Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ I think I better leave right now ❯ I'm here, just like I said... ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. And I don't own this gorgeous song "leave right now," written by Will Young, which gave me the inspiration to compose this fic...
Title: I think I better leave right now - chapter 1
Author: Purrfectly679 - e-mail purrfectly679@hotmail.com for comments and suggestions. Feedback highly appreciated.
Rating: PG, angst. SakuSasu, hint of SasuNaru.
Notes: No spoilers. This is a revised repost. For all old readers, if you would like to read the final chapter, please e-mail me. If you are a new reader, I do not advise reading the ending because it will spoil everything! Anyways, on with the chapter!

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Naruto stared at the boy in front of him. No… That was incorrect. Uchiha Sasuke was no longer a boy. He grew up to be every bit the man everyone had highly expected of him. It had been… What? A few years since the two had come face to face... Such a long 5 years…

Sasuke had grown up. He no longer possessed the young boyish looks he had when he was 16… That was the last time Naruto had seen him, had remembered him... Now he looked like a… Like… Like a god. No longer pale enough to be considered angelic, untouchable, unbreakable... He was tanned, though not tanned enough to rid him of the trademark paleness that the Uchiha seemed to inherit. It was a part of him that refused to leave him, no matter how burnt he got during his missions, no matter how long he spent out in the sun. He grew taller, shoulders broader, and legs leaner. Strength seems to emit out from every pore in his body - strength that demanded respect, demanded attention, and refused any form of weakness. In some ways Sasuke had changed, but in other ways, nothing had changed at all.

But Naruto hadn't been sitting idly by either. He had grown up too. Probably more radically than Sasuke had. Lost were his immature grins, troublemaking antics and mischievous eyes. His eyes were still warm, but retained a slightly haunted look, as if he had seen the worse of the worse, and had somehow survived through the pain. His skin was smooth and flawless. And probably soft to the touch. Probably. His hair seemed a little more tamed than 5 years ago, but still shone the vibrant colour of the burning Sun. He too had gotten taller, although still shorter than Sasuke... Maybe it was inevitable that he'd always be below his rival. His friend...

And the one who had hurt him the most.

Throughout his life, he had always been unfairly condemned with hatred from the village's inhabitants… For something he couldn't control... For having the cursed nine-tails sealed within him… It wasn't surprising anymore - it was simply accepted - just as people simply accepted the fact that the sky was blue... But just because it was accepted did not mean that it didn't hurt... Because it did. It hurt a lot...

But that pain was nothing compared to the agony that the man in front of him had put the blond through. Years of pain seemed insignificant to the pain that Sasuke had put him through in a mere instant.... In a mere second.

So why was he here? After 5 years of furious promises made to himself… To avoid him... To avoid this situation... To avoid the hurt and pain that his presence would surely bring back. Yet he was back.... He had come back...

Just how the hell did Kakashi manage to persuade him to come?

"Long time no see," came the soft voice, interrupting Naruto's fervent train of thought. Blue eyes widened slightly in shock. To hear his voice again… Sudden panic sparked up within him. Just why was he here! For the first time in his life, the kitsune was speechless. Unable to react, to move, to even make a sound. It was almost as if Sasuke had cast a spell over him...

A spell that was impossible break.

Naruto stared back into the dark depths of his ex-rivals eyes. Just like before… they were so cold - held no emotion, betrayed no flicker of emotion… as if they held no acknowledgement. Just like before...

Some things just never changed.

"Hn…" Naruto barely managed to grunt a response. His mind screamed at him for acting so weak… Why was he so weak?! He knew that Sasuke hated weakness... And here he was, displaying the trait in front of him, so visibly, so honestly, so openly... And he hated himself for it.

Yet the Uchiha's eyes betrayed no emotion, revealed no disgust. Only blankness greeted blue eyes.

"Hi Naruto!" a voice chirped cheerfully, intruding on the uncomfortable moment that passed between the two former rivals. It was Sakura. His childhood crush. She linked her arms around Sasuke, who didn't protest. His dark intense eyes were still boring into blue ones, as if fighting some hidden battle that no one knew about.

Naruto shivered inwardly, before quickly looking away and into the green depths of the pink haired girl. He smiled - he really had no choice but to smile... To see her so happy... Deep inside, he was glad... Even if it meant that he was hurt himself. Yes, he had loved her, and all she had ever sought after was the impenetrable, impassive and egotistic Uchiha... But at least all her efforts had seemed to pay off... After all the years of rejection - years of being ignored - she had finally achieved her goals. And Naruto admired her... Admired her determination...

