Homecoming

Part Fifteen
Shadows in the Light

Sasuke finished toweling off and looked at his reflection in the steam-covered mirror. After wiping the steam away with his hand, he looked at his scarred body's reflection. Oddly enough, there were no scars left from his recent injuries. Sasuke leaned with both hands against the sink, and lowered his head.


'Konohamaru!' Sasuke yelled as soon as he managed to drag his subordinate's body to the shore. 'Hang in there!'

Konohamaru just opened his eyes briefly, smiling lightly at Sasuke.

Sasuke tore the blood-soaked uniform from Konohamaru's body, oblivious to his own blood pouring from his wounds. He pressed the material to Konohamaru's body in an attempt to stop the bleeding. 'Don't die on me, Konohamaru,' he hissed.

Konohamaru just continued smiling, as if he could no longer control the muscles in his face. 'I was great wasn't I?'

'Yeah, you'll have some incredible stories to tell when we get back…' Sasuke replied. 'Seki will cure you… just hold on… don't close your eyes…' He raised his eyes to scan the shore, when suddenly he caught sight of his two other soldiers, thrown together under a tree. He lowered his eyes back to Konohamaru and saw that the younger man's eyes were glazed over.

'Stay with me!' He slapped him.


Sasuke slipped down to the floor, leaning against the wall and buried his face his hands. "Why me…?" he whispered.

'You're not even worth killing, foolish little brother.'

Sasuke clutched his moist hair and gasped inaudibly. He'd been through a lot of hardships since that horrific night when he was seven years old and had returned home to find his world crashing down on him, but he'd never imagined he'd face the guilt of staying alive again. Why was he allowed to live when everyone else died?

Slowly, he got up and faced the mirror again, examining his face. His hand fluttered over his week old stubble and he reached out to grab his razor.

After he finished shaving, he looked at the razor and passed his thumb over the blade. The cut started bleeding immediately and he let out a small, sardonic laughter.

'No one will make me live now…' A thought crossed his mind and he reached out his hand, holding the razor over his wrist.

"I’m home!" He suddenly heard Kenji's energetic voice from the entrance. The razor flew out of his hand and he gazed at his wrist in disgust.

'What the hell am I doing?' He covered his face with his hand again.

'You selfish bastard…You're willing to condemn your sons to the same lonely hell your brother put you through.' Naruto's accusation rang in his head and he stepped away from the sink, feeling sick. He staggered over to the toilets and vomited.

***

"Father?" Kenji asked in surprise when Sasuke stepped out of the bathroom. "When did you get home?"

"A while ago." Sasuke smiled lightly. "Thank you, Kenji." He ruffled the boy's hair as he passed by him.

Kenji blinked in surprise and turned around. "What for?"

"How was the Taijutsu practice?" Sasuke shifted the subject.

The boy's face lit up. "It's GREAT! It's real hard, we train a lot, and Lee-sensei is very strict, but it's also FUN." He stopped smiling and wrinkled his nose. "But I'm not happy that Naruto-sensei stopped teaching us." He raised his eyes slowly to study Sasuke's reaction. As usual, he couldn't read his father's blank expression.

"I'm sure that will be settled soon," Sasuke said quietly and headed towards the stairs. "Where's your brother?"

"Down, I guess." Kenji shuffled his feet, unsure if he should tell his father about the weird occurrences with his brother.

"What is it, Kenji?" Sasuke asked. "You seem anxious."

"Um, I…" The boy hesitated. "Uh, it's nothing. With your permission, I need to go to the bathroom."

Sasuke nodded and walked down the stairs.


"Good evening, Sasuke-kun," Kakashi greeted him, his visible eye crinkled in a smile. "How are you feeling?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Ryoichi?"

"He's outside."

Sasuke rubbed his arms, looking away from his old teacher.

"Your decision wasn't wrong," Kakashi said quietly. "I would have done the same."

Sasuke pondered briefly, before returning his eyes back to the older man. "I couldn't protect my comrades. I failed."

"But if you break down, you'll be dishonoring their legacy".

Sasuke let out an unsatisfied grunt. He was always irritated by Kakashi's ability to read him so easily. But if there was anyone who could understand what he was going through, it was the older Jounin, who’d been through similar hardships in his Anbu days.

"Thank you, for taking the boys." He decided to change the subject.

