REVISED
"You ain't ever gonna change. You got a gypsy soul to blame, and you were born for leaving. Born for leaving.- Colder Weather, Zac Brown Band
"Now get out of here." Tsunade remarked as she turned the light off and followed Naruto out the door.
She and Naruto had spent the last hour restitching the wound he had so carelessly torn open, and much to her dismay, Naruto had verbalized his complaints every second of that hour. It had started off with his disapproval of the way in which the ANBU Black-Ops were now allowed to "so carelessly chuck poisonous kunai knives at any helpless girl that so much as breathed the wrong way," which then prompted her to explain that he and Sai weren't, indeed, little girls, but rather two grown men who had organized the "biggest failure of a plan she had seen in thirty years," which then spurred another half hour of arguing between the two of them. She would have scolded him, but it was all too wonderfully familiar to tamper with.
Kakashi had left the second they had arrived at the hospital. In a way, Tsunade was surprised; but in another way, she wasn't. Naruto had stayed fairly sobered - the kind of quiet sobriety that children adopt after being scolded or caught in their guilt. He didn't once speak to Kakashi, and vice versa.
With the jingle of her keys locking the door, she turned to a pouty-faced Naruto.
"I have ordered every ANBU in this village to monitor you at all times of the day. Should I receive word that you and Sai have left the village perimeters, I will send every possible shinobi - male or female - after you."
"Yawn." He replied in his best sarcasm.
"I am serious about this, Naruto." She reiterated, her voice adopting a rigidity that betrayed any humor she might have had. "If it proves necessary, I can order you to be arrested as a missing nin. I won't hesitate to take any action with this."
"Holy hell, I can see that. You don't need to send an army after me."
"If that's what it takes to keep you under surveillance, I will."
"Yeah yeah. . ."Naruto drawled as he non-nonchalantly turned, and began walking down the hallway.
"I'm watching you, Uzumaki! You need to be back at this hospital at eight o' clock!" She shouted, though as usual, it fell mostly on deaf ears as he simply waved at her.
As he lumbered, she saw the chalky whisker marks and tired eyes flash across her mind. No genjutsu or makeup could simulate features as genuine as those. It wasn't right. He never had a history of lying, but...
"Naruto, what am I going to do with you?" She sighed and folded her arms. "Shizune! Where's my Saki?" she shouted as she turned on her heels, and proceeded to go back to her office.
- - - - - - - Scene Change - - - - - - -
"Evil woman" Naruto mumbled to himself as he entered the elevator and poked at his bandages. "These stitches hurt like piss. She did this to me on purpose." He thought as he massaged around the bandaged area of his back. "And where the fuck did Sai go?"
And with that thought, he began to feel the slow-burn of guilt seeping in. He had loosely implied to Tsunade that he and Sai would stay for at least a week until he was medically cleared to leave, but that was only said to appease her. They couldn't stay any more than a day or two, and even that was pushing it. Things were bad enough as it was, and they would only get more complicated the longer he stayed.
He frowned.
"I'm sorry Baa-Chan, but I can't stay here. Damn I wish I could, but...I'm too dangerous. I'm a liability that this place doesn't need anymore."
PING.
His musing was interrupted, however, with the sound of the elevator bell and the door sliding open. He stepped into the painfully bright light of the waiting room and looked around.
In the distance, a head of pink hair poked out from the top of a couch. Carefully, he craned around the side of the chair, and noted her delicate lashes resting on her cheeks in what had to be a terribly uncomfortable slumber.
"Asleep." He resolved, though with a mischievous smirk stretching across his paling face. It might be okay to scare her, just for old time's sake. . .
"No. Don't be an ass, Naruto. These aren't 'the old times' anymore. Things aren't the same." He was interrupted, however, by the soft sounds of her snoring. "Well, maybe if I just. . ." He thought as he quietly snuck to the back of her chair, held his hands up, and-
"Nice try, Naruto, but I'm not going to fall for that."
"Bah!" He spat as he visibly deflated. "How did you know?" He asked, throwing himself over the couch and plopping down next to her.
"Lucky guess." She replied as she turned from her book and looked at him: her eyes beaming with happiness that quickly turned into surprise.
"...What?" He asked in confusion.
"Oh...nothing. It's just taking me some time to get used to these new features that you've added to your appearance. I keep expecting the old Naruto..." She trailed off as another wave of awkwardness filled the gap. Where words failed, something even worse always seemed to replace them.
