Title: Amicitia
Author: Kenhime
Genre: Angst, Drama, and Action
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Who gets to be with whom? Well, that power is in Kishimoto's hands. The song "Run" by Collective Soul doesn't belong to me either.
Warning: This is strong NaruSakuSasu friendship, and includes profanity.
Author's Note: I'm sorry for the long wait. I had many things I needed to smooth over in this chapter.
Chapter Three – Rudus Exposition: Solitude's Interlude
The jounin ruffled his silvery hair absently, his lethargic gaze unnerving the rank shinobi awaiting his command. Tales were told near and far of the demon-holding Sixth Hokage, but this man was also one specimen of his own class. This quiet and observant ninja became renowned for his genius in the art of the shadows when he became the youngest chuunin at the tender age of six and received jounin rank few years later. His fame grew as he obtained the much-desired Sharingan eye and earned the name Copy Ninja. Even after his retirement from the anbu, he continued to prove his capabilities as a powerful shinobi when his three students grew more legendary than him. One student, Uzumaki Naruto, became the "Dead Last" Hokage and the other, Haruno Sakura, an esteemed hunter-nin. Even Uchiha Sasuke also had an infamy among the people of Konoha as a top S-criminal in the bingo book.
Are these times contagious?
As the Fifth Hokage had long retired from office to wander across countries in search of gambling salons ("Let the little brat handle everything; I'm tired of Konoha"), this thirty-eight-year-old handsome (and still single) ninja had taken up the prestigious position of the Village's Pillar while his former student was away. But for all that Hatake Kakashi was and what rumors made him out to be, Kakashi felt that accepting the demanding burden of handling the Hokage's affairs was just a desk job that gave him adequate reason to use the time to read Icha Icha Violence. His poor secretaries were left to handle the administrative duties of the village.
In short, he drove everybody nuts. The frustrated, hair-pulling Konoha ninjas found comfort in mumbling to themselves that their much beloved Hokage had no idea of what would happen when he appointed this infuriating man as his substitute.
Quite to the contrary, Naruto had known exactly what was going to happen by a previous conversation with Sakura, when she had questioned his sanity on letting their former teacher take over.
"The old pervert's probably going to read his nasty comic book all day," he had said. "But it'll be fun to see them suffer just like we did when we were his students."
I've never been this bored before
When an urgent message arrived back from the Sixth Hokage himself, Kakashi had to make critical decisions that affected the very safety of Konoha. Just as the Elder Council had predicted, Naruto's team had become the sacrifices that had kept the Akatsuki at bay. It was fortunate that the council overrode the Hokage's veto power and forced him to assemble the bodyguard team as decoys against the criminal organization. However, no one had predicted that Sasuke was the one and only one that was sent to track down Naruto. No one had foreseen that Sakura would succeed in stopping the s-class criminal and still live. Ah, the world was full of surprises. The only thing predictable that happened after was Naruto ignoring his mission obligations to see to her medical treatment. As a result of these events, Sasuke was delayed, but Naruto was stuck in the dangerous grounds of Sound Country while the pink-haired kunoichi was comatose. Thus Kakashi needed to take advantage of this time to push Naruto into fulfilling his mission before Sasuke recovered to attack Naruto again.
While his subjects (or minions, as he preferred to call them) shifted their weight anxiously about in front of his mahogany desk, Kakashi carefully contemplated the different ways in which they might act. Sending reinforcements along with the medic Naruto requested would be an ideal solution; however, it would be harder to conceal the objectives the Hokage was sent out to do. The mission the Hokage was fulfilling was of the utmost importance that only a few knew about; even Naruto's guards had no clue about it when they were assigned to their duties. On the other hand, sending no reinforcements would leave the medic unprotected and they also would not be able to retrieve Sakura back to Konoha. Kakashi's visible eye, the one sign of his emotions, narrowed gravely as his mind began to wander over Sasuke's foolish actions.
