[Naruto] my eternity 6
Title: my eternity
Chapter: 6
Pairing: SasuNaru
Rating: T
Chapter six: Voice of Reluctance
Naruto stood waiting anxiously by the door. Sasuke had left only a few minutes ago.
When Sasuke had revealed his plan to Naruto the previous night, Naruto had demanded that Sasuke let him help rid the world of Orochimaru once and for all. Sasuke had refused, and explained to Naruto why that wasn’t possible. First of all, he didn’t want Orochimaru anywhere near Naruto. Naruto had scowled at this, claiming it wasn’t a valid reason. Sasuke had grudgingly agreed, but insisted that Naruto stay in the room because Naruto’s presence at Sasuke’s training would alert Orochimaru that something was going to happen. He would then call for more Sound ninja, making it extremely difficult to exterminate him. Naruto had reluctantly agreed to this, which was why he lingered restlessly in the room.
‘Sasuke, where are you? How long can this take?’ Naruto had to remain in the room until Sasuke ran back to get him. From there, they would flee the Sound Village, avoiding conflict unless necessary. They wanted to get as far away as fast as possible. Their path from there was undecided, and as of yet not discussed.
Naruto looked at the clock. Twelve minutes had passed since Sasuke had left the room. ‘Come on, come on! He should be back by now!’ Another minute passed in silence. Suddenly, Naruto heard a loud bang. ‘What was that?’ His question was answered a moment later as the door to the room opened, revealing a massive hole in the wall just beyond in. Naruto whirled his head to face the figure that shot through the door: Sasuke. “Why’s there a hole in the wall?” Naruto cursed his stupid question. Now was definitely not the time for that. “Uh, never mind. Let’s go!”
Sasuke wordlessly grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room. They sped along the corridors, Sasuke leading the way. Naruto quickly lost his sense of direction as they ran down identical hallways, sharply turning corners whenever Sasuke decided they should. ‘I guess he knows his way around. This place is like a maze!’
Their progress was halted as five Sound ninja appeared ahead of them. They spotted Sasuke and Naruto, and reached them in a matter of seconds. No words were said as blows were exchanged. Sasuke knew Orochimaru had to have been discovered, dead, by now, so it was likely this wasn’t the only group of enemies they would have to face.
As the last one was defeated, Sasuke reached for Naruto’s hand again to lead him in the right direction as they continued their escape, uttering only a stressed “Let’s go.”
They set off again, Sasuke guiding Naruto through the labyrinth of passages.
Naruto and Sasuke turned a corner, and were suddenly showered with light: the exit. Naruto whooped in joy and increased his pace so he reached the precious sunlight before Sasuke. “We’re out!”
Sasuke caught up with him and smiled at his excitement, feeling a little exhilarated himself. “Yeah, but don’t let your guard down yet. We may still run into some enemy ninja.”
“Aww, don’t be so depressing, Sasuke! Even if we do run into somebody, we’ll just beat ‘em up!” He grinned and added a ‘dattebayo!’ for good measure.
“Hn. Whatever.” Sasuke replied, but smirked a little at Naruto’s antics. They continued walking, not really knowing where they were going, and not caring as long as they put distance between them and their former dwelling. Sasuke still listened intently for anyone trying to sneak up on them, despite Naruto’s confidence. Orochimaru’s lair wasn’t too far from the rest of the ninja village, so any assaults were highly likely. Luckily, it seemed they had already defeated all who would come after them. The easy silence between them was broken by Sasuke asking, “Naruto, where do we go from here?”
Naruto looked confused by his question. “What do you mean? We’re going to Konohagakure, of course.”
Sasuke shook his head. “Dobe, I can’t go back there. I’m a missing-nin, remember? I’d be executed if I got anywhere near the village.”
“What are you talking about? Of course they wouldn’t execute you! The only reason I got here was because I was sent on a ‘Sasuke retrieval’ mission! They weren’t going to have me bring you back just to kill you!”
Sasuke considered this bit of information. Naruto had a point. Still, he wasn’t going to go back there. “Okay, but I’d at least be put on trial and imprisoned for my crimes. They won’t forgive me for that so easily.”
