Warning: There is a bit of KakaSasu in here, but this will eventually become SasuNaru.
A/N: Reviews would be lovely.

Chapter 1: A Troubled Prince

The air was cool, dark and silent.

Sasuke stood motionless by the edge of the long glass-paned window, looking down on his newly founded empire. It stretched far into distance, extending many miles further than his vision could reach.

It was late evening, and faint peeks of the setting sun bathed workers and machinery in a dull pink glow. From Sasuke's vantage point, as he gazed down from the highest tower in the palace, they looked like tiny silhouettes toiling to a tune, and an ideal he had created.

A formidable kingdom was in the making.

The image soothed him somewhat, momentarily dispelling what had been on his mind for the past few weeks. Allowing himself to forget his troubles for the moment, he let his gaze travel into the distance.

The furthest he could see to his right were vast, arid lands, which represented what used to be Wind Country before. There, the civilians' well being had been taken care of, and a year after the war, their lives had almost gone back to normal. Construction of the city center was soon to be complete.

His capital, and the palace he resided in, was located in the central, Fire Country of the old. Due to war and a good number of careful reasons, the original population of Fire Country did not live here any longer, having migrated to Tea and Sea, further down south of Fire. When Sasuke's Northern Empire Army had reached Fire two years back, the place and environs were already greatly changed beyond his recognition.

The impressive hokage faces etched in mountain rock, one of the few things from Konoha Sasuke still remembered vividly in his mind, had been obliterated.

A landmark meant to remain for time immemorial was gone. Sasuke had felt a strange and unwelcome relief from the fact. He'd found it easier to wipe out the last remnants of Fire with his new army, knowing that.

Now, Fire sported a new look, a look completely alien to the ninja era.

Old-fashioned architecture and ancient landmarks of wood and stone were demolished and replaced with metal, glass and marble. Impossibly even, impeccable concrete streets paved the old ways of cobblestones and dirt. Buildings were precisely rectangular blocks, each level being exactly the same size as the next. There were no stairs, but elevators were everywhere. Designs, names, words, signposts were nonexistent. Each way a person looked, the highly reflective surface of a nondescript glass building winked in the sunlight.

The people were slowly getting used to his city. And there were many others who didn't want it any other way.

Sasuke's face broke into a faint smile.

His new empire was ideal for the world. He could see clearly that the strength of machines was the future. Ninjas and hidden villages held no power. Jutsus had their strengths, but they also possessed infinite weaknesses, like the fact that their energies originated within the human ninja himself. The major flaw was that humans were not perfect, unlike machines.

In a long, cold and hard war, they lost terribly.

With his strength and his skill he would create a new era; with it would be the rise of the machines. Ninja techniques would be developed more mechanically and modified to his liking. And the enormous range of techniques already existing needed refining to increase efficiency for specific purposes. Sasuke wanted things to be planned and arranged, such that each person in his city would have a meaning to his life, contributing to the existence of his empire.

Only he was capable of changing the world.

Agonizingly, not all of the world was in his clutches yet. Directly southwards was a place that remained free due to his choice. Why did he choose to leave it to till last? Why was it still unmarred? Those were very good questions… and ones he wanted to ask himself. The answers lay buried and trapped deep within the confines of his heart. Dangerous memories threatened to flood him…

but they didn't come.

The wall in his mind that he had perfected over the years stood. He had become too used to blocking out that part of his history. Not thinking about it was an automatic reflex.

Sasuke simply couldn't bring himself to invade that place. Doing so would allow those memories to resurface, and what would become of him then? He'd come so far only because he'd staunchly, forcefully expelled his past from his mind.

If it all came back… all would be for naught.He was at an impasse.

The last beams of the setting sun faded from view, and the stars slowly came alive in the sky. The room grew steadily darker. Sasuke stared unmoving at the glass pane of his window, where his reflection was visible against the black night sky.

For a split second, it leapt out at him in a way that made him feel suddenly uncomfortable.

When had his skin taken on that grayish pale shade? It was the very tone of sickness and death. And his eyes… they looked black and lifeless, almost like those of a dead insect. And for his face, it was as expressive as a mummified corpse. He didn't even look ill. He was beyond looking ill.

Perhaps he was insane.

That made sense.

If so, then this insanity had scarred him so deeply and completely he wasn't even aware of it. It had seeped in gradually as the years passed. If he really thought about it, it could have started when he first set out to conquer the main countries of the world. He didn't think he was quite himself at that time.

Or it could have been earlier, during the time he avenged his dead clan, and afterwards, felt the agony of being more truly alone in the world than he'd ever imagined. Oh, that loneliness was unforgettable; it had been a long and painful and terrible one.

But he got over it, anyway.

No, it had to have happened ages before that. Years and years ago it seemed… during the short period of his later childhood, when he had done it. The act which broke his mind. It had been something purely selfish and impulsive on his part, and he'd paid for it with the consequences. A not quite sane mind, and haunting memories locked up inside… After all, it had been an unforgivable, yet inevitable act…

Sasuke's brain closed up fast, like a clasp that had just been fastened in place, before he could be flooded with the deluge of memories. Preventing him from getting hurt again.

