Chapter 1

'Tadaima'

It was a beautiful morning. The sun was just rising over the eastern horizon causing the dew-dropped surroundings to sparkle as they caught the first golden rays of the day; the birds were beginning their morning song. All over Konoha you could see signs of the people waking. Naruto Uzumaki lay sprawled in his bed, legs entangled in a mass of navy blue silk, staring at his ceiling. For a variety of reasons, the blonde had been forbidden to actively search for his missing raven haired friend. Naruto being who he was had been searching for Sasuke for six months now almost non-stop. Of course no one else in the village knew about his search, thanks to his clever use of his kage bunshin, though the continued use of his jutsu was starting to fatigue him and hints of dark circles could be seen around his crystal blue eyes.

"Today... Today I'll find you! Ne? Sasuke?" Naruto said to himself, glancing at a framed picture on his nightstand. "Itachi's dead, Akatsuki was wiped out. Where are you?"

He gave a deep sigh and sat up. He didn't want to get out of bed yet, he was still tired, but he had a mission briefing this morning and Granny Tsunade would beat him up if he was late again. Naruto couldn't suppress the shudder that ran through him as memories of his last briefing ran through his mind. An hour later Naruto had showered, dressed, and had just finished eating his morning ramen. He had packed all the things he would need for today's mission, and had fed the stray black cat he adopted, that always slept outside his bedroom window.

"Yosh! Almost ready to go!" With that his hands began to form the necessary seals, "Kage Bunshin No Justu!", and instantly five exact copies of himself appeared. "Alright, you guys know what to do." The five copies nodded their heads in unison, and one by one the jumped out of his bedroom window.

As the last bunshin's head disappeared from view, the sleepy cat, as if on cue, jumped up into the window sill. "Watch the house for me, Teme, while I'm gone." Naruto said to the cat, scratching behind its ears. The cat looked up at the blonde, "Nyaa!", and gently bit his finger. "Teme, always the biter." Naruto thought to himself with a smile. With a last glance in the mirror, and a slight frown at the faint circles under his eyes, Naruto left his apartment and made his way to the Hokage's office.

Not more than thirty minutes later Naruto arrived back at his apartment door. "Damn Granny Tsunade!" He muttered to himself as he let himself in. Slamming the door behind him, and tossing his knapsack into a corner, Naruto threw himself on his couch. They had taken him off the mission. Everyone had said, with no reservations, that he looked like shit.

"Damn! I didn't think it was that noticeable... I really need to get some rest, these bunshin are wearing me out... but I can't dispel them! That damn Tsunade won't let me look for Sasuke! This is the only way... I can't give up on him..." Naruto thought with a sob, tears forming in his big blue eyes. In reality he was exhausted and it was making him a bit over emotional. Stifling a yawn he rose from the couch and made his way into his room.

"Anything happen Teme?" He asked, glancing at the cat who was still sunbathing in its favorite spot. The cat gave Naruto a curious glance, yawned, and arched its back in a long stretch. As Naruto sat down on his bed, the cat leaped from its perch and settled into the blondes lap. Naruto began scratching behind its ears absently, lost in thought.

"Sometimes having a healer for a Hokage is a pain. That woman can see an ailment a mile away! And it's even worse when Sakura is around! She's like a Tsunade clone these days!" He ranted in his head. Sighing, he removed the cat from his lap and lay down. "Ah well, at least they gave me a month off. I can get some rest and regain some energy to look for Sasuke." He said to no one. Ten minutes later, he was asleep.

...Meanwhile...

A blonde ninja jumped from tree to tree in the depths of the Fire Country forest. His eyes scanned his surroundings, ears perked for the slightest sound. The bunshin glanced at the sky.

"Damn! It'll rain soon, better find some cover." He thought to himself. His thought barely completed, the sky opened up and the rain began to fall. "If I remember right, there's a cave system near here. With darkness almost here, and all this rain, I can't see anything." He sighed. As he traversed the forest canopy, the branches grew slick with rainfall. Just as the forest began to clear, Naruto's foot slipped and he fell to the ground.

"Okay... OW! That fuckin' hurt!" The bunshin yelled up at the limb. "I almost extinguished myself, damn. You'd think I'd be able to run properly in the rain by now!" Naruto rose to his feet. He looked around at his surroundings. Roughly fifty feet away he spotted the opening of one of the many caves that dotted the landscape. Limping slightly he made his way towards the shelter.

As he neared the entrance, a cold voice rang out from within. "Who's there?" Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, a shiver running down his spine. "I said who's there?" The voice called out again.

"Uhhhhh... I'm a Konoha ninja, I slipped on a limb in the forest. The rains made it wet you see. I was just looking for somewhere to wait out the rain." Naruto started walking toward the cave entrance.

That voice, he knew that voice. "Why are you here?" Came the voice, quieter now. Naruto had reached the entrance to the cave. Inside a small fire was lit, and a camp of sorts had been set up. A dark figure leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and face hidden in shadow. The bunshin took one step inside, getting out of the rain, he was soaked.

"I asked why you're here, bunshin!"

A smile too big for the blonds face leapt to his lips, tears sprang to his eyes. "I'm here, for you. Though I admit, I never thought I would find you here... Sasuke."

Sasuke stepped out from the shadows. "Hn." The raven haired boy sat down beside the fire, adjusted the kettle of water boiling there and stared into the dancing flames. Naruto, unsure what Sasuke would do or say, just stood in the entrance, his huge smile never leaving his face.

"Well come in, bunshin." Overcome with emotion triggered by the familiar sound in his best friends tone, Naruto couldn't take it anymore, he took three steps toward the man he had been searching years for, and fell to his knees sobbing.

"Oi! Bunshin! What are you doing?" Sasuke said looking up from the fire.

"Sas...Sasu...Sasuke!" Naruto cried.

Sasuke inertly chuckled, "Same 'old dobe, even if you are only a clone." Naruto looked up, smiling, wiping the tears from his eyes. He got up and sat down by the fire.

"How'd you know I was a bunshin?"

"Seriously?" Sasuke asked, his dark eyes widening a little, giving a little chuckle. "It's easy when there's only one of you, it's when that damn dobe creates a hundred of you guys that things start getting confusing." Naruto smiled at Sasuke, but sadness touched his eyes. "What bunshin? Sad you're an incompetent ninja who can't run in the rain?"

"You know you don't have to call me bunshin! And I can run just fine!" Naruto puffed out his cheeks in a pout. Sasuke just rolled his eyes.

"But you are a bunshin, get over it. And your ankle says otherwise."

"Ne, Sasuke?"

"Hmmm?" Sasuke asked as he got up and started rummaging in a sack near the back of the cave.

"You know why I'm here right?" Sasuke stopped, sighed, and returned to the fireside, a cup of instant ramen in his hand.

"Yeah, I know. But I won't return with a bunshin. Why are you out here anyways, where's the dobe?" He asked, looking the bunshin in the eyes, those crystal blue eyes that had stared him down countless times with a fiery passion that didn't exist anywhere else in this world. But the clone wasn't paying any attention. Naruto was staring at the cup of ramen in Sasuke's ivory hand, eyes going wide. Licking his lips a little, he glanced up at the raven haired boy's face, a desirous look in his eye.

"Ra...ramen?" Sasuke made a sound that almost resembled a laugh.

Naruto frowned, "What's funny?" But Sasuke only smirked and picked up the kettle that sat beside the fire. After filling the cup to the designated line and closing the paper lid, he held the instant ramen out to the bunshin. "Really? I can have it?" asked Naruto.

"Hn." He snatched the ramen out of the other boy's hands.

"Thanks 'Suke!" Sasuke's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. "Suke huh?"

When three minutes had passed and the ramen was ready and Naruto had begun to indulge in the noodley goodness, Sasuke repeated his earlier question. "Why is a bunshin here? Where's the dobe?" The blonde shrugged, slurping up a noodle.