Kakashi scratched his hair. "Kenji has improved a lot."

"He has potential." Sasuke raised his eyes to his former teacher. He saw Ryoichi standing at the door behind him. "Ryoichi."

"I gotta go to the bathroom," the child mumbled as he ran inside, passing the two adults.

Sasuke looked behind him. "What's with him?"

"Well," Kakashi sighed. "I need to talk to you about that."

***

"Kenji!" Ryoichi burst into his brother's room.

"What do you want?" The other boy was startled. He closed the drawer, turning to look at his brother.

"What are you doing?" Ryoichi eyed him.

"Just looking…" Kenji mumbled. "Pictures…" He reached out his hand, showing his brother the picture he was holding. " Look – you knew how to smile once!"

"Moron…" Ryoichi scoffed and looked at the picture. It was a picture of their father, looking grave as usual, holding a 2-year-old Ryoichi in his right hand, while Kenji was crawling over his left shoulder. Both boys were grinning at each other.

Suddenly, a searing pain pricked his eyes, blinding him completely.


'Your father isn't coming.' He heard the harsh voice again, cutting through the pain.

'Not again… what the hell is it?' Ryoichi grabbed his head with both hands, before falling to his knees.

"Ryoichi!" He heard Kenji calling above him. Kenji's voice sounded dull, as if a glass wall was separating them. "I'm going to call Father! Hold on!"

"Don't!" Ryoichi managed to say. He grabbed Kenji by his foot and tripped him.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!" Kenji tried to kick him off.

"If you tell him anything, I'll kill you I swear!" Ryoichi threatened.

"I'm only trying to help you, you bastard!" Kenji protested.

Ryoichi sat up, releasing his brother from his hold. "Then shut up about it."

***

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "You've gotta be joking."

The silver-haired Jounin just looked at him tacitly.

"You told Tsunade about it?"

"Hokage-sama is aware of the developments, yes."

"It can't be…" Sasuke rubbed his chin. "She said…"

"Look," Kakashi said, raising his lazy eyes to the stairs. "Don't push the subject. Meet me tomorrow at Hokage-sama's office and we'll figure out what to do."

Sasuke turned around when the Jounin disappeared. "What is it, Kenji?"

"I'm just going to the kitchen…" the boy mumbled, lowering his eyes quickly. "I have another Taijutsu practice tonight."

Sasuke eyed the boy. "Is everything all right? You look pale."

The boy nodded and poured himself a glass of water. "I'm just a little tired."

Sasuke folded his arms. "You better have a good sleep tonight. I want to go over the basics with you again."

"What do you mean?" Kenji asked, raising his head from his glass.

"You wanted to learn the fire elements, no?"

The glass fell from the boy's hands and shattered on the floor. "YOU REALLY MEAN IT?! YAY!!" the boy squealed and ran out of the kitchen towards Sasuke. He pounced on his father, knocking him to the floor. "FATHER I LOVE YOU!!" He blushed when he realized what he just did. "Uh, I'm sorry…"

Sasuke chuckled. "It's okay." He got up with a smile resting oddly on his face. "The only person who could ever catch me off guard like that was-" He bit his tongue before he could finish the sentence.

"Who?" Kenji asked in curiosity.

"Look at the time, you're going to be late," Sasuke said offhandedly, raising his eyes to the clock.

"OH NO!!! IT IS LATE!! LEE-SENSEI WILL MAKE ME DO 500 LAPS!!!" Kenji hollered and ran to the door. "I’m going!" he squeaked before taking off.

"Funny kid," Sasuke chuckled. His expression changed quickly and he sighed. 'Just like he used to be…'

"Father." He heard Ryoichi's quiet voice and turned around. His eyes skimmed over the red scar under the boy's left eye.

'Had it never really healed?' A thought crossed his mind and he remembered Kakashi's words again.

"Let's train now." The boy demanded.

***

Naruto juggled with the two kiwis he was holding as he crossed his apartment, headed for the kitchen.

"Oh damn!" He caught the kiwis as soon as he entered the kitchen. "I forgot to do the dishes again…" he sighed and looked around, trying to search for a clean knife.

He sighed again and slumped down on his chair. "Just great…"

Putting the kiwis on the table, he leaned down to touch his right leg. He rubbed it for a moment before picking out a knife that was strapped to his foot.


