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Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to the wonderful Kishimoto-sama!
Warnings: Warnings are in the first chapter, please read if you haven't already.
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"How do you know it's a fake? Does that mean he's still alive?"
Sakura shook her head. "All I can be sure of is that the body you found was a replica. It was very cleverly copied, probably done using the cells from that plant guy, Zetsu, you know him? Even the faint lingering chakra is exactly the same as Naruto's. No one would have noticed it, I only discovered it by luck."
Sasuke paused. "How long have you known this?"
Sakura gave a weak laugh. "Only today. I…uh…I felt it was wrong that Naruto be buried without his hitai-ate, so I stole it and planned to put it with him in his grave."
"You dug him out again?" Sasuke raised his eyebrows.
"…Yes." Sakura ducked her head, ashamed. "But anyway, that's not the issue at hand. We need to find out where he is. Kakashi is assembling a team, and he has given you permission to go, even though you're not supposed to be on missions, or even leave the village for that matter."
Sasuke was still skeptical. "Why would the Akatsuki bother making a replica? Shouldn't the ritual only take a few days?"
Sakura contemplated the question for a moment. "I'm not entirely certain, but I'm hoping they had problems with extracting the fox. I know before Naruto was…going to be executed, the council tried to take it out, but the seal wouldn't budge. It must require a very special and specific technique to remove. The Fourth was a great seals master after all."
Sasuke nodded. This explained Naruto's long absence as well as why there had been strange surges of chakra all over the place. The Akatsuki had probably been having trouble with the extraction and had to cart Naruto around so they wouldn't be detected. They must have known they would be discovered soon, thus had tried to fake his death accordingly.
A newfound desperation surged through Sasuke. He almost did not dare to hope. If he was alive, that would change everything.
-OOO-
Less than ten minutes later, Sasuke was out of Konoha again and travelling through the woods with Juugo and Suigetsu. Neji, Sasuke's replacement – who he now knew as Sai – and Gaara came along too. He wondered how Gaara could afford to shirk his Kazekage duties. Sasuke didn't trust the three of them, but he knew they would fight for Naruto.
Surprisingly, their teamwork was flawless. Everyone kept focused on the task. There seemed to be an unspoken understanding that arguments and disputes would not help to find Naruto any faster. They started their search around Fire Country and from there began to spread the scope. Juugo would gain information from the local animals and wildlife while Sai drew small rats and snakes to sneak around. Neji used his Byakugan to scout areas and the terrain. Sasuke, Suigetsu and Gaara concerned themselves with planning the team's next move.
As time stretched on and spring slowly turned into summer, the days grew hot and humid, which made travelling tiresome and draining. And with it, Sasuke's hope began to diminish. He worried by the time they managed to find Naruto, the Akatsuki may have already succeeded in extracting the bijuu. Everyone else seemed to be thinking along the same lines except for Gaara, who with each passing day only grew more determined.
Finally, they caught a break when Juugo spoke to some tropical birds that had been sensing a dark presence for the past few weeks. Neji reported that he couldn't see inside with his Byakugan, which meant that some sort of shielding jutsu had been cast on the area.
"It has to be here, it has to be," Suigetsu said confidently, as though he were commanding the hideout to be the correct one.
They split into pairs and snuck in through an entrance they found buried underground.
Inside was like a maze of endless passages and forks. It reminded Sasuke of one of Orochimaru's lairs. The air was stuffy and humid and had a distinct taste of mold and decay. Together, he and Gaara stole through the long corridors.
As they reached deeper and deeper into the midst, Sasuke felt something. It wasn't exactly a chakra signal, but rather like an intuition.
"Naruto's here," he murmured assuredly.
Gaara threw him a confused look but did not comment.
They soon reached a two-forked passage. Agreeing to split up and meet back up within the hour, they each went their separate ways. Sasuke walked along for several long minutes. He didn't know why, but he could still feel that 'something' pulling at him. He just seemed to know where to go.
When he reached a barred door, Sasuke gazed through the strips of metal in the opening and his heart gave a great leap.
Sitting in a heap on the floor was a dirty figure with filthy, matted, blond hair. Every expanse of skin was dirt-crusted or covered in grime. His clothes were all but tattered pieces of fabric and hid nothing. He was incredibly thin, the bones of his ribs pulling the flesh taut.
But he was alive, and that was all that mattered.
"I was wondering when you'd visit me," croaked Naruto. His voice sounded dreadful, he must not have spoken in a long time.
