A/N: This will be the only A/N for the fic. I hate them. I don't own Naruto. Please review that way I will know if people like this or not, it will be greatly appreciated. There will be SasuSaku soon, but I write for the story as fans of mine may know so don't expect instant lemons, ok? This fic, however, is rated M for a reason.
Enjoy!
P.S. (9/13/2011) I read back over the chapters and re-edited them after noticing a plethora of errors, both grammatical and otherwise. I had the timeline completely mixed up, randomly manipulating the seasons and months at my will (-_-'). This has been rectified in the following revised version of Complex. Please review or PM if you find anything out of the ordinary. Thanks :D
Complex
Chapter 1 : Catch and Release
Uchiha Sasuke lay, stretched out on the lumpy cot that had been his bed for the last two and a half years. His lithe body spanned the length of the furniture; hell, he could probably stick his feet out through the bars at the bottom if he so desired to. Instead they were propped up on the railing that looped over the vertical rods, his weight causing the flimsy wire framework to bow in the middle of the bed as his back slouched in an unhealthy-looking curve up to his shoulders. Fingers intertwined in his thick raven locks, his head rested in the cradle his hands formed, visage tilted slightly to his left, charcoal eyes fixed unwaveringly on the steel mirror on the opposite side of the cell. From exactly this angle, he could see the clock at the end of the hall, barely. If it wasn't for his bloodline limit, he probably wouldn't be able to make out the time with any sort of accuracy. But this was Uchiha Sasuke.
"Ten minutes."
"Or so," he thought. Paperwork could get troublesome, or so he'd heard from the chuunin that paced the halls intermittently.
Unmoving, the Uchiha pondered his condition briefly. Toilet, sink, bed. Pillow, blanket, change of clothes. The bare minimum. He had been waiting for this day since he came strutting back into Konoha that morning; Karin at his side, katana at his waist, bag on his shoulder. ANBU had been watching him since they crossed the border, but he walked along the main road straight to the village gates with his subordinate in tow and they did not disturb his travel. He had sent a courier hawk from Iwa notifying the current Hokage of his intent to return, and knowing there would be hell to pay as soon as he set foot in the village, he continued on his course, one foot in front of the other all the way to the huge wooden doors.
He had stopped just inside the gates, dropped his pack from his shoulder and turned his head to look straight at Izumo and Kotetsu.
He said nothing, only gazed at them momentarily before six ANBU fell from the sky and Karin shrieked.
Sasuke smirked oh-so-slightly at the mirror.
Karin.
He'd held his hands behind his back then, back to back as is customary for shinobi captives, straightening his neck to look ahead. And so the ANBU bound him and walked him straight to the Hokage without a word, without a fight.
Tsunade.
Sasuke wiped the smirk from his face. He owed that woman his life. However much he hated the fact, she and Naruto and Kakashi had fought brains, pen and scroll against the elders for his life.
And so here he lay, waiting to begin anew after two and a half years of pacing, eating and sleeping.
Finally he heard them, tip-tapping down the hall, and he felt a flare of chakra as the door at the end of the hall was unsealed. He didn't bother to move from his silent post, just in case. But there weren't too many others in the maximum security wing of the prison under the intelligence center. Certainly none getting out today besides himself. Two jounin whom he didn't recognize entered his peripheral vision and stopped at the door. The taller blonde ninja took the disk-shaped key from his pouch and set it into the wall beside the door, which promptly slid open.
"Uchiha." The brown-haired nin spat at him.
Sasuke broke his silent rest and swung off of the bed, striding toward the opening without looking back. There was nothing here for him, nothing he wanted anyway. He looked the young jounin straight in the eye, pausing at the exit to his cell before continuing down the hall.
"Hn."
xXXXxxxxxXxxXXX
A short while later, after the prison's medic nin had unsealed his chakra and he had been given back his sword and clothes he stepped into the atrium of the prison. Not a soul stood to greet him. He adjusted his shoulder pack uncertainly. The jounin at the reception desk sniffed and glanced furtively, hatefully at the Uchiha's offending presence.
