Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ I think I better leave right now ❯ Before I fall any deeper ( Chapter 8 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Title: I think I better leave right now - chapter 8
Author: Purrfectly679 - e-mail purrfectly679@hotmail.com for comments and suggestions. Feedback highly appreciated.
Rating: R, angst, bad language, slight AU, mild sexual situations. SakuSasu, SasuNaru, ShikaIno, HinaNaru...
Notes: No spoilers. This is a revised repost. More flashbacks...

Previously: Sasuke is watching Hinata and Naruto from within the shadows...

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--------------------- Flashback - Part VI ---------------------

The water wasn't as cold as Naruto had originally predicted. It was very cool, but not uncomfortably so.

He dipped his head under the clear waters and gasped, half from the chill and half from the shock of what he saw. The moonlight that managed to penetrate the surface of the lake had created an optical illusion underwater kingdom. Everything seemed to sparkle and glow in the most impressive of ways…

Even the stones that would've normally looked dull and flat seemed to shine with a zest of life… As if they were made out of the frailest of crystals…

The most precious of gems…

The blonde glanced around him, feeling completely dazzled, looking for any signs of life, but found none…

Slightly disappointed, he rushed to the surface for some much needed oxygen.

"Hey… Baka…" Sasuke appeared silently beside the smaller boy, causing him to jump in mild surprise. "Race you to that side," the stoic boy continued, and pointed directly towards the opposite bank. It was about 500m away at most.

Naruto grinned, his spirit lifting both from the underwater scene that he had just witnessed and the upcoming contest. He loved competition. "Sure! On the count of three… One… THREE!" the blonde dived deep and began furiously swimming away from the Uchiha.

"Baka, can't even count…" the raven-haired boy muttered, before following suit.

Not surprisingly, the blonde won, but Sasuke accused him of cheating. So they had a rematch, except this time the stoic boy got to count. But Naruto had mischievously decided to start swimming before the count of three, and won the second race as well.

By this time, the raven-haired boy was rather pissed off and splashed water at the blonde as a sign of annoyance. And so sparked a furious water fight between the two.

Naruto didn't know why he was having so much fun. A part of his mind kept telling him that this was wrong. He shouldn't be having fun with his anti-social rival out of all people! He didn't even bother to reflect on the fact that Sasuke was usually the last person in the world that would think of doing something enjoyable… Let alone engage in a water fight at goodness knows what hours of the night!

The competition ended when the Uchiha stopped retaliating, much to the blonde's disappointment.

"Ha so you admit defeat?" the blonde exclaimed cockily, as he tried to work a reaction out of the usually cold boy. Then again, it wasn't exactly hard when it came to the rivalry between the two... If there was one thing that Sasuke seemed to hate more than his obsessive fan girls, it was losing to Naruto.

"Defeat from what?" the dark-haired boy drawled, as he lay floating upon his back on the still waters. No matter what he did, he always looked so damn graceful… Naruto casually wondered whether the boy would look so elegant on the bog…

"That I got you more wet!" the blonde revelled happily in his success, shaking images of dark haired boy on the toilet out of his perverse mind.

"How can I get more wet? I'm swimming for god's sake!" Sasuke retorted. Even under the dim moonlight, Naruto could still make out a slight smirk on the fair boy's features.

"Bwah shut up you!" Naruto screeched in defiance, and prepared to swim over to the dark-haired boy just to wipe that smirk off his face... Sasuke sighed exaggeratedly, as if the blonde's action was just a little too predictable…

But before the smaller boy even got the chance to move, strong arms were already encircling his waist.

Wha…?!

"I win…" the raven-haired boy whispered huskily, sending unwanted shivers down Naruto's spine.

And before the blonde could even contemplate on exactly what he was feeling, Sasuke pulled himself and the kitsune deep into the clear waters of the magical lake…

--------------------- End of flashback - Part VI ---------------------

Naruto felt nothing… Saw nothing… Heard nothing… It was as if he were nothing but a puppet… A puppet who had just been cruelly abandoned by it's owner…

He couldn't move, couldn't think…

Memories rushed back at him faster than a surging river, overwhelming him… Memories he had spent so long trying to suppress, restrain… forget…

He didn't sense the girl sitting beside him… He didn't feel her anxiety… Her concern… Her care…

Isn't that what he longed for? Someone who cared?

