The Little Things

Chapter 9 – knock on the sky
Naruto woke first, aware of his body in an absolute instant. The hand. Their heads closer than they had been the night before. He crept out of the bed, avoiding a confrontation even though Sasuke had woken just a moment after him.

They pretended, and walked around each other, barely saying good morning.

The morning drifted on lazily. A knock came at the door, an hour later, a 7 o’clock call. They had risen with a dawn that floundered against the morning sun. The haze of dew that had settled over the growing village dissipated. Naruto shouted his thanks at the retreating steps. They had another quick shower – who could resist the hot water, long forfeited – leaving as they had come with no luggage after paying the man downstairs. They said nothing about the bed not appearing, because that would have been an indirect confrontation of what had taken place, without their permission, last night.

“The offices won’t be open for another hour at least. Breakfast?” Naruto broke the silence. He got the feeling he was always breaking the silence. Sasuke nodded. Naruto felt oddly irritated.

They walked back to the inn, which made sense because the offices were on this side of the village.

The girl was stood at the bar again. Naruto gave her a shout, ordering breakfast, and they seated themselves, waiting. People moved in the background, but their focus was on the table, the candles gone for the time being.

“Got to sort out a place to stay…” Naruto murmured to himself, running down a list of things to do. Sasuke said nothing, waiting for breakfast. Naruto’s thoughts drifted to Gaara, remembering his promise. He’d do that first. Send off a bird to the Sand Village, make sure it was still there. He doubted Tsunade would let him leave town straight away, at least not without setting his affairs in order. She’d be pissed if he left without letting her know, and the council would scream murder – he still hadn’t solved the puzzle of the young voices. He could understand council members dying, but to be replaced by younger members? It made no sense to him. Unless Tsunade was sick and tired of playing politics with old men.

Their food came on a wide steaming plate. They picked up their chopsticks and began to eat, breaking off the loaf as they went. Hot coffee in a pot was poured into simple china cups, and breakfast was served.

Silence dominated their table, the clutter of the girl and the kitchen staff doing a poor job of covering it up. Naruto let his chopsticks rest once he finished, settling back to watch Sasuke who was eating at a leisurely pace.

“I’ll pay.” Naruto said, before scraping away from the table and heading to the bar. His tails lazed slowly behind him, swaying above the hem of his trousers. Sasuke gripped the china, scared all of a sudden of how much control it took not to clamp down on it completely, and cherish the feeling of it shattering in his hands. His hand shook, the coffee slopping over his hand. But he barely noticed the hot black liquid scald his hand.

He let it drop, before his hand closed into a fist. It sank into the table with a loud clank, but Sasuke was up, wiping his hand with a napkin and discarding it, stalking over to Naruto who had turned to look at him.

“You okay?” Naruto asked, and suddenly itched after the weapons the prison service had. This seemed familiar, somehow. Like…. Naruto grasped for it. The feeling, it was the same as finding Gaara in the kitchen that day. Sasuke let out a breath. Stilling himself, calming the emotions.

“Of course.” He said, tone flat. He wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all Naruto. But he wasn’t about to ask, not with their closeness from last night still a touchy issue.

It made things so damn awkward.

“I need to go to the post office. Send a carrier pigeon.” Naruto mentioned, opening the way for them to go their separate ways. Sasuke glared, and the tremor in his arm came back. He saw red, the red colour of Gaara’s hair.

“…I’m going to the passport office.” They stood for a moment, diligently ignoring the weird stares they were getting from patrons and the waitress.

“I’ll catch you later.” Naruto said. Sasuke looked at him then, assessing blatantly. He narrowed his eyes at the foot, tapping slowly.

“Dinner tomorrow evening. Eight o’clock.” He insisted. Naruto blinked, the foot stalling.

“Yeah. Sure. Here, right?”

“Yes.” Sasuke had a hold of him, as if he had clamped down on his wrist, but the distance between them was audible.

“Sure. Later.” Naruto escaped, slipping from the grasp out into the open day. He wove through the streets to the town centre, shaking off the feeling that he had just missed something.

