Disclaimer: Naruto is drawn and written by a fantastically splendid, wonderfully cute, and very talented manga artist Masashi Kishimoto. (Obviously, I don't own it.) On top of that, I don't own the terrific songs, Give You Back by Vertical Horizon and Missing by Evanescence, which I listened to over and over while writing this fiction.
In the Previous Chapter: Though the Forbidden Curse has been lifted with Kyuubi's help, Naruto rejects Sasuke and chooses instead to lead his life with Hinata. At an anbu meeting – in which both Gaara and Sasuke are invited – the Hyuuga queen has enough leisure to pity the fallen Uchiha…
Chapter Ten Rating: PG13 (for language and sexual descriptions)
My E-mail: rosesareblue at ymail dot com (Write me with any comments or suggestions. Remember, there's nothing like feedback that improves an author's moral/writing and keeps the chapters coming.)
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Give You Back
A SasuNaru Fic
by rosesareblue
Please, please forgive me
But I won't be home again
Missing by Evanescence (New Arc, New Theme Song!)
Chapter Eleven: Are You Sasuke
"What's going on Sasuke?"
Naruto asked again, his voice dropping into an even colder whisper when the raven-haired man refused to answer.
"Naru… I…"
Sasuke trailed off in unmitigated shock, realizing that Naruto was glaring at him with the same blank – same empty eyes – that denied his very existence. Just like the first time when they'd met again after their long ten year separation – as if Naruto had erased even the few memories the two had made since Sasuke's return.
As if Naruto's head could no longer be filled with Sasuke at all.
At the raven-haired shinobi's prolonged silence, the hokage felt his restraint break. Naruto roared, "Amoto's not me, baka! Don't take it out on him when it's me that's gonna refuse your – "
"Naruto-kun!"
Hinata's voice rose over Naruto's yelling and the blonde man instantly stiffened.
"Naruto-kun." Hinata said slowly, hugging Amoto close and darting a fearful glance between the two tall shinobi. "It was an accident. Only an accident. Please, don't get angry – please?"
Naruto flinched and, after repentantly licking his lips, nodded awkwardly.
At that, Sakura, who'd been watching the whole event unfold with stunned horror, snapped to her senses and hurried to fill in the uncomfortable silence, "B-baka Naruto. T-talk about keeping the h-hokage image, huh? Getting bawled out by your wife in front of your anbu."
Though the coerced comment from the pink-haired woman didn't exactly get a hooting reception, the tension in the room seemed to leak away slightly – especially when Tsunade, realizing with ill satisfaction that Sasuke was no longer a threat, chuckled humorlessly and Gaara, realizing from this scene that Naruto knew, nodded his approval.
But Amoto, snug in his mother's arms, wiggled impatiently and cried, "Mou – ! I'm not that weak! C'mon, Uchiha-san! Do that again?! I can take ya! Kaa-san, finally someone takes me seriously and you have to baby me in front of the entire anbu – how am I suppose ta become hokage?!"
The small child's retort was met with laughter – a relieved sort of laughter that escapes the throat when an expected catastrophe passes stillborn.
The only ninjas in the room unhappy at this crucial moment was one Uzumaki Naruto and one Uchiha Sasuke: The blonde was purposefully avoiding the raven-haired man's stare, leaning his weight on Hinata's smaller frame as if he'd returned home from a final battle. His shoulders were lax and he was dead on his feet – uncharacteristically clinging to his wife – who was squaring her shoulders to support his weight.
As for the Uchiha – he was hating the way Hinata was smiling at him. That sympathetic smile summarized everything and pre-told Naruto's decision, especially painted on Hinata's ethereal features. She was sorry for him – Hinata had enough leisure to be sorry for Sasuke now. Because she knew as well as Sasuke did that Naruto would no longer leave her.
In Sasuke's crimson eyes, Hinata was smiling because she had won.
Unmitigated anger exploded in his chest and the Uchiha furiously whirled around – storming out of the room and leaving two pushed-aside ninjas wincing in his wake. Naruto let out a heavy sigh – half pained, half relieved – and raised a handsome eyebrow at his wife. Hinata nodded quickly and, carefully folding a protesting Amoto into Tsunade's arms, was about to rush after the angry shinobi when –
"Kaa-san!" Amoto shrilled, grabbing his mother's sleeve in a grownup desperation. "Kaa-san, wait. I have something to – wait!"
And the rest of the little boy's plea was whispered into Hinata and Tsunade's surprised confidence. Naruto looked on at the bent head of his pretty wife and the raised one of his pretty son – telling himself over and over that he was right in his ultimate choice…
…with all the determination of one who isn't sure what to believe.
"Sasuke!"
The Uchiha kept walking, though he distinctly heard Hinata's voice calling him. All he could think was 'Why isn't Naruto the one chasing after me?' But, that was a foolish question. A painful question. He wouldn't ask questions anymore.
"Sasuke! Please wait!"