But he wasn't aware of anything…

He wasn't aware of the soft hand that was softly stroking his hair, the hand that was comforting him with feather soft touches… But he did feel the warmth… He found himself calming to the warmth… So relaxing… His breathing calmed…

But the memories wouldn't stop. The warmth helped with his breathing, but it did nothing to suppress the memories… They wouldn't stop. They just kept coming back.

All transpiring from one source… One person… Sparked from one occurrence…

The return of the one Uchiha Sasuke.

--------------------- Flashback - Part VII ---------------------

Naruto gasped at the air hungrily, filling his lungs with much needed oxygen.

"Sasuke you bastard!" he screamed, even louder than before.... If that was at all possible.

Another splash, followed by another gasp filled the air, as the raven-haired boy broke the surface of the lake, a safe distance away from the obviously irate blonde.

"What the hell were-… are you doing?!" the blonde spluttered angrily, while pointing his index finger at the other boy accusingly. He was too angry to be even remotely surprised at the other boy's actions.

If he had thought about it some more, he would've realised that 'playing pranks' was definitely not an action that the great Uchiha would've ever considered doing… Let alone a prank in the middle of the night, involving a semi-naked Naruto drenched in water… But being blonde and stupid (no pun intended!), Naruto didn't even consider that fact that maybe Sasuke was acting much stranger than usual…

The smaller boy stayed rooted to his side of the lake, refusing to budge in indignation. Or fear… Or a mixture of both… The actions of his rival had just confirmed his earlier suspicions - Sasuke was trying to kill him!

But he couldn't die yet! He was too young to die… He had so much to do! Like become Hokage… And there was still so much ramen for him to consume...!

"I won't die that easily…" he muttered, uncertainty wavering in his voice. He was too far away from the raven-haired boy to read his expression accurately, but the blonde guessed that he was probably smirking or sneering at him in contempt… Or both.

"Who said I wanted to kill you?" a warm breath hovered above Naruto's ear, causing the blonde to shriek in horror. How did he-?! How did he manage to get there without making a single sound?! Even if the Uchiha boy moved noiselessly, it didn't mean that he could make the water silent as well…

"Bwahhhh!" Naruto screamed, and turned to face his new and freakier rival, as the waters sloshed noisily around him. He noticed with panic that the raven-haired boy had another new look grace his usually expressionless features…

An expression of… happiness?!

Maybe he was happy because he was about to kill the blonde… Most people would probably be happy with the idea… But his eyes… His usually cold and distant eyes… They sparkled with flair, with… life…?

Sparkled like the stones under the moonlight…

Naruto stared at him dumbfounded.

'That's it. I've had enough.' Without looking back, the blonde swam to the shore to retrieve his clothes. This situation was just getting too weird, even for him… If he stayed a while longer, he was afraid he might just go insane…

Or kill someone.

Or both.

Best to leave now. Yup yup. Best to leave before this 'new Sasuke' did anything else totally out of character, and scar the poor blonde for life.

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When he reached the shore with the rock facing the lake, he hurried over to the spot where he had left his clothes…

To find that they weren't there…

"Sasuke you bastard!! This isn't funny!!" Naruto shouted with incense, not caring that his sudden outburst was totally ruining the mystical atmosphere of the lake.

The raven-haired boy swam slowly towards the shore, but decided to stay in the waters. He didn't say anything, but wore his what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about-now-dobe? expression.

"Fine… fine…" the blonde threw up his arms in defeat. "You've won! Ok? Now give me my clothes back!" he gazed helplessly at the raven-haired boy, still immersed in the clear waters.

"I don't have your clothes…" came the slightly confused reply.

Naruto sighed. He was expecting this. What he didn't expect was for the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan to suddenly get a sense of humour. Out of all of the times that it could've happened, why now?! Why here?!

