Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ To Regain What Was Lost ❯ chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: littleolmee 
Sasuke's thoughts and feelings without Naruto and his memories of his time with Naruto. Warning: Boy X Boy interaction, WAFF & lime, no actual sex.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Action / Shounen | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 09.18.2006 | Updated On: 10.06.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 8.3K | Visits: 744 | Status: Completed
Sasuke's thoughts and feelings without Naruto and his memories of his time with Naruto. Warning: Boy X Boy interaction, WAFF & lime, no actual sex.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Action / Shounen | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 09.18.2006 | Updated On: 10.06.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 8.3K | Visits: 744 | Status: Completed
Ch 5: beta
Blanket disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to Naruto or any characters associated with the anime/manga. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto.
A/N WARNING: This story contains adult situations, slash pairing (Sas/Nar) & (Kak/Iru), talk of character death, and bad language. Story contains altered events from story line after vol. 32, in the manga. Some spoiler information contained as some characters used are not introduced until later chapters. Japanese words will be translated at the bottom of the page. If you are bothered by slash pairing, not interested in reader spoilers, or not of age to be reading such material then please push the back button now. Please consider leaving a review or comment about the story. Reviews and comments are welcome but no flaming please, anything not to your liking expressed in this warning is your clue to push the back button now.
My deepest thanks to Jaded Lady for her work as beta on this story. I appreciate all your hard work.
'thinking'
"talking"
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It had been a long and quiet journey for Sasuke without his blonde companion. He found during his journey that no matter how many times he reminded himself that Naruto could take care of himself that he was still worried about what was going on with Naruto. Several times Sasuke found himself staring in the direction of Konoha, thinking about going to check on Naruto. He always quickly reminded himself he could never return to Konoha. To do so would be a death sentence.
It did not matter that he had never done anything against Konoha, even when he was under Orochimaru's control. The fact still remained that he was a missing-nin that had abandoned his village. He had no doubts that if he was ever found he would be assassinated. The only thing he could do was to remain far from any ninja villages. Besides his blonde lover was a trained ninja, Naruto had studied with him these last several years under the same teachers. Naruto could find his way home all on his own if he wanted to come back. That knowledge did nothing to stifle his desire to go after Naruto and bring him home, but Sasuke was determined that this time he wasn't going to do anything to influence Naruto's decision on what he chose to do.
Sasuke knew he had been too forceful in the past when it came to Naruto, that was why he had decided to give his lover the time and space he needed by letting him return to Konoha. Sasuke had done what he set out to do; with his brother's death his clan had now been avenged. The rest of his life was now his to live how he wanted to. He had hoped to share it with Naruto, but he wanted Naruto to be there because it was what the younger ninja wanted, not because Sasuke had made the decision for him.
Sasuke decided that perhaps he had matured some since the time he had taken Naruto to be with him. Why else would he figure he needed to let Naruto make up his own mind? Before Naruto had met up with the Konoha shinobi’s it hadn't been an issue, of course Naruto wanted to be with him. But now with his mind in such confusion it was for the best that Naruto decided what it was he wanted out of life on his own. Leaving him to go to Konoha with Neji, Lee, and TenTen to make up his own mind about where and what he wanted to do with his life had been the only thing Sasuke could think of to do to allow Naruto to see all sides of what had happened when Naruto demanded to know the truth.
Sasuke worried what Naruto would decided, would he understand the whole truth? In fact from Sasuke's point of view there were many sides to the truth. Like a crystal reflecting the sun, depending on where you stood or how you held the truth would determine what it looked like. He knew to some that his way of thinking seemed like a cop-out but he had come to know that as fact of life. When faced with identical situations how people reacted would depend on how they saw it and what they had been through in their own lives.
On one hand it was true leaving Konoha to go to Orochimaru had been a mistake. Sasuke knew he had come very close to loosing his body and soul to that devil but at the time he left all he could see was Konoha and its people holding him back from giving his beloved family the revenge he could hear their spirits calling out for. He knew some of his feelings had come from the curse but those people in Konoha who damned him for his choices had not went through the horrors he had and had not suffered under Orochimaru's curse. Unless they walked in his footsteps they would never be able to understand why he did the things he did.
By going he had been able to learn a lot of techniques that he would never have learned if he had stayed in Konoha. Also living how he did under the criminal Sennin's control had prepared him in a way to be more open to the life he would come to lead with Naruto. Living without friends, without real companions made Naruto being with him more precious than it had been before. If Sasuke hadn't went through everything he had endured he would never have been able to see what his relationship with Naruto meant to him.
If he hadn't taken Naruto and changed his memories so he'd stay with him than the training, his revenge, the future he and Naruto had planned, even the very relationship that they had would never have happened. He knew he might have to pay for the lies he told Naruto in the beginning but he could not bring himself to feel badly about using the forbidden jutsu on his friend.
The only thing he ever felt remotely bad about had been his slip up during the process. Still even that had allowed Naruto to be carefree and have the childhood the blonde had never had while in Konoha. In the past Naruto grew up alone without anyone to care for him or accept him. This time Naruto had Sasuke, his dobe friend had lived these last several years knowing he was the most precious person in the world, at least to Sasuke.
Sasuke believed he had done the right thing to remove Naruto from people like that Sai character. The little dobe had grown into someone that many looked upon with lust in their eyes. Even with his protection to Sasuke's dismay Naruto had still received many pinches to his round little bottom and had perverts bothering him. If he hadn't taken Naruto who knew what would have happened had he stayed in Konoha without Sasuke to look after him.
Sasuke's imagination painted him a lovely picture of Naruto down on his knees, naked. His face red with embarrassment and some other unnamed emotion as it rested on his arms that were lying against the ground while his cute little bottom was pushed high into the air. He was panting and crying out as his body was being shoved forward by that dark-haired shinobi from Konoha that Sasuke had found touching him. The ninja Konoha had replaced him with, the one named Sai, had one hand on Naruto's back, as if holding him down and he had that infuriating smile on his face.
Sasuke's Sharingan flashed as he clenched his hands into fists just from the thought of another person touching Naruto in such a manner. Sasuke had refrained from doing such things with Naruto for fear that the blonde wasn't ready for such a large step and he certainly would never take Naruto so roughly as his imagination showed that other man doing. Shaking his head he came out of his treacherous thoughts, Sasuke silently vowed he would kill anyone who dared to do such things to Naruto. With their home now in view Sasuke stomped the rest of the way.
Four days after Sasuke had left Naruto he finally made it to their home. The home they had built wasn't anything like the house Sasuke had lived in before his clan's massacre but Sasuke was rather fond of the place. They had built it with the promise that they would return after they defeated his brother and live together for the rest of their lives here in this forest. That promise of a future together certainly made up for what the home lacked, the fact that it was really more of a one bedroom hut then a proper home didn't really matter.
Their home had three rooms; the first room was like a living room and kitchen combined. The fire they used to cook with was also used to heat the home. They sort of had a bathroom, with a tub they had to heat water to fill and a homemade shower, the stool was modern but they had to bring water in to flush it. They had been sure to build a septic system for the house even if they hadn't put in running water yet. The only other room was their bedroom; it was only big enough for two homemade cabinets that served as closets for their clothes and a large mattress they slept on together. They had used all the tricks they had learned while they were studying under their first sensei to build their home. Akihoro-sensei had insured that ninja skills were not the only thing he had taught them. He had been sure to teach them about everything in life they need to know to survive on their own. Even if the house was simply and the work had been hard the year they had spent building and living in it before leaving to face Itachi had been one of the happiest times in Sasuke's life.
During their travels they had come across the civilian village that lay at the opposite edge of the forest. This calm forest valley sat at the foot of a mountain range far from the ninja nations. He and Naruto had been staying in the civilian village doing odd jobs to earn money for supplies when Naruto had decided to explore the forest. The blonde shinobi had fallen in love with this clearing and they ultimately built their home there. 'It is a wonderful spot to live.' Sasuke admitted. It was close enough to the village that they could get there within a day if they needed supplies but far enough away that they didn't have to worry about the prying eyes of the villagers.
Walking up to the house he unlocked the door pushing it open, laying his pack down he called out, "I'm home." It was a habit he had picked up from Naruto. At the sound of someone snorting at him he jerked around coming face to face with his clone standing behind him in the doorway. His double dropped the two provision packs inside the house while giving him a rather strange look. Speechless Sasuke blinked at his clone that had been with him during the trip. "Pathetic." His clone said shaking his head at him, drawing out its own kunai his clone stabbed it's self so it could poof away. Irritated Sasuke snorted, he couldn’t believe he had just been insulted by a copy of himself. Sighing, he admitted he had been rather pathetic during the journey back.
He could just imagine Naruto at Konoha; he was probably driving them all nuts by now. He knew they would be tempted to treat Naruto like a child, not used to dealing with someone who spoke whatever was on their mind or acted on their emotions and impulses like the blonde did. It was true next to any other trained shinobi Naruto was almost child-like but it had nothing to do with his abilities as a ninja or his lack of being able to take care of himself. Sure Sasuke was worried about him but that was because Naruto was naive and very trusting. Sasuke's concern was Naruto would get used by someone, he knew better than to underestimate Naruto's abilities.
