Journey: Part 6
It was dark in the room they shared. Naruto lay on the futon staring at the ceiling, grinning broadly. Even though it had been the most exhausting day of training he’d had, he couldn’t fall asleep.
“Sasuke, you awake?” Naruto whispered as he turned over onto his side. There was no response, and after a few seconds Naruto sighed and sat up. He quietly went to the pile of clothes he’d left on the floor and slipped his pants and shirt on. He slid out of the room silently and made his way to the front door. He picked up his sandals from the floor and put them on before going outside. He looked up at the cloudless night sky, gazing at the uncountable stars twinkling gently.
“You should be asleep.” Naruto’s head snapped towards the roof, and saw Kakashi sitting there, a volume of Make-Out Paradise opened in his hand.
“Oh, hey Kakashi sensei.” Naruto said, “What are you doing up?”
“Keeping watch. If Zabuza is alive, he’s had a week to recover. Even if he didn’t, we don’t know when Gato might send more men after Tazuna.”
“Don’t worry, Kakashi sensei, now that I’ve finished my training, you can leave the next fight to me.” Naruto said, flexing his arms.
“We’ll see…” Kakashi replied with a smile, “Now, what are you doing up? When you and Sasuke dragged yourselves back, I thought you’d both fall into your room and go to sleep.”
“We were gonna, but then Tsunami brought us some food, and we felt better so we…I mean, Sasuke took a bath, then I did.” Naruto said, trying not to blush at the thought of what they did in the bath, “Sasuke went to sleep after his bath, but I don’t feel tired so I thought I’d go for a walk.”
“I don’t know Naruto…” Kakashi started.
“I promise to be careful Kakashi sensei, and I won’t be gone long.” Naruto pleaded.
“…Alright,” Kakashi sighed, “Just, be careful.”
“I will be.” Naruto said over his shoulder. He put his hands on the back of his head and looked up at the stars as he continued his walk. After a few moments he passed beyond Kakashi’s range of vision, and Kakashi returned to his book with another smile. Naruto walked into the forest near Tazuna’s house, and made his way towards the shore of a lake he’d found earlier in the week. When he got there he noticed a figure entering the water, so he held back, in case whoever it was turned out to be a threat. It was hard to make out who it was in the darkness, Naruto couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman….that made him think for a moment, and he decided to try calling out to who he thought it was.
“Hey, is that you?” Naruto called out, and immediately flinched when a rock struck the tree right next to his ear.
“The next one will hit you square in the face. Come closer, slowly.”
“Whoa, I come in peace.” Naruto called out, hands lifted in the air. He walked slowly towards the lake.
“Oh, it’s you.” the boy said, and dropped the small stone from his hand.
“Quite an arm you’ve got.” Naruto said with a chuckle.
“Gotta have some way to protect yourself.” he replied, “So what brings you out so late?”
“Couldn’t sleep. I finished my training today.”
“Congratulations.” he said with a smile, “Does that mean you’ll be headed home?”
“No, it means that my mission can really begin.”
“Oh…I see,” he said, turning away. His fingers gently traced over the senbon hidden beside him.
“What are you doing here so late?” Naruto asked, as he sat on the shore of the lake.
“I just came out for a moonlight swim. It’s such a beautiful night, I couldn’t stay inside.”
“ I know what you mean.” Naruto said, and lay back with his hands behind his head. The moon was above the tree line around the lake, and it looked huge among all the twinkling stars. The boy continued to run his fingers over the senbon at his side, and came to a decision.
“I’ll join you.” he said, and lifted himself from the water. He threw his clothes on and lay next to Naruto to join him in gazing at the stars.
“Do you know any constellations?” he asked.
“Yeah, a friend of mine back home showed some to me. See that bright one right there?” Naruto asked, pointing. The other boy followed his gaze and nodded.
“That’s the East Star, and the stars stretching out behind it form the Starlight Kunai.” he said, letting his hand drift to show where the constellation ended, “and over there,” he said, a little west, “Is The Tracker, with his hound.”
“Wow, I’ve never noticed those before.” the boy said, his face broken into a wide smile, “The only one I know is that one.” he said, pointing north of the East Star.
“Which one is that?” Naruto asked.
“It’s called The Mother.”
“I don’t see it.” Naruto said, tilting his head to the left.
“Those five stars make a human shape, and those smaller stars beneath it make her children.”
“Oh! I see it now.” Naruto gasped, his eyes wide. They lay there in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the starlight.
“So…I never apologized.” Naruto said awkwardly.
“For what?” he asked, still looking up.
“For thinking that you were a girl.” Naruto said, and he felt his cheeks heating up in a blush.
“Oh, that’s alright. It’s not the first time that’s happened, won’t be the last.” he said, as if it were something he’d said a dozen times before.
“It wouldn’t happen if you weren’t so…” Naruto started, before clamping his teeth shut.
“So what?” he asked, and turned over to look at Naruto.
“So…um…cute, I guess.” Naruto said, his face heating up even more.
“You think I’m cute?” he asked with a grin.
“Well….yeah…I do” Naruto stammered.
“Thank you. You’re pretty cute yourself.” he said.
“Um…thanks.” Naruto said, not daring to look over at him. They lay together in silence, just watching the stars overhead. Finally Naruto couldn’t help it, he looked over to admire the other boy. He was without a doubt the best looking boy (or girl for that matter) that Naruto had ever laid eyes on. After another moment, Naruto could feel the other boy watching him. Unable to resist any longer, he rolled onto his side, putting their faces only inches apart. Without knowing why, they leaned in, and brought their lips together in a soft kiss. It lasted for only an instant, before the boy pulled away, and looked at Naruto with troubled eyes.
“I…we shouldn’t…” he started, then looked away.
“I…don’t know why I did that….it…it just felt right. I’m sorry.” Naruto said. The boy sighed, and gave Naruto a smile.
“It’s ok…you weren’t the only one who leaned in. It’s just…I can’t get attached to anyone…I’ll be leaving soon. And…there‘s someone…special to me.” He looked up at the sky, and smiled.
“Yeah, me too.” Naruto said.
“…It was nice thought.”
“I liked it too.” There were quiet for a moment, before the boy spoke up again.
“I think it’s time I said goodnight. I have an early day tomorrow.”
“Me too. It was nice to see you again….maybe, someday…we can meet again.” Naruto said, blushing a little.
“Nothing is certain in this world, maybe we will.” he replied with a smile, “Goodnight.” and with that he began walking in the opposite direction Naruto needed to go.
“I hope we do!” Naruto called after him, then turned and began making his way to Tazuna’s home. He needed rest, tomorrow could be the most important day of his life.
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I hope you enjoyed this. I didn't start reading Naruto until long after Haku had died, and started reading fanfic towards the end of the first series, so I've not seen many Naru/Haku stories,and ive always thought they might make a good couple.