Pulse

An old man was walking down the river,

when he saw a pretty girl crying.

"Don't cry, sweetie," he begged her.

"Love is everywhere," he smiled.

.

"If it weren't for love we wouldn't be here." She replied,

and sank her teeth in his throat.

And so it began.

The first thing he did when he was born was to kill his mother.

An old tale says that when Death saw his soul on the passage to become a being, it fell in love with him and tried to look at him closely. How unfortunate it was for him to be treasured by the one with the spike, so much so that not even in the moment of becoming one with the flames could he be at peace.

He woke up tied up and gagged still, all alone in the cornfield where he swallowed his last scream. His killer wasn't there but neither was the world he used to live in and to live for, everything had vanished and only darkness remained.

The thing is, Death loved him so much it couldn't stop itself from killing him over and over again, just to feel his flesh around its hands.

How tragic.

"I think they're gone."

"Are you sure?"

"No," Sasuke replied. "I clearly said I think."

They were sitting in the attic still, the floor hurt his back and buttocks, but he didn't dare to move. They were surrounded by the darkness's black veil, the acrid smell of blood and raw meat was too strong to ignore, the fur he finished skinning not long ago rested somewhere to his right. "Well… go outside and check it out."

He couldn't see it, but Naruto was sure that Sasuke's face was decorated with a small smirk, he wished he could confirm his suspicions. "Why? Too scared to go?"

That was enough to raise his temper, "what?" Naruto hissed. "I'm not a coward." He said, groping the ground to look for the trapdoor to prove his point further. He was about to yell another thing when a shot of painful electricity ran from his ankle to his hand, making him wince. It was a small sound that left his mouth, but in the quietness that followed, it was obvious that his friend had been able to listen to it.

"Naruto…" Sasuke's voice lost the slightly mocking tone it possessed a few seconds before, he sounded weary, almost upset. But he always sounded upset. Particularly around Naruto.

"Yes, Sasuke?" He replied, and started to pat the floor again in an attempt to distract him. He didn't need another lecture from the older boy, they came with a calmness that shamed him.

"Are you hurt?" Sasuke's words made Naruto even more resentful, he talked to him like he was a child! Like he was a burden, like he needed Sasuke's constant supervision. He was not. Naruto was not a child, he didn't need him to worry about him!

Naruto gritted his teeth and anger bubbled in his throat, it was Sasuke's fault! Had he not abandoned him, leaving him the task to carry the wolf all by himself, he wouldn't be as hurt. "No, I'm not." He lied, his palm rough against the floor of the attic. The blood of the wolf had dried on his hands, he was dirty and smelled of death.

Sasuke said nothing, replied nothing, he didn't move either, Naruto was able to find the trapdoor he had been looking for and with the little strength he had left (and his arm shook by the effort it took), he opened it. Faint, white light emerged from its mouth, illuminating the space, Naruto narrowed his eyes to protect them from the brightness that assaulted his eyesight and brought a hand to his eyelids to close them further. Dried blood fell like dust on his cheeks.

"Daylight," Sasuke spoke, Naruto looked at him from over his shoulder and saw him sitting in the corner of the room, his expression as neutral as always, his legs stretched before him and a bloody bag on his side. "Do you have the fur?" He asked, and Naruto noticed that he did not, in fact, had it. He left it where he had sat, so he crawled on all fours as to not use his ankle more than he needed. It would be humiliating to show his wound.

Thank goodness for the layers of clothing he was wearing, he was sure that under them a swollen ankle hid, if it wasn't for his attire, there was no way he could cover his wound from Sasuke's inquisitive gaze. "Shall we go then?" He asked, but Sasuke was already moving towards the trapdoor, he jumped down without even sparing a glance in his direction.

Moving downwards, now that his ankle was swollen and the injury had set, was a hard and torturous task. The fur wasn't particularly heavy as it was dirty, but Naruto wouldn't be able to jump down as he did often, so he put the fur on his shoulders and slowly climbed down.

At the bottom stood Sasuke, his back turned to him, when he heard Naruto's footsteps on the floor he threw a quick glance and started to walk, silence reigned between them. The distance stretched.