Town planning really had clamped down on everything. Tsunade’s office was at the head of the pedestrianised area. Around it, the passport office, the post office, the bank, the housing service, the mission office – not open yet – the town hall with the council offices, the security department and other essentials.

He wandered up to the post office, watching the surge of people file into the different buildings, going to work, waiting for the services.

The post office was new, like everything else here. But the edges showed it to be hastily thrown together, unfinished, raw. It was still early, so the queue was relatively small. He had a lot of experience with the post office, having to come here for his war orphan fund. Before he knew it he was in front of the counter, talking to a lady who looked as if she already wanted to be somewhere else. The heat sank into the room, the humidity thickening. She fidgeted uncomfortable, dragging long hair back from her face.

“How may I help you?” she asked, feigning politeness. He knew it wasn’t specifically aimed at him.

“A carrier pigeon to the Sand Village.”

“Addressed to?”

“Gaara of the Sand. Box 532.”

“Message?”

“Arrived at Konoha, safe. Send reply with this pigeon. Naruto.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes.” He paused. “Has there been any communication from this village?”

“Yes, there has.”

“Recent?”

“Yes.” She replied. Naruto nodded thoughtfully, drew the last of his spare cash and paid for the carrier pigeon. Usually he would have just sent a letter, but he wanted an answer as quickly as possible, even if it was more expensive.

“Thanks.” He told her before leaving. He stepped back into the heavy sunshine. The thought of his cash dictated his next steps, leading him to Konoha’s main bank. He was doing well. It was still early, most people had yet to leave their houses, consequently the queue here too was short.

“How can I help you?” the man at the till asked when he finally reached the top of the line.

“I want to draw some cash from my account, as well as having a look at my bank statement.”

“Could I see your bank card, please?”

“Sure.” He produced it, passing it under the glass between them. The man gave it a look, typed his name into the computer.

“Would you like to update your address?”

“Eh. No, not at this time.”

“How much would you like to withdraw?”

“200, please.”

“I’ll print out your statement. Please be sure to update your address.” He handed over the cash, and Naruto signed the slip for it. It seemed so alien to be handling a pen again.

“Will do.” Naruto smiled genially. The man handed over a long sheet, eight pages long.

“Here you go. Will that be all?”

“Yes, thank you.” He took the statement and the money, heading to the back of the bank where a line of seats waited. He sat down, perusing his statement of the last year and a bit. He noted the war orphan fund had finished back in October. Just as well. He could shake off the ill-feeling of being the fox hiding with the kids.

The balance was favourable, he could afford to find a new flat. He’d have to wait a while before his mission money came through, but it wouldn’t be long now before he could relax slightly.

The next stop was the housing services. They had a list of landlords that had vacant flats to let. He chose a few, rang them up from a tollbooth outside and arranged to view them over the rest of the day. They were in different areas of the district, but the guy he spoke to gave him a simple map of the area. He made his way to them, getting to know the town as he went. He didn’t like the first three, on the simple fact that they were too close to the edge of Konoha, too far from the centre of things. The other building was on a floodplain near a river, and Naruto had spent enough time in hotter areas to know about monsoons and flash floods. He didn’t like rooms on the ground floor, anyway.

The next one turned him away, having already rented the flat in question. He made a lot of apologies, and Naruto calmly told him it was fine and that he’d find another place, thanks. He realised he had a lot of competition, people still finalizing places to live.
He took the next place. Not because he was desperate, but because of the area. Close to the town centre, far enough to be quiet at night. The old landlady was trying to make him as comfortable as possible, and the flat came partly furnished. Of course this meant if he destroyed anything – not that he planned to – it’d come out of his advance, but it was the nicest apartment he had seen so far. Or had rented, for that matter.

He took it without further hesitation, signing the lease. He asked to use the phone to cancel the other two properties he had earmarked, noting that she hadn’t reacted at all to his tails. He shrugged it off. A landlady who was nice? His luck was turning.
It was late in the day now, but there were a few hours left to the business day. He made his way back to the centre, picking up his stuff from the prison guards who gave him measured looks that warned him to behave.

