Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto!

Standing underneath the shower head in one of the most luxurious bathrooms she's seen in her life, Sasuke felt like death.

Her head was practically pounding, and her eyes fought to close. She hasn't felt this sluggish since the war. It was an unfair comparison considering her enemy here was a few bottles of alcohol.

She concluded that being hungover was not fun. Throwing up all over the only boy she cared about was horrifying.

"Kill me..." Putting her forehead against the shower wall, she did her best to recall the previous night. They did eventually pass out from drinking, competing against each other was an awful idea.

'I can't believe I took my shirt off in front of him like that.' Her face felt warmer, but she chalked it up to the scalding water hitting her.

Her memories were a bit scrambled from the previous night, blacking out from alcohol tends to do that. However, she could not forget those wide blue eyes as she removed her oversized clothing.

When it came to size, she was certainly not on the level of the previous Hokage. Hell, she wasn't even like the Hyūga. That didn't necessarily bother her, she'd rather not have those gigantic things weighing her down. At least she was bigger than Sakura and that... girl who only threw kunai and shuriken. For the life of her, Sasuke could not remember her name. Oh well, it probably wasn't important.

A smile graced her features while thinking about Naruto's shocked stare. It genuinely made her feel good, once she got past the fear of revealing her missing arm. She may have the world's most intense migraine right now, but that wouldn't stop her joy over being acknowledged by him.

'To think that I didn't want him to come with me... what would I be doing without him right now?' She imagined she'd be roaming around like some homeless person, sulking, and getting nowhere. Maybe she would...

"Oi! Sasuke!" Loud knocks sounded on the door, making her eyes narrow. She was currently showering and very much naked.

"What do you want? I'm showering." She had to raise her voice over the sound of the water.

"You're taking too long! I really need to get in there!" Naruto continued his obnoxious knocking.

"Idiot..." Sasuke scrubbed at her body again, ignoring Naruto for the time being.

The door knob started to rattle, revealing that Naruto was getting fed up with the overly long shower. In her defense, she needed it right now.

"I smell like a certain Uchiha's vomit! I'll give you two minutes before I steal the shower!"

If Sasuke was anything like that mousy Hyūga, she would have buried her face into her hands due to the embarrassment. She'd sooner end herself by falling on her own Chidori before acting like that.

"Shut up and let me shower!" She shouted back for hopefully the last time.

"Thirty seconds!" Naruto yelled back, he did not enjoy smelling like alcohol and vomit. He learned his lesson, and Kurama's mocking laughter was getting to him.

Sasuke wasn't sure if it was because she wanted to call his bluff or something deeper, but she remained silent.

'As if he'd actually come in here.' No way would he do that.

Hearing the sound of a lock being picked only proved that yes, he would do that.

"Naruto..." She reacted quickly, pumping chakra to her wrist seal... only for nothing to come out. Forming a hand sign, she channeled chakra for a specific jutsu. A jutsu she didn't need two hands for, she's seen Naruto do it plenty of times to get the hang of it herself.

The door opened and Naruto walked in with annoyance plastered on his face. He did not feel amazing, and Kurama's jokes only made the situation worse.

Before he could even look over the large bathroom, a shadow dropped down before him. A fully dressed Sasuke stared deeply into his eyes. 'Wait... that's her-' It was too late for him.

'Genjutsu... stupid Uchiha's...' Kurama was less than impressed.

Naruto's body dropped like a sack of potatoes. The Sasuke in front of him let out a breath she was holding in. It wouldn't last long, considering Kurama could snap him out of it.

"Are we clear?" Peeking out of the shower, Sasuke spoke to her clone. Receiving a head nod in return, she dashed for a towel first.

"Moron..." Sasuke whispered at the downed Naruto. If he really wanted to see her... 'No. I definitely don't like him.' She couldn't shower in peace, she couldn't even atone in peace.

Turning to exit, she froze when she sensed movement behind her.

"Sasukeeee!"

"Naruto! Wait! I am not fighting in a towel!"

Naruto ended up paying the hotel a considerable fee for the damages caused by their fight.

"I can't see a damn thing, it's hot, and there's mosquitos everywhere." Naruto grumbled while slapping away the pesky bugs.

