NARUTO © Kishimoto Masashi • Shueisha • Studio Pierrot • TV Tokyo. All rights reserved. Non-profit fun ahead!
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Against the Tide
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Epilogue
"Sasuke," Kakashi was saying, one day - nearly a year after the affair of the Mizu-Youma had passed. The boy paused in sorting out some of his reports to look at his superior. "You need a Youma-Ningen for your next mission," Kakashi continued.
If Sasuke had been somewhat closer, he would have spotted the utterly mischievous glint in Kakashi's visible eye.
The boy was not so close, however, so instead he found himself frowning heavily at the notion. "Why?" He demanded. And it was a reasonable question. He had handled S-rank missions by himself a couple of times already. He didn't see why there would be a need to engage another Youma-Ningen.
Not especially when he remembered - with great pain and regret, what had happened to the last one.
Kakashi shrugged. "I'm not above the legislation, Sasuke. If the rules say you need one, then you need one. Even Hokage-sama can't bend it just to suit your whim, you know."
Sasuke slammed his pen down on the table and glared at his teacher. "You know what I mean, Kakashi."
"Of course I do," the Jounin sighed. "But for once in your life just stop being an ass about things and /listen/ to me. The /rules/ say you need a Younin for your next mission. I can't do anything about it, you can't do anything about it either. I'm also /very sure/ you don't want to give the enemies of the department another cause for complaint, do you?" He paused, noticing that Sasuke was slinking back into his seat with obvious displeasure on his face. "In that case, you will /not/ flout the rules just because of some personal vendetta you have against it." His tone turned from mocking to serious. "How about this. You don't have to go to the Laboratory. I'll make the arrangements for you. You'll just have to do your job."
The Uchiha rubbed his temples and sighed. Since when had Kakashi bothered to be so considerate? It was true, however, that he would rather pick up another two S-rank missions than to step into the Youma Laboratory again. He tried not to make it too obvious, but his brief acquaintance with Naruto had affected him more than he cared to admit. "Okay," he murmured to Kakashi. He then stood up, grabbed the file he had been working on, and turned away. "I'll be at home if you need me."
"Sure thing..." Kakashi let his voice trail after the departing figure of Sasuke. As the boy stormed his way out of the department hall from one end, Iruka stepped in from the other. He knocked briefly on the office door, then slipped inside without waiting to be okayed. "Kakashi-san," he spoke, voice sombre.
Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at the Chuunin.
After a long silence, Iruka broke into a wide, bright grin.
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Sasuke did not immediately head home. He found himself, for some inexplicable reason, atop the monument that evening, sitting on the rough ground beside the drink vending machines with legs outstretched, looking at the sun set. He had a can of cold drink in his hand, one that he had yet to even open, less say drink from. The sun continued to adorn the village with its soft, orange glow, slowly disappearing behind the massive woods north. At this thought, Sasuke's hand gripped the can drink tighter.
He quickly opened the can and gulped the contents of the drink down. Finishing which, he leaned forward and sighed loudly, partly because of the drink, and partly because of his own frustration.
For the past one year, he had never had a good night's rest.
Watching his hands carefully, he could still picture them as they were that night. Bloodied, stained, repulsive, and wet with offensive rain and tears.
How could a single Younin with whom he had but a few days of friendship have so much influence on his life? Burying his face into his palms, Sasuke found out that he didn't know. He had thought relationships were all over for him when his brother died. But deep inside, he knew he yearned to have a friend to call his own. Long years of living by himself had conditioned him to know how to survive without anyone, but still, he had to admit.
It was much nicer to have someone by your side, talking to you, listening, quarreling, watching out.
Drinking the last dredges of what was left in the can, Sasuke stood abruptly and tossed the empty can into the nearby bin. He dusted himself robotically, flipping through the file he had in his hands to make sure everything was in order, before slowly making his way down from the monument, many thoughts weighing heavily on his mind.
"Another partner..." Sasuke found himself frowning hard. "I hope it's someone with a death wish this time..." A loud sigh escaped his lips. He could not believe he had just uttered that, but as he walked on, he realised sadly that he had nothing else to say about the matter.
The journey home seemed so much longer that night.
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The first thing Sasuke did upon stepping into his house and switching the lights on, was to blink.
And blink.
And blink again.
There were, not one, not two, three, four, or even five extra pairs of shoes sitting in the shoe rack.
There were seven pairs of shoes that were not his, sitting on his shoe rack.
As soon as Sasuke got over the shock, he realised that it wasn't really seven pairs of unknown shoes. He could recognise the pair that belonged to Kakashi upon closer examination, but the others, he knew nothing of. He swore under his breath and broke into a run, still clutching onto the file and for countless times since he turned twelve, cursed at how big the Uchiha manor was. He came to a skidding halt when, just before turning the corner that led to the kitchen, Shikamaru emerged quietly. Both boys' eyes widened, and Sasuke just narrowly avoided collapsing into the other boy.
Unfortunately, however, this meant he crashed straight into the wall.
"Woah," Shikamaru mumbled, turning his head to look at Sasuke, currently flattened against the wall. "Watch your step, man. You almost got me there."
Sasuke peeled himself off the wall and rubbed his nose. "Oh shut up." He grumbled. Then, realisation sunk in, and he whipped around furiously. "Wait! What are you doing here?! How the hell did you get in anyway?!"
In response, Shikamaru yawned. He stuffed his hands back into his pocket and was about to open his mouth for a reply when another voice cut him short.