He flashed them a sunny smile, sauntering out to shop for essentials. Bed sheets, food, kitchen utensils, towels, toilet paper, soap and a few clothes. He carried them back to his new flat, jiggling the key in the lock. The only thing he had from his old home – other than his clothes and the forehead protector – was a picture of the four of them, Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke and himself. He pinned it to the fridge with a magnet.

The photo was faded, crumpled around the edges. A copy of it sat in his old home, carefully framed in a present Iruka gave him. But he carried this one around with him, along with Tsunade’s necklace, a reminder of sorts of what he had promised Sakura that day, what he had decided himself. The team that they had been and would be again. The pain was still too new though, and nothing they danced around, pretended glibly in the morning hadn’t happened, his abandonment was still clear. Still created problems between them, and they hadn’t even seen Sakura yet.

He doubted she’d take it calmly. Her medical abilities had improved, and so had her fighting skills. And time spent with Tsunade had hardened her; he wouldn’t be surprised if the first thing she did to Sasuke involved smashing him into the mountain. Not that he didn’t deserve it, and in many respects it isn’t as if that fight hadn’t served to get rid of most of the immediate aggression, leaving just the underlying tension.

His last thoughts as he fell asleep were of the three of them, dunking their feet into a little stream that bubbled past. A whole hour of quiet peace had drifted away before Sakura had noted the silence. It all went downhill from there, but that hour of peace said everything he needed to know about what it felt like to be part of a team. That ultimate feeling he had been searching for. Being part of a whole. Sitting at a stream would never feel that way again without him, it was imprinted on them, on time itself.

He rose with the sun, compiling a list of things that he wanted to do today. He took a different route into town, one that climbed behind a steep rise, hiding the new ninja academy. A light smile appeared on Naruto’s lips as he proceeded into the foyer, knowing full well that if Iruka was working today he would already be in. Iruka was reliable, as regular as clockwork. He made his way down the hallway, noticing the diagrams as he went. Someone had been hard at work, he swore some of those diagrams had already gathered dust. He turned a corner to find himself staring straight into a classroom, an older man with the customary hair tied high on the head crouched over a table, hard at work. He approached, slow steps forward. Iruka looked up at the sound, staring at him for a moment, unbelieving.

“Iruka-sensei.” He called laughingly. “I said I’d be back, didn’t I?”

“Naruto? Come in, come in.” Iruka ushered him, standing to greet him. He met him on the other side of the table, taking hold of his hand and bringing him into his embrace. Naruto smiled. He hadn’t changed. “You finally got back from your mission!”

“No thanks to you, could’ve left me a note with directions.” Naruto pouted out of habit. Slipping into this role was easy, but the constraints pulled on his lungs. Told him he was too old to do this now. He wasn’t a cute kid anymore.

“Eh, sorry.” Iruka smiled. “But you’re here now!”

“Yeah. I saw the academy and figured you’d be here. You workaholic.” He accused. Iruka shrugged.

“I love my work.”

“I know, I know. Anyway, I need to do a lot today, but we should eat lunch sometime and catch up. By the way, Sasuke is back.”

“What?” Iruka frowned. “Uchiha’s back….” He muttered.

“Yeah. Surprised you haven’t heard. We must have pissed off the head of security by barging into the village unannounced two nights ago.” Iruka shook his head.

“Probably don’t want to publicise their failure.” Iruka paused. “You’ve been here for a day and you only come and see me now!” he pointed a finger, wagging it at him. Naruto smiled at the man.

“I’m a grown-up now, teacher.” He replied cheerfully. “Had to rent a flat and all sorts of other stuff, which reminds me I need to go now. Here, my house address.” He scribbled it down. “I’ll see you soon. Have a good day, teacher!” he mocked cheerfully. Iruka smiled.

Iruka hadn’t really changed. His voice perhaps a little lower, a little hoarser from shouting at kids over the years. Face drawn, but then everyone was tired – the evacuation would cling to the steps of the inhabitants for a while yet, at least until the sheen of impermanence had been wiped away.

