Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Soup's On	By : OfFansAndFlames Category: Naruto AU/AR > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1793 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters mentioned. I make no money on this fiction.

Chapter List
- 55
- 56
- 57
Sasuke leaned over, reaching for the paper, which sat on its side. One sharp crease allowed it to maintain this position. When Sasuke had first noticed the note, fluttering as it neared the ground, thoughts crashed against each other in his head too quickly to be individually acknowledged. Sasuke knew what this meant. He just didn’t want to believe it.
When the paper hit the floor, Sasuke’s thoughts went quiet, and he could faintly hear his ears ring. He stared at the paper for a couple seconds before he mustered the resolve to pick it up, slowing bending over and approaching the ground. As Sasuke picked up the paper, he noticed Naruto’s poor spelling and penmanship even at a glance. But then again, when was Naruto ever graceful? He unfolded his paper, held his breath, and began to silently read.
Sasuke-
Hey! So you have probably noticed by now that I am no longer of the present variety. See, I told you I had ninja skillz!
Sasuke groaned, perfectly unamused and rubbing at the bridge of his nose with his free hand. He momentarily wished Naruto could be around just so he could smack him in the face. This wasn’t funny. He continued to read with both impatience and dread.
Cheesey jokes aside… Sasuke, I’m sorry. I know I’m the biggest asshole on the planet, and you have every rite to hate me. I’m so sorry. But I realize now that I can’t go back. I just can’t. Don’t bother looking for me. I’m farther than you’d ever think to look.
For a moment, Sasuke didn’t know if he could read any more. “I can’t go back.” Did he hate Naruto? But he didn’t have time right now to question himself. Naruto’s handwriting was becoming increasingly hurried and messy as Sasuke read on. Sasuke tried to keep his hands steady, swallowing deeply as he intensified his resolve to continue.
I’ll come back to you when I’m 18 and can stand on my own feet. I’ll wait for you, but I won’t expect you to wait for me. You don’t owe me a damned thing. I’ll find you somehow. I know that doesn’t make up for this, but I’ll do it anyway. Move on with your life. No one has ever made me as happy as you have. I love you forever.
-Naruto
Sasuke continued to stare for a moment after he had finished reading, stunned. He couldn’t believe it. Two years. That idiot wanted to leave him for two years?!
And did that jackass even remember the reason Sasuke had taken him in to begin with? He’d almost got raped! Some vagrant knived him, and he’s going back into the same situation because it’s “safer”? Even if Naruto’s promise that he wouldn’t find anyone else could be trusted, and to be honest, the credibility of Naruto’s word was questionable to Sasuke, something could still happen to Naruto during those two years. In just one year, he’d already met a life or death situation. What if he got attacked again? What if he got sick? Did he plan on just hiding another two years, reaching adulthood without even a portion of a high school education? What the hell was wrong with that kid’s brain?
And what’s more, he was fucking leaving him for two years! There was no guarantee he’d actually make it back in two years. This could be the last time Sasuke ever heard from him. He’d told Sasuke that he was going back to the foster care system weeks ago! Had he been lying the entire time? He remembered Naruto’s words from earlier.
“We may be young, but I know. I’ve never been so damned sure of anything in my life. I love you, and no matter what happens, I’ll never stop loving you until the day I die. I want you to know that.”
Sasuke forgot to breathe. Even at the time, Sasuke thought that the statement sounded awfully final and dramatic, but he figured that it was fitting, given their situation. Was that…Naruto saying goodbye to him? If Sasuke had only found the proper words, would this still be happening? Really, the words were not that difficult to find… He knew what he should have said, even at the time. It was just that those three words had always seemed to stick in his throat. He’d only said them a handful of times in his life, most of which occurred before the age of ten. And never once had he spoken them to Naruto. He had yet to tell him that he loved him.
Sasuke remembered the time when Itachi had been almost an hour late to pick him up from the soup kitchen. He’d been worried then, but shit, that poor, unsuspecting sap from four months ago had no idea what was in store for him. There was the time he’d found Naruto, beaten to a pulp when he decided to camp out on that sketchy part of town. Would that happen to him again?
And Itachi, bloody, covered in vomit, on the brink of death… His parents. He could’ve lost Juugo too, and Suigetsu was incarcerated. Now Naruto. People were leaving, one by one. At this rate, he’d be all alone. God, why did his chest feel so tight and painful? Why were his hands trembling like this? Why was it so difficult to breathe? His vision was blurring. He felt, for an instant, like he just couldn’t do this, whatever “this” was. He felt like he was shutting down.