"Someone isn't in a good mood." Sasuke kept her pace even with his as they walked towards Kirigakure.

After the small scale fight in the hotel, they departed from Nami no Kuni by boat to continue their journey. As she mentioned to him before, the Mizukage apparently needed some help with her rogue problem.

"It's partially your fault." Naruto accused her.

"Partially? That's a big word for you."

"No it isn't."

"It is." Sasuke ducked beneath her cloak so she wouldn't reveal her smile.

Naruto scowled and pushed ahead of his partner, though the fog made it extremely difficult to see. His eyes narrowed when he heard something come from the nearby trees. He knew Sasuke stopped in her tracks as well.

"Bandits?" The Uchiha questioned.

"No." Naruto's eyes almost immediately changed, displaying his masterful control of Senjutsu. "It's one person."

Sasuke's Sharingan spun to life when her ears picked up something breaking through the tree line.

"Naruto! Above you!" Her warning was unnecessary, and she knew that.

A large sword, one that was insanely familiar to both shinobi, descended onto Naruto.

The surrounding damp forest was silent as Naruto simply held his hands against the dangerous weapon, stopping it in its tracks.

"Damn, Orochimaru wasn't kiddin' when he said you were a monster now." A snarky voice spoke from beneath a hooded cloak.

"Oh… it's you." Naruto's disinterest was noted by Sasuke. The girl shook her head and deactivated her eye.

"He could have killed you. You know that right, Suigetsu?" At her words, the cloaked individual laughed and pulled his sword away from Naruto's grip.

"Nah, he wouldn't do that." Suigetsu pulled his hood down and shot the duo a sharp grin. He looked the same to Sasuke, he was still the cocky boy who she used for her own goals.

"I could have." Naruto stressed the word.

He did not like Suigetsu.

"I'm not buyin' it." Suigetsu hefted the large sword, Kubikiribōchō, over his shoulder and back into its sheath. "I just wanted to test the great hero after all." Casually, he retrieved a small water bottle from his hip and took a few sips.

Naruto mumbled something under his breath before placing himself very close to Sasuke's side. She rose an eyebrow at this but didn't comment on it.

"What brings you two here anyway?" Suigetsu was pretty curious. Sasuke was always so mysterious, and their little group wanted to know what her next goal would be.

"Official business for our village, don't worry about it." Naruto told him quickly, eager to end the conversation.

'I see what's happening here…' Kurama thought with a small chuckle. This was new for the Kyuubi, it was rare for Naruto to be jealous.

"Orochimaru told me it was something about 'atonement'. You couldn't even be bothered to stop by and say hello to your old teammate while visiting the snake, Sasuke?" Suigetsu tilted his head at the once traitor to her village.

"You are not her old teammate." Naruto whispered with heat in his voice, Sasuke heard it easily.

"… I was busy. Sorry." That was the best excuse she could give the boy. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you only helped Orochimaru." She briefly wondered why they didn't just put an end to that snake.

"Hmm, well I do some errands for the Mizukage as well. In return for keeping this beautiful blade here without her sending bounty hunters after me, I do some missions. I'm happy, she's happy, and I'm not being hunted." He shrugged carelessly.

"Maybe you should be…" Naruto's hushed words were seriously confusing Sasuke. She hasn't seen him this hostile towards anyone in some time.

'There's no way… is he jealous?' Sasuke knew that emotion far too well. He was jealous of Suigetsu? Why?

"You're both on your way to Kirigakure, right? I'll join you since I'm wanted for a job anyway." Placing himself at Sasuke's other side, he pointed to the surrounding fog. "The fog is almost a natural defense, following that direction will get us there quickly."

"Thanks." That was all Sasuke could offer. She left Suigetsu to die, so it felt awkward for him to be this friendly with her. Walking in the direction of his pointed finger, she left the two boys behind. Naruto's jealousy was consuming her thoughts.

Suigetsu stood in silence with Naruto for a few seconds before letting out a low whistle while looking at Sasuke's departing form. "I know we can't really see it now, but she does have a nice ass, you know?"

'I'm two seconds away from putting a Rasenshuriken through his face.'

