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The Blessed Realm	By : susanna Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 1746 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Naruto, his friends and the world he lives in don't belong to me but to Masashi Kishimoto. I write this story only for my pleasure and I don't make any money with it.

Chapter List
- 19
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Chapter
Seventeen: The First Letter

They
will stay! Naruto thought while he was preparing for work. They will
stay for some more days, or even weeks, and it was Sasuke himself who
has asked his team to prolong their stay here.

They
will stay, he thought when during breaks at work he looked at Sasuke,
who had discovered the collection of newspapers they kept at the
restaurant for free use by the guests, and had taken it with him to
read them at his team's table. Naruto went over to him to explain to
him that he was not supposed to take them all for himself but only
read one at a time and return it when he had finished it. Sasuke
blushed and apologized.

They
will stay! Naruto thought when he watched Suigetsu intently listening
to the band that provided for this evening's entertainment at the
restaurant. After some time he lost interest, not surprisingly, as
the band was not very good, and he asked Naruto about the bands that
were going to perform the next days. Naruto brought him the
restaurant's programme, and some leaflets from other places, and the
local magazine for events of all kind, indispensable for people who
planned an evening out with their friends. Suigetsu studied it
thoroughly.

They
will stay Naruto thought when Karin, getting bored with her teammates
being absorbed in their lecture, asked Naruto whether as the heir to
the rights of the Icha-Icha-series he happened to have some of
Jiraiya's novels at home. He gave her his battered copy of the Gutsy
Ninja which he always carried on his body. She was delighted.

“You
have it!” she exclaimed. “It's the only of Jiraiya-sama's
books that I have never read – I was never able to lay my hands
on it, no matter how many second-hand bookshops I scoured for it, and
it's been out of print for years. How did you get it?”

“It
was a personal present”, Naruto answered.

She
thanked him and took the book with her upstairs, to read it in his
apartment. They'll stay, she will have time to finish and return it
before they leave, Naruto thought.

They'll
stay, he thought when Juugo arrived at nightfall, out of breath and
full of stories, but cruelly sent to bed by Sasuke as, according to
Sasuke, it was a time when children of his age were supposed to be
fast asleep.

They'll
stay, he thought when long after midnight, long after Sasuke and
Suigetsu had retired too, he returned to his apartment, finding
Sasuke curled up in his bed, barely leaving enough space for him. He
took what space there was, and fell asleep with Sasuke's smell in his
nose, and his body's warmth warming his blankets.

They'll
stay, he thought when he woke up to find that again they had prepared
breakfast for him, and only waited for him to get up.

They'll
stay, he thought when they had left his apartment, Suigetsu and Karin
to the hospital to take some more tests (Karin did not trust the
doctors there, so she went with her teammate), Sasuke and Juugo to
the ophthalmologist to tell him that Sasuke had made up his mind to
get contacts. (Juugo's main reason for him was that in the morning
his little friends had to attend school.) They will stay, he thought,
looking at his empty apartment, where only the neatly folded blankets
on the floor, the backpacks and Sasuke's katana on the wardrobe were
proof that they would return soon.

It
was, somehow, a nice change, to have his apartment again for himself
– some time to think and relax. To lie in his bed diagonally,
stretch, spread his arms and dream of Sasuke returning in a few
hours. The mere thought made his chest widen and his lower body get
all warm – though on the other hand he knew all too well that
it was easier to think clearly when Sasuke was not present. And he
was desperately in need of some clear thoughts, after the past three
days' events, even though even trying to think made his heart clench
and his muscles tense. He needed to think – he needed to find
out about Sasuke's plans once he and his team had discovered that
Blessed Realm and found healing for their wounds – or admitted
to themselves that this place did not exist. Curse Itachi for making
him suspicious against his friend – but Sasuke's behaviour, his
secrecy, his refusal to tell anything about his plans beyond his
search for this place that did not exist, was suspicious. He needed
to keep them with him, he thought – as long as they were here,
they could not attack Konoha, but also, he'd somehow have to trick
Sasuke into telling him about his plans. Damn – he had never
been good at manipulation, but somehow he'd have to learn. He should
be glad that he would be able to support Konoha, even from far away –
but the thought of tricking and manipulating Sasuke, and thus putting
a distance between the two of them, just now when they were getting
close again, made him freeze – he got up from his bed.

He
was glad when the patron's daughter interrupted the circle of his
thoughts, bringing him a letter. He opened it, expecting a note from
the publishing-house of the Icha-Icha-series, but it was a letter
from Sakura.

Dear
Naruto!

Finally
I can write to you. It's impossible to send any letters from Konoha,
as they are all censored, but being part of the delegation that
negotiated the terms of a marriage between Temari and Shikamaru I am
able to post this letter from Suna.