PeRfEcT… He thought, trembling, and limped slowly towards the exit, confident that Sasuke would not be watching. Every move he did was excruciatingly painful, but he did not let himself ask for Sasuke's help because… principles, he supposed. He bit his lips in order to stop the moan of pain that wanted to go through them and halted his movements, favoring his healthy leg to move. Yet, the healthy leg was now resentful, his calf muscle burned and shook with exhaustion.

"This is so stupid," Sasuke figure made itself known behind a corner, Naruto yelped and fell to the ground, his eyes faced the always cloudy –always gray, sky. "Let me help you." He said, stretching his hand to grab the collar of his cape, Naruto slapped his hand away, turning completely red with shame.

They were quiet for a moment until Sasuke narrowed his eyes and turned, walking away from him again without uttering a word –not even an insult or a remark. Naruto knew he had exaggerated, but he had pride to protect and even when they were in the privacy of their solitude, relying on Sasuke seemed… an admission of something he wasn't ready to.

The house is close, anyway. He thought, trying to stand from the mud.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura's voice was soft as it was her face, her eyes were a mixture of passion and longing that Naruto only saw when her gaze met Sasuke's figure. He watched, transfixed, as her green eyes devoured the Uchiha's presence like he was the Sun from the tails his mother used to tell him.

Sasuke's expression was, as per usual, immovable. He seemed not to care for Sakura's visible adoration, he dusted his shoulder (like brushing her love off of him!) and cocked his head to the side. "Sakura." He greeted her, and the way her name sounded on his voice might as well have melted her if her furious blush was any indication, Naruto had to look away. "Naruto is hurt." He said nonchalantly, entering the house, Sakura looked at him as he walked, glancing at Naruto once Sasuke was out of sight.

"He's lying," Naruto trembled by the door, resting his weight on the doorframe, his lie might have been more convincing had he not be assaulted by exhaustion.

Sakura pinched her nose, she was right in her irritation. "Didn't I tell you…" she grunted, reaching for him and putting her shoulder under his arm to help him move inside. Naruto couldn't help to purse his lips at her closeness. "Sit there." She instructed, still moving with him, leaving him at the foot of the stairs.

She took the fur out of his shoulders and gave it an apprehensive look, she might have mumbled something like I'll be right back (she won't be, not if she went to the kitchen where Sasuke was), and she walked away with it. Naruto sat there, alone, listening for the sounds of the house, if Sakura had found Sasuke, they were either talking really quietly or not talking at all.

(Would Sasuke kiss her on the forehead as I did?)

Naruto was already in a bad mood, his thoughts wandered too far for him to control the raising beat of his heart, when Sakura finally appeared, her expression was tired. "One more second." She said, and walked past him up the stairs, he supposed, to retrieve her medic kit from her room, the sound of her footsteps resounded on the walls.

"She's upset," he whispered. No one answered.

The crack of the stairs made him look up, above him stood her, her pink hair cascading down her frame, freckles decorated her nose bridge subtly, making her look younger. Light surrounded her like a halo, Naruto was perplexed. Naruto was destroyed.

"Foot." She said, moving around him and kneeling in front of him, her delicate fingers tapping her thigh. He tensed at her tone –so unnatural to her childish-like face, so commanding-, but complied, waiting for no further instructions.

He winced in fear when she reached for it, "careful SakUrA It HuRtS." He begged, tensing.

Sakura pursed her lips and looked at him in a way that reminded him of Tsunade (that is, with a mix between disappointment and anger) but she did grab his ankle with such a light touch that Naruto sat there, counting the freckles on her nose. He forced himself to look away, and so he glanced at the ceiling, he had promised to let her go, but living in a town with so few residents and fewer his age, it was difficult not to notice her.

"It's not broken…" she tried to reassure him, but Naruto already knew that it wasn't. This was a breeze of fresh air to his mother, probably, the injury will force him to stay in the house for at least a couple of weeks, but what would be of Sasuke? Will he go out without him? The thought made his chest hurt.