"Hey, Shikamaru!" It was Chouji, and his head popped out from the kitchen. "Don't just stand there, go get the tomatoes already! Oh, hi there Sasuke!" The chubby boy greeted with a wave, then dived back to the kitchen.
Sasuke's jaw was slack. He stared at Shikamaru, who stared back. Finally, the latter shrugged and slowly walked away, brushing by Sasuke without saying anything else. And as for Sasuke, he was too surprised to call Shikamaru back.
"Sasuke-kun!" It was a female voice this time - one that he had not heard for nearly a year. He turned hesitantly, and the shock of pink hair that greeted him confirmed his suspicions. "Sasuke-kun, you're back!" She giggled. "That's great! Because-"
"Sakura," Sasuke blinked, and his eyebrow twitched. "What are /you/ doing here?"
"What are you talking about, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's eyes reflected shock and a little but of hurt. "Kakashi-sensei said you were so excited about this! He was the one who got us all over!"
"Kakashi, huh..." Sasuke smiled - but it was not a pleasant smile. He stomped down the corridor, towards where the study was. Whenever Kakashi dropped by, he always ruminated in the study room with all the musty old books. "He's the one behind this whole mess, isn't he?"
"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura followed meekly, uttering in a hushed tone. "...I thought... I thought today was a special day... since... since it's..."
Sasuke, however, was too busy poking his head into the various rooms along the corridor to have heard Sakura. "Kakashi!" He shouted at the top of his voice, slamming doors open and close. "Kakashi! Where the hell are you! Get out the hell out of wherever you're hiding! KAKASHI!!"
He crossed the corridor and stepped into the living room, where furniture had been moved aside in favour of a large table in the middle. The room was abnormally bright that day, perhaps because of the extra lighting that had been installed on the ceiling. Finding his eyebrow twitching again, Sasuke lapsed into even louder shouting. "KAKASHI!! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU I'M GONNA-"
"Yes, Sasuke-/kun/?" Kakashi suddenly popped out from under the tablecloth with a wide, masked smile. "What will you do to me if you find me?"
Instantly, Sasuke was by Kakashi's side. He grabbed the taller person by his shoulders and hoisted him out violently. "KAKASHI!!" He grounded out through gritted teeth. "WHAT. THE. HELL. DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO MY HOUSE?!" He shook the man, who continued smiling lewdly and not responding. "If you wanted to throw a party you should do it at YOUR house! My place isn't some emergency ballroom for your stupid whimiscal last-minute Shinobi binges, and never WILL be! And what have you done to my house!! You better explain yourself before I throw you into the oven to serve you to your guests-"
"Sa... Sasuke-kun..." Hinata had somehow sneaked up to the boy during his tirade, saying while fiddling with her fingers, "... I... I think it's not nice to shake your benefactor like... like that..." She gulped and abruptly stopped when Sasuke turned to look at her with spinning Sharingan. "I... I'm sorry! Sorry! I... I didn't mean..."
"Hinata, don't be afraid of him!" It was yet another voice he hadn't heard for at least a year. He could recognise that chiding, school-teacher tone anywhere, though. "He wouldn't dare to hit you, Hinata, so go ahead and give him a piece of your mind!" Iruka smiled, walking into view with a large bag of groceries. He smiled at the shocked Sasuke, then turned towards the kitchen.
"Iruka-sensei!" Sasuke called out after his ex-Academy teacher, deciding that he was the most reliable person in the entire house to be asking questions about. Iruka did not turn around, and soon disappeared around the corner, so Sasuke had to return to growling angrily at Kakashi. "Just what is going on?!" He shook the Jounin, wondering why he was overpowering the more skilled man so easily. He ignored Hinata's broken pleas and shook Kakashi even harder. "You've been behaving like a lunatic lately, giggling and muttering to yourself! What's going on?! Say something, Kakashi!!"
"I think he would, if you stopped shaking him that hard."
"Shut up, dead-last! Who asked you!"
"...ARGH!! How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that, bastard! Don't you ever LISTEN to people?!"
"Shut up! Shut up! I'll call you whatever I want and..."
The silence that followed was abrupt.
Sasuke slowly turned around.
To find himself staring into familiar blue depths.
And at a wide, foxy grin.
"Yo, Sasuke!" Naruto flashed the boy a thumbs-up. "Long time no see!"
Even from the kitchen, Iruka could hear Kakashi slipping from Sasuke's grasp to hit the ground with a sound thud.
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The entire group was now seated around the table, surrounded by absolute silence. Kakashi sat at the head of the table - given the honour purely based on the fact that he was the oldest in the group, with Sasuke seething silently beside him. Naruto sat opposite Sasuke, and kept throwing him confused glances. Finally, he tugged at Iruka's sleeve, whispered something to his guardian, and after Iruka's eyes widened silghtly, the silence was broken.
"Kakashi-san," there was slight bewilderment in Iruka's voice, "please don't tell me... that you've never told Sasuke about Naruto at all, this past whole year."
"Hmm?" Kakashi looked up from doodling mindlessly on the table. "Hmm..." he put a finger to his chin. "You're right! I think I completely forgot to!"
The pair of chopsticks in Sasuke's hand was snapped into two, prompting everybody to shift instinctively backwards from him.
Iruka blinked once and sighed. "So that's why Sasuke never came once to visit Naruto in the Laboratory."
"Aah" Shikamaru stretched, leaning backwards in his seat. "I knew that must've been it."
"Shikamaru, you knew?" Chouji asked his friend, while wolfing down the chips he had in his hands.
