It's been a little while! I'm so sorry everyone, I've been finishing some last minute summer stuff and I didn't get a chance to write. The good news is that this is a double post! So it's a special treat for you guys. Enjoy! I'll do my best to finish the story this week. But tomorrow is my first day as a junior in high school…arg…wish me luck!
I have some author notes on the last chapter: That chapter was sort of inspired by my brother. He's 23 and I'm also in my later teens so naturally we like to hang out with our friends a lot. And something I've always wanted to see with the Naruto characters is them all being together as friends. You know, all 19 and 20 years old, just hanging around and doing absolutely nothing except just enjoying each other's company. I thought this would be especially cute for Sasuke to experience since he hasn't been with real friends and been given real kindness and compassion for so long. Ok…enough of my useless babble! ONWARD!
Chapter 5: 'Realization within the Flames'
The brunette hadn't smiled that much in his entire life let alone in just one night. Sasuke woke up the next few mornings believing that none of it had been real; that it had all been a dream. He had been so afraid that it hadn't happened…that he'd wake up and he'd be back within those black trees staring at his brother's grotesque corpse…wondering where he'd go…and what he'd do with his life.
He was afraid that he'd wake up and be back 4 years ago when his 'comrades' abandoned him out of hatred and fear and he realized how much it hurt to be betrayed…to be thrown away. How he had become so frustrated and so angry that he killed a man; a young man, who had been going about his business; who was going home to a loving and happy family. How Sasuke hated that man for being happy, and then how later that night he curled up into a tight ball and cried himself to sleep.
All those times he tried to kill himself but never had enough courage to do it; he made himself bleed, bruise, scream and cry until there was nothing left to scream and cry about…until he was empty…until he was no different then his brother's dead body…
"Sasuke?...Come on man…wake up…"
Sasuke opened his eyes slightly,
"Brother…?" He whispered.
"Not quite…" the voice answered with a hint of humor, "If I was your brother this would be one sick and twisted relationship…"
Sasuke fully opened his black eyes to see those familiar blue staring back at him,
"When did you get here?"
"Well good morning to you too sunshine." the blonde answered sarcastically as he opened the window blinds, "I came over and the door was open so I let myself in; you really have to learn how to lock your front door."
Sasuke pulled the covers over his head, attempting to shield himself from the bright light,
"Go away…"
Naruto glared at him for a moment but then an evil grin curled across his face. He tiptoed up to the brunette's bed, knelt down quietly and then roughly pushed him off and onto the floor with a loud 'THUD!'
Sasuke sat up on the floor, pulled the covers off his head and curiously looked at Naruto for a moment,
"Do you want me to kill you? Is that it?"
Naruto laughed,
"Nah…I don't want you to kill me…at least not now. I mean can you imagine how awful that'd look on my tombstone? 'Here lies Uzumaki Naruto...death by bedhead'" He pointed to Sasuke's messy hair.
"Oh shut up…"
Naruto stood up,
"Wow, you really are cranky today…" he walked over and helped him up, "What's going on with you?"
"Nothing…just a bad dream."
"Oh." Naruto suddenly remembered the first word that escaped Sasuke's lips as he opened his eyes.
"Brother…?"
The blonde lovingly took his hand,
"Well…you'll feel better after you eat something."
Sasuke rubbed his eyes as Naruto led him towards the kitchen.
"I guess so."
Naruto opened the kitchen door,
"Now you sit there and I'll make you something."
"What? No…you don't have to do that."
"Don't be stupid…you obviously had a bad night. So let me take care of you…ok?"
Sasuke's went red.
"What are you my wife?"
Naruto smiled, bent down and gently kissed his forehead.
"If you'd like to call me that, then fine."
Sasuke smiled back,
"Ok, honey, I'd like some eggs and toast please."
"Sure sweetheart…"
He immediately went to work preparing breakfast for the both of them. Sasuke was surprised to see how well Naruto handled himself around the kitchen.
"You seriously can cook?"
"Course I can…eggs aren't that hard to make my friend."
Sasuke shrugged, somewhat agreeing, got up and opened the refrigerator. He took out the milk carton and two cups from a cupboard.
