Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ I think I better leave right now ❯ Though its breaking every rule I've ever made ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But if Santa is feeling generous...
Title: I think I better leave right now - chapter 2
Author: Purrfectly679 - e-mail purrfectly679@hotmail.com for comments and suggestions. Feedback highly appreciated.
Rating: PG-13, angst, bad language, slight AU. SakuSasu, hint of SasuNaru.
Notes: No spoilers. This is a revised repost.

Previously: Sasuke is back. Naruto has just seen him for the first time in 5 years, but the Uchiha does not acknowledge him.

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Naruto sighed heavily as he leaned against the bathroom door. He hadn't expected the day to go like this. Not at all. To have him so close and yet so far... It irritated him.

Sasuke was still acting superior, but not in the ways that he did when he was 16... Back then, he would often taunt the blonde, or spar with him to parade and show off his superior strength. But now… His strength shined out from within. He had matured - he had the strength to walk away from the taunts, from the insults, from the abuse...

Naruto's efforts did nothing to him anymore.

And that was the one thing that really pissed the blonde off. The dark haired man did not seem to acknowledge him anymore - did not even seem to notice his existence. Yes, Naruto was used to this, since it was the common manner that the inhabitants of the village treated him... But to be rejected from a person that he had shared most of his life with… From someone he had admired… From someone who had saved his life…

It had really hurt.

Naruto splashed cold water over his face to cool the anger that was threatening to boil over. He gazed up into his own reflection only to see his eyes dilating rapidly, and watched with rapt fascination as the blueness of his eyes seemed to cloud over to a dark sapphire... Dark like his mood. Dark like his rival's eyes. He quickly composed himself, and flashed himself a huge smile... But even his reflection in the mirror seemed fake, forced, artificial... Since Sasuke had come back, he had been losing his touch, losing the front that he constantly put on...

Damn Sasuke. This was all his fault.

'Com'on Naruto, pull yourself together, for Sakura's sake…' he muttered wearily to himself.

'And for your own sake...' he add silently.

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"Sorry for being late!" Naruto shouted, as he sprinted down the stairs. He grinned, keeping up the happy façade that he had kept on for so many years. How many people had he fooled now?

And just how many people really cared?

"I hope you haven't started without me!" he whined, as his stomach growled in sync with his words.

Sakura grinned. "We wouldn't dare start dinner without you!" she exclaimed. "We know how much of a pig you are!" she added, childishly. She had decided to cook a private dinner for her teammates - as a sort of welcome back/engagement party... But it was a fairly small do - only 2 people were present, that being Naruto and Kakashi... The bigger party, where everyone was invited, was going to take place in a few days time.

Naruto smiled. He had half expected her to clobber him on the head. 3 years away did a lot to her. He decided that he liked this new and improved - mature Sakura better! Feeling slightly more cheerful, the blonde grabbed the remaining free place, and visibly flinched as he realised that it was exactly opposite his ex-rival. Sasuke didn't even glance towards his direction, which suited Naruto just fine.

"Naruto, are you ok?" Sakura asked, a little concerned about the strange emotions that were rapidly forming upon the hyperactive blonde's face.

"Of course I'm fine!" Naruto grinned back, a little too loudly. "Why wouldn't I be, Sakuraaaa-chan?" He blinked innocently towards the pink-haired girl, as his insides raged with fear. How could he be so stupid? How could he have let his mask slip, without even realising it?

Was he losing his touch?

"Shut up kid, you're doing my head in!" Kakashi murmured, affectionately.

"I'm not a kid no more!" Naruto pouted, although he was deeply relieved that the silver-haired man had provided a good enough topic diversion. "I've grown, and I'm bigger, and I'm strong and … and - "

"Uh huh sure...!" Kakashi rolled his eyes, interrupting the blonde's defiant speech.

Naruto stuck his tongue out childishly, before plopping down onto his chair next to his former sensei.

"So what's for dinner?" he asked, rubbing his stomach in an attempt to divert attention to the fact that he was starving.

"You know, you haven't really changed at all have you?" Kakashi interrupted, staring openly at Naruto in a slightly curious way. "You may have lost the baby fat, here-" he pinched the blonde's cheeks, "but you're still a loud mouthed klutz aren't you?"

Naruto pushed the grinning jounin away from him. "Ow… that hurt!" he pouted again. But inside he was glad. He was glad that even his old teacher couldn't see the raging emotions inside of him. He was glad that everyone saw him as they did a few years back. He was happy that no one could see that he had changed. That showed him...

That showed Sasuke that he didn't need him.

Even if he did... Even if he really did...

