Work Text:
It'd been a while since the former Hokage's old bones had gotten out on a mission. Naruto had retired many years ago, and the blond hairs on his head were turning white. He could still kick ass if he wanted to, he maintained. The only reason he didn't was that he wanted to give the young'ans a turn. At least, that was what Hinata had said he should do. For once in his life, the great Uzumaki Naruto needed to step back from the action.
Even in his old age, he had never been good at that, though. Not at listening to others' advice nor at resting when he could be in the middle of everything. Naruto had always been in the middle of everything. When the people of Konoha had shunned him, formed a wide circle around him as they avoided him, he'd been there in the center. When the world needed saving, he'd been in the middle of the battlefield as the hero. He couldn't accept anything different so easily.
So, he'd gone to the current Hokage and requested a mission. He knew there would be nothing that required the presence of a legendary elite ninja such as himself, but he'd take whatever he could get. His days had been boring lately to put it simply. His kids were all grown up, so he didn't even have the chance to be the father he hadn't been during his time as Hokage. After retiring, he'd hoped to be less lonely since he wouldn't be held up in his office. Instead, he was desperately inviting his children out for dinner every couple weeks and hoping they'd have time for him. Sometimes, they didn't. Then, all he could do was eat with Hinata like usual, water his garden, and decide whether to bother with training.
Now, Naruto was glad that most days, he had bothered. The Hokage, though surprised by his eagerness, had agreed and given him a mission to the Land of Waves. A sense of nostalgia bloomed in Naruto's heart when he heard that name. His very first real mission as a genin had been in the same place. Fitting.
The mission itself wasn't nearly as interesting as that one had been. Well, he supposed nothing could be. He'd seen it all, now. If Zabuza and Haku appeared to attack him again, he could take them out easily. But if he was being honest, he wouldn't want to. When he thought of their deaths, he only felt melancholy. When he crossed the bridge, the very some one where they're crossed paths, he almost wished they would live again.
The bridge was named after him now: the Great Naruto Bridge. It'd had that name for as long as most people could remember. Not Naruto himself, though. He remembered how it earned that name. He'd been able to be a hero to someone even as a genin on his first mission. This older version of Naruto was a hero to many, and yet, that only served to make him extraneous. The other two shinobi he'd been sent with didn't truly need his help for such a simple mission. As excited as they were to have someone so famous on their team, they acted like he was a senile grandpa every time he tried to take the mission into his own hands. Damn kids.
The mission was this: escort a young woman on her way to meet up with her betrothed. He lived in a village farther into the Land of Waves than Naruto had gone as a genin. The woman had hired shinobi to escort her because she had come into a fortune after her parents had recently passed, and she didn't want any of her many possessions stolen on the long journey. Her parents had chosen the son of a family friend from Waves for her to marry, so in order to honor them, she was choosing to travel his way to meet him. Naruto couldn't help but find it hopelessly romantic. Although it was a bit overkill to hire three shinobi for the job, at least it showed how determined she was to make it safely to her future spouse. Besides, he'd been hired to find literal house cats before. It would've been truly cruel if the Hokage had given him a mission like that.
Once they arrived in the village, Naruto was hoping they could check out the local ramen shops before heading back to Konoha. Excited, he turned to the client after passing the gates.
"Here we are, Miza-san! The home of your beloved! Where should we move your belongings to?"
Miza frowned. "I truly have no idea where you get all that energy from Uzumaki-sa— I mean, Naruto-san." He'd insisted she be less formal on the journey. "Anyway, we'll bring them to an inn first. I actually don't know where exactly my betrothed lives. I haven't met him yet, remember?"
Naruto's two companions groaned and huffed in exasperation.
"What?! You don't know where he lives??? We came all this way, and who knows if we'll even find him!" the younger one, Riki, exclaimed. With his clenched fist and scrunched up face, he was practically fuming. Naruto could imagine his genin self doing just the same.
"Don't say that in front of the client. We're shinobi. You think we can't locate a single civilian?" the slightly older one, Saori, replied. She had her arms crossed in a way that reminded Naruto of Sasuke or Sakura. His heart ached.
