Chapter 6.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any characters related.
2:14 AM:
It was happening again…
Stuck in a torrent of confusion and past memories, Naruto didn't register the powerful hand that clutched his collar and held him over the rippling water with the simplest of ease. No doubt to demonstrate, with frightening significance, the difference in skill and strength between him and the other boy.
Beginning to realize the urgency of the situation, Naruto looked down at Sasuke with an angry but determined expression. From the close vicinity, he could clearly make out the set of tomoe present in each cold, remorseless eye as well as the strange but familiar black markings that had spread and melded along his face and arms like tribal tattoos. The confident smirk that played along Sasuke's lips was more condescending then imitating. The look seemed to say: "It had never been in my interest to hurt the person I considered to be my best friend, but you refused to let it be. I made a vow that I would never bring myself down to the level of my brother and gain strength at the selfish cost of another person's life, but your personal feelings didn't allow me that luxury and now I am forced to recede from that promise. You, my friend, will now have to pay the absolute price for your stubbornness and inability to see things from my perspective." Around them, discharges of electrical energy hissed and crackled like the sound of a thousand birds wailing in union.
With the deadly energy growing louder by the second, Naruto was just starting to make an effort in freeing himself from Sasuke's unnaturally strong grip in order to continue this fight, but his thoughts were inexorably lost in the multitude of past events that had twisted, shifted, and ultimately shaped them into the friendship that had persisted and lasted through all of their hardships. Naruto didn't understand—could never understand why Sasuke was so willing to throw all of that away now.
Chidori continued to scream, and Naruto came to the dreading conclusion that nothing he said would allow him to escape what was about to happen. Swiftly remembering when he had been trapped in a corner or under a large amount of stress, the beast inside him had provided—rented out—an enormous rush of chakra to help overcome the situation. And having trained with Ero-sennin, he now had a better understanding on how to control some of that power, and right now, it was the only option he had left.
Naruto grudgingly began to dip into that second dormant well, hoping to find the power necessary to knock some sense into Sasuke and bring this pointless fight to a conclusion. He began to focus, directing his energy the same way he'd done in his battles with both Neji and Gaara during the exam. He had come out victorious then. Now would be no different.
His teeth set together in result to the amount of difficulty he was having. That stupid fox should have relinquished some of its strength by now, even earlier in fact. Surely it could understand the supreme peril they were in. He continued to concentrate—
—And much to Naruto's alarm, nothing was happening. He couldn't feel his chakra supply being reinforced or any strength pooling through his body. Frantically, he pushed even deeper, bitterly aware that everything now rested on the cunning nature of the creature inside of him, but to no avail. Something was terribly wrong…
Unaware of the plight that his friend was in, Sasuke arched his left hand back and viciously shoved it forward, triumphantly proclaiming, "This is the end, Naruto!"
Panicking, he moved to deflect Sasuke's wrist, but his reflexes were sluggish and dulled by the sudden turn of events. The screeching was almost deafening at this point—
—And an immense burst of pain erupted; Sasuke's violet-colored hand tore through his chest cavity, easily punching through cloth, flesh, muscle, bone, and lung tissue, exiting in the opposite order though Naruto's back.
In that chilling instant, time stood still.
The fluid pouring down his body, the gruesome awkwardness of having a foreign body part protruding out of his back, or the shattered dream of not being Hokage—none of that scared him. But it was the painful understanding of knowing that he couldn't complete the promise that he had made for Sakura. Bravado and brashness had clouded his judgment, he'd clearly underestimated the dangers involved, and now he was going to die because of it.
Sasuke's right hand had shifted over to his quivering throat and was now squeezing his larynx in an attempt to either choke the life out of him or break his neck, but both were pointless. With one lung ruptured and his body now settling into the early stages of shock, Naruto knew that he could not last much longer. There was a disturbing crunch—
—And Naruto abruptly found himself blankly staring up at a graying sky. Something thick and warm rose from his ruined esophagus into his mouth where it gathered, overfilled and seeped down his cheek, settling into the water around him, mixing and adding to the dark river that gushed freely from the ravaged hole in his body; a blanket of crimson staining and marking the spot in which he'd fought his desperate fight and was now facing a fast-approaching death…and the very end of his precious existence.
He supposed he would never know why the demonic inhabitant had chosen to betray him in this manner. It didn't make any sense. Its life was in just as much danger as his was in right now. Had something deliberately repressed it from aiding him, or was there something else involved that he didn't know about? With his life draining away, those questions really didn't matter anymore. Not now. Not ever.
Naruto continued to lie there in a half- paralyzed state. His jumpsuit and hair sticky from the pooling blood loss, oblivious to the weeping rain that broke and rippled against the water's surface; disrupting and rearranging the aquatic mirror that witnessed and took in everything like a polished, vibrant eye. It reflected the clouds; the rock- carved statues, the trees, himself, and…Sasuke.
Sasuke stepped directly into Naruto's line of sight.
Time resumed its natural course.
He stared up at Sasuke with a pain-filled look, his vision dimmed by the glitter of tears that filled his eyes and ran down the sides of his face. The markings receding, Naruto could make out a range of unfamiliar expressions and emotions in his friend's chiseled face. Where he had expected to see triumph, victory, or even a hint of boasting being expressed; Naruto instead caught the concoction of regret, pity, and an almost subtle look of real apology for what he'd done engraved in his stone-faced countenance.
With a mighty effort Naruto lifted his dripping right hand from his side and stretched it out towards Sasuke, attempting to call out his name. Aside from a rasping wheeze and a blood bubble popping on his lips, nothing intelligible came out.
Like that of a mime, Sasuke imitated the movement, extending his arm out—but not down towards him. Instead, his arm was stretched at an angle of ninety-degrees in the very direction of the village. It was as if he was reaching out for something…or else somebody was coming towards them.
Naruto strained to turn his head; to see whom he had his hand extended out to. Everyone that had gone on this mission was here with the sole purpose of the capture and retrieval of the renegade Uchiha. Anyone that came here now would only be to assist him or to try and help him. A shadow appeared over the water and Naruto could feel somebody else standing to his other side. He made another attempt to rotate—
—And a slender hand reached out across and accepted the presented palm, small fingers interlocking with Sasuke's. Naruto followed the hand towards an elbow, along the elbow to an upper arm, along a bare shoulder, towards a slender neck and sharp chin, and into…
A face covered by short strands of pink hair.
Like bypassing a piece of junk, Sakura stepped around his waist and joined Sasuke at his side, paying no attention to the look of horror evident on Naruto's face. A rush of questions surged in his mind and he struggled to ask all of them, even one of them, but his tongue and voice box refused to react and cooperate. In the fight for breath, Naruto could make out a mysterious swirling in the pits of Sasuke's dark eyes, an eerie transformation taking place. Almost in contrast to the alien smile he was wearing.
Paying one last look down at his fallen ex-friend/comrade/adversary, Sasuke turned and began to guide Sakura off in the direction of Orochimaru's lair, hand-in-hand.
Starting to sink, Naruto continued to extend his arm out to the couple, mentally begging them to return. He thrashed—the environment seemed to be absorbing the pair, leaving him to suffer and drown in the solitude of the battlefield.
