The Story of You and I
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Chapter II: Remembrance
~For everything you gain
an equal sacrifice must be made.
Did you sell your soul to achieve
your forbidden dreams?
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“What the hell?”
Naruto sent his arms and limbs flailing in all directions. It had been weird waking up in a dark cramped space, now he had to come face to face with the last person he wanted to see. Hell, if he could, he would rather run into Uchiha Itachi instead. Anything was better than Sasuke.
“What are you doing here?”
The blonde stood up clumsily only to fall back onto the ground after tripping on the helm of his robes. Of all the times he could have been gawky, why now? Gathering what little grace he had, Naruto pushed his body into a standing position. He prayed that his legs wouldn’t give out again.
“I don’t know.”
Uchiha Sasuke stared at him, slightly surprised at the answer that the blonde gave him. Perhaps the villagers had sent him to deliver a message. Running a hand through his dark hair, Sasuke waited patiently for a better answer.
“I have to live with you,” Naruto muttered through the side of his mouth, avoiding any type of eye contact. “Tsunade-bachan told me that I have to watch you just in case you run away.” He fidgeted with the helm of his robe, deciding to leave certain other details out. Dumb as he was, Naruto wasn’t stupid enough to speak of Tsunade’s plans to the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan. ‘When did I change clothes? That stupid Tsunade-bachan. And I bet Kakashi-sensei had something to do with this too!’
“Are you worried that I’m going to run away? I can’t go back to Orochimaru since you brought me back here, even the curse seal no longer works. The villagers have already stripped me of my ninja status. You think I still have the ability to destroy half of the village?” He scoffed, a hint of bitterness in his voice.
Naruto watched the raven-haired man stroke his left shoulder where the black symbol was once embedded. A red spiral pattern was now imprinted on top of the once darkened skin. Anger exploded throughout his body. Was that all the Uchiha had to say for his crimes? Had he not repented at all?
After a few moments of silence, someone moved. “Do what you want.”
Awkward.
It was awkward. What else could be said about this situation? His blue eyes flew to wooden floors as the footsteps of the other man resounded around him in the darkness of the mansion. They soon retreated into the distance, leaving him alone once more. His body shook in resentment. Uchiha Sasuke hadn’t changed at all.
~What are you going to do now?~
The blonde hunter-nin stared at the cold bars that restrained the power entity behind it. Fat drops of water sent ripples upon the watery surface of the cell. The air hung heavily around him, red light surrounding the prison. “I don’t know. Maybe help him with his goal? I really don’t have a goal as of now. I have the recognition I’ve always sought from the village after saving him, so at least that much of my dreams have been completed.”
~They were happy that the Uchiha child had returned safely, not for your accomplishments.~
Naruto sighed longingly. Of course, he knew that it was the only obvious reason why they had even bothered to show up for his return. His face dropped as the revelation hit him that he mattered so little to the village.
~I won’t last that much longer, brat.~
He lifted his face up curiously. That was the decision he had made and there was no regret or doubt whether or not he had done the right thing. “Do you know how much time I have then?”
~Little.~
Naruto rolled his eyes at the answer. Leave it to the Kyuubi to give such a precise answer. Small hands fell to touch the fabric covering his stomach. “Fine, but I’ll figure out a way then.”
~Why do you so readily accept death for him? Do you not hate him for the pain that he has caused you?~
The answer was simple.
“I don’t hate him because he acknowledges me.”
Cerulean eyes shot open, blinking away the remnants of sleep still encrusted in him. The couch creaked under the stress of his weight as he got up. The sound of his rhythmic breathing filled the silent room. He reached down to pick up the black quilt that had fallen to the base of his feet.
Naruto eyed the material in his hands, perplexity spreading itself across the petite face. There wasn’t a blanket to provide him with any source of warmth when he had fallen asleep last night.
He groaned loudly when the cold surface of the ground began to penetrate through the soles of his feet. For several minutes he stood still, allowing his brain to thaw and recall what had happened during the previous night. There was Tsunade-bachan, Kakashi-sensei, orange gift-wrap, and black eyes.
Sasuke.
That’s right, and he had been forced to stay at Sasuke’s house. Reality was very cruel. The sound of a swinging pendulum caught his attention. The clock’s hour hand rested upon the number seven which meant that it was only 7:00 A.M. Was it still that early? Usually, he would’ve stayed lounging around in his bed until at least the sun was high over the village. Waking up early meant having to spend even more time seeing people that he didn’t want to see and that was the last thing he wanted to do.
