A/N: I can't believe it. Another fic done! There's an epilogue, which should be up if you're reading this. As announced on my Facebook page, the later upload was so I could post this chap and the epilogue together. I hope you enjoy this as much as you've enjoyed the rest of the fic. The ending is as I envisioned it, or as close to that as I could make it. Sometimes words fail me. Just know I did my best.
Kudos to merraz2590 for digging the deliberate way I infantilized Akatsuki. Can't stand them.
20. Be My Hero
More than an hour passed. The only sound inside or out of the Hurricane was the noisome way the engine screamed as Kiba mashed the pedal to the floor. The large vehicle shuddered and ping-ed as it neared its limit of serviceability. It crossed into Rain Country illegally just as the sun was rising, and was almost immediately swallowed by a dense forest. It could go no farther.
They got out. Iruka had regained consciousness but was unable to walk. Kakashi carried him on his back. Kiba limped along with Red Bull. Gaara waited until Naruto lifted Itachi into his arms and had stepped out of the truck before climbing into the back to wake Sasuke, who'd fallen asleep some time ago. He shook Sasuke's shoulder gently.
Sasuke fell sideways. The seat where his back had rested was soaked with blood.
Gaara put his hand to Sasuke's neck. There was a pulse, and it seemed steady, but it was fainter than it should have been. He lifted him out quickly. "We need to hurry," he said when Naruto met his eyes.
Kakashi withdrew a compass from inside his vest, consulted it, then confirmed their position with a glance at the sun. "We'll have to mask our chakra; if she senses us coming, she may think we're hunters looking to bring her in."
"I can't release chakra mode," Naruto said. "Itachi's dead if I do, and he's barely with us as it is. Let's just hurry."
They were all soon leaping powerfully from tree to tree.
-oOo-
The forest was a lot bigger than it appeared on any map or from any satellite. There were pockets, dips, and hollows that held cunningly hidden valleys of beauty. A few miles into the forest they came to a high swell in the land, a formation that was more than a hill, but less than a mountain. There was a vine-covered cave that ran through this swell. When they came out on the other side, it was to find the ruins of some ancient village.
The village was tiny, with one main street. Houses and shops lined either side of this street, all dilapidated and deserted. At the end of the long street, next to a well, was a tall, two-story stone house that seemed whole. More than that, there was smoke rising from the chimney, and a light on in one of the lower windows.
Ensconced as this village was, the forest rose all around it so that this one place was cooler and darker than the rest of the land. Here it still seemed to be dawn. There was mist lurking on the ground. The men ran forward, churning this mist.
A figure was seen and sensed vanishing from the back of the house to be swallowed by the forest beyond the small valley. They each saw a blurry streak of pink.
"Dammit," Naruto swore.
Seeing as he was the only not encumbered, Kiba said, "I'll get her." He climbed atop Red Bull.
The rest of them continued to Sakura's house. Kakashi undid the locking jutsu and seals around the door, as well as navigated them around the traps leading up to the house. They entered and found themselves in a prettily appointed living area. Naruto went to the low coffee table, kicked the vase of fall blooms off of it, and set Itachi atop the crocheted doily. He kept one hand splayed over Itachi's chest.
Sasuke was laid on the couch. Kakashi set Iruka down in a cushy armchair. There were distant barks and the faint sound of Kiba yelling. A female voice, tinny with distance, screeched something in reply.
-oOo-
It was perhaps twenty minutes later when Kiba shoved a snarling Sakura through her own doorway. She jerked her arm out of his grasp, then pulled up short. She saw Kakashi and Iruka, but she only had eyes for Naruto.
"Kiba wouldn't tell me what he wanted," she whispered. "He didn't say…Naruto?" Her hands throttled each other in front of her chest as she took a step forward. "Naruto, is that…is it you?"
She looked good. There were a few lines on her face, and her hair wasn't quite as pink as it had been in her childhood, but she looked good. Naruto took all this in as he stood up and gestured to Itachi. "His heart's stopped. Just now. You have to save him."
She blinked a few times, whether at the miracle of seeing Naruto or the abruptness of his greeting was anyone's guess, but a second or two passed before she seemed to really see the rest of her guests. She took in Naruto's bloody, gory form, the bloody state of the rest of them, and finally turned to Itachi. She took one look and said, "He's dead."
"Yes, but-"
"How long has he been dead?" she cut Naruto off. Already her face had tightened into the professional frown he remembered from his childhood.
"A few seconds ago. Just as you came in." He watched her pull her long hair up into a messy bun as she went to the coffee table and knelt quickly.
Itachi was nude. She stared hard at what had been done to his body. To her credit, she did not waste time with questions. "I haven't practiced medicine in a long time. I don't know if I can save him, but if I'm able to jump start him back to life, I'll need equipment."
"We'll get whatever you need," Naruto was quick to say.
"You can't get everything I need," Sakura retorted. "Look at the condition he's in. I'll need a hospital, a large one, with state-of-the-art facilities."
"I'll take care of it." Naruto left the house.
"I'm no medic," Gaara spoke up quietly, "but I believe this one is in critical condition as well." He gestured at Sasuke.
Sakura assessed him with a glance. The blue lips and pasty skin tightened her face further. "He's going into shock. I either revive this one or save that one, but I can't do both."
Naruto came back in then and caught what Sakura said. "I can keep Sasuke stable for awhile." His chakra mode brightened, and he went and knelt by the couch.
Sakura proceeded to ignore everything but Itachi. She'd been gathering her chakra in her hands. Now she placed her right hand over Itachi's heart, while keeping her left one aloft, and shot a controlled burst of chakra into Itachi's system.
Itachi's body jerked upward, but nothing else happened.
Sakura repeated the process at five second intervals, all the while holding the rest of her chakra ready in her other hand. If Itachi responded, it would be this that saved him.
The heart spasmed to weak life on her seventh attempt. She immediately crossed her left hand over her right in order to place it on Itachi's head. Dividing her chakra into extremely fine filaments, she cracked his Second Gate open, the Gate of Healing, and allowed a minuscule amount of his chakra to seep through. She guided it with her own chakra as it traveled his chakra circulatory system. Once her chakra and his were completely entwined through his body, she set about correcting, as gently as possible, the damage his vital organs had suffered.
They watched her in silence, in awe. Sweat beaded her brow, but the glow on her hands was steady. She sat that way, with her eyes closed, and a puckered frown on her forehead, as the little valley slowly brightened with sunlight.
"He needs blood," she said when an hour had passed. "And from what I remember from all of your files, no one here is a match. The blood this man has been given already isn't helping him."
"This is his brother," Naruto spoke up. "But he's lost so much blood already."