"Noo...cuh…come back," Naruto rasped, using the last deposit of strength he had to broadcast his request. As if disturbing the world itself with his poignant demand, a massive wave erupted from the tranquil water, sweeping over and consuming him like a hungry shark. The rush of water in his ears, Naruto fought with everything he had but soon felt the purpose emptying out of him along with everything else. His life draining away, Naruto gave up on the struggle for existence and began to relax in the churning, persuasive depths that continued to tug him away and under…
"Naruto?"
A celestial voice seemed to beckon from the core of liquid darkness, a female voice that somehow knew his name. He could only presume that whoever it was, it had come to take him away like he had tried to do to Sasuke. It would take him away unwillingly to a place of unknown…
…And it would never let him leave; it would never let him go…
"C'mon, wake up."
…Into the infinite depths of dissolution,
It would never stop hurting; it would never stop paining…
"You're having a—"
…Into oblivion,
…It could never end; it would never end—
"—Bad dream."
And with a snap, Naruto instantly sat up in bed, his eyes wide and his racing heart thumping with self-induced panic. He fought to gain control over the rapid gasps that threatened to overtake him. His common sense continued to repeat, "A dream, just a dream," in order to reinforce and exert the pragmatic fact that he was awake in his own bed, that'd he'd been dreaming and was now awake.
Light-headed and disoriented, Naruto was still trying to catch his breath when it finally dawned on him that someone was grasping him by the shoulders. He quickly looked over to find a pair of compassionate green eyes looking intently at him.
"Suh…Sakura-chan?" he mumbled, feeling more then a little confused by her presence. She should have been on her way home. Was the rain was really coming down out there, or had something else happened?
Her grip on his arms slacking, Sakura asked, "Are you all right?"
Moving to sit up straighter, Naruto shakily nodded twice in reply, wiping the dripping perspiration off of his feverish brow with the back of his arm. "Was…was I yelling or anything?" he asked, doing his best to act nonchalant even though he was still panting.
"Relax, Naruto," Sakura ordered, purposely sidestepping the inconsequential question. "Try and take some slow deep breaths," she instructed, taking a few inhalations herself as an example to help him synchronize and ease out his rampant breathing.
Her exhalations cool against his flushed face, Naruto gradually began to follow Sakura's advice, the violent hurricane of fear started to decrease along with the drum-loud beat of his quaking heart with each calming breath of air he took in and released. While he was occupied, Sakura began to give an explanation: "The rain was really coming down, harder then I had thought," she started, using his partial inattention to aid her. "I didn't want to wake my parents up, and there didn't seem to be much point in going out and getting wet either. And since you had made that big deal about making myself at home, I figured I'd just camp out on your couch for the night, but then I heard you in here and…" Sakura made a lifting gesture with her chin to indicate their present whereabouts.
Each word used seemed to make perfectly good sense to her. She'd covered all the essential gaps and aside from that last bit of sketchy information, everything in the alibi was essentially spot-on. There wasn't a real need for any further information then what was absolutely required to further explain herself. Short, simple, and to the point was all it needed to be.
As for the piece that she had deliberately skipped around; Sakura felt that it would be best if she kept every last trace of that disclosed banter under tight wraps. There were to many elements, to many complications that needed to be deduced and looked at from a competent mind—let alone that Naruto was just recovering from his troubling ordeal, and exhaustion was starting to inebriate her too. In short: neither of them were in the mental shape or capacity for any more unearthed surprises or additional revelations to be brought out in the open—and from the way Naruto kept eyeing the dripping window, Sakura was certain that he was thirsty enough to knock back whatever sweat he had left.
"Can I get you anything, Naruto?" she inquired. "Maybe something to drink?"
His lips and tongue parched, Naruto pulled his legs up and started to swing them out from underneath the thick blanket. "That's okay, Sakura-chan. I can get that," he replied, but either through intuition or Naruto's predictability, she had already anticipated that answer. Before he could plant his feet on the floor, Sakura quickly reached over and placed a restraining hand on his arm.
"Why don't you let me do some of the running around for a change?" Sakura said when Naruto turned to look up at her for an explanation. He searched but found no sarcasm, no hostility, or any hint of demand in the request, only a small, somewhat peculiar note of quiet protest.
She too was very aware that it was his apartment and Naruto had every single right to get his own drink if he chose. But he also deserved a break, and if she could do something so simple as to get him some water, then she would gladly do that.
Naruto acquiesced more easily then Sakura had expected. "Cups are in the cupboard furthest from the sink," he told her, the trademark grin letting her know that he wasn't going to press the subject any further.
Like light piercing dark, Sakura's smile broke through to match Naruto's. "I'll be right back then," she said, turning and hurrying away in case he tried to change his mind.
In this case she needn't have worried. Naruto maintained his composure and made no attempt to stop her. It was only after she had left when he turned to look outside again, allowing the superficial expression to melt away; his troubled blue eyes mesmerized by the beaded droplets that clung to the glass.
This had been the…third time…in the past few nights that he had been forced to endure this particularly nasty dream. Both had taken place in basically the same way with the only difference being that Sakura hadn't been present. It always ended just as frighteningly realistic with him being fatally wounded and Sasuke looming overhead. Aside from anything that really unnerved him, nightmares were definitely high up on the list with the biggest reason being that there was nothing to strike back against physically. It was exactly like watching a genjutsu illusion being played out while having your hands tied behind your back at the same time. Add to the fact that they always tended to install that clenching feeling of being helpless and that was usually all it took.
Most of the bad dreams that had haunted and plagued him during childhood were seemingly exorcised after the night Mizuki had divulged the taboo knowledge of the nine tailed fox's current origin which was suppose to have been kept hidden from him all this time. Although the sole intent had been to cripple and weaken him even further. It had instead brought to light the truth that it wasn't him that the villagers were afraid of, but the omnipotent beast, removing much of the psychological issues that had started to take root.
But now, with the emergence of these disturbingly new visions attacking with the point and precision of senbon medical needles, some of those walls that had previously been demolished were being erected once again. Not quite as high, maybe, but the foundation was undoubtedly there.
Rubbing some gummy traces of sleep from his eyes, Naruto took a now-calmer breath and released it in a long, quivery sigh. He'd had the privacy of solitude to help work through that tangle of post-emotions the last time. Walking around the apartment, a few cups of water, and some fresh air had eventually stripped away those layers of worry reasonably enough that he had been able to fall back asleep again.
But that unsettling memory of Sakura, or else someone that closely resembled her, walking away with Sasuke in his sub-conscious bothered him immensely. And what made it worse was that the person who'd had a part in plaguing him, ultimately, had been the one who had rescued him from that bleak episode in the end. He'd been grateful and mystified at the time, but now, having his bearings together…he simply felt troubled.
Slipping out from the covers, he slid his way across the bed and pushed himself up so that he stood next to the sturdy window. The cold glass was a soothing balm as Naruto pressed and dragged the back of his knuckle downward, marking and leaving behind a clear imprint where his hand trailed.
He was grateful. He wasn't going to dispute that. Having grown up most of his life alone, someone being there—besides the embarrassment—to comfort him was…well, kind of nice and not entirely unwelcome. He must have been very loud indeed if Sakura had heard him so clearly from the other room.
Naruto sighed again, this time disconsolately. All of the evening events just seemed to conflict and clash without any time to pause. He had never expected Sakura to show up here—had never planned or prepared for any of it. Living with the illusion that he could someday win her over through promises, talent, guts, and pure skill as a ninja—that had been easy.
