Ch. 39
It was now nighttime and Naruto had just finished taking a shower. He was drying his hair when he heard his front door open. Sasuke must be back.
He finished changing into his normal clothes, then opened the bathroom door. As he stepped out of the bathroom, he saw that it was in fact Sasuke. He was sitting on the couch brooding as usual. As Naruto headed out of the bathroom, Sasuke stood up and started walking towards it. It had been a long day, and he wanted to take a shower as well.
Naruto dropped his eyes and said, "Not even a hello..." Sasuke said in his usual monotone voice, "Hello."
Naruto didn't make a big deal out of it. He knew it had been a long day, so Sasuke's curt attitude wasn't that surprising. He let out a small sigh and asked, "How's the Stone?..."
Sasuke shrugged and said, "As good as they can be..." as he started walking towards the bathroom.
As Naruto examined Sasuke he noticed that he was a little out of it. His face had its usual blank expression, but it was obvious that he was worn. His face looked tired and his eyes were baggier than usual. The day must've took its toll on him as well. And not only that, it looked like something was really bothering him. Naruto thought about it for a second, then wore a small frown as it dawned on him that Sasuke might be dealing with that same sense of powerlessness that he was dealing with. He was one of the strongest shinobi alive as well, but he still had to watch the destruction with everyone else... And it had to have gotten worse when he got to the Stone. He saw all of the destruction firsthand. On top of that, he probably hadn't talked to anyone either. He just carried that burden alone.
Naruto let out a small sigh. He knew that feeling of powerlessness that Sasuke was feeling and he knew how much it hurt...largely because he had felt it himself. He was so used to seeing Sasuke as cool, calm and collected, that seeing him worn down and out of it kinda took him by surprise. He didn't really know what to say. He wasn't good at talking to people in tough situations like Kakashi was, but he couldn't just not say anything. As Sasuke walked by him, he grabbed his arm and decided to just say whatever came to mind.
He paused for a second then said, "Look man...I'm dealing with that same sense of powerlessness you're dealing with, but we've gotta be stronger. The village needs us to be stronger... None of us could've done anything more today. We gave it everything we had, but we were set up to fail...and I know that doesn't make it any better, but I hope it gives you the motivation to stop this Hikan guy. I think we all know that he's not gonna wait for us to bounce back from this. We have no idea what he's gonna do next or how soon, so we need to be ready..."
As he slowly let go of Sasuke's arm, Sasuke paused for second then gave a small smile and said, "Who talked to you, Kakashi?..."
Naruto dropped his eyes then muttered, "Yeah..."
Sasuke let out a small chuckle then grew serious. He turned to Naruto and said in a reassuring voice, "Kakashi's right. We do need to be ready...but don't worry, I'm not out of the fight. I'm just a little tired."
Naruto felt a little better after hearing that. He was glad to see that Sasuke wasn't feeling as bad as he looked and that he was still in the game. He nodded and said, "Good, then rest up. We're gonna need all the help we can get..." Sasuke nodded in agreement.
After a short pause, Sasuke turned to him and said, "Are you ready for whatever Hikan has planned next?..."
Naruto thought to himself for a second, then finally said, "I'm trying to be..."
Sasuke slowly nodded and said, "Then I'll have your back."
Naruto smiled and said, "I know." Sasuke paused for a second then nodded and continued walking towards the bathroom.
As Sasuke walked into the bathroom, Naruto let out a small sigh and let his body fall onto the couch. It had been a long day and he was feeling tired. He decided he'd take a short nap while Sasuke took a shower. Hopefully, Sasuke would make some food when he was done. He was feeling a little hungry and was starting to regret not taking Kakashi up on his offer for ramen. As he started drifting off, he tried to focus on understanding Hikan and how he could use that to beat him. He wasn't thinking for long though. Within a few seconds, he was fast asleep.
Naruto had fallen off the couch and was now sleeping on the floor. He felt a small kick to his side and slightly opened his eyes to see Sasuke standing over him. Sasuke squinted and said, "Dobe, you have any food around here?..." Naruto looked up at Sasuke with groggy eyes then slowly let his eyelids close again.
Sasuke wore an annoyed expression and said, "Fine, I'll just keep kicking you then..." Kick. Kick. Kick. On the fourth kick, Naruto finally grabbed his leg and said, "Did you check the cabinets?..." As Sasuke shook his leg free, he rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah...And the refrigerator...and the drawers... Do you ever restock anything?..."
Naruto finally opened his eyes slightly and said with a grin, "Of course...after I run out..."
Sasuke wore a blank expression and said, "You're hopeless."
