Name: Bonds Not Broken: Severing Ties
Disclaimer: Don’t own, don’t own, don’t own, don’t own. And today is not opposite day. Nudge, nudge.
Summary: Naruto left Konoha years ago. Now, in an attempt to sever all ties that still exist, he writes to Sasuke one last time.
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Sasuke,
When I stop and think about it, I realize that we had so much in common when we were both members of Team 7. We were both driven by our needs to fulfill our dreams. We both had something that we wanted; something that set us apart from everyone else. And yet, as I look back, I realize that you had more of a reason to leave Konoha, more of a reason to turn renegadeDon’t try to deny it, because you’ll just end up looking stupid. But if this is true, then why are you settled down, an ANBU captain, father, and husband? And why am I the S-Class missing-nin? My hands are stained with the blood of innocents; I feel that our fates should have been swapped.
You had a psychopath brother who killed every last Uchiha… except for you. You were an avenger, driven by your desire to kill Uchiha Itachi, the one who took everything from you. All you wanted to do was kill him; restoring your clan, as we both know, was just an afterthought. But there you are; living in Konoha with little Uchiha brats.
I was the unwitting container of the Kyuubi, feared and hated for something I didn’t do, something I didn’t want. Something I had no sway over. I was driven by the desire for attention, to be noticed. To be known, not as the evil demon Kyuubi, but as someone respected. And here I am, in a secret hideout with a group of deadly nuke-nins.
You became a shinobi because you were a male Uchiha. I became a shinobi so I could become the respected Hokage. Your success was shadowed by your brother. My success… well, in the academy years, we both know I didn’t quite have any. We both wanted to be noticed; we pushed ourselves so we would be known to the world. Yet you wanted your power to defeat your brother. I wanted mine so I would be respected.
We had so many similarities… so why did we hate each other? We were rivals, enemies, even, and neither of us realized that deep down, we were best friends. Well, not until you left for Orochimaru. Which brings me to that. I was shocked and hurt that you turned your back on our village; turned your back on Team 7… and you turned your back on me. And I realize, if we had understood each other, and our similarities, none of this would have happened.
If I had known that your brother had murdered every last member of your clan, known the reason behind your cold exterior, perhaps I wouldn’t have seen you as a cold, obstinate, stuck-up jerk that didn’t deserve Sakura’s love. Perhaps if you had known that the only reason Itachi ignored you in favor of attempting to kidnap me was the Kyuubi, you wouldn’t have been driven to seek Orochimaru for power. Perhaps, if we had known this about each other, we could have been better friends
You were an avenger; cold, desiring only to kill Itachi. I sought attention, desiring respect because I didn’t understand why people hated me. I never knew my parents. Yours were murdered, and before that they didn’t truly acknowledge you because you were shadowed by the Uchiha child prodigy. We both grew up parentless, in a way.
We were similar, yet utterly different. Then why am I what I am, and why are you what you are?
The answer, I believe, is simple; We both changed because of Orochimaru. You realized, after we managed to save you from becoming Orochimaru’s vessel, that restoring your clan was more important than extracting revenge on it. You began to question your lust for vengeance: what was the point of avenging your clan, if in avenging it, you ended up destroying it as well? You realized that eventually Itachi would die; but if you stopped your mad quest for power, stopped trying to take down someone so obviously more powerful than yourself, the Uchiha clan would outlive the man who had wanted to destroy it, and you would win.
And when we saved you, I realized that all Konoha wanted was their precious little Uchiha back; and if I died while returning you, well, kudos for us, because they had hit two birds with one stone. They got you back, and the Kyuubi was gone. They would never have accepted me as Hokage. I realized that, and there was nothing left in Konoha for me. So I turned to the only place I could; the Akatsuki, a group of criminals that didn’t belong in the villages that they had been born in. We don’t belong anywhere, really, and we know it. More, we don’t care, because we turned our backs on our villages and started working for our own purposes.
In the beginning, the people of Konoha loved their last Uchiha because you were an Uchiha, yet you ignored it. The people of Konoha ignored me because of the Kyuubi, yet I wanted their approval. You couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t leave you alone. I couldn’t understand why the left me alone. Similar, yet utterly different.
Then, after our revelations, you returned to the love of Konoha, and this time, you embraced it. You got your family, your recognition, and I got mine. You finally understood and accepted, as did I. Similar, yet utterly different.
And now, we lead different lifestyles. You wanted revenge even if it cost your life; you ignored the people around you. I wanted to help people, to be respected by them, yet they ignored me. In the end, though, we both got what we wanted, if in a left-hand sort of way. You got your revenge; Uchiha is not dead. I got mine; if I couldn’t get love, respect, and recognition as Hokage, I got fear and recognition as Akatsuki.
Sasuke… don’t be the idiotic bastard you are and attempt to find me. All my ties with Konoha have been broken now, and are far beyond repair.
-Uzumaki
Naruto set the pen down, rereading his letter to his ex-best friend. With this letter, Naruto could finally forget his past, truly forget it this time. He had no connection to Konoha, nor Konoha to him – With this letter, he had finally succeeded in severing all bonds with his former village. He had embraced what it meant to be a missing nin – except for his Akatsuki comrades, Uzumaki Naruto was utterly alone.
-end
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Story notes: originally written for ff.net. tonfa annoys me.
Chapter notes: Please excuse errors. Beta-less, and written for Fanfic.net
Chapter end notes: Reviews make me happy. :D
-Teslyn