Chapter Four- Light

"You're asking for it, Sasuke." Naruto growled.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you actually going to do something?" Sasuke scoffed haughtily.

An instant later Naruto threw a barrage of shuriken at Sasuke, all of which Sasuke dodged easily.

"Is that all you—?" Sasuke began to say, when he heard a "poof!" behind him, and whipped around to see one of Naruto's shadow clones armed with kunai which he threw at the surprised Uchiha.

Sasuke smirked briefly. "You forget, Dobe…" he flipped into the air, just grazing above the range of kunais. He landed behind the clone, taking it out effortlessly. "I helped you pull that stunt off years ago against Zabuza. That move can't touch me."

Naruto grinned. "I know." Sasuke shot Naruto a skeptical look. "But who said I didn't still have help? And who said my attack was done?"

As soon as Naruto finished speaking Sasuke realized what he meant, and he flew to the ground just in time as Sakura appeared behind him; her chakra filled fist flying through the air directly above him.

Sasuke mentally cursed for a moment as he tried to pull off a sweep kick against the kunoichi. Sakura saw it coming though, and jumped as Sasuke's leg swept under her. Sakura hit the ground and pushed herself away from Sasuke, landing a few feet away from him.

Sasuke stood and looked from Sakura to Naruto. "Tch. A nice try, I'll give you that."

"Sasuke!" Naruto called. "Why can't you just listen to reason?"

Sasuke scowled. "I am listening to reason…it's just different from yours."

"It's stupidity!" Naruto raged. "Who is this going to benefit in the end? Yourself? By the time everything's done you'll just be alone!"

"Idiot," Sasuke scoffed, "I already am alone. I walk this path by myself."

"You don't need to be alone Sasuke." Sakura declared.

Sasuke turned to the pink-haired girl. "And who would I walk with? You and Naruto? Tch, if I walk that path it'll only lead to weakness."

"Weakness you say?" Sakura spat, her fist clenched.

In a flash, she launched herself at Sasuke. Sasuke jumped effortlessly out of the way. Sakura's fist hit the ground, and for a moment Sasuke smirked, thinking she just hurt herself, until suddenly the whole ground around her exploded into ruble. Sasuke leapt farther back as the ripple of her chakra-filled fist got to him. The ground crumbled where he had stood. Sasuke landed again near the trees, just a few meters off from where the effects of her hit shattered the ground.

"Do you want to tell me that I'm still weak?" Sakura snarled, her eyes narrowing as she gazed at the Uchiha. "I got this strength training with my friends around me."

Shock was an understatement to what Sasuke felt seeing Sakura's strength, and he tried hard not to let it show on his face. He knew he should have expected some damage after seeing her send Karin flying off, but he wasn't prepared to see her do that much damage.

"She got this strength after only a few years of training?" Sasuke thought. "How is that possible? Even I couldn't do something like that with my fist and chakra alone."

Sakura grinned triumphantly, standing up straight and putting a hand on her waist. "Surprised, obviously. Naruto and Kakashi-Sensei had about the same reaction."

In the back Naruto chuckled nervously. "Yep. See, Teme! This is what friendship does! You think she just wanted to get stronger for the sake of being stronger?"

Sasuke raised a curious brow at the blonds' statement, which the two understood to mean: "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sakura tugged slightly on her glove, her eyes dropping to the destroyed ground between her and Sasuke. "You and Naruto…you're the ones who made me want to become stronger. I wasn't driven by anger or hate. It was the desire to not be left behind. To catch up with you both…so we could all walk the same path…all of us getting stronger and stronger…together."

Sasuke stared at Sakura as she got back down into a fighting stance.

"This is what having people around you does. It pushes you farther, drives you forward, a motivation you could never get when you're alone."

Without another word, Sakura launched herself at Sasuke once again, another fistful of chakra ready.

Sasuke reacted, getting away as Sakura landed another punch to the ground. What he didn't expect though, was for Naruto to suddenly be next to him.

"Sakura's right you know." Naruto muttered to the Uchiha before he landed a good punch to Sasuke's face, making him fall back and hit the ground. Naruto held up the first that struck him. "Really…I don't think I'd be this strong if it wasn't for you."

Sasuke looked up as Naruto and Sakura moved to either side of him. They were out of immediate range, but at the same time they had him trapped between them.

Naruto chuckled. "I remember…back when we were Genin we had that rivalry going on. I'm sure you remember. It was that rivalry that pushed us both forward. Both of us wanted to become stronger than the other. Remember when we were learning the tree climbing technique? Both of us weren't very good at it at first, but once we started getting the hang of it, we kept comparing against each other to see who got the highest each time. We both even stayed out till late at night until we both reached the top…and then you helped me back to Tazuna's place because I was so exhausted."