"The real me is at home I suppose. We've still got to do our missions, and since we're jounin now we have a lot to do. And Tsunade keeps us purposely busy." He paused to take another bite. "So the real me has been sending us bunshin out every day to look for you." Naruto grabbed another bite of ramen with his chopsticks, "Ne, Sasuke, this is really good ramen! Especially for instant!"

Looking back into the fire, Sasuke replied, "It's supposedly the best there is." The blonde boy readied another bite but stopped with his arm half way to his mouth. A curious look stole over the boy's whiskered face. He glanced around the cave. He estimated it to be rough 20 feet wide and about 15 feet deep, but it showed no signs of continuous use. Sure Sasuke had made camp, but nothing that resembled a long term setup. It seemed Sasuke, too, was just seeking refuge from the rain. He looked down at the steaming cup in front of him.

"Sasuke? Don't you hate ramen?" He glanced around the cave again. "Doesn't look like you're staying here. Why are you carrying ramen around with you? Ne, ne? Did you decide you like it?" Naruto teased, a triumphant grin playing across his face. "I told you that you would learn to love it! You like sweets now too?" Sasuke glanced at the bunshin sitting across from him for a quick moment, and then returned his gaze to the flames.

"No."

"No? No what? No you don't like sweets or no, you don't like ramen?"

The raven haired boy sighed, and lay on his back, hands behind his head. For a moment he didn't say anything, then with another sigh he shifted to his side and propped his head up with his palm, his shirt opening widening, revealing a sculpted ivory torso. He stared at the replica in front of him. A small blush crept into Naruto's face as a tingling sensation stole over his body and he averted his gaze. When Sasuke still didn't say anything a few moments later, he looked back at him and was caught by his dark eyes.

"Neither." When Naruto still looked as though he didn't understand, Sasuke added, "I still don't like either of them."

"Then why did you have ramen? There are plenty of other easy portable meals for you to carry, ne?" Sasuke stared back into the flickering flames before him.

"I always have some, but I don't eat it. But that's not important. Like I said, I'm not going back with some bunshin." Naruto gulped down his last bite of ramen, and set the cup aside. Grabbing his knees up to his chest, he stared at Sasuke.

"Would you come back though? If you were with the real me?" asked the bunshin, anxiety evident in his voice. Sasuke returned to his back, one hand behind his head, the other resting on his stomach.

"Go back huh?" He asked to no one in particular, staring into the dark space above him. "Go back to the village? Back to Konoha? I'm a missing nin. Back to the whispers and the scandal?" He sighed.

"No," said Naruto, a tear falling down one whiskered cheek, "back to me, back to Naruto." He got up and moved to Sasuke's side of the fire. Getting down on all fours beside the sprawled out boy, he leaned over and looked him in the eye. "Come home Sasuke. I miss you." Another tear began to fall as Naruto, almost subconsciously, reached to hold the pale face before him in his hands. "It doesn't matter if you're a missing nin; I've already taken care of that. I miss you. I miss my best friend. I miss my rival. I miss... I miss..."

The bunshin wiped the blurring tears from his eyes, only to be surprised to see the same tears in the dark orbs that lay below him. The two boys stay staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity to Naruto. He vaguely noticed that the rain had stopped outside, and the moonlight was beginning to peek through the drained rain clouds.

"Tell him..." Sasuke began after a time, "tell him... tell him... Wait, how many bunshin does he have out?"

"There are at least fifty of us out at all times..." The blonde replied, unsure of what Sasuke was thinking.

"Tell him to meet me at the bridge that spans the koi pond near the village in two days, at noon. Tell him to extinguish his bunshin and rest up. Constantly using that many bunshin on top of what he's got to do in his missions, for that long? He is going to make himself sick." Sasuke looked away, a reddening blush kissing his cheeks. Naruto grinned,

"Are you worried about me 'Suke?"

"Hn."

And in a flash Sasuke grabbed a kunai from within the folds of his clothes, wrapped one arm around the bunshin's neck and plunged the kunai into his arm with the other, and in a puff of smoke his old friend's jutsu was gone. He laid his hands on his chest and closed his eyes. He couldn't keep a faint smile from touching the corners of his mouth as he rolled over and went to sleep.

Naruto awoke just as the sun was setting. He lay in his bed, eyes still closed, not really wanting to get up yet. That was, until, the resident mouse chaser flopped down on his face.

"Oi, Teme! My face is not a place to take a nap!" He told the cat, as he set up, and held it out in front of him. Hanging like a rag doll, Teme was totally unconcerned.

"Nyaa." And as he had done earlier that morning, and like countless times before, Teme gently bit Naruto's finger.

"Yeah, yeah. Bite, bite." The sleepy eyed blonde snickered at the cat. Putting Teme down on the floor at his feet, Naruto stretched his arms out as a yawn escaped him.

He rose from his bed while running his hand through his hair and made his way to the bathroom. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he noticed the dark rings under his eyes had faded somewhat, thanks to sleeping the day away. Naruto made his way to the tub and started running water for a bath. After making sure the water temperature was just right, he undressed and stepped in. Sinking into the water up to his chin, he let out a long, deep sigh. The hot water was heavenly, and soon Naruto was lost in his thoughts.

"Sasuke... Dammit Sasuke, where are you? Why haven't you come home? I know the old, happy Sasuke was the right one... why don't you want happiness, Sasuke?" Naruto closed his eyes and smiled. "Hn. The good old days... ever since the day I first saw you, sitting on your family's dock... I knew... even if I wasn't really aware that I knew..." He sat up. "Heh, does that even make sense?" Naruto chuckled to himself. Matters concerning Sasuke never made much sense to Naruto. He pulled the plug out of the drain, and turned the water on again to shower off.

The Blonde turned on the radio that sat on the counter near the tub. A familiar song was playing and he hummed along as he lathered his hair. As the chorus broke out, he turned to rinse the suds out of his hair, shaking his hips in time with the beat as he sang along. "Yooooou, are my Angel, Angel. Seeeeeent tooo meeeeee... Yoooou are my Angle, Ang..." Naruto's face suddenly went pale, his head was swimming. Images swarmed before his eyes.

"Sasuke...?" It was barely more than a whisper. As he accumulated the information from the bunshin that had just been extinguished, Naruto's head erupted in a torrent of chaos.

"I found Sasuke! I really found him! And he said to meet him!"

Naruto sprang out of the shower, hurryingly turning off the faucet. Without drying himself, and without worrying about his clothes he ran out of the bathroom, tripping over the radio power cord, pulling it from the wall in his hurry. Naruto ran into his living room, leaped on his couch, "Sasuke!" and started jumping up and down. "I'm going to bring him back!" He ran into the kitchen. "Sasuke! Sasuke! Sasuke!" The overjoyed blonde sang aloud to himself.

*Knock. Knock.*

Naruto's heart jumped into his throat as he started running for the door. He almost ripped the knob off as he threw it open.

"Naruto-kun! We just got back from the mission and Sakura suggested I... I check..." It was Sai. The normally impassive boy's face was covered in a furious blush. Sakura had asked him to check on Naruto, since he hadn't been allowed to go on the mission, while she went and made their report to Tsunade. He, however, was not expecting a fully nude, dripping wet, Naruto to answer the door. And what was with that grin plastered from ear to ear?

"Yo! Sai!" Naruto greeted him. "Are you ok? You look like you have a fever..." Naruto grabbed Sai's left arm and pulled him in the door while simultaneously putting his other hand on the other boys now crimson face. "You feel a little warm."

"Um...Naruto?" Sai inquired.

"What's up? Is everything ok?"

"Um... Naruto, why are you naked?" A shade of red never before though possible covered the youth's cheeks.

