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*Hi there! Let me just take a quick minute to say this is my first fan fiction (yay confetti!) and to thank you for reading. I also want to say as a frequent reader of fan fiction myself (as in obsessed with) I know that my biggest issue is people never updating or just stopping all together without at least putting discontinued. So I'm going to lead by example. I promise my readers (assuming I have any) that I will update this story once a week on Sundays, sometime before midnight deal? And if I ever should fail to do this (let's face it life gets in the way sometimes) I promise to at least give a semi valid excuse-reason. Other than that ratings may change later on, we shall see. Sorry first chapter is a little short. This takes place right after Sasuke kills Itachi. Please enjoy!*

Chapter 1- Home Coming

Sasuke's P.O.V

The gates to Konoha opened agonizingly slowly, seemingly as wary of his return as he was. Though Sasuke would never openly admit he was nervous. The last time he had passed through these gates he had proclaimed himself a rogue ninja and abandoned all hope of ever calling Konoha home again. But like hell he was going to say any of that, instead he decided to focus his energy on maintaining his neutral façade while being literally daggered back into the village by an over excited Naruto and a seemingly detached Kakashi.

``Welcome home! `` Naruto exclaimed as the gates swung wide all the while grinning ear to ear. Naruto`s stance wavered slightly, he was begging to really feel his injuries from his earlier battle with Sasuke. Kakashi made a move as if to steady Naruto but quickly changed his mind when the nin simply shook his head. The only part of Naruto that did not look as if needed immediate medical attention was his smile. Naruto as on cloud nine knowing that he had finally brought Sasuke back; having fulfilled his promise to Sakura now everything would go back to normal, the way it was before Sasuke left.

``hn`` was all Saskue bothered to reply with, partly as a negative response to Naruto's growing enthusiasm and partly because he had not walked away from their encounter unscathed himself. Though he would sooner die than say it aloud, he did not win that last and unfortunately for him crucial fight with Naruto. Though the two nin had changed drastically throughout the years, the stakes of all of their battles had remained the same since Sasuke left the village three years before. Naruto's life against his return, there had been some close calls for both over the years and he couldn't help but notice the irony. Had he not still been is such a weakened state from his victory against Itachi, he may have beaten Naruto as well. Though he was secretly almost relived he hadn't. Ever since he had defeated Itachi and taken his revenge he had felt an annoyingly strong desire to return to the Village Hidden in the leaves; though as soon as this realization dawned on him, he quickly dismissed it as to bothersome to deal with now or ever.

Sasuke would have been completely contented with a quite as Kakashi had delicately put it "home coming" but he should have known Naruto would have nothing of the sort. The moment the gates were open Sasuke was greeted with a large group of people some ninja, so commoners, some just curious on lookers passing by. He quickly scanned the crowd for familiar faces and suprised when he realized that he found none. These people were all unfamiliar or people he knew he had seen on the street or, in the hallway years ago but he could not place, nor name any of them. Surprised, because obviously news of his return was no secret, he had expected to see Sakura there eager and as excited as Naruto by his return. Not that he really cared about Sakura one way or the other but he couldn't help but notice that the lack of that particular pink haired nin irked him more than it should have. As soon as that thought came he dismissed it as unimportant, just then his eyes focused front and center, and he realized there stood the Hokage.

Tsunade looked pissed, arms crossed and eyes blazing. Though he had not expected the warmest welcome or even a welcome at all (he made a mental note to put some extra distance between himself and Naruto in the near future. Until he could forget about this or get even) he had certainly not expected this. Tsunade's face quickly ran through a range of emotions both ones of joy and grief as she tried to process the situation in front of her. She quickly settled on an expression or barely veiled rage, with a hint of professionalism probably remembering that she was out in public and must at least try to maintain face.

"Yo, granny!" Naruto yelled while giving Sasuke a push in her direction. "Look who I found. We finally got him." Naruto smiled while giving one of him annoyingly cheesy thumbs up. Just then Naruto seemed to realize that Tsunade looked less than excited. " Uh.. Grandma Hokage?" Naruto asked trying and failing to correct his earlier blunder. Struggling to comprehend what he had said to make her face look like that.

Sasuke's heart clenched in his chest momentarily, coming back to the village he had caused some much grief he had fully expected punishment andcame prepared for it. Even ready to be tossed from of the village and told never to return. Any of that he could have coped with, but what he saw in Tsunade's eyes was a look of pure maliciousness. She looked as if she were about to take out her kunai and put him out of her misery. He was sure she was about to tell him as much to. "UCHIHA SASKUE" She shouted in a demanding voice, eyes blazing as she took a step forward. He worked to remain neutral, though he couldn't help the slight tensing of his body, an unconscious act of self-preservation. She coked her head to the side obviously waiting for a reply.

" Hn" he responded looking her squarely in the eye. No matter how he was labled by this village he was now a Uchiha first and that means he runs from nothing.

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched in seaming annoyance but she continued on "I am told that you wish to return to Konoha. Is this true?"

Naruto's hand came down on Saskue's shoulder in a light pat. "Of course he does granny! Why else would he be here?" Naruto exclaimed as if it were the more obvious than the colour of the sky. Tsunade barley acknowledged Naruto only throwing an icy glance in his direction.

"Naruto" Kakashi warned in a low tone, silencing any of Naruto's possibly complaints with meaningful glance of his own. Just when the silence was beginning to become awkward three noisy academy students pushed their way into the middle of the tightly packed circle but were quickly quieted. Even them understanding how intense the is moment and knowing they had stumbled into something not meant for children. Each of the three was caring a different herb but Tsunade was not distracted hardly taking notice of the three new additions to the crowd.

"I need to hear the words from your mouth Sasuke" Tsunade insisted firm as ever. Sasuke stared back hard at Tsunade, but seeing that there was no changing her mind he gathered his dignity and stood tall.

"Yes; it's true" is all he replied while slightly nodding.

At the exact moment he said this there was a loud angry " Chihiro! Miho! Raiden!". Quickly followed by a flood of "excuse me" and "pardon me" as this noisy person tried to make their way to the front of the crowd, which was now huge considering that it had grown exponentially in the last few minutes. The three children turned their heads in response to their names but stayed put not wanting to miss any this secret adult event. Sasuke worried that he would have to repeat his reply because of the explosive name calling. Tsunade did look to the crowd for a moment at this sudden interruption but when she turned back to look at Sasuke her eyes had softened and she gave him a smile. She had heard. Everyone's attention was now again focused on Sasuke and Tsunade still all waiting for his answer. Sasuke now felt grateful to the noisy person slowly pushing their way to the fount.

"Tsunade turned to the crowd addressed Sasuke so all could hear. "Sasuke Uchiha from this day forth you are now officially no longer a missing nin. You are now again a member of the village of Konoha. Anyone who tries to attack or harm you will be going against my will as Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and will have to face the consequences of betraying a comrade is this clear?" Tsunade looked expectantly over the crowd. Just as she finished there was a loud gasp as the crowd started to disperse seeing as the action was over. It seeming the loudest member of the crowd had finally made it to the front…

~continued in chapter 2~

*Hey again. Please review…or don't, whatever you decide I just hoped you at lease kind of liked it. If not I'm sorry maybe I'll improve with time. If you have any burning questions or concerns please let me know. I'll try to answer them. *

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