Warning:
Long Chapter ahead.

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Kakashi disappeared somewhere on their way to the dining room. He mentioned something about forgetting to pack a book away and left in a rush, sweating. Must have been an important book.

Now, the point is -- other than Kakashi, Tazuna and his daughter -- Naruto was dreading the time he would interact with the others. Normally, he was quite tolerant, considering he was able to deal with the Danny trio for all those years. He had no problem keeping himself in check when needed.

Sure, he hadn't trusted most of the kids that befriended him, but he was able to convince himself that speaking to them was a natural thing. By nature, Naruto was a person with few words, so he just let them talk amongst themselves.

Now, though, he was actively avoiding speaking with Sakura, Haku, Inari and Sasuke.

Kurama's little slip-up would cause an inevitable confrontation, which was something Naruto was unprepared for. Before the incident, he was contemplating whether or not to tell Sasuke. However, after that, there was a possibility that he would have no choice. There would be a point when he would be cornered by Sasuke. Then, he wouldn't be able to stay silent.

Other than Sasuke, Inari was most likely scared of him and Sakura might have similar thoughts after seeing her teammate behead someone. She must have questions. Who wouldn't have questions?

He disliked the hassle when confronting people blinded by fear. They were irrational, loud. Who was to say the two would react calmly? Perhaps they would lash out at him.

Albeit, the main reason for his avoidance was because he simply didn't know how to handle it. This was a delicate situation, and Naruto wasn't exactly good with delicate. How was he supposed to react and answer the constant bullets of questions? What would he say to make them leave him alone with his own thoughts that he needed to sort out?

As for Haku, Naruto was left confused by his declaration.

However, Naruto kept in mind that someone he killed was precious to Haku. He might not blame Naruto, but it didn't mean Naruto could live with that fact. It was Naruto's first kill and there was bound to be some uneasiness. Would one really expect a child to be friendly with the murderer of their father? In that sense, that was how Naruto felt.

That being all said and done, Naruto was in the dining room with the very three he wished not to see. He sat next to Sakura, Haku was across from him and Sasuke was next to Haku. Did he mention the Uchiha was staring at him?

It was an undesirable situation. Under a stare, Naruto felt the most... disturbed.

Though, Naruto didn't expect anyone to remember that he experienced such discomfort when he was stared at.

"Sasuke," Sakura said, in the same manner a mother would lightly scold. "Don't stare at Naruto like that. You know he doesn't like people staring at him."

Her voice was laced with an emotion Naruto couldn't pinpoint. But he could see her face twist in a way that made it clear to him: guilt.

Of course, Naruto thought. Haruno experienced my clear distaste when it comes to people staring at me. I have to admit I am surprised.

The blond was slightly curious; what would Sasuke's reaction be to this? Sakura was never one to boss him around and let alone oppose him. In her eyes, Sasuke was always right. But for once, it seemed this wasn't the case this time.

If Sasuke was shocked by this new behaviour from Sakura, he was hiding it quite well. He had looked away -- making Naruto less agitated by his own feelings -- and scowled. It was impressive that he didn't say anything or send her a glare, not even a simple grunt.

Truthfully, Naruto looked quite dishevelled. Maybe that was the reason why everyone was giving him all these looks...? He hadn't bothered changing out of his nightclothes and overall looked like -- and was -- a mess.

Oh, who was he trying to fool? That was definitely not their concern. But, he did need to get ready soon and he wasn't in the mood to put on his usually colorful clothing. He just might take Shikamaru's advice or wear clothing to his liking later on.

While pondering his lack of dull clothing, the room was the quintessence of silence. That, of course, would never be for long. It was practically a rule that someone had to break it. And who was that person?

"Naruto," Sakura called.

She sounded nervous and hesitant. He looked at her blankly. But the second Naruto's bright eyes were directed at her, Sakura shrank back. Her eyes flickered in every direction, lips sealed tight. Despite that, she wanted to say something. Naruto wasn't sure what it was, because he saw no fear in her.

"What is bothering you so much that you dither?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um," she looked at him straight in the eye. Naruto observed the hints of pink on her cheeks, which complemented her hair. She abruptly bowed and exclaimed: "Thank you for saving Sasuke!"