After a moment of thought, Sakura directed Gaara to a room in the back and asked him to bring the black bag he'd find in a cabinet. When he'd done so, she instructed him to open it and take out a huge syringe. Understanding what was coming next, Kakashi stepped forward and said he knew how to use a needle.
"It's not just a needle," Sakura lectured. "And you won't be withdrawing blood. I need you to harvest some stem cells from the iliac crest."
Kakashi listened gravely. Following Sakura's instructions, he carefully turned Sasuke on his side with Naruto's help, and pulled his pants down below his waist. Sasuke was deeply unconscious, but he did moan throughout the procedure. Naruto kept him from thrashing around. When it was done, Kakashi brought the syringe to Sakura, and Naruto smoothed Sasuke's hair from his brow.
Sakura promptly broke the syringe and had the harvested bone marrow floating in a ball of her chakra. Her eyes narrowed as she analyzed what she found. Isolating the stem cells and fibroblasts, she discarded the rest, and set the cells to replicating at a slightly accelerated rate. When she had a sufficient amount, she had Kakashi hand her an IV kit from the same bag. She had the blood making its way into Itachi's system shortly afterward. Only then did she stand and go to Sasuke. Naruto moved back.
The knife used on Sasuke hadn't punctured anything vital. He was weak from blood loss, and recovering from other injuries, she found. She cleaned and stitched his wound herself, and tended to what else she found. She frowned when she found the fracture in his arm not only broken again, but extended to include several other fractures. He'd fought with his injured arm, she concluded, and had used the arm afterward. She needed a cast saw to remove the cast, which she didn't have, but Kakashi helped her again with an exceedingly fine thread of lightning chakra. She reset the bone, bandaged the arm, and used a splint for the time being.
"They're stabilized," she stood and said to the silent, staring men, "Barely. But they need a hospital now. Right now. And Itachi is in no condition to be moved or transported over a great distance."
"I've got transportation outside," Naruto said. "If he can be moved that far, I'll handle the rest."
Skeptical, Sakura went outside. Naruto, Kakashi, and Gaara followed her. Hers was the only jaw that dropped. "What is that?" she gasped.
"An application of the Toad Shop technique," Naruto explained. "Once inside, I can have the toad transport us all to the location you give me."
"That's a toad?" Sakura asked with a raised brow.
Naruto waited.
Sakura told him where the largest hospital was located. Kakashi plotted it in terms of exact coordinates, which Naruto then repeated to the house which, it was assumed by those watching, understood him.
Inside Sakura's house, Naruto gripped the coffee table on each side and lifted it with Itachi on it. He carried it outside, while Gaara carried Sasuke again. Kakashi and Kiba helped Iruka. Red Bull brought up the rear.
The little green house they disappeared into vanished from the valley with a pop and a cloud of smoke.
Their arrival was greeted with a small commotion. The appearance of the green house in front of the hospital was exclaimed over by a small crowd. Chuunin arrived moments later as Itachi and Sasuke were being carried out. Forehead protectors were noted, as were the blood stains, facial tattoos, and gray hair. Shortly after commandeering an operating room, and conscripting several medic-nin to work with her, Sakura and those with her were reported to the city's ruling Jounin. As no record of them entering the country legally existed, a call was put through to Konoha no more than thirty minutes after the little house vanished.
Sakura ushered everyone inside the operating room except Naruto and Gaara. "The two of you stand outside this door and let no one in, not under any circumstances," she said tightly.
It was Gaara who stood his ground when a unit of Jounin marched down the corridor to them. He was the one who explained that as Kage, he was not answerable to them. He and his party had undertaken a top-secret mission. His companions had sustained fatal injuries. They needed medical assistance and couldn't wait for formal procedures before obtaining it. He'd be happy to make restitution once the situation calmed, Gaara told them, but they were not getting past him or the one standing with him.
At this the Jounin cast a wary glance at Naruto, who returned their looks with a stare of his own. He neither budged nor spoke. "What about the fact that one of your party matches the description of a missing-nin by the name of Haruno Sakura?" the Jounin asked.
Gaara declined comment. The Jounin, after another nervous glance at Naruto, decided that this was a matter best brought before their Daimyo. Gaara and Naruto were left alone for the time being.
Kakashi was the first one out, followed soon after by Kiba and Iruka. Sakura had them almost as good as new, but she was still inside tending to the brothers. The five men stood outside the double doors as Gaara filled them in on what had just taken place. Nurses and other physicians passed them during their rounds, but they were not bothered.
-oOo-
It was late, after sundown, when Sakura finally emerged. "The younger one is fine. He'll need to rest for a good week before I'm comfortable with him moving around. As for the other one…"
"Will he live?" Naruto asked.
"He's stable…for the moment. But he's been through a lot, and he could have a relapse at any time. I need to monitor him closely for the next 72 hours. If he makes it that far, I'll feel a lot better about his chances. He's a fighter, I'll tell you that. Now. Would anyone care to explain to me just what the hell is going on? How'd you find me? And," she turned wondering eyes to Naruto, "where have you been all these years?"
Kiba went and got coffee and take-out for all of them, which they then ate in the room Sasuke and Itachi were moved to. They sat on the floor while Naruto stood in a corner, and ate while speaking. Kiba told what he knew, but it was Kakashi and Iruka who filled in everyone, Gaara included. Sometimes they all turned to look at Naruto, who neither met their gazes, nor seemed to be listening. He didn't eat or drink with them, but kept his eyes on Sasuke and Itachi. Iruka noted this behavior with a frown; Naruto was withdrawing again.
When the tale was told, Sakura got up and checked her patients. Satisfied, she turned to the men. "So what happens now?"
"I'm not sure," Kakashi said after a lengthy pause. "Our heads are all on the block for illegal entry into Rain Country, and that's not even taking into consideration our actions in Wind Country. Sakura, you still have a price on your head. Tsunade was unable to get it dropped due to your missing-nin status. You were unable to be brought in to stand trial, so your name hasn't been cleared. Past three years, a missing-nin is to be terminated on sight." Kakashi sighed. "I'm sure it's only a matter of time before our presence is reported to Konoha, if it hasn't been already, so it's safe to assume that hunter-nin are on their way as I speak. I don't think even the Kazekage can intercede on our behalf. We have flaunted every rule imaginable. The only thing, and I do mean only thing that can help us is a Hokage in office. The Hokage could legalize our actions retroactively, or…depending on who the current Hokage was…an elected individual, for example, one who's actually present with us, the Hokage could claim the mission was on his orders and thereby be granted immunity."
All eyes turned to Naruto.
