Crystal: Wow, you guys. Just... wow. I never thought I could get this much reviews, and it's only the prologue! -grins cheekily- One of the best birthday gifts I could ever have, seriously. Thank you very much! -glomps everyone-
Anyway, here is the second instalment of Moments. Enjoy! Oh, and many thanks again for ChibiNekoSakura for the beta. Arigatou gozaimasu! -huggles-
Warnings: Yaoi and M-Preg in later chapters, and possible sexual contents as well. You have been warned!
Disclaimer: I merely use Naruto and its characters for my own sadistic pleasures, so can't a girl indulge herself once and a while?
Moments
Chapter One: As I Lose the One I Cherish the Most…
His steps echoed through the dark halls as he walked through them. He did not care for the coldness aura that surrounded him for he was used to it. As he entered another room, several ANBU bowed at him in respect despite the fact they were a lot older than him. Satisfyingly seeing that made him proud, he sat down in one of the armchairs in the room and motioned them to speak.
"We've followed your orders, sir. It seems that Uzumaki and his companion have returned back to Konoha safely," one of them said, as he subconsciously wringed his wrist nervously.
Normally, Uchiha Sasuke would do this by himself, but training had come first and he was sure that the dobe would have detected his chakra signature right away if he were at least ten kilometres near him. Also, he had not had any time to do that. And besides, it was waste of his time.
Even though he knew that was not the reason why…
The other shinobi who was standing beside the one who spoke earlier continued speaking. "Though, something weird was surrounding him. A type of obscurity… Anyway, we could've followed them further but his companion sensed us and we had to flee."
Lines creased on his pale forehead. "He didn't detected your chakra?" he asked monotonously, with his fingers intertwining, signalling to the other people in the room that he was going to brood soon.
They all shook their head. "He seemed distant and his mind seemed preoccupied."
"I see…" he trailed off. Something was not right. Even though Naruto was - and still is - an idiot and a dead last, surely he would have felt them. "You're dismissed," he replied, as he stood up from his seat and walked towards the window.
Remembering how he left had been surprisingly painful for him. It was confusing… especially since how a certain blond dubbed him the cold-hearted prince of all cold-hearted princes and how it would be the end of the world when he started feeling something else other than arrogance and vengeance. But then again… the dobe was wrong.
He was always wrong. Just because he did not act out his feelings well like some people, it did not mean that he was actually emotionless. Okay, so maybe he was emotionless at first, but some stupid blond and the said blond's stupid antics made him change.
It made him feel weak.
It made him want to protect the usuratonkachi.
It made him want to die for the stupid dead last.
'Hn… the dobe can take care of himself. It's not like he's going to drop dead all of a sudden,' he tried convincing himself. But no matter how hard he tried, how come when he says it out loud, it sounded so…
Wrong?
And anyway… right after the news he just heard. When he found out three years ago that Naruto would be leaving Konoha, he snorted at the foolishness of his former teammate. Could he not comprehend it to his stupid head that he did not want to come back at all? Their fight at the Valley of the End would have proved that. But surprisingly, during those three years, no information of the blond vessel coming to Sound, it made him feel stupid… so curious.
Only Naruto could make him feel like that.
He looked at his faded reflection in the glass with his empty eyes. His hair had grown a bit and his face was paler than ever. His height too had grown and his body was lean and built. If he had a lot of fan girls trailing after him when he was young… he would've had a whole lot more now that he had gone to adulthood.
"Something weird was surrounding him. A type of obscurity…"
Sasuke frowned deeper when he remembered the ANBU's voice. Obscurity? In general, the obsidian-eyed youth would have snorted at the idea of some kind of a bad aura surrounding Naruto, but this time it seemed… real. Leaving the room and the whole building altogether, the sole heir of the Uchiha clan went to look and gather information about his rival. Being Orochimaru's golden boy did have some advantages, he mused. He can enter and leave Sound for as long as he pleases, no questions asked.
He raised his head, as a sign of acknowledgement when he saw a Sound-nin guarding by the gate and smirked inwardly at the sight. He did not know why this certain information could affect him a great deal. It was not his business any further on what was happening to Naruto so why was he going to gather any news? But then again, for quite a while now he was remembering some things that should be left forgotten… maybe it was some kind of a sign?