"Come on, come on! Do you even know who you're dealing with? Of course I can find him. Give me a few hours tops, and he'll be delivered to your door," Naruto said. This would be the fun part. Once they moved Miza to the inn, the three of them could search the village and reunite the stray lovers. Naruto would of course be the one to find him first, not to toot his own horn. And that would make it all the more satisfying when he got to see Miza get married. They'd be invited to the wedding, wouldn't they?
"As if!" Riki interrupted his thoughts. "What makes you think you'll be doing all the work? If anyone's finding him, it's me!"
"Pfft. You were just saying you didn't think we could do it!" Saori pointed out.
"I changed my mind! Let's go!"
Naruto laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed. Riki sounded just like he used to. And Saori was reminding him most of Sakura. Would that make him Sasuke, then? This wasn't team seven, he knew that, but he couldn't stop himself from reminiscing. It'd be weird if he was Sasuke. Sasuke was so unique, so different, so… Sasuke. Maybe Naruto was actually Kakashi. That would make more sense.
He thought of his old sensei. The man was long retired too, but he was aging far more gracefully. With his naturally white hair and typical black mask, he looked almost exactly the same as he always had. It was hard to tell if there were any differences. He even still stayed up late reading and showed up late to every event. Nah, Naruto couldn't be Kakashi either. No one could be.
No one and nothing could replace the past. Any of it. This fact formed a lump in Naruto's throat that he desperately swallowed down as they approached Miza's inn. When he was trying to forget something, he usually threw himself all into his work. So, after they dragged the wagons full of Miza's things up to the room she'd bought, he moved all the luggage inside by himself.
Riki and Saori didn't even have a chance to react. He'd disappeared from theirs sides, and then the next moment, all the luggage was gone. He reveled in their shock as their mouths fell agape.
"Wha—?! I thought that would take forever!" Riki gasped.
"Twas but a simple task," Naruto preened as if they didn't all know he could topple nations. "Now, let's all race to find Miza's betrothed! What was his name again?"
"Kousui Seiji," Miza reminded them.
"Awesome. Let's go!"
The three shinobi disappeared before Miza's eyes. She blinked in surprise at their abruptness before going into her room. They hadn't even thought to ask for any other details—not that she'd have many.
Naruto hopped from roof to roof, surveiling the village below. It was midday, so the shops were open and most people were out and about. If he had any descriptors of this Seiji guy's appearance, he could find him in far less than a few hours. But seeing as Miza had never seen him before, he was going to have to ask around the village. He stopped once he got to a large-ish shopping market to do just that.
"Hey! Could you help me out by any chance?" Naruto asked the vendor at the first stall he walked up to. He gave her his most charming grin. She was selling beaded necklaces and wind chimes that sang blissfully in the breeze.
"Of course. What did you— Wait." She cut off when vendors and customers alike all turned to stare at Naruto in awe. "Are you Uzumaki Naruto?!"
Sheepishly, Naruto scratched the back of his neck and laughed. "Ah, yes, that's me. I'm here on a mission, you see, so I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me."
A crowd of people circled him, chatting and gossiping excitedly amongst themselves. The adults all seemed the most amazed, while the younger kids were a little confused. He'd have to teach them who he was. Just to be a show-off, he jumped and did a flip up onto the roof of a stall. When the kids' jaws dropped, he smirked.
"Listen up! I'm looking for a guy named Kousui Seiji! Does anyone know who he is?" he called down to the crowd.
The people scratched their heads and shrugged as a ripple of murmurs spread through them.
"Sorry! Haven't heard of him!" the vendor he'd originally spoken to called back.
"Me neither!"
"No idea!"
"Nope!"
All the responses Naruto heard were a myriad of agreements. No one had heard of Seiji in this market. Well, if that was the case, he'd just have to cycle through every market until he found the one Seiji frequented. The man had to get his groceries somewhere, right?
"Thanks anyway, everyone! Naruto out!"
He leapt from the roof and continued the search. There were only so many markets in the village, so he stopped at the very next one he found. Unfortunately, he got a similar reaction to Seiji's name. After he sighed in disappointment, he spotted a ramen stand across the way from the stall he was standing on. His eyes grew wide, the steamy ramen bowls reflected in their glassy surface. He wanted to stop for food so badly.
