I...am...losing...MOTIVATION! D: I've just been so busy lately. But not to worry... I am still working of course just not as fast as I'd like to be. Once again, every favorite, follow and especially review is appreciated. I read them all and they warm my heart. YOU make me motivated. Enjoy~

It was silent as Sasuke sat at his desk across from hers. Both of them had scrolls and documents strewn around as they poured over them. There were at least three bins full of miscellaneous scrolls and papers that needed to be sorted, and from there they were compiled into like categories. And then they would be added to the archives and stored away in their proper place within the library. It was all very mundane and boring for Uchiha Sasuke. It took him back to his days at the Academy being stuck studying for exams or listening to lectures. As a child it didn't bother him, but after becoming an official ninja it was like down grading.

It had been a few hours since either had spoken. Sasuke found it hard to concentrate after so long and his eyes would look back up at the Hyuuga girl. Her eyes were staring intently reading what was written in front of her. She sat hunched over, occasionally making notes to the side, before deciding which bin to put the scroll in. Within just those few hours, Sasuke was able to observe all of her slight habits and mannerisms. If she was reading something horrific like death tolls during a war, then she would bring fingers up to cover her mouth. If it was something less serious, her concentration would break a little and she would play with loose strands of hair that fell around her face. Watching and taking mental notes was something he liked to do to everyone just in case one turned into an enemy down the road. He was always one step ahead of everything.

Sasuke realized after a while that she was unlike any girl he knew. Of course, he didn't know many girls to begin with—just the few that he graduated with or had a few flings with. He didn't mind that she didn't talk to him or attempt to flirt with him. The one thing that stood out the most was her lack of confidence. It was something he couldn't stand perhaps because he was full of confidence. There was also something familiar about the way she hesitated to make her decisions. It was the feeling that sat right on the edge of his tongue, but he couldn't figure it out. It began to frustrate him so he decided to make it known.

"How can you stand to be down here?" Sasuke blurted out angrily and she jumped a bit in her chair. She hadn't expected him to suddenly speak and she had been completely lost in the papers before her. Hinata managed a meek smile as she watched him squeeze tired eyes shut.

"It's nice usually." She said gently. He opened his eyes and looked at her. Her voice was also familiar, but he figured it was just memories from the Academy. Sasuke shrugged himself off and rolled up a scroll he had stopped reading at least an hour ago. She had such a high tolerance for boring shit and he had little to none.

"Do you stay down here all day?" He asked after a bit. His stomach was rumbling as it was beginning to become lunch time. Hinata bit her lower lip.

"Most of the time. Um… if you want to leave for lunch, t-that's fine." She said, glancing back down at her scrolls. Sasuke took that cue and stood up without a word. He was almost regretting this whole thing; he could probably sneak into another village, get a new identification and work his way up the ranks that way. But Sasuke was tired of hiding and he knew his father would have beaten his ass if he ever came back to life. There were no shortcuts in life when one wants to live honestly. Perhaps that was why Orochimaru eventually met his end—too many short cuts in such short time.

Sasuke's footsteps echoed as he walked up the stone steps to reach the main floor from the basement. The Hyuuga girl lingered on his mind only to try and identify why he thought she was so familiar. As he searched his memory, his thoughts seemed to wander back to the familiarity of Konoha as he walked the busy streets. He never really thought that he would come back here. If Sasuke was going to be honest with himself, he figured that he would have died alongside his brother. Not to mention that he didn't really plan much for his life after the fact. He was always prepared for that particular battle, his entire life dedicated to fixing the wrong. Just thinking about it made his headache return so instead of dwelling, Sasuke decided to settle on his old favorite vender on the streets.

He took a seat at the booth and leaned forward on his elbows. Sasuke didn't eat out much, but he hadn't had a lot of time to go to the grocery store upon his return, so this would have to do. The man behind the counter did a double take upon seeing Sasuke and he laughed resting the palms of his hands on the counter.

"Oh, Uchiha Sasuke. I heard you were back! It's been so long!" Sasuke nodded his greeting to the man and he remembered coming here often as an adolescent. The man took off his glasses, wiped the lenses on his shirt, and smiled. "I think I remember your usual order!"