"Huh?" Asked Naruto looking down. "OH! Shit! I'm sorry I forgot... I got distracted you see and... well I was in the bath and... never mind... hahahaha... Give me just a minute, I'll go get dressed." And the blonde promptly turned around and quickly headed for his bedroom, his face now matching the color of Sai's. Sai, recovering quickly from his near nosebleed, closed the door behind him and stood waiting for Naruto to return.

"Really, Sai, I'm sorry man." Giggled Naruto as he emerged from his bedroom door, now fully clothed.

"No, it's ok. It's not like I haven't seen you naked before." Sai said quietly. Naruto gave him a quizzical look. "Ah, that is... the hot springs." Naruto laughed a little, scratching behind his head.

"Anyways, come have a seat man, you don't have to wait for an invitation around here you know." Sai mumbled a faint "Un." and sat down on the couch.

Sai looked at Naruto. "Ne, Naruto? Did something good happen?" The blonde raised his eyebrows a little, his blue eyes positively sparkling.

"Why do you say that?"

"Huh? Well, you see... I was reading in this book and... I know you guys told me not to really... but..."

Naruto waved a hand at him, "Ok, Ok. Never mind. Yeah..." The unabashed smile, having never left his face all this time, now grew even larger as he sat down in an armchair across from his friend. "Something GREAT happened." Now it was Sai's eyebrows that rose.

"Great huh? You've been pretty moody lately, I'm glad something has cheered you up." Naruto, bursting to tell someone, anyone, that he had finally done it, started squirming in his seat. Sai laughed, "That big huh? What is it then?" Naruto began fussing about in the recliner even more, but said nothing. "Ah I've got to guess do I? Hmmm..." Sai looked down putting his chin in his palm. "Did you eat some really good ramen? No, no. You're really antsy, it's bigger than ramen. Did you get laid then?" Sai looked up at Naruto for a moment, and then returned his gaze to the floor. "No, no. It's not that either. You're practically freaking out over there..."

Again, he returned his gaze to the blonde boy who was now jumping up and down like a frog, shaking the frame of the chair, eyes a little bit wild. Then it hit him. "Oh. Sasuke." Came Sai's monotonous tone as he slumped into the couch behind him. Naruto froze.

"Oh. Sasuke? Is that all you can fucking say? I wouldn't have made you guess if I thought that's what you were going to say. What a buzz-kill." He pointed at the boy sitting on his couch. "You, my friend, you suck." Naruto laughed as he rose from his chair. "Come on, I'll make some tea and ramen"

After the boys had eaten and the tea was served, Sai rekindled their conversation. "So what's the deal? Where's Sasuke?" Naruto put the tea cup he had been drinking from down in its matching saucer.

"Ok well first... you see..."

*Knock. Knock.*

"Ah, that'll be Sakura I'm sure." Naruto said, rising from his seat. "I bet she'll have a better response than you, fucker!"

"Hn." Came Sai's reply as he threw a left over ramen noodle at Naruto. Naruto caught the noodle in his mouth and put his hand up, fingers in the "V for Victory" sign.

*Knock. Knock.*

"Yeah, Yeah! I'm coming!" He yelled. Naruto opened the door. It was Sakura all right, and as soon as he had opened the door she was staring him down, looking for signs of the earlier fatigue. She could still see it around his eyes, but there was something different. His eyes were really sparkly, abnormally sparkly, and then in an instant, so were Sakura's.

"Holy fucking shit! You found him?" She yelled as she shoved her way through the doorway.

"SEE? I told you! That was a much better reaction!" Naruto laughed closing his front door, "And I didn't even say anything!"

"Pfft! That's just that old Sasuke-radar of Sakura's that I've heard so much about kicking in. And such dirty language from a lady." Sai smirked at Sakura as she sat down at the table pouring herself some tea.

"You like it and you know it, Sai." She winked at him.

"So where'd your bunshin find him at Naruto? Where is he now? Is he coming home? What did he say? What happened?" The questions spilled out of the girl's mouth before Naruto had even sat down. "Well my bunshin was about 2 days from here and it was raining and I... I... hang on! You knew about my bunshin?" Naruto's face showed evident surprise.

"We aren't idiots Naruto; why else would you be so tired all the time?" Came Sai's matter-of-fact reply.

"Then why didn't you say something?"

"Would it have mattered Naruto? Who cares about that now anyways, tell us what happened!" Sakura all but shrieked at him. Naruto laughed.

"All right. Well like I was saying, it started raining, and my bunshin slipped..."

"So... the day after tomorrow... wow." Sakura said as she set back in her chair. "What're you going to do?"

"Do? Well I'm going to go obviously!"

"I don't think that's what Sakura meant, Naruto." Naruto looked from Sakura to Sai, then back to Sakura.

"Well... what I meant was, what are you going to do when you meet him, when you see him?" She was using a voice usually reserved only for when explaining seemingly simple things to small children.

"Ah well that... I'm not really sure. I mean this all just happened tonight. I've run through this scenario a million times but really I suppose most of it will be up to Sasuke, ne? But it sounded like he was willing to come home to me." The blonde shrugged his shoulders.

"Well we'll just have to wait and see, I suppose. In the mean time," Sakura was saying as she reached into a pocket, "drink this, and then dispel your bunshin. With so many out, that's going to wipe you, that medicine should help." She handed Naruto a crystal vial with a strange violet colored liquid inside as she rose from the table. "Sai and I should be heading home and you're going to need your rest. We'll come by tomorrow evening." Naruto walked his two friends to the door.

"Oh and I would appreciate it if you guys wouldn't say anything to anyone for a while. If he comes home, I want to give him some time to adjust before everyone assaults him. I mean, you guys are ok... but everyone else..."

"No worries Naruto. " Sai smiled, "Our lips are sealed. " Halfway across the threshold, Sakura turned on her heal and faced Naruto looking him straight in the eye.

"I knew you could do it, Naruto." She smiled, kissed Naruto on his surprised cheek, then grabbing Sai by the hand they waved and started their way home.

The last couple of days had been torture for Naruto. Every waking moment his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Sasuke, though really that wasn't all that much different from any other day. No, it had simply been the waiting, waiting knowing that he was so close to completing one of his 2 major goals in life, and he knew the second would follow shortly after the first. He had been chasing after the Uchiha avenger for over 7 years now, but the last 2 days had been filled with more angst than all the years of his life put together, and that was saying something. It's not that Uzumaki Naruto was an angsty type of person, but let's face it; anyone who knew him could attest to the fact that the boy had been subjected to more than his fair share of scorn and heartache.

"I'm just no good with suspense..." The blonde muttered to himself as he finally neared his destination. The koi pond Sasuke had spoken of was in sight now, and he could feel his pulse quicken. A few hurried steps later Naruto could see a darkened silhouette leaning against the railing of the bridge and a soft melody floated through the air accompanied by soft humming. The kyuubi container stopped just short of the bridge, all sense of urgency washed away with the music produced by the Uchiha heir. It was beautiful, haunting, and somehow made him feel better than he had in years.

As the song drew to a close and as Sasuke sealed the strange foreign instrument back into the scroll at his feet, Naruto made his way to the raven's side and unconsciously held his breath. For a few moments the world stood still. The wind died down, the forest was silent, even the fish stopped jumping. Then Sasuke stood and looked at Naruto. Neither of them moved or said a word for what seemed like eons, simply content to stare at one another. Then as suddenly just as quickly as it had disappeared, life and sound came blasting back. It was almost too much for Naruto, who had forgotten anything else had existed at all, and though childish it may seem, he almost felt cheated. As if the world should disappear for a while, leaving only Sasuke and him. Banishing those selfish thoughts from his mind, he released his breath, having finally realized that he was holding it and the dizziness he felt was not only because Sasuke was in front of him again at last.

