Chapter Fourteen: Apologies
Disclaimer: Sorry guys; I own nothing
"You're back!" Sasuke exclaimed, running toward the tired, dusty individual.
"No running in the house, Sasuke." Okaa-san laughed.
Nii-san turned around, a smile on his face. Although dirt covered his face and clothes, Sasuke didn't hesitate to jump into the older boy's arms. He'd never been away from nii-san for so long before, and he didn't want to waste another second.
"How was the mission? What did you do? Did you defeat ninja?" Sasuke asked, clinging onto his elder brother's neck. "I want you to tell me everything."
Itachi opened his mouth, but instead of his voice, a deeper voice responded.
"Your brother is tired, Sasuke." Otō-san said, not moving from the kitchen table. "Let him rest."
"But…" Sasuke protested as Itachi set him down.
Pouting, he looked at his brother, who had knelt down to be eye-level with the five-year-old.
"Sorry Sasuke; another time." Itachi said, gently poking Sasuke's forehead. "I promise."
Sasuke opened his eyes to a white ceiling, and touched his forehead. Light streamed in from the window, and his tired eyes thought the ceiling looked a little blurry. Groaning slightly, Sasuke rubbed his eyes with one hand. Where am I? It's too quiet to be Tazuna's house.
"You're awake; Kiyoko-san will be sad to have missed it."
Sasuke turned to see Kakashi, sitting in a chair next to his bed, orange book in hand. Looking around, Sasuke noticed that he was in a hospital room. Right… Haku. But, why is Kakashi here?
"Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke greeted the man, his voice hoarse.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "I think that may have been the first time you ever called me sensei without sarcasm. Maybe I should go get a nurse to check if you've got a concussion, too."
Sasuke snorted in response and tried sitting up.
"Hey, easy, there." Kakashi said, putting his hand on Sasuke's back and shoulder, helping to prop him up. "You're still recovering."
"What happened?" Sasuke asked, and accepted the water that Kakashi handed to him.
"You nearly got yourself killed is what happened." Kakashi said. "You need to take it easy for the next few weeks, and Kiyoko-san has already informed me there will be dire consequences for all of us if you do not."
Kakashi sounded impassive, but Sasuke could see the concern in his dark eye. He flicked his gaze away from Kakashi, and allowed himself to remember what happened before he passed out. How long ago was that? A few hours? Was that yesterday? An image of Tazuna bleeding jumped in his head. More importantly, is Tazuna…
"And Tazuna?" Sasuke asked, not knowing if he wanted to hear the answer.
"Alive."
Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief; he wasn't sure why he cared, but… It was good to know the old man still lived.
"Sakura managed to save his life… and yours for that matter." Kakashi continued.
Sasuke stared at him. "What did she do?"
"Well, I ended up having to do an emergency blood transfusion, and since Sakura is O negative, she offered her blood for you, after stopping the bleeding from most of your wounds."
"I see." Sasuke said, turning his head. He stared out the window for a moment before, "Naruto said that Gatou surrendered."
"He did. Apparently, Naruto captured two of Gatou's men that harassed Tsunami and Inari, and forced them to take him to Gatou. Naruto wasn't super clear on the details, but he convinced Gatou to surrender."
"And it worked?" Sasuke asked, looking back at Kakashi.
"Not exactly." Kakashi said, shaking his head. "A couple of days later—"
"A couple of days?" Sasuke interrupted, eyes widening a margin. "How long was I out?"
Kakashi sighed. "A little over a week, due to severe chakra exhaustion and blood loss."
Kakashi paused, allowing Sasuke to process his words. He had heard horror stories of ninjas who pushed themselves too far, and if Sasuke had been unconscious for a whole week… No wonder Kakashi looked concerned.
"As I was saying, a couple of days after the attack, Gatou returned with a few injured ninja. Nothing happened because by that point, Kirigakure ninja had already arrived to arrest Gatou. Apparently, Gatou committed crimes against Kirigakure, and they executed him yesterday morning." Kakashi continued.
"And how did Kirigakure know to find Gatou there?" Sasuke swallowed.
"Naruto heard Gatou was a wanted man, and sent a message to Kirigakure to come arrest him." Kakashi explained.
"Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes, Naruto." Kakashi said with a nod.
"Did they arrest Zabuza, too?" Sasuke asked after a moment, settling back against the bed frame.
"No. Zabuza died from his wounds shortly after Haku had. We buried them in a small, grassy area which overlooks the bridge before they got there."
He remembered doing the same exact thing the last time too; it's where he went to pick up Zabuza's sword for Suigetsu. He hadn't really understood the decision last time, but Naruto had insisted and he didn't have the heart to resist.
"Why?" Sasuke asked, his voice a little hard.
"They died with honor, and we felt they should be buried with honor." Kakashi told him.
Honor my leg, Sasuke internally scoffed. He thought back on Haku, on the pity he showed Sasuke…
"When did we get back to the village?" Sasuke asked, changing the subject.
"We returned early this morning; you returned the day after the attack on the bridge. We called for a medic, and after treating you and Tazuna, they took you back here."
"Hn." Sasuke responded, suddenly not having any energy to say more.
So, they completed the mission without me… Sasuke looked at his sensei, suddenly wondering how long Kakashi had been in his hospital room, if they returned that morning. According to the clock, it was a little after 3p.m.
"By the way… Where did you learn to use lightning release like that?" Kakashi asked. "You used other lightning release jutsu besides the one I taught you."
"Kiyoko-san has many scrolls on different jutsu." Sasuke told him, which was true.
Of course, the general idea of how to use those jutsu were left over from what Kakashi had taught him in the original timeline, but his sensei couldn't know that.
"Hmm. Well, when you recover, remind me to teach you another thing or two." Kakashi ruffled Sasuke's hair – which he did not approve of – and stood up. "I am going to let you rest. Expect visits throughout the day; your teammates and Kiyoko-san have been worried about you."
Sasuke couldn't help but doubt Kakashi's words a little, though he didn't voice them. A nurse walked in right then, nodding his greeting to Kakashi as the silver-haired jōnin departed. The nurse checked Sasuke over, asked if he was in pain, and then left again with a promise a doctor would come see him shortly.
Sasuke leaned back in bed for a moment, before swinging his legs over. He set his left foot down first, and carefully stretched out his right foot. Though stiff, the motion didn't hurt, so he put his right foot down before carefully standing up.
His right leg felt weak, but otherwise remained painless. Sasuke was just about to take his first step when the doctor came in, who gave him a disapproving frown.
"Sit back down." The older man ordered. "I want to check your leg before you try walking."
Sasuke suppressed an eye roll, and obeyed.
"My name is Kenji, and I am going to take a look at your leg and your chakra coils." The doctor said as he came toward Sasuke.
With glowing hands, Kenji ran his hand down Sasuke's leg. Sasuke twitched involuntarily as he felt the man's cool, probing chakra run through. Grunting, the man stood up, and told Sasuke to lay down. Once he did, Kenji closed his eyes and put his hand to Sasuke's chest.
A warmth buzzed through Sasuke's body, and although the sensation wasn't exactly unpleasant, Sasuke found himself working against the impulse to squirm.
"Your leg looks good; I would recommend you go on short walks for exercise," Kenji said when he finally stopped.
Sasuke sat up – lying down was far too vulnerable a position – and looked at the doctor directly in his eyes.
"But since you are a ninja, and I know how ninja work, I will tell you this: you can do light taijutsu and shurikenjutsu with supervision for half an hour each day. However, don't use chakra for at least two more weeks."
Sasuke gave him a look; no chakra? Light taijutsu and shuriken jutsu only, and with supervision at that? What am I, a child?
"If I learn you try to use chakra, I will not hesitate to issue a state mandated chakra suppressor, Uchiha-san. I am also recommending that you refrain from missions this week; I will inform Kakashi-sensei of all these things."
Sasuke glare turned fiercer in response, but the man didn't even twitch.
"Sasuke-san, do you want to remain a ninja?" Kenji asked after a moment.
"Obviously." Sasuke said.
"Then do what I say. You have to understand that you pushed yourself too far. If you had used any more chakra on the battlefield, best case scenario you would have died. Worst case, you would never have been able to perform another jutsu for the rest of your life. Do you understand?"
Sasuke nodded, but didn't soften his glare.