"Hmph… some things never change around here." Sasuke said a smirk settling on his lips. Within just a few minutes, a plate was set in front of him. Even with such an expressionless face, Sasuke could feel his mouth watering. It was his favorite of course, rice balls with grilled vegetables on the side and a cup of tea. Before he could even pick up his chopsticks, someone ducked under the drapes and plopped down in the chair next to him. Sasuke could feel it a mile away, so he ignored it and broke apart the two wooden utensils. Picking up a vegetable, he put it in his mouth and chewed. Just like I remember it…

"What do you want?" He asked dryly after a silent minute had passed. A half lidded eye watched the Uchiha carefully, the other hidden behind a crooked Konoha forehead protector. Hatake Kakashi hadn't seemed to of aged much, as his gray hair usually made him look older anyway.

"Well, it's good to see you too, Sasuke." Words were spoken from behind the infamous dark blue mask as he rested his head on an open palm. "It's been a few years." Sasuke didn't say anything as he continued to eat his lunch. Kakashi was always someone who he never thought much of. He was once his sensei and taught him his trademark Chidori. They also somewhat shared similar abilities such as the Sharingan however Sasuke didn't care for the way Kakashi had gotten it. However, Kakashi was also a part of the many different recovery teams to try and get Sasuke back to Konoha. He never knew why they didn't just let him do his thing; he would eventually come back on his own and he did.

"Good afternoon, sir. Can I get you anything?" The man behind the counter asked as he dried a bowl. Kakashi shook his head politely.

"Ah, no. I am good, thank you." Sasuke took a sip of his tea and pushed his plate forward so he could rest his arms on the counter. Kakashi waited for him to same something, but when nothing came, he decided to push a bit.

"And Itachi?"

"What do you know about the Konoha Library?" Sasuke interrupted, clearly not in the mood to talk about personal subjects. It was no one's business. That was another thing he couldn't stand about this place—no one paid any attention to their own lives, but instead snooped around in everyone else's. Gossip was a waste of time and he'd have none of it. Kakashi frowned before running a hand through his messy hair. Sasuke was a man of business with little padding for small talk… that was something Kakashi saw hadn't ever changed.

"Well…" His voice trailed off as he thought about the library. "For a long time it was unorganized and not very well taken care of. But ever since Tsunade-sama has been Hokage, things have shaped up." Sasuke kept his gaze on his half eaten food and sat his mind swirling full of thoughts. He was itching to see what was hidden in the classified documents room and figured that a lot of the missing archives of the Uchiha Clan were in that room. Kakashi raised an eyebrow lazily.

"Do you not remember visiting it at the Academy?" Kakashi asked almost surprised. Sasuke shrugged.

"Not really. It was a long time ago." Sasuke reminded the old teacher next to him. This was a fact and Kakashi was silent for a moment. There were a lot of things hazy about Sasuke's past; he had cut a lot out of his life in order to remember the exact details of his clan's murder. He couldn't recall a lot before his brother committed the acts and even graduating as a ninja was blurry until he joined with Orochimaru.

"It seems that Hinata is doing a good job down there. Tsunade-sama also mentioned you are lending a hand." Kakashi said as if he was testing the waters, but Sasuke's silence seemed to be the disappointment he felt to having been assigned such a silly job.

"I should be a Jounin by now." Sasuke said eventually and Kakashi felt an eyebrow go up in curiosity. "You would probably be in ANBU by now." Kakashi said quietly and this only stirred the pot of annoyance building inside of Sasuke's chest. He thought about the elite ANBU and how it was a perfect fit for him. The only problem was the want. Sasuke had the skills, the intelligence and keen observation to become something great, but he didn't want to do it for Konoha. Sasuke reached down to drink the rest of the tea then put his hand into his khaki pants to throw some money on the counter. Sasuke stood up and turned to leave before Kakashi piped up once more.

