Chapter Summary: Snapshots of major players & impressions of what the future holds.

so im sure you've noticed that the story is marked as complete. fear not; i realized that the last chapter was a sound place to stop, so i threw this together and im leaving it as a part 1 of the series. this story follows the sasunaru friendship aspect, as well as the beginnings of their romantic relationships. the next part, posted in the future, will follow shippuden and the subsequent canon divergence that is only now becoming apparent.

Story warnings apply. Enjoy~

Chapter 10: to feel relief

Sasuke leaves at night, a soft drizzle falling onto his head as he stares out towards the village gates. Naruto is by his side, the blonde's wet hair sticking to his forehead as he silently offers support.

It had been hard coming to the conclusion he had, accepting the fact that he would have to leave the village, and subsequently Naruto, behind. He didn't want to leave his best friend; the exact opposite actually. Something had shifted within Naruto in the past month, his demeanor more quiet and thoughtful as he gained a far off look on his face, as if he could hear and reply to something that no one else could.

Sasuke had a pretty good idea on who the voice belonged to.

Yet, he said nothing. Naruto's soulmate was none of Sasuke's business. If he could somehow work out a relationship with a chakra construct, then it was more power to him.

"You have everything?" Naruto asks quietly, glancing at Sasuke through the corner of his eye.

"Yeah," Sasuke replies just as softly, meeting his gaze.

"Do what you gotta do," Naruto mumbles, laying a reassuring hand on his shoulder before pulling away.

Sasuke takes in a deep breath before releasing it, scanning the wall for an opening before springing forward and leaving Konoha behind him.

Naruto exists in a daze the first week Sasuke is gone. No one notices at first, no alarm raised. Sasuke is still off the mission roster due to his injuries from Gaara and Kakashi-sensei has taken every excuse he can to be lazy with their training. Jiraiya had mentioned a training trip at one point, so Naruto spends some time thinking about that, wondering what exactly the sage would teach him while outside of the village.

He gave a brief thought about whether the sage would tell him about his parents.

It's not every day that you learn your soulmate was caught in a genjutsu that forcibly made him attack your home before effectively killing your parents while they tried to protect you.

It would leave anyone with issues they needed to work through. Naruto had kept his parentage revelation from Sasuke, mostly just because he still wasn't quite processing the fact that he was the son of the fourth hokage, but also because he didn't want Sasuke to harbor any more hatred for his soulmate. Kurama was rude and angry, but he mattered to Naruto more than anything in the world. It was a slow process, but if the training trip lasts as long as Jiraiya says it will, Naruto will have plenty of time to work his soulmate up into a more positive being.

Maybe.

Itachi's mood darkens as he sits quietly in front of the campfire, ignoring Kisame's loud snores from a few feet away. It had taken a lot of work to get reassigned a different jinchuriki as a target. When he had heard Pein planning a mission for Itachi and Kisame to abduct the nine-tails jinchuriki, Itachi had felt the swelling panic almost overwhelm him. He still had ways of gathering information, so he was well aware of the close relationship of Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. If they had been forced to hunt the kid down, Itachi would inevitably run into Sasuke, forcing a confrontation that he now never wanted to happen.

He shifted, rubbing slightly at his chest at the full ache he could feel there. Now that he had opened and acknowledged his soulmate bond, his illness was almost completely gone; no more coughing up blood or loss of breath due to liquid in his lungs. Now he was constantly plagued an ache in his chest, the bond between him and his brother pulling him towards his soulmate. He was getting used to ignoring it, never acknowledging how much it hurt during the day and only vaguely trying to sooth himself at night, once he was positive Kisame wasn't going to catch him in the act.

He closes his eyes, calm washing over him as he opens the bond just the slightest bit, basking in the sleepy contentedness the traveled through the bond from Sasuke.

The soulmate he will do everything to never see again.

Kurama knows from the moment he's sealed inside the kit that something was amiss. Kurama had never felt comfortable in any of his previous hosts body's, though there were only two. While not seething with hatred, he briefly considered that maybe it was because they were women, and his newest host was male, but he never pursued the thought, mostly focused on trying to force his boiling chakra through the bars and seal that kept him contained.

Touching the boy for the first time dissuaded him of the sex of his host having anything to do with it.

It was like hugging his father again; that sense of familiarity and peace. It was the bubbling feeling of acceptance, rather than hatred. It was feeling whole, being complete, something he hadn't felt since both his ying and yang halves had been separated all those years ago.

Talking with Naruto makes him believe in the boy and it infuriates him. He resists the Uzumaki's efforts, growling and roaring whenever the boy appears and tries to converse with him, but he can already feel his resolve crumble.

Every time he sees the whisker marks on the blonde's face, his entire being trembles with want.

"It's a dull world we live in when our soulmates die," Obito states, idly looking out into the dreary rain that constantly plagues Ame.

Pein is beside him, Rinnegan eyes focused intently on him as Nagato's path pretends to be a real boy. Obito smiles grimly behind his mask, brief amusement flashing across his mind as he watches Nagato's eyes on Yahiko's body.

"It must have hurt when Yahiko was gone," Obito says, his words purposefully hurtful.

Pein says nothing.

"I know what it's like, you know," Obito says, his voice growing darker. "To watch your soulmate die in front of your eyes. To wish more than anything that it was someone else. To wish it didn't have to be that way. That's why we're doing this, Nagato; to change things."

"Yes, Madara-sama," Pein replies, Nagato's even tone giving the path's words a humoring undertone. Obito ignores it, turning his attention back to the window and the storm outside.

It was a small setback that he had to get Itachi reassigned, but if he wants things done right, he supposes he'll just have to do them himself. He'll simply have to go after the kyuubi jinchuriki himself, when the time is right.

Soon, Rin, he thinks, ignorant and numb to the way his dull grey marks hold a bluish tint and a faint tingling of lightning.

so in the original draft i never put much thought to obito's soulmate but i love drama and if you picked up the hints im laying down, kakaobi is very much going to be a thing in the sequel. not a main part, but im going to hurt them to the best of my ability ehhhh.

i dont know when the sequel will come out, as this has taken me three months to upload, but im looking forward to picking up the romantic aspects of the story.