But now wasn’t the time to philosophize, nor was it time to panic. Sasuke refused to. Like hell was he giving up yet. Every minute was precious, and he had to keep his wits about him. He glanced at the clock. 1:26. Naruto said he’d be far away. How was that possible? They’d gone to bed at nearly eleven. Naruto perhaps hadn’t accounted on Sasuke waking up at such a strange hour. It was probably Naruto’s absence that woke up him, his body unconsciously reaching out for a comfort that was no longer present.
Sasuke estimated that he woke up around 1:03 or so, as he’d lazed in bed for several minutes before reading the time displayed on his clock: 1:08. Sasuke strained to remember what Naruto’s side of the bed felt like when he touched it, when he was groggy and uncollected. Sasuke squinted his eyes shut and rubbed his temple. Right. The sheets had been cold, so Naruto had been gone for a while at that point. Still, Naruto only had a couple hours to move at most. Sasuke was supposed to be a genius, right? It wasn’t time to give up. He could still find him.
But how? Naruto could have run off on foot, but he said he would be far. How far? How would he get there? Sasuke placed himself in Naruto’s shoes, imagining Naruto leaving. What would he do first? Naruto would need clothes. He searched his closet to find three of his least favorite outfits and a backpack gone. What else would Naruto need? To really skip town, Naruto would probably need money. Knowing Naruto, he would only take what he absolutely needed. Just how much was taken, if any at all, would probably be Sasuke’s next clue.
Sasuke dashed over to his desk, rummaging through the cash. True to Sasuke’s suspicions, three twenty dollar bills were missing. What mode of transportation would Naruto use? With sixty dollars, a flight was out of the question. Even if he had the money, a missing person’s alert might have popped up when Naruto used his ID to board the airplane. It was too risky. A taxi would be far too inefficient and expensive. Naruto also didn’t seem to know anyone in the immediate area who would aid his escape.
He had enough money to use the buses and subways, but Naruto’s note had said he was far away. In such a small community, public transportation options were lacking, especially at this hour on a Sunday. If Naruto was going to really skip town, buses were too slow and didn’t reach far enough to be that helpful. Naruto probably figured that as soon as Sasuke woke up that morning, the brothers would comb the city looking for him by car, so he’d likely decided against buses due to the time pressure. Then what else? Fuck. The train.
The station was a short drive from Sasuke’s house, and there was only one station in their town. Naruto and Sasuke had passed it whenever they rode the bus together, because it was on the way to the community’s small downtown area. It was certainly the most efficient and cheapest way to go far quickly without breaking bank. Sixty dollars should be just enough to put a few hundred miles between them.
But today was a Sunday. Sasuke had lived in this sleepy suburb his entire life, and he knew one thing that Naruto likely did not; the trains didn’t run until five Sunday morning. This was only indicated by a small * listed by the train times on all of their printed schedules, with a small footnote, “Trains do not run until 5 Sunday mornings.” Given that his theory was correct, Sasuke had nearly four hours to catch Naruto until he boarded his train.
Thus, Naruto was likely somewhere within driving distance, but Sasuke couldn’t drive. Itachi? Itachi wasn’t even supposed to leave the house for longer than a half hour or so, and he was probably still disoriented from the Vicodin he had to take to sleep. This search would likely last for a couple hours at a minimum, and if Itachi had any issues, neither Sasuke nor Naruto knew how to drive. Regardless, this was an emergency. Did Sasuke have any other option? Who else did he know who could drive, who could trust with some very sensitive information?
Juugo.
Juugo had said he owed him one, hadn’t he? He was out of the hospital now, and Sasuke knew from experience that Juugo could tear the damned streets up if the situation called for it. He didn’t pry, and he was level-headed. But was this really something he wanted Juugo knowing? His next best option was Itachi. Itachi had said that he would always be there for Sasuke, but… Itachi just wasn’t ready for this sort of situation. And so Juugo was definitely his best option.
Juugo was on speed dial, so the phone was soon ringing. One ring, two rings… Had Juugo silenced his phone before going to bed? Sasuke had no other way of reaching him. Four rings… Sasuke’s hope was beginning to waver just when Juugo’s groggy voice came over the earpiece.
“Hello?” Juugo mumbled, sounding rather disoriented.
“Juugo,” Sasuke answered.
