Sanctuary

by splica

Summary: AU. 'The Sins of the Uchiha.' After he is betrayed and everything he loved destroyed Sasuke meets a boy named Naruto, whose own dark secrets may just reveal the hidden past of the Uchiha family...SasuNaru.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Or the later idea that...is a major spoiler. I'll properly disclaim it later though, you'll have to wait and see!

Rating: T, may go up later...

Author's note: My first multi-parter! Wish me luck XD I'm used to one-shots so this is a big undertaking for me but the ideas I have for this just wouldn't fit into a shorter story so...yeah, cheer me on? I've combined the prologue & chapter one because...well the prologue was tiny and I'm not that cruel :haha: Also unbeta'd for the moment...

Warnings: Just language mainly, a little bit of violence

Prologue – The Massacre;

The tower of fire just kept growing.

Uchiha Sasuke watched it with a kind of morbid curiosity. He had the vague feeling that he might have gone into shock as he stood just staring into the flickering flames, unable to move or tear his eyes away or do anything. He should have been running, calling for help, trying to escape, anything but just standing there and watching. Just looking on as the fire destroyed his home.

The building was called the Uchiha Financial Corporation Centre, Sasuke had known it as the place his parents spent every waking hour, where he'd spent most of his days as a child loitering in the grand hall waiting for his older brother to finish and take him home, and then later on as a teenager learning how to use the software his parents had designed. This was where his family empire had grown, where he had aunts and uncles and cousins. It had been the only constant thing in his life and now...now it was being destroyed.

"Itachi!" He couldn't understand it, any of it. Why...why would he do such a thing? What could he possibly hope to gain from this massacre? "Itachi!" He screamed the word into the blazing inferno, getting no reply, just the creaking of metal and the crackling of the flames as they ate up everything in their way.

He just stood there, locked away in one of the many office rooms, where he'd barricaded himself. He knew, without a doubt, that his parents were in here, somewhere above him. He knew that those same aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews would be up there with them, possibly trapped with no way out. He knew that thousands of innocent employees had probably died if they hadn't been lucky enough to be close enough to the ground to escape. And he knew that his brother was the cause of all this.

Collapsing to his knees as the truth finally hit him Sasuke looked on in despair as the fire began to eat around the edge of the door, watching as the flames finally broke through and came towards him. There was no way out, he was going to die. The only other exit was the window behind him, but that way held the promise of death just the same way as the door. His only choice was between a quick death and a slow one. In the end the fall might not kill him but still, he just couldn't seem to move, to gather up the energy needed to try his luck.

It was strange how he felt so calm about it all. His parents were probably gone, his home had been destroyed and his brother...why had Itachi done this?

"Brother..." the sound was stolen in the roar as the fire advanced. They danced and flickered in front of him, the heat of it making him sweat and the smoke filling his vision and blinding him to everything. He could just make out the whirls of yellow fire, the harsh brightness of it blacking out everything else.

He was trapped, and no one was going to come to his aid.

"Ah, there you are," a voice said smoothly above him and Sasuke yanked his head up to stare up at his brother in disbelief.

"Itachi...what..."

"I thought you'd be in this room, you always did like messing around with the computers when they weren't looking," bending down to his brother's level Itachi met Sasuke's eyes with a look of concern. "Are you not going to try to run?"

"I...what's..."

"You know what's happening brother," Itachi told him and Sasuke flinched. He knew...he knew he just didn't want to believe it. He'd seen it, he'd watched everything but he still refused to believe any of it could possibly be true. The words he'd overheard, the things he'd spied on...none of it made sense!

"Why? Mother and...why..."

""Why would I do this?" Itachi finished for him.

Sasuke nodded jerkily, watching as his beloved brother just sighed and gestured around him. "Isn't the fire beautiful? So powerful, taking down everything in its way to grow; I want you to be like that brother."

"You're not making any sense! Why did you set the fire? Why did you...why did you kill them..." The words trailed off and Itachi just continued to look at him, his face an emotionless mask that Sasuke wanted to destroy. How could he not feel anything? Knowing that he'd done this, knowing that he'd murdered his own parents? Knowing that he was killing his younger brother...

"You'll have to figure that out for yourself little brother. Hate me, despise me, search for the truth and then come back to me. When you have the answers you'll know and then...then maybe..." He trailed off and Sasuke just glared at him.

"How did you get in here?" He finally demanded.

"I think we'll keep that a secret," Itachi replied, eyes flickering behind him at the flames. They had seemed to stop for a moment when Itachi had entered but now they continued on their deadly path, falling upon the computers and the chairs and the tables and eating away at them, growing all the more.

