Prodigal's Son
by Missng

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

A lonely figure trudged along the well worn dirt road towards Konoha, worn sandals almost dragging along the ground with each step. The travelers face was shadowed by a hood, and slumped shoulders were covered by a tattered cloak. A gust of wind caused the figure to pull the thin cloth tighter around their body; the storm that had been threatening to blow in all morning had finally caught up to the shivering form. Another, now stronger, blast of wind de-hooded the figure, revealing familiar locks of raven-black hair. Dark eyes peered out from beneath long bangs; truly showing how much had changed. Although still dark, the raven-haired man's eyes were no longer brooding. Instead a new, more foreign feeling was seen:

Fear.

The man's slashed hitai-ate that hung around his neck was an all too painful reminder of his past actions towards the place he had once called home. Stopping, he turned his face towards the sky just as the first heavy drops of rain began to splatter down. The needle sting of the cold water slowly straightened the man's body, but did not wash away his feelings of shame and fear. Water ran streams down his pale face, and his dark hair plastered itself to his forehead. Closing his eyes, he wished the sky would drown him. What was he thinking, going back? He'd messed up too many times, made all the wrong choices, and hurt too many people. It had been several years now, but the feelings towards him wouldn't have changed. No one in the village would welcome him back with open arms.

"Guh!" The man's eyes snapped open, and he doubled over, holding his stomach. His world spun, and he staggered but did not fall. From what the man remembered, Konoha was still half a day away, but his body had reached its limit due to lack of proper nutrition and sleep for the past 3 years. Gritting his teeth he thought, 'How did I end up this way? Even the poorest people in Konoha were never literally starving.'

Starving.

Now that word brought back memories. Smirking, the man recalled his first days as a Genin. With a growling stomach, survival training consisted of running around after a silver-haired Jounin, attempting to steal a bell to win a meal.

-o-

"Hokage-sama, the missions reports are in," announced a pink haired kounochi, poking her head into the large, round office belonging to the Hokage.

"Sakura-chan, please knock next time," was the tired response.

Sighing, the said nin entered the office and bowed awkwardly, arms full of papers. Sliding the door shut with her foot, she walked over to the large desk and unceremoniously dropped the reports onto the desk, adding to the already tall stacks of other reports waiting to be read and sorted. "Hokage-sama, you really should start on this paperwork," Sakura chided, adjusting her green Chuunin vest. "Leaving it will only make for more work later on."

The red and white robed Hokage said nothing. His back was turned towards the kounochi, watching the road, his familiar shock of blonde hair contrasting with the dull grey of the rain streaked window. Pursing her lips, Sakura straightened a stack of papers. "Hokage-sama, are you still mourning for Sasuke?" she asked tersely while she worked.

Silence.

"Naruto?"

More silence, then a barely audible, "I don't mourn for those who aren't dead."

SLAM!

Sakura slammed the papers back onto the desk. "Just let go of him, Naruto. Even if he is still alive, he is no longer the same Sasuke we trained with under Kakashi. The Uchiha Sasuke we knew is dead, OK? Or have you forgotten what happened three years ago?"

The blonde tensed, but his gaze slowly turned from the road towards the large area of his beloved village still under re-construction. A brief image of snakes, a large frog, and a giant slug flashed before his eyes, and he shook his head to clear it.

Sakura let out a harsh sigh and continued her cleaning. "No, of course not. Only you don't remember Sasuke as the bad guy, you still blame the village."

Naruto turned around abruptly. "Wha-" He began, confused, and then his face hardened when he saw the look of contempt on Sakura's face. "Just because you've given up on him doesn't mean I have," he said.

She glared at him. "How can I forgive a monster like him?"

Naruto frowned and crossed his arms. "What made it so much easier when he ran off after Orochimaru, and then Itachi?"

"That was before he was a traitor, dobe!"

