Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Innocent Illusions ❯ Leaving ( Chapter 10 )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I do now own Naruto and Co.

 

 

Innocent Illusions

 

 

"Wait, what did you do?!" Naruto shouted at his pink-haired friend.

 

"I knew you'd be excited!" Sakura smiled at him and watched for Naruto's next actions, acting like a child who was waiting for a parent's approval. "Isn't this great?" Naruto looked down and breathed deeply.

 

"Yeah, this is really... great."

 

"What's wrong?" Sakura looked worried at her best friend. He wasn't as happy as she thought he would be.

 

"Nothing. I'm really...," Naruto faked a smile at Sakura, although it didn't really help to comfort her. "... happy."

 

"Oh, okay. Come on. Let's walk around the town instead of sitting in this ramen bar. You've already had a bowl of ramen to satisfy you. Now, let's go!" She smiled and then pulled Naruto off the chair before heading to Sai.

 

Sakura walked ahead of Naruto, wanting to reach their third companion quickly. Naruto dragged behind as he thought about what had happened. He had been eating a bowl of ramen when Sakura suddenly jumped him. She was practically shining with excitement when Naruto had saw her. Some of her happy attitude slipped into Naruto's mood, and he couldn't help but feel happy with her.

 

But then, she opened her mouth and told him the words that destroyed his happiness leaving shock as his new emotion.

 

If she had told him what she told him now about a couple of months ago, he would be thrilled, but now, it was awful. They were going on a mission.

 

The details of the mission were that they were supposed to visit the sand village with the information that the Akatsuki was somewhere nearby. Naruto immediately understood what was going on in Sakura's mind.

 

Wherever there's Akatsuki, there's Itachi. And wherever there's Itachi, there's Sasuke.

 

Of course, Naruto wondered how a pack of supposedly high intelligence ninjas couldn't find Sasuke's location, which was so close by, when Naruto had just mistakenly stumbled onto him. Sakura explained it to him unsuspectingly though. The scouting shinobi had been combing the lands far from the leaf. Looking every place possible, except close to home. Possibly following the trail of the Akatsuki members to find Sasuke.

 

It was time to end this. He couldn't let Sakura take him away from his already successful mission that was already taking place, but he still needed to be careful.

 

"Sakura, you're pretty excited." Sakura frowned and gave him a strange look.

 

"Aren't you? This is a mission! Remember how you were craving missions a while ago. Now, this isn't only a mission. It's a mission about Sasuke! You should be even more excited than me." A smile reappeared onto her face. Apparently, not even Naruto's strange attitude could keep her down.

 

"Yeah. Well, what if I... uhh... knew... where Sasuke was?" Suddenly, her expression turned serious.

 

"You know where Sasuke is?!" Sakura asked loudly as Naruto shook his head wildly to calm her down.

 

"I said 'if'. Only if, Sakura." Naruto felt relieved as her expression visibly relaxed. "So... uhh... what would you do?"

 

"That's easy. We would take him back."

 

"How?" Naruto asked the question he had been wondering all this time.

 

"I don't know. Just take him."

 

"What if he didn't want to come back?"

 

"Naruto," She smiled at him. "... didn't you tell me once that you would break every bone in his body to get him back. Or that even if you lost your head, your arms, your eyes, and everything else, you would still bring him back. We'd bring him back, Naruto. Whether he likes it or not." Naruto smiled wistfully at Sakura's motivated words. If she had said that to him before, he would've agreed wholeheartedly. But now, it just confirmed what he had earlier feared. Even if we force Sasuke back, it doesn't mean he will stay.

 

He couldn't go tell her. It would just ruin everything he planned. If he told her, she would tell everyone else, and Sasuke would be forced back. Sasuke would also discover Naruto's little secret, and Naruto didn't know how he would react. Sasuke would find out eventually, Naruto knew that, but it would just be better if he found out later. Then, after that, Sasuke would or might leave. Everything's too complicated.

 

But could he refuse Sakura's offer? Naruto was smart, and he knew that she would try to find out why he would refuse the mission, which would lead to her discovery of Sasuke. And that would lead to his predictions that were explained earlier. Also, she would be pissed as hell if he said no after he missed Sai's birthday, constantly blew her off to go to the bar, and attempted to try not to 'rescue' Sasuke.

 

So those two options were out, leaving Naruto with one last option. He had to leave on the mission. Naruto's fist clenched at the thought, but he knew it was unavoidable.

 

"Hey, Sakura. I have to get some things ready for this mission. So I'll meet you later?"

 

"Okay, bye." Sakura watched as her blonde friend sped off before shrugging it off as enthusiasm. She paused for a moment before turning around and shouting. "Remember! About three hours before we leave!" Sakura turned back to her previous path, knowing that Naruto had heard her.

 

Meanwhile, Naruto ran to the gate but turned his head as he heard Sakura's message.

 

"Aren't we going on a mission soon?" Sai asked when Naruto ran up to him.

 

"Yeah, I just have to do something before we leave." Sai nodded to him before Naruto left.

 

Naruto sped through the forest until he reached the bar. He walked in and immediately went to Kana.

 

"Sobame? It's your day off. Why are you here?"

 

"My... family wants to take me on a vacation, and I can't say no." She nodded at his words, but he could tell she wasn't very happy about it.

 

"Oh, very well. How long will you be gone?"

 

"I'm guessing about two weeks. Three weeks at most."

 

"Three weeks?!" Naruto forced on a smile as he tried to not anger his unhappy boss in any way.

 

"Two actually. I'm just saying that three weeks will be the longest I possibly might be out." Naruto talked to her a little longer, stating the facts but calming her down at the same time. He turned around to leave but saw Mina behind him.

