.: HOWLING LOVE :.

Chapter 25 – Drifting

The snow buried their tracks as quickly as they made them. Large flakes pelted any exposed skin, and an icy wind pushed them back with every step. The drifts rose to their waists at times, clinging to their clothes and threatening to swallow them whole. Impending darkness and lack of visibility sealed the deal – the blizzard had set in, and two shinobi were caught out in it.

Leading the pack struggled the raven-haired boy, a deep scowl and a red nose marring his otherwise porcelain features. Behind trudged the blonde, tripping over his oversized boots, surfacing with a hood – and face – full of snow each time he fell. Despite the layers that Kakashi had draped over their shoulders and the winterized shoes he'd insisted they use in place of sandals, both young shinobi battled fits of shivering. Naruto's cotton joggers clung to his legs, soaked through completely, tugging uncomfortably with every step. Every so often he pulled his mitten-less hands from his pockets, breathed into them, and replaced them in the wet pants. Sasuke hunched his shoulders and stifled a sneeze, shaking his head to lose the snow accumulating in his raven tresses.

The toe of the blonde's boot caught an icier patch of snow and he lurched forward, burying himself into the drift along their path. Sasuke stopped to wait for his counterpart, pulling up his hood over his raven spikes as he eyed the path they'd covered. He couldn't quite see Naruto from his vantage point, but he could certainly here the fit of cusses, muffled beneath the snow.

"Get it together, baka," he shouted over the storm, his tone sharp. Although they could just begin to see the outline of their destination – a craggy mountain, wavering in the whiteness – their progress was slow, and Sasuke judged it would take another hour of marching to reach the Konoha Gardens at the summit. Longer, if the kyuubi-container couldn't maintain a straight line.

"Shut up," Naruto barked, scowling as he pulled himself up and hurried after him.

"Good one." The two pressed on, sticking closer together as the wind continued to pick up. They stuck close to the trees – their shadows proved a helpful contrast to the blinding white – and huddled closer together. One shinobi forged a path for a time while the other mirrored his footsteps, and then they'd switch so that one could rest while the other took a turn plowing. Every step proved increasingly difficult as the snow piled around them, Naruto couldn't help but notice Sasuke's pace slipping. Although the Uchiha prodigy would never admit to it, a slight hitch to his gait whenever he reached out with his left leg indicated that something was up.

"Sasuke, hold up," Naruto called out, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder to stop him. Sasuke flashed a glare over his shoulder, laced with venom.

"You good?" the blonde asked, ignoring the hostility as he shifted from one foot to the other. His cerulean hues flickered with concern, and he dropped his gaze to his feet. Sasuke looked away sharply.

"It's fucking cold, Naruto," he muttered, folding his arms as he nosed a pinecone with his boot. "And we're almost there."

"Your back's not bothering you?" Naruto pressed. Sasuke turned away stiffly, putting out a hand against the tree nearest him to steady himself as he made to battle on through the snowdrifts. Naruto grit his teeth and flash-stepped ahead of him, blocking the way with his arms outstretched. Expression set.

"Out of the way," Sasuke snarled. Chakra flashed down his right arm, gathering in his palm just short of a Chidori – an instinctual response to the fury now gleaming in his obsidian hues. Naruto blinked back his surprise and heal-toed back a few paces – although he'd expected a certain level of rage, the snap to violence in the Uchiha caught him off guard. He widened his stance ever-so-slightly, torso dropping into the defensive. Somewhere inside him, he felt Kurama stirring to alertness, pumping fiery chakra through them both. Naruto choked down the sudden impulse to leap forward and incinerate Sasuke right then and there, for he knew that the hatred belonged to the Kyuubi, and not himself. Sometimes it was hard to separate the two.

"Cool it, Uchiha," Naruto muttered, eyeing the danger that lurked in his friend's steely scowl. "But if we go in there and find Sakurain actual danger, and you can't fight... this could all go south, fast." He threw up his arms. Sasuke's cold, coal eyes narrowed in contempt, but after an uncomfortable pause, the blue chakra charged up in his hand began to waver and finally dissipated. Sasuke spat into the snow and shoved past the blonde shinobi, his shoulder slamming into the soft area of flesh below Naruto's collarbone.

Naruto whipped around, his jaw going slack as he watched Sasuke stomp on in the snow. Naruto rolled his eyes and eventually fell into line, and the two continued on their way in a resentful silence.