Despite his stomach's protests, he turned his back to the stand. He'd already wasted enough time on dead ends. If he stopped for ramen, the genin might find Seiji before him! Such a thing would be the most embarrassing to ever befall him. He'd try to play it off like he had purposefully let them win, but they'd know he hadn't. Fuck, they'd know. Naruto had always been an open book. He had to get out of here.
The next market he came across was more of a shopping center than just an assortment of stalls. The restaurants were a bit nicer, and most of the stores had their own doors. It was going to be harder to search than the others because of that. He had to go into each establishment one at a time.
A barbecue joint, a clothing shop, and an antique store were all no-gos. The owners didn't appreciate him being loud, and had only allowed him to stay long enough to respond negatively to his questions. They then threw him out as if he were still a street rat kid and not a former Kage. Oddly enough, the treatment didn't sting at all like it used to. It was almost refreshing to be treated as something other than a spectacle, as contradictory as that was. Or maybe he was still just too caught up in his nostalgia.
In any case, by the time he made his way to the tea house, his expectations had been significantly lowered. After hearing nothing but a chorus of confusion for the last hour, he was under no allusions that Seiji was someone well-known in the village. Perhaps he was a recluse or something of the like. Then Naruto would really be in for it. But in his first stroke of luck of the day, the hostess who greeted him sighed longsufferingly at the mention of the name.
"Seiji? You mean my weirdest repeat customer?" she said.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, curious. "Weird? What makes you say that?"
"Well, he always insists on sitting at the same table in the corner and just stares out the window for hours on end. It's like I've got to shout just to get him to notice I'm there when I ask his order. I don't bother anymore, just get him a cup of oolong and hope he hasn't decided to switch it up."
"Ah, so he's quiet. That makes sense."
The hostess shook her head and sighed again. She glanced over to a table in the corner with a distant expression.
"Not always. If I can get him to notice I'm there, he'll talk a lot. He told me once that he's always looking out at a friend of his who works at a stall across the street. One of the few on the block. I guess that's why he always comes in at the same times," she explained.
Unease settled in Naruto's gut. A friend who he's always staring after? Seiji couldn't possibly have a girlfriend already, could he? More like a crush, he supposed, but still. It wasn't impossible since he might have forgotten all about his betrothal after so many years of not meeting Miza.
"Does he seem like he likes this friend of his?" Naruto asked in a voice that he hoped was casual.
The hostess blinked. "Well, it's a guy, so I wouldn't think so? I think he's just lonely is all. Wishes he were closer with his friend so he had somebody to join him at his table."
And just like that, the unease was replaced with understanding. He thought of being a young child staring after Sasuke and wishing he had the guts to say something to him. While he probably wouldn't have wanted to bring him to a tea house, he'd loved all the times he'd gotten to go to Ichiraku together. Perhaps he and Seiji had more in common than he thought.
"I get it. Thanks for the information," Naruto said. "By any chance, do you know where I could find Seiji now? Will he be in here soon?"
"No, he shouldn't be back until tomorrow. I think he lives somewhere to the east, but that's all I know."
"That's just fine. I appreciate it, y'know?"
Spirits lifted, Naruto waved goodbye to the hostess. It had been a few years since he could give his 'I was just like you' speech to win someone over, and he was honestly gleeful at the idea of using it on Seiji. While he might have been one of the most powerful shinobi in history, it wasn't all because of sheer strength. The best weapon in his arsenal had always been words.
To the east of the tea house, there was a small cluster of houses. Naruto sagged with relief that it wasn't a larger neighborhood, or he'd have his work cut out for him. Going door to door always annoyed the hell out of people. He also gloated to himself that the genin were nowhere in sight. They were probably off searching one of the places he'd already looked and taking much longer at it since they couldn't attract crowds like he could. He realized a was a bit pathetic to be so prideful about it, though. An experienced shinobi like him had accomplished too much to be proud of such a simple task. But whatever. He was having fun.