“What crimes? I wouldn’t call-”
“But they would. Whether you like it or not, I’m officially a criminal in Konohagakure, and I’m not returning there.” Sasuke said this in a tone that declared his position was final.
Naruto seethed at Sasuke’s refusal, trying to think of a way to out-argue him. “Fine then, teme, what do you think we should do?!” he icily replied.
Sasuke sighed. “I really don’t know. Look, let’s think about it later, okay? I have some money, how about I buy you something to eat at the nearest town?” Sasuke knew Naruto would calm down if he bough him ramen. It was a dirty trick, but Sasuke really didn’t want to argue with him at the moment. “I’ll get you anything you want.”
Naruto pouted and didn’t respond.
“Even…ramen.”
At this Naruto frowned in thought while looking at Sasuke. Finally, he muttered, “It better be some good ramen.”
Sasuke smiled inwardly. ‘Good. He’s content…for now. I guess when my money runs out we’ll be arguing about this again.’
Smiling, Naruto led the way with a new enthusiasm in his step. Sasuke followed pleased to have brightened Naruto’s mood, if only temporarily.
Naruto let out a yawn and plopped down on the bed, smiling and patting his stomach in contentment. They had found a small town a few miles away from the Sound village, and had proceeded to procure food and lodgings for the night. While Naruto had run straight to the nearest ramen stand, Sasuke had decided to find something else to eat, something inexpensive.
Sasuke sighed and sat down on his own bed and mournfully looked at his significantly lighter wallet. The fare for one night at the inn had been reasonable, but Naruto’s eating habits were not. “I still don’t understand how you can possibly eat that much ramen.” he said.
“Eh heh,” he laughed, “I guess I forgot we had limited funds!”
Sasuke sighed again, deciding it was pointless to argue with Naruto about the ramen, as he bought the ramen to stop an argument in the first place. “Hn.” was his only response before he let his mind wander.
The room they had rented was sparsely decorated, containing only two beds, a nightstand, and a single chair. The young woman at the front desk had been annoyingly chatty, and Sasuke had considered telling her that he and his boyfriend wanted a room with a single bed to deflect her relentless flirting, but decided Naruto wouldn’t appreciate that. Though they’d admitted their feelings, neither really knew how to act as neither one had been in a relationship before.
Sasuke lay down in bed and looked over at Naruto, only to find the blond was already asleep, snoring lightly. Sasuke smirked and muttered a “Night, dobe.” before closing his eyes. In his sleep, Naruto muttered something incoherent in response that resembled “Nnt t’me.”
The next morning, Sasuke awoke to a groaning Naruto. He opened his eyes to see Naruto curled up on his bed, slightly flushed with his face contorted with pain. “Naruto! What’s wrong?” he asked urgently.
Naruto didn’t respond for a minute, which worried Sasuke, but he eventually managed so gasp “I feel horrible!” He groaned after saying this, as if to prove his point. His arms were wrapped around his middle, and his legs were bent to meet them. His brow was dampened with a few beads of sweat. All in all, he looked terrible. ‘I can’t remember the last time I felt this bad!’ he thought.
“What do you mean? Do you feel ill?” Sasuke noticed how Naruto was clutching his abdomen, and how his face shone with perspiration.
Naruto nodded in response. “Yeah, my stomach feels like I swallowed acid!”
Sasuke decided against reminding Naruto that there was acid in everyone’s stomach, instead trying to think about what might have caused Naruto’s pain. “Hey, dobe, you don’t think you got sick from eating that ramen last night, do you?”
Naruto looked shocked. “Of course not! I’ve been eating ramen all my life, ramen would never hurt me!”
Sasuke grimaced at the reminder of how long Naruto’s bad eating habits had been going on, but explained his previous comment. “Dobe, I mean that ramen specifically. That place you dragged me to looked kind of…unclean. I tried to tell you, but you’d ordered two bowls before I’d even said anything. You probably caught some germ.”
The sad look on Naruto’s face was almost comical. Sasuke knew what thoughts were running through Naruto’s head: ‘Ramen betrayed me!’