It was still too early for most of Konoha, who’d undoubtedly just be waking up. He liked it though, it was a comfortable moment to have to himself. He wandered the streets, getting to know his new home until he began to see life seep out of the homes and into the town centre.

He went to the bank and updated his address, as well as drawing some more money. The mission money had yet to filter into his account, but he could wait.

He was in a good mood as he walked past the two guards at the front of the Hokage’s office. He doubted they were the same guards they had disabled last time, but he nodded at them anyway. They glanced over him, assessing the risk, but let him in unimpeded. They knew who he was. The office was already bustling, chuunin completing tasks for Tsunade. The room wavered, halted and resumed as he casually sauntered through.

The two guards in front of the doors to Tsunade’s office halted him.

“The Hokage is busy.” One told him. Naruto blinked.

“With whom?” he asked. The two guards looked at each other. The silent one shrugged.

“Haruno Sakura.” The guard told him. Naruto’s smile widened. He’d been saved the trouble of finding her.

“Great. Let me through please.” He didn’t really wait for an objection, barging into the room to see Sakura huddled with Tsunade over a scroll. More medic business.

“I’m busy.” Tsunade barked, not bothering to look up. Naruto grinned, coming to a standstill behind Sakura.

“Hey, Sakura.” He watched the shoulders tense slightly, a physical reflex she still hadn’t gotten over.

“Naruto?” she asked, somewhat unsure. Tsunade grumpily sat back.

“Honestly Naruto, you shouldn’t just barge into my room as if you were still—” she went on, but Naruto didn’t really hear the rest of it once Sakura stood and turned to him. She gave him a smile, a truly happy heartfelt smile. It couldn’t hide the tears she was trying to suppress.

“You’re alright!” she cried, bringing a hand up to her mouth. He smiled encouragingly, opening his arms to hug her. Her hair tickled his chin, but they hugged each other tightly before stepping back.

“Of course I am. You know me, stubborn and really hard to kill.” Naruto quipped. She sobered up.

“Sasuke.” She said, pronouncing it with grim finality. He knew what would come next. Naruto looked at Tsunade, who looked back at him without blinking. He’d have to handle this.

“Yeah?” he replied, and he noted how it almost sounded as if he was sulking. Maybe he was.

“You brought him back.” She said. Naruto felt stricken, memories of promises made flashing through his mind. He wavered slightly, looking down at the floor between them.

“No. No I didn’t. He came.” Naruto said, and he didn’t know why that bothered him. He hadn’t come back to reform their team, hadn’t come back to see Sakura or for him. He was here for his estate, the one he had demanded back from the old council dragons. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t know why he was apologising, but it fit into the moment perfectly. She smiled then, but it was a mature smile, tinted with heavy regret.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. He’s back. That’s all that matters.” She turned to Tsunade, who was watching them both with knowing eyes. “Could we—”

“Go on. Just be back before lunch, the scroll can wait until then.” Tsunade said, waving them away leisurely.

“Thank you!” they called back to her, making a swift exit. They knew from experience that Tsunade always liked to add conditions to her favours. Something about a passive replacement for her gambling addiction, or at least that’s the excuse she used.

He let Sakura lead him to a small coffee shop, nestled between two businesses. They found a seat, ordered, and started to share all that had happened. Naruto told her what he was allowed to, keeping within the Official Secrets Agreement they had all signed. Sakura understood, told him a little about how far her training had advanced. It was only when they had finished the coffee that he realised she had been fiddling with something at her neck for the past hour or so. The shock rendered him speechless for all of two seconds before he was asking and she was blushing.

“You’re engaged!” he shouted, barely keeping the conversation private.

“Shut up!” she hissed, but he could tell she was secretly pleased he had noticed. “Yes… I’m engaged.”

“To?” he asked, shaking his head in amazement. He hadn’t expected this at all. And the day had started so innocently.

“Rock Lee.” She said. Waiting for a reaction. Naruto was careful to smile in the right way, because women were damn good at seeing a lie when they wanted to. Sakura bit her lip, but the pink flush across her cheeks betrayed her happiness. “We’re getting married in Spring.”