In the beginning, he thought he taught his students well about the concept of camaraderie. This was shown in their successful completion of their first B mission in Wave Country that brought the team closer together. However, the Chuunin Exam ultimately proved that his team could not stay together, and it became the turning point in which the three genin chose different paths in life. When Orochimaru appeared seeking Sasuke, Kakashi instructed Sasuke more in ninjutsu and taijutsu as a defensive measure against the snake sage and his curse seal. But his narrow focus on Sasuke's training strained the relationship between him and Naruto, who later left him to become the apprentice of Jiraiya. And yet despite Kakashi's teachings, Sasuke was swayed to the ominous ways of Orochimaru. It came as a final blow to Kakashi when Sakura, who had been neglected by him during all this time, turned to Tsunade for help. In reality he did not deserve the praise of being an influential teacher. Although he had been successful in many things, he had failed as a mentor. A sullen feeling rose in his chest.
Is this the prize I've waited for?
A discreet cough from an anonymous shinobi prodded his attention back to the matter at hand, and his dull black eye flickered to them in cool consideration.
"No," he replied finally, "it will do no good to bring the Hokage back and cancel the trip. It's too important."
"Then what shall we do?" a young ninja burst out, but at Kakashi's stern glance, subsided quickly in silence.
"You do nothing but bring Shikamaru here for a briefing. Now go!"
"Yes, sir!" their voices rang out as the ninjas bowed promptly and disappeared to do his bidding.
Kakashi's pensive stare wandered over the office walls until it rested on the portrait of the Sixth Hokage. The painter had done well in capturing the animated expression that was very much Naruto, but what stood out the most in expressing the subject's likeness was the dauntless power behind his expressive eyes, a maturity that had not been there when he had first come under Kakashi's tutelage. The grey-haired teacher tilted his head to the side, blinking slowly in his usual methodical way. He spoke aloud, albeit quietly, to the painting.
"What will you do, Naruto?"
He heard an exaggerated gasp from the far side of the room.
"Is he talking to himself!? Has he become insane under the stress?"
A pause. "Were you talking about me or yourself, Gai?"
Kakashi's self-proclaimed rival stepped out of the shadows, glowering after yet another defeat in a battle of wits. Gai joined Kakashi in looking at the portraits, rubbing his chin contemplatively with eyebrows raised.
"I've never seen you worried about Naruto before."
"Never before has the future of Konoha weighed so much on his decisions," the other replied and turned away, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Gai nodded gravely. "Indeed. It doesn't help that he's impulsive. And unpredictable."
"You give him no credit. Even if he still surprises everyone with bouts of stupidity, he is the Sixth Hokage. Naruto has run the village very well so far. He is not the kid we saw fourteen years ago."
"You make it sound as if we're old geezers," Gai replied, wrinkling his nose at the thought of his youthful self sinking into old age. But Kakashi's face was deadpan, as it always had been.
"Gai…we are old."
As he sat by her bedside, Naruto held in the sneeze that threatened to explode. Sakura would not have liked his snot all over her, even in her unconscious state. He imagined that she would wake up from her peaceful sleep and then bonk him on the head for stupidly sneezing all over her. There were other many things he had imagined she would do when she would wake up. But he knew what had put her into the abyss of oblivion as he had seen it before in the void eyes of Sasuke himself. She would not wake up by herself. In fact, he feared in the back of his mind that whatever happened, she never would.
Now with the hour's passing
However, he had to continue his journey in spite of what had happened. Four days had passed already. He bowed his head, feeling the weight of the short time given to him, hearing with every beat of his heart the tick-tocks of a clock as the minute hand moved closer and closer to the end of his life. He planned to leave as soon as she woke up; no matter how strong she was, she could not follow him in her recovering state. It would be best that she did not know what was happening to him. The pain would be less.
As he looked out of the window, he hoped his message had been received and that the medics would arrive soon to treat the wounded, since Suzu, their assigned medic had died in the slaughter. Conventional treatment offered by this little village was not enough to heal Sakura—only the exceptional medic ninjas of Konoha would be able to do that.
There's nothing left here to insure
He tenderly brushed back her hair. Her skin felt slightly cold, and her face was devoid of all emotion, a marbleize statue holding no soul. Uchiha Sasuke was the cause of this. Questions began to bombard his one-track mind, forcing open the dam that had held his worries and anger back until now.
What had happened when he had not been there? Why had Sasuke wanted to kill them? Where was Sasuke's customary arrogance, that confidence that used to piss him off? Where was the Uchiha he had once known?
"Gone," Naruto muttered to himself. He clenched his jaw, eyes blazing beneath his narrowed lids. "That bastard's dead. That—that man was just a ghost of who he used to be."