Naruto and Sasuke had planned on getting an early start, but Naruto’s sickness delayed them. By the time they had checked out of the inn and set off from the town, it was already midday. The plan was to continue heading in the opposite direction from Otogakure, staying in another inn in a different town whenever it got dark. Currently, they were walking down a deserted road.
The conversation had been light and friendly, but Naruto decided it was time to talk to Sasuke about the issue at hand: where they were going. “Sasuke, I think it’s best if we go back to Konohagakure.”
Sasuke grimaced. He had hoped to avoid this conversation for a little while longer. “Naruto, I’ve already explained why I can’t do that. They’d throw me in prison the moment I set foot inside those gates, for who knows how long.”
Naruto sighed, trying to remain calm. “Okay, teme, you’ve said that before, but you never answered me when I asked you where you thought we should go.”
Sasuke considered the options. The list of places Naruto would be welcomed was much longer than the list of places Sasuke could go. The energetic blond seemed to make a friend out of everyone. If Naruto were alone, he could go to the Sand Village and convince Gaara not to tell the Hokage he was there. Unfortunately, the Kazekage wasn’t exactly fond of Sasuke, and would no doubt give him similar treatment to what he could expect in Konohagakure. On the other hand, Sasuke didn’t have many places he could go. Anywhere he had visited while with Orochimaru was out of the question now that he’d killed the man.
“Well?” Naruto asked impatiently. Sasuke’s silence was getting on his nerves.
“Hold on. I’m thinking.” Sasuke’s mind raced. He needed somewhere that both he and Naruto could go; preferably somewhere that wasn’t a hidden ninja village. As Sasuke a missing-nin, most ninja would feel obligated to turn him in to the Hokage. Was there somewhere where both he and Naruto knew people, people who would be willing to shelter them both? He thought about the places he had been with Naruto while they were on a team together, and suddenly it clicked.
“Naruto, how would you feel about looking up some old friends?”
Naruto looked at him. “Go on.”
Sasuke proceeded to tell Naruto his suggestion, silently praying it would work.
Chapter: 6
Pairing: SasuNaru
Rating: T
Chapter six: Voice of Reluctance
Naruto stood waiting anxiously by the door. Sasuke had left only a few minutes ago.
When Sasuke had revealed his plan to Naruto the previous night, Naruto had demanded that Sasuke let him help rid the world of Orochimaru once and for all. Sasuke had refused, and explained to Naruto why that wasn’t possible. First of all, he didn’t want Orochimaru anywhere near Naruto. Naruto had scowled at this, claiming it wasn’t a valid reason. Sasuke had grudgingly agreed, but insisted that Naruto stay in the room because Naruto’s presence at Sasuke’s training would alert Orochimaru that something was going to happen. He would then call for more Sound ninja, making it extremely difficult to exterminate him. Naruto had reluctantly agreed to this, which was why he lingered restlessly in the room.
‘Sasuke, where are you? How long can this take?’ Naruto had to remain in the room until Sasuke ran back to get him. From there, they would flee the Sound Village, avoiding conflict unless necessary. They wanted to get as far away as fast as possible. Their path from there was undecided, and as of yet not discussed.
Naruto looked at the clock. Twelve minutes had passed since Sasuke had left the room. ‘Come on, come on! He should be back by now!’ Another minute passed in silence. Suddenly, Naruto heard a loud bang. ‘What was that?’ His question was answered a moment later as the door to the room opened, revealing a massive hole in the wall just beyond in. Naruto whirled his head to face the figure that shot through the door: Sasuke. “Why’s there a hole in the wall?” Naruto cursed his stupid question. Now was definitely not the time for that. “Uh, never mind. Let’s go!”
Sasuke wordlessly grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room. They sped along the corridors, Sasuke leading the way. Naruto quickly lost his sense of direction as they ran down identical hallways, sharply turning corners whenever Sasuke decided they should. ‘I guess he knows his way around. This place is like a maze!’