'Do it. I won't tell anybody.'

Naruto would never like Suigetsu. Believe it.

"What do we have here…?" The voice was almost sultry as one of the strongest women in the Elemental Nations stood from behind her desk.

Mizukage? More like a whore, in Sasuke's eyes at least.

"Mizukage-sama, sorry for intruding on your village so suddenly but-" Naruto got cut off by her raised hand. Sasuke was momentarily surprised with his maturity, even if it was aimed at this predator of a woman.

"There is no need for such a prominent figure in the war to apologize to me. You are welcome here always." She licked her lips and gave Naruto a strange smile.

"Hello, Mizukage." Sasuke cut in with an edge. Mei snapped her attention to the dark haired Uchiha.

"Oh? I see you've brought along this one… is she eager to be melted again?" Mei blew out a small amount of steam, making Sasuke glare heatedly at her.

"Whor-" Sasuke's mouth was covered by Naruto who smiled nervously at the Mizukage. Suigetsu didn't waste any time in backing out of the room when feeling the tension. No way was he getting involved in a battle like this, he could just come back later.

"No, she actually wants to help out around the village or with missions wherever possible, please." Naruto put on his best smile, successfully getting the older woman's attention.

"Hm. Is that what brings you here? Helping the Uchiha find some work?" Mei was not a big fan of someone who would have gladly killed her in the past.

"Well… that and hopefully getting some help from you." Naruto released his hold on a blank faced Sasuke to rub at his neck. "I am trying to learn from all of the current Kage in order to ready myself for the future. I don't want to force myself onto you or anything though."

Mei's eyes lit up at his last sentence and Sasuke's darkened.

"For a handsome young man such as yourself, you can come to me anytime. I'd be more than happy to allow you to shadow me for your stay." Mei rounded her desk to stand in front of the two. She crossed her arms under her large bust and tilted her head to the side.

Sasuke did not like Mei.

"Thank you so much!" Naruto beamed at her, completely missing the sexual undertones.

"What an adorable boy. Now… what should I do with you, Uchiha?" Mei narrowed her eyes at the Sharingan enhanced glare.

"We heard that you requested help for your problem with rogue shinobi. I'll handle it." Sasuke told her rudely. She didn't care one bit about this woman's position.

"Ah, you'd be correct about that. Ever since Ao…" Mei shook her head, deciding not to think about one of her most trusted shinobi's death. "We've had a big issue in the recent months. Many shinobi decided to dodge the war entirely, and some went against this stability we've set up between villages. You see why this is a problem, yes?" Mei tapped on her desk with a well manicured nail. Naruto and Sasuke nodded at her question.

"Yeah, I hate that there's still people that don't want peace between the villages… but I guess the change was too sudden for some." Naruto was committed to holding this peace until the day he died.

"Indeed, it is a shame. When it comes to these shinobi, they've been surprisingly hard to track down. We have a general location to the west of the village, but somehow they cover their tracks pretty well." Mei continued her explanation.

"They travel as a group?" Sasuke found that odd. Not many rogues decided to 'team up'.

"Weird, isn't it? I thought the same, but nonetheless they are a problem. Anything that threatens the village right now needs to be taken care of. They each have bounties on their heads as well." Mei reached into a drawer of her desk and flipped a black book to Sasuke. The girl caught it with ease and scanned its contents quickly.

'Orochimaru really obtained all of this information on his own. How does he do it?' Sasuke had to give him credit, he was a master of espionage.

"You can meet with my shinobi at the gates for a better approximation of their location. Alive or dead, it doesn't matter to me." Mei had no respect for war dodgers or threats to stability.

"Alive would be nice." Naruto commented offhandedly. Mei smiled in amusement.

"You're much too caring, Naruto-kun. You remind me of your father a fair bit, I've always heard he was a kind man." Not to mention she had a huge crush on him while she was growing up. What shinobi didn't know about the Yellow Flash?

"Hehe." Naruto scratched at his cheek with a big smile. Being compared to his father always left him feeling happy. Sasuke wasn't crazy about Mei's compliments but she enjoyed seeing Naruto like this.

