The Demon They Once Feared. {BOOK 2}

|7|Ice Pops!

Naruto had come back from the mission in a... interesting state. Not physically. He was physically fine, though the way he started off into space and blanked out what Mina was saying something to him, really annoyed her. But she knew with the look in his eye that he was suffering mentally. Only slightly, she saw. Not as much as she is. But unlike Naruto, Mina managed to hide it so much better.

I wish I could help him. She thought, sitting cross-legged on the sofa in their living room. Her violet eyes glanced up from the orange cloth she was staring at.

"You hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, that way you can see clearly to take out the speck in your brother's eye!" The voice said, in that same tone as if he didn't mean what he said.

What?

"I see your no good with poetic words~"

She ignored the voice and continued to sew up the holes in her brother's new orange jacket. Naruto not talking to her wasn't that big of a deal, they had arguments where they were ended up not talking for days. But it was worrying, they would make eye contact, glare, huff and turn away back then, now it was like he was just lost in thought most of the time. Seeming to not realise that he was ignoring her.

The violet-eyed girl sighed, not pausing from what she was doing and kept her gaze on the part she was stitching up. "Tell me about it." She said, gaining a confused sound from the blonde boy. She sensed his eyes on her and she merely had to glance at the boy.

Mina set her things down on the coffee table, stretching her legs out and resting them on the wooden table. She patted her lap, with a soft closed eye smile directed at the boy. Naruto, surprisingly, understood and made his way over. The whiskered boy laid his head on her lap with the rest of his body taking up the two out of the three seats, the lower part of his legs hanging off the sofa.

"I met Sasuke..." He spoke after a while, in a tone that was unusual to him. So miserable, it was definitely unnatural. Mina stayed silent, listening to Naruto explain the whole mission, hearing the hurt in his voice, though she could not see it in his eyes simply because they were closed. Her healthy-looking fingers latched onto his blonde long-ish strands of hair, playing with the messed and clearly not brushed hair.

"Naruto," She spoke softly, still fiddling with his hair, "Don't give up. He's your friend right?" She asked gaining a hum of approval from her older brother, "Well you're the only one who can bring him back. He's in a dark place right now, blinded by hatred, and he needs a ray of light to save him, Ya know." She looked away from her brother's face and stared at the blank wall of the apartment. "You can be the light, you're the only one who can, Ya know. The Sasuke I met before the massacre is still in there, he just feels a lot of..." She thought for a moment, trying to find the right word, "Loneliness? I guess. Since we never really felt the love of a parent, we can't really relate to how he feels, though, he has many more friends and people who care about him, more than he realises. You can do it, bring him back, Ya know."

After Mina said those words it was silent for a moment. A small smile gracing Mina's lips as she watched the familiar grin form on Naruto's lips.

"You're right, ya know!" He said, opening his eyes and staring at Mina. The slightly overwhelming gaze of determination clearly evident, a gaze she recognised. And seeing the look he made, a warmth spread in her heart. "I got you back! So all that's left to do is bring Sasuke back, ya know!"

Mina giggled slightly, the genuine smile fading into a stern and serious expression. "I met him," she said, "Sasuke. Back when I was with Orochimaru, Kabuto didn't lock the chains properly so I managed to escape. But you already know, -that thing was like a maze!- We had a small conversation."