A/N: Happy, good, good good news readers! This story is now being beta'd by Ser Serendipity. Your plot is going to be of 100% better quality, along with fight scenes... and yeah, the story is going to be better thanks to him. He is a fantastic beta - he serves as way more.

So please check him out! He has this fantastic story called Not Sick, and I'm sick with anticipation (oh dear... that sounds like a bad pun. It wasn't intended...). You'll love it! Promise. It's absolutely fantastic.

I hope this chapter clears up anything in the last chapter that was confusing – just kidding! Tons of it is going to be something that you'll have to think on for a while. Tough shit, welcome to the world of reading stuff.

"Snakes aren't known for their trustworthy, kind ways, Orochimaru."

Jiraiya felt more on edge than he had felt in a long, long time.

Orochimaru licked his lips. The snake beside the pale sannin threw up two small children; one with pale skin and black hair- an Uchiha, as Jiraiya immediately recognised him, and then-

Minato's son.

The serpentine man smiled, an image that distinctly reminded Jiraiya of the way snakes had an unchanging mouth shape that could sometimes be mistaken for a smile, but was just the set cage of a devious tongue, killer fangs and a long, choking throat. Orochimaru picked up Naruto and Sasuke by the neck, holding them both in a firm lock with each hand at the nape of their necks. "Interesting. Well, when you hear of Otogakure's demise in a day or two, you'll be very sorry you doubted me, and you'll be even more sorry I snapped these two darling children's necks."

'Breathe. Breathe.' "You can't blame me for being distrusting." 'That said, why has he kept them alive?' "How do I know you didn't take them in the first place?"

The pale man's expression changed, and for a moment, Jiraiya knew he was not lying- wait, what was he thinking? "I assure you I did not, but my point stands all the same." Orochimaru did that smile again. Hah... he's probably to kill them. "They're not bargaining chips... kukuku, maybe a little bit, perhaps? I'll say it again, Jiraiya." His name was like poison dripping off Orochimaru's tongue. It was disgusting to his ears. "Otogakure is gone beneath the crushing boot of an unknown assailant."

Otogakure.

Otogakure, Jiraiya realised. 'Gone?!'

Slow chuckling. "That's right, Jiraiya." Orochimaru's maliciously sweet tone faded into one of mild irritation and annoyance. "Otogakure has been completely destroyed. You can imagine my... predicament. I am a man of many jutsu, a man of patience... but certain assets have been destroyed, and I am in a corner."

Cough. Choke. "You surely can't be asking-"

"Oh, but I am," Orochimaru drawled. "Entry to Konohagakure, if you please."

It had been beyond problematic to get Orochimaru to the tower.

He'd been willing to do a henge immediately, but the problem was – he could undo it in the middle of the village and cause conflict without having done anything at all, really. Then, he was hardly trustworthy anyway, and Sarutobi had seen the hands of even the prestigious ANBU handling the snake sannin looking shaky and unsteady. Orochimaru only found it amusing, smiling with that unnerving smile all the while.

"Sarutobi-sensei, so good to see you again," Orochimaru smiled. "Ocha? Coffee?"

Hiruzen felt an uncontrollable urge to stand on the snake's face.

Jiraiya had explained the situation, and as the ANBU found a large black cloak for Orochimaru and they began making their way back, a chuunin assistant had bundled out of the Hokage Tower with an urgent letter for him. He'd not even read it, because he knew what it was to say.

He hated that Orochimaru wasn't even lying, because that was really all he'd wanted.

Just to make sure, Sarutobi had taken the letter out and skim-read it; it said all it had needed to – that Otogakure had been completely wiped out.

But not methodically, not in a bloodbath, not by a ruthless assassin – no, as far as this report stated, every source they could find simply said that the entire population of Otogakure had dropped dead.

"Kukuku." Orochimaru made daring, cutting eye contact with Sarutobi Hiruzen. "Insane, isn't it? Every single person in Otogakure is dead, dead, dead. No cause. No bloodshed; every house intact," he said, drawing the 'n' out into a sibilant hiss, "but every single inhabitant, every single animal in the woods – all of them have suddenly and inexplicably died. The life has been sucked out of my land.

"I feared the worst when I received no response whatsoever to my letter at home, however to see a ghost town was very different indeed."

'You were probably delighted at the sight of a million corpses at your disposal.' Jiraiya thought.

