Hey guys! I'm really happy with how this one turned out after the editing process, before there was just so much wrong with it that it was somewhat painful, bad grammar, the text had been checked over and had errors and in general there just seemed to be alot lacking. I hope I've managed to really flesh it out and give a bit more depth and world building! Thought it did go from 3,328 words all the way up to 8000...whoops.


Chapter 2 - Ravens and Maelstroms

Sasuke had awoken early like every morning since his plans began, it had been four weeks since then and the raven hadn't enjoyed a single moment of it. The last Uchiha had been plagued by terrifying paranoia, he felt watched, monitored, like his every move was being observed, he'd been struggling valiantly just to keep his mind calm and collected. Sasuke knew that he wouldn't last much longer in these conditions, the raven needed hope, he needed an escape, he knew he had to leave Konoha.
'Hn...at least it seems I am alone this morning.' The raven thought thankfully as he looked around nervously for any signs of ANBU that may be lingering around the Uchiha compound.

He slid open the simple wooden door leading to his back garden, noting that the morning sun hadn't even risen in the steely blue, dull morning sky yet. The raven had found himself enjoying this time of day, much like his brother Itachi used to, perhaps it was an Uchiha thing? The silent mornings were so peaceful that it helped Sasuke to be calm and think rationally, the tranquillity only being complimented by the occasional singing bird or the relaxing backing track of the garden pond's flowing water. He noted that the plants in the serene garden seemed to be losing their beauty, wilting and becoming almost dead, a deep frown sat upon his features as he realised this,
'Tch...how Kaa-san managed to keep them healthy I will never know.' He mused with an irritable frown, no matter what he had tried, he just didn't seem to have the same prowess for gardening that Mikoto had.

Shaking his head to dispel the random train of thought, Sasuke sat down comfortably on his garden porch feeling somewhat like a monk as he sat in an Indian style, meditating with his eyes firmly closed and immersing himself in deep thinking. His investigations over these last few weeks had been subtle, the raven had done his best to act 'normal' whenever he exited his home within the Uchiha compound, still he had discovered that using his clan status as a means of gathering Intel a very useful thing.

First of all Sasuke considered all of the upcoming kunoichi, for some reason he naturally deduced that it would be better that he travel with a female if possible, he felt that somehow it would provide a more varied set of skills, Sasuke's mother always seemed to be far better at being compassionate than his father after all, the raven had wondered if women were simply naturally superior in this respect, it would be great to have someone with strong negotiation or medical skills. Sasuke shook his head indiscriminately, all of the Hokages so far were men, surely they must also be well versed in negotiations and compassion,
'Hn...perhaps it was only Tou-san that could act so coldly...' Sasuke considered a little sadly at the thoughts of his father, still he went back to the matters at hand.

To his disappointment, the kunoichi hopefuls of a similar age to him had all been branded as a lost cause, they simply weren't interested in training, none of them pushed themselves to the limit attempting to gain strength and power like he did so himself. The raven felt as though he had matured after pushing aside the loss of his clan and the confusion of emotions that thoughts of his older brother brought with them, Sasuke had recently been feeling at peace to the extent that he was actually starting to remind himself of Itachi even despite his paranoia. Still he couldn't help but harshly critique the girls of his age, perhaps they would grow up to become talented ninja, though right now the last Uchiha needed the best he could get and so far they seemed more likely to weigh him down.

He let out a hopeless sigh, deciding to go over the candidates in his head one more time, maybe he had glossed over something useful? It was best to be thorough for something like this after all. Sasuke considered time and time again that this was in fact a life changing decision, meaning it should be treated as such; he certainly wasn't going to do this half-heartedly. Leaving Konoha was no easy task, it wasn't the most powerful hidden village for nothing, he considered that if he was already a ninja then he'd be able to pass through the gates claiming he had a mission which would allow him to leave without issue, sadly this wasn't the case for the young raven.
'Of course I couldn't just march right out of the village as I am now...they would definitely know.' Sasuke suppressed a shudder at that as he managed to get a hold of himself, squashing down the feelings of anxiety as he distracted himself with the kunoichi candidates.

A brunette girl named TenTen had caught his eye, she seemed motivated which really grabbed his attention after all she was the first girl he had studied, surely he wouldn't be so lucky to find a partner so quickly? He found out that she was training to specialize in weaponry, the girl was from a civilian background with no clan techniques or specialized skills to speak of, alot to ask from a young girl certainly but this was the ninja world, anything was possible and alot of the clan children already had some knowledge of their techniques at this age, like Hyuuga Hinata, but he would get to her later.

