Skeletons in the Closet Chapter Six
Skeletons in the Closet
Chapter Six
By: Lazuli
PG-13
Disclaimers: By now, you will have all figured out that Naruto does not belong to me. Honestly…
No real warnings here-maybe slight spoilers but nothing really overt. No real pairings as of yet, but it's getting closer, I'm sure. ^_^ Enjoy!
"Sasuke-kun?" The voice asked again, more tentatively now. "I…" He turned around to see an older woman facing him, hair hanging halfway done her back and her arms full of flowers. Her hands flew up to her mouth when she took in his full appearance, the flowers tumbling all around her. "You… it can't really be…" She whispered. "He died…"
As he bent down to help her pick up the flowers, he meet her aquamarine eyes. There was something about them…He placed the remaining flowers in her hands and gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry." He murmured. "My name is Sensu Sasuke, but I just moved here not too long ago."
Pink hair fell into her face and she shook her head, eyes filling with tears. "You.. you're him-I know you're him!" Her lips trembled. "I don't understand.. " Her gaze took in the grave marker and then flicked back to him. "You mentioned Naruto's name." She seemed determined about something, needing to prove something to him. "How would a perfect stranger know to mention Naruto's name?" She asked reasonably, arranging the flowers in front of the marker.
Sasuke rolled his eyes and pointed to the names. "I was reading those." He arched an eyebrow. "So I picked a few random ones." He knelt beside her. "Why isn't Uchiha Sasuke inscribed on here?"
"You ARE him!" She latched on to his arm, instead of answering his question, tears spilling over her cheeks now. "You're a ghost or something… but.. you're here again." Her head bowed over his arm. "I didn't think that I'd ever see you again, Sasuke-kun…"
He was starting to get a little nervous and he gently pried her arm away. He didn't know how old she really was, but it was a little disturbing to have some strange woman clinging to him like he was some long-lost lover. "I am not who you think I am." He said firmly. "Why do you think I'm some other Sasuke, anyways?" His heart started to beat quicker. Answers! He thought gleefully. I'll finally have some explanations! "And who are you, anyways?"
She pulled away from him in shock, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "I guess I've changed a lot…" She whispered, staring down at the ground. "And… well… this isn't how I really look right now, but…" She gave a faint smile. "The Godaime taught me this jutsu and I happen to like it…I finally get to put it to good use." She stood up, and bowed a little more formally, even when another tear streaked down her face. "I'm Haruno Sakura." She continued to watch him with those intense eyes as if waiting for his reaction.
He just gave her a blank look for a moment, before something kicked in. "Sakura! You were on a team with Naruto!" He shook his head. "Man, wouldn't he love to hear you're still around." His lips kicked into a real smile. "I think he'd like talking to you much more than he would Neji…"
Her mouth dropped open and anger started to fill those eyes. "How can you talk about Naruto like he's still alive?" She hissed out. "Maybe you aren't Sasuke-because Sasuke would know what it meant to have a name inscribed here." She pointed at the marble monument. "Do you know what it means?"
He held his hands up in self defense. "Yeah, I know what it means." He muttered. "That's why I wanted to know why the Uchiha's name wasn't on there. With the way Naruto talked about him, you would think he would be on there. Dying bravely and all that…"
Her eyes softened slightly. "He died protecting Naruto." She said quietly. "But he was no longer a recognized citizen of Konoha by that point." Moving over to one of the stumps, she leaned against the wood, watching Sasuke. "I'm sorry for mistaking you for Sasuke-kun. It's just that… you look so much alike.." Her voice trailed off as the rest of the words sunk in. "Talk about him…I'm getting sick and tired of that stupid rumor! Naruto is dead, Sasuke is dead." She flared. "They were my teammates, and I'm going to accept people talking about them as if… as if.."
"As if one were a ghost and … existing at the Uchiha estate?" He asked dryly. "It's not a rumor, I live there and Naruto's become one of my friends." He crossed his arms over his chest. "If you had investigated the so-called rumor, then you may have found him there." He rolled his eyes. "Some friend you are." He started to walk away.
"How dare you!" Her fist connected with the ground, causing a fissure to ripple across to where he was. "Just because you look like him, doesn't give you a reason to bad mouth me or him or what we went through."
He blinked in shock and he was forcibly reminded of the way he snapped the other day. He held out a hand to placate her. "Look-I'm not trying to lecture you or anything. I honestly live at the Uchiha estate and Naruto's been there for the last eighty-odd years. He talks about his teammates sometimes."
She paused, eyeing him as if she wasn't sure how to react to that. "I can't imagine Naruto sticking around." She said softly. "But I also never expected to see a Sasuke look alike at our old training grounds, either."
He made a face. "If you were Naruto's teammate… how old are you really?" Neji had looked incredibly old, and this Sakura-person had to be as old as him-but she didn't look that old. More like half the age that Neji looked. He heard some woman aged more gracefully than others, but that was just… weird.
She scowled at him and brushed off her dress. "That's not something you need to know. Never ask a lady her age." She clenched a fist and waved in threateningly. "And don't start making guesses or I'll hurt you."
Snickering at that, he simply shook his head. "If you were Naruto's teammate, I think I know-but I won't say anything." His gaze sharpened in on hers. "You said that I looked like this Sasuke that you knew?" He demanded. "I just knew I had the same name as him…."
She nodded and began walking back towards the town, gesturing for him to follow him. Now that she put it in her mind that he wasn't her old teammate, she was much more reserved. "You look remarkably similar, Sensu-san. I truly thought I was seeing a ghost when I came across you in the old training grounds." Her smile still had a touch of pain in it. "Do you think it's silly of me to still look for my old friends, even when I know they're long gone?"