An agonizing pain numbed his mind. He remained eerily calm and still, absorbing it like it was welcome relief from something much worse. Days could have passed while he was in this state, for all he knew.

Insane or no, this was what he had forced himself to become.

It was who he was. And it was good. It was the path he had chosen, and he would embrace it. Physical pain meant little, when it was infinitely better than other sorts of pain. Especially those hurting close to the region of his heart. As his mind barrier was perfected, his heart hardened further into something akin to stone. Feelings no longer bothered him.

Just the way he liked it.

Abruptly, footsteps were heard along the hallway. Sasuke's ears tuned in to the outside world at once, focusing on them. Quick and heavy, the footsteps were ridiculously easy for him to catch. They stopped outside his door to his mild annoyance, so that he had to answer the faint knock. It was no one of great importance, a simple manservant.

He answered carelessly, faintly disappointed but not caring why. Sasuke was in no mood to entertain humans in any case. Suigetsu was put in charge for a purpose, and the purpose was to give Sasuke personal time. He had some very important thinking that needed to be done at the moment.

Sasuke decided the next person to disturb his peace was going to regret he ever lived.

He resumed his place by the window, and fell to contemplating the faint constellations in the black night sky. Seconds passed. Minutes. Or maybe hours. What was certain was that he made his final conclusion then. And as he did, the indecision, which had been plaguing him for the past weeks, disappeared. All was profoundly simple suddenly.

His brain cleared. He could finally move on.

It was then that he registered another presence in his room. Instinctually, he let loose six tiny shuriken, which missed their target and embedded themselves deeply in the door. Said target had moved speedily out of the way to avoid them. Sasuke was about to launch into another attack when he recognized the intruder.

Kakashi.

He couldn't believe it. Anyone else would have been lying in their own blood, most probably dead by now. Sasuke constantly kept at least twenty shurikens on his person, even if he looked weaponless. And he could have, without a doubt, killed in many other different ways without one. He felt slightly put off.

"You're lucky to still be alive, Kakashi," Sasuke said. It was partly a warning. "How long have you been standing there?"

Kakashi didn't say a word. He just looked at him. As usual, the man's face was partially covered by a dark mask, so his features remained distinctly unreadable. He stood in the darkened portion of the room, where the light didn't reach him and the shadows enveloped his form. Somehow, he managed to appear utterly detached from the present, even if he was standing only a few feet away from Sasuke.

His habits had not changed at all. One of them was not speaking up when he was spoken too, and the other was appearing out of thin air. Sasuke decided to await his reply with a certain amount of patience, as well as the reason for his sudden appearance.

A long, immense moment passed. Kakashi could be very stubborn if he wanted to.

And sometimes he just liked to stare.

If only Sasuke could imagine what the man was thinking.

Kakashi loved to stare at Sasuke for hours on end, quietly, unblinkingly, with not a sound escaping his lips. He never grew tired of this, looking at Sasuke. Instead, his frequent habit evolved to a hobby. And it all had to do with the object of his affections, of course.

Something about the way Sasuke was so oblivious at times.

Sasuke, Prince of the Northern Empire, was never fully aware of the fact that he possessed looks that were so very beautiful. Far more beautiful, in fact, than could be expected of one belonging to the male species. And he hadn't a clue. As a boy he'd seduced his elders, and now, as the master of them all, his charm was even more dangerous and infallible than ever. He never learnt. It was funny, the way he didn't realize this, when he did almost all other things. Sasuke seldom looked in a mirror. He seldom thought about his physical self.

He wasn't one to obsess over anything superficial, actually.

Surely he could not begin to comprehend how much he affected those around him. In his twenty-four years, he'd caused a good many to fall madly, recklessly and unwisely in love with him. And Kakashi had to watch him turn them away carelessly, coldly, saying the same words each time. It had never been his intention in the first place. They must stop behaving in this way. What was wrong with them? If they insisted on going after him, he would find someone to replace them.

Oh, he was such an innocent heartbreaker! His attractiveness was never a deliberate weapon, yet it was deadlier than all the venom existing in the world.

In Kakashi's many long years of knowing Sasuke, the young man's face had not taken on much change. Gazing at it now, it remained the face of a boy he had first beheld twelve years ago, and had gradually come to love in later months. Its shape had grown leaner as time went by, as Sasuke's weariness with life caught up with him, but that was only to be expected. And now his cheekbones stood out more prominently than ever, though these only made his face more exquisite and fascinating. As for his lovely, deep eyes, they were still twin masses of quiet mystery in his fair face, and the hair that fell softly over them and capped his head luxuriously was midnight black. Lastly there was his alluring ivory skin, the chief glory, which so many lusted after… even Kakashi could not deny he was one of them.

Sasuke was indeed a fine Prince.

But looks aside, Kakashi was worried for him. Sasuke's state of mind definitely took precedence.

He found his tongue at last.