As Naruto got off of the floor, he slowly walked over to the cabinets and opened them. He had to have some food left, right?... As he opened them one by one, he noticed that each one was completely empty. It was as if that realization made him hungry, because a few seconds later, his stomach started growling.
Sasuke sighed and said, "Now I have to pay for your incompetence..." Naruto squinted his eyes and said, "I'm hungry too, you know..."
Sasuke grunted and said, "Yeah, but you deserve to be hungry."
Naruto retorted, "Well maybe you should've let me know we were out of food when you finished off my ramen supply this morning..."
Sasuke snorted and said, "Tch. If you ate anything other than ramen that wouldn't matter..."
Naruto let out a slight growl, but before he could reply, the two heard a knock at the door. Naruto turned to Sasuke and cast him a curious glance. Sasuke shrugged and said, "I didn't have anyone coming over."
Naruto looked over to his clock to check the time. 9:07 PM. He walked over to the door and slightly cracked it open while giving a suspicious glance. It was getting late and neither of them had anyone coming over, so he wasn't sure who it was. As he saw who it was, he let the door open fully and said, "Sakura? What are you doing here?..."
She smiled and said, "Well, me and Sasuke haven't eaten anything all day and Kakashi said you haven't either."
She gave him a small eyebrow raise and said, "He said you didn't eat because you were sulking at the monument…"
Naruto slowly nodded and said, "Ohhh, did he now..." He would have to find a way to get back at Kakashi later.
Sakura smiled and said, "Anyway, I brought you guys some food. Kakashi said you weren't in the mood for ramen and I'm guessing you don't have that much more here, so I just got you guys some teriyaki chicken from Sarku."
He looked down and noticed that she had three to-go plates. Two were in a bag in her right hand and one was in a bag in her left hand. The bag with two plates must be for him and Sasuke while the bag with one plate was for her.
Before he could say anything, she handed him the two plates with a smile and said, "I'm gonna get going since it's getting kind of late."
As she turned around to leave, Naruto looked at her and said, "Isn't that your food in your other hand?"
She turned back around, then gave a small smile and said, "Yeah, but I'm beat. I'll just eat when I get back to my apartment."
Naruto felt a little bad after hearing that. He knew all about eating alone, and no matter how tired he was, he'd always prefer to eat with others than eat alone. As a kid, he'd spent a lot of nights trying to get rid of that lonely feeling by making shadow clones, but it was never the same as having real people there.
He wore a small smile then said, "Or, if you want..." he nodded towards the inside and said, "...you could eat with us."
Sakura let out a small smile and said, "I don't know…" She wanted to accept the offer, but she was pretty sure that he had invited her in out of pity. He had probably felt sorry for her when he heard she was eating alone and then decided to invite her in. Despite his friendly attitude, she could tell that he was still keeping her at a distance. It was like he could let her get a little close to him, but not too close and definitely not as close as they used to be.
Naruto looked at her and said, "Is that a yes?..." She looked at him and let out a small sigh. She was really considering the offer, but she didn't want to be invited in out of pity...the problem was she didn't feel like eating alone either…
Naruto noticed she looked like she couldn't make up her mind and said, "With everything that's happened, I think we could all use the company..." He looked inside towards Sasuke and said, "Plus, just eating with Sasuke is boring..." Sasuke mumbled, "Feeling's mutual." Naruto smirked then turned back to her and said, "Come on... You know you wanna..."
Sakura thought about it for a bit longer, then finally gave in. She let out a small smile as she agreed to come in. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't resist that blond idiot. After she accepted the offer, Naruto smiled and said, "Cool." as he stepped to the side and let her in.
As she stepped inside, Sasuke said, "Good thing you came when you did. Dobe doesn't have any food..." As Sakura shook her head disapprovingly, Naruto said, "Don't pay attention to him, Sakura. I just ran out sooner than I thought I would..." He raised an eyebrow at Sasuke, then cast him a teasing smirk and said, "Food runs out quicker when you have more mouths to feed..." Sasuke rolled his eyes and said, "Right..."
Sakura wore a small smile as she watched their antics. They finally looked like friends again. To be honest, they actually looked more like brothers than friends...arguing as usual. As Sakura took in the sight, she let out a pained smile. She wished that things could be like that between her and Naruto, but she knew why they couldn't, and for once, she didn't feel sorry for herself, she just felt regretful. She thought that she'd always have Naruto by her side. That they'd face everything together. That they'd take on the world if they needed to. But he wasn't by her side, at least not how he used to be. And what made it hurt the most was the fact that it was her fault. She let out a small sigh as she thought about how things weren't the same, and how they may never be the same again. But it was her fault and she'd just have to find a way to live with that. She decided to try to think of something more pleasant and focused on Naruto and Sasuke. They were still arguing so she crossed her arms to show that she was waiting for them to stop. After a while, the two noticed her standing there with crossed arms and finally stopped their bickering.