Where had their dreams gone? Where did their paths lead? Was this friendship all for nothing? Were they meant to be like this? Was there a way everything—everyone—could come back together again?
I long to find a messenger
"Ugh," the blond ninja rubbed his temple and stood up, "I give up. Too many things to think about, and I hate it."
As he turned to go, he glanced at his friend one last time. The sunlight that danced in spots across her face gave her an expression both icy and peaceful in her slumber. Even as he tried to stop the vicious torrent of questions from his mind, one managed to escape, a regretful question that seemed to jut out more often these days.
Weren't we supposed to protect Sakura together, Sasuke?
Have I got a long way to run?
He opened the door only to find himself staring at a very familiar face. He broke into a grin.
Apprenticed under old-hag Tsunade, the woman staring back at him was one of the most distinguished women of the day, and the director of the renowned Konoha medical institute. No woman with a hectic schedule like hers would ordinarily step out of her office, but today, she had given up her precious time to come for his sake. That sacrifice alone called for a hug. But he forgot he was not a child hugging an adult at the waist anymore, but a full-grown man bear-hugging a petite woman.
"Guh—Naruto—air—need—"
"Oh! Sorry, Shizune!" he said sheepishly, releasing her so she could breathe. "Forgot that you were so small."
She shook her head, wheezing a little to get air back into her lungs. "Isn't it just your body that grew?"
"Aw, now don't say that!"
"I'm only kidding." Flashing a smile at his direction, she walked past him and reached over to the bedside. "How is she?"
"A sleeping beauty for four days now."
"I see." Her hand gently touched the large forehead and began to glow with healing chakra. It irked Naruto somewhat to wait four days for a healing that took only ten minutes, but psychological treatment was rarely offered anywhere outside of his village. It was still considered a breakthrough in the medical jutsu world. He watched as the warming energy gently imbued Sakura's face with life, turning cheeks rosy with health. When the healing ended, Shizune bent over closely to check her patient's eyes, and then nodded at him.
"How long 'til she wakes up?" he asked.
Have I got a long way to run?
"Considering she was psychologically attacked for three days, give her three days to recover her senses."
"Good. Enough time for me to ditch her."
"Not until you tell me what is going on." She shot him a warning glare before adding, "That young man standing outside also wants to know too."
"Huh?! What young man? Shizune, have you been picking up little boys again!? You know you're too ol—"
WHACK!
It was unusual to see a seething Shizune open the door and stomp out, much less after bashing her Hokage on the head, but that was just what the milling crowd of curious people saw. While rubbing the rapidly-forming bruise on his head, Naruto was glad that of all things she had learned from Tsunade, Shizune had not inherited her master's superhuman strength. At least he had escaped from her grasping questions.
Yeah...I run
"Only you would go so far to anger your medic and insult me at the same time, Naruto."
The blond glanced up at the anbu standing at the doorway. Cloaked in all black, with only the decorative mask as his face, this hunter-nin of Konoha was a menace in the blackest of nights, a lone phantom with a reputation that haunted even the most traitorous of missing-nin in their sleep. But Naruto knew that with or without the standard hunter-nin uniform, this man was still terrifying efficient in the difficult arena of ninja-assassination. The hunter-nin had donned a cloak merely to ward off the cold during his nightly missions; this was a remnant of his former penchant for thick woolen sweaters. The mask, a mark of superiority among shinobi, was custom made without eyeholes because he simply had no need for them—they were a weakness if and when an enemy ninja aimed their senbon at the holes anyway. He was the best in his field because he was cut out to be the best in anything he did and he knew it. That was why he was the only Konoha ninja who had the haughty guts not to bow in front of the Hokage. Naruto knew much more about this enigmatic man than it seemed.
After all, Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Neji were equals in all but name.
The Hokage grinned mischievously. "It was a dig too good to miss."
"Apparently. However, I am not here to banter with you, so let us talk in another place." Neji pivoted and before walking out, added over his shoulder, "Do not run from me."
Naruto face-faulted and made a gesture of surrender, his hands up in defeat. The Hyuga did not need a blood limit to read his mind.
"Fine, fine! I'm coming!"
Shaking his head, the Hokage followed the anbu into the hallway and closed the door shut behind them.
Sasuke blinked but the blur refused to go away. The late morning's sun light burned the back of his eyes, but he could barely move from his prone position on the floor. While the medicine had done much to soothe the pain, his muscles still ached horribly when he moved and his heart still pounded in his ears, as if taunting him. He still lived.
