Hie..! Uh, sorry for the late update. School...

Heheh.

Um, I shan't take up anymore of your time.

Read on!

Dozo.

Oh, and disclaimers apply.


Voices of a Distant Star

CHAPTER 8

"Naruto's going to study Space Engineering?"

"Yeah, he's applying for admission. Imagine that…"

The said blonde kept silent as he changed his shoes. He couldn't be bothered about them. He had a goal now, a dream to—

He paused at the unexpected person awaiting him at the entrance. The familiar pale eyes stared almost hauntingly at him.

-line-

They ended up walking home together in silence. The softly falling snow further enunciated the quiet. As unnerving as it was, neither seemed to want to break it. It wasn't until a late few moments later that Naruto decided to voice his thoughts first.

"I thought I didn't have a choice, so I surrendered myself to fate."

Naruto paused, but went on at Hinata's silence.

"I know it might be too late; and I can't even guess how long it'll take – heck, we might not even get to meet—"

"But you're still going on ahead."

Hinata chose then to look imploringly at the now silent blonde. Naruto refused to meet her eyes. A long moment passed before he answered with a simple, "Yes."

The pale eyes stared at him for a moment longer before turning away. "I envy him…"

She walked a few steps absently in her thoughts before pausing again. "That boy is so lucky…"

Naruto finally turned his troubled blue eyes at the softly sobbing raven. His soft heart called for him to comfort the girl that had been his girlfriend, but he knew he shouldn't. And he wouldn't. It would only break her heart more. So he watched; and listened to the last few words she would ever tell him.

"If only I had met you earlier…"

And as a reply, he could only turn away. "I'm sorry Hinata. Sorry…"

-line-

A few days later, a list of wounded mecha pilots who were returning to Earth was announced.

-line-

"Oi, Naruto, you remember to pack your toothbrush?

Sasuke's name wasn't on it.

"Yeah, don't worry."

Jiraiya glared heatedly at his nonchalant blonde ward as the boy packed. "You know; if you had only told me earlier that you wanted to move into the hostel, I wouldn't need to have been so flustered in the first place!"

When Naruto proceeded to seem ignorant and deaf to his guardian's complaints, Jiraiya huffed and left the room. "Teenagers…"

The tanned hands paused as the bedroom door clicked shut. Without a second thought, the blue eyes roamed the room in search of the familiar orange cellular on the equally orange sheets. The tanned hands moved again, and this time, they were pushing familiar buttons into familiar beeps.

'Hey there, Sasuke.'

-line-

How are you coping up there?

The sky was ironically clear and blue.

Sorry I took so long…

It seemed to mock Naruto as they reflected his bleak blue eyes staring out the train window.

I've decided to head for space too.

He was on his way to the hostel; on his way to his new school; on his way to becoming a space engineer—

It might take me years, decades…

He was on his way – and he knew it when he looked up into the sky.

-line-

But I'm coming for you.

-line-

The uniform beats of a cardiac machine filled the white room ominously. Yet, the patient on the bed was awake, and very much alive. The doctor sitting behind the glass window didn't look worried either.

"You may still feel a slight numbness on your left side, but otherwise, you're fine. No serious injuries."

The pale-eyed patient smiled, crinkling the dark burn on his face, and thanked the doctor politely.

"You can turn back, and live an ordinary life, y'know. You sure you wanna carry on with the space force?"

The patient sat up slowly, still smiling politely at the doctor. "Yes. I'd like to, if I can…"

The doctor kept silent and read the patient's particulars again. Yes, the patient's name was Neji—

"In the force, I met people who have come to mean a lot to me. I wish to be near them. There're many nice people in my unit…

"My best friend is Sasuke. He cries so easily…

"And there's Commander Hatake, who's so understanding. Not to mention so mysteriously charming… You should have seen the look on his face when I got injured."

The doctor continued her silence. A picture of a familiar gray-haired man and herself sat by her elbow. It took her a moment to recompose herself to reply to her patient. "I- I see…"

So that was where he had been—

"Doctor…as it turned out…I wasn't shot down by a Tharsian, but one of our own. It was an accident, right?"

-line-

"Human beings crave for knowledge, but perhaps for the wrong reasons… Because when two people with different cultures come into contact, conflict is inevitable.

"Some people say that it's because living things have a natural fear of that which is different. But it isn't this merely an excuse for the horrible acts we commit in the name of self-defence?"

The unearthly glow of the nearby planet lit the strange gray hair of the silent commander like a soft halo. The whispered words that had fallen from his lips like a prayer now echoed silently in his mind as he continued to stare absently out the large window.

I feel the Tharsians have a much better foresight.

His breathing calmed him enough that he found himself almost in a meditative state.

For, the fight started because of us.

He watched, in that moment of calm, as the glow of the large planet they were passing finally gave way to the darkness of space.

Chances are, they'll understand us…

The last of the light faded from the room, only giving the familiar picture of Kakashi and his lost love a last mournful glance before filtering out.

faster than we can figure them out.

The sudden beep of the intercom startled the gray-haired man out of his thoughts.

"Commander Hatake, are you awake?"

He blinked at the familiar voice before calling out, "Yeah. Come on in."

The door of his quarters slid open, and a recently very familiar raven stepped in without restraint. Unexpectedly, Kakashi and Sasuke had grown rather close since the last jump, and had grown to regard each other almost as brothers – except with rank.

"There's still some time left before we reach Agartha, so they're calling for a briefing."

Kakashi frowned. "Another briefing?"

He sighed when Sasuke nodded and got up to change in the darkness.

"Those people have too much time on their hands."

Sasuke smiled at his commander's bluntly put opinion. He decided to put in his own choice of words. "I think they just need a distraction."

"Perhaps…you're right."

Kakashi finished and noticed that Sasuke seemed a bit distracted. Kakashi was slightly worried; the raven was so rarely distracted. "What is it?"

Sasuke blushed – further deepening the man's worry – and pointed at the wall vaguely. "Uh, is that…is that your girlfriend?"

Kakashi blinked, startled at the sudden question, and turned to the picture being pointed. "Well, she used to be. She should be a lot older now."

"Is he the one…you said you were afraid to meet?"

Sasuke expected the silence from Kakashi. And he knew, without looking, that there was that familiar longing on his face…

-line-

Either way, it's gonna take ages…

-line-

"Are you prepared to keep waiting for them to return?"

Neji glanced at the currently melancholic doctor and wondered why she looked so familiar.

"Yes…if possible."

Commander Hatake's carefully kept picture suddenly clicked in his mind, and Neji suddenly understood her longing pauses. He smiled kindly at the doctor.

"I can't read the future…so perhaps, it's the only thing I can do."

-line-

That's right.

The future is full of uncertainties.

-line-

Sasuke stared blankly out the window he leant on. His dark eyes were blank and lost in his thoughts. The briefing taking place around him barely registered in his mind as clutched his phone tight.

"Naruto…"

-line-

But Sasuke and I have decided…

Until we meet again…

-line-

Naruto stared blankly out the window he leant on. His blue eyes were dull and lost in his thoughts.

-line-

we will become adults alone…

...to be continued...


The next update should come out soon. Though it feels like an empty promise, and i dislike empty promises. Especially of I make them.

Hn.

BLEARGH.

:watcheva: