Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ There's a Magic Spell in Smiles ❯ Do What You Think Is Right ( Chapter 3 )

Hi! It's Kyuubi-kun here. I want to thank all of you for your support. I mean… 67 reviews in pretty much three days is a lot for me and it makes me feel really happy and special.

 

All right, I WILL be answering reviews at the end of this chapter, so just stay tuned to that and you'll find it! Um… oh yeah, I'm introducing `my' Sasuke. He's different… and yet the same… as in the manga. I don't know. I never thought I was good at characterizations.

 

Anyways, enjoy!

 

The Magic Spell in Smiles

Chapter 03: Do What You Think is Right

By Kyuubi-kun

 

In another part of the Fire Country, one shinobi looked in the distance, standing at the top of a tree. He was tall, with pale skin and dark eyes that flashed red whenever anger got the better of him. His spiky hair was in the same style that it had been years ago - when he had been a member of the shinobi of Konohagakure.

 

He knew that there was no way for him to return to that place any longer. After all - he had left that life behind. He had dropped everything for power.

 

Silently, he wondered if he regretted those times, even now. Even after five years, Uchiha Sasuke was not completely sure of his loyalties. He made it seem as though he were completely loyal to Orochimaru, but was he? Was he really as loyal as he made it seem?

 

Did he still harbor feelings for that village in the distance? Did he still feel as though he loved a certain blonde that he knew was still there?

 

Sasuke wasn't sure. He didn't know if there was anything he could do in the coming weeks to stop the fight that was bound to happen. He had been ordered by Orochimaru to prepare for battle, as the snake wanted to attack his homeland.

 

Yes, Konoha had been where he was born - had been where he was raised. In a way, Konoha had been the place he had died.

 

After finding someone who loved him, he had left. He knew why he had done so.

 

But did Naruto know why? Did Naruto think that he had played with the boy's emotions? Did Naruto hate him?

 

A stirring occurred deep in the brunette's chest. He smiled softly at the stars.

 

So you think that the mere thought of him will bring back this heart long ago lost, do you, Stars? He called silently to the heavens above him. The stars did not answer him with words, but he felt the wind sweep across the treetops, brushing across his face. He felt the forlorn emotion that that breeze carried.

 

And something told him that that emotion came from Naruto.

 

Naruto didn't hate him, did he? The blonde could never truly hate someone, Sasuke knew. Sasuke should have been the first person Naruto hated, but he knew that in order to hate someone you loved, you had to be stupid or truly weak.

 

After all, he had felt such emotions long ago.

 

And he knew that he was weak. That's why he was here, under the tutelage of Orochimaru. He was weak. Orochimaru didn't help him get stronger. Sasuke knew this. However, it had never occurred to him to return to the place where his love lay.

 

He would never return there - never to that time when they were friends, or when they had confessed their love.

 

He could not go back there.

 

He was not welcome there. And even if he was, he would not return.

 

After all, how could you return to a place that you once destroyed? It went against all of the laws of reality. Even if he chose to believe in Naruto's love for him, he could not go back.

 

Sasuke was not ready to step into an illusion where he could live in happiness. He knew he was weak because of it, but he no longer cared for such emotions. He hoped that Naruto was not going to be in the village when he and Orochimaru's armies attacked.

 

The boy would not be safe.

 

Sasuke would never let any harm befall the blonde willingly.

 

So much had changed, though - so much.

 

He knew that he still loved Naruto - but did the Uzumaki still love him? It was a never ending cyclone of thoughts that had taken over him for five years.

 

Five long years… since he had told Naruto “I love you” and then disappeared two days later.

 

He was weak.

 

He knew that.

 

But there was nothing he could do to fix it.

 

He wasn't a hero, he was a coward. He was a failure to the Uchiha name, to the Konoha name, and to Orochimaru's name. He could give no help to anyone.

 

He knew that.

 

He knew many things - he knew that he was a failure. He knew that if he should ever return to Konoha, he would not be accepted. He knew that Naruto did not love him any longer.

 

Sasuke still loved Naruto, though. The thought of Naruto was the only thing that kept him alive in these dismal days. The thought of a rivalry, a friendship and a love that he had left behind for power.

 

There was no way that the Uchiha could return to Konoha. He had left that place in his memories… left it in a time where everything was perfect.

 

Why did he leave?

 

The question had plagued him for many years, but Sasuke already knew the answer to such a thing. He had left to protect Naruto. He had chosen that day to confess to Naruto because of something that had happened in the night before. It had all started out with Kakashi's lecture the afternoon after he and Naruto had fought.

 

Wire wound itself around the tree that Sasuke was sitting in. Before he could move, he was tied to the trunk, unable to get anywhere. Looking in front of him, he saw his teacher, Kakashi standing there, holding one end of the wire in his hand.

 

“What's the meaning of this?” Sasuke growled, still struggling fruitlessly against the wires. They weren't cutting into his skin… yet… but that would probably be fixed soon.