Those blue eyes were open and gazing at him – a small, simple thing, yet it meant the world to Sasuke.
"Visit?" he repeated dazedly.
"Yeah. Just come by and say hi, you know? It's the least you could do, really." Naruto gave a throaty laugh that was bitter. "I suppose I deserved it though. I shouldn't have so easily trusted you," he said as he idly played with two twigs on the ground.
Finally catching on, Sasuke's hands balled into fists at his side. "Naruto, I had nothing to do with it! I'm not working with the Akatsuki!"
"That's pretty big talk coming from someone who was wearing those red and black cloaks last I saw you,' Naruto commented, now drawing large circles on the dirt. "And Tobi said –"
"I swear, I didn't-"
Naruto threw the sticks to the ground. "Don't stress about it," he muttered. "Who cares anyway? Although, why did you come to my cell if it's not a social call?"
"I came here to save you –"
Naruto gave a scathing snort. "Having regrets?"
"Dammit Naruto, I didn't tell the Akatsuki where you were!" Sasuke's temper was beginning to rise; it would not remain checked for much longer.
"Oh really?" Naruto said sarcastically, his voice growing louder to match Sasuke's. "You must really think I'm stupid. The moment you knew who I was you left with your girlfriend and next thing I know, I'm being attacked by that masked guy. He even said that you were hunting jinchuuriki."
"It was my teammate. And she's not my girlfriend," Sasuke snapped. "She informed Tobi before I could stop her!"
Naruto shot a wide smile. It was not the kind of look that suited his face. "Ah, blaming it on your subordinate. That's not very becoming of a leader, Sasuke."
Despite the sour turn their conversation was taking, Sasuke involuntarily shuddered at the sound of his name coming from those lips.
"I commend you for it though, really," Naruto went on. "It was very clever, with me out of the way, Konoha would be all yours." He cocked his head to one side. "So? Did you destroy it yet?"
Sasuke didn't know what to say. He hadn't imagined Naruto being so difficult.
Sighing in disgust, the blond turned away, his back facing Sasuke. The entire time, he had remained sitting on the floor. Thick manacles bound his arms, legs, torso and neck, but there was enough slack in the chains that he could have come up to the door to greet Sasuke, but he clearly must not have wanted to.
"Go home, Uchiha."
Uchiha? Naruto had never called him that before, and the way he had said it with such dislike... Sasuke felt something pull at his heart.
"Naruto," he said softly through the metal bars. "Naruto, I just want to get you out of here, alright?"
This time Naruto did not respond. He picked up several pieces of hay and began tying them together.
Trying to ignore the urge to yell or rip out his hair, Sasuke began to work on breaking the lock rather than speak to the stubborn blond.
This was not how he had envisioned their reunion. There had been smiles, tears of joy, apologies, perhaps a little begging on his part, then forgiveness, and hopefully even a kiss or two. But not this. Not this callous, sarcastic, resentful treatment from Naruto.
At the soft click, Sasuke pulled off the brass lock, tossed it aside and walked in. The cell was entirely bare except for some hay and a large bucket in the corner. The air was oppressive and foul. He supposed given the living conditions Naruto had been forced to endure, he could cut him some slack.
Hesitantly, Sasuke approached the form sitting on the floor. He hadn't noticed it before, but pieces of fragmented chakra restraints and seal tags were in shreds. "When did you break these?" he asked slowly.
Naruto glanced down at them carelessly. "As soon as I got here," he muttered.
"So you could have runaway on your own all this time?" Sasuke's tone was sharper than he intended.
Naruto tugged exasperatedly at the chains behind him, indicating that he could not escape from the iron manacles. "What good are those special eyes of yours if you don't use them?" he muttered under his breath.
Sasuke didn't think he was supposed to have heard, but he did. "Where are the Akatsuki?" he asked, trying to keep his voice level. "Have they been having trouble with the extraction?"
Naruto leaned back, reclining himself against a stack of hay. "Yeah, haven't seen them for a while."
"Don't they come and feed you?"
Naruto laughed and regarded Sasuke as though he were the daft one. "No, I can't die, remember? They just leave me alone and come and get me when they want to try out a new jutsu. It's painful as hell, but what can ya do?" he shrugged.
"You don't seem very upset," Sasuke murmured, squatting down in front of the uninterested blond. He held out a bottle of water from his pack.
Naruto looked at it, but did not accept the drink. "I'm not," he said simply. "All my life, everyone's mostly concerned themselves with what's inside me. This boy, right here," he tapped his chest, "has never existed. No one sees him. And I've learnt to accept it."