"You need to rest. If you try to push yourself too soon, you may still end up damaging your chakra or your leg beyond repair. Do you understand?"
"So, I can't do anything?" Sasuke asked.
The doctor pressed his lips together and sighed. "You may use one jutsu for a maximum of five minutes per day. I do not want to see you in this hospital again any time soon, Uchiha-san."
After informing Sasuke he wanted to keep the raven-haired youth until the following morning, Kenji left to see his next patient. Frowning, Sasuke got out of bed the moment the man left the room.
The doctor had said he could go on walks, so walking was what Sasuke would do.
His leg felt stiff, but by the time Sasuke reached the end of the hall, it almost felt normal. When he turned the corner, he saw a flash of long, pink hair. She turned her head, and a large smile that reached her green eyes immediately appeared.
She's… here? Why?
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, walking towards him with a vase of flowers in her hand. Her smile shifted to a concerned frown as she looked at a clock. "Should you be out of bed already? I heard from Kakashi-sensei that you only woke up fifteen minutes ago."
"I'm fine." Sasuke told her, searching her face.
The bitterness that he'd grown accustomed to seeing in her eyes was absent, and the relief he felt was stronger than he'd like to admit.
"What's wrong?" Sakura laughed a little nervously.
Sasuke shook his head; she didn't need to know he felt grateful she wasn't glaring at him anymore. But why am I?
"I'll… walk back with you to your room, if you want?" she asked, and Sasuke nodded.
For a somewhat awkward minute, neither of them said anything as they walked back to his hospital room.
Then, Sasuke said, "Sakura—"
"Sasuke-kun, I—" Sakura said at the same time.
They looked at one another, and Sakura giggled. "You can go first."
"I want to… thank you." Sasuke said. "Kakashi told me you saved my life. I want to thank you for that, and for helping me while I was in Haku's ice mirrors."
Sasuke paused, before remembering his fight with Zabuza and said, "Also, for helping me with chakra control the last two months; I don't think I've ever thanked you properly for that."
She looked at Sasuke with raised eyebrows before a smile flitted on her mouth.
"Of course!" She said, shaking her head. "You're my teammate, Sasuke-kun; I'd do anything for you."
Sasuke stared ahead, not letting himself look at her. Anything? No, you shouldn't say stuff like that, Sakura. I don't deserve it; I haven't even said sorry to you yet. Sasuke's fist involuntarily clenched, and his chest felt tight.
"Though, I wish I could have done more while you fought Haku." Sakura said after a moment.
"No, you did great." Sasuke found himself saying. "The flying stones were enough to not only distract Haku, but helped weaken the mirrors."
"I guess so… Still, I feel like it's me who should be thanking you. I probably would have died if you hadn't… and then you almost…" Sakura stopped walking and looked down for a moment. Sasuke stopped walking, and turned to her.
A shadow seemed to have passed over her face, and her hands balled into tight fists. Suddenly, Sakura looked directly into Sasuke's eyes.
"Sasuke, when you're well enough to train, I want us to resume our daily training sessions. And I want you and Naruto to go harder on me. What happened with Haku and Zabuza cannot happen again; it just can't. I talked to Kakashi-sensei too, and he agreed to help us all get stronger."
Sasuke looked at her with surprise, and then nodded. She smiled, and they resumed the slow walk back to his hospital room in a more comfortable silence. When they reached the room, Sakura opened the door, and stepped inside with him.
"Oh, and these are for you." She said, gesturing to the flowers in the simple crystal vase. "I heard flowers help brighten up hospital rooms, which can help with recovery. Boosts morale, you know?"
Sasuke leaned against the wall by the door with his arms crossed, and watched her put the vase on the windowsill. I need to… Sasuke's heart beat heavily.
"Sakura." Sasuke said, not wanting to waste another second.
She turned around in surprise. "Yes, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke stared at her, his mouth suddenly forgetting how to work. What if she laughs? What if she rejects it? What if she's just pretending to be nice because that's what you are supposed to do when you have an injured teammate? What if—
"I'm sorry." He told her at last, cutting his thoughts off.
Sasuke held his breath as he watched her face. At first, she looked confused; then, surprised. Finally, her green eyes softened and a gentle smile graced her lips.
