Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Because You Never Knew ❯ Part 10 ( Chapter 10 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: shi-chan06 
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai / Drama / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 12.22.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 915 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai / Drama / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 12.22.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 915 | Status: Completed
Beta-read version by V-chan! Yay! All is fixed now! Weeeee!
Enjoy!
BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 10
Naruto woke up the next day to find Gaara exiting the bathroom, fresh and showered. He was a pale boy, with a dark maroon towel wrapped around his waist, body lithe and firm. There was a faint trace of sandalwood as Gaara mumbled a morning greeting to him and walked past him to get to his room. The young man never slept, that was understood. But he did look well rested and not as if he was suffering from a hernia or anything. That was how Naruto remembered him when they were young. Maybe then, the power of Shukaku had been too much for him to handle.
“Maybe he's improved greatly.” Naruto whispered to himself as he rinsed his hair free from shampoo. A few minutes later, he was out of the shower and dressed in the traditional blue chuunin uniform. There was no trace of the old Naruto when he wore his uniform. In fact, he looked so different that the only thing that would remind people that he was Naruto was his cheek marks and blonde hair.
When Naruto came to the kitchen, Gaara was sitting on one of the stools, looking at his cup of hot milk.
“I didn’t know you drank milk.” Naruto said. It was just not the drink that came to mind when he thought of Gaara. Gaara was more of a coffee or sake person. But milk? Milk was for someone like Iruka. Or maybe even someone like Kiba or Shikamaru. But Gaara? “You don’t seem like the milk person.”
“It’s good for you.” Gaara answered, stirring the hot milk in his cup.
“You sure you don’t want to have something with that?” Naruto asked.
“No.” Gaara answered. Naruto mixed himself some coffee and began to stir the contents of the cup. Only then did he notice that Gaara’s chuunin uniform was not navy blue like his, but actually black. The flak jacket was present but he noticed that he couldn’t find the gourd Gaara used to carry on his back. Naruto didn’t ask any further questions. He didn’t want Gaara to feel like he was being nosy.
A few minutes later, they headed for the mission room to do their morning jobs.
XXX
All shinobis were informed of Gaara’s arrival, along with his purpose in the village, which is why for the next few days, none of them said anything or treated him differently. Naruto later found out that they were under strict rules under the Hokage to treat Gaara as if he were a comrade. Some went all out in being perky and pleasant (some even gave him welcome presents, mostly from the female body) while others said nothing. But Naruto saw the fearful looks they threw at the young man when he wasn’t looking, and how some, like Sasuke and Sakura, threw him looks of pure hatred. Naruto knew that Gaara knew, and yet he showed no reaction. Naruto never brought up the topic nor did he press the matter of why Sasuke and Sakura hated his guts.
Apparently, they were mad at him too.
Naruto had clearly avoided all forms of gathering or engagement that did not involve anyone else other than Iruka, Lee, Tsunade or Jiraiya and sometimes Shizune. Several weeks had past and he never went to properly greet Sakura or Sasuke, his former teammates. He was once slapped by Sakura across the face because he was being serious about his work. Sakura had cried then and Shino had apologized on her behalf for the way she acted, but his tone was tight and slightly forced, with a hint of understanding behind it. Sasuke had nearly thrown the mission table out of the window when he couldn’t take it anymore. And the fact that they later on found out that Gaara was living with him when on several occasions they asked him and Naruto never answered only fueled their anger even more.
“They’re being childish.” Gaara said, walking home after another day’s work in the office. “They can’t handle the fact that you’re back and distant.”
“It’s too risky to get close to them again.” Naruto mumbled in reply, as they turned and began to climb the steps to the apartment.
Once inside the confines of the apartment, both retired to their rooms to change. They received their mission days ago, but it was not to be carried out till the coming weekend. So until then, they had free time to kill. Naruto came out in a pair of black pants and a plain green shirt. He was about to check what they could have for dinner when a familiar chakra came to his senses. There was a knock on the door. Gaara went to answer it and Naruto knew that trouble was going to sprout.
“What?” Gaara asked, staring at the pair at the door.
“Where’s Naruto?”
Naruto sighed. It was Sasuke’s voice. He knew that this would happen sooner or later. No matter how he ran away or tried to avoid getting into a situation like the one happening now, he knew he had to face them.
Gaara was about to retort, knowing full well that Naruto did not want to talk to either of them yet, but was stopped when Naruto patted his shoulder. Gaara took his queue to leave the three by the door and headed for the kitchen where he began to boil some water.
“What can I do for the both of you?” Naruto asked, looking at the two of them.