In the last few hours, all of that had changed.
Sakura had said that she was going to move on. While it wasn't in his place to question any of her decisions, Naruto now wasn't so sure if he could really take those words at face value. It might have been some way to mask whatever pain she was still holding on to. He'd certainly done that enough times. Fake smiles had been a difficult but effective way to conceal his feelings. He'd always fought in not allowing the villagers to see how low and miserable he was.
Naruto shook his head at the treacherous insecurities that were trying to cloud his judgment. Sakura wouldn't have lied to him about how she was feeling. It wouldn't have benefited her and it made no sense in the end. And really, it was none of his business to begin with. What right did he have to question any beliefs, sentiments, or feelings that she had in regards to Sasuke for that matter?
Pressing his forehead against the glistening window, Naruto realized that this was something he couldn't really delve into right now. Sakura would be back any time now with his drink and he didn't really have it in him for another long conversation. It was awful but he secretly wished that it wasn't raining hard enough that Sakura had just put up with storm and gone home…
"Stop it. It's not her fault," Naruto uttered, infuriated that he would even begin to sink to that depth because of his own dilemma. "Caring for somebody is never stupid, Sakura-chan." His earlier words to her came back."If it were, there'd be no point in defending what's important to us." He wasn't the type of person who said something without believing in it.He had meant every single word of it and would not go back on that, nor allow himself to feel jealous.
His hairline becoming frigid and dotted with water, Naruto pushed away from the glass and fell back against the bed so that his feet dangled over the side. He wasn't going to think about it anymore tonight. It would take more then a bad dose of pretentious fears blown out of proportion to ever best him. He would also do what he could to ignore the dream. And if by tomorrow it still bothered him…then he would go talk to Iruka-sensei, and maybe even Kakashi-sensei if he was around. There personal experiences and added insight could probably shed some light on the whole thing more then he could. Maybe even Ero-sennin...
Naruto considered. He imagined that a man like Ero-sennin had certainly had his share of nightmares considering his crude nature and powerful lust for women. In his mind's eye, Naruto could also imagine that the hermit had probably had the crap beaten out of him by baa-chan more times then he probably wanted to recall. Maybe he'd flat out ask the man one of these times just to see what kind of a reaction he'd get—
He listened. Approaching footsteps quietly striding down the hallway gave indication that she was close. Feeling lethargic, Naruto turned to roll on his stomach just as Sakura appeared in the doorway, grasping a large porcelain cup in one hand. She took one look at him, opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it as if not to bother, paused, and then finally asked, "Feeling all right?"
Rolling and shifting into a sitting position along the bed front, Naruto grunted an affirmative. "Yeah. Just needed to get up and stretch my legs."
Sakura inclined her head while gliding forward. "Moving around and unwinding is always good for the system after an encounter like that," she commented, handing him the drink.
"Thank you, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, graciously accepting the cup and taking a long swallow of cold water; almost instantly feeling better. Both tongue and mouth were in firm agreement that nothing else at that moment could have possibly tasted more splendid or more delicious. Not even ramen.
Naruto nearly had the cup drained when he happened to glance up, noticing that Sakura was still standing there, gaze partially split between the window and him, an almost distant looking expression from his standpoint.
"Sakura-chan?" He asked. "Did you…want to sit down?"
She blinked, looked down at him, "Oh…sure," she muttered, almost stumbling with her reply. Smoothed out the bottom of her dress, she brought a knee up and sat down, not quite next to him but close enough so that he could have reached over and touched her.
Both in silence, Naruto stared into the pit of his near empty mug, as if the answer to some complicated question were to be found in the shallows; Sakura: the same way. Neither of them felt like opening up due to their inner discrepancies and the physical/mental fatigue settling in.
Finishing the last of his water, Naruto contemplated to himself: "Her eyes look real red. I wonder if she was crying again or else just yawning a lot?" not having noticed until now. Naruto pondered asking, then decided not to bother. For all he knew, she'd probably been sleeping when he'd been making that entire racket and woke her up.
As if they'd been on the same line of thinking Sakura probed, "Do you normally have a lot of nightmares, Naruto?"
Naruto quickly glanced at her. "Probably no more then any other person," he answered, trying to sound just as casual. "Why do you ask?"
Sakura shook her head at him for missing the intent of the question. "I meant…how have you been sleeping these last couple days."
He faltered a moment, unprepared to answer. Naruto hadn't needed for her to extrapolate on his behalf in order to understand what she'd been driving at from the get-go. "Other then tonight, good," he firmly lied, deciding that the less she knew, the overall better. And even if she didn't believe him, she couldn't exactly try to dispute it either. From the way she nodded, Sakura must have reached that point as well.
"Did you want to talk about it…?" she hesitantly asked, posing the question in a manner to show that nothing needed to be said if he wasn't willing.
Looking at Sakura now, Naruto had to fight with everything he had just to keep eye contact with her. She made it so very difficult to not want to confide in her this second. The way she smiled, the way her eyes shone—despite the puffiness, her genuine presence convincing him that whomever that person had been in his dream was only a poorly manifested clone, and that there could be no possible way that it was this girl who sat next to him. He felt as if he were caught in a wrenching tug of war that pulled and yarded on him in every which way.
He outlandishly wondered what she would have done if he had told her about the demon fox. Would she have berated him, attack him, fled, or merely shrug it off? He didn't know and even now Naruto retained enough sense to know that now was not the right for a confession of such importance.
"And I won't tell her about the dream either," he mentally added. "Thanks, Sakura-chan, but really, I am feeling better," he proclaimed, pasting on an exaggerated smile for good measure. He was thankful that she was willing to help, but until he thought things out and reached some understanding, it was best if this was dealt with on his own.
Sakura nodded, leaning forward and coming to her feet. "Did you want some more water?" she asked, seeing his empty mug from her standpoint.
He shook his head, not wanting to overload his system or else he'd be making half a dozen trips to the bathroom. "You've done enough running. One glass was all I needed," he said as he pushed off of the bed and stood up, yawning loudly.
Sakura stuck a hand over her own mouth, unsuccessful in muffling her own yawn. "Stop that, Naruto. It's contagious."
Naruto chose not to reply. Instead he walked around her to the side of the bed he'd been sleeping on, pulling back the covers. Thinking that he was going to get back under the sheets again, Sakura went to take the mug from him so that she could drop it off in the kitchen on her trip back to the living room when he turned to face her again, mild anticipation radiating off of his blue eyes, Naruto's free hand still wrapped around the top of the covers.
Baffled, Sakura started to inquire, "What are—?"
"You said you wanted to spend the night here, because of the rain, right?" he clarified, managing to remember some of the fast explanation.
"Well…yes, if that was all right with you?" She replied, not quite sure where he was going with this.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Of course it is—unless you really feel the absolute need to go out there and get sick. That sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura glowered at him but she deserved a smart-mouthed remark like that and he knew it. "Don't be such a wise ass!" she warned. This dummy, much to her dismay, was getting good at pushing her buttons in just the right way without the fear of backlash. That was definitely something that was going to need to be nipped in the bud, and fast.
Ignoring the threat, Naruto set the cup off to the side of the table and pulled the sheet back some more. Sakura's normally sharp mind was just beginning to pick up on the innuendo that he was trying to spell out for her when he said, "Here. You'll take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch," indicating the decision in a way that left little room for arguing.
