So so sorry that it's taken me so long! It's summer.. So... yea! Haha

like seriously... I've retyped this chapter at least a dozen times before I finally settled on this version... the others were totally terrible!

I decided, imma try to make the chapters longer. Not to sure on how it'll work out or if it'll even work out, cuz time-wise, it's not looking too good. But I'll try my best! =]

Much to Sasuke's dismay, his day started bright and early. Karin was on his doorstep at seven a.m.. Jugo and Suigetsu both arrived a half an hour later. None of them were invited into Sasuke's house, but that didn't stop Suigetsu and Karin from trying.

Suigetsu kept complaining loudly about how 'cold' it was, and how 'windy' it was. Of course Sasuke didn't care. Besides, Suigetsu was lying. It was a bright, warm, crisp morning with a light breeze blowing the leaves on the trees.

Karin kept inching closer to Sasuke's open door, but he would always see her, but she was ruthless. She would start to creep toward the window, but again, Sasuke caught her. Each time Sasuke turned his head, she'd run toward the door, only to have Sasuke standing in the door way, glaring, with his arms crossed.

Sasuke, finally fed up with them, decided to let them in. What did it really matter to him anyway? While they were running around his house, looking into each room, Sasuke started walking away. He wanted just a little more time to himself. He didn't arrive home until midnight the previous night, but he wasn't able to fall asleep until much later.

He was busy cleaning up around his house, seeing as he hadn't been there in years. Dust was covering everything. Once he walked into the living room, it was hard for him to decipher what was a couch, and what was just a huge pile of dust. After cleaning everything up, he had to fix the broken windows, replace the broken faucets and throw out everything that was in bad shape.

The last time he looked at the clock, it was close to four a.m.. Just great. He had spent four hours cleaning everything, and he knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep. He shook his head, and he decided that one hour of sleep was better than zero hours.

The rather tired Uchiha was able to walk halfway down a nearby street before his teammates even noticed that he was missing. He stopped in his tracks and waited for them to find him. It wouldn't take long, and he knew that there was no use in trying to run. They'd just find him eventually and besides, they all had to meet at the same place in a couple of hours.

The morning went by fairly fast. Once Sasuke was caught, they all went out to explore the city. Around 11 o'clock, they ate lunch, and around 11:30, they were off to the Hokage's.

On the way there, Sasuke was well aware of the constant stares he was receiving from the villagers. He wasn't surprised by that fact at all. He had grown accustomed to it, after all. He lightly sighed at all of the attention and tried to ignore everyone.

His red headed companion was constantly cuddling up to him, only to be roughly pushed away. She'd pout for a couple of seconds, but then attempt to get close to him again.

Sasuke sometimes wondered what his life would've been like, had he met her sooner. What Sakura would've said to Karin's advances. How Naruto would've reacted to Sasuke getting even more attention. Then again, he didn't care. The only person who ever mattered to him was his brother. His goal was to kill him, and of course he had succeeded in meeting his goal. Now, he was a man all alone. Just how he always wanted to be.

Sasuke slowly shook his head from those thoughts. He had to concentrate on what was going on. They were about to enter the Hokage's doors, and he was well aware of what was to come. Tsunade would yell at him, say she didn't trust him, possibly throw things, and then send them away. It was pathetic that he could tell what she'd do just from their previous meeting. Very pathetic.

Sasuke and his crew braced themselves as they gingerly walked into the sunny room. Lady Tsunade had papers surrounding her, as she feverishly signed them all, without reading a single one. A long with the papers, there was a large cup that had the odor of sake. She had bags under her eyes but everyone was well aware not to make a comment about that. Shizune looked worried, but then again, when didn't she?

The Hokage looked up at the sound of the opening doors, registered who was entering, and went back to signing the papers. They were early, and she had to get everything done before anyone could make a complaint. Shizune wasn't helping her with her constant peering over her shoulder and making quiet remarks.