"I got something for you. For your birthday."

"Really? What is it? What is it?"

"Let's make an oath. So we'll be connected by blood forever."


Naruto smiled wryly at the vivid memory. "In the end, it all comes down to that, huh?" he wondered aloud as he caressed the blade with his thumb, touching the English letters he himself had engraved into the metal with his kunai like a dedicated girlfriend.

S + N. Sasuke nearly shrieked when he saw it.

"You ruined the blade!" he said in disbelief.

"I just added decoration!"

That night they weren't connected just by blood. It was also the first time they’d made love. At the time, Naruto had held tight onto Sasuke's sweaty body, feeling like he finally belonged somewhere, more than he had ever felt before. For the first time, his life just seemed right. He had felt that his sole purpose for existence wasn't just to contain and restrain the kyuubi. Because Sasuke was just like him, and blood, suffering and loneliness connected them together, but also other things, good things.

And as he had watched Sasuke's sleeping face, he knew he would never feel this way about anyone else ever again. It was his fate, his destiny. Being closer to another person than he'd ever been his entire life, he just knew this was it for him, that he could finally smile even when no one was watching him.
His relationship with Sasuke was always extreme, love-hate-love-hate, and it was always easier for him to tell Sasuke he hated him, knowing the other one knew what he had meant. Things didn't need to be complicated between them.

Naruto let out an ironic chuckle. "Things just got complicated." He stabbed the palm of his hand with the blade, watching the blood drip to the table, before the steam rose from the wound and it healed and closed in mere seconds.

"Even if I try hard, I still can't break free from you. I'm tired, Sasuke. I want things to be simple again between us. Can it ever happen?" he asked aloud.

In the past he had thought that leaving the Leaf could make him forget. Being a spy required skills that he hadn’t even believed he could acquire. And yet, no matter how hard he tried to concentrate on his mission, the shadows of his past would not let go.

He looked at the knife again. "I've got to get out of this slump," he whispered and slapped both his cheeks together. "Konohamaru would be disappointed."

***

Ryoichi clung to the tree branch, next to Hikari. They were both hidden between the leaves and observing the hall where the Hokage and several Chuunins on duty were working on the missions requests.

"Are you sure they're going to leave?" Ryoichi asked.

"Yes, first the Lord's wife is going to arrive, then they all take a break, and there's no one at the room for at least ten to fifteen minutes."

"Great."

"But Ryo-kun… don't you think it's a little dangerous? Kenji is not very good…"

"I just want him to pee his pants," Ryoichi said, keeping his eyes on the building.

Hikari furrowed her brows as she watched the boy smile darkly.

"Hey, someone is coming." His smile disappeared. "Isn't it almost time?"

Hikari looked back to the street.

"Hey…" Ryoichi mumbled and tightened his hold on the branch. "It's my father. What's he doing here?"

They watched in silence as Sasuke entered the hall and faced the Hokage. They couldn't see their faces, or hear what they were saying, but they watched on as the Godaime got up and walked away from their eyesight, followed by Sasuke.

***

"Sasuke, please calm down," Tsunade said softly, looking at the dark-haired young man who was pacing back and forth in the room, one hand around his chin and his other supporting his elbow.

"How can I calm down?" he raised his eyes to her. "You're telling me the seal is breaking."

"It's not broken," Kakashi spoke for the first time, making Sasuke turn to him. "Not yet."

"I'm honestly surprised there are cracks," Tsunade said quietly. "But that technique was never perfect to begin with, and who knows-"

"You promised me!" Sasuke interrupted her, grabbing both her arms.

"Sasuke, please take your hands off Hokage-sama," Kakashi said quietly. "Let's not be careless."

"I'm sorry." Sasuke stepped away, releasing Tsunade from his hold.

"I warned you about the side effect, Sasuke." She continued.

"But you never said it could be reversed!" Sasuke raised his voice again.

Tsunade sighed and folded her arms. "Truthfully, in all my years of experience, I've never seen that technique broken. Something must have triggered it, something powerful we haven't taken into account."

She looked away, not wishing to let the two men realize she was already becoming aware of the answer.

"I don't care what it is, you have to fix it!" Sasuke stomped his foot all of a sudden. "I cannot afford the seal to be broken."