“We need to talk.” Sakura said quietly. Naruto was about to complain. “I’m not leaving until we do! Please! What’s an hour or even just twenty minutes of your time?”
“I have to make dinner.” Naruto said stiffly, clinging on to his last hope of escape, but he knew that it was a futile try.
“Whatever. Come on.” Sasuke said, giving the interior of his house a foul look before turning to go down the hallway. “I’m waiting, dobe!”
Naruto remembered the childish nickname that was born of childish rivalry. He briefly wondered if Sasuke still felt that rivalry. His long ago died when his greatest fear was born. He couldn’t care less if the whole village thought him useless and pathetic. He had something he wanted to do before it was too late. It just needed a bit of time and planning.
“Fine. Wait here a second.” Naruto said and turned to grab a jacket from his room. “I’ll be going out for a while.” He told Gaara. “Should I bring some take out?”
“No. Don’t bother. I’m not hungry.” Gaara said, mixing some milk powder and sugar into a cup.
Naruto gave an affirmative nod and left the apartment with his two teammates. Just a few days living with Gaara told him that Gaara liked to say that he was not hungry, but he actually ate in the middle of the night.
He’d still bring something home.
XXX
They were in a quiet bar. Sasuke had ordered some pickled radish and light sake for the three of them. Naruto simply ordered himself a glass of juice. He didn’t hold his alcohol well and had never liked the taste of sake. He remembered once during his long trip away from Konoha, he had gotten completely smashed and ended up executing a deadly jutsu on Jiraiya out of blind fun due to the alcohol. Luckily, Jiraiya was able to put him to sleep with a sharp neck jab. Otherwise, Jiraiya would have seriously been injured.
Naruto stared at his drink, Sakura and Sasuke sitting opposite him. Sasuke had already downed a cup of sake, most probably to loosen a few tight nerves. Sakura was just looking at him as if he was her long lost love. Naruto smirked at that thought. Sakura hated his guts and to have her looking at him this way, Naruto simply wanted to pick up the plate of pickled radish in front of him and chuck it on her head.
He hated them both.
Silence reigned for a few more minutes. Naruto was getting a bit tired of it all and ordered another juice. “Are you going to talk, or are we going to sit here and watch each other breathe?” He asked, eyes narrowing so dangerously that even Sasuke straightened a bit. Sakura was about to open her mouth but Naruto spoke first. “Just to let you know Uchiha-san, that the table that you nearly threw out the window a few days ago earned me the longest lecture from Hokage-sama. And as for you Haruno-san, if you’re here to apologize for the slap, save your breath. I don’t want to hear it.”
Sakura glared. “I am not going to apologize for that! You deserved it!”
Naruto downed his glass of juice. “Perfect. Now that we’ve settled what we gathered here for, let’s call it a night.”
Sasuke fist came into contact with Naruto’s jaw. There was a loud sickening crack. Naruto saw the punch coming, but figured that just to let Sasuke shut up, he'd take the punch openly. It was starting to hurt like hell. A few of his teeth might have come loose from the impact. He would have to check and see later.
“Sasuke-kun!” Sakura said, surprised and holding him back.
“Shut up! He deserved that.” Sasuke snapped. “Come on!” He grabbed Naruto by the collar and dragged him out of the bar and towards the outskirts of the city. Sakura had to quickly pay the bill before following the two young men. Sasuke had dragged Naruto towards the place where they used to train as youngsters while Naruto allowed himself to be pulled along. Naruto landed against the bark of a tree rather painfully, the sound of his back creaking as bone joints shifted reaching his ears. “You son of a bitch!” Sasuke shouted.
Naruto said nothing. He dusted himself off and got to his feet, cracking his neck from side to side and rubbing his sore jaw. It was already bruising a bright purple with a blue tinge to it. Sakura arrived just as Naruto was standing up and she gave a little gasp when Sasuke started speaking.
“Seven years, you idiot! Seven fucking years and not a word from you! You go away, without even telling anyone! Now you’re back, out of the blue, working and treating us as if we didn’t even know you? What are you trying to prove? Huh? Tell me!” Sasuke demanded. Naruto narrowed his eyes coldly and stared at Sasuke, hands by his side. “You didn’t even speak to us! Not a greeting or anything! That was the least, the very least, you could have done!”
“He’s right Naruto. A simple hello, I’m back, would have been all right.” Sakura said softly.
“Sorry.” Naruto said. “But I’ll keep that in mind so next time I go away I’ll remember to say hello when I get back.” Sasuke punched him in the stomach this time.
“Sasuke-kun! Stop it!”