Being an owner of a garden himself, his first instinct was to knock on the door of the house with the luscious flowers in the front yard. It seemed as good a place as any to start. But when he saw an old woman out on the porch of another house, he figured it'd be easiest to ask her first.
"Hey, baa-san! Do you have a moment?" he asked as he approached her porch.
She glared at him. "Baa-san? You're not looking too young yourself, you know."
Naruto felt and probably also looked as though an anvil had fallen from the sky and struck his head. The old woman sighed.
"Fine, fine. Forget I said anything. What do you need?"
With a wheeze, Naruto went on to say, "I just wanted to know if Kousui Seiji lives around here?"
Recognition flashed in the woman's eyes. She pointed in the direction of the house with the flowers, and Naruto lit up until he realized she was actually pointing past it. Directly to a house with dead plants littering the path to the door. Damn.
"He's over there. Though, I can't help but wonder why someone such as yourself would be searching for him. He's not secretly an S-rank criminal, is he?"
Naruto chuckled and shook his head. "Nothing of the sort. I just wanted to get out of the house, y'know?"
"All too well. Best of luck, Naruto." The woman waved to him as he left. Being famous did have its perks. It was like he was already friends even with people he was just meeting.
As he walked up to Seiji's door, he eyed the dead plants sadly. They were practically crying out to him for help, pleading to be saved from the man inside. Hopefully Seiji would be receptive not only to his speech, but to gardening advice.
"Hello? Kousui Seiji?" Naruto called out while he rapped on the door. He imagined for a moment that Seiji wouldn't be home, and he'd be at a loss once more. Then, the door opened.
"I— Shit, Uzumaki Naruto?!"
Naruto watched in real time as Seiji went through the five stages of grief. Shock faded into denial faded into acceptance. And even then, his dark eyes were so wide and stark against his pale face that Naruto felt the need to calm him down before telling him anything.
"Yep, that's me. Can I come inside? Have a drink, maybe? Whatever you usually give to friends," Naruto suggested.
Without a word, Seiji let him in. He silently padded off to the kitchen still with a shellshocked look on his face that remained the only reason Naruto wasn't too much reminded of Sasuke. Quiet, lonely, dark eyes, pale skin, all checks. But Sasuke was never surprised to see Naruto, even when his presence should've been impossible.
He made himself at home in the living room while Seiji prepared him some tea, funnily enough. There were some pictures on the tables beside the couch of Seiji with a few other people his age. Naruto wondered if any of them were his special friend. He himself had a picture of team seven that he always kept on his dresser.
"So," Seiji said. He sat on a chair instead of on the couch after placing the tea on the ottoman. "To what do I owe the honor?"
"I'm here on a mission," Naruto replied. "I know that probably sounds scary coming from me, but it's not a high ranked mission. I was just helping your betrothed find you."
Once again, five stages of grief. Not exactly the reaction he'd been hoping for. Except this time, Seiji did not arrive at acceptance. His gaze hardened.
"Just because my parents were close with her parents doesn't mean I want to marry her. We don't know anything about each other. Tell her you couldn't find me."
For once today, Naruto's eyes widened. "What?! But Miza worked so hard to get here! There's no way she'll believe I couldn't find you! Why won't you meet her?"
The least Seiji could do was give Miza a chance. It wasn't as though they had to get married right away. All the details could come after they got to know each other. Why was Seiji acting like it was too late to learn more?
"Because I don't need to meet her to know I won't ever marry her. It's better for her to never get attached to me. I don't want to break her heart," Seiji said as if that explained anything. Naruto couldn't help being angry.
"You're already breaking her heart! She traveled all this way because she wanted to honor her parents' dying wish. Isn't that worth anything to you?" he argued.
Seiji refused to meet his eyes. Sighing, Naruto supposed it was time for that speech. He needed to get to Seiji's heart to convince him.