An uncomfortable silence followed the statement. The name had slipped out unintentionally, but it resurfaced memories in the minds of both adults. Sakura and her delusional teenage crush, and Naruto and his friendly rivalry with the one he would have called brother. The blonde then turned back to the window, while Sakura shuffled through a particularly large pile of papers, uncovering the red and white hat worn by the Hokage. Allowing a sad smile to cross her features, she dusted off the hat, tracing the fire symbol with a finger. "Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama would be proud of all you've done for the village, Naruto."

From where he stood by the window, Naruto blinked furiously as the road he watched suddenly began to blur. Gently, the pink haired kounouchi placed the hat back on the desk. Straightening her vest again, she bowed in leave, but before turning to go, she left Naruto with her two cents: "The village is still healing, Naruto. Everyone has already buried any memories of Sasuke. Even if he isn't dead, what are you going to do? Welcome him back with open arms? You might still think highly of the traitor, Hokage-sama, but the rest of us don't."

With a sharp turn, Sakura strode for the exit, opening the door and closing it with a distinct "click". A dark shadow settled over Naruto's eyes as he thought about what she had just said. What would he do if Sasuke really did return? For an Uchiha, three years of missing in action was not enough to kill, but long enough to grow hatred in the hearts of the villagers. Sapphire eyes drank up the view of the village he had sworn to protect, beautiful even in the gloom of the storm. What was one man to all this? Especially one man who showed no remorse over attempting to destroy a village he had once lived to defend. Pulling himself away from the window and running a hand through his hair, Naruto collapsed into the desk chair with a loud sigh. Flipping through some of the neatly stacked reports, he was able to sign off and file away a few of them, but his mind kept wandering. Off to the side, a small desk calendar had that days date circled, reminding him of the events going on that evening. Groaning he closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the tall back of the chair. "I hate paperwork," he muttered.

-o-

The rain was really coming down now, and the man's already drenched cloak doing very little to shield him from the downpour. Stumbling more than running along the path that led to Konoha, water dripped from his dark locks and into his eyes and his breath came in ragged gasps. Finally his body could take it no more, and his legs gave out from under him, sending him sprawling into the mud. With whatever strength he had left, the man slowly picked himself up and crawled under the nearest tree. Leaning against its solid trunk, he wished he knew another way out of his situation. Chuckling darkly to himself, he muttered, "Here comes the great Uchiha, Sasuke! Come to beg forgiveness from the Hokage of the Leaf Village!" He laughed quietly for a few moments longer, before slamming a fist into the soft earth beside him. "Yeah, that's exactly what they'll do: laugh. Laugh and then, if I'm lucky enough, they'll kill me," he said. He looked up at the tree above him. It was an old tree – solid, majestic, firmly rooted - it reminded him vaguely of Konoha, and Sasuke was like a severed branch trying to graft itself back into the tree it came from. Except that this particular severed branch had cut off many of the other tree branches, and then tried to burn the tree down. Sasuke sighed and clenched his fists. There was simply no way he would even be able to approach Konoha's walls without hostility.

What if he begged the Hokage to let him simply work among the peasants of Konoha? Sasuke grimaced at the thought, but in truth, anything in Konoha, even the lowliest of jobs, was better than the way he was living now.

"Hokage-sama, I can't ask you to forgive what I've done, but could you please – " he shook his head. That line sounded as though it were from a movie.

"Hokage-sama, I beg – …Hokage-sama, please – " Nothing Sasuke could think of covered how truly sorry he was. Looking up at the sky, the rain was beginning to stop. Shaking his head, Sasuke got up and continued along the road. He was an Uchiha. He'd think of something to say by the time he reached Konoha.

-o-

Naruto had just finished another stack of paperwork when a knock came at the door. "Come in," he called, filing away the last report. The door opened, and Naruto had to peer over his remaining piles of paperwork to see who it was. In an instant he recognized the familiar pink hair. "Sakura-chan, that better not be more paperwork," he groaned, sinking back into his seat and unhappily pulling up another document to read over and sign. "I just barely got through two of those stacks…" Naruto mumbled.

