Title: Falling is Like This (3?)
Author: WolfPilot06
Pairing: SasuNaru
Warnings: Slightly AU, shonen ai, death of major character, angst, slight language.
Notes: I'm so impatient. See, I have this thing where I'm trying to keep a chapter or two ahead of what I post on and so far I've succeeded marvelously. I'm about halfway through chapter 4, but I can't seem to pace myself. Theoretically speaking, I should probably post a chapter a week, but agggh. I just can't wait that long. So, in an effort to tame my impulsive posting habits, I'll give you a super-short chapter. Nothing special happens in this chapter, but I thought it was a necessary scene. Think of it as the interlude. The title explains its significance, in a way.
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"Can't sleep?"
Sasuke did not look at the green-eyed girl leaning over the railing of Naruto's (former) apartment, choosing instead to tilt his head back to gaze at the moon. He shrugged one shoulder nonchalantly, waiting for her to speak. She sighed and hopped over the railing, landing next to him lightly.
"Hinata told me that you were all going to Kirigakure," she said quietly, unwilling to break the calm spell of silence the night had woven upon the village. Pale hands twisted together behind her back as she, too, ostensibly turned to contemplate the moon, though Sasuke was well aware that she was watching him from the corner of her eye. Years before on a night similar to this, perhaps he would have scoffed, knowing the reason for which she watched him, but tonight was not like previous nights. Tonight, the ties that had bound them were frayed and strained, some of them wholly severed by the absence of their comrade and friend.
He made a sound of acquiescence. The night stretched around them, heavy and ponderous, a breeze whispering over the nearby rooftops and carrying with it warnings of things to come. Sasuke irritably banished his thoughts, counting them off to the anxiety thrumming through his veins, the very thing which had driven him to wander through empty streets, inevitably bringing him to his late rival's apartment.
"Why are you here?"
Sakura started slightly, as if she had not expected Sasuke to speak to her; in hindsight, Sasuke thought, she probably hadn't. The girl twisted her fingers together, an uneasy frown settling upon her wide brow as she contemplated his words.
"I was remembering," she said, hushed and quiet. There was sorrow underlying her words. Sasuke felt something within his chest resonate in response to her heartache. He turned his face from her, blinking hard a few times and refusing to give in to the grief-stricken wail that had been echoing in his heart from the moment he had heard Naruto's body fall to the ground. Firmly, he quenched that part of his heart with anger, at himself and at those who had slipped from his grasp after killing Naruto. Later, perhaps, he would allow himself to grieve; for now, he had to rely on his fury and his vengeance to find Naruto's murderers and bring them to justice. Only then would he be able to mourn in peace.
"What are they doing with his apartment?" Sasuke asked after he'd gotten himself in control, eyeing the dark, sad-looking doorway that he'd seen Naruto come through so many times before. For a moment, he swore he saw a grinning boy stepping out into the hallway, adjusting an unmarred hitae-ate over his brow before laughing and dashing down the stairs. Sasuke blinked, and the apparition disappeared. Sakura turned to look with him, pale lips twisting sadly together.
"Tsunade-sempai is taking his things," she said quietly, "She didn't want anyone else having them. He didn't have much – just some posters, that silly nightcap of his, some weapons and clothes." Sakura trailed off, her eyes dark and brooding. Her voice became hard. "They're selling his apartment. The manager wanted to tear it down and rebuild it, saying something about infection and- and claiming how he wouldn't be able to rent it off again, because nobody would want to live in the same apartment as 'that monster'. Tsunade-sempai nearly punched him." Sakura smiled grimly. "I have no such compunctions, though. I – persuaded him to keep the apartment as is."
Sasuke looked at her, surprised by his teammate's vehemence. Apparently, in the time he had been gone, things had drastically changed between the remaining two members of Team Seven. Gone was the silly girl who had mooned after him when they were all twelve; he stood now next to a young woman, mature and caring and heartbroken over the loss of the person she'd always regarded as an irritating little brother.
"Thank you," he murmured, and that same wail twisted in his heart again. He paused, hesitating. "He would have appreciated that."
Sakura smiled sadly at him. "You think?"
Sasuke nodded. They stood in silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Naruto's absence was almost tangible, his presence zinging at the edge of Sasuke's senses like a constant thrum. It was as if he had lost an important limb; consciously, he knew it was not there any more, but phantom pains continued to haunt him.
"Are you going to look for them?" Sakura said abruptly. Sasuke glanced at her; her face was dark and menacing, completely unlike the Sakura he knew. Her lips were pressed in a tight, white line, and there was determination in her eyes, as well as some resignation. They both knew who she was talking of. "I can't come with you." She looked annoyed, "Tsunade-sempai wouldn't let me. But you will find them, right? They can't just get away with killing Naruto."
"Vengeance, Sakura?" Sasuke said, his tone amused, though his eyes were anything but. "You're beginning to sound like me."
"I'm beginning to understand how you must have felt, really." Sakura said, sounding grim.
All traces of amusement disappeared from Sasuke's face as he turned towards her fully.
"I'll find them," he promised quietly, locking his serious gaze with hers. "There's no hole in the world deep enough to hide them from me."
Sakura nodded slowly. She sighed, kicking at the ground with the toe of her sandal, suddenly seeming much younger than a moment before. Her eyes were suspiciously bright.
"It's good that you were his friend, Sasuke," she whispered, "He always promised me he'd bring you back, and he did. Who knew that one day, nobody on earth would have the power to do the same for him?"
Sasuke shuddered at her words, rubbing unconsciously at his arms as a chill traveled down his spine. He had not quite come to grips with the fact that Naruto would never be there anymore. Some part of his consciousness was in denial, trying desperately to believe that the past few days had been nothing but a cruel, nightmarish hoax, a sadistic test of his sanity. Looking at Sakura's weary face, he realized that she had already come to accept the truth.
"He's not gone yet, Sakura," Sasuke said softly, "He's not gone until we've all forgotten him."
"Sentimentality, Sasuke?" Sakura laughed after a startled pause, "That's incredibly out of character for you."
"Sometimes," he said thoughtfully, gray eyes narrowing, and hesitated, "Sometimes things aren't the way they seem."
She gave him a questioning look, bewildered by his statement, but he offered no further explanation. Instead, he stuffed his hands deep within his pockets and began to walk away into the night. Sakura watched his back wistfully for a moment, remembering with a twinge how she had once pledged that Naruto and Sasuke would be the ones watching her back.
'Leave it to Naruto to exit with a bang,' she thought sadly, 'In the end, we watched his back while he left us all behind.'
Sakura waited until Sasuke was gone, and then, with one last glance at Naruto's apartment, she left.
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To be continued…
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Please review if you read! It lets me know what I can improve and what you already like about the fic. Thank you!
Wolf
