1/2
Sasuke hasn't said anything to me since that day. My birthday, once again, is coming up.
I expected him to do something about it early on, but he hasn't been talking to me. Not even when we cuddle here and there.
Something is wrong.
"Sasuke?" I murmur into his ear from behind. I had climbed down from my bed to lay with him on his futon.
"Hm?" He says, not completely awake to drink in anything important or realize what's going on.
"Is the device on your ankle uncomfortable?"
He turns his head to look me in the eyes, grogginess laced in his gaze like a sailor after a drinking feast. "Kind of."
"Can I be little spoon this time then?"
I sometimes kick his device in my sleep so I had to make sure. I know how much he dislikes being uncomfortable when he needs his sleep.
"Whatever..." He turns his head back around as I clumsily roll over him to lie in front of him. "Can you not do that?"
"It's much faster."
He sighs, not wanting to argue with me. "Sure, alright. Go back to sleep."
I try to go to sleep but I can't. Sasuke is barely holding me. It's like he doesn't want to.
"Tell me, Sasuke... Do you actually love me?"
Sasuke turns over to his other side, covering his head with the cover. "Goodnight, Naruto."
Why is he so dismissive toward me?
"Sasuke, just tell me..."
"Good-night."
I sit up and comb my fingers through my hair, sighing heavily. "Sure, Sasuke. Goodnight."
[Sasuke's POV]
I wake up to the sound of blaring sirens somewhere in the distance. I try to ignore them, pretending they're not there until an announcement catches my attention;
"This is not a drill. Naruto Uzumaki has been weaponized by Danzo. I repeat, Naruto Uzumaki has been weaponized by Danzo. Be safe and follow protocol. Thank you."
My heart hurts as I stumble downstairs to Kushina, seeing her crying on the couch. I hesitate, wondering if she thinks I'm behind this.
She meets my gaze and I flinch, wondering if I made a mistake coming down here. She doesn't say anything for a few seconds and then pats the couch beside her, smiling reassuringly.
I slowly make my way to her and sit down, tensing when she wraps an arm around me. She holds me close and rubs my arm, sniffing.
"Why didn't you tell us someone had invaded Konoha?" She whispers as if someone might hear us.
"I thought you would have been thinking I was behind it all."
"Is that why you didn't tell us about Naruto?"
"Someone was watching my every move. If I said anything, I would've endangered Konoha."
"The Akatsuki has been defeated, right?"
"The Akatsuki has someone with Rinnegan. They travel through space and come back. Nothing can stop them except death."
She touches my hair just like my mom used to do, making my heart sink. I don't want to replace my mom but I also don't want to be attracted to Kushina if I'll be sent away. I don't know what to do. Her touch is comforting and it hurts.
"Sasuke, I know how it feels to be the odd one out. I have fiery-red hair and everyone around me years ago made fun of me for it. You're an Uchiha and everyone hates you for being apart of that clan. You see, Sasuke, being something doesn't mean you're different. You're one of the same. People are judgemental because you're not them as a person."
"I pushed Naruto away, and..."
"It's not your fault, Sasuke. Naruto Uzumaki is just like me and his father. He tries to be stoic and unwavering, but at the end of the day, he's still Naruto. He'll come back one day."
"Why are you nice to me?" I lean into her touch, missing the motherly comfort against my better nature.
"Because you were there when his father wasn't. You were the strength that Naruto needed to stay here with us. If you weren't his friend, his mind would've guided him to Orochimaru, Danzo, or the Akatsuki. People change if there's nothing to stop them from changing and you changed him for the better."
"I still hid him from everyone."
"And you had a reason for it, Sasuke. We all saw how badly Naruto wanted to keep you close and it opened my eyes. He's no longer my baby boy I carried for nine months. He's a man who's going to be stronger than all of us one day."
"My mom would've said the same thing."
"She also would've told you that life is hard and nothing will be easy. Keep your head up. Naruto will come back. He needs to hear you apologize, right?"
I release a shaky breath, nodding. "Right..."
"I cooked some food. Go help yourself after washing up. I made enough to last until tomorrow."
"Thank you, Kushina."
"Anything to help."
[Naruto's POV]
It turns out Danzo had faked his death and triggered my transformation as the Nine-Tailed Fox once more. I almost destroyed Konoha like last time but all the Shinobi and Kage helped to bring me back.
My dad tightened the seal on my stomach and led me here to the interrogation room.
"I'm starting to think zombies are real because we all saw Kakashi impale him in the chest with Chidori." My dad mutters, reading the report that has been written with my statements. "Why is he specifically going after Naruto? What is his goal besides domination?"
"Maybe the Ten-Tailed Beast." I say, making a guess from something I recently read in the scrolls. "It's said that a god can be made by collecting all the beasts and eating the fruit. I can't remember what it exactly says but it has something to do with chakra."
"Why would Danzo want to be more powerful than he is now?" My dad asks.
"Same reason why there's a blood prison full of people. Incriminating reasons. He wants to control everything to his liking. I'm guessing he never liked how you or anyone else handled things and now wants to control everything in his grasp."
"So we consider Danzo an S-ranked person?" Kakashi asks, looking better than before. It seems like he wants to resolve this before resting in bed. I understand his need to work hard through the exhaustion.
Work comes first when it's urgent.
"He has an arm full of Uchiha eyes so we might have to, Lord Hokage." Shikamaru says, reading the bingo book on the table.
