Of Hearts and Dreams, Chapter 3 - Walking a Fine Line
Chapter 3 - Walking a Fine Line
Warnings: None, really. This chapter is pure story development, nothing too exciting happening. ^_~
"I'm sorry sir, but the Hokage isn't available to see you right now." One of the guards said, bowing his head.
Sasuke fumed. "Can you at least tell him I'm out here waiting?"
"No, I'm sorry, Uchiha-san. He's not in office at the moment. At this time of day, he's usually visiting the training grounds or the classrooms..." the ninja guard answered, eyeing the Uchiha with interest. "I can tell him you were he--"
"Tch. Never mind, I'll find him myself." Sasuke snapped, turning and striding down the hall, his ANBU mask dangling loosely in his hand. He'd been ready to return to work today, but was told he needed to have the hokage's permission first. Those words had made Sasuke's blood boil. He hadn't been able to find the elusive hokage in days...since the day he was blackmailed. "Damned dobe. He's still a pussy…hiding from me like this. And his permission! Tch!" various ninja that passed him as he traveled through the tower stared openly as he grumbled to himself.
Shikamaru glanced up in time to hear the last muttered grumble and smirked before returning to his report. Maybe things wouldn't be boring around here for a while, with Sasuke back and Naruto as hokage. "Troublesome as hell, but not boring..."
Black ninja sandals strode purposefully down the school hallway, inky black eyes glancing into each classroom he passed. So far, they all seemed to be abandoned, which was strange for this time of the morning. Maybe all the children were at the training grounds? Sasuke sighed. He was getting sick of chasing Naruto…not only was in annoying, but it was bruising his pride somewhat. As he drew near the back door, he heard the chanting of young voices. Slipping outside silently, he came to stand against the building just behind the small group of teachers. In the yard, all the children were assembled and sitting on the ground, listening to their guest speaker.
"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama!" a young boy with short brown hair called out excitedly while waving his hand in the air. "When did you know that you wanted to become Hokage?"
Naruto stood, stroking his chin lightly. He was dressed in black pants and a black mesh shirt, his decorative white cloak tossed over the tree swing that swung lazily in the warm breeze. The children were silent as he appeared to think about the question. “I think I was about six years old.”
“Why did you want to become hokage?” Piped up the girl sitting next to the boy who asked the previous question.
“Well, to be truthful, I saw how much respect he got from the villagers, and how recognized he was. I wanted what he had, so I made it my dream to become hokage!” He grinned. “Of course, now I know that my first reasons for wanting to become hokage were selfish…but it did begin my dream, so I don’t regret that selfishness.”
“Hokage-sama…” One of the teachers began, and Sasuke smirked softly as he realized it was Iruka-sensei. “We don’t want to keep you much longer, but would you mind giving the children some words of advice?”
Naruto blinked and laughed slightly, a flush spreading across his cheeks. “Well sure, I suppose.”
All the children leaned forward with a combined “Ehhhhhh?”
The blonde ninja stood tall, his gaze washing over the students. With a small start, he realized that they were the future of Konoha. A ghost of a smile graced his lips, his hair glinting brightly as the sun broke through the clouds. ‘These children have so many hopes and dreams…they’re still innocent and have yet to shed blood. How I envy them…and how badly I wish to protect them…’
He cleared his throat. “My advice is this. Don’t be afraid to follow your dreams. Work hard, for your dreams will not come to you quickly, and you must work to achieve them. You’ll have to work through blood, sweat and tears. You must continue on even through war and death. If you try your hardest, you can achieve anything!” He said with a certain amount of excitement in his voice. “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t succeed, even if it’s a sensei. You have my personal permission to tell them that they’re wrong!” He grinned back at the sea of giggles he received. He then continued on.
“Don’t try to be what you are not. Be who you are, and be proud of that.” He paused. “Love your village with all your heart and soul. Keep your loved ones close to you and protect them with everything you have. Lastly… when you’re knocked down, get back up, no matter what. Even if the odds are against you, get back up on your feet and fight for what you believe in. That’s what a true ninja does.”
The children clapped loudly along with the teachers, who then bowed deeply. The hokage bowed in return. “Thank you for inviting me to speak today!” He said with a smile and a wave.
As Naruto grabbed his coat, he watched as the teachers gathered the children and herded them all back into the school building. It didn’t seem like all that long ago that he’d been a student in one of those classes. The memory was bittersweet for him, as the lingering pain of childhood still haunted him daily; he had already accepted the fact that it would haunt for the rest of his life. The wounds were too deep. Not even achieving his dream could heal those kinds of emotional scars.
“My, how inspiring you can be when you feel like it, Uzumaki.” Came a deep voice from beside him. “You can also be a bitch to find, you know that?”
“Mm. It’s important to inspire the children and give them hope, Sasuke.” He replied, still gazing towards the school. “And, I’m only a bitch to find when I want to be a bitch to find.” He grinned, finally glancing away from the school to meet the dark haired ninja’s ebony gaze. “Besides. I’m a busy guy.”
