Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sensei does.
Chapter 6
Sasuke shivered from the lack of warmth around him and as he started to wake up the memories from the night before started to come to mind. He sat up frantically looking around the room fro Naruto. He sighed in relief when Naruto walked into the room carrying breakfast.
Naruto grinned, "Ohayo teme, so you finally woke up."
Sasuke smirked and pulled the blanket and sheet off him and got out of the bed. Naruto set their breakfast on the nightstand as Sasuke walked over to the bathroom. He searched through the drawers and stopped when his eyes caught the reflection in the mirror. He sighed at his reflection, How could I let myself be reduced to this?
His skin was paler than it had ever been, a ghost white, his long hair looked shaggy, like that of a homeless person. He knew he still had the definition in his physique, but he had stopped training as a ninja, no longer practiced any jutsu and he wasn't as fit as he should be. He had just gone with routine, the physical training he had done before he'd started at the academy. His eyes no longer held that fire in them, the scorching fiery look was absent from his eyes.
He looked away and jumped slightly when Naruto snaked his arms around his waist. Sasuke turned his gaze to Naruto who was looking at their reflection. He turned his gaze back to the mirror and a slight smile curled his lips. His heart skipped a beat at fully seeing Naruto embracing him from behind, his arms tightly wrapped around his waist, holding him to him.
The gleam in Naruto's eyes as they focused on his eyes in the mirror made heat course through him. He scowled when he noticed a very slight pinkish hue dust his cheeks. He pulled Naruto's arms from around his waist and walked out of the bathroom.
He heard Naruto chuckle before he was followed over to the bed. They quickly ate breakfast in silence; eggs and bacon for Sasuke, pancakes and syrup for Naruto. Sasuke gulped his milk down as Naruto finished off his orange juice. Naruto took the remnants of their meal and threw them away in the bag he had carried them in.
He then moved over to his pack and pulled out a bundle of clothes, a bundle of kunai knives and shuriken, and a few sealed scrolls Sasuke noticed to be his own. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, How did he get those?
Naruto stood up with the supplies in his arms and walked over to Sasuke and set it down in his lap. Sasuke looked at him, "What are you . . ."
Naruto smirked, "You're a Leaf ninja Sasuke, I managed to save your scrolls, the kunai and shuriken are new, I sharpened them for you. The clothes are courtesy of Sakura-chan, she made them based on your old wardrobe. So go change and get ready, we are heading out soon."
Sasuke scowled, "I don't, why would you do this?"
Naruto scoffed and grabbed his own ninja gear and started putting it on. He'd left his vest behind when he went to get breakfast. Once he finished to find Sasuke still sitting there looking at him with a scowl and a glare he sighed.
"Sasuke, come on, get a move on. There is no way we can make it all the way to the village protecting you. I know you're rusty, but I'm sure you can at least defend yourself."
Sasuke glared even more, "That's not what I . . . "
Naruto cut him off, "I talked Kakashi-sensei into getting a new hiate-ate for you. It is wrapped in the shirt, get off your ass and get ready."
Sasuke stood up after putting the bundles on his lap on the bed. "I am not a Leaf ninja anymore, that goes with betraying the village and joining that snake . . ."
Naruto was in front of him in a flash, Sasuke still hated how Naruto was so damn fast now that he couldn't even see him move. His arms were seized in Naruto's strong grip and he was face to face with a glaring and angered Naruto. But he glared back, meeting his glare evenly, he was not going to be intimidated regardless of how strong Naruto had gotten.
Naruto's glare softened for a moment, but his tone was serious, "Sasuke-teme, this is not up for discussion. I can't fully protect you on the journey home. So you need to be ready to defend yourself. It is a precaution and this is not up for discussion."
Sasuke huffed, "Fine, but if the clothes don't fit them I am not wearing them."
Naruto released him with a sigh, "They will fit teme. Just change."
Sasuke glared at him, "I am not doing this because you told me to, I will not be ordered around. I am doing this because you have a point and I know the dangers of traveling through the forest of Konoha."
He grabbed the bundles and stalked over to the bathroom slamming the door behind him. Naruto smiled fondly after him and thought to himself, He is starting to come back.