Without turning around, Sasuke stopped short. Hinata, who had till then been eagerly chasing him, stopped abruptly too – biting her lip expectedly. Quietly, the raven-haired shinobi spoke. He was more tired than anything else. "How did you convince him, Hinata?"
There was no need to ask who 'he' was – or what Sasuke meant by 'convince'. Of course, the Uchiha was talking about Naruto's love. And, for once, it was Hinata who held the answer to its whereabouts.
The small woman smiled apologetically. "I only have a fortune cookie answer, Sasuke."
"Are you mocking me?" Sasuke hissed.
"When you love someone, you let him go."
"I could kill you – "
"If he comes back, that means he loves – "
"Naruto doesn't love you!"
"On the bridge, I let him go and…" Hinata raised her head defiantly and said with no little determination. "And he came back on his own."
Sasuke curtly shook his head, scowling. "He would never do that."
Hinata shook her head back. "He said he wants me to win, Sasuke. Naruto chose me over you."
Only at that, did the Uchiha turn to face Hinata. And she saw how his gorgeous face was hideous with anger; his eyes were alight with the trademark hellish glow. After all, he was from a bloodline of killers and he had the best reason, now, to kill. There she stood – Hyuuga Hinata. Framed by the great archway of the entrance into the hokage's building, belonging there. The wind blowing out her silky black hair so that it flew around her white body – a body that was so used to being embraced by a certain blonde. Looking beautiful, strong, and perfect – the goddess to Naruto's god.
And the Uchiha loathed her so much.
His hands were performing a dangerous seal before he knew it. Only at the tinkling sound of Hinata's laughter did he realize – and stop short in confused indignation. She was grinning at him in bemusement, folding her arms in front of her.
"Are you going to kill me?" She teased in that annoyingly soft and sympathetic voice of hers. "Are you really? Because that won't change anything – that won't make Naruto-kun yours."
Sasuke scowled again. "At least it'll shut you up."
"You can't touch me." Hinata whispered – half-kidding, half-challenging. "You can't touch me when I have his child in my belly."
Of course, Sasuke knew that. He just wished he could kill her. He wished he could forget for one damn minute and kill her.
"So whether or not you want to, Sasuke, you have to listen to me. Listen!" Hinata insisted, hurrying out. "I – out of anyone else – can understand your pain. Because I know what it's like to have Naruto and I know what it is like to cling to his love."
"What do you want to say, wench?" Sasuke averted his gaze. "I don't have the patience to listen to your lectures."
"Stay here." Hinata stated simply, waiting to meet Sasuke's red eyes before repeating, "Stay in Konoha."
"Naruto doesn't want me to." Sasuke snapped, ashamed only after the embarrassing words have been said.
Hinata didn't attempt to alleviate his shame. "I know. But, I want you to – I'm sorry for all that's happened. It's the only condolence I can provide."
Sasuke would have snorted if he had been anyone but. "Your apology means nothing to me."
"And Amoto wants you to as well." Hinata added sincerely. "Naruto's son wants you to."
At that, the raven-haired shinobi's eyes twitched in surprise – before he summoned the impenetrable mask again. "I don't care for your brat anymore than I do for you."
Hinata would have smirked if she had been anyone but. "You can tell him yourself then. Because Amoto wants you to meet him at sundown at your secret place – wherever that is."
"What makes you think I won't kill him?" Sasuke challenged.
Only for a moment did Hinata's white eyes flash with a mother's rage – before she pulled herself together again. She whispered, "Because you want to let my little boy comfort you, don't you? With Naruto's voice and Naruto's gaze, you want to let my Amoto comfort you when Naruto won't."
When Sasuke wouldn't answer, Hinata taunted (rather uncharacteristically because she couldn't help knowing that someone had to say this one honesty).
"Because I hope you've learned by now not to take such pure love for granted, you bastard. Don't be daft and hurt my boy like you did my husband, alright?"
The child hadn't changed – he was absolutely stunning.
He sat, slouching against the fattest tree – self-conscious but trying too hard not to show it. His glossy blue-black hair was even messier than this morning, stray strands tangled with leaves and twigs. His ivory-white face was smeared with dirt, but his electric blue eyes were brighter than ever. Impossibly gorgeously blue, even after all that training – all that useless, hopeful training…
The silent watcher took in every endearing detail, as he had been doing for the past two hours or so, and allowed it to do what he'd sworn he wouldn't let it – heal him. The smooth white neck, the stubborn boyish chin, the thin athletic body, the nervous half-pout, the stupid way the boy challenged the world with Naruto's eyes filled with hurt, filled with want… This boy was Naruto's ultimate betrayal. And, at the same time, this boy was Naruto's form in its past perfection. Everything about him made certainty possible.
So, Sasuke found himself leaping out of the trees into his past training ground and walking towards a waiting Amoto. Seeing him, the Uzumaki cocky grin emerged on Amoto's pink lips and a thunderous "Gee! What took you so long Uchiha-san?! I was waiting forever!" rang throughout the clearing. The raven haired shinobi checked his smile and forced his scowl.
