Author's Note: Hi everybody. I've been out of the loop for quite some time, so forgive me that my writing isn't anything spectacular. Anyhow, I've revisited some old ideas I had way back when, and this was one I was quite fond of. I developed it somewhere between Sasuke leaving the village and the time jump. So bear that in mind as you read, it won't be as confusing that way. I have a couple of prequels planned to fill in the gaps about the past so take it for now that the time jump happened and everything was pretty smooth since. Apart from the invented past that you don't know about. That's the easiest way I can explain it. Please enjoy, I appreciate any feedback - especially that of constructive critique!

There And Back Again
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Chapter I

There was nothing different about the way Naruto woke up that morning. The sun rose as normal, peeking through the small window in his bedroom and casting long rays of light along his bedcovers. The loud voices of people and squeaking of cart wheels drifted in through the small gap in his window. His bedroom door was slightly open, showing him a reasonably tidy and quiet apartment. Everything was as it usually was. There really was nothing different about the day in general. But there was an unease that had settled in his gut, different to other days.

He sat up and abruptly squeezed his eyes shut when he broke the ray of sunlight filtering across his room. He wasn't ready for that. After rubbing his eyes with his knuckles he stretched his arms as wide as he could, feeling the tension in his back loosen. When he let them drop back down to his side, the feeling still hadn't shifted. He sighed and ruffled his fingers through his hair, then threw his feet over the side of the bed. When he opened his eyes to the sight of sake bottles strewn across the floor, it finally hit him.

It had been six years. Six years to the day that Uchiha Sasuke was reported dead. He cupped his face in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut as tight as he could manage. Six years since he lost the strongest bond he'd ever felt in his whole life, and the grief was still as strong as the day he'd lost it.

Bang bang bang.

Naruto jolted and looked at the door. A glance at the clock on his bedside told him he'd overslept by far too long.

Bang bang bang. "Naruto? Are you up?" Sakura's voice called.

"Y-yeah, one second!" He bustled into a frenzy of tossing clothes aside to find some clean ones and pulled them on. He shot a look at himself in the mirror above his dresser and brushed his fingers through his hair in a fruitless attempt to tame it, and smoothed some wrinkles out of his clothes. He nodded at his reflection and made sure to close the bedroom door behind him as he headed over to open the front door.

"Hey." He said breathlessly, smiling at Sakura's impatient look. She was dressed in all black, even her bright hair was mostly hidden underneath a black bandana. Her tight nin-clothes framed her figure nicely, proving she hadn't let herself go in her years of staying home. She was beautiful as ever. Though she looked uncertain and uneasy compared to her usual confident self.

"Hi." She put a hand on the small boy beside her, and flicked her gaze at the apartment behind Naruto. "I haven't got long, I have to meet Lee and the others shortly."

"Oh, sure," Naruto stood to the side to let her enter. "You don't want a quick drink before you go?"

She gave a gentle push on the back of the boy and he ran into the apartment, going straight through to the second bedroom. "Not if it's what you've been drinking," She muttered, her tone was impressively furious for the low volume. "I can smell it on you."

Naruto forced a laugh and scratched the back of his head nervously. Sakura's motherly instinct was strong, and her protectiveness of Naruto didn't falter by a single atom despite his adult age. Even when her son was born, she still looked out for him as though he was her family. Which she would insist he was; something he was flattered by. He took her shoulders and fixed her with a look of certain stubbornness only he was capable of. "Look. I'm fine, and he'll be fine. We'll be fine. So you should go and not worry about him. Or me."

Sakura held his look with a strict authority while taking his hands off her shoulders and holding them in her own. "I know what day it is, and I understand why you might be a bit…off. But I thought you might be more responsible considering you've agreed to watch my son for a few days."

Naruto's smile faded, and he sighed. He squeezed her hands with his and looked down at the floor, feeling slightly ashamed of himself. "I know, I really am sorry. I'm going to grab a shower then Kai will have the best five days of his life. That's a promise."

Sakura's expression softened as he spoke, and eventually she smiled and pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I know it's still hard for you. But maybe it's time you let it go."

Naruto's lips tightened into a grim smile. "It was time a long while ago, Sakura. But yeah, you're right." He pulled back and looked at her cheerfully. "Now, how are you feeling about your first long-term mission in five years?"

Sakura took a sharp intake of air. "Really nervous, especially because I haven't left Kai for more than a day for his entire life. But you know, I've got to do it. It's my job. I'll go mad if I stay cooped up at home."

"You really do need to do it. Before long your hugs are going to start cracking my ribs from your pent up energy." He rubbed his side and smiled at her jokingly. But on the inside he begged her to listen; her hugs were seriously starting to hurt.

Sakura rolled her eyes, taking no notice as she walked into the second bedroom. He listened to her telling Kai to be good and that she'd be home soon while Naruto's focus easily drifted away from their conversation and into his own thoughts. Sakura knew what was good for him. But she couldn't even begin to understand what Sasuke was to him. Everything they'd been through and everything they didn't get the chance to. It made losing him worse.

He sighed and leaned back against the kitchen counter, scratching his head in an attempt to distract himself. It was hard not to imagine what life would be now, if he was still alive. Would Naruto still be chasing him? Would Sakura have married and had a son? Would he be happy?

Naruto scoffed at that last thought. Happiness had not been a word he associated with Sasuke for a long time. Only in that of his naive thoughts when he was eighteen did he ever really think they could be happy.

Oh, how he was terribly wrong.

