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vannahfanfics · 4 years

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Rest For The Weary

Category: Mild Romantic Fluff

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Shikamaru Nara, Sakura Haruno

What’s up, everyone? Here’s my third story for ShikaSaku Week Hanami for the prompt “Proud of You, Proud of Me.” Enjoy!

Shikamaru’s eyelashes fluttered as some distorted mumblings of his name began to pulse in his ears. Slowly, very slowly, they became clearer; it was his name, all right. Groaning away the sleep that was so insistently trying to tug him back into the realm of dreams, he shifted on the mattress. Wait, since when were mattresses this hard and uncomfortable? He involuntarily flung his arm out and hissed when he banged his wrist against another hard surface. The electric shockwave of pain that propagated up from the jarred joint shot him fully into consciousness, and as he rolled onto his side clutching his burning wrist, he fell right off the edge of the bench he had passed out on to crash roughly against the dirt ground about a foot below.

“Sonofa- owwwww!” he whined loudly, not sure whether to clutch his still-stinging wrist or his now-pounding head. He froze when he heard a girl giggling above him. Right, somebody had been calling his name. Who-?

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Sakura teased when he cracked his eye open to look up at her. He was a little dazed from being awoken plus his short tumble, so it took him a minute to actually register the pink-haired, green-eyed kunoichi. “You okay?” As he snorted in derision, a puff of dust clouded in his face, making him cough and clamp his eyes shut. He sat up slowly; his joints were already stiff from sleeping on the hard bench, and his drop to the ground had only jerked them about. He tucked his injured wrist against his chest and rubbed the back of his neck with the other hand, sighing deeply. Of course Sakura would have to be the one to find him drooling on a random bench and watch him fall right off it.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good…”

“What are you doing sleeping on a bench?” Now, that was an excellent question. He frowned deeply as he tried to drag his recent memory from his sluggish mind. He had worked all day with Kakashi until well after sunset, finally stumbling out of the Hokage’s office at about nine o’ clock to try and walk home… He had gotten up extra early that morning to train, at about five in the morning. At some point the exhaustion had caught up to him and he had just plopped down on a bench, and that was that. What an embarrassing thing to admit to a girl. He neglected to reply, only grumbling under his breath and looking away. “Lemme guess- you’ve been pushing yourself too hard again, huh?”

Damn woman was too smart for her own good.

“You’re one to talk. Lemme guess, you just now got out of the hospital even though your shift started at six this morning, right?” he countered grumpily. Sakura’s lips pursed into a dour pout; looks like he had hit the nail right on the head.

“Well, they were a little short-handed, that’s all,” she huffed, jutting out her hip to primly rest her hand on it in a clear display of protest. Shikamaru just snorted and tucked his legs underneath him to sit cross-legged on the dirt road. It was way too much of a drag to climb back up onto the bench; the ground wasn’t that uncomfortable, and he was always down there, anyway. He laced his fingers together behind his head and leaned back against the seat of the bench, lounging there like some kind of vagabond. He was going to give some snarky retort, but a yawned overpowered whatever snark was going to come out of his mouth. He squinted slightly at the power of it; it made a few tears well up in the corners of his eyes. With it came another thrall of drowsiness. He was more beat than he thought… “Shikamaru…”

His gaze flickered up to hers, eyes lidded. She didn’t continue whatever she was going to say. She only stared down at him with a complicated expression, green eyes swimming with concern. Shikamaru figured it would be annoying that she was worrying over him so much when she was clearly running herself ragged too, but somehow he found it… refreshing. He quirked an eyebrow when she suddenly turned around to squat down beside him, easing herself down onto the ground with her legs neatly tucked underneath her. She didn’t look at him, but craned her head back slightly to stare up at the clear night sky above. It was a nice night, after all, but why did she feel the need to stargaze right next to him? “It’s just funny,” she laughed airily all of a sudden.

“What?”

“Well, I just never would’ve dreamed we would’ve had a conversation about you overworking yourself!” He flinched at the unveiled barb, uncomfortably looking away with a scowl. She wasn’t wrong; Shikamaru was the undisputed king of laziness and distributor of the label of “drag,” but did she have to come out and say it like that? When he deigned to look back at her, she was giving him a sweet smile that made his heart somersault in his chest for some reason. “I’m proud of you.”

A blush blazed a red trail across his cheeks, hot and burning. Proud of him? It wasn’t like Shikamaru was doing any of this to get praised; he was just… doing what he wanted. Still, something about her praise made him feel happy, almost ridiculously so. He fidgeted awkwardly next to her, his arms slumping down to fidget with the hem of his green vest. He wasn’t really sure how to process the runaway train of his emotions at the moment.

“Thanks…” he managed with a tiny smirk that barely betrayed how stupidly giddy he was at such a simple statement. “You should give yourself some credit too, though. You’ve come a long way since we were all Genin.”

“Hehe, thanks,” she grinned radiantly up at him. She was leaning into him a little. Every time her shoulder lightly bumped into his, Shikamaru felt electric sparks jump across his nerves. His entire right arm felt like a sparking frayed wire. Her eyes drooped suddenly as she yawned slightly, and her body swayed a little back and forth. “I told myself during our first Chunin exams that I would work hard to catch up to those two,” she murmured, almost to herself. Her side was completely pressed against him now, and her head bobbed a little over his shoulder as her hazy eyes stared somewhere off into the distance. “Sometimes I feel like I’m still so far behind them, even still…”

Shikamaru felt bad for her, really. He couldn’t imagine the pressure of having two powerhouses like Sasuke and Naruto to compete with. It was almost like looking up at two gods, with the plane they were on. Still, she kept climbing, not giving up… Her tenacity and drive were what he admired most about her.

“Sakura?”

“Mmm?” she answered sleepily. She was still swaying back and forth like a skinny tree in the wind as she bobbed on the border of asleep and awake. He stared down at her for a minute, then gently grabbed the back of her head to push it into the crook of his neck and shoulder. He half-expected her to rebuke him and even punch him for that, but apparently she was too tired to care; with a contented hum, she nestled willingly into the junction of his body. He felt goosebumps rise over his skin as her breath puffed in little gasps over his neck, and her cherry blossom-pink threads of hairs tickled him as she adjusted to her makeshift pillow. One of her hands clutched endearingly, almost child-like, at the side of his stiff vest, fingers curling into the fabric. She was breathing softly and quietly. He didn’t know if she had fallen asleep as soon as her head met his shoulder.

But he said it none the less.

“I’m proud of you.” It was a whisper, nothing more. Her entire body weight was slumped against him now. Surely she was fast asleep. There was definitely no going home for him; he didn’t want to wake her. She looked so comfortable and content snuggled into his side, tip of her nose buried into that little pocket at the base of his neck. His hand still held the back of her head, and he absentmindedly began to weave his fingers into her soft hair that smelled faintly of strawberries and honeysuckle. His other hand rose to his mouth as he yawned again. At least the night was warm; it made sleeping on the street much less of a drag than it could have been. With a sleepy grunt, his pressed his cheek into the top of her head, hand falling around her waist to hold her close. She muttered something in her sleep. Was she dreaming already? She was mumbling something about staying… Well, there was no riddle as to who that could be about. Shikamaru felt more jealous than he care to admit.