Orochimaru laughed, as though hearing his very thoughts. "However... assets were not the only thing I lost. I have made many enemies in my time away from the village... to be exposed as a weak man isn't ideal."

"So, give me one reason to not kill you where you stand."

"Along with evading death nonetheless... I've spies everywhere in this world. I have spies in this very village, all still responding to me until I deem otherwise, all with undying loyalty. I have them everywhere; I will be your ears.

"And that boy... Uchiha Sasuke, as I take it? Invaluable to you, I'm sure, as the heir to the leader of the clan. He's got a rather interesting seal on him, and though your fuuinjutsu is no doubt impeccable... I've more experience with this sort of sealing. I'm sure you're well aware, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya twitched.

"So, that's that then? I don't expect to come out... ehem... unscathed, but as it is, I'm an asset to Konoha... and if you try and kill me, you know I'll slither through the cracks. And then... you won't be able to keep a watchful eye over me, no?"

Sarutobi knew that was right, knew all of it was right, it was all correct, flawless, and undeniably true-

-but his desire to cut Orochimaru's throat like Orochimaru had cut a million children open before was insatiable.

"You're under house arrest." The words were forced out of Hiruzen's throats, and with each one he wanted to cry. "No shinobi status, constant ANBU surveillance, chakra restriction seals, and if you try anything, we'll have you dead in seconds."

Smiling. "Kukuku... fine by me."

The ceiling was white, and the moment Naruto saw the colour, his heart began to beat, faster, faster. White ceiling. White ceiling.

'That fucking doctor, Nara Daisuke-'

Naruto blinked.

'Who... what?'

He sat up, hands coming in contact with a bed that had a feel and texture unlike his. And the smell was clean, too clean-

'Sasuke. Sasuke screaming, Sasuke dead-'

"Sasuke," he whispered. "Sasuke, where's Sasuke?" His tone was escalating, he was panicking-

As he began to climb out of bed, a firm hand pushed him back onto the bed. He recognised Itachi's soft features, and his muscles relaxed.

Itachi smiled at him, but his expression was knotted with worry. "Naruto. Are you alright?"

"Sasuke!" he cried. "Where is he? Why are you here with me?"

The Uchiha shook his head. "I'm here for you both." He motioned to the blond's right, and Naruto felt his hands shaking in relief. Sasuke was in a bed to his right, lying in bed beneath a thin white blanket that was only an eighth of a shade paler than his skin.

Sasuke looked pallid and sick.

The blond reached out a tentative finger, brushing on the boys arm, but Sasuke didn't stir.

"You two returned not too long ago. You were kidnapped."

Naruto blinked, the memories trickling back. "By who?"

Itachi shook his head. "We don't know."

Naruto finally looked at Itachi properly. He was in a wheelchair, bandages running from the crook of his neck to his right hip in a diagonal motion; they were dyed a rusty, old red, and his face had a large scab on it's right side. The right side of his face was swollen and bruised.

Itachi was hurt. Naruto felt his eyes widening. "Itachi-nii-san, are you okay? Why aren't you in a bed, too?"

The elder Uchiha looked tormented, but his smile was gentle and sad. "I wanted to stay here, Naruto. I was waiting for you to wake up. You've been sleeping for a day and a while."

"Has Sasuke not...?"

Itachi shook his head, and Naruto noticed his clenched jaw and tight fists. His expression was melancholy, stricken, guilty; something the blond didn't understand. The expression Naruto did understand was that of worry, and that of care. That Itachi cared for him. It was an alien emotion to Naruto.

The older sibling took Naruto's hand – 'am I thinner?' - and intertwined his hand with it. He squeezed, a worried but reassuring look on his face. "Don't worry, Naruto. I'm sure Sasuke will be fine."

Naruto grinned, cheeks forcing his eyes into a squint. "Heh, as soon as he sees me enjoying myself, he'll wake right up to ruin it!"

Itachi ruffled his hair, chuckling, and Naruto calmed at the familiar touch, laying back comfortably on his bed.

"Uchiha-san!? Are you in here!?"

The woman's voice was shrill, and the blond winced. A firm looking brunette nurse stepped in, her eyes furious the moment they laid upon Itachi. He had the decency to look slightly apologetic and guilty. "Sorry, miss. But Naruto has woken up."

The nurse flicked her gaze to Naruto, frowning. "Never mind him! Back to your room, Uchiha-san. I swear, you are terrible. Your wounds will never heal if you're not resting, you know!"

