Ripple: Breaking the surface…

OV: When a stone is thrown through the glassy surface of water it causes ripples to spread…

What happens when a missing-nin returns to his tranquil home village?? Make that two…

Ripple!

AN: Sorry about the little lime in the last chapter…Blame it on-- ummm… Halloween! Yeah the craziness of getting ready for Halloween!! (Why is it that I can't find Manga Gel anywhere!?!) Grr!

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There were more people in his office than he expected. They had been talking when he opened the door, however, as soon as they saw it was him they immediately hushed into respectful silence. He took his place behind the desk, and turned to Kakashi. "Okay, now what's so important that you had to drag all these people into my office?" Naruto forthrightly asked.

Kakashi wasted no time in explaining that there had been an attempted attack on Konoha the day before during the inauguration and festival. Also that there was a probability that there might have been a second planned, however events that resolved in both groups meeting up negated this from happening. He stated that there had been several casualties, none from Konoha ninja, and two captures. Furthermore, the detainees were being closely guarded, with no contact between them, in two distant cells under ANBU Headquarters in the High Security prison, and were being cooperative. However, they had requested Tsunade's assistance concerning one of them. Kakashi explained that the nature of the request was nonthreatening, and would benefit both prisoners greatly, and possibly Konoha too; however he refused to go into detail.

Naruto looked at Tsunade, then back to Kakashi, "Why do I feel there's more to this than you're telling?" he pondered. He took his eyes off the silver haired ninja, "What do you think Baa-chan??"

Tsunade's face got red, but she didn't tell him off for calling her an old lady. Instead she looked at him, and calmly smiled, which was even scarier than if she'd yelled, "It is alright with me, pending learning more details. If it's within my abilities and in Konoha's best interest I will do whatever is needed."

Naruto nodded, that sounded alright to him. "What has been done with the bodies?"

Kakashi shot a look at Tsunade, and a couple of ANBU guards standing near the door before he answered. "One was buried; the other three were burned on standard pyres."

Naruto noticed that the burial was out of place, especially for an enemy, but he chose not to question it, for now. There was definitely something they weren't telling him. He may only be in his first day as Hokage, but he wasn't stupid. He stopped his train of thought, maybe that's why they weren't telling him everything. He had always taken a little time to adjust to new situations. They were probably thinking he'd get mad at them for doing things without his consent. They had most likely been trying to save him some hassle since he was new, and now they felt guilty for doing his job for him. That had to be it; why else would they be acting so weird?

"Alright, I'm sure you could handle disposing of a few bodies without me having to tell you what to do." He said with that characteristic glint in his eyes. He was trying to let them know he wasn't mad, but they should ask him before important things. He was actually relieved not to have had to do anything about the bodies. It would have put a dark mood on the bright day he'd had yesterday. He'd also already had heartbreak that morning, and didn't need any other depressing thoughts; although they didn't know about that.

Kakashi seemed a little more relaxed, and answered Naruto's next questions with ease, and soon the meeting came to an uneventful end. They determined Kakashi would take Tsunade to the jail and check on the prisoners. Naruto and Shikamaru would get to work on the regular daily routine. Naruto had also set to work setting up a squad to make sure all the esteemed guests got home safely. He appointed the two ANBU who were present in charge, and considered Hinata, Choji, Kiba, and Ino good candidates to assist. They were to assemble two three man teams, and escort anyone who requested it, as well as extend Konoha hospitality to others who wanted to stay longer. The meeting broke up as Naruto ordered everyone to get to work.

Kakashi and Tsunade left the office in a hurry. Tsunade looked at Kakashi, "So are you going to tell me what's going on now?"

Kakashi looked around the corridor, they seemed to be alone, but he wasn't going to chance Naruto hearing who the prisoner was, nor who had been buried last night or why. "I'll tell you when we get to the prison, it's too complicated to discuss here."

Back in his office Naruto thought about Gaara, and wondered if he and his siblings had left yet. He hadn't even gotten to say goodbye. His mind wandered as the last of the people Kakashi had called left the office. What had happened the night before? Who was in prison? Hmm, curious. As he thought about it no one had ever said who they had captured, if the two groups were natural enemies, or even where they came from. Were they rogue Ninja, hired assassins, missing-Nin? Naruto jerked his head upright, were they Akatsuki? No, that was impossible, unless the prisoners they had were Akatsuki members and had killed whoever else had made the mistake of planning an attack at the same time as them. That would make sense as to why Kakashi was being so secretive. He wouldn't want word to get around that Konoha had captured two Akatsuki members.

The more he thought about it, the more sure he was that this had to be the answer. The more sure he was about the fact of having two Akatsuki members in their midst the more angry he became. The angrier he became the more he wanted to go see those prisoners for himself and give them a piece of his mind.