Sakura said, "Took you guys long enough…" Naruto paused for a second then said under his breath, "I still say it was Sasuke's fault..." Sasuke grunted and said, "Let's just eat..."
Naruto finally dropped it and said, "Good idea..." He looked over to the kitchen table and noticed there were only two chairs. He didn't really have much reason to have any more chairs at the table. Over the years, he had been so isolated that he rarely ate with anyone else. He'd eat with Kakashi every now and then, but other than that, he was a loner.
He looked around and decided to just use the couch as another chair. He walked over to it then lifted it with relative ease and placed it on the side of the table. He didn't try to make sure it was perfectly straight, he was just content to have moved it. Sakura watched him with an amused smile. His place looked cleaner, but he was still the same. ANBU might have made him clean up his apartment a bit, but he still moved things out of their place without a second thought.
Naruto sat down on the couch and waited for the two to join him. Sasuke grabbed the to-go plates from Sakura and motioned for her to sit down. She sat down on one chair while Sasuke sat on the other one.
As the three got ready to eat, Naruto said, "Kinda like old times, huh?..."
Sakura gave a small smile and nodded, then Sasuke smiled and said, "We're just missing Kakashi..."
Naruto smiled and said, "He would've liked this..."
Sakura wore a small smile and said, "Yeah... He was gonna walk me home, but he's meeting with Tsunade..."
Naruto looked down and silently said, "That makes sense..."
As the three started eating, there was an obvious silence between them. It wasn't an awkward silence though, it was just a silence that showed that everyone was taking in the moment.
The overall tone was very mellow and relaxed. Everyone just knew that they were in friendly company.
After a few minutes, Naruto said, "This is nice..."
Sakura let out a small smile and said, "Yeah..."
Sasuke nodded and said, "It'd be a lot nicer if Hikan wasn't out there..."
Naruto dropped his eyes and said, "Way to kill the mood, Teme..."
After Sasuke realized what he'd done, he looked down and said, "Sorry..."
Naruto didn't actually mean to make Sasuke feel bad. He was just messing with him. He let out a small chuckle and said, "It's fine, I was just joking. I think he's in the back of all of our minds..."
Sasuke sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Sakura turned to Naruto and said, "Any progress with that while we were gone?..."
Naruto shook his head and said, "Not really... We have no idea what he's going to do next so we're still in the dark."
Sakura looked at him and asked, "How are you holding up?..."
Naruto shrugged and said, "I'll be fine. The village needs us at 100%, so I just have to stay focused."
Sakura examined him and noticed that he wasn't as much of an emotional wreck as he was earlier, but he was still obviously bothered by what had happened. He was just trying to mask it so he could be strong for the village. She gave him a semi-worried smile and said, "Just take care of yourself..."
Naruto gave her a quizzical look and asked, "Why do you say that?"
Sakura gave a concerned smile and said, "Because the people who are the worst at taking care of themselves are usually the ones the world needs the most..."
Naruto thought about it for a second, then looked away and said, "Maybe...but I'll be able to take better care of myself after we've beat Hikan and everyone is safe..."
Sakura looked at him and wore a small smile. He still had that same drive to protect others, no matter what the cost...
Sasuke sat back in his chair and said, "Well, it's gonna be hard to beat him if we don't have anything to work with..."
Naruto paused for a second then said, "The only thing I have to go on right now is something Kakashi told me..." He thought to himself pensively then said, "He said that if I could understand Hikan, I might be able to find a way to beat him..."
Sasuke paused for a second then said, "Do you understand him?"
Naruto looked into his plate of food, then said, "I thought I did, but now I'm not so sure. I understand his goals in general, but I'm thinking that maybe there's something deeper than that...Something else that I have to understand..."
Sakura tilted her head a little and asked, "Like what?"
Naruto let out a loud sigh and said, "I'm not sure..."
Sasuke thought to himself for a few seconds, then said, "Maybe you should start with his general ideals and move on from there."
Naruto thought about it, then said, "Well, in general, he believes in bringing out the darkness in people. That's his main goal, and that's why he doesn't believe in peace, but where do I go from there?..."
Sasuke gave a small shrug and said, "Maybe you should ask yourself why he's trying to bring out the darkness in people. What's his motivation?"