"Sasuke-kun," Kakashi spoke up again and dwelled a bit, scratching the back of his head. "Have you thought, maybe it would be better to let him have his memories?"

Sasuke glared at him sharply, narrowing his eyes. "Never. I vowed my sons will never have to live with the same burden as I did. They'll never suffer the same nightmares," he said huskily.

"They're ninjas, the hardships are still ahead of them," Kakashi said with a shrug. "I understand you want to protect them, but you can't protect them from everything they're about to face."

"But he is just a child!" Sasuke furrowed his brows. "He doesn't need to live with it at such a young age."

Kakashi looked at him silently for a moment, and Sasuke stepped back, without taking his eyes off his mentor.

"Would you have agreed to forget your parents' death?" he asked quietly.

Sasuke remained silent. He really had no reply.

"Look," Tsunade stepped in. "We still don't know what exactly is going on. I suggest we remain calm about this and monitor the child. As for his wound, if it opens again, I'll take care of it. Right now it's best to not bring it up, since he's making his own assumptions." She looked at Kakashi. "I think it's better if you're the one to approach him. He respects you and confides in you."

Sasuke huffed quietly and lowered his head, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Tsunade gave Kakashi a nod and he disappeared.

"Then, I'll go too." Sasuke stepped towards the door.

"There's one more thing, Sasuke," Tsunade continued. "About Naruto."

Sasuke stopped in his tracks, without turning around. "He still hasn’t gone to see the mistress?"

"I've finished his psychological evaluation. I believe you're the one who has to talk to him. You're the only one who can reach him right now."

Sasuke turned around, giving the Hokage an amused smirk. "You must be joking."

"I'm quite serious."

"He doesn't want to talk to me. He hates me. The moment I try to bring up the subject he will only try to insult me and-"

"Yes, that would be his first reaction. You will have to endure it. Then he will calm down. You have to be persistent and talk to him. I'm afraid that you-" she hesitated, before continuing. "No, not you. Your shadow, your past, it's holding him back. You have to get him to understand that he has to break free from you. That's the only way."

"I see." Sasuke lowered his head.

"Consider it a mission. Now, go." She ordered.

He nodded and walked out of the room.

"It will be good for you too, Sasuke," Tsunade whispered to herself once the door closed.

***

"There she is…" Hikari whispered. "Right on time."

"And my father is leaving." Ryoichi watched as his father strolled idly down the street, until he disappeared from his sight.

"Daddy! I want candies!" Both Ryoichi and Hikari looked as Takumi, her young brother, ran out of the building.

"I told you we could trust him," Hikari whispered.

"Oi, Takumi-chan!" came Shikamaru's annoyed voice. "Where are you going? Stop running," he drawled.

"Candies!" The boy bounced. "I want candies! Candies candies candies!!"

"Okay, okay," Shikamaru huffed. "I'll buy you candies, just be quiet."

He walked over to the boy and grabbed his hand. "How tiresome," he sighed.


Ryoichi glanced at the empty hall. "Let's go."

The kids jumped from the tree and made a run for the bushes in the front of the building. From there, it was easier to sneak into the now empty hall.

"Where are the papers?" Ryoichi scanned the long table.

"I remember they put it…" Hikari mumbled as she walked towards a wooden cupboard. "… here." She handed Ryoichi a clipboard.

The boy flipped through the papers. "It's only C and D missions," he said.

"Of course. The A and B missions are probably dealt with at once. And they won't keep any records of them out in the open."

Ryoichi furrowed his brows as he looked at her, not liking the feeling that he was inferior in intelligence. "I know that," he grunted.

"You weren't planning to look for a B or A mission, were you Ryo-kun?" Hikari eyed him.

"Whatever." He flipped through the pages again. "This is good. The neighboring village is complaining about a band of robbers operating in the eastern woods." He took the paper off the clipboard and shoved it into his pockets, handing the clipboard back to Hikari.

"Don't run so fast, Takumi-chan." They stiffened as they suddenly heard Shikamaru's voice.

"Shit…" Ryoichi and Hikari exchanged worried looks.

Takumi suddenly stopped as he saw them inside the hall. Hikari motioned to him with her hand and he looked back at their father. "Daddy! I need to go to the bathroom!"

"Hmph."

