Chapter Text
Looking back, he should have known it was bound to end in disaster, but as they say, hindsight is 20/20. The temptation to burn everything was almost irresistible, his fingers twitched when pulling the photos down from the walls, and his chakra swirled in its coils.
He may not have a fire affinity, but he certainly could manage a small fire if needed. But no. Not today. Not ever. It was strange, how despite every part of him screaming to just leave everything behind, he couldn’t do it.
A coward, he thought bitterly even as he gently eased a push pin out of a photo and placed it into the cardboard box.
The tapping of a beak against glass shook him out of his thoughts. He taped the box closed, brushed down the mattress one last time, and stood, glancing around his emptied room. “Alright,” he breathed out, “time to go.”
As he opened the window to accept the scroll from the hawk, he let himself believe that leaving the apartment meant nothing.
And if it was a lie, there was no one who would call him out on it anymore anyways.
When Naruto was younger, he had been obsessed with fantasy stories. There was something magical, something promising, in the happy endings and good-conquers-evil plot.
He had loved to press his ear against the wall and listen as the matron read out stories to the other children. He had stifled his giggles and any sounds while listening, terrified that they would find out he was listening. Despite the fear, it had filled part of the aching longing in him.
It had made him feel like he was part of something, part of the group of children who all longed for a family but only had each other and fanciful stories as a replacement.
When they had grown out of bedtime stories (although they were really just 8 and 9-year-old kids still), that little bit of inclusion had been taken from him too.
He had tried to go to the library and find more, of course, but his efforts resulted in bruised hands and a smarting red mark on his cheek. ‘Filthy’, the librarian had called him. Ironically, that was one of his earliest clear memories of childhood.
“Was he trying to steal?” A woman whispered to her husband, tugging him away from Naruto as they walked through the streets.
He scampered away, face burning until it was the same colour as the welt on his cheek, not wanting to hear the husband’s reaction.
Was it so wrong for him to want to borrow a book?
The dark alleyway was a familiar comfort, shielding him away from cold gazes and muttered anger. Rats squeaked and ran over his bare feet, beady eyes watching him. He’d rather them than the villagers.
He glanced at the trash cans, stomach clenching. The shops nearby weren’t that high quality, he’d prefer the ones next to the bakery…but it wouldn’t hurt to take a look.
There was a crate next to the bin - one for milk bottles - and he pushed it next to the bin. Getting up was easy, given how often he did it, and with practised ease, he covered his nose and pried the lid off.
The stench was surprisingly bearable, slightly acidic but not too tinged with the sharp sweetness of rot.
“What are you doing, child?”
Naruto startled, slipping on the crate and toppling to the side. Before he could react, a hand snagged his shirt, tugging him upright again. He snarled, jumping away and tugging his collar to fix his clothing.
“None of your business,” he snapped back.
The lady, dressed in a kimono and hair adorned with glimmering accessories, simply raised an eyebrow at him. “Well,” she said, “I was going to ask if you wanted some food, but I’d hate to bother you.”
She gave a graceful curtsy and turned, fabric swishing as she went.
Naruto bit his lip, conflicted. He definitely wouldn’t get fed today - leaving to the library had abandoned a great many of his chores - but strangers were never trustworthy in his experience. Yet, there was no tell-tale uneasiness that usually warned him of danger.
“Wait!” he shouted, already regretting speaking.
The woman turned, not looking perturbed in the slightest, and waited.
“I-” he muttered, steeling himself for rejection, “I do want food. Please.”
It felt like he was standing on a precipitous edge, teetering and waiting to see where he fell. Would she say she had been joking and mock him for his desperation? Would she take pity on him? Would she just leave and ignore him?
“Well come along then, I don’t have all day,” she replied. Naruto didn’t know whether it was a trick of the light, but something in her eyes seemed to soften.
He lowered his eyes and trotted after her, automatically avoiding broken glass and sharp rocks on the floor.
“Hmm, well, this won’t do,” the lady murmured. Naruto sucked in a deep breath. His stomach lurched, and it wasn’t just from hunger. He dipped his head again to hide his expression, about to take a step back.
“Not what you’re thinking, silly child,” she sighed, and without much further ado she bent and picked him up, settling him against her hip.
He froze.
Heart hammering, he stared up at the woman, hands held to his chest and feeling like he was lead. She simply dropped a hand on his head and strolled out onto the streets like nothing was wrong.
