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Reflections and Shadows	By : twistedsheets Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1577 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Disclaimer: The day
Naruto belongs to me is the day the world will come to an end.
Author�s
note: Whoa!
What a response. Glad I�m still alive and well. Hmm�I wonder if anyone got the
clue I dropped in that chapter. The title itself was a clue (and so was the
song it was based on).
Most
of the stuff here is the POV of other characters. I�m reserving the last parts
of this chapter for Sasuke and Naruto�s POV.
Lemon is postponed next chapter. I
decide to split this chapter into two; it was too long and sad to be just one
chapter. Sorry for the long delay!
To
everyone who is wondering what the hell happened to Hisoka, read on, I suppose.
And
yes, twisted-sheets and Naruto-kun (we�re both October 10!) celebrated
their birthdays not long ago!
In
this chapter, everyone has to move on, but nobody said it was easy. In fact, it
was downright impossible. Most of it will be in the POV of other characters,
with Sasuke and Naruto�s POV at the end.
And
please read Chibi-onna1�s fanfics (specifically Filling the Void)!
She�s really good.
Warnings: Yaoi. Light Violence. Run away if scared.
Pairings:
NaruSasu. KakaIru. ShikaIno, NejiHina, SakuLee�and a whole lot more!
For
bookworm51485, because she�s very perceptive. XD

Chapter XI: Walking Barefoot on Broken Glass,
Part I

�There
will be no funeral.�
Sakura
looked helplessly at Sasuke. The Uchiha leaned against the door of the bedroom,
regarding Sakura with distaste. His
voice was cool and calm, as brittle and as smooth as glass. �But Sasuke-kun��
she began.
Sasuke�s
cold expression didn�t change. �There will be no funeral, Sakura. So long as
there is no body, there will be no funeral, no headstone, nor will there be a
memorial. Do you understand?�
Sakura
felt a thread of fear at the unspoken threat in Sasuke�s voice. The Uchiha kept
his gaze on her, black eyes narrowed into tiny slits of jet. She pressed closer
to Lee and turned her gaze to Naruto, eyes filled with mute appeal.
Naruto
glanced at Sasuke. Something seemed to pass between the two for a moment, then
Naruto looked back at Sakura. His dull blue eyes never wavered as he said
quietly, �There will be no funeral, Sakura-chan.� In his arms, Hikaru made a
whimpering noise and fussed about. Naruto gently rocked him to and fro to calm
him down.
Sakura
bit her lip and squeezed Lee�s hand. Lee squeezed back, his eyes sad and lost.
They were in a room in the Hokage tower where
Naruto, Sasuke, and Hikaru were temporary ensconced, as their apartment was
neither the safest nor the most habitable place right now.
Sakura averted her gaze from the three and found
her thoughts drifting back to the moment she saw them, just four days ago, when
they came back from the chase. Her breathing had quickened when she saw them
approach, wet, muddy, and pale. Then her heart broke when she saw the single
bundle, stained with mud, instead of the two she had hoped to see. She looked
at Naruto, who only gazed back at her with such sadness she had to turn away.
They searched for Hisoka. The river was still
swollen, but they went on, scouring the riverbanks, hoping and praying, but
they could find nothing. When the river had subsided, they looked, but again,
found nothing.
�She�s
dead; the river probably swallowed her up,� an ANBU who had been ordered to
help in the search said unthinkingly after they finished searching yesterday.
There was
no sound. In a blink of an eye, the said ANBU went flying and hit several
trees, breaking them in half. Sasuke stood panting not far from the ANBU, with
Kakashi holding Sasuke�s right hand, which was cackling with the beginnings of
a Chidori. Meanwhile, Naruto was just a few inches from the ANBU, fists almost
connecting with the ANBU�s stomach if not for Jiraiya holding his wrist in an
iron grip.
Even
until now, they cannot accept Hisoka�s death. Will they ever? Sakura
thought of her son, and she shuddered at the chill that passed through her body
at the image of her Ryuuichi dead.
Sakura
gave herself a mental shake. She�d come here to give comfort to her friends;
she thought the funeral would help them give closure, to help them move on, so
things would start being okay�how could she help them if they weren�t
cooperating?
Many of
their friends had already visited the two to offer comfort and support, asking
them if they were okay. While always polite, Naruto and Sasuke�s dispositions
when receiving them were less than friendly. Though Sasuke and Naruto were not
outright hostile, the others all felt awkward around the two. Even Hinata
remarked at how�chilly the two have been when she and Neji visited.
�Sakura-chan,�
Lee said, breaking into Sakura�s reverie. �I think we should go now. Ryu-chan�s
waiting for us at home.�
�But
Lee�� Sakura�s protests were cut off as Lee tightened his grip on her hand and
gave her an uncharacteristic sharp look. She cast a glance at Naruto and
Sasuke, both of them so still and quiet. The room had grown colder since she�d
come in, and suddenly Sakura felt afraid again, though she didn�t know why. Is
this what Hinata-chan and Ino-pig felt when they visited them? She rubbed
her hands together, which were already numb with cold.