Silence had never been something that Naruto indulged in. He was a loud, obnoxious, hyper-active type of person, even now that he was 20 years old. Now, however, he was content to revel in the peace that seemed to linger in the air. Just what was it about Sasuke that drew Naruto to him like he did? They had started out as reluctant teammates, never really getting along, always fighting and bickering amongst each other and somewhere along the way they grew to be closer to each other than anyone else. 'Even if that teme will never admit it.' Naruto thought, mentally rolling his eyes. But when had their rivalry and friendship turned into a desperate obsession for the blonde? When had Uchiha Sasuke become the most important being in his world? Was it after he had nearly died saving Naruto? Before that, when they had been assigned teammates? When they had been each others unwilling first kiss? Before all that? Naruto didn't know, and really he didn't care. He just knew that at some point Sasuke became all that mattered, even more so than becoming Hokage.

'Kami, I sound like one of his old fangirls!' He berated himself. And with that thought, the silence was broken and Naruto's harmonic laughter rang out. 'Right, all this must be going to my head. As if any of those girls would do, or have done, half of what I have for this bastard. And that includes Sakura, even if she's moved onto Sai. But what in the hell does that mean? The fact that I am willing to go above and beyond for this self-righteous prick, willing to risk everything I have and everything I am for him...'

Naruto's inner dialog was interrupted without conclusion though by the rising of a perfectly curved eyebrow, a smirk, and a one syllable word that once upon a time he never wanted to hear again.

"Hn."

Trying to calm his chuckling, Naruto took deep breaths and prepared himself for what he hoped to be the last time he had to make his aptly named, 'Come home or I beat the shit out of you!' speech. Though he was by no means the genius that Sasuke was, Naruto had learned a thing or two over the years and his speech had evolved along with him. He knew now, that the raven was not one for obeying requests or demands. He was the type you had to have a solid plan, catch him off guard, then go in with fists swinging and force the bastard to see reason. Thus the reason for his previous angsting. What would he say, could he say, this time to make the last Uchiha see where he belonged. After hours and hours of inner turmoil, Naruto, with some help from Kiba, thought of a tactic that he had never used before. Something he was sure no one had tried before, and it was a far cry from his usual speech, if you could call it a speech at all anymore. The way he figured he had a 50/50 chance of either getting back his most precious friend, or being run through several times with a Chidori charged blade. Naruto was, if nothing else though, an optimist and percentages never mattered much to him. Steeling his nerves, composing his face, Naruto took the plunge.

"Well Teme, here I am. What are your other 2 wishes?"

"Uh... what?" The raven asked, his left eyebrow joining the right, arching up into perfection.

"I'm a Love Pirate, and I'm here for your booty! ARGH!" Obsidian eyes widened almost comically and Naruto had to use every ounce of self restraint he possessed not to start laughing out loud. Before Sasuke could reply, he shot out another one liner.

"Is that a keg in your pants? Because I'd love to tap that ass." The Uchiha lost all composure, his jaw dropped, his eyes bugged out of his head. He couldn't be hearing the dobe right. Naruto could read the doubt in the raven's eyes and decided to seal the deal.

"Ne, Sasuke, nice shoes, wanna fuck?" Cerulean eyes were alight with laughter that the blonde didn't dare to let out yet. Yup, this was the fantastical plan that he and Kiba had come up with. What better way to shock the Uchiha? No one would expect this! It was genius!

Sasuke just stood there, gaping like a fish. He was unsure of what the dobe was playing at. Was he for real? Was he just messing with him? Who in the hell comes up to someone they haven't seen in over 2 years, and spouts off this shit? It was then that he really looked into Naruto's eyes. 'Che, that little shit! Two can play at this game.' Features once again schooled into his impassive mask, Sasuke decided to join in on this little farce.

"Tsk, usuratonkachi. Those are horrible. Though, you know, my love for you is like diarrhea... I can't hold it in." That was it. Naruto couldn't hold it anymore after that and burst out laughing, the sound ringing throughout the glade. The Uchiha wasn't far behind him, much to the blonde's surprise. He had only heard Sasuke laugh once before and it was just as amazing now as it was then. The two boys laughed until they lost their breath and were clutching their sides. It felt good to Sasuke, like something had been lifted, like the tension was gone. He was with his best friend again, joking, laughing, and he felt something he hadn't in a long time. Happiness.

A small smile still playing on his lips, Sasuke picked himself up off the ground. After helping the still laughing Naruto to his feet, he uttered the words that the kyuubi holder had waited forever to hear.

"Come on Dobe, let's go home."

The reunited friends had been making their way towards the Konoha gates in silence, when a thought occurred to Sasuke. Hadn't this been a little, well, uncomplicated? Wasn't there supposed to be more yelling? At the very least the Uchiha had expected Naruto to yell at him at least once, if not just to ask the ever irritating, 'Why?' Shouldn't the dobe want to talk about the why's and the future? Speaking of the future, what in the hell had he just agreed to really? He was classified as a missing-nin, but Naruto had said it was taken care of. What did that mean? What in the hell did that entail exactly? After leading a life with complication after complication, this all seemed too... simple. His thoughts were cut off though as they finally made it to the gates. They were just as he had remembered, though riddled with new scars of recent destruction. The normal lookouts usually stationed there were not present, instead only a single dark silhouette perched under the shade of the check-in booth was visible. As the silhouetted figure noticed their presence, it rose and made its way towards them.

"Naruto-sama," Kakashi greeted with a small bow, "the Hokage is waiting for you. She requests you see her immediately." He was then gone with a small 'pop' and a swirl of leaves, without looking at Sasuke, or acknowledging him at all. Sasuke then noticed the village, or what he could see of it. Nothing was as it was before he had left. Everything looked pristine; nothing seemed to be run down. As they made their way to the apparently new Hokage Tower, he also noticed everyone giving Naruto small bows, not that he acknowledged them. Even the non-shinobi population was pausing in their work to greet Naruto. The regular citizens had, in the past, simply ignored their ninja caretakers, and especially Naruto. If they did pay him any mind it was usually only to curse him under their breaths or to throw whatever was available at him. What in the hell...?

"Usuratonkachi. First Kakashi acts like he's lost it, then everything looks different, and everyone is bowing... am I missing something?" Sasuke couldn't take it anymore; he stopped in his tracks, refusing to go on until the blonde answered his questions. He hated having to ask, but he hated not knowing what was going on more so. It was like he had stepped into a twisted genjutsu, one impervious to his Mangekyo, where Naruto was coveted like he was the Hokage and Sasuke acted like it was normal for him to admit that he didn't know something. Had Kakashi not said that the Hokage wanted to see them, he would almost assume that to be the case.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I tend to forget all about it." Naruto shrugged his shoulders, a hand coming back to scratch at the back of his neck. "Pein destroyed pretty much everything when he attacked, you know? It took a while, but almost everything has been rebuilt now."

"And everyone's bowing because you beat Pein?" Sasuke asked as he caught up with Naruto who had started walking again. "I guess that makes sense, but Kakashi?"

Naruto simply dismissed Sasuke's questions with a wave of his hand. "Who knows why that not-so-closet pervert does anything? I think he's probably just mocking me. Come on, we're here. Baa-Chan is impatient, and I don't want to get my ass kicked because you're a bit out of the loop. Though I'll admit, I'm surprised you're talking so much, used to be all grunts and smirks with you. I'll answer whatever you want later. Besides, I want to ask you a few questions of my own, you know?" The blonde shot a grin at the disappointed Uchiha and raised his fist to knock on the Hokage's door.

"I know you're out there! Get in here Gaki!"

Naruto let out a sigh, "Right, here we go." And he opened the door.

