Sasuke stared at the bloodied body of his dead brother. It was over; he had finally killed the murderer of his clan. He didn't know what he would expect once he had accomplished this but what he wasn't expecting was to feel a dark hole of nothingness. He felt empty; just like Kakashi has told him.
X flashback X"Sasuke…forget about revenge."
"What?"
"Well, I've seen a lot of people like you, and the fate of those who seek revenge is grim. It's tragic. You will end up suffering and hurting yourself even more. Even if you do succeed in getting revenge, the only thing that remains is emptiness."
"Shut up! What do you know? Don't lecture me as if you know what its like!"
X end flashback X
As Sasuke looked into the glazed eyes of his brother, he wished he had listen to Kakashi. He only had one goal, one dream and now it was over. He had nothing. The kunai that was dripping with his brother's blood slipped from Sasuke's hand as he fell beside the older Uchiha. The next thought pushed into his mind; one that he had been suppressing for a long time. A blonde haired boy wearing bright orange swam into his minds eye. Bright blue eyes opened; there was no mistaking who it was. "Naruto…" Sasuke mumbled as his world faded into black.
"That's right. We found him unconscious by his brother's body."
"He killed Itachi?"
"We think so."
Sasuke groaned. He was in a comfortable bed. A smell of disinfectant reached his nose and he slowly opened his eyes to reveal a familiar man staring at him. "Hello Sasuke, welcome back." He said. Sasuke grunted in response and rolled over, blocking Kakashi from his sight. "I'm sorry about the fact that you don't feel like talking, but I need you to verify for me what happened." Sasuke turned around to face Kakashi. "If you're asking about Itachi, then I killed that piece of scum, yes." Sasuke hissed. Kakashi nodded. "As I thought. You know, if you're worried about people accepting you in Kohona again, I needn't worry. You killing Itachi, an A class criminal, will probably… well, everything will be fine." Kakashi said to his student.
"I don't care what kohona thinks of me. I don't give a shit about kohona." He snapped. Kakashi raised his eyebrow slightly at Sasuke's outburst and he sat on the edge of the bed Sasuke was currently in. "Then what do you care about?" Kakashi asked. After about three minutes of silence, Sasuke's usually automatic response finally kicked in. "I don't care about anyone." Kakashi smiled under his mask; he had said anything not anyone Sasuke was obviously thinking about a person and Kakashi had a good idea of just who that person was. "Right, well I'll be back in a minute, after I have spoken to Tsunade. You should be discharged then and Sasuke… you should go and see Naruto." Kakashi said, standing up.
"The last person I want to see is that dobe…" Sasuke said, but the sound of his voice didn't convince himself, let alone Kakashi. As Kakashi left the room, Sasuke thought about what Kakashi had said, while he climbed out of the soft bed and began pulling on his clothes. 'Suggest I see Naruto? That would be… I mean, I can't…the last time I saw Naruto…I was plunging a chidori through him. I might see him though; I want to apologize. After trying to kill him, I highly doubt that will do much good, but… I was so clouded by my hatred towards Itachi. Kakashi knows…the only reason I came back was… I don't even understand it yet but the reason I came back was… Naruto. Hoping he would be here maybe waiting for me. But why would he wait… especially not for me. 'I'm not even sure if Naruto will speak to me…' Kakashi announced his arrival by coughing loudly, dragging Sasuke from his thoughts. "You're well enough to leave." He said. Sasuke was already dressed and sat on the bed and when he had heard kakashi's words he jumped off the bed easily and walked past the silver haired jounin without another word.
Despite his answer to Kakashi, Sasuke decided he would see Naruto. It had been a while, a long while, since he had been in kohona yet it hadn't changed at all. As Sasuke walked down a road lined with blossoming trees, he saw his other teammate. Sasuke stopped. "Hello Sakura." Sakura looked up at Sasuke.
"H-hello Sasuke. Kakashi told me you were back." She said quietly. Sasuke nodded and waved his arm vaguely in the direction he was walking. "I was just going to see Naruto…" he murmured. Sakura's eyes widened as she glanced at the floor. "What?"
"Its… Naruto. Since you left… he…hasn't been the same." She finished sadly. Sasuke was about to ask her what exactly she meant by that when she finished her sentence. "You'll see when you get there, Naruto doesn't know your back yet. If anyone can get through to him… you can." Sakura smiled slightly and she walked away. As Sasuke walked the rest of the way to Naruto's house he began thinking about what sakura really did mean about the dobe. He stopped and reached out his hand slowly to knock on the door that he was stood in front of. He knocked on the door a few times and waited. About a minute later, Sasuke knocked on the door impatiently again. Sasuke waited a full two minutes before shouting through the letterbox. "Dobe, are you in there?" he shouted. "Naruto when there was no answer, Sasuke tried the door and to his surprise it was unlocked. He walked inside, calling Naruto's name and checking each room as he went. He found Naruto in the living room; empty bottles of vodka scattered everywhere. Naruto himself was sprawled out on the middle of the floor, seemingly asleep, a half-empty bottle in his hand. Sasuke was shocked when he saw the blonde like this. He crouched down beside Naruto and looked at him. Naruto looked pale and he smelled like had drunk the contents of bottles around him by himself. The dark circles under his eyes suggested he hadn't slept much. Sasuke picked up his dobe and carried him upstairs, placing him on the bed. Sasuke, blushing slightly, pulled off Naruto's clothes until he was wearing only his boxers and pulled the covers around him. Sasuke sat on the bed, combing his fingers through the blonde hair. "Why did you do this dobe?"
Flashback
"Its… Naruto. Since you left… he…hasn't been the same."
"Is this my fault?" he whispered. Realising what he was doing, Sasuke pulled his hand away, as if stung. He sighed and took another look at the blonde. "I'll be back tomorrow…" he murmured before walking out.