Skeletons in the Closet

Chapter Nine

by: Lazuli

Don't own Naruto. Warnings: Spoilers, speculations. Laz having fun being evil and thoroughly confusing half the people here. XD Don't worry, it'll eventually make sense, but I like keeping up the mystery of what's going on here.

As Naruto looked down at the sleeping form of Sasuke, he was looking paler than normal, dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept in awhile. Naruto wondered how he had missed that—but it wasn't like he watched him night and day. He had other duties, of course—and sometimes those duties conflicted with the interests of his best friend. His only friend, really.

Sasuke stirred and turned in the bed, murmuring something under his breath that Naruto didn't quite catch. He had been frightened when he came back from his meeting with Tsunade and having Sasuke stare right through him, as if he wasn't there. It was a creepy feeling, one that sent shivers down his spine. It reminded him of the dreams Sasuke said he had, of him being dead, of the Uchiha estate rotting away with no one there to care for it, with no one really remembering the Uchiha name.

It had the feel of a premonition, a chill the spreading through his thoughts when Sasuke wasn't around. And after what Tsunade told him.. the warnings she gave him concerning Sasuke and his ability to use the chakra he prided himself on—it wasn't just the loss of his life that was at risk, but the pride in his name. To be forbidden to use the talents he had trained so hard in would kill him more effectively than using them would. He couldn't tell Sasuke—he would just play it off, keep him distracted with excuses of resting his energy levels—to keep him training with other forms of training.

He would protect Sasuke now—not just out of duty, but because of how he felt towards him. He told Sasuke once that they shared a bond, that he was the first friend that Naruto had ever made, that Sasuke was like a brother to him—what he always seen brothers act like. He knew Sasuke from such a young age, but they were never really friends until after they were on the same gennin team. It seemed so wrong, though that he had to protect Sasuke from anything. He had always been so strong—he had been Naruto's inspiration for so long. Seeing him laying there, more asleep than awake half the time, it struck a chord in him that was bitter.

Protecting people—especially ones that he cared about—was a lesson that was driven home when he was only twelve. Protecting people—doing what was best for them, was a hard balance to maintain. He knew there were a multitude of reasons why Tsunade gave him the duty of watching Sasuke. Not just because it was 'good training' for his eventual status as Hokage. As much as it had originally been a cover story for the lords of the Fire Country, it was very true in how Naruto couldn't let his friendship with Sasuke cloud any judgments he made concerning him, whether they be good or bad.

Not that Tsunade believed that Sasuke was a threat at the moment—or anytime in the near future. It was the decision of how to treat, what to do with him—if knowing that ending his life would be better than letting him live in pain—that was what she impressed upon him today. Sometimes death was a better choice when there was nothing to live for. Naruto growled out loud in remembrance of the thought. He would make sure Sasuke had a reason to live again.

He gently shook Sasuke awake, his hand lingering on Sasuke's shoulder for a moment until his friend opened his eyes. For once, there wasn't the confusion there—they were clear and alert, and clearly relieved to see Naruto. "Hey…" He muttered. "Did you meeting with Tsunade go well?" He was already moving out of bed as he asked, determined not to be stuck in the damn thing for much longer. He was getting sick of it. "And where'd Sakura go?"

Naruto snorted and resisted the urge to support Sasuke as he walked towards the kitchen area—Sakura told him that other than the slight breakdown that Sasuke had, he was doing a great deal better and didn't need to be confined to his bed any longer. "The old hag just said that I might have some natural talent at being diplomatic, but I don't use it enough." Rolling his eyes gave his opinion of that. "So she'll be mainly concentrating on politics." He answered Sasuke's second question. "Sakura left as soon as I came back—she's in rather high demand as a medic-nin."

Sasuke nodded absently to that, rummaging through the cupboards. For the first time in a long time, he felt almost normal—like his body was his own and his muscles would work correctly. "Did she do something while I was asleep?" His brow furrowed as he turned to Naruto. "I didn't feel this good earlier." Not that he was objecting to the healing—it was too much of a blow to his pride to have to be dependant on anyone—but at the same time, he would have liked to have been told.

"I'm not sure about that." He joined Sasuke in the kitchen, digging around for his stash of instant ramen cups. He was too tired to think of making an actual meal, and he absently rubbed at his eyes, stifling a yawn. "She mentioned that you were doing better. Maybe she sped something up, or your body was just making up for lost time."

