As entertaining as the ceiling was Sasuke didn't enjoy looking up at it all the time but he knew that his body was giving up on him as he lay in his bed. The past two weeks had been hell on earth. As much as Sasuke didn't like to admit it, Naruto had him exhausted from training. It seemed as if every day, after they went to the hot springs, Naruto was constantly showing Sasuke how easily his limits were reached and passed. Sasuke never thought he could have been pushed so far.
He frowned as he recalled the memory of almost dying at Narutos hands. It made him feel weak beyond his comprehension. 'How is Naruto able to beat me so easily?' Sasuke pondered about the aggressive blonde. He had never seen Naruto so angry. Naruto never held back, even if Sasuke was ready to surrender. Sometimes Sasuke felt that Naruto enjoyed hurting him. It seemed plausible since some days there wasn't really a lesson to teach Sasuke, rather more of a battle that reminded Sasuke how weak he was compared to Naruto.
Sasuke turned to the clock at his bedside. 3:02AM. It sounded ridiculous but he felt too tired to sleep. Besides, he had another training session with Naruto at 6, sharp. He had to be at the forest of death at exactly that time or else he would hear it from Naruto. To be more exact, he would feel it from Naruto since Naruto believed physical punishment helped teach lessons better. Sasuke disapproved of Narutos teaching style but they were effective. Sasuke felt himself getting stronger each day. He never felt so motivated before as he did now. Seeing Naruto achieve such a high level of power made Sasuke work even harder.
'If I keep training with Naruto then I can achieve what I've come here for. I just have to stay focused.'
Salty sweat rolled down Narutos cold chest. He heaved as his mind reeled from the nightmare. Naruto sighed. It seemed that these nightmares took the solace he called his subconscious mind. Naruto looked at the time. 3:02AM. It was only two hours ago when his body decided it wanted to sleep after three days without rest. It wasn't so much the dream that Naruto dreaded. It was the man that always visited him in his dreams.
Itachi haunted him every time he decided to fall asleep but tonight seemed to be the most difficult nightmare. It was simply because there was a new player in his nightmare. Sasuke was on Itachis side in the nightmare but that wasnt the worst part. It was the fact that Naruto thought half-way through the dream that Sasuke was with him. Betrayal was something Naruto despised and in his nightmare, Sasuke made the ultimate betrayal.
Naruto sat up and stared at his feet. These past two weeks Naruto felt odd. He wasn't sure why but he knew that he was becoming more cold towards Sasuke. Naruto was able to pin point it the other day as he thought of why he felt Sasuke to be more despicable than Itachi. 'Sasuke is supposed to be my friend. Someone I could trust. I expect something cruel from Itachi but not from Sasuke.'
Naruto felt no trust between him and Sasuke anymore. It was nonexistent. On the other hand, Naruto felt his hatred towards Itachi diminishing ever since their encounter. The man seemed genuine and it irked Naruto that he couldn't feel anything that wasn't neutral towards Itachi, despite what he did to him.
He played the encounter in his mind. There hasn't been an opportunity for Naruto to retrieve the file. In order for him to do that, Danzo had to be outside the village. There would be a lack of anbu inside his quarters. All Naruto had to do was keep track of Danzos whereabouts.
Naruto swung his legs over the bed. He decided he might as well get ready for the training session since sleep evaded him. Besides, he didn't want to return to that reality.
The waterfall beat down on his back. The relentless pounding on his shoulders washed off the stench of blood. He looked over to see his cloak hung over a branch, drying off. After a few moments of standing he pushed through the water to get to the edge. He pulled his slick black strands of hair back, as it whipped around his face. The breeze struck him, immobilizing him for a second as the cold reached his bones. He moved forward, keeping his guard up, constantly moving his cursed red eyes. He reached the tree where his clothes hung, dry as they faced the morning sun. He stood in the sun, feeling the warmth that could only be felt from the sun. His body remained slightly damp as he pulled his clothes on. The stench of the blood still lingered on his clothes. They seemed to remain there as persistently as they could. He left his hair open for the gentle wind to dry. He walked a few kilometers to the next town. When he reached the end of the woods he pulled his damp hair back into a pony tail and placed the straw hat over his head. He moved steadily onto the path that led to the town.
