Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

The Long Run	By : Sasunarufan13 Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 1940 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor make profit of it. Kishimoto owns it.

Chapter List
- 28
- 29
- 30
Author's note: THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! And basically the entire reason I started writing this fic. Yes, it took me 29 chapters to actually reach the entire reason why I started writing this fic. Everything is just normal, guys, really.
Warnings: Implied mature content; some time skips; angst; character death
I hope you'll like this chapter! You had to wait 29 weeks to find out the truth, but it's finally here!
Chapter 29
Father paused in his notetaking and rose up, turning around fully to face Sasuke. "I do, yes, but I haven't been there since the Rise." He furrowed his eyebrows. "Why the sudden interest?"
"I was thinking that perhaps I can take Naruto with me and stay there for two days if that's okay with you," Sasuke explained and rubbed the back of his neck, sighing softly. "I know we can't exactly take holidays, but I figured this might be a way to distract him a bit."
"Hm, Konohamaru-kun still hasn't woken up?" Father surmised correctly; the corners of his mouth downcast.
"No, he hasn't worsened, but he's not showing signs that he'll wake up any time soon and I know this has been bothering Naruto a lot."
Naruto preferred not to talk too much about Konohamaru, but only a blind person wouldn't take notice of his frequent visits to the infirmary. Sasuke dropped by the infirmary as well, but Konohamaru's fate was hitting Naruto the hardest out of them all. Perhaps because he considered the young boy as another person he had failed to protect, even though nobody else thought of it as a failure.
"For all we know it might be overrun by zombies now," Father said sombrely, tapping his pencil against the paper.
"It's gated, though," Sasuke pointed out. "And without anybody having been there to visit, I doubt there will be any zombies around."
"They might have migrated there. They're not all stationary," Father said mildly.
"They might have; that's a risk I'm willing to take if you're okay with us going," Sasuke said and raised his hands in the air. "It's just an idea. Naruto hasn't been able to leave the compound in a while yet and visiting Konohamaru that much is doing him more wrong than good."
Father smiled wryly. "Call me paranoid, but after the last couple of runs you guys had, I fear it would be inviting bad luck if you two went out there again. It's like every time you're gone for longer than a day, something horrible is happening." While the smile was still present, his eyes had darkened considerably by now.
"You can look at it two ways: either Naruto's luck is bad enough to land him in shit situations the entire time or he's so lucky that he manages to come out on top no matter what happens," Sasuke said light-heartedly. "I'm leaning more towards the latter, considering we haven't been killed so far."
"So far," Father echoed, pursing his lips. "I don't mind you two going out there for two days, because we all know how much you've done for the compound already. Just … be careful, okay? If there's a group of zombies there or it looks like someone has settled there, leave it be."
"Of course, I'm not going to risk our lives for a simple visit," Sasuke scoffed. "You mind if we leave later this afternoon? It's a bit of a drive and I don't want to waste the first day with that. Or do you need the cars?"
There hadn't been any long runs scheduled as far as he could remember, but that didn't always mean anything. Sometimes the schedule could change abruptly, depending on what they needed.
Father shook his head. "No, we don't need any of them. The next major run is in two weeks I believe and even then we only will need one car. Which one will you be taking?"
"The smallest one I guess," Sasuke replied. "No need to pack up a lot. We just need a change of clothes, some food, some water and some weapons just in case, but it's not like we ever leave the compound without weapons."
Naruto especially never even left his apartment without at least carrying his machete or dagger, even when he wasn't scheduled to go anywhere outside the compound.
"The key is in the last drawer of my nightstand," Father said. "Anko-san has the keys of all the cars, of course. Give me around an hour, then I'll be done here and I can let the guards know you'll be leave in a couple of hours."
"Thanks, father," Sasuke smiled gratefully, a bit surprised but happy that the older man had given his permission without too much of a fuss.
"Just don't make me regret letting you two go out on your own, okay?" Father sighed. "If you're not back by the end of the third day, I will send your brother after you."
Sasuke grimaced. "That's enough of an incentive not to lose track of time, thanks."
"Go on now," Father smiled amused and waved his hand to imitate shooing him away. "You've got a bag to pack and you need to tell Naruto-san about this."