. . . . Flashback . . . .
They were traveling through a dense forest in an unnamed area near the Land of Rain, Sasuke stayed to the path that had been pointed out to him while Naruto fluttered around him. At first Sasuke had worried about Naruto leaving his sight but the younger boy had proven during their travels that even if he didn't act like a ninja he had the skills of one and there was no reason to worry about him. Every so often Sasuke could catch Naruto's form flickering in and out of his sight. Whatever caught Naruto's attention would end up leading him from the path. Many times Sasuke would see Naruto following a bird so he could listen to its song or in hopes to catch one of its feathers. That was another thing, Naruto was always picking things up that caught his interest be it a feather, a stone, or a flower and would rush back to show Sasuke his latest treasure.
Sasuke jerked to a stop when Naruto's upside down smiling face came into view. Naruto snickered as he hung upside down from a large tree branch that stretched out above the path.
Naruto had snuck ahead when he noticed the tree. It had a large limb that stretched above the trail Sasuke was following. Unable to resist the chance to play a joke on Sasuke, Naruto used his chakra to run up the side of the tree and onto the leafy limb to wait until Sasuke reached the tree so he could surprise him. As Sasuke approached Naruto allowed himself to slip around the limb so he was hanging upside down in Sasuke's path.
Sasuke was tempted to scold Naruto but the memory of making the younger boy cry last time he had was still fresh in his mind. It was his fault after all his blonde friend was how he was. If he hadn't screwed up when doing the memory implantation jutsu Naruto wouldn't be this way. Well, he would to a point because the blonde had always been immature in Sasuke's mind but not as bad as he was at present. Instead of scolding Naruto, Sasuke rolled his eyes at him and as he passed by him he flicked his earlobe as punishment.
"Sasukeee . . . ." He heard Naruto whine, glancing back he found Naruto had jumped off of the limb and was now standing in the middle of the path watching him walk away. Naruto was pouting and holding the ear he had flicked. Smirking Sasuke continued on his way knowing Naruto would soon be by his side again.
Of course he was right and soon Naruto was walking beside him. "Bastard. That hurt you know." Naruto chastised him. Still smirking Sasuke nodded, agreeing that he did know. "You don't care you hurt my ear do you?" Naruto asked though he acted as if he already knew the answer. "I'll show you. I think I should just . . . ." Naruto trailed off suddenly stopping in the middle of the path, Sasuke stopped to look back at his companion the smirk fallen from his face. His blonde friend was stand still his eyes closed and his head cocked listening to his surroundings, when Naruto would stand like that it reminded Sasuke of an animal suddenly catching the sounds of its prey.
Sasuke stopped as well to listen but couldn't hear anything. He wasn't upset that he couldn't, Naruto had very good hearing and often could hear things Sasuke couldn't. Sasuke figured it had to do with being the vessel for the demon fox Kyuubi. The dark-haired shinobi knew Naruto had many talents that came from being a vessel.
Just as abruptly as he stopped Naruto's eyes popped open and he darted off away from the path, hell bent on following whatever it was he was hearing. Seeing that Naruto wasn't going to stop Sasuke hitched his pack up on his shoulders and took off after the blonde. He could just make out the orange of Naruto's clothes as he darted through the woods. Sasuke could hear it now; the sound of a young child calling for help, pouring on the speed Sasuke finally matched his companion's pace as they came to a break in the tree line. Breaking out of the woods Sasuke skidded to a stop beside Naruto, who had his fingers curled like claws into the dirt to stop himself. Both ninjas panted staring wide eyed at the edge of a deep gorge.
Taking a deep breath Sasuke reached over and bopped Naruto on top of the head. Grabbing hold of his abused head Naruto growled at him. "What the hell was that for teme?" Pushing himself to stand Sasuke brushed the dust off of his clothes. "That's for not watching where you were going. You almost fell in dobe." Bolting up Naruto dusted himself off as well. "Well excuse me. I didn't see you realizing that gorge was there until the last minute either. Mister, I’m so perfect." Stomping around Naruto yelled. "Ugh, I just hate it when you act like your sooo great." Crossing his arms over his chest Naruto turned away. "Sasuke acts like he's perfect. Like his farts don't stink."
Sasuke watched in amusement as Naruto went on mumbling to himself. Quickly Naruto turned back to him and pointed his finger at him. "I've smelled your farts plenty of times and they stink Sasuke." The raven-haired older boy sighed and closed his eyes at his companion’s accusation. Just as Sasuke was ready to remind Naruto that his farts weren't pleasant either they were stopped by a voice.
"Please, do you think you could help me over here?" A soft childish voice said from an old bridge that ran the length of the chasm. Naruto dropped his backpack, completely forgetting about the argument he had been waging, running toward the bridge with Sasuke right on his heals.
There in the middle of the derelict bridge was a young boy whose foot had fallen through one of the rotten boards. Naruto started across toward the boy only to have Sasuke jerk him back. "You jerk, what's wrong with you? Can't you see the boy needs help." Pulling Naruto back to his pack Sasuke rummaged inside till he brought out a rope. "At least use your head fool. That bridge is unstable, tie this around you and I’ll hold it in case the bridge gives." Sasuke instructed him.
Taking hold of one end Naruto worked on tying it around him as they headed back over. "You need to learn to use your brain dobe. Unless you wanted to take the chance of falling to your death." Sasuke said just as Naruto started to step out on the bridge. Glancing over his shoulder Naruto smiled back. "But if I died then I wouldn't have to smell your farts." The smaller shinobi pointed out, carefully taking a step out on the bridge.
Sasuke shook his head at his companion as he wound the end of the rope around one of the support poles that was driven into the ground at the entrance of the old bridge. "Keep hold of the suspension cord that runs the length of the bridge Naruto, even if the boards give way the cords still seem to be in good shape." Sasuke instructed while he kept a tight hold on the rope attached to Naruto as he slowly moved across the rickety bridge toward the boy trapped there.
Holding tight to the suspension cords like Sasuke had told him too, Naruto made his way towards the young boy in the middle of the bridge. Looking back Naruto couldn't help but smile at Sasuke; he was slowly feeding line out to him. His companion's stance showed how uptight he was and he seemed to have an extremely tight gripe on the rope too.
It was times like this when Sasuke couldn't hide how he felt about him that Naruto loved. Their journey wasn't always peaches and cream. There were many times that their personalities clashed and Sasuke's drive to gain power so he could kill his own brother bothered Naruto. At first Naruto had wondered why Sasuke even wanted them to travel together, in those days Naruto had often thought of setting out on his own. The longer they were together though the more Naruto understood that Sasuke really did care about him, his dark-haired companion just had trouble showing it.
Several times Sasuke felt his heart leap up into his throat when a board would groan and splinter or outright break under Naruto's weight. Each time Sasuke braced himself worried that the bridge would give way and Naruto would fall. Naruto was the best one for this though; he was smaller than Sasuke and weighed less. Plus Naruto was much better dealing with people than Sasuke was, especially children. Sasuke sighed in relief when the blonde was finally beside the boy.
Naruto held tight to the suspension cord while looking over the predicament the smaller boy had himself in. Naruto smiled warmly to the younger boy when he looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "Don't worry, Naruto nii-san will save you." Naruto told the child as he took hold of his hand and attempted to pull him up. Naruto froze when the boy cried out in pain. Looking down he found the boys leg had not only broke through the board but also had large splinter sticking out of his leg, it was the largest splinter of wood that was catching. Biting his lip Naruto looked back at Sasuke.
Sasuke could tell the blonde was thinking about doing something stupid. "What's wrong?" He yelled knowing he had no way to stop Naruto. "He's got pieces of wood stuck in his leg and it's catching when I try to pull him through. I'm going to have to widen the whole." Naruto yelled back, releasing his hold on the suspension cord and moving to straddling the board the boy had fallen through. Sasuke sucked in a breath as the bridge swayed from Naruto's sudden movement. Channeling chakra into his feet and hands Sasuke tighten his grip. "You idiot, be careful!"
Naruto paid no heed as he pulled out his kunai and began chipping away at the rotten wood to widen the hole. "Wrap you arms around my neck . . . umm, what's your name?" Naruto asked not stopping in his task. Sniffing the smaller boy answered him after doing as Naruto said. "My name is Eiji." The boy replied pushing his face into Naruto's shoulder and rubbing against it. "Hey, don't get your snot on me." Naruto childishly chided as he finished widening the hole, returning his kunai to his holder he shifted his weight. "I'm going to stand up and pull you out of the hole Eiji. After your out I'm going to shift you around so I can piggy back you off the bridge. Okay?" Eiji nodded his head against Naruto's shoulder tightening his hold.
Carefully Naruto lifted Eiji up, watching his wounded leg as it came out of the board. Naruto smiled as Eiji's leg cleared the opening, straightening up he began to shift the boy around to his back. The combination of their weight proved to be too much for the old bridge; suddenly the boards he was standing on gave way.
