Love never dies

Chapter 23

"You should take a break..." Sasuke suggested, trailing off when Naruto glared at him before returning to writing furiously on her paper.
"Just let me finish this damn thing and I'll be done, brother." Naruto said, Sasuke jumped in surprise at being called brother by Naruto.
"We are brothers in all but blood, are we not?" Naruto asked, it wasn't exactly a question but Sasuke answered anyways, giving her a small smile.
"Of course we are. It's not going to change even if I now know you're a girl, brother." Sasuke said, acknowledging Naruto. She smiled happily and quickly finished up her paperwork. Naruto this time didn't walk around with the hood on her head as there was no uninvited people in the village, some may be unknown due to the fact that they have obtained a visitor pass to visit their relatives but she doesn't care, they were all civilians. Her cloak hung limply on her shoulders keeping her warm. She was still a little weak from the high fever that she suffered two days ago. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were feeling unwell?"
"There was no point in worrying anyone."
"But if you had collapsed and no one knew why, don't you think we would have been more worried?" Sasuke asked as Naruto nodded at the villagers who greeted her happily. Sasuke had chosen to take off the Konoha head band and donned the cloak that Naruto had given him before. It was easier to blend in that way. "... I am sorry."
"Don't apologise." Sasuke said as they walked into a tea shop. Sasuke looked over his shoulder to see a few girls duck down, daring peeks over. Sasuke sighed and Naruto snorted, trying to hold her laughter. "Ah. That hurt my throat." Naruto gasped after a snort. She hadn't known that would hurt. Sasuke smirked in turn, served her right for laughing at him for his ever growing fangirls in this country. Naruto looked back to see a group of ninjas sitting near them... Whyyyyy?? Why are they so insistent on following her? She can take care of herself! Besides, she has Sasuke! They make the best duo, their combinations and attacks are the best.
"Looks like they wouldn't leave you alone." Sasuke commented.
"Neither would they." Naruto said, tilting her head towards the girls. The two looked at each other, sending a silent message - not that anyone could tell. They would order take away and then vanish. Then Naruto would set up a barrier so no one can find them. Once their fingers curled around the take away cup, the two vanished in thin air after Naruto rested a hand on Sasuke's arm casually. "Dammit." Hidan cursed a little bit more before settling down with the fact that they should let the two have some time to themselves.
Sasuke and Naruto appeared in front of a waterfall, plants draping and own next to it to frame it nicely. Naruto held Sasuke's hand as she dragged him towards the water, she parted the plants and pulled Sasuke in quickly to avoid getting dripped by the water that was pouring down by the plant. "Whoa." Sasuke whispered as they stepped deeper into the cave. The inside seem to light up and a whole new world emerged before their eyes. The place was full of flora and faunas, the light shone down from somewhere that Sasuke couldn't place, the sound of the waterfall that hid the entrance of this magical land. "I... Made this place myself..." Naruto confessed after the two settled down sipping their tea and sitting back to back. Sasuke stayed silent, knowing she would continue. "... Back in Konoha, when I wanted to escape, I would find this type of hidden caves and try my best to conceal them even further. One of them even became my home when my apartment got burnt down, so that was when I have decided to live in the woods instead of in that crappy apartment. Seems like I made that decision a little too late as I didn't get to live in there for as long as I had hoped." Naruto said, referring to her banishment. "... Did you know... I had considering taking my life there... No one would find my body, it was so peaceful around me then that I felt like I could just sleep forever." Naruto whispered, she never liked talking about this but she felt like she should tell Sasuke, she felt like she can trust Sasuke with everything. Sasuke looked back at her, his face marred with a slight frown but she wasn't looking at him or anything for that matter - her eyes were glazed over as if she wasn't in this world.
"I then decided I shouldn't taint such a beautiful place... It had hurt so much Sasuke." Naruto whispered, clutching her head. After so many years she was still struggling with her inner battles. Sasuke turned around quickly and wrapped her in an embrace, she struggled but Sasuke held on tight. He didn't help Naruto when the blond helped him. The blond helped him even though she was struggling to keep herself from drowning in her inner demons. The blond helped him even though people were throwing insults at her, putting her down.

Kurama tensed and drew a sharp intake of breath. "What's wrong un?" Deidara asked when he noticed the tensing. Everyone else looked over worriedly, they were just walking around town looking for what to buy for the wedding. "She's hurting." Kurama whispered, her fist clenching from the stabbing emotional pain. "She's in pain but I can't sense where she is, I- someone has to find her."
"She's with Sasuke." Itachi said and they all noticed she visibly relaxed and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She nodded and mumbled a little to herself, reassuring herself. "That's good, that's good. Uchiha will find a way to take care of her. They have a special bond, I don't understand it but it worked both ways - they calmed each other down and can communicate with each other without words. It's amazing to watch. She'll be alright." Kurama reassured them all.