Chapter 4:
He swiftly made his way through the forest, moving from shadow to shadow. I can't be far now, I can sense him, he thought to himself. He was in the Country of Fire, not far from the border of the Grass and Waterfall Countries. He had been pursuing his target now for almost a week. Fatigue began to take the boy, but he ignored it, pushing himself harder. I can't lose him now, I'm so close.
After another two hours of running, he could feel his target coming up. Masking his chakra as best he could, he made his way towards the presence he had been chasing. They must have stopped, he thought to himself. Sure enough, after about a mile the silent pursuer spotted a small glow – a campfire. Stopping within a few hundred meters of his target, the shadowy figure took a deep breath and looked up at the stars. He needed to be focused, calm. After what seemed like a lifetime, he finally emerged from the shadows to confront his target.
"I've finally found you, Uchiha Itachi."
Red Sharingan eyes looked up from the dancing flames to see who was emerging from the forest.
"So you have…Sasuke."
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The cell was dark and cold. Not that Sasuke minded that much. He found himself waking from a deep sleep. Running his hand across his stomach he noticed that his wound had healed significantly, in most part due to Tsunade's treatment. Sasuke couldn't help but muse at how quiet the prison was. He was certain that a place filled with renegade ninjas and criminals would be a lot noisier. His came to the conclusion that the other prisoners must still be sleeping. After his meeting with Tsunade, Sasuke was sent straight to the prison. He couldn't remember being taken or admitted, so it was most likely that he had passed out from exhaustion before he even reached the prison. He wasn't sure how long he had slept, and without a window or any view of the outside Sasuke had no concept of time. For all he knew he had slept for a week.
He could hear footsteps circulating from outside his cell, obviously from the guards. As he listened to the scuffle of the footsteps, he realised that they were coming towards his cell. As he sat up he felt a sharp pain from his abdomen. The wound mustn't have healed completely, he thought. Probably just enough to keep me alive for information. As the footsteps finally reached his cell, Sasuke looked up to see the prison guard unlocking the door. The guard looked coldly at the prisoner.
"Follow me."
Sasuke, not bothering to answer stood up and walked after the guard. He was expecting this. No doubt they would ask him questions about his whereabouts as well as his connections to the Sound Country. Sasuke was led out of the main holding section of the prison and down a cold hallway, to where the interrogation rooms were held. As Sasuke entered the room he could see his interrogators were waiting for him. Tsunade sat at the table, Kakashi stood towards the back of the room in a corner. The jounin didn't even glance in Sasuke's direction as he entered the room. Instead he focused on his novel, although Sasuke could see that he wasn't actually reading the book. Ibiki stood at the door, closing it after Sasuke entered the room before sitting down next to the Hokage at the table. Both looked directly at the boy, neither betraying their resolve.
"So hear we are then." Sasuke's words were enough to cut the tension that lingered in the room.
Ibiki, being the interrogation specialist, ignored the boy's comment and went straight to the point. "Sasuke, what are you doing here?"
Sasuke stared down at the table. "As I told Hokage-sama, I'm merely here to face whatever punishment awaits me."
Suddenly, Tsunade slammed her fist down onto the table. "God damn it Sasuke, cut the bullshit. You know damn well what we mean! You've been missing for six years, why return now?" The Hokage was in no moods to be playing games with this boy.
Sasuke's gaze turned to meet hers. His expression was pained. As he spoke, the people in the room all noticed a change in down. "There is nothing left for me any more…" Sasuke's answer was soft, must more subdued than expected. "I have no where to go, so I came back to the place I once called home. It seemed as good a choice as any."
Ibiki and Tsunade glanced at each other. "So why didn't you keep running? Why come back to the place you know you will be arrested? You survived all this time as a missing-nin, why not continue down that path?" The scarred shinobi's gaze was penetrating. It was part of the reason he was so successful at extracting information from people. Many brave shinobi had broken under it.
Sasuke didn't move, his eyes switching between Tsunade and Ibiki. He felt his pride begin to well up, the Uchiha pride. Regardless of his situation he didn't need to tell them anything. "Like I said to you," his voice cool and calculated, "there is nothing more for me out there. I have no need to keep running from Konoha, nor do I have the desire. That is all there is to it."
"What about Itachi?" Tsunade expected a strong reaction from the boy at the mention of his brother. Instead he turned his gaze downwards.
"He is of no concern to me anymore."
Again, Ibiki and Tsunade glanced at each other. Tsunade decided to push the matter further. "So have you gotten your revenge? Is that it?"
Sasuke remained silent.
"Sasuke, did you kill your brother?"
Again, Sasuke answered with silence. Tsunade sighed angrily. This was going to go nowhere. She could feel her frustration and anger building up. If only this boy would give her a straight answer. Slowly the Hokage stood and moved to stand behind her chair. Then in one swift moment, the woman lifted the chair and threw it against the wall, causing it to splinter into thousands of pieces. Ibiki's composure remained throughout the scene. Kakashi looked up quickly in surprise, only to return his attention to his book. Tsunade leant over the table, fiercely glaring at the indifferent boy in front of her. Sasuke hadn't even flinched. Suddenly the Hokage grabbed the Uchiha by the collar and pulled him closer to her.
"Listen here you Uchiha brat, you will either tell us what we want to know or you will spend the rest of your days locked away in a dark cell. You will have no company. You will have no visitors. You won't even have any more interrogations. You will never see a living person face to face for as long as you live, and in the end you will die alone, with no one to mourn you. No one will even know you exist. You will be locked away and forgotten. I guarantee it." She spoke quietly, but the smouldering anger in her voice was enough to prove that she was, in fact, serious.
As quick as Tsunade had grabbed the boy, she now let go of him and began to walk to the door. "Cooperate with is Sasuke," she began, her back to the boy, "tell us what happened and the charges may not be so severe."
Sasuke remained still, but his composure had changed, and was now visibly strained. Tsunade swore she could have heard the boy whisper to himself, "I am alone." She sighed heavily. As she began to exit the room she heard the Sasuke speak.
"Naruto." The blonde woman turned back into the room, waiting for Sasuke to continue. "I'll talk. I'll tell you anything you want to know. But I will only talk to Naruto. Only him, no one else." Tsunade smiled to herself. She had been expecting this.
"Okay, you can talk to Naruto. I will inform him that you have returned to Konoha." Tsunade once again began to leave the room. Ibiki stood from his seat and followed the Hokage out. Kakashi just stood in silence where he was for several moments. Sasuke could see from his one visible eye that Kakashi hadn't slept. But there was something else. Sadness? Anger? Suddenly Kakashi snapped his book shut and walked towards the door. As he reached the doorway he paused.
"Welcome back…Sasuke." He spoke with such fragility, his voice laced with sorrow. The normally stoic jounin didn't even bother to hide the pain he was feeling. And with these words, Sasuke felt an unbelievable sense of guilt, one he had never experienced before.