Naruto's eyes widened as he felt the boards give way, he hadn't been able to move Eiji around to his back yet grabbing hold of the boy Naruto pulled him in close to his chest as he fell. They fell a short way before coming to a stop for a moment. It seemed the board the boy had been stuck in wasn't as rotten as the surrounding boards had been. "Oooow!" Naruto yelled as he fell onto the board he had been straddling.
Sasuke watched as the bridge gave way and Naruto fell. Wincing in sympathy Sasuke noted to himself Naruto was probably going to need a cool compress when he got back seeing how pale he looked. Sasuke gasped and pushed even more chakra into his feet when the other board between his friend's legs gave way dropping him and the little boy into the gorge. Sasuke gritted his teeth against the rope burn he was getting from trying to hold on. The rope caused the other boards to give way as well until Naruto was hanging by the cliff wall. Tying off the rope Sasuke went to the side and looked over.
Swinging slightly at the end of the rope was a very pale Naruto still holding the younger boy in his arms. Sighing Sasuke began pulling Naruto up, soon he was extending his hand to help the smaller shinobi up over the edge. Setting Eiji down on solid ground Naruto grasped himself and began to roll around on the ground. Chuckling Sasuke rolled his eyes while Naruto moaned about his humiliating pain.
Checking the boy's injuries Sasuke could tell he needed medical attention but he hated to use what supplies they had. If he and Naruto ended up having to face other ninjas looking to collect the bounty he was sure was on his head then they would need those supplies for themselves, plus he wasn't looking forward to having to find employment again to earn more money for supplies.
Any worries about supplies went right out the window as soon as Naruto recovered from his wound. The blonde had dug out their medical kits and was busy pulling out the wood and treating the wound before Sasuke could even voice his opposition. Naruto had obviously guessed what the look he was wearing was about because he stuck his tongue out at him. "If Eiji's family doesn't have replacements for what we used on him then I'll get a job and replace them myself." Naruto proclaimed repacking the kits and returning them to their packs. Squatting in front of Eiji, Naruto helped the boy get onto his back. "Point the way Eiji, I'll take you home. Grab our packs bastard." Naruto instructed taking off in the direction the boy had pointed out.
Sighing Sasuke grabbed both packs and moved to follow. Sasuke stayed behind Naruto listening to him talk to the boy like they were old friends. Naruto was that way wherever they went, always making friends with everyone and he never seemed to know when to shut his mouth.
"So Eiji, what were you doing out there on that bridge? It didn't seem very safe; does your family often use it?" Naruto asked making conversation with the boy. He heard the boy make a nervous sound before he answered. "No, I wasn't supposed to be near the bridge but I've always wanted to go to the other side of the gorge. I thought if I was careful everything would be fine. Guess I was wrong." Eiji admitted. "Grandfather is going to be so angry with me."
Naruto nodded that he understood. "Well I hope you learned your lesson. I'm sure your grandfather won't be too hard on you." He said hoping to alleviate some of the boy's worries. "You don't understand Naruto nii-san. Grandfather was once a powerful ninja, he was injured in the war so he had to stop but he is still a powerful man."
Sasuke stopped in shock of what he was hearing. This boy's grandfather was a shinobi? What if they were from the former Sound Village? If this man had been a ninja belonging to the Sound village and knew who he was, well it could mean problems for them. Sasuke knew there would be many who would hold a grudge against him. He was supposed to be Lord Orochimaru's vessel but he had run away before it could be done. Sound was attacked and defeated days later, many had been killed in the fighting and many more were captured and assassinated. Sasuke swallowed before he spoke up. "Do you know what village your grandfather was a ninja in?" The boy turned back to look at him and shook his head no. "Grandfather doesn't like to speak about it; he says he lost many friends and all of his family in the war."
Biting his lower lip in worry Sasuke ran up beside Naruto. "Naruto I'm sure Eiji can make it back to his family without us going with him. You've carried him this whole way, let's just leave him at the edge of his family’s place and head out. We've lost enough time on this." Turning to look at his friend Naruto gave him a dirty look for his suggestion. "Get real, Eiji is hurt badly. I'm not leaving him at the edge of his village for him to make it home on his own. Besides maybe his family will be gracious enough to put us up for the night. I'm sick of sleeping in a tent and I for one could use a nice home cooked meal."
Growling Sasuke clenched his hands into fists. "Dobe, quit thinking with your stomach." Naruto wrinkled his nose up at Sasuke and shook his head. "Stop being an asshole, look we're here."
Sure enough they had made it to a small cluster of huts there in the woods that the boy lived at. Eiji pointed out the hut near the middle, which naturally was his grandfather's hut. Sasuke could feel his stomach tie in knots as the approached. The place was almost unnaturally quiet. In an effort to gain someone's attention Naruto yelled. "Hey Eiji's grandfather! Come out here old man." Sasuke slapped himself in the forehead, leave it up to Naruto to insult someone before he even met them.
An old man using a cane exited the hut looking the boys over. "Eiji what is the meaning of this?" The old man asked giving the young boy a stern look. Eiji eeped and hid his face against Naruto's back. Sasuke looked carefully at the man, it was obvious this man hadn't been a ninja in a very long time, there was no way he had been a part of the Sound Village. Feeling braver about the situation Sasuke stepped forward. "We found this boy at the bridge that spans the chasm near your village sir."
Turning to Sasuke the man narrows his eyes. "I don't see any village here boy, only a group of huts." Sasuke narrowed his eyes in return before he could snap at the man Naruto butted in. "Hey old man, Eiji hurt himself playing on the bridge. He's not a feather you know, got somewhere I can put him?" Nodding the old man turned back to his hut. "This way, Eiji's folks went to trade at the village. Your mother won't be happy to find you hurt Eiji." Entering the hut Naruto went to a sitting cushion and placed the boy on it. Bring the boy some pain medicine the grandfather sighed. "Eiji, you know better than to play on that bridge and now you've brought strangers to our home." Eiji lowered his head. "I'm sorry grandfather but they are really nice." Smiling Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I'm Naruto and this grouchy bastard is Sasuke." He introduced earning a punch for his words. Rubbing his shoulder Naruto pouted at his companion’s treatment of him.
Bowing to the two young men the old man finally introduced himself. "It is a pleasure to meet you both. I am Akihoro. Thank you for helping my foolish grandson in his time of need. It would be my honor to have you both stay the night with us as reward for helping Eiji." Smiling brightly Naruto answered for them. "Yes." He said pumping his fist in the air. "A night in a real house. Thanks a lot Akihoro jii-san." Sasuke bowed in thanks but sighed at the thought of staying.
It was obvious Akihoro wasn't a solider from Sound but still Sasuke would be happier to stay away from people. "So where is everyone?" Naruto asked looking back out at the empty huts. Motioning for them to take a seat while he worked on dinner Akihoro explained. "The rest of the people went to one of the villages that surround this woods to trade for things we need. I being the oldest stayed with Eiji who is the youngest to watch over our homes." The old man explained added some more ingredients to the stew he had cooking over the fire.
After they ate dinner and Naruto helped put Eiji to bed for the evening they sat around the fire and had tea. To Sasuke's dismay Naruto began asking Akihoro questions. "Jii-san, Eiji told us you use to be a ninja. Which village are you from and why are you out here in the middle of nowhere instead of being there?" Sasuke gave Naruto a disbelieving look, he didn't want to talk to this old man about being a ninja. What if he found out who he was?
Akihoro sat down across from them having served tea, looking at Sasuke he narrowed his eyes as if measuring him, turning to Naruto he relaxed and smiled. "Yes I was a ninja a long time ago, I belonged to the Hidden Rain Village back during the great ninja war. Long before you two were born."
Sasuke relaxed, the boy had said his grandfather hadn't been a ninja since the war. A war that happened before they had been born. Sasuke could feel Akihoro's eyes on him again but ignored them in favor of drinking his tea. The old man was no longer a concern to him. If this man had not been a ninja for so long there was no way he could know of him.
Naruto watched as both Akihoro and Sasuke seemed to be testing each other and sighed. 'Why is everyone always interested in Sasuke's skills and not mine?' He wondered. 'I'm just as good of a ninja as Sasuke.' Pouting a bit Naruto called Akihoro's attention back to him. "Eiji said you stopped because you got hurt. So why are you living way out here in the middle of nowhere instead of being in your village old man?"
