A.N.: Okies here's the third chapter! sorry about the slight delay in updating. also, i've made corrections to the spelling of 'chakra' that i missed earlier. turns out my Word software went into 'annoyingly helpful' mode and changed 'chakra' into 'charka' without me noticing.
Disclaimer: maybe it's a good thing i don't own Naruto, ne?
The Returns by Li
Chapter 3
The Security Council convened in a secret room in the Hokage Tower. The mood was rather tense.
Tsunade started the meeting by saying, "Ibiki-san, Neji, what are your conclusions?" Ibiki nodded. "The Uchiha was coherent. He kept to the same story each time. Based on the interrogations, it would seem that what he said was true." Neji nodded his agreement and added, "The chakra signature and pathways were normal. I recognize them from having seen those years ago. There doesn't seem to any disturbances or foreign chakra."
Nara Shikamaru sighed lazily. "But of course, that doesn't mean anything. If what he said about being alone most of the time is true, then we have no effective way of confirming his story. Furthermore, we don't know what the chakra would be like if Orochimaru had transferred into Sasuke's body. And if he had, Orochimaru would definitely be able to stand against a lot of torture."
Neji folded his arms. "That is true. But the chakra signature was definitely Sasuke's chakra signature alone. Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama did not sense any of Orochimaru's chakra when they were watching the interrogation."
Shikamaru put his hands behind his head. "That doesn't count for much. Remember the second part of the chuunin exams when Orochimaru put the curse seal on Sasuke? Anko came into contact with him in another's body but didn't sense him at all. Although it was most probable that he did not transfer his soul into that body."
Jiraiya shook his head worriedly. "His chakra signature may be disguised by the body he transferred into. However, I believe that Neji-san's Byakugan should be able to detect if Orochimaru had transferred."
"I believe so too." Yamato said. "I also believe that the fact that Sasuke was committing seppuku when Naruto found him and that he actually got injured from shielding Naruto from the exploding note are two points in his favour. If he was Orochimaru, he wouldn't have done anything, and could have just said that he didn't notice what the other prisoners were trying to do." Most of the other people in the room nodded at what he said.
Ibiki looked towards the final person who had not said a word so far, but had been brooding over everything that had been said. The person nodded at him, and Ibiki said, "We will be releasing the Uchiha into the care of someone under the personal recognizance of the Hokage. Some might protest the lack of punishment since he was a missing nin, but it could not be proved that his turned traitor against Konoha. In fact, there has been no proof that the Uchiha killed anyone other than Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi. The deaths of those two are beneficial to Konoha, obviously. The Hokage believes that the interrogation and the burns he received were punishment enough. Also, the Sharingan is a great asset to Konoha."
Taking a breath, he continued, "However, there will be four ANBU following him all the time. While most of us here today would think and hope that it is truly Uchiha Sasuke who has returned, we (1) don't know for certain if he is not Orochimaru in the Uchiha's body, and what he might be plotting, and (2) if it is really the Uchiha, we still need to be on our guard because we don't know what his plans are, if he does indeed have any. By the Hokage's orders, the real reason behind the Uchiha's 'departure' and return will not be spoken of to unauthorized people. The current belief that the Uchiha left the village on an extended mission is not to be contradicted."
Heads nodded around the room. The person who had kept quiet rose quietly, bowed respectfully and used shunshin no jutsu to transport himself out of the windowless, doorless room.
"He's been that quiet since the Uchiha came back. I'm a little worried," Tsunade said, expressing the opinion of everyone in the room. Shikamaru exhaled noisily. "How troublesome…"
Sasuke found himself back in a familiar bed in a familiar room. Quietly he opened his eyes and noticed he was back in Naruto's room, and Naruto was standing at the window looking out on the village, arms folded, lost in thought. Sasuke, without feeling the least bit sneaky, activated his Sharingan and stared at Naruto, taking in his thoughts.
He found Naruto remembering an incident that had happened just before their Academy graduation. He could sense the fear and the pain as Naruto recollected how the villagers had treated him as an outcast, cursing and reviling him as the kyuubi. Naruto started remembering how Iruka-sensei had protected him against Mizuki's giant shuriken on the night the kyuubi container found out about his tenant. With a start he realized that Iruka had crouched over Naruto just as Sasuke had done in prison, and understood Naruto's look of horror to find Sasuke using his body as a shield. Naruto's thoughts ran over their first important mission: the Wave Country mission. He sensed Naruto remembering fondly how they had tried to beat each other at tree-climbing. Naruto stiffened as he remembered the fight against Haku in the ice mirror jutsu, and how Sasuke had again used his body as a human shield. Naruto held his breath, remembering Sasuke's words.
"I don't know. My body moved on its own." Sasuke said those words aloud in a monotone as his red irises became black again. Naruto turned around. "I know you were reading my thoughts, teme." Sasuke was impassive. "You should have known, dobe." Naruto walked away from the window and sat, or rather, crouched in the large chair at the foot of the bed. He folded his arms and rested them in his knees.
