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When the Days Are Gone
Prologue
The sky is long, the road is far, bitter flies my spirit;
The spirit I dream can't get through, the mountain pass is hard.
Long yearning,
Breaks my heart.
- Li Bai, "Long Yearning"
ooo
Konoha was ugly at 5:14 in the morning, thought Sasuke.
Then again, the place had lost its touch the day his entire clan had been massacred. Still, the heavy, nickel-colored fog that settled over the village irked him to no end. Buildings and shops that had been completely ordinary were transformed in the fog, becoming looming titans waiting to attack him as he hurried down the empty street.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the middle of the road. Sasuke slowed until he came to a complete stop. He narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the person in the hazy dawn light. "Yo, Naruto," said Sasuke quietly. The moron had said to meet him here immediately, but years of paranoia still had Sasuke reaching for his kunai. "Is that you, dobe?"
"Yeah," came an annoyingly familiar voice.
Out of the fog and into view walked out an Anbu in full gear – a boar. A boar, because no matter how much Naruto had begged (which was a lot), a fox mask was far too obvious out in the field. Fog swirled eratically around Naruto's cloak as he approached, as though the air around him was bad. Sasuke knew the moron well enough to know, even without even having to see his stupid face, that something was wrong.
"You better have a damn good reason for waking me up with one of your toads," Sasuke said, meeting Naruto half-way.
"Tch. Bastard," Naruto bit out, but with less sting than usual. "C'mon. I have something to show you." In a flash, Naruto leapt from the street and onto a nearby roof.
"Whatever," said Sasuke, but followed nonetheless.
Quietly, the pair sped over the rooftops of Konoha with the gray, early morning sky providing just enough light to see by. Soon enough, they arrived at what Sasuke was surprised to see the gates of Konoha.
"You're not trying to make an escape attempt, are you?" said Sasuke offhandedly. "Because let me tell you right now, it's not worth it."
"Wished you would've learned that before I had to drag your sorry ass back here," said Naruto as he led Sasuke towards the guard tower. Currently, two sentries were on duty at their posts; they looked down distrustfully at Sasuke as he followed Naruto into the security room just behind their stations. Some people would never trust him again, but he didn't really give a shit. The only reason he came back was because of Itachi . . . and maybe Naruto. Not that he would ever say that out loud.
As soon as they walked through the door, Naruto nodded to a worn-out looking shinobi who was watching a dozen televisions with switching live feeds of Konoha's northern perimeter. "Thanks for watching em', Tanaka," said Naruto. "I owe you one."
"No problem," said Tanaka tiredly before turning back to the monitors. Sasuke understood his pain. Morning shifts were the worst, especially if it was something as dull as watching static videos of the gates.
Konoha's Northern Security Surveillance room was mid-sized. Half of it had been taken up by the television monitors and the other half was furnished only with a couple of posters, a coffee maker, and an old burgundy couch that had seen better days. On the couch were what looked to be bags. One wriggled. Naruto made his way toward the couch, not even remotely surprised by its movement. This must've been what he wanted to show Sasuke.
Sasuke arched an eyebrow
Naruto wasn't stupid enough to bring a wild animal into Konoha, was he?
Wait, scratch that. Yes. Yes, he was.
Naruto walked towards the couch and Sasuke realized that it wasn't bags, but bundles wrapped with several layers of blankets. Naruto bent over the bundles and finally took off his mask. His blue eyes were bright in the badly-lit room, and gave off a nervous sort of energy that made Sasuke feel on edge. Before Sasuke had a chance to speak, Naruto was peeling away the blanket wrapped around the bundle that moved. Underneath was a child with unruly white hair, no older than four.
Sasuke blinked and quickly reached out to peel the blanket away from the other bundle. Another child, completely identical to the first one. Twins. They both slept in the same position – on their sides with their thumbs in their mouths (gross, he thought) – and slumbered away. Sweat covered them from head to toe, and their cheeks were flushed as if they were battling a fever. The one who had wriggled started to whine quietly in his sleep, and his brother, as if sensing his distress, unconsciously reached out to grab his hand. Instantly, the first one settled, and both continued to sleep, hands intertwined.
Sasuke looked at the children, and then at Naruto.
Naruto looked at Sasuke.
A beat.
"Please tell me you didn't kidnap them," said Sasuke.
"No."
"Then why are they here?"
Naruto seemed to struggle with his answer. "Because . . ."
"I don't have all day, moron. Because what?" A horrible thought occurred to him. "Are . . . Are they yours? Did you breed?"
"What! No, shut the hell up. Geez. I didn't knock anyone up, teme."
"Thank god, I could only imagine the world with your brats running around."
Years of being friends had prepared Sasuke with the knowledge of what Naruto looked like just before he threw a punch. "Calm down. It was a joke," said Sasuke quickly, wanting to avoid a few bruises so early in the morning. "In all seriousness, why do you have two kids with you then?"
"I found them."
That's convenient, thought Sasuke bitterly. "Where?"
"In Kawa . . . on my way back home from my mission."
Nothing about this made sense. "So you just picked up two orphans on a whim? Idiot. Take them back."
"No!"
"And why the hell not!?"
Naruto bit his lip. "They're Hyuuga."
Obviously Naruto had taken a hit to the head on his way back. "No they're not," said Sasuke adamantly.
"I swear!"
Sasuke folded his arms. "Hyuuga don't exist outside Konoha. I'm telling you, their fucked up clan has so many ways of ensuring that shit doesn't happen. Now take them back to whatever hell hole you found them in before you get in trouble for abducting random kids."
"Asshole, just listen to me! They have the byakugan. I saw it."
Sasuke paused. Maybe the idiot was telling the truth. "Fine, say they are really Hyuuga." Naruto visibly relaxed. "Then how the hell did they end all the way up in Kawa?"
"I - I don't know."
"Well, you better find out before Hiashi figures out there are two undocumented Hyuuga here and raises hell."
"How?" Asked Naruto as he gently patted one of the Hyuuga spawn's cheek. "Don't worry, little guys. We're gonna find you a good home," he murmured.
With a huge amount of restraint, Sasuke kept himself from scoffing. The dobe was getting too attached already.
After a moment, Sasuke smirked and said, "This is how." He then promptly smacked one of the brats upside the head. "Wake up."
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ooo