“Shut up!” Sasuke snapped and picked Naruto up. “Do you even care? About us? About what we’ve done together?” Sasuke narrowed his eyes. “About me?”
“Let go of my shirt before I hit you.” Naruto said.
“Yeah?” Sasuke asked, glaring and pinning Naruto to the tree. “Did you even improve at all? You spent so much time running away from your problems here that you probably forgot what being a shinobi is all about.” Naruto narrowed his eyes at what Sasuke said, a boiling anger growing in him.
“Sasuke-kun.” Sakura said in warning, seeing the dark glint growing in Naruto’s eyes.
“Let go of my shirt before I hit you.” Naruto said again.
“Spent so much time chickening out that you could only reach chuunin level. What of being Hokage? Forgot about that? Like you forgot about us? You’re a coward after all. You will never know what it means and what it takes to be a shinobi.”
“Sasuke-kun, that’s enough.” Sakura said, voice hardening to make Sasuke stop. Sasuke let go of Naruto’s shirt and took a step back. “Naruto, please.” She pushed Sasuke away and stood in front of him, taking his hand. “Can’t we start anew? What of the old times? When we did missions together? When we were still a team? Does it mean anything to you?” Sakura asked, eyes brimming with tears. She felt hurt at Naruto attitude. She missed his pranks, loudness and sunshine smile. Now he was just someone totally different.
Naruto took his hand away gently. “Haruno-san, Uchiha-san.” He said, and straightened his clothes. “I will say this only once.” He looked at them both directly. “The life I left here seven years ago is now nothing but a memory. I have a new life now and I see you two not as my teammates but as professionals in the field. You, Uchiha-san being the well-known ANBU member and you Haruno-san for being the well respected teacher. Nothing more. I’ve moved on and I expect that you two have also.”
“So that’s it then?” Sakura asked, tears trailing down her cheeks. “We mean nothing to you now? Just plain colleagues that pass by you in the halls everyday?” Sasuke was already gritting his teeth.
Naruto was silent for a moment, but his expression betrayed nothing. “Yes.”
“Bastard.” Sasuke said. “You’re a bastard.” Sasuke lead away a crying Sakura, not turning to look back at Naruto.
Naruto watched them walk down the path back to town. He didn’t bother calling out to them or apologizing like he would normally do. He let them go. He let them judge him by what he just said. He would have a negative image from that night forward, but he couldn't care less.
In the end, if anyone died, it would be less painful right?
TBC
This is not the beta-read version. Will replace ASAP.
Toodles.
Enjoy!
BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW 10
Naruto woke up the next day to find Gaara exiting the bathroom, fresh and showered. He was a pale boy, with a dark maroon towel wrapped around his waist, body lithe and firm. There was a faint trace of sandalwood as Gaara mumbled a morning greeting to him and walked past him to get to his room. The young man never slept, that was understood. But he did look well rested and not as if he was suffering from a hernia or anything. That was how Naruto remembered him when they were young. Maybe then, the power of Shukaku had been too much for him to handle.
“Maybe he's improved greatly.” Naruto whispered to himself as he rinsed his hair free from shampoo. A few minutes later, he was out of the shower and dressed in the traditional blue chuunin uniform. There was no trace of the old Naruto when he wore his uniform. In fact, he looked so different that the only thing that would remind people that he was Naruto was his cheek marks and blonde hair.
When Naruto came to the kitchen, Gaara was sitting on one of the stools, looking at his cup of hot milk.
“I didn’t know you drank milk.” Naruto said. It was just not the drink that came to mind when he thought of Gaara. Gaara was more of a coffee or sake person. But milk? Milk was for someone like Iruka. Or maybe even someone like Kiba or Shikamaru. But Gaara? “You don’t seem like the milk person.”
“It’s good for you.” Gaara answered, stirring the hot milk in his cup.
“You sure you don’t want to have something with that?” Naruto asked.
“No.” Gaara answered. Naruto mixed himself some coffee and began to stir the contents of the cup. Only then did he notice that Gaara’s chuunin uniform was not navy blue like his, but actually black. The flak jacket was present but he noticed that he couldn’t find the gourd Gaara used to carry on his back. Naruto didn’t ask any further questions. He didn’t want Gaara to feel like he was being nosy.
A few minutes later, they headed for the mission room to do their morning jobs.
XXX
All shinobis were informed of Gaara’s arrival, along with his purpose in the village, which is why for the next few days, none of them said anything or treated him differently. Naruto later found out that they were under strict rules under the Hokage to treat Gaara as if he were a comrade. Some went all out in being perky and pleasant (some even gave him welcome presents, mostly from the female body) while others said nothing. But Naruto saw the fearful looks they threw at the young man when he wasn’t looking, and how some, like Sasuke and Sakura, threw him looks of pure hatred. Naruto knew that Gaara knew, and yet he showed no reaction. Naruto never brought up the topic nor did he press the matter of why Sasuke and Sakura hated his guts.
