Dealing with Love (Complete)

A/N: All right…one thing. I love battles and fights, but in this story I’m going to focus only on Arashi and Naruto’s fight, and not those of the others. Yes I might do a quick fifty word descriptions on the other fights. But I want people focusing a lot more on the emotions in the story instead of the fights. Thank you!

WARNING: Character death.

Chapter 14:

Sai sounded urgent. “Sasuke’s alive….”

Naruto froze. “What? What did you say?”

“Naruto, I don’t have time. Sasuke’s alive. I’ll give you all the details later. Meet me at Old Suna Station tomorrow at twelve.” Sai hung up. Naruto held on to the phone in a daze. Sasuke was alive…he was alive…his eyes filled with happy, desperate tears. He was so desperate to see him, but he had no idea…could he really wait till tomorrow? Joy mixed with desperation until his very being tingled with it.

“Kyuubi! Kyuubi! Who was it? What happened?”

The voice snapped him back to reality and he found himself looking at all his colleagues who were staring at him. Instantly he was aware of the tears trailing down his cheeks and the fact that he was supposed to be in disguise. Chouji stood in front of him, his face a mask of concern. Zabuza and Haku were watching from a little way off…their faces reflecting a mixture of worry and curiosity.

He cleared his throat, hoping he could actually get his voice out. “I…I just need to be alone…I’m sorry.” He turned and ran to his bedroom, leaving everyone else confused. When he reached his room, he collapsed onto his bed. He’s alive…you’re alive…oh god…Naruto gave in to the nerve racking sobs welling up. He finished a while later and hugged his pillow to him.

“Naruto?”

He turned to meet Zabuza and Haku’s gaze as they watched him from the doorway. “He’s alive…”

Their eyes widened, before Haku came to sit by him. “That’s great! When are you going to see him?”

“Tomorrow. Sai said he couldn’t explain it to me on the phone, but he’ll tell me when he meets me at Old Suna Station.”

“Is it safe?” the question came from Zabuza. No one else at the dojo had seen this side of him save Haku and Naruto.

“Sai is the one who told me about my dad. I doubt he’ll working for him. And I don’t think my dad even knows about him. I’ll be safe, Zabuza. I think I’ll leave tomorrow after our meeting. I have to be where Sasuke is!” Naruto’s whole face has brightened somewhat, even if the haunted look still remained.

“We already said yes, yesterday Naruto. Anyway, as happy as you are we have some chores to do, so why don’t you set the table, while Zabuza finishes cooking?” Haku smiled at him. Then he sweat dropped as they stared at him. “Uh…what?”

“What will you be doing?” Naruto asked as Zabuza thwacked Haku on the head.

“Uh…watching the Great Warriors?”

“Haku will set the table, Naruto will do the laundry and I will do the cooking…” Zabuza walked out, dragging his lazy ass lover behind him. Naruto gave a short smile and followed them out. One never got the chance to really brood at the Momochi household.

After his chores and dinner was over he looked into his mirror. His blond roots were starting to show…damn. But anyway it would help Sasuke recognise him. He snuggled under his covers and yawned, hugging his pillow to him once more. Tomorrow, he’d see Sasuke. It was like Christmas all over again when he was a child.

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“Sasuke!”

He turned to see bright blue eyes staring at him. Warm hands enveloped him and he buried his face into that strong chest. “I’m so glad you’re all right, Sasuke. I was so worried…I love you…”

Tears formed in Sasuke’s eyes and a lump in his throat. “Naruto…” he whispered. The tan hands rubbed at his back soothingly. “I’m glad that we found you! Oh God…”

“I’ll never leave you Sasuke…you know that. I’ll be right here…I lo…”

“SASUKE! SASUKE! WAKE UP!”

Black eyes shot open as the voice screamed in his ear. He found himself staring into Iruka’s brown eyes. “I can’t believe you sleep that deeply! You need to take your medicine! And since you fell asleep, I have heated your food as well…”

Sasuke blinked, suddenly feeling empty. It was a dream…so Naruto hadn’t come. But the hug had felt so real…Sasuke shook his head. No he was being stupid. “Thank you Iruka. Yes I’d like some food please.”

