Homecoming

Part Seven
Face Off


Naruto sighed as he stepped out of the shower and stood in front of the sink. He cleared a spot in the steams that covered the mirror. Sad blue orbs stared back at him. His body was still sore despite his fast healing ability. The places where Sasuke's body came in touch with his skin were still burning.

Watching Sasuke sleep peacefully in his arms almost made him feel like old times. He wanted to wrap his hands around the pale body and make time freeze. Sasuke may have aged and was no longer the boy Naruto knew him as. But when he was in his arms and looked so peaceful, it seemed for a moment like it was their first night together all over again.

It made Naruto wish things could be different. As much as he tried to deny it, he missed the times he wasn't alone. The times he felt he was a part of someone else. When Sasuke acknowledged his strength for the first time and made a promise they will never be lonely again.

Naruto clenched his teeth and sent his fist to his reflection, shattering the mirror into dozens of broken promises.

The blood on his knuckles quickly vanished and for a moment Naruto wished he could vanish as well like the blood.

His kyuubi chakra healed his wounds and the broken mirror would be fixed, but the pain in his broken heart was cureless, and the deep wound he tried to ignore never stopped bleeding.

Naruto started dressing somberly, feeling dispirited. For years he'd put on a happy face and pretended to be a happy-go-lucky guy, just like when he was a child. Having people feel sorry for him was never an option. First of all, they hated him. And besides, he hated feeling sorry for himself, it was a waste of time and energy.

'Almost a decade had passed…' a thought crossed Naruto's mind as he bit his thumb till it started bleeding.

"Eh…? wah, ow!" A small toad looked around in confusion. "Lead me to the danger, master! I'm ready! Who's the bastard we're fighting? Where's the battle?"

Naruto chuckled and picked up the toad. "There's no battle, wart-face. I just needed someone to talk to."

"Oh," the toad said in comprehension. "In that case, do you have any snacks?"

"I'm afraid I only have cup ramen," Naruto put the toad on his shoulder and walked out of the small bathroom.

"No thanks," the toad croaked. "Last time I dived into a bowl of a ramen it almost ended in a tragedy."

Naruto chuckled and started making himself a cup ramen, while listening to GamaKichi's stories about life in the swamp.

Finally, the blond Jounin poured the hot water to the instant ramen, and blended it under the toad's watchful eye.

"Hmmm…" he snapped the chopsticks. "Itadakimasu!"

The toad watched him eating for a short while. "So, what's buggin' ya kiddo?"

Naruto smiled at him and sucked a few noodles into his mouth. "I don't really know how to explain it, so I guess I'll just start from the beginning," he said once he finished swallowing his ramen.


Naruto perked his head when he heard a knock on his door. His heart started beating faster as he walked to open the door.

"Sasuke!" he gasped.

"Hey…" the dark-haired Jounin looked behind him before entering Naruto's apartment. "We need to talk." He closed the door behind him and grabbed Naruto's hand, leading him to the bedroom.

"Talk?" Naruto raised his eyebrows. "After you've been avoided me for nearly a week?"

"That's…" Sasuke stammered. "That's not true… I came to see you…"

"You only slept with me and left before I woke up." Naruto pointed and was hushed when Sasuke reached out his hand to his lips.

"Don't say it like that." Sasuke looked into his eyes. "I was busy… I…"

Naruto grabbed his shoulders with both his hands. "Sasuke, tell me the truth. I'm not a COMPLETE moron, you know. And I know something is bothering you… your body doesn't lie."

Sasuke sighed and lowered his eyes. "I've been thinking a lot lately."

"Woah, and your brain survived the overload?" Naruto chirped and received a bump to his head in response.

He stuck out his tongue as he rubbed his head.

"I'm serious." Sasuke got up and started pacing back and forth in front of Naruto.

The blond stopped smiling and looked at his lover in surprise. "Wh… what's wrong?"