Apparently, they were mad at him too.
Naruto had clearly avoided all forms of gathering or engagement that did not involve anyone else other than Iruka, Lee, Tsunade or Jiraiya and sometimes Shizune. Several weeks had past and he never went to properly greet Sakura or Sasuke, his former teammates. He was once slapped by Sakura across the face because he was being serious about his work. Sakura had cried then and Shino had apologized on her behalf for the way she acted, but his tone was tight and slightly forced, with a hint of understanding behind it. Sasuke had nearly thrown the mission table out of the window when he couldn’t take it anymore. And the fact that they later on found out that Gaara was living with him when on several occasions they asked him and Naruto never answered only fueled their anger even more.
“They’re being childish.” Gaara said, walking home after another day’s work in the office. “They can’t handle the fact that you’re back and distant.”
“It’s too risky to get close to them again.” Naruto mumbled in reply, as they turned and began to climb the steps to the apartment.
Once inside the confines of the apartment, both retired to their rooms to change. They received their mission days ago, but it was not to be carried out till the coming weekend. So until then, they had free time to kill. Naruto came out in a pair of black pants and a plain green shirt. He was about to check what they could have for dinner when a familiar chakra came to his senses. There was a knock on the door. Gaara went to answer it and Naruto knew that trouble was going to sprout.
“What?” Gaara asked, staring at the pair at the door.
“Where’s Naruto?”
Naruto sighed. It was Sasuke’s voice. He knew that this would happen sooner or later. No matter how he ran away or tried to avoid getting into a situation like the one happening now, he knew he had to face them.
Gaara was about to retort, knowing full well that Naruto did not want to talk to either of them yet, but was stopped when Naruto patted his shoulder. Gaara took his queue to leave the three by the door and headed for the kitchen where he began to boil some water.
“What can I do for the both of you?” Naruto asked, looking at the two of them.
“We need to talk.” Sakura said quietly. Naruto was about to complain. “I’m not leaving until we do! Please! What’s an hour or even just twenty minutes of your time?”
“I have to make dinner.” Naruto said stiffly, clinging on to his last hope of escape, but he knew that it was a futile try.
“Whatever. Come on.” Sasuke said, giving the interior of his house a foul look before turning to go down the hallway. “I’m waiting, dobe!”
Naruto remembered the childish nickname that was born of childish rivalry. He briefly wondered if Sasuke still felt that rivalry. His long ago died when his greatest fear was born. He couldn’t care less if the whole village thought him useless and pathetic. He had something he wanted to do before it was too late. It just needed a bit of time and planning.
“Fine. Wait here a second.” Naruto said and turned to grab a jacket from his room. “I’ll be going out for a while.” He told Gaara. “Should I bring some take out?”
“No. Don’t bother. I’m not hungry.” Gaara said, mixing some milk powder and sugar into a cup.
Naruto gave an affirmative nod and left the apartment with his two teammates. Just a few days living with Gaara told him that Gaara liked to say that he was not hungry, but he actually ate in the middle of the night.
He’d still bring something home.
XXX
They were in a quiet bar. Sasuke had ordered some pickled radish and light sake for the three of them. Naruto simply ordered himself a glass of juice. He didn’t hold his alcohol well and had never liked the taste of sake. He remembered once during his long trip away from Konoha, he had gotten completely smashed and ended up executing a deadly jutsu on Jiraiya out of blind fun due to the alcohol. Luckily, Jiraiya was able to put him to sleep with a sharp neck jab. Otherwise, Jiraiya would have seriously been injured.
Naruto stared at his drink, Sakura and Sasuke sitting opposite him. Sasuke had already downed a cup of sake, most probably to loosen a few tight nerves. Sakura was just looking at him as if he was her long lost love. Naruto smirked at that thought. Sakura hated his guts and to have her looking at him this way, Naruto simply wanted to pick up the plate of pickled radish in front of him and chuck it on her head.
He hated them both.
Silence reigned for a few more minutes. Naruto was getting a bit tired of it all and ordered another juice. “Are you going to talk, or are we going to sit here and watch each other breathe?” He asked, eyes narrowing so dangerously that even Sasuke straightened a bit. Sakura was about to open her mouth but Naruto spoke first. “Just to let you know Uchiha-san, that the table that you nearly threw out the window a few days ago earned me the longest lecture from Hokage-sama. And as for you Haruno-san, if you’re here to apologize for the slap, save your breath. I don’t want to hear it.”
