Ardent Love

Sasuke is taking Naruto on a date and Naruto is thrilled because of how nice it’s been. The date is a hike to a waterfall. Naruto’s never seen a waterfall before so he’s delighted that he’s finally going to be able to see one. And the nature they’ve seen so far on this hike has already struck Naruto with its beauty. He can’t imagine how nice it’s going to be to see the beautiful view with a waterfall added to it.

“Thank you for taking me here,” Naruto murmurs, “It’s amazing.”

Sasuke smiles, “I’m glad you like it but it’ll be even more amazing when we make it to the waterfall.”

Naruto smiles back at him, “I can’t wait!”

They hold each other’s hands tightly as they go on this walk. They catch sight of an adorable bunny and its babies. Naruto can’t help but stare at the cute picture the bunnies make. Knowing that he can’t stay there forever, Naruto reluctantly continues on the walk.

As the walk goes on, Naruto sees many other small animals around. This has been a wonderful date, one of the best. In Naruto’s opinion though, the best part of this date is that for once Sasuke doesn’t have to hide his identity because all this land and the waterfall is private property of the Uchiha’s.

To see Sasuke’s handsome face while they’re out makes Naruto so happy. And being alone together through this stunning place makes it feel so romantic to Naruto.

At a certain point, Naruto gets hungry so Sasuke and him decide to stop for lunch. Sasuke packed for them so they could have a picnic. Sasuke lays out a red and white plaid picnic blanket and sets out all the food.

“Wow, that’s a lot of food,” Naruto says in awe. “Did you make all this by yourself?”

“Yes,” Sasuke answers. “Do you like it?”

Naruto can hear in the other’s voice how much he wants Naruto to like it.

“Of course! It looks delicious!” Naruto replies before he begins to scarf down the tasty food.

Sasuke chuckles, “Nice to know you’re enjoying the food.”

Naruto can’t speak because his mouth is stuffed with food but he nods enthusiastically. Sasuke starts to eat as well. It’s a bit late for lunch and they’re both quite hungry.

“Do you think you’ll make it back in time for dinner?” Naruto inquires. “I mean it’s already a bit late in the day.”

“It’s fine. I told Itachi I would be missing dinner because I knew I would be out with you for a while,” Sasuke reassures.

Naruto frowns, “Won’t he get lonely eating by himself.”

“It’s only one day. He’ll be fine. I really wanted to spend today with you.”

“Alright, It’s only one day. But make sure to spend some time with him when you can to make up for it.”

Sasuke lets out a small laugh, “You’re so bossy.”

Naruto smiles, “I’m literally your servant. I get paid for you bossing me around.”

“Damn. You’ve got a point there.”

They finish their late lunch and continue on their way. They’re getting close to the waterfall and Naruto is shaking with excitement over being almost there. The sun begins to set which seems to make Sasuke a bit nervous and Sasuke gently urges Naruto to go a bit faster. Naruto understands, he wants to see the waterfall before it’s dark too.

When they make it to the waterfall, Naruto stops to admire the breathtaking sight in front of him. The pink and orange adorns the sky forming a lovely sunset. The waterfall is an ice blue that falls into a waterbody.

Naruto finally looks away to see Sasuke’s reaction only to see his boyfriend on one knee holding out a small black box. Sasuke is looking at him as if he's the most beautiful view this earth could offer.

“Will you marry me?” Sasuke asks as he opens the box to display a gorgeous sapphire ring.

Naruto’s eyes welled up in tears of happiness, “Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!”

Sasuke’s expression breaks into one of pure joy. He gets off his knees and captures Naruto’s lips in a deep kiss.

“I can’t wait to have you as my husband,” Sasuke whispers against Naruto’s lips.

“Neither can I,” Naruto whispers back.

__________

After the proposal, Sasuke and Naruto are booked for days to plan for the wedding. Sasuke informed Itachi before that he was planning on proposing to Naruto and is happy for them and has done his best to help them with the planning when he can.

Currently, Naruto and Sasuke are attempting to figure out what their wedding cake is going to be like. Having a sweet tooth, Naruto takes on the job of tasting all the different types of cake flavors to decide which one the wedding cake should be.

“How many layers should the cake have?” Sasuke queries.

Naruto stops scarfing down the different cake flavors for a moment so he can reply, “Hm. Most wedding cakes have three. So maybe three?”

“Three works for me.”

Naruto looks at all the different cakes set out at this table. As much as he wants to, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to eat all of them. He looks at Sasuke.

“You should eat some too so we can both decide what flavor the cake should be,” Naruto urges Sasuke.

“Alright,” Sasuke complies.

Sasuke starts tasting the cakes. The prince takes a fork and takes a bite out of each cake to taste each one’s flavor. Naruto stares at him in bewilderment.

“Why are you only eating a bite out of each one?” Naruto inquires.

“Because that’s how you’re supposed to test cakes?” Sasuke responds equally bewildered.

Naruto glances at the last four empty plates where pieces of cake used to be, “Oh.”

Sasuke smiles fondly, “I thought you knew and were just really hungry.”

Naruto hides his face out of embarrassment, “ I was so ready to eat all that cake too.”

“That would make you sick.”

“I was ready for that too.”

Sasuke chuckles, “Anyway, did you find any flavor that you like?”

Naruto furrows his brows in concentration to think about the answer to that question, “I don’t know. I like all cake flavors. What flavor do you want?”

“I was thinking maybe going with chocolate.”

“Perfect! Chocolate it is!”

Naruto feels the stomach ache kick in from eating so much cake. He didn’t know how he thought it would be possible for him to eat several more pieces of cake. But he was ready to do it for this wedding.

__________

With all the wedding planning, it’s been slightly stressful, yet also so exciting for both Sasuke and Naruto. They’ll be married in only a couple more months! They never expected something so horrible and painful to happen in the midst of it all.

Naruto and Sasuke stand before the opened door that’s swung open and openly shows them a horrific scene. Sasuke starts to shake either from fear, anger or grief. Naruto couldn’t tell you which one. Itachi is sprawled on the floor with a sword through his chest. The king is covered in blood but the blood is no longer spilling from the stab wound proving it’s too late to save him.

Sasuke hesitantly walks into the dining room where his brother is displayed. This was where Sasuke eats meals with him and this is where Itachi took his last breath. Naruto might cry or vomit or both. Who would do something so cruel?

“It had to have been those businessmen,” Sasuke’s voice shakes with anger, “They were scheduled for a meeting today and they’re nowhere to be found.”

“The Owls?” Naruto asks since it’s the name of the company the businessmen own.

“They’re the only ones who could’ve passed the guards,” Sasuke snarls, “They were supposed to be here so they wouldn’t seem suspicious.”

Naruto finally gets the courage to walk into the horrifying room. He walks to the right of Sasuke, right in front of Itachi’s corpse. That’s when he realizes it. Sasuke is crying.

Naruto gently grabs Sasuke’s hand to hold and Sasuke glances his way. “Oh, Sasuke, I’m so sorry.”

Sasuke doesn’t respond, he merely goes back to staring at his unmoving brother. Naruto doesn’t want to upset Sasuke more than he already is at the moment but they can’t stay in this room. It can’t be healthy for Sasuke to keep staring at his dead brother.

Naruto, as gently as possible, pulls Sasuke away from his brother and the room. Sasuke surprisingly allows himself to be led away. Sasuke hasn’t stopped crying and Naruto feels as if the shine in his boyfriend’s eyes have disappeared making his eyes look empty.

Naruti brings them to their room. Naruto sits on their bed and Sasuke does the same. Naruto’s uneasy because of Sasuke’s tears. He doesn’t like seeing Sasuke so upset.

In an attempt to help soothe Sasuke, Naruto pulls Sasuke close to him in a warm embrace. Sasuke holds him like he’s a lifeline. When Naruto lets go, Sasuke rests his head in Naruto’s lap, hiding his face. Sasuke can’t seem to stop his tears. Naruto rakes his hand through Sasuke’s black hair.

Sasuke brings his head up and leans against Naruto. “He can’t be dead. He can’t. It’s not real. It’s not real. This can’t be real.”

“Shh, Sasuke, I’m sorry but it’s real,” Naruto murmurs, “It really happened.”

Sasuke quickly turns to anger. “I’m going to get those fucking bastards for this!”

“Yeah, they deserve hell,” Naruto concurs.

“After what I do to them they’ll think hell is heaven.”

Naruto kisses the top of Sasuke's head. Sasuke stopped crying and looks as if he hasn’t slept in days because of how shaken up Itachi’s death made him.

“Darling, do you want to get some sleep?” Naruto inquires.

Sasuke sighs. “Yeah, I don’t really want to be awake right now.”

Naruto’s eyes are saddened by this. They get under their blankets. Sasuke cuddles Naruto with a tight grip. Both of them are plagued by upsetting thoughts causing it to be a while before they drift off to sleep.