Sadly a weapons expert was something that he didn't find to be all that extraordinary, any ninja could become a weapons user with just practice alone, he didn't believe it to be enough to become a specification nor did he believe that she was the best choice for his escape, she didn't even seem to have any reason to leave which ultimately meant Tenten was a definite no.
"Hn…despite her attitude I don't think she'd ever be of use to me." Sasuke critiqued with a frown, he considered it a shame that the girl was not into ninjutsu; she really could have been a great asset to the last Uchiha.

The shy girl named Hinata was next in the list he had created within his mind, despite her lack of confidence and skill, she did have the Byakugan which was something that he could definitely make use of in one way or another, a kekkei genkai like that was not something that he could find just anywhere. The timid Hyuuga had her fair share of hardships within her clan yet Sasuke sincerely doubted she would leave with him, besides he needed someone he could rely on, an equal, he already had a pair of special eyes. The raven knew if he took Hinata with him that he would have to train her to be at his level, another deep frown settled upon his porcelain face, how would Hinata further her Byakuugan techniques? It's not like he had that knowledge to teach her after all.

Despite this he still considered her an option, her unique fighting style and useful clan techniques were definitely not something he would shrug off, her attitude could always be altered.
"Living in the wilderness would surely change the sheltered girl…" Sasuke thought wisely, if there was one thing he knew it was that people could adapt and change to suit just about any conditions, a gentle breeze passed through his yard making him shiver slightly, he'd adapted to live in a ghost town after all.

The next young hopeful on his list was a member of the Yamanaka clan, Ino was the daughter of the clan head, Inoichi, a member of Konoha's famous Ino-Shika-Cho combo and he doubted the jounin would be too happy about him whisking away his daughter to live in the wilderness with him. Still Sasuke studied her like the rest of his targets, he paled a little with dread, just thinking of the bubbly blonde made him shudder, she was a proud fan girl that had little interest in anything but her looks and hobbies that were more suited to a civilian girls' life style, not that there was anything wrong with that particularly but it didn't exactly label her as the ideal escape candidate either.

While studying Ino, Sasuke had came across Sakura Haruno, a civilian pinkette that lacked any form of ninja training, the bookworm type girl had certainly read all about it and even tried to impress him with her knowledge of various topics, which he had found odd, especially as she had been blushing up a storm as she displayed her interest in ninja tactics. Sasuke merely dismissed it, wondering if the girl was simply she like the Hyuuga girl, he had found that Sakura didn't really have many friends except for Ino, though with the blonde dragging her everywhere she went he figured that the cherry blossom girl would soon become socially accepted and unwilling to leave the village, not that he thought she was the ideal partner in crime.

'Hn...no matter how many times I think it over, I doubt i'd consider any of these a real option...' Sasuke mused hopelessly, he folded his fingers together and rested them under his chin, a pose that he often fell into when deep in thought. With the kunoichi hopefuls clearly not up to the task he had to think up his list of the boys. He considered that it may have been easier to convince a boy to leave with him, boys usually had an innate sense of adventure, especially at a young age and leaving the village could potentially seem like a fantastic place to start a heroic journey.
'Not that there's anything particularly heroic about running away from home...' Sasuke considered with a small amused smile, the raven had to admit he was strangely excited to set off on his own into the wide open world.

Unfortunately for the last Uchiha, going over the list of boys his age seemed just as hopeless, still he knew it couldn't hurt to think it over one more time. The civilian children didn't really appeal to him, he blamed this on his Uchiha pride, he wanted the best of the best, while he didn't doubt some civilians could grow to be incredible ninja, he also knew that clan techniques were incredibly beneficial to have. Sasuke did however, despite his Uchiha 'better than you' outlook on life, give the young civilian boys a chance. He studied them just as he studied anyone else not wanting to let his arrogance cost him a vital opportunity though to his dismay most of the children seemed far more interested in hurling wooden kunai and shuriken at each other while playing hide and seek, a game that they had called 'playing ninja'.

'I don't have time to be simply playing games, if I mess this up then who knows what might happen to me...Konoha may be happy to treat me as royalty right now, treating me as the 'precious last Uchiha' but if they found I was trying to escape their clutches I doubt they would continue to act so kindly.' Sasuke hadn't been the same since his clan died and now things like playing childish games seemed so pointless to him, he needed to become strong and sometimes wondered why no one else shared his desire to become powerful. He thought back to his mental list, moving on to the boys from clans.