Sakura glared. “I am not going to apologize for that! You deserved it!”
Naruto downed his glass of juice. “Perfect. Now that we’ve settled what we gathered here for, let’s call it a night.”
Sasuke fist came into contact with Naruto’s jaw. There was a loud sickening crack. Naruto saw the punch coming, but figured that just to let Sasuke shut up, he'd take the punch openly. It was starting to hurt like hell. A few of his teeth might have come loose from the impact. He would have to check and see later.
“Sasuke-kun!” Sakura said, surprised and holding him back.
“Shut up! He deserved that.” Sasuke snapped. “Come on!” He grabbed Naruto by the collar and dragged him out of the bar and towards the outskirts of the city. Sakura had to quickly pay the bill before following the two young men. Sasuke had dragged Naruto towards the place where they used to train as youngsters while Naruto allowed himself to be pulled along. Naruto landed against the bark of a tree rather painfully, the sound of his back creaking as bone joints shifted reaching his ears. “You son of a bitch!” Sasuke shouted.
Naruto said nothing. He dusted himself off and got to his feet, cracking his neck from side to side and rubbing his sore jaw. It was already bruising a bright purple with a blue tinge to it. Sakura arrived just as Naruto was standing up and she gave a little gasp when Sasuke started speaking.
“Seven years, you idiot! Seven fucking years and not a word from you! You go away, without even telling anyone! Now you’re back, out of the blue, working and treating us as if we didn’t even know you? What are you trying to prove? Huh? Tell me!” Sasuke demanded. Naruto narrowed his eyes coldly and stared at Sasuke, hands by his side. “You didn’t even speak to us! Not a greeting or anything! That was the least, the very least, you could have done!”
“He’s right Naruto. A simple hello, I’m back, would have been all right.” Sakura said softly.
“Sorry.” Naruto said. “But I’ll keep that in mind so next time I go away I’ll remember to say hello when I get back.” Sasuke punched him in the stomach this time.
“Sasuke-kun! Stop it!”
“Shut up!” Sasuke snapped and picked Naruto up. “Do you even care? About us? About what we’ve done together?” Sasuke narrowed his eyes. “About me?”
“Let go of my shirt before I hit you.” Naruto said.
“Yeah?” Sasuke asked, glaring and pinning Naruto to the tree. “Did you even improve at all? You spent so much time running away from your problems here that you probably forgot what being a shinobi is all about.” Naruto narrowed his eyes at what Sasuke said, a boiling anger growing in him.
“Sasuke-kun.” Sakura said in warning, seeing the dark glint growing in Naruto’s eyes.
“Let go of my shirt before I hit you.” Naruto said again.
“Spent so much time chickening out that you could only reach chuunin level. What of being Hokage? Forgot about that? Like you forgot about us? You’re a coward after all. You will never know what it means and what it takes to be a shinobi.”
“Sasuke-kun, that’s enough.” Sakura said, voice hardening to make Sasuke stop. Sasuke let go of Naruto’s shirt and took a step back. “Naruto, please.” She pushed Sasuke away and stood in front of him, taking his hand. “Can’t we start anew? What of the old times? When we did missions together? When we were still a team? Does it mean anything to you?” Sakura asked, eyes brimming with tears. She felt hurt at Naruto attitude. She missed his pranks, loudness and sunshine smile. Now he was just someone totally different.
Naruto took his hand away gently. “Haruno-san, Uchiha-san.” He said, and straightened his clothes. “I will say this only once.” He looked at them both directly. “The life I left here seven years ago is now nothing but a memory. I have a new life now and I see you two not as my teammates but as professionals in the field. You, Uchiha-san being the well-known ANBU member and you Haruno-san for being the well respected teacher. Nothing more. I’ve moved on and I expect that you two have also.”
“So that’s it then?” Sakura asked, tears trailing down her cheeks. “We mean nothing to you now? Just plain colleagues that pass by you in the halls everyday?” Sasuke was already gritting his teeth.
Naruto was silent for a moment, but his expression betrayed nothing. “Yes.”
“Bastard.” Sasuke said. “You’re a bastard.” Sasuke lead away a crying Sakura, not turning to look back at Naruto.
Naruto watched them walk down the path back to town. He didn’t bother calling out to them or apologizing like he would normally do. He let them go. He let them judge him by what he just said. He would have a negative image from that night forward, but he couldn't care less.
In the end, if anyone died, it would be less painful right?
TBC
This is not the beta-read version. Will replace ASAP.
Toodles.