Sasuke was exhausted as he made his last few steps into the village hidden in the leaves. The gate guards Izumo and Kotetsu scarce knew what to do when Sasuke fell to the ground in front of them.

Sasuke woke up to bright white lights of a Konoha hospital room. Tsunade and Kakashi were in the room and an anbu member guarded the inside while two more guarded the outside.

Sasuke was blinking fast adjusting his eyes to the light, he looked around at the people in the room barely able to take in his surroundings.

"I would've had you arrested, but considering your current situation I feel you could have some valuable information to offer me." Tsunade said to Sasuke, who appeared to be only half listening, but surprisingly gave a quick reply.

"I killed Orochimaru." Sasuke said without moving or even batting an eye.

"Even after what he did to you, you were still able to kill him?" Tsunade asked amazed. Sasuke nodded slowly, trying to keep his headache from growing any worse. He glanced at the other two occupants of the room, they didn't seem to understand what she was referring to. Sasuke relaxed slightly, pleased that she would keep this bit of information between the two of them.

"What are your plans Sasuke? Did you just stumble in here because you wanted someone to heal you or are you actually trying to return to the village on your own?" Tsunade asked a mixture of concern and annoyance in her voice.

"I want to return." Sasuke said dejectedly. Tsunade nodded and began to speak.

"If you want to return and eventually become a full-fledged ninja again then there are some conditions you must follow. You'll be under Narutos watch until further notice. Your chakra will be sealed during that time. Also there was a trace of heroin in your system when we did the blood work and we found some concealed on you when putting you in the hospital gown. Any idea why that would be, Sasuke?" Tsunade asked with one eyebrow raised.

Sasuke's eyes widened only slightly he knew that they would find out about it, but didn't know where to start when explaining the situation.

"I was forced into taking it. I'm addicted. I don't know what to do about it."

"We'll let Naruto know about it and he'll help you detox from it."

"Hn." Sasuke nodded.

"It's good to have you back Sasuke." Kakashi said.

Tsunade asked Kakashi and the anbu member to leave the room so she could speak with Sasuke alone.

"Do you think you'll be okay Sasuke, given the circumstances of your situation and what Orochimaru did to you, do you think you'll need extra help?" Tsunade asked concern lacing her voice, her hands on her hips as she stared down at the battered Sasuke.

"No, no I'll be okay." Sasuke wasn't sure how true that statement was, but he doesn't want to rely too much on other people for help especially people he, in the past, has betrayed.

"All right, well get some rest, when Naruto gets back from his mission I'll have him come here." Tsunade explained to Sasuke, however there was a look in her eye that said she didn't fully believe in Sasuke's statement, but she'll give him a chance to prove himself.

Sasuke lied back down on the pillow and fell back asleep, the day's events exhausting him, even though he knew it was only the beginning.

As Tsunade left Sasuke's room, Kakashi and the anbu member walked back in the room, Sasuke didn't stir at the change in chakra in the room, already familiar with the two guarding him.

Before Kakashi reentered Tsunade had a few words to say to him.

"Kakashi, I know how it is, but he needs as many people around him for help as he can get. He's stubborn and confident, but that only means one thing, that he's hiding his true emotions, I feel as his sensei you should still be there for him whenever he may need you." Tsunade explained her hand on his shoulder as she turned down the hallway.

'I understand…my lady.'

Naruto was jumping through the trees of Konoha forest, heading back from his mission, when he heard Akamaru bark. Sakura, Kiba, Neji, and Lee were his fellow teammates on the mission they just completed and they eagerly awaited their return to Konoha.

"Akamaru says he smells Sasuke." Kiba said, Naruto and Sakura eyes widened at the unexpected news. Naruto looked down and his eyes caught something red staining the Earth below. The team jumped down to examine it.

It was a dried blood spot and there seemed to be more of them heading in the direction of Konoha. Naruto and Sakura shared a nervous look.

"What do you think this means Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Maybe…maybe he's….returned" Naruto suggested his eyes still wide with shock and uncertainty.

They began to run back to the village doubling their efforts.

The team arrived at the hokage's tower and handed in their mission report. Tsunade pulled Naruto and Sakura aside.

"Sasuke has returned to the village. He's seriously injured and being watched at the hospital, Kakashi and some anbu are there. Sasuke's decided to return to the village and reinstate himself as a leaf ninja. I've decided to place him under your watch Naruto until I say otherwise, so this means you won't have any missions for a while." Tsunade explained the details to Naruto and Sakura then lead them to Sasuke's room at the hospital.

Once they entered Sasuke's room their breath caught in their throats at the sight of Sasuke.

Sasuke was asleep on the bed his head leaning to the right side, bruises covered his jaw, and scratches covered his face, his right eye was blackened, his arms were bruised badly, his right wrist was bandaged, it was broken, and there were track marks on the inside of both arms.

Sasuke, even in his sleeping state, sensed the other ninja and woke up. He flinched when Sakura and Naruto ran over and embraced him with strong hugs.

What Sasuke did next surprised everyone in the room, even Kakashi's one visible eye widened when Sasuke wrapped his arms around his two teammates, actually returning their hug and trying to stop the tears no one knew he was holding back.

"I'm sorry." Sasuke choked out, he fell back to the bed and continued sleeping the emotional turmoil too much for his exhausted mind and body.