The two young men walked into Tsunade's office, Sasuke taking his lead from the dobe and remaining silent as they stood in front of her desk. Sasuke let out an almost unnoticeable sigh. He was acting a bit unlike himself. He couldn't help it though. Naruto sparked his inner curiosity and he had always had a problem ignoring the blonde. He always had to react, even if whatever he spouted off was nonsense, he always had to respond. Now, however, was not the time to be misplacing his Uchiha-ness. Where had his stoic self gone? The last place he remembered having it was at the bridge earlier... it couldn't have been buried too deep in such a short amount of time. After doing a quick internal inventory, he was finally able to pull himself together, get back a bit of the ice prick persona he was known for. Tsunade eyed the both of them for a few minutes, doing a quick assessment in her head.

"Why aren't you bleeding? You didn't fight? I think I'm kind of impressed if that's the case. So? What happened?" She asked looking towards Naruto.

"Uh... well about that... I sort of... hit on him...?" Naruto's cheeks were dusted a bright pink, embarrassment causing his statement to sound more like a question.

"So you did fight. Well obviously not too roughly. It's better than what I-"

Naruto cleared his throat, "Uh, no. What I mean is I hit on him."

Tsunade's eyes turned towards the Uchiha. "You speak idiot right? Explain."

Sasuke could see it was his turn to speak, but what in the hell was he supposed to say. He hadn't even sorted it all out in his head; it really didn't go like he had thought it would. The raven shrugged mentally, the truth it is then. "Hn. Basically the dobe came up to me and asked if I'd like to fuck him." He deadpanned with a roll of his eyes. Apparently the stoic attitude was fleeting, at best, when it came to matters concerning Naruto. Great...

The sake that Tsunade had been drinking came exploding out of her mouth. "Sasuke! What he means, Baa-Chan, is that I came up with a new persuasion. Er! That is, every other time I went to get him back, it never worked. So Kiba and I thought up a different strategy. I was just trying to shock him, maybe get him off guard. Then I was going to knock him out and drag him home. But it didn't really come to that." Sasuke eyed the blonde next to him, an almost incredulous look on his face.

"What?" Naruto asked innocently. Tsunade stared at the both of them; a strange looked played across her face. She stood suddenly, placing both of her hands on the desk in front of her.

"I'm not sure I really care to know what happens in your sex life, Uzumaki-"

"I don't have a sex life!"

"-in any case we have other things to discuss, Naruto you are dismissed. Uchiha." She looked him over as a beet red Naruto closed the door behind him, having only just then realized what he had shouted. "Since you apparently did not sustain any injuries, we need to review your situation." Tsunade began, "As of 17 months ago, you were no longer listed as a missing-nin. Being as such, you will be given a test in 2 weeks to determine your rank. Regardless of what rank you receive, after your testing you will only be sent on rank C and D missions for a month."

"Hn." Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. 'Ahh there you are my apathetic side...' Really he thought that this was going to be a lot worse than it was. It was like he never left. What had the dobe done?

"There's also the matter of your property." The Hokage continued, "When Pein attacked, most of Konoha was destroyed. This included the Uchiha compound. As many items were salvaged as possible and placed in a vault. The outer wall was rebuilt. The rest is bare, save for the caretakers plot and a few maintenance buildings." She had returned to her chair while speaking and was now gauging the Uchiha's reaction.

Sasuke, however, wasn't sure how he felt about it exactly. He had come to some realizations concerning his family. He couldn't say for a lot of previous generations, but to him his family wasn't really all that great. The fact that his childhood home, which still had some good memories left in it, was gone pulled at a heartstring. But, even so, he couldn't say that he was really upset.

"Caretaker?" The raven inquired. "Who's this caretaker? And why does an empty plot need someone too look over it?"

Tsunade shrugged her shoulders. "Naruto. He took it upon himself to do all of this for you. Except for your testing and mission ranks, he had a hand in all of your affairs. As to why he's looking over your land, you'd have to ask him, though if I remember right he said something about rocky spoil... or maybe soil rocks..." Tsunade rolled her eyes. As if anyone could remember all the mindless drivel that spews out of that boy's mouth. "No one except Naruto can access the vault; I don't even know where he's hidden it. The maintenance buildings are really more random storage than anything else so there's not really anything there to steal, other than the things at Naruto's apartment. Well it's more of a small house than apartment, but that's what he calls it. I think its habit." Looking the last Uchiha straight in the eyes, the Hokage started to emit a slightly murderous aura. "You should count yourself lucky Uchiha, that he's done all that he has for you. If he hadn't, you'd be dead, your property sold off, and everything you threw away, once upon a time, would have been lost for good."

'I get it, he's Mr. Fan-fucking-tastic! I'll be sure to grovel at his feet at the next available opportunity.' Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes. "So if my house is gone, where am I supposed to stay, with Naruto?"

"Yes, until Yamato comes back. He will reconstruct your house, should you find the blueprints. If you cannot you may simply design a house for him to build. He should be returning within the month. That's all, you are dismissed. I will summon you when the time for your testing draws near." Again, the Hokage rose to her feet. "And Uchiha, don't fuck this up. You are to be on your best behavior. It's not just about you anymore; Naruto has taken a lot on himself for you. Should you fail to meet our expectations, it's Naruto who stands to loose the most." With that, she turned her back on the Uchiha as he made to leave her office. Before he could leave, she uttered a final wish under her breath. "I hope you were worth it, Uchiha."

The inky darkness of night had descended upon the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The denizens of the village had, for the most part, gone to their various homes. As a cooling wind assuaged the balmy night, two shinobi made their way towards a place that was once filled with more ghosts than people. The short walk was engulfed in an estranged silence. The silence shattered, however, as the younger of the two stopped walking and began to speak, nervousness and anticipation playing through his cobalt eyes.

"Ne, Sasuke, I know baa-Chan told you about your house but there are probably a few things I should tell you too." Naruto was tense as Sasuke came to a stop in front of him. In the past, the Uchiha had been very particular about his house, its ghosts, and his possessions. The Uzumaki just prayed that he wouldn't get too upset with the way he had managed his belongings. "I know, or knew anyway, how much you hated people when people disturbed your things. I, uh, tried to be as respectful as I could." They had started walking again as Naruto had spoken.

As they came up to the new gate of the compound, Sasuke had to admit it was well done. The Uchiha fan was placed in the center of the double sided gate. As the gate would swing open, the fan would be split into two equal pieces down the center. The whole thing was carved out of a beautiful piece of cherry wood. Around the engraved fan, intricate swirls of fire traced flowing patterns that seemed to move as one watched them, engulfing the rather large doors. If one stared long enough, they could recognize the flames had formed 3 tomoe like shapes, centered around the fan. The Uchiha was honestly impressed. It just screamed Uchiha; elegant and intricate, yet harsh and powerful.

"I like it." Sasuke declared, still staring at the gate.

"R-really? Uh, I'm glad. It took forever to make. I didn't know if..." the blonde was lightly blushing by the end.

"Did Yamato do this?"

"U-uh, no. I did. Yamato did the wall though. He made it one continuous piece of wood." Naruto began feeding his chakra into two of the tomoe hidden in the flames. "I need you to feed chakra into the third tomoe, Sasuke."

One fine eyebrow was arched, "What are you doing?"

"I'm making it so the gate recognizes you and will let you in, teme. If I don't do this, the gate won't open for you. I used an old seal I found in Baa-Chan's office. Just do it, my fingers are getting hot!"

"Hn." Sasuke stepped up to the remaining tomoe, gathering chakra in his hand. If he had thought the flames had looked alive before, it was nothing compared to this. As he pressed his had to the gate, it vibrated and the flames were literally moving across its expanse. A moment later, it had stopped. "Hn."

"Since you're an Uchiha, it will do that every time you open it from now on. Just gather chakra into your hand and place it on the fan and it'll open. No one can open it unless they've been given 'permission'. Baa-Chan, Kakashi, Sakura, Sai, me, and now you are the only ones that can open it." Naruto once again placed his chakra infused hands on the gate, though this time in the center of the Uchiha crest adorning its surface. As he pushed, and the gate swung open on silent hinges, the blonde gave a small smile and met Sasuke's eyes.