Sasuke inclined his head and left father to the rest of his stock taking, walking to their home first. When he arrived there, he made a beeline to father's bedroom, going straight for the nightstand. The last drawer seemed to be mainly one of miscellaneous items: some pens rattled back and forth when Sasuke drew the drawer back; a faded notepad laid discarded in the back corner, together with a long forgotten phone. He couldn't see the key, but there was a small pencase left next to the notepad; the cloth of it threadbare and thinned from use throughout the years. A shapeless bulk made the material bulge upwards in the middle and unzipping it revealed a bunch of keys, including the one he needed.
"Looking for something, Sasuke?"
Sasuke turned his head to see Itachi lingering in the doorway, one eyebrow raised. After wriggling the key free from the collection, Sasuke zipped the pencase shut and closed the drawer. "Already found it," he announced and showed off the key. "You on a break?"
"Yes, before I'll start the defence lessons," Itachi confirmed and tilted his head to the left. "Why do you need that key for? Is there something left that we can use?"
"The compound? No," Sasuke retorted and slipped the key into his back pocket. "Naruto and I however are going there for two days. I think that place would serve as a good distraction for him, don't you agree?"
"It managed to distract us well enough at least," Itachi agreed. "But it's been several years since we last visited. It might have been run over by zombies or other people by now."
Sasuke shrugged. "Well, that's a risk I have to take, I guess. There's only one entrance, so if someone else got there, we'll notice soon enough."
"When are you going to leave?"
"Later this afternoon, I still have to talk to Naruto about this."
"All right, well, in case I don't catch you before you leave, you two take care," Itachi said, squeezing Sasuke's shoulder gently when the younger man passed him on his way out of the room.
"Hm, will do. Good luck with the lesson."
Packing his bag went rather quick, considering he was planning on only staying out for two days. He debated about bringing his gun with him, but ultimately decided that being safe was better than being sorry and the gun was added to the bag as well, together with a box of ammunition. With a bit of luck he wouldn't have any need of them. The food selection was something he thought about for a little while before grabbing enough ration to last them for two days. He had no idea if they even left canned food behind the last time they were there and he didn't dare to bank on something having been left.
When had the last time been that they had visited their cottage? At least half a year before this entire bullshit had started, if not longer. They had visited that cottage every winter for as long as he could remember. It was rather hidden in a small forest, at the foot of a small mountain, and if you didn't know the directions, you could easily drive past the dirt road leading to the place. It had been in the family for nearly a century, having been constructed by his great-grandfather as a holiday retreat. It wasn't anything big or overly fancy and with the structure mostly made out of wood, it might already be in shambles for all he knew.
He could still remember how peaceful the place had been, however, the only noise that of the babbling brook nearby if the winter wasn't too harsh and some brave birds toughing out the winter. It was a three hour drive from here, but with no way of knowing whether a road blockage had occurred, it would be easier to leave this afternoon so that they could take it easy the next two days. He hoped Naruto would like the place as much as he and Itachi had enjoyed spending their childhood there. It wasn't exactly a fancy retreat, but it would hopefully distract Naruto for at least a little while.
He tracked Naruto down to the fields where the blond man and Iruka were discussing the harvest plans for the upcoming autumn months.
"You have an idea which vegetables we could plant during the summer?" Iruka was asking when Sasuke approached them.
They were standing in front of the shed; Naruto having his hands resting on his hips and Iruka holding a shovel between his.
Naruto snorted. "I can shoot any animal you want and can track them all down, but don't ask me about vegetables, man. Got no clue about that."
"I thought you said you have a green thumb?" Iruka quirked an eyebrow.
"Yeah, for flowers and crap like that, not for food," Naruto scoffed. "Don't look at me like that, flowers are easier to grow than vegetables."
"Hey, Naruto, can I talk to you for a bit?" Sasuke asked, attracting both men's attention. "Iruka, you mind?"
The older man waved them off. "No, no, I was planning on putting everything away and washing up, anyways. He's all yours," he smiled and opened the shed to put the shovel away.
Naruto didn't even blink when Sasuke grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together so that he could gently pull him away from the field. "What's up? Got another impromptu run planned?"
Sasuke wrinkled his nose. "That's the only thing you can think of when I tell you I want to talk for a bit?"
"Well, don't blame me; it's not like you to randomly come up to me during the day," Naruto remarked. "I thought you were fixing that fence?"