Gaara
has asked for you, Danzou's announcement about shutting you away at
some secret place have disturbed him. He told me that he was
considering sending an ultimatum to the Hokage, about setting you
free or having the Sand free you by force, but he had not yet put it
before the council of Suna – he was still thinking about the
exact wording, that would make his councillors support him. I was
happy to dispel his worries by telling him that you are not a
prisoner but have left the village in time. He just wishes that you
would have sought asylum in Suna, he'd have gladly welcomed you, but
I explained to him that you're better off wherever you are: Keeping
you as a guest and refugee in Suna would only have increased
tensions, as Danzou certainly would protest against the kyuubi,
Konoha's bijuu, being with Suna now.

Certainly
he would, Naruto thought. Regarding him not as a person, but as a
monster.

Tensions
are bad enough as they are. Danzou has made clear that he is not
interested in alliances with other villages, he has cut down
diplomatic relationships and cancelled common projects. Gaara is torn
between being offended and answering with confrontations and
provocations from his side, as cutting off trade relations and
stopping aid for rebuilding Konoha, and trying to keep the
relationships as good as possible, given that the Sand has profited a
lot from its alliance with the Leaf under Tsunade

He
was able to confide in me after I had examined Temari to check that
Shikamaru is really the father of her child. It was one of the most
embarrassing examinations I have had to perform since I became a med
nin, as I am not Temari's personal trusted doctor but an official
whose job it is to distrust what she tells me. Anyway, after the
examination I had some seconds of privacy both with her and Gaara,
and particularly Gaara hopes that you are doing well and that you
will be able to return soon.

Temari
and Shikamaru are allowed to marry now, but at a high price: He will
have to leave Konoha, quit active service as a ninja and break off
all contact.He didn't have any say in it, actually, it were just
Homura-san and Koharu-san who negotiated the marriage contract,
threatening to call off the wedding more than once if the Sand did
not comply to their conditions, and leave Temari and her brothers
dishonoured.

Shikamaru
is still under shock. Within a few weeks, his life has changed
completely, and there was nothing he could do about it. Partly it's
his own fault of course – he might have used condoms.

Naruto
thought of the Valentine Kit he had bought a few days ago at the
festival. Sakura was not fair, he thought – condoms were much
more difficult to obtain in Konoha than in Music Town, and least of
all they would display them publicly at a place where little children
might see them. He wondered whether they wanted people to get
pregnant – well, probably they did, ninjas were short-lived,
and one always needed new ones. Also, young people were supposed to
train and do missions, not to have sex.

He
told me that lately things have become difficult between him and
Temari, as she is a fighter by nature, while he, though he is ready
to take responsibility for the child, would have preferred to do so
by accepting a quiet job in the cryptography department. He's finding
the typical fighter's attitude more and more troublesome. Well, now
he won't be allowed to fight at all, so this is perhaps some benefit
that can be gained from the whole ugly affair.

His
parents are both upset, his mother more than his father, who is
rather sad than angry. Accepting that there was no choice and that
it's really impossible that Shikamaru works as a cryptographer when
he is married to a woman from Suna. But his mother got crazy when she
heard of the result of the negotiations, and went straight to the
Hokage, to tell him that the Nara clan was considering moving to
Suna, to be near to Shikamaru. It's not true of course, it was her
own spontaneous idea. Danzou told her flatly that any clan who left
the village would be considered traitors and deserters, and hunted
down and killed. She should consider herself lucky that her son is
not executed for literally being in bed with the enemy.

But
Suna is not the enemy, Naruto thought. They are our allies and
friends. We've helped them out many times, and they've done the same
for us.

Well,
we are glad that now there is a solution and that the wedding will
take place before the child is born.

Kakashi
is doing well. He has been allowed to leave the hospital, but he
won't be able to return to his duties as a ninja. Tsunade has asked
him to work as a nurse for her, as he is in need of another job now.
He was a bit embarrassedd about it, and asked her whether this
included washing her. She said: “But you've seen naked women
before, haven't you?” and he blushed even more, so she said:
“Well, then it's about time”, and both her and me had a
good laugh.

It
was our first one for a long time.

He
has learnt quickly, actually; Tsunade is very satisfied with his
performance. We suspect him of having used his Sharingan.

Sai
sends you his regards. He is still working for Root, and we haven't
seen each other since Danzou took over, but now he, too, is part of
the delegation that had to negotiate the terms of the marriage
between Temari and Shikamaru, acting as bodyguard for the two
councillors, and also, as I assume, as a spy against Sand. He has
told me that he was sorry for you, fearing that Danzou would turn you
into a weapon and rob you of your personality after tearing down the
barriers that separate you from the kyuubi. He was overjoyed to hear
that you have left the village and hopefully are alive and well. I am
not sure whether we can trust him but his joy seemed sincere, and he
told me explicitly that he did not want to know the place of your
exile. “I cannot tell what I don't know”, he said.

