Huh… wow. Wasn't that last chapter just so full of EMOTION! Well as I've said before this story is winding down and there can only be so many new twists and turns left for our heroes. Read on to find out what will happen!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I owned Naruto, everyone would be wearing awesome mask… like Ryu Hanabusa. Now there's a ninja that can kick some serious ass! ((Anyone else every played Ninja Gaiden or Dead or Alive out there?))
Warning: Boy Love and language. Unfortunate the only versions of this story I setup right now are "extremely not censored" shown right here and the other version, which is "extremely censored," shall be found once you click the back button.
Important: Dedicated to SasuNaru1025. Cause no one else is worthy enough of this story but you XD.
The funeral for Uchiha Itachi was open only to immediate family members.
Naruto had wanted to see Sasuke for quite some time after Itachi had been shot trying to save him from Tobi, but the young raven-haired boy had cooped himself up in his home ever since that unfortunate day. The youngest Uchiha did not come to school either, which worried the blonde the most since in all the time that he had been going to school along side of Sasuke he had not missed one day of class.
As he stood outside the large Uchiha household one particular day, long after Itachi's death and funeral, the blue-eyed boy just stood silently outside staring up at the large house and the window that he knew lead to Sasuke's bedroom.
Rain began to drizzle down from the gray sky, slowly at first, but then soon began to increase until it was now pouring. Naruto's uniform was completely soaked in a matter of minutes and the young boy did not have the courage to knock on the pale boy's door, even if it was raining heavily outside.
Naruto let out a long sigh as his gaze dropped down onto the wet pavement beneath him, seeing his reflection being contorted and twisted by the raindrops that continued to fall onto the wet tar. Just as the blonde was about to turn his body around and walk back to his own home (though not being too happy about that because he knew that Iruka would want an explanation as why he was late), he heard the sound of a door opening and quickly let his blue eyes drift up to the spot from where the noise had come.
Blue eyes widen in shock as he saw the familiar raven-haired boy standing in the entranceway to his large home, his usual stoic expression etched into his face. Naruto felt his breath hitch in his throat the moment that he realized at whom he was staring. The blonde's cheeks turned slightly redder than they already were from the cold breeze that continued to sting his face with nearly freezing rain.
"Sasuke." Naruto said, his voice soft from his surprise.
"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked in a slightly annoyed tone. "I saw you standing out here for the last twenty minutes. Why didn't you just knock?"
"I…" Naruto paused as he let his gaze wander away from the pale boy in front of him. He did not have the heart to look the other boy in eyes anymore. Not when he felt so guilty for Itachi's death. "I didn't know what to say. Or if I could face you."
"…" Sasuke paused and Naruto did not dare look up at the raven-haired boy's expression, too worried that the Uchiha would turn him away and become angrier with him than he already was. "Get in here." Sasuke ordered not moving from the front door.
"Eh?" Naruto asked finally looking up at his friend. He saw the raven-haired boy's cheeks were now dusted with a light pink shade and that he was struggling to kept his blush under control.
"I said get in here."
Naruto wasted no time in following the other boy's orders and so quickly ran over to the front door of the Uchiha household and quickly walked into the house. He removed his shoes and jacket once he was inside the house as he watched Sasuke close his front door.
"Wait here." Sasuke said before he disappeared off into his home, leaving the blonde to stand in front of the door, dripping water onto the tiled floor beneath him. It only took Sasuke a minute or so to return and when he did the pale boy threw a towel at the blonde. Naruto was unable to react in time to grab onto the towel, since the raven-haired boy did catch him off guard, and the piece of material landed on his head, pressing his damp locks against his already freezing flesh.
"Arigatou." Naruto mumbled as he began to dry his hair off with the large, light blue towel.
"Come on." Sasuke replied simply as he began to lead the blonde up to his room. Naruto was reminded of the first time that Sasuke had brought him to his home and thought that this situation was exactly like that time, except for the fact that Naruto was soaking wet this time around.
When the two boys entered into Sasuke's bedroom Naruto did not dare to sit on anything, for he was too afraid that he would get that particular object completely wet and ruin it. He already felt guilty enough and he did not want to ruin anything else in Sasuke's life (even if it was just a piece of furniture). Naruto quietly continued to rub the light blue towel along his skin and his damp clothing, trying very hard to get himself to the point where he wasn't dripping water onto the carpet, all while Sasuke just stood in the center of the room, his body turned away from the blonde.