"Okairi, Teme."

A small sigh escaped the last of the Uchiha, accompanied by a small upturn of his lips, "Tadaima."

His eyes left the blondes. The happiness he saw there was too much and he was undeserving. His eyes traveled the flat expanse of what was once his home. Since it was dark, there wasn't too much he could make out, that was, until Naruto flipped a switch to his right. Lights immediately illuminated on the wall, spaced three feet apart and circling the entire plot. There were also lights following a small stone path leading off towards the corner to his left, disappearing into trees he didn't remember being there before. The light didn't brighten everything, but it was enough that he could see quite a bit of his property. Where there were once shops and houses there was now a few scattering wild flowers. Where there were bloodied streets there was now rolling grass. When he had come home in the past it had felt as though death was everywhere, now there was only a feeling of nostalgia and calmness.

"A-are you ok? I mean, is it ok?" Naruto asked from behind the raven, nervously scratching the back of his neck, internally cursing himself for stuttering so much in the last 10 minutes. To top it off, he was sure that it would be an occurring thing throughout the night.

"Ah. The house is that way then?" Sasuke asked, pointing towards the path.

"Yeah, uh, before we go, I want to talk to you a bit."

"Hn."

Naruto rolled his eyes. You'd think the Uchiha would react more than this. "Right, well. Baa-Chan probably told you I'm the caretaker. After everything was destroyed, the council wanted to seize your property. I pretty much told them to get bent and I appointed myself guardian of your estate. I had Yamato build the wall and a gate."

"I thought you made the gate?"

"That was later." The Uzumaki replied with a wave of his hand. "I... I really didn't know what to do. There was debris everywhere and it was your clan's belongings, you know? I wasn't sure if it would be appropriate for me to move anything or... Eventually, I decided that the Uchiha's were too proud to have their home in rubble, so I decided to clean everything up." He looked up and met Sasuke's eyes, trying to gauge his reaction so far. Family was often a touchy subject with the raven. He didn't seem to be upset though, and even gave a small nod to Naruto, a signal for him to continue.

"Right. So I started cleaning up, but I was faced with a dilemma. What to do with all of this stuff? I mean sure it was just timbers and whatnot with a few objects scattered in between. But still, it was your house, your clan's homes, you know? It might be kind of silly, but I didn't just want to throw it all out. I mean that just seemed...wrong. I had Yamato build a couple of buildings for me and I put all of the debris in there, except the more valuable stuff."

Sasuke noted that Naruto was rather nervous. He didn't see why. He could tell that the dobe had kept him and his family in mind when dealing with his home. He had shown more care towards the place than even Sasuke himself had. Still though, the dobe had kept the wood? The raven rolled his eyes.

"While I appreciate you doing all of that, you didn't need to keep the wood and such, Dobe."

"Don't dobe me! Do you know how crazy you get when it comes to your family? And here I was traipsing through all of your past. How the hell was I supposed to know? If I hadn't done it, you'd be standing here now screaming at me, 'Dobe, how could you throw my house away! I wanted that wood! I was going to use that stuff to build my house, have pieces of my family ingrained in the woodwork!' Right, yeah like I was going to toss anything out. Bastard." Naruto ended in a huff, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Dobe, I do not sound like that. And furthermore I would have said no such thing. Though now that you mention it, I rather like that idea. Is that all? I'd like to get to the house and clean up, relax, then go to bed."

"R-right the house. I-I kind of did more over-"

"Naruto. You don't have to explain what you've done. I'm sure everything is fine. I get that, in the past, I was a bit... aggressive, when it came to my family and my home. We can talk about 'feelings' later." Sasuke internally rolled his eyes. He should have known the conversation would come up. "Honestly though, it's fine. I'm fine, everything is fine." The last Uchiha let a smirk grace his face and started down the illuminated path, Naruto grumbling behind him as he followed.

When they came through the small woodland area, Sasuke's steps faltered. He stopped and took everything in. Where the rest of his property had been vacant, this area was brimming with signs of use and life. Naruto had used the chibi-forest as a barrier of sorts. The whole area looked like a Japanese garden. The path led to a bridge covered pond and continued up towards a small house. Various plant life could be seen, along with a Zen garden. The raven could hear the 'clunk-clunk' of the bamboo deer-chaser somewhere near by accompanied by a chorus of frog song. As they began moving again, crossing the bridge, Naruto again broke the silence.

"R-right, so... there's ah... t-there's the frog pond, and of course the house. Off towards the right there's a training area, and behind the house is a garden and the onsen." They had reached the door now, and as Naruto unlocked it, he felt the raven come up behind him. The Uchiha reached around the blonde, opening the door, and let himself in. He removed his sandals, deciding to give himself a tour. The place gave off a feeling of home immediately and he began his investigation. Naruto suddenly felt a great weight being lifted off of his shoulders. Sasuke was here, really here, in his house. He was home and wasn't pissed off with all that Naruto had done. A grin no one could hope to dull or contain spread across his feet and he went to find Sasuke.

Sasuke was observing the kitchen when Naruto found him. He had seen the cozy living room, done in a dark blues and grays. A large, dark grey couch, a matching chair, end tables and a coffee table made of a dark wood he didn't recognize, and a large entertainment center had filled the space. A large painting of old Konoha had adorned one wall. He had seen the bathroom done in forest greens, rather impressed with its size. The kitchen was apparently fully stocked, and with food other than instant ramen. The light blue decor lent a feeling of peace to the raven and he could have called the house heaven when he found a bowl full of ripe tomatoes on the white table, surrounded by four chairs. Picking one up and bringing it to the sink to rinse it off, a thought occurred to Sasuke.

"Where are the bedrooms?" Sasuke asked before taking a bite out of his now clean tomato. He had noticed only one other room and it was defiantly not a bedroom. In fact it was full of stands and shelves and even more plants. Below the large, drapeless, window stood a comfortable looking bench, a watering can beside it. Smudges of dirt and varying leaf matter scattered were here and there on the stone floor. It had smelled of earth and a pleasing combination of the varying flowers.

The smile that had found Naruto at the door was still going strong. As he began to make them tea, he looked up at Sasuke, noticing he had already snagged himself a tomato and snickered to himself. "The house was built according to the only blueprint I found in the rubble. I wanted it to be original, you know? It was too small though for what I needed, but rather than add on or change the outward appearance in any way, I just put the bedrooms downstairs. You can have your pick. The house is yours technically after all. I would like to keep my room, but if you want it, I don't mind. The back of the house is dug out so each room has a couple of windows and a door opening into the garden."

"I'm not taking your room Dobe. I just want a place to sleep. And this house is yours. It's apparent that you've done a lot around here and out of everyone else, I'd rather it be you that's living in the compound." With a wave of his hand Sasuke walked off down the hallway. "I'm going to pick a room, borrow some clothes for bed, eat some dinner, and then get in the onsen."

While Naruto began preparing their dinner, Sasuke had arrived in the basement. There was a hallway at the bottom of the stairs, three doors on the left side. He stopped at the first room, opened the door and noticed it was unpainted, undecorated, and unused. He ventured on to the second door, and saw it was the same as the first. Deciding that this room would be fine, as the last one was bound to be Naruto's, he dumped his bag on the floor and ventured to the final room. As he stood outside the door, hand on the knob, he prepared himself to be assaulted by orange. He could picture the walls painted a bright orange, with brighter orange accents all over the room. His retinas wouldn't survive, he was positive. He opened the door and found himself to be pleasantly surprised. The ratio of orange to any other color was quite small. Naruto's bed was placed center on the far wall, opposite the windows and door to the backyard, and covered in rich navy blue silk, and burnt orange pillows. On either side of the bed there were two ebony end tables, one supporting a lamp. The other held an old photo of Team 7, Sasuke's old headband dangling off one side of the frame.