"I think everyone is." He said through a laugh; though somehow, the statement seemed to burn onto his tongue. She stared at him then with a soft, genuine smile, and he smiled haughtily.
"What? Are these new features taking your breath away? Because if so, I'd totally understa-"
"You're sitting here beside me, and its not a dream this time. You..." She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and looked down; the smile taking on a layer of sadness. "I've had a lot of dreams like this, and I'm still not convinced that this isn't one. I guess I just want to look at you for a little longer. In case I wake up, you know, and you're..." She trailed off.
"I'm sorry." He replied softly, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him, though with caution and wariness; not because she was scared of him, but because she was scared of him not really being there. She needed this.
And he did too; in the most dangerous way possible.
She let her hair fall in curtains around her face now, and he pretended that he didn't see the reason why.
"Well!" She chirped, slamming her book closed and bouncing into a standing position. "We're going shopping."
"HAHA. . .no." Came the reply.
"But why? You can't wear hospital gowns forever. You're going to have to change at some point. And besides, the bandage covering your wound will gross people out."
"You don't know that. Maybe someone will see this wound and tell their kids, 'Now there's a fine young man! Able to take one for the team. What a saint!'"
She deadpanned.
"Actually, no. No one would do that. You're deranged. Please?" She asked as she clasped her hands together and begged him with her best glittery eyes. He sighed, because this was a battle he couldn't win. He had taken on every type of ninja in the last two years imaginable. But a battle against Sakura's stubbornness was essentially a battle that could never be won. And if he really thought about it, a new pair of pants would be nice...
"Fine. But I'm paying." He resolved, standing up next to her.
"No. I'm paying. And there's one more stipulation. . ."
"...Yes?" He asked hesitantly; slowly leaning back as if she were to morph into Satan incarnate himself.
"No orange." She said firmly, and he gasped.
"Blasphemy!"
"No, common sense. No shinobi wears orange. I don't know why you were allowed to do it back then anyway. Come on, we're going." She said as she sprung from the couch and grabbed his forearm. Her touch surprised him a little, and she seemed to really be enjoying herself.
"Sakura, I do have a gaping wound in my back. Minor details, you know?" He called as she pulled him through the door.
It had now been twenty-eight hours since he and Sai had shown up and rocked this village's foundation. The news had spread, and he was only so lucky this time that most of his generation was still on a reconstruction mission in Kirigakure, but even that wasn't a guaranteed escape route. There was no way to stop the rumors, and there was no way to paralyze the news that he and Sai were both very much alive.
Now, he would have to mingle with Konoha. They weren't the people he specifically knew, but they were still people who knew him. He was going to leave in no more than three days, but for now, it really couldn't be avoided.
- - - - - - - Scene Change - - - - - - -
Naruto and Sakura were now wading through the crowded streets of Konoha's markets. It was colorful and loud, and it set Naruto's senses on fire. He could smell the food, hear the noises of the people, and feel the brush of every person flying past him. It was nice to be here again, though only for a short while.
Along the way, Sakura had stopped to buy him some food for his stay at the hospital while he watched carefully for any sign that Sai was lurking in the shadows somewhere. He took in everything around him and reveled in the memories it brought back.
"Hey, can we make a quick stop at the store up ahead? I want to buy something really quickly."
"Sure!" He remarked as he followed her into a small, purple building with plants around the door.
Walking in, he was hit by the dizzying smell and sight of hundreds of different types of flowers lining the shelves and hanging from the ceilings. There were flowers everywhere; splashing brilliant colors and sweet perfumes across the entire store. Turning around to a sign on the wall, he observed the name of the flower shop and winced.
This was the Yamanaka flower shop.
Quickly grabbing Sakura's hand, he ducked behind one of the isles of flowers and bent down low.
"This place belongs to Ino's family!" He replied in a hurried whisper.
"Well...actually, it just belongs to Ino now."
"Wait, what? I thought you said most of our generation was on a recon mission in Kirigakure!"
"They are. All of the Jounin, anyway. Ino never pursued the Jounin exams because she wanted to take over this flower shop. Shikamaru helps her occasionally, though, since he's Tsunade-sama's chief adviser."
"Wait, so Nara's here?" He gawked as he cursed quietly. That man was a genius.