Itachi sighed. "Yes. My apologies."

She shook her head, taking the handles at the back of the wheelchair and beginning to wheel him out.

"Take care, Naruto. I'll see you later," Itachi called out, and as the door closed, he heard the woman shriek something along the lines of "-no you will not!".

Naruto rolled over, feeling a tug and looking to see that it was the pull of an IV. He'd been receiving his food intravenously; no wonder he was so thin.

Sasuke. He'd been so worried. The boy was pale, limp on Naruto's right. They were both on a movable hospital bed, and Sasuke was tucked in beneath white sheets. His posture was rigid, facing straight up, but his hair was strewn across the pillow. The blond sat up, and the more he looked at Sasuke, the more his heart... sank. There weren't many physical injuries that he could see, but the boy's skin was drained, his arms and cheeks thin, and his breathing was slow. The more he looked at Sasuke, the more he began to think the boy was dead. Because although he didn't look as though he'd been through a traumatic beating, he looked like he was dying. Like a corpse, hooked up to life support that was a futile, half-attempt to sustain life.

He briefly remembered the nurse.

"Never mind him!"

Yeah, Naruto thought bitterly, turning away from Sasuke to put his mind at ease. He closed his eyes, willing himself to fall asleep.

Never mind me.

If Uchiha Inabi could have found any way to implicate Itachi in this murder, he would have.

He knew Itachi had killed Shisui; the whole clan knew. He was undeniably guilty, and now out of shame, he had escaped the confines of the clan and sought out a new location. There was a whole array of excuses the Hokage has proposed to them, but Inabi knew that it was primarily to avoid the wrath of his friends and family who all knew he was guilty. Itachi was a coward, someone who had killed to obtain power. Inabi considered those people the worst types of all.

As a member of the police force, he was one of the first to enter the crime scene. Inabi had relative experience with these situations, and his expertise in kenjutsu lent him only further credibility for it. So the Hokage had set him here, paying no mind to any potential bias.

Thinking on it, Inabi should have been more worried by that than he was. He didn't care.

Uchiha Mikoto had meant very little to him. Naturally, she was a kind woman, renowned in the Uchiha clan for having been formidable in her own day, but nothing more. The murder of a woman was nothing more to him than a murder of a man – but Itachi was scum. Two victims he'd claimed now, at least, and he was treading around the village, unscathed. The worst thing was, he knew the young Uchiha boy would have cleverly avoided leaving any detail, mechanism or anything of the like that would implicate him. He was clever, too clever for Inabi's liking. But Inabi knew he'd done it.

Rumours even had it he'd killed Fugaku and Danzo. These too, were not even matters worth discussing. Everyone knew Itachi to be the culprit.

So when he'd been called to the Uchiha household, and told to stay on his guard and neutralise (kill – he'd never take them alive) any hostiles, Inabi had almost smiled. This crime – he'd find a way to lure Itachi into it. He was determined.

"Inabi, you listenin'?"

He sparked to attention. "Yes, sir!"

The chief let out a plume of smoke that drifted upwards and caressed the wooden ceiling of the veranda out front. He frowned, glancing at Inabi. "As an Uchiha, I'm gonna have to hope you won't let anything personal get in the way here. That clear?"

The boy nodded, biting the inside of his cheek in suppressed anger. He knew this man well. Nara Shikaku, top strategist and supposedly, one of the most clever men in the village. The jounin around the village often moaned that no one had ever come close to beating him in a Shogi match. Inabi didn't think much of that achievement – some men had an aptitude for certain games – but Shikaku had figured him out instantly. The Hokage had thought nothing of his presence here, but this guy knew, and he knew well of the Uchiha conflict. 'Damn that snitch, Itachi.'

Inabi proceeded into the house, Shikaku barking out orders coldly, and he found a young chuunin with pen and paper at his side, wide, childish eyes blinking rapidly with fear.

"Uh, sir, I'll take down any notes you ask, so-"

Inabi narrowed his eyes. "You do realise there may be a culprit still in this household? He took out Uchiha Itachi. Put away the notebook and defend yourself, fool."

'Hah. Shikaku's got this kid making sure I don't damage the crime scene.'

The chuunin squeaked.

