Fire: Good to see everyone again. The last chapter was the hardest one to write. I'm still not satisfied with it, so I might edit it again later and put up a second version that I'm happier with. It's supposed to portray a kind of marital atmosphere between the two boys...but I don't think that it's done right at the moment.
Sasuke: Phhf...marital! Like I'd like to marry the dobe!
Fire: You might...
Naruto: (blushing furiously) Nani!
Sasuke: (ignoring Naruto and glaring at Fire) Don't you have something else you want to talk about?
Fire: Oh, yes! I'm also here to address some concerns sent in by our readers.
Sasuke: (narrows eyes at Fire skeptically) What concerns? I didn't read anything about concerns.
Fire: (ignoring Sasuke) If you're reading a "Fire Project," it has nothing to do with whether it is a story involving the people of Konoha or not. It just means that it's written by Fire, not Sand. Yes, we are two people who share the same account. Address me as Fire unless you are talking to us both, then you can call us Fire and Sand.
Sasuke: I thought I was sharing this account with you.
Fire: You're my co-writer. You count as a part of Fire.
Sasuke: (mumbling under his breath) That's stupid.
Fire: Another concern might be that you think that Naruto is portrayed in a bad way...that he's acting stupid, or what he said the chapter before was stupid...or something like that. In response to that, I'm just writing him as I see him. He might be jutsu crazy and a genius at using and learning jutsu, but he's mostly just street smart. When it comes to books and book-learning, it's best to leave that to Sakura.
Naruto: (yelling) Hey! I'm smarter than that!
Fire: Do you even remember what chakra is?
Naruto: ...
Fire: And Kakashi isn't getting old. He didn't sense Sasuke's presence in Naruto's apartment because Sasuke was suppressing his chakra signature. Remember that shinobi are supposed to be experts at stealth and at hiding their presence. Sasuke wouldn't have been much of a shinobi if he couldn't even do that one basic thing. If you don't remember this, refer to book one, page 130 of the Naruto manga, or to episode four of the Naruto anime. A shinobi can only hide his chakra signature, not his killer intent. If you were mistaking the two, that's why Kakashi sensed Gaara behind that rock during his training with Sasuke in the one month interval between the prelims and tournament of the chuunin exams (manga doesn't have it, but it's in episode seventy-four). Kakashi had sensed his killer intent, not his chakra signature. (mumbling to self) I never thought I'd have to explain that.
Sasuke: Not much of a shinobi! I'm the perfect shinobi!
Kakashi: I'm getting old...?
Naruto: Who cares about chakra! I can still perform cooler jutsu than you!
Fire: (trying to ignore the weird crowd) Keep reviewing. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. Flame me if you dare! Bwahhahahaha!
Sasuke: (mumbling under his breath) Great... Now Fire's gone crazy.
Fire: Ahem! And I'm always taking requests if you have anything you want me to write. I know that this one is a little dark, but I can write anything. Just send any suggestions on what you w--
Sasuke: (cutting Fire off) On with the story!
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Disclaimer: The phrases "jutsu crazy" and "my dobe" belong to Fire. All other disclaimers still apply. I'm still trying to own Naruto one stock at a time, although ultimately, it still belongs to Kishimoto-sensei.
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Chapter 5: Wait for Me
Naruto's eyes widened as his heart dropped through the floor of his apartment. He couldn't believe it. He shouldn't have asked Kakashi about it. He shouldn't have forced his sensei to tell him what he has been doing. "Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, ignoring the wrenching pain in his chest as he ran after the dark-haired shinobi. Sasuke had run back into Naruto's room after hearing the news. Kakashi had found Itachi.
Kakashi watched as the blond chuunin ran after the raven-haired boy. The grey-haired jounin turned to the exit as understanding crept into his mind. The boys should be alone. He would much rather leave this delicate situation for the Hokage to handle. Sasuke would probably go to her later for the location of his brother...hopefully this and not directly to him for that information.