"I don't think that at all, Haruno-san." He felt a type simple affection for her through his association with Naruto. At the thought of the blond, his lips quirked up in a brief, amused smile. I teased him about bringing back a souvenir-it probably wasn't quite what he had in mind.
"Sensu-san…" He was brought back to the immediate moment by Sakura's voice. "Would you like to see a picture of Naruto when he was younger?" His eyes were amused. "If you know him now-" Her voice still showed traces of doubt-"Then I'm sure you'd be amused to see what he looked like when he was twelve." She paused and looked away for a moment. "It's the only picture I have of Sasuke, too…"
He nodded, but didn't want to seem so eager. I look like Uchiha Sasuke? Naruto never said a thing, but it makes sense now why he hid the picture from me…He gave Sakura another smile. "I'd really like that, Haruno-san."
~
He looked around the simple house, eyes taking in the details of it. There were pictures on the walls, boxes and other items stacked on shelves. It was clear that she lived alone-although it hadn't always been that way.
"Make yourself comfortable." Sakura called from another part of the house. "It'll take me a moment to find my old team picture." He gave a murmur of assent as he looked at the other pictures on the wall. Sakura-younger-with a group of friends, posing proudly in what looked like a new uniform. A picture of a weird looking guy with the most insane eyebrows he'd ever seen with his arm around Sakura's shoulders…
"That is a picture of my husband and I when we first starting dating." Sakura's voice startled him. He turned around to see her with a picture frame in her hands. "I think you'll see what I mean with the resemblance."
She placed the frame in his hands, and stood back, watching him and gauging his reaction. His eyes immediately went to the center of the photograph, where a gray-haired man stood smiling, hands resting on two heads. Sakura - a much younger one here-was directly in front of him, smiling. Naruto…his lips kicked into a grin as she saw what Sakura meant about seeing Naruto as a twelve-year old. He was scowling, arms crossed over his chest and he was wearing a hideous orange outfit. The last person….
He nearly dropped the picture as he stared with wide eyes. The Sasuke in the picture could have easily been him at twelve years old. The same dark hair-although he never wore it spiked out like that-the same expression on his face. It was eerie and he gave the picture back to Sakura slowly and met her eyes. "I think we need to have a talk with Naruto."
~
Sakura moved slowly as they came up to the Uchiha estate, her eyes starting to fill with tears again. "I haven't been here in years." She whispered, head bowed. "Not since…" She cleared her throat. "Not since Naruto died."
He wasn't sure what to say to that, but he guided her to the front entrance, treating her like he would a member of his family. "Well, Naruto'll probably have a lot to say when he sees you." He muttered. And I've got a lot to ask him! I can understand a little why he didn’t tell me, but now I understand all those weird looks.
"You bet I'd have tons to say." Naruto suddenly appeared in front of them, looking torn between frustrated and amused. "When I asked for you to experience stuff form my old life, I didn't expect you to bring back one of my old teammates." He gave Sakura a cheeky grin, who was staring open mouthed at him. "Nice to see you employing Tsunade-baba's techniques."
"You… Naruto… I…" She gave him a dirty look, fist raising as if to punch him. "What the hell are you still doing around, you idiot?!" She looked ready to cry and started to lean against Naruto, but she only went through him. He was watching her with a sad expression. She managed a small smile. "It's like Team 7 is together again… only considerably changed."
"Not really." He muttered. "Two of us are here at least." His eyes brightened, and it was clear to see how happy he was at having Sakura here. More so than Neji for certain. "It's good to see you again, Sakura-chan." He looked between her and Sasuke and he suddenly groaned. "Don't tell me you mistook Sasuke for…" Out of all the people to run into-and for to be alive…it had to be Sakura. Neji he could trust to be discreet. Sakura'd blurt it out immediately.
Sasuke suddenly frowned at Naruto. "Yeah-she did." He wasn't precisely angry, but still vaguely annoyed. "You never told me, Naruto… that I looked like your friend." His eyes softened as he took in the ghost's crestfallen expression. "Did you think I would take it the wrong way or something?"
He closed his eyes and shook his head, praying for some type of solution for this mess. "It just… wasn't that important." He said lamely. "I didn't want to get mixed up in my own head, so I automatically separated the two of you." It was a weak excuse and Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Naruto tried to continue. "Looks aren't everything, you know…"
Sakura snorted as she made herself comfortable. "You're so full of it, Naruto." She said bluntly. "You're just scared to tell this Sasuke about what happened in the past. It's not like he's going to hold it against you or something." Her arms crossed over her chest. "Maybe he's here for a reason."
Thank you, Sakura-chan. Naruto thought bitterly. Go right head, don't hold back. Speak in front of him like he doesn't exist, let's risk him going batty and making him think about stuff that doesn't concern him. "That's not true." He growled out. "He's not the same person and I'm not going to make it seem like he is."
"Naruto-" Sasuke spoke up, shaking his head briefly. "I know that I'm not your friend from before-I just …I just wish that you had told me. People have been giving me strange looks all this time and I had no idea what was going on." He grimaced. "No wonder people kept watching me. I look like this other Sasuke."
There's a whole lot more to it than that, and I hope Sakura didn't do much more than say he looked like … well… himself. Naruto grimaced. "Probably." He agreed easily. "Nice to know that's out in the open. Now I won't have to hide my pictures anymore, or worry about you sneaking around." His lips curved into an amused smile. "Nosy."