Is this a cure among us?
In his glazed eyes, he saw the cracking of that anbu mask once again and the forest eyes, once filled with adoration, that now regarded him with hatred. He had not expected to see her again. In fact, he had hoped he did not have to. He had been very close to the death he desired, but it had evaded his very grasp because of one woman—one familiar face that confronted him with what he had thrown away all those years ago. Now he was at a loss. Would he be able to die by Naruto's hand when he had not yet compensated for what he had done to Sakura?
Would Naruto still keep his lifelong promise in spite of her?
He had forgotten Naruto was a man of word. But then again, he had failed to remember what trust itself was, as betrayal lay everywhere now in this forsaken little world. Remembrance was a word of time, and time…time faded away into the nothingness he could not count on. The one thing he counted was the moments to the end of all things, to all life and death and desire and misery. And once again, just at his fingertips, it escaped him. Because of her—always because of her.
From this processed sanity
"All—all I…want…" he croaked to himself.
Want.
Desire.
Yearn.
Love.
Need.
Wasn't it power? Wasn't it revenge? What else you ask for?
He shut his eyes, growling. He was insane; the voices inside his head would not leave him alone, especially his own.
Quiet.
Bare.
Alone.
Standing in black of nights.
No one hears you, no one sees you.
Wasn't it your reason? Your justification? For his death?
I weaken with each voice that sings
"Shut up, shut up, shut up…" he snarled, refusing to listen, denying what he knew.
Acknowledgement.
Their acceptance.
Your acceptance.
Aware of their love, aware of your love.
Aware of the person inside you—the real you. Can you see it?
"STOP IT!" he roared, bloodshot eyes flaring open as he shot up from the floor. He flinched as the throbbing in his head increased from the sudden movement, but at least the meddlesome voices were silent; all there was to be heard was his heavy breathing and the natural sounds of the forest. Quiet moments dwindled by as he sat there, shivering under the onslaught of unbidden emotions.
"…Fuck."
For the first time in years he cursed and…strangely enough, he enjoyed saying the colorful word.
"Oh…Fuck, fuck, fuck…" he repeated over and over, his voice trembling ever so with desperation. Dark eyes watered uncontrollably as he shook.
Your eyes are crying. At last, your true eyes, Uchiha Sasuke, the eyes of onyx.
A breeze riled up the dust from the floor, sending the leaves of autumn to scatter across and around him. Under Sakura's accusing gaze, under Naruto's pained words, under his own traitorous thoughts, his shell broke. There was no turning back. There was not much time left. He had to push forward, even if it meant living again.
Once the door closed on the waiting room the medical staff generously lent them, the Hokage unceremoniously threw himself on the couch and stretched before crossing his arms behind his head. He glanced expectantly at Neji, who seated himself comfortably on the window sill.
"So what do you wanna tell me?"
"The Hyuga Main House was attacked four days ago by Yakushi Kabuto."
Naruto abruptly sat up, cerulean eyes flashing angrily. "What!?Is Hinata all right?"
"She was admitted into the hospital for a stab wound, but she will soon recover."
He flopped back down with a relieved sigh, but his concern for the Hyuga heiress was still evident in his clenched jaw. A possible reason behind the Akatsuki's attack might have been his close relationship to her; he was a long-time target of their sadistic purposes. For the criminal organization to go so far as to wreck havoc upon the Hyugas, it seemed the issue had not died away with time or his ascension to the title. His expression unconsciously darkened to a fierce glower, a savagery rarely seen nowadays in his more controlled temperament he showed his people. The Akatsuki would pay the consequences of hurting those dear to the kyubi's incarnation.
"Why did Kabuto, second-in-command of the Akatsuki, attack your house?" The question that was meant to be asked impersonally ended up sounding vehement.
Thankfully, Neji ignored it. "To kill Orochimaru."
Naruto's fury was temporarily forgotten as he stared dumbly at Neji for a long moment. "That doesn't make any sense."
"It shall be explained."
The Hyuga hunter-nin also ignored the look of annoyance that flashed across Naruto's face, for loquacity was a trait he did without.
