DISCLAIMER :
Let's keep it simple, shall we? I don't own any characters in this story. It is purely a work of fiction created to entertain both myself and those who read it, for which I make no profit.

The few hours before sunrise were spent with a fitfully sleeping Hinata alternately clinging to and jerking away from Kiba. Shino stood guard, his back to the wall, arms crossed, watching the exchange of his teammates. Sakura had long since retired to sleep, having been worn out from both the early emergency and a mission she had recently retuned from.

Now, as the sun rose, lighting the small room through the narrow high window, Hinata finally relaxed enough for Kiba to lay her down on the bed, gently extricating himself from her surprisingly strong grasp. He nodded to Shino, eyes flicking to the front of the house. Shino nodded and followed him out of the room.

The two had barely taken a few steps before they came face to face with a rather surly Sasuke. Shino, by far the more diplomatic of the duo, gently palmed a kunai with his right hand as Kikaichuu began to race down his arms. "Sasuke."

At this, Kiba finally snapped out of his worried and slightly sleep-induced stupor, growling dangerously and crouching, cursing himself for having sent Akamaru home the night before. "What the hell are you doing here, Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned to them, eyes lightening into the dangerous red of the Sharingan, stance widening, centering himself for a fight. His lips curled into a sneer. "What am I doing here? Can't you think of anything more original than that, Inuzuka? Or did half of your brain disappear with your dog?"

Before Kiba could jump on Sasuke for the grevious insult, Naruto leaped down the stairs, "Sasuke!!! What are you doing without your henge? Someone could see you!!" He turned around and looked at the fighting stance of the two ninja he had let in the night before. "What are you doing?"

Shino straightened slowly, sheathing his kunai and calling most of his Kikaichuu back to himself, leaving only a bare minimum flying in the hallway...including one that stealthily crawled beneath the collar of Sasuke's shirt. Shino believed in being prepared for emergencies after the last time he'd seen Sasuke... "What is Sasuke doing here, Naruto?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head in a confused manner, "He lives here, of course."

Kiba growled. "He's been classified as a missing-nin for four years now, Naruto. What the hell do you mean, 'He lives here'?"

The tense four-way standoff would have continued for an unknown amount of time had Sakura not chosen that moment to walk down the stairs. She looked from one angry face, to the two aloof ones, to the confused one and shook her head, sighing. "How about I explain after breakfast, guys? I can't deal with two broody people and two hyper ones without some food first." She stepped among the four and passed them, making her way to the adjacent kitchen.

For five minutes, the four continued to stare at each other, until the scent of Sakura's cooking, which smelt suspiciously of pancakes, flooded the hall. Kiba's nose twitched, much to the detriment of his dignity and Sasuke smirked, unknowingly copying Shino's hidden expression. When they all turned to the kitchen, it was done so warily, Naruto eyeing Kiba, who watched Shino, who stared at Sasuke. It was, in fact, a very amusing version of follow-the-leader that the four deadly men appeared to be playing.

Sakura dished up five plates of pancakes while Sasuke scooped rice into bowls and Naruto cut fruit. Kiba and Shino watched, wondering what alternate universe they had stepped in to be privy to the surreal sight of two dangerous ninja dishing up breakfast.

When all were seated, food in front of them and tea in each cup, Sakura glared at Sasuke and Naruto, then rolled her eyes at the suspicious expressions still present on Kiba and Shino's faces. "Sasuke has lived here, with Naruto and I for the past year." She waited for the cry of disbelief from Kiba to end. "He came to the village four years ago and talked to Tsunade-sama. He was working as a spy from the time Orochimaru's sound village fell until just recently..."

"Three months ago to be exact." Sasuke's dry voice interrupted Sakura's explanation. He reached across the small table, taking a honey pot and drizzling a bit over his fruit, then replacing the pot and smirking at the gobsmaked expressions on Kiba and Shino's faces.

"Yes, thank you for that little fact, Sasuke." Sakura rolled her eyes fondly at the man. "As I was saying, he returned to the village before he was made a missing-nin. In fact, it was as a cover for his activities that he was designated as a missing-nin at all. You have met his alter-ego, in fact. He usually masquerades as one of Neji's cousins, since Hyuugas have access to just about every place in the village.

"Sasuke was behind most of our Akatsuki information, and has been helping Naruto harness his elemental chakra for two years or so..." She sent a warning glare to the resident fact-checker, who wisely kept his mouth shut, and continued. "So, that's the abridged version of the story. Any questions?"

Author's Note:
Another quick update! (That's a record for me, actually…)
And I'm off to finish typing chapter 4.
And for those of you who've never read any of my stories, yes, they do tend to have chapters this short...

Special thanks goes to reviewers fuzzy-lemonade (yes, I will write more, and I'm slightly perturbed at your penname… the literal visual image is quite... hmm), and fishgirlclw (yes, there IS something else going on with the Hanabi and the heiress thing… but just what, exactly? I have two versions, the disturbing, and the horrifying and I have yet to choose which one I will take).