Naruto shook his head and said, "I don't know..."
After a short pause between the three, Naruto said, "You guys should hear him speak... His voice is filled with so much rage and hate...but there's also a deep resolve..."
Sasuke asked, "A resolve to do what?"
Naruto replied, "To prove that his vision of the shinobi world is the right one..."
Sasuke asked, "And what's his vision for the shinobi world?"
Naruto let out a sigh and said, "He wants to see everyone to give in to their darkness, but now we're back to square one..."
Sasuke sat back and softly said, "It would seem we are..."
The three sat there in silence for a few minutes as they just thought about what Hikan's motivation might be.
As the silence dragged on, Naruto let out a small sigh and said, "I guess I didn't understand him as well as I thought. I may know what he wants, but I have no idea why he wants it..."
Sasuke added, "Or why he wants it so badly…"
After a long pause, Sakura wore a sad smile and softly said, "From what you've said, it sounds like you guys are kinda opposite sides of the same coin..."
Naruto turned to her and said in a confused voice, "What?"
Sakura shrugged and said, "Well Hikan wants to tear everyone apart. He wants people to give into their darkness and watch the world go to hell. You, on the other hand, live your life trying to bring out the good in people. You try to bring people together. You want to see a world where there's peace and understanding between shinobi. He wants to bring out the worst in people, but you want to bring out the best in people..."
Naruto thought about it for a second, then said, "He said that same thing to me when I was over there... Maybe he was right..."
Sasuke noted the heavy atmosphere and said, "This is actually a good thing. If you guys are really opposite sides of the same coin, then you may be the key to beating him."
Naruto gave him an inquisitive look and said, "How?"
After a short pause, Sasuke looked down with a pensive expression and said, "Hikan tries his hardest to bring out the worst in people. You try your hardest to bring out the best in people. If we can figure out why you try to bring out the best in people, maybe we'll also figure out why he tries to bring out the worst in people."
He focused on Naruto and said, "So why do you try to bring out the best in people, Naruto?..."
Naruto thought about it for a second, then shrugged and said, "Throughout my life I had a lot of people who either didn't like me or didn't want anything to do with me...usually it was a mix of both..." He wore a sad smile and said, "So I had a choice to make. I could turn my back on those people and give in to my rage or I could give into something better and try to help them."
Sasuke said, "So you've lived your life trying to bring out the best in people because you chose to give into something better..."
Naruto said, "Yeah, I guess..."
After a short pause, Sakura said, "Maybe Hikan didn't..."
As Naruto and Sasuke turned to her, she tilted her head and said, "Maybe he didn't give in to something better... Maybe he gave into his rage and hate. And maybe the reason he wants everyone to give into their darkness...is because he's already given into his..."
Naruto thought about it for a moment, then said, "That might be it..."
Sasuke sat up straight and said, "If that's the case, then now it makes sense. That's why he wants everyone to give into their darkness. He wants to prove that everyone is like him..."
As Naruto thought about it, it was like a light bulb went off in his head. He leaned on the table and said, "It all makes sense now... When I met him, he said that the stunt in Konoha was just to grab our attention. He attacked while we were weak so he could get my attention. Now that he has it, he's trying to prove his point. That's what he said it was about...proving a point."
As he started to piece the puzzle together, he said, "That's what it's always been about... That's why he does everything he does... While I was over there, he baited me into hitting him, and when I did, he started laughing... Everything is either a means to prove that he's right or an attempt to get me to a place where I'll prove him right. That's why he set up those two bombs. He forced me to make an impossible decision because he wants to break me... He wants to send me off the deep end and prove that anyone can be like him...including me..."
Naruto looked around slowly and said, "I think I know how to beat him..." As Sasuke and Sakura waited in anticipation, Naruto said, "If proving that everyone is like him is so important to him...then I have to prove him wrong..."
Sasuke asked, "And how are you gonna do that?..."
Naruto said in a grave voice, "I don't know... It'll all depend on what he does next..."
After a short pause, Sasuke said, "We have no way of having any idea what that will be..."
Naruto said, "No, we don't..." then looked up with a resolute stare and said, "...but at least we know what has to be done..."
Sasuke nodded and said, "Yeah..."
Sakura noticed the tense atmosphere and said, "Don't worry. We'll get him..."
Naruto looked at her and said, "Yeah, we will...we will..."
As the night went on, the three moved away from the topic of Hikan and talked about more lighthearted things. It was refreshing to just talk about things that didn't have such high stakes attached to them, especially after such a crazy day. They talked deep into the night before finally parting ways.
Author's Note
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