“Sasuke?” Juugo asked, beginning to sound a little more alert. Juugo squinted his eyes as he glanced at his cell phone. It was almost 1:30 in the morning. It wasn’t like Sasuke to call period, let alone at this hour. These days, there was no shortage of things that could go wrong. Had Kabuto’s goons showed up? Had something horrible happened? What about Itachi?
“What’s up?” Juugo inquired, his voice laced with concern.
“I need a favor,” Sasuke said bluntly, wasting no time. He was already putting on his blue jeans.
“Anything,” Juugo answered sincerely.
He’d always sought to protect Sasuke. He’d respected Sasuke for all of his accomplishments and his determination. From the day he met Sasuke, something about him he’d always found calming. He didn’t know how to explain it; he figured that some people are just compatible. His mother would have probably had something to say about that, along the lines of “vibes” and “auras.”
Yet after Sasuke’s parents’ passed, Juugo’s respect grew into full-fledged admiration and devotion. Juugo could hardly believe the way Sasuke just picked up and kept moving, how strong his friend had been despite his age. He would’ve expected anyone else to be an emotional train wreck, but not Sasuke. Sasuke had very recently admitted to Juugo that coping with this hadn’t been as easy for him as he had made it look, but if anything, that only made Juugo respect him more. And now, after Sasuke had saved him from imprisonment and literally changed his life, he felt a heavy sense of debt and obligation towards Sasuke, though all of it was willing.
“I need you to drive to my house.”
“Is everything okay?” Juugo asked, confused by the request.
Sasuke sighed, wishing for some simple and quick way to explain the situation.
“It…could be better. I’ll explain a little more when you get here. It’s not an emergency, but it’s urgent.”
Juugo mentally upgraded “urgent” to “emergency” regardless. Sasuke had a tendency of understating the severity of situations. Sasuke had sounded curt and very well put together. Though almost anyone else wouldn’t have noticed, Juugo knew his friend well enough to realize that he was unsettled. He could hear it in Sasuke’s voice, in the especially clipped and simple sentences, in the awkward pauses. Sasuke wouldn’t have called at this hour and sounded this way over something that wasn’t serious. At least Sasuke’s statement that it wasn’t an emergency reassured Juugo that no one was in the midst of dying.
“Need anything else?”
“No.”
“See you in fifteen,” Juugo told Sasuke, now sounding much more awake. The phone clicked.
Sasuke quickly grabbed a thick white long-sleeved thermal, along with a navy blue T-shirt with a skull on it that he found nearby and a thick black coat. It was almost cold enough outside for snow. He threw everything on in a matter of seconds, only peeking at the mirror for just a few seconds to smooth down his hair. It was one of the coldest times of the night, and it was still raining. Naruto had to be freezing out there.
But why did Sasuke care? He deserved it, the fucking asshole.
Reaching into his desk drawer, Sasuke grabbed his glasses before leaving, knowing that he’d be doing some searching. Sasuke locked the house behind him, bringing only his wallet, his keys, and his cell phone. Standing under his house’s small overhang to protect himself from the rain, he waited for Juugo’s car to pull up to the driveway. The second Juugo placed his car in park, Sasuke got into the passenger seat of Juugo’s car. Juugo had clearly thrown himself together quickly, dressed in just a white T-shirt and a baggy pair of blue jeans. He was blasting the heat, so Sasuke took his coat off.
“I need you to trust me. There’s no time for questions.”
Juugo stared at Sasuke with his mouth unhinged. Quite understandably, Juugo was curious as to what the hell was going on, to the point that the sudden debut of Sasuke’s glasses was the last thought on his mind.
“Do you trust me?” Sasuke pressed.
Juugo nodded in stunned silence.
“Okay. We need to find someone.”
“Find…someone?” Juugo asked, having difficulty processing all of this.
“Yes. Drive to the train station.”
Juugo turned on the ignition, quickly heading to their suburb’s small downtown area.
When Naruto discovered that his train wouldn’t leave until five today, he likely wouldn’t wait right by the station. If Sasuke were to discover that he was missing, it was too likely that Sasuke would look for him there. Naruto could be a little oblivious at times, but contrary to Sasuke’s claims, he wasn’t stupid. Still, Sasuke had to try it, at least. Once they got there, then they could comb the surrounding area.
“Keep an eye out for a kid about my age. Short blond hair, blue eyes, lean, maybe about five foot nine.”
As they neared the train station, Sasuke began to peer out the windows of the car, thankful that he’d remembered his glasses. There was no sight of Naruto.
“Hey, this guy…” Juugo wandered. “Does he want to be found?”