 

"You're leaving?"

 

"Yeah." He paused as an idea came to him. "Hey, can you deliver a message to someone for me?"

 

"Let me guess. Him?" Naruto nodded at the implication of Sasuke. She offered her small notebook and pen as Naruto scribbled something onto it.

 

"Thanks. You're the best." Naruto sent her a smile. "Well, bye for two weeks."

 

"Okay." She smiled sadly at him. "Bye." After that, she left to serve the other customers that demanded her attention. Naruto walked out the door before looking back at the bar.

 

I wish I could tell him goodbye. Naruto thought before he ran off into the forest to return to Konoha and go onto a futile mission to find Sasuke.

 

"Bye...," He whispered to no one before he picked up his speed and arrived at the gate.

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

If Naruto had an extra hour before leaving, he could've probably stayed to see the next thing that happened. Sasuke walked through the door of the bar earlier than his usual timing.

 

But he needed to get his information quickly. No more time would be wasted on the girl.

 

He sat in his usual spot and waited for the girl to come. It was about another ten minutes before he realized something important.

 

In his haste to gather information, he had forgotten today that the girl had a day off. Sasuke sat there for a few more minutes before his mind reminded him of that little fact.

 

Sasuke frowned. He was frustrated enough. He didn't need this.

 

Quickly, he got up and walked to the door as his mind thought about his next moves and his next plans. Out of nowhere, he felt a small tap on his shoulder.

 

Sasuke turned around and looked down at the girl behind him before sending a glare her way for touching him. It was the same waitress who had dared to have physical contact with him before, but now, she actually got a chance.

 

"What?" He asked in annoyance.

 

"Oh, so you can talk." Sasuke was about to leave when she suddenly lifted up a little piece of paper. "Sobame wanted me to give this to you."

 

Swiping it out of her hands, he gave the girl another glare as she glared back at him. Although, it wasn't as intimidating as the Uchiha's.

 

After she had walked away, Sasuke looked down at the paper, noting the messy handwriting, and read:

 

Dear Sasuke,

 

I've been asked to go somewhere. So in other words, I'm taking a vacation. It's something I couldn't really say no to so I'm sorry. Whatever. I'm going to be gone for about two weeks. So you don't have to visit the bar and terrorize the waitresses/customers. You can start coming back around two weeks. Maybe a few days earlier, but it would be pointless because I wouldn't be here. Unless, you really do come here every single day to drink tea then you can come back. So... yeah.

 

Bye.

 

Sobame

 

Crumpling up the small sheet of paper, Sasuke walked out angrily. This screwed up everything he was planning.

 

Opening his palm, he felt a small satisfaction as he used his fire element to burn the paper into a small pile of ash.

 

Sasuke walked away as his mind planned a way around this little obstacle. This was wasting too much time. Itachi might eventually find out about his little deal if he didn't hurry.

 

In a blink of an eye, Sasuke vanished into darkness. His plans for the girl had changed.

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

Naruto changed into his fighting clothes and grabbed some other gear he would need on the mission. It would be a three-man pack going all the way to the Sand Village. The trip would usually take about three days, but now, it would be something along the lines of four days since they would spend some extra time scouting the area around them.

 

He ran through a checklist in his mind to see if he forgot anything. Searching for the items in his small pack, Naruto smiled when everything was there.

 

He walked out of his apartment and smiled at his two companions who stood waiting for him.

 

"Ready, Naruto?" Sai asked. Naruto nodded.

 

"Yup. How 'bout you guys?"

 

"Heh. We've been done for a long time. You're the one holding us up." Sakura smirked at him causing Naruto to smile back sheepishly.

 

"Oh... Well, we should go now."

 

"Okay." Sakura replied. They walked off toward the gate. Even though Naruto was leaving Sasuke behind, he couldn't help but feel some adrenaline rush through his veins. He hadn't been on a mission for months. It's not as if he liked missions more than Sasuke, but if Naruto had to go on this mission, he might as well look to the bright side. "You know the strategy?"

 

"Yeah." Naruto replied. "So we just head straight to the sand village as Sai's 'animals' scout the area around us for anything suspicious, right?"

 

"You got it!" They paused to look at their friend who was currently making ink-beings rise out of the scrolls.

 

"You doing good, Sai?" Naruto asked.

 

"Yeah, I'm almost done." They stood and waited until Sai stood up. "Done."

 

"Good. Let's go!" Naruto jumped out of the gate as the two behind him followed.

 

The air whipped hazardously around his face and objects flew dangerously past him. His body felt some sort of weightlessness as he flew through the air before landing on a tree branch and jumping up again to feel the same flying motion.

 

I would've loved this. Naruto thought. But I'd rather be with Sasuke.

 

Hopefully, Sasuke had gotten his message. It wouldn't help Naruto to come back to an angry Sasuke. A smile appeared on his face as a new thought entered his mind. At least he'll be waiting for me when I come back.

 

Suddenly, Naruto's speed increased as the urge to complete this mission increased also.

 

Sakura watched Naruto jump farther ahead of them. Even though she was excited before, Sakura had taken note of Naruto's weird behavior to her news. The question ran through her mind several times.

 

What was with Naruto and that bar?

 

As soon as they returned, Sakura was determined to find out. She turned her head to the side to look at Sai who was giving the same look toward Naruto. He must be thinking the same thing.

 

For some reason, Sakura had a feeling that the answer would come after she returned to the village.

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

A/N: Sorry this is so short. I planned to add more but decided it would be better off in the next chapter. Review.