Walking around the desk, Sakura stood to the side of Naruto, arms crossed. "You've only finished two stacks? Naruto, it's been five hours! You could have been done with at least half of this pile in that amount of time!" The exasperated kounouchi watched with a raised eyebrow as the blonde read over the document in front of him, occasionally sneaking glances out the window. With a growl, Sakura punched Naruto across the face, sending him flying out of his chair and sprawling onto the floor, knocking over several piles of paper in the process.

"Wh-What was that for?" Naruto yelled, getting up and rubbing the spot where she had hit him. "Just because I don't read through the missions as fast as you could?" Both of them angry, they stared each other down, then Sakura finally spoke.

"You just don't get it, do you?" she said, knuckles on her hands turning white. "The remembrance ceremony is in half an hour and you're up here pretending to do paperwork, but all the while still waiting for Sasuke to show up! This memorial is to remember all the villagers and ninja that he KILLED!" She turned to the window and thrust a finger towards Hokage Mountain. "Look at Tsunade-sama," she pointed to the stone memorial where the ninjas and villagers of Konoha were beginning to gather, "look at Kakashi and everyone else who died fighting," she pointed to the part of the village still under reconstruction, "look at the village that you fought to protect!" She dropped her hand back to her side. "Sasuke is no longer considered a Konoha ninja. Try to remember that when you make your speech in twenty minutes," Sakura said, before turning on her heel and leaving the office.

Naruto looked down, his emotions torn. He waited until he heard the door slam shut before turning back to the window. Pressing his forehead against the cold glass, Naruto's eyes flicked from Hokage Mountain, the memorial, the village reconstruction, and then back to the road again. "At least the clouds are clearing," he muttered. With a sigh, he took a step back and stared at his hand, palm facing upwards. His eyes closed for a moment, thinking, concentrating, hoping, before flashing open and glancing towards the door. Then, without a second thought, he bit his thumb, completed a rapid series of hand motions and then planted his hand on the floor.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

There was a puff of smoke and, in an instant, a small red-orange frog was sitting where Naruto's hand once was. Standing up to his full height and crossing his arms imposingly, Naruto stared down at the frog and said, "Gamakichi, I have a mission for you."

Looking up to see who his summoner was, Gamakichi was pleasantly surprised to see the blonde headed nin he knew so well. "Yo! Naruto, long time no see," he said, hopping up onto Naruto's desk to more easily speak with Naruto. "Those Hokage robes fit pretty well on you, huh?"

It was hard for Naruto not to revert back to his ten-year old self as he replied, "Yeah, aren't they awesome? They're kind of girly and hard to move in sometimes, but other than that – " but he cut short his happy babbling once he recalled his original intentions. "Gamakichi, I have a mission for you. It's not dangerous, but it's important…to me."

Giving a webbed salute, Gamakichi replied, "Just tell me what to do, Hokage-sama." Bringing his head down close to the frog's, Naruto whispered his plan to him, occasionally glancing at the door. When he was done, all Gamakichi could do was shake his head. "If it were for anyone else, I wouldn't do it. Just remember, I lost family in that war too." Hopping away from Naruto, Gamakichi gave him one last hard look and poofed away.

Once he left, Naruto turned back to the stack of papers that still loomed over his desk. Scuffing his toe at a few of the papers that he had knocked over when Sakura punched him, the blonde made a sound of disgust at the back of his throat. "No way am I doing this once I get back…Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He called out, his hands forming a cross in front of him with his index and middle fingers. Five clones appeared in a puff of smoke next to Naruto.

"Aw, come on!"

"Why do we have to do all the work while you go off and pretend to be important?"

Naruto felt a vein bulge in his temple as his clones voiced his own complaints. "JUST GET IT DONE SO I DON'T HAVE TO!" He snapped, before retrieving his hat from underneath a pile of fallen papers and settling the red and white mark of the Hokage on his head. Pulling the brim of the hat down so that it shaded his eyes, Naruto managed a cheeky grin to his grumbling clones before heading out to the memorial ceremony.

