand went fast to wipe if off and then he continued with his tale.
"After I had gone through surgery and had regained my sight back, I just couldn't bear the thought of not knowing your precise features. So, I had an investigator search for you. I was surprised to know that you'd been discharged from the hospital and were living with your pink haired friend and her family, which made it a bit tricky to find you since I kept looking depending on your name not hers, but eventually I did. And then, I was given the pleasure to see your true features for the first time, I do admit, your face was slightly different from what I had imagined. But even though, I couldn't come to dislike it, it was in my sight perfect for your personality, and despite my wish to stay away from you; at certain times I couldn't withstand knowing your whereabouts and not going to see you. So, I made a habit, of going to places you used to go to, with a hidden motive to maybe bump into you."
Naruto's eyes went wide as he was hearing the other talk. He didn't know how he should react, because to him, Sasuke was shining with a lovely light that he himself couldn't muster in his whole life. Upon seeing Naruto give him a fascinated, charming stare, Sasuke continued with his mouth switching towards a smile.
"Remember, when you asked me what I liked to do in my free time? Well, as much as it shows me to be a definite stalker, I would always go see you. I'd continuously target places you frequent or work part time at, just to see you."
"…Is that really the truth?"
The raven nodded, sitting fully on the ground. "Yes. I don't tell lies. So, you don't really need to apologize for anything your subconscious had done; because them catching me was a part of the plan, and actually, I was rescued shortly after I got what I wanted from them."
"T-Then why didn't you come back? Back to the hospital…"
"…That, I couldn't do. I had gotten you involved in something bad, and I had to stay away."
Naruto felt another tear roll down and then Sasuke's cold fingers brushed it off. His mouth stretched into a tiny smile. As Sasuke seemed to radiate a strange soothing aura, Naruto felt his skin ache to touch the being beside him, and as if lost in an enchanted spell, he extended both his arms and threw himself on top of Sasuke. Definite to say, Sasuke was pushed flat out onto the carpeted floor. The raven didn't refuse the sudden, impulsive push but added proximity to their position by circling his own arms around Naruto, drawing him closer.
"I'm still sorry for forgetting about you, but I'm glad that I was finally able to remember."
"Yeah, I'm glad, too. Now you won't call me a stranger anymore."
"I'm sorry about that…you're not a stranger to me. I can't believe I had even said those words to you. I'm very ashamed of that."
The raven allowed the tanned arms to strangle him tight; he swayed a little to relax into a more comfortable position and whispered into Naruto's ears.
"Hearing you say that means the world and more to me. I forgive you, there's nothing you need to apologize for."
Naruto nodded and rested his aching head on top of Sasuke's chest. The strong aroma coming from Sasuke's cologne made his throbbing heart ease into a sedative rhythm. His right hand went to search for Sasuke's and he linked their fingers together; tightening so softly to make sure that he was in the embrace of the guy he'd forgotten all about. His mouth switched into a contented smile and slowly he rose from Sasuke's chest.
"Sasuke…I need to go wash up now. I'm filled with nothing but sweat, snot and tears. I need to cool down in the bathtub for a while, 'kay?"
The raven nodded, already following Naruto's path and standing up on his own. "Sure, take one. Want me to come along or…?"
Naruto released a small smile. "Thank you, but no thanks. I will not give you any means to rape me, even in my weak status."
Sasuke rolled his eyes, dusting himself off. "Oh, would you stop flattering yourself already? If I wanted to rape you, I would have done so from day one."
"No you couldn't; because as I remember correctly, I was the one who had beaten your stinking ass into a pulp that day."
"It seems you're remembering things wrongly, dear Naruto, your lame punches couldn't even scratch the outer layer of my skin!"
"Huh! Think what you want to think, but we both know the truth."
"Oh, just go to your bath already." Sasuke replied, slumping on the huge bed that was sitting on the hard floor. He heard Naruto snicker softly then disappear into the darkness behind.
Sasuke sighed and started taking his clothes off. When he was given that call from Neji, he'd felt the inside of his heart squeeze in pain, and he started blaming himself for pushing Naruto into this hole. If he didn't ask the blond to begin thinking of him and remember their joint past, then this wouldn't have happened to him. But then again, it didn't all turn out to be something bad, right now Naruto was in the next room with his full memories of the time they've spend together back. His mouth fluttered into a smile as his legs took off the pair of jeans on them. Maybe his rotten luck was finally turning into something good.
