Disclaimer: Meh.
Pairing: Naruto + Sasuke, Implied Itachi x Sasuke
Destiny Rewritten
By: yukuro
Epilogue: New Promises
The heat was sweltering that night in Konoha Gakure. The various night lights illuminated the village streets, lighting the way for Sakura as she made her way down the streets towards Naruto's apartment. Three years had passed since they had last seen the third member of their original Team Seven, and despite all the grief and difficulties throughout the time in between, they were somehow getting by. Naruto always regarded everyone with a smile, but Sakura had learned better about her teammate. The instant he turned around, the sorrow and pain of Sasuke's absence consumed him yet again.
Just as she raised her hand to knock on the door, a loud crash sounded from the inside of the apartment, followed by a string of exclamations of frustration accompanied by a rather melodious laugh. Blinking, Sakura let her hand fall to her side again before letting her lips shift into a brief frown. Finally, she sighed and mentally prepared herself for whatever was on the other side of the door as she pushed the door open.
"Damn it, Sai!" Naruto was exclaiming in frustration, vigorously rubbing his blond head as he stared helplessly at his scroll-cluttered floor. "I have to organize those and turn in tomorrow! Why'd you have go and knock them over?"
Standing off to the side at the edge of the pile of scrolls was Sai, who was carrying a bulk of Naruto's weapons, cloak, and hitai-ate, likely because Naruto had dumped them on him after returning from their mission since he had been forced to carrying what seemed like a year supply of scrolls. Smirking, the dark haired teen commented offhandedly, lifting his hands up in a surrender-type position while still managing to support the load he carried, "I didn't do anything, Naruto-kun. You knocked them off the table yourself."
Sakura let a brief laugh from her position at the door, making her presence known to the two boys in the room. Seeing her, Naruto instantly stood up a bit straighter and shot a sideways glare at Sai before directing a sheepish expression at the girl. "S-Sakura-chan… What are you doing here?"
At that instant, Sakura felt like throwing something at her teammate's head. She frowned deeply and made her way through the sea of scrolls to grip Naruto by the collar. She lowered him to her eyelevel and glared for a full ten seconds, apparently intending on scaring the blond senseless.
Sai was finding the entire situation rather amusing so he remained silent off to the side to observe. He had finally managed to adjust to becoming a replacement in their team after various instances of fights and disagreements on all three parties. At first, the dislike that had settled between Sai and Naruto seemed to be unable to be lifted, but they had somehow managed to understand each other, particularly after their failed attempt to scout for the missing Uchiha Sasuke. At the present, although he would not admit it, Sai would do anything to protect Naruto's happiness. That was a secret though.
"You. Are. An. I-d-i-o-t. Idiot, Naruto!"
Naruto stared at the girl in confusion before shifting his gaze to gaze bewilderedly at Sai, who merely shrugged in amusement. Finally getting Sakura to release her iron grip on his collar, Naruto took a wary step back and continued to stare at his female teammate with wide, confused eyes. Immediately, he began with the excuses, "I've been gone on a mission for the last three days with Sai, so whatever it is you think I've done, I swear I didn't do it!"
"Tomorrow's your nineteenth birthday, you idiot," Sakura declared fumingly, neatly kicking up one of Naruto's scrolls before punching it directly at the blond. "How could you forget something like that?"
Catching the flying scroll in a panic, Naruto retorted, "Sakura-chan! Could you be a little gentler with these? Tsunade no baa-chan will kill me if I turn these in ruined!"
"I think you've missed her point, Naruto-kun," Sai commented with one of those smiles he always had plastered on his face as Sakura let out a sigh of aggravation.
After placing the scroll safely on the kitchen counter, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck in a slight fluster of embarrassment. "Yeah, well," he began to admit with reddening cheeks, "I actually kind of forgot. It's not that big of a deal anyway."
"This coming from the person who obsesses about celebrating for everyone else," Sakura stated dryly, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow. "Think of that over-elaborate plan you made for Neji-san's last birthday."
"It was good to see him that flustered in humiliation, naa, Sai?" Naruto asked with a devious grin as he glanced over his shoulder at the other boy.
"You shouldn't say that when he nearly hospitalized you for that one," Sai replied cheerfully, placing Naruto's cloak on the counter beside the scrolls. He tossed the blond back his headband before continuing, "Although, I do suppose it was rather amusing."
"We'll have to have a huge party," Sakura said aloud, although mostly to herself as Naruto let out a groan and sank down into the chair Sai offered him before dropping his head soundly on the table without bothering to put his headband back on. Ignoring his interruption, Sakura went on, "And we'll have to invite everyone too. It's a good time since everyone just returned from their various missions."
Before Naruto could open his mouth to say something, an urgent knock sounded at the door before Shikamaru barged in breathless and with a somewhat paler face than usual. Naruto instantly rose to his feet and gazed questioningly at his friend, waiting to hear the reason for the sudden intrusion.
Slowly, Shikamaru evened his breathing before announcing quietly, "We've found the whereabouts of Uchiha Sasuke's location with Akatsuki."
