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The Shadow's Monster

Chapter 2

Sasuke hadn't expected anyone to understand why he did what he did, and the fact that he was even allowed back home to Konoha was a minor miracle in his opinion. But he had been thankful for the chance to return home.

Things were rough at first, being under constant surveillance, his former schoolmates skittish at best around him. But the worst part had been the stares. Some were blatant, others tried to be subtle, waiting until he passed, but regardless, he saw them all, felt them all as they burned into his flesh. Their disgust. Contempt. Fear. He had discovered a newfound respect for Naruto, having to endure such stares for so many years, especially at such a tender age.

But eventually he found a comfortable life. He'd established a core group of trusted companions: Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and Iruka. It seemed like everything was settling down for him. He even found solace in going on missions with Kakashi.

Unfortunately, the peace he found would begin to fade after only a few years. Sakura fell in love with a medical nin from the land of Mist during a mission and relocated to his village where they were married.

Sakura had been their heart and when she left, the four men felt her absence sharply. But still their lives went on, with happy times and sad times and dangerous and boring times. It was still a life Sasuke was comfortable with and thankful to have.

But the next blow…..

With the sudden death of Iruka from a rare heart ailment, the world fell out from under all of them.

Kakashi shut down and barricaded himself in the apartment he and Iruka shared, and after a week the Hokage had ordered Gai and a few others to break in and check on him. They found Kakashi curled up in bed, unconscious, starved, unwashed. He was hugging a pillow that Gai literally had to rip from Kakashi's arms.

But the worst was yet to come.

Naruto took the passing of Iruka, his teacher, friend, and father figure, hard. At first he wouldn't stop crying and so for two days Sasuke remained at his side, not saying much, but offering a soothing presence and slipping some sleep powder in water to make sure he rested. When he woke up, Naruto seemed to sag and quiet with grief. He wouldn't speak or eat. Soon his soul weakened to the point that the Kyuubi was able to take over and it consumed Naruto.

It took Sasuke, Gai, and Tsunade to stop the Kyuubi from his murderous rampage through the village. Sasuke clutched at his chest as he recalled Naruto's last moments. Sasuke was holding Naruto within his arms as Tsunade named Naruto the next Hokage. Naruto died with a content smile, having realized his dream before dying.

With the loss of Iruka and Naruto and the disappearance of Kakashi, Sasuke lost his comfortable life. In its place he found a dark, lonely world that was cold with indifference. He wasn't sure why he kept going, day in and day out, having no one to turn to for comfort. He just knew that giving up was not an option.

Maybe this is what I deserve. I've hurt so many people in my journey for revenge. I was selfish and cruel. I abandoned them all for the sake of power and revenge. This is my punishment: to discover how much I want and need them, only to have them taken away.

Once Kakashi disappeared, shutting himself away from the world, the Hokage was faced with the difficult task of replacing one of her top shinobi. He hadn't taken on a new team of genin, but he left a sizable void. The Hokage had entrusted Sasuke to Kakashi, the pair making up their own high-caliber team. But now that Kakashi was gone, who would be his partner? Who would the Hokage trust enough, and who would be willing?

For almost a month Sasuke sat in his lonely, cold corner of the world and waited for the Hokage's decision. He didn't like the idea of working with someone other than Kakashi or Naruto but he quickly realized that during missions was the only time he felt whole and useful. He had a purpose, a goal to achieve, and he would succeed at any cost.

When he received word that he would be working with the ANBU, he was shocked. It was a tremendous responsibility and it showed the Hokage was willing to trust him. Of course, Sasuke was no fool. He realized that being ANBU meant he was completely under the Hokage's thumb and essentially being watched by her most trusted and skilled shinobi. But he would be a fool to pass up the offer. And so the next chapter in his career started.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru stared up into the clouds passing overhead, the man lying next to him becoming an overwhelming presence he could no longer ignore. He hoped that being away at the Mist village for so long Sasuke would have found someone else to be his hobby, but alas Shikamaru had underestimated the Uchiha's staying power.

"Why do you keep showing up?"

There was silence for a few minutes as Sasuke considered how direct he wanted his response to be. Shikamaru had been gone on a mission for almost two months and only returned yesterday. Sasuke had been surprised to see Shikamaru race for this hillside after classes were dismissed today. I guess he really missed this place.

"You're the only one….who doesn't look at me like I'm a monster."

Shikamaru propped himself up on his elbows and looked over at Sasuke who was still looking up into the sky.

"So….you want me to be your friend?"

Sasuke barely flinched at the raw statement but Shikamaru saw it and knew that was exactly the reasoning behind Sasuke's recent behavior. Is that what's going on? He's just looking for a friend?

"Naruto told me once that you accepted and led the mission to retrieve me from the Sound Four only out of duty. You said you didn't care what happened to me."

Shikamaru remembered the mission well. It was his first mission, a complete failure, and his friends almost died. All for the sake of the man lying next to him. He narrowed his eyes, wondering, not for the first time, what was going on inside Sasuke's head. Why is he bringing this up now? Is this all part of some elaborate scheme to get even with me? Seems a waste of time for something so trivial that happened over twelve years ago. Then again, Sasuke has a track record of mixing obsessive behavior with revenge.

"Your point?"

Sasuke turned the depthless black eyes on Shikamaru and the teacher found himself being lured into them so he clutched handfuls of wet grass as a distraction from the intensity. That look….what's going on here?

"Would you do it again?"

Shikamaru studied the man next to him and found his body to be at rest, his muscles relaxed. But that posture could be deceiving. Sasuke is a very skilled shinobi. And that throbbing vein in his neck gives away his anxiety. His heart is pumping faster than normal.

"You thinking of running away again?"

Sasuke sat up and Shikamaru tensed, pulling his shadows to him for protection. Sasuke looked down at the ground and frowned.

"You think I'd hurt you?"

"I don't know what to think, Sasuke. You haven't been making much sense."

Sasuke bowed his head and then nodded a few times before standing up and shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I know it's a bit late, but…..thanks for trying to bring me back."

Shikamaru watched as Sasuke turned and walked away. It wasn't his normal exit of vanishing and Shikamaru found he couldn't take his eyes from the retreating back.

To be continued….