Sakura grabbed a piece of cloth and started to bandage his ankle, she used an old cloth that he had seen around many other limbs before, resources for a medic were scarce, they couldn't afford to toss away what was already used. So they washed it as best as they could and used it again. Complaining about it was a waste of time.

"Awkward way to greet each other, uh?" He tried to joke.

Sakura stood up abruptly, the foot, Naruto noticed, rested gently on the floor. He looked at her, her face was obscured by her hair but still, he could notice a slight tremor in her lower lip, she looked so ferociously sad he couldn't help the way his heart skipped a beat.

"It's swollen, it should be fine in a week, maybe two." She said, "I'll get some frost from outside." She moved towards the front door then, her movements were fueled by raw human emotions. "Stop trying to get yourselves killed." She added, her tone harsh and loud as to reach Sasuke's ears, then she opened the door and a cold breeze made it through, freezing Naruto's exposed toes, he shivered. When the door closed, Sakura stood there no more.

Naruto sighed, she will never understand –he wasn't sure he did, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't make Sasuke stop. Did he want to? He wasn't sure. With a grunt he picked himself up from the bottom of the stairs and limped towards the kitchen, which was luckily next to the entrance, resting his weight in the doorframe.

Sasuke didn't look at him, his eyes were focused on the task. His friend's arms tensed with the strength he used to cut the bones off the meat, the hunting knife, while somewhat useful, had lost its edge long ago. Naruto looked at how his motions were perfectly executed and rested his head on the wall. Sasuke had taken off his cape and the first layer of his upper clothes, he was only wearing with his undershirt and a leather apron. Naruto smirked, despite the chilling weather his friend always discarded his cape when performing tasks like this, after all, he hated bloodstains. He wouldn't risk his clothes getting ruined.

"You need to sharpen that thing." Naruto mocked him, his eyes closing.

Sasuke didn't reply immediately, Naruto couldn't see what he was doing. "Oh so now we're talking?" He asked, irritation coming from his vocal cords.

Naruto sighed and forced his eyelids to open, the task was immense, "look," he said, "I'm sorry. I'm in pain, cut me some slack."

"Sure," Sasuke shrugged, "that's what I always do, isn't it?" He narrowed his eyes, "you always have an excuse to disrespect me, and I shall always tolerate it, don't I? Whether because of your ankle, your mood, or whatever thing it might pop out of your head."

"Oh-" Naruto was ready to bark but he bit his tongue, shame and guilt climbed up his spine and his cheeks were –once again-, red. His shoulders slumped forwards. "I'm sorry Sasuke, I'm sorry. Don't be mad at me, not you as well."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly, and he shook his head disapprovingly, but didn't press the subject further, "you're such an annoyance." He said and Naruto let out a light chuckle.

"That knife is practically dead," he whispered, his eyelids closing again.

"Everything in here is," Sasuke said, and in his tone, there was an edge of blue, almost imperceptible. Few things could last in perfect conditions after generations, the weather didn't help matters, either. Sasuke put inhumane effort into cleaning his bow and arrows, even his little knife, and yet, not even he could avoid watching his relics die slowly.

They were both hopeless in that aspect.

"I still don't get why they had kids," he heard Sasuke whisper and Naruto opened his eyes to see his face. Sasuke's gaze was on the ground, his blood-stained hands rested on the table, his task forgotten. Naruto breathed carefully, not wanting to disturb. If he looked closely, Naruto could see the mask on Sasuke's face falling slowly to the ground, his true self remaining.

"What a fuzz you did this morning." Tsunade's footsteps were heavy and sonorous, she always walked like she had a major purpose, a place to go where she was needed irrevocably, even if it was just to take a sip of water from the well.

And just like that the spell was broken, almost coincidentally, Sakura entered the house with a bunch of frost on her bare hands. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her.

"Sasuke-kun, can you hand me a bandage? Please." She asked, her cheeks slightly pink with cold.

"Bare hands in the frost, Sakura?" Tsunade asked, clicking her tongue on her front teeth and handling a cloth she took out from her sleeve, Sakura pointed at the ground and Tsunade let it fall, both medics watched as it danced in the air.