 

Kakashi just stared down at him with that bored look in his eyes. “If I didn't do this, you'd run away,” he told Sasuke. “You aren't the type to listen quietly while I preach.”

 

“Tch,” Sasuke spat out, refusing to bother acknowledging the man.

 

“Sasuke… quit seeking revenge,” his teacher began. Sasuke glared at Kakashi with the coldest look he could muster. Kakashi seemed unfazed by it. “In this line of work… I've seen just how bad guys like you can get. In the end, those who tasted revenge were not satisfied… It ended in tragedy. You'll only hurt and suffer more. Even if you are successful in your revenge, all you'll be left with is emptiness.”

 

Sasuke had lost it when he had heard Kakashi speak. “What the hell do you know?” he screamed. “Don't talk to me like you understand!”

 

“Hey… calm down...” Kakashi was trying to tell him. He ignored his teacher.

 

A cruel smirk came to Sasuke's lips. “What if I were to… kill the one you love most?!” he sneered. “How far would you stray from what you just said? I can make you feel true pain!”

 

Kakashi was silent for a moment before he answered. “That would work, however… unfortunately for me, no such person exists,” he began. Sasuke could feel the rage boiling up even more in his blood as he stared at his teacher.

 

But Kakashi was not finished. He smiled at Sasuke with that strangely calming and happy smile that Sasuke knew all too well as he spoke. “Those people have already been killed,” were the words that left Kakashi's lips.

 

Sasuke could only stare at his teacher.

 

Shaking his head, Sasuke still wondered how the people back home were doing. Was Kakashi still smiling like that? That smile…

 

Sasuke could remember how that smile always used to infuriate him. It always angered him to see that smile.

 

That one time, when Kakashi was talking to him had been the only time he had not felt anger at seeing that smile. Kakashi knew what it felt like to have his friends killed - knew what it felt like to lose his family, but yet he still knew how to smile!

 

How can he be so strong? Sasuke wondered to himself. How can Kakashi be able to smile like that when saying something like that? That fact had always bothered him. That innocent smile.

 

Another person that Sasuke knew had that smile - the smile that told everyone that nothing was going to get him down, that nothing was going to hold him back from his dreams.

 

Uzumaki Naruto had a smile like that. How could he have given up people like that? Sasuke was no longer sure. They had… they had formed who he was, had become close enough to him for him to love them more than life itself. Naruto had earned the spot as his best friend.

 

Sasuke could still remember the day when he had walked away from that friendship. The words echoed in his head as he stared towards Konoha, where that boy was.

 

((Kyuubi-kun: I am very sorry for putting a note right here. I tried so many other possibilities, but they didn't work. Now, listen closely. If it is a memory, then it will be in parentheses. These will be the different voices for each person. Their name is in the format that their words will be in. Uchiha Sasuke. Uzumaki Naruto))

 

 

“Became your friend? Then why?”

 

“That is why…”

 

“…?”

 

“That is why it is worth killing you…”

 

“I don't quite get it but you seem serious about killing me, don't you? Sasuke…”

 

“I said this before, but even you were waiting very anxiously for this, right? Neither Kakashi nor Sakura are here right now. There won't be anyone to stop things like last time.”

 

“...”

 

“I'll say it once more… I will kill you!”

 

“… Bastard! I'll… BEAT YOU BACK TO YOUR OLD SELF!”

 

--

 

Still… there's no doubt about it… you're serious…Seriously… can you… can you kill me so calmly? Sasuke… In his head now, he seriously plans to kill me… Really… Really, seriously…

 

“Do you know, Naruto… that is both you and your opponent are first-class ninjas, you can only read inside each other's minds when your fists me? There is no need for words. You're naïve, aren't you, Naruto?”

 

“How…?”

 

“Can you read the true mind? My mind!”

 

--

 

... Sasuke… I always knew you were a loner… I… in the beginning I was relieved because I thought you were the same as me… In fact, I wanted to talk to you straight away… Besides, I was glad.

 

But… you didn't speak. You could do everything. Also, you always had everyone…

 

Because we were too different… regrettably; I decided you would be my rival. I didn't want to lose… because I was called a loser. I thought that all the time. Even when we became Team Seven, I thought the same… I stubbornly continued to lie… but…

 

I always wanted to be like you. I aspired to be like you… because of that… That time… I was truly glad. You acknowledged me. Since those were the first words…but our fists didn't have to meet for me to understand. From that time, we haven't spoken.

 

We…

 

How are we friends?

 

But… if you seriously want to kill me… even if those words from before were serious… I don't understand… maybe I thought I was your only willing friend…

 

“It's too late now!! Naruto!”

 

After all… maybe I was the only one who thought we were friends… because of that… I… I will not give up… Sasuke…

 

But… I'm not sick…

 

For some reason, I don't understand him, but… I won't let Orochimaru… take you…

 

“You prevented me from hitting your heart at the last second… but that was pointless… I've impaled your right lung.”