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun. I forgive you." She told him.
Sasuke stared at her, and shook his head. No; this is too easy. It's too much like when he apologized.
"No, I mean… You were right. I haven't… I haven't…" Sasuke looked away, and recollected himself.
He was not a coward; he would apologize to her like a man, and own what he had done. He would not give her an empty apology.
Looking back at Sakura, who had a pleased, but puzzled expression, Sasuke stepped forward, gulping.
"I know I haven't always treated you with respect, and I apologize. It's just that… I need you to be stronger. Not because I think you're useless, but because I need you to not die. And I am sorry that I hurt you. B-back when we sparred, and also for making you feel… Um, useless. You're not! Useless, I mean. I, I don't… think that."
Sasuke's cheeks burned, and he couldn't take Sakura's kind gaze any longer, so he at last looked away. I cannot believe I stuttered, Sasuke thought, hoping he wasn't blushing as hard as he felt. I bet she's laughing at me; dammit where was that eloquent apology I had a week ago?
He heard her shift, and looked up only when Sakura stood in front of him.
Sakura hesitantly put a hand on the side of his shoulder, and smiled. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun. I know that it's hard for you to open up, so I appreciate you saying that."
She gave a quiet chuckle, and Sasuke frowned.
"Just like that?" Sasuke blurted.
Why isn't she demanding a better answer? Why isn't she scoffing? Why is she looking at me like that?
Sakura dropped her hand and tilted her head, her kind gaze never faltering.
"Sasuke-kun, you really don't get it, do you?" She shook her head and stepped back a little. "Please believe me when I tell you this: you are my teammate. You are my friend. As far as I'm concerned, you are family, and family forgives each other. There is nothing you could do that I won't forgive."
But she doesn't know everything that I did… Would she still forgive me if she knew I killed her? He hoped so.
"With that said, if you ever act like a jerk again, I do expect an apology. You can't just keep walking all over me, and I'm not going to let you anymore, either." She said, her eyes a hard warning.
Sasuke nodded, looking away for a moment. "That's… fair."
"And… and while I'm not asking you to open up more than you're comfortable with, I do need you to start answering when I ask questions or say something to you. I can't read your mind, you know." She said, her voice shaking a little.
"I… can do that." Sasuke agreed.
"So, do you promise to not look down on me anymore?" Sakura asked.
Sasuke nodded, and she smiled.
"I'm sorry, too. For calling you a coward I mean. You're not; I was just really mad at you." Sakura said, twirling a piece of hair. "And also, for ignoring you… Kakashi told me that really upset you, which wasn't my intention."
Kakashi what? Sasuke's cheeks felt warm again and he looked away, causing Sakura to laugh.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I, uh, I'm going to be an intern at the hospital starting tomorrow."
Sasuke looked back at her with a raised eyebrow to indicate he wanted her to continue.
She blushed, and said, "When the Konoha medic team arrived, they were really impressed with what I did for Tazuna and offered to help train me. I can't actually work at the hospital since I'm not a chūnin, but I get to be an intern at least."
"Congratulations." Sasuke said.
"Thanks, Sasuke-kun." Sakura smiled. "I really feel like it'll be the first step to becoming the best kunoichi I can be. I'll see you tomorrow!"
Looks like things are finally back to normal, Sasuke thought as she smiled at him, waving her goodbye. Good.
She walked out the door, and Sasuke made it back to the bed. Apologizing to Sakura left him feeling somewhat strange, but he was glad to do it. Truthfully, a weight Sasuke hadn't noticed before lifted off of him, and he felt like he could breathe properly.
More than anything, he was grateful things were back to normal between then.
Sasuke pressed his lips together; But why did I need things to go back to normal so badly? The whole week we were at odds were… unpleasant. That must be the reason. But why…
Shaking his head, he laid down, and dismissed the thoughts. Instead, he began to play back everything that happened in the Land of the Waves. How useless, how helpless he had felt. Sasuke was glad Tazuna hadn't died after all, but…
The door opened with a loud thud, and Sasuke turned to see who it was. Sasuke frowned.
"Hey, teme!" Naruto exclaimed a little too brightly, coming in. "Sakura-chan's been so worried for you this past week. Tazuna and Tsunami, too. You should write them a letter saying you didn't die."
