Chapter 544: Young Naruto
Young Naruto stood at a short distance, face full of worry, looking at the Sasuke he had never seen before -- the fragile one.
In his mind, Sasuke had always been strong. Reliable. Proud.
He really liked that Sasuke.
Just knowing that someone as strong and dependable as Sasuke was his comrade had always filled young Naruto with a warmth he couldn't quite put words to.
But right now -- that Sasuke was trembling.
That Sasuke was choking.
That Sasuke was crying.
Young Naruto had never seen Sasuke cry before.
Every bit of anger that had been burning in him -- the fury of Sasuke leaving Konoha, abandoning all of them -- extinguished without a trace.
What was left was something he couldn't control. A hurt that didn't belong to him.
Watching Sasuke like this made young Naruto genuinely miserable.
He drew in a slow breath, started walking, and came to stand in front of young Sasuke.
"Sasuke..."
Now that Sasuke was no longer going to leave. Now that the things that had made him rage weren't going to happen. Young Naruto's voice came out differently -- quieter, softer, not the shouting from before.
Young Sasuke didn't respond. He stood where he was with empty eyes looking at nothing in particular.
"I don't know what to say."
Young Naruto kept going anyway.
"I don't know how much it hurts. I don't know how heavy those things are. I don't know how... a person who's still alive is supposed to face the ones who aren't..."
"Because I've always been on my own."
He said it very softly. The words were almost quiet enough for the wind to carry away.
But then he raised his head, and his eyes were looking directly at young Sasuke.
"But I know one thing."
His voice steadied.
"You're my comrade."
"And you're still here. You didn't go to Orochimaru. You're not going to have your body taken."
"As long as you stay near me, I'm not alone."
"And I won't let you be alone either."
He scratched the back of his head, and a somewhat embarrassed smile came onto his face. "Sorry. I'm really bad at this kind of thing."
His voice went a little clumsy again. "But... you don't have to figure it all out right now.
"You don't have to get back on your feet right now. You don't have to decide how to keep going right this second."
His expression became very serious.
"Before you understand any of it -- you don't have to do anything."
"I'll just be here."
"When you turn around, I'll be here."
"When you don't turn around, I'll still be here."
The words were plain. A little awkward. There was nothing ornate about them, no depth of philosophy, no elegantly assembled wisdom.
But they went into young Sasuke's ears and into his heart, and something that had been submerged began surfacing.
Comrade.
Those days of missions together. Eating together. That persistent idiot always trailing behind him calling his name.
Had he really been completely alone?
If he had truly never thought of Naruto as a comrade -- why had it hurt so much when he decided to leave Konoha? Why had the choice felt like his body was being torn open? Why had it been so painful that he could barely breathe?
Young Sasuke's eyes were still distant, not quite focused on anything. But the thought that had always been ready to rise -- "why did only I survive" -- was pressed down for now, sinking somewhere below the surface.
The questions were still there.
What was he supposed to do? Who in the world would be able to tell him how to keep living? All that pain, that confusion, that inability to know who to hate or forgive or remember or forget -- who had the answer?
Then a thought passed through him.
He slowly raised his head. Those eyes, still carrying the trace of tears, looked toward the adult man who had been standing to one side this whole time.
The Naruto from another world.
The person who held power he couldn't imagine, and had still listened patiently through everything.
His voice, when it came, was rough and hesitant, carrying the quality of someone trying something uncertain.
"I... can I speak with my future self?"
****
80+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces