"Ouch!"
"Careful Naruto-kun! You could have cut off your fingers!" Said Hinata as she grabbed a clean piece of cloth to help wipe the blond nin's now bleeding finger. Naruto pouted as she delicately wiped off the blood and wrapped a bandage around the deep cut and he glared at the knife he dropped.
"You should be more careful. You shouldn't be distracted when you cut ingredients you know," she reprimanded sternly yet in gentle undertones.
"Yeah I know. Sorry, I had alot on my mind lately hehe," he replied sheepishly before his blue eyes had a faraway look as he looked out the window of his apartment, the sunlight streaming through the windows illuminating the kitchen and the rooms a beautifully. He could distantly make out the great stone wall and the buildings of the village before his gaze landed on the beautiful violet flowers blooming in the new flower box of his window sill that Hinata gave him to brighten up his home and spirits, however it also remindd him of a certain raven who he missed dearly.
Hinata looked at him with a sympathetic smile, "You're thinking about?"
This broke him out of his daydream before his cheeks burned a rush hue, "Eh?! N-no! Why would I think of that teme?!" He yelled flustered making Hinata giggle and look at him slyly,
"Who said I was talking about him?"
This made Naruto's cheeks burn brighter in embarrassment making Hinata giggle more, "So you were thinking of him"
“S-shut up!”
Hinata laughed before smiling softly, “Its ok Naruto. Its natural for us to worry about the people we love when they’re not by your side. I feel the same way too,” she reassured.
The blond sighed heavily as he looked at the cut tomatoes and peppers he had finished slicing and tossing them to a pan enjoying the satisfying sizzle of the food.
“I just cant help but worry if something's happened to him,” he said in a low voice. The lavender eyed Hyuga heiress patted his arm comfortingly before resuming her task of stirring the contents of the pot she was cooking with,
“I know how you feel. You feel so helpless or lonely, especially when you cant even speak to them when they’re so far away. Sometimes I find myself worrying about silly little things when Sakura isn’t around. You both love each other and I’d say that’s all you need to know that they’ll come back safely. Kami will guide back home to you so don’t worry too much ok?”
Naruto smiled softly to himself as he thought of his lover who he missed dearly. He wondered if he got the letter he had sent to him. One of the little things he enjoyed other than cooking with his girl-best friends and his hobbies was the letters he and Sasuke would sent each other, he always looked forward to each letter. The last letter he had received from him was a bit short but said the raven had gone to Otagakure in the pursuit of two rogues who were behind a human trafficking system. He felt happy that Sasuke had partaken the mission and would be a good way to earn the Raikage's good graces as the elder was a rather stern ruthless man when angered. Yet he was also concerned for the raven’s safety. He prayed he would one day come home safe, preferably in one piece.
Just as he and Hinata finished cooking lunch Sakura came in looking weary with faint dribbles of sweat on the side of her forehead. She wore her usual battle outfit with her usual pink shinobi headband holding her rose coloured locks back from her face as it showed off the diamond shaped seal upon her forehead. Removing her black gloves her smiled wearily, her emerald orbs sparkling with life, she looked at Naruto and smiled,
“Hey Naruto! How's it going?”
“Been doing great Sakura, Hinata and I just finished making lunch,” said Naruto with a bright smile. “Oh, I think the cupcakes are done! I’ll be right back,” he said before going to the oven to retrieve the baked goods, the aroma of the food wafting in the air making the pinkette’s mouth water. She walked over to Hinata before bending down and burying her face on her bosom hugging her tight like a child. Hinata chuckled softly, a soothing sound to Sakura's ears before she asked,
“Rough day at work Saku-koi?”
The latter laughed, “Yeah, it’s crazy how some of the staff could be so incompetent sometimes! If Ino wasn’t there I wouldn’t be able to handle things without blowing a fuse and causing collateral damage,”
Hinata smiled at her now fiancée before running her smooth fingers through the silky rose coloured locks soothingly,
“Why don't you have a shower and come have lunch? Naruto baked chocolate chip muffins today~” she said in a sing-song voice. This made Sakura perk up,
“Alright,” before she smiled slyly, “Care to join me Hina? The bath can be so lonely without you~”
This made Hinata's cheeks flush bright red before smacking her arm, “Sakura! D-dont say such things!”