And besides…
How can he forget someone he considered as his? He would make sure to find out what was going on with the dobe; he will do whatever it takes to get the information he needed. Because for the first time in his life - and as much as he hates it - certain emotions were surfacing to his pale face once again,
But this time, he dared not denied it.
And it was all thanks to Uzumaki Naruto.
--
Being back to Konoha had been too surreal, in Naruto's opinion. He was used to the quiet forests and rushing rivers where he had been. Walking alone down the path when Ero-sennin decided to leave him for a while for his perverted researching. He had seen many things during his disappearance and none of them were as nice but certainly not the worse either.
You're dwelling on it again, a voice in his head appeared. Naruto could feel the restlessness inside him, but he pushed it aside and kept on walking down the Konoha streets, ignoring the weird, curious looks the villagers now give him instead of the hateful gazes.
The once cheerful blond ignored the voice and headed towards the forest grounds, hoping he could find the serene atmosphere he had felt during his three-year absence. But then again… the said atmosphere did not stay too long; it was more of like the calm before the storm, only much, much worse. As he came out of the clearing, he sat down by the river edge, watching the carp swim by the cool water.
Are you going to ignore me all day? The voice once again spoke, only this time a bit louder since it was ignored earlier.
I was hoping I would, Naruto finally replied as he walked away from the stream and sat down under the tree. He watched the leaves fall down one by one, as the sign of autumn is here and almost ending. Winter was fast approaching. Blue eyes lowered their gazes on his bandaged arm and fingered the loose binding.
The blond shinobi felt a soft, purring sound deep inside of him and gave a tiny, comforting smile. The sound made him relaxed a bit… since he was supposed to be calming himself actually. But instead, all he can do is reminisce. Of all people, only he, Uzumaki Naruto, muses over something stupid from the past! God, he sounded like a pathetic schoolgirl. What's even worst is that they were bad memories.
"Just don't answer back…"Naruto closed his eyes, hearing himself ask why to the question.
"For some reason…"
Clenching his fists, his arms went around his abdomen, as if he was trying to protect himself from the non-existent danger.
"… I think I'm in love with you."
And he let a single drop of tear come down his cheek, oblivious to the dark clouds that suddenly appeared and lashed out raindrops, so hard and fast.
Kyuubi tried not to get annoyed when his host continued to reminisce and purred more. No matter how hard he tried, the brat cannot help but remember those words that kept on haunting him both in reality and dreams. But then again, those were not the only things bothering him. Partly it was his own fault he was like this… and surprisingly, he was feeling a sense of guilt even though he was supposed to be a cold, merciless killer.
He was amused though, when the Ero-sennin and the old hag Hokage did not even sensed something wrong with Naruto, especially towards his chakra fluctuation. The youkai also realized that not even the Hyuuga prodigy or the perverted former teacher of his host noticed something was wrong. He could not help but be a little bit smug since he had helped conceal the 'problem'.
Naruto can tell them when he's ready… it will probably be soon anyway.
We should get back home, brat. It's raining too hard… you'll catch a cold.
Hai, I will.
--
After the hard, pouring rain, Sakura and Shikamaru looked everywhere for their blond, hyperactive friend all around the village. When she had seen Naruto the day before at Ichiraku, the pink-haired female was beyond taken aback, hell that was even an understatement. She had never seen Naruto look so… defeated, in all the years Sakura's known the shinobi. Right after saying her goodbyes to her former sensei, Kakashi and Iruka, she set off the find anyone of her friends.
She was a bit disappointed when Hinata had work to do at the hospital and Ino was nowhere to be found. TenTen went to spend little time as much as she could with Neji before he left for his mission and Lee was somewhere in the training grounds with Gai-sensei for their daily ritual training. Kiba had to baby-sit his nephew and niece since his sister and brother-in-law went to a dinner party, and Chouji was stuffing himself at the barbeque restaurant (Sakura didn't want to disturb the Akimichi, especially when she found out Kiba got sat on by the big-boned shinobi when he was bugging him after a tiring training session). Shino obviously didn't want to be disturbed when the green-eyed female found him by the river, meditating. She was glad, however when she found Shikamaru by the hill of the park, watching clouds and went up to him.
"Shikamaru-kun!" she exclaimed as she took a deep breath, calming her heart down. "I have news and it's really important!"
The lazy jounin looked at his girlfriend's best friend with a bored look and scoffed lightly. 'Wow, haven't heard that one before…' he thought sardonically and sat up, crossing his arms. "What is it then?" he asked.
