Sorry for the late chapter guys! I'm back at school, which means I'm busy, I'll try not too leave it for so long next time.

Oh and I haven't really had the time to read over this half, so Im sorry for any stupid mistakes, I'll be sure to fix them when I have the time, feel free to point them out in reviews.

Timeless

by ferriswheel95

Naruto sat on the edge of the hospital bed, the only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock on the wall. Walls which were the off white colour of every hospital, but the room was by no means cramped or dim, the window was open to the bright day outside and the breeze from it blew the blue curtains that hung around the sill. Sasuke sat in front of him on the seat, eyes closed and arms crossed across his chest, there was a scowl on his face and Naruto titled his head curiously, wondering how Sasuke could possibly not want to look out the window instead of encasing himself in the darkness of his closed eyes. Then Naruto thought a little harder.

"Na, I'm not happy to be in this situation either asshole…" Naruto tried softly, pouting slightly as turned his head to the side and glaring at the annoyingly loud clock! Sasuke's eyes finally cracked up and the glare was now for Naruto. His fists clenched tightly and he grit his teeth behind his closed, thin lined lips.

"Yes, but it's your fault we're here. So I have more of a right to be pissed about this than you!" He snarled angrily, standing and starting to pace again. He was doing it earlier while Naruto was being patched up with a large gauze and starch bandage that now wrapped around his lower torso, where the gash was in his side, and up over his shoulder for support. Then back down, then around again…

"Sasuke!" Naruto clicked his fingers to break the other from whatever trance he had gotten himself into. Sasuke just shook his head and sighed, bringing his arms up again to cross over his chest. At that point the door opened with a click and both boys looked up to be greeted by two very familiar faces. Naruto's eyes sparkled with excitement, even more so than when he met with Iruka at the gate.

"Old man…" He whispered, willing his eyes to stop watering. Even Sasuke was feeling the sudden nostalgia that suddenly drowned the small clinic room. Sarutobi's eyes crinkled with a small smile as he watched Naruto's glee morph the blonde's face into his signature grin.

"Old man!" Naruto yelled this time and in an instant he was off the bed and dashing towards the Hokage. In the blur of excitement, Sasuke could vaguely make out the tears that pooled in the bottom of Naruto's eyes and he couldn't help but think –

Weak…

Strong arms wrapped around Sarubtobi's neck for a warm hug and Naruto's head hung over the man's shoulder, who was now shorter than the ever growing blonde mess.

"Naruto...?" The man spoke, not expecting such an emotional reception and judging by Iruka's wide eyes, neither did he. After all, the brunette received no hug or tears of joy. Finally Naruto stepped back and rubbed at the tears with the back of his forearm then blinked away the rest, he gave one small smile.

"I've missed you…" He breathed out and in a blur Sasuke was next to him, covering Naruto's big mouth with his hand.

"Idiot!" Sasuke growled, a threat low in his throat. For a few moments, Naruto's eyes were wide with confusion before his mind finally clicked, just at the third began to chuckle.

"I see I must have passed by your time then..?" He pried and Sasuke groaned in defeat as he stepped back and ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes while Naruto panicked. The blonde began spluttering excuses and shaking his head in denial, hands up defensively. The old man chuckled again, while Iruka behind him simply seemed troubled.

"If you're going to be such an idiot about this shit, then we're going back right now!" Sasuke bit out, sounding like the angry parent with the screaming at their kid, who is throwing a tantrum, in the grocery store. Naruto's eyes silently pleaded to Sasuke that it was a mistake and the third just seemed bemused.

"You two haven't changed…" Sarutobi breathed, with almost what seemed like relief? Naruto and Sasuke both froze to stare at the old man… Well, one stare and one glare. Naruto's eyes darkened considerably, his heart clenching at the realisation that no, they have changed, completely. Neither of them were the same people anymore and for Naruto, that hurt. He wanted his best friend back after all, he wanted all his strength but without the pain that drove it to him. But that was selfish and Naruto knew there would have been no other way. Sasuke's thoughts wandered to his leaving of the village and training with Orochimaru, but his eyes and expression gave none of his discomfort away.

"Ah! We totally have! I'm way stronger now!" Naruto grinned, straightening himself up to accentuate his chest, he wasn't about to let himself be engrossed by depressing thoughts. Sasuke simply rolled his eyes and Iruka could be heard scoffing from behind the Hokage.

"What!" Naruto whined, hurt by his former teacher's obvious arrogance, or so that's how Naruto saw it.

"Those who are showy are often the weakest" he clipped out and Naruto could only huff and keep his mouth shut, because frankly if only this Iruka knew. Finally it was Sasuke's turn, recovered from the earlier remark about his lack of change by the Hokage.

"Why do you believe we're from the future?" He asked stoically, eyes of judgement rested upon the small (but Sasuke knew, all too powerful) man. Said man was able to stare back with an old and wise intensity that matched the Uchiha's.

"Because I was the one who created the jutsu" he countered and Naruto gave a small gasp, in what Sasuke could only guess, was delight.