She touched Naruto�s hand, almost flinching at how
icy his skin was. �We�ll be going now, Naruto.� Then she hugged him and Hikaru,
unshed tears in her eyes. �Don�t worry. Everything�s going to be okay.�
Sakura
was startled to feel Naruto suddenly stiffen in her arms, and then she felt his
shoulders droop. �Good-bye, Sakura-chan,� he said flatly. �Thank you.�
She
stared at Naruto, who smiled wearily at her, though his eyes showed something
else. A sliver of fear touched her heart at the sudden flare of fire in his
eyes. �Naruto��
�You can
go, Sakura. Your son will be waiting,� Sasuke said.
Defeated,
Sakura nodded. Turning to Lee, they started for the door. But before she left,
Sakura looked back. Sasuke still stood by the doorway, eyes boring into her.
Sakura noted that not once during their conversation did he look at Hikaru.
Shivering, she stepped out of the house, and quietly closed the door behind
her.
--------
They
would always be children in his eyes.
People always
asked him why he chose to remain a Chuunin. While he was no genius like
Kakashi, Iruka was a skilled nin in his own right, as swift and able as his
namesake. He would have advanced as a Jounin if he willed it.
But
teaching had been his passion, his calling for a long time now. Iruka was a
child of war and death, and as a Genin and a Chuunin, he�d seen people young
and old die.
Watching
the young ones die was the hardest for Iruka. They were so young, so
optimistic, all dreaming of the glory they felt they would surely get as
ninjas, not knowing that at every corner, at every mission, Death awaited them,
watching, waiting until the chance came up and Death would then reach out with
his cold, ruthless hands and choke the life away from them, leaving only broken
dreams and lives.
So when
his teammates (oh, how young they were those days!) were killed during a
skirmish with Mist shinobi, he vowed that he�d never let a child go unprepared.
He would teach them, guide them, and protect them to the best of his abilities.
And now I
failed that vow with the one I cared the most for, Iruka
thought as he cast a sideway glance at Naruto, who sat beside him, his bowl of
ramen untouched. The blonde�s shoulders were slumped, his arms hanging limply
by his side, hands closed into tight fists. Naruto had not spoken a word since
Iruka arrived at the room and asked Naruto to share some ramen he had brought.
Things
had been like this since Orochimaru threw Hisoka into the river. Every time
Iruka visited, he would always be greeted with the numb, deafening silence of
grief.
Today,
Naruto had managed a tired smile when Iruka entered after passing through the
ANBU guard. �Iruka-sensei. Thanks for coming by again.� Behind him, Shizune
gave Iruka a small smile, a warning and a plea in her eyes. In her arms was
Hikaru, quietly sleeping.
He�d never seen anyone so drowned in grief as
Naruto. His blue eyes were sunken and shadowed by deep eye bags, his face thin
and gaunt. His spiky blonde hair was mussed and uncombed, just as his jaw was
unshaven, with little stubbles of hair peeking out.
And
somewhere, he knew Sasuke was grieving as well. Kakashi would be watching him,
making the Uchiha didn�t do anything stupid, like go out on his own and hunt
down Orochimaru.
My
students. My broken children.
His heart went out for Naruto. Naruto had no
family, and just when he had one, it was ripped away from him in the cruelest
way imaginable. If Iruka had but the power, he would kill Orochimaru very, very
slowly, savoring every agonizing detail of the Snake Sannin�s death.
But now,
he had to put his desire for revenge aside. But he was sure revenge was never
far from Naruto and Sasuke�s thoughts.
�Do you
want to talk, Naruto? I know it doesn�t do much, but it does help. You know I�m
always here to listen.�
Naruto
didn�t reply, and kept staring at his ramen. Iruka felt his hopes plummeting
down. Naruto was getting more and more depressed each day and there was nothing
he could do.
�Talk,�
Naruto suddenly said, startling Iruka. Iruka then found himself staring back at
a pair of dark blue eyes, bright and feverish. �Do you know, Iruka-sensei, that
that�s all they do? Talk. Talk. Talk. They tell us they�re so sorry,
that they understand. They tell us things will be fine, that things will be
okay. Okay,� Naruto spoke the last word with bitterness.
�How can
we be okay, Iruka-sensei? How can anything be ever okay? Why does everyone
insist we�ll be okay? Our daughter�s gone. Nothing will ever be okay.� Naruto
squeezed his eyes shut, his fists tightening.
Iruka stared at Naruto, wanting to put his arms
around the boy and tell him everything would be okay, but he knew Naruto would
not want that. �Naruto, I can probably never understand what you�re going
through. Things might not be getting better, but you can�t let it get worse,
nor can you just stay still. You�ll have to move on, or everything will be
lost.�
�I know,
Iruka-sensei.� Naruto sounded so weary. �But it�s so hard. Everyday, I
think of what happened, of what we could have done to prevent it. I dream of
her crying out for me, but I�m too far to help her. And Sasuke�Sasuke�s so
distant nowadays. He wouldn�t even look or touch Hikaru. And when he does,
there�s this look on his face I can�t figure out.�
�What?�
He�d guessed Sasuke would suffer more, not only because he saw Hisoka thrown
into the river, but also because Iruka knew Sasuke favored his daughter more
than he liked his son. Daddy�s girl, he�d teased them once when he saw Sasuke
carrying Hisoka in his arms, a small smile on his face. Sasuke had always been
a little�wary with his son. The thought of Sasuke being increasingly distant
from Hikaru did not bode well for the future, and made Iruka feel strangely
disquieted. �Have you and Sasuke talked about this?�
Naruto
snorted, sounding for once like his old self again. �How can we talk about it
when he�s barely here throughout the day? He�s off training somewhere. If it
weren�t for Hikaru, I�d look for him and drag his ass back here, but I can�t.�
�I see.�
Iruka made a mental note to talk to Kakashi about Sasuke�s behavior.