"Naruto is well on his way to becoming Hokage." Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks and he allowed that bit of information to sink in. "I'm sure he would want you there by his side." He turned his head to the side slightly. Rumors were also a good way of catching wind of other people. It was just gasoline to the rage inside. His body felt heavy with jealousy that he would never admit even on his death bed. Sasuke didn't want to become Hokage and he certainly didn't care that Naruto was almost to the fulfillment of his dreams. Sasuke was so used to being ahead and being on top and now he was at the bottom starting all over again.

"We aren't a team anymore." Sasuke's voice was harsh and bitter. "I don't care what he does. I don't care what Sakura does. And the same goes for you too." The one thing that people often misunderstood of him was that he truly wanted to become a Konoha ninja to serve for the greater good of the village. Sasuke simply played along in the game until he got what he wanted—the strength and knowledge he needed to move forward with seeking revenge.

Of course, he also could have been lying to himself. There were times during his involvement with Team Seven that he found himself bonding with the others as if it was therapy to help soothe the wounds of the past. But over and over again he would have to remind himself of the task at hand. Sasuke wasn't like Naruto—he didn't need them to acknowledge his strength because they already had. He wasn't like Sakura who depended on others to feel needed. Sasuke could go days, weeks, even months without having a single person by his side and still be just fine. Sometimes he preferred it that way. Making his way up in rank was simply to catch up and continue from there as a stronger ninja. Kakashi watched Sasuke leave and he sighed gently to himself. He's still got a lot to learn.

The door at the top of the stairs slammed causing Hinata to have a mini heart attack. Her eyes looked up to Sasuke returning from lunch and she offered him a small smile to which he didn't return. Sasuke's dark eyes were full of bitterness and anger from his conversation at lunch and he had little patience. As he walked to his desk, he noticed all of the scrolls and documents he had been going over were gone.

"Where is my stuff?" Sasuke asked defensibly, eyeing her with an accusing gaze. Hinata cowered slightly and stood up.

"O-Oh. Well, while you were gone, I went through them." Her voice was only slightly louder than a whisper and he only rolled his eyes. She was a mouse and he was a vicious snake just looking for the satisfaction of a meal.

"I could have done it on my own." He suddenly said while she chewed on her lower lip. Hinata knew that not only was Tsunade testing Sasuke, but this was also a test for her. She would never in a million years understand what girls saw in this man—he was rude, disrespectful and so irritable for no reason. But she had experience in dealing with this type of person back at home with her father and cousin, so it wasn't a complete surprise.

"I k-know but…" Her voice quivered as she locked and loaded an excuse. "I thought that i-it would go faster if I finished for you." This response didn't help. Sasuke didn't need to be undermined by a Hyuuga. He was far more superior to her.

"I don't need the Hyuuga Princess doing anything for me." He said coldly which prompted Hinata to look at her feet. Hyuuga Princess… She was anything but that. Hinata remembered her father in a private conversation with the elders discussing how her place at the top was already filled with someone else—her younger sister. It caused an unintentional chain reaction of tears to form in her eyes, but she did her best to hide it. There was an awkward silence between the two and Sasuke grabbed his chair and sat down forcefully in it. This is going to be a long few months… His harsh eyes watched her seemingly shut down at his words before and something stirred in his stomach. What the hell? Normally Sasuke wouldn't have thought twice about whether or not he had hurt someone's feelings. He had said worse to better people—he made Sakura cry almost on a daily basis once and trying to kill one's best friend wasn't exactly a nice thing to do.

The way that her eyes lost their gleam seemed to have an effect on him, though. He didn't dare let it show so Sasuke just rubbed his forehead irritably. The way that she chewed on her lip, fidgeted with her braid and of course her nervous stutter were all very annoying to him so he decided to get on with this whole thing.

"So what is next?" He finally asked. His voice had lost its bitterness and anger and was back to the monotone he was known for. Hinata glanced up at him and he noticed her quickly wipe away a tear. She was quick to dismiss it as she turned to move some papers on her desk.

"I have d-different piles with scrolls that need to be filed. I thought that this might be a good time to get you familiar with the book shelves." Her voice was small as if he had slapped her right across the face. It never occurred to him that perhaps her role in the Hyuuga clan had been ripped away from her. It never really struck him as anything he would care about. Sasuke willed away any thoughts otherwise and shrugged.