Itachi reached out, poking Sasuke in the forehead before bringing his hand down sharply on the young man's neck, catching him when his brother collapsed against him. He cradled the smaller body to him, carefully reaching out with his hand, stroking his fingers through his younger brother's soft hair. He wanted this time, this one last time.

"Forgive me Sasuke...again, next time. Just run, run as far as you can and search for the truth, and then, when you finally discover it...come back to me."

Pressing a small kiss to his beloved brother's head he opened the window, looking down at the drop beneath. It would hurt but Sasuke would survive, he had to survive.

Mustering his strength Itachi threw his brother out the window.

He watched as Sasuke fell, looking on as he plunged into one of the hedges that grew along the outside of the building. He saw his brother twitch before he fell still once more.

Giving a small smile the young man finally let go of the willpower that had been the only thing keeping him standing. Leaning against the wall he slid down until he sat on the floor in an ungraceful sprawl.

He coughed, reaching out and holding his side, watching as the blood leaked out onto his fingers.

The smile was still on his face when the flames finally reached him, his last thought of his brother when they began to flicker over his legs. The pain was unbearable but he managed to block it all out. He couldn't worry about the fire, he could only think of Sasuke and the path that lay ahead for him. A dark path, but one he knew his brother could overcome.

"Run Sasuke," he whispered, his voice a harsh whisper swallowed by the roar of the fire. "Run and find the truth and then...then..." His last words were stolen as the flames finally overtook him and he closed his eyes. I love you brother...

Chapter One – The Missing Uchiha Brother;

"Police are still on the lookout for the whereabouts of the missing Uchiha brother. Uchiha Sasuke, seventeen-years-of-age, is wanted for questioning in relation to the recent arson attack on the Uchiha Financial Corporation Centre. If you have any information regarding him or his whereabouts please contact the police immediately. The older Uchiha brother still remains in the ICU unit of Konoha General Hospital..."

Sasuke glared at the television as the cameras left the blond-haired woman reporter and instead showed the inside of the ICU unit of the hospital. He could just make out his brother under the mass of bandages, the machinery around him struggling to maintain his life. The ominous bleeping could just be heard over the crowd surrounding him and he held a hand up to the glass separating him and the television. Separating him and his brother.

"Itachi..." The word was a curse and his head fell away as he abruptly turned his back on the sight. Roughly pulling on the lib of his cap to cover his eyes, he ducked his head and started to walk away.

Shoving his hands into his pockets he felt a moment of confusion when his fingers caught on something. Grabbing it he pulled a piece of paper out and held it for a moment before smoothing out the creases and reading the words scrawled messily across it.

'Head to the Ichiraku, they'll help you – Uzumaki Naruto'

Scowling down at the innocuous piece of paper Sasuke shoved it back into his pocket before starting to walk away from the television shop. This was all his fault...

When Sasuke had woken up in hospital two days earlier he'd spent the first hour or so just going over everything in his mind. The fire, his brother's words, the truth that Itachi had told him to find.

He'd been just sitting up in his hospital bed when he'd first heard it. The news of his parents' death.

'I'm just here reporting outside of what used to be the UFCC where a fire struck down the building two days ago. Now we can confirm the deaths of eight people, including those of Uchiha Fugaku and his wife Mikoto. The eldest Uchiha son has been stabilised whilst the whereabouts of the younger son, Uchiha Sasuke are still unknown...'

Sasuke had turned off the television set after that, watching as the colours bled away and the box went black. So his parents were dead. The thought was a sharp stab to his heart that he quickly stifled, shoving the emotion to the back of his mind where he couldn't hurt him.

He hadn't immediately known why the hospital staff hadn't immediately recognised him, just counted himself lucky that they hadn't. They seemed to believe he was just another average teenaged boy who had fallen down some stairs and ended up with just a few scratches and a sprained wrist for his troubles. Sasuke knew he'd been extremely lucky in that respect, he'd had a mild concussion but other than that he'd been almost perfectly healthy.

It was only when he'd seen his reflection in the bathroom mirror that he'd hazarded a good guess as to why the hospital staff hadn't been able to recognise him. His pale skin was a mottled purple, the left side of his face swollen and both his eyes had been puffy and red. The full extent of his injuries were made clear on his face and he looked away from himself in disgust. He'd been a far cry from the usual stoic young man seen on the television, standing just behind his family to get away from the glares of the cameras.

He wouldn't be doing that anytime soon. Not only was he almost completely unrecognisable as the Uchiha heir but he had no family to hide behind. His brother had seen to that.