"I assume you both don't have living arrangements for the extent of your stay, correct?" Mei looked Naruto up and down for a moment.

"We booked a stay at a hotel already. We are fine." Sasuke lied. Naruto kept his mouth shut but was confused on why she would lie.

"That's a shame…" Mei shook her head sadly. "Here I was hoping to give Naruto-kun here some personal lessons at my home."

"Huh? I mean, I need whatever lessons I can get to become Hokage." Naruto didn't want to lose out on experience.

"Oh? Is that so?" Mei smile screamed trouble.

'I want to crush her with my Susanoo.'

Sasuke would never like Mei. Hmph.

Being on her own again was strange. Sasuke had grown used to having Naruto at her side now. Even before that, she had her Hebi/Taka team with her.

Naruto was stuck with the predator of a Kage today, learning about the distribution of missions and pay. She gave Naruto a lot of credit, he never was one for paying attention. His drive for learning made her… proud. He really would become Hokage and she would-

'Focus on the mission.' Sasuke used her Sharingan and Rinnegan to search for any traps or lingering chakra. After obtaining the general location of these rogues, she walked aimlessly through a humid forest. Eyes searching every direction, she narrowed them at a rabbit… caught in a rather simple trap.

'So someone's been hunting around here.' She pushed forward towards the deceased animal.

Stepping over a small pile of branches, Sasuke's ears picked up a small noise. It was similar to a mechanism clicking into place. A smirk bloomed on her face.

'Easy.' A barrage of shuriken shot at her upon triggering another trap. She sidestepped the projectiles easily, her Sharingan making something like that child's play.

"So you're all around here after all." The trap was decent. Probably good enough to catch a mediocre shinobi by surprise. She assumed the Mizukage just wasn't looking hard enough for the strays if they were only this skilled. She had a few ideas on what to do.

Biting at her thumb, she let the blood flow onto her palm before slamming it towards the ground. Only a moment later, a plume of smoke appeared before her and her summon appeared.

"Nice to see you again, Garuda." Sasuke gave the large hawk a soft smile. The large summon gave a gentle screech as he nuzzled his head against Sasuke. She did appreciate her snake summons, but Garuda was special to her.

"I need your help with finding some shinobi around here. Can you fly above and search for any oddities in the area?" Sasuke questioned the intelligent creature. Garuda nodded only one time before shooting off into the sky. Fiercely loyal and protective of her, she definitely preferred Garuda.

'He reminds me of Naruto...' She chuckled when thinking about a combination of Naruto's face and Garuda's.

Continuing her walk through the forest, she kept her eyes peeled for more traps. Any thoughts about the traps belonging to a random hunters were gone now, entirely due to the inclusion of rigged shuriken. Her Sharingan spun slowly as she focused on some of the taller trees in the area.

"The bark is marked... by a kunai." It was a common tactic that young Genin used when on missions outside of their village. Marking the trees slightly would ensure they wouldn't get lost if separated from their team.

Her head snapped upwards when a loud screech ripped through the area. Garuda flapped his wings before shooting off in a different direction. 'Let's get this over with. I have to go save that loser from being taken advantage of.' Sasuke planned to take out everyone as fast as possible.

Jumping from tree branch to tree branch, she soon noticed Garuda sitting perched on a fallen tree. They overlooked a large mountain swallowed by fog.

"What did you find?" Sasuke stood next to her summon and scanned the area.

Extending his beak towards a peculiar rock, Garuda waited for his summoner to catch on. Fortunately for the hawk, his summoner had some good eyes.

"Those rocks... ninjutsu. Someone is concealing the cave entrance with those boulders. It almost looks natural, but they've been lifted recently." Sasuke hopped off the branch, letting her summon watch over her. "It's smart. Using the natural fog of the region to cover their tracks, while also having a shelter to easily retreat to." Her Sharingan shifted, her eyes taking on a completely different form.

"Stay on watch out here, I'm going in." Sasuke didn't need to turn around to know that her summon understood. A purple ribcage surrounded her while she faced the large boulders. Loud and proud was never her style, she preferred subtly. Unfortunately, there was no way she could get into the cave without waiting for the occupants to emerge. She had no patience, and any more time spent here was more time that Mei could use to corrupt Naruto.

