"You two have caused quite the shitstorm."
Naruto stood next to a stone faced Sasuke in the mission room, facing the Godaime in a military stance. She eyed them both wearily before sighing and reaching for a hefty folder of paper, waving it before them.
"I want to thank you both for completing these formal reports on the events of the war. However." She dropped the thick stack of papers with an unceremonious thud and thrust an accusatory finger at Naruto. "I do NOT thank you for the reverse harem no jutsu, which I wouldn't ever have believed you were stupid enough to try if it hadn't been included in Sasuke's report! And you," She pointed to Sasuke. "I do not thank YOU for recounting the horrendous experiences you endured with such extreme detachment it disturbed a war-hardened shinobi."
Naruto made a squawk of indignation which sounded suspiciously like a defense of his unpredictable fighting style, while Sasuke blinked at her slowly. She pressed on.
"Allow me to explain the situation you're in, Sasuke. You are aware that for the namesake of the Uchiha clan and your possible future, the truth of your departure has not been released to the public. You may not be aware that the ANBU were, and many ninja are now, deeply aware of your moves and you were officially labeled Nuke Nin. Punishment is death for Nuke-Nin, but because of your involvement in the war and extenuating circumstances regarding Konoha's inappropriate involvement with your clan, I have granted you a probational pardon. While our shinobi are aware that you have been pardoned, the details are still strictly confidential. We have not exposed the previous elder's involvement with Itachi in order to continue covertly disbanding Danzo's network of spies. Once they have been eliminated, we will assign a committee to appropriately disclose the true tragedy that befell the Uchiha clan. You will have say in who works on the project and how it will be presented. In the meantime, however, you may face hostility from shinobi who are uninformed. As hokage, I will do all that I can to extinguish any discord. Thankfully," Her eyes slid to Naruto, pride evident. "Naruto's word pulls heavy weight as well. I am assigning him to stay close to your for your first month in the village and potentially after. Your relationship will speak volumes to both villagers and shinobi.
"As per your probational pardon, in one month we will meet back to discuss the possibility of you returning to missions and begin discussions on how Konoha can compensate for your loss. Until then, I have arranged for our ANBU psychological evaluator to meet with you and assess your trauma and grief. Are we in understanding?"
Naruto sneaked a glance at Sasuke from his periphery, only to see his friend's eyes glazed over with a chilling callousness.
"I understand."
It pained Naruto to see such a regressive look on his friend. Watching Sasuke shut down once more sent a wave of memories from their childhood over him. But everything was still so fresh, maybe it would become different with time. Maybe it would be different with help.
Naruto hoped.
"Alright then. Sasuke, you are dismissed."
Naruto swallowed stiffly as Tsunade watched the retreating form before setting her steely eyes on him. This wouldn't be good.
"Naruto."
He had been prepared to wince, but her voice was softer than he'd anticipated. It wasn't gentle by any stretch of the imagination, but it held much less venom than what he expected.
"Yes, Tsunade Baachan?"
"Do you trust him?"
The question surprised him, though he knew it shouldn't. Naruto had fought for Sasuke for years, never yielding in his belief that Sasuke could return to Konoha. Despite his conviction, he wouldn't stop himself from shifting his weight from one foot to another under her intense stare.
"I do."
She narrowed her eyes and remained silent for a long moment, searching for weakness. Finding nothing, she let out a heavy breath and relaxed, her elbows falling onto the table and hands folding under her chin.
"I'm glad one of us does."
Naruto frowned; her attitude toward him during the debriefing had shown no misgivings. "You don't trust Sasuke?"
"I don't know what to do expect from that boy. He has survived more mental and physical torture than someone like me is equipped to deal with. All I can do is wait. The evaluation will give me something more concrete. Now Naruto," Tsunade lowered her hands to her the table once more and Naruto recognized her returning to business. "I know your feelings for Sasuke, and for Konoha. I think you can understand what I mean when I say I cannot let a potential threat stroll through this village...unchecked."
Naruto frowned "What, like house arrest?"
"No, not like house arrest." But the way she paused alerted him that he may not like what was about to come. "I don't expect many of our operatives would be able to contain him should the need arise. He is being led to believe that your presence is for moral, but I am assigning you as his guard. You are the only one I have confidence to stop him should the worst happen."
"Baa-chan, what are you asking me to do?"
Tsunade sighed. "You never were the brightest, kid."
While he glared, she rifled through another stack of papers, eventually pushing one towards him. "This outlines the details of your mission. You take no others and you will not leave the village until we can be sure Sasuke will not return to his avenger state. You will stay in Konoha and keep him close to you. I doubt that will be a problem?"
For the first time in years, Naruto was struck silent. His gut reaction was to fight the orders. He was not one easily contained, but in his heart he knew this was the mission he deserved. This was what he would pay for bringing Sasuke back to the village.
Resolve strong, he moved forward and quietly accepted the mission.
"Report back to me every two weeks. Dismissed."
Still frowning, Naruto exited the Hokage's office. He found Sasuke waiting for him, leaning against the furthest wall by the door. He folded the report into his vest pocket and grinned at the other man. "Hey Sasuke."
"Hn." Sasuke didn't move away from the wall.
Naruto ignored it. He was glad Sasuke had waited. "Man, I could really go for some ramen! Are you hungry?"
Sasuke remained silent, but fell into step with Naruto as he pushed his way out into the light of afternoon.
This is something that's been brewing in my head since the manga began drawing to a close. I had known it was too much for Naruto/Sasuke to become canon, and I wanted to create the most closely canon, IC ending I could manage. I mentioned that its canon up to 691, which is mostly true. For ease of writing I have let Sasuke and Naruto keep their respective arms, and they never battled. Everything ended with Kaguya's defeat.
I can't really detail how I want this to go, I just wanted to get the first part out. I can say that future chapters will certainly be longer than this introduction. I hope it was enjoyable.
Edited 4/30/16