Chapter 1

Sweat dripped off the chin of the last Uchiha's face and he grinned mischievously as his red, sharingan eyes met sky-blue ones across the training grounds. "Not bad, dobe."

"Heh. Who's the dobe now?" the sunny blonde taunted back and raised his index finger, pointing at the other young man. "You lost!"

"Hmph." Sasuke smirked, sheathing his katana and straightening up from his defensive stance. He cracked his neck and stretched both arms. "That should be how it is all the time. Like I'd let a weak fucker be my Hokage." He glanced back up at Naruto, who was shaking out the debris from his shaggy hair. It had grown long, almost matching the Yondaime's on the Hokage mountain behind them. "I could still beat you if I wanted to though," he warned, using the back of his hand to wipe the blood dripping off his chin.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto waved his best friend's words off. "And that's why you're gonna be the captain of the ANBU, and all the girls want you instead of me, and why all the genin and jonin alike fear Uchiha-dono, blah, blah, blah." He grinned at the glowering Uchiha. "You're not too hurt are you?"

Sasuke sneered back. "Hai, Naruto-koi. Careful, Sakura will get jealous."

Naruto laughed, his eyes shining. He punched Sasuke one more time in the gut. "It's good to have you back, teme." He plopped down next to the dark-haired boy who lay clutching his abs. He ignored the death-glare he received and the Fuck you, Naruto that was muttered in response. "It's been 10 years since the war," Naruto continued quietly. "Did you have enough time to think?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"And making Konoha your home?"

"Konoha has always been the home of the Uchiha."

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a minute.

"Stop looking at me like that, dobe, before I beat the shit out of you. It's fucking creepy." Sasuke sat up and sighed. "What?"

The Hokage sat quietly for a moment, which was somewhat amusing. Sasuke took some water from his pack and started to wash his wounds, waiting patiently for his friend to speak. "You're not going to feel at home right away, you know," Naruto murmured, scratching his scalp uneasily.

The Uchiha paused, rolling his eyes. "You think I didn't know that?" He tossed some healing ointment to his friend. "Why the hell would I come back if I didn't?"

Naruto removed his hokage cloak and began tending to his own wounds. "Well, it's not all different, 'ttebayo," he continued. "I mean, we're all different, in a way, but we're not, ya know? We're still us."

Shaking his head exasperatedly, Sasuke listened as Naruto relayed the details of their comrades from the Konoha Academy. He had seen them briefly the night before when they gathered at the front gates of Konoha to welcome his return, but he did nothing except observe the simple way they supported Naruto simply by showing up.

Apparently, the Rookie 11 had done well after the war. Sasuke managed to pick out important details from Naruto's babbling. Naruto, of course, had finally achieved his dreams of becoming Hokage. It was fitting, really, after being the main catalyst of the victory between the Shinobi Alliance and the Uchiha pair, Obito and Madara. Sakura was the head medic of the Konoha Hospital, working alongside Shizune and the retired Tsunade. And because Naruto tended to act rash and forgot he had a brain, Kakashi became his right-hand man and main advisor. Shikamaru, like his father before him, became the Chief Strategist and second advisor. Ino took over her father's position at the Interrogation squad, while Chouji became a jonin at the Academy. Together, they maintained the Ino-Shika-Chou formation when instructed. Team 8 kept their reputation of being the best tracking team in Konoha, except their team was now a terrible force among the ANBU. Tenten, Lee, and Sai all became jonin at the Academy too, training and mentoring their own genin squad. "And you, of course, will be my captain in the ANBU!" Naruto finished excitedly.

Sasuke finished wrapping bandages around his forearms and rolled his eyes again, rising up to stand. "Aa. I think you mentioned that. Once. Or maybe twice."

Naruto hurried to stand up too, pulling on Sasuke's pant leg. "Oi, oi, you're my best friend, of course I'm gonna—"

"Otou-chaaaaan!" A small voice called over the training grounds. The men looked up to see a young, blonde boy running towards them.

Naruto raised his hand and waved, a goofy, lopsided smile replacing the whiny pout on his face. "Over here!" he called. Turning back to Sasuke with pink dusting his whiskered cheeks, he continued, "I forgot that you haven't met my son yet."