"Let's get this over with." Sasuke stood up and approached her. He noticed there were many different bins filled with papers, books and scrolls. Hinata must have gotten this done quickly because when he had left just an hour ago, there was still almost half a day's work to be done. Hinata grabbed a bin and walked over towards a large book shelf that sat up against a wall. Setting it down on the ground, she grabbed an old red book and in turn handed it to Sasuke who had lazily followed her over.

"This box is full of anything and everything about medical herbs, flowers and plants. Many of t-the books are outdated, but Tsunade-sama wants everything to be kept just in case of emergencies." Hinata said quietly. He took the book and flipped through it. The pages were worn and tearing at the edges. From what he could see at a glance, it was a bunch of crap he could care less about. Maybe Sakura would have more use for it. Hinata continued as she turned to the book shelf.

"Each book is ordered alphabetically and since that book focuses more on side effects of the medicines, let's put it right here." Her small fingers ran down the spines of the books and she pushed two aside to make room for their new addition. Holding in a sigh, Sasuke slid the book in and it fit snuggly. He looked over at her and noticed a small smile.

"Now what?" Hinata tapped her finger on her lips in thought.

"Now we record where it is located." She said and grabbed a clip board from the side of the book case. Each case had its own clip board indicating what was where, which in turn they would also add it into the main database. Sasuke watched her carefully as she marked down the title of the document, the numbered shelf, and a brief description of its contents. Normally Sasuke wouldn't give two shits, but she was well organized. Tsunade had definitely appointed the right person for the job, although he would never understand why she stuck him down here.

"D-Do you understand…?" She asked gently, trying not to say anything to sound like she was talking down to him. Sasuke grabbed the clip board from her without a word and began to dig through the box. With another book in his hand, he read the title, observed the book shelf, and repeated what she had shown him. Hinata smiled and he secretly saw the gleam return back in her eyes. Deciding that he was fine on his own, she walked back to her desk and grabbed another box full of documents. Hinata began working at another book shelf a few feet away.

A few minutes had passed in silence as both began putting documents and books away, writing them down on the clip board, and beginning again. Sasuke found the work to be mundane and repetitive, but it also allowed him time to think. If he was able to work up in just a few months, he could easily begin steady streams of missions. Then perhaps fix up the old Uchiha District or better yet—leave. Sasuke hadn't really decided on it. He wondered what his Father would want him to do. The thoughts only travelled back to his brother and he frowned upon it.

Itachi had been sick. It was something Sasuke never imagined would happen and the fight was anything but what he had dreamed. In fact Sasuke probably would have killed with him the swipe of a kunai at the state he was in. Sasuke tried to reason with himself… he was so angry that day. He was angry that he had wasted his life to get stronger only for Itachi to die on his own.

Sasuke stopped what he was doing and stood there, trying to will away the thoughts. Thinking only made things worse and this place made it easy to drift into the past. All of his decisions, morals, hard work and pain granted him nothing. Sasuke didn't kill Itachi, or so the rumor said. Sasuke watched his brother die in his arms instead. There was no revenge and there was no fulfillment. Nothing in his heart had healed and there was no satisfaction. Sasuke glanced at the books before him and suddenly felt very claustrophobic. He needed some air. Turning around, he saw Hinata; she was reaching up on her very tip toes trying to slide a book into place on the top shelf of the tall book case a few feet away. He crossed him arms as she struggled. Sasuke approached her closely from behind and reached up to push the book in for her. He was close enough for his lips to brush against her hair and hear her catch her breath.

There were a few things he noticed off the bat: her scent. It was a very subtle smell of vanilla and perhaps cinnamon—he wasn't very good with his spices. It wasn't over powering like Sakura who basically drenched herself in a flowery perfume. It was just… nice. Sasuke never cared for girls or their habits, but this sudden discovery left a positive mark on her in his book. He didn't know why.

The second thing that he noticed was the way she seemed to recoil at how close he got to her as if he was going to ambush her. Sasuke would admit that at times he was a complete asshole and usually never cared about anyone else's feelings. Had it of been anyone else that flinched at him, it would make his pride shoot through the roof. But with her, it almost seemed to offend him; here was this Hyuuga girl who knew nothing about him and already assumed that he was some kind of monster. What does she know about me? Nothing.