"So what's going on today?" he asked as he poured the milk.
"Well…" Naruto began as Sasuke handed him the egg carton, "Um…actually Tsunade wanted to see you today."
Sasuke nearly dropped the milk.
"W-What? Why does she wanna see me?"
He shrugged, "I dunno…"
"Fuck…I didn't do anything wrong did I?"
Naruto put the frying pan on the stove,
"I don't know." He repeated, "You'll have to ask her."
"Right…Crap, this really is the last thing I need right now."
"Do you want me to go with you?"
"No…no I can handle this myself." He added grimacing.
Naruto looked at him with a stern expression,
"Be nice…" he warned.
-A little while later-
Sasuke inhaled nervously and knocked on the Hokage's door.
"Come on in Sasuke…"
He entered the room to find Tsunade carefully studying a long scroll. He stood perfectly still waiting to be instructed.
"You can have a seat there for now; just let me finish reading this."
"Ok." He sat down in a chair facing her desk. He squirmed uncomfortably; it felt as if he was a little kid who had gotten sent to a strict principle's office.
After a bit, Tsunade rolled up the scroll and rested her face on her hands staring at him curiously. Now he felt even more uncomfortable.
"Tell me Sasuke…" she began, "Do you like being back here? Back in Konoha I mean."
"Yes." He answered without hesitation. "I love being back home."
"That's sweet," she answered apparently unconvinced, looking away from him, "I'm glad you're happy to be here again."
Sasuke realized what was coming. He sighed and sat back in his chair,
"But?"
Tsunade shifted her eyes back to him,
"What do you mean 'But?' What if I just asked you here out of the kindness of my caring heart; what if I was simply wondering if you were happy or not?"
Sasuke raised his left eyebrow,
"With all due respect ma'm…cut the crap."
Tsunade grimaced and sat back lazily in her chair,
"Alright…the reason I called you here was because I have something important to discuss with you."
"That being?"
"Well, I asked you if you liked being back here right?"
"Right…"
"And you told me you did like it here right?"
"Right…"
"Well Sasuke…" she folded her arms across her chest. "There are some people who think you like it a little too much here."
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean…is that some of my fellow colleagues don't think I'm being…hard enough on you."
"Oh…" Sasuke sighed.
"They believe you've been given too much freedom too soon." She stopped speaking.
Sasuke, picking up on the awkward silence spoke,
"Ok…I understand, but I still fail to see why I'm here."
"Well, I wanted to call you here to ask your opinion on this matter. Can you offer any argument for why your current penalty should stay the way it is?"
He ran his hands through his hair.
"Ma'm…whatever punishment you decided to inflict on me…I will take it without any complaint."
Tsunade sat up a little surprised,
"Why?" she asked.
Sasuke leaned back and looked at the ceiling,
"Because I deserve it…I deserve it and all punishment for the sick displayed I caused…I deserve to be thrown into the deepest darkest room and to be kept there forever…I deserve to be stripped of my ears so that I can't hear anymore kind words and to have my eyes taken away so that I can't see anymore smiling faces…Anything you throw at me…I'll let it hit."
Tsunade was intrigued by this.
"Wow…I see…well then…thank you for your time. You may go now."
He got up and strolled over to the door. But as he opened it, he stopped,
"But you know…" he said with his back to her. "A few days ago, I spent time with some people who hadn't stopped caring for me even after so long. Who saw me for who I was…and…and when I apologized to them, they accepted it without any hesitation…without any doubt. I really…loved being near them. And if I had a choice…I'd rather not be separated from them again."
He couldn't see but Tsunade smiled at his back,
"I understand." She answered. "You may leave now."
-That Night-
Lately the Uchiha had been having frightening dreams of his past self, but that night there was a drastic change.
Sasuke was in a dark room surrounded shadowy figures. They were all whispering words he desperately tried to understand but couldn't; then he heard someone sobbing faintly. He turned around but saw no one. Yet, as time passed the whispering of the figures grew softer and the crying grew louder. Finally as Sasuke turned around for what felt like the millionth time he saw a child. It was none other than the little boy he met two weeks back. The boy was hunched over, crying into his hands.