By the time Naruto was out and looking like a new human being, Sasuke was fast a sleep with half of his body naked to the bone. The blond shook his head and pulled the covers over Sasuke's exposed figure, then got himself into the free space beside the raven. He shut the dim lightness beside him and a serene smile resident itself on his face when his eyes caught a glimpse at the human lying beside him.
At that moment, it was like the whole world had stood still, leaving Sasuke's calm breaths to be the only noise there was alongside the deep echoing thumps of his heart. And Naruto's own breaths hitched in his throat.
"Do I really need to close my eyes for this, Sasuke? It kinda doesn't make sense."
"Yes it does, and it's called a surprise. Now, just keep them closed 'til I say you can open them."
Naruto pouted but complied with the orders. He felt Sasuke's somewhat rough hands take his on and start leading him. The atmosphere around was quiet, so he had little clue as to where he was, and if Sasuke was thinking of killing him and then burying the body, he didn't think anyone would know. Naruto frowned at his own track of mind and dismissed the thought with a shake. The hands leading his on tightened momentarily and Sasuke's voice resonated beside him.
"Watch your footing, there're some steps here."
Naruto nodded and raised his feet up to the said steps. "How many steps?"
"Four." After Naruto stepped on all of them, the raven clarified. "Yes, finished them. Now walk normally."
The blond released a sigh. "Sasuke, do I really need to keep my eyes closed? I mean, I appreciate the fact that you want to keep this a surprise and all, but you don't really need to do that. Maybe I haven't told you this about myself, but surprises aren't really my thi-"
"Okay, shut your trap up. We're here. Open your eyes."
Happy that he was finally given his freedom back, Naruto fluttered his eyelashes open. His gorgeous eyes went wide at the view in front of them. So, he wasn't one to stand and stare – except in some occasions – but the scene before him had that status vanished. His tanned hands fell so smoothly out of Sasuke's grip and his feet led him to take some closer steps to the wide starry skies facing him.
Million and billions of billions of stars stretched across his sight. Each was glowing in a bizarre light different from the other, Naruto felt his heart skip a beat at the dark blue hue extending on the horizon. He was looking at pure nature. At what environmental people wished to protect and what God had made. He swallowed the lump in his throat, trying his hardest to come up with one word that could describe what his eyes were witnessing. But due to his poor vocabulary knowledge, his mouth could only free one simple word.
"Amazing!"
"You like it?"
Naruto's eyes sparkled when he looked back at the human who had allowed them such a pleasure and his lips rejoiced. "Of course! This is stunning, Sasuke! What is this place?"
Finally aware of his surroundings, the blond started looking around him. He was inside a place made out of glass. Glass, glass and glass everywhere. Wherever his eyes extended, he could only see glass. The doors, windows, ceiling, lights, paintings, and even the floor on which he stood, was made of glass. It was a dreamy palace and he couldn't imagine what a mere peasant like himself was doing inside it. Naruto tried to rub the dirt on his sole off as not to dirty the clean floor, but the only reaction that action had initiated was Sasuke's melodious laughter echoing behind him.
"Baaakaa~ what the hell are you doing?"
Feeling embarrassed with his dirty sneakers and getting caught trying to clean them, Naruto sheepishly smiled back. "I just didn't want to dirty this place."
"I didn't bring you here so you can worry about useless things like that. Your mission is to enjoy yourself with me here. Consider this the ending of the day I had wanted with you…the day that had been wasted."
Pink lips turned into a sweet smile as Naruto made his way beside his annoyed friend. "You can't still be pissed about something like that. I still have a lot of days in my life to spare, Uchiha."
Sasuke smirked, getting closer to Naruto and pulling him softly from the midsection. "Am I expected to take that as an invitation for me to take a day, then?"
"Right now, you can take a whole year and I won't give a damn."
With that, Naruto brought his arms around Sasuke's neck and sealed their close proximity with a tender kiss that he didn't wish for it to end for a while. But it did, since they needed to break for air, and then before Sasuke could be ignited to extend the kiss into another steamy, hot one, Naruto's eyes were caught by something up on a different floor - since they were only separated by transparent glass, he was able to view what was above him. Getting fascinated and further fascinated by the design and the place, he broke free from Sasuke's grip, and abided to drag him up the glassy stairs to the big, shiny, black device.
"Wow! Is that a telescope?"
"Yes." Sasuke answered, getting closer to the device. "It's called Refractor Telescope. It enables you to see the creation of stars, the Nebulas, and in a magical way, you can see the universal infinity with clear eyes."
"Awesome! Can I use it?"
"You can, just let me position it for you first."