“Shika… maru…” she sighed into his neck and pushed closer, fingers now clawing across the center of his vest. His eyes widened slightly as she unconsciously uttered his name, and then he smiled into her sweet-smelling hair, other arm enclosing her in a gentle embrace as sleep began to overtake him again.

He’d have to fall asleep on benches more often.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

Tag List: @deliathedork @searchfortheonepiece @shikasaku-week

#shikasaku #shikasakuweek #shikasakuweek hanami #shikasaku week #shikasaku week hanami #shikamaruxsakura #shikamaru x sakura #sakuraxshikamaru #sakura x shikamaru #sakura haruno #haruno sakura #shikamaru nara #nara shikamaru #naruto #naruto shippuden #naruto fanfiction #naruto fanfic #romance #fluff

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redvoid-40 · 4 years

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Chapter 5: Tools

Fanfic title: ??? Word count: 4175 Fandom: Naruto Pairing: eventual Gaara x OC, cannon pairings Genre: Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort Warnings: None

Last chapter of the Prologue/Land of Waves arc! Hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think! :) Next chapter we’ll get started with the Chuunin Exams! I’m pretty excitd about it! :D

Previous chapter / Next chapter

Ko-fi

—–

Shin stared at the trees around her. She honestly didn’t know where to start.

Sakura had already climbed up all the way to a treetop without even breaking a sweat. Naruto and Sasuke were at the other end of the clearing running and slashing at their respective trees in competition, incited by Kakashi’s taunting.

She had tried following their example, but something was off. She could feel it.

“What’s taking so long, Shin-kun?” Kakashi asked, limping his way towards her. His fight with Zabuza had left him with some serious wounds. “Even if you fall down, shouldn’t you at least be trying?”

Shin blushed, eyes downcast.

“I tried… But I don’t think I’m doing it right.”

“Hmm? Let me see.”

Shin nodded, closing her eyes for a moment as she concentrated her chakra on her feet. Even still as she was she could feel how it flowed without any sort of control or pattern through her soles.

With a deep breath, she started running towards the tree. Her muscles were tense, ready for the strain that was sure to come. After all, her body knew it would have to work twice as hard as usual, because it just couldn’t count with her chakra to help along.

The other three Genin stared at her, surprised that she was finally doing something.

That surprise grew into shock as she climbed a little past the half of the tree trunk before a particularly strong burst of chakra launched her off the tree, leaving a small crater where she stepped.

Shin pouted and turned to her teacher.

“I see now… You’ve been overcompensating your lack of chakra-control with physical strength. Despite climbing further than Naruto your control is worse than his. You’re just using your muscles to make up for it.”

Shin nodded, still blushing. "I’ve always had a hard time with Ninjutsu - as far as I know, all other Genin summoned at least three clones in their graduation exam, but I only made one. Still, I kept my grades just above average because I made up for my lack of talent in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu by training twice as hard physically. That’s why-”

“You hit a standstill. You’re constantly overcompensating your lack of skill with chakra with your physical training.” Kakashi hummed. “Heh. You remind me of someone I know, Shin-kun.”

“Really?”

Kakashi smiled behind his mask, but somehow the expression was… crooked. It made a shiver run down her spine.

“Yeah. And I’m definitely getting you out of your standstill.”

—

The four trained for the rest of the day. Sakura’s amazing chakra control became even better. I one afternoon and she was already capable of walking up and down the tree trunks as she pleased.

Sasuke was improving steadily. So was Naruto, though he was going at a slower pace than Sasuke.

Meanwhile Shin felt she was moving backwards.

“Kakashi-sensei, are you sure this is the only way?” Shin whined. “I feel ridiculous.”

“Well, I had to find a way to handicap your body without actually incapacitating you, Shin-kun. That’s the best I could come up with, short of breaking a leg.”

The girl looked down at herself. Her vest had been thrown to the side, but still she was shining with sweat. Her tank top looked more red than orange now and the sweat made strands of her messy, wavy hair stick to her neck. And her legs…

Those were tied together at the knees, so she wasn’t able to run or even walk. Like a little rabbit, she was supposed to bounce her way to the tree top without even being able to widen her stance.

Shin pouted as she glared at the tree in front of her. The most Shin had managed without falling on her butt was a couple of jumps, so the highest point she slashed in the tree bark was barely taller than Kakashi.

It was frustrating to be this bad at something; more than once in the past hour Shin had been driven to the brink of giving up. Why did she want to learn Ninjutsu so badly anyway? Surely, if she trained hard enough, she could become a great Shinobi with only Taijutsu. She had even met another boy that was like her during one of her solo training sessions, and he had been extremely strong. He even gave her a few pointers on her posture and fighting techniques.

Lee-senpai, I understand now why you dedicated yourself solely on Taijutsu. This is impossible!

“Shin-chan! Shin-chan!”

The girl snapped out of her by none other than Naruto. The boy had a conspiratory smile on his face as he ran to her.

“How are you holding up?”

Shin sighed, and resumed to glare at her tree. “Honestly, Naruto-chan, not well. I’m thinking maybe the spiritual control of our chakra isn’t for me. Maybe I should give up and continue training my Taijutsu.”

That surprised the boy more than Shin believed it would. Naruto’s smile was suddenly gone as he grabbed both of her shoulders and started to shake her wildly.

“You can’t give up! We’ve gotta master this chakra thing and beat Zabuza, and we’re gonna do this together. Believe it!” Then, on a much lower voice, Naruto got real close to her face. “Hear me out on this. Sakura-chan gave me some tips. I’ll share them with you but you have to promise not to tell Sasuke!”

Shin’s brown eyes sparkled at the promise of help. She stared at Naruto’s naughty smile and then glanced at Sasuke. He was staring at them from the corner of his eyes, trying to act uninterested despite being curious about what they were talking about.

Shin didn’t like lying or even keeping things from her friends. She knew she’d feel really bad if she accepted Naruto’s help in exchange for letting Sasuke out of the loop.

But, honestly, she was so annoyed by this whole training that a bit of guilt sounded like a fair exchange if it meant she’d be able to move up that damn tree. Even if it was only a couple of inches.

Brown met blue again and Shin nodded. “I won’t tell Sasuke-kun. So please, tell me.”

Naruto’s smile grew in size and mischief.

“Hehehe, you see…Sakura-chan told me this whole thing won’t work out unless we’re calm. We need to focus on the tree so our chakra will flow calmly through our feet, just like the tree’s energy is flowing through it.”

Shin didn’t quite understand Naruto’s tip, but nodded nonetheless. It made little sense to her, focusing on a tree. However Naruto had been improving steadily faster since Sakura had given him that tip so Shin figured it was good advice.

“Hey, you two!”

Shin and Naruto were startled and turned to Sasuke, who was looking at them with a contradicted look on his face.

“Yes, Sasuke-kun?”

“Naruto asked Sakura something before she left. You two are talking about what she said, right? I want to know it too.”

The smile that stretched on Naruto’s face was positively sadistic.

“I won’t tell you.”