"Sasuke, is there something behind this fearsome and huge killing intent of yours?" he asked mildly. Sasuke was a vision, but he was also a vision letting off a dangerous, unholy vibe. It was so strong it made even Kakashi, a man of substantial powers, feel uneasy. This had to stop. Kakashi could only imagine what the other servants had been through these past few weeks. He was sure it had been hell. Waiting on someone like Sasuke was not a matter to be laughed at.

Sasuke didn't reply straight away.

He looked at Kakashi for a short while, face guarded. When he spoke, the words were infused with a tinge of steel. "Why don't you tell me?" His features were calm, just like the stillness of the sea before a storm. Suddenly Kakashi could bear the distance between them no longer.

He made a conscious decision to move, and the next moment, he was standing in front of his old pupil, clothes settling faintly.

"I know what you're thinking," he said seriously. His breath stirred the black tendrils at the crown of the dark head.

Sasuke stood absolutely still, and then he drew in a long, shuddering breath, as if to clear his head. Sasuke had never been used to proximity. It was one of his endearing traits.

And at the sight of Sasuke, so near and yet so distant, looking so damn gorgeous in his mute silence, Kakashi couldn't restrain himself any longer. Removing his mask in one swift motion, he dipped his head down to nuzzle the warm, creamy skin at the collarbone, delighting in breathing in the scent that was Sasuke, and Sasuke only.

He had truly missed him.

Sasuke closed his eyes, reveling in the soft touch. It was only Kakashi, his constant, wise companion, who was allowed this kind of rare intimacy. Kakashi, who knew virtually everything there was to know about him. The past that Sasuke never ceased fighting to forget was no mystery to Kakashi. And Kakashi was as his unofficial advisor (and General), the only confidant he had, the only person whom he trusted implicitly.

They had been together for as far back as he could remember. There wasn't a time when Kakashi hadn't been there for him during the years in his rise to power. Kakashi was strong. He was always by his side, and he was the closest Sasuke got to loving anyone, after he had abandoned the old dreams and meaningless relationships.

His breath shivered slightly, even as he felt himself relax. "I don't doubt it, Kakashi."

Kakashi didn't move from where he was. Embracing this exquisite, powerful creature in his arms, being allowed to caress the smooth, white skin, to inhale the scent of one so young and gifted… It was enough to make any saner being go mad. This was something he had been waiting for, for so long, so very long… I

nstinctively, he cursed his rash impulse.

It wasn't right. Hadn't he said that to himself a million times before? He shouldn't think of Sasuke this way. Sasuke was too young for him, and too inexperienced in matters of the heart, and most importantly, Sasuke belonged entirely to someone else. He didn't think anybody knew, and true enough no one else guessed, but it was Kakashi they were talking about here, and Kakashi knew him even better than Sasuke knew himself.

And then Kakashi realized he couldn't stop himself saying it. "I know, Sasuke. You're thinking of something that should never have been erased from that clever mind of yours in the first place."

At his words, Sasuke stilled. He felt his heart literally miss a beat.

He pushed away from Kakashi a little more violently than he meant to, and glared into the eyes of the man before him, alive as he hadn't felt in days. And to think, only moments before, he'd thought he looked dead and lifeless.

"What is it? What do you mean to say?" Sasuke demanded, the cool tones slipping from his voice.

Kakashi looked amused at his reaction. It was impossible to know what he was thinking. He was such an impossible man! It made Sasuke fume. And then he realized Kakashi was talking on, in his usual authoritative manner.

"Sasuke, we can't stay stagnant forever. Both you and I know that. You have had more than a year to think through this. Any longer, and you'll go mad. It's time you decided. Either move southwards to extend this wonderful empire of yours such that it occupies all the areas on the map, or make peace with the remaining lands," Kakashi said. He paused, letting the words sink into the young man before him.

"Otherwise, we might come to regret leaving them alone. Time breeds evil."

His words seemed to echo hollowly as Sasuke stared at him.

Kakashi waited.

Then Sasuke reached out in a motion too quick for him to catch, wrapping his arms around the taller man's neck in a tight embrace. Tiptoeing slightly, he brought his mouth to Kakashi's ear, where he whispered, "I'll have you know, I made this decision long before you even stepped into the room."

Releasing his hold and retreating a respectful distance so that Kakashi could not reach out for him, Sasuke's tone turned formal. "General Hatake, we will commence attack on Tea Country in two days, moving in by the land route. You will be coming with me this time. Prepare for battle."

Kakashi's face was impassive throughout all this.

Turning to gaze upon his immense empire, Sasuke said, "Inform Suigetsu immediately of his new orders as army general. And have my office know, I will resume my position tomorrow."

Kakashi looked at Sasuke's back. These days, Sasuke looked and acted more like his brother. It was uncanny, that he came to loathe a person whom he resembled so much, in so many ways, big and little. Well, what was past was past. Itachi would never come back, and Kakashi was only concerned with the future. Truth be told, he was very concerned with what the future might hold for his dear Prince of the Northern Empire, and whether he had the strength enough to deal with it.

But perhaps he would leave things as they were today. Sasuke had come back to the world of the living, and that was enough. The problems he foresaw could wait another night.

"Very well, my Prince," Kakashi said, and he left the room.

The tears standing in the black eyes were left unshed.

-To be continued-