"Finished with that a little while ago," Sasuke said and halted near the half-finished pond in front of Naruto's apartment. "What do you say about us going somewhere else for two days?"
"Somewhere else?" Naruto echoed dubiously and drew his eyebrows together. "And where is this somewhere else?"
Sasuke smirked. "It's a surprise," he said, parroting Naruto's words from a couple of months ago.
Naruto apparently remembered that as well, because a startled laugh escaped him. "A surprise, huh? Am I going to like this surprise?"
"Well, I sure hope you'll enjoy it. So what do you think?" Sasuke looked at him expectantly.
"Ah hell," Naruto grinned and swung their hands back and forth. "Why not? Pretending for two days that the world hasn't gone absolutely mad sounds fine to me."
"An upgrade from the shed, don't you think?" Sasuke smirked, watching Naruto walk around in awe in the cottage.
The roof had started to leak into the first bedroom on the first floor, but the rest of the cottage was still relatively intact. The remote location of it had ensured that no travellers had come across it and the gates had kept out any wandering zombies. Everything had been left just like Sasuke remembered it. There was still even a pile of DVDs waiting to be watched, though the electricity was entirely down and Sasuke wasn't in the mood to try to mess around with it in the basement.
"You really hate that shed, huh?" Naruto laughed, walking back over to him. He looped his arms around Sasuke's neck and eyed him mischievously. "So instead you went for a bigger shed."
"This is a cottage, not a shed," Sasuke sniffed. "I thank you for remembering that difference."
"You pretentious dick," Naruto snickered and pulled him along to the couch, dropping down it and forcing Sasuke to follow him. A small cloud of dust waved up when they sat down, making Sasuke wrinkle his nose and Naruto sneeze once.
He recovered from the sneeze quickly and kept lowering himself until he was flat on his back on the couch, Sasuke lying between his legs. "So now that you have me here, what are you planning on doing with me?" Naruto asked innocently, but the look in his eyes was anything but.
"Well, we've got two days for ourselves, so we can do whatever the hell we want," Sasuke mused.
"No zombies to kill, no chores to do; I like the sound of that," Naruto murmured and then their lips met, the kiss quickly deepening until the scent of dust was long forgotten.
The couch definitely wasn't suitable for anything more than simply sitting or lounging, but they didn't care about that. Their clothes quickly found their way onto the equally dusty floor; hands eagerly caressing and stroking bare skin.
Sasuke had been planning on showing Naruto around a bit more before settling down, but it was hard to remember that plan when he had Naruto spread out naked underneath him, blue eyes hooded and half-lidded; a deep flush colouring his cheekbones red. Twin groans of pleasure escaped them when Sasuke pushed inside him; one hand clamping down around his shoulder with one leg curling around his waist, making him slide even deeper inside.
Naruto's eyes were glistening almost feverishly, panting filling the space between them as he surged upwards again and again to kiss Sasuke; their tongues battling for dominance as Sasuke started to fuck him deeper, rougher, forcing keening noises and high pitched mewls out of the blond.
Their eyes met right as the peak of pleasure crashed into them both and that was when Sasuke realised it; something that had been building up inside of him over the past weeks, something that needed to be said, that he didn't think he could – or should – hold back anymore.
As he sank down through his trembling legs, he gasped out, "I love you."
The words hung suspended between them until Naruto choked out a breathless laugh and his grip around Sasuke's shoulders tightened. "Can't confess your feelings in a normal setting and can't confess your love in a normal setting either. What, something about my naked body messing with you?" he teased.
Sasuke pinched his hip in retaliation, groaning softly when that made Naruto squeeze around him in response.
"You're lucky I love you too," Naruto murmured.
Sasuke would never admit how his heart seemed to skip a beat at hearing that. Perhaps their first time admitting their feelings aloud had been unconventional, but well …
When had they ever been conventional?
"Be careful," Sasuke cautioned.
Kiba was loading the last bag in the boot while Sakura was going over the list of medical supplies they were supposed to bring back; her eyes focused on the paper as she soundlessly mouthed the words to herself.
The run itself shouldn't take longer than a day. The medical facility was just two hours away from the compound and a group had visited the place last week to scout. With only a couple of zombies lingering nearby this place was their best bet to get a hold on the medical supplies they were running low on.
