me: Okay so this is my first attempt at fanfiction so... PLEASE DON"T KILL ME!!!!

queen: AHEM! Sorry bout little Kerrime, she tends to jump to conclusions a lot

OH and Queen? Ya he's my muse... yes "he" so ya if things don't turn out the way you like it... please aim the sharp objects at him

Disclaimer: i do not own Naruto, it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto... though i wish i owned Kiba... so any way, please enjoy

After being away from Konoha for nigh six years, Uchiha Sasuke makes his prodigal return, hoping with all hop that his past deeds are forgiven and that he is welcomed with open arms to the place he once called home. However, though he expected some resentment from one Uzumaki Naruto, he wasn't prepared to be greeted with the pain of betrayal shinning in the blondes deep blue eyes nor the hate of being betrayed smoldering in his heart. Will the loathing turn out to be a passing fancy, or has Sasuke's 2nd betrayal severed their bonds completely. One thing is for sure, Sasuke will do anything to see Naruto happy again, even if it means waiting for eternity.

WAITING FOR THE SUN

Konoha Village. Peaceful, easygoing, and welcoming. It was just as Sasuke remembered it. Of course he doubted that things would stay that way once he'd crossed the threshold, him technically being a missing-nin and all. And the threshold, The Gates of Konoha, being guarded by two or three ninja who may or may not hesitate to run him through with a kuenai so as to collect the no doubt LARGE bounty on his head. BUT as he was a fair distance away, high up in a tree, he pushed those annoying thoughts of 'potential death' to the corner of his mind, to worry about when he was ready to confront them.

He was sitting on top of the highest (and thinnest) branch of the tree, enjoying the subtle breeze that raked around his body every now and again and observing the villagers as they went about their daily with a critical eye. There was a sense of calm hanging in the morning air. Sasuke drank it in greedily. He hadn't been able to relax like this for eons. Having been used like a slave by Orochimaru for three and a half years and too preoccupied with the task of locating and killing his murderous brother for… well since he could remember but it had plagued him fully in the months after successfully escaping Orochimaru.

His gaze wandered over the carvings of the Hokage's. They had added a fifth one in his absence. Probably that golden haired woman….What was her name again…. Started with a Tsu- didn't it? Yes. Yes it did… Tsu? Tsuzuki? Tsusui….Tsunda? Now he remembered, Tsunade! Tsunade, he had doubted that she'd make a good Hokage but it seemed she was doing her job. He was surprised though, that Naruto hadn't gotten his head carved into the mountain yet. He had had his mind set on returning when they both had achieved their goals. His being killing his brother, and Naruto becoming Hokage.

'Tell me… Can someone who can't even save his friend become Hokage?' echoed tauntingly in his mind. He snarled and closed his eyes. That day, when he had seen Naruto for the first time in nearly 3 years, and had almost killed him again, that was the day that Orochimaru's brain-washing began to wear off. That was the day he decided to go out on his own, relying on no one but himself to achieve his goal. It was amazing how much just one chance meeting with the blonde had influenced his life. I-if it wasn't for Naruto…Naruto…probably loathed him now, having been betrayed by a friend. His first friend. That must have been hell for the kid, must have suffered more than when the villager's whispered about him behind his back, calling him monster.

Maybe it was better that Naruto hadn't become Hokage yet. This way he would have a better chance of explaining himself without being thrown up against a wall and the crap beaten out of him by a fiesty blonde boy clothed in white. Yes, Yes. Tsunade-sama would be the voice of reason and listen to him… He hoped that she would listen to him before handing him over to the ANBU; or worse, a hunting-nin. He shuddered at the thought of a hunting-nin slicing off his head after he had come this far, achieved so much. So instead of dwelling on the negative he prayed fervently to the gods he didn't believe in that Tsunade-sama would give him a second chance. Cuff him on his head then send him on his way, that sort of thing. Besides she had no reason to worry about him. He had cut ties with traitors long ago. Traitor

Flashes of Sakura standing in front of him, crying, Naruto yelling at him from the other side of a raging waterfall, Kakashi staring with disapproval seeping out of his eye. Peaceful time spent training, hectic days saving Naruto, jumping in front of him to block a sudden onslaught of needles, smirking at a certain blonde's audacity, beating himself up after failing where Naruto had succeeded. Glancing at Konoha for the last time, running away from the one place he could be happy to seek power. Power that he never needed in the first place.

He gripped his hair in frustration. Letting out a long groan. Who was he trying to kid, trying to avoid the inevitable by reminiscing about the past. A past that he couldn't forget no matter what he did. He wanted to start over. Which was why he was returning (or that's what he kept telling himself) to make memories that would block that dark, dark past.

'I'll have to return sooner or later,' he whispered to himself as he stood, stretching his sore muscles as he did so. Then he adjusted his kimono, which seemed adamant about not staying on his shoulder. Kimono malfunctions aside, he jumped out of the tree.

Yes… Jumped

As he fell he grabbed onto a branch, swinging himself to the next one, maneuvering his body over another one. He found tree falling to be a great exercise. Next he used his chakra to run down the trunk and his velocity to catapult himself to the next tree only to run down the trunk again. The wind served as a sort of calmative, wiping the troubling thoughts from his mind as it ruffled through his hair. He smirked as the ground approached and vaulted into a somersault, landing in a crouch on the grassy forest floor. He stood up and made a step towards the Gates of Konoha, but found that he couldn't move.

"What?" he murmured, eyes widening. He tried to take another step and failed again. Something clicked in his mind and he looked at his feet to verify if his guess was right, and it was. His shadow had been stretched it seemed, in a long loopy line. He followed the blackness with his eyes until a pair of sandal clad feet came into view. He trailed his gaze up the body, to hands clutched together in front of a white ceramic mask marked with red, up to the high-spiked ponytail.

"Uchiha Sasuke." a voice wafted lazily from behind the mask.

Sasuke was pretty sure his mouth fell open. "N-Na-Nara Shikamaru?"

NaNa cliffhanger eh? Didn't expect it to end like this huh? So is the mysterious man really Shikamaru? And what is he gonna do to poor defenseless Sasuke.. Tune in next chapter to find out :3