“How long?” he asked, in many ways still too stunned to begin to wrap his mind around this. Emotions warred in him; disappointment, regret, relief, happiness. He couldn’t get a fix on a specific one, they slipped through his fingers.

“About half a year.” The waiter came, disturbing their conversation, taking at their nod the cups and plates. Sakura glanced at her watch. He knew what that meant, it was time for her to go. “I’m sorry Naruto, I have to go.” She stood, uncomfortable, until Naruto caught on and stood as well, giving her a brief hug. She smiled that smile that was beginning to grate on Naruto, mainly because he was having to mimic it and pretend he was just as happy and to tell the truth he wasn’t sure he was all that happy. Her eyes set hard for a moment, and he worried he was transparent, easily seen through as Sasuke tended to see through him. “Make sure you tell Sasuke where I am.”

“Will do.” He watched her leave, flashing a quick smile at him again before heading out into the bustling lunch crowd. He folded back into the chair, full of relief, energy drained. He couldn’t believe it, how much, how much, so fucking much had changed in the time he’d been gone. She’d gotten herself engaged.

He supposed it had to do with her being his first – and only – love. And no matter how much he hadn’t loved her, just vague attraction and affection, he didn’t want to believe that she just upped and got herself engaged to someone. After all, he’d spent countless mornings asking her on a date, and even though he’d been joking it somehow hurt that she’d never taken him seriously.
He suppressed the bitter feelings, adding some money to the sum she’d left on the table. He willed himself to just forget it, besides, she was a team mate, he was talking about Sakura. He had to stop mixing up his emotions, had to stop tagging names to them and expecting them to stand still, lashed into place for the rest of time.

Picking himself up, he wandered back out onto the streets of Konoha avoiding thoughts of Sakura that nevertheless haunted him.
It struck him that he had enjoyed being out of Konoha more than in it. It was the fox’s influence, to a degree. But on the other side lay him, and he wanted the insecurity of living off rations and the bushes, of the fights.

The first time he killed a man, really got close and personal with the killing, he had kept right on, sparing the shocked man a glance, imprinting goggles and headband, dirty ash hair and a tanned round face onto his memory, but he kept right on fighting, helping his comrades.

He didn’t think about it while the adrenalin was still trailing through his body, raising body temperature, keeping him on his toes, teeth bared into the next challenge. It didn’t come to him once the adrenalin faded either, not while he was following the team lead Shikamaru back to the village.

Naruto knew the exact moment it had happened, that moment just after he had stepped into his house and double locked the door, adding the bolt for good measure. He’d collapsed there, itching frantically, the sear of acidic fluids running up his throat as he sought not to choke, not to throw up on the goddamn floor because it’d be a bitch to clean up. He could hear the sounds he was making, long choking noises that suggested oncoming hysteria. He opened his eyes, focusing on the plants, on the kitchen, on things he knew from having spent so much time here, thinking only about that, getting rid of the edge he’d been on since he’d entered the village, since he had a moment to think everything he’d been through.

Eventually he came to terms with it. All it needed was time and rational thinking. Naruto applied this to Sakura. It was time to let go of thoughts that had turned into habits.

He thought of Gaara, how his ease with Death had scared him until Gaara had noticed and explained that all humans die anyway, so why fear death? Looking back on it now the words didn’t mean much, and had it been anyone else he’d have told them that too, but coming from Gaara there had been the hint of knowledge, of experience that resonated deeply in those sombre words. They’d been huddled over a fire. More accurately, he was getting as close to the fire as he possibly could, and Gaara had sat himself on the other side, posture straight.

All the thoughts, suddenly brought up, frustrated him. Already he felt caged in this village, the constraints discovered, he could almost feel the choking claustrophobia of the cave descending him. All positively ludicrous, but there it was, that feeling, and he was glad to be on his own so no one could see him slightly unhinged.

