Chapter Text
Post War : Naruto’s promise
The air was warm as Naruto sauntered through the streets of Konoha with his hands in his pockets. His usual orange jumpsuit had been shredded after the fight with Sasuke in the Final Valley, and no amount of stitching or sewing could salvage it. He wore his orange hoodie. It shouldn’t have been a big deal. It was just fabric, right? It should have been as easy as purchasing a new jumpsuit. Or maybe he’d outgrown the jumpsuits.
But he’d held off for days. Losing his right arm didn’t hurt as much as losing that jumpsuit. His arm had been easily replaced. Tsunade had mentioned something about Hashirama’s cells… Honestly, he’d been too busy staring out the window to understand. The jumpsuit had been a gift from Jiraiya. It was the last thing he had to remind him of the pervy sage, save for the pervy books he left behind, and of course, his name.
He didn’t blame Sasuke for it, of course. To blame him, he’d have to see him. And no one had seen Sasuke. No one could even be certain that he was still in Konoha. Naruto had thought he’d broken through to Sasuke at the Final Valley. That finally, he’d managed to bring Sasuke back.
All Naruto knew was that Sasuke refused to return to the Uchiha compound. That compound is a symbol of the village’s hatred towards the Uchiha. It is a reminder of everything Itachi and my clan suffered, was all Sasuke offered when he asked why. Yamato had done a great job at rebuilding Konoha. But the Uchiha compound remained in shambles after Pain’s assault on the village.
No, Sasuke wished to live in a simple apartment in the heart of Konoha. The Village refused. Instead, he was given a compound at the border of the village. And that was the last Naruto had seen of Sasuke.
Now he knew he should have made more of an effort to visit Sasuke. Sakura made the walk every day, after all. But between studying to become a Jonin and recovering from the surgery to reattach his arm…
Naruto entered the compound, dredging through the overgrown grass towards the brown walled cottage. The red and white fan crest of the Uchiha clan was painted on the fence surrounding the plot. Cracked and chipped.
“Oi, Sasuke.” Naruto knocked on the door. Discarded bouquets of flowers had piled up on the ground. Few withered and darkening, few still fresh. No doubt left behind by Sakura. Had Sasuke not even opened his door for her?
“Sasuke!” Naruto banged his fist against the wood. Is he really gone? “Open up!”
After a few minutes of banging and calling to no avail, Naruto sighed and sat cross legged on the ground. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling his heartbeat slow as he stilled his body. One way or another, he’d know.
Activating his sage-mode was as easy as amassing enough nature energy. If such an act could be considered easy mid battle. His eyes took on a toad-like appearance, enabling them to see the changes in Nature energy and detect chakra.
And there definitely was someone’s chakra inside.
A deep bassy voice grunted inside Naruto’s head. “You could have just asked me.” Kurama scoffed. “He’s been inside all along.”
Naruto’s cheeks flushed and a sheepish grin spread across his face as he rubbed the back of his head. “Right… I just didn’t wanna disturb you, ya know?”
Clambering onto his feet, Naruto sighed as he kicked the flowers away. “Come on, Sasuke. Open up,” Naruto pleaded; the door rattled as he banged on it.
“Hmm… Maybe if you hit the door a little harder.”
Naruto rolled his eyes. “Idiot. You’ve been real chatty lately.”
Kurama chuckled, a deep sound that reverberated through Naruto’s body. “Maybe if you promise him another kiss…”
Naruto groaned, burying his face in his palms. “Why’d you have to remind me of that again, Kurama.” His cheeks burned. It had happened once. Three years ago, and Naruto swore it was an accident. He’d been pushed. He’d never actually kiss Sasuke. “It was an accident,” Naruto grumbled.
“Really? What were you doing so close to Sasuke in the first place?”
“I liked you better when you were in a cage.”
Kurama laughed. “And I liked you better when you were a little brat who couldn’t control me.”
Naruto couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his lips. The sun sunk below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple. After a day sat before books and Iruka sensei’s lessons, he wanted nothing more than to run to Ichiraku and stuff himself full with all the ramen he could eat. But he couldn’t drag his eyes away from that unmarked wooden door.