The last thing he noticed was her butt. It was a silly and guy-ish thing to do, but Sasuke was a guy and he was hormonal. It had been quite some time since he had been with a woman and he could only assume that she had never been with a man. When Hinata had reached up, her long sweater rode up to display her womanly behind and, well, sometimes eyes wander. At least she hadn't seen and he didn't have to act like he didn't see it.

Sasuke stepped away from her and she turned around with pink tinted cheeks. He crossed his arms once more and observed her behavior. Sasuke had to smirk as she smoothed down her sweater and began to run fingers down her long braid.

"Oh, t-thank you, Sasuke-kun." Hinata whispered and tried to smile. He, however, frowned when she threw on that title at the end of his name. It reminded him of Sakura and all the other girls who stood in line for him before he left. He hated it.

"Don't call me that." He said flatly and turned to start walking away. Sasuke didn't feel so crowded in the room anymore now that his thoughts had shifted elsewhere so he walked back to Hinata's desk. "Where do these go?"

The rest of the afternoon went rather quick because they both stayed relatively busy. There was quite a bit of things to be organized, put away and marked down and of course Hinata had to help him every so often. On the occasion, Sasuke would help her reach the top of the book shelves, but only a few times. Whatever made his job easier he didn't care.

It was also relatively quiet, as well. Neither asked questions, unless it was Sasuke wondering where something went. Hinata was somewhat curious of Sasuke's reasoning for returning. It was as if he had vanished into thin air and then just magically re-appeared acting like nothing was wrong. His whole life was based off of one person and that was his brother…and killing him. Hinata couldn't imagine seeking revenge on her sister, or even Neji, for that matter, even though their relationship was somewhat bitter. Perhaps it was because she was so timid and forgiving… or another reason that crept into her mind was the word 'weak'.

And not much to her surprise, Sasuke never poked or prodded her about no longer being the heir to the almighty Hyuuga clan. It was something that she could see in people's eyes; curiosity and even pity for her. Hinata recalled Kiba and Shino offering their sympathies but neither could ever understand. It was something she didn't even enjoy thinking about… the cold stare her father gave her as he discussed Hanabi taking her spot always gave her chills. Each had their own solemn thoughts which led to a quiet and depressing day.

Eventually they had worked through much of the afternoon and into the evening. Hinata stretched her legs a bit as she stood up from pushing books into the bottom shelf and she glanced over at Sasuke. His expression was disgust and she could tell he was ready to go. She smiled gently and glanced over to her desk. There were a few bins left, but they could wait until tomorrow.

"A-Alright. I think we're done for today." Hinata said and Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. The day had been boring, repetitive, quiet and somewhat annoying but… it wasn't as bad as he had thought. Although he could have used his time for something much better like training or missions.

It was strange to be leaving with someone in her library since it was usually just her but Hinata followed Sasuke towards the stair case, and flipped the lights off. They were both silent as they reached the top of the stairs, only to be greeted by a loud and echoing 'Sasuke!'

Uzumaki Naruto had been waiting by the door like a puppy, as per instructions from Tsunade 'not to go bothering them while they worked'. Uchiha Sasuke's eyebrow twitched as his personal space was invaded by an unexpected hug. Hinata had a surprised look on her face as she shut the door, but it was hard not to smile softly at the scene. Of course Sasuke wanted nothing to do with this as he shoved off Naruto.

"Get off me." He said dryly and brushed a wrinkle from his shirt. Naruto could care less. He beamed brightly, following Sasuke as he walked.

"I knew you would come back eventually!" He said and crossed his arms while that grin never once faltered. "Hey, let's go get something to eat! There's a lot I wanna ask and then may-"

"No." Sasuke said simply as they walked down the hall. Hinata stayed a few feet behind, hoping not to intrude upon their reunion. It was true, Naruto hadn't seen the Uchiha in years and this was the moment he had been waiting for. Hinata smiled gently, her gaze locked in on the blonde haired ninja. She knew deep down that he would never notice her the way that she wanted and perhaps it was time to move on. However every time she told herself to stop and to let it go, the feelings would bubble back inside as if she had no control over it.

