Primal Love (Naruto)

7- Ache.

"I'll come when you ask me"

Naruto heard her sing as he washed the dirt out of his clothes in the porcelain claw-foot tub. The water turning brown from the dirt that clung to the fabric. Stopping momentarily to wipe the sweat that accumulated on his brow; Wishing silently that it would wash away his regrets, evil, but above all this monster. It was funny how out of all the times he has been here, been around her, this was the only time it actually took a toll on him. Her singing stopped.

He was astounded by her beauty, her delicateness, fraile frame. Up until then, it never crossed his näive mind that blood didn't rush to only his face, that nights we're loney and best spent with another. There she was, something of an angel, it was as if adversity, pain, and even death couldn't touch her. He flirted with the idea that she wasn't even real, too ethereal to even be a part of this world, that someone this seemingly perfect only exsisted in his dreams. That first moment, where she had caught his eye, he wished she'd exsisted to love him.

After he washed his clothes, he hung them up, one by one. Her dress still swayed there, now drenched and dirty by yesterday's monsoon. He decided to wash that too- it was as close as he was gonna get to her.

She laid there, planked on her sofa that has seen some better days. Her face, laid sideways; and she could see the front door. That damned threshold where each and every one of their stories had beginnings. Why this sudden anger? Why this sudden need to lash out at anyone and everyone? Nothing was the same since dark Naruto came- a wolf in mask with a familiar name.

A significant change dwelled inside her; like an inner turmoil, festering. Was this her own demon catching up to her, or Narutos'? Whatever it was, it made her sick; but mostly made her ache for him.

"What's the update on Naruto's situation?" A bored voice asked Sasuke, whom was posted against a tree in the forest and eating an apple.

"Little change, he seems to progressing nicely." He answered. The man belonging to the voice was perched on a tree branch attached to the very same tree.

"Seems to be? I need more of a commitment than that, Sasuke."

"I am doing the best I can without provoking him, Kakashi." Kakashi jumped down from his perch and stood in front of Sasuke.

"This is fire you are playing with Sasuke, you need to take it more seriously."

"I can handle this." He said simply, not even sparing his former sensei a glance.

"Yes, as you have told me many times before; but you don't seem to be grasping the severity of the situation at stake here."

"There is nothing to worry about." Sasuke insisted.

"This is someone's life you're holding in your hands."

"She'll be fine, Kakashi; stop pressing it."

"I am pressing it because you are responsible." He stepped closer to Sasuke. "If he kills her, that's her blood on your hands; if the nine tails releases from the seal, that the country's blood on your hands." Kakashi said, before poofing off; not even waiting for a response. Sasuke stayed quiet, letting that last sentence dwell on his mind. Suddenly his apple had no flavor and his stomach had no appetite.

Naruto watched as she laid there, sleeping peacefully as if there wasn't a monster in her house. He could feel Kurama scratching at his already fragile psyche, and the longer he stood there, the more his psyche begain to crumble. He was losing control again, this time without a cause. No one had provoked him, or Kurama. Yes, this felt bizarrely serene; almost as if he didn't know where the demon ended and he began. However, he wanted to prove himself; prove that he could be with her without him needing Kurama or her longing for the kyuubi.