�I should
probably tell you, Iruka-sensei, that we�d be moving out of the tower soon,�
Naruto said abruptly.
�Where
would you be living?� Iruka felt it would be better that the two stayed in the
tower. It was well-guarded and safe. The Godaime Hokage would see to that.
�The
Uchiha compound. Sasuke�s old house.� Naruto frowned. �Sasuke wanted us to move
there when the twins were born, but I said no, because the place creeps me out.
But now,� he sighed, �we can�t always stay here, you know.� He looked up at
Iruka, already anticipating his next question. �The old hag has too many things
to do, and we can�t be a burden to her. I don�t like it there, too many ghosts,
it isn�t good for Sasuke or Hikaru, but I can�t think of any other place we
could stay that�s safe.�
But what
about Itachi? Iruka wanted to ask, but decided not to. �Has the Hokage
agreed to this?�
Naruto
smirked. �Nope. She threw a fit when Sasuke and I told her. She even called us
fools. Sasuke argued with her. You should have been there. The old hag wanted
to throttle him so badly, but Ero-sennin and Shizune-neechan managed to keep
her from doing so. In the end, she relented, but she got us to agree that
Hikaru would be left with her and Shizune when we took missions. And that ANBU
guards be posted in the compound.�
�That was
a wise decision of the Hokage,� Iruka said. �Hikaru needs to be guarded.�
�The ANBU
guards didn�t do much when Kabuto came,� another voice, smooth and dark, said
from behind them. Iruka suppressed the instinct the jump from his seat.
�I was
wondering how long you�d stand there not talking,� Naruto said casually,
looking behind his shoulder. Sasuke stood beside the door, hair and clothes
damp with sweat. Sasuke�s face didn�t change expression as his gaze fell on
Iruka. The Uchiha gave him a curt nod, and then turned to Naruto. �I�m going
for a shower.� Without waiting for a reply, he strode across the room, barely
sparing a glance at Shizune or Hikaru.
Naruto�s
eyes hardened as he watched Sasuke ignore their son. �You know, Iruka-sensei.
I�ve been thinking of beating the crap out of Sasuke for being a fucking
bastard, and I think it�s time. � He rose from his chair, its legs scraping
against the floor. �Shizune-neechan, would you��
Shizune
was ahead of him. �We�ll take care of Hikaru-chan.�
Naruto
smiled slightly. �Arigato, Neechan. I�m sorry about being a burden.�
Shizune
smiled back. �It�s all right, Naruto. We don�t mind. I only wish we could do
more.�
Naruto
then turned to Iruka. �Thank you, Iruka-sensei. For everything.� He cracked his
knuckles. �But now I think I need to talk to Sasuke-bastard about this now.�
T.B.C.
Author�s
note, part 2: This got to be the most emotionally intense chapter I�ve ever
written (and difficult, because I didn�t want to be melodramatic or anything.
Bleh, I�ve failed miserably at that). It�s one rollercoaster ride, if I might
say so. Please give some comments and
criticisms about the fic so we can make it better. Are they OOC? Do tell!
Oh, be
reminded that Sasuke and Naruto are just, what, 16, by this time. Mature in
many ways, but they are still�young. So they still have those little quirks in
teens.
And if
the whole thing felt a little weird, things will be explained next chapter,
promise!
Naruto
and coping: He�s coping rather well, thanks to Iruka. Thing is, Iruka
listens to him, which I think is far more important than offering platitudes
like �It�s going to be okay.� I�m rather annoyed when people say that to people
who are grieving, because it�s not always what grieving people like to hear. In
a way, you�re dismissing what had happened as something minor and easily
overcome, as well as dismissing the person�s feelings.
Iruka:
I love him. If I could marry the guy, I will. I�ve been neglecting him, but
thankfully he�s back. The thing about how he decided to be a Chuunin, well,
that�s just an invention. Ehe.
Security
Arrangements: Let�s just say Hikaru�s going to be the most guarded person
in Konoha for a very long time. I pity the poor guy. Naruto and Sasuke may be going
to missions again, but that doesn�t mean Hikaru�s unguarded. Right now, he�s
with Tsunade (and by extension Jiraiya and Shizune) most of the time, and
everyone, even Orochimaru, I think, would think twice before doing anything to
Hikaru with her on guard.
Next
Chapter: Naruto knocks some sense into Sasuke. As promised, the lemon. And
yes, finally, the bit about the scroll will be explained.
- 10
- 11
- 12
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Reflections and Shadows