"Heh," Sasuke smirked. "I understand that you didn't want to tell me that you got busy with Sakura after the war." Chortling, Sasuke dodged a punch and leapt a few feet away from his friend, who was yelling insults in retaliation. "Urosai, dobe! Sakura will have your neck if your son picks up your dirty mouth." Sasuke laughed as the blonde froze, his fist in midair, turning to see his son walking curiously towards him. Sheepishly, he chuckled, waving Sasuke over and ruffling a hand through his son's blonde locks.

Sasuke approached the father-son pair awkwardly, as if he was interrupting a private moment. He heard them exchange greetings and watched their faces don similar looks of affection. Naruto's son had inherited the shiny blonde locks of the Namikaze. Unlike Naruto's shaggy hair, his son had his hair cropped short like Naruto had as a boy. They looked so much alike, Sasuke mused. Although the boy lacked his father's whiskered cheeks, he shared the same wide, lopsided smile. This kid really is that dobe's son. He eyed the red clothes the kid wore and chuckled to himself. Thank Kami he's not wearing orange.

"Ne, Sasuke, this is Yuudai." Naruto put an arm over his son's shoulders. "Yuudai, this is my best friend, the one, the only Uchiha Sasuke." The boy smiled shyly and gazed up admiringly at the Uchiha. Sasuke was surprised to see Sakura's eyes staring up at him, rather than Naruto's signature sparkling blue eyes.

"Hajimemashite, Uchiha-san," the boy said politely, hiding half of his body behind his father's cloak. He looked to his father for approval, who nodded.

Sasuke nodded. "Hn," was all he said, unaccustomed to the formalities. If Sasuke were to admit he was uncomfortable with anything, it would have to be formalities and kids, and since he was confronted with both, he wanted nothing more than to escape immediately. He raised an eyebrow at Naruto and shot a questioning look at his friend. The kid obviously did not get his politeness from his father.

Naruto laughed self-consciously. "Hehheh. Sakura-chan," he explained. Turning to his son, he continued. "Just call him Sasuke-ji-chan, ne, Yuudai?"

The boy nodded in response and once again turned his jade-green eyed glance at the dark man in front of him. Sasuke threw a glare in Naruto's direction, rolling his eyes. "Whatever," he deadpanned. He nodded at Yuudai and turned to leave. "I'm going. I have to pick up some things from the market."

"You're coming to the dinner tonight, right?" Naruto's eyes shone hopefully, knowing the Uchiha tended to hate crowds and desired some time alone settling in. "Sakura-chan will be expecting you to come. She said we'd all help you move in later."

Sasuke winced at the thought of socializing and weighed the other option of an angry Sakura bursting in his apartment and punching him in the face while he lazed around. Sighing, he nodded, waving Naruto off and walking off the training ground.

"And don't forget to stop by my office for your ANBU uniform after you're done. You'll get an orientation today, Kakashi-sensei said," Naruto reminded, his voice rising dangerously to that annoying pitch that grated on Sasuke's eardrums.

"I know, dobe," Sasuke growled, gritting his teeth. I haven't been in Konoha for 24 hours and that dobe is already getting on my nerves. Shaking his head as he leapt towards his apartment to shower, he sighed. He smirked affectionately, listening to the blonde idiot's attempt to explain to his son why "Sasuke-ji-chan thinks Otou-chan is a dobe." After nearly losing each other during their battle with Obito and Madara, Sasuke realized the importance of the bright, shining, and somewhat annoying, presence of the kyuubi vessel in his life. His was the only one that stood out during Sasuke's lonely existence in Konoha, the only one that really helped fill the void that his massacred family had left behind. The brooding Uchiha boy had finally grasped the delicacy of life. It was then as he lay wounded under Madara's own hand, looking across the battlefield at the other boy, fiery and persistent as ever, all while struggling to grin and stand up. He was not going to lose another brother. And when the war was finally over and the smoke, dust, and blood had all cleared from their eyes, Naruto was the only one who saw the struggle and hesitancy in his brother's eyes as they stood on the outskirts of fire country. He knew Sasuke's heart. With a fist bump, a teary grin, and an"I'll kick your ass if you don't come back, teme," Naruto sent Sasuke off to make sense of himself. After all, the last Uchiha needed to clear his mind after a lifetime of hatred, revenge, and nothing but a goal to avenge. But after 10 years of trekking the lands of shinobi country, Sasuke yearned for nothing but home. He wasn't sure if it was a place, or a person, or a group people even, but he was sure that he had to find it in the place where he first understood the comfort of home. He'd never admit it, and no one would understand except Naruto anyway, but he was ready. Sasuke reached the balcony of his apartment and slid open the door, muttering with a smirk on his face, "Stupid dobe." Yes, beneath that dark, mysterious, indifferent front, Uchiha Sasuke was happy to be home.

