Sehnsucht [Naruto Fanfiction]

Chapter 32 - Confession

Chapter 32 - Confession

Itachi was sitting quietly in the early evening, reading his book. It was one that Hitori had leant to him, and he was very much enjoying it. It discussed certain existential aspects of life, and even though it was clearly written for civilians, many things also applied to shinobi. He was undoubtedly feeling the effects of the book and was considering his life thus far. Shinobi had short, fleeting lives, and the fact that he got a second chance to live was a miracle. So far he had been back in Konoha for almost 18 months now, and it had been the blessing he never expected. Although he wasn't overly popular, he still had a few people he could count on, which was enough for him.

Hatake Kakashi had been a good friend to him since he had returned; they sat in silence together at the monument, just remembering their friends and those they had lost many times. He was a busy man, preparing to be named Hokage soon, so their time together was minimal aside from their professional interactions. They were typical male friends, though, barely said anything and mostly conversed about impersonal things, the village, and their friends. Still, he had a lot of respect for the older man, and the fact that he didn't actually try to escape when they saw each other in the street was a sign of their close bond.

He had even developed a rapport with the rest of Team Seven, as much as it surprised him. Sai was easy enough to get along with now that Sakura and Naruto had accepted him. The artist never said much but was always polite and respectful even though Sai no longer worked in ANBU. He had somehow been lucky enough to not end up with one of his horrible nicknames, too. Sakura had been treating him for his vision problems and illness since he returned to Konoha, and he now had much better vision. For someone so young, she had a tremendous amount of maturity and ability with her medical ninjutsu, and she would overtake Tsunade in the next few years.

Naruto was nothing short of a force to be reckoned with. The Kyuubi Jinchuriki was an incredible young man with the fantastic ability to make people believe in him. Although he was still immature and inappropriate sometimes, he would make a brilliant Hokage one day. He had enough courage to bow his head to the Raikage, take on Pain, Obito and Madara Uchiha, and not only gain control of the Kyuubi, but befriend him and the other tailed beasts. Itachi held doubt that if Naruto wasn't around, the world would be a very different place currently. He was excited to see how much more good Naruto would do in the world.

His brother was a different issue entirely. He would say they were on good terms again, but things were not the same. They were both scarred mentally and physically by each other and would never be how they were, but they were trying to become brothers again. Of course, it would take time to build up trust and the brotherly love they once shared. They could talk, joke and discuss their feelings with one another, so they were well on the way to repairing their relationship.

The one bond he'd made that was the strangest was with the woman whose footsteps he could currently hear walking towards his door. He was only ever able to hear her approach if something was wrong. Only a few select people knew who she was, and he was glad to be one of them. When he first met her, she seemed kind, but due to her lack of self-confidence, she never got close enough to people for them to know her. After he had moved in across the hall, she came out of her shell, and he discovered that she was funny, smart and a genuinely compassionate person to the point of self-sacrifice.

She was also lazy and stubborn and had problems believing in herself, but he gauged that it was only because she never had someone consistent to praise her and tell her she was doing a good job. He learned that her Genin team and her Team Leader had all died after a mission gone wrong, and she had become closed off over the years so that she didn't get hurt again. Since then, she had been primarily alone until she befriended Haruko, who lived in the same building and went on a few missions with Sakura, whom she worked with at the hospital.