Her outburst caught the attention of both Sasuke and Haku. None expressed too much shock, but they were startled to some extent -- one way or another. It was no different for Naruto.

"I am confused. Why would you be thanking me?"

Her eyes roamed around once again. "Well, I guess I felt obliged to," she answered in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

She was always screaming at him and quite bold when speaking to Naruto. This was a view the hyperactive-knuckle-head-ninja was able to craft in the academy. At times she would be agitated, but the second Naruto changed, it set motion to other changes.

"Obliged? How so?" He questioned, settling his bewilderment. He was able to uphold his inert behaviour once again.

He hadn't let anything stir as her cheeks were covered in a deep crimson blush. "Well, you know..."

"I know?" He scanned her, noticing her tense body language. His face morphed into a poker face. "Oh, is it due to your one-sided attraction towards--"

"Naruto!"

"Yes?"

His indifference must have upset her. She puffed up her cheeks, fist clenched. Yet, she kept her temper as it was. There wasn't any pure rage in her emotions. Sakura was too thankful for that and she knew he meant no harm.

There was a chuckle.

The trio snapped their heads towards Haku.

"What are you laughing about?" Sakura asked in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, it's just," a laugh he'd been trying to hold back came out, "I understand Naruto's lack of subtlety. It is painfully obvious that you have a deep love for this Uchiha. It would make no difference if it was said out loud."

"Exactly," Naruto agreed nonchalantly.

Sakura looked absolutely defeated, while Sasuke was looking away, trying to ignore anything and everything.

Albeit, he had to admit: "It is obvious."

"That obvious!?" Sakura would've fallen to her knees if it weren't for her already sitting.

She did the next best thing: laying her head on the table and sitting there -- tremulous and embarrassed. She made incoherent sounds and mumbled things beyond understanding.

"I think we broke her."

|•|

Soon, the blue sky disappeared completely and the orange and red shades vanished over time too. The sun hid away as the moon came out to take its place in the darkness of the sky. The faint noises of rousing crickets in the night and the cold breeze outside calmed Naruto.

Tomorrow they were leaving this village. The thought of going back home stirred mixed emotions. Part of him wanted to stay longer. Every time he imagined himself going back to the Leaf Village, his arms began to shake uncontrollably -- unwillingly. He shook his head and breathed.

What has gotten into me? I have survived thus far working under Danzo, I cannot be acting this way.

He wasn't able to sleep without those haunting and random dreams appearing, so he sneaked out to get fresh air. And here he was, somehow not bothered by the cold as though he wasn't in shorts and a t-shirt. He wanted to enjoy the quiet before the storm, but it came sooner than expected.

The grass rustled softly. Naruto heard everything too clearly, even the steady breathing and the footsteps trampling the greenery. It was when the person's stern -- slightly brooding and loud -- voice reached Naruto's ears that the blond turned around to face them.

"We need to talk," Sasuke had said.

"I will be willing to talk, depending on the topic of our conversation."

Naruto's response irked him; Sasuke was solemn and rather grumpy.

Naruto saw Sasuke as a fragile explosion waiting to combust at the slightest push, and by no means would it be a meek one. With that in mind, Naruto chose to accept that. Choosing the right words to say, in fear of saying the wrong thing, was tiring. Half of his time was spent on thinking of the correct words to say and all in order to please those around him. Trapped in another's expectations.

Fortunately, Naruto was sometimes considered quite blunt in comparison of his thought process. And here, he would get straight to the point for both their sakes.

"I'm assuming this involves the events of yesterday."

"Do you remember what you said?" Sasuke questioned, a rise of bitter anger in his tone.

All that Kakashi told Sakura and Sasuke was that Naruto had no memory of what happened once his chakra spiralled into a demonic red. Those red eyes had sent shivers down his spine, albeit looking at those cold-dull-blue eyes gave off the same vibe.

The same feeling he felt years ago when the massacre happened. He didn't like this. He didn't like this at all.

"I do not recall a thing," Naruto replied, rather anti-climatic.

"Then--"

"Kakashi-sensei told me what happened briefly. He said I mentioned something that left you incapable of even moving," Naruto interrupted Sasuke -- who looked rather... disorganized. That was one way to explain Sasuke's expressions, his clenching fists. He had definitely lost his cool.

