Freaks in Love

He had failed.

Seventeen-year-old Uzumaki Naruto trudged through the deserted streets of Konoha, ignoring the sheets of rain that poured down onto him from the black skies above, ruining his fine clothing. The Kyuubi's Jinchuriki sometimes felt that the weather reflected his mood.

Why was he in such a down mood? His dream had just been ripped into a million tiny pieces and thrown into a blazing fire, that's why.

Flashback

Naruto stood on the stage with the other Konoha Jounin, eagerly anticipating who Tsunade would announce as the Rokudaime Hokage. He had been waiting for this moment for all of his life; the day where he would don the Fire Shadow's hat, and begin a new life of protecting the village.

All of the chattering amongst the assembled shinobi and civilians died as Tsunade walked onto the stage. Naruto was starting to feel jittery, he was so excited. His mood gained curiosity when he saw the unhappy look on his Baachan's face. Tsunade turned to the crows of civilians and cleared her throat. Naruto looked closely at her, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw a tear fall from her eye.

"I elect, as the Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato..." Tsunade began. Naruto felt like he could cut the tension in the air with Hoshigaki Kisame's zanbato, Samehada.

"Uchiha Sasuke." She finished. As the crowd broke into raucous cheers and applause, Naruto's heart shattered, and his soul fell to the ground, bleeding. Some of the ninja looked happy at this development. Others remained neutral. But the rest watched as Naruto drained of colour and tears came to his brilliant blue eyes.

Inside he was raging. He just couldn't believe the fucking injustice of this shit! HE was the best choice for Hokage! HE was the one who dragged the traitor's busted ass back from a war zone that was once Amegakure. And what thanks did he get? He was berated for HARMING the arrogant fuck! Once Sasuke was brought back, he had not been taken to the executioner's block. He had only needed to serve eighteen months in a maximum security prison and probation for the six months after his release while being barred from active shinobi duty. And once he was done with probation, he was automatically promoted to a fucking JOUNIN!

Although he supposed that this made sense. Naruto knew that those delusional old raisins called Konoha's Council of Elders would never allow him, the 'scourge' of Konoha, to become its ruler. But he was sure that Tsunade would have been able to come through and convince them somehow that he, Naruto, not the Kyuubi, would be a suitable leader.

But those old ass wipes had turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to Tsunade's dossier of what Naruto had done. When she had protested and outright refused the election of Uchiha Sasuke, the council had threatened her with treason against Konoha. Unable to attain victory in the war of attrition, Tsunade had conceded.

Naruto turned away from the sight of Sasuke accepting the hat and fled the stage. Tears spilled down his face as his black cape swished behind him. Sasuke looked over to pick out the dobe's face in the crowd of shinobi, but he was not able to locate the blue orbs of his ex-teammate. He did notice, however, a small dissipating trail through the ninja that looked as though someone had roughly shoved their way through it. Tsunade appeared to be looking for her unofficial otouto as well.

"What are you looking for, Sasuke-sama?" Haruno Sakura asked, latching gently onto her longtime crush's arm. She swung her pink head to the direction that Naruto had disappeared in.