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"Wah…. It smells good!" Naruto almost drooled as Sakura brought out the food. It was plain rice served with stir-fried beef and vegetables.

"Don't drool, you baka!" Kakashi tapped the blond lightly on the head. Naruto growled menacingly.

Sasuke had still made no attempt to join his former comrade's conversations. He just sat there, staring into emptiness. Naruto began to wonder whether something terrible had happened to the Uchiha while he was away. Although there were no visible scars, maybe the inflicted wounds were mental?

'Or maybe,' he reasoned with himself, 'he's acting this way cos you're here…'

The latter made more sense.

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Naruto immediately began to shove food into his mouth, in an attempt to calm the raging emotions that were threatening to spill over his face. He couldn't let it show - he couldn't let anything slip... He couldn't afford to lose his mask...

Not now... And not ever.

It was strange - the only time that he ever felt calm was when he was eating - which probably wasn't really healthy... Of course, he usually ate ramen… But he soon realised that this stuff was just as good. He hadn't eaten a proper meal like this in months. Not that he didn't want to… It's just… It's just that there were very few opportunities to...

Especially when living alone.

"Wob Sakula, dish stuff iz gweap!" Naruto said in between mouths full of food. He swallowed ungracefully. "I didn't know you could cook!" he exclaimed happily, as if he just made a once in a lifetime exciting discovery. He idly wondered what other skills the pink-haired girl had picked up during her long absence from Konoha...

Sakura frowned and hid a furious blush while remembering the cookbook that she had consulted. "Of course I can cook you idiot!" She looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, "And don't chew with your mouth full."

"Yes ma'm!" Naruto answered mischievously. But to tell the truth, he was actually feeling quite contented surrounded by his former teammates and sensei - that's if you ignored all the raging confusion and nausea that Sasuke's presence fuelled. But in a way, he was glad to know that the Uchiha was still alive, still breathing, still… there... He had missed them... He had missed them a lot...

And whether he would admit it or not, he had missed him the most.

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After seconds, and thirds from Naruto, it was time for dessert. Homemade ice cream. Unfortunately, at his haste to get as much down as quick as possible, Naruto ended up choking and spilling half of his mouth's content over Sasuke's face.

The room went silent.

Naruto had envisaged the dark-haired ninja to attack him. Maybe throw him out. Or at least glare one of his famous 'Uchiha cold stares' at him.

But he did none of these. He calmly walked to the bathroom, cleaned himself up, then returned as sullenly as he left. His expression was blank - without even the barest hint of an emotion. Which was, in fact, much more frightening than the latter.

Naruto offered no word of apology. He was too shocked, frozen with disbelief. He just sat there, dumbfounded, staring at the dark haired ninja, willing him to react, willing him to shout, to acknowledge him... But Sasuke refused to look at him in the eye. Which had hurt Naruto even more.

'Come on Naruto! Apologise!' he silently cursed himself. But his body refused to obey his commands. Why should he apologise? Why should he apologise to this man? This man who had spent the whole night making him feel like a stranger; making him feel so damn unwelcome…

Yet why was Naruto surprised with his reaction? He should've expected it, seen it coming... That's why Naruto wanted to avoid him, right? To avoid the rejection, to avoid the pain... To avoid the inevitable hurt...

Not everyone found it easy to forgive, to forget...

Even if they HAD moved on.

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After finishing dessert in tense silence, Sakura and Sasuke both went into the kitchen to clean up.

"Hehe she got him trained already!" Naruto joked to his former sensei. He didn't really want to talk about Sasuke... He didn't want to think about him, talk about him, have anything to do with him... But he wasn't going to ignore him - even if he had wanted nothing better than to be as far away as possible from the Uchiha.... He was Naruto right? And Naruto made jokes, and got on everybody's nerves...

He couldn't risk the others getting suspicious...

"Hmm he does seem awfully quiet today, don't you think?" Kakashi murmured softly, just loud enough for the blonde to hear. Naruto forced his expression to remain calm as the older jounin looked at him curiously, as if suspecting him of having something to do with it...

"Really? I haven't noticed…" Naruto answered hastily, cringing as he immediately diverted his eyes. He found it hard to lie to his sensei. Which he gave away pretty quickly by looking into another direction. Maybe it was because of that one eye on display, giving the impression that it had enough experience on its own to see everyone and everything. Or maybe it had something to do with the powers of the Sharingan. Either way, it seemed as if the copycat ninja knew much more than he let on...

That he read people easier than they ever thought possible...