Akihoro laughed. "Full of questions I see. I lost my clan and many friends in those horrible wars. Then I lost my ability to be a ninja, I had nothing left to give my village so I retired and left so I wouldn't be a hindrance to my people." He explained, taking out an old pipe and lighting it up. "During a time of war the last thing they needed was more civilians to worry about, especially one that couldn't run." Akihoro said blowing a smoke ring. "I met a woman, a civilian, who could look past my injuries and we started a family together. The war worsened so we moved until we found ourselves out here in the middle of nowhere raising our children with several other families that were also tired of living in a land filled with wars." Akihoro looked down into his tea; ignoring both boys while he was lost in his past. "Back then there was always tension between the hidden villages. The daimyou's would argue and fight and would send both ninja and samurai to fight on their behalf, plus our Kage's would look to conquer other villages." Taking a small sip of tea the old man sighed returning his pipe to his mouth. "It was a hard time to be alive let alone be a ninja. I killed my fair share of people in the name of men I didn't even believe in so when I survived my injury that took my ability to serve I was not sad." Taking the pipe from his mouth the man leaned forward. "What of you two?"
Before Sasuke could stop him Naruto started in. "We used to live in Konoha. We were trained as ninjas as well but Sasuke's clan was killed. He lost everyone to their killer who is his own brother. So we're looking for sensei's to teach us so we can face his brother." Naruto stated. "Hey do you think you could teach us?" Shoving Naruto's shoulder Sasuke made him spill his tea. "Ugh, what was that for?" Giving Naruto a dirty look Sasuke said. "You talk to much dobe."
"So your looking for a teacher are you?" Akihoro asked. "Well, you did save my grandson's life. I made the rank of Special Jounin before I was injured. I could teach you a few things. If you can be patient with an old man. The harvest season will be on us soon and then winter. I'll make you boys a deal; stay till after the spring planting season and help in our fields and I will teach you all I know. You can live here in my hut till spring and you will be well feed. What do you say?"
Unable to believe how easily Naruto had talked the man into teaching them Sasuke nodded. This was what he had been hoping for though he for one would have never thought this old man would have been willing to help them. "Yes, no more tents for us." Naruto cheered drinking what was left of his tea.
True to his word Akihoro allowed them to live in his hut and in exchange for working in their fields the old man became their sensei. He taught them all they would ever need to know about living out in the wild. What herbs and other plants would help with sickness and injury; something a good ninja needed to know especially during the wars when supplies were limited. They were shown how to track and how to find their way when they were lost without having to ask for help. Akihoro taught them more about spying and information gathering. His specialty had been Taijutsu and he showed them many moves that would help with defense as well as attacks not only against other Taijutsu moves but also things that would work against Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. Besides all of this he and his extended family showed them many skills that would help them find work when they needed it.
Come spring he and Naruto left. Akihoro and his people were kind to them, especially to Naruto. Many times Sasuke felt that Akihoro might have not believed the story they gave him about why they were traveling. Though he never mentioned anything, the looks he would give Sasuke told him that the old man wasn't stupid. When they left Akihoro was sure to tell Sasuke in private that he was to take good care of Naruto and reminded him the blonde was his responsibility.
Akihoro gave a note to Naruto giving them direction to the man they were to deliver the note to. The man they were to go see was an old friend who owed Akihoro a favor; their sensei told them he had helped this man named Koji in the past. They had met in the days after Akihoro had been injured and he left his village but before he married and settled down. Koji became their second sensei as a favor to Akihoro and so their training went. Each man sent them to another till they felt they were ready to face Itachi.
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There had been so many times Sasuke had Naruto to thank for helping him. It was during those early days traveling with Naruto he had realized that only focusing on the pain of losing his family wasn't enough to motivate him. Naruto's presence and watching his improvement pushed Sasuke to try harder.
Sasuke's intention had been to protect Naruto from others who seemed to be out to use him when Sasuke first abducted him. Since Sakura obviously still ignored the blonde Sasuke had felt he was in the right to take Naruto away. If no one else cared about him then why shouldn't Sasuke take Naruto away and protect him? Even if no one else recognized the blonde's skills Sasuke knew that Naruto had the power to help him defeat his brother. Over time though their friendship developed into more, Sasuke found himself watching Naruto with different eyes.
Leaning against a tree beside Naruto, Sasuke panted trying to catch his breath after a round of sparring. Trying to catch his breath Sasuke closed his eyes. Soon they would begin their search for Itachi, Sasuke knew they were ready to face his brother but without supplies and some money they were not going to get very far. They had found this village in the civilian lands beyond Wind Country. They had made it this far towards the ninja nations by the fall season when they ran out of money. With the winter season fast approaching and no supplies they had began their search for work.
Luckily they had found work with the village woodcutter. His workers had been injured when a tree fell on them. With their ninja skills woodcutting wasn't a very dangerous job but cutting and pulling loads of wood from the forest all day would help build their stamina. Izanagi-san had been kind enough to allow them to move into his workshop and provided them with three meals a day and a small amount of income in exchange for their work. He had been shocked to see how they could walk up the side of the trees without assistance and the strength they both had compared to their size was amazing to all the villagers, but this was a similar reaction they had received in all the civilian villages that were not used to dealing with ninjas.
Normally they worked six days a week but this week was the beginning of some festival for the village so Izanagi-san had graciously given them the whole week off. He and Naruto had packed up a lunch and disappeared into the woods after breakfast. Currently they were both leaning against a large tree panting, their sparring match had ended in a tie.
Looking over at his companion Sasuke smiled. Naruto had his eyes shut, his cheeks were rosy from the cold wind blowing against them and his hair had flopped down into his face. For a while now Sasuke had noticed that his breath would catch in his chest when he watched Naruto. He had always watched his companion, Sasuke found the smaller ninja very amusing. Sasuke had never felt drawn to others like he did with Naruto though. Reaching over he pushed Naruto's hair back out of his eyes.
Feeling Sasuke touch him Naruto opened his eyes, recently Sasuke had been touching him more. Naruto didn't mind Sasuke touching him at all in fact he liked that they had become so close to one another that Sasuke felt he could be more open with him. Seeing Sasuke's small smile Naruto couldn't help but smile back at him.
Sasuke felt his breath hitch at Naruto's smile, the blonde always had the sweetest expression and most of the time those expressions, like this smile were for him and him alone. Being with Naruto warmed his heart in a way he had never felt before, careful so as not to upset the younger boy Sasuke leaned over and gently touched his lips to Naruto's. Never taking his eyes off of the blonde's he watched as Naruto's eyes widened at the touch then became hooded as he kissed Sasuke back.
. . . . End flashback . . . .
Sasuke walked into the bedroom, the trip back had been difficult for him, he really should have taken more time on his return but he had been worried about having to face Anubs from Konoha after Naruto had been found so he had kept moving. Looking into the bedroom at the large bed awaiting him he froze. Naruto had been the one to insure Sasuke had thought about his future after Itachi's death. Sasuke had not been concerned with what would happen after he faced Itachi but Naruto had insisted that they build a home so they had something to return to in the end.
Everything in his life was thanks to Naruto. All his training had been because of the blonde. The future he had built with Naruto was due to Naruto's insistence. His survival during his fight with Itachi, his recovery, even this very house he was standing in was thanks to Naruto.
They had been working in the civilian village working to earn money for their journey when Naruto decided that this place was where he wanted to live. They had fought a long time over the idea of staying, and it was Naruto who explored the forest and found the spot where their house now sat. Sasuke at first didn't want a permanent home but Naruto refused to take no as an answer. In the end Naruto persuaded him to build a home together by telling him that if his life was only focused on one thing he would forget about having a future and might throw his life away needlessly.
It was during their time in the nearby village that Sasuke began to accept he did want a future, not just revenge. The future he wanted was with Naruto. It took them a year to finish the house and during that time Sasuke and Naruto's relationship blossomed from shy touches and cautious kisses to them actually beginning to love on each other, although Sasuke always refrained from taking that last step. It had been in his plan that after the face-off with Itachi he and Naruto would return and continue their relationship. In fact if Naruto hadn't have met up with Neji, Lee, and TenTen right now Naruto would have been standing beside him in their bedroom.
Turning away from the bedroom Sasuke grabbed the provision pack that had their tent in it and walked out of the house. He couldn't stand the thought of sleeping in the home they had built together without Naruto. Sasuke sighed; part of him wondered if Naruto missed him and would return soon. He hoped while Naruto was looking for that truth he was so worried about that he didn't forget what they had shared together all these years. Of course Sasuke's reasons for doing what he did wasn't going to change the truth of those acts but the reasons it happened and what came from after didn't they count as much as the truth did?
Unrolling his sleeping bag Sasuke lay down in the sun to rest for awhile before pitching the tent. For Naruto's sake he was willing to stay a step behind while Naruto figured out what was in his heart. As long as Naruto remembered to trust in what they had found between them Sasuke knew they could be together again. If Naruto went back to Konoha to stay it would kill a part of Sasuke's soul but he would respect whatever decision Naruto made. Even if that decision was a life without him.
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kunai: throwing knife
daimyou: japanese feudal lord
Kage: word means shadow. Highest ninja position, leader of the village. Each village refers to their Kage by a different name reflecting the country they repersent
Ninjutsu: stealth skills which can range from element based attacks to simple diversions.
Genjutsu: illusion skills used to confuse an opponent or incapacitate them mentally.