"I'll get right on that." Sasuke said as he sat up, irritation growing upon seeing the whiskered idiot.
"Tazuna was really lucky to have Sakura-chan there." Naruto said, taking a seat next to Sasuke's bed. "I think they nearly named the whole bridge after her, but they ended up calling it The Great Hope Bridge instead. Which is kinda lame, if you ask me-"
"Where were you?" Sasuke interrupted.
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "What do ya mean? I mean, I would've gotten here sooner, but I had to talk to the Hokage after the debrief, and then-"
"During the battle, where were you?"
Naruto stared at Sasuke, shame swimming briefly in his blue eyes. It disappeared a moment later, and Naruto pulled up a forced grin.
"Oh, funny story. I ended up sleeping in, as you know, and by the time I woke up these two goons were trying to kidnap Tsunami and Inari. I of course beat them up real good, and then forced them to take me to Gatou. I figured I could get him to surrender, and I did!"
"So, you decided to go after Gatou?" Sasuke asked, his voice hard.
Naruto's grin slipped, and he gripped his knees.
"I mean, yeah. I thought that I could solve the issue without bloodshed-"
"I always knew you were an idiot, but this is a new level even for you." Sasuke said, glaring at Naruto.
"Hey, that's a bit harsh." Naruto said, looking away. "Kakashi-sensei wasn't happy either, but he understood."
"Naruto, you left your team to go off on your own." Sasuke said, remembering the battle, remembering how desperate he felt.
Naruto looked back at Sasuke with wide eyes.
"I'm sorry Sasuke, but I was trying to solve this whole situation without getting anyone killed!" Naruto argued, almost sounding desperate.
"Sakura could have died." Sasuke said, heat rising in his chest. "Tazuna almost did! And where were you? Trying to keep the enemy safe."
Naruto drew back in the chair, looking uncomfortable. "W-What are you talking about?"
"Don't insult me." Sasuke snarled. "You and I both know that's why you did it. You didn't care about the mission; all you cared about was keeping Haku and Zabuza alive."
"I thought you guys could handle it!" Naruto exclaimed, standing up so quickly the chair behind him fell over.
"You abandoned your team, Naruto." Sasuke said, and for some reason Itachi flashed through his mind.
Naruto's defensive position turned into a more offensive one. His nose flared and anger replaced the guilt in his eyes.
"Oh, that's rich coming from you!" Naruto growled, clenching his fists. "You would abandon your team the first chance you get! Means to an end, remember?"
"You're not me." Sasuke hissed.
They glared at each other in silence.
"And your plan didn't even work." Sasuke found himself saying, unable to contain the bitter words. "They still died, and we almost failed our mission. If you had been there-"
"What? If I'd been there, then what? The outcome would have been different?"
"Yes."
Sasuke glared at him, anger seething through. If Naruto had shown up when he was supposed to, Tazuna wouldn't have almost died. He would never have had to fear for Sakura's life.
They would have worked together to defeat Haku and maybe even have had a chance to help Kakashi with Zabuza. He knew it deep down in his bones and it infuriated him that Naruto had been so selfish — off trying to be a hero when he was needed elsewhere.
"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, eyebrows shooting up, irritation and shame melting off the dobe's face. "Your eyes!"
"Tch." Sasuke huffed, deactivating his Sharingan as he looked away.
He had forgotten that they activate whenever he experiences strong emotions. If he wanted to keep from injuring his chakra coils, Sasuke would need to be more careful.
"You… When did you activate your Sharingan?" Naruto asked, relaxing his posture.
Sasuke remembered the desperation he felt to protect Sakura, but chose not to say anything. He continued to glare at Naruto in silence, who stared back with eyes of remorse.
Naruto released a heavy sigh, and slowly righted the fallen chair before sitting back down.
"Okay. You're right." Naruto said, surprising Sasuke. "I didn't want Haku to die; I didn't even want Zabuza to die."
Naruto paused, and closed his eyes as he rubbed his temples. When he opened them again, Sasuke once again saw the shame and the guilt. Quit looking at me like that, Sasuke thought, forcing himself to not look away.
