Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Will You Promise To Love Me ❯ Heaven's Forgiveness ( Chapter 22 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

They were at a lost for words. What could they possibly say that would change anything right now? Sasuke stood miserably and forsaken in front of his lost lover. There was nothing the others could say in order to ease the pain Sasuke already felt. Tsubaru of course would have been thrilled to hear here competition for Sasuke's love was out of the way, but seeing Sasuke now, distant and empty was far more dismembering than what she had expected. Even if she were able to convince Sasuke to marry her, there was no chance the Uchiha could ever learn to love her in the way she had hoped.

Neji too had nothing he could say that would erase the past. He cared about Naruto too, but blaming all this on Sasuke would probably earn him a ticket straight to hell. But he didn't feel this was mostly Sasuke's fault, after all it was his brother that did this. And at the moment Sasuke would have to agree Naruto would be better off just going out with Neji. If he could somehow revert to the past, he would have pushed Naruto as far away as possible. It would have been better to love from afar than love the dead. "Sasuke..." Neji tried to speak. It was pointless just standing hear wishing Naruto would suddenly stand up and laugh at them for being so depressing.

"It's all my fault!" Sasuke suddenly screamed, frightening both Tsubaru and Neji. The Uchiha quickly dropped to his knees and hurriedly pulled the motionless form into his chest with his one good arm. "I've always been an asshole to him and even when I try not to be, I end up killing him!" Sasuke couldn't hold back the tears that threatened to drown him. He clung to Naruto desperately, his arm squeezing tightly around the blonde's limp form as he buried his head into Naruto's spiky hair. He felt sick to his stomach. How could he live with himself knowing Naruto was gone and all because of him?! "Naruto! Please come back!" Sasuke begged. He'd give anything to have Naruto alone right now. Even if Naruto was to watch up and never remember him again, he could live with that. He just didn't want Naruto to be gone!

Tsubaru turned pale and stiff. She couldn't bare to watch any longer. So in a brief moment of bravery, Tsubaru took off running. Maybe if she found Hokage Tsunade, she would be able to bring Naruto back. Neji felt the awkwardness of now being left alone here with Sasuke and left too. He had to inform those lazy slackers they called shinobi of the rogue ninja they let get into the town.

"I promised you..." Sasuke whispered sadly. He pulled the form back only a little so he could view Naruto's perfect face. He lightly threaded his fingers through Naruto's hair. "I'm so stupid Naruto. I always make promises I can't keep. I couldn't even kill Itachi on my own, and I couldn't protect you." He thrust his head against Naruto's chest, shaking it in frustration. It took him a little while to realize the small trembling beneath his body. "Naruto?!" He quickly pulled back, seeing his lover's frail form lightly shivering. He wasn't sure if he was actually trying to move or that he had don't something wrong.

"..." Sasuke leaned closer to Naruto's lips. He could have sworn he heard mumbling. "That....tickles..." Came the hesitate and delicate whisper of his lover. Sasuke pulled back instantly in shock, his tears seeming to stop just as quick.

"Naruto! Why you little shit! You had me scared to death!" He yelled angrily, letting go of Naruto's form, allowing it to fall to the ground.

"Ow! That hurt teme!" Naruto groaned softly. He weakly brought his hand up to brush the back of his head.

"Of course it hurt you jerk! I hate you!" Sasuke lashed out, standing up quickly. "I could have died with worry! Don't act like it was nothing a moment ago!" Sasuke exclaimed, the tears continuing once again. Naruto stared up with mild disbelief. Was Sasuke really all that worried about him? "I-I thought I lost you!" The raven haired boy wailed, biting his lower lip to keep from blubbering like a baby. "I can't stand to lose you; I love you so much you idiot!"

Despite having heard this before, Naruto's heart fluttered wildly in his chest. "I'm sorry Sasuke." Naruto replied. "It wasn't like I intended to pass out after being straggled." He had to point out. He was very fortunate to have even woken up after the battle. It was lucky for him a little of his chakra had returned, otherwise he would have died because Kyuubi would not have been able to help him.

"Just shut up." Sasuke grumbled. He came back down, pulling Naruto back into his embrace. "I'll really kill you if you ever do something that stupid again!" He threatened. Though the words were harsh and menacing, Naruto couldn't help but smile at the thought of how much Sasuke had ached at his supposed death. "You better make this up to me later." Sasuke quickly added with a snarl. Naruto only chuckled at the demand.

