Summary: Sasuke was gone for 3 years. What will his reappearance ignite in Naruto? SasuNaru.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Warning: Shonen-ai/yaoi
Let the leaf fly 3
If one looked out their window right now, at exactly 11:23 pm, they could see nothing in the darkness except for a slightly movement of an all-too-bright orange figure.
But the owner of that horridly bright color wasn't looking, or feeling, what his shirt color suggested.
Sagging shoulders, heavy steps, Uzumaki Naruto could hardly contain his grief from the world.
Just as he reached the largest house in the whole village, he stopped. His head slowly turned to the right to gaze at one of the top windows. Then he fell to his knees, too tired to move.
Ah, if all you sweet viewers out there forgot, he'd been training since dawn. A/N: Don't ask me where he's been since he saw the Hokage. Heh! Back to the story.
"Why…?" the dejected Leaf-nin whispered to no one in particular. "Why, Sasuke…?"
Sasuke raised his attention from the book in his lap to his window. He thought he heard someone calling him.
He slowly placed his book on the high-back chair before walking over to the window. But just a foot away from it, he stopped. His jaw clenched. Then he curtly turned and went back to his chair.
His eyes spelled ache, but his face looked like it was made of ice. "Not now, Naruto. Not now."
The breaking of dawn found a very hyper pink-haired girl bustling around her neat and cozy kitchen.
Haruno Sakura, who was now humming her favorite song, had deliberately woke up early to make Sasuke breakfast.
Ten minutes later and she was finally done. She set her masterpiece in a bag and smiled proudly at it. She glanced at her clock and gasped. She swiftly grabbed the breakfast-box off the table as she rushed to the door.
"Oohh! Late, late, late, late, late!" She slammed the door harshly behind her and winced at the impact.
She quickly ran all the way to the huge mansion at the top off the hill. When she reached, she paused in front of the two ANBUs guarding the house and bent over to catch her breath.
"Are you okay, Miss Haruno?"
Sakura waved her hand. "I'm fine. Just need a little time. But why are the two of you here? You'll only arise suspicion in the villagers."
The ANBU bowed his head. "We'll be out in the open only until the streets are with the first of the people."
Sakura nodded before holding up the bag containing the breakfast-box. "I want to give Sasuke something to eat. May I?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Haruno, but the Hokage specifically ordered that no one—"
"Except his team members visit him," Sakura interrupted. "Now, come on! Let me in! Sasuke may be starving in there!"
The ANBU looked at his companion. The other ANBU gave the go.
The first ANBU bowed his head and held open the door for Sakura.
"Thank you," Sakura said, bouncing in through the door.
She quietly set the bag on the huge dining table of the Uchiha mansion as she took in her surroundings.
She'd always only dreamt about this place. Never once did she have a chance to set foot in this oh, so exquisite masterpiece of a building. And strangely, the only person she's ever known to actually see this place and live to tell it, besides Sasuke, was… Naruto.
Sakura narrowed her eyes at that name. She still blamed him for chasing away Sasuke. So she had no solid proof, but NEVER doubt a woman's intuition.
Anyway, on with finding Sasuke.
Sakura walked up the stairs, taking in her surroundings as she went. She stopped at the balcony that connected the two long flights of stairs and stared at the chandler suspended in mid-air above the hall.
"Wow…"
Sakura was, to say the least, fascinated. Never did she imagine Sasuke's house was so huge. And it didn't even look like it could contain all these from the outside.
"Sakura?"
The pink-haired shinobi turned to her left to find Sasuke standing in front of a door in a navy-blue robe.
"Hi, Sasuke-kun!"
"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked coldly as he walked down the stairs to the landing where Sakura was.
Sakura's shoulders sagged slightly. So she was used to the treatment given by her beloved teammate, but she still held the hope of him warming up to her.
She shook her head as Sasuke just then stopped a few feet away from her. "I brought you breakfast! And I cooked it myself!"
Sakura was hoping Sasuke would smile at her thoughtfulness, even if it lasted for only a second, but when she came back down to earth, Sasuke was already halfway down the stairs.
Sakura sighed. Then straightened as she hopped after Sasuke. "Wait for me, Sasuke-kun!"
Smooth, dusty hands blended into a blur to perform a seal. The owner of those hands shouted the jutsu as he slammed his hands down onto the ground, and immediately the ground started shaking. The whole forest vibrated for a full minute before it stopped and everything grew silent.