"You are being released into my care, since they couldn't seem to find anything wrong with your story. The fact that you did not murder anyone other than Orochimaru and Itachi, and that you got burned in my place helped the Hokage decide to withhold any punishment. So you'll be following me around for a while."
Sasuke smirked slightly. "You have to babysit me, dobe?"
Sasuke had spent most of the day in bed. Naruto had insisted he rest, and he wasn't in the condition to refuse. The medic nin had healed most of the burns, but he was feeling the after-effects of imprisonment and the mental strain of Morino Ibiki's mental torture. He could feel that his chakra was being restrained; the most he could do with it was activate the Sharingan, and probably some Academy-level jutsu. Since he didn't have any physical restraints on him, he suspected his chakra had been sealed.
So while he had had several fitful naps throughout the day, Naruto had to do quite a bit of paperwork. When he caught Sasuke looking curiously at him once, he had merely frowned at the papers, saying they were mission reports. Sasuke had left it at that, but did wonder why there were so many reports, and why Naruto hadn't left the room. Didn't he have other responsibilities, or missions, even? Knowing Naruto, he wouldn't have willingly taken on a desk job. But Sasuke felt apathetic. He just couldn't be bothered about anything. He had finally killed Itachi. That was all there was to it. Nothing else mattered. And he should have died that night, but the dobe just had to stop him. Why couldn't he be left alone? Frustrated, he closed his eyes.
With a start he opened his eyes and realized that night had fallen, and Naruto was cautiously nudging him awake. Sasuke lethargically pushed away Naruto's hand. He hadn't realized he fell asleep in the middle of his thoughts. He pushed himself up into a sitting position on the bed and watched Naruto arrange his papers quietly. It was almost unnerving to watch; the blonde was actually quiet.
After a warm meal eaten in the room, Naruto opened the large windows and looked out. A gust of cold air rushed in, causing the papers and litter on the floor to flap and flutter. Naruto took a deep, invigorating breath. Without turning around, he jumped onto the window sill and crouched there.
"Let's go up to the roof, Sasuke-teme."
Sasuke looked impassively at Naruto as he exited the window and stood on the wall using chakra. Naruto glanced at Sasuke, and then made his way up to the roof. Sasuke slowly followed Naruto. When he reached the roof, he saw Naruto lying down with his hands behind his head, staring at the starry sky. Sasuke slouched hesitantly for a while, then joined Naruto.
For almost half an hour, they stared silently at the sky. Sasuke detected six other chakra signatures, but decided not to say anything since Naruto didn't mention them. He was sure Naruto would have detected the chakra too. 'Probably ANBU trailing me,' thought Sasuke.
His thoughts began to wander, thinking of his childhood days, especially his mother. He recalled the day he had returned home late from training to find the Uchiha compound mysteriously silent. How he had found his parents dead, and Itachi standing over them like they were some freshly hunted animals.
He surprised himself when he felt a stab at his heart as the images came to mind. Uncomfortably he realized that he had not felt that absolute vindication he had promised himself when he had killed Itachi. Instead, his emotions were going haywire; emotions that he was sure he had killed a long time ago. He was mentally cursing himself for his loss of control over such puny things as emotions when Naruto's voice broke his train of thoughts.
"Why didn't you kill me again that second time?" Naruto asked quietly. His voice held no trace of bitterness.
Sasuke turned away uncomfortably. A few moments of awkward silence passed as Naruto waited patiently for the answer. Sasuke cursed mentally and said in a monotone, "You heard the reason already. You were useful in taking down Akatsuki members. Sasori, Hidan and Kakuzu out of the way made it easier for me to reach Itachi."
The mention of Itachi's name caused Sasuke's heart to shrink, and he cursed himself for letting his emotions get to him. He knew Naruto wouldn't believe what he had just said. He recalled the incident where he nearly plunged his katana into Naruto. He recalled the look on Naruto's face: the look of a person who had lost his motivation; the look of a defeated person. Why didn't he kill his friend, his best friend, at that time? Sasuke struggled internally. He knew the answer, but he didn't like it. Was it really just because of his whim?
"How do you feel now, after finally avenging your family?" Naruto's voice broke into his thoughts again. Sasuke cursed under his breath. Was Naruto doing it on purpose? Surely he could sense Sasuke's inner turmoil. Was he still that dense after all these years?
And at the mention of his family, the bloody images began to force their way into his mind's eye, causing his gut to wrench painfully, and his heart felt like it was being squeezed in the grip of a giant. Cursed emotions! Sasuke's mouth opened, he felt like vomiting. He felt hot tears trickling down his face as he clutched his stomach. He sat up and whipped around to face Naruto. He saw that Naruto had already sat up with his chin resting on his arms, which were folded on drawn-up knees, and was observing him with a worried look.
Sasuke snapped.
"What is your problem? Why are you asking me all these stupid questions? What business is it of yours? I told you years ago, I've severed all those useless bonds!" he shrieked. He jumped to his feet and caught hold of Naruto's collar, pulling him into a kneeling position.
