Before the Fight
"I'll take the first shift; you can go and get some sleep."
"No, I can Kakashi-sensei, I'm wide awake and probably won't be able to get to sleep anyways," said Naruto, turning away from the recently doused fire. They had just finished their meal and were getting ready to turn in for the night, Yamato and Sakura already settled in their sleeping bags. Naruto was far too restless thinking about tomorrow's mission and seeing Sasuke again to be able to get to sleep and was relieved when Kakashi let him take over.
"Alright, but wake me in two hours, okay?" Kakashi asked, slipping into his sleeping bag.
"Right."
Naruto sat up purposely putting himself into an uncomfortable position so as not to become the least bit drowsy. His eyes open and alert, he waited until he could hear the deep even breathing coming from his comrades that told him they were fast asleep. Silently getting up he conjured a shadow clone to take his place as watchman and tip-toed away from the clearing and into the forest to clear his head. He knew he probably shouldn't be sneaking away in the dead of night but he wasn't going to go far and if danger did befall their camp, he wouldn't be too far off to come back and defend it. And plus, he thought, they had various traps around the area to be alerted of any ninja that wander too close so it wasn't as if he was leaving them totally unguarded.
Clenching and unclenching his fists, he paced back and forth, careful not to make too much noise. He heard an owl hoot nearby and squinted into the dark canopy of trees. The forest was so silent and peaceful, totally opposite to how he was feeling at the moment. Nerves getting the best of him, he couldn't have stayed still much longer. He didn't quite understand why he was getting this agitated; after all, he had faced Sasuke before.
Naruto sighed. It was the conversation with Itachi that kept popping up into his head. It was obviously important that he needed to bring Sasuke back but even more so according to Itachi. He didn't understand, the Uchiha were all so mysterious. And Itachi had said that if he talked to Sasuke he'd know who had rescued him last time. But why would he? Was he there when Itachi attacked him? And why did Itachi attack him in the first place? Somehow, he thought, that he would never know.
Naruto was suddenly aware of someone watching him. It's not that he could see anyone, but rather he felt their presence hiding somewhere to his left. He casually slipped his hand inside his pocket and, as quickly as he could, flung a shuriken, which lodged itself into a nearby tree. As it did so he heard an "Ah!" and put his guard up as someone walked out from behind the tree.
"Are you trying to kill me or what?" asked a shaken Sakura as she came out of hiding.
"Well, I wouldn't have tried if you would have just came out and talked to me like a normal person," he said, relaxing his stance.
Sakura blushed. "Well, you seemed to be lost in thought and I didn't want to disturb you."
Naruto just shrugged. "So, did you hear me get up or something?"
"Sort of, I wasn't asleep when you left so I heard you make a shadow clone and walk off this way. I was wondering where you went when you didn't return right away so I came out here to check on you," she said, walking towards him. "So, why are you out here?"
Naruto smiled a little. "Same reason you couldn't get to sleep I'm sure."
Sakura smiled back. "Yea, I'm nervous too. Did it help any? Walking around I mean," she asked.
"No," he said, chuckling a little, "not one bit."
"Sasuke is lucky," she said, looking at the ground, "here we are worrying and I bet he doesn't think of us at all." She looked up and smiled. It was a sad smile. Naruto did a bit of a half-grin and looked up at the parts of the sky he could see through the trees.
"Yeah…last time he really seemed like he couldn't care less about us anymore, didn't he?"
Sakura closed her eyes and turned around. She couldn't help but think that what Naruto said was true, he really didn't care anymore.
"I think that's why I'm getting so nervous, part of me believes this is all hopeless because he's so…so…," Naruto trailed off.
"Emotionless? Uncaring?" Sakura filled in for him.
"Right. It's like our team, all of our memories, they don't matter anymore. If I knew that he cared at least a little bit, I think I'd be a bit more optimistic about him coming back," said Naruto. He could hope that Sasuke still cared but since he's never really showed that he still does, that's all he's left to do; hope.
"Yes…but even before Sasuke's never been one to show his emotions and loose his cool," Sakura said. Honestly, that was one of the things she admired about him. He was always the calm one who got them out of trouble. Naruto agreed, but thought that rather than it being an admirable trait, it was more of an annoying one. Why couldn't he just let go?
As he was pondering this, Sakura just stood there watching his face reflect the thoughts inside his head. She might admire Sasuke for being cool-headed but the way Naruto was able to communicate exactly what he wanted was something to be admired as well. Plus, a lot easier to understand, she thought. He might be clumsy and not as bright as Sasuke but…he cared. He was so devoted to everything he put his mind to, including Sasuke and the rest of Team 7. He would never betray the village…or break her heart. Maybe it was time to move on…
Just after she thought this she heard a tiny rustle coming from the trees and only had enough time to warn Naruto before pulling out her kunai and clashing with a long katana that shone in the moonlight that was pouring down in splotches from the night sky. Walking out of the shadows, the figure pushed hard against her kunai, forcing her to break their contact and jump backwards, next to Naruto. Naruto, having already pulled out a kunai stared as the figure came into view. There was no mistaking that face.
It looked like Sasuke was a day early.
Ahhh, I feel like I don't even deserve to write anything to you but I guess I should explain myself. I know it has been forever since I've updated and I doubt anyone is even following this anymore since it's been so long. I had the longest block ever (and by block I mean writers block) and I couldn't write anything, it was horrible. I've no idea why (does anyone ever really know?) but I felt really bad about it. I forced out a chapter and was revising it when I realized that it really sucked because you can't really force yourself to write without it being crap. So I scrapped that and finally, finally I felt inspired to write something and this popped out of my head. I know its short, but it was the best place to stop and the next chapter will be out shortly since I actually know what I'm going to write this time (I promise, it really will be out shortly this time lol). Well, my apologies about the wait but hopefully you'll forgive me. Thanks for reading! Bye :)