They really weren't supposed to be out there at all, and all of their superiors had made that painfully clear. Sasuke's back, although leaps and bounds from its previous state, was too weak to perform basic taijutsu. Any twisting motion rendered him unable to move for days at a time, and he had been struggling through his physical therapy for weeks. Recently, he had begun skipping his sessions.

Too proud. Afraid of failure. Prevents growth. The assigned medic had written in his notes from their latest session. Although too afraid of the young prodigy to actually call him out on the shortcomings, he had unwittingly hit upon the source of most of Sasuke's issues.

Meanwhile, Naruto had only recently returned from a major fifteen-day mission, and his chakra supplies dwindled well below the halfway mark. A cut on his cheek from the previous day that would have normally healed itself in an hour served as the only indication of his state.

And the real crux of it was that Sakura and her team were only a day-and-a-half-day late – they had been due back that previous evening, but when the storm worsened, a logical step for her to take would have been wait it out in the safety of the green house with her genin. The building was fully stocked with at least three days of food and supplies in case of these exact scenarios. Even to Kakashi, who was prone to worrying about his Team 7 ducklings, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He made his boys promise not to do anything rash, although they all knew at the time that the words wouldn't hold.

Sasuke believed in a different narrative. Sakura should have been back, and something must have happened to keep her from getting home.

"Sasuke-kun, wipe that frown off your face," muttered Sakura, on their way home from the breakfast joint. "It's not just that I want to get home for the patients – you're a part of it too. I didn't think I needed to say it, but I'm excited to come home… to you."

He blanched, a murmur of a blush on his cheekbones. He opened his mouth to speak and closed it, tossing a glance to the side as he shoved his hands in his pockets. So, she turned to him, hopping up on the tips of her toes, and kissed him. Out in the open, with all of these people milling about, tugging at his lip with hers. He could feel her smile against him and knew that he, too, was smiling. When she pulled back, he let her take his hand and lead the way back toward her apartment. Her hand, so small and warm in his, felt delicate in his. He squeezed it, without really intending to, and she rested her cheek against his shoulder.

"I'll be home quick," she told him, her emerald hues darting up to catch his glance. "I have a strong group for tomorrow – they might get a little cold, but we'll make it. They have a school dance they want to go to, believe it or not, and I have a patient who needs the herbs as soon as we can manage."

"Be careful," he said softly.

They made their way through Konoha more gradually than they might have otherwise, their footsteps meandering like the snowflakes beginning to drift down from the sky. Their fingertips brushed and laced together, refolding and intertwining, each touch electric. A warmth bloomed in Sasuke's chest that he could not explain. He wanted to hold her, to press her petite little body against his and bury his face in her hair and listen to her voice in his ear. He wanted to go back to the garden and tuck her under his arm and fall asleep in the sun, with her head on his chest. He wanted to take her home, to draw kisses down her neck and have all of her to himself.

"Have you been there, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura pointed out a restaurant just ahead of them. He shook his head, expression impassive. It was a seafood restaurant, with green awnings and a friendly entrance. Sasuke liked seafood.

"It's one of my favorites," she continued. "We'll have to go!"

"I'll take you," he said. "When you're back."

"Tomorrow?" Sakura asked as she peered up at him. He nodded carefully.

"I should be back by early evening. Seven?"

"Yeah," he replied slowly, eyes darting to his feet. She grinned – he looked almost nervous.

"It's a date," she announced, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek before gliding away to tow him along. Her sandals clacking against the cobblestones, rose hair tumbling past her shoulders. More gorgeous than he could bring words to.

The three genin clustered together in the cave, their fire flickering lower and lower. With great uncertainty, one of the boys hefted the last piece of wood, and placed it among the embers. The flames sprang up, licking the air greedily, and the kids huddled closer, hands outstretched. The two boys, Kira and Iruk, sandwiched Chiro, the smallest of the bunch in an attempt to keep her warm. Her lips were beginning to turn blue, and she couldn't stop trembling.

The cave they'd found with Sakura offered little protection from the wind, which lashed through the entrance in furious whips, depositing clumps of snow just short of the fire. Yet they couldn't leave – outside, with darkness approaching, the temperature had dropped below what they could withstand. Sakura had been gone seven hours – far longer than the final assent to the green house should have taken.