Sasuke looked on the verge of throttling Naruto, but recomposed himself with a deep breath before turning to Shin. “Shin, you will tell me, right?”

Shin gulped and put on an awkward smile. She could feel Naruto’s eyes staring at her in anticipation. She simply adored her friend, but there was no denying he could be kind of a jerk when he wanted to.

And easily drag her down with him.

“Ahhhh… Sasuke-kun, I’d love to tell you but… ah you see… I- can’t.”

“WHA-”

“Oh look there’s a better tree over there for me! I think I’ll go train there. Sorry, Sasuke-kun! Good luck you two! See you at dinner!”

With that Shin shuffled away, hoping that her response to Sasuke didn’t ever fall on Sakura’s ears.

—

Once she was far away from the boys so she could barely hear them Shin chose a tree to continue training. Open palm laid against the tree, Shin took a few moments to focus on it. She stared at the intricate patterns of the tree bark and felt its rough texture against her skin, she listened to the sound its leaves made as the wind blowed softly on them and she felt-

There.

Soft and slow Shin could feel the energy flowing inside the tree and she finally understood what she had felt during their fight with Zabuza, when she told Naruto to dodge despite not seeing anything through the mist. Somehow, she had felt the Rogue-Nin’s chakra even though he was far from her.

And Shin grasped at the sensation she was experiencing now and did not let go. She took her time to appreciate the tree’s life force for what it as, to analyze its flow and power. Then she turned her observations inside, comparing her own chakra to the tree’s, feeling how different they both felt to her.

My chakra is larger and more disorganized, it has a more active feel to it. It’s agitated.

Shin focused on morphing her energy then, adjusting her chakra to the tree’s and focusing especially on the soles of her feet. She felt something different then and tensed her muscles, ready to jump.

This time it’ll be better.

—

That night the three of them returned to Tazuna’s home with smiles on their faces. They all still had quite a long way to go in their training with chakra, but there was no denying how much they evolved during that afternoon. Their slashes on the trees were proof of it, as were the red welts that the rope lefta round Shin’s ankles.

So when they arrived and found dinner waiting for them at the table, the three dug in with a ferociousness that could only come from being a growing Shinobi after a heavy training session.

Although in Naruto and Sasuke’s cases there was also the competition factor, which drove both of them to ask for seconds and thirds until they were throwing up.

“Naruto-chan!” Shin called out, jumping to the side in order to avoid being barfed upon by her friend. “I think you two are going too far. It’s not good to waste food.”

“Sorry, Shin-chan. But I have to beat Sasuke!”

Sakura seemed to shareof Shin’s feelings, so much she scolded both boys indiscriminately instead of focusing only on Naruto.

“You two shouldn’t eat if you’re going to throw up!”

Of course their protests went on deaf ears as both boys went right back to eating as if there was no tomorrow.

Shin and Sakura exchanged a look and sighed.

Peas in a pod.

—

After dinner Sakura asked about the torn picture the family had hanging on the wall, and immediately the air grew heavy in the dining room.

“It was my husband.” Tsunami answered, not moving her eyes from the dishes.

“People around him used to call him a hero.” Tazuna commented.

Shin stared at Inari, but the boy kept silent, staring down at his lap as he clenched and unclenched his fists. There was a repressed sadness in him that was almost tangible, and Shin could easily see herself in him.

Losing family… it’s a pain that never really goes away.

“Inari-kun…” Shin began, but before she could say anything else the boy suddenly stood up from his place and left the room, soon followed by his mother.

“Dad! You know you can’t say things like that in front of Inari!”

The five Shinobi stood in silence, staring at Tazuna expectantly. With a sigh, the bridge-builder began telling them about the Hero of the Wave Country and the five of them listened to the tragic tale with attentive ears and heavy hearts.

Without even realizing it, Shin found herself clenching and unclenching her fists as salty tears fell down on her lap.

Shin felt a warm weight rest on her shoulder and when she turned her head, she found Naruto staring at her with determination burning in his blue eyes. Quickly, Shin rubbed her eyes dry and nodded at him, her own brown orbs burning just as bright.

Inari-kun… I’ll make you smile again. Even if it’s the last thing I do.

—

A few days later, Sakura had gone into the forest with Kakashi and a brought a picnic basket with her. Both Shin and Naruto had fallen into the habit of training late into the night or leaving the house before anyone woke up to train, more often than not skipping breakfast, and since she was free that afternoon she thought it would be nice to help out her team-mates.

They are doing their best to catch up with Sasuke and me. It can’t be easy watching others suceed in something you’re bad at.

When both arrived at their training grounds, they were greeted by a smiling Naruto laying on the highest tree-branch in the area, while Shin stood on the horizontal, keeping herself attached to the tree, with both of her legs untied. Sasuke was there as well, hanging upside down from another branch.

Shin smiled at them. “I think we’ll be good to go after tonight, Kakashi-sensei.”

—

That night the Shinobis stayed at the table after dinner, talking about training and plans to defeat Gato, about how courage would always prevail as long as there was one person willing to fight. The four Genin listened to Kakashi, inspired by his words of praise, confident that they would all protect this village and its people.

Inari was of a different opinion.

“These stupid trainings are a waste of time!” The boy screamed, slamming his hands on the table as tears fell freely from his eyes. “Gato has an army! He’ll defeat and destroy all of you! This cool stuff you’re saying means nothing… it doesn’t matter what you do. The strong always win and the weak always lose!”

Shin stared at the boy with wide eyes, at loss about what to say.

Naruto, of course, had a response to the boy. “Shut up. It’s gonna be different for me, believe it.”

“You shut up! Just looking at you makes me sick! You know nothing of this land; you’re just an outsider! You’re always laughing and joking around. You have no idea what it’s like being treated as trash!”

Shin swallowed and looked at Naruto. His blue eyes lost their usual playful glint as he stared at Inari.

“Look at you… crying and complaining like a poor victim. You can cry as much as you want, you coward.”

“Naruto!” Sakura scolded. “You went too far!”

Shin watched Naruto stand up and leave the room without another word. Then her brown eyes settled on Inari and she couldn’t find it in herself to be annoyed at the small child crying in front of her.

His words were harsh, but they were not of ill-intent.

“Inari-kun-” Shin called with a gentle smile. “-more than anyone here, Naruto-chan understands what it feels like being overlooked. Which is why he tries so hard in everything he does with a smile on his face. Our training here isn’t just to put up a front. We’re doing it for you and your family, and everyone else in the Wave Country.”

With that the girl walked around the table, until she could lay her hand atop the boy’s head.

“Have some faith in us. We’ll put a smile on your face yet.”

—

On the following morning, Naruto overslept, too tired from his training. And since he was the one who usually kicked Shin out of her bed to make sure she wasn’t late to their training sessions, so did she.

When he woke up to find the sun already high in the sky, he jumped out of bed with a scream that could wake the dead, but not the girl sleeping on the futon besides his.

“Shin-chan! Shin-chan, wake up!” The boy screamed at his friend, shaking her shoulders roughly. “They left us behind! Believe it?”

The girl sat up, rubbing leep off her eyes. “Hmm? Naruto-chan? What’s happening?”

The boy answered by throwing her clothes at her face.