Some of the clan children had practiced with their clan heads which was something that he made note of, they managed to look more reliable than some of the civilian bunch at least. Shikamaru was someone he considered an option, a genius tactician would be very useful to have, he had heard rumours from the various civilians he had asked about the boy that Shikamaru was showing signs that his intelligence would rival even his father's. Sasuke smirked, it was amazing that the civilians would spill the info to him just because he was the 'last Uchiha' though he did insist that he was simply trying to get to know his academy classmates before he entered.

With one quick glance at Shikamaru, Sasuke knew there was no chance in hell of him ever becoming a runaway, the boy really wasn't the type to run away and risk everything. The shadow user was lazy, lacked any form of motivation, and only seemed to laze around staring at the clouds all day. Shikamaru's clan techniques and powerful mind would be useful one day but as the boy was now Sasuke doubted he could use any ninjutsu. Shikamaru also had loyalty to the village through his clan; he really couldn't be a viable option at this point.
'Tch...what kind of a ninja clan prides itself on being lazy anyway?' The raven wondered with confusion, he had heard that Shikamaru's father was proud of his clan's laid back attitude saying it allowed them to remain calm in any situation.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes with a sudden seriousness, Hyuuga Neji was a great find, he was named as a prodigy, topping his class in the academy in every single subject, he was the definition of a genius. He frowned at this, while Neji was certainly a genius he was also sheltered, he wondered how far he or Neji would of grown if they were thrown into war like Itachi who had managed to become a Chuunin at the age of ten.

A skilled Hyuuga was definitely an interest to him, Sasuke had confirmed his talent with his own clan's eyes. To the raven's disappointment, Neji was proud and incredibly brash. He doubted that he would become someone he could rely on unless something severe happened to change his attitude, but the raven considered the possibility that Neji's strength would make up for it. The boy even seemed to harbour feelings of hate towards his clan, he had apparently lost his father at a young age and became incredibly bitter. After learning of the caged bird seal however, he figured that Neji could be easily taken care of by the Hyuuga clan head, should he ever try to leave the village.

Sasuke knew there was nothing he could do, Neji was a member of the branch clan, who knew what limits would be put in place in order to ensure that he didn't surpass the most elite of the main house. Sasuke considered that the boy would most likely be better off training outside of his clan if he wanted to reach his true potential. All in all though, Neji couldn't be the person Sasuke needed.

Too his surprise he hadn't been able to find out much information on Inuzuka Kiba or Aburame Shino, he had heard that Kiba's mother was highly protective of the boy to the point where the villagers daren't give him any information or gossip, in case it came back to bite them, literally. As for Shino, the stoic and serious Aburame clan had always been secretive, the young raven figured it was unlikely he was going to learn anything of use and if he was honest, the idea of being surrounded by chakra eating bugs wasn't exactly appealing.

'That leaves my most interesting candidate...if only I could find him, hn. For someone apparently so loud and obnoxious you sure are good at hiding...Naruto.' Sasuke thought with annoyance, none of the others he had studied had eluded him and it was beginning to make his life difficult, he didn't have time to sit around, he felt trapped in his own village and desperately wanted to escape as soon as possible.

Suddenly memories came to Sasuke, the memories of attempting to research the blonde that had passed him on the pier was still strangely nowhere to be found. Back then he wasn't sure the young boy was even a ninja yet he couldn't fight his curiosity when he couldn't seem to find the boy. Initially he considered this a good sign, perhaps the blonde was good at stealth, not wanting to be found by the raven, but after learning the boy was a loner with no family like himself, he thought rather coldly that perhaps the boy was already dead.

With a theory, Sasuke had sat by the pier again, at around about the same time he had first saw the blonde (who he had discovered was called Naruto) hoping to catch him once again. To his joy, Naruto walked past him, a foxy grin plastered on his tired face as he walked by with his head resting on the hands he held behind his head, Sasuke strained his unused facial muscles and had even managed to flash a small smile of his own. The Uchiha was filled with new found determination, doing whatever he could to research Naruto.

Surprisingly with little effort he learnt that the blonde's full name was Naruto Uzumaki, though most people referred to him as the demon brat of Konoha. The raven was surprised at that, the whiskered boy certainly didn't appear demon-like to him, if anything he seemed more like a happy-go-lucky bubbly blonde. This left the last Uchiha wondering if it was a compliment to the blonde's strength, though after intensive research he noticed people would also call him 'Fox-brat.' After putting two and two together Sasuke realized that the villagers were insistent that Naruto was a fox demon and the only fox demon he knew was the all powerful Kyuubi which nearly destroyed Konoha.