Iruka shot him a concerned look. But seeing Sasuke turn his face away, he went to get the food. He came back with the bread and pasta. “Here you go. Sasuke…I’m sorry for waking you up so suddenly. I did try to be gentle, but you wouldn’t budge.”

Sasuke sighed. Iruka was one of the nicest men alive. He’d been really kind and helped Sasuke through the whole ordeal. The past three months had been bearable mostly because of Iruka. “No, it’s fine. I was just a bit dazed, is all. This pasta is good. Where’s Kakashi?”

Iruka sat down. “He’s stepped out for a minute. Wanted to pick up a few groceries.”

“You love him, don’t you?”

Iruka looked up at Sasuke, a startled expression on his face. “I…” then he hung his head. “I do. But I don’t want to talk about it. All I can say is that maybe when this is over and Arashi is safely behind bars, we’ll have another go at it. But for now, I’d rather he came to love me on his own…if he doesn’t then I’ll just have to move on won’t I?”

“I’m sorry I asked.”

“It’s cool.”

“I…was dreaming that Naruto’d found us.” He wondered why he’d revealed that to Iruka of all people. He’d been having so many dreams, but Iruka was the only man he’d told about them.

“Oh Sasuke…it’ll happen. Don’t give up hope.” Iruka smiled at him. “That’s a part of this…we’ll find him. There’s no question about that!”

The door opened and Kakashi walked in with a few groceries and a carton of beer. He left it on the tiny dining table. “Ah. Sasuke. You’re finally up!”

Sasuke nodded. “Where did you buy the food…?”

“At that res…” he stopped and flipped his phone open. “Hello? Yeah….WHAT! Where? You did what? If you aren’t careful it’ll be bad. Oh…so that’s where…yeah I will. Be safe…” he put it down and turned to look at the others.

“What happened?” Iruka asked, a little frightened by the glazed-worried look in Kakashi’s eyes.

“Sai’s found Naruto. He’s on his way here right now, so we can get the details from him. I feel so relived!!” Kakashi looked like he was going to jig about or something.

Slowly a smile broke onto Sasuke’s face. “So what now? Can I see him?”

“We’ll talk to Sai about it when he gets here!” Kakashi said. Iruka hugged him a tired but happy look adorning his face. They waited about half an hour until Sai got there. The moment he walked in through the door, he was bombarded with questions.

“Calm down you guys! Let me begin at the beginning!” Sai sat down and rubbed his eyes. He was really tired and his sister was mad at the fact that he refused to spend the night there. “You see we had to go to the theatre tonight and my niece was refusing to come because she wanted to go to her martial arts class. She said she had fallen in love with her teacher Uchiha Kyuubi. So I knew there had to be just one person with that name. So I called him and took a chance by addressing him as Naruto. Turns out he’s been at the Momochi dojo this whole time! I wonder where he met them.”

“At the fair. We went to a fair and Naruto fought Haku…so I guess they’ve been keeping in touch or something…” Sasuke said. “Then what?”

“I realised that we shouldn’t talk on the phone and just told him that you’re alive and that I’ll tell him tomorrow. So he’s meeting me at Old Suna Station. It is a bit secluded but it’s a good thing right?”

“You want me to come with you?” Kakashi asked him.

“No. I can handle it…it’s just meeting Naruto after all, what could happen?” Sai shrugged. “What will you be doing otherwise?”

“I thought I’d keep an eye out for Arashi. He’s out of hiding again and I don’t want to lose him if he decides to disappear this time.” Kakashi frowned. “Iruka will be here to guard Sasuke as usual.”

“Yes. Don’t worry I won’t let anything happen to him. I promise.” Iruka smiled at them. “Now we’re really close to have Naruto back. Let’s all turn into bed ok? Sai would you like some dinner?”

“I’ll add another futon. I don’t think you’ll want to drive all the way back home now, Sai.” Kakashi went to get the futon and Iruka went to heat the dinner. Sai was left alone with Sasuke.

“So you finally found him huh? Guess I didn’t make the wrong choice in choosing you to be my detective after all.” Said Sasuke, not looking at the man next to him.