His clothes were in a more traditional style than those he had arrived in, he had the Cat Grandmother tailor these especially for his new start in Konoha. A black tunic, similar in style to his father's, with grey trim at the neck wrapped around his thin torso. His belt was also grey to match. His light pants came down to his lower calves and were wrapped with pristine bandages to his three-years-ago issue shinobi sandals.
He stood stoically for a few more moments in the hall, waiting for something to happen or to gather the courage to step from the building that had been his home for the last few years and face the village, only he knew. Finally he took a shuffling step forward, then picked up the pace and stepped bravely to the door, eyes flashing.
Uchiha Sasuke was suddenly nervous.
The unforgiving sun shone on him in all its beauty and might, momentarily blinding him. He squinted. Gravel and dirt crunched lightly under his sandals as he moved slightly to let the door close. He breathed a deep sigh. Clean, new fresh air filled his lungs. Vision clearing, although still blurry, he could make out the trees and birds and bugs and...
"Oof!"
His pack hit the floor and he was almost shoved into the door as he was tackled around the middle by something... red and purple.
"Sasuke-kun! Oh Sasuke!"
He looked down with distaste at the mass that was now slavering on his clean shirt, glasses prodding annoyingly into his pectorals.
Karin.
He frowned.
She continued to nuzzle him and press her face into his chest, running her hands feverishly over his back, pressing her hips into his-
"Karin." He grasped her shoulders gently and pushed her back. He lowered his right hand but his left remained holding her at a distance. There she stood at arm's length, wiping her face pathetically with her own hands, crying miserably. Looking past her he could see another, a young man, dressed in black and orange the blonde leaned quietly on the fence across the street. Finally having been noticed, he stood and walked over to the couple, a small smile on his face.
"Welcome home, Sasuke."
Naruto clapped the unsmiling Uchiha on the shoulder.
XXXXXxxxXXXXXXX
"Naruto-kun, we appreciate your business, we really do. You're welcome here anytime, but he cannot be seen in our restaurant. I'm sorry, but you three will have to eat elsewhere."
Naruto stamped his foot and pointed rudely in the woman's face.
"I come here all the time! There's no reason for Teme not to be able to eat here, you're just prejudiced! He served his time and paid for his crimes, its not like fucking Orochimaru himself is here with us, let us eat here in peace! Do you realize this is the fourth place that's turned us down? He has to shop and eat somewhere you stupid-"
"Dobe."
Sasuke hung his head slightly, body turned toward the door. A pained look spread across his face and he sighed.
"Ramen it is..."
Naruto turned away from the shocked woman, angrily shoving his hands deep in his pockets. He stormed out between a somber Sasuke and a bewildered-looking Karin.
Karin and Sasuke followed Naruto to the one place that would never turn Naruto nor his friend away, criminal or not. All around him, Sasuke could hear the whispers of the villagers and shinobi as he passed, head down slightly. They wouldn't dare confront him with Naruto there, they might not even directly confront him alone now that his chakra had been released. Naruto stomped on ahead, muttering.
"Fucking villagers, I save them all from death's doorstep and this is how they repay me, Oh yes, I've been here before I almost forgot – NOT – snubbed and hated by all you bastards..."
"Naruto..."
Sasuke sped up a little and caught up to him, lightly and awkwardly patting his friend's shoulder blade.
"Cool it, please."
Naruto stood stock-still and stared at his friend. His face finally softened into something like sadness or pity.
"Ok."
They trudged along the village streets together and finally the trio ducked into the empty ramen stand, each claiming a stool, Sasuke in between his companions. Naruto spoke for the three.
"Boss! Three Tonkatsu specials, with egg, and a couple bottles of warm sake!"
"Hai! Naruto!" The old man responded with the same smile that seemed to withstand all tribulations and situations.
Sasuke set his elbows on the counter and rested his face in his hand, picking some chopsticks out of the jar with the other.
"Ma, Sasuke," Naruto turned fully to face his friend, hands pressing the cushion of the seat under him. "What now? The chuunin exams are in eight months, you just missed them. Are you going to go ahead and try to get some missions or something?"