"Naruto… he's back!"
Shikamaru suddenly dropped the lazy façade and stood up, dusting off his pants. "Since when?" he asked. He had missed the loud, obnoxious ninja. And to think, he used to think that Naruto was only a nuisance (in a good way, he supposed)… but when he disappeared three years ago, everything had been quiet. Too quiet. Sure Kiba was still here, but it was not the same.
His dark eyes noticed Sakura hesitating for a bit. "Etto, it is hard to explain… he's back, but… at the same time he isn't," she replied back, as she used her inhumane strength and dragged Shikamaru to the Yamanaka Flower Shop when it started raining heavily. "You will have to see it for yourself, but first we have to find shelter. It's raining too hard to continue looking for him."
When they got to the store, they saw Ino coming from the back and gave them an inquiring look. "You two looked like drowned cats," she mused amusingly and leaned against the counter to give Shikamaru a proper kiss, ignoring the glares she received. "So, what's up?"
"Where were you? I was looking for you all around the village!"
Ino snorted. "Apparently not, Forehead-girl. I was in the back, throwing away the rotten flowers. Now, what's wrong Sakura? It's like you've seen a ghost or something," she said and led the two of them inside the house and into the living room. "Hold on, I'll go get some tea and biscuits… Hmm, and probably towels as well…" She went to the kitchen, leaving a troubled Sakura and a curious Shikamaru behind.
"What did you mean when you said Naruto's back… but at the same time he isn't?" he asked, as he helped the blonde kunoichi place the tray on the coffee table when she was having a bit of trouble holding the towels and the tray at the same time. "It requires for Naruto's body to be here if he's back, you know… unless half of him was somewhere outside Konoha or something."
Sakura glared at the dark-eyed jounin and restrained herself from hitting the Nara after thanking Ino for the towel. "Don't you think I know that? I know what I saw… and I'm not talking about Naruto's physical body… okay, so maybe a little bit of that party, but I'm not worried about that…"
"Naruto's back?"
Shikamaru nodded at his girlfriend and gestured Sakura to keep on talking. "What I meant is… he looks so… different, especially his eyes. You know how vibrant they are, right? How his eyes would light up mischievously when he's going to do some stupid prank, ne?" Shikamaru and Ino nodded, still looking a bit confused as to where all of this was going.
The pink-haired kunoichi took a deep breath and said, "What I meant is… that look in his eyes… it's gone. Not to mention, how he acts… it's like how…" she trailed off.
"How…?"
"It's like how Sasuke-kun used to act when he was still in Konoha," Sakura finished, watching Ino drop her teaspoon with a loud 'CLANG!' and Shikamaru furrowing his eyebrows.
"We have to find him, ask him what happened… something obviously happened during that trip of his," Shikamaru muttered and crossed his arms.
Ino looked at the two of her friends and sighed. "As much as I would like to help, I still have to take care of the shop. Okaa-san is feeling under the weather today and Otou-san has a mission, so I'm the only one who's available," she said, feeling disappointed. She hadn't known Naruto back then, but after everything's that happened - especially after knowing what happened during the failed mission - she had learnt more about the blond, even to the point of knowing about the Kyuubi. "Do you want me to tell the others? I'm pretty sure Kiba and Chouji would be ecstatic, knowing that he's back."
Shikamaru nodded and gave her a goodbye kiss when Sakura noticed it stopped raining. "I'll see you later," he muttered, watching Ino nod contently. "Sakura, let's go."
Sakura gave her best friend a hug and followed the jounin out the house and started looking for Naruto.
The both of them looked at every nook and cranny to where the future Hokage usually was and so far, they haven't had any success. At first they tried at the Ichiraku at Shikamaru's suggestion, but Sakura told him at what happened at the ramen stand yesterday. The next thing they went to was the training ground, but all they saw was a group of genin training their shuriken aiming.
The pink-haired female frowned and was about to tell Shikamaru to ask the Godaime-sama for Naruto when she realized there was one more place the blond might have hung out. "Shikamaru, I think I know where Naruto is."
"Geez, if I had known it would take this long to look for him, either you or I would've asked that perverted sensei of yours or Kiba to borrow their nin-dogs and/or Akamaru," the dark-haired man grumbled, saying 'troublesome' every chance he gets.