Sasuke mumbled an agreement, nose wrinkling in distaste at Naruto's choice of a meal. Talking casually like this, making food—just interacting with each other, it was easy to pretend that nothing had changed over the years, except perhaps their friendship gaining a new level of understanding. Naruto still treaded warily around him, but it was easier to deal with that then admit to himself that he would not leave his family's ground for a long time.

Naruto saw his look and smirked. "Why, you don't like the idea of Sakura running her hands all over your body why you're unconscious?" He teased. "Laying there… unaware of what Sakura really does to you…" He gave a mock leer towards Sasuke, eyes bright with amusement at the flush that crossed Sasuke's cheeks. It was such a rare thing to get him to react that he took every chance to do it.

"You have a sick sense of humor, Uzumaki." Sasuke growled out, practically slamming the pan on the stove. "To even joke about that…" He shuddered. "You weren't the one that Sakura and every other girl fawned over. I was afraid that if I left a shirt around or something after training they'd snatch it, cut it up and frame it on their walls.."

Naruto laughed out loud at that, nearly spilling the hot water for his ramen. "You're exaggerating." He shook his head and poked Sasuke in the side. "Now that I look back on it, it's actually pretty funny to see how trained, serious kunoichi could completely lose their minds over you." There was a fleeting emotion in his eyes that Sasuke didn't quite catch, but didn't press on—he just decided to turn the tables on Naruto, falling back into their old habits of antagonizing each other.

"I wasn't the only one that had a girl hovering over him…" Sasuke's look was sly. "Sakura tended to be all over you, too---" He paused, as if considering that statement. "Of course, she was trying to beat the shit out of you every time, too…"

Naruto scowled at that, but a smile was tugging at the corner of his lips. This was the old Sasuke, this was the person he grew to know on their various missions and time spent training together. Arrogant and a bit of a prick at times, but the lost look was gone now. He was much more self assured as if in his dreams he found something solid to grasp onto.

Sasuke saw the annoyed look and couldn't help but continue, softening the blow a little. "Hinata-chan liked you a lot." He pointed out. "I can't believe you were so blind growing up that you didn't notice her blushing and looking at the ground every time she saw you." He raised an eyebrow as Naruto took a quick slurp of his noodles and the shocked look in his eyes. "Don't tell me you never noticed, even now!" He said in exasperation.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "Like you're any better." He scoffed. He noticed Hinata, of course—she was always so shy and it touched something inside of him to have her so nice to him, to not see a disgusted look on her face when she gazed at him. She reminded him of himself at times—because she tried so hard, had so much drive and dedication to her cause. She had moved up into the ranks—she was now of jounin status and while she didn't blush around him anymore, there was still that steadying look. As he slurped his noodles, he vaguely wondered if her supportive presence helped him go as far as he did. It was the opposite of the driving need to exceed Sasuke, but in it's own way…

Sasuke smirked at him. "At least I wasn't trying to hug girls." He flipped the noodles in the pan, eyes vaguely amused. "I knew that training was a little more important than trying to get Sakura to kiss me." He never had forgotten how Naruto had transformed into the image of him to get information out of Sakura.

Naruto flushed at that, poking at the remains of the noodles in the bottom of his cup, nose twitching at the more appealing smell of the ginger-spiced noodles that Sasuke was making. "I…I just wanted to know the truth." His voice was softer at that, gaze far away for a moment before he turned back to Sasuke with a wide grin. "Although it was interesting to see how she really acted around you." He rolled his eyes at that.

Sasuke snorted at that, shaking his head. "You had to transform into me to find that out? Were you entirely blind? Why the hell do you think I trained with you so often?" There was a hiss of oil and a cloud of steam from the pan, as if to emphasize his words.

Naruto's chopsticks slammed on the table as he glared at Sasuke. "Was that the only reason?" He demanded. "Just to escape from a bunch of freaky girls?" His look turned disgusted. "Hell, Sasuke—I knew you were shallow at times, but that's just… weird." As he got up to toss his empty ramen cup in the trash, one hand at his side clenched into a fist. "You'd rather beat the shit out of me then have people fawn over you."

Sasuke's hand reached out and snagged his wrist, eyes narrowing at the turn that Naruto had taken their conversation. It turned from friendly banter to almost recrimination. "You deaf or something, usurakontachi?" He demanded. "I said that I preferred your company to a bunch of giggling girls, idiots that only cared about my name and … looks." He smirked again. "Maybe if you had dressed then like you do now…"

Naruto blinked in surprise at that for a moment, eyes flicking away. "They didn't understand." His eyes met Sasuke's, a rare moment of acknowledged understanding there. "Why did you want to be reminded of how great you were supposed to be?" Sasuke's grip lessened on his wrist and Naruto took that opportunity to lace their fingers together again.