__________

It’s been two weeks since Itachi’s death and Naruto’s worry for his fiance has only increased. Sasuke has barely eaten anything in the past weeks let alone drink enough water. And Sasuke’s rarely gotten out of his bed to do anything. Naruto’s doing everything he can to make Sasuke feel better but nothing works.

Sasuke refused to have a coronation for him becoming king because he didn’t want to leave his and Naruto’s bedroom. Naruto’s doing his best to take care of Sasuke’s work but he’s only allowed to do a certain amount if it since they are not married yet.

Speaking of marriage, Naruto thinks it might be the best idea to push it back for a couple more months so Naruto can spend time focusing on helping Sasuke feel better instead of spending that time planning for the wedding. He’ll ask for Sasuke’s opinion on it first though.

“Love,” Naruto begins.

“Hm? What is it?” Sasuke questions.

Naruto doesn’t know how Sasuke is going to take this offer. He thinks it’s a good idea but if Sasuke doesn’t want to move it to later in the year then they don’t have to.

Naruto takes a deep breath. “How do you feel about pushing the wedding back a couple months?”

Sasuke’s expression quickly turns to fear. “You don’t want to leave me do you? I promise I’ll do better. I won’t lie in bed all day.”

Naruto gently cups Sasuke’s face and responds in the softest voice he can manage, “I’m not breaking up with you, just a lot has been going on. With what happened to your brother, it’s understandable that you need time. If I don’t have to plan the wedding as much, I can be here for you more.”

Sasuke takes a breath of relief. “You’re right, that may be a good idea.”

“You haven’t been out in a while. Maybe a walk in the garden will make you feel better?” Naruto suggests.

Sasuke nods his acceptance to the suggestion. Naruto smiles since this means Sasuke will get some fresh air after being cooped up in their room. Naruto holds Sasuke’s hand as he leads the way.

The walk is nice as it always is. Naruto loves the Royal Garden, it’s his favorite part of the whole castle. They walk by the garden’s fountain and Naruto can’t help but remember how that’s where Itachi helped him gain the courage to confess to Sasuke. Itachi was a good man who didn’t deserve such a fate.

Naruto stops to stare at the fountain for a while, caught up in the thoughts about Itachi. Surprisingly, Sasuke doesn’t question why he’s staring at a fountain. But Naruto turns to find that Sasuke wasn’t questioning him because he was gone.

Trying not to let fear overwhelm him, Naruto convinces himself that Sasuke must’ve wandered off and nothing bad happened. But it hasn’t been that long since Itachi’s death and Naruto doesn’t want the same to happen to Sasuke.

Naruto shouts out Sasuke’s name and gets no response. Naruto’s worry is increasing by the minute. Then when Naruto turns Sasuke is back beside him.

“Sasuke! What the hell?!” Naruto reprimands, “You disappeared! Do you know how worried you made me?!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you,” Sasuke placates. “A servant wanted to speak with me.”

Naruto sighs. “Okay, I’m sorry I yelled.”

“It’s fine.”

__________

“You have information about The Owls don’t you?!” Sasuke accuses. “You better speak up about what you know before I use this sword to slice your neck!”

The woman he’s threatening is in tears. Sasuke stares at her stoically. Her relentless sobbing is getting on his nerves. All she’s doing is crying instead of giving him the information he needs.

“I swear I don’t know anything!” The woman exclaims hysterically.

Sasuke scowls. He’s not getting anything from this. How determined is this woman to not give him even the smallest piece of information.

“I know you’re lying and you better fess up or you won’t get to see tomorrow,” Sasuke threatens.

“I don’t know who these Owl people are! I’m an ordinary maid of the Otani family!” The woman echoes.

Sasuke’s getting more frustrated by the second. This lady may be telling the truth however she’s the only lead Sasuke has and he’s desperate.

“Where. The. Hell. Are. They. Located?!” Sasuke demands to know.

“I don’t know,” The woman sobs, “I really have no idea! Please let me live!”

Sasuke slices her neck with no remorse. She didn’t have the information he needed. She was worthless to him. Her life was worthless.

Earlier during the garden walk with Naruto

Sasuke hears rustling and turns to find the source of the noise. There’s an auburn haired man. Naruto is too caught up staring at the garden fountain for some reason to notice the noise. The auburn haired man waves Sasuke over.

Curiosity brings Sasuke over to the man. Sasuke also feels suspicious since he’s never seen this man around the castle before. Although it is a big castle, after what happened to Itachi he can’t be too cautious.

“Who are you?” Sasuke inquires.

“Name’s Izanagi Yoshikawa,” Izanagi specifies. “I’m a new servant here.”

“I see. Do you need something?”

“Yes, I need to tell you something important.”

“And what might that be?”

“There’s a woman named Yasu Koyama. She was in a three year relationship with the boss of the Owls. The ones who murdered your brother. I hear the boss loved her so much that she was the only one to learn all the secrets about the company, even some members don’t know.”

“If he loved her so much, why did they break up?”

“The Owls get into some shady business, he broke up with her to protect her from their enemies.”

“What does she look like?”

Izanagi grins. “She has brunette hair and gray eyes.”

“Alright, thank you. I need to find my fiance now.”

Sasuke is pissed. That Izanagi guy plated him for a fool. Izanagi must have guessed how angry he was about Itachi’s death and used it. He must’ve wanted revenge against this woman for whatever reason and lied about her having a connection to the Owls. Sasuke is sure that if she knew something she would’ve told him with how scared she was.

Sasuke turns around, ready to leave the abandoned warehouse where he killed the woman only to be struck with fear. Leaning against the door watching him with a judgemental expression is Kakashi.

“You can’t tell Naruto,” Sasuke pleads.

Sasuke could kill Kakashi ro keep him from telling Naruto but Kakashi taught Naruto. They talk and get along well; Naruto would notice if he was gone.

Kakashi sighs. His expression screams disapproval. “I won’t tell him.”

Sasuke feels relieved to hear that. Kakashi isn’t one to lie.

__________

“Naruto,” Kakashi begins.

Naruto smiles at the sight of his teacher. “Hello, Kakashi.”

Kakashi looks serious. Naruto furrows his brow. What’s up with him? Did something bad happen?

“Something wrong?” Naruto queries.

Kakashi sighs. “Yes. It’s about Sasuke.”

Immediately Naruto assumes the worst. “Did something bad happen to him?!”

Kakashi shakes his head. “No, you’ve got it wrong. It’s something he did.”

“Oh,” Naruto says, relieved. “What’d he do?”

“He killed an innocent woman. She didn’t have any connection to the Owls,” Kakashi bluntly states.

Naruto stares at Kakashi in shock. That can’t be true! Sasuke isn’t the kind of person to kill an innocent person, He would understand if Sasuke killed one of The Owls but an innocent person. No. Kakashi has to be lying.

Naruto scowls. “You expect me to believe that? Sasuke would never.”

“I didn’t think you’d believe me, so I have proof,” Kakashi replies and holds out a photo for Naruto to take.

Naruto takes the photo and as he looks at it he comes to the horrifying realization that Kakashi isn’t lying. Naruto grips the photo and is overwhelmed with a mix of emotions, anger, sadness and betrayal.

“I managed to take the photo without him knowing,” Kakashi explains.

“Right. Thank you,” Naruto half-heartedly responds, “I think I’m going to go now.”

Kakashi nods and Naruto leaves. Naruto can’t believe Sasuke would do something so cruel. To think they were going to get married. Maybe Sasuke isn’t the man Naruto thought he was.

Naruto patiently waits on his and Sasuke’s bed until Sasuke comes back. When Sassuke finally came into their room, Naruto calmly walked up to Sasuke, keeping a bit of distance between them.

Naruto holds the photo Kakashi gave him out. “What the hell is this?!”

Sasuke looks at the photo with horror. “Love, please let me explain!”

“Explain what exactly?! That you killed someone for no reason!”

“No! I heard that she might have information and when I realized she didn’t I got frustrated and took it out on her!”

“Really! That’s why you killed her?!”

“I’m sorry! You weren’t supposed to find out!”

“So you were just going to just keep this from me forever?!”

“I…”

Naruto couldn’t hold it back anymore, tears started falling down his face at a rapid speed. As angry as he is, he wishes this all was only a bad dream. He doesn’t want to be having this horrible fight with Sasuke.

“You know what the thing is though,” Naruto starts, “I would’ve understood if it was someone from the Owls, but it had to be an innocent person!”

“Please, I wasn’t thinking,” Sasuke insists.

Naruto laughs dryly. “Clearly!”

“Can I do anything to make you forgive me?”

Naruto sobs harder at that. “No. You can’t. I’m calling the wedding off. We’re breaking up.”

Sasuke looks at him in fear. “No, please. I’ll do anything. Please don’t leave me.”

“I’m sorry, Sasuke, this is the end.”

__________

Naruto’s now alone in his and Sasuke’s room. Or he supposes, Sasuke’s room. He’s packing to leave. He quit his job as Sasuke’s servant. He can’t deal with that after breaking up with the new king.