Sasuke grunted softly in reply, but continued to gaze at the golden-haired man. “I have so many questions…it makes me want to kick your face through the back of your skull…but I’m sure you already know that.” He finished with an air of annoyance.
“I know. So… how about dinner tonight?” Naruto asked brightly. Sasuke blinked in surprise at the sudden question and then gave him a suspicious look.
“Stop changing the subject, dobe.” He growled, pointing a finger in his rivals face. Said rival simply laughed and shrugged as he continued walking towards the school building. Sasuke didn’t laugh.
“I want to know how you managed to get that man so emotional.” Sasuke scowled. “I’ve never seen him that emotional before. Ever. There’s something you aren’t telling me about all of this, ‘hokage-sama’, and I don’t like it.”
Sasuke’s eyes widened as he was spun around and slammed against the side of the building, and he was just about to release a string of curses before he inhaled a shuddering breath. The other man had half of Sasuke’s body pinned with his own solid form, one hand braced next to the his head.
“I think…” Naruto started, his lips barely a hair’s width away from the other man’s ear. “That what you like and what you don’t like matters nothing to me in this instance.” Naruto barely restrained a growl as his lips brushed the soft flesh of Sasuke’s ear. He closed his eyes before continuing, noting absently that Sasuke had stiffened. “I made you an offer, and you’ll take it or leave it. Until you give me an answer, you won’t get anything from me. Do you understand?” He murmured softly, head tilting slightly to inhale the scent from Sasuke’s hair. He repressed a soft shudder as he pulled back, bright blue eyes opening to gaze into ebony. He expected to see fury in the other’s eyes, but instead he saw careful consideration in those narrowed dark eyes.
“Why are you doing this?”
“You already know why.” He answered simply, stepping back. Sasuke’s cheeks flushed with anger. “Just give me an answer, Sasuke. A yes or a no. Yes, you’ll agree to stay, or no, you won’t, it’s simple, baka.”
”I don’t have much of a choice, do I, asshole?!” He hissed, taking a step towards the golden haired man.
“No, you don’t.” Naruto admitted. “But I need an answer from you nonetheless. In all reality, you already said you would, right?” He paused, a soft frown wrinkling his brow. “I said before I wasn’t doing this to be an ass…and I’m not. Please believe me Sasuke…don’t hate me for this…”
“Hn.” Sasuke snorted before turning to leave. “I already hate you, idiot. I’ve always hated you. And you’d better damn well release me back to work, too - I’m not having any of this ‘I need your permission’ bullshit.”
Naruto sighed, feeling a cold spot growing in the pit of his stomach. “Yeah. I know you hate me. And I’ll release you back into duty tomorrow. Be there in the morning for instruction, as usual.” All he received in response was a curt nod as Sasuke continued walking away.
Sasuke swore silently to himself as he quickly made his way home. He didn’t know why Naruto had an obsession with keeping him around, or why he felt he needed to help Sasuke. Hadn’t he always made it clear to everyone that he didn’t want anyone’s help? Had he ever really given Naruto enough reason to want him to stay in Konoha?
These questions along with the infuriating mysteries surrounding his older brother’s capture were constantly running through his mind the past few days…now, he also had the memory of the Naruto’s body pressed tightly to his…the memory of the still-boyish voice murmuring, the feel of soft lips brushing lightly against his ear.
And those damned eyes…bright shards of condensed sky…deeper than any chasm and clearer than any mountain stream. As he walked through the gates to the Uchiha district, he had the vague thought that he was more annoyed with himself than anyone else.
The next morning, as promised, Sasuke was briefed by the hokage along with the other ANBU and was sent out on a simple day mission. Most of the day he was patrolling along the southern boundaries of the city. He knew that he wouldn’t be seeing any decent missions for a while, and he was still slightly irked about it. However the day went by quickly with thoughts of the man sitting down in the tower’s jail, and the golden haired hokage who held the key to the cell. At the end of the day, he found himself at the Naruto’s door. After being announced, he strolled into the room to find Naruto stripped down to just his black pants, doing push ups on the floor.
Sasuke arched a brow as his eyes roamed over the man’s broad back, the flexing muscles glistening lightly with sweat. Naruto hopped up to his feet with agile swiftness and smiled, his breath coming in soft puffs.
“Sasuke. What’s up?” He asked, grasping a bottle of water from his desk and tipping it back against his lips. A few gulps later he lowered the bottle and gazed questioningly at him.
He suddenly felt put on the spot. As Sasuke stood there not knowing quite what to say, he was startled to realize that he really had no reason to be there. Had he ever just dropped in on Naruto before, without any reason? “Baka…I’m…just here for a visit. Is that okay, or do I need some kind of appointment?”
Naruto easily caught the sarcastic tone.
Laughing, the hokage shook his head. “You’ll never need an appointment, Sasuke. I’m just surprised to see you is all.” He grinned, stretching his arms above his head before bracing them against the desk behind him. “So, since you’re here…do you have any plans for dinner?”
