青い骨の美 - The Beauty of Blue Bones

Chapter 7

Winter
Monday—4: 14AM

He's been lingering outside the village for an hour now, he knew that if anyone were to notice him, they'd think he was crazy. Sasuke didn't know whether or not he actually wanted to pass the front gates into a village that was practically unknown to him at this point. This wasn't his place, this wasn't a village he could freely call his 'home' like the others could. The only word that sufficed was simply 'village'. Konoha was simply the village he was born in, one that he was tied to because his now dead clan was one of its founders. Despite the blood of his ancestors nurturing the very ground he walked on since he was a child, he could not find it in himself to actually care for Konoha the way his ancestors did.

Finally coming to a stop at the front gates once again, he took a deep breath and pressed his hand into his side where the healing stab wound was. He couldn't go back now, he knew that, so he took a step forward, then multiple others.

His steps were slow, uncertain, and fearful even though his face was barely readable. He ignored the looks he got from the patrolling guards as he came into view, he turned to them once he was far enough, successfully putting them in a genjūtsu so they'd forget that he was ever there. The last thing he needed was the village being aware of his presence when he already did not want to be there.

Taking to the roofs the very instant he entered the market district, he allowed his feet to carry him down the familiar path to the place his clan's manor used to stand. He expected them to get rid of it, he knew that they would rather crush any reminders of their past than to acknowledge it, so he wasn't sure why he was upset as he stared at the barren land in front of him.

There were some piles of wood, bags of cement, and other things—they were going to build something else in place of the Uchiha District. He clenched his hand as he memorized the land in front him, he even imagined the once lively district belonging to his family.

Another swift turn and he departed.

Now he really had nowhere to go.

Sasuke settled on the terrace of an apartment building; he looked around, noting the marked places of where potted plants used to reside without a doubt. He knocked on the glass door, taking a step back to observe the otherwise bare terrace. It took a while, he could practically hear the complaints beyond the door before it opened.

A tired and disheveled Naruto stood in front of him, staring at him as though he wasn't actually there.

"Ha, ha, very funny." Naruto rolled his eyes and began shutting the door before Sasuke stopped him. "You can stop the pranks, Konohamaru, aren't you too old to be doing this sort of thing? Listen, it's like four-thirty in the morning, go back home." He pulled the door again.

"What are you talking about, usuratonkachi?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow and tilted his head. If he could, he would have crossed his arms as well, but he settled on an annoyed look as the cold began to bother him. "Were you dropped on your head before waking up?"

Naruto froze, he took a moment to rub his eyes but still didn't trust them. "Give me a moment." He muttered as he closed the door, locked it, and ran into the bathroom to splash his face with cold water. Shivering, he stared at himself in the mirror, gave himself a slap to his cheek to make sure he was awake, then wiped his dripping face with his shirt.

He returned with shock filled eyes, Naruto scrambled to open the terrace's door and stepped to the side for Sasuke to finally step inside. "I thought you were Konohamaru." He muttered, pulling the large curtains shut as he turned to Sasuke. He watched as his best friend studied what little he could see of his new apartment in the dark.