*Manga Spoilers

Bare Branches

It took half of the trip for Suigetsu to finally bring the subject up.

"So, boss." He coughed. "About this Naruto guy…"

"Yes?" Sasuke did not turn his head.

"What's the history with you and him? He was chasing us on the one Itachi mission, I got that, but back there Disco-Face was spouting off like he was somebody you used to know real well." Suigetsu rubbed his nose. "So what's the deal?"

"That is no part of your concern." Sasuke replied, in a tone meant to close the conversation.

Apparently unimpressed, Suigetsu snorted. "Seeing as how the guy likes to chase us and is, apparently, strong enough to take out Pein, I think it darn well is 'part of my concern.' I mean, don't get me wrong, I like a challenge as well as the next guy, and I'm all for this 'storm the Kage summit' idea, but if I'm being chased by some god-level shinobi with a vendetta on my boss' head, I'd like to at least know why. So what's the deal?"

Sasuke did not immediately reply. Karin, jumping along directly behind him, bit her lip nervously. What was Suigetsu thinking, talking to Sasuke like that? He'd kill them all.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Sasuke clearing his throat. "A team." He said, curtly. "We were on the same team… back in Konoha."

"Wow. Really? Same team that killed Zabuza, right?" Sasuke gave a nod and Suigetsu resumed his pondering. "Guess that explains it then. What'd ya do, kill his master?"

"No."

"Oh. Family?"

"No."

"Oh. Girlfriend?"

"No."

"Oh." A short pause. "Boyfriend?"

"Suigetsu!" Karin exploded from the rear.

"I'm just saying...!"

"No." Sasuke closed his eyes.

"Oh. Okay." Another short pause. "So… Do you know why he's chasing you?"

This received a long silence from Sasuke. "No, not really." he said finally. "I've certainly given him enough warnings. He's trying to bring me back to the village."

"Oh, now I get it." Suigetsu laughed. "He's one of those 'loyal leaf nins.' Love killing those guys. All about the village, huh? And you betray the village, so now he's got this vendetta to either kill you or bring you back. Man, those guys crack me up with their…"

"No, actually." Sasuke's voice cut in rather icily. "I didn't say he was trying to kill me, I said he was trying to bring me back to the village."

"Right, to face trial. Just doesn't want to kill you outside?"

"No." By now, Sasuke's voice had a decided edge. "I mean he doesn't want to kill me, period. In the village or out of it."

A long silence greeted this remark. Suigetsu and Karin exchanged glances, while Juugo merely looked thoughtful. Up ahead, Zetsu smirked and went a little faster. Sasuke, predictably, said nothing.

Finally, Suigetsu spoke up. "And this guy thinks he's your enemy."

"No." Sasuke closed his eyes. "He thinks he's my friend."

A/N: So.... this was initially not supposed to appear for some weeks yet. But it occurred to me that this has a slightly ambivalent edge to it that fits in with recent events in the manga. Is Naruto's constant pursuit of Sasuke really a good idea?

It's just something I wondered about. How does Sasuke feel about Naruto's unrelenting chase? For that matter, how does Team Hebi/Taka feel about Naruto's chase? A number of these people just barely know Sasuke as a former Konoha nin. They don't know about his freinds or any of his history, they only know about Sasuke and his obsession with his brother. So you have to wonder, how do they feel about all these Konoha nin that keep popping up trying to catch Sasuke. Suigetsu strikes me as the only one that would even ask, as Karin is too infatuated and Juugo too obedient to ask.