Homecoming

Part Eight
Memories from the Leaf #3


"Ojisan, I'll have pork ramen please," Naruto said as he sat down next to the counter at Ichiraku ramen place.

He smiled in satisfaction as he received the steamy bowl. There was nothing like freshly cooked ramen to help him forget everything for a few good minutes.

"Naruto!" A hand swatted his shoulder playfully.

Naruto sucked in the noodles in his surprise, he groaned when their ends splashed hot soup on his face. "Sakura-chan… you surprised me. Aren't you supposed to be at the academy at this hour?"

"I got some free time." The pink-headed girl smiled and sat in the stool next to him. "How are you?"

"I'm good, just relaxing before I have to go on a mission to the southwest border."

"You have a lot of missions lately," Sakura commented. "We hardly get to see you anymore."

Naruto smiled and rubbed his head. "You know where to find me!"

"Um…" Sakura hesitated and looked down, fixating her eyes on Naruto's ramen. "Did Sasuke-kun tell you? Um, about us?"

Naruto hurried to pick up the bowl and slurped loudly.

"Naruto?"

He put down the food and looked at her, smiling lightly. "He did. Uh, congratulations."

Sakura smiled and rested her chin on her hand. "It feels really weird… I've been fantasizing about this for years… and now he came to see me… and I still feel like it's a dream…"

"Well, it sure isn't a dream," Naruto replied and perked his head. "Sakura-chan, are you happy?"

She smiled at him again and nodded, closing her eyes.

"Good."

"Well…" Sakura stopped smiling and looked down, her face darkening. "I know he doesn't love me, and I know the reason behind this…"

Naruto bit his lip and looked away, feeling uncomfortable.

"But I hope… I hope he will grow to love me… I hope somehow I'll make him fall in love with me."

"I just…" Naruto mumbled, fondling his chopsticks absently. "I just think you deserve to be happy, Sakura-chan." He picked more noodles and shoved them into his mouth.

'Even if I'm terribly jealous of you…' he thought without looking at his companion. 'You will be a part of Sasuke's life that I could never be…'

In the five years since Naruto had started seeing Sasuke intimately, he couldn't even call it 'dating', he always wished he could go out with him in public. They always walked side by side, keeping a suitable distance between them, their fingers touching ever so slightly, so as not to raise a suspicion. They'd squeeze their hands briefly, when no one was looking, or rub their legs against the other under the table. Even if they were lucky enough to be teamed together for a mission, it was always the mission first. After all, first and foremost they were proud Leaf ninja.

Sakura-chan will be able to walk with Sasuke in public. Hold hands with him, kiss him, touch him. And she could do for him what Naruto only dreamed he could.

She could fulfill Sasuke's wish.

Even if it were ever possible for them to be together, Naruto couldn't have done the most important thing that Sasuke so desired.

So it was better this way. Naruto liked Sakura-chan a lot. Even if it hurt like hell. Even if in his darkest moments, late at night, he wished she never existed.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled softly and put his hand on her shoulder. "Sasuke likes you best out of all the women in this village. You know how he is when it comes to… his clan, you know. If he chose you, it's gotta mean something, ne?"

Sakura's face brightened. "Thank you, Naruto. You're always so nice to me…" she sniffled back a few tears. "I wish you could find someone who will make you happy."

"Don't worry about me."

"Naruto, I never did understand why you rejected Hinata when she asked you out," Sakura said and wiped her tears. "I thought you liked her."

"I do like her," Naruto said. "I just… well, you know… I've never thought about these things…" he stammered. "Besides, she's better not getting involved with a guy like me. I’m a demon…"

"You are not a demon, Naruto!" Sakura protested.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan… but I'm not exactly a normal guy either."

Sakura poked his headband. "No, you're not. You're our future Hokage."

"Naruto! There you are!" another Jounin interrupted them. "Genma is looking for you, we're ready to leave for the mission."

"Oh, I'll be right there!" Naruto said and started eating his ramen faster, stuffing as many noodles as he could into his mouth.

"Well, I'll go then," Sakura said and got up. "Good luck on the mission. Try to be back for the wedding, okay?"

"Uhhhmm…" Naruto hummed with his mouthful.

***

Naruto sat quietly on the middle log in the practice area, overlooking the fallen heroes' monument. Far away from there, in the center of the village, his two best friends were getting married in a traditional ceremony.

'Best friends… what a joke…' Naruto huffed to himself and wrapped his arms around his body.

Sakura would probably look for him. There are so many people there that he could tell her he was lost in the crowd. Most likely she'd be so ecstatic she wouldn't care much.

Funny how he prepared himself for days, memorizing how to say congratulations without betraying his emotions, and he still chickened out and decided not to attend.

