Hey there! My files absolutely FAILED by I've managed to recover them on my Uncle's laptop. Anyways, sorry if this chapter seems a little shorter but Im afraid that I dont know when I'll get to update again in the past week, so I'm gonna leave you guys with what's here for now (:

Please enjoy and don't forget to review - please?

"... Blah ... " - Speech

" ... Blah ... " - Thoughts and flashbacks

" ... Blah ..." - Kyuubi and Haekeri


Betrayal 3: Destiny's Darkness

Chapter Three: Decisions and Favours

-&-

The air was lukewarm and swept bitterly through the empty streets. The cobbled stones of the path creaked with every step and sent a involuntary shiver down Sakura's spine. Naruto noticed this and gently took her hand in his, stroking it comfortingly - he didn't want to speak aloud and hear his voice in the dry air. The couple were walking down the streets of the old Uchiha compound, where Sasuke had decided to relocate to not long ago and take Ashi with him. Sakura guessed that Sasuke wanted his nephew to know more about his 'missing' family.

To her surprise, as soon as she returned home after her shift at the shop, Naruto was already dressed and had even ordered dinner from the nearest takeaway. Sakura decided not to question his sudden enthusiastic behaviour and welcomed the almost-old Naruto back. Thinking this, she smiled and wrapped her free arm around his and took in the sweet scent of him. Cinnamon and Ramen. Nice.

After the streets and whittled down into small alleys and footpaths, they arrived at what seemed to be one of the biggest houses in the whole compound. On the weathered door, was a metal plate bearing the Uchiha police symbol. It gave them both the creeps and Naruto forcefully reached out and banged the wood.

It took a few moments and creaks inside the house, before the door opened to reveal the messed-up-haired-and-barefoot Sasuke. He didn't bother to greet them but merely nodded at their arrival.

"Hello Sasuke," Naruto said flatly. "What a lovely home you have. Full of cheer."

Sakura's temple throbbed at the sarcastic tone and gently nudged him hard in the ribs. She turned to the Uchiha and smiled. "Yes." Was all she said.

"Well I suppose you better come in then," Sasuke stood aside to let them through. As soon as Naruto tried to enter, Sasuke slammed the door in his face and smirked at the blonde's angry cries of; "What the fu-.."

"Hey Sakura."

She turned on her heel to see a familiar figure leaned up against the doorway of the kitchen. Ashi Uchiha was now much taller than herself and certainly looking the part of a nineteen year old. His hair was hopelessly like Sasuke's and flopped lazily down to his broadened shoulders. His facial features had hardened considerably and she could see a hint of wisdom in his grey-ish gaze. He really looked a million years better than the scared and confused little boy she saved four years earlier.

"Ashi! How are you - I haven't seen you in a while! Gosh - you've really grown!" She enveloped him in a hug to which he returned with a beautiful smile.

"I'm fine - Uncle Sasuke's been faffing around me like a mother hen though about my 'career' - and you look very good too!" He glanced away. "Hurry up and let Naruto in, uncle. I wanna challenge him to a ninjutsu fight."

Sasuke reluctantly moved away from the front door and watched in amusement at the blonde burst through and started to curse Sasuke with every bad word he knew. Sakura coughed lightly and he looked up long enough to greet Ashi.

"Yo, kid."

"Well," Ashi smirked, a classic Sasuke smirk. "I'll be taller than you soon so you won't be able to call me that anymore."

"Oh really?" Naruto sneered. "I wouldn't care if you were fifty feet tall - you will always be 'kid'."

They laughed good naturedly and playfully punched each other until Sasuke coughed loudly.

"So now we're all here, let's go somewhere more comfortable." And he led the way through endless hallways and many doors.

His house wasn't too spectacular as it was from outside. They were framed pictures of dark-haired children and adults everywhere to Sakura assumed this house may have been his, when he was a child and living with the rest of the Uchiha. She half expected ghosts of the past to wander around with their dark figures and swoop down on them at any second. Naruto was unaware and was in deep conversation with Ashi. Was Ashi really okay with living in a house full of Sasuke's dark memories?

The living room was disappointingly normal too. There were faded pillows and cushions seated around a small coffee table, folded up futons in the corner and imprints on the velvet walls, of when pictures used to hang there.

They took a seat at the table and fell gloomily silent. Sasuke cleared his throat before speaking.

"I'm not good at these conversations so I'll just get it out in the open."

Sakura inwardly rolled her eyes - what a classic Sasuke-speech.

He took a deep breath. "I'm going to find my brother."