Sasuke buried his eyes in the floor and shuffled his legs. "I… uh, I want to get married."

Naruto blinked, his bottom lip dropping. "But… but… but we can't… can we?"

Sasuke grimaced without raising his eyes to the blond. "Not to you… moron…" he whispered.

"What?" Naruto asked in confusion and rubbed his head. "I don't understand…"

Sasuke clutched his fists and didn't raise his head to look at Naruto. "I'm almost twenty years old… it's time I take on my duties…"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Would you stop pretending to be so thick-headed?!" Sasuke snapped, glaring at the blond.

"At least now you look me in the eyes," Naruto said quietly, furrowing his brows.

Sasuke's face softened. "You know I made a vow to revive my clan."

"I know…" Naruto sighed. "But I thought… I thought since you were with me… that you…"

"I don't like it," Sasuke said and moved closer, resting his hand on Naruto's head. "But I have my responsibility as the last Uchiha member."

Naruto shook his head to avoid Sasuke's hand and got up, pacing over to the window. He moved the curtain aside and glanced outside. "You're going to propose to Sakura-chan, aren't you?"

When no response came from the dark-haired shinobi, Naruto raised his eyes. "Aren't you?"

"She's smart and got some skills…" Sasuke curved his mouth. "And she's the only girl I can stand around me… "

"And she's the only girl who's still head over heels in love with you," Naruto pointed dryly.

"I could, in theory, get any girl I want."

"You're going to use Sakura-chan's feelings for you…" Naruto hissed. "How can you do this?"

"She loves me. She's always saying how she would do anything for me. I won't force her into anything." Sasuke replied quietly.

Naruto frowned, turning away from the window. His eyes started to water as he looked at Sasuke's pale face.

"And what about me?" Naruto's voice trembled. "If you're going to… to marry… someone else… we're… we…"

"Hey," Sasuke said and covered the distance between them quickly. He cupped Naruto's face, making him look up at him. "I never said I'm letting you go."

Naruto blinked back his tears as he looked at the taller boy. "But…"

Sasuke leaned in and kissed him briefly. "I'm not ever planning on letting you go."

"But, Sasuke, how can you… if you're going to…"

"What have we been doing so far? It's not like the world knows we're together. So we can continue just like before." He leaned in to kiss Naruto again.

"No," Naruto mumbled against Sasuke's mouth, before pushing him away. Sasuke looked at him, narrowing his eyes.

"This isn't right." The blond stomped away from Sasuke, before turning to face him again. "You're asking me to cheat on Sakura-chan! I could never do such a thing!"

Sasuke sighed and licked his lips. "Naruto… that's the only way we can be together."

"Stop, stop." Naruto waved his arms. "Stop that. There's no 'we'. Apparently there never was a 'we'."

"What are you blubbering about, moron?" Sasuke muttered.

"I will NEVER do anything to hurt Sakura-chan!!" Naruto yelled at him. "And you… if you do anything to hurt her, I'll NEVER forgive you!"

Sasuke frowned and glared at him.

"If you're planning to go on with this 'duty' of yours… fine. I won't stand in the way of the revival of your clan. But you can't have everything, Sasuke. I won't be a loverboy waiting here for you, while you lie and betray Sakura-chan." Naruto didn't bother to hold back his tears anymore. "If you choose Sakura-chan over me, I'll understand. No hard feelings. But it will be over between us as anything more than friends."

Sasuke pondered Naruto's words for a long moment, his eyes focused on the floor. Finally, he turned around and walked over to the door. Naruto's eyes followed him as he left. As he opened the door he turned to face Naruto again.

"Naruto…"

The blond looked at him in silence.

"It's not Sakura I'm choosing over you. I just want you to know that."

Naruto wiped his eyes and returned his stare to the dark-haired boy. "And I want you to know that I meant what I said. If you make her cry, I'll never forgive you."