The blond moved aside, giving the other some space to turn and twirl the lenses that mystically were going to allow him a chance to look at what was lying above his head for as long as he could remember. Truthfully, he was never into Astronomy much. Heck, not even Mother Nature. But, somehow, being in a place like this, and having the ability to view something that his eyes had never seen, made his little-explorer self awaken.
Sasuke moved aside to provide him with a complete access to the Refractor. "It's fixated on the Orion Nebula. Cool, right?"
Naruto's mouth stretched into a smile when his eyes got hold of the faraway twinkles. He nodded, trying to absorb the image into his brain as best as he could. "I have never seen anything more beautiful than this!"
Sasuke sat back on the comfortable set of armchair placed on this wonderful facility and waited for Naruto to see his full. In fact, this suggestion to have the blond see something fascinating to get his emotional status back to its normal condition was Neji's. He remembered when he was awakened roughly by his cell with a call from his long-timed friend telling him how he'd left and how he should, instead of returning back to their normal lives, show Naruto a thing or two in life. So, he'd started by expensive, exquisite dishes that had left Naruto's mouth watering for more, and finished with a visit to his family's Astronomy Club.
He'd had all the people kicked out just for Naruto to have his fun. Sasuke snickered to himself, thinking of the reaction Naruto would uphold had he known about this. But he decided to keep it to himself. This was their day, and he was sure to make Naruto get the best out of it.
Finally, the blond detached himself from the telescope and grinned down to the source of his happiness.
"Done?"
"Yep! That was awesome! I don't think I'll ever forget this! Thank you, Sasuke. For showing me something like this, you're really a great friend!"
The raven rose from the chair and nodded with his facial features showing a passing frown that disappeared before Naruto could get a chance to notice it. "…Alright. Come on, there's one last thing I want to show you before we leave."
"Eeeh? We're leaving so fast?"
"Do you want to stay?"
"Well," Naruto glanced back at the telescope and the spacious new ground that he wanted to explore and nodded. "Yeah, but if you don't want to, we can leave. I had enough fun to last me a lifetime!"
Sasuke smiled and took Naruto's hand again. "The thing I want to show you tops this place even more. And if after seeing it you still want to get back here, we'll return. I'm all yours for the night."
Naruto laughed joyfully at the words. "That doesn't come in the sexual context, does it? 'Cause I'm not in the mood for getting fucked."
"Dobe, your brain is as rotten as always. I don't always think with my cock."
"Sure you don't."
At the sarcastic remark, Naruto was hit on the head. "Stupid."
"And you love me~"
"I don't. This way."
Sasuke continued on with his dragging-spree and Naruto had to close his gaping mouth at the beautiful scenery playing before his eyes. As he was walking on clouds, literally clouds – since the floor was made out of transparent glass that made to shape like a fluffy cloud – he knew how the first ape-man must've felt when he was first introduced to the fire. His eyes glittered with a childish excitement when the clouds under his feet started changing colours as they were walking. And suddenly, the glassy walls turned into different bits of broken glass woven together to form diverse shapes. His smile matured into a lovely grin at the door made of swan-resembling-glass that Sasuke had them stand in front of.
He tilted his head to the side as the glassy, sparkling eyes of the swan were pushed by Sasuke's other free hand, making the exquisite door dim out to the background and open through the swan's wings. In his place he could only see darkness, but as they started going inside the newly opened area, Naruto couldn't do anything but allow his tips to tingle from amazement.
They were facing an area of open green grass. An extending field that Naruto failed to detect the end of. But what was different about this field was the sky above it. It was dark, pitch black, with stars twinkling in it. Like a lovely black night gown worn with glittering accessories. Sasuke looked at him and gave a proud smile.
"Come, you haven't seen the good part, yet."
Again, he was taken into another unfamiliar area. This time, as they were walking on the grass, Naruto could detect in the faraway space something that looked like…a capsule? Upon coming a little closer, his views were corrected at the sight of the strange looking chairs placed in there. Actually, Naruto couldn't know how to describe it, because it wasn't a chair, nor a couch, or a bed. It was a whole combination of all of them. With a set of buttons on each side, and a huge blanket in the centre. He blinked his wonders to the male beside him.
"I designed this. Get in and you'll understand everything."
Naruto looked at the confident eyes asking for his trust, and he gave it. Hopping onto the chair-bed device and then allowing Sasuke space to hop also, made Naruto's hair stand up in weird ends. He was asked to lay back in relaxation as the device had so suddenly started shooting up. Naruto grabbed hard to the leather under him and opened his closed lids when Sasuke's voice had told him to open his eyes and take a look.