Naruto knew that he would not be able to stand the silence for much longer. He had to say something or the tension would eat away at what sanity he had left.
"I know you must hate me." Naruto said sullenly as he conveniently let the towel drape over his eyes somewhat so that he could not make eye contact with the pale boy.
"Hate you?" Sasuke questioned, his tone was apathetic.
"You blame me for Itachi, don't you? I know you do and… and," Naruto paused, still holding the towel over his eyes, only now he was shielding Sasuke from seeing the tears that had weld up in the corners of his blue orbs. "I'm fine with that. You should blame me. It was my fault."
"…" Sasuke remained quiet, which only urged Naruto to continue on with his heartfelt confession.
"If he had just killed me then he wouldn't have had to die. He should have just let me die. I'm better off that way!" Naruto silenced himself when he realized that his soft voice had become a desperate yell somewhere in between the beginning and ending of his short speech.
The silence from his friend did not help ease his worries either. Even if the raven was angry with him, Naruto felt that he would rather have the pale boy yelling at him, wishing him death even, rather than saying nothing.
"I can never repair the damage that I've done, but… I'm… I'm so sorry, Sasuke." Naruto let the tears freely flow down his tan cheeks, knowing that it did not matter what he did in front of Sasuke, since he was almost completely one hundred percent positive that the Uchiha hated him now.
"It's not your fault." Sasuke finally said, his voice soft and almost comforting.
Blue eyes shot open and stared up at the raven-haired teenager as the light blue towel fell from the blonde's head revealing his entire face once again. "What did you say?" he asked in such a low voice that Naruto was not even sure that Sasuke had heard him.
"I don't blame you, Naruto." Sasuke said, a small smile forming on his lips.
The blonde could not help but cry. Hearing Sasuke say that he didn't blame him, and honestly meaning it, lifted such a burden from his shoulders that the tears just flowed freely from his eyes. To Naruto's surprise, he felt a pair of scrawny arms wrap around his back and hold him tightly against his small frame.
Shock and surprise washed over the blonde's face as his chin was pressed into the base of Sasuke's neck. He felt the raven's hot breath dance across the flesh that his loose button up shirt left exposed along his neck, which felt good considering the blonde was still freezing and wet from being out in the rain.
"Sa…Sasuke?" Naruto asked, so confused by the pale boy's actions.
"I… I miss him, Naruto." Sasuke admitted as he buried his own face into the blonde's neck, not caring that his face and hair were becoming damp from the excess water that still remain soaked up in Naruto's clothing.
The blonde knew right away that the pale boy hugging onto him could only be talking about one person… Uchiha Itachi. "It's okay to miss him." Naruto said realizing that Sasuke was really the one who was torn up the most about Itachi's death. The tan boy then let his own arms drape over the pale boy's back, slowly rubbing his long fingers along Sasuke's spine, hoping that it would soothe him slightly.
"I missed you too." Sasuke admitted in a softer voice than he had used before. But Naruto had heard him, which only made his cheek light up with a brighter shade of red. Nevertheless the blonde-haired boy smiled.
For all that mattered right now was that all the misunderstandings had been cleared up and that he was in Sasuke's bedroom, trying to comfort the poor boy.
--
"It's good to be back." Naruto said with a smile on his lips, as he watched the huge crowds of people still walking through the city streets. The pink-haired Shinigami momentarily wondered to herself if the people around her ever found the time to go to their homes and sleep, but she let her focus fall back to the blonde-haired boy in front of her.
"Naruto, you realize that we lost some time while we were in the spirit world. I think we should sta—" Sakura was cut off from her statement, when Naruto's curiosity got the better of him and forced him to interrupt the Shinigami in the middle of her small speech.
"How much time did we lose, Sakura-chan?" he asked. Sakura, though she knew it was not the time to admit to such things, could not help but smile when the blonde spirit used the suffix on her name once again. It was strange to her how easily she was able to become used to the familiar tone that tan boy used. She sighed and then began to speak once again, hoping that Naruto would not interrupt her for the second time that day. She was slowly becoming irritated about that little fact.
