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Chapter 12

"In one aspect, yes, I believe in ghosts,
but we create them.
We haunt ourselves.
"
―Laurie Halse Anderson


"Why the hell are you here?" Naruto shouted, his frame shook, his muscles tensing up as if he was about to leap at Sasuke. "Why did you come back to the village? Why would you come back after everything that happened?" His voice seemed to grow louder after each question. "Dammit Sasuke, Team Seven just got back from going all the way to the Sound Village looking for you! Orochimaru said you ran away with some girl and-"

Naruto's voice cut off mid-syllable as Sasuke started to approach him. The Uchiha took a few steps forward and stopped directly in front of his former teammate, reaching out one arm and resting it on Naruto's shoulder. Sasuke looked upon him warmly, his face softening as his lips pulled into a small smile.

"Sasuke..." Naruto said quietly, his voice breaking slightly and his eyes welling up with tears. The blonde ninja let out a breath of air and wrapped his arms tightly around Sasuke, his body shaking with emotion. Sasuke left his arms at his sides, but did not reject his teammate's embrace, allowing Naruto to cry into his shoulder.

Raine, who looked upon the scene with a mixture of confusion and curiosity, couldn't deny that Sasuke was a good actor. He certainly knew how to persuade people to do his bidding. She wondered how Sasuke could stand having his personal space invaded by the bumbling ninja.

It took several minutes for Naruto to calm down; he did his best to keep his mouth shut. His mind raced and flooded with questions to ask Sasuke, but he didn't want to annoy the Uchiha (just yet anyway). The blonde ninja snuffled loudly and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his jacket. He took a step away from Sasuke, finally releasing him from his suffocating embrace, and smiled widely. The two boys both turned to face the hokage (whom Naruto had temporarily forgotten was there).

Tsunade, who had been patiently awaiting the boys to finish their reunion, looked upon Sasuke more softly than she had before. "Sasuke," She began, her voice sounded sympathetic, "you know that we cannot allow you to join the ranks of Konaha ninjas immediately. In order to insure that you will remain loyal to our village, you will be under a strict probation until further notice. You will not be permitted to leave the grounds of Konaha without supervision and I would like to meet with you every few days for check ups."

Sasuke, though somewhat annoyed at the restrictions, kept a calm composure. He had to mentally stop himself from clenching his jaw or tightening his fists- he knew that he had to look agreeable. The boy nodded silently towards the hokage.

"However," Tsunade began again, "as for your friend, I'm afraid we'll have to keep her here for a little while." The woman turned towards Raine, speaking politely, "I hope you understand, but our village has struggled with the Hidden Rain in the past and we would be more comfortable if we could ask you a few questions before releasing you into Konaha. Obviously you cannot become a member of our village, but I do plan on contacting the Rain village and letting them know about your whereabouts." She turned towards the two boys once more, "Sasuke, Naruto, you both are free to leave. Raine, would you mind answering a few questions for us?"

Sasuke heard Raine quietly say "no", but he had left the room before he could hear any of the questions the hokage had for her. A part of him felt nervous leaving her alone; he hadn't known the girl long enough to trust that she would keep her composure and answer questions without raising suspicion. He figured that he had no other choice than to hope that Raine could remain calm.

"Hey! Sasuke, wait up!" Naruto called to Sasuke from a few paced behind, jogging to reach him. "Where are you going?" His face was stretched into a smile as he walked alongside his former teammate.

"Home." Sasuke answered blandly. He couldn't lie to himself, he was glad to see Naruto again, but more than a loud, busy reunion he wanted to go back to his compound. See his room. Sleep in his bed. Perhaps pray for the spirits of his parents... he thought about how long it had been since he had done that.

"What?" Naruto exclaimed (Sasuke groaned, he had forgotten how loud the blonde could be). "You can't go home yet! You just got here! We need to go say hi to everyone, they've been dying to see you again!" Naruto knew that wasn't completely true- most of his old classmates did not seem to be fond of Sasuke. But he hoped that they would change their minds about his friend once they saw he had come back to their village. Yeah, Naruto thought, they're probably just upset that he left. They'll love to see him again!

"I don't want to." Sasuke, responded, a little aggravated.

"Come on!" Naruto whined, "We have to!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "No."

Naruto exhaled huffily, crossing his arms over his chest. "You sure haven't changed." He pouted. "Fine, let's just go to your house."

Sasuke was about to object to Naruto walking him home, but he figured it wasn't worth his time. He allowed the blonde ninja to babble away about Gaara or something or other as they walked to the Uchiha compound. Upon reaching the entrance to the compound, Naruto halted. He had never been in the enclosed neighborhood before and he assumed that he was not welcome there. He was correct of course- Sasuke did not want Naruto entering the compound with him. It was his neighborhood. Filled with his ghosts. And Sasuke wanted to face those ghosts by himself.

Naruto picked up on what Sasuke was thinking and he didn't want to aggravate his friend too soon after he had returned. Naruto smiled widely. "I'll see you later ok, temee?" Sasuke nodded in return and began walking into the compound of the dead.


Sasuke jerked awake in the middle of the night, beads of sweat gathering above his lip and running down his forehead. He buried his face in his hands, breathing heavily. He should have known. With his return to the compound, so did his nightmares. He took deep, deliberate breaths, trying hard to calm himself before swinging his legs over the side of his old bed and standing up. He groggily slipped into his sandals, preparing to take a walk. He needed to get out of the house for a bit and get some fresh air- in his old room... his old house where his parents were murdered... he felt suffocated.

Sasuke had only taken a few steps across his room before his mind snapped into a ninja's mindset. He could sense chakra. In his house. His knees bent and he whipped a kunai out from under his pillow- defensively, he stepped out of his room and edged into the house's sitting room. His eyes cautiously scanned the room and immediately stiffened. He saw a body on the floor. Sasuke could hear his pulse pumping in his ears, his Sharingan activating. He controlled his breathing and slowly approached the body, nudging it with his foot, only the worst thoughts flooded his mind. He could only see the dead, bleeding forms of his parents lying on the ground in the body's place.

A groan came from the body as it shifted and then sluggishly sat up. "What do you want?" A voice mumbled.

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief, it was only Raine. Sleeping on his floor. Sasuke thought for a moment and after the initial relief ebbed, his face contorted. "What the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke hissed, as if afraid to wake someone up.

"Sleeping?" Raine answered, annoyed. "Where else was I supposed to stay?"

"Get out of here!" Sasuke shouted, fury and panic running through him. He couldn't have someone else in this compound. It was his. His family lived here. His family haunted this place. No one else was allowed to join him here.

Raine quickly gathered herself, springing to her feet and jogging out of the house, shooting Sasuke a confused and bothered face before exiting the house and fleeing from the compound.

Sasuke sighed again. He knew he couldn't stay in the house any longer. He needed catch his breath and think. He decided, once he was able to calm himself, that he ought to take a walk, and he left the house without further delay. Sasuke simply wandered around the empty neighborhood for the rest of the night, staring at the dark, empty sky. He felt empty too. He did not go back to sleep that night.


Hello and thank you for reading this chapter of my story!
Just as a general question, I have gotten several requests to elaborate on the sex scene in chapter 8
If you have an opinion, let me know whether or not you would like to see a *cough* less appropriate version of what happened that night between Sasuke and Raine!
Anyway! I hope you have a totally awesome day :)
Remember to review!