Their progress was halted as five Sound ninja appeared ahead of them. They spotted Sasuke and Naruto, and reached them in a matter of seconds. No words were said as blows were exchanged. Sasuke knew Orochimaru had to have been discovered, dead, by now, so it was likely this wasn’t the only group of enemies they would have to face.
As the last one was defeated, Sasuke reached for Naruto’s hand again to lead him in the right direction as they continued their escape, uttering only a stressed “Let’s go.”
They set off again, Sasuke guiding Naruto through the labyrinth of passages.
Naruto and Sasuke turned a corner, and were suddenly showered with light: the exit. Naruto whooped in joy and increased his pace so he reached the precious sunlight before Sasuke. “We’re out!”
Sasuke caught up with him and smiled at his excitement, feeling a little exhilarated himself. “Yeah, but don’t let your guard down yet. We may still run into some enemy ninja.”
“Aww, don’t be so depressing, Sasuke! Even if we do run into somebody, we’ll just beat ‘em up!” He grinned and added a ‘dattebayo!’ for good measure.
“Hn. Whatever.” Sasuke replied, but smirked a little at Naruto’s antics. They continued walking, not really knowing where they were going, and not caring as long as they put distance between them and their former dwelling. Sasuke still listened intently for anyone trying to sneak up on them, despite Naruto’s confidence. Orochimaru’s lair wasn’t too far from the rest of the ninja village, so any assaults were highly likely. Luckily, it seemed they had already defeated all who would come after them. The easy silence between them was broken by Sasuke asking, “Naruto, where do we go from here?”
Naruto looked confused by his question. “What do you mean? We’re going to Konohagakure, of course.”
Sasuke shook his head. “Dobe, I can’t go back there. I’m a missing-nin, remember? I’d be executed if I got anywhere near the village.”
“What are you talking about? Of course they wouldn’t execute you! The only reason I got here was because I was sent on a ‘Sasuke retrieval’ mission! They weren’t going to have me bring you back just to kill you!”
Sasuke considered this bit of information. Naruto had a point. Still, he wasn’t going to go back there. “Okay, but I’d at least be put on trial and imprisoned for my crimes. They won’t forgive me for that so easily.”
“What crimes? I wouldn’t call-”
“But they would. Whether you like it or not, I’m officially a criminal in Konohagakure, and I’m not returning there.” Sasuke said this in a tone that declared his position was final.
Naruto seethed at Sasuke’s refusal, trying to think of a way to out-argue him. “Fine then, teme, what do you think we should do?!” he icily replied.
Sasuke sighed. “I really don’t know. Look, let’s think about it later, okay? I have some money, how about I buy you something to eat at the nearest town?” Sasuke knew Naruto would calm down if he bough him ramen. It was a dirty trick, but Sasuke really didn’t want to argue with him at the moment. “I’ll get you anything you want.”
Naruto pouted and didn’t respond.
“Even…ramen.”
At this Naruto frowned in thought while looking at Sasuke. Finally, he muttered, “It better be some good ramen.”
Sasuke smiled inwardly. ‘Good. He’s content…for now. I guess when my money runs out we’ll be arguing about this again.’
Smiling, Naruto led the way with a new enthusiasm in his step. Sasuke followed pleased to have brightened Naruto’s mood, if only temporarily.
Naruto let out a yawn and plopped down on the bed, smiling and patting his stomach in contentment. They had found a small town a few miles away from the Sound village, and had proceeded to procure food and lodgings for the night. While Naruto had run straight to the nearest ramen stand, Sasuke had decided to find something else to eat, something inexpensive.
Sasuke sighed and sat down on his own bed and mournfully looked at his significantly lighter wallet. The fare for one night at the inn had been reasonable, but Naruto’s eating habits were not. “I still don’t understand how you can possibly eat that much ramen.” he said.
“Eh heh,” he laughed, “I guess I forgot we had limited funds!”
Sasuke sighed again, deciding it was pointless to argue with Naruto about the ramen, as he bought the ramen to stop an argument in the first place. “Hn.” was his only response before he let his mind wander.