With what seemed like little effort, a large purple fist crashed into the boulders. They shattered into an uncountable amount of pieces, a feat that would have Sakura jealous.

Entering the dark cave, Sasuke had no opportunity to investigate before a few kunai made her body their target. The trajectory was off, only two could reasonably reach her and she doubted it would be a vital spot. They bounced harmlessly off the Susanoo.

A whistle sounded from the shadows and Sasuke figured that this must be their lookout. She knew her target.

Blitzing towards the location of the whistle, Sasuke intercepted a short individual who was dressed in a hooded cloak similar to Suigetsu when he attacked Naruto.

Gripping the short shinobi in her Susanoo arm, they cried out in pain and Sasuke froze at the noise. They sounded young, too young.

Hearing the whizzing of more weapons heading her way, she was more than confident in being protected so she kept her Sharingan gaze on her tiny captive. It would be simple to end this now and move on to the other shinobi. One squeeze of her Susanoo's arm could damage anyone that wasn't named Naruto.

"Please! Please, let him down! Please!" A man's voice shouted at her with panic present in his tone.

"… You must be the rogue shinobi set to be eliminated by Kirigakure." Sasuke heard more footsteps behind her, and she could practically feel the fear in the cave. Her dark chakra was probably suffocating some of them.

"He's innocent! Please, don't harm my son!" The man behind her pleaded, breaking every tradition Kirigakure had about raising cold hearted killers.

'Son…' Sasuke's hand pulled back the hood of her captive. Tear filled brown eyes greeted her. Shaggy blue hair covered the boys head, sorely needing a good haircut. His skin was sickly pale, showing that he rarely stood out in the sunlight.

"I don't want to die… I don't want to die." Sasuke eyes widened in shock before she dropped her Susanoo. The boy fell to his knees before her, wheezing painfully due to her techniques grip.

'I was going to…' Sasuke once believed she was committed to eliminating the population of Konoha. Seeing the panic filled eyes of an actual child before her, pleading for his life… she was reminded of herself.

"Kaito! Kaito!" Now it was a woman's voice yelling for the young boy. Sasuke turned to address the cave dwellers.

There were multiple groups of people filling the cave. Each dirty, pale, and malnourished. Men, women, children, it shook her to the core. These were the strays from the village?

"Mom!" The boy, Kaito, tried to stand before Sasuke placed a blade in his way. Gasps rang from within the group, wondering if she'd actually kill the child.

"… I recognize you from the list. Touma of Kirigakure, you were a Chūnin. You ran off just as the war broke out." Sasuke flatly accused the shaken man before her. He shared his sons hair and eye color, and he kept a shaky arm around a frightened woman.

"You… you're a bounty hunter? You…" Touma felt dread fill him. There were close calls in the past, they couldn't all just abandon the village without consequences. However, the girl in front of him was on another level. Just by feeling her chakra, he knew they stood no chance. His family, the other families, they would all be killed here.

"The Mizukage wants you dead or alive. I'm assuming some of the men and women behind you are also deserters." Sasuke knew they had to be. 'The children are very young.' She noted with a frown as one woman was cradling a crying baby.

"Just please! Don't hurt the children, I'm begging you." For a rogue shinobi to plead like this, he truly cared for his family.

Hearing the sniffling from the child behind her, Sasuke was reminded of her own silent crying at night.

Withdrawing the blade, she let the boy run forward into his parents arms. The mother pulled him close and ran her soothing hands through his dirty hair. She told him it would be alright, she told him that she was proud of him. It was like she was preparing to die.

"We will come with you… we know what awaits us." They couldn't put up a fight. Not with the children exposed and against an opponent like this.

"Why abandon your village?" Sasuke felt compelled to ask. The older shinobi shuffled around, looking at each other uneasily. Touma eventually spoke, his eyes tired and body weary.

"We had families. Children being born and responsibilities outside of being a shinobi. The war… it wasn't ours. We wanted no part in that mess. Kirigakure wasn't the cause, it was that madman that we've all heard about." Touma spit out with disgust. "Why should we leave our children behind and die on the battlefield? We'd be leaving them alone in a village that still hasn't recovered from our last Kage's reign." His words contained no lies. They were the worries of a concerned father.