Taijutsu: hand to hand combat skills used to damage and opponent externally or internally
Sharingan: copy wheel eye (doujutsu-bloodline limit of uchiha clan) capability to read and defeat all types of nin,tai, and genjutsu can copy almost any technique seen except for hijutsu. This is same for all the types of Sharingan.
dobe: dead last (Sasuke's pet name for Naruto)
jiji: grandfather, old man
teme: bastard (Naruto's pet name for Sasuke)
Blanket disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to Naruto or any characters associated with the anime/manga. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto.
A/N WARNING: This story contains adult situations, slash pairing (Sas/Nar) & (Kak/Iru), talk of character death, and bad language. Story contains altered events from story line after vol. 32, in the manga. Some spoiler information contained as some characters used are not introduced until later chapters. Japanese words will be translated at the bottom of the page. If you are bothered by slash pairing, not interested in reader spoilers, or not of age to be reading such material then please push the back button now. Please consider leaving a review or comment about the story. Reviews and comments are welcome but no flaming please, anything not to your liking expressed in this warning is your clue to push the back button now.
My deepest thanks to Jaded Lady for her work as beta on this story. I appreciate all your hard work.
'thinking'
"talking"
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It had been a long and quiet journey for Sasuke without his blonde companion. He found during his journey that no matter how many times he reminded himself that Naruto could take care of himself that he was still worried about what was going on with Naruto. Several times Sasuke found himself staring in the direction of Konoha, thinking about going to check on Naruto. He always quickly reminded himself he could never return to Konoha. To do so would be a death sentence.
It did not matter that he had never done anything against Konoha, even when he was under Orochimaru's control. The fact still remained that he was a missing-nin that had abandoned his village. He had no doubts that if he was ever found he would be assassinated. The only thing he could do was to remain far from any ninja villages. Besides his blonde lover was a trained ninja, Naruto had studied with him these last several years under the same teachers. Naruto could find his way home all on his own if he wanted to come back. That knowledge did nothing to stifle his desire to go after Naruto and bring him home, but Sasuke was determined that this time he wasn't going to do anything to influence Naruto's decision on what he chose to do.
Sasuke knew he had been too forceful in the past when it came to Naruto, that was why he had decided to give his lover the time and space he needed by letting him return to Konoha. Sasuke had done what he set out to do; with his brother's death his clan had now been avenged. The rest of his life was now his to live how he wanted to. He had hoped to share it with Naruto, but he wanted Naruto to be there because it was what the younger ninja wanted, not because Sasuke had made the decision for him.
Sasuke decided that perhaps he had matured some since the time he had taken Naruto to be with him. Why else would he figure he needed to let Naruto make up his own mind? Before Naruto had met up with the Konoha shinobi’s it hadn't been an issue, of course Naruto wanted to be with him. But now with his mind in such confusion it was for the best that Naruto decided what it was he wanted out of life on his own. Leaving him to go to Konoha with Neji, Lee, and TenTen to make up his own mind about where and what he wanted to do with his life had been the only thing Sasuke could think of to do to allow Naruto to see all sides of what had happened when Naruto demanded to know the truth.
Sasuke worried what Naruto would decided, would he understand the whole truth? In fact from Sasuke's point of view there were many sides to the truth. Like a crystal reflecting the sun, depending on where you stood or how you held the truth would determine what it looked like. He knew to some that his way of thinking seemed like a cop-out but he had come to know that as fact of life. When faced with identical situations how people reacted would depend on how they saw it and what they had been through in their own lives.
On one hand it was true leaving Konoha to go to Orochimaru had been a mistake. Sasuke knew he had come very close to loosing his body and soul to that devil but at the time he left all he could see was Konoha and its people holding him back from giving his beloved family the revenge he could hear their spirits calling out for. He knew some of his feelings had come from the curse but those people in Konoha who damned him for his choices had not went through the horrors he had and had not suffered under Orochimaru's curse. Unless they walked in his footsteps they would never be able to understand why he did the things he did.
By going he had been able to learn a lot of techniques that he would never have learned if he had stayed in Konoha. Also living how he did under the criminal Sennin's control had prepared him in a way to be more open to the life he would come to lead with Naruto. Living without friends, without real companions made Naruto being with him more precious than it had been before. If Sasuke hadn't went through everything he had endured he would never have been able to see what his relationship with Naruto meant to him.
If he hadn't taken Naruto and changed his memories so he'd stay with him than the training, his revenge, the future he and Naruto had planned, even the very relationship that they had would never have happened. He knew he might have to pay for the lies he told Naruto in the beginning but he could not bring himself to feel badly about using the forbidden jutsu on his friend.
The only thing he ever felt remotely bad about had been his slip up during the process. Still even that had allowed Naruto to be carefree and have the childhood the blonde had never had while in Konoha. In the past Naruto grew up alone without anyone to care for him or accept him. This time Naruto had Sasuke, his dobe friend had lived these last several years knowing he was the most precious person in the world, at least to Sasuke.
Sasuke believed he had done the right thing to remove Naruto from people like that Sai character. The little dobe had grown into someone that many looked upon with lust in their eyes. Even with his protection to Sasuke's dismay Naruto had still received many pinches to his round little bottom and had perverts bothering him. If he hadn't taken Naruto who knew what would have happened had he stayed in Konoha without Sasuke to look after him.
Sasuke's imagination painted him a lovely picture of Naruto down on his knees, naked. His face red with embarrassment and some other unnamed emotion as it rested on his arms that were lying against the ground while his cute little bottom was pushed high into the air. He was panting and crying out as his body was being shoved forward by that dark-haired shinobi from Konoha that Sasuke had found touching him. The ninja Konoha had replaced him with, the one named Sai, had one hand on Naruto's back, as if holding him down and he had that infuriating smile on his face.
Sasuke's Sharingan flashed as he clenched his hands into fists just from the thought of another person touching Naruto in such a manner. Sasuke had refrained from doing such things with Naruto for fear that the blonde wasn't ready for such a large step and he certainly would never take Naruto so roughly as his imagination showed that other man doing. Shaking his head he came out of his treacherous thoughts, Sasuke silently vowed he would kill anyone who dared to do such things to Naruto. With their home now in view Sasuke stomped the rest of the way.
Four days after Sasuke had left Naruto he finally made it to their home. The home they had built wasn't anything like the house Sasuke had lived in before his clan's massacre but Sasuke was rather fond of the place. They had built it with the promise that they would return after they defeated his brother and live together for the rest of their lives here in this forest. That promise of a future together certainly made up for what the home lacked, the fact that it was really more of a one bedroom hut then a proper home didn't really matter.
Their home had three rooms; the first room was like a living room and kitchen combined. The fire they used to cook with was also used to heat the home. They sort of had a bathroom, with a tub they had to heat water to fill and a homemade shower, the stool was modern but they had to bring water in to flush it. They had been sure to build a septic system for the house even if they hadn't put in running water yet. The only other room was their bedroom; it was only big enough for two homemade cabinets that served as closets for their clothes and a large mattress they slept on together. They had used all the tricks they had learned while they were studying under their first sensei to build their home. Akihoro-sensei had insured that ninja skills were not the only thing he had taught them. He had been sure to teach them about everything in life they need to know to survive on their own. Even if the house was simply and the work had been hard the year they had spent building and living in it before leaving to face Itachi had been one of the happiest times in Sasuke's life.
During their travels they had come across the civilian village that lay at the opposite edge of the forest. This calm forest valley sat at the foot of a mountain range far from the ninja nations. He and Naruto had been staying in the civilian village doing odd jobs to earn money for supplies when Naruto had decided to explore the forest. The blonde shinobi had fallen in love with this clearing and they ultimately built their home there. 'It is a wonderful spot to live.' Sasuke admitted. It was close enough to the village that they could get there within a day if they needed supplies but far enough away that they didn't have to worry about the prying eyes of the villagers.
Walking up to the house he unlocked the door pushing it open, laying his pack down he called out, "I'm home." It was a habit he had picked up from Naruto. At the sound of someone snorting at him he jerked around coming face to face with his clone standing behind him in the doorway. His double dropped the two provision packs inside the house while giving him a rather strange look. Speechless Sasuke blinked at his clone that had been with him during the trip. "Pathetic." His clone said shaking his head at him, drawing out its own kunai his clone stabbed it's self so it could poof away. Irritated Sasuke snorted, he couldn’t believe he had just been insulted by a copy of himself. Sighing, he admitted he had been rather pathetic during the journey back.
He could just imagine Naruto at Konoha; he was probably driving them all nuts by now. He knew they would be tempted to treat Naruto like a child, not used to dealing with someone who spoke whatever was on their mind or acted on their emotions and impulses like the blonde did. It was true next to any other trained shinobi Naruto was almost child-like but it had nothing to do with his abilities as a ninja or his lack of being able to take care of himself. Sure Sasuke was worried about him but that was because Naruto was naive and very trusting. Sasuke's concern was Naruto would get used by someone, he knew better than to underestimate Naruto's abilities.
. . . . Flashback . . . .