When he reached his destination, he navigated through crowded streets to find that café where he would find that strange blue man. It didn't take long for him to see the brightly colored café. He entered and sat across from a similarly attired man.
"You finally done or do you need another hour to groom yourself?" The shark man grinned widely, showcasing a full set of malicious teeth. His comment was ignored. They both sipped on a cup of tea, paying close attention to their surroundings.
"So what now? Where are we headed to?" The blue man asked in a raspy voice. "We have nothing better to do now that we've got the kyuubi."
"We are going to the Leaf."
"Why?" The blue mans upper lip peeled back in annoyance. "I'm tired of that place. We went there just two weeks ago. Let's go to the place two streets down. I heard that the girls there are clean. I also heard that they are cheap. 200 ryo each. They go for as long as you want. That seems like a good deal to me." The corner of the blue mans mouth went up.
"Very well. We can go our separate ways for today."
"Aw c'mon. Don't be like that. I know you've been under a lot of stress so why don't you just come with me?"
"At midnight I will meet you at the hideout."
The blue man watched as his partner finished his cup and exited the shop. He released a low sigh and sipped on his tea alone, gazing at the girls that passed by from time to time.
Sasuke panted as he bent over to catch his breath. His lungs expanded, sucking in as much air as they could. He slowly opened his eyes to see that Naruto was holding his phone out to him.
'You are doing well.' Sasukes eyes slightly widened. He didn't expect encouragement from Naruto so easily. He looked up to see Naruto still had his stern face on. There wasn't a hint of change in his face but his words said the opposite.
Sasuke did notice his own improvement. Usually he was laying on the ground, exhausted from the physical training but today he was only doubled-over. However he didn't think that Naruto would care to comment on it.
Sasuke slowly straightened up to look at him in the eyes. He searched for the encouraging words from his eyes but they revealed nothing. They were still blank which led Sasuke to believe that there might not be truth to his words. Sasuke nodded to Naruto anyways as a sign of appreciation.
'Training is over for today.' Naruto mouthed to the drenched Uchiha. A wave of relief soothed Sasukes muscles as he understood those words. It was over. He could finally go home. He turned towards the setting sun to see his entire day was dominated by training. Sasuke turned as he felt a hand on his shoulder.
'Do you want to go eat?' Another surprising thing from Naruto. Sasuke contained his rapidly wild emotions and nodded to question. Naruto walked alongside the Uchiha towards the center of town.
They paved through busy vendors and flashing lights that overtook the village at night. Distant chattering filled the void silence between the two. Surprisingly to Sasuke, the silence between them wasn't awkward. It was rather comfortable. What didn't surprise him was the place that Naruto wanted to eat at. He looked up at the sign that said "Ichiraku Ramen!". They pulled back the hanging papers with kanji on them and took a seat. The chef turned around and seemed to be taken by surprise.
"Naruto? It's been so long! I've missed your company, you know? I have customers coming and going but none like you!" Teuchis head swiveled to see Sasuke. "And you've brought a friend?" The man exclaimed enthusiastically. He leaned towards Sasuke. "You know Naruto doesn't really bring many people around here, as much as he loves ramen. You must be something else." He grinned clownishly at Sasuke, who in turn stared back with his singular dull expression. "So what would you boys like?" He picked up a glass from the counter and rubbed it squeaky with a white cloth.
Naruto typed in his phone. 'Miso ramen for me and katsudon for him.'
Teuchi smiled, his eyes turning into slits. "Sure thing!" He headed to his task leaving the two to themselves. Naruto tapped his wooden chopsticks lightly on the table, creating a rhythm.
"So what's the occasion?" Sasuke finally spoke up.
Naruto didn't bother to look at him or stop tapping his chopsticks on counter. 'Nothing.'
"So why did you suddenly decide you wanted to treat me?" Sasuke inquired.
'No reason.'
Sasuke gave up small talk and sat there as Naruto tapped out a different beat. They listened to the bustle of the knifes chopping vegetables and waited for their food. The entering and exiting of people from the shop didn't disturb the atmosphere that surrounded the boys. Even the sound of a familiar voice didn't disturb them.
