A/N: There are times when I just procrastinate like crazy watching/reading Naruto materials. I get inspired though, and then I write these chapters. And I do it all for you readers too :o
Warnings: Spoilers alert! If you haven't read past Sasuke's battle with Itachi, then don't read this! If it doesn't matter—well then…proceed.
Chapter 12: Hiding and Prying
Sasuke stared at the pile of sand where he had found the ring. He was ankles deep in the grainy mineral but did not know where to start. The Sharingan and Byakugan had already been used to see if any life forms were near or beneath the sand. However, the blood-limit techniques were ineffective when it came to looking for hard evidence. Sasuke frowned. If he tried to move the sand—who knew what he would be messing up if he did. He turned to look at Hinata, Neji, and Shino.
"Can any of you guys move all this sand without disturbing anything?" he asked, already knowing the answer. All three of them shook their heads. Sasuke almost sighed but he knew that he was just as useless as they were at this point. All he knew how to do was cast illusions and destroy. "We need to look for Gaara or a wind user to get rid of all this sand," he pointed out.
"It's best to just ask Gaara, it is his sand after all. We can probably find him at the Administration Building," Neji suggested. "Tsunade-sama should almost be done with him."
"We need him here right now," Sasuke said preparing to head for the top of the ravine, but Neji stopped him before he could move.
"No, you stay here. Shino and I will bring Gaara. He might attack you again if he saw you," Neji explained with seriousness.
The Uchiha remembered the time he had crashed the Five Hokage Summit before the Fourth Ninja War. Gaara had been there, saying that Sasuke's eyes were still the same as before…full of sadness and revenge. What did the red-haired man see in him now? Either way, Sasuke didn't want to fight the man. He didn't want to cause any more unnecessary trouble.
Hesitantly, Sasuke relented. "Fine."
Neji nodded and turned to his cousin. "Hinata-sama, please wait here with Sasuke. We will be back shortly."
So, Sasuke waited for what seemed to be the longest fifteen minutes of his life. He walked around the sand, scrutinizing everything it touched—the ground, the lower levels of the cliff walls, around boulders. He even asked Hinata to take a look around for him, but they found nothing as he had expected. There was just rubble, sand, the sun, and more rubble.
Sighing, Sasuke leaned heavily back against the cliff wall where it was shadowed. He stared at Hinata, remembering how short her hair had been when he left the village many years ago. She was still timid, but Sasuke heard stories about her from other shinobis. Since he had last seen her, she had become stronger, more dependable. Everyone had actually, but she had saved Naruto once before.
While he was waiting, he might as well ask a question that had been bothering him for sometime. "Hinata."
The dark-haired lady swiftly turned to face him, startled. "Y-yes?"
"When you saved Naruto on the battlefield, I heard you confessed to him too," Sasuke began quietly. He couldn't believe he was asking this. "…What… do you even like about him?"
"Oh," Hinata blinked and lightly blushed. However, her answer was swift and clear. "I…like his Way of the Ninja. I like everything about him."
"That's my Way of the Ninja!"
Sasuke stared at Hinata. That phrase practically summed up how Naruto lived and is. How many times had he heard that phrase from a certain someone? When had he stopped hearing it? And how many people have been touched by those words?
The dark-haired man scoffed. "That just sounds like admiration," he said. "How can you like every single thing about him? Do you even know everything about him? That guy has some pretty bad habits." What was Sasuke doing?
"Everyone has bad habits, and everyone is not perfect but everywhere people still love and care for each other," Hinata murmured. "I will love Naruto regardless of all his imperfections."
It was true. Nobody was perfect, especially if you were born into the ninja world. Sasuke himself was never perfect. Despite his actions for vengeance, and despite having turned to the dark side, Itachi didn't care about any of that—he still loved him. And despite betraying the village, his friends, Naruto never stopped chasing him. He cared enough to do it.
Hinata asked, "What do you like about Naruto?"
His stubbornness, his annoyingly strong will, the six scratches on his face, the way he slept, how we walked around the house barefoot, his voice that filled the halls, the ugly expressions he made…Sasuke realized the list could go on but he did not say a word. It was quite possible that he liked everything about the blonde. "What I like about him doesn't matter right now. I need to find Sakura," he said pushing himself off against the wall. "When is Neji going to come back?"
"Ah, he'll be here soon," Hinata confirmed.