But she was going to give it a try anyways, and given how stubborn she was becoming and irritated for not being able to figure out something so elementary showed just how worn down she was. "Now, wait just a second—!"
"It's late, Sakura-chan," Naruto cut her off, an unexpected film of iron underneath the civility in his voice. "It's late, and I don't want to argue with you about this. The bed is a lot more comfortable then the couch is, and warmer. You'll sleep better here then you would out there."
Unwilling to give up the argument Sakura opened her mouth again, caught the narrowing warning look in Naruto's eye, closed it partially, tried again for half a second, and then gave up entirely, eyeing the mattress with a resigned look. It did look a lot more appealing then that sofa ever would. The way she was feeling, even a cold rock would have done the trick.
And why bother trying to be surprised about it anyways? From the minute she'd shaken him awake, the stirring, almost knowing assumption that Naruto would give up the bed had played around in her brain and was now coming to pass. And if that rare but unfamiliar tone and the way he had his jaw set was anything to go by, there wasn't a whole lot she could do to change his mind anyway.
Sakura yawned, on the verge of keeling over right there. "You're impossible, you know," she said, grinning sleepily.
Naruto snorted. "Look who's talking," he countered, gently taking her by the arm and steering her over in front of him. After getting her settled in, Naruto released the comforter and turned to walk out. He'd only taken a couple steps when he froze, his wrist abruptly seized.
Seeing the outer edge of his inquiring eyes, Sakura, in a sudden surly tone, said, "Whoa! Hold it! Just where the hell do you think you're going?"
"To the couch, or don't you remember?" he answered, feeling confused and somewhat irritable by this repeated argument. He went to pull his hand away, but she only held on tighter.
"Oh, I remember just fine. Enough to know that you're not sleeping out there," she replied flippantly, the far-more-recognizable note of hard steel punctuated in the response.
Naruto pursed his lips; biting back the temptation to remind Sakura that this was his home and could sleep wherever he wanted, whether it be the floor; the couch, or even on the toilet for that matter. It was his choice to make, not hers. "Sakura-chan, I don't order you around or tell you what to do," he patiently reminded, "and I've already explained to you why you're taking the bed and why I'm taking the couch, so please, quit trying to argue with me, and just let go of my hand." Hoping she'd catch the drift, Naruto started to tug his hand out from hers, aware that if he really wanted; he could probably just wrench his hand free and overpower Sakura's grip, but he didn't want to strain and possibly hurt her arm.
His head facing the exit, Naruto's hand was still being restrained, not quite as tight as before, but enough that she still wasn't willing to release him. He was preparing to start forward again when Sakura called out to him again, softly this time.
"You're right," she admitted, immediately understanding why he was being so defensive and for missing the point she'd tried to make—not that she'd done a very good job in the explanation either. "I wasn't trying to order you around—okay, maybe I was, but not in the way you're thinking," she added, knowing that she was going to have to explain herself quickly, or else she was going to be dragged along. "What I meant was that I don't want you too sleep on the couch if you don't need to, that is. I don't want you to put yourself out like that for my sake."
"I really don't mind," he said.
Sakura sighed at his inexhaustible generosity. "But I do," she retorted. "You're still recuperating and need to be sleeping in the best conditions possible."
"I heal really quick," he quickly added, being straightforward in a roundabout sense.
Sakura shook her head, not disputing the claim nor buying it. Energetic and stamina aside, Naruto was still very much human and needed to recuperate just like the next person. "Naruto—"
"If me sleeping on the couch bothers you so much, Sakura-chan, then I'll just sleep on the floor," he interrupted, half-heartedly working to pry his hand free. "If you'll just let go and hand me the other pillow, I'll find someplace comfortable."
"I don't want you to sleep on the floor, either," she said firmly.
Growing exasperated Naruto blurted out, "Then where—!" when he paused, happened to notice that her other hand, her free hand, was patting against the bed-space next to where she sat. The notion that she was suggesting didn't even compute at first; still didn't compute even after putting it together and several seconds of contemplation and reasonable consideration. He was still trying to piece out something that sounded remotely polite when she held up her hand, not allowing him any chance to talk. Obviously, she had been closely watching for his reaction, possibly from lip or facial movement.
"Into the bed, Naruto," she requested, hiding her astonishment at how brusque that had sounded. She hadn't meant for it to be so straightforward.
Naruto, on the other hand, gaped at her like she had gone completely bonkers. The few particular instances that had occurred tonight, he'd been able to handle and digest due to certain conditions, but this…this just completely topped it all. He still wasn't sure if he'd—no, no, he'd heard her all right. And it didn't sound like some trick from earlier either. This, well, sounded legit, but still…
"That isn't proper, Sakura-chan," he easily explained, finally picking up his jaw from the floor and easing up on the contest to escape. "I…appreciate the gesture, but I'll be just fine on the couch."
She relaxed in return. "I know what you're trying to say," Sakura carefully replied, "but there's no reason why we both can't…share the bed," she bumbled before going on. "It's just enough for two people and I know that you, being a gentleman and all, wouldn't try anything funny to begin with," she added in a low-key attempt to draw him out of his anxiousness. But she could all ready tell it wasn't going to work, not from what she could gather out of that curious frown.
"Why?" he finally asked.
That took her for a loop. Hadn't the whole thing been fairly self-explanatory? "Well, because…" she began to start again, but she locked eyes with his and the words died off on the tip of her cherry tongue.
"I know what you're going to say, but I mean 'why'," Naruto asked again, the frown—more baffled then irritated—furrowing a bit deeper. In his gut, he could feel that there was something else here, something vague, that she wasn't letting him in on. If she really wanted to smother him that badly in his sleep, she could just as easily make the short jaunt to the living room instead of being right next to her like that. He wished that he wasn't such a heavy sleeper most of the time; it didn't make a very good prerequisite for a shinobi. Nevertheless, he patiently waited for her response.
Sakura paused, lowered her head so that she was looking at Naruto's captured fingers. It was a peculiar experience, she realized, to have possession of his hand like this. And what was strange was that there was nothing in her that demanded or screamed in protest. Sakura didn't feel uncomfortable whatsoever and rather enjoyed the warmth of his skin.
She found herself recalling the conversation she'd had with Kakashi-sensei; recalled what she had conferred just as he'd been preparing to leave. Even with his reassurance, she had been able to tell that her sensei was worried, whether it was solely about Sasuke and Naruto's safety, their intense rivalry, or something else that she was otherwise unaware of. That wasn't vital, the words she needed were, and looking up at Naruto, she knew right then what to say.
"Because I trust you," Sakura said earnestly, sliding her hand up so that it encircled his wrist and gently pulled him, able to bring him a step in her direction. "And that's a solid rule of thumb between teammates and friends. They trust each other, right?"
Nodding his agreement, Naruto felt more-or-less taken back by those words. He'd always assumed that that characteristic had shakily existed, but he couldn't remember her directly ever saying until just now. Merely another reason why he couldn't shake the fact that she was possibly just trying to manipulate him.
"I trust you too, Sakura-chan, but that doesn't give me the right to get in the same bed you're in," he tried to explain, immediately feeling stupid and embarrassed at how that had been worded. Averting his gaze, Naruto began to step away again, and once more, Sakura's unrelenting hand linked and trailed behind his like a strong piece of rope.
