Words: 2,330
Written: August 16, 2008
Disclaimer: I own Naruto, obviously...not. Look here for future chapters.
Warnings: Auish, not really sure, but probably shonenai, nothing explicit, amnesia, maybe dark themes.
Pairings: Not really sure yet, but I've got some ideas.
Notes: Well, this seems like the beginning of a reeaaallly long story that I may or may not, but hopefully will, write. I rewrote this chapter 3 (3!) times and edited it twice...so I hope it's good. The next two chapters should be posted within a week or so 'cause I've already written half of them, but no promises. And, I'll trytrytry to write Drowning My Sorrows's epilogue, but...I haven't started, so, no promises.
Anyways, hope you like/enjoy/review/critique, etc.
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Chapter 1: Of Returns, Sullen Hate, and Grudging Forgiveness
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Years after Sasuke leaves, he returns on the premise of nothing but the assumption that Naruto's promises are unshakeablely infinite. Unforeseen events shake him and threaten to destroy the already unsteady balance amongst Konoha.
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It was one of those tranquil clear nights, with soft breezes that raised goose bumps and gave gentle pushes to the few clouds drifting serenely in a deep royal clue sky. The crescent moon shone brightly in the night sky, flanked by shimmering stars that twinkled as they stood by the silver guardian of the night sky resolutely.
And the light of the moon bleached the forests of the Fire Country a frosty silver, pooling into puddles of argentine wherever it filtered past the sharp edges of the dense leaves, locking on the only movement in the still scene.
A blur of jet black hair and clothes darker than the night surroundings and pale ivory skin that seemed to glow as moonlight struck it.
Uchiha Sasuke was nothing but a mere blur, an artistic blend of ebony and ivory, as he sped through the forest, dashing through the trees and leaping from branch to branch with the aid of chakra as he headed towards his birthplace.
Konohagakure, his birthplace, his once-home, and his only true home.
To this day, he would only, barely grudgingly admit to himself silently that Konoha was the one place where he truly belonged, belonged to more than any other, despite its seemingly humble, seemingly average appearance.
At the risk of sounding clichéd, he would admit that it was his true home, a home that was somehow more than just his scattered pleasant childhood memories and the place where he had grown up. It was the one place where he was accepted, where he could sleep deeply and without fear of never waking up again, where he could smile unguarded and feel laughter bubble out without needing to force it down, to suppress it back to an apathetic silence.
And now, over half a decade after he had left it, he would return to his birthplace, more powerful than ever and for once in his life of 19 years, he was determined to win and win back his village's, his Hokage's, and his friends—no, his family's trust.
And he would allow himself to do nothing less than succeed.
No matter what it took.
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By the time he arrived, it was already midmorning, golden rays of sunlight lighting up the vividly green forest and dappling the floor with beams of light. A slight breeze blew away the light sheen of sweat on his skin.
As he arrived at the training grounds, his feet slowed down unconsciously, as hesitation and doubt faltered his determination and stalled his imminent arrival.
Was this—truly the best plan? To boldly walk into the Hokage's tower, to meet someone who had not known him before his—defection, inform her of her ex-teammate's death, vow his allegiance, and bribe her with information that he knew she needed?
Would that truly convince her of his change of heart?
He blinked, suddenly realizing that the training grounds weren't quite as empty and deserted as he had originally thought, as he saw and recognized a head of light pink hair, longer than his memories recalled.
"—4...3...2...1...ready or not, I am so gonna find all of you and make you all pay for making me it!" a firm voice yelled out confidently.
It was undoubtedly his old teammate. Taller, leaner, and with a confidence that showed in the set of her shoulders and her smirking grin, Haruno Sakura had changed quite a bit from her 12-year old self but for the wide green eyes set in a broad slightly leaner than before face framed with strands of pink hair.
"Aha!" her voice suddenly yelled near him. "Found one of ya!"
His eyes widened with shock as he ducked instinctively, barely dodging a fist that cracked the tree trunk that he had just been resting against as he leapt off the trunk with ease and landed in the middle of the practice grounds lightly.
"I—Sasuke-kun?!" the rosette's voice immediately changed from loud and cheerful to a shocked gasp, and he cursed himself inwardly for allowing his guard down, wondering if he should flee or not.