Naruto watched Sasuke sleep, watched the even rise and fall of Itachi's chest, and decided that he could do no more. He'd done everything in his power to see that Itachi was retrieved, that he was kept alive, and that he would go on living. He straightened from the corner, and looked at his companions at last. Faces of his youth, now aged, but still loyal, he could see. Their belief in him shined through their eyes, and they waited. They waited, but he couldn't give them what they wanted.
"We're under your command," Kakashi said softly, as if to remind Naruto that he was responsible for not just Sasuke and Itachi, but for all of them who'd elected to undergo this mission at his behest. "We'll do as you ask."
Naruto swallowed, appeared to think. "I need to be alone. I'm sorry, but…I just want to be alone."
Before anyone could stop him, he was gone.
Itachi woke up suddenly and had no idea where he was. He didn't remember immediately who he was either, but then someone to his right said, "You're up!" He turned his head, which felt as heavy as a bowling ball, and found Sasuke sitting up with a tray of food before him. He was grinning.
Sasuke.
His brother.
Everything came rushing back to him then, and it hit him that he was alive, that Sasuke was alive, and that they were apparently on the mend; Sasuke was in a hospital bed. He assumed he was in one too. Looking around, he saw that they were sharing a hospital room. There was a big scruffy guy asleep in a chair on the other side of the room. A huge dog dozed at his feet.
He took a moment to register bright sunlight streaming through the window, and the view of a bright blue sky devoid of clouds. He smelled antiseptic and lemon-scented cleaner, instead of his own burning flesh and bodily wastes. He was lying on soft sheets instead of a hard metal table. There was a fluffy pillow beneath his head. He was clean. He felt some pain, but none of it came close to what he'd endured. Not remotely. He was…okay, he realized with hesitant wonder. Being with Akatsuki, he'd thought he'd never be okay again.
"Itachi?" Sasuke queried.
Itachi saw a series of buttons on the guardrail of his bed and pressed one that would have him sitting up. He winced as his body moved, but turned his head on the pillow to face Sasuke. His cracked lips stretched in an answering grin.
"Dude…tell me Akatsuki is toast?"
"Totally," Sasuke chirped. "The Kazekage turned their entire base of operations into the equivalent of a mashed soda can. I think they were already dead, though."
Itachi let that bit of deliciousness course through him. Seventeen years on the run, now finally over. Sweet didn't even begin to describe it. God in heaven, they were free! "And Madara?" he asked with a wider smile. "Somebody has his corpse where I can spit on it, right?"
Sasuke's smile faltered. "Madara got away. Kakashi told me."
Itachi's smile remained fixed in place. Sasuke waited for an explosion of disappointment, but none came.
"He ran," Itachi said after some minutes. "Fucker ran. That can only mean he had to, or risk dying. He's off somewhere licking his wounds. No base. No posse. Just him. Kabuto's dead, so no handy little spy feeding him data on the Hokage and shit. Perfect. He's got no support system. No support system, no means of tracking our happy asses. Oh, the justice of it," Itachi breathed rapturously. "As soon as I'm good, I'm going after his ass myself. Your boy softened him up for me; I'll handle the rest."
Sasuke stared. "You're joking. You can't take Madara on!"
"Watch me."
"Itachi-"
"I heard all sorts of things while I was stuck there, bro. Dude has some kind of shit he drinks, some special infusion of the first Hokage's DNA and some other crap that keeps him young. How much you want to bet that I can trap him someplace where he's off his youth juice? I bet once he's off it, he weakens. I'll take him out easy."
"But-"
Itachi fixed Sasuke with a softer smile, one that silenced the younger Uchiha with its beauty. "You did great, Sasuke. Better than that, you handled your business. But it's time I got back to taking care of you. Rubbing out that cumstain is number one on my list. Who's my doc?" He looked around for some kind of call button. "Need to know how soon I can get outta here. Come to think of it, how long have I been here?"
-oOo-
"Two weeks," Sakura said. Kiba has been woken up and asked to find her. "And you won't be leaving for at least that long. Probably longer. You may feel fine in comparison to how you did the last time you were conscious, but your body has been through a traumatic ordeal. It needs time to recover naturally. You'll most likely have to undergo some physical therapy for a period of time. I would not declare you combat-ready until after I've had time to conduct an exam six months from now. You're not going anywhere, buddy."
"Fuck." Itachi's head dropped back to his pillow while Sakura conducted a check-up of his stats. "What about the Hokage? Can I see her soon? Lady- ouch! Why isn't she tending to us? She has to know my bro helped take out Akatsuki…and…what?" He looked back and forth between the closed expressions Sasuke and the pink-haired doc were exchanging.
"Actually, Itachi," Sasuke said. "There's quite a bit you don't know."
Kakashi and Iruka were called in to explain yet again.
When they had, Itachi sat eating the soft lunch he'd been served. "So let me get this straight," he said as he slurped broth. "You guys are stuck here in the hospital with Jounin keeping tabs on you? Naruto's MIA, and the Hokage is knocking on Death's door? And there's a price on my doc's head? What the fuck…okay, maybe I'm newly risen from that same doorway, but what in hell are we sitting here for? We're on fucking house arrest!"
"The Daimyo for this country has said that he won't release us until he hears from the Hokage herself, no matter how long she takes to heal. On the plus side, that also means that Konoha's hunter-nin have been prevented from seizing Sakura for execution. However, it's highly unlikely the Hokage will ever recover. Sakura can't leave here to go to her, but we've heard from Ino, and Sakura has to concur. The Hokage will likely die without recovering."
"And…why can't a new Hokage be voted in?" Itachi demanded. He reached for his soft-boiled egg.
"There is a candidate, but he's…unavailable," Kakashi said. "It's Naruto. And Fire Country's Daimyo is a stickler for protocol. Unless the council presents a new one for him to consider, he will leave Tsunade in place until she dies."
"No one knows where Naruto is?" Sasuke asked. "Still?" Asking where Naruto was had been the first thing out of his mouth when he'd regained consciousness the morning after the attack on Akatsuki.
"I'm afraid not. And the Kazekage has gone back to his duties. We're on our own here, it seems." Kakashi seemed resigned to this.
-oOo-
And so the days passed. Iruka had one of the Jounin keeping watch on them locate the Hurricane and bring their things. Sasuke's laptop was retrieved, and he spent a lot of time on it whenever Itachi was sleeping. At one point, not long after Itachi woke for the first time, there was an uproar outside their room. There was yelling, a woman's familiar voice raised in anger. Kiba and Iruka were in the room with the brothers. They stood up, ready to defend them, but then the woman barged into the room with Kakashi and Sakura on her heels.
Itachi saw a somewhat short, very curvy female with a mask and a thick red braid.
Sasuke recognized Moegi and smiled…until she rounded his bed in order to grab his hospital gown and yank him to eye-level.