Still, even with the odds in their favour for once, Sasuke was a bit on edge. This would be one run he wouldn't join in on, having instead been scheduled to do a check-up of the woods surrounding the compound. Kiba was a decent fighter, but Sakura wasn't exactly brilliant at it and Sasuke couldn't say he liked the thought of Naruto only being able to really count on Kiba to have his back if things went south.
Naruto clucked his tongue and wrapped his arms loosely around Sasuke's waist; the touch warm through the thin layer of clothes. "I always am. It'll be fine, you'll see. It's less than a day," he said reassuringly. "By tonight at the latest we'll be back."
"I just don't like the three of you going," Sasuke murmured and frowned. "No offense to Sakura, but she's more of a liability on these runs than an actual asset."
Not to say that Sakura was weak, but … She wasn't exactly at the level of Naruto or Sasuke either. With her being Tsunade's assistant and therefore barely having to leave the compound, there was no real reason for her to improve her fighting skills, which made it only more worrisome that she would be joining them today. Unfortunately she was the only one who knew how some of the supplies looked like and Tsunade was taking care of several people down with the flu.
"Well, it's a good thing then that I'm used to taking care of myself," Naruto said lightly and pecked his mouth. His eyes softened a fraction. "Hey, this run is nothing compared to some of the shit we've seen. We'll be on our guard the entire time. We'll go in, get as many supplies as we can and we'll get out, simple as that."
"I guess, just … Don't do anything reckless," Sasuke muttered and relaxed only slightly in the kiss Naruto pulled him into.
They only broke apart when that idiot wolf-whistled, grinning at them widely. "Well, sorry, lovebirds, but it's time to say goodbye for now!" he announced cheerfully, swinging the car key around his finger. "Don't want to waste daylight and all that."
"You're the one who's going to drive?" Sasuke said sceptically.
Kiba sniffed offended. "What's with that tone? I'll have you know I'm an excellent driver," he groused.
"You better be," Sasuke warned, ignoring Naruto's amused look.
They shared one more quick kiss, which had Sakura looking away with red cheeks, before the three of them stepped into the car and the gates rolled open, allowing them to drive away.
"They'll be fine," Itachi said confidently, coming to a stop next to Sasuke.
Dust, kicked up from the tires, was still dancing through the air when the gates slowly rolled close again and the sound of the engine quickly died out.
"I guess," Sasuke mumbled and rubbed absently across his mouth. "Still think it's a shit idea to have Sakura joining them, though. You know she's crap at fighting off zombies."
"I know," Itachi sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "But Tsunade-sama is completely tied up at the infirmary with that summer flu going around and Sakura has the medical knowledge. The Council deemed it easier if she went with them instead of trying to rely on descriptions."
"I know, I know," Sasuke groaned. "Doesn't mean I have to like it. We're going out as well?"
He and Itachi had been scheduled together to check the woods. It wasn't really a tough task, more so examining the animal traps and taking care of any zombies that might be wandering about, but it would take a couple of hours at the very least if they wanted to do a thorough job of it.
With Naruto gone for the day, Sasuke could use all the distraction he could get. He knew it was stupid to worry about such a simple run, but considering how some of the outings had ended the last couple of months …
"Yeah, let me go get my knives and then we'll leave," Itachi confirmed, clasping his shoulder briefly.
The start of the summer already had the sun burning quite brightly and even the leaf roof didn't offer much protection after a while. The air was muggy around them, filled with the buzzing of insects and the croaking of several birds high above them in the tree tops.
They already had to replace three traps after the rope had become too frayed to be of use still and now they were taking a break nearby a creek before they would return home. The water was murky, courtesy of the zombie quietly gurgling a few feet away from them. His arms were nothing but gnawed off stumps by now and his lower body appeared stuck to the earth, the ground seemingly having grown right over his legs. His neck had been slit and it was his blood that was turning the water murky. One of them would soon put him out of his misery, but for now they were resting against one of the trees, drinking from their water and trying to ignore how sweat turned their backs tacky.
Something vaguely orange in the distance caught Sasuke's attention and he squinted his eyes, trying to make out what it was. The distance was too big, however, and there was no telling what it could be. It might be just a piece of cloth, but the bright colour stood in contrast against the various shades of green that made up the woods at the moment. Perhaps it was because the colour reminded him of Naruto, but the orange unknown object became hard to ignore.