This made Sakura laugh before heading off to change her clothes.
Hinata smiled despite herself before heading off to where Naruto went to inspect the muffins,
“Did they turn alright Naruto-kun?”
* * *
The sun began to set in the outskirts of Otagakure, Uchiha Sasuke walked across the shoreline of the beach relishing the warm orange yellow sunlight of the setting sun sinking below the horizon. The golden sands tickled his toes slightly as the gentle crash of the waves set his mind at peace. The setting reminded him of his beautiful blonde who was waiting patiently for him back in the village. He wondered how Naruto had been doing the past year. It hurt him to be away from him for so long, he felt terrible to abandon him in the village while he set off for his journey to seek redemption for his actions, yet he felt it was the best way to keep him safe. He had the rinnegan, which meant he would be an obvious magnet for trouble.
Part of his mind told him that perhaps the blue eyed nin may have even forgotten him by now and moved on with someone else, he had been away from him for so long he wouldn’t be surprised if he had given up on him. The thought of Naruto being in another's embrace, him loved and cherished by another’s affections made his blood boil. He would think of him everyday – he was his motivation to stay alive. Unknowingly or not the raven was irreversibly head-over-heels for the other.
He looked up to see his faithful hawk flying towards him. He stretched out his arm for the bird to land gracefully , ruffling its wings and giving a light nibble to its feathers. Sasuke opens the little tube attached to its leg to see three letters within. Sitting upon the golden sand cross legged, he used other new arm (which Tsunade and Orochimaru had made for him with the help of Naruto's incredible persistence) and examined the letters. The first one appeared to be from Kakashi who declared the Sasuke needed a holiday and hoping him well, the second was Sakura who wished him well and mentioned of her and Hinata's engagement with explicit threats to be at their wedding which brought a small smile on his face as he was happy that the pinkette had finally found her other half.
The finally letter however seized his attention immediately. The handwriting is a bit messy, its definitely Naruto's, he thought as his smile widened at the little letter,
Dear Sasuke,
I hope you’re doing good, it’s been a while since I’ve last seen you ya know. As for me, I’m doing pretty alright I guess. I've been staying with Hinata at the Hyuga compound more often lately, it gets really lonely at the apartment by myself and all. Hinata is a great pal and we’ve been baking all kinds of good. Maybe I’ll send you some over for you to try one day.
When's your next destination? If I’m being honest I really don’t like the thought if you so far away from home. I know I’m being a worry wart but just makes me feel really worried about your safely. The village is your home ya know, and I get scared that you might be injured or sick. In truth, I really miss you, but I also don’t want to stop you in your journey. I hope you can come home safe one day. I’ll be waiting for you, right here always. Stay safe teme or I’ll personally come over and kick your ass!
Love,
Uzumaki Naruto.
Reading the letter brought a soft chuckle from him at the adorable letter. He had been collecting all the letters he had from him, they made him feel at home in matter where he was. He could see the word ‘love’ had been smudged out few times with other suggestions indicating that Naruto had a real internal conflict on what end the letter. He could almost see the little blond bundle, cheeks flushed and mumbling incoherent syllables under his breathe and biting his pencil nervously as he struggled to think of what to write next. It's habit he noticed when they where smaller too, the very thought made him smile more.
“Hello there young man, what brings you here to this beach all on your own?” a voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned to see an elderly man with a head full of grey hair and sharp stormy grey eyes that sparkled with life walking towards him with a brown walking stick in his hand. Deciding the man wasn’t an enemy he simply looked at the horizon as the man took a seat next to him,
“It was peaceful here so I decided to take a break,” he replied shortly. The man smiled,
“Ah, it is isn’t it? I used to come here very often you know. It’s one of the most special places in my life that I still intend to cherish,” he said. This made Sasuke’s head tilt slightly in curiosity.