"You're not going to be happy about this Naruto, but we lost about thirty-six hours on our trip. That's why I was going to sugge—"
"Thirty-six hours!!" Naruto blurted out loudly, his shock completely evident on his young face. "We lost over a day!!" Sakura's wish to finally finish a sentence in the presence of the blonde-haired spirit seemed to be a far off dream with Naruto in his current state of panic. "We got to go! We have get goin—"
Sakura smiled to herself when she finally got the chance to interrupt her blonde companion. "Naruto! Calm down!" Sakura shouted. "Panicking won't help anyone! Just calmly think our next move through."
The pink-haired woman placed her small hands upon the tan boy's shoulders and forced the frantic boy to focus his view on her, hoping that some of her levelheaded nature would rub off on him by eye contact alone. "… You're right, Sakura-chan." Naruto took in a long breath and let his facial features relax into a calm expression.
"Of course I am." The Shinigami said with a proud smile. "Now, tell me what's he last thing you remember before you blacked out." Sakura released her hold on the blonde and distanced herself from the tan boy, trying to focus herself on her task at hand.
"Uh… I remember that we had followed Sasuke to the Akatsuki's hideout and then Deidara started talking about a rumble with him and my gang and then…"
Blue eyes widened to their full extent and a short gasp escaped from Naruto's lips as the blonde's sudden realization finally sunk into his mind. For a moment, the blonde's tan flesh grew pale and, without realizing it, he somehow forgot to breath. He was brought back to his senses when he felt a hand reach out and gently grab onto his shoulder, as if the hand was trying to steady the blonde-haired boy's body.
Naruto's gaze meet Sakura's and he could see the concern in her emerald orbs as the Shinigami gazed upon the shocked and confused expression on his face. "Suna…" Naruto gasped out.
"Suna?" Sakura asked as she retracted her hand from the tan boy's shoulder, now that she was convinced that he was not going to pass out or fall down.
"The name of the gang I used to belong to." Naruto explained further. "Deidara mentioned that he got into a fight with Suna. They… They knew that they wouldn't stand a chance in a fight with the Akatsuki if I wasn't with them." His eyes lit up with a spark of determination that the pink-haired spirit had not seen in the blue orbs since he had first been told of the proposition to regain his mortal life. Understanding wash over Sakura and finally she nodded her head in comprehension.
"So… what you're saying is that they may have come to you hoping to have you rejoin the group." The Shinigami replied back raising her hand to her face and placing her pale fingers against her red lips in thought.
"They may have known or seen what had happened to me if they asked me to join them on that day. They were the only ones that knew that I was going school again. So that means that they would have looked there for me, before any other place." A wide grin made its way onto the blonde's handsome face after he was done explaining the new and important led that the pair had to remembering the blonde's death. Sakura thought about the whole situation for a second and then let her gaze focus back onto the tall boy's face.
"But… Naruto. Couldn't it also be possible that they may have—" Sakura's statement was cut short when the blonde spirit grab abruptly onto the Shinigami pale, thin wrist and began pulling her further into the dark alleyways and back streets of the busy city.
"Come on, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed happily. "We just have to find Suna. I remembered where a few of their usual hang outs were, so we can check those places first!"
"N-Naruto!" Sakura protested, but her cries were unheard by the determined blonde as he continued to drag her through the eerie back roads of the city. Though she knew that she should really try harder to tell Naruto of the possible situation that she had thought up moments before, but she also knew that if were to tell the blonde of what she thought might have happened before his death that it would utterly crush the blonde. So, for the moment, the pink-haired woman kept her mouth closed and just settled to follow the blonde spirit around the outskirts of the city, searching for his former gang members.
--
Sakura was not sure exactly how long she and Naruto had been searching for Suna's hangouts, but she did know that they had been searching for almost an entire day. She remembered that the sun had risen once already and that the orange orb was now very close to setting. The sky was beginning to don a yellow tint that was slowly fading into orange as it slowly disappeared into the horizon.
The two spirit stood underneath a large bridge, that Naruto had mentioned was the very same bridge that he had seen in his memories, looking out across the river as it reflected the beautiful colors of the vast sky above them. The blonde's fists were clenched tightly together as he let his arm hang at his sides. Sakura let her body lean against the large cement pillar that helped support the large bridge, her emerald orbs carefully watching the blonde. She was afraid that the constant stream of disappointment that they had stumbled across would be getting to him and that Naruto would snap on her like he had done on the pair's last visit to the afterlife.