"Aww, come on." Naruto's voice began to get whiny, but he looked back to the Hyuuga who in turn shot her gaze to her feet. "Hinata! What do you think? Should Sasuke stop being a bastard and come hang out with his best friend?" Sasuke only rolled his eyes. As if her opinion would matter…

"O-Oh, well… um." She wasn't sure what to say, but Naruto's eyes watched her intently as he walked backwards down the hall. "You've both worked r-really hard… I mean… you should treat yourself every now and then."

"See?! I knew you were smart, Hinata." Naruto exclaimed, happy that he wasn't the only one who thought so. It suddenly dawned on Sasuke that perhaps he could pry some information out of Naruto about the Fifth Hokage. Maybe he could get an inside look at what was going on behind the scenes in this building. Sasuke and Tsunade weren't terribly familiar with each other since he had left the village shortly after she became Hokage. She probably knew more about him than he cared to know about, but he might have to figure something out to get her to lighten up on him. Sasuke would never be one to kiss ass, but he was also one not to be patient.

"Fine. One drink, that's it." Sasuke eventually said, much to both Hinata and Naruto's surprise. This gave Naruto a jolt of excitement as he turned around to race Sasuke to the exit of the building.

"Alright! Let's go get some ramen! And since it's been a rough few days, I'll get a bottle of sake for us." He said as he kicked the door open. Naruto's eyes settled on the quiet Hyuuga girl who was the last out the door. "Hinata, wanna come?"

Hinata's cheeks reddened and Sasuke had just barely caught a glimpse of the reaction from her. His dark eyes closed as he thought over it and it was very easy to see; she had some sort of feelings for Naruto. Sasuke was well aware what that was like, having girls hanging onto his every word and watching his every movement in his life. Since Sasuke didn't recall seeing her in his 'fan clubs', he figured that she must have had these feelings for quite some time. Of course this was all just an educated guess, and little did he know (or care), he was right.

"N-No thanks, Naruto-kun." Hinata managed to say and Naruto shrugged indifferently towards her.

"Suit yourself!" He said as his attention returned back to the Uchiha. The sun was just in its final stages of setting and the usual warm air had cooled down to a more comfortable temperature. The three had hit the main street, where Hinata was about to take her path home.

"Good night, Naruto-kun…" Hinata said which didn't manage to overpower Naruto's loud and obnoxious stories. Sasuke stopped walking as his cold gaze settled on her. Hinata noticed him staring at her and she immediately looked to her hands. Naruto also stopped.

"Eh?" He said, confused as he absent mindedly scratched his cheek. Sasuke crossed his arms and tilted his head in her direction. "Oh! See ya Hinata!"

She looked up and it was if the whole world had been served to her on a silver platter. Hinata smiled genuinely and her blush only deepened. Sasuke closed his eyes, half annoyed and half confused. He would never understand girls and the little things that could make them so happy.

"Good night Sasuke-kun." Hinata said as she folded her arms behind her back.

"I told you to stop calling me that." Sasuke said with little emotion as he began to continue forward. Naruto jogged a bit to catch up to him and he crossed his arms behind his head with a slight snicker.

"She sure is…different." Naruto said thoughtfully. "She isn't like any of the other girls around here. I guess I can't put my finger on it…" There was no response from the Uchiha as he was mainly thinking about how thick headed his former team mate was. How can you not see…? Either way, Sasuke didn't want to talk about the Hyuuga girl, nor did he want to talk about girls in general. He somewhat figured that everyone else in the Rookie Nine had matured and had thoughts of settling down, but he didn't.

He was more interested in business rather than pleasure. Of course, Sasuke allowed himself to live a little, hence why he had taken a liking to alcohol and the occasional female companion. It was a nice numb feeling that took away the daily stresses of training, travelling and now an annoying Naruto. Perhaps they would need more than one bottle of sake.

They reached the ramen stand just as the last ray of the sun had disappeared behind the mountains. Japanese lanterns hung about outside to light the way for the night time and as Sasuke sat down, he observed that not much had changed since their younger years. The old man still worked behind the counter with his daughter whom he never really caught the name of.