The Uchiha walked slowly, his foot testing every floorboard for a creak – but he knew that he was only as good as his weakest link, so if that chuunin kid was an incompetent, it wouldn't matter anyway. Inabi focused his chakra, trying to sense a chakra signal around the house – there was none (but it didn't take a genius to suppress their chakra)-

Inabi pushed open the first door on the hallway, and was met with the thick stench of blood.

The room was empty, lived in but clean and organised – as to be expected of an Uchiha housewife, as accurate in housekeeping as she'd been in war – and he couldn't tell where the stench was coming from. He scanned the room for a threat, and there was none, as far as he could tell. His well trained Sharingan detected no movement, no gust of air out of place. He proceeded in, heading straight for the cupboard ahead of him, and he heard the chuunin creep in behind him and let out a hefty gasp. 'Rookie can't even take the smell-'

"Sir!"

"Keep quiet, you damn idiot!"

He felt a tug on his arm. "Sir, please-"

Inabi whipped his head around, tongue poised to give the boy a lashing, but the words caught in his throat.

Behind the door was a bloodbath. Blood on the floor, dripping down the wall from a smudged point of collision that resembled the haired, peculiar texture of the back of someone's head. On the floor pooled blood that didn't look congealed or old. It was new, very new indeed, but the stench had permeated through the room too much to be the result of a fresh wound.

'If that's too new, then I'll never be able to convict Itachi. The bastard was hospitalised...'

Shikaku was in faster than Inabi could have imagined. "Uchiha, check the rest of the house. Kanjomaru, go with him." The mere glint in his eyes spoke volumes to Inabi; he knew he was being spied on.

'God dammit. Shisui, I'm sorry.'

Inabi returned minutes later, and Shikaku had dictated enough notes to his subordinates, and medical ninjas and investigative forces were testing the blood as quick as they could. He knew there was something more than a pointless murder to this.

Judging by the pattern, the head had began bleeding before it hit the wall. The blood on the wall was clear signs of the body slumping down the wall, but there was no blood smudged on the floor from a limp body. He'd have expected that above anything, but there was nothing.

Not to mention the corpse – or victim, it could be either really – was gone. That was the most suspicious fact to Shikaku, but he couldn't say it showed anything except that there was an undoubtable culprit. It had been no accident, but judging by the impact against the wall – more importantly, the lack of it – the victim had not been thrown against the wall when they'd banged their head. They had stumbled backwards, walked backwards, and slumped down. It didn't make sense to him, why, why, why?

He walked out of the room, shaking his head, and motioned for Inabi to come with him. They entered the kitchen, and Shikaku stubbed out a cigarette in the sink. The metal was dry. The Nara turned the tap into the larger section of the sink containing the cigarette, letting the water run and wash away the cigarette butt. The liquid sizzled against the dying embers of the cigarette, before washing it away with the faint sloshing noise of water.

He didn't hear it draining. No, that wasn't right. He didn't hear it at all.

'If I was going to hide evidence, where would I put it?'

Shikaku didn't waste a second. "Inabi, go get a civilian plumber."

"What? A civilian? But-"

"Go!"

"Dobe, wake up."

Naruto yawned. "Aa, Sasuke what time is i- hey!"

The raven blinked, his dark eyes half-lidded with tiredness. "Hey."

"I was meant to wake you up! You were sleeping, and-"

"Well, I'm awake now."

"But I woke up before you! You don't get to wake you up."

Sasuke's eye twitched in annoyance. "Whatever. The doctor said we're free to go."

Naruto's expression brightened from a childishly annoyed pout to a bright smile. "So, we can go home, with Itachi-nii-san and you can stay, and we can train-"

"No." Sasuke looked to the side. "Nii-san doesn't get home."

The raven not getting unreasonably angry at Naruto calling Itachi his brother was unusual, but it was blinded out by the unpleasant sensation of feeling crestfallen. "But- but why?" Naruto asked.

"He's too sick. They said he's badly injured, so he'll have to stay here for a few days."

Sasuke felt somewhat bad when he saw Naruto's face drop even more. "Not- not even coming home for tea, or bed?"

The Uchiha shook his head, and Naruto's expression was a mixture of sadness and lots of other hard-to-read emotions. As the blond brought his legs over to the side of the bed to walk, he absent-mindedly brought a couple fingers to touch the rapidly-healing scar just beside his eye.

Sasuke couldn't help but feel sorry for him. From what he knew, Naruto didn't live with his parents, and he'd never seen them in all his time with Naruto. Though the blond had occasionally caught glimpses of his mother, Sasuke had never seen the other's parents, and he'd dare not ask.

