Naruto Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ More Than Anything ❯ Revelation ( Chapter 21 )

Chapter Nineteen: Revelation

 

“Sasuke!” Naruto shouted again, ignoring the few, odd glances he got from the people wandering home in the evening. This was his chance, and, Uzumaki Naruto was never one to give up an opportunity when it stared him in the face!

 

Well, except for that one time, but that was not important.

 

He waved again, snickering underneath his breath from the way the Uchiha boy stiffened instinctively upon spotting him. “Sasuke!” he called, watching the boy turn away from him. “Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you, Sasuke-teme!”

 

“Surely Uchiha Sasuke is not friends with that… thing.”

 

Naruto slowed in his step—he had not even realized he was running—and barely sent a glance in the direction of the woman he had heard speaking. She was leaning close to the woman next to her, probably hoping that he had not caught the hint of her conversation. She pulled away from her companion the moment she noticed his stare, blushing a bit despite the light glare she was casting upon him.

 

He scowled back at her, because the very idea was ridiculous. He would never be friends with the emotionally constipated Uchiha that he had the misfortune of going to the Academy with. Never. Not even if Kagome finally fell at his feet and begged to be his girlfriend. Not even if Kagome asked him time and again to at least be nice to the bastard. Not even if Kagome—!

 

“Don't be silly.” The other woman chuckled a little, adding, “Uchiha Sasuke would never be dumb enough to become friends with that little outcast. He's probably just tutoring the boy out of pity because he cannot perform the simplest of jutsu.”

 

Turning red with anger, Naruto resisted the urge to suddenly point in their direction and set them straight. For one, it would probably get him only laughed at. For two, he really needed to tell the dark haired boy what he had discovered and there was no time for drawing such unneeded attention to himself.

 

Growling, Naruto was surprised when his shoulder was bumped harshly. He turned on his foot, barely regaining his balance by flailing his good arm out at his side. “Who the—?” he began to demand, before catching sight of the Uchiha emblem walking away from him. “You bastard, get back here!”

 

Sasuke ignored him for the most part. He had only happened to turn down this street and notice the blonde shinobi-in-training through a stroke of luck. Though, then again, from the way he was grumbling, and most likely shaking his fist at his back, it was not so much a stroke of luck, but a stroke of idiocy on his part. “Hurry up, dobe, I don't have all day.”

 

“Oohh, don't call me that, Sasuke-teme!”

 

Snorting, Sasuke merely stated, “Take your own advice for once.”

 

Recognizing the Uchiha's foul mood, Naruto stopped immediately. Then, frowning deeply, he said, “What is wrong with everyone today? First Kagome, now you. Was there some kind of memo that went around the village about being depressed that I missed?”

 

“Tch.” Sasuke could not help the superior smirk that crossed his face, as he slowly turned to gaze upon the idiot. “You think I'm depressed? You're more of an idiot than I originally thought, dobe.”

 

His face twisting into an unpleasant glare, Naruto stared long and hard at the Uchiha. Because, he knew he was right. There was definitely something rubbing the other boy the wrong way, and, being the Uchiha jerk that he was, he felt the need to twist it into pure, raw rage in order to appease his precious pride.

 

“I'm the farthest thing from depressed,” Sasuke continued. “In fact, you could say I'm quite cheerful, because I've finally figured out what I've been doing wrong this whole time. Would you like to know why, dobe? Would you like to know why I haven't succeeded in the one thing you said you could help me accomplish?”

 

Here it comes—

 

The Uchiha could not control himself, despite the little voice in the back of his head that seemed to suddenly take the Uzumaki's side. He merely ignored it, hissing, “It's you. You're the reason that I've been unable to figure out a way to make Kagome—make her—” It was only the fact that they might not be alone that stopped the sentence before it ended. “—You. You and you're stupid, moronic plans that only have me running in circles. And, you knew this would happen, too, didn't you? You knew that—!”

 

“Uh huh,” Naruto cut him off quite nicely. The other boy sent him an equally unpleasant scowl, clearly upset that he had not been able to get his complete point across. “And, tell me, Sasuke-teme, does it matter to you that I was about to tell you why Kagome ran away from you?”

 

“It's obvious that she—” The anger he had felt toward Itachi surfaced completely, and Sasuke wished in that moment that it was not against Konoha law to take the life of fellow shinobi. Then again, if the idiot planned to push him much farther, he would gladly try his hardest to hide the evidence.

