Chapter Text
Are You There?
“Naruto!” Sakura yelled from the top of the cliff, “Sasuke!” She gently let Kakashi go, who gave a reassuring nod to his student. She leaps down the side of the cliff, eager to reunite with her team members. The site before her was enough to make her stomach drop. She thought she during the battle was bad, but this was somehow worse. Before her lay Naruto and Sasuke, each with an arm missing and losing blood fast. Without time to waste, she got on her knees between them and began to use her medical ninjutsu.
“Sakura…” Naruto said, voice weak with exhaustion and relief.
“It’s okay.” Sakura said, “I’m here.”
“Sakura,” Sasuke began, “I’m-”
“Stop talking.” Sakura interrupted, “I need to focus.” All of her remaining chakra was focused on the boys’ wounds, their bleeding slowing. Focusing all her energy on healing them helped to distract her from the tears welling in her eyes.
“You idiots…” She sighed as a stray tear fell from her face. The boys looked at their friend, and then at each other, only to quickly avert their eyes. A small giggle came from Sakura, who noticed. In a strange, almost nostalgic way, everything suddenly felt okay.
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Naruto woke up in the Konoha hospital, a room he was all too familiar with. Sunlight filled the room, masking everything with soft, natural light. It was quiet, and calm, something that seemed strange only a few days ago. The silence was comforting, and the rest was welcome. He shut his eyes once more, wanting to return to sleep once more.
His eyes snapped open. He was in the Konoha hospital. There was a war. Everything that had happened over the course of those two days came rushing back to the young ninja’s head. They had fought Madara, then Kaguya, and then… and then, Naruto fought Sasuke. He sat up and reached out to his right arm, which was no longer there. The memories of the fight flooded Naruto’s head. He had to see Sasuke, he had to know if he was okay.
He ripped off the blankets and tried to get out of bed. However, his muscles screamed at him to stop. They were much too sore to move. He exclaimed in frustration as he tried to leave, but ended up falling shortly after. He held out his arm to stop himself, suddenly realizing that his right side was totally unprotected. He crashed onto the floor, knocking down IV poles along the way. They landed on top of him, adding to the pain. The commotion was enough to draw someone's attention.
“Naruto!” Sakura exclaimed. She rushed over to help him up, “You should know better, moron.”
“Sakura, I gotta see Sasuke,” Naruto said. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine,” Sakura said. “But you need to get back in bed. You need to recover.”
“Wait,” Naruto stopped resisting. He got back in bed willingly and then looked at Sakura, “Are you okay?” The girl looked exhausted, and dark circles stood out under her eyes.
“I’m fine, Naruto.” Sakura sighed. “Really, you oughta worry about yourself sometimes. You’re still recovering. If you don’t, you’ll miss the memorial service.”
“Memorial service?” Naruto repeated.
“To honor those who died during the war,” Sakura explained. “Including, you know, Neji.” She said their friend's name quietly. That’s right, Naruto remembered, he had watched Neji die in front of him. He then remembered Hinata, and how she must be feeling. Ino and Shikamaru both lost their fathers, and Guy-sensei was critically injured to the brink of death. His friends were all suffering now. Just the thought of the pain everyone must be feeling was almost too much to bear. This war, with all its casualties and destruction, was it worth it in the end?
“Sakura,” Naruto said. “How is everyone doing?”
“As well as they can be,” Sakura said. “But there are some wounds that even Lady Tsunade can’t heal. It’s been hard, Naruto.” She turned to face him, “But you’ve done enough. You deserve to rest.” Naruto settled back down, but the anxiety growing within him refused to settle down. His body screamed in protest as well, begging him to stay down. For the first time in a long time, he felt safe enough to rest. Finally, it was all over. And for the first time in a long time, Naruto fell asleep without his thoughts keeping him up.
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The next few days were a total blur. The whole leaf village carried a melancholic air as everyone recovered in their own ways. Everyone from around the shinobi world wanted to see the heroes of the war and were crowding around the front gates. From what Naruto heard, he was a ninja in high demand. Just the thought of going out there and meeting the crowds of people was enough to convince him to stay in the hospital. The last time he went out was for the memorial.
Naruto had never experienced that much sadness in one day. The village looked so much smaller than how he remembered it. Even after the Pain attack, everyone rebuilt the village with a smile on their faces. No one had died then, though. This time, no such miracle was possible. For the first time in his life, Naruto felt no obligation to make himself known. During the memorial, many of his fellow villagers thanked him for his sacrifice and courage during the battle. He would smile back and thank them for their praise. However, there were those who cast angry glances when Naruto caught their eye. Of course, they would blame him. After all, if he weren’t a jinchuriki, the village wouldn’t have gotten mixed up in this. The guilt was suffocating.
The faces of his friends, his comrades that he fought side by side with, were darkened with grief. When Naruto saw Hinata, his heart broke. He silently stood beside her while the service went on, doing his best to comfort her. As she leaned into him, he couldn’t help but experience the same sensation as before, when Neji collapsed into his arms and drew his last breath. Naruto tried to keep calm, but he was shaking so badly that Hinata noticed. She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and stood by him instead.
