Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto and not me.

Non-massacre AU. At the beginning of this story, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are all sixteen.

Chapter 1

The Summons

The summons arrived on a crisp October morning.

Kakashi stooped, resting his elbows on his knees, to be eye-level with the slug's place on a boulder. "Katsuya," he said, "What a surprise to see you all the way out here."

The slug, about three inches tall, bowed her head in return. "Greetings, Kakashi-san," she turned slightly and bowed again, "Sasuke-san. Yes, it's been quite a trip! You know, I've never been to Earth Country before, but I see now that it has been very aptly named. It's all boulders as far as the eye can see!"

Sasuke, leaning against another large boulder, rolled his eyes and wished the summons would get on with its job, whatever it was. Clearly it wasn't here for a vacation. They'd barely started training this morning when the slug had appeared with a small poof, and he was itching to resume.

Kakashi's visible eye crinkled in amusement as he replied, "Yes, not very imaginative—like most of the naming in the five nations. By any chance, Katsuya, do you have message for us?"

"Yes, I have a message from Tsunade-sama for you both. Sasuke-san," the slug swiveled back in the boy's direction, "You have been summoned back to the village. Two ninja are on their way now to relieve you and one other member of your team. By my estimations, they are still a couple days away. Kakashi-san, as leader of this mission, you may choose which other team member will return to the village, or you may return yourself and select a new captain in your place."

Sasuke pushed away from the boulder and walked closer, crossing his arms. "Why am I being summoned home now?"

"Ah, well, this was not part of the message, but I am sure this will be revealed upon your return!"

A sense of foreboding crept down Sasuke's spine, one that he tried to shake off. Four team members had been on this mission going on two and half years now, but he specifically had been summoned home with no information as to why. Sasuke's mind flashed through a number of possibilities, all bad. Had something bad already happened? It was sensitive enough that the Godaime wanted to tell him in person or couldn't relay the message through a summons.

Kakashi watched his students face twist into a frown with the slug's reply. He could imagine the scenarios running through Sasuke's mind, and the truth of the matter would only be revealed once he was home, which could be a week away. Kakashi scratched the back of his head in thought before turning back to the small slug. "You know, I would like to return to the village as well. It's been a long time since I've seen home. I will name Hidehiko as captain in my place. I was thinking about recommending him anyway for a field promotion to jounin, and I predict he will do well."

Katsuya nodded in satisfaction and chirped, "Very well! I will relay this back to Tsunade-sama! She will expect the two of you to begin your journey home as soon as your relief arrives and to travel as quickly as is practical. Please send a summons of your own if any of these plans change."

Kakashi, slowly standing up to his full height, eyed his student again, who was staring through the slug now and made no outward move to show he was listening anymore. "I understand. Thank you, Katsuya."

"You're welcome! Farewell, Kakashi-san and Sasuke-san. Have a safe journey back!" Another small poof signaled the slug's exit.

A beat passed before Sasuke finally spoke again, "It's something bad, right?"

"We don't know that. The Hokage could be withholding information for a number of reasons, many of which are primarily concerned with handling classified information in the field."

Kakashi received only a scowl in reply. He sighed, "But yes, it could be bad news."

"It's not about Sakura or Naruto, or you would have been summoned, too."

"…Yes." Kakashi had thought of that as well.

"Which leaves my family." Sasuke did not have an extensive list of people he gave a shit about. And there were a number of Uchiha who, if they suffered a critical injury or died…well, that information could prove useful to a long list of Konoha's enemies.

"Look, Sasuke, you'll find out when you find out. It doesn't help anyone to stress about the unknown. It'll just make things harder on you. In the meantime, I suggest you find a way to distract your mind."

The boy scoffed at his long-time teacher.

"Well, we came out here to train, right? Let's train."

Fine, he nodded. Sasuke could at least see the logic in that. He and Kakashi dropped into mirroring fighting stances at the same time, Sasuke's fingers hovering inches from his sword.

"Begin."

(ONE WEEK LATER)

To say it had been a difficult week would be putting it mildly.

