ᗰOᑎᔕTEᖇ [🧡 ᑎᗩᖇᑌᕼIᑎᗩ 💜] [Ɱҽէąʍօɾքհօʂìʂ] Bσσƙ Oɳҽ

The Otsutsuki

Chapter Nineteen

The Otsutsuki

November 15, 2009

Naruto stretched, the cool sheets sliding against his skin as he shifted. The softness of the pillows, the comfort of his mattress coaxed him to sleep a minute later, to allow his tired muscles a longer rest. He resisted the temptation. Weary cerulean orbs opened, roving around his dimly lit bedroom. Naruto blinked once, then again to clear his bleary gaze. He looked over at the clock to check the time then rolled in the opposite direction, reaching for the warm body that was usually nestled close to his own.

His seeking hand met cold sheets.

Naruto sighed, more than a little disappointed, though he couldn't say he was surprised.

Hinata was busy most days, working long day and nights along side other members of the Hyuuga Clan. The Byakugan wielders were tasked with assisting the intelligence department in unraveling the mysterious text left behind by a deceased Otsutsuki. Naruto was still astonished by the information briefing he'd received months ago.

A meeting in which the intel being shared had been gathered by none other than Sasuke.

The fairly early pardon and subsequent release his best friend had been granted had began to make more sense once he'd learned what the Uchiha had been up to since leaving.

Naruto's testimony on his friend's behalf hadn't been the only factor in swaying those in charge to show the former rogue mercy. Sasuke's journey was serving several purposes, both personal and governmental. At the time, and with everything going on around him, Naruto hadn't questioned the circumstances that led to Sasuke's quick release and small amount of time spent in jail. Had only been glad for the expedient liberation of the contrite Uchiha and the avoidance of execution.

Before he'd made the decision to leave, the two teens had had engaged in a heart to heart. At the conclusion of their talk, Sasuke had brought up the idea of travelling. The former rogue had genuine feelings of regret and grief in the actions he'd taken and thought that using his time away to reflect and discover who he truly was would help in easing his guilt and emptiness.

Naruto ran a hand over his eyes, recalling the conversation he'd had before Sasuke's departure.

Remembering the agony on his friend's face as he admitted the painful truth that he didn't know who he was inside. That he'd gotten buried beneath the hatred and pain and angst of the Uchiha legacy at an early age and had never gotten a chance to create his own inner self.

To form his own identity uninfluenced by the namesake of the Uchiha and all the baggage it entailed.

Without the distraction of revenge, the single minded perusal of retribution that had been so synonymous with his identity growing up, he'd felt bereft, and shockingly empty, lost and uncertain of himself in a way that had scared him, going so far as to say his life had become purposeless after their final fight. He'd had no goals to speak of. No desire for the social norms people his age were expected to have. Didn't even know what those norms were. For years, and from an early age, the things he'd told himself he wanted, needed, were no longer viable, no longer something he wanted. So now, in the yawning void left behind by his rejection of his reckless, blood soaked childhood ideals of vengeance, Sasuke hadn't known what to replace it with, how to fill that emptiness in his soul. Questioning what good could come of his life in the wake of the things he'd done, the things he'd lost.

"What should I live for now, Naruto?"

The sorrowful question had come from ocean of hurt and a heavy heart.