"Yeah, he's changed… Matured maybe? I don't know…" Kakashi chose his words carefully, still keeping that one eye focused securely upon the kitsune.

"Yeah, he's probably changed the most out of us…" Naruto said half truthfully, excluding himself from the 'us.'

"He seems to tolerate you a lot more than he used to!" Kakashi brightened up, still watching Naruto firmly, looking for a reaction.

Naruto winced. It wasn't toleration...

It was total ignorance.

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Naruto spent another 2 hours in the Uchiha household that night. They spent the time in the lounge, talking and catching up on the old times... The blonde laughed, joked, and made lots of noise - just how everyone had expected from the hyperactive ninja... Random topics were glibly covered - about Kakashi's constant lateness, Rock Lee's eyebrows, Neji and his bizarre outlook on life and Hinata and her new career as a medic...

"So are you and Hinata an item yet?" Sakura gushed, as the subject of the dark-haired girl was brought up.

Naruto stared at her blankly. "Eh...? Hinata?!" he asked incredulously, his eyebrows drawn in confusion.

The pink-haired girl looked bewildered. "Don't tell me you didn't know! She's had a crush on you since... Since forever!!"

The blonde chuckled in amusement. What a joke! Hinata likes him? Hehe... Sakura sure had strange ideas...

No one saw the dark look that flitted over Sasuke's calm features.

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Naruto continued to laugh and joke on the outside, even as his mind swirled furiously in confusion. It had always been a skill of his - being able to ramble on about things without even thinking about it... It was almost like second nature to him...

At the moment, his mind was swimming with erratic thoughts of the unresponsive Uchiha, even as his voice prattled on about the new ramen stall near the village market. He sighed inwardly - he never did understand the dark-haired boy, and he doubted that he ever will...

Just how could anyone act so cold? Sasuke had it all - the attention, the respect, the admiration. Yet he threw it all away. He had everything Naruto had ever wanted, desired, ever wanted to achieve... Yet he acted like that… Acted so impassive… So cool…

Didn't he know how lucky he was…?

But the crucial question still lingered unanswered on the blonde's mind. Just why was he here?! Why was he here after those countless promises? After all those countless pledges... He kept convincing himself that it was for Sakura, but his heart didn't accept that as an adequate excuse... No matter how much he valued her happiness, this was too much.... To be breathing the same air as the heir to the Uchiha clan was too much...

It was all too much…

He didn't think it would be like this… All those countless dreams, all those countless scenarios that had played furiously through his mind… None of those had prepared him for this… For this feeling... This damn intense feeling...

And the feeling scared him. He needed to leave. Now. To go before anything else happened that he might regret... Before he himself cracked under the pressure... Before history could have even the slightest chance to repeat itself...

History should never repeat itself!

Only then he realised, slightly dishearteningly, that he had to avoid them - avoid the happy couple before they were no longer a happy couple... Plans rapidly formulated within the kitsune's mind. He'd stay separated, keep his distance.... They didn't need him - they could do fine without him... After all, they had been doing it for 3 years, right?

And it's not like he'd disappear completely… He'd still watch them from afar, just to make sure they were ok... He'd be their secret protector... Or something like that...

And he'd still have the memories... As long as he had the memories, then everything would be ok…

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"Ehh… Sakura-chan, I think I better leave now… It's getting late and I promised to help Iruka-sensei in the morning… So uh… Thanks for dinner and everything!" Naruto grinned, while scratching the back of his head with one arm, looking extremely childish, yet successfully hiding all his troubled thoughts.

"Leave already? But I was having fun catching up on the old times… Can't you stay just a little longer?" Sakura glanced at the clock that hung upon the wall. "I mean, its only 10pm…"

Naruto forced out a laugh. "I would really love to but uh… I'm really tired… And you know Iruka-sensei… He doesn't like it when I'm late… And he's always on time, unlike someone." Naruto coughed and looked accusingly at Kakashi.

Kakashi whistled nonchalantly.

"Well could you come visit again? Like… As in tomorrow or the day after? I want you to help plan the engagement party if you could…" Sakura asked, eyes shining brightly.

Naruto looked away. "I uh… I'm not sure… I think I'm busy those days…"

"Oh please Naruto! What's more important than your two teammates?" Sakura added, a hint of desperation in her voice. She surprised herself as much as everyone else, as she realised she really DID want him to help… She had missed the hyperactive boy more than she would've ever thought possible... Missed his warmth, missed his energy, missed the light that he represented. And hell, did she need some light after the years that she had been through!