Sasuke was silent and expressionless.
“Turn left on Cedar.”
Juugo obeyed. This was a large street, with a good view into many side alleys and avenues. The streetlights were dim but still quite helpful.
“Slow down a bit,” Sasuke requested. Juugo went just a hair below the speed limit now, which was as fast as they could go if Sasuke were to give these side streets a good look.
“Sasuke…”
Sasuke had to give it to Juugo that the situation was beyond sketchy. What sorts of theories could Juugo be coming up with? Sasuke had always been a little cagey with his friends when it came to his drug dealing and just how deeply he’d gotten into it. Juugo wasn’t thinking that this was related, was he? Sasuke didn’t know if he was in the frame of mind to explain everything to Juugo, but at least he could reassure him in some way.
“A friend is skipping town. I need to tell them something first.”
“Okay…” Juugo answered, still sounding uncertain.
Sasuke was grateful that Juugo didn’t press for any more information. They reached the train station, which was dark inside. Sasuke had Juugo park. As Sasuke jogged up to the station, he became just slightly damp in the light rain. The clouds were beginning to let up. The station was very small, as it didn’t need to serve all that many people. The inside was illuminated enough from the outside light for Sasuke to know for a fact that Naruto hadn’t somehow found his way in. He could make out the bench, the ticket counter, and the doors to the terminals. Sasuke ran around the outside, going into smaller streets surrounding the area. He was becoming slightly sweaty, damp from both perspiration and rain, still finding no trace of Naruto. He ran back to Juugo’s car and got in. It was almost 2:30.
“Down there.”
Sasuke pointed. He didn’t know the streets’ names anymore; they were too small. But they’d comb the grid looking for Naruto. They’d tear this town apart. Sasuke would do everything he could.
“Sasuke, this…”
Sasuke wanted to tell Juugo what was going on, but how the hell could he explain something like that? That would be difficult even in a normal frame of mind. And he was trying to concentrate. Sasuke would go solid minutes without blinking, meticulously scrutinizing the nooks and crevices of these avenues, his eyes almost tearing as they grew more exhausted. His head was throbbing. He was keeping their bearing, trying to remember which streets they’d covered and which they still had yet to search. He couldn’t afford to be distracted.
“Please, Juugo. Trust me. This isn’t a dangerous situation.”
After the crisis was over, Sasuke would discuss it. He didn’t feel like he even had the wherewithal currently.
“Okay,” Juugo replied uneasily.
Sasuke got on his cell phone to check which bus routes were running at this hour. Juugo and he tried checking the relevant bus stops nearby to the train station and surrounding areas. No luck. They tried checking by subway stations. Sasuke even went in a few of the stations. Again, nothing. They searched the nearby areas by car.
This was the pace for hours. Juugo was tired. Hell, so was Sasuke. But Juugo kept driving without question or complaint, following each one of Sasuke’s directions. It was 4:10. They were starting to run out of time, though at least it had stopped raining. As Juugo yawned, Sasuke placed his hand underneath his glasses, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. His head and eyes were aching from all of his searching. It was getting too late.
They’d searched all over the town. Sasuke tried to ignore the possibility that he wouldn’t find Naruto after all. The train was perhaps the likeliest scenario, and they’d even checked a few other places Naruto might be if he didn’t use the train. What if Sasuke’s theory had been wrong? If they hadn’t found Naruto by about 4:50, Sasuke decided that he would wait at the train station. The best he could do was bet on the likeliness scenario.
There were, of course, ways that Naruto could spot him and avoid him, even if he did use the train. Perhaps he’d just go straight out to the tracks, most of which were hidden, rather than walking up to the ticket counter. The train station itself was even a subway station. Naruto could have just been hiding near one of the subway stops, just making his way in before heading to the train stop some time in advance. He’d surely be on the lookout for Sasuke in case Sasuke woke up, but Sasuke was pretty perceptive himself. Sasuke hoped that he could outwit him.
They descended a narrow, poorly lit street. Sasuke had Juugo turn on his brights just for a moment, rolling forward so that Sasuke could look behind the dumpsters. They turned a corner, and Sasuke saw a small and dilapidated liquor store, barred windows lit up from the inside with sickly yellow light. It was likely the only establishment open in the area. Sasuke glanced down the alleyway, noting a figure roughly his size hunched against a wall.
“Stop the car,” Sasuke said abruptly.
Juugo pulled over, and Sasuke squinted his eyes, analyzing the figure. It was him. It was Naruto.
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