Itachi glanced at him when Sasuke stood up. Gesturing at the orange object in the distance, Sasuke asked, "Hey, you mind if I check out what that orange colour is? I won't take long."
Itachi followed the direction of his hand and squinted as well. A bit bemused, he nodded. "Sure, give a shout if you need help."
"Will do."
Leaving Itachi underneath the shade of the tree, Sasuke started walking alongside the creek in the direction of the orange object, bending down once to stab his katana straight through the gurgling zombie's head. The blade sank in quickly, proving just how long the zombie had been lying here already, and the groaning noise abruptly cut off, leaving nothing but insects buzzing and the water quietly babbling.
The orange object was further away than Sasuke had initially estimated, leaving his brother to be nothing but a small shape against the tree when he briefly looked back. Keeping his katana ready just in case, he approached the orange object cautiously, shaking his head and huffing in disbelief when he realised it was just an orange flower. One which was growing abundantly in a big bouquet almost at the bottom of a thin tree, but a flower nonetheless. Maybe a carnation? He wasn't certain, having never been really knowledgeable about flowers. It was quite a beautiful flower, though, and he could resist plucking one of them, holding it in front of him in the air so that he could look more closely at the multitude of petals surrounding the stem. Hm, perhaps he could take it with him as a surprise for Naruto? After all, he was rather fond of flowers and the orange colour would no doubt be a hit with him.
A twig snapped behind him.
Instantly he whirled around, aiming his katana straight at a young brunette, whose hair was done up in two loose buns. She wore a white shirt and loose brown trousers and her hands shot up in the air immediately; her brown eyes wide with apprehension.
"I mean no harm!" she spoke hushed. "I swear, I wasn't trying to attack you!"
"Yeah, I've heard that before," Sasuke snorted harshly and narrowed his eyes when he caught sight of the sword strapped to her back.
She noticed what he was looking at and grimaced. "Okay, look, I'll put down my sword on the ground and I won't touch it. As a gesture of good faith."
"Why?" He narrowed his eyes.
"I just want to talk with you for a moment, that's all," she said, biting down on her lip. "I swear I'm not planning on doing anything to you, I just want to talk, that's all. My name is Tenten; I've been wandering around for a little while now."
"Put the sword down slowly," he instructed coolly. A quick glance to the side showed that his brother was still sitting; he hadn't noticed the extra presence yet.
He watched how she slowly removed her sword from her back and just as slowly bent down to put it on the ground. She rose up again, still keeping her hands in the air.
"You wanted to talk, so talk," he said and wondered how long she'd been following them. Had she been following them from the start, waiting for a moment to catch him alone? If so, why?
"I just wanted to know if – " her lower lip quivered slightly, "if that blond man I saw you with a week ago is someone named Naruto?"
"Last week?" Sasuke frowned, before realisation had him tightening his grip around his katana further.
Last week he and Naruto had snuck out to the shed here in the woods again after they'd finished hunting down a couple of rabbits. They hadn't stayed there for long, barely an hour, but when they had been on their way back, some branches snapping in the distance had had them ducking and lying low behind some bushes to hide. They had instinctively known the sounds hadn't been caused by a zombie and with no one else from the compound scheduled to be out in the woods that day, they had instantly been on high alert. They had remained hidden for quite some time, listening to the occasional twig snapping and grass rustling as whoever had been out there had been walking around, seemingly searching for something – or someone.
Only when silence had reigned for more than half an hour had they dared to leave their hiding place. They had rushed back to the compound, taking a detour just in case, and father had had guards on extra alert those following nights. With nobody trying to sneak into the compound, however, they had eventually conceded that this person must have just been someone passing through.
Instead of passing through, however, they had lingered, apparently waiting for the right moment to find Sasuke – and Naruto for some reason.
"Why do you want to know that?" he asked gruffly, unwilling to confirm anything as long as he didn't know what she wanted.
For some reason she took that as actual confirmation, because to his bafflement a huge relieved smile broke through on her face before she covered her face in his hands. Abruptly she sank down on the ground, hitting her knees hard, but she didn't appear to care about that, a high trembling chuckle escaping her.