-o-

They would kill him on sight. There really was no avoiding it. Even the speech he was so carefully preparing was probably going to fall upon deaf ears, for who would listen to his plea? Every step become more and more painful as Sasuke drew closer to Konoha, and the knot in his stomach grew tighter and tighter, but whether from hunger or fear, Sasuke didn't know anymore. As the path in front of him began to swim in his vision, Sasuke still continued on towards the village. Sure, it was suicide, but he was tired of running and the only place he knew that could give him rest in some form or another was the ninja village he once could have called home.

Had Sasuke's chakra levels been higher at the time, he might have sensed the small presence watching him with great interest from the forest to his left. Gamakichi's sharp eyes had been watching the roads leading to Konoha, waiting for Sasuke.

-o-

The mood around the memorial stone was somber. His face betraying no emotion, Naruto lit the first memorial candle before setting it in front of the stone. 'Kakashi-sensei, what would you do if one of your friends was a traitor?' he thought to himself as the others who had lost family or comrades brought small candles up to the memorial. One by one the candles were lit, and the flame surrounding the stone began to shine brighter and brighter. The sight stirred something within Naruto as he stood by, the light of the flames reflecting in his eyes. The faith of the people had been like the candles once. Like the ceremony, he had started it, just a single flame trying to show the world that there was hope. Hope for peace; hope to avoid war; 'Hope for Sasuke…'

A misty eyed Sakura nudged him from his thoughts. Looking up, Naruto mumbled an, "Oh, right," before fishing in his pocket for the speech he had prepared for the event. He had never been good at giving speeches. Clearing his throat, he began, "It's been three years now since all these names have been etched into the memorial stone. Heh, before I knew what this stone was I had always wanted my name to be carved on it, as soon as possible." There were a few chuckles from the audience. "But now I want my name carved on this stone for a different reason. Like our friends and fellow ninja's we are remembering today, I want to be remembered for my bravery and loyalty to Konoha, and –" Naruto stopped his speech abruptly when Gamakichi appeared on his shoulder.

"Hey, kid, mission complete," the frog announced.

The speech he had prepared crumpled in his hand, and Naruto's eyes suddenly grew wide. "Which gate?" he asked, his voice eerily even.

"Main entrance."

Immediately, Sakura caught on to what was happening. "Naruto, no! You need an ANBU –" she started, but Naruto and Gamakichi were gone in a puff of smoke. "Neji! Get a team and go after him!" Sakura called towards a group of ANBU.

An ANBU member with long, jet-black hair and a bird mask stepped forward. "Right," he responded, before he and two other elite masked ninjas also disappeared in a puff of smoke.

-o-

Once the village gate was in sight, Sasuke couldn't force his legs to move forward anymore. Cold sweat was on his brow – he couldn't do this. 'Come on, Sasuke, you made it this far. Why are you being such a scardy-cat now?' he thought to himself. But, just when he thought he had enough courage to take another step, he was spotted by the guards.

"Oy! There's someone approaching the village!"

"What the…It's Uchiha Sasuke!"

His first instinct was to run, his second was to stay and fight. As the guards descended from their towers, habit made him reach for his sword…that was no longer there. Gritting his teeth, he braced himself for the inevitable.

Appearing just inside the wall of the village, Naruto quickly began opening the large, heavy gates. Rushing out, he immediately saw a scene he had hoped it wouldn't come to: Sasuke surrounded by guards, all desperately trying to kill him. Breaking into a run, Naruto rushed towards his old friend. "Sasuke, SASUKE!" he yelled.

Sasuke barely heard his name being called. He was too busy narrowly dodging the barrage of attacks. He had it mostly figured out: he'd take the attacking ninja's down with him with a final attack of his Mangekyo Sharingan. He'd definitely seal his fate in the Konoha history books afterwards, but the Uchiha wasn't going down without a fight. Parrying a sword thrust with his hands, Sasuke activated his Sharingan.