"Bye honey!" Naruto looked over to see Sakura wave and blow a kiss through the doorway with a beautiful smile. Naruto watched her with utmost respect. He doubted he'd ever meet anyone as caring as her. She shut the door and walked over to Naruto, still smiling sweetly. Her affection always showed strongest through her eyes. "Okay Naruto, I'm going." Sakura tossed the strap of her bag over her shoulder and pulled Naruto close so she could kiss his cheek, and instead of pulling back she lingered near his ear. "I love you, you know. Don't make me worry."

Naruto looked into her eyes to see complete sincerity backing her words. He smiled and couldn't help expressing his gratitude with a light punch to her shoulder. "When did you go all soft?"

Sakura shrugged, "I've always had a soft spot for you. What can I say? And by the way, I've told Sai to keep checking in on you. Just in case." She winked.

"You can wish all you like, Sakura. It's not going to happen." Naruto said, feeling exasperated.

"Hey, he cares a lot about you. One of many people, actually. You should give him the chance to show you how much." She prodded him on the forehead and nodded towards the bedroom on the right. "Look after the little rascal. He adores you. But not too much of your influence please!"

Naruto beamed at her. "No promises!" She rolled her eyes and gave him one last wave of her hand and then she was gone, filling the apartment with silence once again.

Naruto shook his head and stretched once more before heading to take a shower. If he really did smell of sake, he wanted to get rid of the smell before Kai started to recognise him by it. Too many times had that kid come over the day after he was drinking his sorrows away, and he'd be damned if that was the godfather Kai was destined to have.

Naruto was just towelling his hair dry when Kai finally decided to leave the solitude of his bedroom. Naruto grinned at him widely. "Hey kid, how do you feel about spending a few days with me instead of your mum?"

Kai shrugged. "Should be fun. But my mum feeds me more than noodles."

Naruto winced. "Yeah, I guess I should get some proper food in, huh?" Kai nodded. "Fancy coming down to the market and helping me pick?" Kai nodded again. "Kid, you need to speak more." Naruto grumbled, tossing his towel to the side of the bathroom.

"You should stop calling me kid, I won't be a kid forever." Kai pointed out.

Naruto cast him a look. "You're five years old. You're a kid."

Kai frowned and followed him to the kitchen. "You'll never stop calling me kid, will you?"

"You'll always be a kid to me." Naruto winked, picking up Kai's jacket from the table and tossing it at him. "No matter how old you are, I'll be older."

"What about when you have your own kids?" Kai asked, looking irritable as he shrugged his coat on. "You shouldn't call me kid then."

Naruto froze at the door. When he has kids? Naruto looked down at the door handle he was holding, overwhelmed by the innocence of the question that a child had asked him. To have kids he'd have to fall in love again. Kai was only five, he would never understand how impossible that seemed. The joy of having children was something Naruto was resigned to never experiencing for himself. He smiled a bittersweet smile. "I think you'll be the closest thing I'll ever get, Kai." He pushed the door open, letting the sunlight stream in. "Come on, let's go."

It was unbelievably busy at the market place. Stalls were surrounded and wagons were being carted back and forth through the masses. Kai clung on to Naruto's hand so he didn't get swept away by the throng of people surging around them while they approached the closest and least crowded stall.

"So, what is it your mum gets you?" Naruto asked, nodding at the assortment of vegetables.

Kai looked and didn't show recognition at any of the vegetables on display. "None of them look like what I eat."

Naruto winced. "You don't know what she usually buys?"

Kai shrugged. "I don't usually go with her to buy it. I just eat it. And it's all small chunks, nothing is as big as these."

Naruto groaned and palmed his forehead with a bit more force than intended. "You know that they get cut up?" Kai responded with a blank expression. Naruto sighed, resigned. "Alright, I'll just get some of everything please."

The lady running the stall gave him a stunned look, but then set about filling up three large paper bags with an assortment of vegetables. There was bound to be something in there that Kai liked. When she passed them over for the money, a loud chatter swelled up and started spreading through the crowd behind them. Naruto looked around curiously, noticing the people nearest to the commotion had raised expressions of alarm and surprise.

Beginning to notice that feeling of unease again, he passed the lady the money and thanked her hurriedly before giving a bag to Kai. "Gotta carry your weight, kid." He said, ruffling his dark hair. Kai pouted, but accepted the bag without a word. "Wait here a second while I find out what's going on, 'kay?" Kai nodded, so Naruto dropped the other two bags by his feet and weaved through some of the more curious expressions until he got to the crowd of people muttering under their voices. He grabbed the closest woman by her shoulder.

"Hey, excuse me- sorry." He said, realising the young woman he addressed nearly jumped out of her skin. "Can you tell me what everyone is talking about?"

She was a pretty woman. She had blond curls that fell down by the sides of her face and glimmering brown eyes. But the bewildered look she gave Naruto really didn't flatter her at all. Her mouth opened and closed in silence, her eyes were wide and terrified like that of cornered prey. Naruto looked around her friends and they were all giving him a very similar expression: something that made his concern build rapidly.

"Is everything okay? Are we under attack?" He asked urgently, looking around at them all. Then a hollow, almost sinister voice answered behind him, causing the ones near him to lapse into silence.

"Uchiha Sasuke…"

Naruto's head snapped around to stare at the old woman behind him, who was looking just as surprised as everyone else.

"Did you say something?" He asked. He could feel his mouth going dry. Her eyes fixed on his.

"Uchiha Sasuke has returned."