"Judging by the way you are acting, it must be a sensitive topic."

"You told me something about my brother."

"Itachi Uchiha."

"So you knew, after all." Sasuke gritted his teeth, becoming impatient. The explosions had already gone off.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, successfully doing so with a poker face. "I never said I knew. What exactly did I say?"

"You told me a guy named Danzo forced my brother to kill the Uchiha clan!" The words came out rougher than expected.

The issues Sasuke had with his family were far deeper than Naruto expected, indeed. He wondered what was the fuel to his hatred, because if it was really just about the slaughtering, sadness would have been one of the main emotions. Then again, everyone coped in different ways.

Naruto thought through everything in a brief silence. "I see," he mumbled and looked at Sasuke. "If that was all I told you, I told you merely a small fraction of the truth."

"There's more to it?" Sasuke questioned, trying to get a hold of himself.

"Indeed. It is a long story, but I am limited to speaking too much about Danzo himself."

"This Danzo again." Sasuke took note of, almost sounding bitter. Naruto wasn't left to contemplate his choice of tones as Sasuke continued, "How do you know all of this? You're the same rank as me. The same age as me, yet you know so much. You're entitled to more. Favoured more. How is that?"

The last explosion set off with a bang and with that, the sounds diminished. All that was left was soot and collateral damage.

Naruto paused his actions and the words he was about to say. What did he mean by all that? Did it really appear to be that way? More than anything, however, where was he supposed to start?

He quickly made up his mind. "As you mentioned, I have access to more. But that is so, simply because I was personally taken care of by the Third Hokage. I believe you were present when I said I saw the Hokage as a grandfather figure."

That was true. Even Sasuke was taken care of by the Third Hokage, but not to the extent that he had access to more confidential things. Not to the extent that he was acquainted with important figures and high-ranking ninja. What Sasuke wanted to know was why? Why did Naruto know all these things? Did it have to do with that red chakra? What was that anyway!?

"Then were you involved with Danzos forced orders?" Sasuke decided to trust Naruto's words. This Naruto wasn't likely to be lying; he had no reason to. However, believing him didn't calm his uneasiness and frustration.

"It was a pure coincidence. I happened to walk into a meeting, discussing matters about the Uchiha clan. Itachi Uchiha was there," Naruto paused for a second. "To put it briefly, he had to make a choice between keeping the peace in the village or assisting his clan in starting a rebellion of some kind."

Sasuke thought over the new information. His brother decided in the end to 'keep the peace in the village'. Everything about this didn't sit right with him. This wasn't a matter of believing Naruto or not as he already decided to trust what he said -- surprisingly enough. To hear and to know this changed everything about the way he'd lived so far.

He trained himself, hated and overall pushed everyone and everything away in order to one day kill his older brother. Now, he wasn't sure what he was living for.

He felt like a fool that was left in the dark for so long.

He needed to know everything before reaching any conclusion.

"I don't want it brief. Is that it? Did he just decide to kill everyone? This doesn't make sense." His voice was low and was slightly hoarse. He swallowed, holding back anything he would regret doing.

"Do you want me to explain fully? I was under the impression you would be impatient."

Did he just indirectly insult me? Sasuke shook his agitation for Naruto away and focused on the matter at hand.

"I want to hear every detail possible," he practically demanded.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

"Very well."

Then, Naruto explained everything. Sasuke listened without saying a word. Even the crickets weren't as audible as Naruto said sentence after sentence. As it went on, his expression changed from shock to anger to bewilderment. Every now and then it would be between all three. At the end of the story, a sea of blue was barely visible on his face.

He sat down, took everything in and buried his face into his hands with a sigh. "I can't believe this. Is what you're telling me really true?" Sasuke's voice came out muffled and shaky.

"Believe what you will. I just told you what you wanted to hear." There was an unnoticeable dark look in Naruto's eyes. He glanced down at Sasuke, sitting on the grass.

"I... I need time to sort this all out."

Naruto nodded, his expression seemingly normal. Except, the dullness in his eyes never left. "By any chance, if you take an unsavoury path after this story, I will not be holding back," Naruto said that confusing words. Was it a threat? A threat to what?