"Oh god, I can't believe he actually managed to survive! I'd been hoping it, but after I lost Sakura too, the group just fell apart and I couldn't find anyone of them anymore," she started to ramble, mentioning something about how long she'd been on her own, but Sasuke was stuck on one particular name she'd mentioned.
"You know Sakura?" he asked perplexed. It couldn't be the same Sakura, right? How many women shared that name, though? "Pink hair? Green eyes?"
Tenten looked up in surprise, lowering her hands. She gaped at him. "Yes, that's her! You know her?" she asked enthusiastically, clambering back on her feet. "Is she okay? How is she?"
"She's fine. She's living with my group," he said slowly.
He didn't think Sakura had ever mentioned a Tenten before, but then again it wasn't as if they regularly hung out and shared stories with each other. How small was the world, though, that he would come across someone who knew Sakura?
"And Naruto lives with you too?" she asked eagerly, taking a step forwards. The katana being aimed straight at her had her hastily stepping back. "Does this mean that Sakura apologised to him?"
"Apologised?" Sasuke repeated blankly. "Why would she need to apologise to him?"
She looked taken aback and started frowning, gnawing harshly on her lip. "Because – because we left him and his friend on their own back then."
The buzzing of the insects was drowned out by the excruciatingly loud noise of his heartbeat. It thumped, thumped loud in his ears, muffling all other noises, and he was barely aware of Itachi walking just a few feet away from him; unaware of the turmoil currently occurring in his little brother.
We were looting a local mall back then, Sakura, me, Naruto and his best friend, Gaara.
Twigs snapped apart underneath his feet and a zombie trudging over to him was stabbed straight through the forehead without even so much of a glance thrown his way.
Everything was going fine until we were on our way back outside and Sakura broke through a step in one of the stairs.
The walls of the compound peeked through the trees; the gleam of a pair of binoculars hitting the sun dancing over the bushes before it disappeared again.
Gaara stayed back to help her while Naruto and I prepared the bikes. But Naruto went back in to help when it took them too long to get outside. I heard a gunshot not long after that and I knew shit was getting real.
She shot him in his leg, Naruto had confided in him so many months ago. She shot him in his leg so he would go down, so the zombies would get him and not her, and that fucking bitch ran away.
The gates rolled open partly once the guards took notice of Sasuke and Itachi approaching the walls.
Sakura came running out and she was yelling at me to go, we had to leave before the group would get to us. I just jumped on my bike and left, but when I looked behind me, she'd taken the other bike. When we were back at the house, I demanded why she hadn't just jumped behind me on the bike and left the other one for the boys. She said it had been too late for the both of them.
"Everything okay?" Deidara greeted them leisurely; his new prosthetic shining in the sunlight.
"Yeah, we had to fix a couple of traps and get rid of some zombies, but that was it," Itachi answered.
Our whole group split apart not long after that. I'm so glad she managed to find a safe place with you, guys, but are you sure she didn't apologise to Naruto? She must have been so relieved to see him still alive! Did Gaara survive too? Is he with you guys as well?
The car wasn't back yet, Sasuke noticed dimly; the empty spot in the garage mocking him.
Deidara caught him looking and snickered, thumping him on the back. "You have to be a bit more patient before your boyfriend is back, un."
She took my friend's life, she's going to give up hers, Naruto had told him coldly last year.
Revenge was what had kept Naruto going for all this time. All this time, he'd lived here at the compound, knowing that Sakura lived here as well. He had recognised her immediately, of course he had. Hadn't Sakura even remarked that he had seemed familiar before Naruto had dismissed the idea?
All this time the one who had caused Gaara to die had been in Naruto's grasp. He had wanted to take revenge on her ever since she'd left him and Gaara behind to die.
They had been alone before, though, Sasuke remembered as he walked on autopilot to his home, sitting down on the step in front of it. Back when Naruto had been the only one capable of steering a motorcycle through an entire herd in order to reach a hospital. They had been alone for nearly a week, but Naruto hadn't taken his revenge back then. Why not? Had Sakura remembered him and had she actually apologised?
Apologies wouldn't do shit, though. They wouldn't bring Gaara back. Naruto wouldn't have accepted an apology, not from her, not for what she had done. So why? Had Naruto actually given up on his revenge after all? He had had the opportunity back then but hadn't taken it for some reason. Had he come to see her in a different light after all this time? He had never shown any signs that she was the one responsible for his best friend's death. Had he changed his mind?
The gates opening once more had his head shooting up; his heart working overtime by now. He rushed forwards, but came to an abrupt halt when he caught sight of the streaks of blood smeared all across the sides of the car. Something that looked eerily a lot like brain matter was stuck to some of the wheels.
"What the hell did you do to this baby?" Anko barked, marching over to them as the car came to a stop. "Did you decide to go racing through a goddamn fucking herd?"
Naruto was the first one to get out, leaving the driver's seat. There were smudges of blood on his cheeks and even more blood covered his clothes; the red liquid turning the blades of his machete and dagger into a rusty brown. He was unnervingly silent; his blue eyes blank and unreadable.
"Hey!" Anko crossed her arms, glaring, and snapped, "I'm waiting for a goddamn ans- "
The door to the backseat opened slowly and Kiba got out. Unlike this morning he wasn't smiling at all. When he bent back into the car to grab something out of it, it became all too clear why the little group was so silent. As more and more people started to gather, drawn by Anko's anger, Kiba stepped away from the car and lifted something in his arms.
Sakura laid in his arms, unmoving and covered in blood; her eyes closed.
"Someone, go get Tsunade and the Council!" Karen snapped and started unravelling a bandage, intending on stepping closer and dressing Sakura's wounds.
"It's – it's too late for that," Kiba choked out; his skin an ashy pale tint. "She's – she's dead. We – they started surrounding us all of a sudden, all those dead bastards, and we – we got separated and by the time we found her, she was … she was …"
Sasuke tuned him out the second he noticed Naruto was no longer amidst the group. Cursing inwardly, he hastily looked around, hoping to catch sight of blond hair. He couldn't see him at all and the first stirrings of panic started rearing their ugly head.
Impulsively, he ran towards the apartment building, ignoring Itachi shouting after him. He had to find Naruto, had to find him before he … before he …
The door to the apartment stood ajar and Sasuke swung it open, his heart in his throat when he spotted Naruto in the middle of the room, in the process of removing his weapons. Slowly Naruto turned around, that awful blank look still in his eyes.
"Sasuke," he started, but Sasuke cut him off abruptly.
"You remember that person we heard sneaking around last week in the woods?" he asked, breathlessly even though he had run harder than this before. He closed the door behind him, remaining in front of it.
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, what of it?"
"She found me today, wanted to talk to me." The words were pouring out of his mouth now. There was no stopping them, like a waterfall they burst forth. "She'd recognised you, asked me if the blond man with me last week was you. She was so glad when she figured out it was you, said she'd been hoping that you'd remained alive after she'd also parted ways with Sakura. Funny, huh, how she apparently also knew Sakura?"
"Sasuke," Naruto said quietly, but the dark haired man shook his head.
"The weird thing, though? She asked me whether Sakura had apologised to you." He stared straight into weary blue eyes. "But she never did, right? Did she not recognise you at all?"
That broke the blankness finally. Naruto scoffed derisively, putting his machete down on the table. "Why would she have recognised me? What's leaving two men for death if that meant saving her own worthless arse?"
"I didn't know – we didn't know." Sasuke's mouth was awfully dry, too dry; the words scraping the sensitive lining of his throat. "If we had known what she did, we would have never allowed her into the compound."
Naruto's eyes softened just the slightest fraction. "I know you had no clue. If you had known, I would have razed this entire place to the ground."
Sasuke didn't doubt his words. Even though the compound was too large for one person to singlehandedly destroy it, Naruto would have managed it if he had set his mind to it. After all, he'd been planning this revenge for months.
"Why didn't you do it before? When you went on that run to that hospital?"
Naruto cocked his head to the right. "That would have been too suspicious. I leave with her and come back alone? Yeah, right, like that wouldn't have rung any alarm bells."
"We'd already been on a run together before, though, and shit can always happen," Sasuke pointed out. "They wouldn't have suspected you."
"Maybe not," Naruto conceded and removed the dagger next. "But you guys needed those medical supplies and she was the only one with the list. She also refused to show me the list, so even if I had taken the risk of offing her back then, I might have fucked up the run entirely and I didn't want to leave you guys stranded without any supplies."
"But today you got what you wanted."
