Work Text:
Life continues on in Konoha, with a new Hokage.
It’s been long enough that Naruto isn’t talked often anymore—he’s fading into the memories of people, spoken only in passing or during the memorial day that was erected for him, five years after his disappearance.
Now, it’s been ten years, and Sasuke hasn’t returned to Konoha since. There’s nothing left there that he cares about—once it got clear that Naruto wasn’t coming back, Sasuke cleared their entire house, securing their most important belongings into a storage managed by the Granny Cat.
Then he left without a backward glance, and has not returned since, no matter how many letters Shikamaru—the Eight Hokage—sends him.
The letters are full of guilt-tripping phrases about what Naruto would’ve wanted Sasuke to do in his absence, but Sasuke sees through it all. After six letters, Sasuke replies with, I will never work for Konoha. Do not try to manipulate me again, or you will regret it.
There hasn’t been any new letters since then, but Sasuke knows, for a fact, that he’s now an unwanted guest in the village.
Not that Sasuke cares. Konoha hasn’t been his home since he was thirteen, and the only reason he ever went back was Naruto and Naruto only.
With no Naruto there, there’s nothing Konoha can offer him.
Sasuke never settles anywhere. As weeks turn into months, then into years, he stays on the road, follows every single chakra signature he can, looks everywhere.
His entire life is focused on finding Naruto, and he doesn’t care about anything else.
During his travels, their last moments keep running through his mind—he agonizes if he said something wrong, if he missed some important detail.
Naruto left for a trip to the north of the Land of Fire, and he never returned.
Sasuke has spent the years blaming himself for not going with him. He could have, but Naruto had insisted on him to follow another lead on a case they’d been working on.
Naruto had assured him, told him he could take care of himself.
And yet. Yet.
Sasuke doesn’t stop looking. He will look for the rest of his life, if he has to.
He thought he knew agony, that he knew what grief was, but to lose Naruto like this, after years together, is something he doesn’t know if he’ll ever to recover from. Naruto is his other half, the love of his life, and nothing feels the same without him.
So he searches, sometimes alone, sometimes with Taka.
And he never stops.
Fifteen years after Naruto’s disappearance, Sasuke stumbles upon a village.
It’s really small and remote, located in a secluded corner in the Land of Fire. There are only few houses and a general store huddled together around a big zelkova tree at the center, but despite the remoteness, even this little place has electricity and running water.
Sasuke isn’t sure what brought him here. Considering he has been drifting through the continent for years, the fact that he has never found this village before? It feels odd.
He looks around and then sees an older woman sitting on a bench in front of the tree, knitting something with knobby fingers.
The woman looks up, white hair framing her lined face, and smiles. “It’s about time you arrived.”
Sasuke swallows. “You have been waiting for me?”
“He has,” the woman says softly and points to the path leading away from the village.
Sasuke stops listening and heads for the path.
If… If he’s truly here… why hasn’t he send word? Why hasn’t he told Sasuke where he is? Why the secrecy?
Hurt burns Sasuke veins as he follows the path, eventually leading up to a clearing with a beautiful little house. And there, finally, Sasuke feels Naruto’s familiar, warm chakra, and he feels like something inside him roars back into life.
The door slides open and there Naruto is. Sasuke startles when he remembers that Naruto is forty-five now, same as him—that they really haven’t seen each other in fifteen years.
Naruto’s blond hair is messier than ever, but even from a distance Sasuke sees his blue eyes.
It takes him a moment to notice the absence of Naruto’s whisker marks.
Sasuke is unable to say anything, as he steps once, then twice, until he’s close enough to reach out. Naruto’s right arm isn’t bandaged, but it’s still a lot paler than the rest of his body. He looks good—healthy, even. Clearly someone who has spent days on the fields.
Naruto tilts his head and he smiles a little. “Ah, you’re here.”
Sasuke blinks stupidly. “What? After fifteen years, that’s all you’ve got to say?”