"Possibly. What's the problem? They're going to find out you're here eventually, if they don't already know anyway." She replied, tugging harder on his hand.
"Sakura-chan! This isn't-"
"Hey Ino Pig! It's Sakura. Can you help me for a sec? I want you to meet someone." She called, cutting him off in the process.
"Be out in a second!" Came a muffled voice from a room behind the counter. Turning back to Naruto, Sakura smiled, though with eyes that held a seriousness that proved that she was no longer the emotional doormat that she had once been. Whatever she was about to say was important enough that she wouldn't compromise the outcome.
"You can't avoid these people forever, Naruto. You're here now. Even if you run, they will find out soon anyway, and you know it."
He scanned her face for any trace of insecurity, but inwardly deflated when he couldn't find it.
"I know, Sakura-chan. I'm just..."
"I know. But I'll help you, okay?" She smiled and held her hand out to him. Hesitantly, he took her hand and she led him out from behind the shelves and in front of the desk.
In an attempt to distract himself, he decided to observe the many types of flowers lining the shelves. The shelf he was currently studying held the tiny seedlings of what were called Pink Roses, Gardenia's, Blue Hydrangea's and a bright orange flower that he had never seen before.
"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Sakura asked as she appeared beside him and gently rubbed her thumb across the orange petal.
"They sure are an awesome color. I have respect for anyone who is bold enough to wear such a bad-ass color."
"Nice try, Naruto, but I'm still not going to let you buy something orange. It's atrocious."
"You speak such foul words, harlot! Do you know what they're called?" He asked as he brushed his knuckle along the thin leaves. A puzzled look spread across her face as she fumbled with the tag on the plant.
"Mm, I don't know. Part of the tag's been torn off, and it looks like the other one has already been bought. We'll ask Ino."
"Ask me what?" Came the reply as Ino burst from the back room carrying a huge box of yellow tulips in her arms. She placed them onto the counter, swiped her apron off of a chair, and came around to the front. Naruto watched as Ino made her way over to them, still not aware of the fact that he was there. Sakura smiled.
"Oh nothing, really, we just wanted to know what kind of flower this is." Sakura replied as Ino came up from behind while tying her apron. She spun the flower around towards her to get a better look.
"Oh, that's easy, those are-" But before she could finish, she casually glanced at him, and he waited for the hysterics. With a loud thud, she backed into the counter; knocking the box of tulips onto the floor in the process. Shock was written on her face as she braced herself on the side of the counter.
"You're not- who the hell are you!" She snapped, her shock quickly turning to anger at the prospect of someone playing such a cruel joke in front of her, and especially in front of Sakura.
"It's really me, Ino-Chan. I know this is weird, but work with me here." He replied, his signature grin spreading to his eyes. She glanced at Sakura in morbid confusion, but turned back when the pinkette only smiled and shrugged her shoulders in response.
"It's true." Sakura replied.
"But how?" Ino then whispered. "This...he was supposed to be dead, and...I-I don't understand."
"He didn't die, Ino. That was never proven anyway, remember? We all just assumed...well, it turns out he was just...he-"' Sakura stopped, and Naruto mentally judged what she would possibly say next.
"He was taking a leave of absence. Even I didn't know. It was classified information...apparently." She finished, as a bizarre smile covered her own confusion, anger and worry. Ino then looked back and forth between them, her mouth finally closing into a thinned line.
"So you're really that baka Naruto?" Ino whispered, her hand shaking as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Hai!" He replied, his bleachy teeth stretching into an even wider grin.
Ino looked at him in pure bewilderment, then slowly stepped forward. Much to Naruto's surprise, a huge smile spread across her face as she pulled him into a tight hug and began laughing. Naruto felt the pain from his wound, but was too shocked by Ino's sudden affection to give it any thought.
"Watch it, Ino-pig. His back is hurt."
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I'll get off!" She said as she plopped off of him and back on to the ground. It was then that Ino began to laugh hysterically, tears falling down her face.
"What's so funny?" Sakura asked, trying not to laugh herself.
"It's just, I'm so happy he's here! Naruto, you. . .you just have no idea. No idea what this place has been like. How have you been? Where have you been?"
He pretended not to notice when Sakura looked away awkwardly.
"I've been fine! Just roaming the countryside with my buddy Sai, really."