"All your stupid bonds! All these stupid emotions! You want to know how I feel?" Sasuke roared. He pulled Naruto onto his feet. Naruto just stood there passively, his eyes on his friend. Sasuke looked at those large blue eyes and saw compassion, empathy, and anxiety. Anxiety not for himself, but for Sasuke. Sasuke couldn't take it.
"I feel like crap!" Sasuke punched Naruto, who staggered at the force of the blow, but remained silent. "I feel like shit!" Another punch. "I was supposed to feel relief when Itachi died, but I feel like crap! Stupid emotions! I've destroyed them! Why are they back to haunt me!" Sasuke screamed, all the while raining hits on a passive Naruto.
"Otosan, okachan! Aniki! Why did you leave me alone!" screamed Sasuke, tears raining down his face. "Why? Why? Why!" Sasuke's punches grew feebler as sobs began to take over. "Why!" he screamed again. He fisted his hands as he collapsed onto the tiles, screaming wordlessly. He wrapped one hand around his stomach, which felt like it was being ripped to pieces, and fiercely punched the roof tiles with the other hand, causing them to crack. He continued screaming his heart out as the dam holding his emotions broke, and years of pain, grief, loneliness and heartache surged forth. Hurt that had lain dormant under an emotionless façade.
He felt two arms wrap around him and felt he was being drawn up to someone's chest. Naruto's voice whispered gently in his ears, "It's alright, just let it all out." Sasuke screamed and screamed as he felt his heart torn to shreds. Naruto just tightened his grip around his friend, tears running down his own face. "Why?!" Sasuke screamed hoarsely. He jabbed feebly at Naruto. "I didn't care about you all these years! Why didn't you just kill me? Why didn't you just let me die!" He curled up against Naruto's chest as his sobs died off. "Why didn't you let me die…" he whimpered.
Naruto's heart broke as he held his friend; the friend that he had promised to bring back. The promise of a lifetime. The promise that he failed to keep.
His own body now started to shake as he began to sob quietly. "I couldn't just let you die, Sasuke," he whispered. "I just couldn't. You're my friend. You were my best friend. I couldn't just let you die."
Sasuke heard Naruto's whispers, and felt unfamiliar but comfortable warmth spread through his heart. He remained silent, worn out with screaming and sobbing. A small genuine smile played on his lips as he closed his tired eyes.
Naruto was relieved when he felt Sasuke relax in his arms and his breathing even out. He just held on as his friend fell into a peaceful sleep. After a few minutes, the fox-masked ANBU appeared silently in front of him. Without looking up he said, "Thank you for not interrupting." Naruto held onto Sasuke gently as he tried to rise from the roof.
"Oof!" he let out a soft gasp as pain hit his chest area where Sasuke had pummelled. 'He must have broken a rib or two,' mused Naruto, biting back the pain. He tried again to rise, only to stumble back. The ANBU caught him from behind before he fell. Holding on to Sasuke with one hand, he signalled with the other hand, and the four other ANBU appeared.
"Take the Uchiha to my room and put him in my bed."
The four ANBU bowed smartly and took Sasuke's limp form from Naruto. Three of them vanished in a cloud of chakra smoke. The remaining ANBU cleared his throat softly. Naruto looked expectantly at him.
"We are sorry, Naruto-sama, for not interrupting. My oversight has caused you these injuries."
Naruto gave him a small smile and shook his head. "Iie, taichou. You did the right thing. These injuries are nothing that the medic nins cannot fix. They were worth the pain. You did the right thing."
"If you say so, Naruto-sama. Thank you." The ANBU squad taichou vanished.
Naruto let out a small groan. He released the sound barrier jutsu he had set up earlier just before speaking to Sasuke. The barrier he set up allowed sound to enter but not leave. He had anticipated Sasuke's emotional breakdown; he recognized the symptoms well enough, having experienced it himself. He sighed, relieved that Sasuke had snapped. Carrying all that hurt and grief around for years without venting wasn't a good thing for one's psychological health.
"Call a medic nin and meet me in my room," Naruto ordered the fox-masked ANBU. "Hai. I'll get Sakura-sama immediately," one of them replied. Naruto shook his head vehemently. "Oh no you don't. Just get any medic nin. I don't want Sakura-chan. She might add a few broken bones for the fun of it."
The foxes laughed at that. With a nod, the one who had spoken earlier vanished. The other fox vanished together with Naruto.
:-) I guess some might complain that Sasuke's OOC in this chapter, but that's why it's called fanfiction, ne? hahaha. anyways, i would think that Sasuke, although hating his brother, actually has some form of affection hidden away that was brought out when he killed Itachi, and so he's had an emotional breakdown. never fear, though, Sasuke's not about to turn into an emotional sap!
ok! pls pls pls review :-)
also, thank you so much Avion Jade, AZN.THANG, CrazyGirlofManyNames, sasunaru panda, TheLightsShadow n AZN.THANG again for reviewing!
