Naruto's POV:
When I wake up, I see Shikamaru setting up a campfire outside and Sakura and Sai gathering food. I walk out of the house to join them.
"Finally, you're awake," Sakura says.
I rub my head and yawn. I look around, noticing Sasuke isn't here. I slowly recall the events that happened yesterday.
"Have you guys seen Sasuke?" I ask.
"Well, good morning to you too. Do we look like Sasuke's babysitters to you?" Shikamaru says, taking a drag from his cigarette.
"Here he comes now," Sai says.
Sasuke comes in, wordlessly putting down a sack of berries he collected. Distancing himself from the rest of us, he sits in the far corner and eats his granola bar.
"Sasuke, you're not gonna eat the food we're making?" Sakura asks, concerned.
"No," he simply says, biting his granola bar.
Shikamaru scoffs, putting out his cigarette. "Be like that then, dickhead."
"At least I won't be dying early of lung cancer," Sasuke coldly retorts.
"I'd rather have lung cancer than be an international terrorist," Shikamaru says, rolling his eyes.
"Shikamaru!" I shout angrily.
Sasuke stands up angrily, balling his fists. He coldly stares at him, striking a feeling of uneasiness in me. He then looks at us for a moment, before he finally turns around and goes into the woods.
"Gonna go take a piss," he says coldly before he leaves.
After he leaves, we all turn towards Shikamaru.
"I don't get why you all defend him so much when he clearly doesn't appreciate all you've done for him. Look at him, with his superiority complex!" Shikamaru says.
Sakura stands up, slowly cracking her fists. I begin to sweat. I know that look too well.
"Superiority complex, huh? How about you 'macho men' brawl it out after we save my girlfriend!" Sakura says, angrily standing over me, Sai, and Shikamaru.
All three of us gulp.
"R-right. Of course," Shikamaru says uneasily.
Sakura takes a deep breath and relaxes.
"Great. Now Naruto, go get Sasuke and tell him we're moving to find more clues," she says.
"But he said he's taking a p-"
"I'm sorry, did I stutter?" She says, raising her fists again.
"N-Nope! Let me go find him!" I quickly say, rushing off to look for him.
~
"Sasuke!" I shout, spotting him sitting alone and looking at the ground.
After seeing me, he stands up and dusts off his clothes. He begins walking away from me.
"Not so fast!" I shout, grabbing his shirt. "What's gotten into you?"
Making eye contact with me, we both stare at each other for a moment. As I look deep into his eyes, I notice his Sharingan is activated. He stares at me coldly.
Feeling the same uneasiness as before, I involuntarily gasp and let go of him.
Sasuke scoffs. "Hn. You too, huh?" He says.
"Huh?" I question, but he leaves the woods, returning to join the rest of the group.
What the hell is up with him?
~
We walk around in silence for the entire day. The entire group is filled with tension, everyone avoiding speaking to one another.
When it starts to get dark again, we settle in an empty cave.
We all wordlessly sit down, avoiding eye contact with everyone.
Finally, Shikamaru lights a cigarette. Balling her fists, Sakura finally snaps.
"God, Shikamaru. Can you go 5 minutes without smoking?!" She shouts at him.
"Excuse me?" He responds.
"You've smoked so much this entire trip that I feel like the smoker. You know much of that shit we've been inhaling? How have you not run out of cigarettes yet?" She continues to shout.
Shikamaru dryly laughs and pulls out a second box. "Look, I know you're worried about your girlfriend, but don't take your anger out on me." He says calmly.
"Guys! How about we all relax? Let's all draw, perhaps?" Sai says.
"No one wants to draw your shitty pictures, Sai," Shikamaru says.
"...Shitty?" Sai turns to him angrily. "Excuse me?"
As the three of them continue arguing, I notice Sasuke quietly exit the cave. I follow him, the rest of the group not noticing us.
~
Looking around, I finally see Sasuke sitting on a rock outside in front of a pond. It's slightly dark outside, but the area is illuminated by fireflies and the moonlight.
I wordlessly sit next to him. He doesn't move away, but he doesn't respond to me either.
I put my hands in my back pocket, feeling the necklace. I fight the urge to chuck it into the pond. Staring down at my lap, I remove my hands and finally decide to speak.
"Sasuke. Do you...regret kissing me?" I ask.
Sasuke looks up at the moon, ignoring my question.
"You told me love can overcome hatred. But why can't they coexist? Why must one overcome the other?" He says.
I turn to him, staring at his face as he continues looking at the moon.
"Why do you say that?" I respond.
"It's like...yin and yang. Light can't exist without darkness. Therefore love can't exist without hatred. Why do we hide the unlikeable parts of life and embrace only the good parts?" He asks, finally turning to me.