Sakura just rolled her eyes and now started to wonder why or how Ino fell for the lazy jounin as she distinctly heard the grumbling every now and then.
--
Feeling himself getting slammed against the tree was not a good reaction. Someone moulding their body to his, as if they were trying to make a point that they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle was not a happy reassurance either. Dangerous lips sought out his own as he tried to fight the person trapping him; it was even a worse feeling than the other two combined.
"I suggest you stop struggling right now…" a sultry voice whispered into his ear after the hard, passionate kiss he was given. "No matter how hard you try… you'll never escape from me, I'm always in your dreams… in your mind… and soon…
"In your heart…"
'And you'll definitely forget about him.'
"Naruto, there you are!"
The aforementioned shinobi stiffened at the sound of his friend's voice. He had not meant to avoid all of his friends… honest, but he just wanted some alone time. A lot of things were invading his mind lately, not to mention there are some things he wanted to erase badly, but he did not have the power to do so. If only…
"Naruto!"
Naruto blinked furiously, and looked at the two shinobi in front of him. He was impressed that Sakura and Shikamaru were able to find him on top of the Hokage Mountain. Not many people actually know where this place is… except for one person anyway. The blond frowned when he remembered that little tidbit. 'Great… did I really have to remember that too?' he thought, but out loud he said, "What are you guys doing here?"
Shikamaru frowned at the sight of the blond. It was true on what Sakura had told him and Ino. Naruto was back all right… but only physically. His eyes became dull, the cheerful aura had dissipated from the blue-eyed shinobi, and it was like some spirit had possessed him and he didn't mean the Kyuubi.
"How come you didn't tell us you were back?" he inquired, still looking at the blond as he tried to locate any hints why he had changed.
The blond shrugged and looked up to the still cloudy sky. It might have stopped raining, but surprisingly… the clouds stayed, and it fitted his mood perfectly. "Ano sa… you're just like Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei… I've just been really busy, okay? I mean, I just got back… pretty tired and all…" he ignored the now exasperating looks he was receiving.
"If you're tired, then why aren't you at home resting?" Shikamaru persisted, while Sakura now looked at him questioningly. Where was he getting at? Normally, he would have just scoffed and say it was too troublesome and the like.
Stiffening slightly - which both Shikamaru and Sakura failed to ignore - Naruto kept on staring at the grey clouds and smiled humourlessly. When the two of his friends saw the smile, they knew this type did not suit the blond well. 'I just couldn't possibly tell them…'
No, it would not bode well; and besides, what would he say? "Oh, I'm not at home taking a huge-ass nap right now because the silence is killing me and the solitude of my apartment reminds me of my three-year absence! Gee, it had a lot of torture, pain and suffering, would you like me to elaborate?" He really didn't think so.
"… It's because I prefer the fresh air," Naruto lied nonchalantly, as he stood up and wiped off the dust he collected from sitting on the rock. "Now, if you don't mind, Tsunade-baba wants me to talk to her." He started walking away from the two he trusted the most out of all of his friends.
"W-Wait, Naruto…"
He stopped when he heard Sakura's voice. "Yes, Sakura-chan?" he asked, not turning around to face him.
Sakura fidgeted a bit, as if she was thinking what to say next. "Join us for lunch tomorrow, okay? I'm pretty sure the rest of the gang would want to see you again," she hoped he would say yes.
He felt a painful tug in his heart but paid no heed to it. Naruto lowered his head, and clenched his fists a bit. "I'm sorry," he whispered and then he was out of sight.
Shikamaru watched all of what was happening in front of him and sighed inwardly. He walked towards the pink-haired kunoichi and gently put a hand on her shoulder. "He'll come around," he muttered.
He certainly hoped Naruto would… for the sake of Konoha, after all… without the blond's radiating sunshine, the Village of the Hidden Leaves would be a dreadfully dull place.
Tsuzuku
Next Chapter: In which Iruka and Naruto have a father-son moment, Tsunade decides something that could very well be risky for someone and one of the many secrets will be revealed.
Crystal: -fidgets in her swivel chair- Any questions and concerns? Anything wrong? Should I keep on posting up chapters?
Anyway, this will be my last update for now since I have exams the upcoming week and the week after that. Don't fret though, fellow readers and reviewers! I have a semester break after that so my first priority would be posting the chapter up ASAP.
Until then, don't forget to review! -smiles- See you all later!