Itachi had his eyes on.
"Where is he?" Moegi hissed. "Where's Naruto?"
"H-h-how am I supposed to know?" Sasuke bleated. "I'm in the hospital!"
Moegi tossed her head at the laptop sitting on the food tray. "I know what you can do with that thing, and I know you and he are more than friends. Now where is he? I won't ask you again." Her threat was clear.
"Bro?" Itachi called warningly. There was a threat there too, a question: We smoking this 'ho, or what?
"I don't know where he is," Sasuke said. "I've been trying to find him and I can't. He's not on his mountain."
Moegi dropped him with a snort. "I know he's not there, you ass. I looked. I get back to the city, find out the Hokage is nearly dead, and Naruto and others are missing, only to then hear whispers of how you're all here awaiting execution, and all you can tell me is 'you don't know?'" She shook her masked head in derision. "Unbelievable."
Sasuke rubbed his chest where the knuckles of her fist had bruised him. "Can you help us?"
Her answer was short. "No."
She stalked out of the room. A few moments later, Kiba announced that her scent had left the hospital. She did not visit again.
-oOo-
Later, when everyone else was asleep, and the brothers were alone, Itachi turned on his bedside lamp. "Who was she?" he asked with a gleam in his eyes.
"The ANBU agent from the store that time." Sasuke switched on his lamp too. "I'm probably not supposed to tell, but her name's Moegi. She used to be Naruto's student."
"So she's older than I am," Itachi mused. Then he grinned. "Dude…do you know what she looks like?"
"I guess," Sasuke shrugged. "Why?"
"She had a nice ass. Impressive rack, too. Matter of fact, those curves were in all the right places."
So improbably lecherous was Itachi's expression that Sasuke had to smother his face with his pillow to muffle his hysterical howls of laughter. "Oh my God, dude! I've never heard you talk like that!"
"Been kinda busy watching out for us my whole life," Itachi said dismissively. "This is the first time in a long time –ever, actually- that I can remember just…relaxing. True, we're sitting on our hands here, which sucks, but yeah. Nothing to fucking do. So is she hot?"
Sasuke wiped his eyes on the pillowcase. Relaxed Itachi might be, but he saw the way his brother noted the name, height, and time of appearance of every nurse or medic who checked on them that wasn't Sakura. By now, he probably had the entire routine of the hospital committed to memory and would know the instant someone sneaked onto their floor who didn't belong. "Is who hot? Moegi?" The question had him giggling all over again. When Itachi nodded impatiently, Sasuke calmed down to think. "I don't know." Then a thought occurred to him, and he asked curiously, "What constitutes a nice ass?"
"Hard to explain. Tell me what she looks like."
"Uh…" Sasuke recited Moegi's features, but he could tell Itachi was dissatisfied. "I can draw a picture if you want."
He hunted for the sketchpad Kiba had bought for him a few days ago. He had to use a pen he found in the bedside drawer, but he had a realistic likeness of Moegi as she'd looked in Naruto's kitchen done 45 minutes later. He tore off the page and passed it across the space between their beds to Itachi.
Itachi stared at it for a long time.
In Konoha Hospital, In a special room used for the most critical cases, a group of Tokubetsu medic-nin sat outside a circle of kanji. Lines of script ran inward from the circle like the spokes on a wheel. The spokes met at the pallet placed in the center of the circle, where the script ran up and over the thin body resting there. Tsunade was kept alive by this chakra-based life-support. The medic-nin were replaced every eight hours. Ino monitored Tsunade around the clock, administering the strong sedative that was the only thing keeping her mentor from living her last days in excruciating pain.
A month after the attack on Akatsuki, a shadow slipped into the room. It resolved into Naruto, who came and knelt on the floor outside the circle. Ino, who'd tensed at the intrusion, relaxed. She didn't speak. If she had her facts right, she was the first person to see Naruto in weeks…she didn't want to scare him away.
-oOo-
Naruto stared at the ancient face on the pallet, visualizing a robust blonde with snapping eyes, and a sardonic smile. He didn't remember much of his torture. Bits and pieces, mostly. What stuck with him were the pain and the sound of Danzo's voice. He remembered Tsunade's face as being the first face he'd really seen in the year Danzo had had him. Those pretty features, with the angry, flashing eyes, had cut neatly through his pain, focusing him. It was with wonder that he realized now that she'd stormed into Danzo's hideout and done exactly what he'd just done to Akatsuki. And that Danzo had done to him what Akatsuki had been doing to Itachi. He wondered if somewhere down the line Itachi would likewise rescue someone from torture, thereby continuing the line that seemed to connect their lives.
A faint smile curved one corner of his mouth, but it faded as he took in Tsunade's wretched body anew. "Can I talk to her?" he whispered.
"I'm afraid not," she said sadly. "She woke once, a few days after you guys left the city. She was in so much pain…I've never seen anyone in that much pain. She has to be kept sedated. If I take her off the drugs, the pain will return, and I-"
"Just a few minutes," Naruto said. "It's important."
He wasn't overtly threatening, but there was something about the glance he gave her that made Ino stand straighter. "Five minutes, no more." She went to the IV connected to Tsunade's arm.
"I need you to do something else," Naruto said when Ino stood back again. "I need you to leave me with her. Go summon the city's ruling Jounin, and have them contact the Daimyo. And bring in the council, if you can."
Ino's eyes widened. The Jounin and Daimyo could only mean one thing. She startled them both when she gave a deep bow and said, "Of course. I'll bring them as quickly as I can."
-oOo-
Naruto waited until she left the room, before glancing at the medic-nin. They sat like statues, hands placed precisely on that circle of kanji. They were trained to ignore all except their task. Tsunade began spluttering then, and Naruto entered the circle to kneel by her pallet. Her body arched on a rising tide of pain as the drug, suspended now, began to wear off. Naruto took her hand. "Tsunade?"
She heard him. Her rheumy eyes registered the fact that he was actually in the room with her, and this gave her enough strength to attempt speech. Her voice was rusty and weak. "Naruto…"
He nodded. "Yes." Then, because he didn't want to prolong this, and also because he had to know, he leaned closer to her and said, "You know what I am. My faults, and how…how broken I am. Do you really think I can do this job?" His voice was a fierce whisper given near her face. "Or do you just wish I could? I need the truth. Not what you think will make me agree…just the truth."
Tsunade focused her fading gaze on the bright blue one. "You are broken…now. And as you are now…no. I don't believe you can do this job. I know you can. I know your incredible strength of character, Naruto. I don't think anyone else could have pieced themselves together again the way you did after Danzo. And as broken as you still are, I know you could find your way back. You just can't do it alone. You need help. And you have help. I've given you everything you need to begin the journey back, not only to health, but to your destiny. It's never to late, Naruto. I believe in you."