Sasuke stared at him for a few moments and the only sounds were of the old stall owner's feet shuffling in the background and the faint rumble of boiling water.
"No. I still have much of the fortune that was left to me after..." He trailed off, expressionless. "I'll take the chuunin exams and we will see if I can get Kakashi to sponsor me for a promotion to jounin. Eventually I think I'll try for ANBU..." He sighed slightly. He took no joy in the mundane plan he had outlined for Naruto, but it was his best chance at starting over and eventually hunting down Itachi and killing the man. Not that Sasuke had known the feeling of true joy since his childhood. It would be fitting for Sasuke as a Konoha ANBU to take down his family's betrayer.
"That's a good plan."
Karin stared sadly at Sasuke, silent.
"Jyaa!" Ayame's father set down two bowls in front of the boys, and turned, getting Karin hers.
"Itadakimasu!" Naruto half-cried, and Karin and Sasuke intoned their own muted thanks to the chef.
In between bites Sasuke looked at Naruto, half-wondering if his friend would hear him if he talked over the slurping of noodles. Sasuke nibbled on the edge of a slice of pork as Naruto continued to stuff his face, finally tipping the bowl up and leaning back, sucking the last remnants of broth from the bowl.
"Yosh!" Naruto slammed the bowl down on the counter, smacking his lips and wiping his face with his hands when there were perfectly good paper napkins sitting not two feet away from him on the counter. Sasuke watched with a raised eyebrow as he continued on to wipe his salty hands on his black pants and orange and black jacket. He had forgotten what a pig his best friend was.
"Pig."
Naruto laughed. Sasuke smirked slightly. The small action brought an abrupt twisting sensation to his chest and he wiped the look off of his face, replacing it with trained emotionlessness. Karin continued to eat slowly, looking at him out of the corner of her eye with concern. He looked back at her briefly.
"Don't worry about me..."
"Naruto." The young man turned his head to look at Sasuke. "I'm still going to kill him. The next time I see him, the next time I get the chance, I'll be ready, and he'll be sorry..." Sasuke snapped his mouth shut, clenching his fists in his lap and staring at them, seething.
Naruto looked at him with his mouth open idiotically. He closed his mouth abruptly with a pop, then sighed turning back to his empty bowl.
"We all knew you would. It doesn't matter. You're back in the village now, where you are surrounded by people who care, your friends and teammates, and your girlfriend." He smiled momentarily at Karin. "We all want to help you in any way we can. That's why we've stuck by you, and if that's your ultimate goal you know we will lift you up so that you can reach it." Naruto sighed and cracked his back bones loudly, flipping his head from one shoulder to the other. "But promise me, as you promised the old Grandma, that you'll protect the people of the village with your life. While you were gone, you know I killed Pein and saved the whole village." Naruto looked Sasuke in the eyes. "We'd expect you to do the same, if for no one else, for Kakashi and myself. We went through hell to save you. Help us protect our important people."
Sasuke sat quietly for a moment, meeting Naruto's gaze so that the other man would see his sincerity. Finally he half-whispered, "You know I will. No matter how much everyone here seems to hate me, in the end you were right." He lowered his head remorsefully. "This is my home... and when I became a genin, I took a vow to protect it with my life and that still stands..." He unclenched his fists and looked Naruto in the face again, speaking a little louder. "I've tried hard never to kill anyone from Leaf, and I've paid for the crimes I committed across the five nations. I'll prove my loyalty to you all again and bring honor and pride back to my clan's name."
Naruto slowly nodded in acceptance of his friend's pledge.
Karin whimpered petulantly at Sasuke, who turned to her promptly.
"I waited... so long for you..."
"Not here, Karin." He frowned. He hated to snub her after all this time, but this was not the right moment for this conversation.
Karin's gaze dropped to her hands and she stifled her tears.
"Sorry."
She whipped her head back up to look at him, shocked.
"Hmph."
He turned to the cold, filmy ramen in the bowl and sucked it down.