He watched expressionlessly as the waterfall of crimson splashed on the wooden floor. Behind him, his thirty-sixty vision perceived the weary gaze of his cousin as she clung to a wooden pillar for support so that she could stand up and watch the demise of the enemy. An ominous, low chuckle twisted the thick air, which stank with the bitter red wine of decanted life.
"To think I could have killed the Hyuga clan so easily…" Kabuto choked, his eyes filled with wretched amusement, "is preposterous."
"Indeed," Neji agreed. Then he brusquely pulled his katana out of his enemy's stomach, earning a muffled grunt of pain from the wounded ninja. Kabuto staggered back a few steps; then, as the last of his strength leaked out, his knees buckled and thudded to the floor. Meanwhile, Hinata managed to stumble over to be next to her cousin, who did nothing to help her keep standing.
"If you knew you were going to die, then why?" she breathlessly asked the Akatsuki member.
Now in this world of purchase
"I knew nothing of my fate. Dead or alive…makes no difference now." A smirk stretched his shaking, blue-tinged lips. "Killing you…was a diversion. Too bad I won't be able to see the end."
Neji's slit eyes scrutinized him. "End of what?"
"The end of the serpentine rule." He lifted his gaze to the ceiling, his voice strangely bleak, "A tragic circle, isn't it? He who killed the one dear to me, I who will kill the one he desire, and you who kill the one he needs and I hate."
"Pathetic," Neji replied tonelessly. "You were born a traitor, became a traitor, and now die as a traitor."
The dying ninja smiled. "Not so…"
I'm going to buy back memories
Her eyes downcast, Hinata watched his black-beaded eyes dull into lifeless gray as his last words slipped out of his bloodied lips.
"I never…betrayed…Kira-san."
Outside the window, the leaves rustled in the morning's cold draft.
Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. "That name sounds kinda familiar…"
"According to the records, Yakushi Kira was the medic ninja who found him when Kabuto was an infant and became his guardian," replied Neji. "He was one of many found dead in Orochimaru's experiment chambers."
"To avenge the only person who accepted him, even by becoming a traitor...I would've done the same." Naruto bowed his blond head in solemn reverence. At the window, the hunter-nin crossed his arms, his own dark head stooped in grim thought.
To awaken some old qualities
"Nonetheless, Kabuto has set a plan in motion that is dangerous to Konoha," the Hyuga murmured.
"Y'know, Neji," Naruto scratched his cheek absently, "it's not possible for a dead person to be dangerous…"
"'Y'know,' Naruto, it's not possible for an idiot to be Hokage," Neji retorted.
The blond grinned. "That's why I've got you as my oh-so-underrated, lowly peon."
"I kindly suggest that you shut your mouth before you make any assumptions, Lord Hokage," the hunter-nin shot back, "and listen carefully. Kabuto has implemented something that may affect your decision in traveling to Lightning Country. Just because he is dead does not mean his plan failed."
"Look at his riddle. 'The end of the serpentine rule. He who killed the one dear to me, I who will kill the one he desire, and you who kill the one he needs and I hate.'" Neji gestured at Naruto with an open hand. "See if that makes any sense to you."
"'The end of the serpentine rule,'" the Hokage repeated slowly, thoughtfully. "So all along, Orochimaru's most trusted servant wanted to kill him? Well, the snake-freak killed Kira, so I guess that's what he meant by 'He who killed the one dear to me.' Then there is: 'I who will kill the one he desire.' So Kabuto thought that he'll kill…wait—Sasuke!? But how the--"
"Kabuto thought he had led Sasuke to his death, which would have weakened Orochimaru," Neji interrupted. "The attack on the Hyuga clan must have been a diversion."
Have I got a long way to run?
"He ain't the type to go and disobey his master's orders," Naruto pointed out. "Orochimaru probably sent him to kill you since you've been killing Akatsuki members left and right."
"Not quite... Two weeks ago, I killed Uesagi Tatsumo, Sasuke's partner in Earth Country. Most probably, Orochimaru thought Sasuke was going to kill me in revenge."
The blond ninja frowned. "Wait…how does the attack on the Hyuga have anything to do with killing Sasuke? And if Sasuke wanted to kill you, why did he go after me? And why would—ugh, I don't get it!" He scrunched up his face in puzzlement. "You've got this habit of confusing the heck outta people. I still don't know why you're here either!! Akatsuki—Kabuto—Orochimaru—Sasuke—you! I don't see the point!"
