Bond and Conquer

Chapter One- The Returning

Prologue:

I walked down the dirt path at my own leisurely rate. I looked like any normal civilian except for the katana and sheath that hung off my side. I slowly came into view of two towering gates just up ahead. I picked up my pace slightly. I really wanted a break after my long journey all this way.

I approached the gates, and was understandably stopped by two ninja.

"Identify yourself," one of them commanded.

I looked up at the two ninja who stood before me. I blinked, and they seemed to be taken back in surprise.

"I am…Sasuke Uchiha."

'"'"'"'"

Now I sat in an office, the office of Lady Tsunade, the fifth Hokage. She eyed me skeptically, as if believing I was about to attack. She paid close attention to my hand that could reach for my blade.

"Sasuke…Uchiha." She stated. "What in the world has brought you, a traitor to the Hidden Leaf Village, back to your roots?"

"I return simply because I have gained the power I need, killed Orochimaru, achieved my goal of revenge, and…" I stopped as I considered my next words. "I have a new task I wish to accomplish."

"So you want to return to Konoha as if you've done nothing wrong?" Tsunade asked me harshly.

I shrugged my shoulders, "I'm aware that what I've done over the past few years isn't exactly something anyone here is proud of…but I think you should give me a chance."

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't just have you arrested and shipped off somewhere."

"Because…I took out two of your biggest possible threats at the moment, Orochimaru and my brother, whom was a part of the Akatsuki." I answered.

Tsunade stared me down as she assessed the situation I put her in.

"So why return here? Why not just join up with some other village?" Tsunade questioned.

"After successfully killing Orochimaru and my brother, the Hidden Leaf Village was the first place I thought of. Besides…the new task I wish to accomplish can only be done here."

"Would you like to clarify what this new task of yours is?"

"No, for now I'd like to keep that to myself." I replied.

Tsunade's face hardened at my answer. "Does it involve any plots against the village? For all I know, Orochimaru is still alive and you're acting as a spy."

I raised my hand in a sign of peace. "I have no intention of doing any harm to this village. What I seek is merely a detail in my dream that is yet to be accomplished."

A flash of understanding crossed Tsunade's face and she smirked. "I'll have to have a council with the elders on what your punishment will be for abandoning us. For now, though, you have my permission to walk amongst the villagers and reacquaint yourself."

I inclined my head to tell her I understood, and then stood to exit the room.

"Oh, Sasuke," Tsunade called.

I glanced back at her to say I was listening.

"Keep in mind that while you may walk a free man through this village at the moment, you will still be interrogated for information concerning these past few years. I'd get my story straight if I were you." Tsunade explained.

"Yeah, sure," I replied.

"Also…you may want to catch up with your old team. You'd be surprised how much they've grown."

I stood silent as I thought of my two old friends. The hyper-active, loud-mouthed blonde, and the annoying pink-haired fan girl; I thought how interesting it'd be to see if they still fit those descriptions I left them with.

"Hn," I grunted, and left the office.

'"'"'"'"

Once I was outside, I finally looked at the village. It hadn't changed much since I left it…now about five years ago when I thought about it.

I decided the best thing for me to do at the time was find a place to stay. I didn't have much money on me, and that gave me an even better reason to find one of my old friends. I walked down the streets casually as I looked for any signs of a ruckus being caused by a loud mouthed blonde, or the unmistakable tint in the crowd of pink hair. I failed in finding either, and finally settled for going to the old training grounds.

The scene at the training grounds was undoubtedly the last thing I expected to find. The fields were a mess with upturned stones and knocked over or severely dented trees.

"Did a bomb go off here or something?" I whispered.

"Hya!" I heard the cry to the left.

Rock and debris flew in every direction, and as the dust cleared, I laid eyes on quite a sight. There, standing in the middle of the ruble, with her fist still aimed at the ground, was Sakura. Her hair remained that shoulder length I remember seeing her with last time, but it looked a little more unkempt than it used to be. She had definitely grown in both strength and body. Even I found myself looking her up and down twice or three times. It took me a couple more looks to even decide if that was really Sakura and not someone else, but it was her.

Sakura's head flicked to my direction, "I can sense your chakra. Come out."

Silently cursing at how much her ability had grown, I jumped down from the tree. I half expected her to gasp, ask if it was really me, and then throw her arms around me in a bout of joy, but she held her ground as I came into view.

"Sasuke Uchiha," she declared harshly, "what the hell are you doing in the Leaf Village?"

"If you think I'm up to no good, you're wrong." I responded curtly. "I've come to settle back in to my old life here in Konoha."

I saw her relax slightly, as if she was lowering her guard knowing that she was safe.

"What made you suddenly change your mind?" She questioned.

"Can I explain this with Naruto around? I don't want to bother saying everything three times."

Sakura huffed, and kept quiet for a while.

"So why're you here right now?" She asked sharply.

"I just wanted to see the old training grounds."

"Not a lot to see here at the moment." Sakura half chuckled.

I watched her skeptically until she finally asked me what I was staring at. "You're…different now." I stated.

"Yeah, I'm a Jonin, I'm probably going to be enlisted as an Anbu soon, I have medical skills that rival the fifth Hokage's, and the strength and knowledge to back everything up. Not feeling so superior now, are you?" She smirked at her last statement.

I snorted. "So are you making the assumption that you're stronger than me now; me who has been gone for five years training endlessly?"

Sakura gave me a taunting look, "Maybe," that finally sent me over the edge. I was behind her in a flash, my katana unsheathed and placed to her neck.

"What were you saying?" I whispered in her ear.

"Hm," she gave me a light smile before she disappeared into cherry blossoms.

