Sasuke slipped through the dark sleeping village a scowl twisting his features into an unpleasant mask. When he arrived at the apartment he shared with his former sensei, the scowl slipped away before a tired sigh escaped his lips. Shoving a hand into his pocket, Sasuke pulled the door key out, eyeing the light shining through the front window. It was the middle of the night and he'd expected Kakashi to be asleep long before he came home, as he usually was. Shoving the key into the lock, Sasuke gave it a violent twist, venting a smattering of his anger in that one harsh movement. Pushing the door open and stepping into the warm apartment, Sasuke glanced across the room at the couch, expecting to see Kakashi looking back at him from his one uncovered eye. Seeing Kakashi stretched out on the couch, asleep with one of his ever present perverted novels laid across his stomach, Sasuke stopped. When a cold breeze blew in around him, Sasuke shook himself and stepped fully into the apartment, closing the door behind himself.

Bending to pull his shoes off, Sasuke kept his gaze riveted on the sleeping Kakashi, a small frown pulling down the corners of his mouth. Since they'd moved in to the slightly larger apartment Sasuke only seemed to see Kakashi late at night when he'd come home, long after the older man had gone to bed. Since Kakashi was always gone before he woke up in the morning, Sasuke had begun to wonder if Kakashi were avoiding him. However, when their paths did cross, Kakashi always wanted answers that Sasuke couldn't provide, so he found himself preferring the time apart from Kakashi. When he'd find himself missing the older man, Sasuke would push the feelings aside ruthlessly and turn his thoughts to something else, though he'd begun to realize that no matter what he did, as long as he was living with his former sensei, the man was never going to be far from his thoughts.

Sighing, Sasuke stood and pulled his cloak off, frowning at the flakes of snow that drifted down around himself. Cursing, he turned and opened the apartment door, shaking the snow off the cloak outside, then quickly closing the door again before hanging the cloak next to Kakashi's. Sasuke took a moment to lock the door and put the usual trap in place over it, before turning and walking across the room to the couch. He stood peering down at Kakashi for a moment, grinning in spite of himself at the thought of being able to peek under Kakashi's mask while the older man was asleep.

You should have gotten over that childish desire a long time ago, Uchiha, he thought as he reached over to turn the light off. Turning away, Sasuke moved quietly to the hall that led back to the bedroom, only to be stopped by the sound of movement behind him. Sighing, Sasuke turned back around, seeing Kakashi sitting up on the couch in the dim light shining in from the kitchen.

Moving over to the side, Sasuke leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, frowning at Kakashi. "I'm sorry if I woke you up, I was trying to be quiet."

"I wasn't really sleeping that deeply. I've been waiting for you to come home."

Stifling another sigh before it can slip free, Sasuke looked boredly at Kakashi, ignoring the warm flush the rippled through him at Kakashi's words. "Why are you waiting for me? Is there something you need?"

The look in Kakashi's one visible eye was one Sasuke couldn't quite identify, but it strangely made him feel that warmth slide through him again. "Yes, I need some answers," Kakashi eventually replied.

Clenching his jaws and fighting not to scowl, Sasuke dipped his head forward slightly, not quite making eye contact with his former sensei any longer. "Answers about what?"

"About where you've been. I've barely seen you since we moved in to this apartment. You go out in the early evenings and don't come back until the middle of the night. I thought at first you were just avoiding me, but I think it's more than that. What's going on, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged, looking around the living room, his gaze flicking from object to object, settling everyone but on Kakashi. "I've got some things that I need to take care of. Don't worry, Sensei, I'm not doing anything bad."

Kakashi pushed to his feet, drawing Sasuke's attention back to him. Seeing the older man frowning at him, Sasuke started to stiffen, feeling defensive even before Kakashi spoke. "I don't believe you Sasuke. You're exhausted, I can see it on your face even now. I see you in the morning when I wake up. Even when you're asleep, you're not resting. Something is going on, and I want to know what it is."

Sasuke smirked, pushing away from the wall to stand straight as he looked across the room at Kakashi. "I'm exhausted because it's the middle of the night and I'm standing in the living room being questioned rather than sleeping like I want to be."

"Why don't you want to talk to me about whatever it is that's going on, Sasuke?"

"Because it's none of your business," Sasuke snapped before turning and stomping out of the living room.

Kakashi caught him in the hall, just past the bathroom and only a few feet from the imagined relative safety of the bedroom. "Sasuke," Kakashi snapped as his hand clamped on Sasuke's shoulder, turning him back around to face him. "You came back here looking for my help. I can't help you if you won't tell me what's going on."

Sasuke glared up at Kakashi, hands fisting at his sides. "I don't want your help anymore, Sensei, so just forget it!"

When he tried to move away, Kakashi's grip on his shoulder tightened and he was jerked back. "No, I won't forget it," Kakashi said quietly as he moved closer, nearly pinning Sasuke against the wall. Flashing back to his first week back in Konoha, remembering Kakashi pinning him against the bathroom door in his old apartment, Sasuke felt that flush ripple through him again, almost distracting him from Kakashi's next question. "Are you in trouble, Sasuke?"