Naruto fell to the ground as he rested backwards on his arms. He looked up to the sky as he squeezed his eyes shut. "AUUUUGH! I'm never going to get it!"
He sighed as his arms gave way and he dropped to the ground. "Never going to get it."
Yup, he was never going to get the love back anymore. The love from Sasuke.
Naruto snorted. Like anyone would love a demon like him.
"No one will ever love me!" he shouted his frustrations out to the world. Then he just stayed that way, his eyes reflecting the color of the sky.
"Not exactly true."
Our blonde-haired hero shot up, and turned towards the source of the voice. A red-haired, browless boy Naruto's age emerged from the shadows.
Cerulean eyes narrowed. "Gaara. What are you doing here?"
Gaara stared indifferently at Naruto as he sat down next to him.
"C-ranked mission. Had to send a bloody dog back to one of your stupid villagers. And they dare to even call it a mission, and a C-ranked one at that," was the sand-nin's reply.
Naruto raised his eyebrows. That was definitely the most he had heard Gaara speak. During the time – which was considered rather long for Gaara – that the sand-nin had spoken, Naruto had sat up and cross-legged facing Gaara.
Naruto then chuckled. "Isn't it always like that? And…" he stared at Gaara straight in the eye. "What did you mean when it isn't exactly true that no one will ever love me?"
Gaara stared at the blonde shinobi before looking away. "Nothing. Everyone gets loved."
The Uzumaki snorted. "Yeah, right. Everyone but me."
Gaara turned to glare at Naruto this time. "Don't say that," the redhead said menacingly.
Naruto held up his hands protectively. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry to have ruffled your feathers!" he apologized. Then smirked. "Or should I say sand?"
A bubble of laughter erupted from Naruto, which quickly turned into howling.
Gaara smiled slightly at how his other demon host could always laugh at his own joke and infect everyone else with his laughter.
Naruto's laughter slowly came to a chuckle. Then it ended altogether. He wiped at his tears forming at the corner of his eyes.
Gaara's tiny smile faded as he noticed the tears that were running down Naruto's cheeks weren't stopping.
"I'm sorry. I just…" Naruto started but couldn't carry on as his sobs assaulted his throat.
Gaara furrowed his eyebrows, then moved to bring the blonde boy into his arms.
By now, Naruto was full-out sobbing. The sand-nin rubbed his hands up and down the leaf-nin's back, all the while whispering soothing nothings in Naruto's ear.
And if Gaara didn't have sharp ears, he probably wouldn't have caught the near-to-breathless whispers from the blue-eyed boy.
"Why? Why does he treat me like this? I thought he liked me. I thought…Why, Sasuke? Why…?"
Gaara stiffened as he finally realized the cause of Uzumaki Naruto's grief. Uchiha Sasuke.
Gaara's eyes hardened. 'Watch out, Uchiha.'
After about half an hour, Naruto's sobs had finally died down, but Gaara continued holding the other boy.
A sigh left the orange-clad body in his arms and Gaara pulled away to examine the blonde's face. "Better?"
"Mm?" Naruto looked up. "Oh, yeah. Thanks."
Naruto stood up and smiled, extending his hand to Gaara. The redhead took it and allowed the younger boy to pull him up.
Naruto's smile grew to a grin. "Thanks, Gaara."
"Hn." Was all Gaara said. Then…
"Wanna go have some ramen?"
Big blue eyes met his, widened in shock. "Really?" Gaara nodded.
Then Naruto paused. "Is it your treat?" he asked suspiciously. Green eyes were rolled towards heaven.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Yesh! Then let's go! Woo-hoo! Gaara's treating me to ramen, Gaara's treating me to ramen!"
Gaara shook his head as he watched the hyperactive blonde spped ahead of him. He couldn't believe that was actually the boy who was being all sad and depressed just minutes ago.
The red-headed boy narrowed his eyes again as the name 'Uchiha' flashed through his mind.
"Back off, Uchiha. He's mine," Gaara whispered before walking away to where Naruto was now frantically waving him over.
A black figure dropped from to trees. Onyx eyes glared at the back of the sand-nin.
"Not for long," he whispered back.
Then Sasuke disappeared in a puff of smoke.