Sasuke sat staring at the dobe's bed. His brain had shut down and he couldn't fathom why. 'It's just his bed.' He thought to himself, his eyes flicking back and forth, from the picture on the nightstand, to the bed, and then back again 'It's just his bed... Just because I... He might not even... And I still have to tell him... Tonight... I'll tell him about it tonight.' The Uchiha let out a sigh, nodding to himself. He was suddenly a bit nervous and had a light dusting of pink across his cheeks. Prying his eyes away, he noticed the rest of the room. The walls were a navy blue as well, with a large orange swirl painted above the boy's dresser and his cluttered desk. Opposite the swirl were a few tall bookcases overflowing with books and scrolls. 'That's way more books than I thought the dobe would ever own.' Sasuke walked towards the dresser, intent on finding something suitable to sleep in when something caught his eye. One of the windows was open and a black cat sat peering at him, curious as to why this stranger was in that nice man's room. The raven simply stared at the neko, unblinking, until the animal jumped down and approached Sasuke. As it reached him, it rubbed itself against the Uchiha's legs, begging for attention. He wasn't picky, being pet was being pet, and he liked it.

"Nyaa."

"Hn." The raven bent over, intent on picking the pestering feline up. Apparently though, the cat had changed its mind, and had decided that biting the Uchiha's approaching hand had sounded like a much better idea.

"YOU LITTLE SON OF A BITCH! I'LL SNAP YOUR NECK! COME HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

Naruto, who had just placed their dinner on the table, jumped when he heard the raven shouting. He turned to go see what the bastard was screaming about. When he heard several loud thumps and a few more curses followed by a loud hissing, he quickly began running downstairs. Confused as to what in the hell was going on and with a million different scenarios going through his head, each more horrible than the last, he was totally unprepared for what he saw. There in front of him was a frazzled looking, out of breath, Sasuke covered in scratches, slumped on the floor with his sharingan blazing and glaring for all he was worth. In front of the Uchiha sat a very pissed off Teme the cat, surrounded by a barrage of shurikan and kunai, hair raised on the back of its head and oddly looking reminiscent to the Uchiha's own duck-butt hair. Sasuke noticed Naruto standing in the doorway, and growled.

"Don't you say a fucking word Dobe."

The blonde was having a very hard time controlling his facial muscles, they were beginning to ache. Inside, he was laughing so hard his external stomach was clenching from exertion. Clearing his throat he informed Sasuke that dinner was ready and that sleepwear was in the top drawer.

"Come on, Teme." Naruto called, a smile breaking free from its restraints.

The previously enraged cat immediately calmed and ran to catch up to the nice man, hoping for a bit of food. As he jumped onto the sunny man's shoulder, he could feel the glare and suddenly increased killing intent of that asshole that had too many pointy things at his disposal. If he hadn't had nine lives he would have never made it. That crazy human with his freaky arms spewing out sharp shinies had really good aim. The cat turned back to face the raven.

"Nyaa." Then, dismissing the human entirely began snuggling up to the nice man's neck.

"DOBE, YOU NAMED THAT INCARNATION OF EVIL TEME?"

Unrestrained laughter rang throughout the house.

Dinner had been a rather interesting affair, in Naruto's opinion, and defiantly quite amusing. Sasuke, upon seeing all his favorites laid out on the table, voiced a small thanks and dug in, though not without shooting his best Uchiha glare towards the cat that he had decided was a minion of the devil. Naruto had forbid killing the atrocious little beast. Sasuke had also done his fair share of grumbling under his breath about said minion eating his tomatoes. Apparently Naruto had gotten him hooked on cottage cheese with tomato. The grumbles and glares might have eventually stopped if Teme had left the raven well enough alone, but the cat had decided that this human had far too many similarities to himself and that, to get him away from his sunny man, drastic measures would have to be taken. The mischievous neko on a mission, after finishing his food given to him by his bright master, made his way under the table the two shinobi were currently dining at. Reaching his goal, he took a moment to look at the dark man's toes, they looked clean enough. A harsh bite was following by a sharp gasp. Moving quickly, the cat had jumped onto the table while the man was distracted by his throbbing toe, and placed himself on his haunches in front of Sasuke's plate. As soon as Sasuke noticed him, the cat looked him dead in the eye.

"Nyaa!" Still maintaining eye contact the neko bent over and licked every piece of sushi the Uchiha had.

"Nyaa!" He then jumped out the window above the table and disappeared into the night.

For a moment, neither ninja moved or said anything, though the looks they wore said it all. The Uchiha looked like his normal stoic self, but the spinning tomoes in his eyes told another story. Naruto on the other hand was staring at Sasuke's plate, eyes wide and mouth agape. Slowly though, the gape turned into a shit-eating-grin. The blonde turned his eyes upwards and noticed the Uchiha's controlled rage. The Uzumaki knew then that he loved Teme more than he ever had before. That cat was a gift from Kami-sama himself! It was hard to get Sasuke that worked up, he was an expert at it, he should know.

"Sas-"

"You know dobe," Sasuke said, cutting the blonde off before the blonde could say whatever asinine comment that was bound to come spewing from his mouth, "I don't think I'm hungry anymore. I think I'm going to go relax in the onsen. You might want to tell your minion from hell that although I may not be 'allowed' to kill it," a roll of the eyes inserted here, "I am very capable in the ways of torture. I don't care if it's your precious pet, that cat just declared war."

The evil aura and maniacal chuckling as Sasuke left the table was enough to send shivers down Naruto's spine. He decided then and there that this was a war he would not get involved in. 'Let the bastards duke it out. Who in the hell declares war on a freaking cat anyway?' A large smile broke out on Naruto's face, 'Yup, definitely an interesting dinner.'

The onsen, in Sasuke's opinion was much better. There were no evil minions, only him, the dobe, and the steam. Much better. The cat had been a nice distraction from what he had to do tonight, but now, sitting in the soothing water, his thoughts returned to him. He had a lot to tell Naruto, or at least it was a lot to him. There were a lot of ways the dobe could react as well. He also wanted to know how the blonde had cleared his name.

"Dobe," Sasuke turned to his left facing the blonde sitting beside him, "How did you clear my name?"

Naruto looked over at the raven, "Huh? Oh, it was easy actually."

"Easy?"

"Un, you just have to know how to work Tsunade. Once she agreed, I just had to have each clan head sign a petition. Root was disbanded, the council members and Danzo exiled, so there wasn't a lot of resistance. A lot of our generation has taken leadership of their clans, and for those who hadn't, I called in a few favors. They were pretty understanding, though I think my defeating Pein had something to do with it." The blonde shrugged his shoulders.

"How'd you get Tsunade to agree then?"

"Hah! I had to pay off her debts and I have to do missions for free until I become Hokage. I also had to give her some of the Uchiha Sake I found in one of the cellars. Sorry about that, but alcohol for freedom sounded fair enough to me. There's still some in the vault though, I didn't give all of it to her."

"Hn."

"I know it sounds a bit... I don't know, cheap? Easy? Well whatever. But I think they just wanted to pay me back or something you know? And Tsunade knows I wouldn't have put up with you being treated like dirt because this village made some bad decisions."

The raven raised an eyebrow at this. "Bad decisions?"

"Well yeah, like ordering Itachi to... err... and them treating me like a monster and wanting to kill me and all of that."

"Dobe, its okay, you know? You can talk about my family and Itachi. Makes sense though, why I couldn't track the council members and Danzo down."

"Ah, they were killed shortly after their exile by some supposedly unknown shinobi, about a mile outside of the gates."

"Hn. If you don't get pay, how do you live?"

"Jiriaya had a lot of money saved up. Never used his own, ya know? He was always asking me for money." A fond smile played across the blonde's lips. "He willed it to me. He's probably pissed that I used a quarter of it to pay off Baa-Chan's debts though." He let out a snicker.