Sasuke remembered how it was just like before when the child had clung to him as he cried. So he walked in front of the boy and knelt down before him.
"Hey…" he whispered gently. "Hey…What's wrong?"
The child sat up without looking at him and rubbed his eyes,
"Nothing…I'm ok."
But Sasuke reached out towards the child,
"No you're not…please tell me what's wrong."
But now the boy pushed him away violently and yelled,
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
He was shocked,
"W-What?"
The child backed away shaking his head frantically as his tears continued to fall,
"GET AWAY FROM ME! YOU…YOU LIAR!...YOU MURDERER!"
Sasuke's eye grew wide.
"I HATE YOU!" the child shouted.
"I HATE YOU!"
Sasuke woke up in a sweat. But he wasn't entirely sure what had woken him…if it was the nightmare or of it was the strange scent that came from outside. He shook his head as he came to recognize the smell…something was burning. But it wasn't inside his house, it was somewhere else. Immediately, he got up and checked outside his window; and there he saw a horrid sight. Tons of ninja surrounded a small apartment flat desperately trying to put the flames out. Some people were fleeing from the scene while many ran by to help in anyway they could. But what caused Sasuke to panic wasn't any of this…it was that he recognized that apartment…he knew who lived there. He hastily grabbed a black T-shirt to put on and ran out of his house and into the street. He quickly made his way to the burning building where he spotted Shikamaru.
"Shikamaru!" he yelled.
The 20 year old stopped directing people for a moment and turned around,
"Sasuke!" he was surprised, "What are you doing here!"
Sasuke pushed his way through the crowd towards him,
Shikamaru sighed when they were face to face,
"Uh…Sasuke? As you can see we're a bit busy right now…what do you need?"
"Did you get everyone evacuated?"
Shikamaru looked surprised at his question,
"What?"
Sasuke tried again,
"I asked if you got everyone out!"
Shikamaru nodded,
"Uh…yeah, we got everyone out…why? Were you worried about Sakura?"
"Sakura!"
Shikamaru looked surprised again,
"Yeah…she lives-" he looked at the burning flat, "Well…I should say she lived in that flat. But she's fine…I assure you."
"Sasuke-kun!"
They turned and saw a somewhat burnt but safe Sakura running towards them. When she reached Sasuke they embraced. He pulled her back and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Are you alright!"
"Yes, I'm fine…but what are you doing here!"
Sasuke suddenly remembered why he came,
"Sakura! Do you know most of the people that live in these flats?"
"Yes, I know everyone who lived there; it was only a few apartments."
"So you know the child right?"
She stared at him confused,
"Child?"
"Yes! There's a little boy who lives in my old apartment…where is he?"
Sakura looked at the burning building.
"Sasuke…I think you've made some mistake…"
"What?"
"She's right," Shikamaru added. "There's no record of any children currently living in these flats…and besides…Sasuke…no one lives in your old apartment. That's been empty for years."
Sasuke looked back at the flames,
"You guys are wrong…I met a little boy awhile ago…he told me he lived there."
"Well, Sasuke…you must have heard wrong…"
"No! I swear he pointed right to my flat."
"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura put her hand on his shoulder, but he shoved it off.
"I know there's a kid living there…and if no one will go get him then I will!"
He then took off running towards the building at full speed.
"NO! Sasuke-kun!" Sakura started running after him but Shikamaru grabbed her around the waist.
"No Sakura you can't! That building is going to come down any second…and even though he's a reckless moron…he's still Sasuke…I'm sure he'll be fine…"
"Let me go! He just came back here…he just came home Shikamaru! We can't lose him again!"
"We won't!" he shouted, "You need to calm down!"
Sasuke jumped up and hurled himself through the burning door of his former flat. He got up and looked around but even though there was fire surrounding him…he couldn't see any traces of furniture, lamps, carpet or anything that told him people might have lived there. It was completely empty. But that was impossible! He remembered the boy clearly pointing out his flat to him. He remembered-
"So…you really do live around here?"