Sasuke smirked. "Hey, I had every right." He looked over at Sakura, who still seemed to be in a state of semi-shock. "He was hiding everything from me like some old man intent on hoarding treasure or something." He paused and then grinned. "Or like some kid with a stash of candy."
Sakura laughed aloud at that one, not bothering to hide her amusement. "With Naruto, it'd be boxes of ramen." She had an almost evil grin on her face. "Since this is just like old times…" Her eyes took in Sasuke and Naruto. "Sasuke…would you like hearing stories about how idiotic Naruto was when he was a kid?"
Sasuke grinned and ignored Naruto's annoyed protests. "Since you were on a team with him… I'm sure you know tons about him." He smirked at Naruto, highly amused by all this. He'd probably have a private conversation with Naruto later-but for now, it was nice to see him relaxed and happy-to give him back something he lost a long time ago.
"Well, for starters-" She grinned, getting into the role. It was so easy to imagine that they were all younger-well, Naruto looking the same age as he died, and this new Sasuke looking a little too much like the old Sasuke didn't help matters-and nothing changed. "He had a huge crush on me."
Naruto was glad that he couldn't blush, although he did huff and give an embarrassed snort. "There's nothing wrong with having a crush on the prettiest girl in Konoha." He protested. "And it wasn't that big of a crush." He mumbled, then he looked up at her with a smirk and turned the tables on her. "Although it was nothing compared to your little fan girl obsession with Sasuke."
Sakura's cheeks turned red at that. "I…" She glanced at Sasuke, unnerved again. "Well.. he was just… you know… cool?" Her voice so sounded meek and she felt like she was a teenager again, flustered over being caught in her crush's presence.
"I never saw why…" Naruto rolled his eyes. "He was so stuck up then." He looked over at Sasuke, then at Sakura, winking slightly before taking on the image of the twelve year old Sasuke. He could have considerable more fun this way, poking fun at his old teammate without him even realizing it.
"I'm the great Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura nearly fell out of her chair as Naruto assumed the image and the personality. "I only have one thing on my mind." Running a hand through his hair, he looked down his nose at the two people in the room, even though he was only twelve. "Making sure everyone knows how great I am." Well, maybe that was laying it on a bit thick as Sakura attempted to scowl through her laughter.
"He wasn't that bad, Naruto!" She protested, although seeing the younger Sasuke sent a pang through her heart. How unknowing they all were than… "He just was very.. self assured." She tried to defend her long-gone teammate as Naruto broke the jutsu. "He cared for you, remember?"
She turned to Sasuke and gave him an earnest look. "No matter what you've heard about Sasuke, he was a good person." Her eyes warmed briefly. "He was very smart and…goal driven. He and Naruto were a lot alike."
Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, but a small smile was on his face. "We kept each other in line." He looked over at Sakura. "And Sakura made sure that we didn't beat each other into a bloody pulp. She was the most level-headed of our group at times."
"What do you mean at times?" She scoffed. "I was the only girl so of course I was the smarter of the two of you… males." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly-always an ego trip with the both of you. Exhausting yourselves just to be on top." She raised an eyebrow. "Remember that time you made yourselves sick so that you could train harder?"
"Which time?" Naruto laughed. Sasuke didn't look as if he felt excluded from the conversation and he winked at him and gave a fake whisper. "Sasuke ate so much at dinner during our first real mission that he got sick at the table." He shook his head in mock sympathy. "Mister Cool and Perfect couldn't hold his lunch…"
Sasuke scowled. "You got sick too, Naruto." She tilted her nose up. "I was the only one who knew how to do the tree climbing exercise perfectly the first time." She patted Sasuke's shoulder. "I hope Naruto's bad habits don't rub off on you during your stay here, Sasuke." Her lips tilted up briefly. "One version of Naruto is enough."
"You're so mean, Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined briefly, sticking out his lower lip. "You don't see me for eighty years, and all you can do is insult me?" His eyes sparkled briefly. "But you said such nice things to me when you found out I was dead…"
Her mouth dropped open, outraged at that. "You were listening?" She demanded. "Why on earth were you listening to something…" Her cheeks turned red. "It wasn't like I confessed my undying love for you or anything." She muttered. "I was just… happy.. that you were with…"
He shook his head sharply at her. "Happy that I was dead?" He teased. "Yeah, I'm sure…" He couldn't help poking fun, to direct her away from the path she was traveling on. "You were just imagining Sasuke and me beating each other up in the afterlife, weren't you?"
Sasuke laughed at that. "What else was Naruto like growing up?" He was officially getting the dirt on Naruto and was going to use this chance to its utmost advantage. He didn't want to hear about Naruto's death-even though he knew he was dead and it shouldn't bother him. He wanted to get an image of what made Naruto the way he was now. And embarrassing stories were too much fun to pass up.
"Well, he was the biggest loudmouth in the village." She said with a grin. "That probably hasn't changed too much-he was always shouting about how he was going to be better than everyone." She snorted and gave the sheepish looking ghost a look. "I wonder which of the two of you had a bigger ego problem." Rolling her eyes, she continued. "Hokage this, Hokage that-it was never ending and like a broken record."
Naruto puffed himself up. "Hey! I became the Rokudaime, remember?" He looked proud of himself. "So it wasn't just boasting. I wasn't dead last at the end."
Sakura nodded. "You weren't… we all came so much further than anyone really predicated for us… except…" Her eyes flicked towards Sasuke again, and she didn't continue her train of thought on that. "But you were still so annoying, Naruto! Always loud, obnoxious, full of yourself-always bothering Sasuke-kun"
"He was always such a jerk to me, of course I had to get back at him!" Naruto eyed her. "You were always falling all over him… you never noticed me. It pissed me off." He gave a faint smile. "I'm glad you found someone else after….after Sasuke left." He said softly.
