It’s a clear cool night. The stars glimmer brightly, revealing stories of constellations. In the early morning hours, a certain chill in the air. Naruto stares up at the stars. He shouldn’t be awake.

Along with the quite hum of crickets, Yamato’s snores fill the air. He sighs inaudible and watches the canopies around him sway in the wind. He hears Sakura shuffle in her sleep, turning from one side to the other. Still, he stares at the sky. If he’d known he wouldn’t be sleeping, he would have taken the night shift, instead of Sai. At least it would have given him something to do. A reason to be awake at ungodly hours.

Sasuke. He thinks miserably.

This is the reason he’s been up late so many nights. His mind never seems to turn off, always churning thoughts and guilt and hatred and questions.

 Sasuke, what are you doing now?

Why did Sasuke leave Konoha? Kakashi- sensei, Sakura – Him? A feeling grows in the pit of his stomach, somewhere near his sealing tattoo. It’s dark and jagged and cruel. Sasuke leaving had created a wound that was so raw, the pain drove him insane. How could he make it stop?

He was used to being hated. It was almost natural. Before he knew that he was a Jinchūriki, he used to think that it was his parents’ fault. After all, nobody would talk about them. The eyes that used to look at him were so filled with disgust, that he thought they must have been monsters. He thought that ran in his blood and made him a monster.

He still thinks like this, but not because of his parents, but because of himself. With Sasuke gone and his control over the ninetails slipping, he feels more like a monster every day. He’s terrified that one day he won’t come back from his kyuubi state.

Is that why Sasuke left? Did he know from the start t