He shoves all his clothes messily into a satchel. He’s bringing his sword on its sheath. He likes to have it with him so he can protect himself. It’s upsetting to think about how the sword was a gift from Sasuke though.

Naruto almost starts sobbing again when he comes across the ring that Sasuke proposed to him with. Naruto finds a thick brown string and despite himself he puts the ring on the string and puts the homemade necklace around his neck.

He hides the necklace under his clothes so Sasuke won’t see it. He tells himself he’ll only wear it for a couple of days, enough time to process that their relationship is really over. Even though he knows he doesn’t know if he’ll accept in only a few days.

Sasuke comes back into the room. Uncomfortable and surprised, Naruto shot him a glare that clearly meant get out. Sasuke, however, didn’t seem to get the message because he walked deeper into the room.

“I know you don’t want to see me right now or ever, but at least take this,” Sasuke says as he holds out several wads of cash. “I don’t want you to have to struggle like you did before.”

Naruto scowls. Why did Sasuke have to be so nice after everything? It’s making it a lot harder for Naruto to want to leave.

“I don’t need your money,” Naruto replies.

“Please, let me do this one thing for you then I’ll leave you alone, Also If you need a way of transportation I’m sure Copper would be happy to take you,” Sasuke adds.

“That’s two things.”

“Sorry.” Is all Sasuke says in response.

“Fine.”

Sasuke shoves several wads of cash into his satchel. The amount of money was enough to buy a mansion. Naruto didn’t need all of it. But if this is what it takes for Sasuke to leave him alone then fine. As Sasuke promised, the king leaves after giving Naruto way too much money.

Finished with packing, Naruto walks out of his castle then out of the castle and to where the stables are. Copper is nice to him as always. Naruto’s a bit surprised, he expected Copper to be angry with him for some reason.

Naruto opens the stable and gets on top of Copper. Naruto then comes to the realization that he doesn’t know where to go. Then he remembers Sakura and Hinata. He can go to the Hyuga Kingdom!

“Let’s go, Copper! It’s going to be a long ride!” Naruto tells the horse.

__________

The ride to the Hyuga Kingdom will take a couple of days. So Naruto ends up staying in a random town for the night. Horses are often used as transportation so there’s many places where horse stables can stay if their owners pay a small fee.

Once Naruto has Copper situated in a nice stable he goes to find a tavern that has a place to sleep. Honestly, the more he thinks about it, he did need the money Sasuke gave him. Though, he didn’t need that much money.

Naruto doesn’t want to think about Sasuke currently so he puts his focus into finding a tavern nearby. That’s when he senses a presence close by. A hand was grabbing at his satchel, instinctually Naruto grabs the hand roughly.

“Trying to steal?” Naruto accuses.

The man whose hand he’s gripping has brunet hair, black eyes, and red marks on his cheeks. The man looks poor. Naruto frowns. Maybe he really needed the money.

That’s when two other people go to the man’s defense. One is a man with his black hair in a spiky ponytail with brown eyes. The other is a blonde woman with her hair in a ponytail and blue eyes.

“Kiba, I told you to wait until we had a plan,” The black haired man scolds.

So his name is Kiba. Looks like he has people looking out for him. Good for him. But, this is bad for Naruto as these people look ready to fight him for his money. Naruto is confident in his ability to take these people down. But Naruto knows what it’s like to live with little to no money.

“Do you people need money?” Naruto inquires.

“Why else would we be trying to steal from you?” The blond woman responds with.

“Good point,” Naruto says before opening his satchel and picks up a wad of cash that contains one thousand dollars, “Here.”

The three people look at him with surprise and suspicion. The Kiba guy bravely takes the money. As they count the money their surprise grows.

Naruto smiles. “I’ll be going now then.”

“Wait!” The blonde woman calls out.

Naruto turns back in confusion. “Hm?”

“Thank you,” She expresses.

“You're welcome,” Naruto replies.

Before leaving Naruto takes a good long look at these people. They look homeless. Maybe he can help them.

“Do you guys need a place to sleep tonight?” Naruto questions.

Kiba gets defensive. “Why do you need to know?”

“I’ll take that as a no. I can pay for you guys to sleep in a tavern tonight.”

The guy with a spiky ponytail contemplates it. “Guys, it’s been a while since we’ve slept on a real bed, we should take his offer.”

The others agree and they follow Naruto to the nearest tavern. Naruto buys everyone their own room.

__________

The next morning, they all eat breakfast together. Naruto pays for all their meals since he’s the only one with money. During eating together they engage in friendly conversation.

“This town is small and we’ve never seen you before so where did you come from?” The man who Naruto has recently learned that his name is Shikamaru.

“I came from the capital of the Uchiha Kingdom,” Naruto answers.

“So you’re from the main city,” Kiba says.

“Yep.”

“Are you traveling then?” The woman named Ino inquires. “I doubt you plan on staying here. It’s not the kind of town people would come to live in if they could avoid it.”

“I am traveling. I simply stopped here for the night,” Naruto explains.

“So you’ll be leaving soon?” Kiba asks.

“Mhm.”

“Where are you going?” Shikamaru questions.

“Hyuga Kingdom,” Naruto replies.

This interests everyone eating breakfast with him. Hyuga Kingdom is much nicer for the common people than the Uchiha Kingdom. Naruto was hoping when he and Sasuke got married and ruled together they would work together to fix that but that’s not possible anymore.

You would think that most people of the Uchiha Kingdom would run off to the Hyuga Kingdom since it’s much better but it’s a journey most of the common people can’t afford. So the majority of the common people of the Uchiha Kingdom are stuck here. This is why the people with him are currently so deep in thought.

Ino is the first to speak up. “Do you think we could come with you?”

Even though she spoke for them, the other two didn’t seem put off and merely waited for Naruto’s answer.

“Sure, I don’t see why not. It’ll be nice not to be alone throughout the trip,” Naruto responds.

The others are pleased with his response. Naruto then remembers something.

“Oh, also, do you guys know how to ride a horse?” Naruto asks even if he can guess their answer.

As expected the three others tell him no. It’s not surprising. Horses are expensive to buy and take care of so naturally those without money don’t learn to ride horses. Naruto supposes that he’ll have to teach them to the best of his abilities.

After Naruto buys each of them trained horses and spends a bit longer than he expected at the dilapidated town teaching them how to ride their horses he’s ready to leave.

Now that they’ve spent so much time together and that Naruto had been doing his best to treat them kindly, his three people leaving with him have started to trust him.

Naruto has so much extra money he can’t help but spoil his new friends with it. He buys them a bunch of clothes to wear and anything else they want. He figures they deserve it after spending their life without any money.

“Hey, Naruto, I’m curious,” Shikamaru begins, “How are you so wealthy? It doesn’t seem like you came from a wealthy family.”

Naruto furrows his brows. “Why do you think that?”

“Well, you have so much money but the way you act doesn’t suit those who are wealthy,” Shikamaru observes.

Shikamaru has a point. Naruto’s a bit surprised by how observant the other is. Maybe the ponytailed man is just used to those with money treating him badly though. But Naruto actually grew up poor so Shikamaru is correct here.

However, Naruto doesn’t want his new friends to find out his connection to Sasuke. Sasuke is the king and he isn’t who Naruto thought he was. He doesn’t want his friends to know he was with a person like that.

All Naruto says in response is, “Who says that someone from a wealthy family can’t be nice?”

Shikamaru leaves their conversation there much to Naruto’s relief. The journey there on out will take a long time so it’s nice that Naruto has people with him. And although Naruto considers these people as friends he doesn’t trust them enough to tell them about Sasuke.

__________

Sasuke is beyond angry. Not only did his brother get murdered by those bastard Owls, Kakashi betrayed him and told Naruto of his secret causing his fiance to break things off with him. Sasuke can’t even do anything about it because Kakashi disappeared and Naruto will never come back.

Sasuke’s alone in his and Naruto’s bedroom and lets himself cry dreadful sobs. He feels pathetic being an adult man and crying like this. He’s grateful for the soundproof walls. There are only two people who have seen him cry, Itachi and Naruto, and he plans to keep it that way.

It’s all those damn Owls’ fault. If they left his brother alone none of this would’ve happened. He’s going to cause everyone in that dreadful organization so much pain. They’ve ruined every good thing in his life.

With no deterrent and no one there to be with him he’s spent all his uncontrolled emotions on getting his revenge. He’s taking even more innocent lives as of late but he feels no guilt about it. It’s not as if there’s anyone to leave him because of it anymore.

Sasuke has managed to get some information about The Owls but nor nearly enough to put a plan into action. It’s so frustrating. It doesn’t help that his mind won’t let him forget how Naruto used to lovingly make him feel better when he was in a bad mood.

Sasuke feels so weak for crying. He’s a grown man for goodness sake. Yet he wants more than anything to go back to that day where he and Naruto were tasting which cake would be the best for their wedding day.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. In only a couple of months Sasuke and Naruto were supposed to be married. It’s never going to happen now. Nevermind that he needs to focus on his revenge. Sasuke wipes his tears forcefully and hides any evidence that he might’ve been crying before he exits his bedroom.

