6: Echoes of the Unforgotten

Naruto had spent years chasing Sasuke. Fighting for him. Bleeding for him.

And for what?

The cold truth settled in his chest like a lead weight. Sasuke didn't want to be found.

The confrontation with the rogue shinobi had cost them time—precious time.

Shino was injured, Kiba exhausted, and even Kakashi had taken a hit. But they had pushed forward, following the trail, determined to bring Sasuke back.

And now—

Naruto stood frozen, staring at the figure before him.

Sasuke.

Alive. Unharmed. Untouched by the suffering Naruto and his team had endured to find him.

But he wasn't alone.

Dark figures stood behind him, cloaked in the same shadowy energy that had pulled him through the rift. Their presence was suffocating, an overwhelming pressure pressing down on Naruto's chest.

Sasuke's gaze was unreadable, his Sharingan spinning lazily as if their arrival was nothing more than an inconvenience.

Kakashi stepped forward cautiously. "Sasuke. We've come to bring you back."

Sasuke scoffed. "Back?" His lips curled in amusement. "Back to what, exactly?"

Naruto felt something snap inside him.

"Sasuke," he growled, stepping forward. His hands shook—not with exhaustion, but with something hotter, sharper. "Do you have any idea what we went through to find you?"

Sasuke met his glare, unbothered. "I never asked you to."

The words hit harder than any blade.

Naruto's breath caught, his fists clenching at his sides. "You—" His voice cracked. "You think I did this for me? You think I wanted to—" He cut himself off, exhaling sharply. "You were taken, Sasuke. We thought—I thought—"

"You thought what?" Sasuke interrupted, voice cold. "That I needed saving?"

Naruto's stomach twisted.

Kiba growled beside him. "You bastard. We nearly died trying to track you down, and you're acting like it was nothing?"

Sasuke turned his gaze to Kiba, uninterested. "If you died, that would've been your own weakness."

Naruto snapped.

Without thinking, he lunged, grabbing Sasuke by the collar, yanking him forward.

"Say that again," he seethed, his voice barely above a whisper. "Say it again, and I swear—"

Sasuke's eyes darkened, but he didn't pull away. "Go ahead, Naruto. Hit me. If it'll make you feel better."

Naruto wanted to.

For the first time, he truly wanted to hurt Sasuke. To make him feel even a fraction of the pain, the frustration, the loss that had consumed him.

But his fists trembled. His breath was shaky.

Because deep down, he knew—

This wasn't the Sasuke he had chased for so long.

That Sasuke had died somewhere along the way.

Naruto shoved him back, disgusted. "You really are a lost cause."

Sasuke didn't react. He simply adjusted his collar, indifferent. "Then stop chasing me."

Naruto's chest ached.

For the first time in his life—he considered it.

Maybe… maybe Sasuke wasn't worth saving anymore.

The forest was eerily silent. No wind, no rustling leaves—just the hollow sound of Naruto's own footsteps against damp earth.

His breathing was ragged, his body aching from days of endless pursuit. He had chased this feeling—this pull—for so long that he wasn't sure if it was real anymore.

Then—

A flicker of movement in the mist.

Naruto froze. His heartbeat pounded in his ears as his eyes locked onto a shadow just beyond the trees.

No… it can't be.

His chest tightened, his hands trembling at his sides.

"Sasuke?"

The figure stood still, half-obscured by the fog. But even through the haze, Naruto knew those eyes.

Cold. Piercing.

The same ones that had looked at him before disappearing into the void.

Naruto stumbled forward, his breath uneven. "You—you're here—"

But the moment he reached out—

The figure blurred, flickering like a dying ember.

Naruto's stomach twisted.

No.

He lunged forward, desperation clawing at his throat. His hand grasped nothing but air.

The mist shifted, curling around him like a cruel joke.

And then—

A whisper.

"You're still chasing shadows."

Naruto's blood ran cold. He turned sharply, but there was nothing.

His breath came in gasps, his pulse hammering.

Was it real? Was he losing himself?

He squeezed his eyes shut, gripping his head. The silence pressed in on him, suffocating.

But when he opened his eyes again—

Sasuke stood inches away.

Naruto's breath caught. He could see him—see the sharp lines of his face, the way his cloak shifted with the phantom wind.

But his expression—

Empty.

"You should've let go," Sasuke murmured.

Naruto's hands trembled. "No… you left me." His voice cracked. "I never got to—"

Sasuke tilted his head, his form flickering like a mirage. "Then stop looking."

And just like that—

He was gone.

Naruto staggered, his knees hitting the damp ground. His vision blurred, his head spinning.

The forest was empty.

Sasuke had never been there.

And yet, Naruto swore—

He could still feel him, lingering just beyond his reach.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open.

His breath came in short, ragged gasps as he stared up at the dark ceiling of his dimly lit room.

The air was heavy, thick with something unseen. His fingers twitched against the sheets, a cold sweat clinging to his skin.

He exhaled slowly, trying to steady his heartbeat.

That dream again.

The same one that had haunted him for months.

Naruto's voice—desperate, angry, broken—echoed in his skull.

"You left me."

"I never got to—"

Sasuke clenched his jaw. His chest ached in a way he refused to acknowledge.

He sat up, running a hand through his hair, his fingers trembling slightly. The room was silent, but the weight of the dream still pressed down on him, as if it had followed him into the waking world.

He knew what it meant.

Even now, even after all this time—

Naruto's presence still lingered in the depths of his mind, refusing to be erased.