He must have indigestion or something…

The blonde recalled reading somewhere (yes he could read) that mild indigestion could cause memory lapses or temporary changes in personas… Maybe this was one of those occasions?

The blonde decided that if there was a god, then he was a very cruel one.

"Uhh… You know what? Whatever! Cos I don't care!" Naruto pouted, and narrowed his eyes petulantly towards the dark-haired boy, as he crossed his arms haughtily.

Sasuke continued to look adorably confused.

Suddenly light seemed to flash within the blue eyes of the blonde, as if a light bulb had just suddenly ignited in that obscure brain of his.

Was it… Could it…Could it be a plan?!

"Hey Sasuke?" he enquired, inching closer and closer back towards the edge of the lake. There was no reply, but Naruto knew that the stoic boy was listening. "Lets have another race-"

"No."

"Why not?" the blonde huffed, slightly annoyed that he had been interrupted.

"Cos you cheat."

"OK I promise not to cheat…"

No reply.

"And look, if you win… I'll… I'll stop bothering Sakura!" Naruto feigned mock distress and lowered his head. The truth was, his obsession with the pink-haired girl had been recently dwindling… He didn't know why… At one point in his life, he would've done anything for her… Given everything to her… But now, he didn't see her as anything more than a teammate... A shame really… But he guessed that was what people meant by growing out of 'childhood crushes…'

But no one needed to know about his fading fixation! After all, the blonde liked to ask her out now and again just to piss her off…. She was certainly running out of good excuses now!! Not that they were ever good in the first place… And he had the bumps on the head to prove it…

Ahhh the joys of making people squirm!

"Why would I care whether you left Sakura alone?" the raven-haired boy asked in a monotone.

Naruto looked at him right in the eye, and spoke from his heart. "Because it's obvious she likes you. And I know you'll like her too if you gave her the chance… It's obvious you two are going to end up together…"

The blonde hadn't really meant for his words to come out that way, but now that he thought about it, it did make sense… The strongest boy in the village with the brightest girl... Together. A match made in heaven…

Little did he know just how right he was…

"I don't like Sakura." Sasuke's voice resumed its usual iciness, causing the smaller boy to wince outwardly. Why the hell was he being so cold for? Shouldn't he be honoured that Naruto was almost giving up the love of his life for him? Its not easy saying that that the one person you had loved for so many years would be perfect for somebody else…

Especially when that somebody else was your archrival!

"Why the hell not?" the blonde asked angrily, his emotions blatantly visible within his blue eyes. "She's perfect! She's smart, she's pretty… She's in love with you…" he trailed off to a whisper, a little envy apparent within his voice.

"I just don't think that way about her. That's all." The raven-haired boy's reply was short, curt and to the point.

"Who do you like then?" Naruto asked, a little curiously. The blonde realised that this was probably one of the first proper conversations that the two have ever shared. And the first conversation without the insults 'dobe' and 'bastard' thrown in every other sentence...

He also realised, albeit rather disturbingly, that although he had spent a lot time with the Uchiha, he knew next to nothing about his life outside the shinobi world… Such as what did he like? What did he dislike? What type of girls did he go for? What did he do in his spare time? (apart from training of course)

Naruto found his inquisitiveness building, wanting to know the answers to these questions…

Which scared him quite a lot.

"Who I like is none of your business," came the curt reply.

It took this new bit of information about 5 seconds to sink into the blonde's mind. "So you do like someone!" Naruto exclaimed, as he grinned his big fox-like grin in glee. Well… It wasn't totally unfeasible… After all, every teenage boy would obviously have a crush or affection of some sort towards another girl...

Yet since this was the cold, emotionless Uchiha Sasuke that they were talking about, it still kinda bewildered the blonde-haired boy…

Sasuke actually liked someone! And it wasn't Sakura? Then... Then who the hell could it be?!

"Ok ok I know! Lets have that race-"

"I said I don't care about Sakura."

"Let me finish!" the blonde shouted in annoyance.

The raven-haired boy remained silent, expression unreadable.

"Ok if I win, you have to tell me who you like…"

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow as Naruto paused. "And if you lose?"