I
myself am doing well. There's a lot of work, and in the evenings I am
utterly exhausted. I am glad of it, as it keeps me from thinking
about all that is going wrong lately. What hurts me most is the way
Danzou is wearing out the shinobi who go on missions giving them
hardly enough time to recover their strength before they are called
back to duty. It runs against everything I have learnt during my
apprenticeship with Tsunade, and I hold it irresponsible as they will
mess up when they are not one hundred percent healthy. I tried to
talk against this policy, but Danzou told me that we cannot give them
more time, given the strain we are under now after the destruction of
Konoha.. When I pointed out to him that their exhaustion will affect
their performance on missions and that I have heard of at least one
mission that went wrong because of it, he told me that Shinobi should
be able to deal with some lack of sleep, and if they couldn't they
should look for some other profession. But of course no one will do
this, as they haven't learnt anything else, and they need money, and
also, on one wants to be called a weakling who cannot deal with a
little tiredness, most of all because everyone sees that there is
really a lot to do, with no time to recover and relax. I see it too,
but as a doctor, I still think that what Danzou is doing is
irresponsible, so I do my best, exaggerating the severity of the
illnesses and wounds of my patients, so that they will have at least
a few days of recovery more before they are sent again on some
mission.

Naruto
wondered whether Sakura was taking her own medicine. She sounded as
if she were quite exhausted, and he hoped that she was still
responsible enough not to wear out herself to a point where she would
mess up because of it – or to endanger herself, her life and
her health. It came to his mind that Sasuke cared much better for his
people's health than Danzou, even allowing them to engage on a quest
for a place that did not exist, so that they might find healing.

I
hope you are doing well. I am sure that wherever you are, life is
better than in Konoha under Danzou. I wish I could have left with
you, but there is no danger for my person or my life, so it was not
necessary, and I guess that if I stay I can do more to alleviate the
situation for those who have to stay too.

I
hope to hear from you soon – send your answer to Gaara, he will
give it to me at Temari's and Shikamaru's wedding.

With
Love, Sakura.

Naruto
put down the letter, He assumed that things were even worse than
Sakura made them appear. He longed to be home, to support her, to
tell her to leave work when she was overtired, and to join her in
improving the situation for the population of Konoha, though he had
no idea how to do this. He sat down to reply to her:

Dear
Sakura!

I
cannot tell how much joy your letter gave me. To hear of you again,
and of our friends, and of Kakashi. I am sorry to hear that there is
so much going wrong in Konoha these days, however. At least Temari
and Shikamaru are allowed to marry now – I just wish that
Danzou had not forced Shikamaru to choose between his family and his
love.

Life
here is going well. I've met the publishers of the Icha-Icha-series;
they are friendly people, they've seen that I can rent Jiraiya's
former flat, and helped me find a job. So that's all fine, but a
place may be the most beautiful of the world and still not give you
happiness if you are far from home and far from your friends. I long
for the day when Danzou has to quit his post, so that I may return.

With
love, Naruto

Thinking
of the publishers of the Icha-Icha-series had given him an idea, and
he added a post scriptum:

P.S.
There will soon be a special edition of the Icha-Icha-series (with
illustrations.) Go and buy them from the bookstore at the place of
the Hokage Tower.

P.P.S.
I have met Sasuke. He is passing through the town where I'm staying;
he and his team are searching for some legendary Blessed Realm, but I
have made them postpone their departure and will try to make them
stay even longer.

He
sealed the letter, put another, bigger envelope around it, addressed
it to Gaara and took it to the post office.

A/N:
For some reasons, I have not been too fond of Sakura for a long time.
She was too normal for my taste, with little understanding for the
boys' fate that is beyond normality. With the revelations of Madara I
changed my mind a bit; I found a story and a backstory for her, and I
hope that now I am able to give her a voice of her own.

Else...
I have a list of what is no longer in accordance with the canon as it
is by now (chapter 457.) In my story, Shizune is dead, Kakashi has
not been magically revived, in short, Naruto has talked to
Pain/Nagato, but there has been no Ressurrection no Jutsu. I have not
worked out a logical plot for this, it is simply like this. Also,
Naruto has left before Team Samui has arrived, and he has not heard
of what Sasuke has done to Killerbee.

The
list will grow as I update it from time to time.

Sneakyfox:
Thanks for your review and particularly for the general observations!
I try to include some humour into every chapter, yet my experience is
that every reader will find a different line funny, and sometimes a
line that was not intended to be funny at all. And I try to do my
best with the characters. I have my interpretations of them that
differ a bit from other people's interpretations, but hopefully are
still backed up by the canon...

Kinai26:
I wonder a lot about the canon, and basically my stories are inspired
by my musings about the canon. This means however that at some point
I have to draw a line and say: My story diverges from chapter 439 (in
this case) and not care about the rest, for example about what
Kishimoto is doing with Sasuke.

About
where the canon is heading – with my story, I am prejudiced of
course. I think that Kakashi, Yamato and Naruto won't return to
Konoha but begin to search for Killerbee. Sai and Sakura will follow
them.

The
chapter was too short? Actually it was longer than the previous one.
Maybe this is an effect of me realizing that the story is getting
ridiculously long, so that I try to make it advance faster. The next
chapters will be longer again... I will keep it in mind when I
rewrite the story. (I am thinking of doing this once it is finished,
if it keeps being well received.)
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The Blessed Realm