“I’ll get your dress dirty,” he mumbled, hiding his face and burying it into her clothes. “And people will be angry at you if you’re with me.”
“Clothes can be washed,” was the prompt reply. She kept her hand where it was, letting warmth soak into him. “And others’ concerns have nothing to do with me.”
There was an odd ache in his throat, and his nose and eyes stung like someone had sprayed salt into them. Naruto bit his lip. An unfamiliar feeling uncurled in his chest. It felt warm, a little comforting, and maybe even a little hopeful.
Perhaps, this was what it was like to feel happy.
Naruto’s enrollment in the Academy was a great day for the matron. Not only was she able to get rid of the ‘demon spawn’, as she liked to call him, but they also gave her reimbursement for taking care of him.
He wordlessly packed up his belongings, a pillowcase full of his meagre amount of clothes and one pair of shoes, not bothering to correct them when they praised the matron.
It wasn’t like he even had any scars to show for all his trouble.
And, well, they wouldn’t believe a single word out of his mouth anyways.
The apartment given to him was rundown and barely liveable at best. There was a leak in the roof that the civilian guy had eyed but ultimately ignored, and there was no hot water. He resolved to earn enough money as soon as possible to move out into another area.
It crossed his mind briefly why a civilian officer was taking him here in the first place, but he chalked it down to a lack of care and attention. The only real plus side was that the apartment was reasonably close to the forest, so he at least could have a source of food.
A week later, he attended the Academy.
Naruto had forgotten what it felt like, the accusing stares and directed anger toward him. Under the careful tutelage of Aki, the lady who had taught him the skills of those in the red-light district, he had managed to stay under the radar for the rest of his early childhood.
It had been a blessing, but it had made him forget the sting of rejection.
Watching parents pull their children close and warn them about him felt like there were stinging needles being poked into his skin. No, it was worse. He’d rather be stabbed than face this cold, calm and dispassionate cruelty.
He took a deep breath, then another, just as he had been taught, and walked to his classroom. The seats at the back offered a familiar comfort, half hidden in the shadows, and he chose the seat closest to the corner.
He wore a simple grey shirt and black shorts and hoped it would attract the least attention.
It did until the teacher called the roll.
“Naruto Uzumaki,” the teacher called.
The class erupted into hushed whispering.
“Naruto? Isn’t he that kid-”
“The one we shouldn’t approach?”
“My mother warned me that-”
“Apparently, he killed-”
“No, I heard he’s a thief and-”
“Here,” Naruto replied through clenched teeth. The teacher didn’t even bother hushing the class, simply marking something down and moving to the blackboard. Naruto leaned back against the wall, slumping down and hoping the day would end quickly.
He wanted nothing more than to go back to his rundown apartment and be alone.
Aki had taught him how to read, her commendable patience pushing through his stubbornness. He only realised how lucky he was to have learnt now as he flicked through pages of his textbook.
The matron was a liar, of course she was, that unscrupulous old hag, and had told him they would learn in the Academy. He was a fool to believe her, an utter fool. As the night faded into dawn, Naruto drowned in his texts, determined to rely on no one but himself again.
He would not be a fool twice.
Watching the clan kids, Naruto felt red-hot jealousy surging through him. He wasn’t jealous of their abilities - no, he understood they put a great amount of effort to achieve those results - but it was their candid criticism.
“Why are we still learning how to throw kunai?” one of the girls complained. Her clansman nodded, his eyes looking into the distance and ignoring the class. “We learnt this when we were toddlers.”
“Ah,” the teacher laughed, “in that case, we’ll move on to something else next lesson.”
The majority of the class cheered, patting the girl on the back and high-fiving her.
The clanless kids who weren’t being sponsored by a clan eyed each other. They would only fall further behind.
“Sensei, would it be possible for me to take some training kunai and practice?” Naruto asked.
“Sorry, that’s not allowed. You’ll have to get some at the shops, the Academy has recommended a few in their letter. Excuse me, I’m rather busy,” his teacher replied, tidying the papers in his arms and leaving without so much as a backward glance.
The door slid closed with a sullen thud.
Naruto shoved down his rising disappointment and inhaled deeply. Once. Twice. He brushed his sleeve across his eyes. Fine, if they wouldn’t give him what he needed, he would just do it himself.