After that, Naruto was back in the hospital. He didn’t ask anyone about Sasuke, out of fear of causing a fight. Everyone was busy worrying about those who weren’t enemies against the village. He knew though that Sasuke was somewhere safe within the village. That was all Sakura was able to tell him. Since then, Naruto had just followed through with his treatment plan, which was a shock to everyone. Kakashi had come by to check in on him.
“How goes it, Naruto?” The older ninja asked.
“Am I glad to see you, Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto exclaimed, “I’ve been bored out of my mind here.” Kakashi chuckled as he pulled up a chair next to the hospital bed.
“Listen, I’ve come to talk to you about something important,” his voice was quiet. “It’s about Sasuke.” Naruto felt his heart jump in anxiety. He leaned in, eager to hear. “Right now, the village elders are talking about what to do with him and it’s not looking good.”
“Wait, like,” Naruto said, “jail him?”
“Worse,” Kakashi shook his head. “Execution.”
“What?!” Naruto exclaimed. “Kakashi-sensei, they can’t do that!”
“Keep it down, Naruto,” Kakashi hushed him. “There’s still a way we can help. Sasuke helped undo the infinite Tsukuyomi, which helps his case. That being said, we have to convince the village elders to pardon him.” Naruto leaned back against the headboard of the bed and began to think.
“How could we do that?” He asked.
“Funny you should ask,” Kakashi sighed. “You know, Lady Tsunade stepped down from the Hokage seat and the next Hokage has already been decided.” Naruto co*cked his head and began to go through a mental list of who it could be. It would have to be a Jonin, especially one that fought hard during the war. It couldn’t have been Guy-sensei though, he doesn’t seem like a serious enough man to have such an important title. Maybe Shikamaru? But he was way too young. The thought of one of his classmates becoming the next Hokage instead of him made him cringe. Maybe it was…
Naruto turned to Kakashi, who made eye contact with him. A wide smile slowly spread onto Naruto's face.
“Kakashi-sensei, does that mean,” Naruto giggled, “I should call you Hokage now?” Kakashi sighed and nodded. Naruto couldn’t help but laugh out of excitement. How cool was it that his teacher was the next Hokage! He couldn’t think of anyone better, other than him of course.
For the rest of the afternoon, the two of them discussed plans to get Sasuke pardoned. There was a lot of back and forth over what Sasuke would do afterward. Kakashi had tried to explain to the young ninja that whatever Sasuke did was up to him and him alone. Naruto, on the other hand, was determined that Sasuke's plans had to include him. They had spent the past four years separated from each other and there was so much time to make up. Kakashi eventually relented, telling Naruto that whatever happens, happens.
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Months later, Naruto heard the news that Sasuke was officially pardoned. He had been talking it over with Sakura and Sai, his two friends reassuring him that the word of the Hokage and a world hero was more than enough to grant Sasuke a pardon. Naruto couldn’t help but worry. What would Sasuke say to him after the last time they saw each other? What would he say to Sasuke?
Kakashi had told Naruto that he and Sakura would wish Sasuke farewell when he left the village. It made sense that he wouldn’t stay in town. After all, everyone was still wary of him. But not Naruto. In that same conversation, Kakashi presented Naruto with a choice.
“Well, Sasuke had said that he wanted to travel the world,” Kakashi said. “And see how the war tore everyone apart. I don’t think it would be wise to let him go out there alone, though.”
“Oh, are you gonna go with him, sensei?” Naruto asked. Kakashi sighed.
“You’ll never change, will you, Naruto?” Kakashi chuckled. “Obviously I can’t since a Hokage’s job is within the village. But you, Naruto, you should go with him.” There was a long, drawn-out silence between them as Naruto processed what he had just heard.
Kakashi continued to stare at him, waiting for his response. Instead, Naruto got up and left the room. This wasn’t a decision he could’ve made right there.
In the courtyard of the hospital, Naruto nervously paces back and forth. He unconsciously rubs the stump where his arm was supposed to be. If he chose to see Sasuke off, it would be the first time he had seen him since their battle.
“Well, well, don’t you look nervous,” someone said behind him. Naruto whipped around and saw Shikamaru leaning against the brick wall, cigarette in hand.
“Oh, hey, Shikamaru,” Naruto said. He regained composure. “Me? I’m never nervous.” Shikamaru scoffed.
“Whatever you say, man,” he blew out some smoke. “I heard Kakshi is next in line for Hokage. How does that make you feel?” Naruto pauses to think.
“I guess,” he pondered, “I feel safer. I trust Kakashi sensei, and, as much as I hate to admit it, he’s a better Hokage than I ever could be.”
“Then why are you pacing around like that?” Shikamaru said. “Is it Sasuke’s pardon?”
“You can see right through me, huh Shikamaru?” Naruto sighed. “Yeah, Kakashi sensei told me to go with him. I have until the end of today to decide.”
“What’s stopping you?”
“Lady Tsunade is making a new arm for me. I guess I should at least wait for that.”
“It’s gonna take a long long time for that to happen,” Shikamaru puts out the cigarette against the wall and holds the remains in his hands. “I won’t tell you what to do, but I think you’ll grow more out there than you ever will here.” He walks past Naruto and gives him a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Besides, you’ve spent all this time looking for him. Are you really gonna let him get away from you again?”