Naruto thought that he would just have to go ahead and physically yank his arm free as a last resort, even at the risk of injuring her—and there would definitely be hell to pay then. Why didn't she just let him go already so that he didn't have to feel any more miserable, or that desperate to get away? He should have just left when she'd been getting him the water, then he probably could have avoided this. How the hell was he to have known that this was going to happen? She was making this so difficult for him, but—
–But, after all, wasn't this his fault in the first place?
It was his problem for feeling this way, for the animosity of squandering foolish hopes and having them dashed. And she had been wrong in her examination to proclaim that he wasn't selfish, because he was. Probably more so then she was, and because of that, he'd done what he thought was probably the proper thing by stepping aside and, for the good of the present, and the good of his fast approaching training, the right thing. He could afford no distractions.
Now, after everything he'd slept and put himself through, Naruto found himself being unwillingly dragged literally back into this whole predicament again and he could find no words necessary to escape from it. And if he had another blasted nightmare, and in front of her …
Not aware of his ongoing turmoil but running out of patience nonetheless. Sakura decided that she was going have to bring this to an end through a bit of trickery. It was dirty but she was wearing out her options, not to mention her arm muscles, with this debacle. "Naruto," Sakura casually asked. "You know that me being in your home makes me a guest. Isn't that right?" she confirmed, catching a nod from him in return, as if he had any other choice but to do otherwise. "And since this is your home, that makes you the host, correct?" she added as if laying out plans for an infiltration operation.
Nodding guardedly, Naruto made no move to contradict the statement.
"On that basis, the primary role of a host-guest relationship is for the host to insure that the guest feels welcome, comfortable, and properly attended for." The familiar words that her mom used to drill into her when she was younger about proper etiquette seemed to come quite naturally from Sakura's own lips.
Sluggishly putting the tricky sentences together, Naruto grumbled, "And you're saying that I haven't done any of that?" frowning at the suspected feeling of being patronized.
Sakura giggled. "Of course you have, dummy. That's all you've been this entire time. That and above," she spoke soothingly, not quite meaning to ruffle feathers.
"If that's the case then, Sakura-chan," he said, starting to turn away, "there's nothing more to argue about. Now if you'll just release my hand, I'll let you get some sleep—"
"Do you have a spare blanket?" Sakura asked.
Naruto paused. The only one he was usually kept on the couch incase he needed it for missions that would have taken more then one day to complete. Right now it was in the process of being stitched up by his insistent landlady for the holes that she'd noticed were beginning to amount. He'd thought of buying a couple more in the past but it had never been much of a bother or a necessity. With the distinct suspicion that he was going to be backed up into a wall in the next minute or so, Naruto wished he had one now.
"It's being fixed up at the moment," he answered, "but I already explained that it wasn't a big deal. So just don't try and argue with me anymore." He eyed her solemnly. "Okay?"
Sakura held up her other hand in a sign of peace, "You'll get no argument from me, Naruto. Not a peep," she promised, "It's just that…" Sakura went on, laying out her trump card with care, "…you remember what I said: about how important it is to make a guest feel comfortable? Well…it would make me feel more comfortable, and better, if you slept here—" quickly adding, "—and since you don't want me on the couch…"
Naruto gave her a strained look. So that was the real reason behind all those strange questions. Sakura couldn't appeal to him directly, so she'd turned around and nudged him to the point where he was almost obligated to comply with her request. Behind that intelligence lurked a devious side that he'd never before seen in her. Naruto had the unsettling impression that Sakura could be pretty slick when she wanted to be.
"Sakura-chan—"
"No," she cut him off, indignant now with his constant reiteration, "I tried to be nice about this, but I've just about had it with your arguing. I know that this is your home and that your being nice and all, but dammit, this has gone on too long," she growled portentously. "You're not making any sense and I refuse to debate the issue anymore."
"Sakura-chan—"
"I don't want to hear anymore excuses, either. It's late and I don't want to argue about this," she continued, using his earlier statements to aid in her rant. "I won't have any of it, and I don't care if you think I'm nagging or bitchy because—"
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto finally resorted to shouting.
"What!" Sakura shot back.
"…Slide…Slide over," he conceded in a quiet, sheepish voice.
"You…huh?" she was automatically preparing a counterstatement when her brain finished deciphering the comment.
"You're right," he admitted. "This is a pointless argument, and we're getting nowhere fast. You just—I didn't think you would have argued so strongly like this. You …surprised me."
She suddenly felt incredibly flustered. Having been busy in the scheme of lecturing and obtaining a victory, Sakura hadn't had a chance to feel embarrassment of any kind up until now. "I'm sorry for being rude like that," she quickly apologized, "and I also know how you could look at past situations and see how this would be a bit awkward."
"Only a bit, Sakura-chan?" Naruto protested with barely subdued sarcasm.
"Okay, fine. I would have beaten the tar out of you," Sakura admitted. "But like I said, I do trust you and I know that you would never try anything that would persuade me to think otherwise, would you?" she asked sweetly.
Naruto stared up at the ceiling and sighed. How perverted or crazy did she think he was? Just because he came up with his own unique jutsu didn't mean that he purposely ran around, trying to peek under women's dresses and skirts. He didn't see the meaning of it. Naruto felt convinced that there were either too many guys like Ero-sennin who wasted their time with 'research' or else women overall thought alike and thought that every guy was a pervert in some shape or form. Geez.
"So, umm…Sakura-chan?" he hesitantly asked.
She looked up. "Yeah?"
Naruto was studying her hand quizzically, "Were you gonna let me go and move over anytime soon, or did you like holding my hand that much?"
In answer, Sakura quickly squeezed his fingers painfully before releasing him; satisfied at the yelp of protest she got from him. Sliding over far enough, Sakura watched as Naruto, taking more time and with natural reluctance, did the same.
His body completely under the blanket, Naruto turned and balanced precariously on the edge of the bed as to avoid any accidental physical contact while stacking both feet atop of each other to try and make himself as narrow as possible. A conundrum that Naruto never thought he'd ever have to deal with, and in his own bed, no less. Somehow managing to get comfortable under these unorthodox circumstances, Naruto—remembering his obligations as a host—shifted partially, soberly asked, "Do you have enough of the blanket or, umm…enough space 'cause I can move over some more…?"
There was a whisper of movement, the rustle of heavy cloth being lifted and altered as Sakura turned to peer at him. "No, I'm fine." After a moment of unsettled silence, she asked, "You?"
Naruto looked over the side of the bed, sighed inwardly. "I'm good over here, Sakura-chan, " then added, "but really, I can still just as easily sleep on the ground so that you can have the whole bed and—"
"Na-Ru-To…?" she warned, lacing enough tangible threat into each syllable to declare the matter effectively closed for further debate. Naruto, having heard that distinct tone before, had enough smarts to know when it was time to stop and leave the argument alone. And it was useless anyways. They were both in the bed now, and it didn't make any sense to make a break for it while she was awake. Although he felt like teasing the idea; it would probably just illustrate the actuality that aside from personal morals there really was something wrong. He couldn't afford to give that impression now.
"At least she's on the side furthest away," he thought with a grain of hope. It was sneaky but Naruto planned to wait until he was sure that Sakura was in a deep sleep. He would then creep off and sleep on the couch so as not to rouse her suspicions if he had another nightmare or something equally unpleasant. If she happened to ask, then he would merely say that he was going to the bathroom. Hopefully by the time he was supposed to be back, she'd be asleep. The excuse would also work just as well in the morning with the honest response that he hadn't wanted to wake her up, especially if she had any plans on leaving first thing in the morning.