"I'll tell you who I like!" the smaller boy grinned happily.

Sasuke grunted in response. "I already know you like Sakura."

"Noo…" the blonde quickly climbed back into the lake, as goose pimples began to develop upon the surface of his skin. He was a little surprised that it seemed warmer in the waters than out on land. Then again, maybe that had something to do with the raven-haired boy crouching almost next to him…

"I like someone else now... But I haven't told anyone cos its like, a big secret..." Naruto emphasised the word big, as he tried to persuade Sasuke into accepting the swimming bet. He just hoped that the raven-haired boy didn't notice that he was lying through his teeth…

After all, getting Sasuke to swim, preferably as far away as possible, was vital to his up and coming plan...

"I don't care about who you like."

"Sasuke..." the blonde whined pitifully in annoyance. The mission was becoming harder and harder to accomplish. "Fine, if I lose, I'll... I'll stop bugging you for a whole week!"

The raven-haired boy seemed to contemplate this development rather seriously. Naruto could almost make out the clockwork ticking animatedly in his brain. Tick, tick, tick…Not that he was surprised at the other boy's actual consideration... Hell, even the blonde annoyed himself sometimes!!

But he had to admit... It did kinda hurt...

Just a little.

"Too vague."

Naruto brightened up in glee as he detected a hint of hesitation in the stoic boy's voice... It seemed as if the Uchiha boy was finally cracking!

"I won't try to force you to eat ramen... Er... I won't call you names... I won't put grass in your hair when you're not looking, nor put mud into your bento-"

"What?!" interrupted a incredulous raven-haired boy. If it weren't for the situation and upcoming plan, Naruto would've laughed out loud at the comical expression upon the usually impassive face…

"AND I won't moan when you beat me..." the blonde rushed his words to try and distract the Uchiha's attention.

It worked. Sasuke seemed to seriously deliberate over the offer.

"I don't get it..." he finally frowned, albeit suspiciously after a moment or two. "What's in it for you?"

"I really want to know who you like!" the blonde exclaimed furiously, not realising that his over-enthusiasm was making him appear even more conspicuous. It only a semi-lie to be honest - even though the blonde hated to admit it, a small part of him… A tiny part of him was just maybe slightly curious about the type of girl that the dark-haired youth went for…

He couldn't really be emotionless all the time… Could he??

"Why do you care about who I like?" the heir to the Uchiha clan suddenly blurted out. He immediately looked away, as if he regretted asking the question.

Naruto paused in thought. Why did he care? Maybe he was just curious... After all, whoever managed to capture the raven-haired boy's attention must be a very special girl... Or maybe she was a princess!

"Everyone wants to know about the great Sasuke," the blonde teased. It was a lame excuse yes, but you try coming up with a good excuse when half naked and crouching in a cold and uncomfortable position next to your archrival… But Naruto soon realised that what he had said, although rather ironically, was probably true...

Throughout his life in the village, it had always been Sasuke this, Sasuke that… Sasuke number one rookie… Isn't Sasuke cute?!… Aiii Sasuke honto honto KAWAII ne?!… Sasuke's soo strong… He had the attention, the admirers, the respect…

And yet for some strange reason, he didn't seem to enjoy it. He never seemed to acknowledge it… Never smiled, never once visibly revelled in his success… He just never seemed to realise that he was living up to people's high expectations and breaking them along the way…

The blonde guessed that some people will just never appreciate what they have until its gone…

"Fine."

Naruto looked up in shock, into the determined dark eyes of his rival. They were so hard to read, but the blonde could almost detect a hint of finalisation in them... But since it was dark, the small boy dismissed the look almost immediately.

Anyway, he was way too shocked to think about anything else at the present time. Sasuke had agreed?! And Naruto was so sure that his plan had been ruined from the moment he opened his big mouth...

"Ok, first one to the bank wins!" the blonde shouted triumphantly, as if he had already prevailed. Sasuke was falling for his plan! Things were finally looking up!! He was finally going to make the great Uchiha look stupid! Woo hoo!