"Sure do." The little boy pointed to an apartment flat just a few blocks down from where they were sitting.
'This is impossible!' he thought, 'How can this be!'
Then the boy's words repeated in his head once again,
"Wow…is that why you're so sad?"
"I guess so…"
"Well, whenever I get into that kind of trouble I always say 'I'm sorry.' Why don't you do that?"
"…But this isn't the type of thing you can just apologize for and expect-"
"Well, how do you know it won't work unless you've tried it?" the child interrupted.
Those words rang in his mind over and over again…until…he remembered…until…that memory came flooding back to him.
"Big brother! Hold on…wait for me!"
Itachi turned his head,
"Well," he said, "If you can't run fast enough I'm going to leave you Sasuke."
Sasuke at six years old finally caught up with his older brother. He literally attached himself to Itachi's right leg.
"How come you don't want to play with me today?"
Itachi pried Sasuke off,
"I'm just not in the mood right now…I'm sorry Sasuke." he brought his fingers to his brother's forehead and flicked him playfully.
"Arg…" Sasuke rubbed his forehead. "You always do that…"
Itachi laughed,
"Yes, I suppose I do…but today I have a good excuse."
"What?"
Itachi sighed,
"Father's very cross with me."
"What'd ya do this time?"
Itachi whipped his head around,
"Hey…what do you mean 'this time?'"
Sasuke giggled and pulled at his brother's arm.
"Come one just tell me! I promise I won't tell anyone!"
Itachi's eyes narrowed,
"What I did…isn't important…it's the fact that father is mad at me."
"Oh…ok" Sasuke sat down and began to think of a solution even though he had no clue what the problem even was. After a little while he spoke again,
"I've got it!"
Itachi looked at him surprise,
"You've got what exactly?" he asked as he sat down next to his baby brother.
Sasuke smiled,
"Well, whenever I get into that kind of trouble I always say 'I'm sorry.' Why don't you do that?"
Itachi chuckled,
"…But this isn't the type of thing you can just apologize for and expect-"
"Well, how do you know it won't work unless you've tried it?" Sasuke interrupted.
Itachi rested his face on his knees,
"Yeah…I guess you're right…"
"Really!"
Itachi nodded,
"Yeah, I'll apologize to father when we get home."
Sasuke jumped up,
"That's great! That means you don't have a problem anymore right?"
"Uh…yeah…I guess so."
"Then that means you can play with me!"
Itachi smiled kindly at his brother,
"You know what?"
"What?" asked the child.
Itachi grinned,
"I think you're right!" at the moment he got up and scooped his baby brother into his arms and threw him over his shoulder. Sasuke laughed and giggled loudly.
"Come on big brother! Put me down! Put me down!"
Itachi put him down and flicked his forehead again,
"Well then…" he stood up, "I guess that means you don't want a piggyback ride…"
Sasuke began hopping up and down,
"No No No No No! I want one! Please Please Please?
Itachi picked him up again and set him on his back-
"ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!"
Sasuke was lying on the floor of the burning empty flat, clutching his head in his hands…screaming…and screaming.
"STOP IT! DON'T TOUCH ME!
GET AWAY FROM ME! YOU…YOU LIAR! YOU MURDERER! I HATE YOU!
I HATE YOU!"
He clutched his throat, and began coughing from the strain and the fumes.
He opened his eyes as the tears began flowing out. Now he understood. He hadn't seen a child two weeks ago…
…he had seen himself…
…himself as a little boy…
Suddenly the building began to shake. It was going to collapse at any moment. The Uchiha managed to pull himself together enough to stand up. It was time to get out and the only way was through the window. Sasuke then ran and threw himself through the window just as the building collapsed. He landed on the grass behind the building where no one could see him…where no one could see him crying…
END Chapter 5
This chapter was…10 pages long…10! It took me the whole day to write this…arg…I'm so tired. Thanks for reading the whole thing guys…sheesh…and I thought chapter 4 was long XP. I've got school tomorrow…yawn so I'm heading to bed. Please review!
Plus…here's a treat! Chapter 6 is already up! Enjoy…that one is much shorter…XP