Chapter 1
Sasuke’s guts were on fire, burning with intensity as he look at the yellow haired boy standing bellow him in the rubble that was all that was left of their hideout.
That stupid idiot of a beast. Why did he have to come here? Why couldn’t he just give up?
”Sasuke…” the boy growled. His blue eyes glistening with suppressed tears, beaming with pent up anger. His body was tense, Sasuke could see from this far off.
Sasuke felt the rough surface of his blade’s handle in his hand. It would be so easy to make this stupid beast of a boy stop, once and for all. His grip tightened. The fire in him burning with hatred. It was not the intense hatred he felt towards his forsaken brother. That rage was blinding, excruciating.. devastating. This was a slow burning anger. He felt it flicker within.
”You are nothing. There is only one thing that matters. Revenging my family. Killing Itachi. If I have to kill you to get there then so be it..” His voice was cold and distant. He controlled his anger well now, thanks to Orochimaru’s training regime.
”SASUKE! I will take you home! Naruto yelled with much of his might, flinging his arms forward.
Sasuke’s insides suddenly was aflame in his chest and he acted instinctively raising his left hand to make a move to make Naruto stop, when his hand got stuck in a painful grip. Orochimaru suddenly standing next to him holding his raised arm.
”Stop it Sasuke” he hissed with a sly smile.
”Let go of me!” Sasuke angrily responded, trying to get out of the painful hold. He wanted to do something to silence the burning sensation in his abdomen. His anger was eating at him but looking at the pasty white ninja in front of him made him reclaim some of his control.
”We need them alive to take on the Akatsuki” Orochimaru whispered, his voice smooth as a serpent's hiss.
Sasuke lowered his hand and turned his head towards Naruto meeting his eyes. Hunger and pain and hatred was twisting and turning inside of him. Naruto’s eyes were filled with anger and sorrow. Troublesome stupid kid. If only he would leave Sasuke alone and stop looking for him. Stop trying to make him into someone he is not. Sasuke was hatred and revenge. He could not be the person Naruto saw in him. Naruto was delusional. Nothing mattered but revenge. To kill Itachi.
-
Sakura looked at the dark haired boy on the ledge, high above them. He had grown into a very good looking teenager and her heart skipped beats in her chest. The wind was ravaging his jet black hair making it dance infront of his beautiful face. She felt so sad. Sasuke was standing there, in front of them, so close. They had finally caught up with him, but she could see that it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter at all. His face was stone cold and his hand was resting on his katana. He had always been moody and taciturn but this boy now standing above them was not the same Sasuke that had left them three years ago. She was certain about it. Her heart was breaking in her chest. She looked from Sasuke to Naruto, unable to not whisper Naruto's name as she saw his face. He tried to look stoic but his face was anger and pain, his eyes swimming with tears. She looked back at Sasuke and was suddenly hit by a strong feeling of jealousy. She could have sworn that she saw emotions flicker in Sasuke’s eyes, only for a split of a second, as he looked deep into Naruto’s blue gaze. She wanted Sasuke to look at her, just for a second, acknowledge her, but it was as if she didn’t exist, neither did Sai or Yamato. Sasuke only had eyes for Naruto and Naruto growled his name as if it was a mantra.
-
With one last look at the yellow haired jinchuuriki Sasuke turned away. An unsettling feeling washed over him. A feeling he had almost forgot. It was the last feeling he had ever wanted to feel again. Sorrow. The intense burning cooled and left him with an emptiness he hadn't felt in a long time.
”Let’s go!”
—
They vanished into thin air.
“SASUKE!!” Naruto yelled, running forward, but it was to late. The ninjas had disappeared. Naruto’s head was hurting from trying to suppress the tears that stung his eyes. He felt useless and hopeless and angry. He had failed. He had failed to get Sasuke back and it hurt more than words could explain. He sank to the floor of the hollow where they were standing, succumbed by emotions and fatigue. Naruto’s chakra had not recuperated after Kyuubi getting loose. Sasuke. Sasuke-kun was so much stronger than him. He had become incredibly powerful while Naruto was still just...Naruto. It hurted.
“Naruto, are you okay?” Sakura was kneeling by his side with her hand on his shoulder.
Usually that would have made him so happy, but now he felt empty. He felt hollow.
“I’m fine...just...tired” he sighed his gaze in his own lap, his shoulders hanging.