Lady Tsunade took a quick, deep breath and raised her head from the papers. She gave the four visitors a stern look, which told them they were all on very shady ground. She glanced at Sasuke and the two had a stare down. Sasuke won.

"Listen here," the Hokage slurred out a little, "point blank, I don't trust you. How could Naruto bring you back here so easily? He may be strong, but I doubt he's that strong," she finished, looking from one to the other. Sasuke kept his face stoic; Suigetsu grinned a little causing a little unease for Tsunade; Karin was giving her dirty looks; Jugo looked just like Sasuke. Tsunade shook her head in rage and stood up abruptly, causing papers to fly everywhere. "What are you doing here? Why did you come back?"

Sasuke kept his cold eyes on her warm ones. Why should he answer any of her questions truthfully if he was never even told the truth? His jaw clenched a bit in anger and in annoyance but still, he refused to answer her question. He refused to be the weak one.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and moved around the desk. She hated being ignored. Sasuke was almost more of a pain in the ass than Naruto. At least with Naruto, you knew exactly what was on his mind. Sasuke just looked empty, and not in a good way. "Takao," she suddenly called, adding confusion into the room.

Within a millisecond, a middle-aged man with scars on his face and arms appeared in the open windowsill. He had dark chocolate eyes and his light brown hair was up in spikes. He was dressed as a jonin but it looked odd on him because of his odd build. He was very scrawny and he looked extremely weak. His chocolate eyes looked around the room violently, looking for a destination until finally resting them gingerly upon Sasuke. The way he looked at Sasuke made Karin's skin crawl. There was just something complete wrong with this guy but it was impossible to tell what it was.

Lady Tsunade pointed a delicate finger at the younger Uchiha. The man named Takao nodded in response and moved about the room and stopped in front of him. The scarred man was a good foot taller than Sasuke. Sasuke glared at the man, not trusting him with an inch of his life, and he was correct in doing so.

Takao gave Sasuke a toothy grin, and before Sasuke could register what was going on, the man shoved a glowing hand into Sasuke's muscular stomach. Sasuke fell down to his knees as Karin gave out a loud shriek.

Sasuke could feel his chakra slowly gathering into his abdomen. Tsunade gleefully grinned to herself before she answered Sasuke's unasked question. "Takao is using his family's special jutsu. The 'Chakra Sealing Jutsu', or more popularly known as the 'Chakra Stealing Five Prong Jutsu'. Takao gathers up his little chakra and forces it all into his fingertips, than immediately forces his fingers into his victim, sucking out their chakra. The person then will have no chakra for anywhere from a day to a couple of weeks, depending on how much he steals."

Karin roughly blinked at Tsunade and turned her head back at Sasuke. She stared at Takao's man and sure enough, she could see Sasuke's chakra levels diminishing. Takao was sucking all of Sasuke's chakra! So he wasn't weak after all!

After a few seconds, Tsunade decided enough was enough and told Takao to stop. Sasuke shakily got to his feet, after refusing help from a very worried Karin. His onyx eyes bore right into Tsunade's, but she didn't once falter.

"I can force him to take all of your chakra away, but I have some use for you," she slyly said. Sasuke arched an eyebrow but Tsunade didn't continue. "Tell me. Why are you here?" she demanded after a short pause.

Sasuke scoffed at her, before complying. "I met Madara Uchiha," he plainly stated. Tsunade gave him a confused look but instead of interrupting, she allowed him to go on. Sasuke crossed his arm and gave her a bored look. "I didn't trust him so I told them," indicating his new team, "to follow me, away from Madara," he finished, looking away. He refused to say anything more on the subject.

"What did he try to do?" Tsunade asked, leaning back on her desk, flattening some of the papers down. Not even looking at her, Sasuke shrugged off her answer. Tsunade bit down on her lip hard, but tried to get rid of her anger. "What did he tell you?" she simply asked, hoping Sasuke would tell the truth.

Sasuke, not wanting to answer, started leaning on his left leg, acting bored. She was determined to wait until he answered that question. It was imperative that she knew what Sasuke knew. Eventually, Sasuke gave in, but not wholeheartedly. "He told me nothing important. I'm well aware that he wants to use me as his puppet."