“Get dressed! We need to catch up to them!”

—

Shin and Naruto were halfway to the bridge when something caught the later’s eyes, making him stop.

“Shin-chan, what’s that?”

The girl backtracked a few steps and looked at what Naruto was pointing at; laying dead on the forest ground was a wild boar. It wasn’t so unusual to find remains of forest wildlife every now and then, however there was something that caught their attention about this particular boar.

“Naruto-chan, he didn’t die of natural causes or by a natural predator.”

The boy narrowed his eyes and nodded. “Looks like he was killed by people. The trees are all full of slashes as well.”

“Naruto-chan, I have a bad feeling about this. Let’s go back to Tsunami-san’s home.”

“I was gonna say just that, believe it.”

—

Shin and Naruto arrived just in time. There were two bandits at Tsunami’s home, but they were not nearly as strong as Zabuza, so both Genin were easily capable of taking care of them.

“That was amazing!” Inari yelled, running towards them. The Rogue-Nins lay unconscious at their feet.

Naruto and Shin exchanged a look before smiling widely at the boy. “We crushed it, believe it!”

“You two were just like real Ninja!” Inari spoke, grinning widely at them.

“Hey, I am a real Ninja!” Naruto whined, but there was no bark in his words.

Shin laughed at them and patted Inari’s head, making the boy stare up at her with his big smile.

“Now that’s more like it. You keep smiling and cheering us on, alright?”

“Yeah!”

—

When Shin and Naruto arrived at the bridge, there was already a battle going on. Kakashi was facing off Zabuza, while Sasuke dealt with the false Hunter-Nin. However, Sasuke seemed to be in trouble, trapped in an Ice-based Jutsu.

Before Shin could even try to think up a strategy, Naruto had disappeared from her side and next thing she knew he was inside the enemy’s ice-dome, alongside Sasuke.

“N-Naruto!” Shin called out, voice high-pitched and unbelieving. “Why did you get inside the enemy’s Jutsu?!”

“You too, Shin-chan?!” Came Naruto’s whine. “I’m here to help, believe it!”

Shin took a deep breath to calm herself. It’s alright. I’m still out here to give them support. Maybe it’s actually better that Naruto-chan is inside there. Sasuke-kun is in pretty bad shape so I think he could use some help.

“Alright!” Shin settled and pulled out a scroll. She opened it above her head, allowing a few Fuuma Shuriken to fall by her feet, spiking the ground. She picked one of them up, getting in a throwing position. “I’ll support you guys from outside! Sasuke, catch me up here!”

“This Jutsu lets him travel between mirrors almost instantaneously.” Sasuke explained. “In here we see his reflection everywhere, so we don’t know where he’ll attack us from. We need to find a way to break out of here, but it’s almost impossible to break these things!”

“Fine! So all we need to do is find the real one, believe it!” Naruto exclaimed, performing hand-signs for his favourite Jutsu. “Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

Shin watched Naruto’s clones being decimated in the blink of an eye as a shadow flew from mirror to mirror. Shin tensed, ready to throw her FuumaShuriken but the enemy’s movements were much too fast for her.

Damn it! I can’t just throw it blindly.

Naruto insisted on that strategy, summoning more and more clones to try and beat their enemy’s speed with numbers alone.

Shin watched everything, trying to follow his movements with her eyes to no avail. But to her surprise, she was slowly being able to locate him by his chakra. Like she had done with Zabuza’s without realizing and then trained on the trees a few days ago, Shin was increasingly being able to differentiate the sensation of their enemy’s chakra and how it moved around Sasuke and Naruto’s.

It’s not much, but it’ll have to do.

With a determined look on her face, Shin tensed her body and got ready. During the next of Naruto’s assault she’d throw her weapon.

“Shin!”

At the call of her name she fixed her eyes on Sasuke’s. The boy noticed she was ready to attack. And from what she saw in his black orbs, he had formed a strategy too. His gaze screamed at her: follow my lead.

Immediately Sasuke started doing hand-signals for his Fireball Jutsu, not paying attention to how their enemy jumped from mirror to mirror, as if he knew where he would be. Just as he was about to release his Jutsu, Sasuke glanced at Shin and she took it as her cue.

With all the speed and strength she could muster, Shin threw her Fuuma Shuriken, aiming at the same direction as Sasuke. Which, to her immense satisfaction, was the same direction where she felt their enemy’s chakra.

Shin’s Fuuma Shuriken grazed the fabric of their enemy’s sleeve while Sasuke’s Jutsu charred the left leg of his pants.

Close! Shin thought, grabbing another of the weapons nailed on the floor.

Next time, for sure.

—

Shin watched as needle upon needle rained down upon Naruto and Sasuke’s bodies as both tried to break out of that ice-dome. She was down to just one Fuuma Shuriken, using all her other weapons to intercept the enemy’s attacks, trying to shelter her friends from at least some of his needles. She had grazed their enemy’s leg once, but it was barely enough of a scratch to draw blood.

Shin’s frustration grew exponentially as she watched her friends suffer. And when Naruto passed out again she was ready to follow his example and barge in there.

“Stop Shin!” Sasuke yelled at her, as if feeling her intentions. “We need you out there! I got this!”

Shin raised her eyes from Naruto’s prone form to Sasuke and what she saw made her jaw drop.

His eyes… He awakened his Sharingan!

Before Shin could say anything, their enemy charged again, and this time he went straight to Naruto. Sasuke moved faster than Shin thought possible, fast enough to shield Naruto from the attack. But not himself.

“Sasuke!” Shin called out as the needles hit him.

The boy wasn’t deterredthough, he countered the enemy’s attack and kicked him back.

“Shin, now!”

“Right!”

Swallowing her worry, Shin threw her last weapon and this time it hit the mark. Her Fuuma Shuriken dug deep into their enemy’s thigh, making him fall to the ground in pain.

“Sasuke we did it!” Shin cheered.

She almost smiled then, but the expression died halfway when her eyes fixed back on Sasuke, just in time to see him fall down like a limp doll. Thankfully Naruto had come to and was able to grab him before he hit the ground.

“Naruto!” Shin called. “How is he?!”

But the boy didn’t answer. He held Sasuke’s head up, and both seemed to be talking to each other, but Shin couldn’t hear anything.

Meanwhile, their enemy pulled out the weapon from his leg and slowly stood up with a visible limp.

“Naruto! Look out-!”

Shin was about to charge inside the dome to help them but something she hadn’t thought possible happened then, right before her eyes.

Naruto’s chakra exploded and transformed, and suddenly Shin couldn’t feel the signature of his spiritual energy anymore. That chakra surrounding Naruto wasn’t his.

It’s the Kyuubi.

—

Team Seven walked out of that bridge victorious that day. They had defeated both Ninja and put an end to Gato’s tyranny once and for all.

However, days later, as they all stared at the graves that belonged to Momochi Zabuza and Haku, there was a sensation of loss in their chests.

The things they went through. It’s not fair.

Shin dried her tears on the back of her hand and opened her mouth to speak but decided against it.

“What is it, Shin-chan?”

Shin smiled trembling. Of course, Naruto had noticed it.