Shikamaru looked over at Naruto; he'd been very quiet for some time, a rare feat for the blonde. He nearly fell over in his chair as he noticed the color of Naruto's eyes and the depth of the whisker like scars on his cheeks. There was also a heavy chakra emanating from around him. The expression on his face was the most frightening, his teeth were bared and they were longer and more feral than normal, his nose and forehead were furrowed with anger, and his fists were clinched tightly sitting on top of the desk. Shika noticed that his finger nails also seemed longer, like claws almost. He was reminded of Kiba in his half-beast technique. "Na-Naruto… nande?" he asked softly almost afraid for his friend to hear him lest he turn that anger towards him.

Naruto's head snapped in Shikamaru's direction. He'd forgotten the other man was there. "Why?" he snarled. "Why are they trying to hide whose in the prison from me? I can take on a couple of Akatsuki members. I killed Kakuzu, and I've survived attempts at being taken by Itachi twice." Naruto stopped growling. A thought had come to him suddenly.

He turned to face Shikamaru, "They have Itachi in that prison, don't they?"

Shikamaru's face had gone pale, and he was sweating. He was actually fearful of being in the same room as Naruto when he was in this state. As Naruto began asking questions, Shika's mind began to work. He could see that Naruto was probably correct in his assumptions, as he didn't actually know what was going on himself. At the last question, obviously directed at him, he turned to see Naruto staring at him with those red eyes. "Naruto, I don't know." He began.

Naruto cut him off, "DON'T LIE TO ME!!" he screamed.

Shika cringed, but continued, "Naruto I really don't know who they have in there, or who died last night. They didn't say. I do think you might be right; what if it is Itachi, does that mean Sasuke was the other group? It would fit the numbers. There would be two Akatsuki, and Sasuke was said to have four people in his group. They would have wanted to give Sasuke a proper burial, because even though he was a Missing-Nin he was an Uchia. They would have buried his body at the old Uchia Compound." He was speaking more to himself than Naruto actually, and he counted out reasons for the argument on his fingers.

Naruto stopped snarling. One thing Shika had said had broken through his anger and completely neutralized it. "Sasuke?" he whispered. "Sasuke dead?" The thought was almost more than he could bear. He jumped up and raced out the door. Shika ran after him, but soon lost sight as he bounded through the outer door and down the street. The one thing he noticed was he wasn't headed in the direction of the ANBU building, but in the direction of the Uchia compound and grounds.

He took a shortcut and reached the gated compound at the same time as Naruto. He was stunned to see tears in Naruto's eyes. "Come on, we'll go in together." He offered.

Naruto nodded, and they pushed the gate open. A piece of chain fell to the ground, its lock having long sense rusted away. The two men could see that the gate had been disturbed recently. There was a fresh scrape mark along the ground. Naruto grew withdrawn. He stepped inside the gate with Shika right behind him.

It didn't take long to find the cemetery. It was an ornate place, every Uchia had been given a grand burial after the slaughter, and their graves were both neat and simple, yet grand and dignified as befitting one of Konoha's premier clans. They saw a fresh grave; it was next to two other graves which had been placed a little apart from all the others, almost as if done in conspicuous reverence, or as a martyr. The names told why, but not which the case was; Fugaku, and Mikoto. Naruto didn't know whose names they were, but Shika did. These were Sasuke's parents. He knew because he'd grown up hearing the awful story, and once he'd heard his parents mourning the 'poor Uchia parents' and had heard their names.

Naruto asked Shikamaru the question he'd already surmised for himself. "These graves, they're Sasuke's parents aren't they?"

When Shika didn't answer Naruto looked over at him. The look of deep sadness and regret were all too evident on his face. He took one reluctant step after another until he was standing in front of the fresh grave. He had to drag his eyes off the mound of dirt to look at the small slab of stone. When he did he let out a gasp of surprise.

Shikamaru had cone up behind him and Naruto jumped at his cry of "Nande?" They looked at each other.

Then Shikamaru was looking at a patch of air. Naruto had taken off so fast Shikamaru had been unable to follow him with his eyes. He looked at the grave once more and grinned. He knew exactly where Naruto had gone. He wasn't about to follow this time. Naruto needed to make this visit on his own. "Good bye Itachi, you got better than you deserved to be buried next to your parents in the familial burial grounds."

He placed his hands in his pockets and looked up at the clouds as he sauntered down the path and out of the compound. He grinned and wondered what the reunion of Naruto and Sasuke would be like and almost wished he were there to see it. He would go, but he'd hurried enough for one day rushing to catch up to Naruto at the Uchia compound.