"Why did you guys leave?" She asked, though she somewhat recoiled when Sakura shook her head quickly. Naruto noted the darker atmosphere the room seemed to fall into.
"It's...kind of hard to explain, I guess." He said through a grin.
"Oh." Ino said softly. And as soon as she mentioned it, she breezed into a change of subject. "So what's with this new appearance?" She asked as she bounced one of the red ends of his hair in a cupped hand.
"Oh, this?" Naruto asked as he flipped his hair back. "This is just me intensifying the sexiness that lay dormant in my body."
"Right. I totally understand."
"Really?"
"No." She replied through a tinkling laugh.
"Well, in all seriousness, I didn't want to be recognizable to anyone I may have pissed off at some point, so I just changed things up a little." He explained. Ino laughed, indicating that the answer good enough for now. But before anything else could be said, all three of them turned their heads as the bell on the door chimed.
"Hey Ino, I picked up the shipment of Gardenia's you wanted. I'm putting them on the-" Came the voice of Shikamaru who stopped mid-sentence when he locked eyes with Naruto. For the briefest moment, his expression spelled shock, but soon it was replaced by a small smile and half-lidded eyes.
"So it's true." Shikamaru remarked somewhat quietly, though Naruto wasn't surprised that he already knew. If Shikamaru truly was the Hokage's adviser, he was second only in command to her and would have known almost everything that she knew. Quietly, he placed the box of flowers on the ground.
"Yeah." Naruto said through a grin, and smiled at his long lost genius-of-a-friend. Shikamaru was one of the smartest people he had ever known, and his ability to strategize was even more sharp than Sasuke's.
"Well? Come here, Shika!" Ino called to him, breaking the silence.
Shikamaru stepped forward, hands in his pockets with a smile on his face. He somewhat laughed to himself as he stared at the ground.
"I knew you'd come back." He remarked. Naruto was taken aback, but decided to play along.
"How did you know I wasn't dead?" Naruto asked through a tempting smile. Obviously, Shikamaru had never believed that he was dead, but he obviously had never told any of his closest peers either. Shikamaru had his ways, but was their any actual proof behind his belief, or had it all just been a feeling?
"Hm. Maybe I'll tell you later, but for now-" And before he could finish, Shikamaru had thrown an arm around Naruto's shoulder. "It's great to have you back, Naruto. And I mean that seriously." Shikamaru said as he ruffled the blond's hair. Naruto was slightly surprised, only because Shikamaru had always been too indifferent to show emotion. This was the most animated Naruto had ever seen him. Shikamaru stepped back and spoke up:
"But seriously, Naruto, this new look? You should have left that in whatever village you found it in." He commented, and Naruto smirked as Ino and Sakura laughed loudly.
"Up yours, you jerk! You wish you could have this." Naruto replied as he ran his hand along his torso and smiled seductively. He didn't notice the rosy blush spread across Ino's cheeks.
"What? At least I'm not judging something you were born with, right?" Shikamaru replied somewhat jokingly, though Naruto felt himself speechless. He couldn't tell if Shikamaru was joking, or if it was some kind of test. He glanced at Sakura, who must have felt the same way, because she was awkwardly looking at the floor.
If Shikamaru was half the Shinobi everyone made him out to be, he would start scrutinizing Naruto immediately. The circumstances surrounding Naruto' and Sai's departure were questionable even back then, so now they must have tripled in mystery. At the end of the day, Shikamaru was no fool, and this is partially what he was trained to do.
"Right. Then you would just be an asshole." Naruto remarked playfully, and Sakura and Ino laughed again.
"Well, Naruto, it's great to have you back! And to celebrate your return, I'm going to throw you a party this weekend!" Ino chirped as she clapped her hands together.
And then Naruto somewhat choked.
"Uhh...that's...well, that's really thoughtful, but I can't ask you to do- "
"Nonsense! It will be so much fun! And from what Shika said, most of our teachers and peers will be returning in the next few days."
"It would be fun, Naruto." Sakura commented. Naruto turned to Shikamaru who was conveniently staring in another direction.
"Ah, fine." He remarked as Ino and Sakura squealed in delight. "But only if it can be for Sai too." Naruto would sure as hell incorporate Sai into this misery somehow. Not to mention it would probably be easier to lie to everyone in one fell swoop instead of going to them individually.