He pushed back a slight feeling of guilt as an image of the contemplating raven-haired boy came back to haunt him...

Such sad eyes...

'Naruto you fool!' even his conscience decided to suddenly yell at him. 'This is the first decent moment you've ever shared with the anti-social boy, cos for some bizarre reason he's decided to ACT human, and now you're going to ruin it all in the blink of an eye?! He'll never trust you again!'

'But he started it!' the blonde silently argued back, his brows twitching furiously. 'It's only an act of revenge!'

This little internal struggle didn't go unnoticed.

"Stop arguing with yourself, dobe," came the bored sounding remark.

Naruto's jaw dropped.

"How did-" the blonde stared at the boy genius, dumbfounded, wondering whether having the sharingan DID mean that you had some uncanny ability to read minds...

"Can we get this over and done with, it's getting rather cold..." the raven-haired boy continued to drawl.

For once in his life, Naruto didn't comment on the other boy's stuck up attitude. He bit down hard on his lower lip, compressing the raging feelings deep down inside… He couldn't afford ruining his plan now! Not when he was so close...!

"Sure..." the blonde mumbled dumbly, deciding that less was more.

He couldn't trust himself to say anymore anyway…

The two boys started the race once Sasuke had counted to three. This time, Naruto held true to his word, and only started to swim after the Uchiha boy himself had initiated the first plunge into the cold waters.

Naruto swam the first 20 metres head to head with the stoic boy, then deliberately started to slow down, so that the raven-haired boy would get the impression that he was lagging behind. About 25% of the way through the length of the race, when the stoic boy was about 10 metres ahead of the blonde, Naruto did the unthinkable.

He stopped swimming, did a 180 degrees turn, and swam furiously back to shore.

He grinned in glee as he rushed to the spot where Sasuke had left his clothes.

Yup. His mission involved stealing…

And it finally worked!!!

While subconsciously patting himself on the back for managing to fulfill his marvellous plan, the blonde quickly grabbed the blue shirt off the ground that belonged to the Uchiha . For some reason, the shirt was still clean and crease free, even though it had been originally crumpled up amongst the dirt and leaves.

'Ugh, even his clothes are freaky...' the kitsune mumbled to himself, while shuddering in trepidation. Normally he wouldn't be caught dead wearing his rival's clothes, but some situations were just too desperate to ignore. Like the current circumstance he was in… He just hoped that he wouldn't bump into someone he knew on the way home...

Especially Kakashi... Ugh... He could imagine it now…

"Ooh Naruto-kun! What are you doing in Sasuke-kun's clothing? You two been doing things you shouldn't have?? Tut tut… Tell Sasuke to be a little more gentle next time…It's not very economical if he keeps ripping your clothes in the process…"

The blonde blushed a bright shade of red at the thought. His sensei was such a pervert…

Naruto slipped the cool shirt over his still wet hair, as the unique scent of Uchiha Sasuke wrapped around him. He hated to admit it, but the raven-haired boy did smell pretty damn good...

Maybe a little too damn good…

The clothes were slightly too big, but they would do. As long as he managed to get home without getting arrested for indecent exposure... That's all that mattered right?!

The blonde grinned in triumph as he searched around for the stoic boy's trousers... Now where were they? They had to around here somewhere...

Caught up in his rummaging, the kitsune didn't notice the presence behind him… He didn't notice the stoic boy until they were only millimetres apart…

Until he could feel the other's breath on the crook of his neck, immediately flooding his body with a burst of warmth...

"…You know…If you had wanted to get into my pants, you could've just asked…" came the husky whisper…

--------------------- End of flashback - Part VII ---------------------

Naruto continued to sit there, more silent than he has ever been in his whole entire life, as torrents of memories rushed back at him... Memories that hurt so much... Memories that he'd rather forget... Memories he almost did forget…

Yet throughout the pain, he still managed to feel warmth... The comforting warmth that seemed to sit beside him... That seemed to envelope him...

It was kind of comforting in a way… That the warmth was the complete opposite of the one person that ravaged his thoughts… The blatant contradiction provided the blonde some reassurance… That time had moved on… Things had changed…

People changed.