The decision was made for him, as a split second later, he was surrounded. His thin lips pressed together in a wry smirk as he recognized all of them, despite not having seen them in years: Shikamaru leaning lazily against a tree in the shade, his arms crossed across his chest, his sharp eyes watching him carefully, and his shadow already fastened to Sasuke's feet.
Next to him was Ino, her hair no longer in the constant ponytail that Sasuke remembered, but down, reaching her waist, one hand twirling a kunai knife casually, the other grasping the hilt of a slim sword with slender fingers.
Lee was glaring at him, his thick eyebrows pointing downwards fiercely and his large round eyes staring at him, as he readied himself in one of his taijutsu poses, with Neji next to him, Byakugan activated and prepared in one of his Gentle Fist Eight Trigrams stances.
A little ways away from them was Tenten, if he remembered correctly, a katana in one hand, and several shuriken clasped in the other.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura looked bewildered, her already wide eyes round with shock, as she slowly gravitated towards him. "What are you doing here?"
He scowled irritably; he had hoped to reach the Hokage tower without interference or fuss. Obviously that was not going to happen here. "I need to see the Hokage."
"What, exactly, makes you think that we would allow you, a missing-nin of S-rank, to see the Hokage?" Shikamaru drawled lazily, his dark eyes unexpectedly piercing and sharp.
"I have information that she would appreciate hearing," Sasuke replied stiffly, glaring at Shikamaru.
Shikamaru paused, obviously turning his sentence around a hundred different ways in his head, and he scowled at the genius's blatant lack of trust in him.
"Only if you allow Neji to hit your tenketsu."
"As long as none of you bind me." Sasuke countered without missing a beat.
Shikamaru frowned, but nodded at Neji, whose hands blurred as they lightly tapped Sasuke's chakra points.
As Neji finished closing up all of Sasuke's tenketsu, Shikamaru quickly signaled to Ino to warn the Hokage, who gave a barely perceptible nod before vanishing.
If Sasuke noticed Ino's disappearance, he didn't say a word about it, only impatiently demanding, "If we may get a move on, now?"
As they gathered into a tight group surrounding the Uchiha, Shikamaru remembered just why he had never really liked him.
He was always confident to the point of arrogance, even back when we were in the Academy, and he doesn't seem to have changed much at all.
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The Godaime Hokage tapped her smooth fingertips together, watching them do so gracefully, admiring the appearance of youth that they gave off.
Long, slender, and smooth, with just the right angle of taper at the tips and a slight sheen in her unpainted nails, which were elegant and shapely.
"Hokage-sama?"
Without looking up, she replied, "Send him in. Alone. The rest of you are dismissed."
As Shizune opened her mouth to protest, she added pointedly, "Even you, Shizune."
Shizune huffed exasperatedly, muttering about dangerous criminals and careless Hokages and who know what could happen?'s and left the room along with Ino, Shikamaru, and Sakura, who had filled her in what had happened.
Tsunade had to say that she was honestly surprised. What were the chances of the Uchiha boy coming here willingly and turning himself in under the pretense that he had something to say to her?
Fascinating, really.
Her fingertips rested against each other lightly, and she stared at them, before finally looking up as the door shut quietly and the Uchiha boy sauntered forward, giving a slight bow. "Hokage-sama."
"Uchiha Sasuke," she returned, every bit as polite. "Sit down, please."
She watched as he sat himself down, feeling a tendril of vindictive satisfaction as she noted the stiffly straight back and the frigid stillness that suggested he wasn't quite as composed and unnerved as he attempted to look.
"Well, do you have anything to say for yourself? Or would you like to be sentenced by trial as soon as possible?"
"If I may say so, Hokage-sama, but I do believe that a trial is not, in fact, necessary," he said in a smooth voice that she immediately hated, forbidden images of his pale lips slowly smirking out words that others had told her he had said. She quashed the surge of anger, of almost-hate down immediately.
"Oh?"
"Yes. Despite the—expectations of many, I was, after all, only a 12-year old genin when I left Konoha, less than a year from when I graduated from the Academy. No matter how powerful nor gifted, for genin to be rated as S-ranked missing-nin is slightly overrated."
