Chapter Text
A scream tore out from Sasuke’s throat as he bounced awake.
He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, his chest heaving. His heart was pounding in his ears, the nightmare still way too vivid in his mind.
Sasuke scrambled out of the bed, and just barely managed to find his way to the bathroom before he threw up. Sweat made his jet-black hair stick to the sides of his face, and he could feel the power of his Sharingan, it having activated on its own.
”Shit,” Sasuke muttered, got to his feet while trembling wildly, and quickly washed his face. Ever since his release from the prison about a week ago, Sasuke had avoided looking himself from the mirror, but now he did that accidentally.
His face was really pale, the red of his Sharingan almost too bright – it reminded him of blood. He forced it away, and sighed when his eye returned back to its normal black. The Rinnegan was still the same as always, purple and unnerving, and Sasuke still wasn’t used to seeing it. It made his entire face feel off.
He would have to grow his bangs to cover it.
Sasuke wiped his face to a towel and then left the bathroom. He wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep for a while, so he decided read in the living area for a while. He switched on the light – or he tried to. The switch was on his left side, and there was nothing to touch it with.
It was hard to remember he didn’t actually have a left arm anymore.
Sasuke sighed again and switched the light on with his right hand. What remained from his left arm ended at the elbow, even though he could, at times, feel his fingers. It was a really weird feeling, but the worst were the phantom pains he got regularly. He did all possible things Tsunade had advised him, but sometimes the pain was unbearable.
It was saying something, because Sasuke was really familiar with pain, and usually he could handle it pretty well.
Sasuke settled on the sofa, took the book he’d been reading before going to bed and started reading.
Few pages later Sasuke had to admit that his mind really wasn’t fit for reading. He could still see the nightmare in his mind – the bodies on the streets, the blood, his parents dead on the floor, Itachi hovering over them – and now matter what he did, he wasn’t able to shake it off.
It wasn’t the only nightmare he saw, but it was the one he saw often. He’d kept seeing it after Itachi had captured him in the Tsukuyomi and made him live that night over and over again.
Mostly Sasuke had forgiven Itachi about everything, but he was still resentful his brother had actually went that far in making sure Sasuke would hate him enough.
Sasuke put his book away and looked at the clock. It was almost half past five, so it was pretty much a good time as any to start the day. Sasuke usually woke up around seven anyway.
He stretched, went back to his bedroom and changed his clothes to those he used when he trained. He went on a jog every single morning, because it calmed his mind and helped him start the day – usually his days where dull as hell.
Sasuke proceeded the to the entryway to put on his sandals. His house wasn’t big – just enough for a single person – and it was situated at fringe of the village. No one had exiled him there or anything; he’d chosen the place himself. Being back in Konoha was still awkward for him, and even the thought of living in the more bustling part of the village had caused him to panic.
Naruto lived closer to the center, but it was fitting for him, being the hero and all.
Sasuke was just… Sasuke. An Uchiha (a disgrace in itself), a rogue ninja, a terrorist. He hadn’t been in Akatsuki for long, and he had only used them to his own ends, but the consequences of that slight still weighed on him. He hadn’t actually realized how big of an impact that red-clouded cloak had had all over. It was miracle he had managed to stay alive.
Without Naruto, he would certainly be dead.
Sasuke left the house and started running the route he’d found himself pretty soon after settling in to his house. It took him around the village, but he was able to pick roads that were less crowded. This early in the morning there wasn’t much people moving around anyway, but Sasuke didn’t want to risk seeing anyone – especially his old classmates.
None of them had accepted him back to the village. No one had said anything – probably out of respect for Naruto – but Sasuke was well aware of their glances. They didn’t trust him, and he couldn’t blame them.
Sasuke knew he had a lot of work to do if he ever wanted to live in this village and really feel like it was a home to him.
After running for a while he turned left – and stopped. The road was one of the desolate ones, sided by a brick fence and some trees. There was also a stone bench, and right at that moment, someone was sleeping on it.
Sasuke recognized that blond hair immediately, and he frowned. Why was Naruto sleeping outside? He had a home, didn’t he?
Sasuke walked closer. Naruto was sleeping on his back, his arm slung across his eyes. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pajama bottoms – not really clothes fitting to sleeping outside in the middle of October.
”Naruto,” Sasuke called, nugding Naruto’s side with his finger. ”Wake up.”
It took some more nudging, but finally Naruto stirred and raised his arm. ”Ughh… Sa-Sasuke? What are you doing here?”
”I could ask the same from you,” Sasuke said, arching an eyebrow. ”Since when have you lived here?”