“I don’t—remember,” Naruto admits and awkwardly rubs his neck. “I have… I only remember waking up near this place years ago. I was… alone and scared. They took me in. I didn’t know where else to go.”
“What about—what about Kurama?” Sasuke asks, horror tearing through his soul.
Naruto doesn’t remember. Naruto doesn’t remember.
“That’s a familiar name,” Naruto whispers. “But… I can’t connect it to anything. There’s… deep grief associated with that name.”
Sasuke stares at him, and quickly starts to form a theory about what happened.
While on his trip, Naruto and his entourage likely got attacked. Maybe by the same group who tried to invade Konoha shortly after his disappearance, even though they’d never been able to confirm it. Everyone they’d managed to catch had had their minds wiped clean of information.
Naruto likely sacrificed himself with Kurama to save others, and if Kurama was truly gone, it would make sense it had taken Naruto’s memories away in the process.
“You don’t… know me, then?” Sasuke says hoarsely, and his heart aches so much he’s afraid it’ll burst right out of his chest.
Naruto laughs. “Are you silly? I would never forget you, Sasuke. Granted, a lot of it is jumbled, but I did remember you.”
“Then why didn’t you—?”
“I wasn’t sure,” Naruto says softly. “I have all these memories of us together, but I wasn’t sure what they meant. I was afraid to go around asking about you. Considering I’d… forgotten everything else… I had no way of knowing if these memories were even real.” He looks at Sasuke and grins then. “But now that I see you, I know they are.”
Sasuke makes a noise in his throat, not exactly a sob, but close to a choked hiccup, and steps even closer, pressing his palm against Naruto’s cheek. “I’ve been looking for you for fifteen years,” he murmurs as the tears come, no matter how much he tried to prevent them. “Come back to me, dumbass.”
Then he kisses Naruto, softly, tenderly, letting his chakra flow into Naruto’s body. He uses his own life force, his own soul to coax Naruto’s memories out, but at first, it doesn’t seem to work.
Naruto is tense against him and doesn’t return his kiss, but a breath of a moment later, Naruto makes a choked gasp and suddenly he wraps his arms around Sasuke’s body and pulls him closer and the kiss deepens into something desperate.
“What the fuck,” Naruto sobs as they break apart. “I’ve wasted—fifteen years here? Living an easy life when you—when you all—”
“The rest gave up,” Sasuke says and presses their foreheads together. “I didn’t. Never me.”
“Sasuke,” Naruto chokes. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll never—I’ll never leave you again. I promise.” He keeps on sobbing, and Sasuke holds him the entire time.
“How didn’t the villagers know?” Sasuke asks after a while. “That you were the Seventh Hokage? You were the most public out of all of them…”
“These people…” Naruto hiccups. “We have electricity, but it’s fickle at best. None of us even have TV. News and happenings just don’t… reach us here. You’re the first visitor we’ve had in years.”
It still feels incredible that there’s a corner out here who wouldn’t know Naruto, but then again, the Land of Fire is a big place. Despite all his travels, Sasuke still hasn’t mapped the entirety of it.
“None of you ever visit the other villages?” Sasuke asks then.
“Some do,” Naruto murmurs. He steps back to wipe his eyes. “It’s… possible they’ve seen my face when I originally went missing, but thought it best not to tell me. Considering how I was in those first years, after I’d woken up here, after forgetting everything… I think it was a wise choice.” He shivers and rubs his arms. “If they’d ran to me, telling me I’m the leader of a ninja village, it would’ve been too overwhelming.”
Sasuke understands that. At least he thinks he does.
“So…” He hesitates. “Do you want to go back?”
Naruto shakes his head. “Not for now, at least. You helped me remember, but it’s going to take me a while to process it all.” He pulls Sasuke closer again. “But at least you’re here now.”
Sasuke smiles and kisses him. “I am. And I’m not going anywhere.”