Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Affection Turns To Love ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

 

~*~

 

Tilting his head back, Naruto closed his eyes and let the noonday sun bathe his face as a gentle smile curled his lips. Arching his body in a stretch that would make a cat jealous, the blonde tensed the muscles in his back and let out a satisfied sigh as several bones were readjusted before relaxing and gazing over at one of his most precious people with warm, azure eyes. “I missed you Iruka-sensei.”

 

The academy teacher smiled tenderly at his all-time favorite student, love shining in his soft, chocolate eyes, “I missed you too Naruto. I don't think you need to call me `sensei' anymore though.”

 

Gesturing to the road with a tilt of his head, Iruka started slowly walking along the dirt path as Naruto caught up. “What do you mean? I'm sure you still have stuff you can teach me.” The blonde said with a grin thrown to the older man.

 

Smiling, the chuunin nodded his head in slight consent, “Probably a thing or two but really, I think of you more like a son than a student. Besides you're higher ranked than me. Ichiraku's?”

 

Naruto knew a change of subject when he heard one but the thought of being like a son to the man he'd always considered a father filled him with warmth and happiness he'd never felt so he went with the flow of things and gave a fox-like grin and a light laugh. “Of course! I wonder if we'll run into anyone on the way.”

 

Turning startled brown eyes on the tall blonde, Iruka stammered “Y-you mean…no one…no one knows you're back?”

 

Shaking his head slightly, his shaggy golden locks tumbling around his shoulders and face with the movement, the Kyuubi vessel gave Iruka an apologetic smile. “No. I knew I had to report to Tsunade before I did anything else and you're the first person I wanted to see so I took the rooftops to the tower.”

 

Unbelievable joy washed over Iruka's pained soul and his breathing seemed to come to him easier than it had for the past five years. Naruto had already explained that he was wary of writing to anyone in case a message was intercepted by anyone so the teacher knew immediately that the blonde really had missed him as much as Iruka missed the blonde.

 

“I'm glad it worked out that way. You plan to visit your friends after this?” The dark-haired man asked as he lifted a cloth flap out of his way to step inside the ramen stand.

 

After Naruto had taken a seat at the bar next to Iruka, he called out his order to the old man like he always had and was rewarded with a happy smile and another exclamation of being missed while he was away. Once their orders were placed, the fox turned to his long-time guardian with a grin. “Actually, I think we'll be seeing one of them real soon. I smell raccoon on the air.”

 

Iruka knew without asking that Naruto was talking about Gaara. It was a phrase he'd heard the blonde say years ago when the Kazekage was coming to Konoha for one reason or another. Looking at the fox with patient, chocolate eyes the teacher waited for Naruto to finish what he was saying.

 

“He should be here in another day or so I think. Does Suna have a lot of meetings with Konoha?”

 

Shaking his head slightly, Iruka answered “Not really. Not since the alliance was solidified at any rate. Could he know you're back?”

 

A pensive look crossed the blonde's face as he tapped his index finger against his lips. “Maybe, though I don't know how. I was pretty much no longer existent these last few years so it isn't as if I've got a trail to be followed.”

 

Iruka just shrugged, knowing that was as good an answer as any and gave the girl behind the ramen counter a warm smile as she placed their food down in front of them. Before Naruto had time to take a bite of his delicious ramen, Iruka questioned him again. “Are you going to visit him?”

 

With a sigh, the fox set down his previously poised chopsticks and stared into his food. “I…I don't know. I'm not sure I could handle it truthfully. I mean, I know I'll have to, and as much as I've missed him I want to, but it's been so nice living without derision and insults. It's not like the last words he said to me were really promising of a good reunion.”

 

Laying a comforting hand on the blonde shinobi's strong shoulder, Iruka waited for Naruto to look at him and the teacher was soon met with sad blue eyes, “Naruto nobody's been the same since you left. Especially Sasuke. I think…I think he loves you but he doesn't realize it yet. There's just this look that flashes in his eyes when someone mentions you and I know he hasn't really discovered how deep he cares. With every day that passes, I think he gets closer though.”