"I see him."
Those blue eyes were looking at him again.
Sasuke reached out his hand and lightly touched Naruto's shoulder. He felt Naruto tense beneath his touch, but he didn't shrug him off.
A pair of footsteps suddenly thudded towards them and a second later –
"Gaara," Naruto breathed, his eyes wide with astonishment.
Completely ignoring the fact that Sasuke right there, Gaara took one sweeping step forwards and wrapped Naruto in a tight embrace. "I haven't seen you in so long," he whispered.
"I know, I'm sorry," Naruto said quietly; he looked slightly surprised, but pleased. He pressed his face against Gaara's neck and closed his eyes.
"You should have immediately come to me when Konoha did that to you. I would have let you stay in Suna." Gaara's hands were trembling and clutched onto Naruto fiercely, his hands grappling at the tan flesh.
"I know. I know," Naruto murmured, stroking Gaara's red hair in comfort.
Sasuke watched the two of them, completely frozen. The thought that Naruto might have feelings for someone else suddenly hit him with the force of a cannon. He felt as though he were observing a reunion between two people who were more than friends.
It had never occurred to him that Naruto might fall out of love with him.
Their bond had always felt like some unstoppable entity that transcended well beyond reason, logic, time, gender, even free will, and especially other people… Of course Sasuke had thought they might require a little mending, but nothing some grovelling and time spent in each other's company couldn't fix.
But here Naruto was, in the arms of another, Sasuke tossed to the side and forced to bear witness.
The others began to arrive. There were hurried greetings, apologies and regrets confessed, and then they were all trying to break the shackles that imprisoned Naruto.
When Naruto finally free, he stretched languidly and gave a tired grin. He thanked them all, bowing deeply. Sasuke was pushed aside as Gaara fussed over him, throwing his travelling cloak over the thin, frail body. Naruto smiled as Gaara spoke to him, his blue eyes lighting up and an easy laugh drawn from him.
Sasuke's nails dug into his palm hard enough to draw blood.
-OOO-
They did not hurry to return to Konoha. Gaara suggested they send word to Kakashi, then stay a few nights in the neighboring town to allow Naruto time to recuperate and rest before they began their travels again.
At first, Naruto seemed quite happy. He said he was glad to be back in the sunshine. He gave a few of his old grins and allowed them all to pamper him. They surrounded him and treated him like a fragile child. Neji and Sai gushed never-ending streams of apologies about how they had been the worst friends imaginable, but Naruto brushed them off, smiled and told them they were the best friends he could have hoped for. He also took a liking to Juugo and Suigetsu and they, in turn, also found him agreeable.
He was polite and accommodating and every bit the giving self he usually was. However, he did not extend the same courtesy to Sasuke.
The entire time, Naruto did not so much as look at him.
Sasuke tried not to let it bother him. He attempted to make conversation. He went out and bought some clothes for Naruto. Orange, since it was his favorite colour. He brought him some ramen – miso with roasted pork fillet because he always ordered that at Ichiraku's ramen shop – to have in bed.
But Naruto remained unappeased and never gave so much as a passing glance.
In the end, Sasuke stopped trying.
-OOO-
As the days went on and the others began discussing going back to the Leaf, Sasuke sensed Naruto retreating back to his quiet, sullen self. He smiled less and was often seen sulking by himself.
Sasuke knew why. Naruto was worried about returning to Konoha – the one place he loved and yet had made his life a living hell.
A few days later, Gaara detected this change in Naruto too and insisted that he go to Suna with him instead, but of course he knew that Naruto's heart would only truly lie with the Leaf, so he eventually ceased asking.
Sasuke wanted to go over to Naruto, but he was too nervous to, so he didn't.
The night before they returned to Konoha, Sasuke spied Naruto giving Gaara a three-headed kunai with a paper tag wrapped around it. "This will allow me to teleport to wherever you are," he explained. "It's the secret behind my father's Hiraishin no jutsu."
Sasuke saw the way Gaara looked at it as though it were made of pure gold.
"I wanted to give you something, since I missed your twentieth," Naruto murmured.
"I don't need anything," Gaara said quickly, sitting up. "You don't have to -"
Naruto shushed him gently, "I want to," he smiled. "Always keep this with you, okay? Then I can see you anytime I want. Even when you return to Suna I can still watch over you and protect you."
Sasuke ignored the painful clenching in his chest as he watched Gaara accept the kunai from Naruto and gaze at the blond with soft, mint green eyes. Sasuke reached into his own pocket and took out the silver kunai that Naruto had once given him.