"Oy! I'm back!" Naruto said as he jumped into his seat. The young woman frowned and rested her hands on her hips.

"Naruto, is there anything else in your diet besides ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinn-"

"Hush you. He's a paying customer." Her father reminded and Naruto nodded.

"To answer your question, no and get me my usual! Oh, and a bottle of sake." The old man looked over in Sasuke's direction and awaited an order from him as well.

"Sake. That's it." Sasuke muttered as he rested his arms on the counter. If Naruto was right about anything, it was that it had been a long and tedious day. Had he of known that ranking up would have been such a pain in the ass, he might of just continued on his travels, but that wasn't really what he wanted. Deep down inside Sasuke's chest, the feeling of just living a normal life was tugging at his heart. He knew from the moment he stumbled upon his murdered family that he would never be able to stop looking over his shoulder under his brother was brought down. He had sort of reached a plateau of 'what now'?

"So what have you been doing all these years? We looked everywhere for you." Naruto said as he picked at a thread on his jacket. Team upon team had been out over the years to search for the missing ninja especially after the discovery of Orochimaru's dead body. The same could be said for Kabuto but the new rumor that was sparking around town was that he was spotted in the outskirts of the Village Hidden by Sand but once again… rumors usually had little to no merit.

"Why else would I be back?" Sasuke asked as a bottle of sake and two saucer cups were set in front of them. He wasted no time in pouring himself a drink. Naruto's features became serious and he nodded slowly as those words sunk in.

"So… he's really gone?" Naruto only asked specifically because for a while the eldest Uchiha had been after him and the nine tailed fox inside his body. As much friction that existed between the two ninja, there was a somewhat mutual understanding at this particular moment as Sasuke's silence proved to be the right answer. But Naruto didn't have time to dwell on it much as a steamy bowl of ramen was placed in front of him. His eyes began to water, whether it was from excitement or the steam, no one was too sure.

"This has been on my mind all damn afternoon!" Naruto said happily as he broke apart his chop sticks. Sasuke was on his third pour and the alcohol was starting to slowly make his body feel less tense and the frown line in between his eye brows was also disappearing as well. Sasuke figured this was the perfect time to nonchalantly dig into the pool of information that swirled Naruto's brain.

"Kakashi tells me you're working with the Hokage." Any normal person's voice would be filled with joy and excitement for Naruto, but Sasuke's was slightly dripping with jealousy. Naruto didn't notice as he slurped at the long noodles in his bowl.

"Mmhmm! Actually, it's more of a drag than I thought. If you think being cooped up with Hinata is boring, try the old lady. She constantly nags." Naruto said with a childish tone as he picked up his bowl. Sasuke felt the urge to laugh at his stupidity but instead he took another drink from his cup.

"What did you expect?" Sasuke asked as the sake was making him be more vocal than usual. "It's all a bunch of bullshit paperwork and sitting behind a desk."

"Not all of it." Naruto said trying to defend himself. He paused to drink the liquid from his bowl, knowing that Sasuke wouldn't have much to say. "I mean, yeah, most of it." Sasuke smirked and closed his eyes.

"So what are you, a Chuunin then?" Sasuke asked nosily and Naruto adjusted the Konoha band around his forehead with a grin.

"A Jounin, actually!" Naruto was about ready to piss himself with excitement, just knowing that Sasuke was two ranks below him now. Sasuke's face remained expressionless as it usually did even though his insides were churning with hate. Watch it. You're on thin ice, Naruto… Sasuke just took another drink,

"How'd that happen? Did you beg the lady to give it to you?" Sasuke muttered and Naruto crossed his arms.

"Ch, you wish." Naruto grumbled as he grabbed the bottle of sake. "What the hell! It's empty." He glanced over at Sasuke who shrugged his shoulders innocently. Whoops. His gaze met with the old man's and he nodded, placing another bottle in front of them. Naruto snatched it before Sasuke had a chance and he poured himself a cup. They were silent for a while before Sasuke sheepishly opened his mouth.