"Hn" The raven smirked. "Where's this vault at? What did you manage to salvage?"

"Oh! It's in Myobokuzan and-"

"Wait, what? Myobok-huh? I've never heard of it."

"Ah, right. You wouldn't have. Uh, Myobokuzan. Just think of it as happy frog land."

Sasuke let out a snort. "Happy frog land? Only you, dobe, only you."

"Hey bastard! Anyway, no one can get there but me so it's totally safe. On top of that there are chakra specific seals and a password to open the vault. Not that you appreciate it, asshole. I found some sake, like I said earlier. There were also random bits of furniture and china, a couple of paintings, a really old fan... It's got its own seal and protection."

"Hn. Sounds like the first Uchiha fan my father had in his study. And I do appreciate it, usuratonkachi."

Now it was Naruto's turn to snort. "Che, sure you do teme."

Sasuke moved closer to Naruto, turning his whole body to face the blonde, onyx eyes meeting cerulean.

"I mean it, Naruto. For everything, thank you."

The Uzumaki was stunned into silence. It wasn't the fact that Sasuke had thanked him, it was the way he went about it. The raven had used his name and his eyes spoke of his gratitude. Naruto was rather glad he could still read the Uchiha's eyes; they told you more than the raven ever would. His only reply to Sasuke was a shrug of the shoulders and a blinding smile.

The two were silent for a time. Each reflecting on what it had taken to get to this point. Naruto's future as Hokage was also on the line. If Sasuke stepped out of line he would have to forfeit his running for the title, as well as the title itself when he was appointed Hokage. Naruto didn't mind though, Sasuke was definitely the most important of his two life goals at this point. There was no need to tell Sasuke any of that though, and besides, the Uchiha was grateful and that was all that mattered. The silence was broken when the raven cleared his throat. It was his turn now, to say whatever he needed to. But how? Deciding that when it came to Naruto, bluntness was almost always the best way to approach a subject, he began speaking while watching the blonde from the corner of his eye.

"I have a child. Or well, I will soon."

Naruto's eyes were wide, and a whisper left his lips. "You're going to be a father?"

When the Uchiha nodded his head in the affirmative, a strange light entered Naruto's eyes. He glomped the unsuspecting raven. "Sasuke, that's awesome! You're going to be a father! Oh wait, we need a room! When is the baby due? Is it a boy or a girl? Oh we need paint! And I think there was even a crib in the vault! This is going to be amazing! Oh Kami-sama, Sasuke's going to be a daddy!"

Sasuke, by the point, had run out of air and the jumping blonde that was currently strangling him in his choke hold wasn't helping at all.

"Dobe! I need to breathe!" When the Uchiha was ignored, he upped his voice. "DOBE! You fatass, you're crushing me. I said get off, dammit!" When he was ignored yet again, he had to resort to the only tactic he knew. He punched the over excited blonde in the face.

"Hey! Bastard! Why'd you punch me?" Naruto was shaking his fist at the raven, when a thought occurred to him, and suddenly all of his anger was gone.

"Ne, Sasuke? Did you get married then? Do you have a girlfriend? Or did you just knock up some random stranger to bear your Uchiha babies? That's really not very nice you know." Naruto looked off towards the garden.

"Quit scolding me Dobe. Let's go through all that one at a time. Yes, I am going to have a child. The baby is due in a couple of weeks, and I don't know if it will be a boy or a girl. It doesn't really matter. No I'm not married. No I do not have a girlfriend. And no, I absolutely did not knock up some random stranger to bear my Uchiha babies." Sasuke rolled his eyes. Only Naruto would spout off this nonsense. "I need more than just me to reform my clan. I didn't want to just sleep with someone for that purpose though. In fact the idea of sleeping with any woman makes me shudder. I used a service, in Grass Country, to artificially inseminate a woman. When the baby is about to be born, this seal will tingle, letting me know." Sasuke pointed out a small round seal on his palm.

"So you did knock up some stranger for your Uchiha babies! Wait... you're gay?" Naruto's eyes were once again incredibly wide. Sasuke vaguely wondered if they ever hurt from bugging out of their sockets like that so much.

"Hn. I never thought about it. I've only ever found one person attractive. Not much to go on there." He shrugged.

Naruto stared at him for a few minutes. "Oh. Well I love a guy, so I don't care either way." The blonde then stood left the bath muttering to himself about diapers and toys and numerous other baby paraphernalia. The Uchiha just sat there stunned a few moments before he unknowingly activated his Sharingan for the third time that night. He wondered silently to himself if murder was still frowned upon in Konoha.

Later that night, Naruto was awoken by the sound of music. At first he thought it was the radio alarm on his clock that he had thrown under his bed yesterday morning. Upon waking further though, he realized the sound came not from under his bed, but from his open window. As he looked out the window his breath caught in his throat and it felt like the kyuubi was rolling around in his stomach. Sitting among the tomato plants that he had planted was Sasuke, humming to himself while strumming an old black acoustic guitar. A single ray of moonlight was breaking through the surrounding foliage, illuminating the scene with an ethereal glow, a slight wind blowing the grasses and leaves, along with raven hair. The Uchiha looked serene, determined, and contemplative all at the same time and Naruto wondered if he had ever seen anything as entrancing before. No, he decided, nothing had compared to this, this scene of night personified.

He rose from his bed, intending to go to the raven, but stopped himself as he opened the door. If Sasuke was night personified then he, Naruto, would be the day. If that was the case, then day didn't belong there, in the night. He didn't want to destroy the beauty that was before him. So he stood there, in the doorway, and watched and basked the exquisiteness of the moment. It didn't last long though. Soon Sasuke finished his song and glanced up, catching sight of Naruto. The raven smirked at him and beckoned him over with a wave of his hand. Sitting down next to the Uchiha, Naruto chastised himself internally for thinking he would ruin the scene that Sasuke had painted around him. There was nothing that could mar it.

"What song was that?" The blonde asked in a low voice.

"Just a song." Sasuke shrugged.

"It sounded good, I liked it. Did you write it?"

"Hn." Sasuke once again started strumming the same song. It was a slow song and Naruto thought that it was probably a ballad. A few bars into the song, Sasuke began humming as well.

"Sing for me Sasuke."

The raven glanced over towards his companion with a shy smile. He shook his head. Naruto just rolled his eyes before closing them, focusing on the sounds produced by his best friend. The song stirred something within him, something he couldn't name. It was if he could envision the lyrics. He didn't actually know them, nor could he ever attempt at guessing what they would be. It was more of a picture in his mind. It was one of love and acceptance, and about finding your way to where you belonged. As the song ended, the both stood.

Flashing a smile towards the raven, Naruto whispered a quick, "Thanks, and goodnight." before turning to go back to his room. A hand on his wrist stopped him however. He turned back towards the Uchiha. When he made no move to let his wrist go, and said nothing, Naruto was confused.

"Sasuke?"

Said raven looked up into eyes filled with so many things it was impossible to ever read them all in any lifetime. Naruto, however, was not having the same problem, as right now there was only one emotion filling Sasuke's eyes and it left the blonde breathless and numb. The Uchiha gave the blonde one of his few genuine smiles as he stepped closer to him, bending to whisper into his ear.

"I'll make you fall for me. I promise."

His words were sealed with a hand to the cheek and a brush of the lips. Suddenly the blonde was no longer numb and incredible feeling blazed through his nerves and coursed through his veins. Sasuke left a stunned Naruto standing in the garden, going back to his room. Naruto was quite unaware of anything around him. He slowly raised his hand to his lips and softly smiled. His eyes radiated with wonder and awe. He was still there, in that position, as the sun started to rise above the horizon.

A/N: Story takes place after Naruto defeats Pein, but then diverts from there. Check out my profile for links to accompany this fic.

Naruto (c) Kishimoto

Plot, Teme, & Akira (c) Me