“Yeah. I’m surprising myself actually…I’ve actually got a case of a lifetime. I think I’ll go back to my sister’s house after this is over and spend some quality time with them.” Sai sighed. “I think I’ll take another normal job…I’ve had enough of detective-ness to last my life.”

“Yeah maybe you should. I just want to see Naruto and for us to get Arashi behind bars. Then I guess I’ll take Naruto on a long holiday with all that money I have from the salary he’s given me.” Sasuke bit his lip. “It’s weird, if you asked me before I met Naruto if I would ever be free, I would have thought you were kidding.”

“Well life does that. That’s why you shouldn’t have any regrets, just in case you suddenly go, ne?” Sai stood. “Anyway Sasuke, I’m really tired so I’m giving dinner and getting to bed. Don’t worry about meeting Naruto. I’ll make sure you do!”

Sasuke nodded. “Thanks I’ll go bed now too.” He turned onto his side and buried his head into his pillow. He wished tomorrow would come ASAP. Naruto…finally…though he’d make the idiot pay for his disappearing act!

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Deidara smiled beatifically before looking over at Sasori. “Did you hear that? Old Suna Station...brings back memories doesn’t it? Keep the news away from Arashi-sama. I’ll make sure it’s Naruto before I tell him. He doesn’t need to know Sasuke’s alive yet.”

Sasori smiled. “You know I’ll do anything you tell me to, Deidara. But why shouldn’t we let him know about Sasuke?”

“This time, he has to play this differently. He has to convince Naruto of his innocence and convince him that Sai was lying. That way Naruto stays with Arashi and we’ll kill Sasuke without their knowledge.” Deidara donned his cloak. “I’m going alone tomorrow…I’m sorry but I don’t want any company.”

Sasori walked to Deidara and kissed him. “I know. But come back safe…what do you want me to do?”

“Go to the Momochi household. I want everyone there dead. You know you can handle it. We won’t have anyone in Arashi-sama’s way.” A cold light gleamed in the man’s pale grey-blue eyes.

Sasori nodded. “All right. We’ll try our best. Hidan will be here to guard Arashi-sama won’t he?”

“Yes. I’ll inform him. We can trust him.” He kissed Sasori aggressively. “You be careful too. We have to make it back to protect Arashi-sama. Don’t let anything get in the way of it.”

They retired to their room. Tomorrow would be judgement day…the last efforts to help their boss. If they failed then, they didn’t need to live.

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Arashi looked at his phone. Tsunade was calling again. He decided to pick it up. “Tsunade…”

“Arashi? Where have you been? Do you know that Naruto’s missing? And Sasuke too…the police think its suicide Arashi! We’ve been trying to get to you for months!” Tsunade sounded pained.

“I know.”

“You know? What do you mean you know! Then why haven’t you called us? Why haven’t you even come over?”

“Tsunade…don’t bother about matters that don’t concern you. My men are looking for Naruto. Forget Sasuke. He is of no concern to me.”

There was a short silence on the other end. “You had something to do with this didn’t you? What did you do?”

“That is none of your business. You would do well to keep away from it. Just grieve Tsunade. Grieve and forget. Forget Naruto, forget me and forget that slave-boy. If Jiraiya’s life means anything to you, then stay out of it. If I hear you called the police or a detective, I won’t have any mercy with you. So stop calling me and forget this conversation.” He hung up and went back to staring at his drink. This was agony.

He slumped into his chair. Sometimes he truly did wish that he could just love Naruto as a son. Wished he could go back to the times when he and Naruto had played baseball together or when they’d been able to hang around and have fun. The time when he’d dreamt of Naruto marrying someone he loved and watching the wedding proudly. But it was of no use. He loved Naruto now. And he knew he’d do anything to get his son to love him…to fill that void that had been there since his wife left and Kyuubi came.

“Naruto…please don’t make me hurt you anymore…”

Deidara still hadn’t called. He would have to find out why. The man never went without informing Arashi of his progress…everyday. At that moment he got a text message.

No progress yet. Trying to find other methods to search by. Don’t worry…

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Naruto pulled on a nice light blue shirt and some light blue, faded denim jeans. Making sure he looked nice, he strolled out into the living room. “So how do I look?”