There had always been something standing between him and Sasuke. Rivalry. Revenge. Hatred. And now this damned door. Naruto’s fist ached from how much he’d slammed it into the wood. Naruto scowled, recoiling his fist for one last blow.
He thrust it forward just as the door creaked open. Naruto’s eyes widened mid-swing. He couldn’t stop. Sasuke was faster. His sharingan glowed red. Raising his palm, Sasuke caught Naruto’s fist with relative ease and twisted it.
“What?” Sasuke snarled, holding Naruto’s fist an inch away from his face.
“Ow. Let go!” Naruto cried.
Sasuke clicked his tongue, and dropped Naruto’s hand. “Tsk. Just leave me alone.” He moved to close the door.
Naruto jammed his hand between the door and the frame, bracing himself for the crushing pain of the wood slamming into his fingers. It’d be worth it. He wouldn’t give up now that he finally got Sasuke to open the door. Besides, he’d been wanting to test his new arm.
But the pain never came. Naruto opened his eyes, wincing, finding Sasuke half-hidden behind the door, glaring at him. He grinned. “Hey, Sasuke. What’s up?” he asked, leaning his elbow on the doorframe.
“What’s up?” Sasuke scoffed. “I’m being harassed by an idiot, that’s what’s up.”
Though his Sharingan was no longer active, everything from the cold gleam in Sasuke’s eyes to the way his mouth curled up in disdain told Naruto that he wasn’t welcome or wanted. But Sasuke didn’t move to close the door. And that was enough.
Naruto crouched down to pick up the bouquets that were still fresh. “You know, you really should be better to Sakura.” He glanced up at Sasuke. “She cares about you. Atleast let her see you. You owe her that much.”
Sasuke’s gaze was inscrutable as he watched Naruto gather the flowers. “I don’t care.” He sighed and turned around. “I owe her nothing.”
Leaving the door open, Sasuke retreated deeper into the cottage. Naruto followed, placing the flowers on the counter before walking to the kitchen, where Sasuke was cutting some carrots. “Come on, Sasuke. I thought we were past this.” Naruto took a piece and popped it into his mouth.
Sasuke glared at him. The knife glinted silver as he levelled it at Naruto. “Why are you here?”
Naruto gulped audibly, the chewed carrot catching in his throat. “You make your own food?”
“Answer. The. Question.”
“Do I need a reason?” Naruto shrugged. “You’re my friend.”
“Friend…” Sasuke furrowed his brows, holding Naruto’s gaze. “Go get the onions, usuratonkachi.” Sasuke sighed, pointing his knife towards a cupboard before returning to cut the carrots.
The grin Naruto flashed was as warm as the sun. “Onions. Right away.” His heart raced as he walked across the kitchen and picked up five large onions. He held them against his chest as he walked back to Sasuke with a proud look on his face.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He took two onions and waved Naruto away. Sasuke’s prosthetic arm was heavily bandaged, just like his. Looking at it made his chest tighten and memories of their last fight flashed through his mind. How he’d been ready to lay his life to stop Sasuke. To save Sasuke. He’d been relieved that all he’d lost was an arm. He’d gained so much more in return.
“I didn’t know you cooked.” Naruto placed the extra onions back and hopped onto the counter.
“Don’t you?” Sasuke slid the carrots into a bowl and set about cutting an onion. His eyes glistened as he made quick work of chopping them. “I live alone, Naruto. Isn’t it obvious?”
“Right.” Naruto chuckled. “I just pour hot water into ramen.”
“You really should eat better.”
“Hey! Ramen is delicious, dattebayo.” Naruto’s feet dangled off the counter, and he kicked them casually as he watched Sasuke work. “You making ramen?”
“Gyudon.” Sasuke nodded in the direction of some thinly sliced raw meat.
Naruto hummed and scanned around the kitchen. All the windows were veiled by thick curtains that were drawn close, a fluorescent lightbulb the only source of light in the room. The air was a little stuffy from the lack of ventilation, and he moved to open the curtains.