Her faith was enough to bow his head. He considered telling her everything that had happened. Akatsuki. Seeing his old friends, finding Sakura. Sasuke. Most of all, Sasuke. But he'd never been chatty or chummy with her, so he continued to hold her hand in his large one. Her hand used to be so strong, and now it was so frail.
She called his name, and he looked up. He could see that she was slipping right before his eyes. She asked him a question. A heavy question, but one he'd answered for himself before coming here. He answered her now, and said yes.
Ino came back, flustered, windswept, and with an equally windswept group of men and women in her wake. They were hushed and respectful in the presence of the dying Hokage, but exclaimed in soft voices at seeing Naruto.
They were his old friends.
There were Neji and Hinata, speaking for the Hyuuga clan. Inuzuka Hana for her family. Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji…they were all alive, all his age give or take, and all in wide-eyed disbelief at seeing him. Ino took her place among them. They weren't sure of what to do, of whether to hug Naruto or not. They didn't quite know what was going on…there had been rumors floating around about Naruto, Kakashi, and Iruka, as well as others, but nothing concrete. They settled for staring.
Finally, Shikamaru stepped forward, and humbly held up a laptop. "I have the Daimyo here via telelink," he all but whispered. He set the laptop on a small table near the head of the pallet and turned it to face Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sama," the Daimyo said in deferential tones. "Gods preserve you, are you better?"
Tsunade, even dying, was no one to beat around the bush. "Naruto is my successor. I hereby formally put him forth for consideration. He was the original one slated to be Fifth."
The Daimyo could be known for his own fair share of hemming and hawing, but there were a number of pressing issues on his plate that desperately required the attention of a healthy Hokage. He dimly recalled this Naruto saving the city, then disappearing, only to surface a year later. He had hazy memories of Danzo being incriminated in some cover-up, and then the boy had gone on to live on the mountain. He'd ignored any subsequent reports; he was a lazy man who preferred to leave the running of his country to his advisors. He only stepped in when there was a decision that absolutely had to be made by him, and he did so as quickly as possible in order to get the chore done with. What he saw in Naruto was a steady gaze, strapping good health, and an utter stillness of features and body that translated to the Daimyo's mind as decisiveness and control. And Naruto was an original candidate. He approved at once. "I accept. How vote the Jounin?"
Naruto's former friends looked at each other. "We don't know what's going on, but I vote yes," Shino said quietly.
"As do I," Hinata intoned.
"I vote yes."
"Yes."
"Yes."
The Daimyo nodded, unspeakably relieved to be able to get back to his lengthy baths and dinners. "So be it. Naruto is now Sixth Hokage of Konohagakure." He fluttered his ornamental fan as he reached forward to end the telelink from his end. The screen went dark.
The council had bustled into the room late, and so caught only the tale end of the proceedings. They only heard that Naruto was the new Hokage. They witnessed the Jounin bowing low, and hastened to do so as well. When everyone straightened, they tried to rush forward and speak with Naruto.
Naruto stopped them in their tracks. "I need the room cleared of everyone except Ino."
Once they'd gone, Ino rushed to readjust the IV of sedative, but Tsunade spoke up. "Don't. It's only delaying the inevitable."
"Tsunade-sama," Ino cried.
"Have the medic-nin stop as well. And then I want to be left alone with Naruto."
Ino struggled not to shame either of them by breaking down. She had to obey. The order was given, and the medic-nin bowed one by one, putting their heads to the floor, and murmuring prayers. Ino was the last to go. She held her bow the longest. Naruto suspected that this was to hide her tears. She kissed Tsunade's forehead, before hurrying from the room.
Naruto sat as he had before, and once more took her hand. He wondered if she knew that Kabuto had killed her. In the end, whether or not she knew didn't matter, he decided. Kabuto was dead, and she soon would be. Her pain was etched on her face, and her body trembled with it, but she kept her eyes on his, and he did her the honor of letting her pass her final minutes without distracting speech.
At length she whispered a short death poem. Naruto committed it to memory, still loathe to disturb her passing, which he had enough sense to know was an intensely spiritual thing for those lucid enough to be aware of it. But then her gaze dimmed, and the slight grip she had on his hand slackened. Her body settled on the pallet, all tremors stilled at last.
"I never thanked you for saving me," he said.
Tsunade smiled. And then she was gone.
There was a general low murmur of conversation going on between the Jounin and the council when Naruto exited the room a few moments later. This ceased when he appeared. Naruto's former friends read the knowledge of Tsunade's passing in his eyes and bowed their heads in honor of it. The council, showing indecent disregard for the death of a legendary woman, bustled up to Naruto immediately and began issuing orders.
"You must report to the council building at once-"
"A ceremonial announcement must be made-"
"You must meet with ANBU-"
"Kabuto's death must be investigated-"
"Certain recalcitrant individuals are currently squatting in Rain Country, they must be-"
Naruto knew these weren't the original council members that had been around in his youth, but the three men seemed just as ancient, and more repugnant than the last two. They stood issuing orders while Ino slipped past him into the room he'd left. Naruto waited until they were done talking at him, simply because he didn't trust himself to speak; the very sight of these monkeys was enough to put a knot of hot rage in his belly.
They looked up at him expectantly, and the Jounin waited quietly. He could feel the weight already, so help him. Responsibilities, expectations…the expectations were the worst. He was so used to being answerable only to himself…
But Tsunade had faith in him. And he had his own reasons for doing this.
"There will be no investigation into Kabuto's death," he said in a strong, carrying voice. "I killed him, with pleasure. He killed Shizune and Tsunade, and was an Akatsuki spy."
There were gasps and murmurs, sharp expressions, and horrified eyes.
"As for your demands," Naruto said to the stricken council. "I will meet with ANBU now. Have them assembled."
It was clear to the council that this was no malleable man afraid of his own shadow, a belief they'd harbored for the duration of Naruto's absence from the village.
-oOo-
The Jounin were reluctant to let Naruto out of their sights; to many of them he was a walking miracle. At ANBU headquarters, they remained outside while Naruto entered with the council. The ANBU captain stepped forward, mask pulled up, and greeted the new Hokage. "I live to serve, as I served the late great Tsunade-sama," he said with a deep bow.
Naruto didn't know what his response was supposed to be, and so remained silent. Behind the captain, the rest of the ANBU in residence were ranged in a single line. They too had their masks up, and bowed in deference.
Moegi was with them. She had bright, unshed tears of pride in her eyes.
When they all straightened, the captain took his place in their ranks, and waited.