Sure enough, Sasuke could see a group of people sliding down the ravine to where they were. Sand quickly drained from the area and returned to Gaara's gourd by the time the man reached Sasuke and Hinata at the bottom. He looks at Sasuke. "I heard from Neji that Sakura is alive. I've removed the sand, what can you find?"
Sasuke nodded his head in acknowledgement to the Kazekage, and looked around the area. He stooped to where he found the ring and separated the gravel, the dirt, until he hit the bottom. He smoothed his palm against the ground, wondering if he would feel hidden irregular shapes. Annoyance and frustration bubbled into Sasuke—there was not a single clue.
But perhaps that was a clue in itself.
Standing up, Sasuke looked around the ravine. He remembered fallen buildings but the destruction had mostly cleared out over the last few days. If so, if everyone was looking, then why weren't they finding more survivors? Where exactly were Sakura's, Lee, and Kiba's bodies unless they were hiding themselves?
Sasuke's heart skipped a beat at the realization. That was it.
He whipped his head to face the search group. "Even though there's nothing here, I know that Sakura is alive—as well as Lee and Kiba. We can't find them because they're hiding."
Silence settled over the group. Hinata looked shocked, but Sasuke couldn't figure out Shino's expression. The man always wore dark goggles. Temari and Kankuro looked at each other, seemingly confused, while Gaara's eyes were intense, but for all Sasuke knew—the man probably didn't have a single idea what Sasuke just said. Only Shikamaru and Neji seemed to be on the same page as him.
"How can you be sure?" They asked.
"Look around here—most of the destruction has been cleared out. We've had search groups going in day and night and found a few survivors for the past few days. To begin with, Lee is a Taijutsu user—the earthquake shouldn't have affected him. He wouldn't have been declared missing because he would have been able to defend himself. Sakura and Kiba are ninjutsu users, so they were bound during the earthquake. However, after the earthquake they should have been able to use their ninjutsu to help themselves. If they're hiding, it explains why my Sharingan , the Byakugan, or Shino's bugs haven't been able to find them."
"What you're saying is far-fetched, even for a genius like you," said Shikamaru stepping forward. "If they're seriously injured, wouldn't it make sense they wouldn't be able to help themselves? Besides aren't you expecting too much from them in that case?"
"Shouldn't I have more faith in them?! They are shinobis. I know Sakura can crush boulders and heal, and I know Lee is one of the toughest ninjas in our age group. I also know that Kiba went head to head with Sakon and Ukon of the Sound Four, and came back alive," Sasuke argued, "Isn't it all of you who are underestimating them?"
"...You're right," Shikamaru admitted. He exhaled a deep breath. "We know they're strong."
"But if this is all true," Neji asked with a frown, "then why are they hiding?"
At that, Sasuke didn't have the answer. The reason why was beyond him. He tightened his grip on the ring in his palm in frustration. "I don't know…"
Gaara stepped forward and faced Sasuke with his arms crossed against his chest. His green eyes were determined just as they had been a year before. "When we meet at the summit," he said, "you told me your eyes had long closed and that your goal was in the darkness. Do you remember your own words?"
Sasuke grit his teeth. "I remember." Learning the truth about Itachi… revenge had already been rooted so deep inside him. Nothing and no one could have convinced him. He had already been too far gone. Until…
The red-haired man tilted his head, as if to take a better look at Sasuke, "But he pried your eyes open, didn't he?"
"I will shoulder your hatred and die with you!"
Hearing that shocked the dark-haired man. While everyone else was trying to kill him or use him, why was this person, the one who had nothing, trying to understand him? There was nothing good he could give to the blonde—nothing!
"Why…? What the hell do you want?!" Sasuke yelled. "Why do you care so much?!"
"…Because we're friends," Naruto answered.
And it would always be his answer, Sasuke knew that now. Back from the time they had fought at the Valley of the End, to the time they met after he had killed Danzo. There was no simpler and clearer answer. Even when Sasuke had given up everything, Naruto never gave up on him.
What was a brother? What was a village? Those were questions that had plagued him during the war. Sasuke had searched and searched for the answer…never knowing that it had always been beside him.
The fighting intent in Sasuke weakened as Gaara's words sunk into him. Shunning the light, refusing to be with it of his own will, Sasuke was determined to be unconvinced. Prying his eyes open? It was such a perfect description of what Naruto had done to him. The blonde had long abandoned trying to convince him, so he forced him to see.
"Yeah, he did," Sasuke murmured, feeling his chest contract. "He pried them so wide open I'll probably never get to close them again."
Gaara lips twitched. "That's what I wanted to hear."
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