XXXXXXXxxxxxXXX
The three ninja stood uncomfortably outside the stand, it was late afternoon and the sun was just starting to near the horizon. Karin stood a little closer to Sasuke than to Naruto, picking at a hangnail while the boys tried to think of something to say.
Finally Sasuke broke the silence.
"Where is Sakura?"
Naruto released a laugh with no mirth.
"Be glad she's not here. She's just as pissed at you as the rest of the village, if not more so..."
It was Sasuke's turn to look surprised.
"Why?"
"You broke her heart, stupid! She waited for you for years, almost four years, and the last time you saw her you told her she was weak!" Naruto exhaled vehemently. "That was after she smashed a gigantic hole in Orochimaru's lair! She trained so hard and long to get to that point and you smashed every bit of hard work and sweat she poured into getting better for you with those words. Then when you came back to the village you wouldn't even talk to her. You didn't even acknowledge her existence, you just walked on by her without so much as a glance. Of course she freaking hates you."
"Oh." Sasuke muttered stupidly. He'd assumed that she'd always be there... he supposed even the deep love she supposedly felt for him had some sort of boundary, one he'd apparently violated in his youthful stupidity and callousness. He brought his hand to his eyes and wiped it down over his face. That last year with Orochimaru had been the worst, and he remembered the distrust he had felt for everyone, and the malice with which he attacked everyone around him. Not that it mattered much in Orochimaru's lair...
"That bitch. She should be more forgiving! Sasuke had it rough there with Orochimaru! Of course he treated her like shit, she only came to stand in his way and drag him from his goal-" Karin spat.
"Oh yeah?" Naruto yelled, "Then why are you two losers here in Konoha? Why did Sasuke drag ass back here after his plans fell apart because training with Orochimaru actually didn't make him strong enough to kill Itachi, huh? You two came back here, practically crawling on hands and knees begging for mercy, begging for another chance..." He frowned and crossed his arms. "He's getting closer to his goal here in Konoha every day that he trains and studies here. Why don't you focus on being a friend to him instead of picking fights with the few people that actually care about him?"
Karin backed up a step, gasping as he stepped forward.
"If you're not here to help then maybe you should leave."
Sasuke exhaled quietly.
"Please you guys..."
They both stopped and looked at Sasuke. A thought flashed briefly through Naruto's mind.
"Usually Sakura keeps us together, keeps us from fighting like this..." and pain gripped his heart at the thought of his other teammate.
Really, Naruto barely knew Karin at all.
The blonde shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets as Karin stepped a little closer to Sasuke.
"Naruto, I just want to go home right now. It's kind of a lot for me..." Sasuke looked up at the sky as a flock of pigeons flew overhead. The sky was a deep pink now, The sun peeking up halfway over the wall around the village.
Naruto's signature grin spread across his face.
"Yeah! You should go home and rest. You're going to have a whole lot of work to do if you're going to catch up to me and Sakura!"
Sasuke allowed a small smile to form on his lips.
"See you tomorrow, Dobe."
"Os!"
Karin waved shyly. "'Bye, Naruto."
"Cool. I'll see you too, Karin." He smiled at her too. No hard feelings.
Karin smiled back a little, the man's happiness was infectious at times...
Naruto turned and walked away, still waving, one hand in his pocket.
Sasuke turned to Karin.
"Let's go home."
She nodded. "I got an apartment in the meantime, we can go there and then maybe once you start taking missions we can... decide what to do next..."
The two started walking as Karin led the way to their apartment. They hadn't gone five steps before Sasuke spoke.
"I want to stay at my house."
Karin looked at him incredulously. "Why?"
Sasuke shrugged. "It's where I've lived all my life. My clan has lived there for generations. I have no business in your apartment."
"It's no big deal, really!" Karin insisted. "That old place is probably filthy and rotten after all these years of neglect and disuse. At least spend the night?" Karin begged hopefully.
Sasuke sighed, turning down a side-street and Karin trotted to catch up to him, no longer on the path to her apartment. At the end of the road, in the fading light, a wall could be seen with wooden doors in it. The paint was falling in large chips off of it, and graffiti was evident on a large part of it, defacing the Uchiha symbols that appeared periodically along the span of the parapet. Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders a bit, walking slowly down the same road he'd walked all those years coming home from missions and school.