"Listen," he began. "I was like you when I was young. Lonely. But eventually, I made a friend, and he had been lonely too. You're a bit like him. He wouldn't give the girl who loved him a chance for many years because he let that loneliness control him. I've seen how bad that road is to go down. I could've gone down it myself. It was only when we let ourselves connect with people that our lives improved. So please, don't push away this connection, okay? You might not know Miza, but she's still connected to you through your parents. When I was young, it meant the world to me when I got to meet the people my parents used to love and trust. I never got to meet them personally. Do you really want to let this opportunity pass you by?"
As his words settled in the room, Seiji opened his mouth and closed it again several times. He was clearly conflicted. Something was eating away at him, bothering him. Naruto gave him his gentlest smile to help him get it out.
"I—I understand what you're saying," Seiji said slowly. Jackpot. "But there's something you don't know. If I agree to meet her, you have to make sure she knows it's just as friends. I already—have someone in my heart."
Or not.
After Naruto had been assured by the hostess that Seiji and his friend weren't involved, he hadn't even considered that there could be someone else. He should've seen it coming, but he hadn't. Of course Seiji would have met a girl by now that captured his heart. Naruto's own heart cried out on Miza's behalf.
"I see. Are you and this person—together already? As in, dating? Married?" he asked, clinging to a shred of hope.
To his delight, Seiji shook his head. "Not yet. It's just wishful thinking on my part so far. But I've liked this person a long time now, and I'm not going to give up."
While that response should've been Naruto's foot in the door, he instead felt saddened by it. He remembered how Hinata had loved him quietly for years without him knowing. He remembered how Sakura had longed for Sasuke to come home. And how he had too. If someone had barged into their lives and told them to give up and long for someone else, would they have done it? Certainly not.
"I'm sorry." Naruto bowed his head. "I didn't realize you would be taken. I just got so set on the idea of Miza having her happy ending. I guess because I understood the pain of losing your parents and having no one. Wanting to chase the last shred of them you have left."
"And I understand that too. But even if I didn't have someone, I don't think she could be that person for me. It's not her fault. You can tell her I'm still willing to be friends if she's interested," Seiji said solemnly.
There it was again. That utter refusal, like Miza's romantic advances were up against a stone wall. Naruto had thought he understood it mere moments ago. Now, he wasn't so sure.
"I'll tell her. Friends are important. But why do you think there's something wrong with Miza? I know you said it's not her fault, but why do you think your beloved has something she doesn't?" he asked.
He tried to keep his voice gentle and purely curious. If he got angry again, Seiji wouldn't trust him. He needed to convey that Uzumaki Naruto wasn't just a fighter—he was a softie. That was what Hinata had liked about him. And he was so soft, in fact, that he couldn't have shot her down.
Seiji swallowed hard. Nervous. Whatever he was hiding, it was personal. That was okay. Naruto liked personal.
"I— You see— Well, she's a girl," he said quickly. After the words rolled off his tongue, he looked at Naruto like he was hoping he hadn't heard them.
"Uh, yeah. I figured your beloved was a girl. So is Miza. Or was that not clear enough?" Naruto raised an eyebrow with confusion.
A sigh. "Clearly it wasn't. I know Miza's a girl. I didn't— That's not what I meant. It's that the guy I like is, well, a guy."
Oh.
Finally, it clicked into Naruto's brain. A guy. Seiji liked a guy. He couldn't like Miza because she was a girl. And his beloved wasn't. Oh.
"Ahahaha…" Naruto reached for his cup of tea just to have something to do with his hands. He was terribly embarrassed now to not have considered this as a possibility. He took a sip. Oolong. Yeah, this guy was gay.
"Don't tell anyone! Not even Miza. If I decide to trust her, I'll tell her myself," Seiji rushed to say. "I just don't want word getting out."
"I won't, I promise."
All of a sudden, Naruto's chest was heavy. Like his heart was a dull weight hanging loosely inside him. Seiji's face was so full of fear, and Naruto's was full of…what? Grief? Was he the one going through the stages now?
Silence descended upon them. Naruto kept drinking his tea, and every sip reminded him of the tea house. Of Seiji sitting in the corner and wishing he could be with the guy he liked. Before, Naruto had likened himself to Seiji and the guy to Sasuke. Somehow, it still didn't feel inaccurate. He cleared his throat.
"I hope…you can be together with him," Naruto said quietly.