The relief team had taken three more days to arrive in Earth Country, which meant three more days of guarding their client, one of the Fire Daimyo's ambassadors. The man had been upset to learn he would be losing his two most illustrious guards, Kakashi, the well renowned Copy-Nin and Sasuke, a rising star of the Uchiha. Not to mention the reaction of the ambassador's daughter, a young girl of twelve, who'd been heartbroken upon hearing her dear Sasuke-kun would be leaving.

And of course, those three days had been perfectly serene. In the past couple of years, their team had encountered plenty of attempts to capture or kill the ambassador and his family, some of them even challenging for the young Uchiha. But those plots were mostly carried out when the ambassador was on the road. When the ambassador was ensconced in one fortress or another, as he was now, the mission tended to become monotonous.

Of course, that had been part of the appeal when Sasuke agreed to this mission long ago. Assigning shifts between teammates meant he'd have lots of one-on-one training with Kakashi for each stopover in the ambassador's journey. Well that, and the pay was good. And Sasuke had liked the appeal of traveling all over the Great Nations.

But now, any time he wasn't actively training, his mind returned to the question of what could possibly warrant his immediate return home but no information as to why. Kakashi's advice to distract himself was probably hardest to implement during guard duty. There were only so many times Sasuke could recheck the perimeter and recheck the traps before he had to just stay put and wait. In those moments he could start to feel his thoughts begin to spiral, and his mind would play a never-ending rotation of which Uchiha was dead or dying. Eventually Sasuke had begun inwardly reciting the Shinobi Handbook from memory as a last-ditch effort to keep his focus on literally anything else during guard duty. The practice worked well enough, so soon he found himself reciting the handbook during any downtime where his mind began to wander down that dark path, like when he first woke up in the morning, when he was trying to fall asleep, when he was taking a shower or brushing his teeth, when he was sitting down for a meal, when he was waiting for the water to boil for tea…

Finally, finally, the relief team arrived.

He and Kakashi set off for Konoha almost immediately, with only the barest of farewells for the ambassador and the other nin. They set a grueling pace with an unspoken agreement to keep breaks to a minimum.

Sasuke was well aware that he could be rushing towards bad news, but at least he wasn't still waiting in Earth Country, treading water. He almost felt a wave of relief when he saw the tree line of the forest in the distance, because at least it was progress.

He found himself again reciting the Shinobi Handbook as their trek home remained uneventful. A part of him wished that running through treetops took a little more of his concentration, as it had when he was younger. Now it was a task as effortless as reading or writing. He figured he'd must have recited the handbook hundreds of times by now, but any time he paused for too long the parade of dead Uchihas would return to the forefront of his mind.

Sometimes, he found himself wishing his genin teammates were on this journey, too. He could always trust Naruto and Sakura to fill a silence like this with chatter. They'd done it constantly as genin, at least, even if Sasuke himself had barely answered. Naruto would have found something he just had to talk about right then even if the mission called for stealth, too.

With just the two of them, though, Sasuke and Kakashi traveled in silence. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke could see the older nin running through the treetops beside him. Even his footfalls didn't make a sound. Sasuke rolled his eyes and decided he might as well start the handbook from the beginning, again.

Just as the sun was setting on the seventh day since receiving the summons, Konoha's large gates came into view. Neither slowed as they ran through the gates and over the rooftops to the Hokage tower, but as they entered the tower Kakashi tugged on Sasuke's sleeve, "Running up to the office might make the ANBU guards… a little antsy. Best not to run if it's not an emergency."

The boy huffed but slowed to a walk as well. If Sasuke remembered correctly, this late in the day their esteemed Hokage was likely to have already started into her nightly sake bottle(s). Hopefully she wasn't too far in…

As they rounded a corner, Sasuke was surprised to see Sakura there, too. She was facing away from them, talking with a dark-haired woman; and, well, it had been over two years since he'd last seen her, but honestly who else had that vivid pink hair? It was like a goddamn beacon on missions. And she looked unharmed—but he'd already ruled out that something had happened to her or Naruto…but why was she here? Oh, right—she was the Hokage's apprentice now. If anything, she would be surprised to see him here.