"Not hard to guess after a while," Shikamaru waved a hand lazily. "There's no way Sasuke wouldn't come visit Naruto unless he was dead or otherwise uninformed. Since I see him walking around in the station every other day, he can't possibly be dead, so it had to mean that he wasn't told."
"Why didn't you tell him then?" Chouji continued to probe, mouth stuffed with chips. "I thought he didn't want to visit because he was feeling guilty or something..."
"Dunno, it seemed so troublesome..." Shikamaru shrugged, "but really, if it was really about guilt, then Sasuke'd probably be eating, sleeping and living right beside Naruto while he recovers... coz that's just the way he'd deal with guilt," he eyed Sasuke lazily. "Right?"
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura's admonishing voice was heard next. "You know, Naruto would've woken up much earlier if Sasuke had come visit once in a while." All around her, heads nodded away. "That was very mean of you."
"Aww," Kakashi tried to defend himself. "But where's the /fun/ in that?" He ignored the various death glares hurled in his direction. "Besides, after the first few weeks, Naruto was already steadily improving so much so that he didn't need machines to breath anymore. I just thought it'd be better to let him wake up... naturally."
"You still shouldn't have-"
All conversation was cut short by Sasuke slamming a fork into the table so hard, the fork remained wedged into the wooden top even after he released his hold on it. "Now," he said in a murderous voice, after he was sure he had everyone's attention. "Is anybody going to tell me /what/ in the /world/ is going on? While you can still do so /voluntarily/?"
"Calm down, Sasuke," Iruka firmly commanded. "It was nothing spectacular. Last year, after that particular attack, we brought Naruto back to the Youma Lab, where some of Kakashi-san's medic friends were waiting. Somehow he had gotten them to do him the favour, and so they set about to reviving him immediately. His heart was very weak, although it was still beating. The medics said the heart had actually stopped beating before, but the demon within him must have woken it up much later.
"Anyway, they managed to establish his heartbeat, but he was still very weak. We needed - at one shot - a huge amount of Chakra to reconnect Naruto's brain to the rest of the body. None of us present then had that kind of Chakra, until," he paused to sneak a glance at Kakashi, who waved a spoon about lazily in acknowledgement, "until Kakashi-san showed up. Thanks to his Chakra, we managed to keep Naruto alive enough, until the demon fox inside him finally was able to start healing him."
"He didn't wake up immediately after that though." Kakashi added, while eyeing Sasuke. "Something strange was holding him back."
Sasuke jumped. He knew exactly what Kakashi was trying to insinuate. "The curse..."
"Ye... Yes..." Hinata stuttered into the conversation. "I... I was called upon to check on Naruto-kun some months back... I... I was surprised to see that he was not awake yet... since, since... he was very healthy and showed no signs of mental distress... just... just a very strange purple Chakra... hovering about him..."
"That's why I didn't want to tell Sasuke," Kakashi intercepted, pointing his spoon across the table. "If Sasuke was there, being the bearer of the curse, he could have triggered off some nasty side effects I have no intention of finding out at all. Just him knowing about it alone may cause some emotional imbalance with the curse," Kakashi shrugged. "It would have affected Naruto, and in turn it would affect the Kyuubi, who was doing most of the fighting against the curse. See?" He beamed at everybody. "It was all for a good cause."
There was awe in everybody's expression. Awe at Kakashi's foresight, and his unrivaled competance.
"It was not because I wanted to give Sasuke the shock of his life. No sire. Not at all."
The looks of awe tapered off into boredom and annoyance. Small talk began to ensue all around the table, breathing life to the previous bleak and sombre living room. Sasuke leaned backwards, with his head tilted to look at the ceiling. His mind was numb after the shocking revelation, that he had forgotten what else he had wanted to ask.
Just as the news was finally beginning to settle in his mind, he felt a small nudge against his feet, from under the table. He immediately lowered his glance to survey the table, eventually letting it settle on Naruto, who was seated directly opposite him. The blond's glance was somewhere else, however, so Sasuke dismissed the thought that it could be him. Just as he was about to turn away to scrutinise the rest of the noisy crowd, the blond spared him a sudden, sidelong glance.
He grinned, and Sasuke felt his foot being trodden on distinctly this time. Keeping his face straight, he kicked right back, and smirked to himself when he noted a brief look of pain registering on Naruto's face. The boy puffed his cheeks and glared at Sasuke. He was about to retaliate, when they both their feet being blocked by someone else.
"Now now children," Kakashi whispered to them with a hushed, secretive tone. "It's not nice to play under the table when we're all trying to eat here."
The boys withdrew their feet, embarrassed that they had been found out.
Soon, however, Sasuke rebounded back into attention, remembering something. "Hey," he eyed the crowd suspiciously, "you still haven't told me what you guys are here for."
The rest of the people threw confused glances first at him, then suspicious looks at Kakashi.
"Oops," the Jounin said, twirling his fork around his fingers, "I think I forgot to tell him about that too."
There were groans from all around the table. Shikamaru surprised everybody by speaking up first. "Chouji and I were transferred to the Taiyoubu a couple of days ago," he shrugged lazily. "It was really troublesome going through all the red tape, so I hope you two don't give me even more trouble than you already are!" He raised an eyebrow at Naruto and Sasuke. Chouji grinned and nodded in agreement.
Sasuke gaped. "You... trans.. wha... what?" He blinked.
"We don't how permanent it'll be," Chouji shrugged. "Asuma-sensei got sent on a long mission to the Cloud, so we're on our own for a while. Since there are more Genins opting to come into Patrol department, they asked us to get out for a while. I remembered that the Taiyoubu is always lacking staff so I dragged Shikamaru along and here we are!" He grinned.