"What happened to the Akatsuki?" I ask randomly, wanting to make sure the situation is handled.
"We requested a different cell for them so they're not coming out for a long, long time." My dad turns the report and shows it to me. "Naruto, if you were to have Six Paths Sage Mode powers, would you consider fighting for Konoha?"
"Why would I be given this?"
"You have Kurama's chakra in you and you're able to activate that power using it. I will do it with you if you want. After all, I have half of Kurama in me too."
"Okay." I nod. "What do I need to do first?"
"Befriend the beasts."
I narrow my gaze. "Now you're just pulling my leg."
"I'm not. In case something changes in the plan, you'll have the eight other tailed beasts to help you. Kurama's a little stubborn and a tsundere but he'll get there."
I grin. "What else do I have to do?"
"To put it simply, the Six Paths Sage Mode is a power that Hagoromo Otsutsuki will gift to those for having a strong will and the guts to never give up. You will have to prove to him that you're not going to use it for the wrong intentions."
"Where will I find this guy anyway?"
"Oh, he's somewhere these days. Probably on the moon." My dad says, quickly flipping through papers.
You skipped that question pretty fast. Is there something you're not telling me? Let me guess: I'll meet him through a near-death experience. That sounds about right.
"Is that all? Everyone has been scared for an entire day because of me. We need to reassure them."
Kakashi-sensei gives my dad a nod before my dad smiles at me.
"Okay, we will return to this tomorrow."
I nod and leave the interrogation room as my dad goes to reassure Konoha about my rampage. I return to feel my mom's arms around me. I hug her back and forth, thanking her for keeping the house safe along with Sasuke.
She tells me she's going to do that no matter what and lets me go so I can find Sasuke. He's on my bed, looking out the window with his head out of it a little.
"Sasuke..." I approach him and he slowly meets my eyes with his glossed-over ones.
"I'm sorry for treating you like that last time. I was overthinking and overwhelmed and I shouldn't have did that to you. I'm sorry."
I wrap my arms around him and shake my head, holding him close to me. "I shouldn't have rushed out like that. I thought everything was resolved but seconds later, I was unconscious and the next second my dad is carrying me on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes."
"I'm glad you're safe, Naruto." He pulls me onto the bed with him and he barely stays upright from how much he's swaying me back and forth. "I'm so happy you're not killed."
"I would never be killed easy. I and everyone else will defeat whatever is against the village."
"That's what I wanted to hear." Sasuke pulls away from the hug and nearly kisses me, stopping abruptly. He emits a nervous laugh. "Um, can I... You know?"
"Do it or I will."
He warily leans in to press his lips on mine, keeping them there for a few seconds before pulling away. He rests his forehead on mine. "I really thought I'd lost you."
"I'm not going to die so easily. As long as I have you and everyone else, I'm living until I'm as old as Grandma Tsunade."
"She's not that old."
"Don't let that skin remedy fool you."
"You're such a dork, Naruto. You can't say that about people."
"And what are you going to do about it?"
"This," he leans back and tilts his head, kissing me slowly. His lips barely touch mine every so often to tease me. My patience runs thin and I grab the scruff on the back of his neck, pulling his lips closer and deepening the kiss.
He pulls away briefly to whisper against my lips. "It's late. We should sleep."
I lightly push him down on his back, leaning down to his lips. "Five more minutes."
He makes a noise of agreement in the kiss, relaxing as the noise around us quiets down.
I can't believe he thinks of me as his home. That makes me happy thinking about it now.
"Yo, fools!" Killer Bee enters the room and plops onto the chair, smiling at everyone. "Er, I mean, Kage. All of the Kage, including Lady Tsunade." He awkwardly rests his arms on the chair. "Ready to talk about Sasuke?"
"Where's the Kage?" Gaara asks.
"Sick with the flu. The fool had fought in the rain all night. He made me the substitute. Is that okay with you?"
"I have no complaint as long as you fulfill your role." Gaara turns his attention back to his scroll.
"Hey, hey, we have two Konoha Kage!" Killer Bee points to my dad and Lady Tsunade. "I didn't see you there Minato next to Tsunade."
My dad smiles warmly. "Nice to meet you too, Bee."
"Yo, Naruto, I see you're alive! How was the blood prison? Was there really a prize?" Killer Bee asks me.
"Prize?"
"You know, the wish to bring back life."
"Oh, yeah. It's not worth making a wish on. Trust me."
"Really? That's good to know. I thought the third Hokage would've joined the show."
"Sorry, Bee. He's not coming back."
"I was just thinking about Konoha. He was a good Kage for y'all."
"Yeah, but we have my dad and Grandma Tsunade now."
"I'm not old, Naruto." Lady Tsunade says under her breath.
"But you're apart of the Uzumaki family free. You're the first Hokage wife's granddaughter who was a Uzumaki."
Lady Tsunade sighs. "In a way, yes, I am."
Killer Bee looks shocked. "Oh, wow, I didn't see it before. Lady Tsunade is Naruto's grandma."
"Not really."
"Alright," one of the Kage says, closing their scroll, "let's begin."
Sasuke looks at me. "Can you... Um..." He blushes, looking away. "Never mind."
I get what he's trying to tell me and hold his hand, also looking away blushing. "S-Sure..."
"It seems the flirting has started." Gaara quips and I purse my lips at him, receiving a friendly grin from him.
"Let's get started." One of the Kage repeats, using their folder to collect everyone's attention.
I hope we hear good news about this.