"Hey guys!" The two didn't turn to the voice of Sakura. She remain relentless and stood between them. "I can't believe you guys are actually hanging out together! Look at all of us! Together like old times. Just team seven. I'm going to join you two!" She pulled up a stool inbetween the non-protesting boys. Sasuke watched as she cut off the view from Naruto who resumed his playful chopstick tune. His eyebrow twitched as Sakura turned to him and spewed useless sentences at him. He endured the insistent speech until Teuchi returned with two healthy servings of ramen. Teuchi noticed Sakura and looked interchangeably between Sasuke and Sakura.
"You guys are really cute together, you know." He commented. A blush spread across Sakuras face.
"Haha. We are NOT together." Sakura emphasized. "I'm interested in someone else actually." She looked down at her hands, like a shying school girl. Teuchis interest peaked and they carried on the conversation about Sakuras love life. Sasuke looked over Sakura to see Naruto was already eating his ramen.
Sasuke did the same and swallowed the heated ramen, keeping Naruto in his vision. He thought of what Teuchi said, of how Naruto barely brought people over to eat ramen. 'Is it possible that he wants to be friends?' Sasuke thought. It was a possibility that didn't seem bad to Sasuke. Another thought struck him as he considered what he just implied. 'When did we stop being friends?' Sasuke reviewed the past events and figured that it must have been after Sasuke had visited Naruto in the ward. Unpleasant memories flooded his skull as he remembered Naruto spewing mute words of hatred at him. A chill went down Sasukes spine as he recalled Narutos face that spoke of all his anger which his words couldn't convey. That must be it. When they had stopped being friends.
He looked at Sakura and Naruto. Sakuras words swam in his head. He considered the possibility of them all being like before. It could happen if Naruto likened up to Sasuke. 'By the looks of tonight it might be true. We might all be together like before.' This possibility removed any traces of displeasing thoughts From Sasukes head.
'Maybe I should just let go of what I came here for.' Sasuke observed his peers and his mouth twitched into a half smile. 'This situation seems more satisfying.' Sasuke returned to eating his ramen with pleasant feelings. He turned to see an empty bowl and no Naruto. Whatever pleasant feelings he held before were gone.
"Where did Naruto go?" Sasuke asked Sakura. She turned and looked back to seem just as surprised. Sasuke didn't bother to wait for her answer. He got up and exited into the crowded street. Sasuke spun around, looking past heads to spot that familiar head of hair. The movement of people and lights disoriented Sasuke for a moment and as he looked frantically for the blonde, he felt a sinking feeling in his abdomen. He jumped onto the top of a store and searched for him, leaping in whatever direction his body took him.
Naruto hopped on the rooftops in the direction of the roots secret headquarters. He noticed at Ichiraku that there was a lack of anbu in the surrounding areas. This was the perfect opportunity to find that file. Whatever reason there was to leave the roots headquarters guarded with its weaker anbu had to be big. There must've been a threat to the village. Naruto approached the Hokages building. The most secure place for the root to hide was ironically right below the Hokages nose and below the building. Naruto had to make this quick. If he were to retrieve the file he would have to make it back within a few minutes.
The man looked at the bodies surrounding him, laying limply on the forest floor. He scanned the area and read that familiar chakra signature. The fact that he would come out seemed unlikely but convenient. The man thought. He looked at the approaching man. The bandaged figure emerged from the shadows of the trees.
"What brings you here, Itachi?" The bandaged figure said.
Itachi remained silent. He looked at the lone man and figured that there were exactly fourteen anbu in the nearby trees. He prepared for his next assault. As much as he disliked shedding any blood, this was necessary. 'This might give Naruto some time.'
Narutos hands shook as he held the crinkled scroll. The dimly lit room made Naruto question whether or not it was the lack of light that changed the words but he knew better. The words written here were as real as the pretentious moon. 'So Itachi was telling the truth...' Naruto thought as he inspected the scroll for water marks that indicated that it was an authentic S-rank mission. Naruto burned the mission details into his mind before placing the scroll back in its place. Naruto wondered what else Itachi was telling the truth about. 'Is Sasuke really after Danzo?' Logically, it was a great revenge but... Naruto had to be sure before he could do anything else.
Naruto froze as he heard the door click open. 'Fuck.'