The dark-haired woman—he remembered now vaguely that she was Tsunade's assistant—spotted the new arrivals and greeted them, "Kakashi-san, Sasuke-san, glad to see you both home safe!"

Sakura turned then, eyes searching, and smiled when she saw them. "Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sensei, hello! It's been so long!"

"Hello, Sakura," Kakashi paused to ruffle her hair affectionately, "I'm glad to be home, and to see you looking so well."

"Sakura," the boy nodded his head in reply. He eyed the girl's armful of scrolls—probably the only thing keeping her from enveloping them both in a bone-cracking hug.

The dark-haired woman quickly excused herself to tell the Godaime that the two had arrived.

"A little bit of light reading, Sakura?" Kakashi's visible eye crinkled as he gestured to the bundle of scrolls.

"Oh, you know, homework!" Sakura replied as she shifted the bundle more to one side, "Tsunade-shishou believes it is not enough to learn the jutsu, but also the theory behind it. I'm…um…" she paused, eyes shifting between them. She was still smiling, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

The doors beside them opened, and the dark-haired assistant leaned out, "Tsunade-sama is ready to see you now."

Sakura almost seemed thankful for the interruption, "Alright, well, I hope we can catch up another time. Naruto is in town, too, I think!"

Kakashi promised a visit before they were both ushered into the Hokage's office, and the doors closed behind them. The Godaime sat behind a large desk, mountains of paperwork on either side. Sasuke noted it was as if time hadn't passed since he'd last been in this office. His keen nose even picked up the familiar scent of her preferred sake, though at least she appeared to be drinking it out of a coffee mug this time—it suggested she at least knew drinking during work was frowned upon.

"Well, Kakashi, Sasuke, made it back in one piece? That pompous fart has already sent me a letter, crying about how I took his Sharingan users from him," the Hokage leaned back in her chair and took a long drink from her mug. From this angle Sasuke could read an inscription on the mug: "I would like to be a nice person but everyone else is just so fucking stupid."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," replied Kakashi, "Everything—"

"Why was I summoned back?" the boy interrupted, his voice louder than he'd meant.

The Godaime frowned and set her mug back down on the desk. For a moment, she seemed to study the boy thoughtfully, before she said, "No one is dead."

Sasuke could feel the tension in his chest unclench a little with that information, and she continued, "Your return was requested by your family. That's all the specifics I will give, the rest I expect your family members to fill in for you…in fact, I don't need you for this debriefing. You're dismissed."

Sasuke managed a stiff bow and a "Yes, Hokage-sama" before rushing out of the room. He remembered to walk—not run—in front of the ANBU. Sakura had already disappeared. By the time he left the tower, dusk had fallen; and he ran across rooftops in a familiar path towards the lights of the Uchiha district.

Sliding open the door to his family home, Sasuke was greeted by the smell of food cooking. That was a good sign. His family always ate dinner at about this time of day, like clockwork. As he slipped off his sandals in the entryway, he heard his mother's voice, "Sasuke-kun, is that you?"

He turned around in time to catch his mother's smiling face before she stepped closer to embrace him. He could smell the mint and sage shampoo she used, a powerfully familiar scent in his memories of home. "Aa, kaa-san. I've just returned."

"Well, welcome home! Oh, we've missed you so much! And look how much you've grown. You've gotten taller than me already! And still with that unruly hair, I see!" His mother laughed as she jokingly patted down his hair in the back. If it were anyone else, he'd manage more than an annoyed grunt in return. His mother was a surprisingly affectionate person in a clan otherwise full of people who prioritized personal space; it was part of her nature. But Sasuke was tired of all the jokes about his hair.

"Kaa-san," he began slowly, "The Hokage said I was called back for a family matter?"

His mother, leading him by the arm down the hall, finally let her smile falter. "Yes, we've been expecting you any day now. I don't mean to prolong the mystery further; but, well, I believe Itachi would prefer to speak with you on his own."

Once they were in front of Itachi's room, she paused and knocked on the door, "Sasuke-kun is home!"