He'd smashed the mirror as his anger took over his mind. The nurses had come rushing in to see what was wrong, quickly sympathising with his excuse of hating his own reflection. It wasn't a complete lie; he did hate parts of his reflection. His hair, the same raven-black as his brother's, his mouth, the same shape as his brother's, but most especially he hated his eyes. His eyes, the Uchiha eyes they'd been called. He'd inherited them from his father, as Itachi had before him. Looking into them then he'd hated the mere sight of them, even in their puffy state they were unmistakable. Itachi had ruined him.

"Oh, you poor, poor dear, just look at that hand!" A nurse had tutted at him; carefully holding his injured one in her own as she gently wrapped it in more bandages.

"Vanity will be the death of us all," another sighed, giving him an absent pat on the head before she walked off, closely followed by the first nurse after she'd finished taping his bandages down.

He'd been placed in a general ward, with three other people, a fact he hadn't been happy about. He just hadn't been used to having to share, all his life his parents had given him anything and everything he could have ever desired, he'd had cars, his own house and private hospital care. It was the last he'd bitterly missed at that moment, listening to the beeping of machines and the snores coming from the guy across from him. The only privacy he got came from the curtain that separated his bed from the one next to him. At that point he'd yet to see the guy in that bed but he hadn't cared, his mind had been full of other, more important things.

Looking down at his hand had caused Sasuke to only frown harder, flexing his fingers uselessly and wincing slightly at the ache that had come from them. He hadn't meant to hit the mirror hard enough for it to shatter, he'd just been so angry.

"Just you wait Itachi, I'll fucking kill you," he'd muttered to himself.

"Hey!" A voice had called out. After jerking his head up Sasuke had watched as the curtain separating him from his neighbour was pulled back and a blond head stuck out the gap to give him a goofy grin. "Boy, do you ever need anger management classes!"

"Shut up, you have no idea what you're talking about," Sasuke had replied, giving the boy a harsh glare. The blond had actually stuck his tongue out in response, causing Sasuke's eyes to widen in amazement. No one had ever, in his entire life, stuck his tongue out at him. It had been an experience Sasuke hadn't wanted repeated.

"Well, if you're going to talk to yourself where others can hear they're going to talk back to you, stupid," the other boy had said.

Sasuke had growled at him before turning away, hoping the other would take the hint and leave him alone. He had and Sasuke had been left to his own thoughts for a while, trying to ignore the throbbing in his hand and the ache in his head.

He'd been just lying back, prepared to close his eyes and block out the rest of the world when the blond had suddenly popped up beside him, startling him so much he'd almost fallen out the bed. He'd almost hit the other guy but he'd held back, instead he'd openly snarled at him, eyes narrowed almost to slits.

"What the hell do you want? Go away!"

"You're that Uchiha guy right?" The blond had asked him quietly. "You know; the younger one?"

Sasuke had stilled immediately. He'd watched the other boy warily as the blond had leaned closer to him, whispering straight into his ear.

"I'm right aren't I? You're the infamous Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Infamous?" Sasuke had repeated, rather stupidly but he'd been so taken aback by the word he'd had to ask. The other boy had grinned triumphantly, sitting back on his heels and leaning his arms on Sasuke's bed.

"So I am right! And yeah, way infamous, the police have been after you for days. Don't you watch the news?" The boy had looked at him quizzically for a moment before turning away and grabbing the remote on Sasuke's bedside. "Or did you turn it off?"

Seeming to take Sasuke's silence as an admission the other boy had proceeded to turn the television on, changing channels until he'd finally come across one showing the daily news. After watching it quietly for ten minutes he finally shook Sasuke's arm, pointing excitedly at the TV set. "This is it; this is what I was talking about!"

"...person of interest in this case...Uchiha Sasuke still missing...wanted in for questioning..."

"See? I told you, everyone's out there looking for you but I found you first!" The other boy had been almost vibrating in his excitement until Sasuke grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

After forcing the boy's head close to his own Sasuke lowered his own tone to a harsh whisper when he spoke. "If you want to live past the next few minutes you won't tell anyone that you know I might be Uchiha Sasuke."

"Might be?" The boy had replied doubtfully – then he'd snorted. "You do realise I'm not that stupid right? Even I can tell you're Uchiha Sasuke, you look just like your pictures! Well, except you're a bit less...purple in them. Man, what happened to your face anyway?"

Sasuke had glared at him "I could say the same to you! What's with those stupid whiskers anyway?"

The boy had reached up to touch his cheeks before pulling them away. "They're not stupid!" He'd denied, sounding just a bit defensive to Sasuke's smug ears.

