Chapter 14

"I used to advertise my loyalty and I don't believe there is a single person I loved that I didn't eventually betray."
-Albert Camus

As the newly reunited Team 7 marched back into the civilized portion of Konahagakure, they were met with the apprehensive and curious eyes of the villagers. The teenagers were certainly a sight to see, after all – the last time they had all been together in the village, they were prepubescent. Now, the three shinobi were taller and fuller and significantly less awkward. The demeanor of the team, however, hadn't changed all too much. Just as it was when they were younger, Naruto took the lead, proudly parading down the street in his garish orange outfit. Sasuke walked behind the blonde ninja, looking mildly annoyed as he always did, and Sakura appeared to be staring at Sasuke. Her eyes didn't oggle him as they used to do, but there was a slight look of intrigue that vaguely resembled the admiration she once held for Sasuke.

As he prowled the dirt roads, arms crossed dismissively across his chest, Sasuke could feel the eyes of the villagers devouring him; his trained ears picked up on the hushed exchange of whispers that seemed to be following him.

"Is that really the Uchiha boy?"

"I thought he ran off with Orochimaru."

"I heard that he's in an alliance with the Akatsuki."

"Who the hell let him back in the village?"

"How can Tsunade trust a traitor like that?"

"He'll end up just like his brother, I bet."

Sasuke, nostrils flaring, tipped his chin up a little higher. He told himself that those voices didn't mean anything to him, that the villagers of Konaha were snobs and gossips. They didn't know anything about him or about Itachi, they had no idea what they were talking about. In an attempt to block out the condescending voices, Sasuke spoke up to Naruto.

"So, did we really have to go all the way out to the old training ground for you to reintroduce me to Sakura and Kakashi?" Sasuke groaned, skillfully masking his discomfort.

"Yes," Naruto sighed, as if it was obvious, "it was way more special that way! This is like seeing your family again after two years! It had to be special!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, then continued walking quietly as Naruto babbled away about something insignificant. The Uchiha's eyes scanned the bustling streets of the village, trying to spot Raine among the mess of people. He had no clue where the girl could have run off to, but he regretted not bringing her with him to the training ground. For an outsider, Konaha could be a rather confusing village to navigate. Luckily for Sasuke, Raine hadn't strayed far from where they had left her earlier. Sasuke spotted the girl's petite frame sitting silently on a stool in the Ichiraku Ramen booth, her legs drawn up to her chest and her chin resting on her knees.

"I'll be right back," Sasuke announced to his teammates, segueing over to the ramen stand to collect Raine. Sakura watched his movements, curious as to where the boy was leading them. Upon noticing that Sasuke was approaching Raine, the pink-haired ninja furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Wait," Sakura began to Naruto, tapping her forefinger to her chin, "who is that girl over there?"

Naruto covered his mouth and giggled, eyes narrowing in Sakura's direction, not thinking for a moment about how she may react to his words. "That over there is Sasuke's girlfriend," Naruto gave another hushed maniacal laugh, "well, he doesn't actually call her his girlfriend, but she totally is! They spend all this time together and -"

"Alright, I got it, moron." Sakura grumbled. "I didn't need the details."

Naruto shrugged obliviously, "Well, you asked!"

Sakura eyed the raven-haired girl suspiciously, thinking that Raine sure looked scrawny.

'Certainly Sasuke wouldn't be interested in a little thing like that, right? He would much rather have a girl who could hold her own in battle', Sakura thought. 'Not that I'm jealous or anything. Obviously. I'm just looking out for his wellbeing... as his teammate. Yeah, that's right.'

At that moment, Sasuke returned from the ramen booth, Raine standing at his side. Sakura couldn't help but notice how similarly the two of them stood –back straightened, chin raised, and arms folded with a slightly bored expression on their equally pale faces. She thought it was a little spooky how alike the two were.

"Finally, you're back!" Naruto exclaimed (despite Sasuke only having been gone for a matter of seconds), "So, Sakura! Meet Raine!" The blonde grabbed a hold of the Uchiha girl's arm and pulled her forward towards Sakura.