Ino opened her mouth to reply, but before she could answer, the bell on the door rang again signaling that a customer was walking in. The atmosphere plummeted, however, as Naruto observed Sasuke stroll casually through the door, and suddenly the realization that Naruto and Sasuke were standing in the same building hit Ino and Shikamaru like a freight train.
It was weird, because Shikamaru and Ino didn't know that he was already aware of Sasuke's return. Shikamaru settled on looking somewhere on the floor with his arms crossed, and Ino momentarily looked back and forth between the Uchiha and the blond, but snapped out of it shortly after when she concluded that they must have already met each other.
"Hey, Sasuke! What brings you here again?" Ino asked brightly, though resolving to ask Sakura later how badly it had gone down between the two boys. Shikamaru merely lit a cigarette and avoided the very tangible hostility that now swirled heavily in the air.
"Again?" Naruto thought. "Does Sasuke have a thing for flowers? Or Ino?" Even though he was trying to choke down the bitter taste in his mouth, he couldn't help but smirk evilly to himself. Had they been twelve years old again, he would have mercilessly taunted Sasuke about coming to visit Ino like this, especially considering he had obviously been here before. The potential embarrassment in all of it was too tempting to ignore. It wasn't a weapon shop or a poison maker, nor was there a sign out front that said "Will give limitless power to any pretty boy for complete ownership of their adolescent body." This wasn't a typical "Sasuke" place, but he didn't really know what a typical "Sasuke" place was anymore.
"I'm here to pay-back my remaining balance." Sasuke replied blankly. Naruto's eyes followed Ino as she disappeared behind the counter.
"So that's what they're calling it these days..." Naruto muttered quietly. Sakura tried to cover her smile, though Naruto laughed a little too loudly as Shikamaru hid his smile and shook his head. Naruto gasped in pain as Sakura elbowed him in the ribs, though that only spurred more laughter from the three of them.
"Here we are." Ino said cheerily as she opened a notebook to a specific page. "Let me just go find your receipts. I'll be back in just a second." She chirped as she went to the back room once more.
"I'll go with you." Shikamaru remarked as he entered into the room afterwords. Naruto sent him a death glare, but Shikamaru merely returned it with a smirk. It was now that Naruto realized that the original Team Seven, who had gone down as the most notoriously powerful and tragic team in the last fifty years, was awkwardly standing together once again in a flower shop. Here they were, pretending that nothing was wrong, and that there wasn't a crippling history here. They were pretending that they were all capable of subduing the frost of their anger, and they were pretending, like they always had, that things would be okay if they could be ignored.
But under these circumstances, it was so wrong. So very wrong, simply because meeting at all like this was supposed to just be a dream. Or a nightmare, depending on who you asked.
Sakura, like she had done so many times before, decided to break the ice.
"So Sasuke, I had no idea you had an interest in flowers. What have you been doing with them?" Sasuke turned around to face her as Naruto did his best to pretend that a pot of violets was somehow captivating.
"Nothing. Did you talk to Kakashi yet? He wanted to speak with you." He asked through genuine interest, and Naruto couldn't help but listen in some kind of annoyed fascination.
Sasuke and Sakura were having an actual conversation. Yes, Sasuke had quickly changed the subject, but he actually was humane enough now to entertain her in this way. There had never been a time in Sasuke's life when he gave Sakura the chance to actually converse with him. Even in their best days Sasuke had never really respected Sakura.
"Where was this when we were kids, you bastard?" Naruto thought in annoyance.
When they were kids, he had always pined for Sakura's attention but was never fortunate enough to receive it in the way that Sasuke did. Back then, he wore his heart on his sleeve when it came to Sakura, but Sasuke's apathy towards her confessions were almost concrete. It used to make him mad how Sasuke would shrug her off; but now, even when he was so bitter against Sasuke, he appreciated that he had the decency to treat her like a human being. He was glad Sakura was getting to experience such a good side of Sasuke. It was the side he only got to see a few times, and when he did get to see it, he could have sworn they were friends.
Naruto was brought back from his reverie as Ino and Shikamaru came through the back room again, Ino carrying a receipt and a calculator. He watched as Sasuke walked over to her and began conversing, and he took that opportunity to tap Sakura's shoulder through the isle of flowers. Turning, she shoved a flower-pot to the side and peered at him through the shelf of flowers.
"Well that was the most awkward thing of my life. That was enough to make me suicidal." He whispered.