The room they had rented was sparsely decorated, containing only two beds, a nightstand, and a single chair. The young woman at the front desk had been annoyingly chatty, and Sasuke had considered telling her that he and his boyfriend wanted a room with a single bed to deflect her relentless flirting, but decided Naruto wouldn’t appreciate that. Though they’d admitted their feelings, neither really knew how to act as neither one had been in a relationship before.
Sasuke lay down in bed and looked over at Naruto, only to find the blond was already asleep, snoring lightly. Sasuke smirked and muttered a “Night, dobe.” before closing his eyes. In his sleep, Naruto muttered something incoherent in response that resembled “Nnt t’me.”
The next morning, Sasuke awoke to a groaning Naruto. He opened his eyes to see Naruto curled up on his bed, slightly flushed with his face contorted with pain. “Naruto! What’s wrong?” he asked urgently.
Naruto didn’t respond for a minute, which worried Sasuke, but he eventually managed so gasp “I feel horrible!” He groaned after saying this, as if to prove his point. His arms were wrapped around his middle, and his legs were bent to meet them. His brow was dampened with a few beads of sweat. All in all, he looked terrible. ‘I can’t remember the last time I felt this bad!’ he thought.
“What do you mean? Do you feel ill?” Sasuke noticed how Naruto was clutching his abdomen, and how his face shone with perspiration.
Naruto nodded in response. “Yeah, my stomach feels like I swallowed acid!”
Sasuke decided against reminding Naruto that there was acid in everyone’s stomach, instead trying to think about what might have caused Naruto’s pain. “Hey, dobe, you don’t think you got sick from eating that ramen last night, do you?”
Naruto looked shocked. “Of course not! I’ve been eating ramen all my life, ramen would never hurt me!”
Sasuke grimaced at the reminder of how long Naruto’s bad eating habits had been going on, but explained his previous comment. “Dobe, I mean that ramen specifically. That place you dragged me to looked kind of…unclean. I tried to tell you, but you’d ordered two bowls before I’d even said anything. You probably caught some germ.”
The sad look on Naruto’s face was almost comical. Sasuke knew what thoughts were running through Naruto’s head: ‘Ramen betrayed me!’
Naruto and Sasuke had planned on getting an early start, but Naruto’s sickness delayed them. By the time they had checked out of the inn and set off from the town, it was already midday. The plan was to continue heading in the opposite direction from Otogakure, staying in another inn in a different town whenever it got dark. Currently, they were walking down a deserted road.
The conversation had been light and friendly, but Naruto decided it was time to talk to Sasuke about the issue at hand: where they were going. “Sasuke, I think it’s best if we go back to Konohagakure.”
Sasuke grimaced. He had hoped to avoid this conversation for a little while longer. “Naruto, I’ve already explained why I can’t do that. They’d throw me in prison the moment I set foot inside those gates, for who knows how long.”
Naruto sighed, trying to remain calm. “Okay, teme, you’ve said that before, but you never answered me when I asked you where you thought we should go.”
Sasuke considered the options. The list of places Naruto would be welcomed was much longer than the list of places Sasuke could go. The energetic blond seemed to make a friend out of everyone. If Naruto were alone, he could go to the Sand Village and convince Gaara not to tell the Hokage he was there. Unfortunately, the Kazekage wasn’t exactly fond of Sasuke, and would no doubt give him similar treatment to what he could expect in Konohagakure. On the other hand, Sasuke didn’t have many places he could go. Anywhere he had visited while with Orochimaru was out of the question now that he’d killed the man.
“Well?” Naruto asked impatiently. Sasuke’s silence was getting on his nerves.
“Hold on. I’m thinking.” Sasuke’s mind raced. He needed somewhere that both he and Naruto could go; preferably somewhere that wasn’t a hidden ninja village. As Sasuke a missing-nin, most ninja would feel obligated to turn him in to the Hokage. Was there somewhere where both he and Naruto knew people, people who would be willing to shelter them both? He thought about the places he had been with Naruto while they were on a team together, and suddenly it clicked.
“Naruto, how would you feel about looking up some old friends?”
Naruto looked at him. “Go on.”
Sasuke proceeded to tell Naruto his suggestion, silently praying it would work.