Disclaimer: I don't own any characters presented herein, nor any story. In case you're curious, Mr. Masashi Kishimoto is the manga creator and illustrator.

Chapter One - Bleed a Little

In prison, Sasuke had a lot of time on his hands and not a whole lot to do. He lay on a small, metal cot pressed against the far wall of his cell, back turned casually toward the bars, and stared blankly at the sweating stone wall in front of his face. The Leaf village had only prison for its ninja population, which spoke volumes about the integrity of the men and women who put their lives on the line for the sake of this town and its reputation.

To the dark-haired young man - just turned eighteen and barely older than a teenager - the future felt like a fork in a road, and neither direction looked appealing. On one hand he could leave; he had his means for contacting Karin and she, along with the rest of his team, would pay this place an unwelcome visit. He could imagine the resulting destruction, and it brought a smirk to his chapped lips, but then again, the village around him was used to this kind of localized mayhem. Every person brave or stupid enough to live in a village that trained ninja had to be.

Down the other road of that same fork lay a precarious future within the walls of the village itself. From the numerous interrogations, the traitor had gathered that his sentencing had long since passed and he would soon face house arrest, probation, and eventually a return to active duty. He might have a job, the quiet man reflected, but he would never again be truly welcome within these walls. The village had suffered far too much at the hands of his family, his brother, and also by his own will. There would the same glances that Naruto once received for being the carrier of a demon - someone had to be a scapegoat, whether that person liked it or not.

Regardless of the choice, the past was done and over with. No one could bring back those idyllic adventures - and misadventures - with Team Seven, nor the rambunctious fervor of the academy. The rest of his classmates had long since grown up and all of them had faced unspeakable horrors in the years that followed. Whatever the future might bring, Sasuke knew, it would not resemble the 'good old days.'

Even as he lay there thinking and idly listening to water dripping somewhere within these walls, he heard footsteps and then the now-familiar metal clang as his cell door opened. A nervous guard whispered something that might have been "we're here" before leaving in the same direction from which he'd come.

Sasuke didn't need to turn around to know who was standing in his cell. He didn't need to see the bright-orange jump suit, nor the pale hair, nor the intense blue eyes to recognize Naruto. The feel of his chakra was more than enough.

"Go away," Sasuke said quietly, somewhat surprised at just how hoarse his voice sounded.

"Shut up. I wanted to come and talk to you."

"We have nothing to discuss. Idiot."

Unbidden and without permission Naruto took those few short steps and sat down on the cot next to his once-upon-a-time friend. "Of course we do. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Are we?" challenged the dark-haired man as he turned over onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "Don't grasp at straws. The past's not coming back."

"I know that, all right?" Naruto sounded tired, weary somehow. "I know we can't be kids again, and the world's not a safe place. Hands stained with blood and all that follows."

"Then why are you here?"

"I… You…"

The dark-haired ninja shook his head and chuckled. "One complete sentence, moron."

"I want to know where you stand and if there's still a future for either of us."

"Not a conversation I feel like having."

"Fuck you, Sasuke."

"What do you want me to say? Yes, Naruto, here let me bleed for you a little. Maybe you'd like to root around in my head and then judge me to your heart's content?"

"That's not what I meant."

"That's what you asked."

Naruto paused for a moment and ran a hand through his messy, blond hair. "I'm sorry. I just, I miss you. I miss having a friend who understands."

"I would follow you to the ends of the earth," replied his solemn companion softly, "and I want to honor my brother's wishes, but I doubt this place will ever feel like home again."

Naruto was stunned by the sheer depth of pain in those words, the agony of knowing what the future held. He felt instantly bad for asking and yet also grateful that he was allowed to ask, that there was an answer. For almost a minute, the blue-eyed ninja remained utterly silent, listening to Sasuke breathe.

"Happy?"

"I'm so sorry."

"Good for you."

"No, I mean it. I am sorry. You're here, almost within my grasp, and so I keep pushing for a future I know exists. Except, the people I'm pushing against are you and Sakura and the rest of our classmates. It's like the world's gotten smaller."

"We can be friends, if that's what you want."

"Friends, sure, but then what?"

Sasuke chuckled at the sentiment. "I don't think anyone knows that."