There were no special markings on it.
"Thank you," Gaara said and hugged Naruto, who only laughed and returned the embrace. They remained like that for a while.
For a brief moment, Sasuke found that he wanted to be Gaara. He wanted Naruto to give him that kunai. He wanted Naruto to smile at him and hold him like that.
-OOO-
By noon, the seven of them were in Konoha.
Naruto, in henge, stood revolving on the spot as he took in all the familiar surroundings of the village that he had not set foot in for almost three years. Sakura came running out of nowhere. They faced each other in tense silence before she leapt on him, crushed him and cried and cried until the others had to pry her clutching fingers away. She didn't say his name, but she must have known who he was.
They took him to see the Hokage, who ended up being Tsunade again.
As soon as she saw them, she tearfully grabbed Naruto, pulled him inside, and then slammed the door in the rest of their faces.
Naruto resumed living in Konoha again and, under his request, stayed under his transformation at all times. Everyone else knew him to be dead and he said it would do no good to reveal the truth.
Eager to keep him happy and in the village, Tsunade accepted all his conditions. It was agreed that he would enter into the Anbu under the name of Daisuke who had formerly been another member of Sasuke's Team Taka. All those who had been on the mission to rescue Naruto were sworn to secrecy not to give away his real identity.
Because Naruto had nowhere to live now, Sasuke offered his own house, but Naruto only thanked him and said he would stay with Sai instead.
Over the few weeks Sasuke hardly ever saw Naruto and if he did, they were only fleeting glimpses from afar. They had not had a proper conversation after the day Sasuke had found him in his cell. From what he could see, Naruto appeared to be acclimating well. His body had filled out again and he looked much healthier.
To Sasuke's immense despair, Naruto was also rarely seen without the company of Gaara who, Sasuke was sure, was neglecting his Kazekage responsibilities.
The distance did not sit well with him. Naruto was so close to him, and yet, so terribly, terribly far. He honestly seemed to have no interest in Sasuke any longer. By this point, Sasuke would have even settled for mere friendship, but Naruto clearly wanted to dissolve any remnants of their bond, friendly or otherwise.
Breathing deeply, Sasuke ascended the steps to Sai's porch and knocked on the door.
He stepped back, trying to calm his jittering nerves. It had taken him a fortnight to marshal together his courage to come here and he was determined not to waver at the last moment.
He knocked again, louder this time.
Getting no reply, Sasuke was about to walk away when he heard raised voices, one urgent and pleading, the other, angry. It didn't take much to know who the angry voice belonged to.
"I'm being entirely serious!" Sai said urgently, his voice muffled through the glass.
Peeking between the gaps in the lace curtains of the window, Sasuke saw Naruto and Sai talking heatedly. Naruto was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and a deep frown on his face. Sai looked desperate and incredibly upset.
Unaffected, Naruto shot back, "I remember you telling me that I was disgusting and should get help!"
"I was ignorant, alright? I'm sorry!"
Sai was standing awfully close to Naruto in Sasuke's opinion.
"I think I might be like you."
"Look Sai, I don't know what you want me to say," Naruto said, his voice considerably softer than before. Sasuke was really straining his ears to hear them. He activated his Sharingan so he could read their lips instead.
"Say you forgive me," Sai whispered.
Sasuke mashed his teeth together when Sai leant forwards and covered Naruto's unsuspecting mouth with his.
For a moment it seemed as though Naruto was responding to Sai, then his eyes snapped open and he quickly pushed him away. "What the hell?!"
"I'm sorry, I just… I thought…" Sai stuttered.
Naruto sighed. "Don't sweat about it. Just don't do it again, alright? We could get into a lot of trouble."
Sai nodded.
When Naruto unexpectedly came out of the house, Sasuke was caught unaware and had only descended two of the steps.
"I thought I sensed you," Naruto said, regarding him coolly. "Nice eyes," he commented. "Must be good for spying, huh?" Sasuke saw that his lips were slightly red and shone from Sai's saliva. He bit his own lip and looked away.
"Why are you here?" Naruto asked. His arms crossed.
"I… I wanted to talk to you," Sasuke said stiffly, digging the toes of his shoe into the dirt.
"About?"
Clenching his fists, Sasuke glanced up to meet Naruto's clear blue gaze. But then he lost his nerve.
"Never mind," he muttered and quickly walked away, his head bowed low.
End of Part 2: Chapter 4
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