Sasuke nodded, one hand absently turning off the stove and placing the noodles on two plates, his other hand gripping Naruto's. "You were the only one that treated me like it didn't matter." He answered. "It pissed me off at first… but then I realized how much it meant to me that you saw me… I wasn't living in the shadow of my brother, of my clan name with you. You hated me because I was an asshole to you."

Naruto laughed at that, pulling Sasuke along with him, his free hand grasping the plate that Sasuke obviously made for him. "Yeah, you were an asshole." He agreed easily, enjoying the brief irritation in Sasuke's gaze as he didn't try and deny a thing. "But you were also my friend. If I saw you—you saw me."

Sasuke stilled at that, head tilted to the side as he considered how to answer that question. Since being nice wasn't precisely his way, he shrugged and answered Naruto in the way he knew how, in the way they both were used to. He was half afraid that if he spoke the words that lingered in the back of his mind, it would go somewhere he wasn't sure of. "Who could miss you with that bright orange jacket?"

Naruto frowned and tensed, a biting response at the tip of his tongue, when he looked down at his plate at the meal that Sasuke unthinkingly included him in, the way that the other boy wouldn't quite meet his gaze and just the tone he said the usual insult in. He smiled and squeezed their interlocked hands. "At least I was noticeable to someone." He murmured. The rest of the meal was spent in comfortable silence, and neither of them was willing to let go of the others hand.

Sasuke rested one hand on the edge of the doorframe, trying to bat away the image of a housewife waiting for her husband to come home. Naruto had to rush away suddenly after some disturbing news in the village—it concerned one of teams that had been out on a particularly dangerous and sensitive mission, one that only a few people had knowledge of. Naruto only knew about it because of his nearness to the Hokage position.

Naruto couldn't tell him anything about it, not even the team that had been assigned to it. He was unusually serious when the topic of it came up, bright blue eyes shadowed by the knowledge of whatever the mission concerned.

"Worried about the team, or Uzumaki?" A dry voice asked behind him. He turned to see Shikamaru, who didn't seem too concerned about the fact that Sasuke was wandering around with no one to keep a close eye on him. He couldn't be left completely alone—none of the lords would stand for that—but he didn't need an team to nag him to death either. Shikamaru, in between teams, was assigned to him until Naruto got back.

"Both." Sasuke said shortly. Shikamaru hardly ever showed any emotion at all, and to see the barely hidden disdain in his eyes was almost like a physical blow. He was never friends with him—not that he was friends with anyone besides Naruto. He remembered Naruto telling him about Shikamaru's speech before they fought. About how even if Sasuke had left—he was still a member of Konohagakure, and a comrade. He wondered if he was still viewed as that, but didn't ask.

"Naruto will be back shortly." Shikamaru leaned against the outer wall, eyes flicking towards Sasuke before flicking back to his observance of the sky. "He just finished up the last parts of the paperwork needed."

Sasuke felt a glimmer of hope that Shikamaru was sharing this information with him, that he was letting him know what was going on—letting him know that he was still a member of Konoha. He gave a small nod, hands tightening around the doorframe. He only hoped that it wouldn't be too bad of news.

It wasn't long before Naruto's form appeared, face still hidden by the ANBU mask. His stance was the only thing that gave his emotions away, the way he almost dragged his feet when he walked. Something had happened… and it didn't look good.

Naruto paused by him a moment, then went onto Shikamaru, murmuring something indistinct that Sasuke couldn't catch. Shikamaru's eyes dimmed for a moment before he nodded. "I hope to see you later, Naruto." His voice was subdued, a note of pain in it that sent a shiver of worry down Sasuke's back. He watched Shikamaru hurry through the estates, straight towards the Hokage Tower.

He turned to Naruto, eyes silently asking what had gone on. Naruto just pulled him deeper into the house, a gloved hand reaching up to remove his mask. Golden spikes seemed flatter, blue eyes seemed a shade dimmer. "Sasuke…" There was a note of almost pleading in just his name, a sadness that tugged on his heart. Naruto rarely—if ever-let anyone see something bothering him.