Naruto leaned against the table and crossed his arms; the neutral look on his face scary in its own way. "I tried one more time to see if she recognised me, you know." He looked away and snorted; his voice turning bitter when he continued, "But she didn't recognise me at all. She shot my best friend and left him to die and in return sentenced me to death, but she couldn't be arsed to remember us."
When he smiled next, it was bleak, looking more like a skeleton smiling than a living being. "So I returned the favour: when we got separated when the herd attacked, I tracked her down, shot two arrows in each of her legs and told her who I really was. Then I got my arrows back and retreated to another spot and watched her die. I'm sorry Kiba had to find her like that, but I'm not sorry for what I did."
His eyes turned ice cold. "I told you that she would pay with her life after she took away my best friend."
"Why didn't you tell me? That she was the one who'd killed Gaara?" Sasuke asked quietly. There was a weird sort numbness settling in and he felt torn in two directions. One part of him wanted to remain here, right in front of the door. The other part wanted to go over to Naruto and close him in his arms and feel relieved that he hadn't been the one to die.
"What good would that have done?" Naruto questioned in a clipped voice. "I wanted my revenge and that wouldn't have happened in the way it did if you knew about it."
"Would you have still taken your revenge today if the herd hadn't shown up?"
"Hm, probably not. It was a lucky shot that the herd happened to show up," Naruto smiled grimly. "If they hadn't shown up, I would have just waited for another opportunity."
Of course he would have. Because Naruto had been planning his revenge ever since he'd been forced to leave Gaara behind. He'd been waiting for the right moment ever since arriving at the compound and having realised Sakura lived here.
Sasuke swallowed; his fingers curling into fists. "Is that why you stayed here? Because she was here?"
"At first," Naruto answered honestly. "Yeah, I only stayed because of her." The iciness in his eyes melted a bit then; his features turning softer. "But then I got to know you better and I ended up staying for you. Believe it or not, Sasuke, but it wasn't only just for my revenge that I stayed here."
"So what now?" His mouth was as fucking dry as the Sahara desert right now and he found it hard to tear his eyes away from Naruto. "Are you going to leave now?"
Because Naruto was talking in past tense and the numbness inside of him seemed to spread faster, turning his limbs to lead. Was he going to lose Naruto after all?
Naruto looked him straight in the eye. "Do you want me to leave?"
He should want him to leave, no? Naruto had just calmly admitted to having killed Sakura, to having wounded her in such a way that she couldn't defend herself properly against the zombies. He'd stood there and watched her die in the same gruesome way his best friend had died. Naruto had been planning this for months, ever since Gaara had died, ever since he'd laid eyes on Sakura and had realised she was living here at the compound. His hands were drenched in her blood, both figuratively and literally. This wasn't something easily forgettable, not for him. Sakura might have easily forgotten how she'd sentenced two people to death with one of them actually dying, but Sasuke would never forget that she'd died at the hands of Naruto himself.
In the long run Naruto's planning had paid off. After so many months of waiting he'd finally been able to extract his revenge on her. Now there was nothing left teetering him to this place. Nothing except for maybe …
"No, I don't want you to leave," Sasuke admitted quietly.
He should, he really should, but he didn't. The thought of separating from Naruto, of having to say permanently goodbye, knowing he would never see the blond man again once he set foot outside the gates … It hurt. The ache was almost unbearable, chasing away the numbness festering inside him.
Slim, deceptively strong arms wound around his waist and blue eyes looked up, locking onto his own dark ones. "Then I won't," Naruto said simply.
Easy, just like that. Their mouths met, chasing away the last dredges of ache and numbness. Sasuke tightened his own arms around Naruto, using his presence to ground himself.
What did it say about him that he had been more terrified of losing Naruto than the thought that Naruto had killed someone in cold blood? Sasuke couldn't find it in him to care what that fact said about him, because in the long run he would still have Naruto.
AN2: There you have it: the final reveal! We've got one more chapter to go, guys, the epilogue :) I hope you'll stick with me until then! (Now I'm off to bed, because I just wrote this 7K monstrosity in one sitting and I'm going to curse myself for doing that when I wake up in a couple of hours. Please appreciate my dumb sacrifice)
Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
I hope to see you all back for the epiloque! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!
Cuddles
Melissa
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The Long Run