His childhood love had turned to respect.

"I haven't seen you for ages!" she said, smiling so freely, still by Sasuke's side.

"Hehe I know! You look great Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned, hands clasped casually behind his head. And he wasn't lying - Sakura had grown into a woman. Elegance, intelligence and beauty oozed out of her.

"You look great as well!" Sakura said honestly. "How long has it been? 3 years?" she subconsciously moved closer towards Sasuke.

"Since you went after Sasuke? Hmm…." Naruto pondered out loud. Yep, it had been around 3 years ago. 3 years ago that she had left the village to pursue her dreams. She did the one thing that Naruto could not. She faced her fear, and went after him… And look how it had paid off. She got what she wanted, she got what she strived for. She got her happiness...

And she deserved it.

Naruto shrugged the thoughts out of his head. "Yeah about 3 years!" he whistled. 3 short years that had seemed to last forever.... "So what made you guys return?" he asked, head inquisitively tilting to one side.

"Well, we had to return, to tell everyone the good news… We want everyone to be there!" Sakura answered, blushing faintly. Sasuke stayed stoic as usual, eyes still staring blankly at the blonde. Naruto found himself shivering under the intense gaze - just what did the Uchiha want from him? Was he looking for a reaction…? Looking for a reply? Looking for acknowledgement to the news that had spread like wild fire through the village?

"Oh yeah, congratulations about that! I can't believe you guys are getting married!" Naruto's voice sounded hollow even to his own ears, but he grinned anyway… To show Sakura how ecstatic he was for them… For her… For her happiness...

But Sakura didn't seem to notice the falseness in his voice - or if she did, she chose to ignore it - as she blushed an even deeper shade of red. She clutched onto Sasuke's arm slightly tighter, as if to assure herself that this wasn't just another one of her dreams...

Marriage. Naruto was still in a state of disbelief. His two teammates were getting hitched. The two that he had worked with, toiled with, ate with… They were getting married. They were going to commit themselves thoroughly to one another… And once again, Naruto was the odd one out, the third wheel… But he didn't mind because it was only to be expected. It was accepted after all... But as long as Sakura was happy, he was happy right?

As long as Sakura was happy...

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"Thanks Naruto…" Sakura stated, shyly. She was still unsure about the blonde's feelings towards her. She knew that he used to have feelings for her, but the feelings were never mutual. Thinking back, she realised that she had often been unjustifiably cruel towards him... He had never seemed to mind though, but that was no excuse for her behaviour towards him...

And now, meeting him again, she realised that he did not look at her the way that he did before. There was still love in his eyes… Yes he still loved her, but she knew that he was not IN love with her. He had gotten over her in the 3 years that she had gone…

Time did a lot to people.

A part of her was still in regret over the harsh ways she had treated him. Everyone in the village had always treated him with disrespect, and so it was no surprise that she also grew up hating the young boy. For no reason… For no reason at all apart from the fact that everyone else hated him...

And if everyone else hated him, he must be bad right?

But he was just a kid back then... What could be so bad about a kid? But she had made up excuses for her dislike though... He was too loud, he was too annoying... But it was an obvious cry for attention! Why didn't she realise it before? Why couldn't she see that everyone had feelings? People laughed, cried, smiled, and frowned… Too engrossed in her own obsession towards Sasuke, she was oblivious to everybody, oblivious to everybody's emotions…

Everybody's pain...

And yet he was so forgiving. So completely and utterly forgiving. And she knew that one part of her would always miss the innocent ways he tried to court her, tried to get her attention, tried to get her admiration. And now he did. She admired him. She admired him a lot.She smiled appreciatively towards him...

Just when had irritation turned to respect?

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"Yo!" Kakashi arrived.

"YOU'RE LATE!" both Naruto and Sakura shouted simultaneously. They looked at each other and grinned. Yep, some things never changed.

Kakashi smiled, but decided to play along. "Yeh, I got lost on the way when a rabid fan girl jumped out at me from behind…" He grinned openly at the trio.

"Liar!" Sakura and Naruto grinned. Sasuke looked uninterested.

"So how are my favourite within-team couple?" Kakashi winked with his one eye that was on display. He had gotten older. But he still dressed the same as he ever did. And he was STILL reading that damned book! Gah... Hadn't his obsession died out by now?!

Naruto frowned. "They're your only within-team couple..."

"Ack! I just remembered the food!" Sakura cringed outwardly. "Sorry sensei, I better go!" she murmured apologetically. She reluctantly released her grip on Sasuke, but her fingers grazed his arm softly, as if making sure that he was still there.... That he wasn't going to run away again. She smiled at him, before rushing towards the direction of the kitchen.