"You think so, do you?" Tsunade leaned forward slightly, her fingers digging creases into the wood of her desk, her lips pressed into a tight smile. "However, being 12-year old does not mean much to ninjas, as you could be as weak as you wish to portray yourself, or strong enough to be ANBU captain, as others have managed to achieve in history."
She paused, forcing herself to relax her fingers before she, unable to resist the temptation, added, "I am sure you know that quite well, Uchiha Sasuke."
"Not only did you leave willingly, which could easily be construed as betrayal, you also attempted the murder of one of our shinobi genin, your own teammate, when he came to rescue you because he did not believe it possible that you would betray the village nor him so completely. Afterwards, you joined up with Orochimaru, who murdered my predecessor, the Third Hokage, and is a S-ranked missing-nin traitor, and dedicated yourself to his teachings, much of which is forbidden jutsu. During the period between then and now, you have caused much destruction and death."
He could only stare at her frozen, her composed face pale and smug and blank, her large eyes cool and angry and distant and screaming the things that she wouldn't say, an eyebrow barely cocked above one eye, asking Why should I trust you, you out of all of the people? You who betrayed your friends the way he betrayed us. Betrayed me.
They were accusing, spiteful, bitter, Do you think that I would be even talking to you if it weren't for Naruto?! Naruto who you betrayed more than the rest of us, Naruto whose—
Her pale pink lips moved, and he could only distantly hear the rest of her words, her tone cold and neutral countering the anger hidden behind coldness and apathy in her accusing eyes, "Pray tell why I should be willing to overlook all that?"
He grasped blindly at all of the arguments he had thought of, pulling them out, forcing them through his numb mouth, "Because—I have much information and news that would be beneficial to this village. During the period that I was—gone, I lived in Sound for several years, so it would be a simple matter in inform you of the strength and blueprints of the village, as well as how to counter many of the jutsu and attacks."
He licked his dry lips, missing the pained grimace that flickered in her eyes, "Not only that, but I have not murdered any Leaf shinobi in these past 7 years or so, and avoided murder wherever, whenever I could, nor have I enclosed any information about Konoha to enemy shinobi. In any case, your village needs as much manpower as possible, does it not? Locking me up is simply a waste of resources."
Tsunade frowned inwardly, vindictively wishing that the arguments the Uchiha boy was applying to himself weren't quite so valid.
"I will grant your wish to become one of the Leaf shinobi once again," she finally said, carefully noting the flicker of relief and victory in the dark eyes. "However you will be on probation until I believe that you have proved yourself. Considering your supposed level of strength, I believe that it would be prudent to promote you to chuunin level, but you may not take the jounin exam until next spring, if you are no longer on probation by then. You will not be allowed any solitary missions; you will have guards periodically checking up on you, and possibly, some sessions with certified—therapists, as well as sessions with Ibiki Morino whenever he requests you. Your pay will also be docked from A-rank missions to B, B-ranked to C, etc. Understood?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Sasuke said quietly, bowing deeply. He fought to suppress a grin of joy, ignoring the flicker of happiness and relief that warmed his chest.
"Good," she tossed him a small pouch. "You may use that to rent lodgings, if you cannot find any free ones, as the Uchiha mansions and estates are all blocked off or used."
"Understood, Hokage-sama."
"Good. You are dismissed. Find Shikamaru and call him in, please." Get out. Get the fuck out of here before I lose all self control and kick your ass to hell.
"If I may ask a few questions, please, Hokage-sama?" Sasuke stood up, head still slightly bowed.
Tsunade hesitated before nodding. "Yes?"
"Is Uzumaki Naruto currently in the village? If so, where may I find him?" He could feel his heart pounding in his ears as he waited the blond's reply with a hidden eagerness.
"He should be reporting the results of his mission soon," Tsunade said absently, frowning slightly. "Call Shikamaru in."
"Hai, Hokage-sama."
As he opened the door, she hesitated, but called out, "Don't expect him to be the same person that you left...Uchiha Sasuke."
He paused before slipping out the door, and she glared at the closed door, allowing her emotions to run rampant across her face now that she was alone.
Damn that stupid Uchiha boy. Why couldn't he die and just leave us all well alone?
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Anyways, please, please review, and tell me if you like it, and if you didn't, why. Thanks.