"Well, I hate that!" Naruto exclaimed, and then tried to elaborate, not so easy for a teenager who's never been great at expressing his feeling. "I loathe this not-knowing. When I was looking for you, the goal was crystal clear. Find Sasuke and bring him back, end of story. Then the war started and priorities shifted; we had to win or lose this continent. But now that there's mostly peace, we're back to rescuing cats and escorting political dissidents."

"That's what ninja are for."

"Yeah, and?"

"Don't tell me you're bored."

"So what if I am? Mind you, I don't want you to run off again, or better yet, start another great war, but now that we're all here, I feel out of place."

"We are the unfortunate products of our generation."

"Shikamaru said that, too." Naruto frowned for a moment.

"He's too smart for his own good."

"I think he's also bored out of his wits."

"I expect that he feels exactly like you do. He's led armies and fought against forces unthinkable. I can't imagine that mounds of paperwork compare to that."

"And we circle back to the question: what happens now?"

"Peace happens, Naruto. People get to live for a little while and smile a little longer."

"And us?"

"I think we're all grown up enough to make our own way in life."

"That doesn't help."

"I'm not a fortune teller."

"Which is why I didn't ask you to predict the future. I want to know what you want. What you're going to do."

Again with the bleeding, Sasuke reflected darkly as his eyes focused on his pale-haired companion. "Like you, I'm restless. I can't imagine settling down in the village and starting a family. A house with a white picket fence may as well be a prison."

"Yeah…" Naruto's already quiet voice trailed off into silence.

"Problem is, there might not be anything better outside of the village walls."

"But it can't be any worse, can it?" Naruto's lips were a thin line and he balled his hands into fists. "It drives me half mad knowing that I want to be an elder and yet can't stand being here day after day. It's the definition of hypocrisy."

A familiar voice from outside the cell said quietly and without much inflection, "How troublesome."

"What're you doing here?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Bailing you two out. Up and at them." Shikamaru opened the cell door with a key.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean get up, take Sasuke, and follow me."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged puzzled glances before the two teenagers stood up. The dark-haired prisoner briefly stumbled on his own two feet, reminded with familiar pain exactly how the Leaf village interrogated its inmates. They walked out of the dimly-lit cell into slightly better illuminated hallway. Like within the cells, the walls here were carved directly into stone, forming an underground cellar where village elders left people to rot.

"Why are we doing this?" Sasuke asked cautiously.

"I can only stand so much of Naruto's whining, and he's whining."

"Am not."

"This is high treason," the prisoner warned them.

"Your pervert teacher approved it," Shikamaru said by way of explanation.

Naruto had trouble believing his own ears. Sasuke could practically see gears turning in his head. After a few moments of silence, the blond-haired man asked, "How is Kakashi involved exactly?"

"He gave me the keys and said you were here," explained the lazy tactician.

"I still don't get it."

Pain and frustration seeped into his voice when Shikamaru said, "Naruto, you've gotten it for a long time now. You've just been banging your head against the wrong walls."

"Moron," Sasuke muttered under his breath, but then elaborated, "you're not the only person who's has trouble settling in."

"So?"

"Think about it. When soldiers get used to conflict, peace can in fact drive them insane. We learned that at the academy. There are maybe a few dozen ninja currently here in the village who are living, walking powder kegs. You and Shikamaru included."

"I wasn't planning on doing anything stupid," Naruto grumbled.

"No one's accusing you."

"But it can happen?"

"Yep," Shikamaru put in as he opened another door at the far end of the hall. "It has happened before."

"Oh."

The tactician looked at both of them for a moment. "Exit through this door and down the hall to the left. Find a place to hide for the day. We'll meet at the old training ground by the cemetery at midnight. Prepare yourselves as if you don't plan on coming back." The man nodded to himself. "See you both there."

Naruto puzzled over this statement as they walked down the appropriate hall, one that looked exactly like any others in this cursed maze of a building. "I have no idea what's going on."

"There's a word for people like us. We're wanderers."

Naruto nodded his agreement. "I know. I think I even know who'll be there tonight. Does that mean we're broken somehow?"

"It means we're not... ready... to sit still."

"Will we ever be?"

"Maybe someday. The village doesn't need you right now. It's peaceful, there's no one to fight and plenty of ninja around should something to change. Think of it training. If we live to tell about it."

Naruto smiled. "Now that I can get behind."

"Come on, you've got some packing to do."

Naruto looked at his friend thoughtfully. "And you'll need some new clothes. And ramen. We'll have to get ramen."