That was some demon he had sealed inside him. Sasuke began thinking highly of the blonde; a container of such a demon could perhaps be worthy to be his partner. Upon discovering the way the small Uzumaki was harshly treated by the villagers he had considered that Naruto probably would leave if he was ever given the opportunity. What irritated Sasuke was that he had no idea how to find the evasive boy except for waiting by the pier, and even then he wasn't sure the boy would show up.

During the time at the pier he was never able to approach the boy; in fact he was lucky if he even heard him pass by. The blonde's stealth was something that would be valued when escaping. Sasuke broke off the memories and stood, looking over his garden with determination,
"Hn. I'll find him today." Sasuke mused flatly, confident in his ability. His trademark 'Hn' was becoming more of thinking hum than a rude conversation ender. With the feeling of being watched finally getting the better of the raven, he went back inside, only to see an ANBU shunshin away out of the corner of his eye, perhaps it wasn't just paranoia after all.

Sasuke walked through the house before reaching the front entrance, although he needed to find the blonde there was something else he had to do first, he had been doing a lot more than just investigating people after all. The raven decided to head to the village wall, for a wall so large, no blind spots would be unlikely, he'd take the time to study it, he needed the best chance possible if he was going to escape successfully. He frowned as he strapped on his ninja pouch, it felt light weight signify it was free of any equipment,
'Hn, looks like I better stock up...I'm not sure what condition the weapons in the Uchiha armoury are in so I guess my first stop will be the market.' The Uchiha realized before heading out with a hopeful expression, he was getting closer to his goal, he could feel it, he'd make his escape for sure.

Naruto had been incredibly busy. All of his things had been sealed, he smiled down at his desolate apartment, all that was left was his furniture which he obviously wouldn't be taking with him, this was his ingenious plan to cut down on weight when leaving the village. He loaded up a simple black backpack with the scrolls, grinning as he realised he still had plenty of room to spare and couldn't help but chuckle when he realized the bag was still feather light. However this wasn't the only thing that had been keeping the blonde so busy lately.

His hellish training could be mentioned, but most of his time was consumed doing strenuous research, he found this difficult with his 'demon brat / prankster ' status and spying on villagers was much too suspicious for his reputation. Something that Naruto did manage to discover was that the raven haired boy he'd seen by the pier appeared to be doing the same thing as him, only with a lot more success.

This was essentially something that the Uzumaki could use for himself. Not willing to pass up an advantage, he followed in the shadows as the boy gained information, using his prestigious clan status and what Naruto believed to be charisma to get what he wanted. Naruto decided he would be able to get what he wanted by just using his stealth, it was perfect!

Although this wasn't his preferred method of reconnaissance, he had to admit that it worked, Naruto had figured that pretty much all of his other candidates would be semi-useful at best.
"Although I don't really think they'd have much reason to leave anyway...especially not with me" Naruto thought with a frown, rubbing the back of his head a little disheartened by the revelation.

The only interesting candidate was the raven haired boy, who he now knew was Sasuke Uchiha, or 'the last remaining Uchiha' as the villagers called him. To Naruto's surprise there were rumors that he had already awakened the Sharingan.
'Man...having a cool bloodline at such a young age, if we teamed up we'd be the strongest most bad ass ninja ever!' Naruto beamed with excitement, he knew that Sasuke would be the person he could rely on, he could just feel it!

'And it will be all thanks to me, you're lucky to have such an incredible teacher you know...'Kyuubi replied softly, he could feel her tails swishing around within the mindscape, the common sign that she was teasing him, Naruto frowned with a huff giving her the reaction she had wanted,
'Hey I work hard! It's not just because of you! And what about Sasuke? He trains all by himself!' Naruto yelled back angrily while folding his arms across his chest, pouting at the fox demon in a childish manner.
'Oh what's this? Defending the Uchiha child already...hmhmhm, my, my, Naru-chan I didn't realise you had already made up your mind about the boy, awhh could it be you want to be his friend~?'
Kyuubi smirked happily, continuing to tease the innocent blonde who only flushed with anger, his face becoming red with embarrassment as he let out another angry huff.
'W-Whatever! Like I care about that...I just need someone strong so we can leave!' He spat back desperately, even he knew his act was pretty lackluster but thankfully the fox relented, they both knew Naruto had always wanted to make a friend or at least someone to spend time with.

At first Naruto had thought the young Uchiha would be difficult to be around, he seemed stuck up and secretive, cold and impassive. He idly wondered if all Uchiha were like this but shook his head from the thoughts. As he gazed around his empty apartment he remembered how his opinion of Sasuke slowly changed as he had spent time following him around.