"…" The Shinigami could not take the blonde's serious and stoic expression any longer. "Don't worry, Naruto." The pink-haired woman suddenly spoke up as she pulled her small frame off the cement pillar. "We'll find them eventually."
She tried to put on her most convincing smile, but it was in vain. Naruto did not even look over at the Shinigami, even after she had finished speaking. Blue eyes just continued to focus on the sky above them as the sun began to slowly danced closer and closer into the horizon, the sky becoming a blood red color in the distance.
"I mean, you said it yourself. There's only so few places that they would be and we'll eventually find them." Sakura spoke up once again when her blonde-haired companion refused to acknowledge her or her statement. Sakura decided that if the tan boy was not going to listen to her, then she would just continue to speak until he was forced to pay attention.
"Two days." The blonde's voice said in a sullen tone before Sakura could continue on with her speech.
"Eh?" was the Shinigami articulate response.
"We only have two days left to remember my death." Naruto reiterated for the pink-haired spirit. "How in the world are we going to pull this off?" His voice sounded almost desperate toward the end of his short statement.
"You'll remember, Naruto." Sakura replied as she tried to encourage the blonde as much as she could.
"How can you promise something like that?!" Naruto yelled as he whipped around to finally face the pink-haired woman; his face was contorted with the rage and depression that he had tried so hard to hide as he struggled to keep himself together in front of the Shinigami. "Do you know for sure that I'll live again?"
"… I do not." Sakura replied reluctantly.
"…" Naruto had half hoped that the pink-haired spirit would have tried to make him feel better and had said that she did know that he would live again. The truth was harder for the blonde-haired boy to hear than any other lie that the Shinigami could have come up with. But it was the one thing that he did need to hear, and both Sakura and Naruto knew this.
"Naruto. Just calm down." Sakura said as she felt that it was finally safe to approach the tall boy once again and let her pale fingers reach out and laced themselves within the blonde's own long fingers.
"I can't." he admitted. "I just can't be calm. I… I'm just so tired of all of this."
"You have to be positive if you really do want to live again, Naruto." Sakura reassured the tan boy. The blonde-haired spirit then suddenly realized that the pink-haired woman's fingers had been intertwined his own and quickly pulled away from the Shinigami in his embarrassed state of mind. A slight blush made it's way onto the blonde's face as Sakura reached out her one hand toward Naruto, but then slowly retracted the appendage.
Emerald eyes looked away from the young boy's face and chose to focus on the grass-covered hill that led down toward the river, which had now took on the same red glow that the sky above gave off. She knew that she had just crossed a line with the blonde, but she, surprisingly, did not regret what she had done.
"You do want to go back to Sasuke-kun, right?" Sakura said, without any hint to her inner turmoil in her voice. "Then I suggest that you stop moping and start looking once again."
Naruto's gaze had not left from the small Shinigami frame through her entire speech. He was shocked that he had only just realized how the pink-haired woman had begun feel toward him. Guilt overtook his mind and he was forced to look away from his companion. "Arigatou, Sakura-chan." He muttered as he begun to slowly walk away from the bridge and onto the next location for them to search for the blonde's old gang members.
After another moment of silence from the pink-haired woman, she eventually turned her body to face the retreating figure of the blonde spirit and then followed only a few meters behind the tall boy.
The only thing that bothered the Shinigami now was if the blonde would ever forgive her for the feelings that she had somehow developed for the him over the past few days. Sakura hoped that somehow, some way, Naruto and herself would be able to move past this awkward moment and still be friends.
As they continued to walked toward their next destination, Sakura hoped that things would be all right, for she felt that she would simply not be able to go on if Naruto hated her for her actions.
OMG! The flashback was angsty and then FLUFFY!! How do I mix the two of them into one flashback I will never know XD ha. Sorry that they weren't doing anything more, but they had to make up first. Or… at least see each other again.
I'M SORRY ABOUT NARUSAKU((That is… the one-sided NaruSaku))!! Well at least now you all know that Naruto did not take her feelings for him very well. He's loyal to his duck-butt head after all XD. I love that nickname for Sasuke. And sorry that once again he was not in this chapter. Next flash though… Oh…. You'll like it.