She nodded quickly at that. "Lee passed away a few years ago." She shrugged it off, but her eyes were bright. "Did you ever think that I'd get together with him, Naruto? He had worse fashion sense than you!"
Naruto snorted. "Nobody could be as bad as Fuzzy-Eyebrows." He protested. "That spandex of his…" He gave a mock shudder. "Ero-sennin almost had a heart attack when I lost it one day and wanted to wear it." His eyes crinkled at the corners. "I think I did it just to annoy him."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You seemed to have pretty bad taste yourself, Naruto." He looked over at Sakura. "Did he seriously wear that orange.. thing… all the time?" He questioned, grinning at Naruto's surprised look. "She showed me your team picture." He explained.
She nodded and grinned at Sasuke. "He wore it until he went training with Jiraiya and the next time I saw him he was wearing something… at least a little different, even if it was still mostly orange." She rolled her eyes. "He was obsessed with that color. Thank god when he finally made chuunin status and wore something… better."
Naruto just laughed at that. Sasuke took the chance to look-really look-at Naruto and see how much better he seemed. He wasn't sure if it was just Sakura's presence or the fact that the 'secret' was out of how he looked like Uchiha Sasuke. Whatever it was, it did Naruto a world of good. Sasuke was filled with a sudden determination to keep that real smile on Naruto's face.
~
Sakura stood at the doorway, a small smile on her face. "I'll try and visit more often, Naruto-but…" She shrugged and looked vaguely apologetic. "I'm really not as young as I used to be, and jutsu or not-time just runs out." She didn't look as if talking about her impending death really bothered her-after all, she was one of the few left besides Neji from their generation. She never expected to outlive Sasuke or Naruto-but here she was, the only one left out of their team.
Naruto nodded, eyes shadowed as he looked at the girl he once loved, his teammate and friend. "I know all too well, Sakura-chan." He gestured to himself, a sad smile on his face. "You just managed to beat the odds and live longer than either Sasuke or I."
"Naruto-that Sasuke…" Her green eyes were puzzled as she looked at him. "It feels like the old Sasuke…" Her pleading expression tore at his heart. "Just tell me if he's happier, Naruto. That's all he really deserves… is to be happier than he was before."
Naruto nodded quickly, not telling her what Neji warned him about, not revealing anything beyond that. "This Sasuke is happier, Sakura-chan." He murmured. "He doesn't have an older brother, he's never trained as a shinobi-there is nothing coloring his past that could drive him towards the end Uchiha Sasuke had."
She nodded quickly, one hand reaching out to caress the energy that made up Naruto's face. "Don't lock yourself away like you did growing up, Naruto. Don't give this Sasuke fake smiles. You both deserve more than that." With a final smile, she disappeared into the darkness. He wondered if he'd ever see her again.
~
Sasuke had trouble falling asleep that night, his mind filled with Sakura's stories of what Naruto was like growing up, how Uchiha Sasuke was, what they did as a team. Things that Naruto never revealed and for some reason, it felt oddly like betrayal. Neither of them really said anything about Sasuke past the age of twelve-neither of them alluded to what he did to betray Konoha and hurt Naruto so badly.
He knew now why Naruto had such a shocked look when he saw Sasuke, why he avoided talking about his old teammates or anything about his past. Why there were no pictures-or at least pictures that he could see. He had a feeling the blond would be more open now, but at the same time, there were too many things unsaid, too many new questions raised in the answering of the old ones.
He felt like part of their group as they talked, though-which made him smile when he thought about it. Neither Sakura or Naruto tried to treat him like their friend Sasuke, but they included him just the same, sharing stories and Sakura asking about his own life. It was weird when he thought about it-one was a woman almost a hundred years old, and the other a ghost. Yet-
He turned over in his bed again, shutting his eyes and trying to force sleep on himself. It had been a rather long day, with many surprises, and he felt his body finally start to give in. Within moments he was asleep.
~
The buildings loomed up around him, seeming oddly taller and distorted in the dark. The moon was barely visible through the scattered clouds and Sasuke hurried through the pathways of the estate, eager to get back home. He was tired and just wanted to rest. He wasn't really looking where he was going, and was startled when he tripped over something.
Getting to his knees and brushing the dirt off his clothes, his hands paused at the sudden stickiness he felt on his palms. He looked down and nearly gagged at the redness that was there, looking almost black in the night. His gaze flicked over to the thing he tripped on, and the scream lodged in his throat. There were.. .bodies there. He didn't know them… Why hasn't Naruto … ? Where his vague thoughts, but the other part of him wondered why Uzumaki Naruto would even be here. He couldn't have done this…
He practically ran to his house at that point, needing reassurance, something stable-something that made sense. He didn't … he couldn't have seen that. It wasn't possible… but he could still feel that sticky-cold on his palms, could see the bodies when he closed his eyes. His breath came in gulps now, and he stumbled over the threshold of his home in his haste to get in.
All was quiet here, but unfamiliar shapes loomed on all sides of him, confusing him more, He didn't remember so much in the way before, so much stuff around and causing weird shadows to flicker down the hallway. He paused in front of the doors that led to the family room, his heart thumping rapidly in his chest from his run, from an unknown fear. Pushing the doors open cautiously, a figure waited for him,.
"Hello, little brother." The stranger stepped closer, dark eyes the mirror of Sasuke's own. "It's been a long time."
