Naruto POV~

I brushed past them, walking away. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I hope they couldn't hear it.

I was almost relieved to get away, until Sakura's voice called out.

"Naruto, wait!"

I stopped.

"Uh, I just wanted to ask...do you care to go to the barbecue place with us?"

I turned to look at her. "I can't."

"Why not?" Kiba asked, "Come on, I'll pay."

I shook my head. "No. I literally can't. If I show my face there, I'll get kicked out."

They seemed shocked at this news. Stupidly, Lee asked, "Why?"

I didn't hold back Kurama's chakra as I let a little flow out and surround me, "Because, supposedly, I'm a demon fox."

They backed away. Not all of them had seen me use Kurama's chakra like this.

Not wanting to draw attention, I withdrew Kurama's chakra and began to walk away again. Still, they kept trying. Kiba even had the nerve to put a hand on my shoulder.

I flinched at the unwelcome touch. At my reaction, Kiba released me. Shikamaru simply gave me a look. A look.

I growled, Kurama's rage getting to me. I could feel his emotions roiling within me, and the others backed off further.

"You should stop." I said, "I mean it. Give up on me. It's better for all of us that way."

"Naruto!"

Rock Lee's sudden objection, so loud and firm,  surprised me enough that I paused. I never heard him sound so angry before.

"Don't tell us to give up, Naruto!" Lee continued, "You were the one who said to always keep trying! You were the one who never gave up on your friends! You brought Sasuke back, and we brought you back, but don't tell us to give up, because no matter what, I still consider you one of the best friends I've ever had!"

I was shocked, so much that I didn't even have a reply. 

I did say that, didn't I?

"One of the best friends, you ever..." 

I couldn't believe it. At this point, never in a million years did I expect to hear those words from anyone other than Sasuke.

Never.

When I looked back at them, I could already see, immediately, the ones who never gave up on me. On me. 

Sakura wasn't on that list, but Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru, Neji, Lee, and Choji definitely were. And possibly Kiba, but I wasn't sure.

Something blossomed inside of me. Something I was suppressing for a long time.

I wanted to be accepted by them. I desired it more than anything. I denied it because I thought they'd given up, but I could see now -

It was the exact opposite.

Still, I had doubts. So, I turned away and left. Not a word left anyone's mouth as I walked away, seemingly disappearing into the shadows.

Sasuke's POV~

"You what?"

My reaction was unusual, so it drew more attention than I liked. Again, the other genin were following me around, but the moment they mentioned an encounter with Naruto, I couldn't stop the words from bursting out of my mouth.

"You went home, so you weren't there." Neji said, "We met Naruto last night."

What the actual fuck?

What the hell was Naruto doing last night? How come he was so careless that these idiots saw him? What was going on?

I had to find Naruto. Now.

Thankfully, it was nearing the time we agreed to meet. Our meeting places differed depending on the day. This time, it was on the Hokage monuments.

I ignored the others as I dashed off toward the statues, speeding off in a blur that none could hope to catch. As I hopped across the rooftops, Naruto was the only one to occupy my thoughts. I could only imagine what happened between him and the others.

When I arrived, he wasn't there yet. I knew he was busy and would be there soon, but I was getting restless, pacing back and forth across the head of the Yondaime.

After what felt like an eternity, he appeared.

"Oi, Sasuke -"

"What the hell happened last night?" I asked, getting a little too close to his face.

"Woah, calm down." he pushed me back. "Too close, Sasuke."

I backed off and crossed my arms. "Well? Did they do something to you? What's going on?"

I clicked his tongue, "Jeez, Sasuke, you're like a worried mother sometimes. Nothing happened to me, it's fine."

When I registered what he said, I realized he was right. I was acting like a fucking mom. I immediately turned away and composed myself. "Hn."

Naruto laughed and sat down. "Anyways, something weird did happen."

I snapped my gaze back to him. "What?"

He quirked a brow at me, and I realized I was acting like a mother again.  Putting on my master poker face, I asked again, "Well?"

He relayed the events to me, from his perspective, and I didn't even notice I was gaping until he pointed it out. Once again fixing my face, I asked, "So, some of them still want to be your friends?"