“Don’t,” Sasuke snapped.
“Why not?”
“There are three Anbu stationed there.” He pointed his knife towards the first window. “And a camera there.” He pointed at the second.
“Wait what?” Naruto frowned. “Why would there be Anbu shinobi here?”
Sasuke scoffed. “Wake up, Naruto.”
Naruto clenched his fist. “Grandma Tsunade said you were free.”
“And you believed her?” Sasuke looked up at him. “I’m an Uchiha. I’ll never be free.”
“That’s not true.”
“Oh really? Then why was I assigned this compound? Why am I still not enlisted as a shinobi? Why are the Elders still walking free?”
“I-.” Naruto faltered. He hadn’t gone on any missions since returning from the fourth great shinobi war, and a small part of him was glad for the momentary peace. Madara was beaten, and The Akatsuki were no longer a thing. Even the Bijuu were free. Yet Naruto was itching for a mission. Something… even a simple D rank mission to find a lost cat would do. Anything was better than studying for hours to become a Jonin.
From the way Sasuke’s knife bit into the chopping board, leaving deep gashes, Naruto could tell that Sasuke was itching for action too. “I don’t care that you’re an Uchiha, ya know? Neither does Sakura-chan,” Naruto offered. “Besides, when I’m Hokage, you’ll get all the missions you want. More than you can handle, dattebayo.”
“I don’t want missions, Naruto.” Sasuke dropped the knife, his prosthetic arm trembling as he clenched his fist. His voice was strained, lacking the bite that Naruto had come to expect from Sasuke. “Just because I’m here, don’t think that I’ll gladly go back to the way things were. I can’t. I can’t just forget what they did to Itachi. To my clan.”
Naruto wasn’t stupid. He knew that even though they’d won the war, and beat Madara and Kaguya, they were still not in the clear. Naruto had hoped that bringing Sasuke back would be the first step towards fixing the myriad of problems that still plagued Konoha. The shinobi world. But he hadn’t expected this. The resignation in Sasuke’s voice. The air of defeat that clung to him. He had offered to die. To end the cycle of conflict and hatred, so Naruto could move on and fix things.
Naruto couldn’t think of a single thing worth fixing if Sasuke wasn’t around. Such a world was too bleak to even begin to imagine. Even the very thought made it hard for him to breathe.
No. Sasuke had to live. He had to live and help Naruto. “We’re here now. That has to count for something, right?” Naruto asked. “I made a promise to Sakura-chan once. That I would bring you back no matter what. Now… I’m making a promise to you.”
Sasuke’s focus was pinned on Naruto, and although he said nothing, he leaned in to listen.
“I promise you, Sasuke. When I’m Hokage, I’ll change things around here. Real change. No more wars. No more Jinchuriki. No more… Just no more. I’ll bring real peace to the whole world.”
“That isn’t enough,” Sasuke said coolly. “You won’t be Hokage for years. You’re still a Genin. Godaime. Sandaime. They’re all the same.”
“Damn it, Sasuke. Give me a break.” Naruto flung his arms. “I’m trying here. Grandma Tsunade isn’t like that. She really cares about people, even you. She wants to see you, ya know?”
Sasuke picked up the knife and returned to cutting the onions. “I have nothing to say to her.”
For excruciatingly long minutes, the silence between them was punctuated by the scraping of the knife against the chopping board. Naruto stared at Sasuke to no avail. The white top he wore was left open revealing his chest and cinched at his waist by a purple belt. His dark hair fell over his forehead, and framed his harsh face.
“I thought we were past this.” Naruto’s jaw clenched.
Sasuke sighed, pushing the onions into the bowl. “You really mean it, don’t you?” He put his hands on the counter and looked at Naruto with something like hope in his eyes. “You won’t just forget everything because I’m back. You’ll actually try to change things?”
“Of course I will, you idiot.” Naruto rolled his eyes. “I promised you, didn’t I? I never go back on my word. That’s my nindo.”
Sasuke’s shoulders slumped. “Go sit at the table, loser.” He picked up the bowl and shook his head with a small smile. “I’m making enough for two.”