Tsunade looked at him, trying to decipher the hidden meaning within his words, but declared it impossible. Trying to move on, she decided to ask one last question. "Sasuke Uchiha... do you know where his whereabout is?" she asked, glancing at Sasuke's companions.

They were all staring at Sasuke's back, awaiting for his answer. Sasuke shook his head no, and it was the truth. He had no clue where Madara was, and he didn't care to be honest. Madara Uchiha was no Uchiha in Sasuke's mind. All of the Uchiha's, aside from him, were dead.

Tsunade lightly growled at her frustrations with the Uchiha. There was no way that he was telling the truth. "Uchiha, there's no way I can trust you. Until you and your team proves their loyalty to this Village, the ANBU will not be leaving your sides anytime soon, you understand?" She moved to the other side of her desk and slammed her hands down on the desk. "If you even put one small hair out of place, I will have to take care of you, myself," she threatened the young Uchiha before sitting down.

Sasuke stared at her with blank eyes for a moment before nodding his head. Gaining her trust was the only way he'd be able to be alone. The only way he'd be able to move on with his life.

After agreeing with the Hokage, they were shoved out of the room quickly, so Tsunade could get back to signing documents. Before leaving though, Sasuke had one last look at Takao, who just stared back with a smile that would scare the pants off of little kids.

After that eventful afternoon, Sasuke's group dragged him to go sight seeing. More accurately, it was all Karin's idea to go sight seeing, claiming Konoha was their new home and it's important for them to know everything about their new home. Sasuke was somewhat interested to see what might've changed since the last time he was there.

They trudged up and down almost every street, stopping constantly to look at things. Sasuke was growing increasingly bored with each passing second. Nothing changed. Everything was exactly where it used to be. All of the people were doing exactly what he remembered them doing. Ino's mother was at the flower shop. Choji and his dad were eating. Everyone was smiling. Little kids were running around; mothers were singing to their babies; merchants were talking about their new items they've just received. Everyone and everything was peaceful. This greatly irritated the Uchiha.

Anger was slowly rising from the middle of his core. How was it possible that nobody had a problem? That everything was good in the world? It was as if he was the only one in Konoha that had a working brain.

As the raven haired teen was lost in his thoughts, Suigetsu started to walk away from the group. He could care less about what Karin wanted to look at, and more important, he could care less about Konoha. He turned around to see Sasuke looking at him. He just sighed, rubbed his head softly and then shrugged. Instead of saying anything, he waved goodbye to Sasuke, who glared at him for that action, and walked back to where he was staying. He'd rather be sleeping than have to deal with the red head another minute.

As Sasuke watched Suigetsu walking away, he neglected to recognize two oncoming chakras. Karin, being the envious girl that she is, immediately threw and latched herself onto Sasuke, refusing to let go. Sasuke quickly looked down at Karin and noticed she was looking away from him. He followed her eyes with his own and they landed on his two former teammates, Sakura and Naruto.

Sakura had her arms crossed and her eyes closed. She looked visibly annoyed but it was hard to tell what was going on with her internally. She was walking somewhat quickly, so it was easy to tell she was busy. Naruto, on the other hand, was shouting after her, waving his hands like mad for no true reason.

Sasuke forcefully shoved Karin away and turned around to face the two. Sakura opened up her eyes to see what was in front of her, but never once did she glance at the people staring at her. Never once did she turn around to look at Naruto.

'What the hell is her problem anyway?' Sasuke angrily asked himself. He was already fed up with people and seeing his old teammates didn't make him feel any better. He didn't want to have anything to do with them anymore, and yet here they were, walking toward him.