"..." Sasuke's mouth was open, but there was no sound.
"I couldn't recover all of my memories even after the attack," Sakura continued from where Chouji left off, twisting the hem of her skirt around shyly. "So I decided to quit my team and stay on in the hospital as an apprentice medic-nin. Hinata and I applied, then a couple of days ago we were notified that we've been transferred to the Taiyoubu." She beamed. "I've always wanted to work with you, Sasuke-kun. Pleased to be of good assistance!"
"But..." Sasuke gulped. "What... What about the cur--"
"The curse," Kakashi interrupted, "has been lifted - from since quite a few months ago."
"It has?" The Uchiha could only ask, dumbly.
Kakashi raised a complicated eyebrow at the boy. "You mean you didn't notice? How long have you /not/ showered, Sasuke?"
The boy bristled. "HEY!"
"But it's true," the silver-haired Jounin leaned forward slightly. "You haven't felt any pain on your lower neck for quite a while now, have you?"
Sasuke blinked. That was true, although he had not thought much of it. He had been too engrossed with busying himself in work to have noticed. Any curse-related pain had tapered off to nothingness in the past few months indeed, now that he thought about it.
He was still staring in wonderment when Naruto, from across the table, grinned. "I told you!" He proudly told Sasuke. "No stupid curse is too powerful for Uzumaki Naruto, next Hokage and Ninja extraordinaire! I so totally win!"
"So you see," Kakashi grinned. "This is a celebration for the department. We've officially gotten bigger, better, and more bad-ass than before!" He rose his cup into the air. "Kanpai, everybody!"
"KANPAI!!!" The echoes of youthful voices resounded through the huge mansion. The crowd broke into wild partying and loud noise.
Sasuke found Naruto grinning at him, trying to say something to him. The noise was so loud that he could only see Naruto's mouth opening and closing. Annoyed, he picked up a bun and threw it at Naruto, smirking with satisfaction when it landed directly in Naruto's mouth, promptly shutting him out. Naruto made a face, his eyes crossing as he tried to look at the bun. Sasuke could feel his lips twitch upwards, an inexplicable gush of joy, relief, and peace flooding over his entire being suddenly. He looked at Naruto, who looked at him.
And they both burst out laughing at the exact same instance, adding to the chaos that was already in the room.
Uzumaki Naruto.
It was now more than just a name printed solemnly across a pale, white sheet of paper.
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19/10/2004
Part 16 of 16
(email XD!) XD (at) tougenkyou (dot) net
a/n:
i started this fic as a oneshot back in july. but it slowly grew into a monster with ten arms and six legs. this was especially so after i played around with chien's romance fanfic generator. it told me i needed to write a fic that was ANGSTY but HUMOUROUS (is that possible?!), and it had to be LONG, with CHAPTERS and CHAPTERS, with a PG rating and 88percent SAPPINESS.
...
as you probably already know, XD /does not/ take a challenge lying down.
if you're still reading, you must at least like the fic a bit, right? right?? thanks for reading anyway. :) hope i brightened up your day!
HikaruOfArrow
i see you reviewing often with impact-ful oneliners. XD thanks!
Gisela
i'm glad you liked the difference. :3 hopefully i managed to entertain to the end.
:)
that's such a cute nick... although i shouldn't say anything since i'm a cross-eyed smiley myself. XD i thank you for your regular reviewing despite my apparent lack of response. your witty comments really made me laugh more than once, and i will cherish them forever. thanks again! :D
riddle
it's not au strictly speaking, but i'm glad you're reading anyway! :D
Rakam
hope you got my mail. :3 did i answer all your questions yet? if not, feel free to pummel me! i love intelligent readers!!
Halig
hope you got my mail too! XD i promise my next naruto fic will be unfinished, so i won't spam all the poor people on auth alert. XD i wait eagerly for your intelligent criticism too. :3
Teal Thanatos
no problem! thanks for taking time to read it. :D
Katie
hi katie! :D i keep seeing you all over the place. i love your reviews. they put me on a fangirl high. yes! friendship fics 4evah!!
Silverlyght
ooops! glad you dropped by to read anyway! :D
Third Degree Run
buahahha! angst humour is the worst kind of combination for a fic. XD i thank you for your consistent burbles too! they give me a giggle all the time! feel the angst and feel the humour! this shall be my new fic motto :D
thei-kun
hope you gave it a shot to the end!
Shin
thanks for informing me :3 youma is the term they used in the naruto manga, actually. not sure about anime!
miako
YESH SHIKAMARU! as for length, what can i say! i am long winded! XD
Anime Addict Anonymous
sorry! i hope your boss didn't scold you! :X really thank you for holding my fic in such high regard!
Hiiragi
thanks for being an avid reader. :3
NuttyScribbler
i've been cheering for your exams since you reviewed. :D how did it go?
ePuiChi
mmm i understand the summary may put some people off, but thanks for taking the plunge anyway! :D reviews are really great, but as long as people read and enjoy it, i think as a writer, i've done my job! :3 i kept a lot of things a mystery in hopes of keeping people hooked. guess it does backfire sometimes, huh? XD
Ayako
you're too kind :3 thanks for the encouragement.
