Disclaimer : Nothing . . . I OWN NOTHING -starts sobbing-
Characters : Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura,
Warnings : Male/Male, Naruto being unhappy.
Words
Sasuke panted as he ran after Naruto.
Sakura had said the one thing Naruto never wanted to hear from her. Sasuke didn't understand what Naruto had even said to her, but it didn't end well. It started out as such a normal day . . .
Sasuke was standing at the bridge, waiting for his sensei and his blond teammate. The pink haired one was already there, harassing him.
"Go away, Sakura," he told her, coldly. Sakura hung her head and slowly walked over to a tree and moped. That's when Naruto showed up.
" 'Morning Sakura-chan! 'Morning Sasuke-teme!" Naruto said, waving at them. Sasuke was glad that Naruto had started saying hi to him as well as Sakura; he didn't even mind the insult attached to it.
Secretly, Sasuke had been harboring a crush on his cute teammate. He almost liked the annoying "pet name" Naruto had so gracefully given him.
Anyways, Naruto went up to Sakura, blushing, and began to talk to her. The only part of the conversation Sasuke managed to overhear were the words "Sakura-chan, I need your advice" coming from Naruto's mouth.
Sasuke sighed.
A minute later, Sakura began to scream at Naruto. Sasuke rolled his eyes; Sakura yelling at Naruto was nothing new. Sasuke was quickly worried when Naruto began to yell back in his defense.
"It's not my fault! I can't help it!" Naruto yelled in the pink haired girl's face. Sakura scowled at him.
"Naruto, the world would be far better off if you were dead!" she yelled. The instant she said it, Naruto's eyes grew wide. Sakura gasped. "I-I didn't . . . mean . . ."
Naruto spun himself around and sped away. He raced past Sasuke, and when he did, Sasuke felt little droplets of water sprinkle onto his face. He wiped it off and realized it was actually Naruto's tears. Sasuke blinked, then tried to see which way the fox went.
"I didn't mean to say it . . ." Sakura mumbled.
Sasuke scowled, then started after Naruto. He panted as he ran after Naruto, hoping to catch the boy before he did something stupid.
After ten minutes of running, Sasuke stopped for a small break. He continued panting as he wondered where the kitsune could be. That's when Sasuke remembered a place that Naruto showed him a few years back, when they were kids.
Sasuke immediately turned and headed to that spot. As soon as he got htere, he saw Naruto sitting there, playing with a kunai in his hands. Naruto glanced over at Sasuke with hollow eyes, deprived from emotion.
"Should I end it all now? Naruto asked, "Or should I let the villagers do it?"
Sasuke shook his head, knowing how delicate this situation was. He slowly, and, not to mention, cautiously, walked over to Naruto. "Don't . . ." he said, rather gently. Naruto's eyes became a bit sharper.
"Teme . . . Do you think the world would be better without me?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke shook his head. "No . . . Dobe, I think that you fit perfectly with the world. You're the number one next choice for Hokage. You could finally achieve your goal. Don't you think that's worth living for?" Sasuke said, in a soft and calm voice.
"There's no point in me being Hokage if no one likes me. I doubt that I'd get respect even if I was Hokage," Naruto muttered.
Sasuke scowled at him. "Dammit, Dobe! Have you not noticed? You have way more friends than you think! Everyone we grew up with absolutely adores you for one reason or another! Aren't the people you love and care about worth living for?!"
Naruto winced at the ferocity of Sasuke's voice. The raven's tone softened again.
"Aren't I worth living for?" he asked, quietly. Naruto's eyes widened at Sasuke's choice of words.
Before Naruto could respond, Sasuke had jumped over to him and smacked the kunai out of his hands. "Dobe, you personally came to get me from Orochimaru. Why would you go through all that trouble if you didn't want to see me again?" Sasuke asked as he picked up the kunai.
Naruto casually shrugged. "Sasuke-teme . . . Why do you care so much about what I do?"
Sasuke glanced over at the blond, and shrugged, knowing it wasn't the right time to tell Naruto about his little crush. "I'm in your debt," he replied.
Naruto looked down. "Oh," he said, flatly.
Sasuke saw Naruto's crestfallen face and smirked a little. "And maybe I care about you . . . a little," he said, quietly, hoping Naruto would hear him.
Luckily, Naruto did. His face finally cracked into a small smile. "Thank you," he whispered as Sasuke hoisted him up from his sitting position.
At that moment, Sasuke showed him something that could be called a smile. Naruto noticed this and couldn't stop grinning.
"Sasuke-teme, after training today, you're gonna buy me ramen, right?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes, but gave Naruto a slight nod.
"Sure, whatever, Dobe."
Naruto frowned and puffed out his cheeks, exactly like he did when he was twelve. "Don't call me that!" he exclaimed.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, happy Naruto was back to normal. "Dobe . . ."
In the following chapters, Naruto is "as happy as a cat on crack."
D:
-Taryn