Chapter Six
By: Lazuli
PG-13
Disclaimers: By now, you will have all figured out that Naruto does not belong to me. Honestly…
No real warnings here-maybe slight spoilers but nothing really overt. No real pairings as of yet, but it's getting closer, I'm sure. ^_^ Enjoy!
"Sasuke-kun?" The voice asked again, more tentatively now. "I…" He turned around to see an older woman facing him, hair hanging halfway done her back and her arms full of flowers. Her hands flew up to her mouth when she took in his full appearance, the flowers tumbling all around her. "You… it can't really be…" She whispered. "He died…"
As he bent down to help her pick up the flowers, he meet her aquamarine eyes. There was something about them…He placed the remaining flowers in her hands and gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry." He murmured. "My name is Sensu Sasuke, but I just moved here not too long ago."
Pink hair fell into her face and she shook her head, eyes filling with tears. "You.. you're him-I know you're him!" Her lips trembled. "I don't understand.. " Her gaze took in the grave marker and then flicked back to him. "You mentioned Naruto's name." She seemed determined about something, needing to prove something to him. "How would a perfect stranger know to mention Naruto's name?" She asked reasonably, arranging the flowers in front of the marker.
Sasuke rolled his eyes and pointed to the names. "I was reading those." He arched an eyebrow. "So I picked a few random ones." He knelt beside her. "Why isn't Uchiha Sasuke inscribed on here?"
"You ARE him!" She latched on to his arm, instead of answering his question, tears spilling over her cheeks now. "You're a ghost or something… but.. you're here again." Her head bowed over his arm. "I didn't think that I'd ever see you again, Sasuke-kun…"
He was starting to get a little nervous and he gently pried her arm away. He didn't know how old she really was, but it was a little disturbing to have some strange woman clinging to him like he was some long-lost lover. "I am not who you think I am." He said firmly. "Why do you think I'm some other Sasuke, anyways?" His heart started to beat quicker. Answers! He thought gleefully. I'll finally have some explanations! "And who are you, anyways?"
She pulled away from him in shock, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "I guess I've changed a lot…" She whispered, staring down at the ground. "And… well… this isn't how I really look right now, but…" She gave a faint smile. "The Godaime taught me this jutsu and I happen to like it…I finally get to put it to good use." She stood up, and bowed a little more formally, even when another tear streaked down her face. "I'm Haruno Sakura." She continued to watch him with those intense eyes as if waiting for his reaction.
He just gave her a blank look for a moment, before something kicked in. "Sakura! You were on a team with Naruto!" He shook his head. "Man, wouldn't he love to hear you're still around." His lips kicked into a real smile. "I think he'd like talking to you much more than he would Neji…"
Her mouth dropped open and anger started to fill those eyes. "How can you talk about Naruto like he's still alive?" She hissed out. "Maybe you aren't Sasuke-because Sasuke would know what it meant to have a name inscribed here." She pointed at the marble monument. "Do you know what it means?"
He held his hands up in self defense. "Yeah, I know what it means." He muttered. "That's why I wanted to know why the Uchiha's name wasn't on there. With the way Naruto talked about him, you would think he would be on there. Dying bravely and all that…"
Her eyes softened slightly. "He died protecting Naruto." She said quietly. "But he was no longer a recognized citizen of Konoha by that point." Moving over to one of the stumps, she leaned against the wood, watching Sasuke. "I'm sorry for mistaking you for Sasuke-kun. It's just that… you look so much alike.." Her voice trailed off as the rest of the words sunk in. "Talk about him…I'm getting sick and tired of that stupid rumor! Naruto is dead, Sasuke is dead." She flared. "They were my teammates, and I'm going to accept people talking about them as if… as if.."
"As if one were a ghost and … existing at the Uchiha estate?" He asked dryly. "It's not a rumor, I live there and Naruto's become one of my friends." He crossed his arms over his chest. "If you had investigated the so-called rumor, then you may have found him there." He rolled his eyes. "Some friend you are." He started to walk away.
"How dare you!" Her fist connected with the ground, causing a fissure to ripple across to where he was. "Just because you look like him, doesn't give you a reason to bad mouth me or him or what we went through."
He blinked in shock and he was forcibly reminded of the way he snapped the other day. He held out a hand to placate her. "Look-I'm not trying to lecture you or anything. I honestly live at the Uchiha estate and Naruto's been there for the last eighty-odd years. He talks about his teammates sometimes."
She paused, eyeing him as if she wasn't sure how to react to that. "I can't imagine Naruto sticking around." She said softly. "But I also never expected to see a Sasuke look alike at our old training grounds, either."
He made a face. "If you were Naruto's teammate… how old are you really?" Neji had looked incredibly old, and this Sakura-person had to be as old as him-but she didn't look that old. More like half the age that Neji looked. He heard some woman aged more gracefully than others, but that was just… weird.
She scowled at him and brushed off her dress. "That's not something you need to know. Never ask a lady her age." She clenched a fist and waved in threateningly. "And don't start making guesses or I'll hurt you."
Snickering at that, he simply shook his head. "If you were Naruto's teammate, I think I know-but I won't say anything." His gaze sharpened in on hers. "You said that I looked like this Sasuke that you knew?" He demanded. "I just knew I had the same name as him…."
She nodded and began walking back towards the town, gesturing for him to follow him. Now that she put it in her mind that he wasn't her old teammate, she was much more reserved. "You look remarkably similar, Sensu-san. I truly thought I was seeing a ghost when I came across you in the old training grounds." Her smile still had a touch of pain in it. "Do you think it's silly of me to still look for my old friends, even when I know they're long gone?"