And for the umpteenth time that day, Naruto's brain stood in wonder for the words. The city under him sparkled with lights as he felt Sasuke shift something in the chair-bed they were in, only to find out that it was the blanket brought to cover their midsection as the cold night's air started blowing on them.
"Sasuke, I don't know what to say."
"That's good enough."
"You were the one to design this device?"
The raven nodded, pushing a button that brought out a set of coloured goggles. "Yes, I had always thought that instead of just watching the stars from a mere telescope, people would enjoy it more if they were to do it lying down on comfortable piece that made them feel closer to the heavens. Here, wear this."
Naruto was handed in the foreign goggles and he wore them with marvel. "What is this?"
Sasuke pushed another button close to Naruto's right and the goggles turned on with a pinkish hue. "What do you see now?"
Naruto's mouth ginned and his voice conveyed his happiness to the latter. "The Orion Nebula! Amazing! Is this also a form of telescope or something?"
"Or something. It basically uses the same but a different principle than the telescope, on the first few equations and calculations, they're the same, but coming to the last few where you have the index numbers, they differ. So, they're the same, but different. Following me?"
"No, not really."
"Then never mind, unless you're into Astronomy or studying it, you won't understand what I'll be explaining, so, just forget it and enjoy the view."
"That, I'll do!"
Sasuke allowed his lips to stretch into a small smile at the happiness radiating from Naruto, because of him. He relaxed back onto his device and pulled his own goggles on. Releasing an unnoticeable sigh, he allowed the beautiful scenery and company to snatch him away from his burden-filled life to the beautiful universes for at least a day. Sasuke sneakily linked his fingers with the tanned ones under the blanket, and refused his smile to stretch into a full grin when the other fingers replied by tightening their hold.
"And then, he took me to this amazing place where they had stars painting, telescopes and glassy floor, I mean I'm not one to actually enjoy such things but, Sakura, that place was heaven! I totally won't mind if he takes me there another time. Then when we were finished with it, Sasuke drove us to this restaurant his family owns, well, there really was no one there, because we went to it about three in the morning, and he allowed me to eat everything I wanted. Sasuke is such a good guy; I'm feeling more and more guilty about forgetting about him."
Sakura closed her magazine and rolled her eyes. "Alright, I give up, there's no way I'll be finishing my shopping with you nagging non-stop like a newlywed wife about her stupid, handsome husband. So, come on, shower me with complementation about him!"
Naruto frowned at his best friend and her description. "I don't talk about Sasuke that way, and the only reason I'm telling you this is that I thought you'd be interested in the Astronomy place we went to."
"Oh Naruto, I had lost my interest the third time you'd decided to gloat on it. Don't you realize that you've been talking about the same old thing for the past hour like a broken record?"
Naruto's brows met together as a finger went under his chin. "…No, I wasn't."
"I figured." She sighed. "I had already memorized the fantastic evening you'd spent with your prince, and if you want proof I can tell you, even with details, the actions that had taken place that night."
The beautiful features she liked to tease so much turned into a nicely formed frown. "…Did I really talk all that much about Sasuke?"
She nodded, happy that her friend was starting to understand why she wanted nothing more than his trap to close about his roommate. "You remind me of Ino when she gets a new boyfriend. Turns into a complete annoying chatterbox!"
"Well, that doesn't relax me one bit, Sakura."
"And it shouldn't. You're getting too close to him here. And I think the barrier between you two might really just up and disappear if he started inviting you on dates."
Naruto jumped to correct her. "But it wasn't a date. He took me there because he wanted me to cheer up. That's all."
"Baka, if he wanted you to cheer up, there would be more than one way to cheer up a roommate that he doesn't hold any particular feelings for. But he went out of his way to secure you something that a normal person would be working for years to attain, which means that you mean to him much more than just a roommate. So, it was a date."
"Sakura, Sasuke is just treating me that way because it's the norm for him. He is rich; he views the world in a different set of eyes than we do. I'm sure he thought he was treating a friend the normal way. You shouldn't read too much into these things."
"No, you should be the one to start raising your guard up. That guy doesn't wish to just remain a friend, and what scares me is that you'll one day be sharing these feelings with him."
"…I still don't understand you. Is this about the kisses again? Because I said I'd st-"
She dismissed him with her hand. "Has nothing to do with them. I'm merely making an observation here. Just be careful of him, Naruto. I don't want you to wake up one day being raped in your bed."
At her words, he released a harmonious laugh that left her raise a thin pink eyebrow. "Sakura-chan, I swear, you're worrying with no reason. Sasuke…I did tell you about my memories, right?"