"Sooo… Sasuke!" Kakashi began a conversation with the cold, silent man as Naruto's thoughts drifted off again. He was here again. Even though he promised himself that he wouldn't be. In Sasuke's house. His unique smell and presence seemed to choke him from within... He had often dreamed about meeting Sasuke again, but it was never like this… Never in this situation...

The blonde idly gazed around, unsurprised that the interior was still in pretty good shape... Even though the house had been empty for 5 years, it remained untouched by the inhabitants of the village. It was like a sacred monument - a reminder of him. Of the last of the Uchiha clan. Of his power. Of his presence...

Of the terrifying bloodline that he possessed...

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Naruto remembered the day that Sasuke left all too well. He was 16. He remembered sitting outside the ramen shop with Iruka, when he had heard the news from Kakashi. Sasuke hadn't turned up for any of the recent missions, which was very unusual for the stoic boy. But Naruto hadn't minded. They needed time apart. To reflect. And maybe to forget?

'It was a mistake. Nothing more than a mistake…'

Kakashi had naturally gotten worried after 3 days, and went to visit Sasuke at his home. There he found the house empty. Devoid of life. Devoid of anything. Just empty. Naruto hadn't believed him at first. So he went to visit as well. His feet, familiar with the path towards the Uchiha household, took him there effortlessly. He didn't bother knocking; he had been into his house before. But what Kakashi had said rang true. The house was completely empty. Completely dead. And unnaturally cold.

Even colder than the Uchiha's eyes...

Naruto wasn't really surprised. But he was slightly shocked that the whole ordeal between them had affected the Uchiha boy so much. So much that he had to leave…

But it was ok. He'd be back. After all, where else could he go? Give him a few days… few weeks at most. Sasuke would be back. He was strong. Nothing affected Konoha's number one rookie. Hell, Naruto wasn't even sure if he had feelings, let alone a heart! It wasn't hard to convince himself that the dark haired boy would be back. Back to fight. Back to continue their rivalry, to continue their hatred towards each other...

But he didn't come back. He didn't come back a month later. Nor even a year later. Not one sighting nor indication of the Uchiha's wellbeing had been received. Neither a sign, nor a signal. He could've been dead, lost, captured, kidnapped… Possibilities - and none of them pleasant - had drifted in and out of Naruto's mind. Was what they did so terrible? So terrible he had to run away… Did Naruto…

Was… Was Sasuke's disappearance his fault??…

And as the days drifted by, Naruto's hope diminished. He wasn't coming back. The one person that had acknowledged him was not going to return. He had done it again. Just like he had done all his life. He had drove him away…

He had managed to drive the most impassive, unemotional and unresponsive person ever to roam the planet, away. Away from him. Away from everything...

He had finally melted the heart of ice - only to find it black with hate.

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"Wow… She found you so soon… You two must really belong to each other!" Kakashi's voice stirred Naruto back to the present. They were idly chatting about the day Sakura had found Sasuke. Naruto's ears perked up with interest. Just what had happened anyway?

"Hn," was the reply that Sasuke gave to his old sensei.

"Ner… Sakura's way too good for him!" Naruto shouted jokingly, ignoring the swirling confusion deep inside, as he got himself involved with the conversation and laughed out loud. After all - that's what was expected from him, right? Kakashi managed a small smile; as if unsure to whether the blond ninja still harboured feelings for the pink-haired girl...

Sasuke didn't even flinch.

"I'm surprised she would go for such a cold hearted bastard. What's the point of falling for someone who is unable to love you back?" Naruto sneered, his voice colder than he had intended. It was only meant to be a slight jab, but he found himself wanting to hurt the raven-haired boy, wanting to push his buttons, wanting to get a reaction - any reaction but for his cold and impassive expression…

But Sasuke did nothing. He simply walked away.

Naruto quickly composed himself. He hadn't expected this to happen. He was expecting at least some sort of comeback, some sort of insult thrown. Like they did in the past. Maybe a 'shut up moron,' or 'whatever, you dobe.' Whatever Naruto had been expecting, he hadn't expected this... For the raven haired boy to walk away to willingly, so maturely, and so graciously…

It hurt Naruto. It hurt that he was walking away once again. And it had hurt that this Sasuke did not acknowledge him - did not acknowledge their past together, and probably did not acknowledge a future with him in it…

And that had hurt more than anything...

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End of chapter 1

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