__________

Naruto and his new friends spend a long day traveling before stopping at a different town to rest for the night. They’re journey is so close to its end. All of them look for a place for their horses and when they find a horse stable Naruto pays the fee for all of their horses.

Naruto’s rather tired today so he doesn’t bother with conversation as he usually does. His friends aren’t bothered by his tiredness and simply converse as normal, not taking offense to him being quiet. Naruto tuned out their conversation until he heard a familiar name.

“King Sasuke? He’s really gone insane because of his brother's death,” Kiba comments.

Naruto internally grimaces at this comment but also acknowledges a bit of truth in the statement.

“Killing guilty people is one thing but innocent people is another,” Ino adds in agreement.

Naruto scowls at the ground. He knows his friends are right but he can’t help that he still feels angry to hear bad things about Sasuke. Naruto smoothes his facial expression out. Naruto and Sasuke aren’t together anymore, they’re practically strangers now.

Yet Naruto can’t help it. He’s not over his feelings towards Sasuke. It hasn’t been all that long since they parted ways. And Sasuke always treated Naruto with love while they were dating. Naruto has done his best to not think of anything related to Sasuke in hopes his feelings would go away but so far it’s not working.

Naruto feels the cold ring pressed against his chest. Naruto knows he’s only holding onto the ring because he’s not ready to accept his break up with Sasuke. He can’t bear to let this ring go.

Shikamaru gives Naruto a glance. “Naruto, what do you think about the new king of the Uchiha Kingdom?”

That’s such a complicated question for Naruto. Naruto thinks a lot of things about Sasuke but he says something he thinks that will make the most amount of sense to them,

“I think he shouldn’t go around killing innocent people.”

The others nod in agreement. Naruto spots a tavern nearby and that’s where they all rest that night.

__________

Their journey finally ends and they arrive at the Hyuga Kingdom. Naruto focuses on the castle up ahead since that’s where he’ll be going. Ino, Kiba, and Shikamaru stand around unsure what to do or where to go now.

Naruto glances at them and realizes they have nowhere to go. Hinata might be able to get them jobs at her castle. From what Naruto has learned about each of them is that they are hardworking people and that would be good for working for the Hyugas.

“You guys can come with me,” Naruto offers.

“Where?” Shikamaru asks.

“To the castle.”

Kiba gawks at Naruto. “Just who are you? You can really walk into the castle with random people with you?”

“I met Princess Hinata and her servant, Sakura, and befriended them. So, I’m allowed in,” Naruto replies.

The others are excited to get a chance to see the castle up close and maybe get a job. It’s a long walk before they arrive at the castle entrance. The guards recognize him since they’ve seen him with Hinata and Sasuke before.

“Oh, hello, Naruto, Princess Hinata will be relieved to see you with everything going on at the Uchiha Kingdom,” The guard informs Naruto.

“I see,” Naruto says in response.

“And who are the people you’re with?” The guard inquires.

“They are friends of mine who are looking for a job here. I can assure you that they are harmless,” Naruto answers honestly.

The guard nods and opens the entrance for them. He leads the way to meet up with Princess Hinata. Naruto’s friends excitedly converse with each other, thrilled at the chance to meet the princess.

“I can’t believe we get to meet the princess,” Ino gushes. “I wonder what she’ll be like.”

“She’ll probably act like a royal, you know, all reserved and modest,” Kiba assumes.

“We’ll know when we meet her,” Shikamaru tells them.

The guard knocks on the princess’s door and the sight gives Naruto a sense of deja vu. Princess Hinata opens her door. When she sees that Naruto is there her expression changes into one of shock.

“Naruto! You’re here!” The normally quiet Hinata exclaims. “Sakura! It’s Naruto!”

Sakura rushes over the door and she also is shocked to see Naruto is there as well. Naruto sheepishly smiles at them.

“And who’s with you?” Sakura inquires.

“Oh! These are some friends I made on my way here. I was wondering if maybe they could get some jobs here,” Naruto replies.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Hinata tells him, “For now it’s alright if you all stay here.”

“Alright then, I’ll show you all to the guest bedrooms,” Sakura notifies Naruto’s friends.

Sakura shows them to their rooms and Naruto and Hinata are left behind so they can talk without an audience.

“Are you feeling okay?” Hinata questions.

“We broke up,” Naruto says.

“I thought so.”

Sakura re-enters the room and joins the conversation, “Are you alright Naruto? The news that Sasuke’s been acting insane is everywhere.”

“Yeah. We’re not together anymore so it doesn’t really matter,” Naruto tells her even though he feels like it does still matter to him.

“When did you two break up?” Hinata asks.

“When I found out he killed an innocent woman,” Naruto replies with a sulky expression on his face.

Sakura in an attempt to cheer him up says, “At least it’s not like you two were going to get married.”

Naruto’s been trying to hold it together all throughout the trip but being here and hearing those words make him break down. Tears begin to fall before he can stop them and his body begins to slightly shake. Sakura and Hinata both come to a realization because of this.

“Oh,” Hinata utters.

“I’m so sorry,” Sakura apologizes, looking guilty for making him cry. “I shouldn’t have said that. You deserve better than Sasuke.”

It feels nice to let himself cry. His friends do whatever they can to cheer him up and their care for him does end up cheering him up a lot. It’s nice to know he has people who care about him and are there for him.

__________

Thankfully, Hinata manages to get jobs for Naruto’s new friends. Naruto also got himself a job so he can be near his friends despite not needing to work with all his money. He doesn’t know what his life would be like if he tried living alone again after being with Sasuke for so long.

Oftentimes, Naruto and his friends will eat together. Today is one of those times. Though, Sakura and Hinata couldn’t make it due to other duties.

The food at the Hyuga Kingdom is vastly different from the Uchiha Kingdom and it makes Naruto homesick. His friends and him have been living here for a couple of weeks. When the blond looks up from his food he notices glum and sullen looks on his friends faces.

“What’s got you all so down?” Naruto queries.

Ino sighs. “It’s just that I have friends back in the Uchiha Kingdom. And King Sasuke hasn’t been focusing on the people of his kingdom so I’m worried about them.”

The other two express similar feelings over people they’ve left behind. Naruto frowns. He doesn’t have any friends in the Uchiha Kingdom so he can’t fully understand how they feel but he can assume that they miss the people they left behind a lot.

Kiba slams his fork angrily down onto the table. “It’s not fair! What if something happens to one of my friends while I’m living it up here?!”

“Kiba. Calm down. Maybe we can figure something out,” Shikamaru insists.

“Like what?” Ino inquires hopelessly.

“Yeah!” Kiba concurs. “If only I was king. I would make sure to help the common people and make the Uchiha Kingdom somewhere everybody would want to be!”

That is both an admirable and difficult goal to achieve. Naruto wanted to accomplish that goal when he and Sasuke got married. He was sure Sasuke would help him with making things better for the common people. But none of that matters now and he and Sasuke aren’t together anymore.

“You would have to overthrow King Sasuke to do that,” Shikamaru reminds Kiba.

“I could do that!” Kiba announces haughty.

“Not alone. You’d die.” Naruto replies uncharacteristically coldly.

Overthrowing Sasuke means killing him. Naruto may not approve of Sasuke’s decisions but that doesn’t mean he wants him dead, especially not killed by one of his friends.

“Not if you guys helped me!” Kiba argues.

“You can’t be serious about this,” Shikamaru responds.

“Of course I am! Don’t you want the best for your friends?!”

Ino shakes her head at Kiba. “You would die before you could do anything to help your friends.”

Naruto doesn’t want to be a part of this conversation but he’s glad they’re not encouraging this idea. But then again maybe if Sasuke sees that people are willing to take desperate measures against him, he’ll see the errors of what he’s been doing. And Naruto could most likely convince them not to kill Sasuke. If it comes to it and Sasuke can’t be king then that’s that but Naruto will make sure Sasuke isn’t killed.

“Do you even know how to fight, Kiba?” Shikamaru asks.

Kiba turns red in embarrassment. “No, but I can learn.”

“By who?” Ino questions.

Kiba points at Naruto. “Naruto can teach me! He knows how to use a sword!”

This might be a chance to change Sasuke’s mind.

“Leave him out of your crazy idea,” Shikamaru scolds Kiba. “He has other things to do than use his free time to teach you how to fight.”

“So do I! And this is important!” Kiba says angrily, “There’s innocent people out there who need our help.”

“Wait, Kiba, I understand how you feel and why you want this, but do you even have a sword?” Ino asks.

Kiba tenses for a moment before responding, “No, but I can buy one.”

Shikamaru gives him a blank stare. “Do you have the money for that? Swords are expensive.”

Kiba’s stumped and doesn’t know what to say to convince anyone. Naruto gently puts down his fork before speaking,

“I can buy you a sword.”

His friends look upon him with shock. Naruto didn’t show much interest in their conversation besides saying one thing so they’re surprised he encouraged Kiba’s idea.