“Oh?”
The man said, “You’re not from around here aren’t you boy?”
Sasuke quietly shook his head. The man smiled gently, “What are you doing here all by yourself then? Are you lost perhaps? Or a traveller?”
“I guess you can say I’m a traveller with my own personal journey,” said Sasuke deciding against telling his real goal. The man nodded understanding,
“Don’t you have any family that misses you?”
This made him instantly think of Naruto who was patiently waiting for him to come back home. The image of those sparkling cerulean irises and blond hair made him smile softly which didn’t go unnoticed by the man,
“So you do have don’t you?”
Sasuke nodded before the man continued, “ Would you mind telling me what he or she is like?”
The man gave such a warm fatherly aura that Sasuke found himself opening up to him at ease,
“He's quite loud and stupid sometimes. He used to be the dead last of the academy,” unknowingly this made Sasuke chuckle softly while the man laughed heartily, “He can be really feisty and impulsive but, it only makes him more special. He's kind and always willing to forgive and protect the people he cares about and is the strongest person I know and. . .” he paused as unspoken words drifted within his mind.
His laugh, his smile, his voice and his heart of gold. Everything about him is beautiful to him. The elder chuckled,
“You must really love him don't you? I can see it in you eyes,”
Sasuke simply stared at the horizon as his thoughts were on his blond while quietly nodding his head.
“You know this beach is where I met the love of my life. We never really got along when we were younger. She was a hard worker with a brilliant mind and I wasn't exactly the best in my ninjutsu. Over time we grew closer as friends, we had each other's backs. Before I knew it we fell in love” he looked at the sky with a faraway look in his eyes,
“I made many mistakes in the past. I was a shinobi, we all have our tasks to serve our village. We were in love and I couldn’t be any happier but I was requested to leave the village in an important mission that may take a long time. I thought it would be for the best if I had gone, hoping I would come back home sooner than expected. However my mission took much longer than I hoped, I missed her everyday.
Soon when I came back I realised. . . She was gone. She was engaged and getting married to another man and I happened to be around on that day. I’ll never forget that day, despite my heart shattered she looked so beautiful in that white kimono I pictured her wearing if we got married. But as long as she was happy, I was ok. Soon she died in battle leaving me devastated. I lost the chance I had to share my love with her for the rest of my life and now, she was gone forever,”
He looked at Sasuke with a sturdy expression, “Life as a shinobi is much too short for us to wait. We cannot dwell in our regrets and mistakes forever. We all make grave mistakes and may hurt others too but nothing can good can come from reliving the past when the future is bright before you. The waters are always much clearer before you than the murky depths you left behind. You may never know what you’ve lost until it’s gone, boy.”
This made Sasuke ponder on his choice and those words sank in. Was it really all that worth to live on the past trying to redeem himself even once forgiven? His mind went back to the letter from Naruto,
I miss you. . .
I’ll be waiting for you . . .
Was be really going to waste all that time by abandoning his love for his selfish redemption for the guilt he was lifted from months ago? Making up his mind he stood up with a firm resolve in his mind. He was going back home.
The man smirked, “Oh leaving already?”
“Hn," said Sasuke, “Its time I went back home,”
The man chuckled heartily, “Then what are you doing here? Go on! Shoo! Don’t keep your lover waiting!”
Sasuke smiled at the man before nodding a small bow and heading off. The said elder sighed contentedly and looked back at the sky with a soft smile upon his features,
“I hope to see you soon my dear Kyoko, I just hope you can forgive me for leaving you for all those years,” he whispered to the sky before closing his eyes in peace listening to the gentle lullaby of the waters before him.
YOU ARE READING
You before me ( Sasunaru)
Fanfiction"he is the sunshine on my darkest days, he was my home. The hopeful heart that connects me in this cruel world and to the village I left behind. the last rays of light i have" A story about a bond that goes beyond friendship. a bond that killed, yet...