Perhaps it was time to arrange an appointment with Tsunade. He had no doubt she’d catch up with him soon to check on the seal anyway, but… that thing with Gaara, and then the sudden memories in the middle of the council had worried him. Being honest with himself, scared completely shitless would have been a closer estimation of his thoughts just after noting how close he had come to letting himself be dragged down that dangerous path of invincibility. He clearly wasn’t, even if the fox was. Biding his time perhaps, but he wasn’t going to get his body, he’d make sure of that.

Time lagged and he knew it was too early to expect a reply from Gaara. Restless, impatient, he found himself back outside his new apartment, key already in the door. As it should be, the flat was empty, Naruto ran his eyes over the kitchen table, the couch, the bookcase and an assortment of other furniture lined his walls. He dragged himself into his room, into the bathroom to clean up before he went out tonight.

He cleaned the flat a little, even though there wasn’t much to clean. He was bored, and he had nothing to read. He found himself touching the different textures in the room, the feel of wood grain under calloused thumbs, the feel of rough beige fabric stretched like burlap sacks over an unsteady frame. He whiled away the time, waiting for the event that would conclude the day, would decide if it had been a good idea to get up that morning or not.

The loose shirt flowed around him, his skin breathed underneath, a gentle pulse humming along his entire body. He was in better spirits now, feeling calmer now that he’d put some of the restlessness to use. It made sense, between missions he never wanted to clean, so starting off clean would make it easier to keep it so.

The streets had a few people wandering along them, doing the last errands for the day, switching with the night shift of security, going home to find someone else there. When he got to the inn, he was on time, but Sasuke was already waiting for him at the table they had adopted. The candles glimmered, shifting back and forth, the heart of the flames swimming in front of him. Like sitting around the campfires in the jungle.

The blue shirt Sasuke sported was clearly expensive. It didn’t have his clan symbol on it, not yet, but that told Naruto all he needed to know about how successful he’d been so far. And no mark on him. Sakura had yet to see him then.

Sasuke didn’t say anything as he made himself comfortable, and Naruto let the silence lie between them. The waitress came over, looking more assured than she had before. People stared at him and then got bored of it. Especially as he hadn’t done anything weird, and it was reassuring. The general population – that any shinobi village had – didn’t know him in any case, it was the shinobi, those with long memories who still feared him, who hated him because he was a walking reminder of their grief. He thought after eighteen years they would have gotten used to it.

It was the idle tap of his finger that got Sasuke’s attention. The finger tapped again, and at first he ignored it, the gentle tap, but it became a beat he followed, willing it to keep the rhythm, and then he noticed it, the new line on top of the other, the waving lines that told him how many seconds into the future it’d hit the table.

The finger stilled, and Sasuke’s gaze snapped back to Naruto’s face, asking him a question that Sasuke already knew – “What?”.

“What?” Naruto asked, just a millisecond afterwards, and then – “Huh?”. Sasuke’s suspicions were forming. He nodded to himself.

“Was I bothering you?”

“No.” he replied, just a moment after he said it, and it confirmed his thoughts. The full force of Naruto’s gaze hit him, demanding he tell him what was going on. “I think … look at my eye, please.”

“What? Why?” Naruto asked, not too happy with looking him directly in the eye if something was wrong. Which was ridiculous
because Sasuke wouldn’t do anything to him without saying so first. That was his way. He gave warning. At least to him.

“Just do it. I doubt there’s a mirror in this place.” Sasuke said, anticipating what Naruto might say once he looked. He leant over the table towards Naruto, carefully avoiding the flame planted in their table. He came closer, seeing him in the change of the light, the blond strands giving him a haloing effect. Naruto focussed on him, and he could see his pupils widen in the sudden lack of light. He steadied himself on the table. Naruto frowned, squinting up at him, turning his head to double-check what he had seen.

“I could have sworn there were always three notches in your eyes. But there are four now.” He said, finally confirming Sasuke’s suspicions. He sat down, slumping back into his seat.

“It means my blood limit is advancing.” Sasuke explained. Naruto looked confused.

“I thought you were born with it and that was that. And that some of you learn the Magenkyou, but that in general everything stayed the same. You’re telling me that it can advance?”