Itachi, Sasuke supposed, was the closest replacement.

"Let's go home."

Sasuke picked up a bag filled with his clothes, downing the water left at his bedside, and the blond did the same, placing strewn clothes into a bag and putting a top on to cover his chest. His pants were hospital supplied, but Naruto didn't care at that moment.

The two left the room, walking down the flights of stairs in silence, and just as they were about to pass the front desk-

"Oi, lady!"

Sasuke twitched. Why can't you just ask like a normal person...?

"I'm here to see my Nii-san! Do you know where Uchiha Itachi is, lady?"

The woman at the front desk, looked over her newspaper with glasses perched on the tip of her nose. Looking at the blond and to the raven-haired Uchiha, she shrugged. Someone's probably related. "Room 133 on the Major Trauma ward."

Naruto didn't know what "major trauma" was, but it didn't sound nice. He smiled and thanked her enthusiastically all the same, tugging on the arm of a stray adult as he approached the lift.

"Hey, do you know-"

The man looked at Naruto, a look of unadulterated disgust hitting his face as he shrugged the child off and walked away without a word.

The Nine-Tailed Fox demon. The Kyuubi. Sasuke had forgotten all about that; but it was as clear as day now. These people held a disgust, a repulsion towards Naruto, and whereas Sasuke had considered them to be just plain cruel people, he now saw the truth of the situation; it wasn't as clear cut as he would have liked.

These people had good reason to hate Kyuubi, and that much was certain. These people had lost their families, friends, homes and Hokage to that beast. The work of an entity of pure evil. Some villagers had lost little, some had lost it all. The hatred had a foundation that could not be shaken.

On the other hand, as Sasuke watched Naruto enthusiastically persevere with his attempts to gain directions only to be batted away like an insect – it was also clear to him that Naruto was not the Kyuubi. The kid was slow, trusting and gullible (though maybe not so much as Sasuke had first decided) – definitely not omniscient-mass-of-malevolent-chakra material. No matter whether the Kyuubi had been willing to put up a fair disguise, Naruto's stupidity attracted more attention – not to mention the pranks. If the Kyuubi had been so determined to hide his nature, he wouldn't have caused such trouble.

Besides, surely it was just common sense. Putting a pencil in a box didn't turn the box into a pencil. Just... a box with a pencil in it. It was just... simple, right?

Then again, Sasuke didn't fully understand the seal – but he was sure.

Sasuke knew Uzumaki Naruto, as irritating, stupid and energetic as he always was – was not to blame. He was no fox. He was an aspiring ninja with the admirable ability to trip over his own feet no matter what the situation.

Strengthening his resolve, Sasuke settled on that decision, before tiredly deciding to halt Naruto's attempts to get directions to try himself.

"Itachi-nii-san!"

The boy's voice made his ears hurt in the best way possible.

Naruto bounded up to him, Sasuke walking calmer, slower behind him but still smiling in a way that made his heart flush with relief. The blond grinned, placing his hands on the bed and grinning. "How are you feeling, Itachi-nii-san?"

"Fine, Naruto. Are you and Sasuke okay?"

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.' Itachi felt the dense, unrelenting burden of failure settling on his shoulders as he looked at the two children who's fates had been placed on his shoulders. Who's fates he had failed. It had already gone so horribly wrong.

"I'm fine! That asshole woke me up, so he's probably fine too-"

"I'm okay, thanks for asking."

"-shut up!"

Itachi was smiling, so wide, so broadly, even though his chest felt like hell, he felt like hell, his head hurt and the painkillers weren't working and his legs arms face god-

'-I'm so happy that you're safe-'

"Itachi-nii-san, will you be coming home tonight?"

He smiled sadly, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. They want me to stay here. I'll get well soon, alright? And then we'll train."

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but Sasuke interrupted him. "So, you're not fine?"

No. "I am. It's just to be safe. I promise I'll be home soon."

"Promise?" Sasuke asked, folding his arms.

"Promise, Otouto."

Sasuke smiled, and the unwavering trust in his gaze made Itachi's heart break. He'd been supposed to severe that bond, to take away his little brother's every shred of happiness.

All the while, his foolish little brother hung onto his every word.

Sasuke leaned forward, hugging him tightly and burying his head into Itachi's chest like the child he was. 'He's a kid. Shinobi training at this age...'

'...is it really right?'

"Oi! Don't leave me out like that!"

