Distorted

Chapter 2

He and Sakura had sat at the gate of Konoha and waited. They sat there, in the dirt, waiting for someone who didn’t come. It was getting cold as the sun started to set and the wind rustled through the leaves, singing songs. Sakura sighed and slowly got up, groaning while doing so. She stretched and Naruto observed her quietly.

“I have to help out tomorrow morning in the hospital.” The pink haired woman said, dusting her clothes off. She gave him a wave. “I’ll see you around, Naruto.” Unspoken words hanging in the air, as she hurried back towards the village.

Naruto watched his friend go, he sighed, leaning back against the wall. He decided to stay, gaze fixated on the dark road in front of the village, hoping to see a figure appear at the top of the horizon. Just a couple of more minutes, he had told himself. A couple of minutes turned into one hour and then into two and finally around midnight when the moon was shining big and bright, dusting the outskirts of the village in an eerie glow, he decided to head home.

He was disappointed.

He was disappointed, in himself for having so much faith that Sasuke would actually show up and also in how his friend went back on his word. Disappointed  in him for letting him down. And Naruto knew it was selfish of him to feel that way, Sasuke was an adult who could make his own decisions, he didn’t need to justify any of his actions. He knew the Uchiha disliked the village greatly, so he didn’t know why he had his hopes so high in the first place.

Still, Naruto couldn’t help but to get upset, both at Sasuke, and at himself, for feeling entitled to his friend’s presence.

He came to a halt in front of the house he shared with Hinata. They had decided to move in together before getting married to avoid the stress afterwards. The house was nice, although too big for just the two of them. He unlocked the door and stepped inside.

He could hear the dark haired woman rush towards the door from the living room. "Naruto!" She called happily, excitement was audible in her voice.

Naruto turned away from her, closing the door and willing himself not to pull such a face in front of his fiancé.

The woman wasn't oblivious though and immediately knew something wasn't quite right.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Hinata asked, brushing her long hair behind her ear. "Did it not go too well meeting, Sasuke-kun? Did you two argue?"

Naruto shook his head, looking at her, not being able to keep the deep frown off his lips.

"He didn't show up." He said quietly, feeling childish. Sasuke was a grown man, he himself could decide when and where he wanted to be at certain locations. If the raven decided to not show up to his wedding then so be it, he might come by another time.

He walked past Hinata into the kitchen, getting some water. He needed to sit down, his lower back hurting from leaning against a tree the entire day. The woman followed him.

"Maybe he will come tomorrow?" She offered, trying to be helpful. She pulled the chair back and sat herself across from Naruto who seated himself at the kitchen table.

"Maybe." Naruto sighed.

There was a beat of silence, before Hinata spoke again.

"Maybe something happened that is prolonging his travels? Like bad weather?" She suggested.

"Hm. Maybe." He said, taking a sip of his water.

"Didn't he answer your letter?"

Naruto blinked at her, before nodding slowly. "He did, he told me he would be here on this day." Naruto looked at the clock. "Well, yesterday."