“Naruto,” Shikamaru starts, “If Kiba actually plans on doing this he could get himself in big trouble or even worse he can get killed.”

“I’ll help him,” Naruto responds, “He won’t die if I’m there.”

Ino is more convinced now that Naruto is joining Kiba. “I do want to see my friends again.”

“Ino!” Shikamaru shouts in warning.

Ino glares at him. “What? Don’t you want to see your friends again?”

Shikamaru loses all will to argue. “...I do.”

“Then it’s settled,” Kiba says happily. “Naruto will teach us how to fight.”

Naruto feels a bit guilty for being a part of this but he knows this is what has to be done. He’ll make sure Sasuke isn’t killed and the goal of helping the common people is accomplished.

__________

Sasuke is eating dinner at the Royal table. It feels lonely without his brother here without him when they used to always eat dinner together. And Naruto’s not here either so he can’t eat with him. So he has to eat alone. Sasuke stares at his soup instead of eating it.

How did things end up like this? Everything feels pointless. He wants the Owls to suffer but what after he gets his revenge? It’s not like he has a family or friends to focus on and spend time with. He wishes Naruto would change his mind about leaving him and come back to him. That won’t happen though. Sasuke ruined everything.

At that moment, a lady around his age walks in. Sasuke recognizes her as one of the warriors. She’s not in armor, she’s in casual clothes. Maybe she has the day off or is on leave for some reason. Sasuke hasn’t paid much attention to what his workers are doing these days. All he focuses on is making sure everyone’s doing all that they can to find The Owls.

Sasuke assumes the lady wants to ask him something and will hopefully leave quickly. But then she gets uncomfortably close to him. She treats him casually and starts touching his moon necklace.

“What’s this? It’s so pretty,” The lady whispers in his ears seductively.

Growing more angry by the second, Sasuke grips her wrist harshly. “Don’t touch that.”

She pulls away quickly. “Jeez, no need to get defensive. I was only being nice.”

“Leave.”

“C’mon don’t be like that. It’s merely a necklace. DId your special someone give it to you or something?”

The lady takes that as a yes and gets annoyed. “Whatever. I bet they’re not even that good looking anyway.”

The lady turns to leave. Sasuke says one more thing before she does,

“He is.”

The lady angrily stomps away in indignation and Sasuke almost laughs. He begins actually eating his soup. It’s cold now but Sasuke doesn’t care enough to warm it up.

Sasuke looks out the castle’s window. Rain is pouring heavily outside. His amusement is gone by now and he’s again clouded by his upsetting thoughts.

Maybe he should go somewhere? He’s been cooped up in this castle for weeks. He gets up from where he’s sitting to get his umbrella from his bedroom. He exits the castle and opens up his umbrella. He doesn’t bother with disguising himself these days. Most people are too scared to bother him now anyway.

Sasuke doesn’t pay attention to where he’s headed and lets himself take him wherever. He ends up in front of a cemetery. Not the Royal Cemetery. This is the cemetery where Naruto took him to see his parents.

Sasuke manages to remember where the graves of Kushina and Minato are. When he stands in front of their graves he can’t help feeling guilty for how upset he made Naruto when they last saw each other.

“I’m sorry for hurting your son,” Sasuke apologizes sincerely, “I really am.”

“He doesn’t understand this is what I have to do to avenge my brother.”

“But he’s great,” Sasuke voices, “I’m sure he’ll figure things out on his own. I don’t know if I will.”

“I told him when we first met, didn't I?” Sasuke questions, not expecting an answer. “That if he’d stay I’d only hurt him”

“He said he’d prove me wrong,” Sasuke says with a dry chuckle. “So much for that.”

“I’m sure you’re both proud of him,” Sasuke says, “He’s a great man. And I wish I could’ve married him and given him the life he deserves.

“I hope you can forgive me.”

__________

Naruto buys his friends their own swords. However, like Kakashi did with him, Naruto will teach them how to fight with their hands first. There’s always a chance that your opponent manages to take your sword away so it’s best to be prepared.

“Don’t tense your body,” Naruto orders. “It makes it difficult to move around while fighting.”

The others do their best to follow his instruction and relax their bodies. Naruto then helps them with the correct stance that is needed. Naruto tells them to keep their weight on the balls of their feet.

“Bend your knees slightly so you can maneuver yourself smoothly,” Naruto instructs.

After a bit of Naruto adjusting the others' stances and making sure everyone has their bodies to the right and fists level with their cheeks, they’re ready to start the fighting.

Since there are four of them, Naruto makes Ino and Shikamaru a pair to fight each other and has Kiba as his own sparring partner. Naruto tells them to begin.

Kiba doesn’t hesitate. He throws a punch as hard as he can at Naruto. Naruto catches it immediately.

“The man who taught me how to fight gave me this tip. If you exhale quickly as you throw a punch it helps increase its speed,” Naruto informs Kiba.

Ino and Shikamaru listen to him as well from where they are sparring a little bit away from them. Kiba nods and they continue to spar. Kiba struggles to get in a hit against Naruto. This isn’t surprising as Naruto’s trained for a lot longer than Kiba but that doesn’t stop Kiba from getting frustrated by it.

“Kiba, these things take time. I lost against my teacher so many times I’ve lost count,” Naruto voices, “But if you keep trying you’ll become someone strong enough to strike fear into your opponent.”

Kiba gives him a grin. “Yeah. I’ll become strong.”

Naruto tries to ignore the conflicting emotions he has about all this. He remembers wanting to become strong too. But that was to protect Sasuke yet here is helping people who want to overthrow him. Life must enjoy playing cruel jokes on him.

__________

After spending a significant amount of days training his friends in fistfighting, Naruto starts their sword training. First, he explains the correct stance.

“Remember to stand with your feet shoulder width apart, then turn so you have one foot forward and the other turned around forty five to ninety degrees away,” Naruto informs them.

Naruto goes up to each of the friends he’s training and fixes slight issues with their stance so all of them are in the best position to fight with their swords.

“Keep your back straight,” Naruto orders. “Your weight needs to be evenly distributed between your feet. Keep your body lowered.”

After everyones in the correct stance Naruto moves on to teaching them how to strike with their sword.

“When striking, push your left foot and slide your right foot,” Naruto advises, “Raise your sword then bring your left foot back into position and strike.”

Naruto observes his friends striking before telling them, “When you strike, keep your right arm straight and bend it when it reaches your head.”

When each of them manage to make a decent strike, Naruto gets them to spar with each other. Naruto has already made sure to buy them adequate armor to protect themselves so they can go all out without worrying about hurting each other.

This time Naruto is sparring with Shikamaru. Shikamaru’s intelligent, although Naruto has a lot more experience Shikamaru is good at exploiting his opponent’s weaknesses. Naruto still wins while fighting him but he’s sure when Shikamaru is more trained he’ll be powerful.

__________

It takes months for Shikamaru, Ino, and Kiba to become good fighters. Naruto’s conflicted about their progress since he’s proud they’ve come so far but he also feels upset about it because it means they’re a lot closer to going after Sasuke.

“Don’t you think we could overthrow Sasuke soon?” Kiba questions.

This question stresses Naruto out. “...I don’t think you all are ready to go against him.”

Ino isn’t satisfied with that answer. “But we’ve been working so hard and if we’re stealthy we can avoid a fight with the warriors.”

Ino has a point. They aren’t as weak as they once were and they have a good chance of being able to handle this. But Naruto still has hope for Sasuke to change his ways and he wants to give Sasuke more time.

“You never know what might happen,” Naruto argues, “You need to be prepared.”

“But we have you,” Shikamaru refutes.

Naruto tenses. “So? What difference does that make?”

“You’re strong and have much more experience with fighting than we do. If we have you with us we’re a lot more likely to succeed,” Shikamaru clarifies.

Naruto does not want to fight with Sasuke. He does not want to hurt Sasuke. He’s been hoping he wouldn’t have to do much to do with the whole plan when it’s put into action. Though he knew deep down he’d be a big part despite wishing he wouldn’t be.

Naruto somehow manages a sheepish smile. “You shouldn’t have too much faith in me. I think we should at least wait for a little bit longer.”

“Fine,” Kiba relents.

“It better be soon though,” Ino adds.

Naruto sighs. Ino and Kiba leave since they’re training has already finished for the day. Shikamaru stays behind.

“Are you okay, Shikamaru?” Naruto inquires.

“I’m alright,” Shikamaru answers. “I was just wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Go right ahead then.”

“I apologize but on the first day I came here I eavesdropped on your conversation with Princess Hinata and Sakura.”

Naruto’s stomach drops. That means…

“I know that you and Sasuke used to be together,” Sasuke confesses.

“Why are you only telling me now?” Naruto asks.

“I was waiting to see if you would ever tell us yourself.”

“I’m sorry. I wanted to leave that behind me.”

“Is your past with him keeping you from agreeing to us finally overthrowing him?”

“...Yes. I swear I’ve been trying to get over it because I know he’s not a good person but I’m not ready.”