"Then you can help us get back!" His eyes lightened again. Sarutobi frowned with thought before sighing, he nodded but looked worried.

"What?" Sasuke pressed, his own frown deepening, the Hokage's obvious worry reflecting and Uchiha's own sentiments and Naruto's grin faltered dramatically, a serious look on his face now.

"You'd need a tremendous amount of chakra, I would have to give up all of mine and consequently… I'd die, purely from exhaustion. The one flaw…" He explained and each time Naruto's eyes got darker and he sat on the bed again, deflated and tired.

Sasuke scoffed, "you say 'one flaw' like it's minute".

"Ma, I'm sure we'll get back when we can get back!" Naruto grinned again, his hopefulness radiating throughout the room and oddly enough, calming Sasuke. The raven frowned, disturbed by his response to Naruto's optimism but for some reason, Sasuke could see that it wasn't anything close to how pure it was as when they were children, it became more and more forced as they aged.

"Sasuke!" Naruto waved a hand in front of the obviously dazed Sasuke. Said boy blinked a couple of times before he focused on Naruto and Iruka who stood a few paces behind him.

"What?" Sasuke snapped, stepping back from Naruto who was leaned in entirely too close for Sasuke's comfort. He wasn't use to Naruto yet, he was good at acting, acting like they were still friends for the sake of his successful future but to actually rekindle their bond was out of the question. The very notion of it made Sasuke wholly uncomfortable, even the other's smell was the same and Sasuke chocked on it. Naruto flinched at Sasuke's defensiveness, so obviously while Sasuke wasn't used to being close to Naruto, Naruto wasn't used to not being close to him. Iruka watched from behind, disturbed by the sudden tension that suffocated the room.

"I was going to say, since you obviously tuned out, that the Hokage will have us watch over ourselves and the others while disguised –" He held out an anbu mask to Sasuke who just took it casually.

"And we wait… For him" Naruto's obvious contempt for Tobi was alarming to both parties in the room, neither of them experiencing such a black hate coming from the usually forgiving blonde.

"The others… Who would be most important to keep an eye on?" Sasuke asked. Naruto had turned towards the bed to grab his black t-shirt that hung over the edge along with his jacket. He shrugged both of them on slowly and Sasuke could tell that he wasn't being ignored, Naruto was thinking.

"Sakura-chan… Obviously" he muttered through lips that were pursed with concentration. Sasuke's gut twisted at the name, his own disdain for the pinkette pulsating thickly through the room. Naruto chose to ignore it, Iruka just scowled, feeling left out and continuingly worried with each interaction between the two and each unknowing revelation of what befell the future. Sasuke nodded for the other two continue.

Naruto rose a fist and began to count the names on his fingers, "Gaara, Shika, Kiba, Hinata, Kakashi-sensei…" he paused. Sasuke lifted his eyebrows, curious before Naruto looked not only worried but…

Frightened.

"What Naruto?" Iruka asked as he stepped towards the blonde, mirroring Sasuke's uneasiness.

"The village…" Naruto breathed quietly, his features relaxed but his eyes still shimmered with fear as he stepped over to the window and looked out.

"We will have to protect this entire village if we truly want to stop him from altering the future" he said from the window, back turned to the two. A loud crack alarmed Iruka and Naruto, making them both jumped. They turned to Sasuke, whose fist lay on the very cracked wall, his eyes burning red.

"Naruto! Stop making things difficult! First you say it's only to protect our lives, now it's everyone! Do you really think I'm up for protecting this god forsaken village!" He took an angry step forward and Naruto mimicked him.

"What do you want Sasuke! Do you want him to kill both of us when we're thirteen! Do you want him to do something that could alter our lives forever! Because I'm telling you, if things had gone any differently then… Then we wouldn't be who we are today! And you know what, through everything we've been through –"

"You still talk too much." Sasuke growled, cutting Naruto off. Hurt flashed through Naruto's eyes but Sasuke ignored it, he'd seen it so often and he'd heard it all before.

"I thought you would've wanted to change our lives, Naruto?" He grit out and Naruto just shook his head slowly.

"If anything had gone differently…" his hand travelled down and rested on his stomach, above the seal. "If anything, then… Then I wouldn't be so strong, neither would you and while I hate, I absolutely hate, how things are now, everyone still has a long way to go" Iruka's breath caught in his throat as he watched Naruto bear such wisdom on the usually wiser Uchiha. The two just glared at eachother, neither moving with the unsaid threat of a fist fight falling on top of them. Of course though, it wouldn't be a simple fist fight between these two if they let themselves be bettered by their rage towards eachother.

"I'm not making it difficult, I'm telling you, that if he comes after me and destroys the village on the way then I will stop him" Naruto sliced through the silence before fixing his mask on and storming out the door. Sasuke and Iruka stood eerily still before the raven let out a shaky breath and leaning against the wall.

"You two… You two aren't alright are you? Sasuke… What exactly happened in three years?" Iruka pressed and Sasuke only looked up at him with still eyes and thinned, closed lips.