'Coward'

He doubted Sasuke expected him to show up anyway. Sasuke never tried to seek him, not as a friend, and he didn't try to press on Naruto to change his decision either.

Naruto sighed. He couldn't shut down the part of him that yearned for Sasuke to beg him to come back. The part that wanted Sasuke to need him until it drove him crazy.

"Naruto-kun?" he raised his head in surprise when he heard Hinata's shy voice.

He was so surprised he nearly doubled and fell from the log. "Hinata! What are you doing here?"

She smiled sweetly at him and looked around the practice area before returning her silver eyes to him. "I always come here to train…"

He rubbed the back of his head. "That's right… but I didn't expect… I, uh… I thought everyone was down at the wedding."

"Father prefers that we don't celebrate Uchiha holidays. Hyuuga and Uchiha only come together in time of war, when the village needs them to unite. That's what he said." She shuffled her legs and looked down. "Hmm… I went there for a little while, because Sakura-chan is my friend, and…" she slowly raised her eyes to look at Naruto. "Why aren't you there?"

Naruto smiled softly and slid himself down until he sat on the ground, his body against the log. "I thought I'd just be in the way…"

Hinata sat down next to Naruto. She didn't press him to talk, just reached out and caressed his arm lightly.

"Hinata, why are you so nice to me?" he asked, raising his face to look at her. "I wasn't very nice to you when I turned you down two years ago."

"I didn't think you weren't nice, I thought you were honest." She smiled softly at him.

Naruto smiled back at her. Hinata was definitely one of his favorite people in Konoha. She changed quite a lot from the shy girl she was. She was still fragile looking and gentle, but with the years she grew more confident, adamant that her peaceful nature was not going to be tarnished just because she was the heir to the Hyuuga house. She wanted to believe in her way. Naruto respected that a lot.

He scanned her tender face. Her black, shoulder length hair was a complete contrast to her pale skin. It reminded him Sasuke when he was a few years younger. Naruto used to tease him and call him 'snow white', because of his snowy skin and his raven black eyes and longish hair. Sasuke would usually beat him up in response, to assure him he was nowhere near as mild as a princess. Naruto let out a sneer at the memory. With the years, Sasuke began to lose his feminine beauty and look more and more like a man.

"What are you thinking about?" Hinata's voice cut through his daydreaming.

"Oh…" Naruto's sneer turned into a brief chuckle and he found himself staring at her rose colored lips. "You know Hinata, you look like snow white." His eyes wrinkled with a smile.

Hinata blushed at the remark and fidgeted her fingers together. Naruto reached out and rested his thumb under her chin, making her look at him. Her cheeks reddened even more as he leaned in and kissed her softly.

"Stay with me?" he asked, voice quiet. "I don't want to be alone again."

***

A couple of weeks after the wedding, Sakura still felt like she was walking on clouds. Sure, Sasuke was still aloof and uncomfortable around her, but he was alone for most of his life. It was probably hard for him to share his personal space with someone else. She enjoyed the little displays of concern he showed her. Who knew Sasuke was so sweet? Always asking how she felt, and if she was comfortable in his house, he even asked her to decorate the place however she felt like. He was really trying to make her feel at home.

The only thing was that he still kept a wall around him. They weren't really any closer than they were before they got married. But Sakura wasn't going to let it ruin her joy. She had all her life to find a way into his heart. There was no rush.

"Sakura…" Sasuke uttered under his breath. "You're squeezing my arm."

"Oh, sorry," she apologized and smiled, releasing his arm from her hold. It took some effort to get him to come downtown to shop with her. His house still looked more like a museum than a place people lived in. And it lacked colors in the worst way.

She stopped in front of a stand that was selling colorful carpets and curtains. "Oh, it's beautiful!" she called and started caressing the material. "What do you think, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke exhaled and raised his eyes from the floor. Even though they were married, she still didn't get rid of the courteous title she attached to his name for years. He forced the corners of his mouth to twitch into a small smile as he nodded. "Pick whatever you want…" he mumbled. "Uh, just not the pink one."

"Aw, but that is the most beautiful one!" she pouted. "How about this one then?"

Sasuke gave it a brief look and muttered his okay. He felt his body stiffen when he spotted a familiar blond mane among the people.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked when she noticed his pensive face. She followed his eyes to the crowd and spotted the blond. "Hey, it's Naruto! Come on!"

Before Sasuke had a chance to protest, Sakura grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the middle of the street, blocking Naruto's way.

"Oi, Naruto!" she stood in front of him.

Naruto stopped walking and looked at them, stunned. "Sakura-chan…" he mumbled and his face brightened in a broad smile. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Sakura eyed him in a dangerous way. "What are you doing here? I thought you fled the country! You didn't come to the wedding-"

"I was, uh recovering from the mission."