Sasuke just knew that there was something terribly wrong here, and he found himself leading Naruto to the touch, tugging on him and pulling him down to sit beside him. He reached out and grasped Naruto's hand, frowning at the glove for a moment before tugging them off. He didn't like to feel the leather – even though he could feel the shape of Naruto's hand underneath, it wasn't the same as the warm skin-to-skin contact. "Tell me." He ordered. It wasn't odd—not anymore to sit like this, to listen to Naruto, for the both of them to talk. It was isolated, so empty—so quiet at his family's holdings most of the time. It was as only the two of them existed and they reacted to that.

It didn't matter that Naruto saw more of the outside world than he did—Naruto was here most of the time and he was the only solid thing in Sasuke's world at the moment. He still found himself seeing phantoms at times, images that couldn't be real and taunted him. He dreamt just earlier today that he visited the memorial stone that they had their first training session at. He saw so many familiar names, names of people he had grown up with, gone to school with, fought side by side with. He watched his fingers trace over the familiar names and he felt sick. He saw Naruto's name right before he woke up. He didn't want to sleep anymore.

"The team came back from their mission." Naruto said softly, hands seeking out Sasuke's as his body shook from repressed emotion. His voice had an eerie, flat quality that struck more deeply than one that was hurt. "Hinata-chan was on that team—and…" His eyes closed briefly as he took a deep breath before continuing. "Right now she's in critical condition at the hospital—even Tsunade isn't sure if she's going to make it."

Sasuke's eyes widened at that and his other hand went to Naruto's shoulder, drawing him closer. It wasn't that long ago that he had teased him about his 'secret admirer', and now… this? Naruto's voice was softer now. "It was a dangerous mission—and several of her team members were injured. She… she poured herself into getting them into at least passable condition, enough energy so that the mission could be completed and they could get home. On the way back… she was hit with a weird jutsu… and…" He shook his head and continued. "She was still too weak from depleting her chakra." He finished.

Sasuke knew that even if Naruto didn't love Hinata, even if he wasn't close to her—she was one of those rare people in his life that cared for him, saw him and encouraged him with his dreams, even when everyone around her turned their gazes away. Knowing that Naruto needed it, he wrapped his arms around Naruto and gave him the first hug of his life.

Naruto latched onto him, mask clattering to the ground, and his body shivered slightly from repressed tears. He never cried anymore—only when he was happy did he cry and it didn't matter then. To cry now—to show someone—especially Sasuke—that he could cry, did cry seemed an impossible act. But… no one had ever hugged him like this, no one had ever shown concern in that way. His hands tightened on the fabric of Sasuke's shirt and he wept.

And Sasuke found out that he too, could still cry.

They sat like that for at least an hour, both of them worn out from tears they had never allowed themselves to shed before. From clinging onto a source outside of their own, to understand that even if you were hurt before—even if the person who hurt you was the only one you ever trusted—it was okay to take a second chance—give a second chance and try again. To know that while it hurt, someone took half the pain as you took half of theirs.

Naruto finally pulled away, an embarrassed look crossing his features, mouth opened to try and explain his way out of such a breakdown. He was going to become Hokage—he knew from a young ago what it meant to be a shinobi and sacrifice yourself for those you cared about. Sasuke just glared at him, his own eyes slightly puffy and red from crying. "Don't." He ordered sharply. His voice rasped a little. "You're not going to apologize for crying, damnit. If it makes you feel better, you're off duty—you're human." He fisted one hand in Naruto's shirt, shaking his head. "I know…I know that you need to cry sometimes." He whispered.

Naruto made a face at that, hands scrubbing at the tear marks on his face. He was annoyed with himself, but didn't voice anything. He couldn't force a cheerful smile, either—but it was just Sasuke and he didn't have to hide around Sasuke, who would only yell at him and whack him upside the head. Sasuke… Sasuke always managed to get a real reaction out of Naruto, even if was mostly annoyance. "I won't." He said shortly, pulling away from Sasuke fully now. "I just… I guess there was just a lot going on." He sighed and looked off, not meeting Sasuke's gaze. "Too much at once, I guess."

He wasn't telling Sasuke the entire truth—he wouldn't, couldn't tell him everything that made him break like that. He could make parts of seem like the whole things, and parts would have to satisfy Sasuke until Naruto found the courage—the time—to tell Sasuke everything. He couldn't tell Sasuke how seeing Hinata laying there reminded him too much of Sasuke, that the threat of her death was the impending death of his best friend. The two people he had grown up with that had shown any acknowledgement of him were going to be taken away from him. And he couldn't stop it.