He didn't really know what Sasuke might do, but he did know one thing; this was something that he would be better off not seeing. So, he jumped out the window before Naruto could come back. He still needed to see how Sakura was doing.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted as he ran into his room, but Sasuke wasn't there, and his clothes were gone. The pyjamas that he had borrowed from Naruto to sleep in was lying neatly folded on his bed. "Sasuke!" He shouted the dark-haired boy's name again, but he knew that Sasuke was already gone. The Uchiha couldn't hear him. "Chikusho!"
Should have known, huh Kit? He does wake up before you, the Kyuubi laughed.
'Urusai, baka kitsune!' Naruto shouted at the Kyuubi. 'I don't need you to laugh at me right now!'
He has probably gone home to pack, the Kyuubi said cleverly. You should go before he heads for the gates, which was a little farfetched considering how Sasuke didn't even know where Itachi was at the moment. There was no reason for him to go to the gates yet. Well...what are you doing, still standing around here!
Naruto snapped out of his thoughts and ran out the door as soon as he threw his clothes on. The Kyuubi was right about Sasuke needing to pack, even if he was wrong about him heading for the gates. The Kyuubi was being sarcastic of course, but Naruto was a little too nerve wracked to figure that out. 'He doesn't even know where Itachi is yet,' Naruto repeated in his mind. Sasuke still had to stop by Kakashi-sensei's apartment at the very least...if not the Hokage tower.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called out for the Uchiha. "Sasuke! Damn this huge house," he muttered under his breath. "Sasuke!" He wandered through the house that he knew belonged to Sasuke. He had come in here before, without Sasuke's knowing. Did he really think that the gates around these buildings could actually keep out a shinobi? At least a few kuniochi fangirls must have been able to penetrate this perimeter more than once–even with the traps that Sasuke had set up to stop them. They weren't lethal traps. "Sasuke!" Not that he was a fangirl...
Naruto found him in a simple room, bare of everything but the most elementary, necessary furniture: a bed, a single lamp on a bedside table by the bed, a squat bookshelf lined against the entire far wall beneath a window, books that filled every available space on that bookshelf, a small television set which sat on top of the bookshelf, thin curtains that allowed the morning light to stream into the room, tatami mats that covered the floor. The closet was set into the wall so there was no need for a real one.
"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, his back turned to him as he folded a single set of clothes neatly before placing them in his pack. His voice didn't sound angry, or annoyed that Naruto was in his house. In fact, it was a little happy, although it was filled with a sad pain. However, it didn't come as a surprise. Naruto already knew what he was sad about.
"Y–" Naruto was silent for a moment as he thought about this. He wasn't sure if he wanted to say it out loud. The thought that the dark-haired chuunin might go on a mission without him–even if it was a self-appointed mission–was difficult. They always went on missions together. They were supposed to be partners. They were supposed to be a team. "I want to come." And if Sakura knew about this, she would want to go too.
Sasuke zipped his black backpack closed before flinging it onto his back and turning to look at Naruto. "No," he said simply, then added, "you're not coming," just in case the thought couldn't penetrate the dobe's thick skull, "dobe."
"Don't call me dobe, teme!" Naruto shouted in momentary familiarity before his face fell again. "I'm serious."
'And I'm not!'
Sasuke frowned at him before pushing pass him. He wasn't going to argue with the dobe. If he said that Naruto wasn't coming, then he wasn't coming. There was no discussing it.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, half-whining as he ran after Sasuke. "Sasuke, did you hear me!"
'Of course I heard you! You're so loud that everyone in the heart of Konoha can hear you!'
"Sasuke!"
"You're not coming."
"But why?"
"..."
"Sasuke!"
"..."
Sasuke had walked all the way to the Hokage tower. He had entertained the thought of going to Kakashi, but he had thought twice about it and decided that it was best if he got the information directly from Tsunade. That would make it official, and at least she could tell Naruto that he couldn't come with him.
There was no way that Sasuke could take Naruto with him.
It wasn't that it was dangerous–they had been on many dangerous missions before–but it was because Sasuke didn't want Naruto to see him like that... He didn't want the blond to see him kill someone like that... He didn't want Naruto to see the avenger that lived within his body. He didn't want Naruto to see that he was capable of killing someone...with the intention of killing someone. Actually wanting to kill someone...