The young Uzumaki couldn't help but be reminded of himself in some ways, Sasuke was hard working pushing himself to the point where he would often collapse in his training grounds, it usually made Naruto anxious, wondering if he should take the boy to a hospital or not, especially as the young Uchiha usually managed to cover himself in cuts or bruises. After seeing the boy train for the majority of the day, Naruto had to think long and hard about which one of them would win if they were to fight, but his efforts were in vain and he soon gave up.

Naruto had wondered why Sasuke had been learning all about his future class mates, the raven's given excuse just didn't make any sense, anyone with any social sense could tell that there was no way in hell Sasuke was looking to make friends, that just wasn't believable, at least not to the blonde. Shaking his head Naruto silently denied it, the Uchiha had been suspiciously anxious, looking around at the village as if he was being watched at all times, he was definitely up to something.

He allowed a deep frown to fall upon his face at that, the blonde glanced over at his notes he had made about various people of his age, he was so sure that Sasuke had the same idea in mind, he was willing to bet everything he had that the Uchiha was preparing to leave the village yet he wasn't one hundred percent certain. Today he would follow the raven as usual, this time to learn if his plans were similar to his own.

A firm but gentle knock on the door shook him from his thoughts, a visitor? His eyes shot to his rather suspicious backpack and collection of notes that were sprawled out across his small brown coffee table that was situated in his humble living room.
"Naruto? Are you in there?" The gruff but kind voice questioned from outside the door, knocking again for good measure, the Hokage was still under the impression that Naruto would sleep in late, despite the fact that the blonde would often be awake at six am to start his training.
"Ahhh-ah? Yeah i'm here Jiji! One second I need to find my key!" Naruto panicked, quickly throwing his black backpack under his bed and slamming the door of his bedroom shut tight.

Naruto froze suddenly, all of his notes were still on his coffee table, he hopped over to the small desk, quickly shoving the documents into a nearby book and then hiding it under one of the seats of his worn brown couch,
"Man! Where could it be!? Damned key, when I find you, you'll be sorry!" Naruto acted badly, he heard a small chuckle from outside that made him sigh with relief, that was until he heard the door slowly unlocking, he'd forgotten the Hokage carried his own key to the apartment after all.
"Yatta! Got it!...oh, Old man! Why didn't you just come inside in the first place?!" Naruto gave his best embarrassed foxy grin while crouching under the coffee table, it looked as if the blonde had just found the key on the floor.

The third just let out a grumbling chuckle, shaking his head softly at the boys antics, to Naruto's shock, the man wore a sudden deep frown, he glanced around the apartment and immediately the blonde knew the Hokage was suspicious of it being so empty.
"Hmm...Naruto, did you receive your funds this month? I have to say, your apartment seems rather barren." The wise elder commented with concern as he looked over to the now standing blonde.

Naruto just rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, acting as innocently as he could, he knew the old man could never see through his act of being a clumsy, over enthusiastic ninja wannabe which served as some advantage to him, but the look of concern on the old man's face filled him with guilt.
"Ahh...haha...Well I got it but, I kinda used it buying shuriken and kunai so I could practice." The Uzumaki muttered in an embarrassed manner as best he could, he had always been a convincing actor.

"Surely a few tools would be inexpensive? The stipend you receive should allow you more than enough to survive on, ninja tools included. Perhaps there is something else going on here that you're not telling me Naruto?" The wise elder asked with a firm gaze, Naruto could tell the man was concerned for his well being but still that hardened shinobi stare made him feel small as if lying wasn't a good idea.

"Well...I guess the villagers don't really like me that much, I don't get it! I know I do pranks n' stuff but still! Whenever I buy stuff from them they always say I have to pay more cause i'm a fox brat? Like what the hell do they mean old man? I look nothing like a fox!" Naruto explained dumbly, frowning deeply and squinting his eyes, he knew it was easy to tell when someone was lying just by looking into their eyes, especially for someone of the Hokage's caliber. The blonde hated to do this to the old man he saw as a grandfather figure, Naruto knew the man would soon give up on any conversation that would make him shed light on the Kyuubi and he felt manipulative for using it to get him out of trouble.

"Hmmm, well I wouldn't worry too much about that Naruto, I shall see to it that this doesn't happen again, I am glad to see you are well at least." The elderly man offered with a kind smile, Naruto happily grinned back at the caring man, before sadly realising that soon he would no longer be around, when he left the village the third Hokage would be but a memory.
"Perhaps we will have time to visit that ramen stand you so enjoy this week, hm?" Hiruzen grumbled happily making the young Uzumaki feel another pang of guilt and regret,
"Sure thing old man! Your treat!" He gave the biggest foxy grin he could manage as the elder man let out a booming chuckle before turning on his heel to leave.