"Yeah, but with no much detail though, which reminds me, there's a question I want to ask you about it."
Naruto stopped in the sentence he was about to say, and switched to a question. "What?"
"How come I haven't ever met up with him if he was staying with you in the same hospital – knowing that I always, almost daily, come and visit you?"
"Actually, there's a really insignificant reason for that. The period I had known Sasuke in, you were away. You were staying at your grandma's house, remember? Your spring break, you went to stay with her and couldn't visit. That was the timeline at which I met up with him, and by the time you came back, Sasuke had switched hospitals, and I had totally forgotten about him."
"Ahaa…I do remember coming back to find you almost bashed to death."
The blond sweat-dropped, remembering his incompetence. "It wasn't all that bad…"
"Yes, it was. But no one was talking on how you had ended up with such bruises. I remember thinking you were being bullied by the hospital personnel's and my dad had actually come to the hospital to talk about it. But in the end, we weren't given any precise information. They just all sat and said that they'd found you lying on the hospital's parking lot bruised like that. I had always suspected that they were paid off by someone some hush money. Who would have known it was due to the dick?!"
"Sakura," He started easing. "Sasuke just wanted me to forget the bad experience and everything about him. That's why he paid them off. And I don't agree with what he did, but I understand him, I know the feeling to want to hide stuff to keep the other party from suffering quiet well."
Sakura sighed and put the magazine off her hands to pat her best friend softly on the head. "Alright, Naruto. I'm sorry. You don't have to force yourself to remember something unpleasant for my sake."
He brightened up for a minute and nodded to her. "Thanks, I knew you would get it."
"So? What was that thing you wanted to tell me?"
It took the blond a few seconds to put together what she was talking about, but when he did, he said with a nod. "Yeah, what I wanted to say is that…Sasuke, he's just trying to compensate our time together. Now that I actually remember what had happened between us, or how I have come to meet him, I think I understand his approaches more. And it has nothing to do with romance. He is just compensating time…the best he knows how."
"Fine," She pulled the band holding her locks together and reasoned. "If he is compensating, how about you?"
Naruto fluttered his golden lashes at her. "Me? What about me?"
"What do you think about him? How do you feel about all of this?"
"Hmm…I never really thought about it."
"Start now!"
"Sakura, what is it about Sasuke that tips you this off? Weren't you going to make him yours? What happened to that plan of yours?"
"We're not talking about me here. Answer my question."
"Alright, but after I do that, you're going to tell me why you hate him so much, okay?"
Looking at the big blue oceans facing her was always Naruto's hidden spell to get her to agree to any silly idea he was cooking or how to rob something from the candy store near her house, and even this time, they convinced her to agree to a silly condition that she could've gotten this information without. Sakura smacked herself internally on how good she is to Naruto and agreed.
"Okay. But it's the truth I want."
"And truth is what you shall get."
"Then? How do you feel about Sasuke?" She urged when Naruto was taking more than needed time to provide her with an answer.
"…See, it's really hard to describe it to you, since I don't really know how. But the thing is, I don't dislike him…I think I like him, really like him, and no, it's not in the sexual manner. I just really like him, for the person he is. Sasuke is just amazing. He is a genius, handsome, with an Asshole-personality, but I still like it. Do you understand me?"
She rolled her eyes, stood up and took her purse to put the money for her dish on the table. "The only thing I understand is that you're already head over heels for his highness."
"Come on, Sakura! I said I'm not in love with him!"
"Sure…call me when you realize it, I have an appointment with Ino to catch." Sakura walked towards him and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Be good, sweetie."
"Wait! You're not just going to leave without telling me why you hate him!"
"The same reason why you love him. He is conceited, arrogant and a complete jackass. He thinks just because he has good looks he can walk all over the world, which ain't going to happen."
At her words, Naruto's brows met again. "Hey, did Sasuke say something to you?"
Sakura gave off a small friendly smile and shook her head. "No, he didn't. It's my own assumption. Just be careful around him, Naruto. You're very important to me and I'd rather see hell than have something bad happen to you."
The blond gave her a squeeze on her soft hands and nodded. "Don't worry, I will only be good. You should start concentrating more on yourself."
Sakura winked, walking out of the coffee shop. With a final wave to him, she whispered to the passing air.
"That's what I'm trying to do, Naruto, that's what I'm trying to do."
Extremely sorry for the late update, but hopefully, you won't have to wait long for the next chapter, *crosses her fingers*, and thanks for reading so far. I'll be waiting for your reviews, everyone!