"Nooow! Daaad!" the boy ran back to his father. "Or I'll tell mommy-"

"Okay, okay. Let's go."

"Phew. Saved." Both Genins sighed in relief, lowering their heads.

***

"Are we there yet?" Kenji asked as he hopped behind Ryoichi and Hikari.

"How many times are you going to ask?" Ryoichi gritted his teeth. "Idiot."

"Shut up bastard! I want to know why Kakashi didn't tell me about this mission!"

"Because you talk too much," Ryoichi grumbled. "You want to come or not?" he glanced behind his shoulder at his twin brother. "It might get dangerous."

"I’m not scared of anything!" the other boy boasted.

"Hmph." Ryoichi shook his head and returned his attention to the way.

"The village is on the left. So it shouldn't be far," Hikari spoke up.

Ryoichi stopped abruptly and Hikari halted just in time to avoid crashing into him. Kenji, however, failed to do so and bumped into her and Ryoichi. Just in time, Ryoichi concentrated chakra into his feet, managing to stick himself to the branch. He grabbed Hikari by her foot and pulled her up.

"That idio-" Hikari started to mutter when Ryoichi hushed her.

"Look over there," he whispered.

She raised her eyes and saw a man dressed in a gray robe, leaning on a tree trunk, a bit further into the clearing of the woods.

"Shit…" Kenji mumbled below them, rubbing his foot. "Why did you stop??" he looked up at the tree.

"That idiot will wake him up," Hikari whispered.

"That's fine too." Ryoichi moved to the other tree, until he reached the clearing.

"Hey, Ryoichi!! Hikari!!" they heard Kenji calling. "Where did you go???"

Ryoichi watched the robed man lift his head at the shouting and remained silent. Hikari looked back and forth nervously between the man and Kenji who made his way on the ground.

"We should at least warn him," she whispered.

"If he has so much potential, I want to see how he fights," Ryoichi whispered back. "I bet he would just pee in his pants and run off."

"Hey kid. Would you stop shouting?" the man grumbled at Kenji in a harsh voice.

Kenji stopped walking and looked at the man. "Um… have you seen…" Kenji's voice trailed off as the man got up and paced towards him.

"You're a Leaf shinobi?" the man inquired.

"Hey, what are you…" Kenji asked when the man grabbed his arm. "Let go of me!"

"You might be useful to me."

"Let go!" Kenji struggled to break from the stranger's grip. He kicked the man's thigh and broke free. "What are you trying to do?"

The man threw away his robe and faced Kenji.

"Ryo-kun…" Hikari grabbed Ryoichi's arm. "It's not a robber…" she whispered.

"What are you talking about?"

"Look at his arm."

Ryoichi suddenly saw what Hikari was referring to. A strip with a silver badge, shining in the afternoon sunlight, was tied to the man's arm. And when he moved, they could see the symbol of the Hidden Cloud village.

A smirk crept onto Ryoichi's lips.

Meanwhile Kenji stood defensively, eyeing the other ninja. "Stand back, or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?"

"I'll kick your ass."

The man laughed.

"Ryo-kun, we have to go help him… there's no way he can win against a ninja. And I don't think it's a Genin."

"Be quiet." Ryoichi crouched on the branch and continued to watch the scene.

Hikari frowned and looked on as well.

"Fine." Kenji clenched his fists. "It gives me a chance to practice the new moves Lee-sensei taught me." He charged at the adult.

The grown ninja was ready to counter Kenji's attack, when the boy slid between his spread legs, spun around and stretched his leg for a high kick, knocking the Cloud shinobi off his feet.

"Hmph." Ryoichi stood up again and folded his arms. "Just luck."

"Hmm, you're better than I thought, brat." The shinobi got up. "But it's not going to help you." He started to perform a seal.

"Genjutsu?" Hikari whispered as she followed the performance of the seal. "There's no way Kenji could-"

The boy lunged at the shinobi again, before he could finish his seal. Hikari and Ryoichi watched as the fight continued.

"He improved… I can't believe he can fight like that." Hikari was impressed.

Ryoichi dug his fingers into the tree. "Yes."

Suddenly two more robed figures appeared out of thin air. One of them reached out and smacked Kenji's head, sending him to the ground.

"Fighting with kids?" they asked their teammate.

"Huh?" both children were dazed when the two other figures took off their robes, looking identical to the first shinobi.