 

“Does it matter to you that I was about to tell you that Kagome is so confused about why she likes you that you're making her question every little thing? That, because of you, she thinks that she might be—” he gritted his teeth just thinking about it, “—that she might be a bad person.”

 

“W-why would she think that?” Sasuke look as if he had been slapped, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open at the very notion. Why in the world would Higurashi Kagome, the girl he hoped would spend the rest of her life with him, believe she was a bad person?

 

“Because, if you would just shut up and listen to me, I was going to tell you that I found Kagome underneath this stupid, old tree on her family's property.” Naruto sighed at the Uchiha's confused look, adding, “According to her, Higurashi-san once told her that she realized she was in love with her father while standing underneath the thing. They think it's some spiritual thing, or something.”

 

“That doesn't answer my—”

 

Despite the fact that Sasuke's scowl nearly turned menacing, Naruto was not about to let him finish. This was about his best friend. This was something that he needed to fix, and he needed to fix it now. And, even if Sasuke became his best friend's boyfriend, he, Uzumaki Naruto, would still be able to say that he had been with Kagome from the beginning. He had been in her life first, and there was nothing that Uchiha flipping Sasuke could do about it.

 

So, he cut him off a third time, saying, “I'm not finished, so shut up and listen, will ya. I found Kagome underneath this tree, and I asked her what was wrong, only for her to tell me that you'd asked her out. I'd already known that, but, you know what I didn't know?”

 

“What?” Sasuke asked. It was rather a surprise to him to find out that Naruto could act forceful, instead of like the idiotic, smiling boy that he always seemed to be. But, he supposed, at least the blonde was getting to the point for once.

 

“Kagome likes you, she does, but she's—” Naruto closed his eyes, wishing he could forget the sorrowful, dejected look that he remembered in her eyes at the time, “—she's afraid that what she feels for you isn't real. That she's only another fan girl.”

 

“That's—” Sasuke paused himself, “—that's ridiculous.”

 

“Yeah, I know.” Naruto sighed, saying, “But, apparently, what we have to do now is make Kagome understand that what she feels is real. That the insensitive, rude, emotionally constipated jerk that gave her a flower is real.”

 

“Naruto.” Sasuke's glare would have killed him if it could have.

 

“We have to prove to Kagome that you actually want to date her. That you're not just playing around with her heart as a joke. B-but,” Naruto sighed again, “I'm not quite sure what will make her believe you. I've never seen her look that confused and downhearted. I mean, you could just come out and say it, but, look at where that got you last time.”

 

“What do you purpose we do then?” Sasuke was thoroughly surprised, again. The idiot could actually learn from his mistakes, which meant, maybe, it would not be such a bad idea to keep him around for a little while more. “Or are you out of sudden, brilliant plans?”

 

“Ha!” Naruto grinned suddenly. He could not keep his serious face for very long, and he supposed it was only because of the Uchiha boy's harsh declaration that had helped him become so demanding with him. Then again, he snickered lightly, the Uchiha did deserve a swift kick in the butt. “As if I, the great Uzumaki Naruto, could ever run out of brilliant plans!”

 

“Well,” Sasuke demanded, “what do you suggest?”

 

“Um, well, you see,” Naruto coughed, before rubbing the disgustingly pink bandages around his burned arm. “You can't expect such a genius to come up with a plan on the spot! I need time to think, time to work out the situation, time to… sleep on it. Yeah! That's it! Time to sleep on it!”

 

“So, tomorrow?” Sasuke rolled his eyes.

 

The idiot returns with a vengeance.

 

“Yes!” Naruto nodded. “Tomorrow I shall have a new plan of action, and then we'll prove to Kagome that she isn't just some stupid fan girl that can only think about drooling over you!”

 

Shaking his head, Sasuke quickly turned on his foot and began to leave. The quicker he managed to escape the blonde's idiocy, the more likely it was that he did not catch it himself.

 

“Hey!” Naruto frowned. “Where are you going?”

 

“Away from you,” Sasuke called back.

 

“Well, how rude.” Naruto huffed, shouting, “This is what I mean, Sasuke-teme! You're a jerk! I mean, seriously, how hard is it to say good bye?”

 

However, despite his question, Naruto made no move to stop him from disappearing. He merely cursed a little, swinging his good arm as if some invisible enemy were about, before deciding that it was time to go home. After all, despite the fact that he did not want to, he did have to visit the hospital before he went to the Academy tomorrow.