"Hokage-sama! Stay back, we'll take care of this," the ANBU with the bird mask commanded, appearing before Naruto and trying to stop him from getting to Sasuke. But Naruto simply dodged around the other ninja, his desperation to reach Sasuke before anything happened to him clear on his face. "Naruto!" he shouted after the blonde.

Naruto had noted the condition Sasuke seemed to be in and didn't have to think long to figure out his friend's thoughts once he saw him activate Sharingan. However, even in his weakened state, Sasuke was a force to recon with. The attacking Chuunin's were having a hard time landing blows. That is, until a lucky nin landed a punch to Sasuke's jaw. Sasuke went flying backwards and landed sprawled out on the road. Taking his chance, one of the Chuunin guards rushed forwards with his sword, ready to strike the final blow. Naruto's eyes widened, "No…no, NO! STOP!" he yelled.

Sasuke was seeing double due to the blow he had taken. His vision began to clear just as the nin began to descend with his sword. Immediately throwing up his arms in defense, Sasuke closed his eyes, waiting for the familiar sting of cold steel entering his body.

Nothing.

Opening his eyes, Sasuke looked up to see a red and white robed figure standing over him, blocking the attack with a kunai. The other nin, seeing who it was, backed off immediately with a startled, "H-hokage-sama!"

"Hokage…?" Sasuke then caught a glimpse of the man's face. The familiar fox markings on his cheeks, and the piercing blue eyes… "Naruto?" Sasuke asked, unsure if fate was playing some kind of cruel game with him.

At first Naruto's face was unreadable. For a few moments, the two just stared at each other, Naruto staring down at Sasuke, kunai in hand, and Sasuke staring up at Naruto, torn between fear and hope. Suddenly, Naruto spoke. "Everyone go back to your posts. I want to deal with Sasuke…alone."

Immediately a protest was raised. "But Hokage-sama-!"

His eyes flaring red, Naruto growled an, "I said, go!" Reluctantly, the guards left first, followed by the ANBU squad. The ANBU with the bird mask left last, and with one last glance and a shake of his head, he headed back into the village, knowing all too well what would happen.

His eyes returning back to their normal color, Naruto turned back to Sasuke. But before he could do anything, Sasuke spoke.

"Hokage-sama, I…I've come back to Konoha because-"

"Shut-up, Sasuke," Naruto cut him off. Lifting the kunai he held in his hand, Naruto looked at the small, but deadly, weapon. "All of Konoha wants you dead. Most of them think you already are. Very few have thought about what would happen if you ever did come back, since, after your last defeat, you'd pretty much have to be stupid to." Tossing the kunai into the air and catching it expertly, he began to play with the kunai in his hand, never once taking his eyes off of Sasuke. "Me, I've thought about what I would do if you ever returned for the past three years." Naruto stopped playing with the kunai, and Sasuke saw the muscles in his jaw tighten. Closing his eyes, he waited for the blow.

There was a soft, 'thunk!' and Sasuke opened his eyes. The kunai was buried in the trunk of a nearby tree, and Naruto was extending a hand down to Sasuke. Without thinking, Sasuke took it, and Naruto helped him to his feet. "Welcome back, Sasuke," Naruto grinned, folding his hands behind his head.

Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he had smiled, but somehow, his face remembered the proper muscles to use. His classic smirk settled upon his lips, and he just barely heard himself reply,

"Yeah."

A/N: Comments and Crit's are welcome, as well as the answer to this question:
"WTH is a 'dobe'?" _ I mean, I've seen it in a lot of Naruto fic's, so I started using it. However, I have no idea how the heck that came about. Anyone care to enlighten me? x_x

Aditional Disclaimer: I started writing this before the whole "Pain destroy's Konoha" arc, so I do know that Sasuke didn't destroy and probably won't destroy Konoha anytime soon.

Edited 9/29/10