Sasuke tried to glare up at Kakashi, but he found the effort too difficult with the older man standing so close. "No, I'm not. Not yet anyway."

"Tell me what's going on with you, Sasuke. Please."

The quiet pleading behind that last word finally broke past Sasuke's already weakened resolve. "I'm not supposed to tell you about it. If I tell you, you have to promise you won't try to get involved, or let anyone else know that I told you."

Kakashi frowned, his silver eyebrows drawing down over the bridge of his nose. "I can't promise that until you tell me what it is."

"Then I can't tell you," Sasuke stated firmly.

Kakashi examined him closely, his one black eye traveling over Sasuke's face as if he could find the answers he sought written somewhere on his flesh. "You really are in trouble, aren't you Sasuke?"

"Not in the way you're probably thinking."

Sighing, Kakashi let go of Sasuke's shoulder, but didn't step back. His shoulders slumped and he lifted his hands at his sides. "Ok, I promise I won't say anything, now tell me what's going on."

"When I went to see the council to hear my fate, they asked me about Madara. They weren't satisfied with what I told them, so I've been dragged back again and again as they sought answers I don't have. They think that there's something I've forgotten, or maybe something that Madara has hidden from my memory and they're trying to find it. I was told not to tell anyone about it, but especially not you."

Kakashi frowned harder and took a step back, his hands dropping and fisting at his sides. He stared intently at Sasuke for several moments, the silence stretching out between them. The air seemed to crackle with electricity, a tangible embodiment of the emotion that filled Kakashi's eye. "What are they doing to you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged and leaned back against the wall, suddenly tired. "I don't remember. I think it's some kind of hypnotism used by the ANBU to get answers from strong enemies. All I know is that when it's over I have a headache, and I'm tired."

Kakashi moved back another step, then turned and began to pace the hall in front of Sasuke. Sasuke continued leaning against the wall, watching the older man move and feeling himself growing more tired with each heartbeat. When Kakashi stopped and spun around to face him again, Sasuke caught and held his breath, staring into that blazing black eye. "Why are you letting them do this to you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke could only shrug, knowing that Kakashi wouldn't like his answer. After a few moments debate, he decides to give the man a partial answer. "Because if I have information that would be helpful to the village, I want them to have it. I'll do whatever I can to help. Besides, I think in their eyes, my cooperation is atoning for my past deeds."

Kakashi scowled at him, making Sasuke want to squirm in a way he hadn't since he was a child. "How long has this been going on?"

"Since the day Sakura came to see me. I was sent for while you were gone. It was on and off at first, but they're doing it more and more often now."

Kakashi leaned back slightly, frowning. "Then why are you going out every day?"

Clearing his throat, Sasuke looked away from Kakashi and let a little more of the truth out. "Mostly to avoid having this talk with you."

Sighing, Kakashi shook his head and lifted a hand, motioning at the closed bedroom door. "Go get some sleep Sasuke. I'm sorry I've kept you up when you're obviously so tired. And I'm sorry to question you like this. How pleasant, you go to those vultures on the council to be questioned then come home to be questioned again."

"It's ok Kakashi. I've been wanting to tell you about this for a couple of weeks now. I'm relieved to finally be able to stop hiding it from you. I knew you were going to find out somehow and I figured you'd be mad at me for not telling you."

"I should be mad at you, but I understand why you didn't tell me. Go to bed, Sasuke."

"Yes, Sensei," Sasuke murmured automatically before turning and slipping into the darkness of the bedroom. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he looked across the room at Kakashi's bed. He waited for a few moments to see if Kakashi would follow him into the room, then got up and moved over to sit on Kakashi's bed instead. Staring at the closed door, Sasuke felt himself begin to shake, his headache spiking to the level of pain it always reached before subsiding. Usually he was already undressed and in bed before it reached this point. Closing his eyes, Sasuke laid back on Kakashi's bed, breathing in his scent as his body was wracked with pain. Time passed without Sasuke's awareness. When the pain subsided, leaving Sasuke weak and exhausted, he could only roll himself over onto his side as darkness swam up, and sleep claimed him.

AN: I sat down this evening to write the opening to this chapter. It was strong in my head and, again, I figured if I could get that little bit out, maybe I'd get clues for the rest. Then the chapter took on a life of it's own. I was going along with everything I had planned right up until Sasuke told Kakashi his secret. That was new to me. I knew they'd been questioning him about Madara, but I didn't see to what degree. That was a shock to me. This is an interesting plot twist, I think.

On a side note, I had a very irate Kakashi voice in my head when I finished the chapter. So, I started the next chapter as my supper sat next to me getting cold. lol There should be another chapter ready tomorrow. Here's hoping the pace keeps up until the end!