Neither Sakura nor Sai managed to get a word in before Naruto dashed out of the door towards Tsunade's office. The two could only exchange concerned glances as Shikamaru sighed and slipped back out again, mumbling an announcement for his departure as he went.
Suddenly, the trouble had started all over again.
He barely wasted any time in Tsunade's office after hearing the details from the irritated blond woman. The very second Sakura and Sai arrived outside of the Hokage's office, Naruto was bursting out again, hardly giving them a second's worth of time to catch up with him. Just as the two began to pursue their newly determined teammate, Tsunade called to them from her desk.
"Whatever happens," she stated firmly in a tone of complete seriousness, "you must bring Naruto back safely. That boy's inextinguishable passion may end up hurting him in the end."
After an obedient nod and salute from both, the two departed at top speed after Naruto, who was already straying far ahead of them. They found no words to say to each other, even when they finally managed to catch up to Naruto. They only managed to exchange glances briefly before they settled their gaze forward again, allowing Naruto to guide them to wherever he aimed to go.
They traveled in silence for most of the time. An entire night had passed and they had been traveling nonstop. The sun was already beginning to rise over the mountains, but Naruto showed no signs of slowing down. The tense atmosphere Naruto had established managed to keep both Sai and Sakura silent. Only when the blond finally come to a stop did Sakura speak up.
"What's wrong, Naruto?" she asked as she came to a halt beside him after leaping off the tree to stand on firm ground again. "Why did you stop?"
Naruto said nothing at first and only gazed ahead at some unknown point in the forest before them. After a few moments of silence, he slowly took a few steps forward and fixed his gaze up at a tall tree that rose into the sky. Before Sakura or Sai could ask any questions, he called out firmly, "Come out. I know you're there."
There was no reaction for a few painful moments, but after they had passed, a dark blur leaped down from the tree and came to stand before them. Sakura's first instinct was shout out in fury, but instead her eyes quickly darted to Naruto to see his reaction. Sai's eyes had narrowed on the other side of Naruto. As for Naruto, he was shaking slightly, his eyes filled to the brim with unbearable sadness and blazing fury.
With a familiar shark man dropping down beside the lone figure before them, Sakura finally burst. "Uchiha Itachi! Hoshigaki Kisame!"
The figure before them lifted his face slightly, only allowing the slight of his eyes to be shown between the top of his cloak and the brim of his straw hat. Beside him, Kisame began to laugh out loud, making the three across from him freeze.
With a great degree of humor in his voice, Kisame tapped his companion's shoulder and grinned. Laughing yet again, he commented, "The power of blood resemblance is really something, isn't it, Sasuke-kun?"
"W-What?" Sakura muttered in disbelief, taking a step back. The figure before them who was accompanying Hoshigaki Kisame and wearing the trademark Akatsuki cloak was not Itachi, but Sasuke? She quickly gazed over at Naruto in a desperate attempt to see how he was reacting.
Surprisingly, Naruto's expression had not changed. It was as if he had known all along.
"I didn't expect to see you again, Naruto," Sasuke called, finally removing the straw hat that concealed his face. Sure enough, his resemblance to his older brother had truly strengthened. If not for the distinguishing long hair that Itachi had and Sasuke lacked, anyone would have assumed from a distance that it was indeed Itachi before them. Even their blazing red sharingan seemed to hold the same air.
Naruto stiffened visibly, as if bound suddenly by an unseen force. His expression grew weary with emotion, but he was unable to tear his eyes away. Then, something shocking happened.
"I suppose I owe you an apology," Sasuke stated, eyes fixed directly on Naruto.
He was smiling. Sasuke was smiling.
"I can't take any more tricks like this," Naruto muttered, shaking his head and squeezing his eyes closed. "Why do you have to do this, Sasuke? Before too. Even though you already know… You know I can't be happy if you're not here!"
"Kakashi already warned me about that last time we met," Sasuke stated coolly, not letting his eyes slip away from Naruto's. "As usual, you're still the same usuratonkachi."
Just as Sakura opened her mouth to say something, Naruto dashed forward, making the girl instinctively make a grab for her weapons in case a fight were to break out. Both Sasuke and Kisame made no move as Naruto sped towards them, and when the blond finally reached them…
Naruto hugged him. Desperately. And Sasuke simply closed his eyes and accepted it.
Kisame did not seem too surprised, as he grinned toothily with a devilish expression at the shocked Sakura and Sai. No words were spoken between any of them. Naruto could only desperately clutch his long lost friend tighter.
"I looked everywhere for you," he muttered in a choked voice that was fighting to keep his drowning emotions down. "You bastard. I really looked everywhere! Why didn't you let me find you?"
"Because I didn't want to be found," Sasuke replied logically, still not bothering to push Naruto away. Expression growing slightly fonder and his arms rising slightly in response to Naruto's tightening grip, he muttered, "As I expected, you're still as slow as always."
Sakura slowly dropped her defensive stance as her eyes grew hazy. She rubbed at them vigorously to hide her welling tears. Beside her, Sai was silent and showed no sense of reaction on his face.
"Sasuke-kun always did have a soft spot for Naruto-kun," Kisame sighed loudly, folding his arms. "As touching as this reunion is, we can't stay in one spot for too long, Sasuke-kun. You should know."