Naruto eyed each face. Names would come later, he supposed. For now, he had them at his command, and made use of them. "There are a number of individuals in Rain Country awaiting extradition. They are to be escorted here without delay. Among them are Haruno Sakura, and the surviving sons of one Uchiha Fugaku, deceased. The charges against Sakura are hereby dropped. There will be no trial. There will be no investigation. She, as well as the others in Rain Country, was part of a top-secret mission I undertook to abolish the threat of Akatsuki once and for all. With the exception of Madara, Akatsuki is dead. I will give you the location of their hideout, whereupon their bodies can be retrieved with the Kazekage's help."
If he was stunned, the ANBU captain did not show it. He bowed again, then immediately turned and assigned two units to leave for Rain Country directly. They zipped past, lowering their masks as they went, and calling out, "It shall be done, Rokudaime-sama."
The council spluttered in shock. "Not stand trial!"
"You can't justify your acts of war-!"
Naruto turned to them. He'd waited until ANBU recognized him as the new authority, but now he didn't have to wait anymore. "You're all stripped of your council rights and privileges. You will live outside the city for the remainder of your days. I don't want any of you anywhere near me. Refusal to comply, or violation of my command will result in your incarceration."
In the ringing silence that followed this statement, one of the councilmen drew himself up to his full height. "We will see you impeached!" he roared.
The ANBU captain stepped forward. His mask was down now, as were the masks of the other agents. This simple gesture was a threat, and the councilmen knew it. They shrank back at once.
"I believe," the captain said tonelessly, "that Rokudaime-sama's words were clear. I will escort you all outside the city wall."
Naruto watched as the captain and a unit suited action to words. Moegi was in that unit, he saw.
The Jounin entered the building as the council was being escorted out. One of them, a tall woman with a deep voice, approached Naruto slowly. "I heard my brother was with you in Rain Country. Is he well?"
Going by her tattoos, Naruto guessed he knew who her brother was. "Kiba's fine, last I checked." He could see other questions forming in the rest of their expressions, and hastened to make an exit. He snagged one of the ANBU agents still standing around. "Have Kakashi and Iruka sent to me at once when they return," he hissed.
It was a relief to get out of there.
There was a public announcement to the city that Tsunade had passed, but that was it. Konoha's citizens clamored for news of its new Hokage, but it wasn't forthcoming. Naruto retreated to his mountain until Kakashi and Iruka met him there five days later.
"Thank God," Naruto hailed them. "I don't know what to do."
Kakashi, groomed for this very purpose for twenty years, immediately stepped in and began his role as advisor. He contacted the Daimyo and Kage of other countries and cities, and arranged for a ceremonial announcement to be held in ten day's time. He had Naruto measured for kage robes. He gathered, sorted, and prioritized all correspondence and related paperwork, and set it aside for later consideration.
But most of all, he spoke to Naruto. He spent long hours, each and every morning, with the company of Iruka, going over the duties expected of a kage. To Naruto's credit, he'd received some grooming for this before Madara's attack, and his subsequent abduction by Danzo. He'd been a frequent visitor to The Third's offices, and had often sat in on meetings. The Third had considered Naruto his protégé. Naruto had forgotten these teachings in the years after Danzo, but with Kakashi's careful tutelage, it was starting to come back. He wasn't ready to take up his position in the Hokage offices yet, but he grew less nervous about the prospect.
-oOo-
Perhaps the most important part of the entire process was the time Iruka spent alone with Naruto. This usually happened in Naruto's living room. Kakashi would leave for the day, and it would be just the two of them. Here, Iruka would gently coax Naruto into talking about whatever was on his mind.
At first Naruto, determined to shoulder his new responsibilities as manfully as possible, kept quiet. He insisted that he had nothing he wanted to discuss. There were several evenings that went by with them sitting in silence, and the December snow falling gently outside Naruto's bungalow. Iruka rather thought it was a miracle that he and Kakashi were allowed on the premises at all, so he didn't push. He could see the strain all these changes and intrusions were putting on Naruto, and held his peace.
He did ask a question on the third or fourth such evening, though. "Why did you become Hokage?" Nothing could have surprised him and the rest more when ANBU had met them at the hospital and informed them. "As I recall, you were firmly set against it."
Naruto sat in his armchair, chin propped on a hand, and stared at the white landscape outside his window. His eyes seemed to follow each lazily spiraling snowflake. Iruka guessed Naruto was far away in his own little world, and resolved to pass another silent evening in his presence.
"I couldn't fit," Naruto startled his former teacher by saying. He lifted his other hand half-heartedly, gesturing to his house and the mountain all at once. "Here. I couldn't fit here when I came back. Everything seemed…off. My house was too small, my mountain too quiet…" An odd expression came over his face, which reddened. Iruka realized the expression was embarrassment. "I was bored," Naruto admitted. "But mostly, it was…is…Sasuke."
Iruka, fascinated by these revelations, had nonetheless wondered when the convoluted subject of Sasuke would come up. "Oh?" was all he said.
"I miss him," Naruto whispered. "I love him. And I hate him for turning my life upside down and spilling it all over the place. Like an overturned bowl of ramen. No matter how hard you try to put all the broth and noodles back in the bowl, you can't. Some always gets missed. And I can't find my way back to the way I used to live. I can't even understand how I spent my days anymore. The thought of being alone, with nothing –nothing!- to do, is terrifying."
"Why?"
Naruto shrugged, still staring outside. "I don't want to have to think about him…even though I can't stop thinking about him. The thoughts just seem louder when I'm by myself."
Which explained why he and Kakashi were granted access to Naruto's home, Iruka thought. "So you took on the role of Hokage to get away from thoughts of him?"
"No. I first considered it so I could have something else to think about." Naruto said no more for a long time.
Iruka, frowning in deep thought, ventured a question. "Are thoughts of him painful?"
"I can barely stand it."
"I see. And what is it you're thinking?"
Instead of answering, Naruto turned from the window at last. "I keep wanting to go see him. I have to force myself not to. How is he?"
Iruka disliked the evasion, but chose to allow it. "I'm told he's completely well. He and his brother have taken up residence in their old apartment. Ino oversees Itachi's physical therapy. Itachi now gets around with a cane, I've heard. I believe that were anyone but Sakura the one treating him, Itachi would still be bed-ridden."
"Oh. And…ANBU reports no attempts to get through the barricade?"
"Not since you informed them of the original breach. Their tech guys are all over it, replacing the system, as it were. If…anyone…has attempted to get past, they've been unsuccessful. As you know, the additional precautions of live agents are stationed at the barricade itself. They haven't noticed any unauthorized individuals in the vicinity."
"Right, right. I'm leaving him."
The abrupt change in topic only threw Iruka for a moment. "Sasuke?" he said carefully.