"No way…" Hikari whispered. "Clones?"

Ryoichi didn't reply. He just continued to look quietly at the unfolding scene.

"There's no way he could match with the three of them! Ryo-kun… please help him." Hikari touched Ryoichi's arm and he shrugged her off, without saying a word.

Kenji backed away from his opponents, his arms still raised defensively. His face was dirty and sported grazes and bruises. A dark stain started to spread in his headband as it soaked blood. He breathed heavily as he watched the three identical shinobis stepping towards him.

"Ryo-kun, I know Kenji can be stupid and annoying…" Hikari's voice trembled as she looked at her friend's blank face. "But… he's your brother. Can you really just stand by? He could die!"

Ryoichi frowned. "If he dies, he's just not good enough."

"If you're not going to help him, I will," Hikari told him and prepared to jump off the tree.

"What are you doing?" He grabbed her arm. "You'll get yourself killed."

"At least I won't just watch him get killed!" she hissed at him. "How can you be so heartless to your brother? If it were Takumi-chan, I-"

"Shut up…" Ryoichi growled. "You don't know anything. Just shut up."

"Are you afraid?" she asked.

Ryoichi furrowed his brow as he looked away from Hikari and back at his brother. Kenji was now surrounded by the three shinobis. Blood was oozing under his headband, making a path on his pale face. One of the shinobis pulled a spear from behind his back, making Kenji jump back.

"Stay here," Ryoichi ordered the girl.

She frowned at him, and was about to jump off the tree anyway, when Ryoichi jumped instead.

"Hey you," he said, grabbing the three shinobis' attention. "You've got a problem with my brother?"

"Ryo-kun." Hikari smiled briefly, but quickly her expression darkened again. "I have to… they can't fight against them alone… I have to call for help…" She turned around and started running over the tree tops, making her way back to the Leaf village.

'Ryo-kun… Kenji… hold on until I find someone to help you.'

***

Naruto raised his eyes briefly from his ramen when he felt the familiar presence behind him. Indeed Sasuke sat down next to him and ordered sake.

"How are you?" he turned to Naruto.

The blond just shifted in his seat and stirred his soup with the spoon without looking at Sasuke. "I should be asking you," he said quietly after a moment. "I didn't know you woke up."

"A couple of days ago," Sasuke replied and nodded in gratitude when he received the little jar of sake and tiny glass. "Sake?" He offered Naruto the glass he filled with the warm alcohol, but the blond shook his head and Sasuke brought it to his lips instead and downed it with one gulp.

"We need to talk." He glanced at the cook who was standing nearby. There was no sign of his assistant.

"We're talking." Naruto still didn't bother to look at Sasuke. He just continued to stir his ramen disinterestedly.

Sasuke sighed and poured himself a second glass. After looking at the cook again, he turned his eyes back to Naruto. "I know you hate me, but you have to listen to what I have to say, all right?"

Naruto shrugged. "Go on."

"You have to go and apologize to the Lord's wife."

Naruto huffed and slurped his ramen loudly. "It's not your concern," he finally said dryly, his voice void of emotions.

"Yes, it is. Tsunade worked very hard to prepare the ground for you, don't screw it up."

"Since when are you Tsunade's lap dog?" Naruto scoffed.

Sasuke was silent for a moment and downed his third glass of sake. Nauto, surprised that his former lover took the insult, glanced at him for the first time. Sasuke was fondling the small jar of sake and seemed to be deep in thought. His dark bangs hid his face from Naruto. He was wearing black jeans and a tight navy blue turtle neck shirt that brought out his muscles. Naruto found himself staring at his ex-lover, when finally Sasuke put down his glass and lowered his head.

"It's not like you to wallow in self-pity," he said quietly.

"What is like me?" Naruto asked in disdain. "To put my happy mask all the time and pretend nothing gets to me? I'm not allowed to be cranky? And it's not self-pity." He raised his voice and eyed Sasuke, then his face softened. "I'm sorry…" he sighed. "About your team…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, you didn't just lose Konohamaru… Kiba told me…"

Sasuke looked away and sighed.

"Sasuke." Naruto lowered his voice.

"What?" Sasuke returned his eyes to the blond.

"I don't hate you."