Raine could sense a bit of discomfort in the situation, but couldn't see a clear reason why provided they had only just met. Raine thought, perhaps she was trying to protect her teammates from potentially dangerous ninja. In that case, Raine saw it fitting to try and make nice with the pink kunoichi.

"Hello," Raine spoke politely, offering her hand to Sakura. "It's nice to meet you." It was at that very moment that Raine noticed Sakura eye Sasuke, almost as if she was feeling possesive over him. Raine stifled a laugh. Is she seriously jealous of me? Raine asked herself, She thinks that Sasuke and I are...?

Raine had a split second to decide how she wanted to handle the situation, of course, she could simply be polite and make sure that Sakura knew the platonic nature of her relationship with Sasuke. But on the other hand... she could have a little fun with the high-strung ninja.

"It's nice to meet you too," Sakura greeted, smiling cheerily, but Raine could almost feel the girl's defensive thoughts bubbling just below the surface.

After shaking Sakura's hand, Raine smirked devilishly and took a step backwards to stand next to Sasuke as she had before. With a grin, the raven-haired girl closed the gap between her and Sasuke, pressing the left side of her body into the right side of his. She saw Sakura narrow her eyes. Raine hoped that it was with jealously.

Sasuke, fully aware of what Raine seemed to be doing, suppressed a grin. If it were anyone else, perhaps he would be annoyed with the physical contact, but secretly, Sasuke almost enjoyed watching Sakura's discomfort. He didn't feel malicious towards her, but after all of the incessant flirting that he had to put up with in his younger years... teasing Sakura felt like well-deserved payback. He was tempted to put on a show alongside Raine, but decided against it. He'd allow the girl to flirt with him, but thought it best not to obviously reciprocate anything.

"Alrighty!" Naruto shouted triumphantly, "Now that we all know each other; team! Let's move out!" His voice rang loudly as he marched forward.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked, smiling again in an attempt to control her temper for the blonde's volume, as well as for the snotty girl's behavior.

"To find our friends! They've gotta say hi to Sasuke now that he's back!" Naruto didn't turn to face Sakura while he spoke to her, but she could hear the smile in his words. She supposed that if he was enjoying himself so much, she ought to not ruin his mood by shutting him down or by getting touchy over Raine and Sasuke. Sakura didn't typically have patience for Naruto's antics, but she decided that she would try to tolerate him and his new friend- at least for the day. Although he had tried to hide it, she knew that Naruto had felt depressed over losing his closest friend two years ago; as if he alone was responsible for Sasuke's betrayal. Sakura thought it would be best to allow him to enjoy his reunion with the boy who was practically his brother, hoping that Sasuke would do the same and humor the blonde's ecstasy.

The four ninja wandered (seemingly aimlessly) around the leaf village, Naruto taking the lead, practically bouncing with happiness. After only a few minutes, Naruto was able to set his sights on his first set of victims.

"Hey! Kiba!" He cried from across a crowd of people, "Look who I've got!" Naruto clasped Sasuke's wrist in his hand and ran forward to greet his fellow ninja, dragging Sasuke along with him.

Kiba, who had been enjoying a conversation with Hinata, rolled his eyes and turned his head over his shoulder to scold the blonde. "Naruto, for the last time, I do not care about how full your stupid Gama-chan wallet it unless you're buying me something!"

Naruto grunted in annoyance, trotting up to his friends and gesturing towards Sasuke, smiling toothily. "No! Look!" He giggled, displaying Sasuke as if he were a prize-winning animal.

Sasuke shrugged off Naruto's hand, unsure of how to act towards his former classmates. He decided on presenting himself as calmly as he could, nodding courteously in the direction of Kiba and Hinata. He was never particularly fond of them, but he certainly didn't hold any grudges towards either of them specifically.