Naruto sat up, rubbing his eyes with his remaining hand – the replacement Tsunade was making for him wouldn’t be ready for a while yet. It had been offered to Sasuke as well, but he’d declined.
Not having an arm was a struggle, but Sasuke needed to have that reminder. Reminder about the lenghts Naruto had gone to get him back home. He would never forget it, and he would never be able to repay this loser, no matter what he did. Not that Naruto expected it, but still.
”Oh,” Naruto said, looking around blearily. ”I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d go for a walk, then I remember I sat here to think… then I guess I fell asleep.”
”Kurama didn’t remind you to go home to sleep?” Sasuke asked.
”He says he’s just happy that I actually slept at all,” Naruto admitted, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.
That caught Sasuke off guard. ”You have trouble sleeping?” he said.
”Kurama says it’s insomnia or something,” Naruto shrugged. ”I go to bed and I feel super tired and all that, but I just can’t, well, fall asleep properly. I toss and turn and usually have to give up. Going for a walk usually helps.” Naruto blue eyes danced over Sasuke, and it made him feel awkward. ”Why are you awake so early?”
At first Sasuke didn’t want to admit it, but then again, Naruto had been open with him too. ”Saw a bad nightmare.”
Naruto knew about some of his nightmares, because he had seen them ever since the massacre and woken up because of them when they had been on missions as kids.
”The usual one?” Naruto said quietly.
”Yeah,” Sasuke muttered. ”I, uh… I don’t blame Itachi for what he did. Not anymore. But… you remember when he knocked me out when he came back to Konoha?”
Naruto nodded carefully.
Sasuke hadn’t been planning on telling him, but he was tired, and he realized he was craving for someone to understand. And if there was anyone who could, it would be this person here. Even now Sasuke could feel the push and pull of their special bond – it wasn’t anything actually real, just a deep feeling in his heart, like gentle tugging. It often let him know how Naruto was feeling.
”He captured me in the Tsukuyomi,” Sasuke said, speaking quickly, before he could change his mind. He sat down on the bench beside Naruto, because he didn’t trust his legs would carry his weight. ”He made me live that night again and again for hours. It’s…” At that point, Sasuke choked up, unable to continue.
Naruto placed his hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. ”It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me,” he said softly.
”But I need to,” Sasuke insisted. He took a deep breath and continued, ”I don’t know exactly how time flows when you’re trapped within it, but… I watched it happend hundreds of times. Even more. You remember how… broken I was when I finally woke up?”
Naruto nodded, a pained look on his face. With a pang Sasuke realized that he actually could tell how much it hurt him.
Sasuke swallowed. ”It doesn’t feel so heavy anymore, especially because I know everything about Itachi now, and I’ve had time to come to terms with it. But my mind doesn’t forget, and since I was stuck in that place for so long, these nightmares just won’t stop.”
”Sasuke…” Naruto whispered. ”I’m so sorry.”
”You don’t have to be,” Sasuke said, huffing a laugh. ”I’ll probably never get rid of that brand of nighmare, it’s too etched into my psyche.” Sasuke jolted when he suddenly felt an arm around his shoulder. Naruto had gotten closer and was hugging him, his face against Sasuke’s shoulder.
”It’s over now, Sasuke,” Naruto said firmly. ”You are free of everything. You can finally live like you’re supposed to.”
”Can I?” Sasuke said faintly. From this angle Naruto couldn’t see his face, so when the tears came, Sasuke didn’t stop them. ”Can I really live, Naruto? When the whole village still ostracizes me?”
”They need time,” Naruto said simply. ”And you need time. Don’t try to do too much at once. You’ve only just returned, and your mindset is still really really new, isn’t it? There’s no rush.”
They sat there, Naruto hugging him, Sasuke crying. ”I don’t deserve your friendship,” Sasuke said, his voice raw.
”You deserve the entire world and more, Sasuke,” Naruto said, again with that sure tone. ”And I’m gonna make sure you won’t suffer anymore. I promise.”
”You know, if anyone else said that to me, I would laugh in their face and tell them they’re delusional,” Sasuke said. Naruto pulled back, grinning at him. ”But you… I know you’re going to do it, no matter what. It’s your ninja way, or something like that. Right?”
Naruto laughed. ”Yeah. And I still haven’t given up on you. I got you back, and I’m making sure it stays that way.”
Sasuke watched Naruto got to his feet and stretch. He could feel their bond stronger than ever at that point. Naruto’s radiance, his surety about things definitely improving.
They were already talking about Naruto becoming the Hokage after Kakashi. It would take years, though, because Naruto still needed training in politics, and he needed to grow up.
Sasuke was certain that Naruto would be the best Hokage Konoha had ever seen.