"Genma was there," she mentioned.

"Ah, he's not as tender as I am." Naruto smiled.

"Mou… you've been avoiding us. You didn't even come-"

"Let him be, Sakura." Sasuke interrupted her in a quiet voice, making the two glance up at him. "He doesn't owe us anything."

"But we're his friends…" Sakura mumbled defensively, then looked back at Naruto. "At least I thought so."

"I'm sorry…" Naruto sighed. "You're right. I should've come to congratulate you. Um, how's the happy couple?"

"We're…" Sakura was dumbfounded at the change of atmosphere around them.

"Hmmph." Sasuke shrugged.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat…" Naruto smiled. "But Hinata's waiting for me…"

"Hinata?" Sakura stared at him.

Sasuke hissed under his breath, but didn't say a word.

"Yeah… uh, we've started dating recently," Naruto mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh, that's wonderful! Well, we won’t keep you. Say hi to Hinata for me!" Sakura chirped and pulled Sasuke's wrist again.

"I will," he promised.

"Maybe we could double date some time." Sakura called and waved at him, as she pulled Sasuke behind her back to the stand with the silk curtains.

***

"Hn," Genma mumbled as he kept chewing on the little stick that seemed to be permanently stuck in his mouth. "Looks like we're on the same team again."

Naruto smiled cheerfully. "Don't look so thrilled, Genma."

"I wonder why Hokage-sama thinks I'm a babysitter." Genma muttered, though a playful tone sneaked into his voice.

"More likely she wants me to keep your ass safe." Naruto stuck out his tongue. "So," he looked at the other Jounin that stood quietly next to Genma. "Kazuma is the medical nin… who's the last member? It's almost time to leave."

"I'm ready," Naruto and Genma raised their heads when the voice spoke behind them.

"You're hanging out with Kakashi too much, Uchiha," Genma commented.

Sasuke looked briefly at Naruto, before looking back at their squad leader. "Couldn't be helped. Let's go."

"He's got a wife now, Genma," Kazuma finally spoke.

"Okay, that's a good enough reason," Genma muttered before leaping away to the tree.

"Been a while since we've been on a mission together," Naruto commented as he and Sasuke were left behind.

"Yeah…" Sasuke replied uneasily then leaped after the older Jounins.

***

"Genma?" Naruto walked into the dimly lit room that served as their makeshift headquarters as they gathered information for their mission.

The door closed and Naruto turned around, facing Sasuke.

"He's still out." The other man stepped closer. "Sake?" he offered, raising a small container.

Naruto backed away and scanned the room, looking away from his teammate. "No thanks, I'm not twenty yet."

"Bullshit." Sasuke sneered and took a gulp from the bottle.

Naruto pulled out a rolled parchment from his vest and sat on the floor, crossed-legged. "Okay, until Genma returns, I'll show you what I found about the gathering-"

"It sure didn't take you long, huh?" Sasuke cut him off brutally. Naruto lifted his head as Sasuke towered over him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked quietly. "Are you drunk?"

Sasuke hissed and threw away the bottle. It crushed on the wall. Naruto flinched and got to his feet, catching Sasuke's shimmering eyes in the faint light.

"Hinata," Sasuke wheezed. "How long have you been with her?"

Naruto gasped in surprise. He didn't expect Sasuke to address the matter, especially not while they were on a mission.

"Sasuke…"

"Answer me!" the taller man raised his voice.

"A few weeks… since your wedding…" Naruto mumbled. "But what-"

"Did you fuck her?" Sasuke's raspy voice was low and ominous.

"That's none of your business," Naruto replied, ice on his tongue.

In a flash, Sasuke grabbed his shoulders and shoved him against the wall, glaring darkly. "I miss you. I'm going crazy without you."

Naruto sighed and rested his head back against the wall. "That was your choice."

"You like it that I'm jealous, don't you?" Sasuke asked quietly. "You enjoy tormenting me like this, you bastard."

"I have to admit there's some guilty pleasure…" Naruto pushed Sasuke away from him. "But I will not go back on my words. It's over, Sasuke."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and turned his back on Naruto. The blond couldn't help but smile to himself in satisfaction. Even though part of him screamed it was wrong, he still enjoyed feeling that Sasuke needed him, needed him so badly it made him lose his mind. It was sinfully intoxicating to feel such power over the dark-haired shinobi.

The door opened and the lights flickered to life. Naruto looked away from his ex-lover and watched as Genma and Kazuma walked into the room.

"I see you're already here," Genma stated. "Found anything?"

"Four hidden cloud shinobi in the eastern village, one woman," Sasuke answered, making Naruto cringe at how calm and collected he sounded. No reminiscence whatsoever to the turmoil of emotions that washed through him just a few moments before.


TBC