Itachi found himself crushed, a shock of blond hair stuck in his eyes and nose. He grunted, laughing, hurting but laughing, smiling, and he heard Sasuke scolding Naruto with the tone of an adult and Naruto whining, wailing, and he heard his own laughter, that happy chuckling-

'It's all gone so horribly wrong...'

'...but I have to try.'

"Let's do something fun today."

Sasuke closed his eyes, head aching. "What do you define as fun?"

The blond thought for a moment. "Let's do what you find fun," he decided, folding his arms.

They were both lying down on the grass, muscles aching slightly from an early morning taijutsu spar. It had been gentler, and Sasuke had floored him, but with little anger or malice. Naruto was angry – but more at himself.

"Traini-"

"Besides training, bastard!"

Sasuke stopped, the silence tainted by the kiss of a light breeze and the whispering of trees.

"I guess... I like walking."

"Then let's walk! Where to?"

The raven didn't respond, standing up and placing his hands in his pockets. He began walking, his steps slow and steady but somehow he found that Sasuke was crossing quite a distance. His strides were longer than Naruto's. The blond considered trying to bug their destination out of Sasuke, but let the subject slide. I guess it's his idea of fun, Naruto decided, deciding to walk patiently beside Sasuke.

The Uchiha did look content.

Naruto and Sasuke walked for a long while, their walk weaving around the village but avoiding any busy areas – something Naruto was mildly grateful for (no villagers to ruin my mood!) - and across beautiful training grounds, past the quiet river that ran through the Uchiha district and up onto the Hokage mountain.

This was Naruto's favourite part of Konoha; the Hokage mountain. The view was beautiful, something that Naruto would never, ever tire of looking at, and as they finally made it up the sharp ascent, Naruto began to sit down-

"Stand up. We're not going to stop walking."

Naruto blinked. "What?! You mean you walk all the way up here and you don't want to look at this view?"

The raven waited, his silence an obvious no.

"No. Let's stay here." Naruto paused, looking the Uchiha up and down. "You don't ever stay here, and just watch?"

The boy gave a slight movement of the shoulders that could be interpreted as a shrug. "The views are not as impressive the 10th time around."

Naruto sat back, leaning onto his arms and gazing at the village. He smiled brightly, his dazzling grin turning to Sasuke. "It's my 100th time, and I'm not bored yet!"

Sasuke knotted his eyebrows, shaking his head and allowing a twitch of the lips that one would give to a laughably hopeless cause. 'Because that's exactly what Naruto is-'

'-a laughably hopeless cause.'

"Let's take it home!"

"How? It'll be impossible!"

Naruto carefully dug his hands into the sandy soil, fingertips digging with a slight skill and efficiency that made Sasuke quite sure he'd done it before.

The construction of the Hokage mountain left the ground at the top of it sandy and improper for plant cultivation, but Naruto had found a plant that had diligently decided to grow atop the Yondaime's head. The plant was tiny, but Sasuke had been rather surprised with Naruto's adoration for the little plant. It was a sapling, weedy and on the verge of death, but the blond had been infatuated with it to say the least; Naruto had insisted on taking it home.

"This is a chestnut tree sapling," Naruto explained, his dirty fingernails weaving carefully beneath the plant, avoiding the roots with a cautious skill. "They're rare here, you know. And they grow to be huge!"

"Since when did you know about plants?"

The blond turned to him, grin wide. "I love gardening! It's my favourite hobby, besides ramen."

"How does ramen qualify as a hobby?"

"You wouldn't know."

"It doesn't."

"It so does! Hey- hold out your hands a sec-"

"Wha-"

"Just hold em out!"

Sasuke found his hands filled with soil, roots and a rather small plant.

"Dobe! Why didn't you tell me before giving me this?! Why can't you carry it?!"

"I'm busy!"

"Doing what?!"

"Things!"

"Usuratonkachi!"

"Don't call me that!"

It took them a while to return home.

Sasuke was a little, no – maybe quite impressed with Naruto. The boy had successfully planted the little sapling, had said something about a potassium deficiency in the leaves (they did look a bit dead...) and had ran in, bringing out a bundle of bananas.

"Sasuke, eat these."

"All of them?!" Naruto was carrying a whole armful. Sasuke felt sick just looking at them.

"I'll help!"

"Why? What will this even do?"

"I need the banana skins."

"So why do I need to eat them?"