Neji rubbed his temples exasperatedly. "If you stop making a racket, then maybe I'll get it through your dense head!!"
"Maybe if you get your head out of your ass you can explain it to me!"
"Perhaps if you weren't so stupid in the first place, I wouldn't have had to!"
"I'm sick and tired of your 'stupid' remarks. If you shove those up your butt, maybe you'll get rich with the diamonds you'll make out of it. I didn't become Hokage just because I was an idiot!"
The booming voices shook the walls of the little room, and the surrounding people who were within good earshot of the senseless argument sweat dropped. The hospital director, who was standing at the end of the hall, stopped in the middle of his conversation with Shizune to shoot a frown in the direction of the shouting match, but the Konoha medic held him back and shook her head.
"If you value your life and dignity," she said, "I suggest you should leave them alone. Don't worry about them."
The director was hardly convinced, but he let the matter go and resumed talking. Shizune did not bother to tell him how fortunate the hospital was that the fight had not escalated to a full-blown ninja battle—yet. She had seen the aftermath of their numerous fights, where many buildings that had hopelessly fell into ruin and the now homeless people were less than sane. She figured that ignorance was bliss after all.
Sadly, that was not the case for Uzumaki Naruto. Hyuga Neji always made sure that his village was run by a disillusioned, omniscient Hokage.
"Urgh, you earsplitting, over-bearing moron of a female twit!"
Even if he had to lose his usually cool temper (and good diction) to do it.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?"
"Nothing! Shut up and let me explain!"
"FINE!" Naruto scowled as he looked away, mumbling a curse that Neji did not choose to hear.
The room finally fell quiet as Neji figured out a way to explain the situation in layman terms. When he was ready to speak moments later, he straightened from his leaning position and began to pace calmly across the room.
"First of all, there has been word among our infiltration forces about Orochimaru's current body decaying. Seeing that he took no action up until this time, he was most probably waiting to possess Sasuke when he comes back to headquarters from Earth Country for the annual report. But when I killed Uesagi, Sasuke was forced to go back to Sound Country five months earlier than usual. According to our spies, Sasuke received a letter from Akatsuki ordering him to kill you."
He vaguely heard Naruto shift slightly, but his colorless eyes were busy staring at his moving feet, glazed over in deep thought.
Have I got a long way to run?
Neji continued on. "Most probably that was Kabuto who sent the assignment. He probably had hoped Sasuke would track you down in Konoha, hundreds of miles away from the Sound Country and from Orochimaru's hands. He then lied to his superior that Sasuke had gone without orders to revenge his partner by killing me. Furious that Sasuke had gone off without permission, Orochimaru sent Kabuto to kill me as his punishment and bring Sasuke back quickly. As a result—"
"Kabuto's dead and it's hard for Orochimaru to get Sasuke back because he's wandering around trying to kill me." Naruto was beginning to understand. "Kabuto thought that we'll kill Sasuke out of self-defense, which will make Orochimaru weak enough for someone to take him down."
"But Kabuto miscalculated. He had thought you would be in Konoha, but you are about to trespass Sound Country. Do you understand the situation now, Naruto? Orochimaru is after Sasuke, and he is going to find out sooner or later that Sasuke is after you. Once Orochimaru possesses Sasuke's body, he will come after you."
Yeah…I run
Naruto cracked a small sad smile. "Hah, no wonder Kakashi sent you. You're not a genius for nothing, Neji."
The hunter-nin snorted, "Someone has to be when the Hokage is not."
"Shaddup," the other groaned as he ruffled his blond head. Neji's smartass comments did not help make the situation any better.
"Not yet. I am here to know what is behind this purpose of yours, leaving Konoha in Kakashi's hands. Since your departure—"
"Everything's gone wrong," Naruto finished sourly. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I wish I could tell you everything, but I can't."
Neji halted suddenly in his pacing. He glanced back at Naruto, his silvery eyes intense and his voice low. "After fourteen years, Orochimaru is finally going to possess Sasuke's body. Sasuke wants to kill you. Leaving the village you are to protect, you run into the enemy's territory. Some of my clan and the anbu were killed by Kabuto, and we almost lost our clan leader. Sakura, your friend and my colleague, also suffered much injury. You have no choice but to explain."