 

“And hopefully get these stupid pink bandages off!” he cried.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

The kunoichi-in-training glanced up, before frowning and turning onto her other side so she would not have to look at the little brat that had decided to enter her sanctuary. “What do you want, Souta?” she asked, a slight growl in her voice.

 

“Kagome-nee-chan,” the boy frowned himself. He was not quite sure what was wrong, but he knew that there had to be something the matter with his sister. After all, she had not bothered to sneer or comment on the fact that he was entirely the reason she had gotten in trouble a while ago. “Mama said that dinner is ready.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Yeah.” Souta nearly bit his lip from concern. “She, well, she made oden. I'm not sure why, I mean, we had it only a couple of days ago, but—”

 

The fact that the smell, the stated fact, that their mother had made oden, Kagome's favorite dish, did nothing to stir his sister from her position really upset the youngest Higurashi. Kagome loved oden. She raced to the table in order to be the first person to dig in the moment their mother said they could. She made certain that she got a huge portion of the stuff.

 

What was wrong with his sibling?

 

“Kagome-nee-chan, I—” Souta's young mind could not understand the reason that she would ignore her favorite food, so he began to cry, “—I'm sorry that I got you in trouble!”

 

Sighing through her nose, Kagome slowly shifted her position until she could see her brother. He had bent over the side of the bed, nearly placing his face between his knees, while sudden, large drops of tears sprang from his eyes and washed down his face. “Please don't cry, Souta.”

 

“B-b-but, this is all my fault!” He hiccupped when she wrapped herself around him, pulling him into a tight hug in order to tell him, silently, it was all right. “I-I shouldn't have—!”

 

“Its not your fault, Souta.” She hushed him, because, in all honesty, she was the reason for his sadness. She was the one making him cry when he did not need to. “I'm just—well—um, this boy that I really like asked me to—um—do something with him, and…”

 

Souta glanced up suddenly in surprise. Kagome really liked a boy?

 

Kagome felt an all too familiar blush rise up on her cheeks, as she remembered Uchiha Sasuke's stumbling attempt to ask her with she would like to go on a date with him. It had been rather cute, but, why? Why would he want to go on a date with her when there were so many other girls that would be willing to? “I really like him, Souta,” she confessed. “I really do, but, well, I just a little confused.”

 

Souta frowned. If his sister liked this boy, then why she was so down and out? Why did she not just go tell him that she would like to do this thing with him and get it over with? “Kagome-nee-chan—?”

 

Wiping the salt water away from his cheeks, Kagome ignored his question. Instead, she smiled a little, and, grabbing his hand, said, “Come on, Souta. Why don't we go downstairs and get something to eat, `kay?”

 

His question forgotten, Souta nodded. “'Kay.”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

“Do you think he'll be ok, Lee?”

 

Neji did not bother to listen to the taijutsu specialist's response, as he quickly marched back into the village and away from the annoyance that he was forced to call his squad. Gai-sensei would make sure to take care of all the minor details with the Hokage, and there was absolutely no reason for him to stay while they celebrated.

 

It was ridiculous that they wanted to celebrate, anyway. They had only been assigned to escorting some foreign noble daughter's precious furniture. The likelihood that any shinobi would attack such merchandise was slim to none, and that was the reason it had only been a C-ranked mission.

 

Touching Konoha soil, though, Neji's mind seemed to take a hard left. And, in the process, his thoughts were immediately filled with brief, lovely memories that he had had the honor of earning. The most prominent, though, the memory that caused him to slowly close his eyes and sigh, was that of Higurashi Kagome's sweet, innocent form falling toward him in surprise, before, in an instant, her mouth was pressed delicately against his own.

 

How soft her lips had been. How warm her slowly developing curves had seemed. How beautiful her eyes had become when, for a single moment, she blinked and appeared to lean against him for support.

 

The Byakugan missed nothing. It sharpened his sight, his very senses, and the Hyuuga was positive that what he had not been mistaken in that small moment. Fate had strummed a single thread then, showed him his future, and, after having so much time outside the village to think about his current situation, Neji was positive that Fate had not steered him wrong.

 

Higurashi Kagome was meant to be his. He, Hyuuga Neji, was the one meant to hold and cherish her oblivious little heart, and there was nothing that that Uchiha brat could do to change that fact.