 

“You cannot use your right arm now. It is even difficult to breathe. You cannot make seals or use that jutsu.”

 

--

 

“Sasuke! You won't go to Orochimaru! Even if I have to break the bones in your arms and legs, I will stop you!”

 

Th… this is Naruto? What is this pressure? What the hell is that crimson chakra anyway? Is he… a monster?

 

“What the hell… are you?”

 

“A friend.”

 

 

“Wake up, already! If you're still not sure, I'll break you like a stick and bring you back immobile!”

 

“Shut the hell up… what do you know about me? Someone like you without family or siblings…YOU HAD NOTHING IN THE FIRST PLACE! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT ME? HUH?!”

 

“…!”

 

“We suffer because of our bonds! You don't know how it feels to lose them.. you…!”

 

“I don't understand about real families and brothers… but, when I'm with Iruka-sensei, I wonder… I wonder… if it feels like being with a father…”

 

“…..”

 

“When I'm with you…”

 

(“Dumbass! Dumbass!

 

“What did you say? You numb nut!”

 

“I ain't going to lose to you, dammit!”

 

“Keep talking…”

 

“Haha, look at that!”

 

“Hmph.”)

 

“I wonder… if it's like being with a brother…”

 

“Why… why do you go this far for me?”

 

“For me… it's one of the first bonds I've ever had. That's why I must stop you…”

 

“Come… Naruto. Then… I will break that bond!

 

And the fight dragged on…

 

((Kyuubi-kun: Just as a note… we're back to the normal format. That was just for this memory. Gah… that memory is an abridged version of the text in chapters 226 to 228. Damn… that took a long time to type. And then, of course, I had to edit all the unnecessary parts because even I got mad with it.))

 

Sasuke sighed as he stared across the great expanse that lay before him. A blanket sewn with trees, mountains, lakes and fog. This was a place that he had not felt around him for many, many years. He had been in the Village of Sound until now. For five long years, he had been there.

 

The only reason that Orochimaru had not taken over his body was because Sasuke would not give it to him until he had sought revenge on Itachi.

 

Revenge. The words of his esteemed pervert of a teacher came back to him once more.

 

“Even if you are successful in your revenge, all you'll be left with is emptiness.”

 

Maybe you are right, Kakashi-sensei, he thought to himself, but I am too far gone to even have hope any other path. The moment I complete my life's goal, I will be killed, and my body is Orochimaru's.

 

Naruto had tried his hardest to stop Sasuke, that Sasuke knew - but he had not been prepared with the Sasuke that he had met that day.

 

Naruto…

 

Even just thinking about the name brought a sharp pain to Sasuke's heart - especially after recalling the words of their final conversation - their final fight.

 

He was cruel. He wanted to break off Naruto's hope of ever following him… but from Sound spies placed within the Hidden Village of the Leaf, that was not so.

 

Nothing was as it was supposed to be.

 

Naruto was supposed to forget about him completely.

 

Naruto was supposed to hate him.

 

But according to those spies that had infiltrated the Leaf and managed to gain trust within the villagers, that was not so.

 

According to them, Uzumaki Naruto had traveled quickly through the ranks, under the tutelage of Jiraiya - another of the sannin, much like Orochimaru.

 

According to them, Uzumaki Naruto had devoted the remainder of his life to finding Sasuke.

 

According to them, Uzumaki Naruto didn't care anymore for the ideals that he had once believed in so diligently. He only cared to find Sasuke and bring the Uchiha home.

 

Why, Naruto? Sasuke thought, feeling the pinprick of tears in the corner of his eyes. He hardened his eyes, not allowing them to fall, cascading softly down his frozen cheeks. He would not let himself show weakness.

 

It didn't matter that he knew he was weak. Appearances can be deceiving and he had to keep up the appearance that he was strong.

 

Naruto…

 

The blonde was the Uchiha's last thought before Sasuke turned and marched quickly back to camp, where he would be going over battle strategies and the like. He probably would not sleep again tonight.

 

Even since leaving Konoha, Sasuke hadn't gotten much sleep. It didn't really matter to him, though. He didn't want that sleep - not if it would bring him visions of what could have been.

 

Shaking slightly, the Uchiha recomposed himself and set his mind once again on the upcoming battle. Anything besides that would be too painful to think about.

 

Preview for Chapter Four: Don't Let Your Horizon Sink Out of Sight

 

“Don't worry about me, Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto assured the jounin. “Pretty soon, everything will be over.”

 

Kakashi felt a flash of warning go off in his head at these words. “You're not going to commit-” he began.

 

Kyuubi-kun's Korner!

 

All right minna-san, I decided that I would release them whenever I feel like - the chapters I mean. This entire One-Week promise thing I can't do. Believe me - this isn't the first time I've tried it. I tried it with Smile, Empty Soul all those months ago… guess what happened? 13 chapters were released within two days. However, I'm not going to make it that snappy either. Maybe I'm mean, but I want to give some time for me to breathe and for all of you to review.