Stealing from the store wasn’t an option, there were heavy punishments for theft. The only thing he had resembling a weapon was his cooking knives, and that was too different from kunai and shuriken.
He went to the forest, finding a decent-sized log that hadn’t rotted yet. Although his carving skills were rather crude, they were better than nothing. Settling himself onto the ground, he picked up his smallest cooking knife and got to work.
“Naruto, you need to practice more,” the teacher sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose like everything was a disaster. “The other kids have already started learning chakra manipulation and you can’t even stick a leaf to your forehead. Not to mention your taijutsu is still bottom level.”
“Yes, sensei,” Naruto murmured, eyes fixed on his shoes. What he didn’t say was, that the other kids have practice weapons, that the other kids have clan tutors, and that the other kids get taught by you one-on-one to fix their stance. The other kids are cared about.
He swallowed his words, took in his calming deep breath, and went home to train.
“Your stance is wrong.”
Naruto hissed in frustration, deep breaths be damned, and strode to the other boy.
“I know my stance is wrong. I know that. I don’t know why!” he yelled.
Sasuke took a step back. “What do you mean you don’t know why?” he asked, “why don’t you ask sensei?”
And didn’t that just hurt?
“Because,” Naruto replied, “sensei doesn’t teach me.” He took a step closer. This time Sasuke stood still.
“Because, sensei doesn’t even help me get practice weapons.” He threw his carved wooden practice kunai, relishing as Sasuke’s eyes widened and understanding dawned on his face.
“Because, sensei is a biased asshole who doesn’t give a damn about someone like me.”
There was an unreadable expression on the other boy’s face. Naruto didn’t move, breathing shallowly and fists clenched so hard he could feel the sting of nails on his palm.
“Okay,” Sasuke replied.
“Okay?” Naruto repeated incredulously. “What do you mean okay?”
Sasuke stared into his eyes, just like Aki had done all those years ago. “If sensei won’t teach you, then I will.”
“What?” Naruto scoffed, picking his practice weapons back up and walking away. “You’re not making any sense.”
“You’ll see!” Sasuke called, determination coating his words. “You’ll see what I mean!”
Naruto wasn’t a fool, he wasn’t about to trust the words of an eight-year-old child.
Except, maybe he had underestimated Sasuke.
Every lunch break, every morning before class, and every afternoon after class, Sasuke would chase after him, bringing notes he had taken and tips on how to learn.
It was absolutely insane, the efforts Sasuke would go to in order to try and help him.
It was intolerable and illogical.
But, somehow, it reminded him of Aki.
“Alright, fine!” Naruto cried, throwing his hands up in defeat. “Fine, I’ll listen to you teach me.”
Sasuke perked up, already taking out his notebook from his bag. “Really?”
“Really, but hurry up I have things to do,” Naruto muttered.
Sasuke gave him a beaming smile, one that would probably strike down all of his fangirls in one go, and started talking. Infuriatingly, Naruto found that his notes and his explanations were flawless.
Sometimes, Sasuke would even bring an extra bento box for him at lunch. It was homemade by his mother, complete with those octopus sausages he would see in the other kid’s lunches. It tasted amazing, better than anything he had eaten before. It tasted like love, compassion, and the touch of home.
It tasted like something he knew he would never have.
Sasuke was like a flaming bonfire. He was brilliant, outshining Naruto in every way possible, but he shared his warmth. He was patient, not judgmental of Naruto’s lack of skills in some areas, and he seemed to care.
Gradually, as time passed, Naruto felt something in him flicker, like it had when he met Aki. A little spark that lit a flame of hope deep within him. He found himself watching Sasuke more, learning what the other boy liked, what he said, and what he did.
A cynical part of him warned him that it would hurt when it was over.
Still, he didn’t have it in him to quell the flames, to drown the fire. If Sasuke was a burning fire, he would step into it himself and burn with him.
Graduation was a simple affair. He did his jutsu, got the stink-eye from his teacher, and received his headband. Naruto headed outside, vaguely excited to show Sasuke. He heard his voice coming from the front gates and headed over as fast as he could without running, but paused.
“I may not have been as fast as Itachi-nii, but I still was top of the class!” Sasuke said happily.
Itachi was Sasuke’s brother, he knew that much, and was always away for missions. Sasuke basically worshipped him, with how much he would talk about his brother’s achievements. Had he come for Sasuke’s graduation exam? Had his parents come as well?