Kiba immediately straightened his posture at the sight of Sasuke, his spine jerking upwards and his face contorting for a split second before resolving on a look of apprehension. He thought he had heard some of the village women speaking about Sasuke the other day, but he had ignored it, now he saw why the Uchiha boy was the topic of conversation. Kiba couldn't exactly say that he was happy to see Sasuke; after all, he did risk his own life (as well as the lives of his teammates) trying to retrieve the stubborn ass from Orochimaru several years ago. He couldn't help but feel a little on edge around the guy, but Kiba figured that not acting on those emotions would be a smart decision. But one wrong move from the Uchiha... Kiba was ready to snap into action to protect his friends (or just cuss the guy out, whichever came first).

"Uh, hey, Sasuke. Nice to see you back home..." Kiba greeted the boy. Akamaru barked a greeting at Kiba's side, but even the dog had to suppress a growl at the sight of Sasuke. The Uchiha clan was never friendly towards the Inuzuka's dogs; those pompous dicks thought that ninja hounds were dirty and incapable.

Sasuke could feel Kiba's discomfort but he paid no mind to it; he didn't care for the strange dog-boy, or for Hinata (who's face had reddened like a tomato upon seeing the Uchiha boy). Hinata let out a quiet squeak, drawing Sasuke's attention to her. Sasuke looked her over once before deciding that she was nothing of worth; in his mind, the girl was just as weak as she always had been, and therefore unworthy of Sasuke's time.

Sakura shifted her eyes anxiously between the two boys; the tension between the two clans was just as apparent as her parents had always warned her about, and even though the two ninja had nothing personal against each other, their unease was obvious. Out of awkwardness, Sakura attempted to lighten the mood, but could barely get out a word before Naruto interrupted her.

"-Well!" Naruto shouted, gleefully unaware of the discomfort rising between the group of ninja, "Sasuke and me and a ton of people to see, so we should be off, okay? It was nice talking to you guys," he said with a wave of his hand before bouncing away. Sasuke pushed aside his annoyance and followed the blonde, thinking about how he had better convince Naruto to leave the village with him lest all this socializing go to waste.

"See you later, Kiba! Bye Hinata!" Sakura called, waving friendlily, trying to keep the air light.

"Goodbye, Naruto-kun," Hinata called faintly after the boy, shyly waving her hand. Kiba sneered in the direction of the two ninja, then put his arm around Hinata and walked away. Damn cockblocks, he thought crossly.

After wandering around Konaha for several more minutes, Naruto gleefully leading Sasuke, Raine and Sakura along in a sporadic and seemingly random path, the two boys finally happened across another group of ninja. As soon as Naruto spotted the older man clad in a skin-tight green jumpsuit, he turned around to Sasuke with a huge grin and giggled, "Look! There's Gai-sensei! He's just as weird as always!" Naruto then continued to face Sasuke and backpedaled towards Gai and the rest of his team, Tenten, Lee, and Neji.

"Heeeeeeeey!" Naruto shouted towards Team Gai, waving his arms! "Look who's back home!"

The members of Team Gai sat up straight at the call from Naruto, and were shocked at what they found. Was that really Sasuke Uchiha? And who was that strange girl standing next to him?

Gai-sensei was the first to approach the reunited team, flashing his gleaming white teeth at Sasuke. "Sasuke, my boy! It's so nice to see you back in the village with us! You've grown quite a bit! Your sensei must be so proud," Gai dramatically turned his head to the right, tears beginning to stream down his face. "My eternal-rival Kakashi missed you so much while you were away, and now you're finally home! And you look so strong!" Internally, Gai had been fully aware that the Uchiha boy had returned to the village (he had spoken to Kakashi about it late the night before) and, like most others, he felt quite a bit of apprehension towards the situation. But as Kakashi had instructed him, he acted happy and welcoming to the boy, despite his doubts about Sasuke's motives. He also thought it best not to mention the strange girl who stood beside Sasuke, though his curiosity ran wild, as did the curiosity of his underlings.

Sasuke nodded greetings to Gai-sensei and the rest of his team, allowing Naruto to do all the talking. Only occasionally did he stop to nod his head again at conversation cues.