“Do you guys…”

Shin hesitated for a moment, but her team’s collective gaze was upon her, urging her to continue.

“Do you guys think they were happy?” Shin asked at last, brushing her fingers against the flowers on Haku’s grave. “Despite living their lives as they did, despite seeing and losing what they did, do you think they were happy? Do you think, given the chance, they would’ve made the same choices if it meant being with each other again?” Shin smiled shakily. “I think they were glad to have found one another. I want to believe they found meaning in each other. Not as tools or Ninjas, but as human beings.”

Kakashi’s hand fell on her head, stroking her curls gently.

“We are all tools, Shin-kun. It’s something all Ninjas must deal with.”

Shin looked up at her teacher. Kakashi was staring at the sunset with a glazed look on his visible eye, but when he turned to her, he smiled.

Teary-eyed, she smiled back.

“Alright! I’ve made a decision!”

Shin jumped slightly, turning her neck to see Naruto standing by her side with a smile on his face. “From now on I’ll find my Ninja way! A way that’s honest, righteous and without remorse. From now on, I’ll follow Naruto’s way, believe it!”

The girl’s eyes widened as she took in her friend’s profile. Naruto seemed older somehow, and not for the first time Shin was speechless in her admiration of him.

With a smile, Shin gazed at the sunset.

“Sounds like a good plan to me, Naruto-chan.”

#shin #gaara x oc #gaara #naruto #fanfic #land of waves #sakura #kakashi #sasuke #zabuza #haku

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fourangers · 7 years

Text

Rite of passage - ch 3

Rating: M

Summary: Every day, he faced the same rhythm, the same pace that lulled his body to join all that dull reality in this life. In a sudden drastic decision, Sasuke decided to travel, meeting someone that would change his life.

Warning: p0rn in this chappie.

AO3 link | FFnet link

Tumblr masterpost

–.–

Chapter 02

--.--

Itinerary 3

Early as in 7 in the friggin' morning early that was too early on Sasuke's book. He glared despite Naruto's cheerful tone while the latter knew him well enough to let him take a small catnap as Naruto drove all the way through.

His body registered that once the car motion had stopped, the soft sound of engine rumbling silencing. He blinked himself awake, letting a small yawn as he unbuckled the safety belt. His eyes registered an oddity. "We're parked in the middle of the road."

"No we're not. We're parked on the roadblock, see." Naruto snorted, shutting the car door.

"You know what I meant." Sasuke returned the comeback with a sharp glare. "We're in the middle of nowhere, in an empty road with nothing but trees surrounding us."

"Yeah, but that old man Fernando said and our landlady confirmed that the waterfall they are talking about is in km 46, see. Plus, there are other cars parked around, so it's probably correct."

"Hn." Sasuke glanced at the appointed cars. "In a horror movie, this is probably the part where the villain who has been faking being a good guy so far, would attract some dumb jock to a deserted place and murder him on the back."

Naruto laughed. "You can check me if I'm carrying a knife or a gun if you want then."

"Luckily for me, I can defend myself."

Sasuke followed Naruto behind, noticing that there was a hiking trail behind a sign board.

"If you say so. Plus, you and I have to agree that I'm more like a protagonist in this case. The hero, courageous and kind, moving undaunted by all the risks and deaths surrounding him, who would inflict the fist of justice upon the greatest villain he ever faced." Naruto narrated with a serious tone, using large hand gestures to stress the epicness, punctuated while they were climbing through the large stairs made of red earth.

"And who would probably end up with some random love interest that he probably interacted for two minutes in the movie."Sasuke muttered, trying not to trip on the long tree roots.

"Yeah, we can't be perfect after all can we." Naruto continued climbing down when he turned to face Sasuke with a wide grin. "Hey, I think I heard some splash! Maybe we're getting close!"

"Joy." Sasuke muttered coolly.

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know deep down you're all giddy ready for it."

"Sure." Sasuke did smirk this time, knowing that Naruto was probably rolling his eyes in response.

He also took his time to admire the forest, noting the differences with the one in his country; the thick foliages, lush green despite the cold season. Even though he was wearing a jacket when they began walking through the trail, a thin layer of sweat was already sticking his t-shirt to his back. He made a frustrated grunt when he tried to balance himself on the uneven ground, holding on a nearby tree while he scaled down.

Sasuke didn't really pay much attention how much minutes had passed though all the extenuating effort made it felt like time had stretched long enough. Even Naruto, that was making jokes and chatting non-stop at the beginning, had now his mouth zipped shut focusing not tripping on a nearby rock. This better be worth all the trouble.

All the human voices were increasing by the steps, encouraging them to keep on walking. The sound of water could be heard loud and clear once they reached the spot, as Naruto happily sighed.

"Wow."

Briefly squinting his eyes from the sudden flash of sunlight, Sasuke let out a quiet gasp, agreeing with Naruto's statement. Strong currents of water were blasting through tall mountain rocks leaving a sheen mist permeating on the air, a dark green colored lake pooled in midst of huge dark rocks, all being embraced by tall trees with several vines, all this breathtaking vision just waiting to be captured within a camera lens.

Sasuke fumbled to pick his camera in his backpack as Naruto already took few pictures with his cellphone and stripped off his t-shirt. Sasuke followed suit once he felt he snapped enough photos, placing his bag on a dry place.

He got close to a calmer surface of the lake, after hopping through several rocks and avoiding some sharp edges. At the very moment his feet touched the water, Sasuke cursed loudly. Fuck, this was cold. Not cold, gelid. He heard Naruto hissing too, his legs skipping around like some weird dance, trying to get used to the low temperature of the water.

Sasuke started walking around on the shallow part of the lake, trying to adjust his body to the water, thankful for the strong sun brightening in that clear blue sky.

"Oh fuck it." Naruto grumbled and then dove right in the lake with a loud splash.

Sasuke widened his eyes from that bold move, despite Naruto rising afterwards, shivering from head to toe. He submerged once again till Sasuke could only recognize blond strands of hair peeking out of the water, swimming few meters away.

A competitive side niggled on the back of his mind, so Sasuke immediately swam with broad strokes, not wanting to lose to Naruto. At first his muscles protested from the sudden clash of temperatures, but adapted well once he had exercised enough, reveling the refreshing sweet water.

His head bumped onto a soft warm body, so Sasuke stood up staring Naruto's grin that stretched from ear to ear.

"Enjoying so far?"

"I guess." Sasuke narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms.

"So don't you think it's time for us to go to the main event? C'mon, I think that all those guys" Naruto pointed to the people who were already in the waterfall before them. "jumped like thrice already since we're here and I wanted to do it too."

"You can go, I'll watch. Good luck." Sasuke turned around, ready for another dipping.

Naruto scowled. Then beamed mischievously. "Scaredy cat."

"Last one loses have to pay today's lunch." Sasuke began sprinting with Naruto on his tail.

The path to the top of the waterfall was quite steep. Through each exerted effort, climbing each stone and jumping upwards, the strong breeze blew through Sasuke's face reminded him how far he was getting from the lake. He briefly turned his head and his legs almost turned to jelly. Gulping dryly, Sasuke inhaled and pressed on.

