In Your Shadow

Chapter 10: Plan to Love Part I

"What right does a dead man have to lecture me, Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sasuke stops in his track, staring at Naruto. He's hurt. And anyone in the room can tell how painful those words for him. He open his mouth to say something but close it again, deciding to just stay quiet.

"Naruto--"

"I told you all to leave, didn't I?" Naruto said cutting Sakura off.

"Oi, Naruto. We understand where you are coming from but isn't it a bit harsh of you?" A man appear by the window of the room, holding his 'Icha Icha tactics' book.

"Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura called.

The blonde look at him without saying anything. The white-haired can clearly see the deep pain lying beyond those stares of Naruto. 

"I suggest you to leave for now." Kakashi said, looking at the others. "That includes you, Sasuke." With the mention of his name, Naruto can't stop himself from flinching, showing how much damage a certain name can give him.

 They sigh in defeat and left the room, leaving Naruto and Kakashi. The former bow his head, letting the tears he's been holding back since the moment he wakes up out.

"Kakashi-sensei..." He called, his voice broke.

"I know you want to know everything. I am not supposed to be the one to tell you but I know you can't bring yourself to face Tsunade-sama right now." Kakashi said as gently as he can.

"I don't know if I can accept any reason for fooling me." He clenches his fist in his chest. "It hurts too much to the point that I constantly feel the kyuubi dominating my inner self. He's taking advantage of my pain and turn it into rage." 

Kakashi stares at him wide-eye. No, it never crosses his mind that it will be this hard for Naruto. They became too insensitive, thinking that Naruto can handle everything thrown at him.

"I don't wanna be mad at them, Kakashi-sensei. I don't want to say hurtful words at them but I can't hold these all at once inside me. I'm going to explode." Naruto silently cries in his place, hoping and wishing that the pain inside him will be gone. He hope that the more he clenches his chest, the less pain he will feel inside but nothing works. 

"Sasuke is a rogue ninja." Kakashi starts explaining. "Things were complicated after you saved Sasuke on that day when he settle things with Itachi. You've been in the brink of death, the lighting sword damages every cell on your chest where you got hit." 

Kakashi stop for a moment, observing the reaction from Naruto. 

"I expected myself to die the moment I got hit. I am that prepared to die if it's for Sasuke." Naruto said, a sad smile form in his lips not knowing the raven boy was listening outside the room, leaning in the wall. Sasuke clenched his fists and walk away feeling a heavy guilt inside him.

 "Then? What's with it for you to hide the truth from me?" Naruto asked.

"You are the jinchuriki of the nine-tails, a shinobi of Konoha and future hokage of our village." Naruto's eyes widen after hearing the last part. "We can't afford to lose you. After what happened, Sasuke decided to protect you but we can't just let him loose and free after everything that happened. No one aside from the higher ups and you, your friends, know the real thing about Sasuke being an exiled ninja. That's why the only way Tsunade-sama can think was to make him an ANBU." 

"It was really him," Naruto thought, memories flooding in his mind. The first time he encounter him, their first kiss at the forest and the warm night with him. 

"No wonder I'm so comfortable around him... It was Sasuke all this time." His chest hurt, thinking that the man he's been longing for was with him the whole time.