Sasuke had known he should've come to the market when there were less people. His annoyance grew to a full-fledged irritation when he caught stares of admiration and fear among the villagers, all while dodging any signs of females that appeared to be between the ages of 10-70 years old. He recoiled from the close contact of the throng of people crowding the market stalls. Gratitude for almost 15 years in, essentially, social isolation was certainly showing in the furrowing brow above his dark eyes. He clutched his bag of groceries closer to his toned chest, repressing the urge to run a chidori-infused palm through the heart of the next person who so much grazed the hem of his shirt with the hair on their arm.

Fucking Naruto. I'll kill him. I had a long-ass morning training with that stupid idiot and I had a long-ass afternoon trying make my way through this damn village—why the hell is it so fucking different anyway?—and now I'm gonna spend the rest of my long-ass day with that fucking perverted gray-haired sensei and all those annoying assholes in masks. Why the hell do I need to cook something for Sakura's stupid potluck? It's not like I want to have welcome-fucking-home dinner. I can do just fine on my own. I don't even like any of the people who are going to be there. I just want to go home and sleep. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.

A small streak of messy, dark hair blurred past Sasuke, causing the young man to falter in his steps, jarring the Uchiha from his thoughts.

"Ne, Asuma-nii-chan! You're going too fast! Matte!"

Oh no, no more kids, Sasuke groaned inwardly. No more people. He grabbed the bag closer and put a protective arm on top of the groceries that were threatening to spill out after his encounter with the child. He eyed the kid's target, who was obviously much older and had the teasing nature of his own nii-san.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke side-stepped the kid and continued on his way warily. Except he couldn't get away, he realized angrily. This "Asuma-nii-chan" had circled back and continued teasing the younger boy, his fast legs skirting in and out between the crowd's legs.

"F-fine! I'll make you stay!" The frustrated kid yelled. He paused in the middle of the road and cried, "Kage Mane no Jutsu!" his small hands forming clumsy handseals.

Great. An annoying little Nara. Sasuke huffed and after rolling his eyes, he started to edge away from the little interaction, anxious to get away from the throng of people. Suddenly, he felt his legs froze on the ground beneath him. A, What the hell? flashed briefly through his mind as he collapsed forward, his groceries flying out of his arms. It wasn't often that Uchiha Sasuke was taken by surprise.

SPLAT!

A gasp went through the crowd as the swift ninja reflexively leapt to his feet immediately. Squashed tomatoes and egg yolks dripped down the front of the Uchiha's face and chest. The terrified, brown eyes of the child stared up at his monstrous victim. Red lined the edges of black pupils as Sasuke leaned down. "Listen, kid—" he threatened, yanking the kid up by his arm.

"M-matte, Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke turned his head towards the sound of his name.

The boy also turned his spiky head of hair. "Okaa-san?" A sheepish look came over his face.

The Uchiha's jaw dropped as the boy's mother came walking quickly towards him. A woman he saw just last night, with the rest of his classmates from the academy. White eyes, indigo hair—Huh? He looked from the kid to his mother and withdrew his large hand quickly.

Okaa-san? Impossible!

"Shikakumi!" Hinata scolded. "I told you to wait for me!"

Update/Revision: 6/29/14

Hey everyone,

I started writing this story about two years ago. It was my first fanfic. I have had the plot basically completed and have had various sections of the fic done as well. All I really needed to do was tie everything together. I started writing this fic, as someone mentioned, in a sort of SasuHinaShika (mostly SasuHina with a side of Shika because I loved ShikaHina almost as much) phase. Now, two years later, the story, even to me, seems pretty ridiculous. But I guess I wanted to finish up what I started (for once) and put something complete up so that I could continue writing other fics with a clear conscious (ha!). So bear with me (only if you want to :3) as I try to make do with this crack ship. In any case, I'll continue updating this fic for my sanity's sake.