"I don't think that at all, Haruno-san." He felt a type simple affection for her through his association with Naruto. At the thought of the blond, his lips quirked up in a brief, amused smile. I teased him about bringing back a souvenir-it probably wasn't quite what he had in mind.
"Sensu-san…" He was brought back to the immediate moment by Sakura's voice. "Would you like to see a picture of Naruto when he was younger?" His eyes were amused. "If you know him now-" Her voice still showed traces of doubt-"Then I'm sure you'd be amused to see what he looked like when he was twelve." She paused and looked away for a moment. "It's the only picture I have of Sasuke, too…"
He nodded, but didn't want to seem so eager. I look like Uchiha Sasuke? Naruto never said a thing, but it makes sense now why he hid the picture from me…He gave Sakura another smile. "I'd really like that, Haruno-san."
~
He looked around the simple house, eyes taking in the details of it. There were pictures on the walls, boxes and other items stacked on shelves. It was clear that she lived alone-although it hadn't always been that way.
"Make yourself comfortable." Sakura called from another part of the house. "It'll take me a moment to find my old team picture." He gave a murmur of assent as he looked at the other pictures on the wall. Sakura-younger-with a group of friends, posing proudly in what looked like a new uniform. A picture of a weird looking guy with the most insane eyebrows he'd ever seen with his arm around Sakura's shoulders…
"That is a picture of my husband and I when we first starting dating." Sakura's voice startled him. He turned around to see her with a picture frame in her hands. "I think you'll see what I mean with the resemblance."
She placed the frame in his hands, and stood back, watching him and gauging his reaction. His eyes immediately went to the center of the photograph, where a gray-haired man stood smiling, hands resting on two heads. Sakura - a much younger one here-was directly in front of him, smiling. Naruto…his lips kicked into a grin as she saw what Sakura meant about seeing Naruto as a twelve-year old. He was scowling, arms crossed over his chest and he was wearing a hideous orange outfit. The last person….
He nearly dropped the picture as he stared with wide eyes. The Sasuke in the picture could have easily been him at twelve years old. The same dark hair-although he never wore it spiked out like that-the same expression on his face. It was eerie and he gave the picture back to Sakura slowly and met her eyes. "I think we need to have a talk with Naruto."
~
Sakura moved slowly as they came up to the Uchiha estate, her eyes starting to fill with tears again. "I haven't been here in years." She whispered, head bowed. "Not since…" She cleared her throat. "Not since Naruto died."
He wasn't sure what to say to that, but he guided her to the front entrance, treating her like he would a member of his family. "Well, Naruto'll probably have a lot to say when he sees you." He muttered. And I've got a lot to ask him! I can understand a little why he didn’t tell me, but now I understand all those weird looks.
"You bet I'd have tons to say." Naruto suddenly appeared in front of them, looking torn between frustrated and amused. "When I asked for you to experience stuff form my old life, I didn't expect you to bring back one of my old teammates." He gave Sakura a cheeky grin, who was staring open mouthed at him. "Nice to see you employing Tsunade-baba's techniques."
"You… Naruto… I…" She gave him a dirty look, fist raising as if to punch him. "What the hell are you still doing around, you idiot?!" She looked ready to cry and started to lean against Naruto, but she only went through him. He was watching her with a sad expression. She managed a small smile. "It's like Team 7 is together again… only considerably changed."
"Not really." He muttered. "Two of us are here at least." His eyes brightened, and it was clear to see how happy he was at having Sakura here. More so than Neji for certain. "It's good to see you again, Sakura-chan." He looked between her and Sasuke and he suddenly groaned. "Don't tell me you mistook Sasuke for…" Out of all the people to run into-and for to be alive…it had to be Sakura. Neji he could trust to be discreet. Sakura'd blurt it out immediately.
Sasuke suddenly frowned at Naruto. "Yeah-she did." He wasn't precisely angry, but still vaguely annoyed. "You never told me, Naruto… that I looked like your friend." His eyes softened as he took in the ghost's crestfallen expression. "Did you think I would take it the wrong way or something?"
He closed his eyes and shook his head, praying for some type of solution for this mess. "It just… wasn't that important." He said lamely. "I didn't want to get mixed up in my own head, so I automatically separated the two of you." It was a weak excuse and Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Naruto tried to continue. "Looks aren't everything, you know…"
Sakura snorted as she made herself comfortable. "You're so full of it, Naruto." She said bluntly. "You're just scared to tell this Sasuke about what happened in the past. It's not like he's going to hold it against you or something." Her arms crossed over her chest. "Maybe he's here for a reason."
Thank you, Sakura-chan. Naruto thought bitterly. Go right head, don't hold back. Speak in front of him like he doesn't exist, let's risk him going batty and making him think about stuff that doesn't concern him. "That's not true." He growled out. "He's not the same person and I'm not going to make it seem like he is."
"Naruto-" Sasuke spoke up, shaking his head briefly. "I know that I'm not your friend from before-I just …I just wish that you had told me. People have been giving me strange looks all this time and I had no idea what was going on." He grimaced. "No wonder people kept watching me. I look like this other Sasuke."
There's a whole lot more to it than that, and I hope Sakura didn't do much more than say he looked like … well… himself. Naruto grimaced. "Probably." He agreed easily. "Nice to know that's out in the open. Now I won't have to hide my pictures anymore, or worry about you sneaking around." His lips curved into an amused smile. "Nosy."