"I usually sleep with the light off. Is that okay, or would you like it on?" Naruto asked in a low voice, arm reaching out for the switch.
Sakura yawned. "I was just about to ask you the same thing. Please, by all means, shut it off."
Complying and flicking the switch, Naruto prepared a second question: "Did you also want the alarm set as well?" The swishing of her head rubbing against the other pillow indicated that she was shaking her head to decline.
"I'll be fine. I'm generally a light sleeper."
Naruto bit his lip, shrugged inwardly. That piece of information, while useful, didn't do him much good. It also didn't matter either. He still had the excuse to fall back on. "Are you sure?" he persisted. "I don't mind."
Pulling her portion of the covers over her shoulders, Sakura took a long breath, withdrawing in a drowsy sigh. "I'm sure Naruto. Let's just get some sleep, okay?"
His supply of inquires exhausted; Naruto flopped his head against the pillow and tugged the blanket up to his neckline, hopefully doing an excellent job at creating the false appearance that he was preparing for sleep. He couldn't remember how long it took for her to drift off. Things like that had never been that important, and Naruto had usually been the first one asleep on those group outings.
Eyes wide open and concentrated solely on a part of the wall, Naruto was still having some trouble perceiving how things had led up to this. It was suppose to have been the average day: train, eat, rest, shower, and sleep. Simple. He had never pictured Sakura fitting into any of that. But now, here she was, lying next to him, under the oddest and yet most natural circumstances imaginable.
Was she? He snuck a glance to make sure. Yep. She was there all right. Her body hidden under the covers, the side of her head was pressed down against the pillow, the back of bright rumpled hair made Sakura instantly recognizable, even in the dimly lit room. Her soft, peaceful breathing made Naruto momentarily smile with relief. It was a positive change from everything else that had gone on. Naruto hoped that she would never have to experience such personal anguish ever again. Nobody deserved that.
Absolutely nobody…
"Stop it," he silently demanded, hazy thoughts dissipating like patches of fog. Like every other disparaging notion, past and present, he knew what was going on, refused to let it consume and take shape. He was much stronger then that, more mature then what people thought of him.
Naruto realized that he was dozing. His eyelids were beginning to shut. With an effort, he forced them open, again concentrating on a random spot on the wall. On the opposite side, Naruto felt the bedspring lift and sink as Sakura rolled to a new position, a low girlish moan/sigh exiting her lips, corresponding to the change. Naruto also made no attempt to regain his share of the blanket that was inadvertently being pulled off his shoulder in her direction. The easier she could make it for him, the better.
That was another thing, too. Even with her words "I trust you" still echoing in his head, it still didn't make sense to why she had been so adamant with her demands. That was indeed something he was truly at a loss of words for. Even warming up, this was still Sakura for Kami's sake. The same Sakura who would beat the snot out of him each and every time he tried to hit her up for a date; the same Sakura who had rejected him left, right, and center; and the same Sakura who had blatantly told him she couldn't love him and…
"Face it, stupid: You're jealous" the voice lurking in his mind protested. "Right when you and the others were about to leave, and she showed up and pleaded her story—right then and there, you chose to step aside for his, hers, and your sake"
Trying to silence the words, Naruto slid another inch over to his side. Any closer and he'd definitely be taking a tumble on the floor.
"And then tonight, when you finally saw again. You began to feel that way all over, and that's what prompted you to say what you did on the bridge, and why you've been feeling so lousy this whole time. You say you won't feel jealousy, but deep down, that's what you've been all this time, no matter what you say or how you claim to feel, and that bothers you"
Naruto clenched his teeth, his jaw tightening with considerable strain. The difficult truth behind the monologue hit him harder then one of Baa-chan's finger flicks to the forehead. The response he'd given Sakura earlier in the kitchen had been said out of selfishness, hope, and everything else he had harbored since the first moment Naruto had laid eyes upon her. She had provided the perfect opportunity and he had seized like a thief in the night. He knew that he could have said something else, but he'd chosen to take a chance and risk his heart, and it had blown up in his face like a firecracker. Might that have been the subliminal message hidden in the dream?
Sakura adjusted, and he felt her take a bit more of the blanket for herself. Naruto knew that he could make his escape in just a bit. Just a little longer, a little more patience on his part, then he could slink away. It was for the best. She had to be up in the morning, but not him. By chance if it was still raining in the morning, he probably wouldn't be doing any training. His ninja attire was dirty and in need of washing. He might also do some housework but only if he had the ambition for it.
Naruto hoped he could leave shortly. He was growing so very comfortable, even in the limited space that he'd assigned himself, and his eyelids were growing so heavy now. Feeling as if he was going to nod off any second, Naruto began to slide one foot out of bed, the task nearly beyond any of his capabilities to perform now. He realized that he had to hurry, or else the tide of sleep would pull him away. He made another weak attempt at it, managed to slide most of his leg out, tried to sit up and slide out of bed at the same time—
And as if an invisible hand had shown up and nudged him on the chest, he gently fell back against the pillow, unable to carry out his plan. He was utterly drained; had been drained hours ago. The bleak, momentary respite had given him a small boost and provided some energy through the adrenaline rush. Not now, though.
The bed was like sticky webbing, and Sakura's warm body heat was only subduing and relaxing him even further. Lifting his legs and slipping them back under the blanket, Naruto pulled whatever he had left of the blanket across himself, his strained eyes looking blankly at the ceiling as he fought to stay awake, if just for a few seconds.
He didn't have the pedigree of an Uchiha. He'd known that for quite some time now. And as far as he knew, he didn't have access to any special bloodline limits nor did he belong to any elite clans that passed down any secret knowledge. He knew nothing about his origins, his parents, ancestors, or anything regarding the Uzumaki history. He knew nothing except that he was an orphan; an orphan who just happened to be the container of a particularly powerful demon. His life was a mass of secrets and distorted facts that he had no access, too. Not now, but one day, when the need to know the truth becomes too great. Somebody—or something—was going to answer every last one of his questions.
As for Sakura…
He wouldn't abuse whatever trust she had placed in him. Every enemy that attacked, every deadly weapon that flew, all the threats, all the harms—Naruto vowed to do everything in his power to defend her to the very end. He would do all of that out of sheer respect, friendship, and out of the most powerful and foolish of all emotions, unrequited love.
Rocks felt like they were hanging off the lashes on his drooping eyelids. Without another ounce of fight, Naruto shut his eyes for what would be the third and last time that night. Sleep overtaking him in seconds.
"One night. It's only for one night. Tomorrow, everything will be back to normal …" he found himself mumbling into the well-known velvet curtain that whisked him away once more into territories uncertain…
A breath of words brought Sakura out of her short doze. The warm, unacquainted clean smell of the comforter at shoulder level was enough evidence to prove that this wasn't her room or bed. Slowly and nonchalantly opening half an eye, she took a second to work through the light tangles of confusion that loosely gripped her mind; the recollection of events filled and bridged the memory gaps almost instantaneously.
Determining that she had fallen asleep for a short time, Sakura rolled over and opened the other eye, squinted and then opened both, allowing time for her distorted sight to adapt to the murky darkness.