Naruto slipped around the building to the shadow of the trees, scanning for his friend. Disappointment rushed through him as he found Sasuke surrounded by what had to be his family. Ebony black hair and an air of prestige surrounded the three strangers. Even the other families kept a respectful distance from them.
Naruto tugged his headband off his forehead and headed back to his apartment.
He could tell Sasuke another day, there was no need for him to ruin the mood.
He didn’t know that the next day he would receive a scroll with his first official mission, and it would be many years before he met Sasuke again.
ANBU was both the best and worst thing to happen to Naruto.
The tasks were brutally demanding, pushing every muscle in his body to its limits to breaking point. If he hadn’t had his ridiculous healing speed, they would have broken him long ago. Part of him wondered if that was why they recruited him - to use him the best they could.
The flame that had sparked when he was at the Academy had waned, but not extinguished, and he sometimes thought of Sasuke.
Once his training was done, once he had risen sufficiently in the ranks, he would get the time to see him again. One day. It wasn’t like Sasuke needed him anyways, he was still a clan kid after all, they all seemed to make friends with each other quickly.
The thing with ANBU was that identity did not matter. Sure, he was certain the superior officers knew exactly who he was, but the rest knew rumours at best.
Here, he was just a faceless operative.
It was liberating.
He had hot water in the public shower room, had a clean room without the damp smell of mould, and was acknowledged by his teammates.
“Number twelve, you have training in two hours in the black room,” Snake said in his ear.
Naruto saluted as he passed and went back to his room to prepare. The black room was a training room devoid of any light. Only taijutsu was allowed, and honestly, it was a huge pain in the ass. Still, only a few more weeks and they would be fully initiated and granted their official faces.
“A bit early today I see.”
A sigh forced its way out of Naruto. “Today it’s you?” he muttered, “I was hoping for Leopard or someone.”
Weasel chuckled, a mildly terrifying sound through the voice-altering mask, and replied, “ah well, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”
“Beggers can’t be choosers I guess,” Naruto agreed, getting into a ready stance. “Alright let’s-”
A sandalled foot smashed into his ribs, and he cursed. “Dammit, this is why I hate sparring with you.”
Deeming him sufficiently bruised and battered, Weasel picked him off the floor and chucked him outside. Naruto managed to stumble to the shower room, cranking the hot water to the highest setting and feeling his tense muscles relax under the spray.
“Taijutsu today I see?” a voice said from the stall next to him.
“Stupid Weasel,” Naruto muttered, lathering shampoo into his hair, “he has no chill.”
The person hummed in agreement. “Maa, not many of ANBU do.”
“You got that right,” Naruto smirked, shaking his hair and turning off the water. He dried himself off and pulled his mask back on, making sure it covered his hair completely. “Anyways, see you later.”
The unknown man said nothing, and Naruto left without another glance. Anonymity in ANBU was valued, and he of all people wasn’t about to break that.
His reunion with Sasuke was unexpected and not exactly under the best circumstances. The only consolation he had was that Sasuke didn’t know it was a reunion anyways at first.
He had been on a mission, one that ended in the death of one of his teammates, and the other was falling unconscious on his back.
Again, not the best circumstances.
To make matters worse, Sasuke’s team of Jounin had similarly encountered enemies who were nothing but persistent as they pursued them through the forest.
“Get the scroll back!” One of the enemy nin shouted, throwing a handful of shuriken at them. Naruto ducked and weaved, deflecting projectiles with a kunai. His teammate was a dead weight on his back, he just hoped it was figurative and not literal.
“Take him,” Naruto yelled, throwing his teammate at Sasuke and hurling a wind jutsu at their pursuers. “I’ll hold them off. Run back to the village.”
Thankfully, no one put up a protest, simply listening and taking off. Naruto clapped his hands together and started making seals, hurling jutsu after jutsu at the enemies to delay them. The forest burned, wind fuelling the flames and licking hungrily up tree trunks.
They were almost back on Konoha territory.
The leader of the enemy team cursed and spat on the ground. “Retreat,” he ordered, and they dispersed.
Naruto stayed where he was, sucking in deep breaths and pulling kunai from his arms and legs. The wounds stung, but he knew they’d heal before he returned. He headed back to the village, the flickering flame in his chest burning like the forest behind him.
“Thank you for helping us Jackal-san,” Sasuke said while bowing. His arm was in a sling and there were bandages around his head.