Even when Sasuke was fighting Naruto in the Valley of the End, he didn't really intend on killing Naruto...just hurting him a little...okay, a lot...otherwise Naruto would be dead by now.
"Tsunade-sama," Shizune called out to the blond woman who was sleeping at her desk again. "Tsunade-sama!"
"Mmm...Shizune, just a few more moments..." Tsunade muttered even as Tonton, her pig complained to her. "Huh...Tonton?" Tsunade perked up a little.
"You have a visitor, Tsunade-sama," the brown-haired girl said as she stepped aside, deeming Tsunade awake enough to receive visitors. "The young Uchiha..."
At the name 'Uchiha' Tsunade was fully awake. She had expected this since Kakashi returned this morning. When it was something about Itachi and Akatsuki, there was no way that she could keep it a secret from the young Uchiha for long. It was all just a matter of time. She just didn't expect to see him so soon.
But then, Kakashi did say that Sasuke was going to drop by tomorrow if not later today. He knew...
'Damn, why didn't I believe him?' Tsunade scolded herself as she wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. She wasn't really in any condition to see anyone at the moment. She has been so overworked with reports on Akatsuki and the activities of Orochimaru–not to mention all the activities of the new genin, the progress of everyone in the Academy and still trying to find a mission for Naruto to do–these past weeks that she wouldn't really be in any condition to see anyone for a while.
"Hokage-sama," Sasuke said as he walked into the room with Naruto on his heels.
"Uchiha Sasuke-kun," Tsunade said with a very well composed smile. "What brings you here so early in the morning?" Even though she already knew what it was, there was no way that she was going to tell him why he should be here. He could be here for something else for all she knew. But she was wrong...
"I request permission to leave the village..."
Tsunade blinked at the dark-haired boy before turning to look at Naruto. Did he know about this? She was about to ask when she saw the look on the blond jinchuuriki's face. Of course he knew...and undoubtedly, Sasuke refused to allow Naruto to go with him. Smart. She would never have allowed Naruto to go; the blond would probably get himself killed. On the other hand–she turned back to look at Sasuke–even if she refused to allow Sasuke to go, he would still leave. Even if he were to become a nukenin, he would find the information, Itachi's location, somehow and go after Itachi...
"...alone." Sasuke finished, looking straight at Tsunade with unwavering determination.
"No! Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, desperation weighing heavily in his chest.
"Naruto!" Tsunade snapped, stopping the boy effectively before he could say anything further. "You..." Her voice cracked. She cleared it. "You want to go alone?"
Sasuke looked at the Hokage. She had heard what he had said. He wasn't going to repeat himself.
"Yes...of course..." the woman said as she pulled out an empty mission form. She had half-expected him to request at least one team of ANBU to go with him...but she knew that it wasn't going to happen. Sasuke wasn't that kind of person. "Go...I'll tell Shizune to get you what you want."
For a moment, as her hand wavered over the mission form, she thought about assigning him an escort, someone strong and who could handle the difficulties of going up against Akatsuki, but she knew that Sasuke wouldn't accept that either. He was too...stubborn for that. If he said that he wanted to do this alone, then he wanted to do this alone. If she had assigned him a partner, he would probably have left him right at the beginning of the journey and continued on alone...like he wanted. Then, Tsunade would just have a very nerve wracked shinobi on her hands.
"And take this with you," the Hokage said as she began writing the necessary information on the form, "when I finish."
"Tsunade-obaachan!" Naruto whined, right on schedule. "You can't just let him go alone!" Although the reason for his whining has changed somewhat. She would have expected her apprentice, Sakura, to say something like that, not Naruto.
"Yes...I can," Tsunade said slowly, giving Naruto her most intimidating look.
But, the blond chuunin just shrugged it off. He was used to Tsunade's looks. "He'll get himself killed!"
"If he deems himself ready to fight Itachi, nothing and no one," she hoped that he understood that connotation, "will be able to stop him."