Shikamaru looks as if he expected this answer. “I understand. But you will eventually be right?”

“I hope so.”

“Maybe you need to meet some new people to forget about him.”

Shikamaru somehow convinces Naruto to go to a bar with him to do just that. Naruto turned twenty one recently so he’s legally allowed to be there and Shikamaru is a year older than him. Despite being old enough, Naruto doesn’t drink alcohol. He doesn’t know if he likes the idea of not being in control of everything he does.

Shikamaru has no such qualms and immediately drinks several beers. It’s impressive that man can drink.

“Alright, Naruto, flirt with someone and see where it goes,” Shikamaru instructs.

Naruto doesn’t want to do that. It doesn’t feel right. Although, Shikamaru might be right and this could help him with getting over Sasuke. Before Naruto can make up his mind, a handsome man comes by to sit next to Naruto. Shikamaru gives him a thumbs up before walking away towards some ladies to flirt with.

The man smirks at him. “What’s your name, pretty guy?”

“Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you. What’s your name?” Naruto asks.

“Takeshi Konno. Can I buy you a drink?”

Naruto isn’t feeling anything for this man but that may be because they haven’t talked to each other enough.

“That would be nice,” Naruto replies despite knowing he isn’t going to drink it.

Naruto doesn’t want the man to think he’s rejecting him by not letting him buy him a drink. They’re at a bar for heaven’s sake.

Takeshi buys Naruto and himself a drink and they talk for a while. No matter how long the conversation draws out Naruto doesn’t feel anything for the man.

“Hey, you haven’t taken a single sip of your drink,” Takeshi points out.

Naruto figures there’s no way to avoid this. “Sorry, I don’t drink alcohol. I’m only at this bar because my friend wanted me to put myself out there. I didn’t want you to think I was rejecting you.”

Takeshi grins. “That means I have a chance with you right? How about a date next Saturday then?”

Naruto inwardly grimaces at having to sit through a date with this man. He doesn’t feel close to what he feels for Sasuke for Takeshi. Naruto doesn’t want to lead this man on so he’s going to let him down gently.

That’s when he catches sight of Takeshi’s watch. It has the inscription of the Owls organization. It’s stupid to wear something like that out when they have enemies but damn is Naruto lucky that Takeshi did.

Naruto musters up his best fake overjoyed smile. “I would love to go on a date with you.”

Takeshi is pleased with his answer and they speak for a bit longer about where and when the date will be before Takeshi takes his leave. Shikamaru stumbles over to Naruto.

“Diiid’ya hit it off wish thaat guuy?” Shikamari slurs.

Naruto chuckles. “You’re so drunk. How many beers did you drink?”

“M not drunk.”

“Mhm. Sure.”

Shikamaru then trips and falls onto his face. An attractive woman kneels down to see if he’s okay.

“Are you alright?” She asks. “You fell pretty hard.”

Shikamaru lifts his head up and looks at her. “Fell frummm w’hat? Heaven or i’n lo’ve wisth you?”

Naruto covers his mouth to stifle his laughter. Drunk Shikamaru is always entertaining. The woman is unsure how to respond. Naruto steps in and helps Shikamaru up.

“Sorry about that. He’s very drunk,” Naruto says to the woman.

The woman gives him a small smile. “That’s okay, I thought it was funny.”

Naruto and Shikamaru head back to the Hyuga castle. Or Naruto drags Shikamaru back to the Hyuga castle because the man can barely walk.

Once they get back Naruto saves Shikamaru some water and brings him back to Shikamaru’s room where the man promptly stumbles to his bed and falls asleep. Naruto then goes to his own room and ponders about The Owls. They ruined everything for Naruto as well as everything for Sasuke. Naruto will get revenge but not how Sasuke’s been trying to. No one who’s innocent will get hurt.

__________

Naruto has finished training with his friends for the day and he feels exhausted. He decides to take a short power nap. He beelines to his bedroom and flops down on his bed and closes his eyes, quickly drifting to sleep.

“I don’t want to overthrow Sasuke,” Naruto announces.

“How could you give this up now?!” Kiba demands to know. “You’re going to give up on all those innocent people?!”

“I-I… I’m sorry,” Is all Naruto can manage to say in response.

“What about my friends?!” Ino shouts. “You can’t give up on them!”

Naruto looks down and can’t reply.

“You’re being selfish,” Shikamaru states.

Then all three of them are yelling at him.

“To let him go after all his horrible actions!”

“You can’t not do this! There’s innocent people that need saving!”

“You need to be logical!”

The dream abruptly changes.

A bloody Sasuke on his knees looks up to where Naruto is standing. Naruto is holding a bloody sword.

Sasuke lets tears drip down his face. “How could you do this? I thought you loved me. How could you cause me so much pain?”

Naruto can’t reply. Sasuke struggles to get up with the stab wound that’s through his stomach. Naruto doesn’t help him. He watches Sasuke stoically.

Sasuke uses his hand to cover his stomach wound and looks up at Naruto with a betrayed expression. The king doesn’t manage to get himself up. Eventually, Sasuke can’t manage to move at all

Naruto wakes up in a cold sweat with tears streaming down his face. He holds his face in his hands. What the hell is he supposed to do?

All Naruto wants at the moment is to not be stuck in his head. He remembers the other day being at the bar. Drunk Shikamaru seemed so free and unbothered by thoughts. Maybe if Naruto were to get drunk he’ll feel better. But he’s never drank alcohol before. Then again he’ll do anything to escape his current thoughts.

Having made up his mind, Naruto leaves the castle to go to the bar. This is a chance to escape from all his conflicting emotions. How does he manage to get himself involved with something like overthrowing Sasuke?

Naruto groans inwardly, not wanting to think about it. He enters the bar and takes a seat at one of the stools at the bar’s counters. He orders himself a shot. How long will it take him to get drunk? He’s never drank alcohol before so he’s most likely a lightweight.

Three shots later and Naruto can’t remember what’s bothering him in the first place. Though, he ends up wondering where Sasuke is. They usually go everywhere together.

Wanting to see his fiance again he decides it’s time for him to go home. He leaves this place and looks around for the castle. He sees one but something isn’t right. This castle looks different. It’s not the Uchiha Castle.

Naruto scowls at the ground in confusion. How could there be a different castle? He must be far from home. Sasuke must be worried sick over where he is.

This thought lights a fire of determination in Naruto. He has to get back to his fiance. But how? Naruto stumbles around looking for a way of transportation. He eventually bumps into a guy with a carriage wagon.

“Fuckin’ watch where you’re going,” The guy bites out.

In a soft voice, Naruto demands, “Take me to the Uchiha Kingdom as fast as you can.”

“Hahh?” The man replies with contempt. “What makes you think I’d do that?”

Naruto’s desperate and he looks around his pockets for money. “I’ll pay you,” He says as he takes out a wad of bills to convince the guy.

Naruto doesn’t know where the money came from but it’s useful. The guy who’s never seen this much cash together at once quickly changes his mind. He allows Naruto a ride in the wagon as he drives them to the Uchiha Kingdom.

As asked of him, the man drives the carriage extremely fast. Way faster than legally allowed but with the amount of money he’s been given it’s worth the risk.

It just so happens the driver is a beer brewer and keeps a bunch of beer in his carriage wagon. He says Naruto is welcome to a bottle. Naruto thanks him and takes him up on the offer because he’s stressed about how he ended up in an entirely different kingdom than the one he lives in.

By some miracle Naruto arrives at the Uchiha Kingdom in half a day. It’s dark out by the time he makes it home. He thanks the guy who drove him and turns to the familiar castle. Naruto rushes towards his home. Sasuke’s going to be upset that he’s been gone so long.

Naruto doesn’t feel like talking to the guards so he slips through his and Sasuke’s bedroom window. He crashes into the room roughly.

“Uh…” Sasuke is staring at him with shock as if what he’s seeing can’t be real.

Naruto is overcome with relief at finally being home and back with his fiance. He picks himself up from the floor and throws himself against Sasuke in a tight hug.

“My darling,” Naruto addresses the other.

Sasuke flinches when called that.

“You smell like alcohol,” Sasuke comments.

Naruto sways a bit and smiles over being in the other’s arms. Completely oblivious to the other;s internal struggle.

“Are you drunk?” Sasuke queries.

Naruto cups his fiance’s face. “Whaaat? Meee? Noooo.”

“You’re definitely drunk.”

“Kiss me.”

For some reason Sasuke doesn’t comply with this request. Is he angry at Naruto? Is this about him being so far away for some reason? Naruto doesn’t want Sasuke to be mad at him.

“I’m sorry for being gone. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t mean to be away from you,” Naruto attempts to appease the other.

“That’s the thing,” Sasuke began, “You did.”

What in the world is Sasuke talking about? Why would Naruto go away from his fiance on purpose. This must be an excuse to get out of kissing Naruto. Is Naruto not good enough for him to kiss?

Naruto’s eyes start to water with unshed tears. “Am I not good enough for you? Is that why you don’t want to kiss me?”