Iruk reached into his bag and pulled out a roll of dried meat, distributing it to his teammates. They nibbled in silence, fear beginning to lurk in the peripheral.

"W-what if something happened to Sakura-sama?" whispered Chiro finally, tears popping into her eyes. The boys exchanged glances.

"We wait five more hours, and then we send a distress," said Iruk quietly, staring into the flames. The fire would be out in another twenty minutes – they would never make it five hours, and the summoning scrolls they had didn't call animals capable of flying through a blizzard.

"Did you hear that?" hushed Kira. They fell silent, straining to listen above the howl of the storm. Voices, muffled but audible, outside the cave. Then, at once, two figures emerging from the darkness.

Naruto stumbled into the light, grinning ear-to-ear despite his soaked jumpsuit. Sasuke stepped out of his shadow, scowling, and joined his counterpart by the flames. The kids stared up at them both with wide eyes. The former members of Team 7 were celebrities among the younger genin, and to be rescued by both of them at the same time would be a story worth telling.

"Are you kids okay?" asked Naruto, looking each of the genin in the eye. They bobbed their heads, and offered their names when he asked. Sasuke, meanwhile, turned from the fire. His hands flickered through a series of signs, and at once the wind whistling into the cave stopped, a blue screen of chakra blocking the elements.

"Where is Sakura?" he intoned sharply.

The children eyed each other hesitantly, until the taller of the two boys raised a hand warily and pointed outside.

"Greenhouse," he said.

"How long ago?" Sasuke asked quickly, stepping closer to the genin.

"Seven hours ago."

The summit of the mountain lay only a half-mile away from them, with most of the elevation already below them. On a sunny day, the trip took twenty minutes. In these conditions, an hour would do. Two if there were a lot of herbs to collect.

Sasuke whipped around and charged out of the cave without a word. Naruto stammered for a moment before dropping his pack. Inside were several insulated blankets, and boxes of food, which he handed to the kids.

"We'll be back soon, stay here," he told them before dashing out after his partner.

Author's Note

I'M ALIVE! I know, I can't believe it either! After being MIA for nearly ten years, I've finally made my way back to this website and to the communities that opened their arms so wide to me as a kid. The last time I posted was in 2009 and I was fifteen – now I'm 24, have earned my degree, and am a working lady! I can't even begin to describe how much has changed. Reading back through Howling Love (and particularly the author's notes!) made me cringe with embarrassment, but also made me laugh more heartily than I have in a while. I can't believe I was so open about some of that silly high school drama with all of you guys! Woof. Too funny.

What really struck me, however, were all of the reviews. Hundreds and hundreds of you, while I was gone, still read this story and felt compelled to share your thoughts and positivity. It touched me in a way that I can't explain, and it means the absolute world to me. I can't believe it – thank you so, so much for your kindness. I can't express how much joy it brought me, and how much I really, really needed that at this stage in my life.

In the spirit of forthcoming-ness, these last few years have been the most challenging of my life. I was in a serious accident and hurt my leg in such a way that I probably won't be able to be active to the extent that I would like to be ever again. Maybe you guys remember from my A/Ns that I've always been a very sporty person, so it's been really hard for me to manage.

However, about six months ago, I made a change. I started getting back into all of the things that brought me such happiness as a young adult. I started reading manga again, and watching anime. I caught up on Naruto (I stopped reading after the manga finished, having no idea that Boruto existed!) and launched into a bunch of other new series. I started RPing again, and drawing again, and finally landed here. I dove into all of these new FanFics, read Color Theory for the upteenth time (BlueGreenApples is an absolute SasuSaku goddess!) … And, suddenly, for the first time since my accident, the plot bunnies came rushing back! About a week ago, all of the creativity and joy that storytelling used to bring me came flooding back in this magical rainbow of happy jitters. I am so happy, and I feel so much more capable of tackling the rest of my life than I did previously. So, thank you!

So, long story short, I'm back for good! I have one more super-chapter for Howling Love that I'm nearly finished with – you guys have been so patient, and I want it to be perfect – and then I'm devoting my full attention to my new fic, Keep Me Close. If you haven't checked it out already, please do! I'm excited to share all that I've learned since writing Howling Love, and I think you'll really enjoy it.

As always, please feel free to drop me a message if you ever want to talk! Thank you so much for the love, and I can't wait to hear what you all think of the latest installment. Love you all.

xoxo Indigo