He could almost feel it, touch it and taste it—those warnings, the signs that were thrust in his face everyday. He wanted to cling hard to life, to his dreams and goals and past—he wanted to remember everything of who he was, who he met and interacted with so that he would never forget what it meant to get to the place he was now—or would achieve. He wanted to hold Sasuke again and reassure himself that he was real, that he wouldn't vanish like an illusion. He wanted to reassure his friend that he wasn't a ghost or figment of the imagination.

He wanted to feel, to grasp more of what he had never had in life. And Sasuke was the only one that he could trust that with. Sasuke who understand, Sasuke who was like his other half. Even when he tried to kill him that one day, even with they insulted each other and beat each other up… Sasuke was a part of him that he couldn't stand to lose.

He squeezed Sasuke's hand briefly before heaving himself up from the couch, yanking Sasuke along with him. "What do you say to training?" He asked with a hint of his old smile. "Sparring only, no chakra."

Sasuke smirked and raised an eyebrow at the challenge. He always had been better than Naruto when it came to hand to hand combat, or even with weapons. Naruto had more power than him, but Sasuke had more control. "You're on."

That one night was one of the scattered moments of closeness, of letting down barriers. It was that night where their friendship had truly begun the slow repairing. It helped that they understood each other on a level that no one could comprehend, that Naruto had never hated Sasuke, had forgiven him somewhere inside. It helped that Sasuke never hated Naruto, that a part of him always wanted to get back to the one person that gave him purpose in life—a real purpose, other than the mindless revenge he held for his brother. He knew that if he hadn't made friends with Naruto, he would have killed himself along with his brother. He never wanted to come back to the Uchiha estate alone, with the memory of his brother's blond staining his hands, just as his brother had his family's blood on his. But he wasn't alone, not with Naruto there. The empty spaces, the echoing corridors were filled with just…Naruto.

For someone who always wanted somewhere near, but never let anyone close, the thought of missing Naruto was a strange thing. When he was training with Orochimaru, he missed the loud exclamations, the bright clothing—he missed the insults and fighting, the way Naruto would shove his face into his and make him break his own calm façade and get annoyed back. Even now, with Naruto more calm—more serious and driven towards his original goal, it was still comforting. It was a measure of sanity in a world that had gotten twisted out of proportion when he was only eight.

Despite reassurances and platitudes given by Sakura, the evasive answers and dodged questions from Naruto answered more about his condition than he was ever told. He could feel his own energy—he wasn't stupid and he'd been trained to do it, as they all were. Controlling their chakra, knowing how much one had, what it could be used for—he knew it intimately and he could felt he wrongness. He felt it for years now, an insidious black thread of sickness moving throughout his body. It was fainter now than it had ever been, but he knew that something was wrong—

Not that he would tell Naruto, of course. He was already worried over the dreams Sasuke had, worried about his comrades—people he and Sasuke both grew up with. He was busy with the training to become the Hokage, the stress and worry that he would do good in a position that meant so much to him, a legacy left to him. Sasuke was the only one he ever told—besides Tsunade, he was sure—that the people of Konohagakure would never accept him. More people acknowledged him and saw him—they knew that they needed someone strong like Naruto, someone who was obviously so dedicated in protecting the village—but at the same time—how could you really trust someone you feared all your life?

So Sasuke kept silent on his own impending feelings of doom, not having the heart to dump more on his friend that had already taken so much on his shoulders. He couldn't tell Naruto that he feared he would die, his energy eaten by a force he originally hadn't asked for, but ruthlessly exploited when it came to getting what he wanted. Sasuke wanted to be there for Naruto, to reassure him with either barely brushed fingertips or beating him until they both fell asleep against each other. That was life, that was the moment to live for. Dwelling too far on the past or the future was what caused the ripples of damage.

He sometimes wondered, in the vaguest part of his mind, what type of relationship he and Naruto really had. He never thought on it much, almost as if he really dug too deep, it would dig too far and hurt, it would distort and damage what they had. He just knew that he and Naruto were closer than they ever were—or maybe they were always this close and finally acknowledged it.

Whatever it was, he would preserve it for as long as possible. And sometimes keeping secrets was better than telling them. Some secrets were kept to protect people, to save those one cared about from hurting more. Sasuke would keep this secret forever if he had to, and he would just live for the moments, the time he had with Naruto now.

tbc