Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Road to Recovery ❯ Chapter 5

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The next morning was as hectic as yesterday was. Fortunately for Naruto, he had Gaara give him more tips on how to cater to the village’s needs.

Naruto was almost a little too anxious to speak with Hinata again, but managed to stay patient for most of the day.

At lunch, he and Hinata talked a little more about what they were up to.

“What is it like being Hokage?” Hinata asked, curious. “It must have been kind of nice to have achieved your life long goal.”

“It’s a lot more stressful than I expected it to be,” Naruto admitted with a sheepish grin. “I’m still in shock over the entire thing.”“W-well…”With the slight, quizzical tilt of his head, he waited for Hinata’s response.

“I-I think you are doing a wonderful job, so far.”

“I really appreciate hearing that from you,” He surprised them both by giving her a quick hug. “Thank you, Hinata-chan.”

His eyes widened in surprise as her face turned to a deadly shade of maroon in two seconds flat. Wobbling precariously over the edge of the gate, Naruto had to grab her by the shoulders to keep her planted to the wall.

Having Naruto touch her once more only seemed to make things worse. As her eyes rolled to the back of her head, Kiba appeared out of nowhere to catch her now limp body.

“She’ll be okay,” Kiba promised, gently placing her unconscious form on Akamaru’s back. “You may want to return later, though. Things will only get worse if you stick around.”

“All right,” Naruto replied, still looking extremely worried.

With a slight whimper, Akamaru gave Naruto’s foot a reassuring lick and headed towards the nearest river.

What did I do? He wondered, self-consciously scratching the back of his head.

“Naruto-sama,” Sai appeared, out of breath. “We need your help clearing out the rubble.”

Feeling guilty for abandoning the village for so long, Naruto followed Sai back to Konoha. His guilt weighed heavily on his chest as he observed the overall progress of the villagers. Both villagers and ninjas alike were absolutely exhausted; sweat stained the fronts of their shirts, and even a few of them were wobbling unsteadily on their feet.

“To all of those whom have been busy working here, please take a break,” Naruto stated, his guilt only growing worse. “Don’t come back until tomorrow morning, and that’s an order.”

With shocked expressions, most of them shuffled wearily towards the forest.

“Naruto,” Kakashi said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

“I’ll be fine,” Naruto reassured. “Go and get some rest. I already feel bad enough for not helping out as much as I should’ve.”

Although Naruto felt obligated to clear out most of the rubble, he was also relieved to be working by himself. He wanted some alone time so he could ponder on a few certain subjects in peace.

Now that he thought about it, he had been awfully busy thinking over things ever since last night.

Were his thoughts a little too focused on a certain raven-haired missing-nin?

Possibly.

But even Naruto was too stubborn to admit this to himself.

Trying to dispel the Uchiha from his mind, he busied himself with clearing up what was left of the wreckage that was once Konoha. For the rest of the afternoon, he dedicated himself to finding new, and more efficient ways to do the job. It was only when the light had completely disappeared from the sky that he stopped working.

Once again exhausted by the day’s exertion, Naruto took his time to travel through the forest. Slipping in and out of consciousness, his feet led him to a very unlikely place.

Shocked, he rubbed his eyes with a little more force than what was necessary.

Why was he standing right outside of Sasuke’s sand prison?

“I didn’t mean to let you down, Kakashi…” The raven mumbled in his sleep.

He’s still having nightmares? Well, maybe if I stick around, he’ll let some important information loose.
Resting comfortably at the base of a nearby tree, Naruto listened closely to Sasuke’s mumbles.

“Didn’t have to die, Itachi…”

Despite his original intentions, he continued to stay, even though Sasuke hadn’t exactly told him anything useful to the village. It was almost comforting, in a way, to be able to hear the boy’s voice again after so long.

Before long, Naruto began to nod off to a very light sleep.

“Naruto…”“Yeah?” Naruto mumbled loudly, unaware that he was answering Sasuke.

“I’m sorry.”“I’m sorry, too.”
“Heh, we’re both sorry.”“Whatever, you jerk. I’m trying to sleep.”“Sorry.”

“Night…”
* ****************************************************************
To Sasuke, life was a living hell ever since he was placed into the virtually inescapable prison.

But why?It was official. He had gotten his revenge on Konoha. He killed Tsunade and the village’s council members.

So why did he still harbor strong feelings of guilt and anger? Why were these destructive emotions continuing to break down his heart into nothing?In his mind, he had avenged his older brother, Itachi, but in his heart, things hadn’t changed a single bit.

What if the blonde dobe was right? What if revenge wasn’t the way to go?

No.

He couldn’t be right. He didn’t go through what Sasuke had to go through. He didn’t waste years of his life hating a loved one for all of the wrong reasons, just to kill that person.

The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that Naruto was a mere babbling pacifist.

Yes, Naruto had friends, but never family members. His family never had to die for the sake of a cruel village.

Even so, A small voice in his mind intervened. He may be right. There still could be more to life than power and killing.

Of course the idiot would try to put nonsensical ideas such as peace in your head, Another voice argued. He’s the Hokage of Konoha! He just wants to control over you, you, who has the power to revive the Uchiha clan. Once you’re on his side, he will kill you!

Naruto does not represent the old Konoha.

What reasons could you possible think of lead you to believe you could trust him?

Think, Sasuke. Has revenge brought you any happiness whatsoever?

Those supposed ‘peace’ loving fools forced Itachi to slaughter your family!

Why did Itachi save you, then? Did he want to you to waste it by destroying an entire village?

They haven’t paid yet! Naruto is a beacon of hope for Konoha. Kill him!

Itachi wanted you to break this maddening cycle of never-ending hatred!

No matter how long he examined the issue, he could never come to a clear conclusion. He instead, tried to think of a way to escape. The longer he stayed there, the sooner he would go completely mad.

Unfortunately, all of his jutsus would be rendered useless as long as he was stuck in Gaara’s prison. He would shiver in the daytime as he felt the slow draining of his chakra seep into the sand. In the nighttime, he would have nightmares about Madara, Itachi, his murdered family, and his once beloved friends.

Before long, Sasuke was convinced there was nothing else he could do. He even contemplated suicide, but gave a dry chuckle at the thought of it. What did he have to harm himself with?

I could ask someone that hates me enough to do it, He thought. But the problem is, none of the villagers ever walk past by here!

Ever since Gaara’s visit, he was completely abandoned. The only thing he could do now was to suffer in silence.

Shortly after falling asleep, his memories of Team 7 returned to haunt his mind that night. As his dream progressed, he noticed something new and strange that never occurred in his sleep before.

While he was apologizing to his former comrades, Naruto replied back!

He too apologized, then called him a jerk for not letting him sleep.

Sasuke let out a half strangled giggle at the way his dream was unfolding. Here he was, apologizing to his former best friend, while Naruto was complaining!

Even as Sasuke’s life officially hit rock bottom, he could always rely on Naruto to be the obnoxious brat he was.