"You do? You really do?" Seiji questioned.
"I do. Maybe I could even help you."
The offer had escaped him before he could stop it. Naruto's heart had always bled for people he connected with, and it was too late to take it back.
"No, no. I don't want you trying to get his attention for me. All I really need is—confidence. But it's hard. It's like no one understands what it feels like."
Naruto met his eyes. "Then tell me. What does it feel like?"
He could hear Seiji's heart hammering in his chest. Or maybe that was Naruto's own. Both, perhaps.
"It feels like…" Seiji took a deep breath. "Like I just want to spend every moment with him. I think about him when he's not there, sometimes even imagine he is. And my chest gets all tight like I want, need, to reach out to him, but I can't. I can't because even though he's the most important person to me, the one who completes me like no one else can, everyone thinks it's weird to care about him so much. Like I'm just supposed to give up and settle down with a girl I could never feel this same way about."
Ah. All those words sounded achingly familiar. Naruto recalled the time that Sasuke had been gone. Remembered all the times his teenage self had hallucinated him, dreamt of him, chased after him. Only for everyone to tell him he needed to let him go. They'd had their reasons for it, but it hadn't hurt any less. And yet, Naruto had married Hinata. Sasuke remained out of reach, always, always.
"I felt that way about a guy once," Naruto admitted. The weight in his chest eased a little. He'd been carrying this with him for a long, long time. Mostly without ever realizing it.
Stunned, Seiji floundered, "I—You—Really???"
And Naruto smiled sadly. "Yeah. Everything you just said sounds just like the way I used to be about my best friend. I loved him more than life itself."
If Naruto had been in the middle of everyone else, Sasuke had been the middle of Naruto. The center of his universe. And it wasn't as though they never saw each other anymore, it just wasn't the way it used to be. Naruto missed it sometimes.
"What happened with him? Should I even ask?" The fear returned to Seiji's voice.
Naruto sighed. This story probably wouldn't reassure Seiji the way he needed to be. But at the very least, it would tell him that Naruto understood the pain. He realized he understood it better than he had ever wanted to.
"I chased him for years. And when I finally got him to come home, he still didn't stay. He traveled a lot, gone more often than not. And while he was away, a girl confessed to me. She'd loved me unconditionally all her life. I'd always been desperate for love and recognition. She gave it to me, and…I couldn't say no. She was great. Still is. I've got two kids, all grown up now. Still see my best friend sometimes, too. But not enough. Never enough."
Upon hearing that, Seiji didn't look as sad as Naruto thought he would. Or maybe he did, but in a different way. He looked like he pitied him. Wasn't that something?
"I never thought a famous hero like you would have a story like that," Seiji admitted. "I thought you'd have the perfect life. And I suppose it does look perfect from the outside, but you seem like you miss your best friend a lot. Do you still have feelings for him?"
What a question. Naruto tried to pinpoint when, if, his feelings had faded. With time, he supposed, he had just managed to convince himself that his relationship with Sasuke was fine as it was and that it would be easy enough to love someone new. Everything had happened so quickly with Hinata, and Sakura had told him she'd be good for him. She was right. But she was also wrong that Hinata could fill the hole Sasuke had left. Sasuke still had the same place in his heart, it was just that Hinata had a place too. Separate, different. But if he were to ask himself who he would have chosen if Sasuke had stayed in Konoha, if he had told Naruto he wanted him, then he'd have to confess he knew the answer.
"In a way," was all Naruto ended up saying.
"So what then? If I can't get my crush to like me back, am I supposed to give up too? Go with Miza? Even if I never stop loving him?" Seiji asked desperately.
Throwing his hands in the air, Naruto tried to backtrack. "No, no, I didn't mean that. You don't have to do what I did. I told you I'd help you because I didn't want that for you, actually. I think you should talk to him more, allow yourself to get closer even if it's scary. And one day when you're ready, you should tell him how you feel. As clearly as you can."
He'd added that last part in as a necessary afterthought. Brow furrowed, Seiji contemplated this for a moment.
"You almost sound like you're speaking from experience. Exactly how clear am I supposed to be? Is telling him I'd go to hell and back for him not enough? Would kissing him not be enough either?"