The warmth didn't stop the memories... Didn't stop the pain... Nor did it block out the tearing agony within the blonde's heart... Yet it did make the pain so much more bearable... Little by little... Breath by breath...

Naruto felt himself holding on to this source of heat... As if he needed it... As if his existence depended on it...

As if needing it to melt the iciness…As if needing it to melt away the prolonged effects of the Uchiha heir.

The blonde embraced the warmth closer, not wanting to let it go... Never letting go... All he knew was that he wasn't alone.

He finally wasn't alone.

And maybe, just maybe... Maybe he could start trusting again…

And maybe he could count on someone after all...

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They didn't hear the growl. Nor did they see the scowl that flitted across the delicate features of the dark-haired boy…

They didn't see the unconcealed pain that was so visibly etched across the ebony eyes of the taller man… That icy mask finally slipping off… Leaving him looking so vulnerable… So fragile… So frail…

They didn't sense the hurt… The bitter feelings of betrayal… The pain…

The evident pain that was enough to rival even the blonde's.

They didn't see how all the emotions were so quickly gathered, kept under control… Mask firmly back in place… His handsome face resuming his trademark expressionless appearance…

But still… There was one thing unchanged… One thing he couldn't hide… Something that even the great Sasuke couldn't hide…

Those dark black eyes… Those windows to the soul...

But instead of pain flashing from deep within the pupils, it was now replaced by rage.

Rage and envy.

And maybe no one was perfect after all.

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End of chapter 8

I'm sorry for being so slow... But I need to explain things properly etc... Hey at least your getting some interaction between the two ^_^ (Sasuke so sexy when he talks dirty...get into his pants eh eh eh!) The next chapter is where all the fun starts ^__^

Meanwhile... Naruto is in hospital, with a pissed off Sasuke sitting in the visitor's chair...
Sasuke: *mutters* Don't you dare think that I want to be here! This is all your stupid fault! You should've run when u had the chance...
Naruto: *snores loudly* Zzzz....
Sasuke: *mutters* Stupid dobe, makes a lot of noise even when he's unconscious...
Suddenly (yes suddenly - bad things always happen suddenly ne?!) a very old and grouchy nurse appears.
NURSE: *screeches* What are you doing here?! Where's your uniform! And that hair of yours! Where's your hat? Come on, don't just sit there! Are you a newbie? You must be a newbie! One of those interns right? Don't you know the rules around here?!
Head nurse grabs a shocked Sasuke by the wrist and leads him into another room. Did I mention that the nurse was deaf and blind?
NURSE: *impatiently* Hurry up hurry up! Get dressed! We can't have you looking like that...
Sasuke: *stammering* But I'm not...
NURSE: *screams* Arghh you're so slow! Let me help you!
Nurse grabs Sasuke, and rips his clothes off...

(nooo.... none of that kinky nurse with Sasuke stuff! tut tut, dirty reviewer's imaginations...)

... then throws on a nurses uniform upon the poor hyperventilating boy - complete with white hat, short skirt and stockings. (don't ask how they got put on)
NURSE: *squints* There you go! Perfect! Now get back to work!
Nurse grabs the poor boy, and flings him into Naruto's room with super human strength. Then she storms off.
Sasuke meanwhile loses his footing from the unexpected throw, and ends up collapsing... On top of a bed... Naruto's bed... His head against Naruto's neck and his legs somehow entwined with the blonde's...
Naruto: *wakes up* Arghhhhh! *looks at Sasuke* Why such an ugly nurse?!
Sasuke knocks the blonde boy out to stop his screaming. Naruto groans.
Kakashi: *appears with a poof* Wahhhhhhhh *mouth drops* This is better than I thought! *frantically snaps away with his camera* Sasuke you dirty boy you! I didn't know you liked to play dirty kinky nurse games... *wink*
Naruto groans again, loudly this time.
Kakashi: *nosebleed and drools* I guess he's enjoying it...
Kakashi disappears before Sasuke could retaliate. Sasuke screams on the verge of insanity.

Thanks for reading ^^

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