Sasuke blinked. “No. I hadn’t really thought about it. Why?”
“Well, I thought we might go get something to eat. I wasn’t joking the other night when I asked you out to dinner. I want to have dinner with you. Just you and me…to catch up, and…talk.” He paused, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Glancing away, he rubbed his hands anxiously against the tops of his thighs. Sasuke’s eyebrows raised, and he couldn’t hold back the flush spreading across his tanned, whiskered cheeks.
‘You’re acting like a schoolgirl again, kid. Just tell him that you’d like to fuck him over a bowl of noodles.’ The deep voice inside him echoed.
‘Shut of fox, before I kill you!’
Sasuke snorted and eyed the blonde, watching as he fumbled nervously. “Are you asking me on a date?” He nearly laughed when Naruto sputtered softly, his mouth opening and closing. Blue eyes glanced to the side before curving as his cheeks lifted into a grin.
“Yep, I suppose I am. So how about it? Dinner and a spar?”
“Dinner and a spar? You sure know how to be romantic, don’t you?” Sasuke teased, his voice dry with humor. He wasn’t disappointed by the sly grin he received in response, brushing away the soft fluttering in his chest, but unable to completely ignore the soft heat beginning to flush his cheeks.
“Hey, I aim to please…”
Sasuke actually smiled at this, crossing his arms over his chest and remaining silent as he watched his old teammate pull his net shirt back over his head.
“Let me go back to my place and change first. I’d rather not wear my work clothes.” Sasuke nodded and followed him out of the room, watching with detached interest as Naruto said goodnight to the guards, his hands moving in a fast seal as he set wards over the door. With a slight wave, the blonde turned and made his way down the hall.
After dropping by Naruto’s suite, they both made their way to a small restaurant not far from the tower. Sasuke glanced sideways as they entered the foyer of the restaurant, watching the smiling Naruto bow slightly to the hostess. He had changed out of his ninja - hokage garb and into a pair of tight brown jeans, a plain white t-shirt and a beige leather jacket that was fitted to the man’s wide shoulders and narrow waist. On his feet were black converse sneakers, looking like they were several years old, as they were quite scuffed and worn. Sasuke smirked lightly, noticing that every female head in the room was turned…and he wasn’t at all surprised that they weren’t just looking at him this time. Soft mutterings of “Hokage-sama…” was heard as they were led to a backroom to a low black table with plush scarlet cushions at each of the four sides.
“Ah, thank you, Michi.” Naruto smiled at the young hostess, who blushed and bowed out of the room before returning with Sake and iced water. Settling across from each other, they discussed the daily menu and finally agreed upon what to order. Naruto signaled a hostess, and their order was taken.
“Sakura will be ecstatic when she gets back from her mission, you know.” Naruto smirked across the table as he drank from his sake cup. Sasuke rolled his eyes.
“When will she be back? I deserve to be warned, you know.”
“Tch…Sasuke, don’t be so cruel. You know she loves you.”
“Yes, exactly. She thinks she loves me, Naruto, that doesn’t mean she actually does.”
Naruto frowned at that. “What do you mean? I’m pretty sure she’s madly in love with you…she always has been.” He said softly. Sasuke was surprised not to hear disappointment or longing in that statement.
“What, you aren’t jealous anymore?”
The blonde man chuckled. “No. I haven’t been for a very long time.” He paused, then shrugged, blue eyes lifting to meet those of Sasuke’s. “I love her…but not like that.”
Sasuke nodded silently at this new information.
He sipped at his own sake, his eyes following the hostess as she entered the private room. She smiled as she set a platter of appetizers down and made her way back out of the room. “She doesn’t know me.”
Naruto blinked in confusion, casting a glance over his shoulder towards the door, noting with slight annoyance that the Anbu posted outside the room could easily be spotted from his position on the floor. “Huh?”
“Tch…Sakura, baka, not the waitress. She doesn’t know me, she only thinks she does. She doesn’t really know anything about who I am. Just bits and pieces.”
Naruto was silent as he poured himself another cup of sake, swishing it around before downing it in one gulp. He missed Sasuke’s arched brow. “And who does know you, Uchiha Sasuke? Does anyone?” He asked, gazing intently into the other’s eyes, waiting for the answer.
“You tell me. You know me better than anyone, Uzumaki.” Sasuke glanced away, leaning forward to snag an onigiri from the plate of appetizers. He couldn’t believe he’d just said that; usually he wouldn’t even admit it to himself, yet he had just said it out loud to the other man.
Naruto simply gazed at him, unsure of what to say. He grumbled a curse, grabbing a succulent rice ball for himself. He hated it when Sasuke surprised him. And hated it even more when he was struck dumb by that surprise. ‘Stupid prick.’ He thought to himself, even as his lips curled into a small delighted smile.
Well, that's it for Chapter 3! Feedback is welcome ^_^