Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ What am I to you? ❯ Prologue ( Chapter 1 )

I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 1

Pale hands held the crimson pillows covered in sunflowers, and started beating them against each other, as though to remove invisible dust. Once satisfied, the owner of said hands placed them carefully back in the corners of the red and yellow dotted couch. With a serious expression on her face, she slowly lowered herself into the seat and wrapped her arms around her body.

The doorbell rang.

She smiled slightly and straightened out her blue jeans and red top that had a glimmering pony in the middle. Flipping her pink, straight hair out a bit, she looked down at her toes and dropped her weight into the couch one more time, to look under her feet to check if they were ashy. They were okay, but still she grabbed her purse from the table in front of her and fumbled through for her lotion.

Finding it, she squeezed the tube so that a mass of lotion went onto her palm, and put the tube back into her purse before smearing the product on to her feet, and proceeded to work it in.

The doorbell rang again and this time the person banged on her door with a huge force.

Her mood didn't change even at the annoyance of the impatient person. Tonight was special. She chuckled softly, smoothed her hands over her feet once more, and stood up. Looking behind her, she noticed that her couch at the spot where she had been sitting was once again wrinkled. Brushing at it with her hand, she cleared the wrinkles out carefully, and then she rearranged her clothes, smiling as the doorbell rang for a third time.

It's time to go get the door. Sakura ran to the door and wrung it open with a huge smile on her face. She didn't expect a bloody Naruto to fall at her feet. Her whole body froze and looked to see if anyone was with him. No. The smile left her face. She growled and clenched her fists. He was going back, to where he came from, after she healed him.

She put her hands under his armpits and took steps back dragging him into the room. Going around him, she shut the door from anyone's scrutiny.

Sakura went back to Naruto and put her hands over him.

He caught her wrist stopping her in action and his one blue eye cracked open. “I'm sorry,” he apologized.

She shrugged away from his touch, which left a bracelet of blood around where he had gripped, and concentrated on healing him. He had failed her again. She scowled. He had made a promise to her but he kept breaking it. She could feel half of her chakra draining from her body so she stopped the healing procedure.

Naruto groaned. Everything still hurt. He wondered why Kyuubi refused to heal him. Sitting up, he met cold jade eyes. Sakura. He failed her again. Bending his head, he looked down at his red, wet hands. “I'm sorry,” he repeated to her.

A slap rang in the air.

Naruto flinched and closed his eyes feeling the sting on his cheek. It hurt. He felt hot tears trail on his cheek and drip off of his chin mixing with the blood. “I…I couldn't bring him...” he whispered

“Get out of my house!” Sakura said harshly and got to her feet, glaring down at him with rage. How dare he? He promised her. “You promised me that you would bring him back but you keep breaking your promises. How are you going to be Hokage when you can't even bring your comrade back home?” She demanded

His head shot up and met her gaze with wide eyes realizing something.

“Seriously, if you don't bring him back this time Naruto, I will lose the respect I have for you.” She put her hands on her hips. Her eyes were cold and unfeeling as she tapped her foot on her floor.

He sniffled and looked down with distant eyes. How could he go back? But, he had to, for her. He loved her so much and he wanted her to be happy. Even if it meant he had to go back to that horrible place, he would do it. For her.

She kicked him in the ribs.

He gasped in pain. His whole body was still in pain, she healed only a small potion of his wounds. “S-Sakura, I-I will do it okay. I-I promised a-and I always keep my promises.”

“Hn…” she rolled her eyes, went to her couch, and sat down on it. “Leave my house,” she muttered.

He lifted himself up barely able to support himself on his two shaky feet. He held his head down and limped to the door. Turning the knob, he let himself out into the cold air.

Sakura sneered and turned on her TV. “I'm sorry,” she mimicked.

--

Naruto walked home clutching his side where she had kicked him. It burnt with pain - not that his body was helping; all his wounds that she had half healed were reopening at every step he took with effort. He bit his swollen lower lip to stop from moaning and hissing from the pain.

At the very action, his mouth felt as someone was ripping it off.

It was an absolute that when he made it home, he would shower…yeah, a shower. Afterwards, he would eat some ramen. Yes, ramen. He stared at the ground and his eyes glistened. What had happened? Why was his life going down hill so fast?

Sakura hated him and his best friend left him for power. She wanted him to bring Sasuke back. But, how could he when he wasn't willing? Sasuke wouldn't come back to Konoha alive: that was what he told him. The thing was he couldn't kill him.

He wanted to break the promise he made to Sakura, but he couldn't go back on his word. Regret of ever making it was there. He could have broken it already if Sakura wasn't so sad without Sasuke.

She came first in his life. He would bring her Sasuke, back for her to be happy. Yes, believe it. He stopped having reached his apartment. He walked up the stairs, panting and in pain. Reaching the top of the stairs, he made a curve around them and opened the knob of the door there. It was his apartment.

He never locked it because it consisted of nothing worthy to steal. Pushing the door in, darkness greeted him. His hand found the switch on the wall, and flicked it up. Light brightened the room.

All the sudden he felt light headed, what was happening? He had been in worse shape than this before and he had survived without passing- he fell in slow motion. Fortunately, his body crashed on the yellow carpet, instead of the stairs.

--

Kakashi, half covered his face with a grey mask, white, spike haired and slim muscular framed, watched his student sleeping with wires around him, from the wall he leaned on closest to the door. What could have possibly happened to him?

Naruto, his student, had blond locks, tan broad shoulders and six abs and pecs exposed for the blue covers stopped at his waist. He breathed normally, deep in slumber not aware of what was going on around him.

Kakashi witnessed the physical wounds heal on their own in the hospital due to Kyuubi's cause. He narrowed his eyes. Why did the fox wait until now? So many questions clogged his mind as he crossed his arms over his chest. One that was dominating all of them was; what happened?

This was not the first time Naruto had been in the hospital beaten up and bleeding.

He had a feeling that his long absences from the village were the cause for Naruto getting hurt so and ending up here. Kakashi sadly looked at his student's heaving chest. Was…was he still trying to get Sasuke back?

“Naruto…” Kakashi mumbled him name. “I hope you know what you are doing because that boy will kill you.”

That was when Naruto started waking up. His azure eyes opened, distant and confused.

“You're awake…” Kakashi said and walked over to his bed.

Naruto glanced at him and a fake smile made its way on his face.

“Teacher, hi,” he greeted and yawned. He lifted his hands up and stretched them out.

“I had a wonderful sleep.” Naruto threw the covers away and yanked the wires off his body.

Kakashi stared at him. He was always wearing a mask. Then again so was he.

“What happened?” he asked the question that was disturbing his mind.

Naruto looked at him with cheery and guilt.

“I was training and it got out of hand…” He scratched the back of his hand with a nervous laugh.

“You went to get him, didn't you?”

Naruto raised his eyebrows. “What are you talking about teacher?”

Kakashi sighed. Seeing that he wasn't going to be answered anyway, he dropped the subject.

“Farewell. You have a free meal at the ramen restaurant, you better be there before someone takes it.” He disappeared.

Naruto hadn't been paying attention to him, his mind was somewhere else. Sakura. His hands clenched the sheet under him once he sensed that he was alone. He disappointed her again.

“I will do anything in my power to bring back Sasuke and alive…” This time, he would. He got up from the hospital bed, went to the closet, and found his clothes.

He wore his black jeans and a white shirt.

“Sasuke, I'm coming for you.” A determined expression on his face, he made a fist and blinked from sight to where Sasuke was.