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Tsunade's eyes grew large and round as Kakashi informed her of the situation. "Sasuke! He's here? But, how?"

Kakashi told his story of how he'd been approached by two ANBU who had stopped to tell him of their encounter. They had led him to the dead, and he'd ordered the burial and burnings. No one had questioned him about burying Itachi; they had merely followed their instructions carefully. He then related his discussion with Sasuke the night before. Tsunade listened carefully looking him in the eye. They had stopped walking as he had talked. She shook her head as he explained what Sasuke had requested.

"So he's finally grown up." She said with a slight smile. "I don't know what I can do, but I will try. For Naruto, I will try."

Kakashi looked at her; for Naruto, huh, not Sasuke. She was angry at the raven haired boy, which was obvious. Kakashi knew it was because of the hurt and anger he'd caused to Naruto who for some reason had become one of Tsunade's special people. He smiled, he was glad Naruto had found someone else to care for him, after all he'd been through he deserved as many kind people as he could gather.

They entered into the chamber where Sasuke and Juugo were being held. Tsunade glowered at the still shirtless boy. He'd been offered a shirt, but had refused. He didn't want any of the garments they had offered, because they were all ANBU clothing and he felt he didn't deserve to wear anything like that. "You must be Tsunade." He said softly, his voice proclaiming just how defeated the last Uchia felt. "Can you help Juugo?"

She looked at the hope and concern in his eyes. Her anger and harsh feelings toward the boy softened. "I will try. I will try to help him, because it is important to you, but most of all because it will become important to Naruto when he finds out about it."

Sasuke stared at her. Why would Juugo be important to Naruto? What kind of games was she playing with him? He didn't really care; he had reached a point where he merely existed. As long as his promise to Juugo was carried out, that was what was important. He seized upon something she had said, 'When Naruto finds out.' His head sank to his chest. So they hadn't told Naruto he was there. He really couldn't blame them. Naruto had just achieved his lifelong dream, he was the Rokudaime Hokage.

Sasuke looked up at Kakashi, "Some day, will you tell Naruto I said congratulations."

Kakashi was spared having to answer as the sound of footsteps pounding down the corridor disrupted the hushed atmosphere.

Naruto stood in front of the opened cell, his robe was slipping off one shoulder in his haste. He stared at the man sitting on the mat before him. He didn't speak for the longest time, he just stared. Sasuke couldn't say anything; anything he might have said was lost when he looked into those deep blue eyes. He followed the path as a single tear slipped down one tan cheek, over the whisker-like marks, and dropped off his jaw.

Suddenly Sasuke was picking himself up off the floor where he'd landed in a heap when an unexpected punch from Naruto had sent him flying. He didn't say a word, he just watched as tears were now flowing freely down the blonde's cheeks. He knew he'd deserved that and more.

Naruto stood over Sasuke, he half smirked half snarled, "Teme." Then his hand shot out, Sasuke didn't flinch, he just stared at the proffered hand. Slowly he reached his own hand up and slipped his fingers around Naruto's. The two boys stared at their joined hands. It was as if they both realized it was something highly symbolic for each of them. Tan flesh wrapped around pale skin.

Naruto pulled gently and helped Sasuke stand, however he didn't relinquish his grip. They just stood there facing each other, onyx melting into cerulean, a boisterous storm clashing with the calm sea. Their hands joined together between them acting as an anchor to keep them grounded. Neither man noticed as Kakashi and Tsunade slipped out of the cell.

Sasuke broke the silence, "Dobe."

Naruto pulled Sasuke closer and looked deep into his eyes. He could see sadness, hurt, and despair. He felt like he was being pulled back in time to a place where he and Sasuke were still teammates and rivals.

Sasuke drowned in those blue depths, he wanted to find what he had remembered from so long ago. That spark that could always make even the most deadly situations seem okay. That glimmer that would tell him that he was still alive, that somehow, someway, even now; everything could be alright.

They stood there just staring at each other for the longest time. For them it was as if time stood still. They didn't speak. They didn't need to. They said everything they needed to say with their eyes.

Suddenly Sasuke saw what he'd been looking for. That glimmer. That spark that only Naruto had. Naruto's eyes lit up and a mischievous grin spread across his face. He'd had an epiphany. He slowly led Sasuke out of the cell, guided him down the corridor, steered him up the stairs, and pulled him across the lawn. He didn't look back, he didn't tell Sasuke where they were going, he just urged him to follow with a firm grip and a gentle tug every now and then. He was the Hokage, and as such could pardon or condemn the man. He grinned at his stroke of genius.

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Kakashi left Tsunade to look Juugo over and went back to check on his former students. He wasn't surprised to see that they were gone. He journeyed up into the main level and asked the ANBU guard when they'd left. When he heard that it had been mere minutes, he smiled, thanked him, turned on his heel, and returned to keep watch over Juugo to make sure Tsunade was alright.