Sasuke’s expression turns panicked once Naruto’s tears start to fall. “No that’s not it at all.

With Naruto already in his arms, Sasuke starts to run his hand through Naruto’s hair to soothe the man.

“Then why won’t you kiss me?” Naruto begs to know.

“Because you won’t have wanted me to when you come back to your senses,” Sasuke answers.

“Yes I will.”

“No you won’t.”

“Yes I—”

“How about this? You go to sleep and if you wake up and still want me to kiss you, I will kiss you.”

Naruto is satisfied with that. “Okay.”

“Alright. Goodnight then.”

Naruto pulls away from their embrace and hurries to get onto their shared bed. He covers himself with the blanket and waits for Sasuke to join him.

“Aren’t you going to sleep too?” Naruto inquires.

“I think I’ll sleep in a guest bedroom tonight,” Sasuke replies.

Naruto stares at Sasuke with hurt. Sasuke had to be mad at him. For him to not even want to sleep in the same bed as Naruto. He must be furious with Naruto for whatever reason but Naruto can’t think of what it could possibly be.

“Sasuke, why are you mad at me>” Naruto questions.

“I’m not mad at you,” Sasuke insists.

“You have to be. We always cuddle together yet you don’t want to tonight.”

Naruto’s eyes welled up in tears again. Sasuke looks at him with a conflicted gaze as if unsure what to say or do. Sasuke sighs, having made up his mind.

“I’ll cuddle with you,” Sasuke relents.

Naruto gives him a bright genuine smile. Sasuke joins Naruton in bed and holds the blond gently. Naruto snuggles closer to his fiance.

__________

This has to be the weirdest night of Sasuke’s life. The last thing he would’ve expected to happen is his ex fiance to show up drunk convinced they're still married.

When Naruto hugged him, Sasuke didn’t know what to do. It felt so nice to finally feel the other man’s warmth after so many days aching for it. It’s been so long since he’s been referred to as my darling by Naruto and it makes Sasuke either want to cry or grin like an idiot.

The demand to kiss Naruto threw Sasuke off guard. Naruto’s drunk and doesn’t know what he’s asking for. Sasuke wishes more than anything that this was a sober Naruto that was asking him for a kiss. He would give anything to be able to kiss Naruto again.

But Naruto doesn’t want him. Once the alcohol is out of his system, he’ll hate the idea of having kissed Sasuke again, Sasuke doesn’t know how to reject the other but Naruto takes his inaction as an answer for itself.

Naruto begins to cry and Sasuke panics. He hates seeing the blond cry. And he hates even more to be the reason he’s crying. Sasuke attempts to make Naruto understand that the blond doesn’t actually want him but the drunk man doesn’t get it.

Then Naruto starts questioning whether he’s good enough for Sasuke and it feels like a stab at his heart. If anything, he’s the one who’s not good enough for Naruto.

Sasuke manages to convince Naruto to sleep. He doesn’t expect Naruto to lie on his bed and look at him expectantly. Sasuke doesn’t want Naruto to wake up and be uncomfortable so he tells the other he’ll sleep in a different room.

This makes Naruto cry again which makes Sasuke give in and cuddle him because he can’t stand to see the man cry. Naruto cheers up at this and happily cuddles Sasuke. After a bit though, Naruto takes his shirt off which causes Sasuke to get flustered.

“W-What are you doing?” Sasuke stutters out.

“Ha! You’re blushing,” Naruto teases. “You’ve seen me without a shit before; it’s not a big deal. I feel hot so I took my shirt off, I’ll go to sleep now.”

Naruto goes back to cuddling Sasuke. Sasuke knows his face must be crimson. Naruto doesn’t realize this is not a normal thing for them anymore. That’s when Sasuke notices something Naruto’s wearing. It’s a necklace. Sasuke tenses once he realizes what the necklace holds.

A ring with a sapphire gem. The ring Sasuke proposed to Naruto with. Naruto’s wearing his ring. Naruto must’ve taken the ring the night he left and made a necklace with it. A load of mixed feelings arise in Sasuke.

For one he wishes Naruto would have worn that ring as his husband and not his ex. He feels happiness over Naruto being over him. And he feels admiration at the way Naruto looks wearing the ring.

Sasuke holds Naruto tighter. Maybe they can figure things out in the morning.

__________

Naruto wakes up with a pounding headache. He shifts and realizes he’s being held by someone. He glances at their face and almost jumps back in shock. How the hell did he end up in Sasuke’s bed? And why is his shirt off?!

He searches his memory from the night before and thankfully he and Sasuke didn’t do anything. Naruto blushes as he remembers that he tried and that Sasuke didn’t allow it.

How did Naruto get here so fast? He remembers paying a guy. His memory becomes clear and gets a memory of how absolutely illegal and scary that man’s driving was. Naruto wonders if he’s related to a royal in some way with a speed power. Well, it doesn’t matter, what matters now is getting back to Hyuga Kingdom.

Naruto cautiously gets out of Sasuke’s hold, careful to not wake the king up. He picks up his shirt from off the floor and puts it on. His friends are probably worried sick about him. What’s he going to tell them?

Naruto gets an idea. He could tell them he left to get information about the Hyuga Castle. He could steal a map of the castle and go home. But as Naruto remembers the night before he feels even worse about the idea of overthrowing Sasuke.

He then remembers Takeshi. Naruto can fix this. He can get Sasuke his revenge. And he can get Sasuke to stop his cruel actions and get safety for the people of the Uchiha Kingdom. He doesn’t want to trick his friends but he loves Sasuke too much to hurt him.

Naruto steals the map. He can’t explain to them what happened as he needs an excuse and this map is a good one. Naruto realizes he can’t go out without being recognized by the guards.

He figures he’ll leave the same way he entered. Through Sasuke’s bedroom window. He enters Sasuke’s bedroom and takes a breath of relief when he sees the king is still asleep. He exits through the window and somehow isn’t spotted by the guards. Naruto wanders through the main city with nostalgia. He really misses the place.

He finds someone who’ll drive him with a good payment. This drive will take much much longer than the way here but it also will have a way less chance of Naruto dying of a crash. When he was drunk he didn’t realize how dangerous the drive here was but it’s a miracle he’s alive.

__________

When Naruto arrives back at Hyuga Castle his friends immediately interrogate him. They aren’t pleased that he disappeared for days without giving them a heads up.

“I was getting this,” Naruto explains and holds up the Uchiha Castle map.

His friends are momentarily distracted from their questions and look over the map. IT’s authentic and has a detailed layout of the castle.

“This is why you were gone,” Hinata observes.

“You could at least give us a heads up!” Kuba scolds. “We thought something bad happened to you!”

“Kiba’s right,” Shikamaru agrees.

Sakura nods her agreement as well. “Why didn’t you tell us that you were going to leave to get this?”

“Yeah, why didn’t you?” Ino also wants to know.

“I wanted to make sure my plan wouldn’t get out someone i didn’t trust,” Naruto lies.

“We wouldn’t tell anyone,” Kiba insists.

“I know that, but you never know who might overhear. I wanted to be sure so I would have the best chance of getting the map.

“I can understand your reasoning but at the very least the next time you plan on doing something like this lie about where you’re going. That way we’ll at least know you’ll be gone on purpose,” Shikamaru advises.

Naruto nods. “I will. I should’ve thought of that.”

It feels wrong to lie to his friends but telling them the truth isn’t an option. Naruto asks what day it is and is shocked to realize it’s the day of his ‘date’ with Takeshi. It’s time for him to make things right.

Sakura and Hinata help him pick out an outfit. A white button up that has a few buttons undone at the top and some tight pants. Naruto feels hot but he wishes he was going on a date with Sasue instead of Takeshi. This is for him and Sasuke thought; he has to do it.

Naruto heads out and goes to the coffee shop where he and Takeshi agreed to have their date. Takeshi is early and waves him over. Naruto sits down across from the man and gives him a forced smile.

It’s difficult for Naruto to have to act nice to someone who took part in ruining Sasuke’s happiness and their relationship. Yet this needs to be done so he has no choice to fake liking this man. It will only be for a little bit anyway.

Takeshi unashamedly stares at his chest. Naruto feels uncomfortable with his attention. It doesn't matter. He can use this. They talk for a while before Naruto brings up the reason he’s here.

“Takeshi, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Naruto says trying to give his voice a merely curious cadence, “Where’d you get that watch?”

Thankfully, Takeshi isn’t put off by this question. “That old thing, it’s merely from the business I own.”

That he owns?

Naruto knew he was a part of The Owls but this means he’s their leader. Takeshi is the one in charge.

“You own a business?!” Naruto exclaims with fake enthusiasm.

Clearly pleased by how impressed Naruto is, Takeshi continues to brag. “Yeah, I make a lot of money because of it too.”

Naruto makes a gasp of surprise despite not actually caring. “Really?! That’s so cool! Do you own a building of your own for your business too?!”

Takeshi grins. “Hell yeah I do. I can show it to you if you want.”