I activated my Sharingan, glad to play her little game. She rushed at me from the side with a kunai which I easily blocked and pushed her back. She created a clone of herself to attack from the other side. I swiped my blade around and struck them both which turned out to be clones.

"Where'd you go?" I called. "Don't plan on sending these pathetic clones after me the whole time, do you?"

I heard a small crack from beneath my feet, and leaped just in time to dodge her hand grabbing at me from the ground.

I landed neatly a couple meters away. "I wouldn't use anything Kakashi has on me. I already know them all."

"Fine," her voice replied from behind.

I whipped around and managed to catch the fist she directed at me. I was stunned by the force that was inside of it. My back hit something, and I turned to find a tree.

"There wasn't a tree nearby," I thought.

The limbs suddenly extended and wrapped me in their firm grasp. Sakura appeared from above with a kunai in hand.

I closed my eyes, concentrating, and leaped to the side. I skidded halt a couple feet away, the tree gone.

"Someone's been brushing up on their genjutsu." I commented.

"Well, I obviously didn't just sit around while you and Naruto went on your ways training." Sakura replied as she came into my view again.

"Yeah, how's Naruto doing?" I asked.

"He's on a mission, but I'm sure he'll be glad to punch you once he sees you're here."

"Hmph," I chuckled.

I decided to take the offensive now, curious to see the extent of her abilities. I ran at her with a frontal attack. She flipped over me and quickly struck back with her fists. I twisted to avoid her and managed to catch her in the side with a kick. She retreated from me and giggled.

"Nice job, Uchiha." She complemented.

I shuddered a little at the name "Uchiha". The way it fell from her mouth with almost no emotion.

Sakura was over by me again in an instant. Caught slightly off guard, she just managed to clip my shoulder. I flinched as the extent of the impact sunk in.

"You've really got some power behind those fists." I stated.

"Well I thought that was obvious seeing the condition of this battlefield."

"Hn," I smirked.

I started to run at Sakura again. At the last second, I turned off course and appeared behind her with my katana. I lashed out, but she caught my position a second earlier and twirled out of the way.

"Close one, Uchiha."

I stood up straight, sheathed my katana, and drew in a large breath. I was tired.

"Oh, you want to quit already?" Sakura asked with an edge of disappointment in her voice.

"I've been traveling all day. I was tired to begin with." I sighed.

Sakura scanned over my body, seeming to finally notice all the dirt and sweat that covered my body and clothes.

"You want to come to my house and rest for a while?" She offered.

"Hn, sure," I answered.

Sakura smiled. "Then let's go. It's going to rain soon, anyway."

'"'"'"'"

We reached Sakura's house about fifteen minutes later. It was an apartment filled to the brim with papers and bookshelves. I almost believed it was a storage room rather than a home.

I sat on a couch in what I could only assume was a living room. Sakura came over with two cups of tea and sat next to me. We drank in silence for a couple minutes.

"So you moved out of your parent's house?" I inquired.

Sakura's face grew grim at this, but she quickly turned to me and gave me a smile. "I guess you could say that."

I eyed her skeptically. "Did something happen?"

Sakura remained silent, her grip on her cup tightened to the extent I feared it would shatter in her hand.

"Sakura," I tried to say in a soothing tone, "did something happen to your parents while I was gone?"

"They never came back." She spoke so quickly I could barely understand.

"What?" I asked.

"They never came back from their mission. They left me alone when I was sixteen."

"So…they died on a mission?"

"No…they were taken prisoner…and never given back." Sakura almost choked out. "We received word from an Anbu two months later that two bodies were found on the border. They had been tortured to death…and once they were dead…their remains were burned…. We almost…couldn't tell it was them."

I was about to say something to calm her, but at that moment, the cup in her hand burst into shards and flew in every direction. I jumped up in my surprise. Sakura stayed where she was, now looking at her marred hand which dripped with blood.

Hesitating for a moment because I wanted to help her, I ran into the kitchen and retrieved a towel for the mess. When I came back to the living room, Sakura had her uninjured hand over her wound. A green chakra was coming from it. I stared in wonder for a moment until she removed her hand to reveal the cuts were completely healed.

"You really weren't kidding about the medical stuff." I stated.

Sakura looked over at me. "Of course not."

There was a bit of an awkward silence afterwards until I finally remembered the towel in my hand. I held it out to her, she looked at it for a moment, and she took it.

"Thanks, Sasuke." She smiled.

I smirked inwardly to hear her call me Sasuke again. She bent over to clean up the mess the tea made, and I found myself unable to resist just watching her.

Sakura eventually noticed my gaze and she blushed a little. "W-what?" She asked.

I shook my head, "Nothing."

A knock was suddenly heard. Sakura walked to the door and opened it to see an Anbu.

"Lady Haruno," the Anbu bowed his head.

"Yes, what can I do for you?" She asked politely.

"Lady Hokage is requesting your presence." The Anbu looked over at me. "She also requested your presence, Uchiha."

"We'll be right over." Sakura replied, and closed the door when the Anbu jumped off.

Sakura looked over at me. I could see her slight confusion at the request of both of us.

"You're probably getting a mission." I stated. "As for me…it's probably judgment time."

There ya go! Man, this chapter is so long it almost seems like a oneshot. There's a lot more to come, though. Hope I did well on this! I spent like, three days writing this, and I hope it's enough to make people want to read more. Of course, I think I already left enough questions for the time. Mission or something else, how's Sasuke's judgment going to go, will he get to be a Leaf ninja again? Well, that'll all be answered next chapter, trust me, but then I'll be leaving you with different questions. Anyway, review, read some more stuff, run in circles screaming some random thing. (Thinking of more things that start with "R"….)

Oh yeah, this story is for those people who voted on my poll asking for romance or adventure. Well I rolled them into one! Hope you liked it!