During the conversation with Tenten, Lee, and Neji, Raine noticed Sakura stealing glances at her suspiciously. Thoroughly annoyed and feeling like some zoo animal, Raine narrowed her eyes ever so slightly and linked her arm with Sasuke's. The boy flinched slightly at the physical contact, but quickly realized what was going on and decided not to play a part in the catty game between the two kunoichis. He re-straightened his back and allowed Raine to continue linking her arm with his, occasionally checking Sakura's expression. He had to contain a smirk at the pure jealousy and annoyance that the could feel radiating off of the pink-haired girl.

Eventually, Team 7 waved a goodbye to Team Gai and set off following Naruto in search of more friends to socialize with (Sasuke suppressed a groan of annoyance.)

After briefly meeting up with Ino and Shikimaru (Ino being internally thrilled to see Sasuke again, and he was still so hot!), as well as Shino (who was as creepy as ever), Sasuke finally got annoyed enough to demand that they stop.

"I'm tired." He announced, "I don't want to talk to people anymore."

"Awwww," Naruto whined, "Are you sure?"

Sasuke shot him a glare for an answer. "Goodbye,"

Raine quickly fought the strange compulsive urge to peck Sasuke's cheek, just for the pleasure of seeing Sakura's reaction, but ultimately decided against it and watched as the boy turned on his heel and walked off towards his compound.

Naruto, torn, briefly jogged in place and thought about what to do, before running off after Sasuke to escort him to the compound. "See ya later, Sakura and Raine!"

Raine smiled cheekily towards Sakura before also heading off to her motel for the evening.

Sakura rolled her eyes and pouted to herself. What a bitch, she thought crossly.

Sasuke's immediate reaction to being followed by Naruto was annoyance, however the gears in his mind quickly turned and recognized the fact that he finally had the opportunity to convince Naruto out of the village. For a split second, he doubted himself. He did care about Naruto, he couldn't lie to himself about that. Did he really want to sentence his friend to death for revenge?

Fuck, Sasuke thought, biting down on his lower lip with enough force to draw blood. Yes. He couldn't be doubting his plan because of something as trivial as friendship or morals. He had to kill Itachi. That was his only purpose in this world. Kill Itachi. Avenge the Uchiha name. Nothing could get in the way of that, not even Naruto.

Aware that Naruto was directly behind him, Sasuke began to speak. "So, Naruto, we need to talk about that mission I mentioned."

"Oh my gosh, Sasuke!" Naruto groaned, annoyed to hear about this again, "What could possibly be so important! What is this stupid mission anyway?"

Sasuke had to think quickly about how exactly to word his offer. Knowing that Naruto would most likely respond to an emotional appeal, he decided to go for an approach that might evoke empathy. Swallowing back his inhibitions, Sasuke took a breath and calmly began his rouse.

"I care about Raine." He began, "Quite a lot, actually, but she doesn't belong here in Konaha, she has a village of her own to return to. I want her to get home to Amegakure safely. I think that it would be wise of us to escort her to the Hidden Rain village."

Naruto burst out laughing, Sasuke stared blankly back at him. "What are you laughing at, dobe?"

"Her name is Raine! And she's from the Hidden Rain village? That rich! Her parents were so creative!"

Sasuke growled quietly and then smacked Naruto upside the head, "Shut up, I'm being serious!"

Naruto, bottom lip quivering as he tried to control his laughter, finally nodded his head, "Yeah, yeah, we can escort her to her village. Anything for Sasuke's girlfriend!" He teased, pushing Sasuke's shoulder playfully.

Sasuke pushed the blonde backwards so hard that his teammate fell on his backside, wearing an annoyed expression. "Owww!" Naruto whined, "You ass, that really hurt!"

Sasuke smiled briefly and shook his head. "Thanks, dobe." He then walked away into the Uchiha compound, doing his best not to think about how he was betraying the trust of one of his only honest friends.

Thank you for reading!
Sorry that the updates are coming so slowly! I'm just so unmotivated T_T
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Have a super fantastic day :)