"What are you...?" Sasuke trailed off, "Are you saying I would kill that Danzo-guy for some kind of revenge!?"

"You do seem revenge-obsessed, so I assumed it would be your course of action." Naruto looked straight into his onyx ones. "Or, I could be wrong. That would make things much easier."

Sasuke couldn't help but glare at him. "Could you stop indirectly insulting me?" He rebuked.

Naruto was somewhat taken by surprise. It didn't seem like his warnings were taken too seriously, but he could see it ticked Sasuke off to some extent.

Naruto tilted his head. "I do not know what you mean."

And in truth, he didn't.

"Whatever," Sasuke got up and clicked his tongue as he did, "I'm going back."

"I will accompany you then. I prefer to have a reasonable amount of rest. After all, I cannot guarantee -- and it is clear -- that someone will assist me if I have trouble waking up."

Naruto calmly strode behind Sasuke, which irritated him even more. Sasuke mumbled a few words of his agitation, and how it was his fault for oversleeping, but that was the end of it.

|•|

The morning came sooner than Naruto expected it. Even though he didn't want to admit it, not even subconsciously, Naruto dreaded that time was going so fast. 'Time flies when you're having fun,' they say. However, time went by unusually quick for someone who dreaded a certain time to pass, too. Nothing went slow; it was rapid. It didn't feel like enough time.

It was these thoughts Naruto was trying to shove back and hopefully never find ever again. And he would repeat this mentality over and over again, telling himself he had no reason to falter.

As long as he listened and kept himself in check, as Danzo orders, he would be fine. There would be nothing to worry about. Nobody related to him could have informed Danzo of the mistakes he'd make on this mission. He'd be fine.

Naruto's self-reassuring wasn't too deeply immersed in that he could not hear the conversations around him. He heard Sakura and Kakashi wish their final goodbyes, while Sasuke was oblivious to Sakura avoiding him. Yes, it had been quite awkward since yesterday for those two.

"Oh, where's Inari?" Sakura asked, looking around.

"He's in his room. I thought he'd want to say goodbye, but I guess not. I did tell him you were leaving."

"Oh," Haruno simply answered.

"Well, that's a shame," Kakashi commented further with a carefree posture.

There was a brief silence, but a much-needed one to indicate it was time to go. They waved their final ones with smiles, resting-grumpy faces and a blank expression.

Albeit, Naruto had barely taken a step away from Tazuna's house. His name was called out by a familiar child's voice. "Naruto!" He heard Inari exclaim.

Naruto looked over his shoulder, curious as to what business Inari had with him. Wasn't he avoiding him for the majority of their stay? Was he not avoiding this monster?

"Yes?"

"For what it's with worth," he shut his eyes closed and yelled, "you are a hero!"

Bold and clear. And at that moment, those last four words struck Naruto to an extent that he stopped walking. It struck the delicate glass mask he wore, but simultaneously didn't know how to take off in the first place. Naruto didn't look back, and neither did he hope his teammates would notice how his blank expression fell.

He never shifted to his poker face either.

Naruto swallowed, trying to get the courage to respond. All he could do was look over his shoulder; an unexpected ghost of a smile plastered on his smile. A bitter-sadness was barely noticeable in that smile.

He had to admit, something stirred inside him. Those simple words made him 'sort-of' happy, but he refused to let that feeling linger for too long. He wasn't able to either, his mood drastically reduced to melancholy.

"Thank you," he responded softly, his voice maintaining a solid amount of calm despite the cracks revealing themselves.

Inari smiled sadly too, but somehow Naruto felt that he knew the effect his words had on him. Most likely Kakashi's doing. Naruto waved one last time and soon followed after the rest of his team waiting for him. Thankfully, they didn't ask any questions.

They understood and respected his emotions with silence. Within those silence, Naruto thought about that words.

'... you are a hero!'

Naruto's lips quivered, unbelievable as it was.

A hero? I am not a hero, he denied. I am a monster.

For the first time in a long time, he let himself frown and scowl. He let a thought slip through the internal layers of masks and walls he created.

But... I don't want to be a monster.

Truly, his mask had broken into pieces.