He'd just raised an eyebrow at the boy until the blond had eventually sighed in defeat. "Fine, fine! I won't tell anyone. I bet you don't have the guts to burn down a building anyway. You don't really look like arsonist to me."

"Oh yeah? And what does an arsonist look like?"

"You know! All big – with loads of tattoos!"

Sasuke had snorted, unable to stop himself. "You're just full of shit aren't you?"

The blond had scowled at him. "Well, if you're just going to laugh at me don't ask such stupid questions. How should I know what an arsonist looks like? I've never met one until today."

"I'm not a freaking arsonist!" After realising that he'd half-shouted out that last sentence Sasuke had cast a furtive look around, glancing over at the other two occupants in the room who seemed sound asleep. Naruto nudged him in the shoulder before pointing out each one in turn.

"They won't wake up, the guy on the left's been asleep since I got here which was about five days ago and the one on the right is on so many drugs I'll be amazed if he ever wakes up again." The words were said nonchalantly and the blond had given him a shrug when he'd finished. "Well, it's the truth!"

Sasuke had raised an eyebrow at him before giving a small nod. "Okay, so they're not going to wake up. The nurses might come in at any minute though so...whatever you do don't call me Uchiha, or Sasuke. Just...call me Miharu."

"Miharu? You don't look much like a Miharu, more a Yoite." *

"Whatever, just don't call me Sasuke." The dark haired boy had then turned around in his bed, effectively dismissing the blond, closing his eyes and trying to block him out when the other boy complained about being ignored.

"Fine, suit yourself. See if I care," the blond had finally said, walking back behind the curtain that separated the two beds.

Sasuke had smirked to himself, finally submitting to the tug of sleep and letting himself drift away.

"Hey! Hey, Yoite! Oh hell, like it matters anymore. Sasuke! Oi you lazy bastard get up already!"

After feeling a tug on his arm Sasuke had frowned and tried to pull his arm out of reach, attempting to turn away only to be yanked back harshly. When he'd finally opening his eyes Sasuke had glared up at his awakener, watching as the blond had smiled at him a little sheepishly before a determined expression came over his face.

"Look, you have to leave, now!" He'd tugged on Sasuke's hospital clothes again, a little more urgently this time and Sasuke had slowly sat up. Looking around he'd noticed one of the beds were empty – the guy who hadn't woken up had finally come round and left then.

"What's going on?" He'd asked, sliding off the edge of the bed until he was standing next to the blond. He'd swayed a little but the other boy had grabbed his arms, steadying him.

"They're here!" The boy had whispered to him, pulling Sasuke away from his bed, past the partition until they were standing next to the blonds' bed. He'd crouched down slightly, pulling on Sasuke's arm until he did the same.

"He must have heard me," the other boy had said, frowning in concentration as he'd peered between the gap in the curtains. "Damn it!"

"What is it? What's happening?" Sasuke had finally demanded when the boy had maintained his silence. Everything inside him had been telling him to run and escape but he'd stayed where he was, strangely trusting the blond and waiting until he'd finally turned around to face him again.

"The police are here," he'd said simply. Sasuke had looked at him in surprise for a moment before immediately standing.

"I need to leave before they find me," he'd replied, looking around for an escape. The only ways out of the room were the window and the two double swing doors connecting the room to the hallway outside. For a moment a staggering sense of déjà vu had hit him and he had almost been able to smell the acrid smoke filling his nose again.

"Wait, you can't just run out there! They're out patrolling the corridors. You'll get caught if you just leave," the other boy had tugged him back down to a crouch, looking outside the curtains again before turning back to the dark haired boy. He'd levelled him with an intense look for a moment before speaking.

"Do you swear you didn't light that fire and kill all those people?"

"What the-like hell I'd do that!" Sasuke had spluttered, just barely holding back from punching the blond for suggesting he'd do something so terrible. He wasn't...he wasn't a monster.

Itachi wasn't a monster either though and he did it...

He'd shoved the thought away, focusing on what had been happening then as the blond had given him a decisive nod, backing away from the curtain and going towards one of his drawers. Every patient was given one bedside table with three drawers. Sasuke's had been empty, devoid of anything. The other boy's was almost spilling over with get well cards and flowers. There was a pile of instant ramen packets at the back that had Sasuke giving the boy a questioning look.

"I like them!" He'd said defensively having seen the direction of Sasuke's eyes. After rolling his eyes and muttering something like 'rich bastards' he'd started searching through his drawers, finally coming out with a pile of clothes and a cap. He'd handed them over to the dark haired boy with a proud smile, "There you go. One disguise coming up!"

Sasuke just carried on looking at him until the blond had finally asked, "What? Have I got something on my face?"