Perceiving shining locks of blonde hair and an accustomed face with the same detached expression, Sakura leisurely became alert, not at all startled or confused with Naruto's proximity. It had been one of the first ever arguments where she had fought tooth-and-nail and had been forced into using the underhanded tactics of blackmail to gain the upper hand and force a compromise with him. Not a very nice thing to do, but certainly much nicer then him waking up with a nasty crick in the back.
Morning would be a different case, as far as advantages were concerned. Rain or not, she knew that the only possible way to cover any of her tracks was to enlist in the help of a certain blonde-haired girl who would do anything but make it easy to ask for any possible favors without something substantial in return. Sakura grimaced at the thought of trying to act cordial in front of that smug pig, and sneaking around the galore of questions that Ino would inevitably be spouting off. Being humble might prove to be a very difficult task indeed, but she would cross that imminent road when the time came.
Bending and resting on her elbow, Sakura regarded Naruto with an inquisitive look, being on guard for any signs of thrashing or anything that conveyed torment. From the look of things, Naruto appeared okay, and she fervently hoped that he would remain like that for the duration. She'd never seen Naruto so frightened, so unnerved. That was not a reaction she wanted to get used to seeing from him.
Oddly enough, his frantic state had helped to dissolve some of the exaggerated, childish anxieties riddling her stacked conscience. Everything from comforting, tending, and reassuring him that everything was okay, as Naruto had done, was a stepping stone up. Any trace of negativity or foolishness on her end was completely overweighed by the simple important fact that he was here: alive, healthy and safe.
It was something she would never take for granted ever again. She would never put a burden on Naruto's shoulders or anybody else's for that matter out of personal weakness or lack of strength on her part. She needed to learn how to use her strengths of chakra control and intelligence and mold them into something useful to help the people she cared for; Sakura only hoped she could convince Tsunade-sama of that as well, although she felt assured that the temperamental Hokage would see things in perfect hindsight.
"Enough of this," she muttered, turning and resting on the other arm. Today had been today and tomorrow would be tomorrow. For now she wanted to do nothing but get some sleep in the few short hours that she had. Best not to lose sight of that.
Realizing that she had taken most of the comforter, Sakura pushed some of it back his way. She didn't cover Naruto up but she made sure that it was easily accessible so that he wouldn't be fighting for a share. Sakura smiled tightly, having never pictured being in that scenario—
"That isn't proper, Sakura-chan…"
The smile turned into a sad frown as Sakura's mind replayed Naruto's words with precise clarity. She could tell that he hadn't been comfortable with the idea, and the tailored response she'd given to soothe his mind couldn't shadow the truth behind the point he'd thrown in to discourage her. Looking at it from his perspective, she could understand why he would feel such a way; could understand it very well. Hours of friendly behavior doesn't make up for months or even years of unfriendly attention. And then there was that foolhardy attempt with the kiss…
Sakura touched her lips, still not sure just what the hell what she'd been thinking in that past tense; what had taken hold and possessed her to nearly do something which could have been described as unexplainable in every possible way. And what explanation, other then a knuckle sandwich, could she have spouted if that dummy had caught her…?
She imagined herself saying: "I only wanted to do it because I was falling out from a plethoric, emotional mess of a tornado and because you just happened to be there in the aftermath like the savior that you are, I only wanted to do something to express my thanks and give away something so easy such as my first kiss. Oh, and by the way if you couldn't tell, I'm totally pathetic in every respect."
"And crazy. Don't forget crazy."
As if in agreement with inner Sakura, Naruto groaned unconsciously in protest, altering and settling into another position with another murmur. He had all ready resumed snoring by the time she resumed monitoring his vocal patterns. Assured by the continuance of his unbroken sleep, Sakura was starting to snuggle under the blanket when she happened to look over the side of the bed, a floor space of about a meter separating the bed and the window/wall. She glanced at Naruto, recalled the argument, wondered again if she should just slip out, and go to the other room. If she could physically grasp his arm without missing a beat, then walking out here wouldn't be a problem—
"Now who's being immature?" she grumbled, voice muffled by the pillow. There had already been too many instances where she'd shown more fervour then logic. She was here, now, in a bed, comfortable too. Why try and be illogical now, especially at the minor risk of another argument looming overhead? She didn't have that kind of strength in her. Not to mention that this walking back and forth was getting old.
With the last of the tension floating away, Sakura finally started to relax without the worry of guilt hanging over her head. Naruto made another groaning sound but Sakura's fuzzy mind paid it no attention. He was fine, snoring contently and sleeping like a baby, and that was all that mattered right now. Now it was time for her to do the same. Eyes shutting, Sakura quickly drifted off again …
…And then she found herself sitting up in uncomprehending confusion, eyes snapping open, sure that she hadn't slept for more then a minute. She realized that the bed was shaking, assumed that the bed was breaking apart or the village was being disturbed by a powerful earthquake before mind had a chance to step in and quell her imagination, pointing out that it was nothing that farfetched. Nevertheless, there was something deeply wrong. Collecting herself she turned to her right—and found out, from first glance, what the problem was, or rather who was causing it.
It wasn't as violent as the first time but from the way he was writhing and moaning incoherently, Sakura could clearly see that Naruto was having another nightmare. It might have been in the earlier stages—she couldn't tell—but it probably wasn't going to get any better. Not from what she had learned the first time anyway.
"Oh, Naruto. You're not okay at all..."
Shaking off the last of the sleep, Sakura began to reach across for a shoulder, fingers already curling to grasp him. She was just about to wake him up again when she paused, her hand hovering just over the upper sleeve of his shirt, remembering:
It wouldn't do any good, she considered. She probably should have taken a calmer approach the first time instead of trying so hard to bring him back to wakefulness. Being nervous also didn't really help things. And if she did wake him, there was a strong possibility that Naruto could have been resentful out of embarrassment. It was probably why he'd wanted to leave for the living room so badly. So that she didn't see him in such a way. Naruto might be aggravated to such a point that he would get hostile, and there wouldn't be a thing she could say to remedy the situation.
Biting her upper lip, Sakura felt powerless, having been cornered in a tender situation like this. She wanted to try and help, but not if it meant him being upset with her. From the looks of things, Naruto was getting worse. She couldn't just ignore him. Not now.
Sakura took a breath, lowering the tips of her fingers on his arm, whispered softly, "Shh, Naruto. Calm down. Please, you need to calm down now." She kept her voice marginally light like she had when she'd talked to him earlier, keeping physical touch to an absolute minimum. This needed to be done in a way that would keep him docile without jarring him back into full awareness.
She wasn't making much progress; Sakura could tell that much. Even with his back currently turned to her, she could hear his desperation, see his body quivering and shaking. It wasn't right to see him like this.
"Shh, shh," she continued. "It's not real. Whatever it is. It's just a bad dream, Naruto. Shh…"
His moans subsided, and for a pair of heartbeats, Sakura thought that it was over. Naruto suddenly twisted away from her fingers and faced her. Sakura shrank back, again paranoid that she might have awaked him—but no, he was still fighting in his sleep, his body continuing to tremble. Sakura was about to try again when she caught sight of something shocking, causing her to stop altogether.