At that, Naruto burst out laughing. He nearly spit his tea out, setting it down on the table before he dropped the cup too.
"Ha! It's certainly not enough, I'll tell you that. Did you know I tried to die with this best friend of mine? Not only that, he was my first kiss. Second, too."
"WHAT?!?!"
Naruto kept laughing while Seiji watched him, taken aback. He doubted anyone even remembered his and Sasuke's first kiss anymore. Sakura had beaten him up for stealing it back in the day. Good times. Fortunately, she didn't know about the second time.
"Yep, that's my truth! They were both accidents, but I always thought they counted."
"How do you even kiss someone on accident? Twice??? And why would it count?!"
Naruto only laughed harder. "Haha, I—I don't know, honestly! I just sort of fell into him and that's where I landed. It does seem like a pretty big coincidence, doesn't it? I pretended to hate it, but I would tell people I had experience kissing when they asked, so I guess I was as proud as I was embarrassed. Proud that I got to kiss him and the girls didn't."
While that loaded into Seiji's brain, he slowly recalled the other thing Naruto had said. He'd almost gotten away with it.
"Wait, you also TRIED TO DIE WITH HIM???"
"Ah, yeah, hehe." Naruto shrugged sheepishly. "Told him I'd bear the burden of his hatred, die with him, and that I was the only one who could. We did almost die, y'know. That's why I've got this prosthetic arm."
As used to it as he was now, Naruto hadn't given his fake arm a thought in years. To others, it was probably pretty noticeable, though. All wrapped in bandages, it looked like he had a permanent arm injury. Well—he supposed he did.
"Why were you willing to go that far for him just to not tell him how you really felt?" Seiji asked incredulously.
"I thought he knew. I thought I knew, but honestly, I have no idea now. Anyway, what's done is done. There's no use in regretting it. All I can do is tell you to go for your man."
Seiji looked thoughtful. He stared out the window for a minute, lost in what were probably daydreams about what had been and what could be. Eventually, he smiled. It was the first time Naruto had seen him like that.
"Okay. I'll give it my best shot. Thanks for saying all this to me. Knowing that the great Uzumaki Naruto is like me might just be the confidence boost I needed," said Seiji gratefully.
Naruto smiled back. His biggest, widest grin. He stood up from the couch to ruffle Seiji's dark brown hair.
"No problem, kid. I know you're not a kid, but I get to say that at my age. Now, would you like to meet Miza?"
Seiji stood up with him. "I think I would."
"Wonderful." Naruto put an arm around Seiji's shoulders as they walked to the door. "But before that, let me tell you how to revive those plants of yours. A beautiful garden might impress your man!"
~🌼~
Riki and Saori were both utterly disappointed to find out Naruto had found Seiji first. Saori tried to act like she didn't care, but he could tell she wanted to beat him. He was still smug as they started the walk back to Konoha.
"It was so hard to find absolutely anyone who knew him! Was the village bigger than I thought?" Riki wondered.
"Nope. Seiji just wasn't too well-known," Naruto told him. "But ninja have to be able to work with minimal clues."
"Yeah, whatever," Saori grumbled. "At least his first meeting with Miza seemed to be going well. I hope we get to go to the wedding."
Inwardly, Naruto thought that he'd absolutely love to go to Seiji's wedding. But for his sake, he hoped Miza's name wouldn't be on the invite when it came. Outwardly, he just smiled knowingly as all the things he and Seiji had said floated through his mind.
Just before they'd departed, Seiji had pulled him aside to whisper one more thing in his ear: I think it's not too late to tell him. Naruto knew 'him' had been referring to Sasuke. He supposed he could bring it up just for the sake of it, despite that nothing could come from it. Sasuke would probably call him an idiot, and he'd deserve it. But he wasn't ashamed of it. Naruto had loved a man before, and because of that, he'd been able to help someone. Perhaps being more open about his sexuality would be a good thing.
"What are you smiling about, old man?" Riki demanded.
Naruto just smiled wider and said, "How about I tell you guys a story about the past to pass the time?"