I apologize for last chapter. I also apologize for how long this one has taken, and for how short it is...yeah. Oh, and I ALSO apologize for any OOCness in this chappie...I tried my best, but there are a couple parts I'm still unsure of. It's difficult to make the characters do what I want them to and not be OOC, but I THINK I've managed to do okay...

On a side note, I've finally passed 100 pages in this fic! Yay me! XP Okay, enough rambling, on to the fic!

Chapter 7

After a couple minutes, Sasuke poofed back into Naruto's apartment and shut the door. Naruto looked up. "You're back," he noted. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Obviously." Sasuke just stood there, and both boys were silent for a long while.

"Umm...so, there's not exactly enough room in here for both of us," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head.

Sasuke went over and punched Naruto in the nose. Naruto fell backwards on his bed, hands automatically flying to his face. He glared up at the other boy. "Ow! What the hell was that for, you teme?"

"Is that the only insult you know, dobe?" Sasuke asked.

"No, teme, it's just the best one for you," Naruto replied, taking a hand away from his face to check if his nose was bleeding, which it wasn't. He sat up again. "And you never answered my question; what was that punch for?"

"What the hell were you thinking, Naruto?" Sasuke exclaimed, and Naruto looked at him in confusion.

"About what, that thing with Sakura-chan? Because that was all her doing, I didn't-"

"No, I'm not talking about Sakura, baka," Sasuke interrupted. "What was that crap earlier about you handing yourself over to the Akatsuki if I were killed?"

Naruto blinked. "It was all just a bluff," he replied, "though I don't see why you care so much."

"So you weren't actually planning on going through with it?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Jeez, Sasuke, I know I'm not the smartest person out there, but do you actually think I'd be stupid enough to kill myself just because you died? I wouldn't do that for anyone, let alone you. I have dreams and ambitions. I won't get to be the greatest Hokage by killing myself."

Sasuke's expression hardened. "Well, in any case, what are we going to do about the living situation? As you said, there's not enough room here for us both."

"Unless we both tried to make ourselves fit on my tiny bed," Naruto pointed out, "which really wouldn't work."

"Since I have no choice but to live with you, we may as well go to my old house in the Uchiha district. That way we can have lots of space and hopefully not get in each other's way," Sasuke suggested.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You're actually offering for me, an outsider, to not only see the famous Uchiha district, but to also live in it?"

"Only because there's really nowhere else to go."

Naruto narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Why are you so calm about this? You're being kept in Konoha against your will, forced to stay with me, and you've just been interrogated, so why aren't you fighting to get away? Why are you just standing there, giving strange suggestions? Unless..." Sasuke's eyes flicked to Naruto's face. "Unless you really did want to come back to Konoha!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Baka. I'm going along with this idiotic plan because I value my life. The Hokage made it very clear that if I try to make a run for it, or I purposely leave your side, I'll be killed on the spot, no matter how much you plead. That's the only reason I haven't gotten away yet."

"Uh huh," Naruto said with a grin. "I'm sure that's the reason. Oh, just admit it, Sasuke. You like it here in Konoha. You've realized that being evil really isn't your thing, and now you want your old life back. Am I right?"

Sasuke just turned away. "Come on, let's just go before I change my mind and decide I'd be better off dead." He opened the door again and walked out. Naruto followed with a grin.

XXXXXXXXXX

"It won't work," Juugo said for what felt like the millionth time. "You basically just took your last plan and changed two minor details."

"Well, I don't hear you coming up with anything," Suigetsu snapped.

"That's because this whole revenge thing is your idea, not mine."

"Then why are you still hanging around and going along with it all?"

"Because," Juugo replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "I want to get Sasuke-kun back. I'm surprised I've lasted this long without trying to kill you or anyone else I've come across, and I don't want to push it much farther."

Suigetsu was silent for a while. "How about we sneak into Konoha, dressed like some of their shinobi, and find the kid while we're undercover? Then I can kill him!"

Juugo shook his head. "Firstly, how do we make sure that the shinobi we're impersonating aren't in the village when we go in? Secondly, it would probably take months of planning and spying to pick the perfect people to steal the identities of, as well as figure out their personalities and how they interact with everyone around them. That plan takes patience, Suigetsu, and lots of it. I know you don't have that kind of patience, if any at all."

Suigetsu scowled. "See? There you go again! You shoot down my ideas, then don't offer any of your own. How is that fair?"

"Are you even sure that killing this kid will make you feel better?"

Suigetsu pondered that for a moment. "You're right," he said after a while, "it won't. Death is too good for him. I want to make him suffer as much as he's made me suffer. I want him to feel the pain that I feel." He thought for another few minutes. "I've got it! I've got to kill the person he cares most about in the world! That'll make us even! Now if only I could figure out who that is..."

Juugo sighed. "That's not exactly what I meant," the big man said. "Revenge isn't always all it's cracked up to be. Sasuke-kun is a prime example of that."