Tsunade had returned with Tsubaru and had tended immediately to all the students. Of course Naruto and Sasuke remained longer in the hospital for chakra exhaustion. It was great for Naruto, who had been looking for an excuse to take a break from class work. But Sasuke was pissed about having to miss all the games and fall behind. But he wasn't looking forward to returning to school where all his fan girls could fawn over him with pity. He had already received over a hundred gifts of flowers and candies. Though it was made clear that after Naruto had won the battle that they weren't allowed to flirt with Sasuke, but that didn't stop them from pretending they were just being friendly.

After a week of recovery, Sasuke and Naruto were finally released from the hospital. But Iruka had been insistant on making sure Naruto never got into any danger like that again, even if it meant having him stay an extra week in his room. Though Iruka called it protection, Naruto knew the truth. This was obviously his punishment for all the worrying he had caused Iruka and probably for something else Naruto could not yet place his finger on.

Neji sighed wryly as he stood before the nursing hall in which Tenten was staying at. He felt he oweed her an apology the most since she had gone through the trouble of fighting all for him, but she would be even more angry if she found out what happened to Naruto. She probably didn't want to really kill him, but she certainly wanted to beat him in a match. Finally deciding it would be for the better, Neji lightly tapped on her room door and let himself in. A slight relief came over him as he found her finally awake, though not looking any better than she had been before.

Tenten sat up in bed, hearing that she had a visitor. Her face lit up with red when she saw Neji step through the door. And as if suddenly growing back all her self-consciousness, Tenten hysterically started brushing down her hair as though it had fallen out of place during the battle and straightening her clothes, which had been changed while she slept. Accepting that she could make herself any more appropiate, she settled down and looked at Neji with soft brown eyes. "Oh, hi Neji..." He muttered sweetly, giving him her most sincere smile.

Neji frowned actually. He knew she was trying so hard to impress him, yet he had been so blind and eager to go after Naruto to notice a perfectly fine admirer right here. "Hey Tenten, are you feeling any better?" He asked politely, only making her blush further. Neji actually cared about how she was doing?! Maybe she should get injured more often.

"Uh...I'm fine...but shouldn't I be asking you that?" Tenten questioned. She noticed Neji looked to be in just as bad of a shape as she was. His hair was ruffled and his clothes were slashed and dirty. Even though she worried about neji, she was saddened because she knew the fight he went through must have been on Naruto's behalf.

With soft sigh, Neji approached her bed and sat on the edge. "Look Tenten..." He started. She looked up in his eyes and had noted a certain warmth in them that she had never seem directed to her before. She flinched suddenly when his hand fell on top of hers and lightly tightened around her fingers. "I'm terribly sorry for the ordeal I put you through. I knew you liked me, I've always known. But I would ignore it most of the time. Even when I saw you desperaely fighting Tsubaru I didn't want to believe you were doing this all for me." He cleared his throat quickly. "What I'm trying to say is...I want to acknowledge your feelings." Neji explained. Tenten titled her head a bit in confusion, only making Neji more frustated with his words. "I may not like you the way you like me, but...I can try. I know I said I loved Naruto before, but now I'm really beginning to believe that we weren't met to be. You should have seen Sasuke fighting for Naruto just a few days ago; he was determind like nothing I had ever seen. So maybe, the love I have wan't as strong as his. Just maybe...my love isn't the type of love Naruto needs right now. However, I do realize I have someone wanting my love right in front of me."

Tenten felt her heart jump into her throat. Was this Neji's way of asking her out? Though his feelings weren't as strong, he could learn to love, right? It wasn't impossible, just not as common. Tenten smiled gingerly. "Thanks Neji, you don't know how much this means to me." She leaned forward and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. She was thrilled to see that Neji had recoiled or pushed her away and merely accepted the embrace. Maybe everything was right with the world again?

To Be Continued...

A/n: Man, I get so frustrated always near the ending of all my fanfics. I'm just afraid to end it, but sometimes I think they are needed. Anyway, sorry for the delay. And yes, the next chapter will be the final chapter, which will most likely end up being a lemon. So I really hope you enjoyed reading my fic, thanks so much for reviewing and sticking with me this far, see you soon.