 

Naruto sighed heavily and picked up his chopsticks to poke at his noodles. “I doubt that Iruka. He never really even cared about me before, so it's highly unlikely he loves me now. I don't even know if I would want him to. I've spent the last five years getting over him knowing that I had nothing to offer him.”

 

Slipping his hand from the man's shoulder, Iruka wrapped an arm around the fox vessel and hugged him, “Just don't avoid him. If you truly are over him then at least try to be his friend. Now! We have ramen getting cold and there are a whole bunch of people in Konoha that will be happy to know you're back.”

 

Iruka smiled softly as Naruto gave him a grin and proceeded to devour his ramen. Even though he was only ranked as a Chuunin, Iruka was incredibly smart and extremely observant. After he'd gone to the Uchiha manor the night he found out Naruto was gone, he'd made it his personal mission to keep an eye on the raven. When Sasuke was finally relieved of his ANBU guard detail - five months after Naruto had left - Iruka had watched him whenever he had a chance.

 

It hadn't taken long for him to see that Sasuke wasn't really Sasuke anymore. The man had obtained the rank of Chuunin but he never went farther than that. The raven still trained every single day but Iruka had come to notice that he was training to keep the skills he already had sharp but never learning anything new or advancing. He seemed to be at a complete stalemate with everything. His team was non-existent, as Naruto wasn't even in Konoha and Sakura was training as a medic nin under the Hokage, and since he was only a Chuunin and still not widely trusted he wasn't given very high ranked missions.

 

The teacher had thought for certain that being stuck with nothing but C-rank missions - or even D-rank - would have gotten under the raven's pale skin but he didn't even seem to notice. He had become more open and more distant at the same time. No longer was he cold and broody, snapping at everyone who breathed wrong around him; instead he was rather docile, never rising to anyone's bait or taunts and spending more time around people. Even if he was surrounded by his fellow shinobi, there always seemed to be a far-off look in his obsidian eyes; as if he was somewhere else…

 

…or with someone else.

 

Rather easily, Iruka had come to the conclusion that Sasuke felt the same as everyone else did. Konohagakure wasn't home without Naruto around. The blonde somehow made everything in the world around them brighter and more worth fighting for. With the fox absent, Sasuke had seemingly lost his will to strive for something better.

 

Uchiha Sasuke had nearly lost his will to live.

 

After the months had turned to years, the raven only got worse. A perpetual cloud of depression was always around the dark shinobi and he was hardly ever at home. Before Naruto had left, the Uchiha was hardly ever anywhere other than his mansion but now the coal-eyed man could be found sitting up at the Hokage monument, sighing forlornly into the breeze.

 

He'd never forgiven Sasuke for what he'd said and done to Naruto. In fact, even though Kakashi was his lover, Iruka had never forgiven the copy nin for his part in the boy's misery either. Truth be told, the ponytailed man still didn't know for sure what jounin had done to Naruto because he wanted to find out from the fox himself. He still planned to eventually but that was something that could wait.

 

Iruka was torn from his musings when Naruto nudged him in the ribs. Looking down into his bowl he realized he'd been eating the entire time his mind wandered and the blonde had finished off eight bowls of ramen and was now grinning at him with happier cerulean eyes. “Ne Iruka, you want to walk around with me for a bit? I'd like to see what's changed in Konoha since I've been gone.”

 

“Of course! You're lucky today is my day off from the academy, otherwise I'd have to say goodbye here.” With a smile to the young man, Iruka paid for their food and made his way out into the streets of the Leaf village with Naruto by his side.

 

“You know Naruto…I think there are a few others that will be vying for your attention too once they know you've returned.” He said with a devilish grin and laughed when confusion swam in blue eyes.

 

“What are you talking about? Nobody ever paid me any attention at all before.” The fox asked while scratching the back of his head, and uncertain look on his face.

 

“Well, I don't think anyone ever thought you'd leave. I think they were assuming they'd have all the time in the world to come to terms with their feelings and then admit them to you.” It was all true of course, even though none of said people had mentioned anything that he'd heard. As previously stated, Iruka was extremely observant of people and he'd caught quite a few of Naruto's fellow shinobi with loving, longing looks on their faces or in their eyes when the blonde was brought up.