Naruto whined. "It's a waste, Sasuke!"

The raven scoffed, folding his arms. "You eat them, then."

"I'm not that hungry!"

"I'm not hungry at all!"

"Well, if you're going to be such a baby about it, Uchiha Sasuke-"

The night ended with Sasuke violently throwing up the half-digested remnants of 20 bananas.

"He's... very young."

"You should know your fairshare about young shinobi yourself, Kakashi."

The jounin scratched his head. "Yes... that said..."

The boy before him was very, very young. Kakashi didn't remember every looking or feeling that young. Ever. The kid's face was round, his eyes empty, his skin porcelain and eyes dark.

'Uchiha material, if you ask me. Reminds me of Itachi's younger brother... what was his name...?'

The Hokage looked at Kakashi with a raised eyebrow. "I'd have expected you to know better than to underestimate shinobi youth."

"It's not that he's weak... but this is a delicate age. Is he okay to be leaving his family and friends here for such a long... dangerous mission?"

The young child gave Kakashi a fake smile that made him sick to his stomach. "I have no family or friends. They are dead." My only duty is to the village. Kakashi could have guessed the rest of the young boy's thoughts instantly; he recognised them as his own.

But... there was nothing there. No hatred, no anger... no sadness, no regret. This kid was empty, hollowed out.

The masked jounin shrugged. "As long as you're okay with this. We may die, and we may never come home." He popped a small, orange book out of his pocket and proceeded to glue his eyes to the pages. "Go collect your stuff, and say goodbye, or whatever. Early tomorrow morning, I will pick you up. Be ready."

"I have no ties."

"Then just be ready."

The child nodded, and disappeared in a swiftly-executed swirl of leaves. Kakashi wished he could have the stone cold resolve this kid had; it took some kind of mindset to disconnect yourself from your homeland, but Kakashi supposed the kid hadn't spent 20 years there.

Even then, Kakashi hadn't seen any kid quite that... cold.

'Obito, what would you think?'

Sasuke felt bad.

He'd not seen his mother, and knew she must've been worried sick about Itachi, let alone Sasuke. She was all alone, since his dad was – dead. Sasuke felt bad, he felt upset but more than anything, he felt horrible and cruel for having left his mother.

So, today, he was going to see her.

Naruto had insisted on coming with him, and for some reason, Sasuke found himself fine with it. He knew that the blond wouldn't have come if he'd have pushed the matter, but he simply didn't, and they'd gone together.

But as soon as the raven entered the Uchiha district he knew something was wrong. Their house was surrounded by ninja. Not Uchiha, but ninja, official looking ninja, and as Sasuke approached, a man with a scar on his face and a cigarette walked steadily towards him, shaking his head.

"You're the Uchiha kid, aren't you? The one who lives here?"

Sasuke nodded dumbly.

"It's best you go to a friend's house for now," the man explained, his face rugged and his words cold but a caring undertone beneath his voice. Sasuke felt angry, enraged; he recognised the tone of the pity underscoring the man's voice. "This house was subject to attack, so we're investigating."

"Where's my mother?"

The detective's face turned cold for a second, but it was so slight and so quick that the Uchiha immediately discounted seeing it at all.

"Don't worry, kid. She's giving her accounts of the event, but she's in witness protection. She can't see you right now."

Sasuke felt a small hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Naruto, smiling. "So, you can stay at mine tonight! Ne, ne, Sasuke?"

The raven looked at Sasuke, and then to the towering adult in front of him. The man smiled, and Sasuke nodded at Naruto, turning around and making the long walk home in an empty silence.

As the two passed the pier, the warm sunlight mixed with the soft blue of the water to form the strangest shades of darkish red and purple. The raven remembered just a couple of days ago, throwing Naruto into that water in a childish rage. Though the Uchiha had felt an inexplicable annoyance for Naruto at first, nothing more and nothing less, now it was more like – an odd friendship, filled with strange occurrences all at once.

Sasuke'd never breathe a word to Naruto, but despite how many words he had, Naruto had never needed words to understand Sasuke.

Sasuke had gone to his room, and Naruto hadn't gone to bed yet.

They slept next to each other for the most part, their futons laid next to each other – a habit that had been enforced when they had been literally stuck together – but Naruto hadn't gone to bed. The Uchiha was lying down, staring at the wall in a futile effort to sleep.

He heard Naruto fiddling around, running the water and going into the garden, and assumed that he was watering the pathetic plant they'd retrieved yesterday.