They were traveling through a dense forest in an unnamed area near the Land of Rain, Sasuke stayed to the path that had been pointed out to him while Naruto fluttered around him. At first Sasuke had worried about Naruto leaving his sight but the younger boy had proven during their travels that even if he didn't act like a ninja he had the skills of one and there was no reason to worry about him. Every so often Sasuke could catch Naruto's form flickering in and out of his sight. Whatever caught Naruto's attention would end up leading him from the path. Many times Sasuke would see Naruto following a bird so he could listen to its song or in hopes to catch one of its feathers. That was another thing, Naruto was always picking things up that caught his interest be it a feather, a stone, or a flower and would rush back to show Sasuke his latest treasure.
Sasuke jerked to a stop when Naruto's upside down smiling face came into view. Naruto snickered as he hung upside down from a large tree branch that stretched out above the path.
Naruto had snuck ahead when he noticed the tree. It had a large limb that stretched above the trail Sasuke was following. Unable to resist the chance to play a joke on Sasuke, Naruto used his chakra to run up the side of the tree and onto the leafy limb to wait until Sasuke reached the tree so he could surprise him. As Sasuke approached Naruto allowed himself to slip around the limb so he was hanging upside down in Sasuke's path.
Sasuke was tempted to scold Naruto but the memory of making the younger boy cry last time he had was still fresh in his mind. It was his fault after all his blonde friend was how he was. If he hadn't screwed up when doing the memory implantation jutsu Naruto wouldn't be this way. Well, he would to a point because the blonde had always been immature in Sasuke's mind but not as bad as he was at present. Instead of scolding Naruto, Sasuke rolled his eyes at him and as he passed by him he flicked his earlobe as punishment.
"Sasukeee . . . ." He heard Naruto whine, glancing back he found Naruto had jumped off of the limb and was now standing in the middle of the path watching him walk away. Naruto was pouting and holding the ear he had flicked. Smirking Sasuke continued on his way knowing Naruto would soon be by his side again.
Of course he was right and soon Naruto was walking beside him. "Bastard. That hurt you know." Naruto chastised him. Still smirking Sasuke nodded, agreeing that he did know. "You don't care you hurt my ear do you?" Naruto asked though he acted as if he already knew the answer. "I'll show you. I think I should just . . . ." Naruto trailed off suddenly stopping in the middle of the path, Sasuke stopped to look back at his companion the smirk fallen from his face. His blonde friend was stand still his eyes closed and his head cocked listening to his surroundings, when Naruto would stand like that it reminded Sasuke of an animal suddenly catching the sounds of its prey.
Sasuke stopped as well to listen but couldn't hear anything. He wasn't upset that he couldn't, Naruto had very good hearing and often could hear things Sasuke couldn't. Sasuke figured it had to do with being the vessel for the demon fox Kyuubi. The dark-haired shinobi knew Naruto had many talents that came from being a vessel.
Just as abruptly as he stopped Naruto's eyes popped open and he darted off away from the path, hell bent on following whatever it was he was hearing. Seeing that Naruto wasn't going to stop Sasuke hitched his pack up on his shoulders and took off after the blonde. He could just make out the orange of Naruto's clothes as he darted through the woods. Sasuke could hear it now; the sound of a young child calling for help, pouring on the speed Sasuke finally matched his companion's pace as they came to a break in the tree line. Breaking out of the woods Sasuke skidded to a stop beside Naruto, who had his fingers curled like claws into the dirt to stop himself. Both ninjas panted staring wide eyed at the edge of a deep gorge.
Taking a deep breath Sasuke reached over and bopped Naruto on top of the head. Grabbing hold of his abused head Naruto growled at him. "What the hell was that for teme?" Pushing himself to stand Sasuke brushed the dust off of his clothes. "That's for not watching where you were going. You almost fell in dobe." Bolting up Naruto dusted himself off as well. "Well excuse me. I didn't see you realizing that gorge was there until the last minute either. Mister, I’m so perfect." Stomping around Naruto yelled. "Ugh, I just hate it when you act like your sooo great." Crossing his arms over his chest Naruto turned away. "Sasuke acts like he's perfect. Like his farts don't stink."
Sasuke watched in amusement as Naruto went on mumbling to himself. Quickly Naruto turned back to him and pointed his finger at him. "I've smelled your farts plenty of times and they stink Sasuke." The raven-haired older boy sighed and closed his eyes at his companion’s accusation. Just as Sasuke was ready to remind Naruto that his farts weren't pleasant either they were stopped by a voice.
"Please, do you think you could help me over here?" A soft childish voice said from an old bridge that ran the length of the chasm. Naruto dropped his backpack, completely forgetting about the argument he had been waging, running toward the bridge with Sasuke right on his heals.
There in the middle of the derelict bridge was a young boy whose foot had fallen through one of the rotten boards. Naruto started across toward the boy only to have Sasuke jerk him back. "You jerk, what's wrong with you? Can't you see the boy needs help." Pulling Naruto back to his pack Sasuke rummaged inside till he brought out a rope. "At least use your head fool. That bridge is unstable, tie this around you and I’ll hold it in case the bridge gives." Sasuke instructed him.
Taking hold of one end Naruto worked on tying it around him as they headed back over. "You need to learn to use your brain dobe. Unless you wanted to take the chance of falling to your death." Sasuke said just as Naruto started to step out on the bridge. Glancing over his shoulder Naruto smiled back. "But if I died then I wouldn't have to smell your farts." The smaller shinobi pointed out, carefully taking a step out on the bridge.
Sasuke shook his head at his companion as he wound the end of the rope around one of the support poles that was driven into the ground at the entrance of the old bridge. "Keep hold of the suspension cord that runs the length of the bridge Naruto, even if the boards give way the cords still seem to be in good shape." Sasuke instructed while he kept a tight hold on the rope attached to Naruto as he slowly moved across the rickety bridge toward the boy trapped there.
Holding tight to the suspension cords like Sasuke had told him too, Naruto made his way towards the young boy in the middle of the bridge. Looking back Naruto couldn't help but smile at Sasuke; he was slowly feeding line out to him. His companion's stance showed how uptight he was and he seemed to have an extremely tight gripe on the rope too.
It was times like this when Sasuke couldn't hide how he felt about him that Naruto loved. Their journey wasn't always peaches and cream. There were many times that their personalities clashed and Sasuke's drive to gain power so he could kill his own brother bothered Naruto. At first Naruto had wondered why Sasuke even wanted them to travel together, in those days Naruto had often thought of setting out on his own. The longer they were together though the more Naruto understood that Sasuke really did care about him, his dark-haired companion just had trouble showing it.
Several times Sasuke felt his heart leap up into his throat when a board would groan and splinter or outright break under Naruto's weight. Each time Sasuke braced himself worried that the bridge would give way and Naruto would fall. Naruto was the best one for this though; he was smaller than Sasuke and weighed less. Plus Naruto was much better dealing with people than Sasuke was, especially children. Sasuke sighed in relief when the blonde was finally beside the boy.
Naruto held tight to the suspension cord while looking over the predicament the smaller boy had himself in. Naruto smiled warmly to the younger boy when he looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "Don't worry, Naruto nii-san will save you." Naruto told the child as he took hold of his hand and attempted to pull him up. Naruto froze when the boy cried out in pain. Looking down he found the boys leg had not only broke through the board but also had large splinter sticking out of his leg, it was the largest splinter of wood that was catching. Biting his lip Naruto looked back at Sasuke.
Sasuke could tell the blonde was thinking about doing something stupid. "What's wrong?" He yelled knowing he had no way to stop Naruto. "He's got pieces of wood stuck in his leg and it's catching when I try to pull him through. I'm going to have to widen the whole." Naruto yelled back, releasing his hold on the suspension cord and moving to straddling the board the boy had fallen through. Sasuke sucked in a breath as the bridge swayed from Naruto's sudden movement. Channeling chakra into his feet and hands Sasuke tighten his grip. "You idiot, be careful!"
Naruto paid no heed as he pulled out his kunai and began chipping away at the rotten wood to widen the hole. "Wrap you arms around my neck . . . umm, what's your name?" Naruto asked not stopping in his task. Sniffing the smaller boy answered him after doing as Naruto said. "My name is Eiji." The boy replied pushing his face into Naruto's shoulder and rubbing against it. "Hey, don't get your snot on me." Naruto childishly chided as he finished widening the hole, returning his kunai to his holder he shifted his weight. "I'm going to stand up and pull you out of the hole Eiji. After your out I'm going to shift you around so I can piggy back you off the bridge. Okay?" Eiji nodded his head against Naruto's shoulder tightening his hold.
Carefully Naruto lifted Eiji up, watching his wounded leg as it came out of the board. Naruto smiled as Eiji's leg cleared the opening, straightening up he began to shift the boy around to his back. The combination of their weight proved to be too much for the old bridge; suddenly the boards he was standing on gave way.
Naruto's eyes widened as he felt the boards give way, he hadn't been able to move Eiji around to his back yet grabbing hold of the boy Naruto pulled him in close to his chest as he fell. They fell a short way before coming to a stop for a moment. It seemed the board the boy had been stuck in wasn't as rotten as the surrounding boards had been. "Oooow!" Naruto yelled as he fell onto the board he had been straddling.
