Love & Truth
23. Questions, Bets
(Sasuke's POV)
I really thought that nothing could be worse than dobe being unconscious for so long, but...
„What is Sasuke-teme doing here? You managed to bring him back?"
These words did hurt deeply... they hurt so much, because they were coming from Naruto's mouth.
„What are you saying Naruto?" Sakura said, shocked by the question obviously.
„Is something wrong with it?" It was painful to see how lost he seemed about it.
„You and Sasuke are..."
„Sakura..." I drew her attention to me, her gaze looking questioning. I answered the unsaid question with a shake of my head. Once she seemed to get the message I walked out of the room.
L&T
(Sakura's POV)
As I watched Naruto, who once again fell asleep I could not help, but ask myself.
'Why? Why, when the things finally look as if they are clearing up, why do they mess up all over again?'
I stayed with Naruto for few more minutes, accepting that he is not to wake at the moment then I walked out of the hospital room, only to find a raven I knew was there.
I knew he would not admit it, but he looked as if on verge of tears.
„You okay?" I asked, even if I knew how stupid the question seemed in the situation.
„No..."
„What should we tell him once he wakes up?
„Leave that to me." He said only as he looked at the thing that glistened on his palm. I widened my eyes notably at the sight.
„Isn't that..."
„Naruto's engagement ring? Yeah, it is..."
„You're just... leaving him be?" I managed to ask only.
„Quite impossible with two children, don't you think?"
„Ah, yeah... What are we going to do with it? Are you going to keep them with yourself? Or will we feed Naruto with some made up story?"
„None of these... we'll just change the facts a bit. After all, there are flaws in both possibilities. If we fed Naruto some story he would not only ask a lot, but there's also the matter of resemblance... how many black-haired and black-eyed people like me run around?" Sasuke asked bitterly then continued. „As for keeping them, the children still need Naruto, as he is their mother, feeding them and such, besides... I don't have the heart to just take them from him..." He whispered.
„I know that we should probably just tell him... That he'd cope with it and eventually remember, but... I still can't help feeling that all that made us was a matter of chance... a result of a drunken night. That if not for the night then Naruto would overlook this and simply move elsewhere. I can't take that thought."
Sasuke then closed his eyes and I could not help, but give a small sound of surprise as a lone tear fell down his face.
I reached out my hand and with a light touch erased that tear.
In response he only opened his eyes and gave me a sad smile of gratitude.
I suddenly remembered that there were times when I would have killed just to see the raven smile. However this... It seemed simply too childish of a thought now, knowing what such a smile of the raven was caused by.
Engrossed in my thoughts like that I did not even notice when Sasuke left.
L&T
(Third Person's POV)
It took another two days before Naruto woke up again. When he did the raven was already by his side all day, thus was he the first one to notice.
„How do you feel?" He asked, still hoping somewhere deep inside that the loss of memories was only a temporary experience. Naruto's next words shattered the hope immediately.
„What are you doing here, teme?" The blonde asked, unaware, the tone ways different to how the two of them spoke together.
„We need to talk..." He sighed, pushing his unanswered question aside.
„What about?... When did you get back anyway?"
„Almost three years ago..."
„Aren't you confusing it with leaving?"
„You think that I look the same as when I left? That you look the same as during the war?" Sasuke asked, causing the blonde to finally look at himself... into a mirror Sasuke handed him.
„So these three years..."
„Are something that you forgot... You want me to fill you on something specifically?"
„How long was I out of it?"
„About a month, then you woke up and that was two days ago..."
The blonde processed the information for a while then continued.
„How did the war end?"
„We won of course..."
„So... Madara?"
„Dead."
„Killed by?"
„You and me... well, the finishing part."
„Whoa... I don't remember any of that... I only remember running to the Valley of the End... then... waking up? … I guess I really should have noticed something strange about that." Naruto sighed only.
„It was at the Valley of the End that we killed the man... After that and after a huge celebration I had chakra cuffs for two years. They're gone now for about ten months now... As for some other information... You need any?"
„I do, but... I really don't know where should I start..."
„Then let me do it."
„Go ahead..."
„So... I'll skip to after those two initial years for now, okay?"
The blonde only nodded at that.
„So... the day I was to take off my chakra cuffs Lee and Sakura announced that they are going to get married..."
„Sakura-chan and Lee? For real? Unbelievable..."
„They started dating not too long after the war ended so not that much, really. Anyway, that evening, after I got rid of those stupid cuffs, there was a party to celebrate it and... we kind of got totally smashed... and ended up in bed together... "
Naruto widened his eyes to an extent one would think impossible, gaping like a fish.
„Sasuke... What... I... We..."
Sasuke could not help, but smile sadly as he saw his blonde once-lover-and-fiancé react the very same way he did after their first night. The raven stopped for a while, still wondering whether he should tell the boy how he thought it through, but then he looked at the troubled face of his beloved at which he could only sigh.
'It will be better like that.'he tried to convince himself as he continued.