Naruto opened his mouth to complain to the Hokage, but closed it again. He has known Sasuke since the day they became genin together. He had known of him before, but he had never really known him. It was only afterwards... He knew that Tsunade was right. Sasuke would never allow anyone to go with him...not even if the person who wanted to go with him was Tsunade, the Hokage. And Naruto wasn't even nearly as powerful yet. He would never stand a chance of changing Sasuke's mind.
Naruto turned around and walked away without another word. Both Sasuke and Tsunade had to stare at his retreating back. That was the first time that they had seen the blond silent. It was...eerie.
Sasuke turned and walked away as Tsunade handed him the mission form. It granted him permission to leave the village, and access to the information that he wanted. Itachi's location...
Naruto sat in his usual seat at Ichiraku ramen, a big bowl of ramen in front of him, but somehow, he just wasn't hungry.
His stomach growled.
Okay, he was hungry...but he just didn't have the appetite. Thoughts of Sasuke clouded his mind, taking even the place of ramen...even if that seemed impossible.
"What's the matter, kid?" Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku ramen, asked from behind his counter. "You haven't touched your ramen yet." And he could see that Naruto wanted to eat it too. His chopsticks were in his hands, already snapped and hovering over the bowl.
Naruto dipped his chopsticks into the bowl slowly, as if he was unsure of whether or not he was hungry...which he was. "Sasuke's leaving," he said solemnly as he slurped a mournful mouthful of noodles.
"And that bothers you?" Ayame the ramen girl asked the boy, who had come to the ramen stand so many times before. It was almost like she had a little brother; he was here so much!
"He wants to go alone," Naruto said as he took another, second slow mouthful of noodles. "He won't let me go with him."
The ramen girl smile reassuringly at the blond boy. "I'm sure he'll be okay. He's a powerful shinobi."
Naruto sighed as he looked down at the bowl of soup. "I guess..." He lifted the bowl to drink the soup silently. There was hardly any enjoyment in his actions today. He looked up again at the old man and the ramen girl, his eyes empty of all light. "Arigatou...for your help." There was resolve in his eyes, and as the blond shinobi left the ramen stand that day, the staff of Ichiraku were left wondering what the boy had decided to do.
For a long time, Naruto had waited at the side of the main gates for Sasuke. He was sure that Sasuke would come...especially if he was going to leave the village. He had to come this way. Hours, then days passed, and still Naruto waited there, waiting for Sasuke to finish his preparations with the Hokage, or just general preparations altogether. People passed him, giving him strange looks as they tried to hide their looks of scorn. But, the blond jinchuuriki didn't think too much of it. They were no different from the other looks that they had given to him all his life. No matter what, he couldn't leave his spot at the side of the gates. If he did, he might miss Sasuke...
"What are you doing here, dobe?"
The blond looked up from where he sat, his knees tucked against his chest as he stared at the ground. He was so sure that Sasuke would speak to him, would call out to him before he left. "Sasuke!" And he did.
The blond chuunin's face lit up as he saw Sasuke, then quickly fell again as he remembered why they were both here. Naruto's eyes fell to the ground again, fearful of what Sasuke would say if he knew why he was really here.
But, Sasuke suspected already. He could see the dark green backpack lying next to Naruto. "Stand up, Naruto," he said with a slight, almost unnoticeable sigh. The blond did as he was told, swinging the backpack over one shoulder as he continued to avoid the dark-haired nin's gaze. "Look at me."
Naruto looked up at Sasuke, his faded blue eyes looking into intensely dark ones. Sasuke knew... The Uchiha knew why he was here! "Sasuke...I–"
The shorter chuunin's blue eyes widened in surprise as the dark-haired nin caught him suddenly in his arms; his face pressed lightly against the face in front of him. Naruto could feel his cheeks burning, his heart pounding as he felt the eyes of passersby watching them, as he felt the soft caress of the other boy's mouth on his own...the warm meander of his tongue against his lips...
He pushed Sasuke away, his lips tingling from the other boy's kiss. Naruto looked nervously around. Sakura could be here at any moment!
"You're no coming with me, dobe," Sasuke said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Don't even think about it!" His entire manner seemed cold.