Sasuke supposed it was pathetic and weak in a half-endearing way, but he felt no instinct to protect it. It was a plant.

The raven then heard Naruto clattering around, fiddling with various things – he heard the low noise of him putting away the watering can – and the opening and closing of cupboards, the light clang of metal.

Sasuke found himself in a state of half-sleep for who knows how long, somewhat observant of the surroundings but immersed in dream and emptiness at once; it was a strange feeling, and he was awoken by Naruto opening the door subtly (for Naruto) and placing down a plate next to him.

The raven sat up, leaning on his elbow as he laid on his side and rubbed his eyes.

Naruto had made him anpan.

The gesture- well, Sasuke couldn't quite put it into words.

But it was nice.

Not the anpan; they were odd looking, but tasty, somewhat – though Sasuke had no idea what the consistency of the red bean paste even was – the flavour was not lacking, and it wasn't burned.

The thank you went unsaid.

He heard Naruto shuffling around in his own futon, the noise of fabric against fabric as the bedsheets moved. Sasuke heard the distinct noise of a bending photograph, the noise of the flimsy laminate resounding clearly.

"What is that?"

Naruto paused, and Sasuke realised his voice was choked. "My mother."

There was a prolonged silence. Sasuke whispered, "Can I see her?"

"Sure."

The hand that passed Sasuke the photo was shaking.

As Sasuke made out the woman's face by glinting it in the faint glow of moonlight, he saw that she looked... almost nothing like Naruto. The hair, and the eye colour wasn't alike to Naruto's at all – but the face most certainly was. Their eyes were the same shape, their cheeks the same sort of chubby.

Sasuke saw likeness, but he also saw beauty; she was a glowing, happy woman, her cheeks as red as her hair and her eyes a vibrant, astonishing green. She was holding a large pregnant stomach, which he could only assume to be Naruto. She looked content.

For a moment, the Uchiha was silent, and he turned the page to see a message.

"I love you very much. Eat well, and always smile. Become the best ninja. You can do it. Love from, Mother."

Sasuke glanced at her again, before passing it back to Naruto.

"You look like her."

Naruto let out a choked sob that was almost like a laugh. He met Sasuke's eyes, tears pouring out as they leaked over his nose and onto his pillow.

"Do you think?"

The Third Hokage himself had arrived this morning. Naruto took this to be a bad sign.

Sarutobi knocked politely, making kind small talk with Naruto as the young boy tiredly tried to keep his eyes open. When he'd asked to come in, Naruto had complied, with the man being the closest thing to family he'd had before Itachi.

"Is it alright if I speak to Sasuke-kun?"

The blond blinked, rubbing his eyes. "Without me there? Yeah... yeah, sure, whatever... gonna go make some ramen..."

He stumbled over to the cooker, turning the hob on carefully, before filling a pan with water and slowly boiling it. Naruto knew Itachi would not approve, but Itachi was not there, and he decided that as long as he had the privilege of no adults – something he knew he'd long for in the future – he'd take full advantage of it.

As steam began to rise, the blond was shocked by an agonised yell. He dropped the unopened ramen packet, and quickly and clumsily stumbled back into the bedroom.

Sasuke was crying.

He was screaming too, shouting and yelling and shrieking intelligible words through sobs and cries. Covering his own ears, Sasuke was crying, sobbing, and the sound was both pitiful and painful at once.

Naruto tentatively stepped forwards. "Sasuke, what-"

The pale boy turned to Naruto, eyes filled with a sudden rage. "You've never had anything! Get the hell away from me!"

"I haven't even-"

"Shut up! I don't need to hear you- you don't know! What do you know about loss?!"

The blond's jaw opened and shut like a fish, before he tried to make out another word-

Sasuke pushed Naruto hard, and the boy lost his balance and fell, colliding head first with the wooden frame of the door. Naruto's head limply slid down the door, leaving a slick trail of blood.

Sasuke sank to his knees and cried like he had never cried before.

His mother was dead.

A/N: Credit for that last line goes to Ser Serendipity, for being a huge badass.

The story's getting deep. Shit'll get worse, I promise.

Again, thank you Ser Serendipity for all the crap you've done – seriously, he's amazing. If you haven't already, READ "NOT SICK". It's SO good.

Review and criticise – it helps me so much! Did you like Sasuke in this chapter? I'm not sure if I did...