Some stones were covered with slippery moss as each step was carefully calculated to avoid any accident, the slow movement only increased his heartbeats. Sasuke approached at the edge of the cliff, dark eyes widening as the roaring cascades almost deafened his ears. It almost felt like icicles had lodged in his stomach.

He almost jumped when Naruto poked from behind his shoulder. "What?" Sasuke growled.

"Uuuuh…it's ok if you don't want to jump yet. I just teased but I don't want to pressure you too much." Naruto offered a tentative smile.

Sasuke huffed, shaking his head. "I'm ok, just need…few minutes." He balled his hand into a fist, vision still focused on the waterfall.

A pair of warm hands touched each side of his shoulder and shook his body gently, trying to disperse his anxiety.

"Ok ok…so, you already jumped on a trampoline at least right?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke nodded wordlessly.

"So it's almost the same thing. You saw other people jumping so it's perfectly safe. I mean, not 100% safe but you caught my drift right. Everything will be fine. You just have to relax the body to avoid any accident. You already done this before, so it's nothing out of ordinary." Naruto explained patiently.

Sasuke just made a snort of disbelief in return.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Anyways you bastard…You can do it. Go."

Huffing, Sasuke stepped closer to the tip of the waterfall and then stared down, the lake so far away from where he was standing and everything looked so tiny and blurred. This vision almost made his head dizzy, unbalancing his feet.

Sasuke heard a shout. "Don't look down!"

"Too fucking late." He grumbled to himself.

Closing his eyes with another deep inhale, he jumped. For long, torturous, wondrous seconds, there were only gusts of wind around him, adrenaline pumping his heart as his body only waited the end. In one blink, cold and refreshing water suddenly engulfed him till he was completely submerged within it. For brief panicked seconds, Sasuke almost feared he wouldn't emerge back, but thankfully his instincts kicked in. Soon he was floating back to the surface, his quickened breaths filling his lungs with air. He placed his head on the lake and swam backwards, perfectly content.

"WOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Dark eyes rolled in mock exasperation, recognizing the voice from that echoed scream. Almost two seconds later (that felt like hours for him but it was always too quick in reality), he heard the loud splash and jubilant laughter right afterwards.

"That was fucking great!" Naruto shouted, grinning widely. He swan around the border of the lake few times, approaching towards Sasuke. "Let's do it again."

"You're crazy." Sasuke snorted. Then, on the same breath. "Let's go."

The second time wasn't hard as the first time, as Sasuke was getting more used to the sensation and thrill of it. By the fourth or fifth time he was even trying some other maneuvers, with Naruto snapping some photographs the moment of the splash.

All in all it was a worthwhile experience that made every bit of his cell reinvigorated, if he knew this would give such positive outcome he would have done this ages ago.

Honestly…he was getting tired of wasting his life away.

Onyx eyes zeroed on that tall path as he climbed upwards once again. However this time he settled to simply sit on the edge of the waterfall, admiring the scenery.

Taking long, deep breaths, Sasuke let his senses guide its time, appreciating the sounds of the waterfall, birds tweeting, the gentle sway of tree branches moving with the wind. Goosebumps prickled when a fresh breeze passed through, letting the sun warming his skin. His eyes committed to his memory never forgetting the cerulean sky blessing the forest below, untouched nature guarded by human hands.

Sasuke noticed on the corner of his eye someone approaching. He turned slightly to see a bashful smile coming from Naruto. "You mind some company?"

He shook his head, turning back to stare ahead in quiet meditation. Minutes flowed with the comfortable silence that fell so naturally, understanding that words were unheeded now.

It felt nice for once, he didn't need to pay attention to the clock. With anxiety piling up, tasks clogging his schedule as hours simply flew by, another day being cast away. Another month was over. An year being scratched through.

Previously he was filled with responsibilities and many activities but now…he was doing nothing. Nothing but sightseeing. But why doing something apparently so meaningless made him feel so…appeased?

Naruto continued sitting on his side, also enjoying gazing upon the scenery. Sasuke appreciated this companionship, relaxing his limbs even further.

"This…is quite pleasant." He murmured.

"Yeah, it's nice right? I could stare this all day." Naruto said, stretching his limbs.

"Hm."

"No matter where, I really like taking my time appreciating any place I go." Naruto breathed out contentedly.

"It is a nice idea. For all we know, we only have this one life to live, so better seize it fully before it's too late." Sasuke murmured.

"Then…we look kind of silly, just sitting here, watching the waterfall."

"It's not only about watching it's…" His onyx eyes narrowed, sighing. "you're consciously letting the time pass with your own consent, instead of feeling like everything is going past by you before you could even really experience it."

"Yeah, I get what you mean. Sometimes it's really annoying even when I'm doing something ordinary, before I'd know it, hours flew by. And it almost feel like you couldn't really savor how time will pass, no matter how inevitable this is."

"Yes…" Sasuke stared down his hand, curling it. "And then, before you realize, your life will be spent just like that, with you feeling like you haven't lived enough."

And even though he was enjoying the present moment, he couldn't elude the uneasiness and insecurity haunting his every waking move. Sometimes he could forget for brief seconds if his mind was too busy with his work, but the second when night would fall, and another day had passed, his eyes would transfix at the ceiling, shaken to the core.

"Then…you'll look at this beautiful place and it feels like this fear might only a nightmare…but it's always with you, looming at the back of your mind." Sasuke heard the contemplative phrase, echoing his previous fears.

Sasuke turned around. He watched, entranced, as the blue hue of Naruto's eyes acquired the same warmth from the bright sky.

"I'm really glad I agreed going with you in this journey." Naruto beamed.

"Really? Why?" Sasuke was taken aback.

"I met with some other people here and there before…some even traveled with me. They were all very, how can I explain." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Eager, almost desperate to live…doing all sorts of things, dangerous sports, doing everything from dawn to dusk. But I guess no one really stopped to appreciate and really think about what exactly is about…living life."

"Is that so?" Sasuke couldn't let even one day pass without mulling about all this.

"I guess thinking about such things about life…or death. Can't be pleasant, so a lot of people prefer not thinking about it, no matter how obvious it'd be, and how sometimes this uncertainty can bring this hollowness in yourself." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Life is too short, why not enjoy it instead of getting depressed thinking about this; is what they'd answer me whenever I talked about it."

"Why would I even stop thinking about it, what's the disadvantage ignoring it? Self-awareness and questioning your one self is probably the only thing that make us different from other animals, I don't get why would I even stop doing this for one second." Reflecting about life might terrorize him from time to time, but there was no way Sasuke would trade this for anything else.

Naruto smiled. "Yep. That's why I said I'm glad I agreed going with you in this journey."

His dark eyes blinked, before fixing towards Naruto's expression. The noises of waterfall, birds chirping and all suddenly felt muffled, as if Sasuke was really looking at him for the first time.

Naruto stared back, his heartbeats increasing under Sasuke's intense gaze. He could feel his cheeks heat up, his body almost wanting to move closer and erase the distance between them.