“Nice Naruto. Very handsome…though Sasuke’s going to wonder why you have weird hair…” Haku smiled. “But, you’re still the ravishing Uchiha-sensei, in a way.”

Naruto laughed. He first time he’d laughed in days. “Yeah.” he looked at the clock. “Oh well, I have to leave. Finally. I’ll come back to collect my stuff later ok?”

Zabuza ushered him into his car. “All right. Be careful and be happy. You’re finally getting your wish…we’ll be waiting to hear all the details.”

Naruto nodded and zoomed off. Zabuza turned to Haku. “And so it begins…”

Haku nodded. “You think he’ll really be able to kill his father? I mean from what I heard…they were really close before the man went psycho on him.”

“He’ll do what he has to Haku. If it’s really needed then he knows he has too. Come on, let’s get ready o spend our morning alone together. It’s been ages since I got any alone time with you.” Zabuza pulled Haku in through the door.

They kissed softly. Haku tried to rid himself of that feeling of foreboding that was making him uneasy. Nothing was over yet….Zabuza was right, it was only just beginning. He clung to Zabuza, kissing him back harshly.

“Maybe we should take this into the bedroom?”

Haku smiled. “Maybe we should…”

They moved towards the bedroom just a pair of sharp wooden stakes hit the spot they’d been standing in.

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Naruto hummed along with the song that played. It was a weird song… about nail clippings and such, but he enjoyed it anyway. Or once he felt happy and wanted to enjoy that nice warmth.

Sasuke was alive and they’d be together soon. He took the turning to the road that led to the Old Suna Station. He wished he could go faster, but decided to stick to the speed limit, incase he was caught. He hadn’t seen Old Suna in ages.

Old Suna Station was one where the old steam engines were still used. It had been the only train station in Suna about twenty years ago. And then they’d built the new station with the bullet trains and such like, so this station was hardly used anymore, except for the one steam train that came by to pick up the poorer people of Suna. It was usually deserted…not too many people around, which is why it would be easier to trade news…even if it was a bit dangerous. Naruto pulled up in front of the station. Sai had said he’d be waiting right outside.

The moment he stepped out, someone barrelled into him. Naruto turned to see it was someone familiar…he heard a noise and turned to see Sai on the ground at the steps that led into the station. “Sai!” he turned the man around and to face him and gasped.

It looked like Sai had gotten into a bad fight, he was bruised and his nose was broken. But what scared Naruto the most was the long knife sticking out of Sai’s chest. “Sai! Oh God, let me call the ambulance…hold on!”

A feeble hand caught his wrist. “Sasuke… danger. Arashi… will… know… address…left…pocket.” Sai coughed spraying blood onto them both.

“I have to help you…don’t talk…”

“Save... Sasuke! Tell…my…sister…” Sai smiled at him. “Tell her…sorry…”

“No…” Naruto felt his eyes blur as Sai’s head dropped back, the life fading out of his eyes. “No…” He sat there for a minute or so. Then he got a grip on himself. Pulling out Sai’s mobile phone he called the ambulance, and then he called Sai’s sister.

“Hello?”

“Is this Sai’s sister?”

“Yes…who is this?”

“My name is Uzumaki Naruto…a…friend of Sai’s. Sai’s…he’s been…killed. Some one else is in danger too…I have to go. He wanted me to tell you he’s sorry…”

He hung up as the woman cried out. Her sobs were the last thing he heard as he walked back to the car. Looking at the address, he got in and drove away. The ambulance arrived to find Sai’s body laying in the dust…the small smile still on his face.

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A/N: I can’t believe I killed Sai! I played ‘Never Meant to Belong’ from the Bleach OST for the mood. I hope I got it right…Yes I know you’re wondering what else is going to happen. With Zabuza and every one…so please review so I can post the next chapter up a bit faster. I have it almost ready, but I like waiting for your reviews incase I need to make a few changes!!

Taka

Itachi: What she isn’t telling you, is she cried for Sai…

Taka: I do NOT cry!

Itachi: Says you…

Taka: Whatever….poor Sai. And I’m sorry all Sai-lovers…I love him too (in a friendly way) But it had to be done…