Naruto’s genuine smile slips onto his expression. His plan is working!

“I would love that!” Naruto replies.

Takeshi’s voice deepens seductively. “You know I have a private room, it’s soundproof, we can have some fun if you want.”

Naruto feels himself sweat. Crap. He didn’t expect that. He does not want to have fun with this man. Especially not the kind of fun the man is referring to. Naruto’s only slept with one person in his entire life and he plans to keep it that way.

What can he do though? This is the only way he can get to the place where the rest of The Owls are. Naruto doesn’t know how he didn’t realize it before but Takehsi is allowed to have a day off work today since he’s the boss. But Naruto knows that the Owls work everyday except Sunday and today is Saturday. This is for him in Sasuke. Him and Takeshi doesn’t mean anything.

Naruto smiles at the man warmly. If someone he was close to saw it they would know it’s not as sweet as it seems. Naruto gets out of his chair and walks over to Takeshi.

“We should go now,” Naruto says with his best seducing voice.

“Give me a kiss first,” Takeshi demands.

Naruto is taken aback for a moment. He doesn’t want to kiss this guy and he especially doesn’t want to kiss him in a public space. It’s like the people at the cafe would be witnessing his worst sin.

Naruto forces himself to get ready to kiss him. Just imagine he’s Sasuke. Just imagine he’s Sasuke. Just imagine he’s Sasuke.

Naruto cups Takeshi’s face and kisses him. Takeshi deepens the kiss much to naruto’s dismay. When they pull apart, Takeshi looks very eager.

“Let’s go to my private room now,” Takeshi urges.

Naruto’s gut twist but he follows behind Takeshi. This will be over soon. Takeshi gets them a ride to The Owls building and they get there relatively fast.

Naruto does his best to keep himself calm as he follows Takeshi to his private room. When they’re both in the room Takeshi begins to unbutton Naruto’s shirt. Naruto reaches inside his pants pocket.

He pulls out a knife and stabs Takeshi through the heart. Takeshi falls back now lifeless.

“As if I would actually sleep with you,” Naruto spits out.

Naruto opens the door to the private room where the rest of The Owls are waiting.

“Now who’s next?” Naruto questions.

__________

Sasuke was not stalking Naruto. He wasn’t. He only wanted to get the chance to talk to him so they could talk things out and maybe figure things out. He thought they didn’t have a chance to get back together before but after he saw Naruto wearing his marriage ring he believed they might have a chance to be together again.

However, Sasuke is not enjoying Naruto having coffee with some dude. It makes Sasuke’s insides twist uncomfortably with jealousy. It;s not a date, they’re probably just friends.

Yeah, it hasn’t been so long since Naruto was cuddling him. What are the chances of him being on a date? Naruto likes making new friends, that’s all this is.

It’s still a stab to his heart every time the other man makes Naruto smile. He wishes he was there with Naruto instead of that stupid other guy.

Sasuke feels a wave of relief wash over him when Naruto gets up. The blond must be leaving. A wave of confusion when Naruto walks over to the man. What is he doing?

Naruto kisses the man and Sasuke feels as if all the air has been sucked out of his body. This wasn’t platonic. Naruto must not plan on ever getting back with Sasuke. Sasuke feels his heart shattered into pieces all over again.

Feeling empty, Sasuke gets a ride back to the Uchiha Kingdom.

__________

Naruto washes off the blood in a lake so no one would ask him any questions. Before his date he bought new clothes and left it near this lake so he could change into non bloody clothes after everything.

Naruto feels guilty over what he did. He doesn't want to be a murderer but he did it for someone he loves. It doesn’t matter how he feels now he can’t change the past. And he doesn’t believe he would take what he did make because it means he and Sasuke can be happy again.

Now, Naruto has to have a talk with his friends. Naruto internally groans at this. He should’ve been honest with his friends from the start but all he did was continuously lie to them.

Naruto gets dressed in his clean clothes and goes back to the Hyuga Castle. He goes around collecting all of his friends into one room so he can talk to them all at once. Naruto sweats nervously when he sees all of his friends expecting faces. He hopes none of them will hate him after this.

He explains everything including what he did to the members of The Owls. His friends are shocked and unsurprisingly upset with him. However, they are not as angry as Naruto thought they would be.

“You killed someone?” Ino questions shocked that Naruto could do such a thing.

“Warriors do it all the time. Besides we were planning to do the same to Sasuke,” Shikamaru reminds her.

“I’m more concerned about how you were engaged to the king!” Kiba exclaims.

“I’m sorry,” Naruto responds, “We broke off our engagement so I didn’t want to tell you all but I do still love him.”

Kiba runs a hand through his hair, stressed. “We talked about killing that guy in front of you and you two used to be together!”

“Yes, I shouldn’t have encouraged your plan if I knew my heart wasn’t in it. I wanted to be able to convince you not to kill him but still succeed in taking over the throne.”

“Naruto,” Sakura begins, “We can’t let him keep the throne.”

Naruto panics. “What? But The Owls are gone now! His reason for acting so unreasonable is gone!”

“Naruto,” Hinata says softly, “His actions can’t go unpunished.”

Naruto’s eyes welled up in tears. “Please… I’ll make sure he never hurts an innocent person again.”

Kiba takes pity on him. “How about if you can make him take an oath to never hurt an innocent person again.”

“What’s a promise going to do? It won’t mean anything to him if he breaks it,” Ino argues.

“Wait,” Hinata demands. “We could give it a try and if he breaks the oath we will get rid of him for good.”

Everyone agrees with that. After their conversation they don’t waste any time and start right over to get a ride to the Uchiha Kingdom.

__________

When they arrive at the castle, Naruto’s friends wait at a shop nearby so he and Sasuke can talk alone. Naruto’s nervous, it’s been so long since he’s been here if you don’t include when he was drunk since he wasn’t thinking clearly when he was intoxicated.

The guards' expressions when they see him turn shocked.

“Naruto. You’re back?” One of them asks.

Naruto nods and they don’t hesitate to let him in. Naruto’s glad to see that the place is exactly the same as it was when he lived here. Naruto beelines for Sasuke’s room.

Naruto knocks on the door but doesn’t get an answer. Maybe he’s not in his room? Or maybe he’s not answering on purpose? That sounds like Sasuke.

Naruto opens the door to catch sight of a disheveled Sauke looking as if something is deeply troubling him.

“Sasuke,” Naruto calls softly.

Sasuke looks over to him and blinks a few times slowly to make sure he isn’t dreaming.

“Naruto… What are you doing here?” Sasuke queries.

“I want to talk to you?”

Sasuke allows Naruto to enter his room. “About what?”

“I want to get back together with you.”

Sasuke gawks at him and Naruto feels his embarrassment rise. Maybe Sauske doesn’t want to get back together with him.

Naruto looks down hoping his growing flustered blush isn’t obvious. “I-I get if you don’t want to. I just thou—”

“It’s not that,” Sasuke interrupts looking bewildered by the entire situation. “Aren’t you dating someone?”

Naruto becomes puzzled as well. “What? No. What are you talking about?”

“That man at the cafe with you.”

“Were you… stalking me?”

“No, I wanted to talk to you since I thought we had a chance after that day you snuck back into the castle while drunk.”

“Oh.”

“If you two aren’t dating, why did you kiss him?”

Naruto rakes a hand through his hair. He’s not sure how to explain this to Sasuke.

“He was in charge of The Owls. I was trying to figure out where they worked,” Naruto clarifies.

Sasuke is shocked by this. “Did you?”

“I did.”

“Then what are we waiting for, we have to go after them.”

“I already did,” Naruto looks up at Sasuke with tears in his eyes. “It’s over, they’re gone. We can go back to living our life together.”

“...You really got rid of them?”

“Do you doubt me?”

“No.”

“Also, there’s one more thing I have to talk to you about.”

Naruto explains his plans with his friends and about the oath and how Sasuke has to never hurt an innocent person again. And that he has to be a king that does his best to look after the people of his kingdom.

Sasuke agrees to take the oath. And before Naruto leaves to get his friends. Sasuke pulls him into a deep kiss.

“I missed you,” Sasuke whispers in Naruto’s ear, “Does this mean we’re together again?”

Naruto smiles at the king warmly. “Yes.”

Naruto stays with Sasuke for a few moments before actually leaving to get his friends so Sasuke can take the oath.

__________

A few months later, Naruto and Sasuke finally get married. They have a three layer chocolate cake and all of their friends and the people of the Uchiha Kingdom showered them with congratulations and gifts.

Kakashi showed up as well, having heard the good news. Sasuke apologizes profusely to the man for his actions. Kakashi takes up his position as a warrior again.

Naruto is a king now and even though he’s not sure how good he’ll be at it, he has Sasuke there guiding him.

He and Sasuke do all they can to make sure the people of the Uchiha Kingdom are happy and healthy. They give to the poor and make sure the homeless have a place to sleep each night.

Throughout everything they ended up together. Now they’ll get through anything that life throws at them together.