"We've seen all the casualties from the war… we would have been another body on the pile." The woman holding her baby spoke with a cracked voice.

Sasuke's Sharingan deactivated, she simply stood and watched the large group. If this happened before she was woken up and pulled from the darkness, the outcome would be different. She didn't care about anybody but herself in the past. Now, she was infected by Naruto's will.

"Why didn't you leave this area sooner?" She questioned them.

"Where would we go? We have no funds to hire a ship captain, and our children can't make the journey on foot. Stealing isn't exactly easy when we'd be killed if we were caught. We would be hunted down for the rest of our lives, so we retreated into these caves. I suppose none of that matters anymore." He gave a sad smile down to his son.

"Can you promise us one thing?" The woman holding her baby already had tears streaming down her face. "Promise us that you'll ask the Mizukage to take in our children. Don't let them die out here. This isn't their fault." Her cloudy eyes bore deeply into Sasuke.

These shinobi were Genin and Chūnin at most. They were giving up this easily, all for their children's safety…

"No I won't take them." Sasuke started to say, making the parents clutch their children tighter, fearing for their future in this world. "… You'll be taking them. Far away from here. I don't care where you go, just get out of here."

Silence permeated through the cave, the shinobi were stunned at her words.

"We have nothing… barely the clothes on our back and weapons. We can't afford-"

A large pouch was thrown in the middle of the group, putting some on edge.

"That's more than enough for multiple passages out of Mizu no Kuni." Sasuke eyed the blue haired child she had in her hold only minutes ago. "Take them. Never come back here."

"Why…? You're obviously here on the Mizukage's orders. We are rogue shinobi… why?" Touma couldn't believe what was happening, although his beating heart hoped this wasn't a trick.

"I don't follow anybody's orders." Sasuke faced the entrance of the cave that she blew open. Turning her head to the side, she addressed the group one final time. "They know your general location. Leave during nightfall." With those parting words, her footsteps were the only noises heard throughout the cave.

'Would you have done the same thing… Itachi?'

"Hm? You're back already?" Mei tilted her head at Sasuke as she entered her office once again. Naruto sat at her side looking over some scrolls but once he saw Sasuke his eyes lit up. It was only half a day that he went without seeing her, yet he got excited.

"There were no rogue shinobi in that area. I searched the entire forest extensively. You should make sure your shinobi obtain better intel next time." Her dig at the Mizukage made the woman narrow her eyes.

"I was under the impression that their intel was correct." Mei eyed her suspiciously. They kept their eyes locked in an intense staring contest before Mei broke it with a sigh. "Oh well… it can't be helped. You can continue your search tomorrow morning."

"Understood."

"You can wait outside for Naruto-kun to finish up, it shouldn't be too long." Sasuke hated the way Mei trailed her fingers along Naruto's bandaged arm. Of course the idiot thought nothing of it.

Giving Naruto a glance, she silently left the room to sit in the extravagant hallway. Her eyes began to slowly close and her head dipped down a little into her cloak. Her body still needed rest from the alcohol incident…

She wasn't really sure how much time had passed since her little nap in the hallway of the Mizukage's estate, but when she looked up, all she saw was Naruto's warm smile.

"Sorry it took a little longer than expected." He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "You must have had a nice nap though." Naruto chuckled while looking at her half lidded eyes.

"Hmph… whatever." Sasuke stood and stretched her body. Naruto continued to watch her with that bright smile.

"What?"

"I don't know, I just feel proud of you." Naruto admitted while averting his eyes.

"… Shut up, loser." She was proud of him as well, but she wouldn't tell him. His stupid ego would get even bigger.

Naruto's infectious laughter filled the hall and she couldn't help but join him.

A/N - Another chapter because I love this story and I love the feedback on it. Thanks to all the reviewers on the last chapter, it was a crazy amount and almost 500 favorites is just… wow. Every time I see any reviews I get happy.

By the way, sorry for that little insult to Tenten in the chapter haha. She just needed a whole lot more screen time in the series to be really memorable lmao. A lot of side characters did actually…