Sasuke blinked up at Naruto, a vague memory of what he told him flashing through his mind. He quickly suppressed it though, not wanting to show any reaction to what the blond was recalling.

Naruto smiled. "I also remember more than that. Our rivalry was anything. Who could eat the most and not throw up, who could take the most pain, or who could do a task faster. When you learned a new move I wanted to learn one. When you beat an enemy I lost against, I was angry, but at the same time I wanted to train myself…so one day I'd take you down and you'd submit that I was stronger than you."

"I remember…" Sakura spoke up, "when we were first attacked by Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. You fought so bravely, and you protected me. Then when you and Naruto were knocked out, I had to step up to take care of you both. I had to fight those Sound Ninja. In that battle I realized how much I envied you and Naruto…and how much I wanted to get stronger, too. After that I worked towards strengthening myself…looking forward to the day that you would acknowledge me as your equal…not someone who was weaker than you."

Sasuke looked up from Naruto to Sakura as they spoke. He thought their words would just bounce off of him as most people's words usually did, he tried to make their words bounce off of him, but for some reason it only stirred something inside of him. It felt light, something that he hadn't felt in a long time.

It was an old…happy feeling, something that he only felt because he knew that his two best friends were near him. It was light shining through his world of darkness and hatred where he believed only being alone and fueling his powers with anger would make him stronger.

"Sasuke…" Sakura spoke up again, "we need you. We're just not our full, happy selves without you. You know we punched a guy when he thought he was a part of our team? We both just didn't feel right saying we were Team Seven if you weren't there. We're not as strong as we could be…not without you there as a driving force for us to become stronger. And I think deep down it's the same for you. You'll never be able to reach your full potential because you'll never have anyone whom you want to surpass or try to compare yourself to."

"Sure you had Itachi…" Naruto stated. "But he's gone now. You compared to and then surpassed him. Now you need to find someone else to surpass…but not because you hate them and want to kill them, it'd be because you want them to acknowledge you…sort of like what we want you to do for us. We want you to acknowledge us, and maybe you'd want us to acknowledge you."

Finally, something in Sasuke snapped, but it wasn't like a bad snap where he would have lost his temper, it was more like a snap that made him realize something: their words were working on him. Something inside of him wanted to believe, wanted their words to be true, and wanted to go home. Home to the Leaf village where they were.

Sasuke stood up slowly, trying his best not to set off Naruto or Sakura and make them attack him in fear he'd strike out at them. He very carefully and cautiously brushed the dirt off himself as he stared down at the ground. Naruto and Sakura stood still, waiting to see what he was going to do.

Finally he looked up from the ground, and glanced from Naruto to Sakura, and then ahead of him like he was looking at some imaginary figure before him.

"Okay." Was all he said as he looked back towards the ground.

Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened at the same time as they heard Sasuke speak that single word.

"O-okay?" Naruto stammered, wary. "Okay?"

Sasuke glanced over at Naruto with a hint of exasperation. "That's what I said, wasn't it? You're not deaf, are you?"

"You mean…?" Sakura breathed, unbelieving.

Sasuke shifted his look over to Sakura. "Okay."

In the next moment Naruto erupted. "Woo-hoooo! TEME!" He suddenly tackled the Uchiha into a backbreaking bear hug.

Sasuke huffed, annoyed. "Dobe, get off of me."

Naruto glared up at Sasuke. "Temeeee!" He looked over to Sakura. "Join in, Sakura! He's coming home! He's coming home! The Teme's coming back home to the Leaf Village!"

Sakura stared at Sasuke for a moment, and Sasuke didn't think she'd come over until suddenly tears started to form at the corners of her eyes and she came forward to join Naruto in hugging Sasuke.

"I'm so glad you're coming back, Sasuke." Sakura muttered against his shoulder, which was about the farthest she came up to. It surprised her how much he had grown over the years.

For about another moment Sasuke felt annoyed at the tight proximity, but, giving up, he accepted their hugs and words of happiness that finally he was coming home with them.

'"'"'"'"

The three of them didn't bother to go to where Sasuke and his team had originally been resting when Naruto and Sakura found them, there was nothing important back there for Sasuke to grab, and also if Taka had come back then there would probably be hell about him leaving. They found it best for them to assume he was gone. It didn't really matter to him what Taka believed.

The three ran through the trees, heading as fast as they could back to the Leaf Village to make it back in their time limit. They knew as soon as their time limit was up that Anbu would be crawling throughout the place, and they probably wouldn't let them pass without trouble, even if it was on Tsunade's orders.

They made one stop their whole trek home, and that was only because night had fallen, and they all could really use some food and rest after their battle.

Sasuke watched from a little distance away as Sakura worked on Naruto's wounds. He had seen Kabuto use medical jutsus many times during his years with Orochimaru, and he knew how Karin's healing ability worked. Seeing medical work was nothing special to him anymore, but seeing Sakura use medical jutsus took him a moment to process.

