A/N: As you can tell, I'm just getting the hang of this. Had to mention that again. Go easy on me? Reviews are encouraged!

Again, I recommend this be read in a 1/2 page format. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter Two: The Request

"They'll never take you back," Itachi's voice entered his mind.

They will, Sasuke's subconscious voiced back, not everyone is so cold.

He could see his brother's eyes so clearly within the darkness of his own mind, not everyone is so heartless. The Mangekyo swirled as it stared into Sasuke's inner most thoughts.

"Why would they welcome a traitor? A weakling simply trying to avenge something much beyond his own potential," Itachi mocked, "it's quite pathetic, Brother."

And suddenly within the darkness of his mind, his long lost brother appeared. The abyss cleared from his view like mist, and suddenly he was back. A seven year old standing before all that he had lost, and before the one that had taken all of this from him. "Brother, why?" his memory spoke, and a malicious laugh filled his mind.

STOP.

And his grasp found his way in front of him, his fingers coiled aggressively around a mysterious object. There he saw the painfully familiar virescent orbs, only they lack tears and a sort of fear that shook him to his core; he never understood why. No, this time they looked different. They were enraged. "Hmph," he thought, "this is strange." Thoughtless, he didn't realize that his hand was still on her throat, but it was too late.

"I don't like to be touched," and she snapped his wrist.

That bitch! He had just regained consciousness for Kamissake. Who did she think she was snapping Uchiha Sasuke's wrist as if she were entitled to such punishments? It's not as if he spit all over everything that she held near and dear in her life. Wait..

Well, it wasn't as if she confessed the love she had held for him all her life and he threw it back in her face. Wait...

Even so, it wasn't as if he tried to kill her- damn it.

The more he considered it, Sasuke realized that Sakura had every reason to loathe him and every moment that he spent in her presence. Looking down at his limp wrist, the resentment was still there and the word "bitch" rang through his head as he thought of the pink-headed nin. He shook the thought from his mind, scowling slightly at his near change of heart. "I don't owe you anything," he said to hypothetical Sakura. Yet as his words slipped out into thin air, Sasuke was forced to consider whether he did or not.

Within the next hour or so, Sasuke received yet another rude awakening in the depths of his self-interrupted slumber. "Oi!" the barely feminine voice roared. With a subconscious sigh, he peeped his weary eyes open. The Fifth stood before him, leaning her bum against his bed, her eyes glued to the wall.

"You rang?" he said in his usual unenthusiastic tone.

"The medics tell me you've been less than," the Hokage searches for the word for a moment, "pleasant, lately."

Sasuke scoffed. Just a day before he was the guinea pig for Konoha's new, effective, and brutal interrogation system, resulting in his hospital stay; despite being deemed trustworthy. What did they expect, sunshine and rainbows? "Cakes for everyone!" Imaginary, angel-like Sasuke chanted as he passed through the village with flowers in his hair and a smile on his face. Although the thought was amusing, he felt a bit ashamed of it; he shook it from his mind.

"I'm acclimating myself to people," Sasuke spoke a partial truth.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, "Does acclimating often consist of assaulting your friends?"

"That was an accident!" Sasuke was surprised by his own defensiveness, his sharingan glared.

"Hmph," Tsunade looked up at him, "Uchiha, you are here by your own choosing, meaning that life here will be as easy or as enjoyable as you make it. I suggest you acclimate quickly," she made her way to the door and turned a cheek to him, "Welcome back."

The rest of Sasuke's week consisted of sporadic visits from Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, and his replacement, Sai (who obviously didn't know who the hell he was talking to when he referred to Sasuke as "dickless.") All disputes were easily settled by the stealthy copy nin who would handle them with a familiar, uncomfortable chuckle as he held the enraged Uchiha away from the ex-Root member. Still, for the first time in his life, he was forced to question the size of his manhood with great concern...

Nevertheless, with each passing day his resenting thoughts found their way back to Sakura. His condition wasn't much better than the first time she had been through there. A number of medics had followed up, but of course the ever so regal Uchiha sent them all away due to their clear incapabilities. Not to mention the myriad of times Naruto spoke of her magnificent medical expertise. "Teme," he could hear the nettlesome voice of the aspiring-Hokage in his head, "you wouldn't believe how much Sakura-chan could help you! She really has grown since you left," and Naruto would sigh in admiration, making Sasuke's skin crawl.

It seemed unreal to Sasuke. He thought back to the countless times that he was forced to intervene, putting his life in jeopardy just to save this stupid girl. This thoughtless girl who cried constantly. This idiotic girl who didn't understand when she was not wanted. This stubborn girl who threw herself into impossible situations. This useless girl.

Naruto sat at the window, rattling on and on about things that Sasuke made no attempt to share interest in. Occasionally, he would mention people that Sasuke knew quite well yet had forgotten of their existence almost entirely. Kiba. Shino. Hinata. Neji. Lee. Shikamaru. For a split second, Sasuke envied his blonde, spiky-headed friend. These were bonds that, had they been sustained, could have been not just friendships but strong alliances. Friends, he said in his mind, holding back a scoff.

The pain in his abdomen had not surpassed in the week since his interrogation, nor had the bruising along his back. That damn Ibiki and his overly brutal way, Sasuke had certainly underestimated the large nin when he had first seen him at the chuunin exams. The scarred man may have looked like he was trying to overcompensate for a lack of something, but he certainly wasn't. He was the real deal. Sasuke cringed as he sat forward from his partially sleeping his state. As he opened his weary eyes, it struck him.

He could hardly see.

"Naruto?" he was tempted to call out as he stared aimlessly out into the blur in front of him. It had been quite some time that Naruto had been talking, he stood to make his leave.

"I have to go to our weekly meditation group," the toe-headed teenager explained, "Yeah, that's something else we started doing, but I might be back later!"

Sasuke's eyes followed the orange and black blur to the door before he muttered, "Naruto." A pair of blue dots faced him, and he sighed, "Fetch me Sakura. It's urgent."