Sasuke smirked. "Hey, I had every right." He looked over at Sakura, who still seemed to be in a state of semi-shock. "He was hiding everything from me like some old man intent on hoarding treasure or something." He paused and then grinned. "Or like some kid with a stash of candy."
Sakura laughed aloud at that one, not bothering to hide her amusement. "With Naruto, it'd be boxes of ramen." She had an almost evil grin on her face. "Since this is just like old times…" Her eyes took in Sasuke and Naruto. "Sasuke…would you like hearing stories about how idiotic Naruto was when he was a kid?"
Sasuke grinned and ignored Naruto's annoyed protests. "Since you were on a team with him… I'm sure you know tons about him." He smirked at Naruto, highly amused by all this. He'd probably have a private conversation with Naruto later-but for now, it was nice to see him relaxed and happy-to give him back something he lost a long time ago.
"Well, for starters-" She grinned, getting into the role. It was so easy to imagine that they were all younger-well, Naruto looking the same age as he died, and this new Sasuke looking a little too much like the old Sasuke didn't help matters-and nothing changed. "He had a huge crush on me."
Naruto was glad that he couldn't blush, although he did huff and give an embarrassed snort. "There's nothing wrong with having a crush on the prettiest girl in Konoha." He protested. "And it wasn't that big of a crush." He mumbled, then he looked up at her with a smirk and turned the tables on her. "Although it was nothing compared to your little fan girl obsession with Sasuke."
Sakura's cheeks turned red at that. "I…" She glanced at Sasuke, unnerved again. "Well.. he was just… you know… cool?" Her voice so sounded meek and she felt like she was a teenager again, flustered over being caught in her crush's presence.
"I never saw why…" Naruto rolled his eyes. "He was so stuck up then." He looked over at Sasuke, then at Sakura, winking slightly before taking on the image of the twelve year old Sasuke. He could have considerable more fun this way, poking fun at his old teammate without him even realizing it.
"I'm the great Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura nearly fell out of her chair as Naruto assumed the image and the personality. "I only have one thing on my mind." Running a hand through his hair, he looked down his nose at the two people in the room, even though he was only twelve. "Making sure everyone knows how great I am." Well, maybe that was laying it on a bit thick as Sakura attempted to scowl through her laughter.
"He wasn't that bad, Naruto!" She protested, although seeing the younger Sasuke sent a pang through her heart. How unknowing they all were than… "He just was very.. self assured." She tried to defend her long-gone teammate as Naruto broke the jutsu. "He cared for you, remember?"
She turned to Sasuke and gave him an earnest look. "No matter what you've heard about Sasuke, he was a good person." Her eyes warmed briefly. "He was very smart and…goal driven. He and Naruto were a lot alike."
Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, but a small smile was on his face. "We kept each other in line." He looked over at Sakura. "And Sakura made sure that we didn't beat each other into a bloody pulp. She was the most level-headed of our group at times."
"What do you mean at times?" She scoffed. "I was the only girl so of course I was the smarter of the two of you… males." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly-always an ego trip with the both of you. Exhausting yourselves just to be on top." She raised an eyebrow. "Remember that time you made yourselves sick so that you could train harder?"
"Which time?" Naruto laughed. Sasuke didn't look as if he felt excluded from the conversation and he winked at him and gave a fake whisper. "Sasuke ate so much at dinner during our first real mission that he got sick at the table." He shook his head in mock sympathy. "Mister Cool and Perfect couldn't hold his lunch…"
Sasuke scowled. "You got sick too, Naruto." She tilted her nose up. "I was the only one who knew how to do the tree climbing exercise perfectly the first time." She patted Sasuke's shoulder. "I hope Naruto's bad habits don't rub off on you during your stay here, Sasuke." Her lips tilted up briefly. "One version of Naruto is enough."
"You're so mean, Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined briefly, sticking out his lower lip. "You don't see me for eighty years, and all you can do is insult me?" His eyes sparkled briefly. "But you said such nice things to me when you found out I was dead…"
Her mouth dropped open, outraged at that. "You were listening?" She demanded. "Why on earth were you listening to something…" Her cheeks turned red. "It wasn't like I confessed my undying love for you or anything." She muttered. "I was just… happy.. that you were with…"
He shook his head sharply at her. "Happy that I was dead?" He teased. "Yeah, I'm sure…" He couldn't help poking fun, to direct her away from the path she was traveling on. "You were just imagining Sasuke and me beating each other up in the afterlife, weren't you?"
Sasuke laughed at that. "What else was Naruto like growing up?" He was officially getting the dirt on Naruto and was going to use this chance to its utmost advantage. He didn't want to hear about Naruto's death-even though he knew he was dead and it shouldn't bother him. He wanted to get an image of what made Naruto the way he was now. And embarrassing stories were too much fun to pass up.
"Well, he was the biggest loudmouth in the village." She said with a grin. "That probably hasn't changed too much-he was always shouting about how he was going to be better than everyone." She snorted and gave the sheepish looking ghost a look. "I wonder which of the two of you had a bigger ego problem." Rolling her eyes, she continued. "Hokage this, Hokage that-it was never ending and like a broken record."
Naruto puffed himself up. "Hey! I became the Rokudaime, remember?" He looked proud of himself. "So it wasn't just boasting. I wasn't dead last at the end."
Sakura nodded. "You weren't… we all came so much further than anyone really predicated for us… except…" Her eyes flicked towards Sasuke again, and she didn't continue her train of thought on that. "But you were still so annoying, Naruto! Always loud, obnoxious, full of yourself-always bothering Sasuke-kun"
"He was always such a jerk to me, of course I had to get back at him!" Naruto eyed her. "You were always falling all over him… you never noticed me. It pissed me off." He gave a faint smile. "I'm glad you found someone else after….after Sasuke left." He said softly.