Naruto nodded jerkily. "It's not for the reason you think, either."
"I see. And what am I thinking?"
"That I don't forgive him for how he acted in the mission to save Itachi. Actually, I was furious, and I hadn't planned on forgiving him, but during the month I was off by myself, I had time to think. And if Sasuke had been captured, and someone tried to stop me going after him, I think I would have just killed them, plain and simple."
"Do you forgive him?"
"Would you?"
Iruka gave it some thought. "Children often say irrevocable things while expecting, even demanding, that forgiveness be theirs. Too many times to count, at least by my experience. For them, there's just always going to be a second chance. Part of being a child is the failure to understand that second chances are not in infinite supply...and they only think they are because parents do forgive just about anything. And Itachi has forgiven Sasuke everything, I'm sure of that. I'm just as sure that Sasuke sees you, in part, as some sort of father figure. However, as he has elected to enter into an adult relationship, one could argue that he must then conduct himself as an adult. There are entirely too many variables to consider here, chief among them the fact that he's never so much as witnessed any type of relationship outside the one with his brother. He therefore cannot be expected to have any working knowledge whatsoever on how to navigate the relationship he has with you. Would I forgive him? Yes, but that's because I understand Sasuke. And I know myself. You, on the other hand, are just as limited as Sasuke is. And you haven't answered my question."
Nor did Naruto do so now. Instead, he got up and said he was tired. Iruka took his cue and left. In the subsequent days, he and Naruto spoke about many things, including the years of solitude, but the subject of Sasuke didn't come up again.
The ceremonial announcement was, by tradition, much more than a simple announcement. All work and school shut down for the day. A parade was held in honor of the new Hokage. Celebrations were in wild abundance everywhere, and the city gates were thrown wide to allow foreign officials to enter and pay their respects. Gaara came with his retinue, and was among the first to greet Naruto as an equal, as well as an old friend.
Towards the end of that upbeat and ecstatic day, Naruto addressed the crowded streets from the platform atop the Hokage building. He was dressed in his new robes, and holding the cue cards Kakashi had written up for him. Kakashi himself was standing behind his right shoulder, while Iruka was on his left. Moegi was now his personal assistant, having retired from ANBU. She looked festive and pretty in her silken purple dress.
He'd studied the cards feverishly, nearly sick with nerves at the coming speech he was supposed to make, but in the end, Naruto winged it. It was a trait he'd been known for in his youth.
"I'm not a complicated man," he began. His voice carried over the suddenly silent crowd. "And I won't make a complicated speech. I'll stick to the basics. Some of you might remember me from years ago. I've been…away, since Pain's attack on the city. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the Sixth Hokage."
He'd been planning to say more, but hearing the rumors confirmed at last, the entire city erupted in exuberant cheers. The platform Naruto stood on shook with their happy stomping, and there were chanted roars of "Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto! Rokudaime!"
It was some time before he was able to get on with what he had to say. He promised to protect the village. He asked that the Uchiha brothers be welcomed as rightful citizens, to which there were gasps and howls of gladness that survivors of that ill-fated clan were found.
There was silence again, as Naruto looked out over the crowd. It was strange and surreal to see tears on people's faces, eyes shining with love and pride, his image pointed out to babies too young to understand what all the noise was about. And there, in the forefront of the crowd immediately in front of the Hokage building, was Sasuke and his brother. Sasuke stared up at him intently, dressed in a dark hoodie and low cap in deference to the weather. Naruto's insides cramped at meeting that stare.
Naruto raised his head again and addressed the waiting faces. "Lastly, I want to issue a proclamation. It is my wish that you will spread this proclamation to every corner of the world. Daimyo, Kage, other leaders…see that the word goes out in your countries.
"Akatsuki is no more. A company of friends and I have successfully removed the stain of their existence from our lives. But Uchiha Madara is still at large. My proclamation is this, and I hope Madara hears it: Madara has one year from today to turn himself in. After that, I, Uzumaki Naruto, will personally come looking for him. I will find him. I will terminate his life without trial, with extreme prejudice, and with the full arsenal of my capabilities unchecked. Anyone found hiding him, with be treated similarly. Anyone found to have aided him will be treated similarly. Anyone who fails to come forth with knowledge of his whereabouts will be treated similarly if I learn of this knowledge. There can be no mercy. Let there be no sanctuary for him. That's all."
There was no cheering this time, but going by the looks on people's faces, Madara was very lucky he wasn't in the crowd. Naruto waved once, to which the cheers returned, and then he disappeared inside the Hokage building.
The celebrations went on long into the night.
The following morning, an ANBU agent showed up at the Uchiha apartment with a summons for Sasuke. Sasuke had been waiting six weeks for just such a summons, ever since waking up in Rain Country to discover Naruto gone. He grabbed his coat, and was out the door before he'd finished calling goodbye to Itachi.
The barricade looked the same, but now there was no camera, Sasuke saw. In fact, there was no electronic locking mechanism at all now. The barricade was locked via special seals. Three ANBU unlocked these, then placed their hands on the ground. An invisible barrier shimmered into sight, only to dissipate when the ANBU removed their hands.
No wonder I couldn't hack my way in, Sasuke thought sourly.
He was pointed through the tunnel, and allowed to go on alone. The barricade shut behind him, leaving him in darkness. The faint light at the other end of the tunnel didn't penetrate this far.
For a second, he remembered the last time he'd been in this very spot. He touched his left arm now, almost feeling Kisame's sword shear off the skin. He still had scars, but they were beginning to fade.
Then he remembered that Naruto was waiting for him, and he forgot everything else. He ran headlong through the tunnel, happy, and grinning, and wild with excitement.
Naruto scared the shit out of him by appearing as soon as he exited the tunnel. He stepped out of the bushes on the left side of the winding road, and Sasuke skidded in fright. Then he threw himself at Naruto, hanging on tightly and burying his face in the sheepskin jacket Naruto wore.
If Sasuke noticed that Naruto didn't return the hug, he didn't show it. Naruto lifted a hand to the low black cap, remembering the texture of Sasuke's hair, before gently extracting himself from the clutching hug. He stood looking down at Sasuke's shining face, and it hurt. Those dark eyes, that pink mouth, the fair skin… In that moment, every day he'd spent with Sasuke came to him as a weight on his heart and he faltered. His hands moved so that he could brush his knuckles against the wind-reddened cheeks. He leaned down to inhale Sasuke's breath, to smell him, to take him and never let him go.
Sasuke raised himself on tiptoe for a kiss, and Naruto stepped back at last. He'd made his decision, and it was the right one. He knew it.
