Chapter 12

Months went by and still no sign of Sasuke. Naruto still cut himself, still under the influence of Kyuubi. Winter eventually turned to spring, the snow melted and the plants started to come back to life and Naruto still hardly left the house. Iruka came to check in on him every once in a while, which cheered him up a bit but in the back of his mind, Naruto had a sinking feeling that Sasuke would never come back.

One day, after his daily slicing of his forearm, Naruto thought he might go to his tree and take a look at spring, hoping it would cheer him up. He was wrong. He climbed the large branches that he knew so well by the academy and looked out on the village. All of the sakura trees were in bloom and everything was so full of life. All this beauty reminded Naruto of Sasuke and the pain of being alone came pulsing back at the thought of Sasuke being dead. Memories of their first kiss flashed back into his mind. Sure, that kid did bump him, but did he really lose his balance or did he let himself fall? It didn't really matter now, he needed to get over it and move on. But he knew that he couldn't.

Back in the academy, Iruka was correcting test papers, but doing a poor job at it because he was also watching Naruto through the window. He had never seen Naruto so depressed before, he had tried to cheer him up multiple times, but failed. Everything he did reminded Naruto about Sasuke. He wished that Sasuke would come back soon, he didn't know how long Naruto could last.

Meanwhile, at the village gate, a dark haired bot came hobbling into the village. His clothes where torn and blood stained, he had cuts all over his body, and his right arm was held up by a homemade sling. He had a black eye and hardly had enough strength to stand, but will power kept him going. That dark haired boy was Sasuke and he was heading straight to Naruto's house. Once he got there, Sasuke opened the well missed door to an empty house.

"Naruto, I'm back!" he called, just in case Naruto was sleeping or somehthing. No answer. "I wonder where he could be?" he asked himself. "I have to go find him. But first. . . ." He made his way to the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. After knocking back a couple of pain killers, Sasuke went out in search of Naruto. His first stop was Ichirakus.

"Hey, have you seen Naruto lately?" he asked the ramen guy.

"Can't say as I have. Actually, I haven't seen the little guy in months. Sorry Sasuke."

"It's ok. Well, see you around." Sasuke said, stepping back out into the street. "Where the hell are you dobe? Maybe Iruka-sensei would know where he is, he should be at the academy still." So Sasuke was off to the academy to find that he was right, he found Iruka at his desk, swamped with tests.

"Um, Iruka-sensei," he said quietly, not wanting to interrupt. Iruka looked up and jumped to his feet in surprise to see Sasuke. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Sasuke, oh, uh, no nothing important. You're back! I'm so glad."

"I'm just gonna get to the point. Have you seen Naruto? I can't seem to find him."

"Yes I have, he's out in the tree, hoping you'll come back alive. He just hasn't been the same since you left. Here, see what I mean," He gestured to the window. Sasuke went over and looked up into the tree until he spotted a hunched over figure all in black. It looked a little like Naruto but no, the ends of his hair was black.

"No, that can't be Naruto. Can it?" asked Sasuke, pulling his attention back to the teacher standing in front of him. Iruka nodded.

"Yes, it can, and it is. Here sit down, you must be tired." Sasuke sat down and Iruka started to explain t him what has happened while he was gone.

"Well, you see, after you left, Naruto started slipping into a depression. It started off small and harmless, you know changing hie wardrobe to black. But then he refused to leave his house. He isolated himself from the rest of the world. He only left the house when I made him and even then, he was quiet and subdued, at times I felt like I was talking to Hinata. Then he refused to eat, even when I offered him ramen. He grew thinner and paler and I could see he was losing sleep. And when he did speak, it was always something about you promising him that he would never get hurt, but you hurt him. You just have to see him. I'm really worried about him." Sasuke just sat there, unable to comprehend what he had done to his light-spirited lover. He looked out the window again and stared at the figure in the tree.

"Did I really do this to him?"

"He's been feeling lower than usual now that spring is here. Hey, I'm having a little get together tonight. If you're up to it, you should come."

Sasuke thought about it. "Is Naruto coming?"

"He can if you want him to." Sasuke nodded. "Well, better get going. I've got a lot of setting up to do." Sasuke stood up unsteadily. Iruka offered himself as a brace. Sasuke took that offer.

"Let me come with you."

"I thought you wanted to see Naruto."

"I do, but I can wait."