Naruto was wiping his mouth as he heard Sasuke's words. His hand froze in mid-wipe. "Nani!" He turned quickly to Sasuke who was staring at him with an intensely serious expression on his face. The Uchiha wasn't kidding. "Demo..." and Naruto couldn't think of a good reason to go with him, couldn't think of a good reason for Sasuke to take him with him. He didn't even have permission from Tsunade to leave the village...
"It's only going to be for a little while..." Sasuke said slowly. The words felt unusual and foreign as they left his mouth. "I'll be back soon." He wasn't one for comforting words and he wasn't sure if it sounded as comforting as it did in his head. "Just...wait for me." His voice was low, almost inaudible...and as Naruto continued to stare at the ground, he thought that the blond might not have heard him. "Naruto?"
"Yeah..." the blond said, his voice a little stifled as his blurring eyes continued to stare at the dark-haired boy's feet, his head tilted toward the ground. "I heard you..."
'Why...? Why do I feel like...'
Naruto clutched his chest. He felt as if his heart was being skewered simultaneously by every kunai in Konoha.
"I'll just...let you go."
Sasuke lifted a hand up to touch Naruto's face, but dropped it as it neared the blond. From where he stood, he could see the trails of tears that streamed down the sides of the shorter nin's face. Large round drops fell to the ground as freely as rain, and he knew that it was even harder for Naruto to say goodbye than it was for him to leave him here.
'My dobe...'
The dark-haired nin wanted to grab hold of Naruto's hand and tell him that he was lying, that he could come with him. He wanted to take Naruto on this mission, as he had gone on dozens of missions with the blond shinobi before. But...Sasuke held back. He couldn't do it. This was something that he had to do alone. He couldn't ever allow anyone to see this side of him. Never.
There was only the sound of the gates closing in Naruto's ears to signify the departure of the dark-haired nin. He couldn't bear to look up, to see Sasuke's retreating back, and as the sound of the closed gates reached his ears, Naruto crumbled to the ground, his head buried between his knees, soaking his pants. He hadn't wanted to admit it. He was in denial before...but he knew now. He really was in love with Sasuke.
End Chapter 5
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Fire's English tidbits for those who care:
To lie, To lie and To lay. Confused yet? 'To lie'--lying--as in 'to tell a falsehood' has the present tense 'lie', the past tense 'lied' and the past participle 'lied.' 'To lie'--also lying--as in 'to rest in a horizontal position' has the present tense 'lie', the past tense 'lay' and the past participle 'lain.' To lay'--laying--as in 'to place something down in a flat position' has the present tense 'lay', the past tense 'laid' and the past participle 'laid.' If you're still confused, feel free to ask me anything about this.
Fire's babbling:
Fire: Okay, I'm trying to keep the English to a minimum. This is something that I thought people might have problems with. Those three verbs are so confusing when you first look at them...
Naruto: (staring at the English tidbits) Huh...?
Fire: (crying) Sasuke, you heartless bastard! Why can't you just forget about your brother and stay with Naruto like a good boy!
Naruto: (confused) Uh...Sasuke's not here...
Fire: I know!
Tobi: Tobi's a good boy.
Fire: Umm... Nevermind... (turning back to the audience) If you're confused about the last line, about Naruto's revelation...he has been in denial about it for the last three chapters (since chapter 3) but this line refers specifically to what had happened back in chapter 4 when Naruto accidentally told Sasuke that he loved him. I love the irony!
Naruto: (confused) Huh...?
Kakashi: (smiling through his mask) I get it.
Fire: Well...I guess I'll be co-writing with Naruto for a little while longer, until Sasuke comes back. Good thing there's two of them for this story. I know not everyone likes Sakura, but since she wasn't in the last few chapters, I'm going to put more of her in the story. It's still going to be Naruto and Sasuke-centric though, so don't worry too much about that.
Naruto: (sniffing and holding back tears) But I love Sakura-chan...
Fire: (smiling brightly) And if you have any complaints about too much Sakura, send all your complaints to Naruto. See you all next time and remember to review!
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