Greetings, dear Readers!
I'm beginning this story with a bit of apprehension: SasuNaru is after all the most popular yaoi paring and thus it is harder to be original here. But I've decided to take my chances and only hope for leniency from you all :)
There is a bit of intentional confusion here, but it's the basis of the plot, so bear with me :P Oh, and I should probably mention some attempts at humor… don't know if anyone will find it funny just yet though…
Summary: A month has passed since team Yamato tracked down Orochimaru and got reacquainted with their lost member. Now Sasuke miraculously appears in Naruto's home. Is it just a misfired transportation jutsu or something infinitely more strange?
Disclamer: I don't own anything of importance here :(
So, on to the story:
((()))((()))Visitation. Chapter 1((()))((()))
Naruto was studying an old photo of Team 7. It became a habit of his since their encounter with Sasuke a month ago. He didn't really try to find something he hadn't already seen on a rather worn piece of paper, it simply seemed appropriate to look at the face of his friend while contemplating the changes he had undergone.
The Kyuubi-holder still could not believe that Sasuke would have really killed him if Sai hadn't stopped his blade. All this talk of whims and broken bonds was too surreal to be truth.
He simply wasn't able to find right words to make Sasuke understand the advantages of returning to Konoha. The village could supply him with intelligence and manpower more that enough to track down his brother. After all it was not simply a matter of personal feelings: Uchiha Itachi was an S-class criminal and his elimination was a benefit to national security. In other words Sasuke's ambition would surely be supported if he only returned home.
But it really pissed Naruto off that everybody seemed to think it pointless to try and persuade him to return. Their best consolation line was 'you are better off without him anyway.' What kind of a friend would he be if he just abandoned his goal after a couple of failures?
Those thoughts constantly plagued the blond ninja and maybe he really tried to find an answer in his friend's old features, but what else could he do while there were no clues of Sasuke's whereabouts…
Naruto sighed and replaced the photo on its customary place on the nightstand and was preparing for bed when the strangest thing happened.
The air in his room seemed to darken and began to swirl like to a miniature tornado emitting short electric discharges. After a couple of seconds this phenomenon disappeared as quickly ad it formed leaving in its wake a human figure.
Judging by a peculiar hairstyle, thick purple rope in place of a belt and thousands of other distinctive features it was none other than Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto stared.
"Naruto?" it seemed the intruder was as surprised as the apartment's owner. "Am I in Konoha?" he glanced through the window and was greeted by a familiar forms of past Hokages. Then he sighed and rubbed his eyes warily. "That's it. This is the last time I've let Orochimaru-sensei talk me into trying out his new jutsu!"
'Orochimaru-sensei,' faintly echoed in the blond ninja's otherwise frozen brain, but aloud he could only mutter an astonished "Sasuke…"
"I know my appearance is sudden," the missing-nin grumbled, "but stop looking at me as if you've seen a ghost!"
Naruto could only open and close his mouth soundlessly.
"What? We've seen each other only a month ago," Sasuke continued, clearly exasperated, "did I change that much since then?"
"But… that last time…"
"Well, I know it was a short visit and it ended rather abruptly…"
"What the hell, teme!" Naruto finally regained the power of speech, "you've tried to kill me that last time!"
"You can't still be miffed with me about that," Sasuke shook his head, "you know I'd never seriously want to hurt you."
At those words Naruto felt a sparkle of relief: after all that was what he had been thinking all along. But the circumstances of their last encounter could not be dismissed that easily.
"You've pointed your blade at me!"
"I didn't really point it," the missing-nin shrugged, "there would be nothing to it if not for that weird guy's overreaction. What was it about 'preserving our bond' anyway?"
'Was it really only an overreaction?' Naruto's confusion was growing bigger and bigger.
"Actually, my actions were much milder than that time you've wanted to boast of your new set of kunai by throwing them at me!" Sasuke crossed his hands and cocked a brow. The Kyuubi-holder vaguely recalled such an incident way back in the past, but that wasn't the most important detail now.
"What about Yamato-taicho then?" he asked accusingly. "Were you just joking then too?"
"Yamato-taicho?" there was a hint of doubt in the previously confident voice. "What of him?"
"You've stabbed him in the shoulder!" Naruto cried, "Or did you conveniently forget it?"
Sasuke flinched and peered at him with an alarmed black eyes flickering into crimson.
"What are you talking about?" he asked frowning, "Why would I do that?"
"Well," Naruto scowled, "maybe because we've tried to bring you back to Konoha?"
Instead of expected derision Sasuke's face reflected surprise and astonishment.
"There was not a word said about my returning!" he said with conviction. "After all, the Sandaime and Orochimaru-sensei decided on a three-year-long training for me. Why would it be changed?"
Naruto felt like his brain was freezing again. What was Sasuke talking about? '…the Sandaime decided…'? '…training…'? Was it some kind of a joke, a cruel taunt?
"Judging by the look of your face," the missing-nin muttered, composed once again, "this situation is much more complicated than I've originally thought."
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A/N: I know it's short. I wanted to post it and see if it is even worth continuing. So I'll be awaiting your reviews to determine that ;)