When the door gently shut behind him Naruto slumped down on the couch with a heavy heart, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned a milky white, he bit back his tears that threatened to fall, for some reason he had never considered Old Man Hokage in his plans to leave the village and now that he had, he realized just how much it hurt. After a few minutes of pain he stood with determination, no matter what he couldn't subject himself to living in Konoha any longer. He left his apartment, slamming the door behind him, nothing would stop him from leaving.

The whiskered boy laid lazily in a tree, insisting to Kyuubi that it was definitely a very important personal mission. After a few hours of lying there happily in relaxation, he saw his target, the small Uchiha walked into a store and minutes later came out with a plain black backpack. The blonde raised an eye brow in curiosity, watching on as Sasuke entered a weapons store, purchasing a suspicious amount of kunai and shuriken; it was an excessive amount for training purposes alone. The boy also went on to add steel ninja wire to his backpack, which perked Naruto's interest.

What he saw next though confirmed his thoughts, Sasuke was trying to escape just like he was. He stared on as the raven headed casually over to the village wall, unaware that the blonde was observing him intently. The Uchiha headed down some of the narrow cuts and alleys instead of taking a more direct route which seemed peculiar to Naruto at first, it would take the raven longer to reach the wall like this, was the boy really so anxious? Then it clicked together in Naruto's mind.

"Hmm…It seems he's trying to plot a route, well, he'll never find one as good as mine!" The blonde thought triumphantly, he was now walking along the rooftops in a bored looking manner, stretching out his legs in an over exaggerated manner while looking down at the Uchiha who seemed totally oblivious. With a sudden movement the raven snapped around, looking directly in the place Naruto had previously been.

"Phew! That was close…heh heh." Naruto mused sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck, if he hadn't quickly jumped backwards out of sight the raven would have caught him for sure.
"Guess I'll have to be more careful…" He considered cheekily before trailing the Uchiha once again, maybe he wasn't so oblivious after all. Sasuke had made it to the edge of the wall now, seeing this Naruto leapt into a nearby tree, taking a comfortable seat on a high branch hidden by leaves while watching the boy with amusement.

Sasuke was slowly walking along the wall with a bored look on his face, his hand was trailing along the huge monument as he walked, the raven seemed to be checking for something with a great amount of care. Every so often Naruto noted that the boy seemed to glance towards the guards, then would quickly return to studying the wall, taking extra care to study cracks that had formed along the village's defense.

"So that's what he's doing…" Naruto realized as a foxy grin formed on his face, some what proud of the Uchiha, he seemed to be passing all of the blonde's tests and was clearly showing his intelligence,
"Seem's like he's even better than I thought he'd be!" Naruto declared happily while continuing to study the onyx eye'd boy that was carefully patrolling the village wall,
"Perhaps he will make a good ally after all…"Kyuubi agreed thoughtfully, leaving Naruto nodding his head in approval, the blonde knew he'd had a good feeling about Sasuke.

"I have to be careful…if someone notices that I'm studying the guards I could be in trouble…" Sasuke reminded himself cautiously, things had been going too well, for a village that probably wanted him dead he knew that he had to be on his toes at all times otherwise he might not be the last Uchiha for much longer.
"Hmph…perhaps they were planning to test my loyality in the academy…hn, I'll be long gone by then."Sasuke thought with confidence, his views of Konoha had been completely warped after reading his father's scroll, there was no way he could live out a regular, peaceful, Itachi killing life here anymore.

"Well, here goes nothin'." Naruto thought with a deep breath preparing himself before transforming into his disguise. With a puff of smoke he became a bland looking jounin with almost no memorable features. He wore the standard green flak jacket, usual black combat pants complete with bandages and kunai pouch and wore his head band around his arm. The only thing of any note was the navy blue bandana that covered his blonde locks. Now that he was henged, Naruto could approach the raven without an issue, any on lookers would find it strange for Naruto to be lurking near the village walls after all.

While confronting the small uchiha infront of him, he couldn't help think that it was strange being so tall all of a sudden, he even had to look down to the Uchiha's unkempt midnight hair as he spoke,
"Hey…Sasuke , is it?" The Jonin questioned lazily, causing the boy in question to turn snap to attention, freezing in realization, it was clearer now that Sasuke was obviously on edge. Instead of answering, Sasuke just looked at the man, hoping that he would continue. While trailing along the wall he had been watching the patrol patterns and not only that, he had been scoping the area, searching for a path he could use to escape the village without using the main roads that were heavily patrolled even at night. Sasuke was currently having great difficulty with this, he didn't know the winding alley ways and cuts well, his parents had always told him to avoid them after all.