His words still hung in the air about twenty seconds after he closed his mouth. The silence was overbearing and totally full of tension. Somewhere, in the room there must have been a clock or something, as Sakura could hear it loudly above the nothingness. Either it was that or the drumming of her own heart. Her mouth now suddenly felt fuzzy and the cold wash of dread washed over her.

"You don't even know where he is." She said in a mouse-like voice.

"No I don't. That's why I'm going to try and track him down."

She didn't understand it; Sasuke's words seemed too silly and stupid to take seriously. She glanced sideways at Ashi who was watching them silently. It looked as if his uncle had already clued him in beforehand. And now he was watching their reactions like a bad TV show.

She looked the other way to see Naruto with a mask of horror/surprise on his face. At least she wasn't alone now.

"Is this because of Kimoko?" Naruto managed to say after a few minutes. His jaw was hardened. "Do you want revenge for what Itachi did to her?"

"No," Sasuke said simply and glanced at his nephew. "That's only half the reason really. I want to get revenge on Kimoko and my clan - did you expect me to forget about that?"

"You idiot. He'll kill you!"

"He won't. I'll make sure of that." Sasuke's eyes turned darker - if that was even possible. Sakura could see his clenched fists shaking slightly at even the thought of his brother.

"Well - do you have to go alone? We'll go with you!"

"That's not possible," It was Ashi speaking now. "Sakura, you definitely cannot go - and I think you know exactly why. And I don't think Naruto would leave you here alone and go off with Sasuke."

Sakura felt herself blush at his words. She'd been thinking about her future and her 'destiny' and whatever, the past couple of years. Now Ashi had made it perfectly clear that whatever she had to do - was definitely going to happen soon.

What's going to happen, I wonder?

"So that's it? We can't do anything then?" Naruto said quietly.

Ashi shrugged. "Well you can, Naruto. Sakura can't, but you can. You have the option of going with him."

Naruto challenged his gaze for a few moments and looked away guiltily. "I can't," he muttered. "I have to stay and protect my wife. That's what a marriage is about, right?"

"But I'm not weak Naruto!" Sakura retorted.

"It's not about that," his voice became irritated. "By 'protect', I don't just mean physically. You'll need me later."

For the prophecy. I'll need him to keep me sane.

"I'll have to leave fairly soon," Sasuke continued. "Which means between now and that time, I'll have to take care of a few things and train whenever I can, so I might not be available sometimes."

"And I'm being kicked out." Ashi finished.

Sasuke growled. "You are not being kicked out. I simply said that you're going to have to stay somewhere else where people can keep an eye on you."

"I'm nineteen."

"And also not fully trusted by the hokage," Sasuke pointed out. "Regardless of your age, I doubt she'd be willing to let you live on your own yet. Not after the trouble you caused us years ago. Which brings me back to the point," he looked at his teammates. "Can you both let him live with you until I return?"

Naruto was sceptical. "And how long would that be Sasuke? Till they cart back your mangled carcass from some random forest?"

"No. Till I come back holding Itachi's head."

Sakura tsk'ed and patted Ashi on the shoulder. "And what does Ashi think of all this? Is he really okay with you abandoning him to go and kill his own father?"

"Ahh, it's none of my business really. Plus I might get to stay with you Sakuuuuura!" He smiled and glomped her. She could see Naruto watching them warily.

"I suppose he can." Naruto sighed. "Is he house trained?"

"Yes." Sasuke smiled.

The foursome fell into a comfortable silence and listened to the wind chimes wail in the air through the open paper door. From what they could see, the garden was well cared for (no doubt Sasuke's secret work) and new flowers were even beginning to sprout from the mounds of earth. Leading past them was a stone slab path that wound all the way through the garden and ended at a pond. The water silently drifted and tiny bumps bobbed up on the surface now and again which meant there were fish swimming delicately inside it. It made them feel so calm and serene.

"I guess this is it," Sakura decided to break the silence. "This is officially the end of Team Seven."

Sasuke nodded. "Yes. It was never really the same after Kakashi died anyway."

"We've been through some pretty tough times though haven't we? I mean, our first major mission meant that we had to fight Zabuza and Haku - and we nearly died from it!"

"And then all that stuff with the Akatsuki and Orochimaru happened-.. Hey Sasuke - I've always wanted to ask you this, but you remember when I was fighting Orochimaru - and you were in a snake's body? How did you do that?"

"Showbiz trick." Sasuke grunted and tapped his nose annoyingly.

"Think we'll ever see Tobi again?" Naruto murmured and stared off into the garden. "He's still alive from what Ashi said. We never got to thank him for helping us escape the ANBU and Akatsuki."

It wasn't really a question, just a mere thought that reverberated in their minds.

"Yeah." Sakura said finally. "I expect we'll see him one day."