Holding out the clothes in his arms Sasuke had nodded slightly in the blonds' direction. "How are these supposed to fit me? In case you hadn't noticed I'm taller than you, these will just look odd and draw even more attention."

Sticking his tongue out in response the blond had grabbed the shirt off the top of the pile, holding it up against Sasuke's body. "Well, these belong to a friend of mine who should be about your size, and unless you want to walk around in your hospital get-up you don't really have much of a choice idiot."

Giving the boy a disgruntled look Sasuke had placed the clothes on the blonds' bed and started to untie his hospital gown, watching as it fell to the floor. He'd grabbed the top and pulled it over his head, grabbing the jeans and looking over them quizzically at the blond.

He'd had to smirk when he'd seen the uncomfortable expression on the other's face. He'd been staring at the far wall, pointedly not looking in Sasuke's direction and the dark-haired boy had almost laughed at the look of unease he carried.

"Where's the underwear?" He'd asked, looking down at the jacket and cap that were all that remained of the clothes Naruto had given him.

"Uhr...you'll have to go commando," the boy replied, giving a small, forced laugh.

Sasuke shrugged, "Alright, nothing I haven't done before." Giving another satisfied smile when the other boy choked Sasuke began to pull on the jeans, carefully zipping them up and pulling the jacket on. He'd tugged the cap down onto his head, covering up the white bandages in his dark hair and pulling the lib low over his eyes.

"It's alright, you can turn around now," he'd told the blond, no small amount of amusement clear in his tone.

The other boy had given him a small thumbs-up, before turning back to the curtains and peering round the corner once more. When he'd finished his assessment he had finally faced Sasuke again. "Right, here's what we're going to do," he'd said quietly, motioning with his hand to the guy still asleep in the corner. "I'm going to cause a distraction and when everyone is busy with that...you can get out by the fire escape. You just need to get to the window and climb down." His hand moved until his finger was pointing towards the far window.

Sasuke had crossed his arms over his chest, measuring the distance between the curtain and the window. He'd given a small grin when he'd finished. "Easy," he said.

The blond had snorted, shaking his head slightly. "Yeah, well you get the good part!" He'd said before holding out his hand.

Sasuke had hesitated for just a moment before he grabbed it. "The name's Naruto," the blond had told him. "And you'd better remember the name of the guy who helped you escape from the police! Damn, breaking the law for someone I barely know...well, time for some fun! Just stay behind the curtains until the coasts clear okay? Don't want to be risking my neck for nothing."

Breaking away from the cover Naruto had run across the room, keeping as low to the ground as he could. He'd reached the other remaining patient, quickly making work of all the wires attached to him, pulling them out carefully and grinning when the machines had started beeping in earnest.

The sound had only grown louder and, grabbing hold of the hospital bed he'd started to push it, picking up speed until he was running away with the gurney in front him. "Good luck!" He'd yelled behind him when he'd reached the doors, not slowing down until he crashed into them, the doors swinging wide open from the force of his entrance.

Laughing slightly he'd carried on, running as far away from the room as he could, nurses and doctors following him with shouts of outrage.

Yeah, good luck Uchiha Sasuke!

After having watched the other guy leave Sasuke stood for a moment, wondering if he was really all there, listening to him laugh until the sound eventually faded away.

Waiting just a second more Sasuke had eventually crept past the curtains, making his way quietly across the room and ducking under the window, making his way out until he was standing on the metal walkway. Ignoring the pain shooting through his hand as he used it to keep his balance Sasuke started making his way down the stairs, trying to be as quick as possible whilst keeping as quiet as he could,.

Not stopping to look back up again once he'd reached the ground, Sasuke had made his way down the alleyway between the hospital and the next building over. He hadn't stopped running until he was a good three streets away and then he'd collapsed against a wall, panting and holding his injured hand to his chest. His head ached and his chest sent small spasms of pain up his body in protest but he was free.

A small smile spread across his face and he barely held back the hysterical laugh that bubbled up inside of him.

Opening up his fist Sasuke finally looked at the object Naruto had placed there. It was a simple piece of paper with only one line of writing on it. Crumpling it up again he shoved it into one of his pockets. Well, at least he had somewhere to go...

So now here he was, standing outside what looked like an old, dilapidated theatre building. Checking the address on the piece of paper Sasuke looked at the door sceptically, sure that the blond idiot had written it down wrong.

Well, there was only one way to check. Mustering up his courage Sasuke reached out with his fist, and knocked on the door...

Tbc.

a/n: *if you get this reference give yourself a cookie XD so what do you think? Worth continuing? r&r and let me know!