Out of nowhere, Sasuke stood up making Naruto jump from his seat as the brunet was dusting off his swimming trunks. He turned to face Naruto, speaking unflappably. "It's almost time for lunch."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, before shrugging and also stood up. "Yeah, I guess we spent enough time in here." He brightened up. "Oh yeah! I asked the landlady and she said that Fernando and his family are good friends with her, it's totally safe visiting them."

Sasuke frowned, but otherwise maintained his neutral expression.

"Also, they are going to have um…" Naruto paused, huffing. "I forgot the english word, aaargh. It's…like a party? But only between friends it's mostly playing music with their own band and everything…sarau. Do English have a word to sarau?"

Sasuke shook his head, chuckling. "I don't think so but I got the gist of it."

"Yeah! So you wanna go?" Naruto asked as they were climbing down the stairs.

This time Sasuke did grimace, letting out a soft sigh. He wasn't much for parties, social gatherings and such. To add salt to injury, whereas he preferred few number of friends, tonight he was going to a place where he knew no one, with a language barrier hindering him above all.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Naruto said, noticing the lingering silence.

Then again, he went all the way to a foreign country so he could get away from his usual comfort zone. He could get along with locals and listen to their music, this was an opportunity that he wouldn't want to let it go waste, however uncomfortable it may appear at first glance.

"Sure, we can go." Sasuke thought for a second and added. "But if possible, let's not stay there for too long because I do want to rest after you made me wake up so early today."

Naruto laughed. "Ok, sounds like a plan."

–.–

At this point of the story, Sasuke already had the general feeling that he should get used to Brazil's less-than-desirable roads. Aside the highways, most of them aren't well-maintained, with several holes. Not all of them are made of asphalt, as they were going through a road full of dangerous curves that would make anyone with weak stomach queasy.

From afar, warm lights were illuminating a large house as they were getting closer to their destination. Naruto parked nearby, Sasuke was already recognizing the old man that helped them out yesterday. He was going to raise his hand as a greeting, however instead, Fernando quickly enveloped him with a bear hug, also giving another tight embrace towards Naruto once he freed Sasuke. An old lady, which Sasuke assumed to be his wife, also beamed giving a kiss on each side of his cheeks, patting on his shoulder. Sasuke patted back awkwardly. He still struggled getting used to brazilian hospitality.

Naruto made sure to explain that Sasuke couldn't speak one word in Portuguese, so while they were hurrying them to the dining room, the younger generation spoke with him with a broken English. Mouth-watering food arrived right away much to their delight and despite Sasuke's previous reservations, the dinner went without much of a hitch.

Stomachs filled, minds content, they all went outside with several instruments and some beer. Sasuke's eyes lit up once he noticed Fernando bringing some cachaça, Naruto shook his head as he approached them.

"You and your cachaça, I swear."

Sasuke offered a glass. "You can drink too if you want."

"Nah. Designated driver here, 'member? I won't drink much." As soon Naruto said those words, bunch of kids dragged him out of the way. Sasuke had to snort at the sight; one kid climbed all the way up to cling on Naruto's neck, little girls were holding him down on each arm, another kid hugged him tightly from behind resembling a koala clutching a branch.

The family started singing, with some playing an acoustic guitar, other settled the rhythm by drumming on any nearby surface. Naruto was dancing in clumsy steps with a girl who was literally half his size, with Fernando refilling more cachaça in Sasuke's cup. The group were chatting and taking photographs, their merry voices echoed through the night. Soon Fernando's elder mother (who Naruto jokingly said that she fancied Sasuke) brought freshly baked homemade cakes, even though Sasuke was still full from the dinner and wasn't a fan of sweets, he took a tentative bite on the carrot cake, admitting that it was delicious.

Quietly sipping his glass, Sasuke let the sounds of music and chattering drown him in, lights becoming a blur, making his body light. The people playing music were far from being professional, but they sang full of emotion and vigor, with an easy melody that would make him hum along. He could swear he was getting drunk, not only from all the alcohol he ingested, but from all this happiness injecting in his system.

He noticed that Naruto with the kids, as well as some adults, were picking up some flashlights. He growled out. "Where are you going?"

Blue eyes blinked at the sudden question. "We're out for a walk around the farm."

Hn. "I'll go." Sasuke muttered as he stood up, joining the group. It was more difficult to coordinate his limbs in his inebriated state, nevertheless he managed to follow them with considerable grace. However, as they were taking too long walking through tall grass fields, all Sasuke wanted was to lie down and rest.

Naruto saw that the brunet was falling behind, so he took a few steps back and asked. "You alright there?"

A black eyebrow was raised, as the group were going inside a dimly lit forest. "Why are they going in there?"

"Oh. They said that this forest have some owls so they went there to check it out." Naruto shrugged one shoulder. "So let's go?"

Sighing, Sasuke sat in one of the grass hills, grumbling. "I think I'm fine here."

"Oh um…sure?" Naruto sat next to him.

"You can go if you want."

"Nah, I think I'm fine baby-sitting you drunkard." Naruto chuckled despite Sasuke's glare.

The grass felt so fresh and nice that he didn't resist to lay down on it, feeling Naruto's body also dropping next to him as they admired the night sky.

"Isn't this amazing?" Sasuke whispered.

Naruto turned his head to stare at him. "What?"

"I traveled miles, oceans away from my country…and here I am, finally being able to admire something that I can see anywhere. And yet, this is probably the first time I had properly gaze upon it…and see how vast it is, and how our lives feel so…significantly small. We're just a speck in this whole universe."

Naruto felt his heart clenching, but ignored as he said. "Our lives might be insignificant in this universe, but here we are, living and having all those questions about meaning of life for over thousands of years. Our own lives will never be insignificant to us."

"True. I do want to live life to the fullest. Or else I wouldn't be here, going along with every crazy idea you'd cook up out of nowhere." Sasuke smirked.

"You loved it, just admit it."

Sasuke snorted, focusing his eyes towards the sky, many stars bright in the darkness of that night. "Then when you see this sky, how we're insignificant…sometimes it feels like all the torment we're suffering while we're living are all so meaningless right."

Naruto sat up, staring down towards Sasuke. "You…sound you were pretty unhappy before coming here."

Sasuke huffed, acquiescing to confess some facets of himself. "Unhappy is too much of a strong word. Dissatisfied is more like it."

Naruto hummed, interlacing his fingers and letting his hands resting on his lap.

"All these kinds of questions we talked about throughout the day, about life and spending my time…it was haunting me almost every day. At first when I was going along with everyone, finishing college, finding a successful job, buying a house…it felt like it's the natural course for me. But years passed by, and it was like I really didn't experience it at all…and in one blink, another month was over."

"Well...Am I doing this right, is this really the way to go…those are all questions that passed through everyone's head, so you don't have to torture yourself so much over this." Naruto replied.

"Actually, I'm not unhappy with my life, like I've said." Sasuke rebutted. "I admit, I'm one of the small portion of population who have a privileged status, I can think about those sorts of things while many are scrapping for survival. But then I remember that I only have one chance of this life. One life and no turning back. If I'm only having this one life, I want to remember every second of it, instead of feeling that it's slipping away."

"And that's how you wound up coming here?"

"Hn." Sasuke crossed his arms. "I couldn't bare this any longer, doing the same thing over and over again, until I was dead. And that's how this fact pushed me to buy the first ticket available to Brazil."