 

It had been rather comical to the teacher when he'd first come to notice everything. While Sasuke still had the hearts of every village female and several kunoichi, Naruto had come to hold the attention of numerous powerful shinobi including the Uchiha. As the two walked along the streets of Konoha, Iruka easily caught the lustful stares that were directed to the blonde at his side and fought off the urge to chuckle.

 

When Sasuke finally came to terms with the fact that he was in love with Naruto, he would have one hell of a list of competitors for the fox's heart.

 

Iruka knew that if the raven wasn't careful, he'd find the one person who'd made his life worth living out of his grasp. The potential suitors the blonde had acquired consisted of some very powerful ninja including Hyuuga Neji and Nara Shikamaru. Iruka was fairly convinced that Sabaku no Gaara could be added as well and if that were the case, Sasuke would have his work cut out for him.

 

If there was one person Naruto had more in common with than anyone, it was Gaara.

 

Knowing that the Kazekage was headed for Konoha at that very moment gave Iruka the strange desire to laugh maniacally. He had the feeling that the Village Hidden in the Leaves was about to become a very interesting place.

 

~*~

 

Lying down in the cool grass and watching the sky, Sasuke tried to figure out what was going on. There seemed to be something in the air of Konoha that lead him to believe something big was happening, though he didn't have a clue what it could be.

 

One pale hand lifted to his left shoulder, long fingers dancing over the soft, now unmarred skin. His curse mark was gone now and had been for nearly two years. Orochimaru had been slain along with the rest of the Sound ninjas and Oto had fallen, never to be rebuilt. No news was ever released on how it had happened or who had done it and frankly, Sasuke hadn't cared either way. He was free from the snake who had twisted his life up and made him lose the closest person to him and that was all that mattered to the raven.

 

It had been over a year since word had reached all the villages that the Akatsuki was taken down as well, once again by a force unknown. Several ANBU and Oinin from Leaf, Sand, Rock and Mist had been on the hunt for the group of missing nin and had found all of the members dead in a clearing that had obviously been one hell of a battlefield. All members that is, except for Uchiha Itachi.

 

Whoever had been able to slay all those powerful ninja had certainly been strong enough to kill Itachi as well and Sasuke always wondered why his brother hadn't been amongst the dead. His feelings concerning the elder Uchiha had become so different over the course of the last few years. He'd come to realize that he didn't want his brother to die by his hand anymore because he didn't want to be the same blood-thirsty man his aniki had been.

 

Now he wondered if he even wanted the man dead at all. Truth be told, Sasuke missed Itachi terribly. The two had been close before the Uchiha massacre and the raven had come to comprehend that he had never hated Itachi and that really, he didn't want to be an avenger either. If he could honestly hope for anything, he found he would rather have his brother back in his life. He wanted his aniki back almost as much as he wanted Naruto back.

 

A sad sigh escaped his lips as he watched the clouds travel slowly across the sky. Sasuke knew that Naruto meant a lot to him…meant more to him than anyone else ever had and that fact scared him. Not because he was adverse to possibly being gay or anything of the sort but more because he was almost certain he'd lost his chance to ever find out if he had romantic intentions for the blonde and if he did, whether or not his feelings could be returned.

 

Betrayal was a vicious, disgusting thing. Sasuke could've kicked himself for his own actions once he'd let everything soak in. Sure, Naruto had always been loud and had a tendency for being annoying but the blonde was honest, loyal, real and that was something that he should have cherished. Trust was hard to gain in the first place but gaining it back after it had been thrown away? It seemed like an impossible feat and Sasuke wasn't so sure he had the temerity to try if he ever saw the fox again.

 

It would be much easier to just let it go but every time he tried to push away his feelings and write off his desire to do anything to make Naruto accept him once more, Sasuke would remember that not once had the blonde ever given up on him. In his mind, even the fox leaving didn't count as giving up.

 

There were many days that the raven wondered what the fox was up to, what he'd accomplished while he'd been away. On more than one occasion he found himself wondering if maybe it had been his rogue teammate that had been responsible for the deaths of the snake Sannin and the members of Akatsuki. It was a very real possibility and Sasuke couldn't help but be amused when he didn't feel a twisting of jealousy burn in his gut at the thought.

 

Of course, if it hadn't been Naruto he was sure he would be jealous all over again.