Love In The Blood Prison | Sasunaru/Narusasu

Final Verdict: 2/2

Luckily, everything is going well for the village and my birthday plans are still in full swing. I visit Itachi the day before my birthday since he requested my presence beforehand. It'll be rude to keep him waiting a day longer.

"I assume Sasuke told you everything, right? Even about the fact he had left his previous team?" Itachi asks, sitting up from his bed.

I stop a few feet away from him. "Yeah. He told me that he didn't want them to depend on him for leadership."

"It's not the leadership aspect he was afraid of, it was the fear of not seeing them have their own strength. He doesn't like it when people are interested in him for looks or strength. Even some shinobi tried to cling to me because I look intimidating. Imagine how long he spent knowing he looked like Itachi's brother and not Sasuke."

"I heard they recently fixed their association with one another. Sasuke isn't interested in being a team but he welcomes them as close people."

"Ironically, he did the same thing for you."

"What do you mean by that?"

Itachi stands from his bed and fixes his attire. "Sasuke isn't interested in being a team, Naruto... but that doesn't mean he isn't interested in being close to you. He prefers doing independent work and leaving work out of his relationships. He thinks he's being selfish but he has been told that by someone who never had love the way you two do."

I awkwardly rub the back of my neck, trying to get shy at the thought of it all. "Yeah, well... We spent a lot of time in prison together to patch things up."

"During those six months, you two were just friends who tried to fix things while planning an escape. Now you two are trying to figure out what to do with the newfound love you harbored. You, Naruto, harbored this love for years upon years. It's a given that many people in your position would run into the arms of their loved ones. You stayed patient. I'm grateful for that."

"Six months was easy since he was there the entire time."

"Yet, you didn't think about how your village sent you there without hesitation. They made you think that you were the culprit so you wouldn't ruin the plan. A plan that you were more than worthy to take on as Minato and Kushina's son."

"What does this have to do with my parents?"

"Your parents have enemies everywhere and every second is a fine line between your possible death and ruined future. Imagine falling in love with someone and losing them because your parents are alive. I'm still alive for Sasuke and yet, my enemies are still out there. Both are you aren't safe in one place and bravery won't save thousands of lives forever."

"Just because I'm their son, that doesn't mean I'm made of steel. If the plan was told to me beforehand, then there would've been a chance of forced interrogation."

"You proved yourself to withstand anything, even Sasuke's blind wrath forced upon him by someone else. You spent months next to him knowing he slaughtered an entire existence, and even with your pride of a shinobi, you still loved him. Your steel armor was able to stay on through it all. Tell me, are you still saying this because you trust our village or because you believe in their judgments?"

"Both." I place my hand where my heart is. "I trust and believe in their judgments of my missions. Ill wishes aren't something I want to have of them. I'd prefer to give them chances until they prove to be corrupted one day."

"Then protect my little brother with your life, Naruto." He gives me a headband with a line through the Leaf Village symbol. "He carried that headband wherever he went. He dropped it when he got caught so I held on to it. He told me to give it to whoever I came across."