"What?" Sasuke glanced behind himself to make sure. "There's no one around to see." It finally dawned on him that he wasn't being hugged, and that Naruto's expression wasn't happy or relieved. It was somber. Sad. Serious. "What?" he asked again.
"I held off sending for you-"
"I know," Sasuke rushed to say. "I get it, you're way busy now, with a bunch of responsibilities and people taking up your time."
"-because I needed time to think," Naruto finished.
Sasuke made himself wait and listen. It was hard to remember that Naruto did things in a particular way, his way, when all he wanted was to be devoured and adored and loved. It was wonderful having his brother back, and not having to hide or look over his shoulder. But Sasuke's young body missed having sex, and his heart was firmly stitched to Naruto's back pocket. He needed Naruto.
A bench that hadn't been there twenty-four hours ago sat to the left of the tunnel's exit. Naruto gestured to it, and Sasuke allowed himself to be led. They sat.
"I left Konoha," Naruto explained after some time had passed. "I left and just kept walking. I saw other villages, other cities. I saw a lot of things, but I couldn't stop seeing you in my head. And because I was finally seeing the rest of the world too, I learned some things."
Sasuke still felt okay. Impatient for this story to end, but he didn't think anything of Naruto's tone or words yet. If it had occurred to him that his time away from Naruto had eroded his ability to become attuned to Naruto's moods and feelings, he might have picked up on things sooner. As it was, he sat and waited, and tried not to shiver.
"I saw how people behaved with one another." Naruto went on. "How they behaved with me. They treated me as any ordinary man. I didn't scare them. Sometimes I slipped and caused a scene, but people shouted right back at me, and one man, after I'd thrown him for spilling my drink, picked himself up and beat me to within an inch of my life. It was…refreshing. I didn't use ninja arts, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I'm a monster, but not everyone sees me that way. You were the first, and I thought it was because of your feelings for me. But while I do scare some people, I don't necessarily scare everyone, and to some, many even, I was nothing special. I've spent so many years convinced that I was unfit to mix with people that it never occurred to me that I was wrong. That most of my problem isn't what happened to me…it's just me."
Sasuke continued to listen in silence, now absorbed despite himself.
"Something that really helped me was when we took on Akatsuki," Naruto said to his lap. "That had to be me at my worst, everything inside me completely unleashed. It felt so good, Sasuke. But I thought for sure everyone would be disgusted afterward. They weren't. It was no big dal to them. And after, when Tsunade died, and I saw all my old friends…they accepted me. I've been gone forever, but they still accepted me. Enough to vote me into office without knowing where I've been or why. And yesterday, I saw that the rest of Konoha accepts me too. They don't know what happened either, but they don't need to. And I need to stop using it as an excuse. I've been afraid for twenty-four years, and it's time I stopped running.
"Tsunade said something to me before she died. She said I could be healthy and find my way back, but that I couldn't do it alone. She's right. Choosing to be alone was maybe the worst mistake of my life. I made the situation worse when I could have been getting better. I see that now."
Sasuke looked at where Naruto had his hands clasped between his knees. "So what does all this mean?"
Naruto had dreaded this part since coming to his decision so many weeks ago. "It means I can't be with you, Sasuke."
Sasuke blinked. Then he stopped breathing. He remained calm. "I don't understand." Had to remain calm. Rational thinking under stressful conditions, that was his specialty.
"I love you more than my own life," Naruto said. "But I'm not ready for love. I'm not ready or equipped to handle a relationship. I don't even know myself, Sasuke. All I know is the tortured landscape of my mind."
"That doesn't make sense. If you're in love, don't you have to be ready for it whether you want to be or not? And if you know your mind, how can you not know yourself?" He was panicking. His breathing was coming faster, gusting out of him in white plumes, but he continued to sit stiffly.
"I know it's hard to understand, but…" Naruto stopped, then tried again. "When I was out wandering for that month, it hit me. How little I know about people. There's so much I don't know. You know that. I know you're aware of how…wrong our relationship became. The truth is, you're not ready either, Sasuke. It's not your age, or mine, or any of what people would probably think. We're just not ready. We've both been isolated. Grown up under extreme circumstances. We've hurt each other. A lot. And I think we'll keep on hurting each other until we hate each other, and then-"
Sasuke stood up. "This is about what I said, isn't it. What I said in the hospital."
"No-"
"I'll do anything you want. Anything to prove I didn't mean it, and that I'm sorry. You were right. I shouldn't have said I'd never say it again, and I'll probably get angry again in the future, but I never meant any of it!"
Naruto stood too. "You did mean it at that moment, Sasuke. And while that's not the reason, it does underline my point; neither of us knows how to behave in adverse situations. When things don't agree with us, we tend to…say things I'm sure shouldn't be said. We need time. To grow. To learn."
"So we'll get therapy," Sasuke yelled. He stepped forward and grabbed the front of Naruto's coat. "We'll do whatever needs to be done, we'll make it work, but don't cut me loose, Naruto. I can't take it."
The last time this scene had played between them, Naruto had been too weak, and thus too needy, to do what had to be done. What a difference entering the world made. Now he was able to bear the intense pain of tearing Sasuke loose of his heart, and telling him, "I'm sorry, but no." He pulled Sasuke's hands away.
"I love you," Sasuke said in a shaking voice. His tears were freezing on his cheeks.
"I know."
"You can't get rid of me."
"I can."
"You promised to never leave me."
"I'm breaking that promise."
"I'm never going to stop loving you, ever. Don't do this to me, Naruto. Please. Please."
"It's done."
"I'm not budging. You'll have to call ANBU to get me out of here, and even then, I'll keep coming back, and keep bugging you until you take me back."
Naruto weighed the threat in those eyes.
"Don't you love me at all?" Sasuke gasped.
"You know I do."
"Then why?"
Naruto brushed one of Sasuke's tears away with his gloved hand. "You said you'd do anything?"
Hope bloomed warmly in Sasuke's constricted chest. "Yes, anything, I swear."
"Then walk away. If in five years you can't answer that question, then you'll never understand, and we would never have made it."
Sasuke gawked, all but falling in the snow in his shock. "Five years? I can't stay away that long! I can't." His head shook wildly from side to side. "I can't live that long without you. This past month has nearly finished me."
Naruto backed away. "And that's why you need to go. Neither of us can see anything else. If it makes you feel better, I feel like dying at the thought of letting you go, but again that's why I need to do this. I hope you forgive me someday. Goodbye, Sasuke. Be safe."
He turned, and walked away. The winding road was covered with snow. More snow was falling heavily now, so that when Naruto turned a corner on that road, all Sasuke had to look at were the footprints he left behind.
"You were supposed to be my hero," Sasuke whispered brokenly. But Heroes didn't leave their lovers in the snow.