I scratch my head. "Sasuke...what are you saying? Hatred is unlikeable for a reason. Love makes us feel good, that's why we embrace it," I say. But Sasuke doesn't seem to like that answer.
"If hatred is so unlikeable then why do you associate yourself with me?" He says coldly.
"Because that's not who you are-"
"It is! It is who I am! You just only see the parts of me you want to see!" Sasuke suddenly shouts, catching me off guard.
"Sasuke..."
"This all just feels rigged game, you know that? When I hated the world, I was the bad guy who needed to be stopped. But when the world hates me, I am still the bad guy who needs to 'try harder' and love the world anyway."
I stay silent. Where is this all coming from?
He sighs and looks away. "Why bother changing myself for people who won't accept me regardless?" He mutters.
I begin to feel a giant wave of anger. I immediately stand up and point at him angrily.
"What the hell, Sasuke?! What the hell do you want from me?!" I shout at him.
He silently stares back at me, matching my angry look.
"For God's sake! I was just finally starting to get over you, ya know! And then here you go, messing around with my feelings again. And as if that wasn't enough, you kiss me! You kissed me, ya know! And then ever since then you started acting all cold towards me as if it was my fault!" I continue shouting.
He silently looks down at the ground, his hair covering his face.
"What the hell is your problem, huh? Did something happen? Did I do something wrong?" I begin to feel my voice crack. Damn it. I can't cry in front of him. I can't.
"You did nothing. I'm the problem," he says.
"Then why am I the one feeling all the pain?" I say, trying to hold back my tears.
"Naruto...you have no idea-"
"No you have no idea! How painful it's been since you left the village! And then right when I thought we were bringing you back, you leave again! I wrote you all those stupid letters, and you never wrote back, not even once! How come you never wrote me back?!" I shout angrily.
There it was. The question I've been meaning to ask him and he's been trying to avoid. I finally asked it.
Sasuke sighs. "Is that what this is about?" He asks.
"Stop being an asshole and answer my question!" I say, grabbing the front of his shirt.
"Because I didn't feel like it. There. Happy now? I didn't feel like responding because I didn't want to," he says, pushing me off of him.
I let him go and watch as he turns away and hides his face again.
"You...you're sick. You have no empathy or feelings. I physically saved you, but mentally, you're still the same Rogue Uchiha from 3 years ago," I say coldly.
Still hiding his face, I see Sasuke stiffen after hearing my words. Immediately regretting what I said, I was about to apologize when I suddenly heard a slow clapping sound. When I turn around, I see Toneri clapping his hands and smiling.
"Bravo, blondie. Well done! Now I see exactly why the Uchiha is filled with so much hatred. Because of people like you, hm? If I were him, I would've gone rogue too," Toneri says, chuckling.
"T-Toneri? What are you doing here? Where's Hinata?!" I shout in surprise.
He ignores me and turns to Sasuke, who is still hiding his face.
"Well Sasuke, have you made your decision yet?" Toneri asks him.
What? What the hell are they talking about?
Sasuke slowly stands up and turns around, finally revealing his face. I widen my eyes as I see a single teardrop fall from his face.
He silently nods, walking towards Toneri.
"Sasuke? What the hell is he talking about? What decision?" I ask.
Toneri smiles. "Excellent choice, Uchiha. I'll hold up my part of the bargain in exchange," he says. One of his puppets appears from behind him and opens, releasing an unconscious Hinata.
"Hinata!" I shout, rushing to catch her.
Toneri begins to start flying, while Sasuke steps on a floating platform supported by another one of Toneri's puppets.
I gently lay Hinata on the ground and run towards them.
"Sasuke! I don't understand what's happening, but don't you dare walk away from me again!" I shout.
But he already begins floating toward the sky with Toneri.
No. I'm not letting him walk away from me again.
I jump as high as I can, grabbing onto the floating platform that Sasuke is standing on. I use a Rasengan, attempting to destroy the platform.
But right when I am about to, Sasuke finally turns around. He bends down and looks me in the eyes, with a face full of regret.
I see the old Sasuke again as I look into his eyes. The eyes I fell in love with. For a moment, I start to become hopeful again. I start to hope that he jumps off the platform, smiles, and agrees to start over. I start to hope that we all return to Konoha with Hinata, successfully completing our mission. I start to hope that even after the mission, Sasuke stays in the village and spends time with us. With me. I start to hope all of that is possible, just by looking at those eyes. But of course, none of that happens.
"Forgive me...Naruto," Sasuke says.
I grab on to the edge of his cloak as he activates his Sharingan and looks me in the eyes.
"Sasuke..." I say, one last time. Still holding on to his cloak, I feel myself falling from the sky as my vision slowly fades to black.
Wishful thinking. That's all it was.