She nodded quickly at that. "Lee passed away a few years ago." She shrugged it off, but her eyes were bright. "Did you ever think that I'd get together with him, Naruto? He had worse fashion sense than you!"
Naruto snorted. "Nobody could be as bad as Fuzzy-Eyebrows." He protested. "That spandex of his…" He gave a mock shudder. "Ero-sennin almost had a heart attack when I lost it one day and wanted to wear it." His eyes crinkled at the corners. "I think I did it just to annoy him."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You seemed to have pretty bad taste yourself, Naruto." He looked over at Sakura. "Did he seriously wear that orange.. thing… all the time?" He questioned, grinning at Naruto's surprised look. "She showed me your team picture." He explained.
She nodded and grinned at Sasuke. "He wore it until he went training with Jiraiya and the next time I saw him he was wearing something… at least a little different, even if it was still mostly orange." She rolled her eyes. "He was obsessed with that color. Thank god when he finally made chuunin status and wore something… better."
Naruto just laughed at that. Sasuke took the chance to look-really look-at Naruto and see how much better he seemed. He wasn't sure if it was just Sakura's presence or the fact that the 'secret' was out of how he looked like Uchiha Sasuke. Whatever it was, it did Naruto a world of good. Sasuke was filled with a sudden determination to keep that real smile on Naruto's face.
~
Sakura stood at the doorway, a small smile on her face. "I'll try and visit more often, Naruto-but…" She shrugged and looked vaguely apologetic. "I'm really not as young as I used to be, and jutsu or not-time just runs out." She didn't look as if talking about her impending death really bothered her-after all, she was one of the few left besides Neji from their generation. She never expected to outlive Sasuke or Naruto-but here she was, the only one left out of their team.
Naruto nodded, eyes shadowed as he looked at the girl he once loved, his teammate and friend. "I know all too well, Sakura-chan." He gestured to himself, a sad smile on his face. "You just managed to beat the odds and live longer than either Sasuke or I."
"Naruto-that Sasuke…" Her green eyes were puzzled as she looked at him. "It feels like the old Sasuke…" Her pleading expression tore at his heart. "Just tell me if he's happier, Naruto. That's all he really deserves… is to be happier than he was before."
Naruto nodded quickly, not telling her what Neji warned him about, not revealing anything beyond that. "This Sasuke is happier, Sakura-chan." He murmured. "He doesn't have an older brother, he's never trained as a shinobi-there is nothing coloring his past that could drive him towards the end Uchiha Sasuke had."
She nodded quickly, one hand reaching out to caress the energy that made up Naruto's face. "Don't lock yourself away like you did growing up, Naruto. Don't give this Sasuke fake smiles. You both deserve more than that." With a final smile, she disappeared into the darkness. He wondered if he'd ever see her again.
~
Sasuke had trouble falling asleep that night, his mind filled with Sakura's stories of what Naruto was like growing up, how Uchiha Sasuke was, what they did as a team. Things that Naruto never revealed and for some reason, it felt oddly like betrayal. Neither of them really said anything about Sasuke past the age of twelve-neither of them alluded to what he did to betray Konoha and hurt Naruto so badly.
He knew now why Naruto had such a shocked look when he saw Sasuke, why he avoided talking about his old teammates or anything about his past. Why there were no pictures-or at least pictures that he could see. He had a feeling the blond would be more open now, but at the same time, there were too many things unsaid, too many new questions raised in the answering of the old ones.
He felt like part of their group as they talked, though-which made him smile when he thought about it. Neither Sakura or Naruto tried to treat him like their friend Sasuke, but they included him just the same, sharing stories and Sakura asking about his own life. It was weird when he thought about it-one was a woman almost a hundred years old, and the other a ghost. Yet-
He turned over in his bed again, shutting his eyes and trying to force sleep on himself. It had been a rather long day, with many surprises, and he felt his body finally start to give in. Within moments he was asleep.
~
The buildings loomed up around him, seeming oddly taller and distorted in the dark. The moon was barely visible through the scattered clouds and Sasuke hurried through the pathways of the estate, eager to get back home. He was tired and just wanted to rest. He wasn't really looking where he was going, and was startled when he tripped over something.
Getting to his knees and brushing the dirt off his clothes, his hands paused at the sudden stickiness he felt on his palms. He looked down and nearly gagged at the redness that was there, looking almost black in the night. His gaze flicked over to the thing he tripped on, and the scream lodged in his throat. There were.. .bodies there. He didn't know them… Why hasn't Naruto … ? Where his vague thoughts, but the other part of him wondered why Uzumaki Naruto would even be here. He couldn't have done this…
He practically ran to his house at that point, needing reassurance, something stable-something that made sense. He didn't … he couldn't have seen that. It wasn't possible… but he could still feel that sticky-cold on his palms, could see the bodies when he closed his eyes. His breath came in gulps now, and he stumbled over the threshold of his home in his haste to get in.
All was quiet here, but unfamiliar shapes loomed on all sides of him, confusing him more, He didn't remember so much in the way before, so much stuff around and causing weird shadows to flicker down the hallway. He paused in front of the doors that led to the family room, his heart thumping rapidly in his chest from his run, from an unknown fear. Pushing the doors open cautiously, a figure waited for him,.
"Hello, little brother." The stranger stepped closer, dark eyes the mirror of Sasuke's own. "It's been a long time."