He scratched the back of his head out of bad habit and fell back onto the leather couch. There was no point in doing anything this early in the morning. Besides, it wasn’t his house to explore. Remaining in one place was better than getting lost and having the Uchiha prodigy come to his rescue. Without much help, his eyes began to close as sleep crept in.
“Are you going to be following me everywhere now?”
Naruto turned to face a shadowed figure. When did Sasuke enter the room? The sealing technique had probably lowered the majority of his sensory skills. From the looks of it, his sense to detect other's chakra was the first one to go.
He shrugged, not knowing the answer himself. “If you do something out of line then I’ll have to kick your ass back into place. It’s as simple as that.” What’s the point of talking to someone that didn’t even respond and had a total of three facial expressions?
He yawned childishly and threw the blanket over his head, pretending to fall back to sleep.
Sasuke glared at the sloppy form sprawled over his couch. His distaste for the blonde intensified with ever single passing second. Turning away, he strode past the confines of his room. Slamming the connecting bathroom door shut, he gazed at the dust-covered mirror. The raven-haired man stared at his dark reflection. Bloodshot eyes peeked out from under the dull black locks of hair.
He frowned lightly, a look of impatience dawning upon his handsome features. After stripping himself of his clothing, Sasuke stepped into the spray of water. The warm liquid came plastering down onto his face, washing away the night’s filthiness as his mind began to roam.
So there was a reason to why Naruto was here after all, but the blonde hunter-nin didn’t know about it? Somehow, it seemed surreal when he recalled the letter he had read after opening his ‘present’. Why would Tsunade think of doing something like this? Of course, Uchiha Itachi would be drawn to the blonde for some unknown reason. But to place Naruto under his so-called protection? Who was to say he wouldn’t go ahead and kill the teenager? And he wasn’t supposed to speak of such orders to the blonde.
His eyes darkened at the thought of Naruto, the carefree Naruto that had no problems or worries, the Naruto who never thought about anyone other than himself. Forcing him to return home caused a hindrance in his goal of killing Itachi.
Cussing softly, the stoic boy placed his forehead upon the glass surface. Now even the curse seal was useless, all thanks to Naruto. All of the time that he had spent training had gone to waste now that it was sealed away. There had to be a way to open it up again.
This was a game that he had to be played carefully.
The bathroom door opened just as he stepped out of the now freezing shower.
Several years ago he would have given anything to get a reaction out of the seemingly emotionless Uchiha. Insults, yells, smirks, anything to show that the other boy knew of his existence was of value to him. A part of him still yearned for the attention that he had sought for. Somehow, it mattered most if Sasuke called him worthless or stupid. It didn’t matter whether or not others acknowledged him, just Uchiha Sasuke.
Naruto’s gaze remained glued to his feet as he made his way to the bathroom, allowing the sound of falling water to guide him to his target. First things first though, he really wanted a shower. The smell of antibiotics and dried up blood from his week old wounds were making him slightly light headed. The navy blue yukata had to go as well. It resembled something that Tsunade might have worn in her early teens, and from what he knew of her, that was a long time ago.
Without a second thought, Naruto pushed the door at the end of the hallway open. A blast of steam fogged his vision. As it cleared up, he immediately wished it hadn’t.
“HOLY SHIT!”
Uchiha Sasuke stood naked as the day he was born; strands of hair still damp from the shower, sending droplets of water trickling down his pale lithe form. The other man glared at him coldly. He remained unmoving, not bothering to cover up his indecent exposure to the blonde.
The faired-haired boy immediately closed the door and ran back into the living room. There were many things Uzumaki Naruto wanted to see throughout his short life, and a naked Uchiha was not one of the sights on his rather lengthy list. He peered down and snapped back up. Damn, the bastard was better endowed than he was. Was there anything that wasn’t perfect about the prodigy?
“I’ve permanently been blinded,” Naruto mumbled, rubbing his eyes as though it would undo the event.
A loud cracking sound was followed by a heavy shower of rain from the outside world. Sighing loudly, the blonde pushed the adjoining door and walked out to the Uchiha courtyard. If he had learned anything, it was that Uchiha Sasuke did not need several million rooms. How much space does one guy even need?
He reached out to catch a few droplets of rain, hearing the wind chimes clank softly in the background. The cool fluid felt like heaven as it flowed down his hot skin. Rain water was water too, wasn’t it? Maybe he should just take a shower right there.
“I can’t even take a shower without you following me?”
Naruto flushed angrily, turning back to snap at his lifelong rival. “Believe me that was something I’d rather not have seen at all!”