Drops of slow, bitter moisture were streaming down his eyes, along his cheeks, whisker lines and down by his neck area. Seeing him like this was somehow…worse then anything she could have imagined. Sakura was both confused and upset at the thing, this thing that could somehow reach inside, grab hold, and break Naruto like this. This wasn't right, not right at all. Nothing, or nobody should be able to do this to someone like him. Not even…
She knew what she was about to think, pushed it aside along with her anger. Resting her fingertips along his arm again, Sakura resisted the desperation to shake him. "Naruto," she croaked. "You have to relax. Crying like this doesn't look good on you. D-don't make me crack you one on the head, you dummy. You need to…" She felt her voice breaking at the realization—and frustration—that there was nothing more that she could do for him.
"No, I won't just stand by and watch this happen. There has to be something—anything—that I can do." Her mind racing, she tried to remember what her mother had done for her during childhood at times when she had a hard time trying to sleep. Aside from light strokes of the hair or a few calming phrases, nothing much came to mind. Sakura remembered with embarrassment the times when she would ask her mom to sing a lullaby, especially when she could tell she was in a good mood—
And the memory clicked. A lullaby…
It might work, she determined with moderate disconcert, and although she felt ready to try anything about now, it did nothing to lessen the reddening that colored her cheeks. She had done a little bit of singing as a kid, mostly humming. She had never really sung for a boy directly, but then again, she'd never been in another bed with a boy, either…
"Act mature," she chidded.
Inching her way over so that she lay next to him, Sakura cradled and rested on the curve of her elbow, said, "I don't know whether or not I can take away the pain that's bothering you, and you're not leaving me with much choice here." She took the edge of her right thumb and faintly brushed aside the warm drops that wouldn't cease from the corners of his trembling eyes, her hand still resting on the shoulder attached to the body that refused to stop its terrible shaking. "But...I'm going to try, so you just bear with me, okay? This time...let me be the one to rescue you."
Searching for something that might work, Sakura remembered lines to a song that her mom used to croon and seemed to enjoy quite a bit. She'd never caught the name of it—having forgotten about it until now—but seemed convinced that it might just work. Distinguishing and organizing the words with much hesitance, she gathered what little vocal skill she had, plowed forward and began to sing:
"When you're weary…and feeling small," she started off slowly. "When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them off," the pitch sung low and sweet with each word. "I'm on your side…when times get rough…and friends just can't be found, like a bridge over troubled water. I will lay me down."
Sakura stopped; struck by how smoothly the poetic lyrics came to mind and transferred, even though she knew her voice was a bit of a stretch right now. He was still twitching but not quite as hard. Undaunted and rapidly gaining confidence, she continued:
"Shh. When you're down and out…when you're on the street. When evening falls…so hard, I will…comfort you." Sakura choked on the last two words, a terrible ache gripping her. She could see the imagery behind the irony of the words, could picture looking behind Naruto's eyes and seeing herself as he'd seen her. To invigorate and give so much to somebody who couldn't return a single thing should be declared a complete injustice. Only it wasn't something so rash as injustice, merely that of friendship.
Friendship…
Lowering her head against the mattress, Sakura—noticing that Naruto was starting to calm down—kept going: "I'll take your part…when darkness comes. And the pain is all around, like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down."
Naruto finally began to respond and succumb to the gentle words, the shaking subsiding with each passing second. Sakura was also starting to fall asleep again. She was doing just as good as a job relaxing herself along with him. At least they were both getting something out of all of this.
"Sail on silver boy," she went on, growing drowsy with each word. "Sail on by. Your time has come…to shine; all your dreams are on the way. See…how they shine…and if you need a friend. I'm sailing right behind…like a bridge over troubled water, I will…ease your mind…"
Sakura let the words stream to a close. She couldn't remember anymore of the song, didn't have to from the sound of things. Naruto was snoring as if nothing had happened to begin with and that was good enough for her.
Pulling the comforter so that it draped over both of them, Sakura bent over him, lightly pecked Naruto on his spotted hairline again. "Sleep peacefully, Naruto," she whispered. "You'll feel better tomorrow." Closing her eyes once more, she followed her own advice and began to let herself sink under, feeling Naruto's warm breath fluttering hair against her face, tickling her nose.
That had gone well. Much more then what she'd hoped for. It would probably have worked just as well earlier if she'd had the inspiration. Things had a way of working out better the second time around…
It was uncanny—not uncanny. It wasn't even that anymore. She hadn't been buried under twenty feet of snow and Naruto had just happened to be buried there also. She'd been standing by the stream and he just happened to be walking by there on his way home. It was only pure chance, nothing that could lead to something so unlikely as destiny. All she remembered—what she knew, truly known—was that at nine o'clock going outside, Naruto had been the most distant—the last person existing on her mind.
Selfishness. That had been the central focus, the main reason behind all of this. It was why she was here now. It was why Naruto was forced to stay up. It was why she had remained. It was why she had snuck to his room, and in conclusion, was why she was here now. If she wasn't chastising over greed, then she was doing it out of guilt, and on and on the cycle went. Even in these sincere, warm moments, those sentiments wouldn't stop hounding her. She didn't want to feel deprecatory anymore. She didn't want to be reminded of her past resentment towards Naruto. All she wanted was a chance, an opportunity to rectify some of her mistakes. For the little she did, she could at least do that.
Sakura slid further under the blanket, deciding that she'd thought this over enough. Chirping birds reminded her that morning was only hours away, and she wasn't in the shape to do anything now. She would have tomorrow afternoon to catch up on her rest. But right now she had to sleep, needed to sleep. Her body melted against the bed and even knowing how absolutely awful she would look, Sakura, for the first time in several days, looked forward to what tomorrow would bring.
"By then," she uttered, "I'll have things sorted out. And I'll…I'll..."
The falling rain and Naruto's snoring followed her into peaceful darkness and neither one spoke no more.
To be continued…
Author Note: This exceptionally lengthy chapter officially concludes the evening portion of the story. I was going to split this into two parts at first because of the length but eventually decided not to bother. Who'd have thought it would take six chapters just to piece out one night? (Takes a long sigh) I sure didn't…
Anyway, this chapter should never have taken this long to post. It was actually completed a while ago but some bugs needed to be worked out, and…well, that's just the way things go and I apologize, yet again, for the lateness. Work has also been keeping me very busy and will likely do so for the next while, so the updates for the story will probably be quite slow. I know that they weren't fast to begin with but I feel that I owe some kind of an explanation for you guys. And before anyone begins to panic, the answer is no. I'm not going to cease or flat out abandon this story. I've really enjoyed writing this so far and have put too much time and effort for that to happen, so no worries there. Also, I went back and finally cleaned up and edited a bunch of lingering bugs and writing errors on the other chapters that were bugging me. None of the paragraphs were drastically changed, only touched up, and the storyline wasn't tweaked either.
I also feel that the 'lullaby' that Sakura sings for Naruto in this chapter merits a little bit of an explanation. At first, I was hesitant on whether or not to add that in because I wasn't one hundred percent sure if it would actually work. It was probably one of the more questionable decisions and it was kind of selfish—if that makes any sense—on my part. But after doing some researching, I think the inspiration behind the purpose kind of won the battle and I chose to keep it in the end. Overall, I think it came out fairly well, but then again, I'm my own worst critic.
Anyway, hopefully that answered a few questions regarding story status. And in case anybody was wondering, the lyrics used were borrowed from the song 'Bridge over Troubled Water' and composed by the legendary team of Simon and Garfunkel. Catch you guys later.