RatboyG
hello there! your reviews warm me up greatly and i really love you because you took great care to read everything very carefully! the amount of attention you spent on the fic, reading and then reviewing - it puts me to shame. i really really hope you enjoyed the fic, seeing it is the only way i can repay readers who spend time reading it. i'm glad you stuck around. :3
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Against the Tide
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Epilogue
"Sasuke," Kakashi was saying, one day - nearly a year after the affair of the Mizu-Youma had passed. The boy paused in sorting out some of his reports to look at his superior. "You need a Youma-Ningen for your next mission," Kakashi continued.
If Sasuke had been somewhat closer, he would have spotted the utterly mischievous glint in Kakashi's visible eye.
The boy was not so close, however, so instead he found himself frowning heavily at the notion. "Why?" He demanded. And it was a reasonable question. He had handled S-rank missions by himself a couple of times already. He didn't see why there would be a need to engage another Youma-Ningen.
Not especially when he remembered - with great pain and regret, what had happened to the last one.
Kakashi shrugged. "I'm not above the legislation, Sasuke. If the rules say you need one, then you need one. Even Hokage-sama can't bend it just to suit your whim, you know."
Sasuke slammed his pen down on the table and glared at his teacher. "You know what I mean, Kakashi."
"Of course I do," the Jounin sighed. "But for once in your life just stop being an ass about things and /listen/ to me. The /rules/ say you need a Younin for your next mission. I can't do anything about it, you can't do anything about it either. I'm also /very sure/ you don't want to give the enemies of the department another cause for complaint, do you?" He paused, noticing that Sasuke was slinking back into his seat with obvious displeasure on his face. "In that case, you will /not/ flout the rules just because of some personal vendetta you have against it." His tone turned from mocking to serious. "How about this. You don't have to go to the Laboratory. I'll make the arrangements for you. You'll just have to do your job."
The Uchiha rubbed his temples and sighed. Since when had Kakashi bothered to be so considerate? It was true, however, that he would rather pick up another two S-rank missions than to step into the Youma Laboratory again. He tried not to make it too obvious, but his brief acquaintance with Naruto had affected him more than he cared to admit. "Okay," he murmured to Kakashi. He then stood up, grabbed the file he had been working on, and turned away. "I'll be at home if you need me."
"Sure thing..." Kakashi let his voice trail after the departing figure of Sasuke. As the boy stormed his way out of the department hall from one end, Iruka stepped in from the other. He knocked briefly on the office door, then slipped inside without waiting to be okayed. "Kakashi-san," he spoke, voice sombre.
Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at the Chuunin.
After a long silence, Iruka broke into a wide, bright grin.
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Sasuke did not immediately head home. He found himself, for some inexplicable reason, atop the monument that evening, sitting on the rough ground beside the drink vending machines with legs outstretched, looking at the sun set. He had a can of cold drink in his hand, one that he had yet to even open, less say drink from. The sun continued to adorn the village with its soft, orange glow, slowly disappearing behind the massive woods north. At this thought, Sasuke's hand gripped the can drink tighter.
He quickly opened the can and gulped the contents of the drink down. Finishing which, he leaned forward and sighed loudly, partly because of the drink, and partly because of his own frustration.
For the past one year, he had never had a good night's rest.
Watching his hands carefully, he could still picture them as they were that night. Bloodied, stained, repulsive, and wet with offensive rain and tears.
How could a single Younin with whom he had but a few days of friendship have so much influence on his life? Burying his face into his palms, Sasuke found out that he didn't know. He had thought relationships were all over for him when his brother died. But deep inside, he knew he yearned to have a friend to call his own. Long years of living by himself had conditioned him to know how to survive without anyone, but still, he had to admit.
It was much nicer to have someone by your side, talking to you, listening, quarreling, watching out.
Drinking the last dredges of what was left in the can, Sasuke stood abruptly and tossed the empty can into the nearby bin. He dusted himself robotically, flipping through the file he had in his hands to make sure everything was in order, before slowly making his way down from the monument, many thoughts weighing heavily on his mind.
"Another partner..." Sasuke found himself frowning hard. "I hope it's someone with a death wish this time..." A loud sigh escaped his lips. He could not believe he had just uttered that, but as he walked on, he realised sadly that he had nothing else to say about the matter.
The journey home seemed so much longer that night.
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The first thing Sasuke did upon stepping into his house and switching the lights on, was to blink.
And blink.
And blink again.
There were, not one, not two, three, four, or even five extra pairs of shoes sitting in the shoe rack.
There were seven pairs of shoes that were not his, sitting on his shoe rack.
As soon as Sasuke got over the shock, he realised that it wasn't really seven pairs of unknown shoes. He could recognise the pair that belonged to Kakashi upon closer examination, but the others, he knew nothing of. He swore under his breath and broke into a run, still clutching onto the file and for countless times since he turned twelve, cursed at how big the Uchiha manor was. He came to a skidding halt when, just before turning the corner that led to the kitchen, Shikamaru emerged quietly. Both boys' eyes widened, and Sasuke just narrowly avoided collapsing into the other boy.
Unfortunately, however, this meant he crashed straight into the wall.
"Woah," Shikamaru mumbled, turning his head to look at Sasuke, currently flattened against the wall. "Watch your step, man. You almost got me there."
Sasuke peeled himself off the wall and rubbed his nose. "Oh shut up." He grumbled. Then, realisation sunk in, and he whipped around furiously. "Wait! What are you doing here?! How the hell did you get in anyway?!"
In response, Shikamaru yawned. He stuffed his hands back into his pocket and was about to open his mouth for a reply when another voice cut him short.
"Hey, Shikamaru!" It was Chouji, and his head popped out from the kitchen. "Don't just stand there, go get the tomatoes already! Oh, hi there Sasuke!" The chubby boy greeted with a wave, then dived back to the kitchen.