After a thorough examination, Tsunade thought she had an idea of what she was up against. She looked at the large man who sat meekly before her. He turned his eyes to her and questioned what his fate would be. Tsunade, being one to neither lie nor sugar-coat anything, told him directly that the curse that flowed in his blood was an old one. She outlined what it would entail to try to reverse it, and finished by calmly stating that he could die, or be driven permanently insane. He looked at her, searching the light brown eyes that looked upon him with neither horror nor pity. "I trust you, when will you begin?"

She explained that she needed to get the required medicinal herbs gathered and prepare the ingredients. "I have several medical Ninjas who I know I can trust to aide me in the purging ceremony, so I'll set the date for the day after tomorrow."

Juugo smiled. He wished Sasuke was there close by so he could tell him 'Arigato.' He worked upon maintaining his composure and holding onto those words of promise Tsunade had spoken. To him, that there was a chance to be cured far outweighed any negative consequences. Besides, living with the curse was a death sentence in itself, and when he went on the killing sprees he was rendered incapable of concrete thought, and was in a state of psychosis.

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Several people turned to stare as they saw their new Hokage leading a shirtless man through Konoha by the hand. There were more than a few who recognized the achromatic haired man for who he was. Whispers began to spread like wildfire. Konoha's kunoichi heard the rumors and swooned. Konoha's elite Ninja heard the murmurings and became enraged. The Ninja who made up the remainder of the original 'Rookie Twelve' heard the susurration and vowed to find out for themselves.

Naruto had no more than pulled the door closed behind him and Sasuke when he heard the sound of many people approaching. He looked at Sasuke, "Are you sorry you ever left?"

Sasuke nodded yes.

"Do you trust me?"

Another affirmative nod.

Naruto directed Sasuke behind his desk and positioned himself between them and the door. He called for those impatiently waiting to enter.

Sakura and Ino were both trying to get through at the same time and as such were wedged in the doorway blocking anyone else from entering. Sakura looked up and saw Sasuke's impassive face just looking at the spectacle. She glanced at Naruto and saw a look she couldn't identify settled over his features. She gave Ino a shove and slipped through the door. The effect was like a cork being popped from a bottle. Ninja poured through the door in a flood of bodies. Sakura stood directly in front of Naruto. She looked from him to Sasuke and back.

As her customary anger surfaced and she drew her hand back to give Sasuke a 'what for' punch Naruto activated a Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. There was a wall of Narutos blocking anyone from accessing their former comrade. Everyone just gawked. Finally someone called out incredulously "How can you protect him, Naruto? After all he did, how?"

Naruto offered no answer to the question; instead he calmly addressed the group, "I only just found out he was here. I have not had a chance to properly question him. You have all seen him with your own eyes, now will you give me a chance to do my job?" He stared directly into each pair of eyes, challenging them to object.

There were mutterings of 'sorry,' 'arigato,' 'sumimasen,' and one 'sure I suppose, why not?' Sakura dropped her head and softly ask one question, probably the question every one of them wanted to know. "Why, Sasuke, why did you leave, and why are you back? Are you back?"

Naruto noticed a pair of pupil less eyes looking at him from beneath bright red hair. A tiny glimmer of a frown showed on Naruto's face for a split second as he acknowledged Gaara's presence amongst his friends. Sasuke looked to Naruto, who spoke for him. "I have not decided if he is back or not, as I said I only just found out he was here. If you wouldn't mind, I have work to do."

The curious faces slowly filed out of the office. Gaara was the last in line to trudge out the door, a sad look of longing on his face. Or was it regret? Naruto was thinking what a weird first day he'd had, and how busy his office had become. When Gaara had filed out the door one of the Kage Bunshins closed it, then they all poofed out of existence.

Naruto pulled up a chair for Sasuke and walked around to sit in his own. The two men sat in silence yet again until Naruto leaned back in his chair, steepled his hands in front of him, and looked through his lashes at Sasuke. "So tell me. I want to know everything; why you are back, what you expect now, why I shouldn't simply take you back to that cell and forget I ever saw you there."

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Eep, I'm leaving with a cliff hanger! I didn't plan it that way, but Sasuke's reply really is for the next chapter. I promise to try to get it up soon. I have classes tomorrow, and work tomorrow night. Maybe Saturday morning I can get it up, I have a Birthday party to throw that afternoon, but I can try to post that morning. I want to find out what Sasuke's story is… (No, I honestly don't know. The story takes shape as I write it. I have the chapter titles and what the OV is for each, but the story itself comes as I type.)

-Kneise