"You know, you really ought to try and be a little more civil. I understand that this is an extremely awkward and confusing situation for you, but since you don't care to know why he has returned, the least you can do is be a little cordial." She answered in a hushed tone, and he flinched at her seriousness.
"Civil? You want me to be civil? That's like asking me to forget the past six years! I wouldn't let myself forget that level of assery!" Naruto somewhat barked, and winced when Ino and Sasuke abruptly stopped talking. He looked up from where he was and noticed that Ino and Shikamaru were staring at him in confusion. Bending down lower, Naruto turned back to Sakura through the isle.
"Assery?" She whispered in unimpressed confusion.
"You know, 'the act of being an ass.' Assery."
She rolled her eyes.
"Listen Naruto, I will talk with you about this later. Now is neither the time nor the place." She replied in a hurried whisper.
"But Sakura-cha-PFFT!" He spat as one of the flowers on the top shelf fell and hit him in the mouth. Catching it before it hit the floor, he saw that it was the orange flower that he didn't know the name of.
"Hey Sakura-Chan, we never found out what this flower was called." He whispered as he shook the soil out of his hair and handed the pot to her through the shelf.
"Oh yeah! We'll just ask Ino when she's done." She replied.
Before anything else could be said, Ino walked to her cash register, pulled out a receipt and handed it to Sasuke. "Thanks so much, Sasuke!" She remarked sweetly.
"Thanks." Sasuke replied as he casually folded the receipt and placed it in his pocket. Naruto stiffened as he turned towards them: the animosity and anger hitting like two electrical currents.
"It's called an Orange Impatiens." He commented casually to Sakura, then left as quickly as he had come. Naruto and Sakura briefly stared at each other.
"Well, that was...um..." Ino tried, but trailed off.
"Troublesome." Shikamaru commented. Sakura stepped forward and sat on the counter next to Ino.
"How long has Sasuke been coming to your shop, Ino?" Sakura asked as Ino began cutting the stems off of the Gardenia's Shikamaru had brought in.
"For about a year now."
"What has he been buying them for?"
"I don't know. It was weird at first, because normally people tell me who or what they're buying flowers for, but he never says anything. I assumed it was a girlfriend, but I never see him with anyone. It's a shame, really, because I thought he was making progress by buying them for a possible future spouse, but I just don't know." She explained. Shikamaru was now resting his hand on the counter, and Naruto had appeared in front of them.
"I would ask him, but it seems kind of personal." Sakura mused, and Ino agreed with a nod of her head as she focused her attention on stripping the flowers of their leaves.
"Yeah, several people that live in the elite district said he might be buying them for the Uchiha manor since it's being re-built and all. Takahiro-san said he could be buying them for the graves of his family that are in the Manor gardens, because he saw Sasuke taking them there. Either way, its somewhere in that area."
"What kind of flower has he been buying?" Sakura asked.
"Probably a pansy." Naruto remarked bitterly as he boredly flipped through a gardening magazine. Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Actually, he's bought the same exact flower every time he's been here. It's that orange flower over there." She said as she motioned her pair of scissors towards the isle they had just been at. "It's called an Orange Impatiens."
Naruto and Sakura suddenly stared at each other in disbelief. Ino spoke up again:
"The only thing with Orange Impatiens though, is they have no tolerance for the cold and can only thrive in sunlight, yet he would buy them anyway. I can't see why he was buying them in the winter, but he did."
"Troublesome." Shikamaru commented as he lit another cigarette, earning an unimpressed look from Ino.
"That is. . .really strange." Sakura replied as she glanced at her watch. "But it's getting late, and Naruto, you have to be back by 8:00 don't you?" She asked as she hopped off of the counter.
"Well...in theory." He replied as he gave up on the gardening magazine. They had been so caught up in introductions that they had completely forgotten to go shopping. The sun was now sending bright red colors through the sky as the day came to a close.
"That means you have to be back in thirty minutes. Ino, can I buy some of the blue hydrangeas really quickly? That's really what I came her for."
"Sure! And as a gift to Naruto, I'll give them to you for free."
"Thanks, Ino." Naruto replied sweetly as Naruto flashed her a genuine smile.
As they began to walk out the door, Naruto was stopped once again by the sound of Ino's voice:
"And Naruto, don't you dare try to skip out on this party for you and Sai! I will not allow it."
"Wouldn't miss it!" He commented as Sakura grabbed him by the ear, and led him outside.