“Yes. You know where the Sharingan came from, right?” he continued at Naruto’s nod. “Unlike the Byakugan, the Sharingan changes with age and experience. Some of my family never advanced from three, but if it did, the change would continue throughout their life. One of my uncles had eight notches in his eyes at the time of his death. I never saw him fight, but he was known for pre-empting nearly all possible battle movements. It’s like having all the possibilities at any moment calculated. It sees nearly all subtleties. But it requires a lot of stamina, and chakra.”

“You just noticed that your eyes changed?”

“It’s a gradual change, takes weeks sometimes.”

“Right. Well, we’ll have to test it out sometime.” Naruto grinned. Sasuke waved him off.

“Sure. Anytime.” Sasuke wondered if he’d actually be able to keep up with Naruto now.

“I’m holding you to that.” Naruto warned. “Besides that, what’s the situation with your estate?” Sasuke’s expression darkened considerably.

“Those council dragons forgot to mention that they used a generous portion of my riches to fund the buildings of Konoha. On the flipside, it means I own a small, but sizeable chunk of Konoha, but I can’t actually do anything with those assets for another 2 years because of some contract they signed. I insisted they give me the equal value of my land or the relevant acres, whichever was larger, in line with inflation. Needless to say they weren’t pleased about that.”

“You don’t make small bones about pissing them off though.”

“They do things that suit them, and don’t be mistaken, they got what they wanted and need.”

“Have you seen the land they’ve given you?”

“No, but they’ve assured me its good land. I’m not a farmer, so I have no interest in valley land, and they were very pleased with that.”

“How are you going to rebuild everything? Clearing the land, rebuilding the houses…that’s going to take time and a lot of money.” Naruto wondered how Sasuke could even be bothered with such a task. It didn’t seem like him. Then again, just because he himself would have bought a piece of land with a house on it, didn’t mean Sasuke would do the same. The waitress came with two platters of steaming food, the rice in a large bowl on the side. They readily tucked in, helping themselves.

Sasuke shrugged off the worries. “I’ll clear the land myself, and use the wood to lay the foundation for the house. I have no intention of going anywhere, and with the rent from the numerous buildings, I don’t have to.” He was determined to replace it. It wouldn’t be the same as the old one, but he needed something to bind him to this place. Somewhere he could be at ease.

“What, no missions?” An ill taste formed at the back of Naruto’s throat, spelling out his surprise.

“The mission office isn’t even open yet. I doubt it will be anytime soon, not with what’s happening.” Sasuke looked at him, suppressing the dizziness that was coming on. He’d have to work on that. “Aren’t you tired of being on the road?”

Naruto didn’t know how to answer. He was glad to be able to put up his feet, to simply stop worrying about eyes in the night shining dark red. To enjoy food he hadn’t made hastily from rations and whatever they had found in the wild.

At the same time there was something liberating about having to fend for yourself, without the chain of civilisation holding you back. Or at least that’s the feeling Naruto got when he was running through forests, the tang of fresh plants hanging high in the air.

“Yes.” He said. “And no.” Another pause. “I’m a shinobi, missions are what I do.”

“So am I. But there are other missions, closer to home, that don’t involve court intrigue and assassinations.” He explained, but Naruto was already disagreeing with him. Sasuke was a damn good shinobi, but his reasons for being one was buried in a shallow grave somewhere on the continent.

He didn’t say that though. They were enjoying a meal, and he had no intention of upsetting this right now. He neatly laid his chopsticks to the side.

“So where are you staying, now?” Naruto asked, wanting to change the subject before he let his mouth transform his thoughts into vibrations. He had yet to mention Sakura.

“In a flat in one of my buildings.” Sasuke smiled, then suddenly laughed. “Fuck, I never thought I’d be a part-time businessman.”

“Fortune sure loves you.” Naruto had resigned himself to this a long time ago. He couldn’t really dislike someone because of good fortune.

“Yeah.” A heavy pause. Sasuke finished eating, placing the chopsticks on the side of his plate. “But they would have kept it if I hadn’t insisted. They wouldn’t have offered.”