"Sa-Sasuke!" She clutched his sleeve in one hand.
He merely glanced at her manicured fingers, clenched around the fabric of his tunic, never pausing in his stride. They reached the end of the street and he frowned at Karin as she stood still in front of the gates, glaring at them apprehensively, still grabbing his shirt. He removed his hands from his pockets.
"Let me go."
She obliged, albeit slowly, and then she gasped, a faraway look in her eyes.
Sasuke had taken a step forward since he let her go, but he knew this reaction from her and so he turned and gauged the look on her face, tensing.
"What is it?"
Her mouth flopped open and closed like a fish's.
"There are... about a hundred people living here."
Sasuke's eyebrow arched in surprise.
"What?"
"You heard me!" She whispered fiercely. "People already live here! We can't stay here."
"Bullshit."
Sasuke sauntered up to the gates and looked through the slats. The streets and alleys of the complex were as dark as he ever saw them at dusk, a broken and deteriorating lantern lay in the street, half-covered with sand and not a soul was in sight. He motioned for her to come close to him, which she did, treading carefully.
"Look." He murmured.
And look, she did. Her breaths quickened and Sasuke slid his hand up onto her shoulder.
"There's... no one there..." She gasped.
The pale man squeezed her joint ever so slightly.
"See-"
"No." She said, pushing his hand off of her and stepping back from the gates.
"No!" She stomped her foot and clenched her fists by her side. "I'm not wrong! Sasuke, I've never been wrong! If I say there is something- there are people in that neighborhood then there are!"
Sasuke turned to her and stared.
She was trembling.
"I don't know what kind of game this is... I don't know what's going on. But I'm not staying there!"
Sasuke's expression blanked. "This is my home. Look, it's as desolate and empty as it was when I left it!" Sasuke raised his voice slightly.
Karin began to shake.
"That- that can only m-mean one thing then." Her breaths were coming in short pants now.
"Karin, stop the act. You look and sound ridiculous." He scoffed, turning away from her. "You're going to hyperventilate if you keep this up, then what good will you be to me?"
He smirked and turned to her.
"Actually, keep doing that. I'll just drag you inside once you pass out."
She abruptly stopped breathing.
"No... No way." She started to walk backwards slowly. Karin looked at Sasuke with pleading eyes. "Please, lets just go back to my place. We can talk this over and figure it out in the morning."
"I'm going in." Sasuke told her as a streetlight cut on. It was getting darker by the second, and he was tired after an emotionally taxing day.
"Don't!" Karin screamed. Sasuke started at her sudden outburst.
"What the hell, people are probably sleep-"
"Shut up, Sasuke! That place-" She pointed to the gate "is full of people, empty-looking or not. And whether or not you want to believe me, I'm convinced." Sasuke narrowed his gaze. Karin took a deep breath and whispered, "That place, is haunted."
Sasuke's expression hardened.
"I've lived here for years, before and after the massacre. I never saw anything out of the ordinary. You're full of shit, but if you don't want to stay here, don't think for a second that I'm going to force you."
Karin's eyes widened and she readjusted her glasses, opening her mouth to speak. Sasuke held up his palm to silence her.
"I'm going to walk through these gates, down the street to my house, walk in the front door and down to my room and sleep." He imparted, "And if you don't want to be a part of this then you can take a hike. Because this is where I live and you're not going to change that."
He put his hand down.
Karin huffed, hurt but trying to hide it.
"Quite a speech Uchiha," he flinched at the unfamiliar form she was addressing him by "But I don't believe it for a second. By midnight, you'll be crawling to my front door begging to sleep on the floor!" She shouted as he turned his back, pushing past the creaky gates.
Karin stood in the same place, a flustered pink creeping up her neck. Sasuke continued onwards.
"I waited two and a half years for you and this is how you repay me?" She shrieked in the street. "You're a goddamned fool, Uchiha! I should have gone back to Ame without you! I fucking hate you!" And without further ado she turned on her heel and stomped back to her apartment.