“No need for thanks, I just happened to be heading back the same way,” Naruto replied. “I’m glad the mission was a success.”
The A-turned-S-class mission. That had somehow been given to a team with two Jounin and a Chuunin. What on earth was the mission desk doing?
“Ah, wait!”
Naruto turned, surprised. “Was there anything else you needed?” he asked, raising an eyebrow despite knowing Sasuke wouldn’t be able to see it anyways.
“I had - I mean have - a friend.”
“Good for you?” Naruto said, perplexed about where this was going.
“He vanished after we graduated from the Academy. It was five years ago. I couldn’t-I couldn’t find any traces of him. Even after I became the department head of the investigation unit in the police force, I couldn’t find any leads.”
He was talking about Naruto. Sasuke was talking about him. The realisation felt like a physical blow, and it took everything in him to not react to the words. Someone had actually bothered to look for him.
“The only place that has the jurisdiction to do that is ANBU,” Sasuke continued. “Please, ANBU-san, I just need to know.”
There was an air of desperation that felt wrong. Never in his life had he ever seen Sasuke so torn, so openly hopeful and longing. His expression reminded Naruto of himself, and he hated it.
“There are no identities in ANBU other than the ones assigned,” Naruto answered. His voice sounded cold and inhuman through the mask. “If your friend has died in combat his tag would have been sent back, have you checked for those?”
Sasuke flinched, lowering his head. “I have. There was nothing,” he replied, voice subdued.
What a surprise, Naruto thought, that he would go so far. Well, ANBU were allowed to tell those close to them about their identities, and his plan was to meet Sasuke again anyways.
Reaching out, he grabbed Sasuke’s wrist, tugging him forward as he flickered to the rooftop.
“What are you doing?” Sasuke exclaimed, wind whipping his hair messily around his face.
“Taking us somewhere more private,” Naruto replied.
“Wha-”
In a smooth motion, he undid the clasp around the back of his head and pulsed chakra to remove the mask from his face, letting it drop into his hand.
“There’s no way,” Sasuke breathed.
“Well, I’m always full of surprises, won’t you say?” Naruto smirked, brushing a hand through his hair.
“You son of a bitch,” Sasuke hissed, and that was the only warning he got before a fist was flying at his face.
Catching Sasuke’s hand, he swept his leg out and pulled at the same time, unbalancing him and sending him flying to the ground. Sasuke rolled and recovered, injured arm held to his chest, and lunged, concrete cracking around his feet as he poured chakra into them.
Naruto fell with the hit, rolling to absorb the momentum and arms pinning Sasuke to his chest. “Why so aggressive?” he grinned, “weren't you wondering about your best buddy from the Academy?”
“Why,” Sasuke said, sounding odd, “why didn’t you say anything.”
Something warm dripped onto his chest, soaking through gaps in his armour onto fabric. Naruto sat up, surprised.
“No way, are you-are you crying?”
Incredulous, he cupped his hand around Sasuke’s chin, freezing when his hands were batted away half-heartedly.
“Shut up, bastard, I’m not.”
Naruto didn’t even need his gut feeling to know Sasuke was lying.
They sat there in silence, Sasuke practically straddling him and keeping him on the floor. The wind whistled and howled around them with birds chirping in the air, and Sasuke wiped his eyes. Naruto’s chest felt uncomfortably warm, and for the first time, a spike of guilt shot through him.
“I didn’t realise you cared so much,” he said quietly.
“Of course, I cared! Four years, Naruto, four years! You were my closest and only friend during the Academy.”
Naruto blinked. “The great Uchiha Sasuke admitting he had no other friends during the Academy, what has the world come to?”
“Be quiet,” Sasuke growled. “I’m not done yet.”
Naruto held his hands up in surrender.
“I was looking forwards to being on a team with you,” Sasuke said softly, “and then you vanished. The teachers wouldn’t tell me, and my parents would look at each other knowingly but said nothing. Even my brother was no help. No one in your apartment had any idea where you would be, I had no leads.”
“Surely that doesn’t come as a surprise to you?” Naruto interrupted. “You know how everyone was around me.”
Sasuke sighed, head thumping onto his chest. He was trembling, Naruto realised with a start. What on earth had happened while he was gone? What universe was he in?
“I know, I know, but I still had to try. Your apartment was shit, by the way.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Naruto scoffed. “The place didn’t even have hot water.”
