Too Late To Say Sorry {✔}

Chapter 28

[Edited: 10.4.19.]

Chapter 28|No one's pov

They long since reached their destination. The village hidden in the Whirpools. Or better yet, Uzushiogakure. It was all in ruins. And they long since made plans and started to rebuild. And they made progress. With Naruto's Kami no me, Nagato's Rinnegan, Konan's paper release —whatever it was called; Naruto didn't remember— Itachi's and Obito's Mangyeko Sharingan it was a bit easier. The Sharingan users weren't that much of a help, especially Itachi. Obito could at least transport some things from dimension to dimension. Itachi on the other hand could only burn things with his Amaterasu. It did help but it improved the risk of getting caught. They were already in a tight spot as it was. Luckily people rather avoided the ruins. Too many bad things happened there. When they previously arrived nostalgia kicked in on Nagato. It was good to be home. Even if that home was ruined.

With the help of clones they were a lot faster. Naruto left clones in his place and went slowly to Konoha. Beside him Itachi walked as well.

It was silent. Neither spoke. The uncomfortable, awkward silence gave Naruto time to think. And that's what he hated. At times like this the guilt could eat him alive. He thought of Sasuke's death, the hole in his heart, the emptiness in his being, the loneliness in his soul and the hatred in his veins.

Itachi noticed something wrong —it was not to oversee— but choose to stay silent. What could he have said? He trusted Naruto and the outcome.... It made his heart stop. His brother was dead. There was no more reason for him to live. He actually wondered briefly why he even lived right now. He didn't have no one. Sasuke's eyes would be of no use to him. He wouldn't live to see their usefulness anyway. That train of thoughts led him to Naruto —like his every other thought; not that he would admit.

He wasn't blind —in another way— or stupid and he sure as hell wasn't oblivious to his feelings. He knew somehow he had some kind of attraction on Naruto. Kinda what people liked to call crush he guessed. But he bluntly refused to call it that, he wasn't a girl.
Obito begged to differ.

But even that attraction was not enough to stop him from dying or forgiving. And even when he saw that heartbroken look Naruto had on his face most of the time; he couldn't forgive.

~oOo~

They were careless and that's how it happened. They wanted to go unnoticed to Konoha, sneak in to the Hokage office, explain to Tsunade and leave. And it went so well too. To the leaving point. They told Tsunade about everything that happened and how they came here because Itachi wanted Sasuke's funeral in Konoha with the rest of the Uchiha clan. Tsunade had —surprisingly— taken it rather well, if a hard yet sorrowful look counted as well.

They were at the gates, transformed in two young travelers, and passed the gates to outside. Just a few miles away they dismissed their jutsus. It was then that suddenly Root anbu attacked them. They wouldn't have stood a chance it it wasn't for the fact that they were Itachi Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki (Namikaze). And while the battles weren't all too hard they lost focus a few times.
"How the hell? I freed you all!"

"You killed Danzo-sama, we will never forgive you! You shall die demon!" Oh yes it's been a while since someone called him that, he'd say he missed the nickname but that'd be a big fat lie.
Instead he sighed and before either he or the Uchiha could do anything everything went black.

~oOo~

The first thing Naruto felt when he woke up was that his head was hurting. Very much at that. He groaned and coughed when he found something irritating his nose.
The air was filled with.... dust....?

His only guess was a cell. He was blindfolded and his hands and legs were tied together with rope and chakra blockers. And this one's were a lot stronger then that of the Akatsuki's. He absentmindedly wondered how.

He tried struggling out and breaking out but stopped when an abnormal pain ripped trough him. A bloody scream escaped from the pits of his body.

"It's useless, stop."

Naruto would recognize that voice everywhere. He grinned but his grin seemed weaker, "Who would I be if I ever stopped, Itachi?"

His companion —who he guessed was just as blindfolded and tied like he himself— however didn't find it as funny and chuckled unamusedly, "Of course, wasn't killing Sasuke enough to stop you from trying?"

The room stilled and the temperature dropped. The clenching of teeth was the only sound breaking the silence.
"Don't.... Don't you think that I wanted that to happen... ", Naruto's voice broke a few times, "He was like a brother to me! A friend and a lover at one point! I chased him, I protected him, I loved him! Heck I nearly died a few times because of him and still! I kept everything to myself and let him do as he pleased!
Do you know how much I suffered and hid?!? I-I never wanted to kill him! If I had known I wouldn't have had done that! I would've rather died!
At least no one would have missed me!"

And Itachi never confirmed but nor protested that Naruto dying would have been right. And Naruto knew.

TBC