It seemed that over the years Sakura had not only gained an enormous amount of strength, which he still didn't entirely understand looking at her slight form, but she had also learned the ways of a medical ninja at some point, and it was apparent that she was talented at it as well. Sasuke could only imagine what else Sakura could have learned in the years.

He then turned his attention to Naruto, who laughed and chatted idly with Sakura as she found any wounds that she could that he received in his fight with Suigetsu and Juugo. That was another thing he had noted. Naruto had been able to hold his own against both Suigetsu and Juugo, and then he had somehow outsmarted them in order to get away so he could join Sakura when she went to chase after him. None of his wounds even looked that bad, more like flesh wounds, which told Sasuke that Naruto had also gotten stronger over the years.

Sasuke continued to stare at the two for a few moments more before he turned to start making a place to sleep for the night.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned when he recognized Sakura calling for him. She waved a hand, beckoning him to come over.

"Let me see you, I want to check for any injuries."

Sasuke wanted to reply saying how he wasn't really injured in their battle besides maybe Naruto's punch to his face, but he relented anyway, and went over to where the two had seated themselves next to a fire.

Sasuke sat down, and Sakura moved to sit on her knees in front of him. She started with his face, cupping it and turning it from side to side to check for anything. Sasuke watched her from the corners of his eyes as he observed her scrutinizing his face.

Green chakra appeared in her hand over Sasuke's right cheek where Naruto had punched him in their fight.

"It's only a bruise, but it's better than walking into the Village with a purple mark on your face from where Naruto got you." Sakura giggled lightly as her hand stopped glowing and it dropped from his face with the other one.

She then continued on, checking his arms, legs, and torso. He noticed her frown a little sadly when she saw all the scars that covered his body, but she didn't say or ask anything about them.

Finally she finished, finding only minor scratches from running so quickly through the trees from them, and one cut from a kunai that he hadn't even noticed had nicked him, probably from when Naruto's clone had thrown some at him.

"Alright, everything checks out okay." Sakura assured him as she leaned away from the Uchiha. "Now," she stretched her arms into the air, "I think what all of us need now is a good night sleep. With the pace we're going we should be in the village by tomorrow afternoon."

'"'"'"'"

Sakura's assumptions were proven correct as by tomorrow afternoon the three of them stood in Tsunade's office. A triumphant smile was plastered onto the Hokage's face as she gazed at the trio.

"Looks like it was wise to send you two after Sasuke." Tsunade noted approvingly. "And of course now that he's back I can call off the Anbu and send a hawk to each of the other four nations telling them to end their searching and that I plan to keep Sasuke alive." Tsunade sighed deeply. "Though I doubt they'll be very happy with me."

"Searching?" Sakura echoed, confused. "Lady Tsunade…I thought you said only the Leaf Village would be going after him."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed as they landed on her student. "That's what I wanted you to believe…if I had to throw on the extra pressure of other nations looking for him, I wouldn't doubt it that you and Naruto would have pushed yourself to your limits, and you'd have been way too tired to have fought and successfully convinced Sasuke to come back after that."

Sakura and Naruto exchanged bewildered looks, but quickly averted their attention back to Tsunade.

"So Sasuke's free to go?" Naruto asked, casting a look between the silent Uchiha and the Hokage.

"Not quite…" Tsunade answered. Sakura and Naruto tensed, unsure of what would come out of the Hokage's mouth. "He still needs to be tested…we can't so quickly put our trust back into him after all he's done. He is still considered an S-ranked criminal."

Sakura and Naruto looked a little disheartened, knowing Tsunade was right.

"But," Tsunade smirked, "I'm pretty sure that with you two around, Sasuke should be able to stay straight."

At that Naruto and Sakura smiled, and looked over to their raven-haired teammate.

"You hear that, Teme?" Naruto cheered. "You better be a good boy, or I'll beat you up!"

Sasuke looked to the blond and smirked. "Like you could."

"Teme! Rrr…" Naruto growled.

Sakura laughed lightly at the sight of the two. Tsunade too let out a chuckle.

Everything was finally back to as it should be.

Da-da-da-daaa! The first phase of my story is compleeete! Seven more parts to go! Woo-hoo! So anyway…now that Sasuke is back we can go on with the real stuff! This was almost like a four chapter prologue. Now the real fun begins! And now that my revisions are done, this chapter I used to think was long is now even longer! Yay!
And now as my last note…people who think "what the hell? Why did Sasuke come home so easily? What bull!" Please don't eat me…. I had to come up with something, and actually the more I thought the more I realized just how hard it would truly be. I couldn't think of a better way…could you? I think that all you questioners out there should at least give me some slack for trying rather than just saying "Sasuke came back." (Because then this story would be four chapters shorter.) So nya! Later people!