Sasuke's jaw was slack. He stared at Shikamaru, who stared back. Finally, the latter shrugged and slowly walked away, brushing by Sasuke without saying anything else. And as for Sasuke, he was too surprised to call Shikamaru back.
"Sasuke-kun!" It was a female voice this time - one that he had not heard for nearly a year. He turned hesitantly, and the shock of pink hair that greeted him confirmed his suspicions. "Sasuke-kun, you're back!" She giggled. "That's great! Because-"
"Sakura," Sasuke blinked, and his eyebrow twitched. "What are /you/ doing here?"
"What are you talking about, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's eyes reflected shock and a little but of hurt. "Kakashi-sensei said you were so excited about this! He was the one who got us all over!"
"Kakashi, huh..." Sasuke smiled - but it was not a pleasant smile. He stomped down the corridor, towards where the study was. Whenever Kakashi dropped by, he always ruminated in the study room with all the musty old books. "He's the one behind this whole mess, isn't he?"
"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura followed meekly, uttering in a hushed tone. "...I thought... I thought today was a special day... since... since it's..."
Sasuke, however, was too busy poking his head into the various rooms along the corridor to have heard Sakura. "Kakashi!" He shouted at the top of his voice, slamming doors open and close. "Kakashi! Where the hell are you! Get out the hell out of wherever you're hiding! KAKASHI!!"
He crossed the corridor and stepped into the living room, where furniture had been moved aside in favour of a large table in the middle. The room was abnormally bright that day, perhaps because of the extra lighting that had been installed on the ceiling. Finding his eyebrow twitching again, Sasuke lapsed into even louder shouting. "KAKASHI!! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU I'M GONNA-"
"Yes, Sasuke-/kun/?" Kakashi suddenly popped out from under the tablecloth with a wide, masked smile. "What will you do to me if you find me?"
Instantly, Sasuke was by Kakashi's side. He grabbed the taller person by his shoulders and hoisted him out violently. "KAKASHI!!" He grounded out through gritted teeth. "WHAT. THE. HELL. DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO MY HOUSE?!" He shook the man, who continued smiling lewdly and not responding. "If you wanted to throw a party you should do it at YOUR house! My place isn't some emergency ballroom for your stupid whimiscal last-minute Shinobi binges, and never WILL be! And what have you done to my house!! You better explain yourself before I throw you into the oven to serve you to your guests-"
"Sa... Sasuke-kun..." Hinata had somehow sneaked up to the boy during his tirade, saying while fiddling with her fingers, "... I... I think it's not nice to shake your benefactor like... like that..." She gulped and abruptly stopped when Sasuke turned to look at her with spinning Sharingan. "I... I'm sorry! Sorry! I... I didn't mean..."
"Hinata, don't be afraid of him!" It was yet another voice he hadn't heard for at least a year. He could recognise that chiding, school-teacher tone anywhere, though. "He wouldn't dare to hit you, Hinata, so go ahead and give him a piece of your mind!" Iruka smiled, walking into view with a large bag of groceries. He smiled at the shocked Sasuke, then turned towards the kitchen.
"Iruka-sensei!" Sasuke called out after his ex-Academy teacher, deciding that he was the most reliable person in the entire house to be asking questions about. Iruka did not turn around, and soon disappeared around the corner, so Sasuke had to return to growling angrily at Kakashi. "Just what is going on?!" He shook the Jounin, wondering why he was overpowering the more skilled man so easily. He ignored Hinata's broken pleas and shook Kakashi even harder. "You've been behaving like a lunatic lately, giggling and muttering to yourself! What's going on?! Say something, Kakashi!!"
"I think he would, if you stopped shaking him that hard."
"Shut up, dead-last! Who asked you!"
"...ARGH!! How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that, bastard! Don't you ever LISTEN to people?!"
"Shut up! Shut up! I'll call you whatever I want and..."
The silence that followed was abrupt.
Sasuke slowly turned around.
To find himself staring into familiar blue depths.
And at a wide, foxy grin.
"Yo, Sasuke!" Naruto flashed the boy a thumbs-up. "Long time no see!"
Even from the kitchen, Iruka could hear Kakashi slipping from Sasuke's grasp to hit the ground with a sound thud.
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The entire group was now seated around the table, surrounded by absolute silence. Kakashi sat at the head of the table - given the honour purely based on the fact that he was the oldest in the group, with Sasuke seething silently beside him. Naruto sat opposite Sasuke, and kept throwing him confused glances. Finally, he tugged at Iruka's sleeve, whispered something to his guardian, and after Iruka's eyes widened silghtly, the silence was broken.
"Kakashi-san," there was slight bewilderment in Iruka's voice, "please don't tell me... that you've never told Sasuke about Naruto at all, this past whole year."
"Hmm?" Kakashi looked up from doodling mindlessly on the table. "Hmm..." he put a finger to his chin. "You're right! I think I completely forgot to!"
The pair of chopsticks in Sasuke's hand was snapped into two, prompting everybody to shift instinctively backwards from him.
Iruka blinked once and sighed. "So that's why Sasuke never came once to visit Naruto in the Laboratory."
"Aah" Shikamaru stretched, leaning backwards in his seat. "I knew that must've been it."
"Shikamaru, you knew?" Chouji asked his friend, while wolfing down the chips he had in his hands.