Sasuke stared at him, watching him silently without any words. Feeling unnerved, the blonde pushed passed the stoic boy. “You are so creepy.”
Knock Knock Knock Knock Knock Knock
Naruto ran to the front door, still feeling the emotionless onyx eyes following the back of his head. The loud plitter platter of the raindrops beat upon the rooftops of the dark mansion as he pulled the door open. Who could possibly be visiting the bastard this early in the morning?
“Hey, Naruto! I just stopped by to give you some medication. You’ve been dressing them properly, haven’t you?” Not waiting for his answer, Sakura made her way into the house as if knowing the exact location of her destination.
“Um, nice to see you too, Sakura-chan.” Naruto followed the pink-haired girl into the house.
A loud squeal indicated that she had found what she had came for.
“SASUKE-KUN!”
He sniggered as the medical-nin grabbed Sasuke into a death-grip embrace.
Sakura stepped back and examined the facial expressions of both boys. A look of confusion dawned upon her face.
“What?” They asked in unison.
She chuckled gleefully from their response, “The two of you always had so much in common. It’s great to have you back, Sasuke-kun. I wanted to wish you a ‘Happy Birthday’ but I guess you already got one.” She eyed Naruto playfully. “He makes a very nice gift, don’t you think?”
Naruto blinked comically, not fully grasping the connotations behind her words. What was that supposed to mean? It was bad enough that he had to live with the bastard. “I am nothing like him!”
“Actually I’m here to tell you something, Naruto. I tried to get you out of this, since you’re not completely healed yet. Neither is Sasuke, but it seems as though the village heads have decided to send you on another mission.” Sakura explained. She wasn’t quite sure why they needed to send him out in the first place.
Naruto had been declared a hunter-nin a year ago after passing his examinations. When she had asked him why he had chosen that profession and not Anbu, his reply was simple.
It isn’t my job to decide who dies and who lives, Sakura-chan. I think that human lives are much too fragile to be taken away like that and that’s my Ninja way!
But you'll have to kill as well. You're a hunter-nin now, Naruto.
I know, but I still won't kill anyone. I became a hunter-nin to bring back Sasuke and others who have lost their way in life.
That made sense since she couldn’t imagine Naruto being a cold-blooded killer in the first place. And yet it seemed as though all of the worse cases were thrown his way. His missions always ranged from level ‘B’ and up. These missions were usually reserved for jounins and the Anbu force. Naruto was a chuunin-level hunter-nin.
The blonde’s mood took a direct turn after hearing his friend mention the word ‘mission’. If he had to stay at the Uchiha mansion, then he might as well busy himself with something to keep his mind off of the abnormal prodigy.
“I’ll accept it! Tell me what I have to do, Sakura-chan!” Naruto cried happily.
The pink-haired girl nodded, pulling a yellow package. “They want Sasuke-kun to come with you on this mission as well.”
“WHAT?”
There went his plan of being alone.
“Well, it says here that they are going to test Uchiha Sasuke’s loyalty by having him accompany you on this mission. It’s too bad that I can’t come with the two of you. I also have a big mission coming up as well in the Village of the Sand.” She handed the package to Sasuke and excused herself.
“I’ll see you two later? Take care of him, Naruto.”
Sasuke grunted out in irritation at the thought of Naruto being able to take care of anyone other than himself.
“Yeah,” the blonde agreed, although too wrapped up in the upcoming mission to worry about anything else. That would mean Sasuke and he would be stuck on the mission together, alone. His defenses were still inadequate so there was still a chance that the other boy could attack him at any moment’s notice. Didn’t the village elders know that?
Of course they did. They just didn’t give a damn at all. It was a risky undertaking upon their part, but if Uchiha Sasuke didn’t do anything that they would label ‘traitorous’, then it was safe to assume that the raven-haired youth was on his path to atonement.
“Get dressed.”
Sasuke glared at the blonde. “If you haven’t noticed, dobe, I am dressed.”
Naruto cursed at himself. Why couldn’t he be in command for a change? “Fine, whatever. Just get ready. I’m going to read over the mission details and we’ll depart tonight.”
“You can read?” The taller boy asked, sarcasm leaking from his voice.
His fingers crumbled the forms in his grasp, “Shut up, bastard.”
The rest of the day flew by without interruptions which left Naruto extremely cranky. Dinner was a mundane affair. They ate and said little.
“WHAT ARE YOU, MUTE?”
The abrupt shriek caused Sasuke to sputter his miso soup all over the other boy. He glowered frostily at the annoyed hunter-nin. What the hell did he want now? Not only had his privacy been robbed, now his peace was at risk too?