"What are you doing all the way out here? You must be bored senseless." The Jonin said kindly with a smile, it was infectious and for some reason the Uchiha felt his lips tug upwards. Sasuke decided he would answer half truthfully, a ninja tactic he had learnt from trial and error when telling stretched truths to Itachi, but even then it only worked some of the time and he was sure Itachi was just letting him get away with it.

"I was studying the wall, I thought with It being so large it must have weaknesses, if I found any I could inform the Hokage. The wall protects the village after all." Sasuke spoke slowly and stoically, not daring to add emotion to his voice in case he gave something away. He was nervous about this, his paranoia driving him wild as the Jonin seemed to be contemplating something, he had felt uneasy around authority ever since he had read his father's scroll.

"Ahhh, its that so? It's always nice to see the next generation so eager to protect their village." Naruto replied warmly with a grin plastered across his face still under the guise of the Jonin, this seemed to ease the fretting boy a little but he needed something that would tell the boy he was also planning to escape without being considered suspicious. Suddenly the idea clicked in his head, if he could help Sasuke in some way then perhaps he would be a little more trusted, and display that he was useful all in one move. Still he'd have to reveal himself eventually, he only wanted to use his disguise to avoid suspicion from the wall guards after all.

"Hmm, how about I accompany you?" The Jonin questioned with a gentle smile, he didn't look threatening but Sasuke wasn't fooled yet he was in no position to turn the high ranking man away.
"Thanks. " The raven answered shortly. Soon the two of them were walking along the great wall that protected the village, Sasuke had made sure to feel along the wall, keeping up his act as they went. Annoyingly it had now become increasingly difficult to monitor the patrols thanks to the Jonin accompanying him, he didn't dare peer up at the patrol for gaps in case the jounin had figured him out.

They had walked some distance then the Jonin suddenly stopped, earning the suspicion of the young uchiha. Sasuke froze in place, staring at the Jonin expectedly, who then slightly titled his head towards the huge wall. Immediately Sasuke saw what he was looking for all along, this section of the wall had no patrols, he was sure that he could make it over this section, using the buildings that were the closest to the wall that he had seen all day. The Uchiha frowned deeply, who was this guy?

"Whoever this person is, he's been planning." Sasuke thought as calmly as he could manage, he had to admit he was a little on guard and obviously suspicious of the man, suddenly he blinked in surprise when with a puff smoke the Jonin disappeared. In place of the man was a miniature blonde, who he instantly recognized as Naruto Uzumaki, the boy he had been searching for the last few days. As the smoke cleared he saw the boy grinning widely staring back at him with kind cerulean eyes.

"Hey." Naruto greeted happily with a large smile on his face, Sasuke was shocked, he'd been fooled, though he accepted his defeat quickly with a smirk as he considered it an advantage, the person that had tricked him was the person he had been searching for, so it had saved him the effort at least.
He seemed knowledgeable in an escape route too, which instantly made him a valuable ally.
"I guess my search is over? Still, best to be on guard." Sasuke mused as a smirk spread across his features, he felt it, a strange quickening of his heart beat as adrenalin rushed through his body, he was finally going to escape the village.

"Hn. I've been looking for you Naruto." The Uchiha spoke confidently, hoping to surprise the blonde with the fact that he knew who he was, he ran a hand through his midnight hair trying to relieve some of the anxiety he'd had from walking alongside a jounin for so long.
"I know...I've been watching you the whole time" Naruto replied with a knowing laugh which only served to make the proud Uchiha glare at him with mock distaste,
"You really helped me out with gettin' to know any possible allies, but I was watching the best person the whole time, talk about lucky!" Naruto chirped enthusiastically to the not so happy looking Uchiha.

"Hn. Well at least I know your not useless." Sasuke spat calmly as he began to walk away from the unmanned segment of the wall they had traveled to. He frowned deeply, not allowing his paranoia of the village to fade, If what he'd found about Naruto was correct, the boy wanted to become Hokage, which by default meant he would be loyal to Konoha.
"Why should i trust you?" Sasuke questioned while raising an eyebrow in curiosity at the blonde, the raven knew he wasn't the easiest person to win over even on the best of days, so being paranoid only made it worse. He let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding in, attempting to calm himself a little but still obviously on edge.