"Where's Itachi?" Sakura suddenly demanded after coming to realization that there was something seriously wrong with the present scene although her heart had been completely filled.
As if just realizing this for the first time as well, Naruto broke away and stared wide-eyed at his friend. "That's right," he agreed, not releasing his grip on Sasuke's shoulders. "Itachi that bastard… Where is he?"
"That's not a nice thing to say about Itachi-san," Kisame commented irritably from the side, but completely ignored.
Sasuke was silent for a moment, but finally stated stonily, "He's dead."
Shock and disbelief covered Naruto's face. Tightening his grip on Sasuke's shoulders, he asked in disbelief, "Itachi's dead? You killed him?"
"Yes."
Silence and tension spread throughout the small group. Naruto's hands shook with emotion and he felt like embracing Sasuke again, but something about the dark haired teen's expression seemed off. Sakura could sense it too. Despite his words, Sasuke was still hiding something.
"You're lying," Sai said finally, speaking for the first time since they left the village. He had one of his fake smiles fixed expertly on his face as he directed his accusing gaze that was full of ice and hatred at Sasuke. "To trick Naruto-kun with your lies, I don't know if I can forgive you."
Confused, Naruto studied Sasuke's expression. "Sasuke, is he right?"
Sasuke merely stared directly back at the blond.
"In a sense," Kisame replied gruffly, making Naruto snap his head in the shark man's direction. "To Akatsuki, he's definitely dead. But for us, he's the reason we're in trouble."
Settled in even more confusion, Naruto slowly questioned, "What…do you mean?"
Since Sasuke was still committed to silence, Kisame began to explain rather impatiently, "Sasuke-kun has already succeeded Itachi-san in Akatsuki. For someone in a criminal organization, he really did try hard to keep them out of Konoha and away from you, Naruto-kun," Kisame commented with a rather dry laugh. "In any case, Itachi-san was still to strong for them and for him not to be a member of the organization anymore… Let's just say we're renegades now."
"He's already lost his sight completely, hasn't he?" Naruto asked gravely, expression hardening when Kisame's somewhat amused expression confirmed his suspicions.
"I definitely can't come home anymore," Sasuke stated frankly. "Konoha is not the type of place to house criminals."
"You just say that because you can't leave Itachi alone. You still want to be with him," Naruto replied sorrowfully. "You know that we would accept you no matter who you are."
Sasuke let out a rather bitter laugh. Still, he used a tender tone to speak to his friend, "No, Naruto, that's only you. Sorry, but we'll have to say goodbye again. Naruto, let me go."
"There's no way I can do that…!"
"Naruto-kun," Sai said sharply and sternly, surprising the blond. Once he captured the other boy's attention, he let his expression soften slightly. "For now, there's nothing we can do. Bringing him back now means waging war with Akatsuki. That's not something the village can handle at this time."
"But…!" Naruto began to protest, gazing helplessly between his comrades.
"He's right," Kisame stated with a shrug. "If this weren't for Sasuke-kun, I wouldn't bother helping you, but if you go back now, you'll be safe, Naruto-kun. They'll be busy coming after us for a while."
"There's no way I could do that!" Naruto exclaimed, eyes growing wide. "If I do that, it'll be the same as last time! I would be putting Sasuke in danger to keep myself safe again! How can I let something like that happen?"
"Naruto," Sasuke called sternly, making the distraught blond direct his gaze at him again. "You are…my closest friend. If I can't protect you, there's no more point."
"You're always so selfish," Naruto accused, lowering his head as a few angry tears escaped. "Sasuke…! I don't care what happens! You have to come back! Even if you won't have Itachi anymore, I'll always be here! Sakura-chan and the others too! We'll always be your family too!"
Sasuke closed his eyes and slowly took a step away from his comrades as Kisame prepared to depart again.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called, just before the dark haired teen began to retreat into the forest again. Eyes determined, Naruto declared firmly, "When I become Hokage, I will definitely make it safe for you to return. So at that time…please… Please come back home with me!"
As if taking a moment to debate, Sasuke fixed his dark eyes on Naruto's confident ones. Finally, Sasuke closed his eyes, a faint trail of a smile tracing his lips as he turned towards the trees again.
"Aa. Fine. Consider it a birthday promise. Until then, Naruto."
In the center of the forest, where there previously stood five, the number again reduced to three, and the one in the center had his determination renewed.
Saigo no Owari.
A/N: I'm truly sorry I waited until forever to post this. You can probably tell the timeframe in which I finished this just by reading it. Heh. (Basically, I finished this when Sai just had his godly Naruto-cult-conversion. XD) Actually, the thought of Sai's new reverence for Naruto is kind of touching, I think. But anyway, that's not the point of this epilogue! It's just to show that Sasuke, although he may be with Itachi now, is still thinking of Naruto of course. My inner SasuNaru fangirl calls to me.
In any case, I also want to take this moment to thank all of you wonderful readers/reviewers. You've all helped me finally finish this piece of junk. Thank you all for your support! (Especially those who took time to write out long and thoughtful reviews. I definitely love you guys!) It really is readers that create the writer. x3 Thank you all again!