"Not hard to guess after a while," Shikamaru waved a hand lazily. "There's no way Sasuke wouldn't come visit Naruto unless he was dead or otherwise uninformed. Since I see him walking around in the station every other day, he can't possibly be dead, so it had to mean that he wasn't told."
"Why didn't you tell him then?" Chouji continued to probe, mouth stuffed with chips. "I thought he didn't want to visit because he was feeling guilty or something..."
"Dunno, it seemed so troublesome..." Shikamaru shrugged, "but really, if it was really about guilt, then Sasuke'd probably be eating, sleeping and living right beside Naruto while he recovers... coz that's just the way he'd deal with guilt," he eyed Sasuke lazily. "Right?"
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura's admonishing voice was heard next. "You know, Naruto would've woken up much earlier if Sasuke had come visit once in a while." All around her, heads nodded away. "That was very mean of you."
"Aww," Kakashi tried to defend himself. "But where's the /fun/ in that?" He ignored the various death glares hurled in his direction. "Besides, after the first few weeks, Naruto was already steadily improving so much so that he didn't need machines to breath anymore. I just thought it'd be better to let him wake up... naturally."
"You still shouldn't have-"
All conversation was cut short by Sasuke slamming a fork into the table so hard, the fork remained wedged into the wooden top even after he released his hold on it. "Now," he said in a murderous voice, after he was sure he had everyone's attention. "Is anybody going to tell me /what/ in the /world/ is going on? While you can still do so /voluntarily/?"
"Calm down, Sasuke," Iruka firmly commanded. "It was nothing spectacular. Last year, after that particular attack, we brought Naruto back to the Youma Lab, where some of Kakashi-san's medic friends were waiting. Somehow he had gotten them to do him the favour, and so they set about to reviving him immediately. His heart was very weak, although it was still beating. The medics said the heart had actually stopped beating before, but the demon within him must have woken it up much later.
"Anyway, they managed to establish his heartbeat, but he was still very weak. We needed - at one shot - a huge amount of Chakra to reconnect Naruto's brain to the rest of the body. None of us present then had that kind of Chakra, until," he paused to sneak a glance at Kakashi, who waved a spoon about lazily in acknowledgement, "until Kakashi-san showed up. Thanks to his Chakra, we managed to keep Naruto alive enough, until the demon fox inside him finally was able to start healing him."
"He didn't wake up immediately after that though." Kakashi added, while eyeing Sasuke. "Something strange was holding him back."
Sasuke jumped. He knew exactly what Kakashi was trying to insinuate. "The curse..."
"Ye... Yes..." Hinata stuttered into the conversation. "I... I was called upon to check on Naruto-kun some months back... I... I was surprised to see that he was not awake yet... since, since... he was very healthy and showed no signs of mental distress... just... just a very strange purple Chakra... hovering about him..."
"That's why I didn't want to tell Sasuke," Kakashi intercepted, pointing his spoon across the table. "If Sasuke was there, being the bearer of the curse, he could have triggered off some nasty side effects I have no intention of finding out at all. Just him knowing about it alone may cause some emotional imbalance with the curse," Kakashi shrugged. "It would have affected Naruto, and in turn it would affect the Kyuubi, who was doing most of the fighting against the curse. See?" He beamed at everybody. "It was all for a good cause."
There was awe in everybody's expression. Awe at Kakashi's foresight, and his unrivaled competance.
"It was not because I wanted to give Sasuke the shock of his life. No sire. Not at all."
The looks of awe tapered off into boredom and annoyance. Small talk began to ensue all around the table, breathing life to the previous bleak and sombre living room. Sasuke leaned backwards, with his head tilted to look at the ceiling. His mind was numb after the shocking revelation, that he had forgotten what else he had wanted to ask.
Just as the news was finally beginning to settle in his mind, he felt a small nudge against his feet, from under the table. He immediately lowered his glance to survey the table, eventually letting it settle on Naruto, who was seated directly opposite him. The blond's glance was somewhere else, however, so Sasuke dismissed the thought that it could be him. Just as he was about to turn away to scrutinise the rest of the noisy crowd, the blond spared him a sudden, sidelong glance.
He grinned, and Sasuke felt his foot being trodden on distinctly this time. Keeping his face straight, he kicked right back, and smirked to himself when he noted a brief look of pain registering on Naruto's face. The boy puffed his cheeks and glared at Sasuke. He was about to retaliate, when they both their feet being blocked by someone else.
"Now now children," Kakashi whispered to them with a hushed, secretive tone. "It's not nice to play under the table when we're all trying to eat here."
The boys withdrew their feet, embarrassed that they had been found out.
Soon, however, Sasuke rebounded back into attention, remembering something. "Hey," he eyed the crowd suspiciously, "you still haven't told me what you guys are here for."
The rest of the people threw confused glances first at him, then suspicious looks at Kakashi.
"Oops," the Jounin said, twirling his fork around his fingers, "I think I forgot to tell him about that too."
There were groans from all around the table. Shikamaru surprised everybody by speaking up first. "Chouji and I were transferred to the Taiyoubu a couple of days ago," he shrugged lazily. "It was really troublesome going through all the red tape, so I hope you two don't give me even more trouble than you already are!" He raised an eyebrow at Naruto and Sasuke. Chouji grinned and nodded in agreement.
Sasuke gaped. "You... trans.. wha... what?" He blinked.
"We don't how permanent it'll be," Chouji shrugged. "Asuma-sensei got sent on a long mission to the Cloud, so we're on our own for a while. Since there are more Genins opting to come into Patrol department, they asked us to get out for a while. I remembered that the Taiyoubu is always lacking staff so I dragged Shikamaru along and here we are!" He grinned.