Sasuke watched as the bridge gave way and Naruto fell. Wincing in sympathy Sasuke noted to himself Naruto was probably going to need a cool compress when he got back seeing how pale he looked. Sasuke gasped and pushed even more chakra into his feet when the other board between his friend's legs gave way dropping him and the little boy into the gorge. Sasuke gritted his teeth against the rope burn he was getting from trying to hold on. The rope caused the other boards to give way as well until Naruto was hanging by the cliff wall. Tying off the rope Sasuke went to the side and looked over.
Swinging slightly at the end of the rope was a very pale Naruto still holding the younger boy in his arms. Sighing Sasuke began pulling Naruto up, soon he was extending his hand to help the smaller shinobi up over the edge. Setting Eiji down on solid ground Naruto grasped himself and began to roll around on the ground. Chuckling Sasuke rolled his eyes while Naruto moaned about his humiliating pain.
Checking the boy's injuries Sasuke could tell he needed medical attention but he hated to use what supplies they had. If he and Naruto ended up having to face other ninjas looking to collect the bounty he was sure was on his head then they would need those supplies for themselves, plus he wasn't looking forward to having to find employment again to earn more money for supplies.
Any worries about supplies went right out the window as soon as Naruto recovered from his wound. The blonde had dug out their medical kits and was busy pulling out the wood and treating the wound before Sasuke could even voice his opposition. Naruto had obviously guessed what the look he was wearing was about because he stuck his tongue out at him. "If Eiji's family doesn't have replacements for what we used on him then I'll get a job and replace them myself." Naruto proclaimed repacking the kits and returning them to their packs. Squatting in front of Eiji, Naruto helped the boy get onto his back. "Point the way Eiji, I'll take you home. Grab our packs bastard." Naruto instructed taking off in the direction the boy had pointed out.
Sighing Sasuke grabbed both packs and moved to follow. Sasuke stayed behind Naruto listening to him talk to the boy like they were old friends. Naruto was that way wherever they went, always making friends with everyone and he never seemed to know when to shut his mouth.
"So Eiji, what were you doing out there on that bridge? It didn't seem very safe; does your family often use it?" Naruto asked making conversation with the boy. He heard the boy make a nervous sound before he answered. "No, I wasn't supposed to be near the bridge but I've always wanted to go to the other side of the gorge. I thought if I was careful everything would be fine. Guess I was wrong." Eiji admitted. "Grandfather is going to be so angry with me."
Naruto nodded that he understood. "Well I hope you learned your lesson. I'm sure your grandfather won't be too hard on you." He said hoping to alleviate some of the boy's worries. "You don't understand Naruto nii-san. Grandfather was once a powerful ninja, he was injured in the war so he had to stop but he is still a powerful man."
Sasuke stopped in shock of what he was hearing. This boy's grandfather was a shinobi? What if they were from the former Sound Village? If this man had been a ninja belonging to the Sound village and knew who he was, well it could mean problems for them. Sasuke knew there would be many who would hold a grudge against him. He was supposed to be Lord Orochimaru's vessel but he had run away before it could be done. Sound was attacked and defeated days later, many had been killed in the fighting and many more were captured and assassinated. Sasuke swallowed before he spoke up. "Do you know what village your grandfather was a ninja in?" The boy turned back to look at him and shook his head no. "Grandfather doesn't like to speak about it; he says he lost many friends and all of his family in the war."
Biting his lower lip in worry Sasuke ran up beside Naruto. "Naruto I'm sure Eiji can make it back to his family without us going with him. You've carried him this whole way, let's just leave him at the edge of his family’s place and head out. We've lost enough time on this." Turning to look at his friend Naruto gave him a dirty look for his suggestion. "Get real, Eiji is hurt badly. I'm not leaving him at the edge of his village for him to make it home on his own. Besides maybe his family will be gracious enough to put us up for the night. I'm sick of sleeping in a tent and I for one could use a nice home cooked meal."
Growling Sasuke clenched his hands into fists. "Dobe, quit thinking with your stomach." Naruto wrinkled his nose up at Sasuke and shook his head. "Stop being an asshole, look we're here."
Sure enough they had made it to a small cluster of huts there in the woods that the boy lived at. Eiji pointed out the hut near the middle, which naturally was his grandfather's hut. Sasuke could feel his stomach tie in knots as the approached. The place was almost unnaturally quiet. In an effort to gain someone's attention Naruto yelled. "Hey Eiji's grandfather! Come out here old man." Sasuke slapped himself in the forehead, leave it up to Naruto to insult someone before he even met them.
An old man using a cane exited the hut looking the boys over. "Eiji what is the meaning of this?" The old man asked giving the young boy a stern look. Eiji eeped and hid his face against Naruto's back. Sasuke looked carefully at the man, it was obvious this man hadn't been a ninja in a very long time, there was no way he had been a part of the Sound Village. Feeling braver about the situation Sasuke stepped forward. "We found this boy at the bridge that spans the chasm near your village sir."
Turning to Sasuke the man narrows his eyes. "I don't see any village here boy, only a group of huts." Sasuke narrowed his eyes in return before he could snap at the man Naruto butted in. "Hey old man, Eiji hurt himself playing on the bridge. He's not a feather you know, got somewhere I can put him?" Nodding the old man turned back to his hut. "This way, Eiji's folks went to trade at the village. Your mother won't be happy to find you hurt Eiji." Entering the hut Naruto went to a sitting cushion and placed the boy on it. Bring the boy some pain medicine the grandfather sighed. "Eiji, you know better than to play on that bridge and now you've brought strangers to our home." Eiji lowered his head. "I'm sorry grandfather but they are really nice." Smiling Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I'm Naruto and this grouchy bastard is Sasuke." He introduced earning a punch for his words. Rubbing his shoulder Naruto pouted at his companion’s treatment of him.
Bowing to the two young men the old man finally introduced himself. "It is a pleasure to meet you both. I am Akihoro. Thank you for helping my foolish grandson in his time of need. It would be my honor to have you both stay the night with us as reward for helping Eiji." Smiling brightly Naruto answered for them. "Yes." He said pumping his fist in the air. "A night in a real house. Thanks a lot Akihoro jii-san." Sasuke bowed in thanks but sighed at the thought of staying.
It was obvious Akihoro wasn't a solider from Sound but still Sasuke would be happier to stay away from people. "So where is everyone?" Naruto asked looking back out at the empty huts. Motioning for them to take a seat while he worked on dinner Akihoro explained. "The rest of the people went to one of the villages that surround this woods to trade for things we need. I being the oldest stayed with Eiji who is the youngest to watch over our homes." The old man explained added some more ingredients to the stew he had cooking over the fire.
After they ate dinner and Naruto helped put Eiji to bed for the evening they sat around the fire and had tea. To Sasuke's dismay Naruto began asking Akihoro questions. "Jii-san, Eiji told us you use to be a ninja. Which village are you from and why are you out here in the middle of nowhere instead of being there?" Sasuke gave Naruto a disbelieving look, he didn't want to talk to this old man about being a ninja. What if he found out who he was?
Akihoro sat down across from them having served tea, looking at Sasuke he narrowed his eyes as if measuring him, turning to Naruto he relaxed and smiled. "Yes I was a ninja a long time ago, I belonged to the Hidden Rain Village back during the great ninja war. Long before you two were born."
Sasuke relaxed, the boy had said his grandfather hadn't been a ninja since the war. A war that happened before they had been born. Sasuke could feel Akihoro's eyes on him again but ignored them in favor of drinking his tea. The old man was no longer a concern to him. If this man had not been a ninja for so long there was no way he could know of him.
Naruto watched as both Akihoro and Sasuke seemed to be testing each other and sighed. 'Why is everyone always interested in Sasuke's skills and not mine?' He wondered. 'I'm just as good of a ninja as Sasuke.' Pouting a bit Naruto called Akihoro's attention back to him. "Eiji said you stopped because you got hurt. So why are you living way out here in the middle of nowhere instead of being in your village old man?"
Akihoro laughed. "Full of questions I see. I lost my clan and many friends in those horrible wars. Then I lost my ability to be a ninja, I had nothing left to give my village so I retired and left so I wouldn't be a hindrance to my people." He explained, taking out an old pipe and lighting it up. "During a time of war the last thing they needed was more civilians to worry about, especially one that couldn't run." Akihoro said blowing a smoke ring. "I met a woman, a civilian, who could look past my injuries and we started a family together. The war worsened so we moved until we found ourselves out here in the middle of nowhere raising our children with several other families that were also tired of living in a land filled with wars." Akihoro looked down into his tea; ignoring both boys while he was lost in his past. "Back then there was always tension between the hidden villages. The daimyou's would argue and fight and would send both ninja and samurai to fight on their behalf, plus our Kage's would look to conquer other villages." Taking a small sip of tea the old man sighed returning his pipe to his mouth. "It was a hard time to be alive let alone be a ninja. I killed my fair share of people in the name of men I didn't even believe in so when I survived my injury that took my ability to serve I was not sad." Taking the pipe from his mouth the man leaned forward. "What of you two?"