“Didn’t even have-” Sasuke let out another shaky sigh, and Naruto wondered if he was going to start crying again. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“Why did it matter? I did what I could to survive, that’s what I’ve been doing my whole life. Do you think you could have done anything anyways? Don’t delude yourself, we were children. Besides, it was my shit to deal with. Mine.”
“If our positions were swapped, if I was the one who had vanished, wouldn’t you want to know why? Wouldn’t you try to get me back?” Sasuke retorted, fingers curling into Naruto’s jacket and pulling him down until they were eye to eye.
Naruto looked away. “It’s not the same,” he responded. “You know that.”
When Sasuke didn’t reply, he stood, pushing Sasuke off him and hauling him to his feet.
“I’m sorry.”
Sasuke’s head snapped up so quickly that Naruto was surprised he didn’t pull anything. Naruto was still shorter than him, he realised, that fact hadn’t changed.
“What?”
“Did you burst your eardrums during the fight too? I said I’m sorry.”
Sasuke was still gaping at him. “You’ve never said that before.”
Naruto frowned, “what do you mean, I’m sure I’ve said it before.”
“No, never. I’m sure of it.” Sasuke replied, still looking at him like he’d grown a third head or something.
“Well, I guess you’re not the only one who’s changed through these five years,” Naruto shrugged.
A hawk shrieked in the distance, circling them before diving and landing on Naruto’s shoulder. Its claws sank into his padded armour.
“I have to go,” Naruto said, taking the note from around the hawk’s legs.
“Will you…” Sasuke began.
“I will,” Naruto nodded. “I was going to find you, but my healing factor and skills made me too useful to spare. It’s not like I have a clan to back me up either.”
Sasuke took a piece of paper and pen from his flak jacket and scrawled something onto it before pressing it into Naruto’s palm. “I moved,” he explained simply.
He watched, salt drying on his face and eyes brighter than Naruto had ever seen, as his friend vanished in a whirl of leaves.
Sasuke’s new living place was a veritable mansion. Not literally of course, but one look at the apartment made Naruto feel incredibly unprepared. He should have brought a fruit basket or something.
The building had the newest technologies, polished steel bars and winding staircases up to each level. Even the bricks felt new. Naruto wiped his palm on his pants and straightened the tanto on his back before knocking on the door.
“What?” Sasuke yelled. Naruto heard footsteps stomping to the door. “I swear, Hideaki, if you’re here again with more paperwork, I’m going to shove my kunai up your-”
“Bad time?” Naruto asked, tilting his head to one side.
Sasuke spluttered and slammed the door in his face.
Naruto blinked twice, and then the door opened marginally as Sasuke peeked out.
“I’m not hallucinating,” he heard him mutter.
“No, I don’t think so,” Naruto replied promptly, taking that as an invitation and pushing the door fully open.
Turns out, Sasuke was also an artist.
A good one too.
Naruto stared, looking around at the paintings on the wall and the partially completed one on the easel. His chest warmed as if kindling had suddenly been shoved into the flickering flames that had sparked the first time he met Sasuke.
“You’re good,” he noted.
“Please,” Sasuke scoffed, “if you’re just trying to be nice, stop.”
“Have I ever lied to you before to be nice?” Naruto asked. Sasuke paused from where he was making tea.
“Good point.”
“I brought you a gift,” Naruto said, as the silence became a bit too deafening for him to bear.
“A…gift?” Sasuke repeated, looking both perplexed and concerned at once. “For me.”
“I know you like onigiri, so I picked some up while I was on a mission,” Naruto explained, unsealing the food from a scroll and tossing it to Sasuke.
“I-thank you.”
Silence lapsed between them again. Naruto shifted, the leather couch squeaking as he did so. It shouldn’t be a surprise, he realised, that they had nothing to say to each other. Their paths had diverged five years ago, they were barely more than strangers at this point.
“I should go,” Naruto muttered, heading to the window to access the rooftops better.
Sasuke made an aborted motion towards him and gestured to the tea awkwardly. “Do you want to stay for some tea?”
“Maybe next time,” Naruto answered, surprising both him and Sasuke.
“Alright then, next time,” Sasuke agreed.
Leaping back to the headquarters, Naruto felt his steps were lighter. There was a bonfire crackling in him, spreading pleasant warmth through his body.
Next time.
What a pleasant promise.