The dark-haired Jounin furrowed his brows in confusion as he looked at Naruto's face. He wasn't about to show it, but he was a bit thrown off by the blond's sudden mood swing.

"But I'm not going to forgive you."

"I understand." Sasuke nodded and drank up the last drop of sake. "I've hurt you, there's no reason I could think of for you to forgive me."

"No, you still don't get it," Naruto sighed and Sasuke perked his head, looking at the blond in interest. "It's not that you've hurt me. It's not about me at all. It's about Hinata… she didn't… she could have… she had her whole life ahead of her… she had dreams too." His voice died out and Sasuke looked down at his sake again.

"You were right though," Naruto continued and Sasuke raised his eyes to his ex-lover. "I hated myself. Because… I… I wanted you to be jealous," he said quietly. "I was so angry at you that I wanted to drive you insane with jealousy. There was a part of me… I wanted to hurt you."

Sasuke scratched his head, taking his eyes off Naruto. "It wasn't your fault. I guess we were…" He followed the cook's movements with his dark eyes, making sure his voice was only audible to Naruto's ears. "We were young and reckless. And we've done… I’ve done things I wish I hadn't…" He curved his mouth before continuing, returning his eyes to Naruto. "And some things I don't regret."

They didn't need to elaborate on words to understand each other. Naruto nodded and lowered his eyes back to his nearly empty bowl of ramen. Sasuke got up and put his hands in his pockets. He turned to walk away and stopped before Naruto. "You, don't do things you'll regret."

Naruto was quiet for a moment and watched as Sasuke started to leave. "Sasuke," he said quietly, making the other man stop in his tracks. "We should exchange sakazuki sometime," he found himself saying in a half whisper. Sasuke's face remained stoic as he nodded and then continued walking away.

Naruto went back to his ramen, feeling oddly relieved. The silent agreement with Sasuke that everything that ever happened between them was now in the past, made him feel like his soul had been relieved of the countless tons of brick that had been part of him for years. He felt free.

"Oji-san!" He grabbed the cook's attention, holding high his empty bowl. "I'd like seconds, please!"

"Coming right up!" the old man replied.

"Naruto-sensei!!" Naruto perked his head when he heard a distant cry.

"Here you go," the old man put the new dish of ramen in front of him and Naruto turned his eyes to study the old man. Of course he wouldn't have heard the voice. Most humans had a short earshot. Naruto got up and scanned the street.

Indeed, after a while, Hikari came into his view, panting hard. "Naruto-sensei!" she called again when she spotted him. She held her side and ran up to him inside of the ramen bar.

"Naruto-sensei," she whispered and tugged on his sleeve. "You… I thought you'd… be here…"

"What is it, Hikari-kun?" he asked in concern, holding her shoulder. He'd never seen her so out of breath, pale and worried before.

"Kenji… Ryo-kun…" she panted. "He didn't mean it… he didn't mean it…" Her eyes watered as she looked up at him. "You have to help them… he… he… they'll die!" she raised her voice.

Naruto furrowed his brow. "Where are they?"

Hikari grabbed his hand and led him away.

"Hey! What about your—" the cook started yelling after them, but sighed and just took the bowl away.

***

Sasuke wasn't sure what exactly he was feeling. He was free of the shadow that had haunted him for years, and it felt good. But on the other hand, it was now officially over between him and Naruto and it didn't matter that it was better for both of them, he still wished deep inside that things could have turned out differently. Sasuke pushed the thought off his mind.

There were other things to worry about, like trying harder with his sons. Kenji needed a confidence boost, and Ryoichi… he still needed healing. Naruto needed to walk a different path and if they tried to do it together, they'd only drag each other back to the chasm out of which they had just climbed.

As his mind returned to the road, he realized he was heading towards the monument. It would be weird to return to active status and lead a new team. It seemed like his entire life had reached a turning point and he needed to bid farewell to his old life first. The last time he had felt that way, Naruto had been there to hold his hand and lead him to the light. Now he was all alone.

He raised his eyes when he heard a quick swish of leaves.

Ninjas passing.

Indeed high above him, he saw them. Shikamaru's daughter, who looked like she was already operating beyond her powers, passed by, skipping from tree to tree. She was followed quickly by Naruto, who kept a measured distance behind her.

'What is he up to?' Sasuke looked on as they disappeared from his sight.


TBC