“We should find a place to rest for the night.” Said Yamato with Sai nodding at the idea.
“Mmm..” Was all Naruto could muster as Sakura helped him up from the cold stone floor.
They made their way back towards Konoha but were forced to stop after just a few kilometers when Naruto suddenly collapsed. Yamato used his wood-jutsu and made a house for them to rest in. The sun was setting and the forest was silent. The entire group was tired and low. They had failed Sasuke and they had failed Naruto. The blond jinchuuriki was lying on the floor completely knocked out.
-
The night was exceptionally quiet. Not even the cicadas were playing their usual tune. The stars were uncountable as Sasuke lay on his quilt under the barren sky. The fire had died and both Kabuto and Orochimaru had taken off on individual missions. For once Sasuke felt calm. Usually he had this overwhelming sense of restlessness eating him from the inside. He never showed it of course, except when he and Orochimaru were training. The red hot anger he had felt when looking down at Naruto had faded a while back, during their retreat. For a short while he had felt sad. A tedious feeling which he loathed. It made him feel weak and powerless, and he was neither. He reached out to touch the base of his blade and for a short second he felt content. He scoured the immediate surrounding with his sharingan for potential threats and closed his eyes to sleep.
-
Sasuke was suddenly awake and bat open his eyes looking straight into Naruto’s. He became aware of Naruto’s hands around his throat and the weight of his body as he was crouching on top of him. Sasuke didn’t move a muscle. He felt quite calm even though the blonde was straddling him, with his hands pressing his throat. He some how knew that Naruto wouldn't kill him. Not like this.
“Why…” Naruto whispered, his voice cracking up with emotion. Sasuke could feel the warmth of Naruto's breath against his face.
Sasuke couldn’t help but smirk. Baka Naruto to come looking for him again. He felt the tiny flicker in his stomach. The anger he had felt ravaging him earlier was slowly coming to life.
“Why did you leave?” Naruto’s eyes meet Sasukes. His black eyes met blue.
“Usuratonkashi” Sasuke sighed with what he hoped would appear indifferent. His arms where starting to hurt, pinned down by Naruto’s legs.
“You shouldn’t have come looking for me”. Even though he felt the anger building up his voice was cold and distant.
"Why?" Naruto's voice shrill and it made the skin curl on Sasuke's arms.
He had had enough of this stupid boy now. All of this was a waste of time. He felt his anger flaring. The past was in the past and he had worked so hard to forget it. To forget all the times, he didn't want to admit, he had enjoyed together with Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi. He wanted to be rid of it all because it didn't matter now. He needed to find Itachi and kill him. Only then would he have peace...if ever. The stupid feeling that he had experienced earlier came crawling from what ever tiny part of him it had been hiding. Sorrow. Sasuke didn't want to acknowledge it, he wanted nothing to do with it.
But Naruto's eyes was starring right through him and he felt his walls crumble inside of him. He panicked. He really needed to get away. Sasuke explosively tried to throw Naruto of him, but the baka jinchuuriki was holding him down tight, the heat of his body was suffocating.
"Let go of me!" Sasuke yelled. He couldn't compose himself anymore. This stupid blonde boy was killing him. It would actually be better if he would just stab him with his kunai instead of just looking straight into his soul, waking something that should not be awoken.
"Why?" growled the orange clad ninja straddling him. Hurting him. Sasuke's arms were going numb. He wanted to escape the boy but most of all he wanted to escape the feelings that were now surfacing. He was squirming to get out from under Naruto when suddenly Naruto loosened his grip from around his throat. Sasuke saw the hand coming towards his face and twitched when he felt a soft stroke on his chin. Sasuke was so surprised his body stopped moving on its own volition and he couldn't but meet Naruto's eyes. His mind was hard at work trying to make sense out of what was happening, but nothing made sense, as the blue eyes were digging into his mind. Was he under some kind of genjutsu? Why wasn't he moving? Why weren't he fighting? The blonde slowly bent down and their faces were mere inches from one another. He could smell Naruto's sweet breath and the soft musky scent of his body. Sasuke eyes widened in disbelieve when Naruto's lips meet his half opened mouth. What the hell was going on? He felt his heartbeat racing, sending his blood rushing through his body, while the burning anger was giving in to an overwhelming sorrow. Naruto's soft lips were pressed hard against his, and his eyes starring straight into his own with an expression that Sasuke had seen many times before, but at the same time never.