Naruto simply frowned at this, for some reason that wasn't what he'd expected from the stoic raven,
"Whaddya mean why should you trust me?! Why shouldn't you trust me!? I helped you out right?" The blonde huffed childishly, folding his arms and pouting as if to get his point across but he felt onyx eyes studying him, Sasuke didn't buy it.
"Hn, so you just happened to see me studying the wall? Also you've been tracking my movements, you say it was for your own gain but that could simply be an interrogation technique to gain a common ground with me." The Uchiha mechanically analysed causing the Uzumaki to raise a curious eyebrow his mouth slightly ajar in shock.

"Hmm..." Naruto frowned deeply, his eyes closing in a deep squint as he stroked his chin in a thinking manner, this wasn't what he'd prepared for at all but it was true, Sasuke had no real reason to trust someone that coincidentally knew an escape route from the village, if anything that only made him more suspicious.

"Well you found out stuff 'bout me too right? You should be able to figure out why i know this stuff right?!" Naruto replied confidently, he puffed out his chest a little, thinking he'd won but Sasuke just glared at him coldly.
"I also know your dream is to become the Hokage." He shot back with a proud smirk, the raven knew his research was thorough, whatever the blonde came up with he'd be able to counter with ease,
"Tch! Why the hell would I wanna be the Hokage?! The damn villagers kick my ass everyday! You think i wanna be the guy that has to fight for their sake when things go bad!? What planet are you from?" Naruto leaned over, softly knocking his fist on Sasuke's forehead, using it as a make shift door.

The Uchiha growled in annoyance, okay that he wasn't expecting but still, it wasn't over just yet,
"Yeah well that's not what the villagers say, they told me how you'd run around happily shouting it wherever you went! So why should i believe anything you say to me?" Sasuke interrogated, there was no way in hell he was going to be turned in by some Hokage-wannabe, he was getting out of here.
"Hmph! I just say that crap so they don't know what i'm really like...they think i'm just some knucklehead who knows nothing about the Kyuubi, i know all about her and I've been training ever since i was young! An' your the first person that knows that so you better trust me god dammit!" Naruto growled in frustration, his stunted social skills weren't really all that prepared for a situation like this.

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at the boys sheer honesty, maybe he was just being paranoid? With a sigh he decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, if things went wrong he'd just have to deal with it, for now the blonde was his best chance of getting the hell out of here but that didn't mean he had to like it.
"Hn, whatever, just don't be so annoying, if you're always this loud then we'll never get out of here." Sasuke replied with a bored tone, shoving his hands in his pockets, turning from the blonde and walking away as if done with the blonde for today.
"Oi! Wait up! Where are you goin'!?" Naruto shouted at the ravens back, suddenly confused, how could he just end the conversation so suddenly? The blonde growled in confusion, wondering if Sasuke was always going to be so difficult to read.

Naruto rose an eyebrow in curiosity when Sasuke tilted his head forward, motioning for the Uzumaki to follow, the blonde now interested did as he was silently asked and began to walk behind the young Uchiha with his head on his hands as they went. After a while it became obvious that Sasuke was leading them to the abandoned Uchiha compound but Naruto still needed to collect his things.

Naruto wordlessly began to walk in the direction of his apartment instead of following the boy to the Uchiha compound, the raven questioned him with a glance, but saw the hand signals for 'halt' and 'river'. The message suddenly made sense to Sasuke as he translated it to mean wait at the pier, the place where they first saw each other, he smirked and gave a nod, feeling the importance of their own personal mission.

Sasuke waited as instructed, staring down at the water below the pier, the tranquil ripples did little ease his nerves. While he was calm and felt no presences nearby, he was still a little on edge, things were going so well he could practically taste his freedom. His Sharingan span as he stared down at the water, he'd activated it just to be sure no one was around, his paranoia getting the better of him as he took the first steps of what he considered to be his way out of the village.

The blonde soon came into view again, except this time he had a simple black backpack with him, much like the raven's own. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this but Naruto walked on inconspicuously as if having nothing to do with the Uchiha. After a short distance the blonde gave a subtle hand signal that indicated he was ready to proceed to the Uchiha compound. The two of them may have been over reacting yet to them it certainly felt like this was a serious ninja mission as bizarre as it may have seemed. This was definitely a mission. A mission to escape Konoha.

The two were chatting until late that night, each of them discussing the many scenarios they had came up with and planned for, each helping to spot the flaws in the others plan. Naruto's plans were some what better prepared, having an ancient demon sealed inside you was apparently more help than he let on. Still they managed to spend a little time talking about their pasts, themselves and their interests and goals, really getting to know each other better than anyone else, they decided this was necessary for full trust and the fact that they were going to be travelling together possibly for the rest of their near futures, they might as well learn to like each other.

The two decided they would rest early.
Tomorrow they would make their escape.


Hope you liked it!