Naruto averted his gaze and shifted uncomfortably on the couch. The Sixth Hokage was a keeper of many secrets. As loud and raucous as he was, he never boasted of the power he contained nor did he rarely mention that he was the container of the kyubi. As crude and guileless as he could be, Naruto never complained of the life he had been given. This was why he always had trouble voicing his concerns and troubles to other people because he believed that it was better to keep it to himself, that it would make him stronger if he never let anyone know how he really felt. To tell Neji of all people about his problems was difficult for Naruto.
Have I got a long way to run?
Their long silence permeated the room until the creamy blue color of the walls seemed to have turned stark from it, the atmosphere becoming bleak and barren as Naruto struggled to voice his intentions and fears. Neji gazed out the window as he waited for him to speak. The trees whispered outside the screened window, and its leaves, their written messages, were falling and floating to the floor.
"I never really had a choice," he said finally, his tone unusually dismal. "The Elder Council told me to go to Lightning Country to look for something because…because my seal's weakening, Neji, and I," he swallowed the sudden lump that formed in his throat, "if I don't destroy it, then Konoha'll—"
He buried his face into the sofa, hoping that Neji did not catch his momentary weakness.
Have I got a long way to run?
"Ha, I worked my ass off, becoming Hokage and all, and now the damn fox inside me is messing it all up," he joked halfheartedly. "In the end it doesn't even matter. Maybe I'm not really Hokage—maybe it's just an illusion. 'Cause this sure looks like this can't be real, but it is. Man, what's real isn't and what's not real is. Bah, the whole thing is all confusing and stupid."
Neji did not blink, the white purity of his eyes veiling the anger that was beginning to storm inside.
"Indeed, nothing was ever a dream," he replied, "But no one can deny the truth of feelings."
"Hah, if I could trust what I feel! I'm scared of nothing at all, but the stupid thing is—" Naruto looked down, his voice dropping to a whisper, "I'm scared of what's inside."
Neji's hand clenched. "You fear to reveal the curse you were destined to hold? Fear to lose all you worked for?"
Naruto blinked, as if realizing what his friend meant, and slowly nodded. "…Yeah, that's right. Fear of fate."
Yeah...I run.
The movement was too fast to see; Neji's hand shot out and seizing the collar of his friend's shirt, pulled him up by the collar until they were vis-à-vis. The teeming fury in his eyes seemed to seep out to suffuse the rest of his face as the Hyuga veins rose to the surface of his skin, his gaze pulsating with his gifted blood. The horrifying visage was the last image engraved in the terrified, wide-eyed stare of those he had killed. But Naruto refused to back down. As one of the few who lived through his anger, Naruto challenged Neji recklessly with an equally ferocious, almost bestial gaze.
"I do not care about the demon in you," the Hyuga genius snarled, "I do not care to hear of your cowardly fears and your responsibility. I do not—" he jerked Naruto's collar tighter about his neck, "—fucking care if Konoha falls to ruin because of you. But if you are going to die with my one defeat on your hands, and if you are going to die caring about your damn destiny, then I am no better than the worthless dust you will become. That I care about. So if you want to kill yourself, you are going to have to kill me and my pride first. And I am not planning to die because of an idiot like you anytime soon."
Neji shoved him back on the couch and turned away, the livid creases around his eyes smoothing down into his usual cold façade. As he strode to the door, Naruto's voice rang out from behind.
"Then I'll take your word for it, bastard; I'll kill you if you're gonna try and stop me. I'm not gonna let the demon destroy the Konoha. I'm not gonna let my people die."
Neji's expression remained unchanged as he slipped the mask back on. "Then fight it. Stop running away."
The door slammed and Naruto slunk back into the cushion, his angry sky blue eyes swiftly turning cloudy as one unbidden thought surfaced, unwelcome, into his mind.
Yeah...I run.
Thank you: to Fierysable for her thorough betareading, to SxStrngSamurai13 for his wonderful support and beta help, to Prime Minister for giving me enough constructive criticism in his review that I delayed this chapter to improve it, and to my sister for working with my awkward sentence structure.
To ALL reviewers: Danke, arigatou, gracias, grazie, she she, merci, obrigado, THANK YOU. I more than appreciate your feedback because it tells me that the revisions were much better than the original. I know this is pushing it, but please continue to give me your comments on this story for improvement and encouragement. And the usual: if you like it, please review! =)