"Yeah, well, Sasuke-kun's case is different from mine," Suigetsu argued. "He spent pretty much his whole life obsessing over revenge, so when he finally got that revenge, he had no idea what to do. But I'll still have a life to look forward to once I've made this kid pay for killing Karin."

Juugo shook his head silently. "I can't be around you when you're like this. Come find me when you've figured out what you're going to do." With that, Juugo left, wanting to keep whatever semblance of calm he could.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Wow, so this is your place?" Naruto asked, whistling in appreciation. He turned to look at Sasuke, who walked right past him and stopped. The Uchiha stood there silently, and Naruto walked up beside him to get a look at his face. Sasuke's eyes were closed, the rest of his face blank.

"Sasuke...?" Naruto started, looking at his friend in concern. "You okay?"

Sasuke's eyes remained closed for a few seconds longer, then snapped open, the usual cold indifference showing in them. "I'm fine," he said, turning away from Naruto. "Come with me and I'll show you which room will be yours for as long as we're forced to live together." He started to go, but Naruto grabbed his arm.

"First, let's take a walk around town," the blonde suggested. "I'm sure there are lots of people who would like to see you again."

"I don't want to see anybody," Sasuke replied, yanking his arm away. "That wasn't one of the requirements. I've already seen too many people for my liking, already had to deal with you and Sakura. There's no way I'm going to walk around town so people like Sakura and Ino can fawn over me, and go on and on about how they missed me so much, and how they always knew I'd come back. It's not going to happen. Now, come with me to see where you'll be sleeping." Sasuke walked off, not bothering to check if Naruto was following.

Naruto followed after a moment. "Sasuke, what's wrong?" he asked once he caught up. "I can tell something's bothering you."

Sasuke ignored him and continued on, stopping at a room. "Here. Now just leave me alone."

"Sasuke, tell me what's wrong."

"I said leave me alone, dobe!" Sasuke snapped, then walked off and slammed the door to his own room. Naruto sighed and stood there for a while, then quietly went the same way that Sasuke had gone, and stood outside the door, about to knock. As he raised his fist, he heard a strange noise coming from inside the room.

What the...wait...that sounds almost like...is Sasuke crying? Naruto thought, then opened the door. Sure enough, Sasuke was sitting on his bed with tears streaming down his cheeks. His head whipped up at the sound of the door opening, and he scowled.

"Go away, dobe," he said, wiping his face. "I never said you could follow me in here."

Naruto walked over to Sasuke and sat beside him on the bed. He put a hand on the older boy's shoulder. "Talk to me, Sasuke. We were best friends once, I'd like to be that again."

Sasuke shrugged Naruto's hand off. "I told you to go away."

"I won't go away until you tell me what's wrong," Naruto replied.

"Then you'll be sitting here for a long time, because I'm not telling you." Sasuke sighed. "You wouldn't get it even if I did. Now go away."

Naruto sighed as well and got up. "Fine. You win for now, but when you do want to talk, you know where to find me." He left, closing Sasuke's door behind him, and headed back to his temporary room.

Sasuke rubbed his face once Naruto left. It's been so long since I was last here, he thought to himself. I've learned so many truths since then...Itachi...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything you had to go through. It wasn't fair. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to get a grip. He didn't want to start crying again.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I've got it!" Suigetsu exclaimed, walking over to Juugo. "I know the perfect way to get revenge on that bastard!"

Juugo looked at his teammate. "Alright, fine. What is it?"

Suigetsu grinned. "Remember that idiotic girl that Karin was about to finish off? Well, I'll be she was the bastard's girlfriend or something, judging by the way he threw himself to save her. So all I have to do is kill her in front of him, and everything will be great!"

Juugo shook his head slowly. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "How do you expect to get into Konoha to kill the girl in the first place?" he asked.

"Well, that's what I've got you for." The white haired ninja grinned. "You can figure that part out."

"Only because I want to get Sasuke-kun back. After that, I'm not going to bother with you any more, got it?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever, just as long as you help me out first." Suigetsu walked away, and Juugo sighed.

Everything would have been a lot simpler if we hadn't joined the Akatsuki.

And that's that! Told you it was short. Okay, my lovely readers, now it's your turn. I need a chapter that's pretty much filler, with as many random and amusing things in it as you guys can come up with. Basically, this is what I want: a) some way to get Sasuke out, walking around Konoha, b) a bunch of characters Sasuke should run into (with Naruto, of course, because Naruto isn't allowed to let Sasuke wander around on his own), and c) a bunch of crazily random crap to happen. So review with your suggestions! Don't worry, I DO have ideas for the plot, I just need to drag the rest of the fic out a bit more.

And to think, this whole fanfic started with a random thought that I wanted to send the modified team 7 out on a mission to Suna...anyway, review please! I'd love to hear (or read, if you want to be technical about it) what you think should happen, and I promise to mention you in the A/N if I use your idea.