Which reminded him that he needed to find Sai, and find him soon.
- - - - - - - Scene Change - - - - - - -
"Perfect." Sakura replied as she placed the blue hydrangeas in a crystal vase next to Naruto's nightstand. "They match the color of your eyes beautifully."
He observed the cornflower-blue of the flowers, and somewhat frowned to himself when the only image of his eyes he could remember was the feral, slitted pupils on that night two years ago. A vase of flowers may have matched the color, but they sure didn't match the intent.
As Sakura fiddled with the hospital equipment, Naruto let his thoughts wander while he boredly tossed a coin in the air and caught it. He remembered Sasuke's comment about the flower when they were in Ino's shop, which indicated that he had been listening to their conversation.
"If he was listening, that would mean he heard what I said." Naruto thought as he tossed a coin in the air and caught it. "No shit, Naruto. But its not like I regret saying it. He deserved to hear anything I said. That bastard can't even begin to fathom..." But his thoughts trailed off when he remembered that they were a bunny-trail of thoughts that never got him anywhere, because even if Sasuke could fathom what he had done, he probably wouldn't have truly known how to care anyway.
Absentmindedly, he squeezed the coin so hard it bent. Sighing, he chucked it out the window and leaned his head against the wall.
He was tired of thinking about Sasuke, because there really was no such thing as just thinking about Sasuke. There was obsessing over Sasuke. There was stewing over Sasuke, grieving over Sasuke and remembering Sasuke, but no one could simply just think about Sasuke. There was too much damage for that.
As much as he didn't want to admit it, some part of him really did want to know why Sasuke had returned. From the way Ino, Shikamaru, Sakura and Tsunade had been talking about Sasuke, Naruto figured the explanation was obviously good enough to redeem him from the extreme animosity that every one harbored for him.
His thoughts were interrupted as Sakura sat down on the bed beside him. "Whatcha thinkin' about?" She asked as she pulled a medical chart out from her bag. Much to his pleasure, she had been assigned as his room nurse for the next week. Naruto continued to stare at the ceiling with his arms folded behind his head.
"I just don't understand." He remarked.
"Understand what?" Came the question as she rummaged through her bag for a pen.
"I mean, what explanation could have made such a huge difference that they would just excuse everything that asshole did?" Naruto inwardly growled as he stared at the ceiling. Sakura stopped what she was doing and turned towards him.
"Are you talking about Sasuke?"
"I mean, I understand that forgiveness is a good thing, and that's fine. I get it. But what I don't get, is how it was so easy for everyone to just let it go. Dammit. I mean, everyone hated him. And when I pleaded with everyone to not give up on him, they all told me to move on. And then when I leave, everything changes and it just. . ." He stopped, but she continued to stare at him. "It just doesn't make any sense." He resolved as he grabbed another coin and began tossing it up to the ceiling. Sakura spoke up quietly.
"Naruto, I don't even know how to tell you how difficult it was to let him return, and the thing is, I can't explain anything to you until you find out why he returned."
"Can't you just tell me?"
"No."
"You can't or you won't?"
"Both. Number one, as an apprentice for Hokage-sama, I'm not allowed to reveal any classified information on anyone. And number two, I wouldn't tell you even if I could."
"Ne Sakura-chan, whyyyy?" He whined.
"Because if I did it for you, then that means you wouldn't have to. It would mean that both of you were just too stubborn to conquer your pride for one minute and say to each other everything that needs to be said."
Yes, having Sakura tell him everything that happened would be a nice cop-out. It would mean that he could answer the burning question that had been plaguing his mind since he returned, but he wouldn't actually have to talk to Sasuke. It would have been perfect, but Naruto knew Sakura wouldn't budge. Once again, she was forced to play the middle-man in an exhausting war.
"Well...that still doesn't change the fact that I'm pissed off. I don't even have to know why Sasuke returned to know that the village is being way more understanding of him then they were back then. Hell, I begged them to give him a chance and they all turned their backs. I mean, I was his best friend and I can't even make myself forget all the shit he put everyone through."
"Perhaps it's because you were best friends that you're having such a hard time forgiving him."
Naruto stopped what he was doing and focused on Sakura.