"I guess." he sighed, "I suppose I should go a little easy on them. I think I scared them with Kurama's chakra, so the least I should do is stop that. Sakura, though - I don't know, my instincts and Kurama were saying that Sakura didn't seem very genuine, and my instincts and Kurama are  usually right."

"Hn. What does Kurama think about this?"

"He doesn't like anyone. What am I gonna do about that?"

I snorted a laugh. After all the conversations I've had with Naruto, and all the times I've spoken to Kyuubi, I've come to the realization that Kurama was actually quite an interesting character to talk to. I could see why Naruto and him were friends. Despite the fox's stingy personality, he clearly wasn't as evil as everyone made him out to be.

Naruto sighed. "Well, I don't want anything to do with them. Getting them involved will make my life more complicated than I'd like." he puffed out a breath and lay down on his back, tracing the clouds with his finger in the air, "I don't want a complicated life. I've dealt with too much bullshit to care anymore."

"Hm." I lay down next to him, "Lazy-ass."

He scoffed, "I'm not a lazy-ass -" he paused, his focus no longer on the outside world. He rolled his eyes, "Fine, maybe I am feeling a tiny bit lazy. What's wrong with that? Honestly, first you complain that I'm too hyper, and now I'm lazy -"

He only seemed to be half-talking to me. I sighed. Every time I hear him and Kurama bicker, I wonder how the hell they can stand being around each other every second of the day.

"Hey," I interrupted, "What about becoming Hokage? Have you decided what to do about that?"

He paused and put a finger on his chin. "Well...not really. A part of me still demands respect from this village, and being Hokage means gaining respect. But, after experiencing the dark side of Konoha first-hand, I've lost much of my desire to protect and risk my life for this place. There's only a few people I care to protect, and the whole fucking village is not involved in that list. I get the feeling that just because I gain their respect, that doesn't erase anything they might do. Even so," he grunted and sat up, "I wish I still had more hope in humanity, but I'd rather spend my life protecting my current friends than worrying about making friends with everybody."

I was speechless as I comprehended what Naruto said. He was kind of an idiot, but damn. He had this habit of showing unexpected cunning and wisdom sometimes. 

Hell, he managed to change my life with just a few words.

Still, what he said implied that he'd given up on trying to change the way the village thinks about him, which wasn't very Naruto, but at the same time he outright stated that he would rather dedicate his life to the people he cared about, which was very Naruto. 

It wasn't a surprising outcome, considering the sort of things Naruto went through. 

"What about you, Sasuke? What are your plans?"

What were my plans? Even now, every time I thought about Itachi, my bubbling anger raged beyond my control. Being around Naruto, both before and after I tried to go rogue, usually calmed that storm. But, unlike before, I wasn't continuously trying to keep that anger alive anymore. Unlike before, I was starting to allow myself to open up to him.

The old me had a resolve much too strong for that, but now...now I think comrades could come in handy.

I watch as the sunlight bathed Naruto's face, his oceany eyes glittering. 

Friends...

I tilted my head back, and, for almost the first time since the massacre, actually relaxed. 

Yes. Friends.

Naruto POV~

"Where are we going?"

"I have a meeting at another village. They requested I come personally." Tsunade said as she took another swig of her bottle of sake. "Obviously, that means you're coming too."

"They requested you go personally?" I narrowed my eyes, "And you're just going to leave the village like that?"

"It's not that weird, Naruto." she sighed, rubbing her temples, "The problem is, this village is all the way on the border of Fire Country, in a remote area. My only issue is that it'll take a while to get there and back, and I'll have to leave Danzo in charge of the village while I'm gone."

"Danzo?!"

My voice came out kinda squeaky, and Tsunade and Shizune both quirked a brow at me. I composed myself and cleared my throat. "Uh, is that...normal?"

"Yes. That's what I usually do. And he revels in it." Tsunade sighed, "Thing is, he usually does some weird shit while I'm gone, and I have a shit ton of work to do cleaning up his mess when I get back. As nothing but a substitute, he can't do any major change. He simply oversees things and keeps watch on Konoha while I'm not around. But he always manages to do something stupid." She took another swig. By now, there was a light blush on her cheeks, and everything about her seemed so loose, like she had no will to stand anymore.