„There really were no hard feelings involved. We were just completely out of it and it sort of… happened." Seeing the hurt look on Naruto's face did not help Sasuke even in the least. „Well the whole point in this is... I think you should meet someone." Saying that the Uchiha stood up and walked through the room to the cribs that Naruto did notice being there. As the raven took two babies from it the blonde could only gasp.
„Naruto, meet our two sweet little mistakes, Makoto and..."
„... Yori." Naruto filled for the raven, looking half-dazed.
„You remember?"
„Nothing much, not really, but these names... I can't get them out of my mind for some reason." He said with a strained smiled. Then his face lit up a bit as he extended his hands closer to the raven. „Will you give them to me?"
„Sure thing, dobe."
Naruto groaned only at the nickname and looked at the two sleeping children he held. Then suddenly he remembered something. „And "Haku"? Why does this name of all appear in my mind? Why now?"
„There's a long story which I'd rather leave for later, but the short version is that during you stay as a captive along with other Jinchuuriki you named a small boy that."
„Ah... we were held captive?"
„Yeah. And it's pretty much the reason for you not remembering anything. Another group of sickos appeared, calling themselves the Rengoku and they tried to capture all the Jinchuuriki, then suck the Bijuu out of them and destroy them. Another of the Jinchuurikis - Amaya - told us that a guard knocked you unconscious before they started to extract the Kyuubi out of you, we think that is the reason for the memory loss... which reminds me that you still not speak with the fox, just in case you were curious."
„Kind of expected that, but I guess I can't really do a thing about it..." The blonde sighed as he tightened the embrace on the children he held. He then looked at the raven. „Do you want to hold one also?" He asked innocently.
Sasuke nodded only and soon he was taking the darker haired baby from the blonde's left arm.
As Naruto suddenly felt the emptiness he started studying his left had.
„What is it dobe?" Sasuke asked, seeing the strange motion.
„I just... Did I wear a ring or something? I just feel as if something is missing there."
„Well, you don't. Not any more... now if you don't mind I'll excuse myself and bring you the hag... she and the rest were worried like mad." He said and placed the baby he held in the crib.
„And what about you?" Naruto asked whispering.
„What?"
„Were you worried also?" Naruto asked a bit louder this time.
The raven came a little closer, then placed a kiss on the blonde's forehead before leaving. It was more of a subconscious motion than a fully-thought-through one. He then only stood in the door-frame for a bit. „I was worried also." He whispered.
'I was the one who was worried the most.' He wanted to say, but instead only turned and left the blonde struck speechless.
Naruto looked at the door for a long time, even after another of his friends from Konoha came.
He simply could not understand the contradictory waves the Uchiha was sending him
L&T
Sasuke laid on his bed, looking at the ceiling, being in a deep thought.
He thought back to the night of the engagement party, the way, Naruto's cheeks flushed once he had too much of a drink.
He thought back to the "day after" and how they become an established couple afterwards.
He thought to the hot life-searing kisses they shared during the blissful time they had.
However that was gone.
The raven no longer felt the presence of the sun-kissed blonde on the other side of his bed. It was all the worseas he knew that there is almost nothing left of the blonde's things in the house for he had decided to move it all back to the blonde's previous apartment. All his happiness has disappeared... and there remained only the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the house.
The raven realized how the blonde's presence melted the ice around his heart... for the soft flesh to be torn to pieces only.
Sasuke looked out of the corner of his eye at the picture Naruto drew while he was away. The picture of their first dream meeting.
The raven only sighed as he realized that it was his only hope for now, to supply Naruto with some memories every now and then, and hope that the blond would remember everything in the end... he did not want that to restrict Naruto, however. If the Jinchuuriki decided to pursue someone, the raven made up his mind not to interfere with the decision.
Yet it felt painful to even think that.
The raven was accustomed to the blonde being at his side that he felt a tearing at his heart, every time they parted.
He could not help but wonder whether Naruto remembered something, aside from the names, somewhere deep, deep in his mind.
'Or is it all lost already?'
He thought about how Naruto looked at him when he spoke about his changed version of their first night. As if he felt something was wrong about it.
'Is there some chance? Maybe?'
The Uchiha sighed and looked out of the window... the very same window Naruto left through when he disappeared.
„Whoa... I don't remember any of that..." The blonde's voice appeared in his mind. He knew that it was not meant like that but to the raven it felt as if the blonde was talking about their relationship.
'There is nothing left.'
The man sighed and returned to looking at the ceiling.
'If I continue to think like that, I'm going to drive myself crazy.' The raven thought bitterly.
'You want to bet on that?' The seal demon smirked in the tortured ninja's head.
'How much?'
Done~
I am so sorry that it is so short (^^;)
Also, just to warn you THERE most probably WON'T BE A CHAPTER NEXT WEEK! I won't have time to write it.
- that includes that I'm not sure whether I'll have the time to reply to your lovely reviews TT^TT... I'll do so once I get the time ;) -
See ya (in two weeks) ~ ( "-.-)/