But why ask for his help?! Missing him was one thing, but getting him to help with something as important as the engagement party was like signing her own death contract! He'd probably act like a moron and ruin everything, just like he used to do in the past… She chuckled inwardly - it sure was funny though... Anyway, its not like Sasuke ever voiced his opinions...

And she kinda missed having someone to talk to...

She smiled resolutely, determined to make it up to the blonde - make up for all the years of hurt she had unwittingly inflicted upon him. All the ignorance, the rejections, the insults...

And the pain. Most importantly, the pain.

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"But it's an engagement party… Shouldn't you two plan it yourselves? …" Naruto asked, then went silent as he saw the disappointment evident upon the pink-haired girl's face. Just why did she want him there so bad? She never seemed to care before… And it wasn't as if an engagement party is all that special… I mean, the wedding's more important right? …And what did he know about parties? He hadn't been invited to one in his whole entire life, let alone attend one!

Sakura stayed silent, her saddened expression biting away painfully at Naruto. This was the first time he had seen her in 3 years, and yet instead of making her happy, he had made her sad. All those scenarios, all those dreams… Hurting her hadn't even crossed his mind! This wasn't meant to happen! Oh why did he always hurt the ones he loved?

"I…" Naruto sighed, feeling his resolve slightly melting. "I'm… I'm sorry… But I have really important things to do..."

'Stay strong Naruto!' he chided himself. He couldn't afford to break down. He had to go, to avoid him before it was all too late... Before it was too late to apologise...

Before it was too late to regret.

"But you'll be here for the party right?" Sakura asked, her eyes betraying the hope that shined from within. Naruto looked away. He couldn't do this. He just couldn't.

"I… I'm not sure…."

"Naruto!" Sakura's voice tore at him, filled with confusion. "Why not? You have to be there! You're our teammate! What else could you possibly do that's more important?"

"I…" Naruto had no answer. He felt Kakashi's curious gaze upon him. He squirmed under the scrutiny. After convincing himself he had to stay away, he felt himself breaking under Sakura's words. Couldn't she see? They were better off without him! Just why was she making this so difficult for him? Even if it seemed as though he were abandoning them… In the long run it was all for the best. She'd see that in the end… If he just detached himself out of her life now, she wouldn't hate him in the future... He couldn't stand it if she hated him...

He just couldn't.

"I'll try!" Naruto flashed her one of his infamous grins, feeling extremely guilty for lying outright to his childhood crush. But it was for the best… Things couldn't go wrong when he wasn't around. As long as she was happy…

Sakura visibly relaxed, as she incorrectly took Naruto's answer as a yes. She immediately cheered up. "Thanks Naruto!" she added, and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

The old Naruto would've blushed and run around in a maniacal frenzy. But the older Naruto just smiled back warmly, deceptively hiding the raging guilt that was burning him from within.

From then on, both Naruto and Sakura knew that their relationship had changed. Long gone were the days of crushes and physical attraction, even if they DID only come on Naruto's behalf. They were now firm friends. And Naruto realised he liked it this way more, and hoped that it would last forever…

In fact, since he now promised himself to stay out of their lives, he KNEW their friendship would last forever. The immediate guilt that he had felt for lying to her, for letting her down - it had all but instantly faded away. It was all for the best... She wouldn't hate him. She wouldn't hate him like everyone else had, like Sasuke had... He wouldn't give her the opportunity to...

He smiled freely for the first time in a very long time.

"See you later guys!" he lied cheerfully. 'Goodbye Sakura. I love you…' he added silently, before making his way out of the Uchiha house for the final time.

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Back in the house, Kakashi eyed the Uchiha boy warily. Even though no one else had noticed it, it was hard to fool the copycat ninja of Konoha. When Sakura had pecked Naruto's cheek as a sign of affection, the dark haired boy had definitely and visibly flinched.

'So I guess you DO have a heart after all… Who would've thought you'd be so protective over Sakura? But to ignore Naruto like that, just because you thought he was a threat… Hmm… You're more interesting than you let on, Sasuke-kun...'

'Maybe... Maybe you're not as cold as you would like to believe...'

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End of chapter 2

Please review - or email me purrfectly679@hotmail.com for comments and criticism, or if you would like to join the mailing list!

*grabs Sasuke and makes him plead along with me*
Sasuke: (glares) Hmph.
(TRANSLATION OF SASUKE TALK: Yes please review! You people out there are absolutely gorgeous. If you review I might decide to strip tease for all of you out there... And then I'll *censored* and *censored*...)
Naruto: Eurghhh Sasuke stop being so dirty!
(N.B: Naruto is the only person alive that can fully comprehend Sasuke talk)

Thanks for reading, and take care x