[06] boy don't try to front (ah ah)

[thethundersaid]

Who: Naruto and Sasuke
Where: Murderess
When: Backdated to February 17th, after the candies fly away
What: The coast is finally clear for interrogation
Warnings: Probably assholatry
Status: Closed



After all of that, watching the candies just fly away had been like a slap in the face. Sasuke had watched the first bowl go, then the others as soon as he'd looked for them -- of course things would end up like this, after spending the week avoiding almost everyone on board and trying to figure out exactly how to deal with the issue with Sakura. It was almost more annoying to watch them whirl away into the wind than to have them lingering around; at least they could have made progress on something.

Still, it was only almost. And one of the reasons was the person Sasuke was tracking down now. Naruto had proven as unable to control himself as ever, and after watching his former teammate get handsy with unsuspecting and unhappy crewmates once, Sasuke had made certain to keep his distance.

Now that they were gone, though, there was nothing barring him from cornering Naruto to find exactly what it was he claimed to know, first of all, and why he hadn't told Sakura of all people. So it was that Sasuke spent the morning after the candies left looming more ominously in the rigging than usual, waiting for his target to present himself.

Comments

[obstinates]

Knowing the truth of the Uchiha massacre was part of the reason Naruto felt he understood Sasuke. Everything else that had happened to him, his lonely childhood up to the death of Jiraiya and beyond and that need for revenge that burned so bright for a short amount of time, was the other part. Up to that point Jiraiya had been the closest thing to a father Naruto had ever had. Naruto's path could have been the same as Sasuke's when he confronted Nagato.

He listened to Sasuke's reasoning for why the truth of the Uchiha massacre had to be told and knew Sasuke had a point about it. People couldn't change if they didn't know the truth, and sometimes being shocked into action was the best way for that change to come about. Naruto also knew that he couldn't be the one to tell it.

"I gave my word to Itachi, and I can't break my word, y'know," he finally replied after a bit of silence and looking out over the ocean, "but it's your family anyways. If anybody's gonna make people understand it, it should be you. Besides, you know I've got always got your back."

[thethundersaid]

No, if there was one thing to be said about Naruto (and there were many things, but if it had to be one), it was that he stuck to his promises with the tenacity of an insane and maybe rabid animal. It worked for Sasuke in this case, for once; he hadn't wanted anyone else to tell the story, not when it cut this close to the bone, not when it was so easy to warp into something else. Obito was proof enough of that.

That last made Sasuke turn, finally, giving Naruto a complicated look -- a mixture of exasperation and a deep-rooted inability to comprehend just what drove this idiot to be the person he was. Naruto might think he understood Sasuke, now, but Sasuke would probably never understand Naruto's thoughts.

Then again, thoughts had always been something like second fiddle when they tried to communicate with each other.

"You and Sakura," he said, finally. "What exactly do you expect me to be to you?

"After all this time, surely you don't expect the same teammate back."

[obstinates]

Sasuke's question made Naruto look back at his friend once more, as serious as before for a bit before slowly grinning and snickering a little. "What sorta question is that!? Man, you're always so serious..." Ironic considering Naruto was being pretty serious himself over the situation since, well, even the dumbass knew it was a situation that was more somber than usual.

Of course it didn't last long since Sasuke was good at being himself, and being himself was a good way to make Naruto think he was ridiculous. Everybody was too serious -- the entire crew, Sakura-chan, and especially Sasuke. It never really crossed his mind that he was really the ridiculous one considering the way he acted.

"Of course I don't expect the same! You're a lot stronger than you used to be, y'know? You're still a grumpy ass, but you're not the same. Sakura-chan's not the same either, and I'm not the same." That last statement could probably be argued against, but he didn't stop long enough to let Sasuke try.

"We just expect our friend back."

[thethundersaid]

Always so serious, always taking things too seriously -- if Naruto could just take things more seriously, maybe they could have met on the same level before this. Then again, given Sasuke's state of mind for some time before this, he had to admit to himself that it would have taken several leaps of judgment before he could have met Naruto in any way that wasn't blood-soaked and rage-fuelled.

But it seemed as if the idiot was actually taking the time to think his answer through, even if what he came up with in the end was something that an Academy trainee could have mustered in a state of desperation. Sasuke gave him a disbelieving sort of look, waiting a beat to see if there might be something more sensible forthcoming.

When there wasn't, though, his mouth tightened, exasperated. Tired. Naruto's element should have been water. His empty-brained stubbornness could wear away a mountain if he decided it wasn't supposed to be there.

"I've also tried to kill you since then," he pointed out. "Sakura's tried to kill me. It's not just about strength, and it's not anything as simple-minded as friendship."

He paused, then sighed: "I need allies now and when we go back to our own world, though. I'm not unwilling to work with you."

[obstinates]

There was a point to Sasuke's words if Naruto was anybody other than himself. All he could do was roll his eyes a bit as he leaned closer to Sasuke as if he were about to reveal the secret to life. Indeed, he looked like he was about to give life-changing advice or something.

"If I said I wanted to stop that cycle and then fought against you because of what you did, I'd just be talking out of my ass. Somebody had to stop it and be the mature one." Though he didn't look too mature as he smirked at the comment that he was more mature than Sasuke.

Still grinning, he turned as if to leave.

"So yeah, allies and friends. Got it? Anyways, I think it's my turn for watch or somethin'."

[thethundersaid]

"I know that," Sasuke said, making an impatient movement with one hand. "I'm just reminding you that people change in more ways than one. You've changed."

Not in the way Sakura and Sasuke had, either. If anything, Sakura and Sasuke had grown more alike; the suspicion that shinobi their age tended to wear like second skin long settled into the bone, life something that could be calculated as much as lived. Death a factor more than something to be felt. Sakura believed in Naruto with complete confidence, but she hadn't made it through with unscathed faith the way Naruto somehow had.

No: Naruto had somehow grown more trusting than he'd started out. It didn't make any sense.

Sasuke nearly let the idiot just walk away (how often did he have the luxury of letting Naruto walk away instead of getting stalked?), but he called out after a moment, tone sharp at first.

"Naruto --" and he paused again, expression complicated, frustration in his voice. "I don't know what you think a friend is supposed to be.

"I've never -- before that day, everyone I had was the clan. And after that I've been alone. Don't expect me to play games with you or whatever it is you do."

[obstinates]

Despite Naruto's usual denseness, he knew exactly what Sasuke had meant. Naruto just found it was easier to ignore Sasuke's stubbornness sometimes and counter with a seemingly innocent reply that showed just how simplified Naruto's view of everything was. Really, people made everything too complicated, Sasuke especially. Things didn't have to be that way, and Naruto tried his best to remind everyone of that fact.

That was also part of the reason Naruto tried to cut conversations short sometimes. He's reminded of the confrontation with his peers after the Kage summit and how they berated him for not beating Sasuke then. Instead of explain how he planned to take care of Sasuke and handle the situation, he told them he was hungry and walked off. He'd almost been able to do the same thing with Sasuke, but he was stopped by Sasuke's admission about friends and such.

Glancing over his shoulder, he snickered back at his teammate.

"You'd be the worst person to play games with, so don't worry about that." Turning, he took another step to leave but stopped once more, this time not bothering to glance behind him.

"And you've never been alone no matter how hard you tried, y'know."