“For the greater good.” He knew why he was a shinobi, and it was summed up neatly in those words. Neither of them, Naruto realised, were in this because of their selflessness. The silence settled itself over them comfortably; they stretched out their feet, moving deeper into the seats. The waitress came and took their plates, briefly enquired about dessert which they both turned down, and left them again to find their bill. “Guess who I saw today?” he started. Sasuke waited expectantly. “Sakura.”

Sasuke eyes widened, briefly. But it was enough for Naruto who was watching for this, who was watching and waiting for exactly such a reaction. It didn’t mean anything, yet, but the simple fact that it had happened meant that it existed.

“How is she?” he asked, carefully. Naruto fiddled with edge of the tablecloth, looking off behind Sasuke but careful to keep him in focus.

“Depends on who you’re talking about.” He replied obliquely. Sasuke tightened his fist below the table. A slow burn, a slow simmer that Naruto knew would come to a boil if he persisted. If he didn’t take the heat off.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Get to the fucking point.”

“Well. She didn’t say it in as many words, but I think when she sees you she’ll probably punch you. She’s not the old Sakura you remember. She’s not going to fawn over you, she’s been studying with Tsunade and apparently her common sense rubbed off.”
Sasuke looked at him. As if he was proposing the earth had turned over on its axis.

“Time didn’t stop. For you, or for me, and certainly not for her. She’s engaged to Rock Lee, they’re going to be married next Spring.” Naruto saw the sudden surprise on his face, the tremor that ran down his side.

Sasuke ran his tongue over his lips, a quick flicker of pink that betrayed the shock. It satisfied Naruto, somehow, to see him shocked in the same way he had been.

The bill came, finally. Sasuke paid, throwing money on the table. Naruto appreciated the gesture. By some accord they rose and left the building together, knowing that this wasn’t finished. The cool air hit them squarely in the face, a cold blast that rifled through their shirts. They moved together down towards the centre.

“What am I supposed to say?” he asked, finally. Sasuke saw him make a non-committed shrug. One that said it was his problem alone, and that additionally, no advice would be forthcoming. Naruto dug around in the pocket of his jeans, searching for a slip of paper that he finally produced. He held it out to Sasuke as they strolled down the street.

“Sakura’s address.” Sasuke hesitated a moment before taking it. “And mine, on the other side.”

“Thanks.” Sasuke’s mind worked wildly. For some reason being confronted by an angry Sakura didn’t sit well with him.

They came to an intersection, Sasuke leaning left, Naruto to the right. They halted for a moment. Sasuke noticed how easily their steps fell together, a rhythm that bounced along unimpeded.

“So, want any help?” Naruto asked softly, looking off towards his own place. Sasuke swiftly glanced at him.

“I’m not paying.” Naruto shrugged, again.

“Ok.” He seemed distant, all of a sudden. Sasuke recognised this, the stance, the position. As if he had separated himself from all thought. Like nothing could touch him. His tails hung low in the sky, swishing absently.

“Meet here, six am?”

“No problem. I’ll see you then.” He went to leave.

“Did I say something?” Sasuke asked abruptly. He stopped, the braid swinging low on his spine. He came back, and Sasuke noticed how he padded down the tarmac street as if he were in the jungle, a prowling predator. Like an animal, like the one sealed away in him, he looked dangerous in the starlit evening as he approached.

Sasuke stayed put, letting him come up close, close enough that their bodies touched and Naruto could speak into his ear, hot breath passing over the shell of his ear as he whispered, low and serious.

“No, you didn’t. You haven’t ever. You don’t really care, do you? You can’t even feel happy for her, can you? You’re just shocked she got on with her fucking life.” He backed off slightly, but there was still that heat between them.

“I came back.”

“Why?” he insisted, and Naruto could feel the blaze of heat developing from the depths of his stomach, spreading out. The pressure of the heat turning inwards was enveloping them both.

Sasuke took a step back.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” He called quietly, taking long strides away from him, from the conversation, unwilling to answer a question like that.

Naruto stood there for endless minutes, facing a breeze laden with pollen and ripeness.