This affirmation took Naruto by surprise as he inquired. "If you felt that your life headed this way, what pushed you to change it so suddenly?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm turning 30 in five days."

"WHa─WHAT─wait, really??" Naruto jumped, Sasuke also flinched the sudden movement. "Congrats man! No wait, in five days…wait, why are you─what─how─you don't regret this?"

Sasuke mulled for a while. "Even though you forced me to jump in some deadly waterfall─" He smirked.

"You loved it ok! You loved it─and stop exaggerating, it wasn't deadly─" Naruto protested.

Sasuke snorted. "I'm glad that I'm here. Doing things that I normally wouldn't do, experience things that I never had the luxury to do before…this is incredible."

Naruto stared in wonder, eyes fixed on Sasuke's soft features in that dark night. He placed his flashlight closer between them, body moving without thinking until his lips reached to touch Sasuke's.

He had few seconds relishing that soft contact, before realizing that the other young man wasn't returning the kiss. Naruto backed away. "Shit sorry, I shouldn't have done that, you can punch me if you want─"

Sasuke silenced him by dragging him close by the back of his neck, nibbling his lower lip.

Naruto made a strangled moan, hands reaching to stroke Sasuke's pale cheek as he moved closer, face angling to deepen the kiss. He vaguely felt long fingers combing his blond hair as his mouth was caressed so softly, exploring every part of their silken lips. Lost in those pleasurable sensations, Naruto let his hands to hold securely Sasuke's waist as Sasuke pulled him even closer, passion increasing within each kiss.

They heard some voices coming closer, signalizing that the group were returning from their expedition. They detached their mouths with a little bit of regret, Naruto greeted the kids back with his face flushed and lips still tingling. He risked a glance backwards, with Sasuke's hair mussed out looking quite…adorable. Naruto almost wanted to kiss him right here right there, consequences be damned.

They stayed few more minutes talking with the family, preparing their departure as the children were getting sleepy. Sasuke and Naruto bid them all farewell with more tight hugs and kisses on the cheek, the family even gave them some leftovers for the next day.

Once Naruto was driving all the way back to hostel with a wordless Sasuke by his side, reality finally sank in. He shouldn't have done that, not when Sasuke was drunk so he probably wasn't thinking straight. And now that the alcohol was slowly leaving his system, maybe the brunet was having second thoughts?

However, after this brief panic attack, the air between them didn't feel awkward or misplaced. Sasuke was even humming quietly, of all people, helping in guiding with GPS. He did appear to have sobered up, though didn't question their last…activity, Naruto didn't want to pressure him too.

They were back to hostel in no time, Sasuke breathing a sigh of relief as he muttered that he wanted to take a bath first. Fidgeting, Naruto listened to the sound of shower running as he grabbed his clothes. Once the bathroom door was opened with Naruto sitting on the bed, the blond man stood up rigid when Sasuke called his name. It was his turn to bathe, he attempted not to overthink too much, not wanting to pressure for answers.

He exited the bathroom, Sasuke was already on the bed with his back facing him. An unpleasant squirmed on his belly, Naruto concluded that this was probably how they were going to end the night, as he settled to lay down on his side.

Sasuke turned around, onyx eyes boring to his own.

Uncertainty and blurred desire lingered between them until Naruto chewed his lower lip, breaking their eye contact. "Have a good night?" He muttered.

With a startle, blue eyes widened when Sasuke's fingertips reached his face, reconnecting their gazes. The inscrutable array of emotion reached his dark eyes giving him a certain vulnerability, silently beckoning Naruto to kiss him again.

He covered his mouth with Sasuke's, both leaning closer till their noses bumped lightly. With his hands cradling Sasuke's head, he continued to seek this nameless amorphous feelings, letting these surge and involve him completely with each pleasured hum, caress and soft bite. Sasuke released him with a wet smack, his fingers brushing the tanned temple. Naruto whispered. "I thought you weren't interested."

"I thought you weren't gay." Sasuke answered, shifting to fit their bodies together.

Naruto raised an amused smile. "I'm not. I'm bi." He chuckled from Sasuke's dawning expression. "Should we stop?"

Black eyes narrowed in annoyance, hands resting on Naruto's collarbone.

Naruto approached till their faces were inches apart, breaths mingling with their increasing heartbeats. "Or do you want to continue?"

Sasuke captured his lips once again, and this was all he needed to melt under this kiss. A rush of excitement ran through his veins when Naruto called his name with a choked gasp, opening his mouth and letting their tongues move slickly. Sturdy hands clasped on each side of his body, Sasuke moaned as they continued exploring their mouths, molten desire escalating within each kiss.

With Naruto pushing forward till every inch of his body covered his own, Sasuke groaned when Naruto grinded their lower halves, his arousal awakening. The friction of their thin cotton pants were maddening, his cock was hardening and filling up as Naruto continued to thrust, lips hungrily devouring his mouth. His legs widened as their hips were undulating together, their yearning bringing an urgency that couldn't allow them one second to breathe or think. Sasuke slithered his hand in Naruto's white t-shirt, letting his palm feel each expanse of that warm skin and lithe torso. His thumb found a hardened nipple so he lightly twisted under the labored breaths of his lover. Liquid lust ran ablaze when Naruto detached their mouths with a sensual moan, one deep thrust drawing their hot cocks together also made him groan loudly.

All those warm caresses, touches and kisses were driving him crazy, throwing any remaining hesitation to the wind. Sasuke's hands glided till he felt Naruto's buttocks, sinking his fingers in those soft mounds of flesh as Naruto straddled him. Their pleasured gasps and hisses were increasing in cadence to their thrusts, carnal frenzy rousing their bodies as they hurried to their peak.

Sasuke barely registered as his hands were dragging Naruto's pants down and freeing the glistening cock, pre-cum flowing on the slit. Licking his lips, he also released his own erection, moaning huskily when Naruto's hands brought their hardened flesh together, pumping.

"Sasuke…" Naruto keened, fingers moving in a blurred speed. Sasuke swallowed, licking Naruto's lower lip, their mouths kissing wetly and sloppy. Naruto came with a ragged shout, cum spurting all over their bodies and leaking on Sasuke's stomach. With one last grunt, Sasuke also orgasmed, bursts of semen reaching Naruto's cheek, blending with their sweat and scorching bodies.

They were still recovering from their high when Sasuke nibbled Naruto's lower lip, his mouth moving tenderly, coaxing him to respond. For the moment, all the noises heard in that quiet night were lips smacking and sliding, meeting over and over again. This time they kissed with their eyelids half-mast, as Naruto gazed upon Sasuke's soulful expression, his heart throbbing. Sasuke released him at last, looking so debauched and delicious that Naruto could feel his erection stirring again. However, dark eyes closed with a pleased sigh, Sasuke relaxed his body completely, uncaring to all the evidence of their tryst still covering his belly.

Naruto blinked few times before lifting a fond smile, also joining his slumber.

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AN: That's it for now guys. Three chapters in a row. Reviews pleaaaseeeee.

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Chapter 04

#SasuNaru #drabble #snstext

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