"What do you want, brat? If you have nothing of value to say, I will kill you."
Even Naruto's son had to pause – it was said in that sort of nonchalant voice. As if death didn't matter. Didn't matter at all.
But finally, "Isn't it obvious what I want?"
"I have no patience to play guessing games." Sasuke raised his eyebrows contemptuously – forcing hate for the beautiful brunette. "Brat, you are sorely mistaken if you think me as your baby-sitter."
Amoto shook his head and declared, eagerly. "I want to be on your side!"
"…"
"Didya hear me? I want to be on your – "
In the next blink of an eye, Amoto had been thrown back against the tree he'd previously been sitting against – aching and blinking up into the crimson of the dark shinobi's eyes.
"Did you plan this out with your wench of a mother to make a fool out of me? If you'd known of the Uchiha clan, brat, you'd have never presumed to think that I'd delight in a child's game of charity!" The Uchiha hissed, raising his arms.
"No, no!" Amoto shrilled out – half-scared, half-stubborn. "I want to help because – you're Sasuke! You are Sasuke, right?!"
And before Sasuke could strike or embrace the kid – whatever he'd been planning to do with his lifted hands – he was looking into a frame the little boy had thrust out at him. Behind the cracked glass and faded wood, four ninjas looked out at him. Team Seven. An old, old picture of once-upon-a-time.
"Kakashi sensei gave it to me on my last birthday." The child hurried out. "He's there, the silver-haired kinky-looking old guy in the back. And that really pretty girl is Sakura baa-chan. Blows your mind away, huh? She's getting wrinkly now… Oh, and the dorky looking one's my dad. But, what's real important is that other boy – Kakashi sensei tells me he's name is Sasuke."
Sasuke, startled by the very unexpected trinket from the past, had some difficulty remaining aloof. "W-what does this have – "
"I'm not done talking!" Amoto said bossily, delighting in his authority on an important matter and totally forgetting the threatening push. Dusting himself off, he got to his feet and grinned up at the Uchiha. "You are right, Uchiha-san. I don't know much 'bout whatever clan you're from – never even heard of it, actually. Is it important like mine because Neji ji-chan, who knows everything, says that the Hyuuga clan is the very best in Ko – "
Amoto stopped talking when he saw the crimson flickering again in the older man's eyes. Coughing, the child inelegantly changed the topic.
"Anyway, I know a lot about Sasukes. For example, I know this story Shikamaru ji-chan tells me often. Do you know who I'm talking about? Shikamaru ji-chan's this big deal VIP but he's real, reaaaaaal lazy. His daughter is really my type though… Er, anyway, when I was born, supposedly my dad was SUPER happy. Shikamaru ji-chan said that he was totally speechless – which, for my pops, is a HUGE deal. My dad held me awhile, all precious like, and said to kaa-san and Tsunade baa-chan and Sakura baa-chan that he wanted to name me Sasuke."
Here, Amoto wrinkled his nose – not noticing Sasuke's blink of surprise.
"For some reason though, everybody seems to hate that name – no offense. On his part, Jii-jii didn't have any real reasons for wanting only that name either. Shikamaru ji-chan said, though, once before ji-ji had told him that he thought Sasuke was a fitting name for the most precious person."
Again, Amoto darted a quick look up at the Uchiha's face. Mistaking the stoic mask of shock for disinterest, the little boy hurriedly went on.
"And, and! Kiba ji-chan? He's a famous captain of the anbu, in case you don't know. Anyway, I overheard Kiba ji-chan tell Akamaru on his way back from a mission: 'Sasuke's the true reason Naruto's so fixated about catching missing nins – whether or not he knows it.' I tried to ask ji-chan about it, but he wouldn't tell me more."
Sasuke let Amoto pull excitedly on his arm as the child quipped out the last bit of his story because the kid helped the raven-haired shinobi ignore all the strange emotions knotting in his chest yet again.
"Not only that, jii-jii – jii-jii calls me Sasuke a lot. Maybe he's just sore he didn't get to name me that after all, but... well, sometimes when we train in the moonlight, he says in a teasing voice, 'Sasuke, pick up your pace.' Or, sometimes when we are sharing a bento on the roof of his office, he says in a whiny voice, 'Sasuke, are you really going to have all of that shrimp.' And, all the time when he tucks me into bad, he says in his sincerest voice, 'Sweet dreams, Sasuke.' "
Quiet. Sasuke didn't flinch. And Amoto, Amoto nervously licked his lips before continuing, "So, what I wanna know is…"
The small child fingered the picture frame, now lax in the Uchiha's hand, and pointed to the cocky dark-haired boy within.
"Am I my father's Sasuke – or is he?"
"…"
"Are you the man I am named after?"
Please review! (Man, I need lots of encouraging on this one. It's getting harder and harder to write… Fighto!)