"Sorry…" Sakura mumbled and met her teacher's eyes, crouching and putting the frost she had gathered on the cloth and tying it. "It's going to melt eventually so…" she walked towards Naruto with a shrug of her shoulders, he slowly and carefully sat with his back resting on the doorframe. The kitchen now looked smaller, four people could not fit in it. Sakura rested the improvised bag of snow on Naruto's ankle.

Tsunade looked at them, her hands resting on her hips. "I'm not going to tell you what you deserve…"

"Thank you…" Naruto replied, looking at both medics to share his words of gratitude.

"But Kamisama knows you fucking deserve it." The older woman continued, the hands resting on her hips tightening their grip, it was a lucky thing that she had such a thick coat to protect her from bruising.

Naruto sighed, letting his eyes shut, already sensing the dangerous aura that Tsunade's figure emanated, the woman was always sharp with her tongue and soft with her hands, he supposed that it was something that all healers shared. His actions forced his dying mother to move, that was enough punishment.

"You can't keep doing this to her-" Tsunade's brown eyes were onto him, even behind his eyelids he knew the weight they carried, Naruto wished she'd at least try to put herself in his place, for once, but none of them did. Naruto opened his eyes and glanced at the kitchen, his gaze fell upon Sasuke's bloody hands, the veins popped out of his skin.

"I'm doing it for her too," Naruto's voice was low, Tsunade's words fell off her lips and reached deaf ears, she seemed to be talking still, but Naruto wasn't listening, not anymore.

There was a soft knock on the door, enough to bring to a halt the older woman's speech. Sakura glanced at every member in the group and with a deflated sigh went to open it. She seemed upset by the interruption, when she wasn't able to get her way, she always relied on Tsunade's harshness. Regardless, she set her face on a neutral expression to greet whoever came, it wouldn't be the first time someone came running to their house at dawn to ask for their services.

Inoichi stood there, his gaze focused nowhere, his posture slightly curved, dark bags clung to his eyes and deep lines clung to each side of his mouth. "Apologies, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

At the sound of his voice, both Tsunade and Sasuke moved towards him, they both watched –silently- as Inoichi entered the house with a slight nod as a salute. "Inoichi-sama," Sasuke greeted him reverentially, his curious gaze working through the old man's figure.

"I brought something," Inoichi said, giving a side-glance look at them both, his hand stretched and on it, there was a small, closed, bag. "Those are some medicinal plants." He added, giving Tsunade an apprehensive look, she smiled faintly at him.

"But we still have, Inoichi." The older woman replied, her fingers opening the bag with ease.

"Well, there's no harm in having more," he said and looked at Naruto, "besides, I awoke at the sound of someone crying today-"

"I wasn't crying."

"...right, and saw you," he pointed at him, "limping through my window, which is why I brought the plants." He addressed Tsunade, "they should help with the inflammation. You need to extract the juice out of the leaves, not boil them, and wet the bandage with it."

"Will do," she replied with a small smile and handed the bag to Sakura. "Can you take care of that, Sakura?"

"Of course, Tsunade-sama."

"Great. Come, Inoichi, there's something I need to talk with you."

"Of course." He nodded, "children," he addressed them, and followed Tsunade towards the back of the house.

Naruto watched, perplexed, as Sasuke's eyes followed the older man out of the room, his eyes were full with a pulsating hope… desire, Naruto knew what that look meant, and it made his heart skip a beat. Sakura was right, Sasuke will go further, and by the looks of it, it will be soon.

A/N: Just in case it's not obvious enough, I will make here a disclaimer. As you might notice, the chapters are written from the point of view of Naruto's character (which will be, likely, the main POV, but not the exclusive one). Therefore, the way he describes situations or other characters' expressions, emotions or actions are clearly biased by his own perception of things. For instance, when Naruto states that "Sasuke is treating him like a child!" that's his perception on the matter, which is independent of the actual truth. Meaning, what he believes could be correct, as could not be (like in real life).