Not for the first time, I wondered how the hell she managed to juggle the work of Hokage while still managing to get drunk every night.

"Well, if that's your only concern, then I don't really care." I plopped down on the couch in the office, lying back with my head on the armrest. "Anyways, how long'll we be gone."

"Eh, I'm guessing a week and a half, maybe two weeks."

"Hm."

"Say, Naruto." she put down the bottle. I could tell she wasn't quite drunk enough that her rational thinking was skewed, so I listened carefully. "What do you do all day when you're not here?"

I figured there was no harm answering that, so I shrugged and said, "Well, Pervy Sage isn't around much, so I train by myself a lot in my free time."

"Do you meet up with any of your old friends?"

I narrowed my eyes. Why was she asking all of a sudden? "Yeah. I saw them a few times, but I only really talk to Sasuke."

She took another swig, her eyes carefully trained on me. Even I could see that she was testing me somehow, but for what?

"Okay. Well - "

"Naruto!"

The moment Kurama's sense flooded into mine, I jerked up, surprising both Shizune and Tsunade, and leapt forward just in time to catch the incoming kunai.

I was panting from the sudden movement, my heartbeat frantic. The kunai came from an ANBU (one of Danzo's, from the way his presence felt). Somehow, he'd managed to open the door and toss a kunai toward Tsunade before either one could react. 

I grit my teeth. Fuck. If Kurama hadn't warned me and sensed him before he'd opened the door, this kunai in my hand would be in Tsunade's head.

I narrowed my eyes further when Danzo and three of his ANBU walked in.

"Hm. Seems as though he's suited to be your bodyguard after all." Danzo mused.

I growled and tossed the kunai. It lodged into the ground at Danzo's feet.

After getting over the shock of my sudden reaction, Tsunade leapt to her feet and shouted, "Danzo! What is the meaning of this!"

"Relax, Tsunade. I was simply testing the worth of your bodyguard. It seems he is quite good." Danzo looked down at me. I was standing defensively in front of Tsunade, still panting from my rush to catch the kunai. My hand stung, and I noticed that I'd cut my hand in the process. The wound was small and shallow, but it was still a wound.

What the hell was Danzo thinking? What if I hadn't been able to catch the knife? Tsunade could've died if Kurama hadn't gotten me to react in time!

Tsunade slammed her hand down on the table, smashing it into pieces. "There's a limit to how much I'll tolerate!"

Danzo ignored her, turning his attention to me. "Tell me, boy, how did you know to react when my shinobi threw the kunai?"

I wasn't willing to answer him, so I just glared at him and said, "Are you sure that's what you should be concerned about right now?"

"That is what I'm concerned about right now." Danzo leveled his gaze to Tsunade, "Have some faith in me, Tsunade. If I was trying to kill you, I wouldn't have done this. I trust in your instincts and figured you would have dodged the knife anyways, am I correct?"

She growled, quite literally fuming. "Well, yes - "

"Then there should be no issue. I was not attempting to assassinate you. I was simply testing your bodyguard to make sure you have adequate protection. Now, brat, I will ask again." he leaned closer, and it took all my strength not to lean away, "How did you know the kunai was coming?"

"You're under no obligation to answer, Naruto." Tsunade said. So I didn't.

"No, please, I'm just curious." Danzo said, his words sounding more and more like a threat. His ANBU loomed over me from either side of him. 

Well, if he was trying to intimidate me, it was working a lot better than I'd like. But I wouldn't show it. Maybe.

I was only just barely able to keep Kurama from murdering all of them.

"Was it Kyuubi?" he pressed on.

I didn't flinch, though I would very much like Danzo out of my face, thank you very much.

He didn't move. Fuck it, I'll just answer.

"Yes." I said, careful of my words. "He sensed your ANBU."

"He did, did he?" Danzo straightened and leaned away, to my relief. "And he relayed this information to you?"

"Yes." I said, not wanting to give away too much. Dammit, Danzo was being weird and it was making me uncomfortable. I could see now more than ever why Tsunade was reluctant to leave him in charge while she was gone.

"Hm."