Sasuke undid the bundles and noticed that Sakura had guessed his size right. It wasn't his navy blue shirt like the one he'd wore before. It was a short sleeved black shirt that would fit him well, there was also two, navy blue arm guards and the leather straps that he'd worn for his taijutsu training. There were also leather straps for his legs. There were also four rolls of wrap for his forearms and calves to help keep from ripping his muscles if he used taijutsu.
He found that the black shorts were fit around the waist, but loose everywhere else. There were white spandex shorts to wear beneath them that were just a inch longer than the actual shorts. He located the hiate-ate as well, it was black, and there wasn't the line through it marking him as a rogue.
So, they really did accept me back for helping them win the war and handing over that information about all of those twisted fucks. I left, nearly cost the lives of four genin and a chunin, and they let me back in for helping them kill their enemies. I highly doubt when I arrive that the welcome will be as friendly as the notion of getting a new hiate-ate.
Naruto sighed, Sasuke was taking forever, he stalked over to the bathroom door and knocked on it, "Teme? What in the hell is taking you so long?"
The door opened and Naruto's jaw almost hit the floor, Damn Sakura-chan should be a fashion designer. He is hot!
Sasuke smirked at the look on Naruto's face and brushed past him. Naruto turned around to look more closely at Sasuke. That black shirt clung to his torso in all the right places, the straps on his forearms and calves as well as the wrap around them showed that Sasuke had not lost too much strength in all this time. The hiate-ate was tied around his forehead like he'd always worn it, Naruto couldn't help the nostalgic feeling that rose up in him at the sight.
Naruto scowled at the loose shorts, they were fit to his hips, but they were loose everywhere else. Damn, she could have made the shorts tighter or something.
Naruto smiled at seeing Sasuke had tended to his hair, it was brushed back, and tied back at the nape of his neck, almost making him look like Itachi. It didn't help that he was as tall as Itachi had been or that he did have the strong back Naruto had noticed in the ex-Akatsuki member. But Sasuke had a more slender look to him, it was almost feminine, but there was an overtone of masculinity to him from the way he held himself. From the back, Sasuke would almost look like a chick, but when he turned around, he was very obviously male.
It confused the hell out of Naruto to tell the truth, how someone could be feminine and masculine at the same time. He brushed the thought aside, What does it matter, he's sexy and gorgeous to me either way.
There was a knock at the door and Naruto was pulled from his thoughts from the voice following the knock.
"Are you two ready yet, it's nearly noon."
Naruto turned to the door after grabbing his pack and slipping his arms through the straps.
"Hai, Sakura-chan, we're coming already."
She sighed audibly, "Well hurry up before we break in there and drag the two of you out."
Sasuke huffed, "She really hasn't changed much."
Naruto looked over his shoulder at Sasuke as they came up to the door. "Trust me teme, you don't want to piss her off, she hits really hard now."
Sasuke smirked, "I know, she was always beating you up."
Naruto glared, "Yeah, yeah, but you don't want to piss her off."
Naruto unlocked the door and held it open as Sasuke walked out of the room and into the hallway. Naruto closed the door behind him and locked it then led the way down the stairs to the lobby. He handed the room key over to the person behind the desk and they walked out of the inn.
Naruto greeted everyone with a grin, "Ohayo, what's up?"
Neji sighed as he stood next to Sakura, Kiba next to her stifling a yawn. Sakura smiled at him, "Are you two ready, or should we give you more time?"
Naruto waved his hand at her in a gesture of emphasizing what he said next, "No, no, Sakura-chan, we're ready." He put his hand down and smirked at Sasuke before starting to say, "It was the teme, he had to take . . . OW!"
Sasuke had cuffed him upside the head and Sakura had giggled slightly before Neji sighed again and cleared his throat.
"As entertaining as the two of you can be, we need to get going. We are on a time limit."
Naruto nodded and took on a more serious expression, "Right, so let's get going."
Neji nodded to him, "You brief Uchiha and take the alternate route, they will be looking for both of you since you were seen."
Naruto scowled, "Hai," he grabbed Sasuke's wrist and jumped up to the roof of the inn pulling Sasuke with him. Sasuke caught his footing quickly and glared at Naruto, "You could give me warning before doing that dobe."
Naruto looked at him with a sheepish grin, "Yeah, well . . . " His grin fell and he looked at Sasuke seriously as Neji, Sakura, and Kiba left in puffs of smoke.