 

There was no need to violence—even if, admittedly, he could have easily beaten the Uchiha into an early grave—and no need to view him as a potential rival for Kagome's love.

 

The sweet Higurashi would recognize the Uchiha's devious nature with time. She would realize her mistake, and then she would come to him knowing that he was the one that loved her. He was the one willing to deny and fight Hyuuga law in order to be with her. He was the one willing to risk his very life to obtain her hand in marriage. He was the one that… needed her.

 

Fate was a cruel thing, but, Neji was positive that this hand it had dealt him was not an unlucky one.

 

Higurashi Kagome was meant—

 

The Hyuuga boy halted in mid step, pressing down the sudden rage that swelled within his chest upon spotting the one face that he had learned to hate beyond all reason. The calm exterior he showed to the world remained, yet, the anger he had deemed ridiculous surfaced once more as the other boy's dark eyes met his own.

 

“Hyuuga.” Uchiha Sasuke's arrogance had not diminished, it seemed, and Neji immediately felt the need to knock him down a peg or two.

 

“Uchiha.” It was not difficult to return the same amount of venom in his voice, considering there was no doubt in his mind the Uchiha boy had not heeded his warning. The look in his eye alone told Neji that the insolent brat was still vying for Kagome's heart, and it lifted his own ego a bit to know that, despite the amount of time he had been given to work without interference, he had not obtained it.

 

It was only proving what he knew to be true, after all.

 

Though—

 

“I was starting to get worried.” The dark haired boy smirked in a way that quickly rubbed Neji the wrong way. “You were gone for quite some time, and I had thought that you might have dropped something along the way.”

 

—there was just something in the way he stood that the lavender-eyed boy could not decipher. One little detail that seemed off from the last time they had encountered one another. Though, really, he snorted, it would not matter in the end.

 

“And, I see you are still trying to change the inevitable,” the Hyuuga boy sneered back.

 

There it was, again. That slight twitch in the Uchiha's lip. That small, insignificant little twitch that only resulted in wrenching Neji's heart inside his chest. What could it mean? What did the Uchiha suddenly believe he had in his favor? What had happened while he was outside the village?

 

“Do you still think you can beat your belief into me?” The Uchiha's arrogance sickened him to the core, and Neji snorted again. It was more than belief, it was a fact, and the Uchiha's superior act was quickly proving his point. “You might have hit me last time, but I'm sure we're both clear how it would have ended if your squad member hadn't showed up.”

 

“Yes.” Neji finally smirked back, resisting the urge to rush the Uchiha boy. “I would have beaten you black and blue, Uchiha. How kind of you to clarify that fact.”

 

Uchiha Sasuke growled, his eyes darkening in the fading sunlight. It was obvious that he had finally had a nerve rubbed the wrong way, and Neji was quite glad to know he was the one to do so. “I would have liked to see you try,” he hissed.

 

Making a sound in the back of his throat, Neji shifted his stance only slightly. He did not need the Byakugan to know that he was quickly and easily winning their little argument. “I believe I've heard that one before.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Yes, and it is that same arrogance that will get you nowhere when it comes to Kagome.” Neji refused to allow the insolent little Uchiha brat to goad him into another meaningless fight. Higurashi Kagome was meant to be his, and she would be with time. “You're nothing but a fool, Uchiha Sasuke. Do you honestly believe that insignificant little gestures like that one in the market will make her love you? That flowers will make someone as precious as Kagome fall at your feet?”

 

The Uchiha did not respond, and Neji sneered in triumph. The boy seemed to be biting his tongue, and it amused him greatly to know that he could not come up with a comeback in such a small period of time.

 

“Play your little game, Uchiha,” he continued. “But, remember, that, no matter what you do, Kagome will be mine. There is nothing you can do to change that fact, and I will gladly watch in amusement as your entire plan falls to ruin around you.”

 

Deciding that he had had enough of the brat, Hyuuga Neji turned on his heel and began to walk away. However, a grin briefly forming on his face, he could not help but throw a mocking, “Good luck” over his shoulder.

 

His back turned, Neji did not notice the brightening realization that spread throughout Sasuke's onyx colored eyes with each step that he took in the opposite direction. The odd little light that, unbeknownst to the Hyuuga boy, would never had formed if it were not for his desire to put Sasuke beneath him.