"I really thought that you guys could handle yourselves against them. If I thought even for a moment that you couldn't, I would've gone to the bridge straight away." Naruto said softly.
Sasuke wanted to stay angry. He wanted to yell, call Naruto an idiot…
"But why would you even want to save them?" Sasuke asked instead, exhaustion replacing rage. "They do not deserve your mercy."
"No, they don't." Naruto agreed. "But it's my choice anyway. The way I see it, if I can help someone, or even save them, I will. If there's a chance, I'll take it, no matter what."
Sasuke stared at him, suddenly feeling even more drained. Of course, he'd say that. That foolish idealism of his never changes.
"You can't save everyone, Naruto." Sasuke pointed out. "You shouldn't save everyone."
"Maybe not, but I sure as hell am gonna try." Naruto said, his voice heavy.
Yes, you would. Sasuke flicked his gaze to his own hands, before looking back at the blonde.
Naruto leaned forward and said, "I really am sorry, Sasuke. I won't abandon you guys again; you can count on that."
After a short and intense staring contest, Sasuke finally broke it by rolling his eyes. Sasuke knew Naruto too well to not believe him.
"Be more careful next time." Sasuke told him.
"I promise." Naruto said. "So, we good then?"
As far as I'm concerned, you are family, and family forgives each other, Sakura's words filtered through his mind.
"Hn." Sasuke responded after a moment, looking away.
"Good!" Naruto nodded with his arms crossed, looking rather pleased with himself.
Sasuke snorted, and rolled his eyes.
"How did… you do it? Make Gatou surrender without bloodshed?" Sasuke asked, not quite looking Naruto in the eye.
"Oh, uh..." Naruto diverted his eyes and scratched the back of his head. "I scared them real good. I overwhelmed them with my awesome power, and they surrendered."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. That's it? That's all you're going to say? He almost said as much, but then he caught Naruto's eyes. There was a hint of a hopeful sort of fear, which looked far too out of place on the blonde. But what…
He doesn't want to talk about it, Sasuke realized. Why? Naruto silently pleaded with Sasuke to not press, and Sasuke remembered all of the times he silently pleaded with Naruto to not press something. Usually, Naruto respected the silent request.
It's none of my business, Sasuke decided, and kept his mouth shut. Naruto looked visibly relieved.
"Has Sakura-chan come by yet? Did she tell you the news?" Naruto suddenly asked.
Sasuke raised his eyebrow at Naruto, who took it as a means to continue.
"Her getting her internship! You should have seen the medics! They were so impressed with her, and she was blushing so hard. It was pretty funny. Though, I think Kakashi-sensei is gonna start training us super hard, which I am not looking forward to, and…" Naruto kept going, talking a mile per minute.
Sasuke gave noncommitted noises to indicate he was listening, rolling his eyes every so often. Naruto also mentioned he became Inari's pen-pal, and that the boy was looking a lot livelier than when they first got there.
Naruto was still talking when Kiyoko-san walked into the room, her niece in hand. Aiko took one look at Naruto, turned red, walked out the door, and then returned not a minute later. Naruto gave up his seat for Kiyoko-san, and Aiko-san stood with Naruto. Soon, laughter filled the room and they ate Kiyoko-san's homemade onigiri and her interesting miso tomato soup.
Sasuke remained quiet for the majority of their stay – opting to listen and observe – and he found the situation to be tolerable. When the sun started getting low, the three of them left Sasuke to his own devices.
It wasn't long before Sasuke once again went over the battle, Sakura's quick forgiveness, and what Naruto said. Naruto really is an idiot, isn't he? Sasuke found himself thinking; who in their right mind would try to help the very people who tried to kill him?
Classic Naruto, his foolish teammate. He did the same for Sasuke more times than the dobe should have. His loyalty really was something else.
Loyalty…
Another face shifted into Sasuke's mind, and he frowned. Why be loyal to someone who hurts you? Why be loyal to a village that asked you to kill your own family? Not to mention that after Itachi completed his 'mission,' the village abandoned him – leaving him to become a pariah, just to keep the village safe.
Just to keep Sasuke safe.
Sasuke groaned, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. Am I really worth dying for though? Really worth killing your own family for? Really worth Naruto's and Sakura's loyalty, years after my defection?