"So… how did you do it?" He asked as his cheeks became tinted with the effects of the alcohol. Naruto looked over, surprised at how he was suddenly interested in his personal life. His blue eyes hovered over Sasuke before looking back at the sake and taking a drink. The taste was bitterly sweet and it was easing the stress from his shoulder blades. He rubbed the back of his neck and heaved a small sigh.

"Well, I wasn't even a Chuunin yet when she promoted me." Naruto said very vaguely and Sasuke stared intently at him to pressure him to keep going. Naruto's features became sullen. "We had caught wind of your whereabouts to the north about a few years ago so we got the order to head out and take a look."

Sasuke took another drink of his sake, trying to act as if he didn't care, but he was listening closely. Naruto also took this opportunity to take a drink.

"We found one of Orochimaru's old hide outs in the forest. Of course we were prepared for anything and everything… traps, henchmen, Kabuto…you." There was a pause which didn't totally catch Sasuke off guard. He kept quiet. "We were even prepared for Orochimaru just as always. But we didn't know that we'd find him dead."

Sasuke closed his eyes, remembering back to when Kabuto was in talks of betraying the almighty ninja. He wanted nothing to do with it because it didn't concern him. Sasuke had been getting close to leaving at that point anyway, but Orochimaru must have been dead for a long time when he was discovered. He also recalled hearing that rumor as well… It was whispered in hush between prisoners, from town to town and there was truth to the whole thing. Hmph… well I'll be damned. His thoughts were bitter.

"So you got promoted because you happened to stumble on a ninja with a bounty on its head?" Sasuke spat coldly. Naruto stared at his former team mate with an uncharacteristic frown settling on his lips.

"Well, we found a lot of stuff." Naruto said solemnly. "We found a lot of…bodies and experiments. When it all boils down to it, we took a lot of his findings that had been written down. I mean, you knew of all that stuff going on, right?"

"It wasn't my business." Sasuke said dryly. Naruto narrowed his eyebrows and turned his body to the man next to him.

"None of your business? They were human beings! You were just another experiment too!"

"I didn't condone it. I just had my own priorities at the time." Sasuke was calm while a surge of anger was flowing through Naruto. Perhaps he was more immune to such horrible things. Sasuke didn't agree with Orochimaru and his way of trying to advance jutsus by using humans as guinea pigs. However, most of those test subjects were willing to give up their bodies to the science, hoping to be provided with immense power. Most never made it.

"So advancing to a Jounin isn't based on a test… it's up to the Hokage?" Sasuke eventually asked and Naruto suddenly realized that Sasuke was just there to milk information out of him. He shouldn't have been surprised, but he was. After all this time of searching and risking his life for his friend, nothing had changed between them. Naruto stood up warily and shoved Sasuke in the shoulder. It was as if he was throwing rocks at a sleeping lion—one had best deal with the consequences.

"Watch it, Naruto," Sasuke growled as he spilled sake on his shirt. Naruto shook his head, his cheeks clearly pink. Sasuke had never seen a drunk Naruto so while it was entertaining him slightly, it was also annoying him.

"No you watch it! We all worked our asses off trying to find you and you still haven't changed! You got your revenge so it's time to move on!" He blurted, clearly not choosing his words wisely. Sasuke stood up so suddenly that the counter rattled. He got close to Naruto's face but neither were backing down.

"I was never your friend. I didn't need to be saved. It's your own fault that you kept hanging onto something that was never there." Sasuke seethed. His dark eyes stared into Naruto's blue eyes and he saw something fade within them. It reminded him of Hinata's eyes when he said something hurtful to her earlier that day. Something stirred in his chest again and he whipped around to leave. This is bullshit. I shouldn't feel bad for anyone.

Sasuke expected Naruto to run after him, tackle him to the ground and try to knock some sense into the Uchiha just as he probably would have done so many years prior. But Naruto didn't. They weren't children anymore. Sasuke was a grown adult who could make his own decisions and Naruto was set to be crowned the Hokage in the near future. Even the kindest of hearts had their limits and after more than ten years of pushing, Naruto was finally going to give in. Sasuke told himself over and over again that he could care less, but there was another feeling inside fighting back saying let someone in.