A loud noise outside made Naruto jump from his chair. "What was that?" he asked the toad.

"I didn't hear anything," the toad said. "So, you and that Orochimaru's toy had a thing going?"

"Don't call him that!" Naruto protested. "Don't ever mention that snake's name again either."

"Still, what a shock…"

Naruto looked away, seemingly interested in something else. "Anyway, that's the story. You can go now…" he said quietly and then turned sharply to the toad. "Hey, wart-face, if you croak about it in the swamp, if GamaBunta mentions it… I swear I'm gonna have frogs legs for dinner!" he pointed his finger at the toad.

"Ha! I'm a toad, not a frog!"

"I'm serious. I'll never give you a snack!"

"Stingy…" the toad muttered and hopped away, disappearing from Naruto's sight.

Naruto's eyes averted back to the door, as he focused all his senses to the outside. He grabbed the chopsticks from his half eaten ramen and walked out the door. He jumped from the staircase railing and raised the chopsticks, aiming them in an attack position, ready to stab.

The person he attacked gasped in surprise as he was tackled to the ground. Naruto raised his head to look at him with a broad smile.

"Iruka-sensei! What are you doing sneaking in to my home?" he asked and got up.

The Chuunin got up as well and brushed his sleeves. "Sneaking?? Is that not the main entrance to your building?"

Naruto laughed. "I'm just teasing you, relax."

"Is everything all right, Naruto?" Iruka asked him. "The kids don't give you a hard time?"

"Well, they're… quite a challenge," Naruto chuckled as he started to go up the stairs, followed by his ex-teacher. "But you know… I think I'll survive."

Iruka laughed. "That's good to hear. I'm very happy that you're back, Naruto."

"Are you really?" Naruto smiled softly.

"I was worried about you, leaving like that without a word." Iruka sat down next to the table looking at the uneaten ramen. "I was worried if you were eating well, and if you've got enough sleep, and if you were healthy…"

"I appreciate your concern, mommy." Naruto winked at him. "As you can see, no need to worry about me."

"I wonder…" Iruka said with a sigh. "Aren’t you going to finish this?" he asked, pointing at the ramen.

"It's cold." Naruto got up and picked up the bowl.

"Naruto…"

"Hm?" Naruto turned to look at him.

"Nothing…" the Chuunin smiled. "I'm just thinking how you really look like a man now. I'm proud of you."

Naruto's face lit up as he smiled at the older man. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei…" He turned sharply to the opened door. "What is it, Konohamaru?"

"Wow, you're good." Konohamaru made himself visible. "Just what I expected from you, Naruto-niisan."

"Hey, Konohamaru." Iruka-sensei waved at him.

"Ah, Iruka-sensei, since you are here, how about both of you coming over for dinner?" the young Jounin asked.

"Thank you, but I've already had dinner." Naruto declined politely and Iruka eyed him suspiciously.

"Oh." Konohamaru lowered his eyes. "Well, it is getting late… hm, how about tomorrow then?"

"Sure," Naruto smiled at him and Konohamaru looked at Iruka.

"I think it's all right with me." Iruka smiled too.

"Good then. I'll see you tomorrow at seven. Iruka-sensei, show him the way." Konohamaru winked at the teacher, in a way that implied there was a hidden meaning to his words.

With that, Konohamaru disappeared.

"He'd become quite a man as well," Iruka said cheerfully, holding his hand behind his head. "You've all grown up so nicely."

"Yeah," Naruto whispered. "Iruka-sensei, I hate to be so impolite, but I'm very tired. Those kids are more chakra consuming than any jutsu."

His ex teacher laughed briefly. "Now you know how I felt when I was teaching you lot!"

"Yeah, I guess." Naruto rubbed his head. "Thank you for visiting, Iruka-sensei, and your words… it means a lot."

"Take care of yourself. I'll see you tomorrow." Iruka nodded and left.

Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose and walked away to his bedroom.


TBC