"..." Sasuke's mouth was open, but there was no sound.
"I couldn't recover all of my memories even after the attack," Sakura continued from where Chouji left off, twisting the hem of her skirt around shyly. "So I decided to quit my team and stay on in the hospital as an apprentice medic-nin. Hinata and I applied, then a couple of days ago we were notified that we've been transferred to the Taiyoubu." She beamed. "I've always wanted to work with you, Sasuke-kun. Pleased to be of good assistance!"
"But..." Sasuke gulped. "What... What about the cur--"
"The curse," Kakashi interrupted, "has been lifted - from since quite a few months ago."
"It has?" The Uchiha could only ask, dumbly.
Kakashi raised a complicated eyebrow at the boy. "You mean you didn't notice? How long have you /not/ showered, Sasuke?"
The boy bristled. "HEY!"
"But it's true," the silver-haired Jounin leaned forward slightly. "You haven't felt any pain on your lower neck for quite a while now, have you?"
Sasuke blinked. That was true, although he had not thought much of it. He had been too engrossed with busying himself in work to have noticed. Any curse-related pain had tapered off to nothingness in the past few months indeed, now that he thought about it.
He was still staring in wonderment when Naruto, from across the table, grinned. "I told you!" He proudly told Sasuke. "No stupid curse is too powerful for Uzumaki Naruto, next Hokage and Ninja extraordinaire! I so totally win!"
"So you see," Kakashi grinned. "This is a celebration for the department. We've officially gotten bigger, better, and more bad-ass than before!" He rose his cup into the air. "Kanpai, everybody!"
"KANPAI!!!" The echoes of youthful voices resounded through the huge mansion. The crowd broke into wild partying and loud noise.
Sasuke found Naruto grinning at him, trying to say something to him. The noise was so loud that he could only see Naruto's mouth opening and closing. Annoyed, he picked up a bun and threw it at Naruto, smirking with satisfaction when it landed directly in Naruto's mouth, promptly shutting him out. Naruto made a face, his eyes crossing as he tried to look at the bun. Sasuke could feel his lips twitch upwards, an inexplicable gush of joy, relief, and peace flooding over his entire being suddenly. He looked at Naruto, who looked at him.
And they both burst out laughing at the exact same instance, adding to the chaos that was already in the room.
Uzumaki Naruto.
It was now more than just a name printed solemnly across a pale, white sheet of paper.
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19/10/2004
Part 16 of 16
(email XD!) XD (at) tougenkyou (dot) net
a/n:
i started this fic as a oneshot back in july. but it slowly grew into a monster with ten arms and six legs. this was especially so after i played around with chien's romance fanfic generator. it told me i needed to write a fic that was ANGSTY but HUMOUROUS (is that possible?!), and it had to be LONG, with CHAPTERS and CHAPTERS, with a PG rating and 88percent SAPPINESS.
...
as you probably already know, XD /does not/ take a challenge lying down.
if you're still reading, you must at least like the fic a bit, right? right?? thanks for reading anyway. :) hope i brightened up your day!
HikaruOfArrow
i see you reviewing often with impact-ful oneliners. XD thanks!
Gisela
i'm glad you liked the difference. :3 hopefully i managed to entertain to the end.
:)
that's such a cute nick... although i shouldn't say anything since i'm a cross-eyed smiley myself. XD i thank you for your regular reviewing despite my apparent lack of response. your witty comments really made me laugh more than once, and i will cherish them forever. thanks again! :D
riddle
it's not au strictly speaking, but i'm glad you're reading anyway! :D
Rakam
hope you got my mail. :3 did i answer all your questions yet? if not, feel free to pummel me! i love intelligent readers!!
Halig
hope you got my mail too! XD i promise my next naruto fic will be unfinished, so i won't spam all the poor people on auth alert. XD i wait eagerly for your intelligent criticism too. :3
Teal Thanatos
no problem! thanks for taking time to read it. :D
Katie
hi katie! :D i keep seeing you all over the place. i love your reviews. they put me on a fangirl high. yes! friendship fics 4evah!!
Silverlyght
ooops! glad you dropped by to read anyway! :D
Third Degree Run
buahahha! angst humour is the worst kind of combination for a fic. XD i thank you for your consistent burbles too! they give me a giggle all the time! feel the angst and feel the humour! this shall be my new fic motto :D
thei-kun
hope you gave it a shot to the end!
Shin
thanks for informing me :3 youma is the term they used in the naruto manga, actually. not sure about anime!
miako
YESH SHIKAMARU! as for length, what can i say! i am long winded! XD
Anime Addict Anonymous
sorry! i hope your boss didn't scold you! :X really thank you for holding my fic in such high regard!
Hiiragi
thanks for being an avid reader. :3
NuttyScribbler
i've been cheering for your exams since you reviewed. :D how did it go?
ePuiChi
mmm i understand the summary may put some people off, but thanks for taking the plunge anyway! :D reviews are really great, but as long as people read and enjoy it, i think as a writer, i've done my job! :3 i kept a lot of things a mystery in hopes of keeping people hooked. guess it does backfire sometimes, huh? XD
Ayako
you're too kind :3 thanks for the encouragement.
RatboyG
hello there! your reviews warm me up greatly and i really love you because you took great care to read everything very carefully! the amount of attention you spent on the fic, reading and then reviewing - it puts me to shame. i really really hope you enjoyed the fic, seeing it is the only way i can repay readers who spend time reading it. i'm glad you stuck around. :3