"We have to go through the straight path, which means we will most likely encounter a few rogue ninja's going through that path. That's why it isn't used much. The others are taking a different path to confuse any Kumonin that may follow us into Konoha territory."
Sasuke nodded, he did know all of that and he expected such a plan coming from Neji. It was a good idea, that way they wouldn't be caught off guard if they were pursued. He still felt out of place, traveling back to Konoha after so long. He had his own thoughts as to why he was going with Naruto and they were split into two groups, but he shook that away and settled with it being a tactical reason.
"Sasuke, you ready to go?"
Sasuke nodded and followed Naruto out of the village and then directly south. The village was in the direct center of the country of Konoha. It was hidden well by the cliffs and the forest around it. They moved swiftly through the forest, Sasuke knew Naruto wasn't going as fast as he could, it pissed him off that he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up with Naruto if he was.
Sasuke's chakra had diminished some due to lack of use, so the amount he did focus into his feet to move swiftly was only half as much as it would be if he had continued to develop his jutsu. Naruto looked at him over his shoulder from in front of him, "What are you glaring at teme?"
Sasuke's voice was the same hushed level as Naruto's out of habit of not talking while they traveled.
"Nothing dobe, be quiet."
Naruto smirked and looked back to the front as they leapt from tree limp to tree limb. They were still making good time, they had covered a third of the distance before it got too dark to travel anymore. Naruto found them a thick leaved tree to rest at and settled on one of the thicker limbs, it was wide enough for Sasuke to sit next to him on the limb.
Naruto sighed and turned his head to peer through the trees and look up at the darkening night sky. Some of the stars could be seen, but the moon wasn't fully in the sky yet. Sasuke closed his eyes and let himself doze as silence fell between them.
He growled when Naruto softly said, "Teme, what do you think when you look up at the night sky?"
Sasuke opened his eyes and looked at Naruto, "Where did that come from?"
Naruto looked at him, "I was just wondering."
Sasuke sighed and looked up at the night sky, he sat their in silence and said the first thing that came to mind.
"I think about all the lives that have been swallowed up in darkness, the stars are a symbol of people like you."
Naruto smiled and lightly tapped him on the shoulder, "Wow, that's insightful. I never would expect an answer like that from you."
Sasuke glared at Naruto, "Then don't ask questions like that."
Naruto laughed, "Aw, teme, it's nice to hear you talk like that."
Sasuke huffed and closed his eyes for a moment then looked at Naruto again as Naruto turned his gaze back to the sky.
"What about you?"
Naruto looked at him, "Me, what?"
"What do you think about when you look at the night sky?"
Naruto gazed back at the night sky and thought about it for a while before turning back to look at Sasuke. "Well, for me, it's really about the stars. The blackness around them looks like it could swallow up the stars, but they stubbornly refuse to go out. To me the stars are like beacons of light fighting back against the darkness around them. You used to be a lot like those stars."
Sasuke looked back to the sky, "No, I never fought back against it, I gave into it when the darkness closed in around me. I swore revenge and became an avenger."
Naruto looked back at him, "You did, but now you're coming back to Konoha and you've atoned . . . "
Sasuke cut him off sharply, "I haven't atoned for anything, I committed sins against people I care about, against people that didn't deserve it. I've managed to hurt all the people that cared about me and pushed them away."
Naruto made to say something but Sasuke continued in a softer tone, "I constantly tried to push you away for years. But you just wouldn't leave me alone. You just kept trying to pull me back even as Ita . . . he kept trying to pull me away from Konoha."
Naruto sighed, "Of course I did, you're my best friend Sasuke, you are the most important person to me. There was no way I wasn't going to keep going after you."
Sasuke closed his eyes, "I know that, I always knew that even though I didn't want to admit it for so long."
They fell silent for a while and fell into a light sleep, Sasuke ended up leaned against Naruto and resting his head on his shoulder. Naruto woke at the first sign of light and turned his head to watch Sasuke sleep. He smiled softly at the sight. Sasuke didn't look at peace in his sleep, but he did look happier than his usual expression when he was awake.
Naruto planned to find a way to help bring some symblance of peace to Sasuke's life, as soon as they got home. If they didn't run into any trouble they would return in two days.