Even now, his only goal is to destroy Konoha. If Naruto knew, would he still be so loyal?
Of course, he would.
Sasuke knew it. Even after the Hokage Summit, Naruto never wanted to kill Sasuke. Heck, even when Naruto did kill him, he was crying! The only reason Naruto actually did it was because Sasuke had killed Sakura – and he deserved his death.
Either way, no matter how Sasuke thought of Itachi's actions, Naruto's actions, and even Sakura's unwavering affection for him, he simply did not deserve it. Why couldn't anyone else see that? Were they all blind?
Sasuke had no love for Orochimaru, had no respect, but in a twisted way, Orochimaru seemed to be the only one who saw Sasuke clearly. Orochimaru understood Sasuke's intentions, and Sasuke understood Orochimaru's intentions.
Indeed, it was in Orochimaru's cheerless caverns that Sasuke felt most comfortable. Away from the light, and encouraged to go darker because that's who Sasuke was. Orochimaru, who never truly knew Sasuke, saw that. Why couldn't Itachi, or Team Seven?
"You would abandon your team, first chance you get!" Naruto's words echoed in Sasuke's head. No… Naruto did know. Naruto did see. He just didn't care.
"Why?" Sasuke whispered the question out loud, and stared out the window. He could almost make out the Fourth Hokage's face from his vantage point.
Sighing, Sasuke allowed his mind to drift to a place he usually never allowed: the Valley of the End. Standing on the water, Naruto with an anguished sadness in his red, foxlike eyes, saying, "When I'm with you… I wonder… if it's like being with a brother."
Even after Sasuke tried to destroy those bonds, Naruto kept coming back. Kept telling him that there was a place for him on Team Seven. Kept assuring Sasuke that it wasn't too late. Kept reminding Sasuke of everything he wished to forget.
Naruto knew Sasuke would abandon him, and yet made it very clear he wouldn't do the same because as far as Naruto was concerned, they were brothers.
Brothers… Sasuke scoffed; maybe they were like brothers. He did to Naruto exactly what he thought Itachi had done to him, after all.
The only difference was, Naruto kept fighting for Sasuke's sake. What could have happened, if Sasuke had done that? What could have happened if, instead of training to kill Itachi all those years, he trained to reconcile with him?
Is it… too late?
He pondered the question. It's not like Itachi is dead yet. Since returning to his twelve-year-old form, Sasuke had been working on getting stronger, primarily to kill Danzo and to destroy Konoha. He figured he could straighten things out with Itachi later, but would it be so bad to try and find Itachi first?
It's what Naruto would have done.
Sasuke briefly wondered how Naruto would feel to know that his ridiculous ideologies had rubbed off on Sasuke, and laughed. He knew exactly how Naruto would react, which is why he would never tell Naruto; not even on his deathbed.
So, I'll find Itachi first, then. The thought made Sasuke unexpectedly… not happy, exactly, but something like it. Strangely enough, Sasuke suddenly felt he could breathe easier, and that he could see better. Like a film had been removed from his eyes.
Did he activate his sharingan again? Sasuke shook his head; of course, he hadn't. Believing that he might be going crazy, Sasuke decided to sleep. Besides, he needed sufficient rest if he would come up with a solid plan to not only find Itachi, but get him to talk.
Sasuke just hoped his elder brother would do more than apologize when he found him. Perhaps foolishly, Sasuke hoped that Itachi would tell him everything.
"Did you hear?" a man with blonde hair asked with a smile. "That the Kyubi has been spotted in a tiny country, un?"
"That is why we've gathered, is it not?" A man with leathery skin, drawled.
"Well," a third man with a particularly nasty, shark-like grin began. "My partner and I are closest to the area. I think we should go check it out."
Author's Note:
Thank you everyone for the sweet feedback! I enjoyed reading your guys' theories, as well :)
Also, this chapter was a lot of fun to write (awkward Sasuke is surprisingly really quite enjoyable - it's just too bad we don't get to see it very often!). Furthermore, we are going to be starting the Chunin Exam Arc soon, which means...
Things are gonna happen.
Anyhow, I hope ya'll have a lovely rest of your day (and hope for nice weather!)