Before Sasuke could stop him Naruto started in. "We used to live in Konoha. We were trained as ninjas as well but Sasuke's clan was killed. He lost everyone to their killer who is his own brother. So we're looking for sensei's to teach us so we can face his brother." Naruto stated. "Hey do you think you could teach us?" Shoving Naruto's shoulder Sasuke made him spill his tea. "Ugh, what was that for?" Giving Naruto a dirty look Sasuke said. "You talk to much dobe."
"So your looking for a teacher are you?" Akihoro asked. "Well, you did save my grandson's life. I made the rank of Special Jounin before I was injured. I could teach you a few things. If you can be patient with an old man. The harvest season will be on us soon and then winter. I'll make you boys a deal; stay till after the spring planting season and help in our fields and I will teach you all I know. You can live here in my hut till spring and you will be well feed. What do you say?"
Unable to believe how easily Naruto had talked the man into teaching them Sasuke nodded. This was what he had been hoping for though he for one would have never thought this old man would have been willing to help them. "Yes, no more tents for us." Naruto cheered drinking what was left of his tea.
True to his word Akihoro allowed them to live in his hut and in exchange for working in their fields the old man became their sensei. He taught them all they would ever need to know about living out in the wild. What herbs and other plants would help with sickness and injury; something a good ninja needed to know especially during the wars when supplies were limited. They were shown how to track and how to find their way when they were lost without having to ask for help. Akihoro taught them more about spying and information gathering. His specialty had been Taijutsu and he showed them many moves that would help with defense as well as attacks not only against other Taijutsu moves but also things that would work against Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. Besides all of this he and his extended family showed them many skills that would help them find work when they needed it.
Come spring he and Naruto left. Akihoro and his people were kind to them, especially to Naruto. Many times Sasuke felt that Akihoro might have not believed the story they gave him about why they were traveling. Though he never mentioned anything, the looks he would give Sasuke told him that the old man wasn't stupid. When they left Akihoro was sure to tell Sasuke in private that he was to take good care of Naruto and reminded him the blonde was his responsibility.
Akihoro gave a note to Naruto giving them direction to the man they were to deliver the note to. The man they were to go see was an old friend who owed Akihoro a favor; their sensei told them he had helped this man named Koji in the past. They had met in the days after Akihoro had been injured and he left his village but before he married and settled down. Koji became their second sensei as a favor to Akihoro and so their training went. Each man sent them to another till they felt they were ready to face Itachi.
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There had been so many times Sasuke had Naruto to thank for helping him. It was during those early days traveling with Naruto he had realized that only focusing on the pain of losing his family wasn't enough to motivate him. Naruto's presence and watching his improvement pushed Sasuke to try harder.
Sasuke's intention had been to protect Naruto from others who seemed to be out to use him when Sasuke first abducted him. Since Sakura obviously still ignored the blonde Sasuke had felt he was in the right to take Naruto away. If no one else cared about him then why shouldn't Sasuke take Naruto away and protect him? Even if no one else recognized the blonde's skills Sasuke knew that Naruto had the power to help him defeat his brother. Over time though their friendship developed into more, Sasuke found himself watching Naruto with different eyes.
Leaning against a tree beside Naruto, Sasuke panted trying to catch his breath after a round of sparring. Trying to catch his breath Sasuke closed his eyes. Soon they would begin their search for Itachi, Sasuke knew they were ready to face his brother but without supplies and some money they were not going to get very far. They had found this village in the civilian lands beyond Wind Country. They had made it this far towards the ninja nations by the fall season when they ran out of money. With the winter season fast approaching and no supplies they had began their search for work.
Luckily they had found work with the village woodcutter. His workers had been injured when a tree fell on them. With their ninja skills woodcutting wasn't a very dangerous job but cutting and pulling loads of wood from the forest all day would help build their stamina. Izanagi-san had been kind enough to allow them to move into his workshop and provided them with three meals a day and a small amount of income in exchange for their work. He had been shocked to see how they could walk up the side of the trees without assistance and the strength they both had compared to their size was amazing to all the villagers, but this was a similar reaction they had received in all the civilian villages that were not used to dealing with ninjas.
Normally they worked six days a week but this week was the beginning of some festival for the village so Izanagi-san had graciously given them the whole week off. He and Naruto had packed up a lunch and disappeared into the woods after breakfast. Currently they were both leaning against a large tree panting, their sparring match had ended in a tie.
Looking over at his companion Sasuke smiled. Naruto had his eyes shut, his cheeks were rosy from the cold wind blowing against them and his hair had flopped down into his face. For a while now Sasuke had noticed that his breath would catch in his chest when he watched Naruto. He had always watched his companion, Sasuke found the smaller ninja very amusing. Sasuke had never felt drawn to others like he did with Naruto though. Reaching over he pushed Naruto's hair back out of his eyes.
Feeling Sasuke touch him Naruto opened his eyes, recently Sasuke had been touching him more. Naruto didn't mind Sasuke touching him at all in fact he liked that they had become so close to one another that Sasuke felt he could be more open with him. Seeing Sasuke's small smile Naruto couldn't help but smile back at him.
Sasuke felt his breath hitch at Naruto's smile, the blonde always had the sweetest expression and most of the time those expressions, like this smile were for him and him alone. Being with Naruto warmed his heart in a way he had never felt before, careful so as not to upset the younger boy Sasuke leaned over and gently touched his lips to Naruto's. Never taking his eyes off of the blonde's he watched as Naruto's eyes widened at the touch then became hooded as he kissed Sasuke back.
. . . . End flashback . . . .
Sasuke walked into the bedroom, the trip back had been difficult for him, he really should have taken more time on his return but he had been worried about having to face Anubs from Konoha after Naruto had been found so he had kept moving. Looking into the bedroom at the large bed awaiting him he froze. Naruto had been the one to insure Sasuke had thought about his future after Itachi's death. Sasuke had not been concerned with what would happen after he faced Itachi but Naruto had insisted that they build a home so they had something to return to in the end.
Everything in his life was thanks to Naruto. All his training had been because of the blonde. The future he had built with Naruto was due to Naruto's insistence. His survival during his fight with Itachi, his recovery, even this very house he was standing in was thanks to Naruto.
They had been working in the civilian village working to earn money for their journey when Naruto decided that this place was where he wanted to live. They had fought a long time over the idea of staying, and it was Naruto who explored the forest and found the spot where their house now sat. Sasuke at first didn't want a permanent home but Naruto refused to take no as an answer. In the end Naruto persuaded him to build a home together by telling him that if his life was only focused on one thing he would forget about having a future and might throw his life away needlessly.
It was during their time in the nearby village that Sasuke began to accept he did want a future, not just revenge. The future he wanted was with Naruto. It took them a year to finish the house and during that time Sasuke and Naruto's relationship blossomed from shy touches and cautious kisses to them actually beginning to love on each other, although Sasuke always refrained from taking that last step. It had been in his plan that after the face-off with Itachi he and Naruto would return and continue their relationship. In fact if Naruto hadn't have met up with Neji, Lee, and TenTen right now Naruto would have been standing beside him in their bedroom.
Turning away from the bedroom Sasuke grabbed the provision pack that had their tent in it and walked out of the house. He couldn't stand the thought of sleeping in the home they had built together without Naruto. Sasuke sighed; part of him wondered if Naruto missed him and would return soon. He hoped while Naruto was looking for that truth he was so worried about that he didn't forget what they had shared together all these years. Of course Sasuke's reasons for doing what he did wasn't going to change the truth of those acts but the reasons it happened and what came from after didn't they count as much as the truth did?
Unrolling his sleeping bag Sasuke lay down in the sun to rest for awhile before pitching the tent. For Naruto's sake he was willing to stay a step behind while Naruto figured out what was in his heart. As long as Naruto remembered to trust in what they had found between them Sasuke knew they could be together again. If Naruto went back to Konoha to stay it would kill a part of Sasuke's soul but he would respect whatever decision Naruto made. Even if that decision was a life without him.
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kunai: throwing knife
daimyou: japanese feudal lord
Kage: word means shadow. Highest ninja position, leader of the village. Each village refers to their Kage by a different name reflecting the country they repersent
Ninjutsu: stealth skills which can range from element based attacks to simple diversions.
Genjutsu: illusion skills used to confuse an opponent or incapacitate them mentally.
Taijutsu: hand to hand combat skills used to damage and opponent externally or internally
Sharingan: copy wheel eye (doujutsu-bloodline limit of uchiha clan) capability to read and defeat all types of nin,tai, and genjutsu can copy almost any technique seen except for hijutsu. This is same for all the types of Sharingan.
dobe: dead last (Sasuke's pet name for Naruto)
jiji: grandfather, old man
teme: bastard (Naruto's pet name for Sasuke)