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is, back then, nobody was personally involved with Sasuke like we were. So when he left, they suffered little. When he slandered the village, they didn't care. And when he abandoned us, he was just another missing nin to put on file. But for you, Naruto, it was different. You were so personally involved with Sasuke that every action he took against you was intensified tenfold. And not only that, but you put so much effort into trying to bring him back despite how badly the village wanted you to forget him. I think it's because you were his best friend that you can't let it go."
"I know." Naruto replied quietly, and Sakura looked down awkwardly and attempted to busy herself with the paperwork.
"And I'm afraid if you don't do something about it soon, you're going to miss your chance and spend the rest of your life living with this anger. Both of you will, and its awful." She commented quietly, her lips thinning into a white line.
"I can't just talk to Sasuke, though. It wasn't even that easy when we did tolerate each other."
"You can't or you won't?" She asked with somewhat of a smile.
"Both." Naruto said through a laugh.
"You might be surprised though, Naruto. Sasuke wasn't oblivious to the fact that you weren't here when he returned. He actually..."
" 'Actually' what?" Naruto asked, though he felt it was against his better judgment to do so.
"Nevermind." She remarked as she stood up and stretched. "Anyway, I have to be at Hokage-Sama's in fifteen minutes, so I better leave."
"Okay. Thanks for today, Sakura-chan. I mean it. I really did have fun, despite that bastard showing up."
Sakura laughed openly and turned around.
"Good night, Naruto." She answered as she opened the door. Before she left, however, she turned towards him and spoke up one last time: "Talk to him. You will feel so much better if you do."
"HAH! Good night, Sakura-chan!" He replied as Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Oh and Naruto, you may have gotten out of it today, but be prepared to be up early tomorrow again. We will finish our shopping." Sakura replied as she turned off the light and shut the door.
- - - - - - - Scene Change - - - - - - -
"On the first page of our story, the future seemed so bright. Then this thing turned out so evil, I don't why I'm still surprised. Even angels have their wicked schemes and you take that to new extremes. But you'll always be my hero even though you've lost your mind." - Love The Way You Lie Part Two
"5:00 A.M." Naruto commented. "This is an un-Godly hour." Naruto thought as he buried his face in the pillow. His mind had been too heavy with thoughts to be able to shut down.
He thought about where Sai was, how they would be leaving, when they would be leaving, to be exact. He thought about his appearance and how he was going to explain it to everyone. He thought about how much control he was losing over the Kyuubi and he thought about his pain. he thought about how much time he had left, and he thought about Sasuke. Sasuke fucking Uchiha.
"This is ridiculous. I need to get out of here." Naruto thought as he sat on the edge of the bed and tried to characterize the faces in the Hokage Monument.
"The Hokage Monument!" He thought. And with that, he sprang out of bed, shoved the window open and made his way to his favorite childhood spot.
As he jumped from roof-top to roof-top, he let the cold wind graze his face. It felt painful, but in a good kind of way. Since the Kyuubi commanded so much of his body these days, his regular body temperature fluctuated between extreme temperatures, and tonight was one of those nights where his blood almost felt like it was boiling. There were some days where the Kyuubi chakra literally did burn him, giving him what felt like a bad sunburn. The frost-bitten air felt almost euphoric against his feverish skin.
As he finally made his way to the top of the Hokage Monument, he landed on the smooth, hard rock and plopped down; one foot swinging over the edge. It was wonderfully freezing cold, and wearing nothing but a fitted white t-shirt and black pants made it all the more intense.
"Talk to him. You will feel so much better if you do."
He remembered Sakura's advice to him and began to let his thoughts wander to the possibility that talking to Sasuke wouldn't be a terrible idea.
"How would I even approach something like that? 'So Sasuke, you feel like having a big heart-to-heart confessional on why you were such an asshole for so long? Because I know I sure would!' No, it's not that easy. Maybe it was at one time, but...not anymore." Naruto frowned as he stood up. He could feel the anger rising once again. The sun was now coming up and he could see the warm colors of morning appearing in the distance.
"SHIT!" Naruto yelled as he threw a rock far into the city below him, his breath falling short and developing into staggered breathing. He listened to the muffled "bang" as it hit some building far below him. He stared sadly into the distance knowing he could be in Suna right now, away from all of this baggage.
"What are you doing here?"
Spinning, Naruto tore a kunai out of the hem of his pants and turned to the voice behind him; visibly faltering when he saw the silhouette of Sasuke standing defensively twenty feet away from him.