He heard shuffling from inside the room before the door opened. Itachi's face appeared pale and drawn and tired. Sasuke felt a pulse of fear before Itachi smiled and greeted him, "Welcome home, Sasuke." He held open the door in invitation to enter, and Sasuke stepped inside without a word.

"Alright," his mother called through the doorway, "Dinner is about halfway done, maybe thirty more minutes. I'll come fetch you two when it's time."

Itachi quietly shut the door and gestured for Sasuke to sit down on the tatami mats. Itachi sat as well, on the edge of his futon. "Well, Sasuke, I'm sure you're wondering why you were called home from your mission."

He wasn't, at least, not anymore. A quick sweep around the room provided almost all the clues he needed: an array of pill bottles, inhalers, a hot water bottle, a tray of uneaten daifuku. There were books, empty cups, and scrolls scattered around the futon, blankets in disarray, as if someone had been spending his days in bed, with everything he needed within reach. And there was his brother, paler and thinner than Sasuke remembered him, sitting among the mess.

At Sasuke's silence, his brother began again, "Or maybe you've already figured it out?"

"Nii-san…how sick are you?"

Itachi sighed, "I'm quite ill, otouto…I'm afraid I've been ill for some time now, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

As Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, his brother held up a hand to stop him. He cleared his throat, continuing, "Please, let me explain. It began, I think, as a cough a few years ago. I was able to manage it with some over-the-counter treatments, like those throat lozenges, but the cough persisted. The medics ran some basic tests, but I was otherwise healthy, at least for awhile.

Later my symptoms…worsened. Tsunade-sama diagnosed me with a very rare type of autoimmune disease. To put it simply… my immune system is attacking my lungs."

At his pause, Sasuke found he could no longer focus on his brother's face and shifted his gaze to the floor, "…your lungs?"

"Yes…and for a while, we were able to treat the disease's symptoms and, we believe, slow the disease's progression. Tsunade-sama warned me that this might be the case—that the treatments might not be enough to cure it—but… I elected to stay on active duty and to withhold my diagnosis from our family. I had hoped, if the medicine had kept working, to never tell any of you."

"But the medicine…stopped working?"

Itachi shook his head, "It wasn't enough. It has probably slowed the damage to my lungs, and I'll continue to take the treatments in hopes that it will continue to buy us more time. But my best chance now, according to Tsunade-sama, would be a lung transplant, provided a pair becomes available."

The two brothers sat in silence, Sasuke's gaze shifting again around the room. At last he spoke, "How long can you wait?"

"Otouto, I'm not going to die next week. Or even next month, probably. All I can say is that since the disease itself is rare, the medics are hedging their bets on a time course. And, I do believe the medicine is still helping to slow it down."

"…I wish you had told me sooner."

"…I wish I had, too. I am deeply sorry, Sasuke. Even six months ago, I—well, I never would have guessed this is the shape I'd be in."

"And our parents?"

"They've only known for a couple of weeks now. I hid it from them as well, as long as I could. Kaa-san noticed something, of course, but she thought it was just a passing infection."

Itachi paused then to cough into his hand, his body shaking with the exertion. Sasuke started to stand, not sure what he was attempting to do, but Itachi waved at him to sit back down.

His brother grabbed a nearby cup and took a drink before continuing, "I know, otouto, that this is a lot of information to absorb. We can talk about this however much you like; I'll answer all the questions for which I know the answers. But there is something else I wanted to warn you about before we leave this room: Our father wants you to begin learning about the clan heir duties."

"But," Sasuke felt like he was swallowing a ball of rage as he tried to answer, "But you're still…"

"Our father has always been one to prepare for adverse outcomes. But my medical team is optimistic of my chances, as am I."

"…Did tou-san call me back for this?"

"No, I asked to call you back because I wanted you here. And I know kaa-san wanted you to come home as well, and tou-san, too, probably—though I don't think he even stops to consider his own feelings."

Sasuke found himself running his hands through his hair, trying to slow his thoughts down. He felt like his mind might explode with any new information. He could feel Itachi watching him from across the room, but it was clear his brother was waiting for a sign from him to proceed.

"So," at last Sasuke found a coherent thought, "A lung transplant?"