“No.”
“FOR GOD SAKES, UCHIHA SASUKE JUST SPOKE!” The blonde screamed, his voice echoing down the large hallways.
“There’s nothing to say between the two of us. At least I have nothing to say to you.” Sasuke stood up and placed the finished bowl into the sink.
“You really haven’t changed, you know that? I guess being with Orochimaru didn’t help much with your social skills, huh?”
“I see you’re the same loser as always.” The taller boy retorted.
“OH YEAH?” Something inside of him shattered.
“Yeah.”
“AT LEAST I DIDN’T RUN OFF TO BECOME SOMEONE’S BITCH! AT LEAST I DIDN’T BETRAY MY FRIENDS, UCHIHA!”
Silence echoed warily after his words were released.
“I’m bored.” Naruto muttered, his spoon spinning around in the cooling soup.
Sasuke stared at him. First the blonde screams and then he declares that he’s bored? Dealing with Naruto was like taking care of a four-year-old. “And what am I supposed to do? You hate me and I hate you. I don’t like talking so deal with it.”
“I don’t have to, bastard!”
“…”
Naruto slammed his foot onto the ground childishly. Why did he have to be the one stuck with Sasuke? If the boy didn’t kill him, boredom would.
“What have you been doing?” The question surprised himself as much as it had surprised the blonde.
“Not much. I became a hunter-nin a year ago. Afterwards, I continued to search for you. Not that you would care or anything,” Naruto explained. He didn’t know where the questions were leading to.
“Why do you want to save me so much?”
That was a strange question, wasn’t it? Why did he want to save Sasuke so badly? “It’s because I made a promise to Sakura-chan to bring you back to her.”
The stoic boy studied the blonde as he made his way around the kitchen to place his dirty plate into the sink. “Is that the only reason?”
“Yes, it is.” But unknown to himself, his blue eyes betrayed how he truly felt.
“You’re lying.”
“Shut up, bastard. I’m going to pack now so leave me alone!”
Sasuke hadn’t missed the look of pain and hurt that had flashed through the blue eyes. A mask upon a mask. There was something that Naruto wasn’t telling him.
Due to his consistent whining, Sasuke had finally given him a room other than the couch. From the looks of it, the room hadn’t been occupied in a very long time. It wasn’t furnished with anything fancy, just the basic necessities of everyday life.
He flipped through the papers, reading every single detail carefully. They had to travel to the Village of the Mist and meet up with their client, Usagi Junko, and then take her to the Village of the Sand. ‘Maybe we’ll even run into Sakura-chan then.’
He stared at the reflection that the mirror provided. There was no way he was going to wear what Uchiha Sasuke had worn during their genin days. Then again it was either the blue clan shirt or the yukata. There wasn’t much of a choice for him. The shirt draped loosely around his shoulders; the white shorts were baggy around his waist. “I officially look like an idiot.”
“You always look like an idiot, usuratonkachi.”
“You know what, Uchiha? Fuck you.” He turned to pick his backpack up.
“I’m sure you’d like to do that.”
Naruto blushed a brilliant red for the second time that day. What the hell did that mean? There was no way he just heard what he thought the raven-haired man had said. “I DO NOT! AND HAVEN’T YOU HEARD OF KNOCKING BEFORE YOU ENTER SOMEONE ELSE’S ROOM?”
The raven-haired boy’s face remained impassive as he answered. “I could ask you the same question, dobe.”
Naruto swiftly pulled the fox mask over his face, leaving only his azure eyes exposed to the world. “Man, why do your old clothes have to look so stupid?”
“. . .”
The blonde grumbled loudly, putting the sack across his chest. “Let’s just leave now.”
A solitary shape stood under the moon’s luminescent light. Gentle shadows covered the dark alleys of the village, a few home lights still on from late hours of work. She watched two figures leap from rooftop to rooftop, heading toward the entrance of Konoha. A tender smile graced her attractive features.
Haruno Sakura gripped onto the railing of the Hokage’s tower tightly, her knuckles turning white.
“Please bring the old Sasuke-kun back to us, Naruto.”
To be continued . . .
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A/N: If there are any mistakes in this please email me and tell me what to fix. If it regards grammar or spelling mistakes please go ahead and email me. Thank you to all of those that have stuck with the switching stories. Some of your questions will be revealed in time, I assure you.
Anyway, please review?
Edit: Beta by the lovely Patty aka Sherlockian Slytherin. I Luv you!