Just as Sasuke got ready to deal with Sakura and Naruto, Sakura surprised him. A few feet in front of him, she closed her eyes again, tighten her grip on herself and hurriedly walked past Sasuke. She wasn't going to talk to him. But why did that surprise Sasuke? He was aware that her family was now dead. He noticed the way she stayed away from everyone and how she didn't talk to him the first time. Why did it also bother him that she's not talking to him. He, in a way, wanted Sakura to talk to him. Wanted her to be her usual fangirl self. But this wasn't the same Sakura. He doubted if she ever would be the same. But more important, what surprised the Uchiha the most was the fact that all of that mattered to him.

Getting angry with himself, he shook his head violently and looked away from the retreading Sakura. "Sakura!" he heard Naruto shout after her. Again, Naruto just didn't get the picture.

Instead of chasing after Sakura, who was stopped by a little child, Naruto stopped and stood next to the brooding Uchiha. Naruto wiped the sweat off of his forehead before he started talking. "Man, she really has changed! I've been chasing her all over the Village and she didn't once say anything!"

Sasuke glared at Naruto, making it painfully obvious that Sasuke could care less about what he thinks, what he feels, what he just did, but Naruto of course didn't get the hint. Naruto just went on and on about everything, trying to get his newly returned and reformed best friend to talk, but it was useless.

"Naruto...listen to me," Sasuke said, his voice dripping with venom, "Shut up."

Naruto, looking taken aback, just gawked at him. He tried to say something else but decided it would be better if he left Sasuke alone for the time being. He looked back at Sakura, to see she was leaving again. "Sakura!" he called again to her.

This time, instead of ignoring the blondie, Sakura turned around, eyes fueled with rage. She walked toward Naruto and Sasuke, arms at her sides, hands clenched together. She stopped in front of them, and took a deep breath, closing her eyes, trying to calm herself down. Dealing with Naruto was definitely something Sakura wanted to avoid. She never wanted to see him again. She never wanted to see Sasuke again, either. She had hoped that when the two fought, they'd both be dead in the end. She didn't get her wish.

"Sakura-" Naruto started to yell out at her, but Sakura cut him off.

"Don't you get it, Naruto?" she quietly said, avoiding their eyes. Karin glared at her, not liking the attention Sasuke was giving her, before she stomped off, grabbing Jugo with her. Nobody noticed their sudden disappearance, and it's not like it changed anything. Sasuke crossed his arms, clearly bored, and not wanting to be involved, but knowing Naruto, he wouldn't have been able to get away. "Leave me alone," Sakura told Naruto. She looked up, her eyes still showing rage but not as much as they previously were.

Naruto looked, like always, confused and unsure of how to respond. His questioning eyes tried to meet with Sasuke's onyx eyes, but Sasuke refused to look at either one of them. Just what was going on with his friends? Naruto promised Sakura he'd save Sasuke. He had kept his promise, but now Sakura didn't want to have anything to do with him. Sasuke wouldn't even look at him, let alone look at Sakura. He didn't know what to do. How was it possible that something he was striving for, for years and years, ended up worse than how it had been previously. Yeah, Sasuke was a pain in the ass, but that was all right with him. Sakura used to have that annoying crush on Sasuke, but that was something he was getting used to.

"Sakura, I-"

"No, Naruto! No talking. Why can't you understand this? I didn't say hello to you when you came back because I don't want to have anything to do with you. You should've learned that right off the bat. But that doesn't matter. You know now. Don't ever talk to me again," Sakura replied, her fists shaking. She glared at Naruto, not once wavering in her rage, when she violently threw herself the other way and started walking away from them again.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something but closed it instead. There was nothing left to say to her. If she wanted him to leave her alone, he would. But only for the time being. Give him an hour, and he'd be right back at it.

Sasuke slowly closed his eyes, getting a headache. His ex-teammates were even more annoying than ever. Sasuke decided it was time for him to get home. It was around three in the afternoon, but he was ready for some sleep. He needed it, but before he could accomplish his goal, Naruto decided it was time for them to bond. And down the street they walked, Naruto complaining about Sakura the whole time.

so again, im sorry it took so long to update! Hopefully I'll be able to update a lot faster than that... like a lot a lot faster! ^^"

until then, have fun with what might be your remaining summer! Byes!