Sorry so sorry for not updating for so long…This isn't a long chapter because I don't know if I have any readers left after being away again for so long.
I had lost my motivation for NaruSasu but not love for it…no it's still my favourite pairing…but like I said I did loose motivation to write anything for the pairing and my work suffered and I'm truly sorry about that.
But I hope you like this chapter.
Naruto stared up at the small brick house on the edge of the suburbs, a small white fence surrounding the tiny structure.
The blonde let out a sigh and ran a hand through his messy blonde spikes as the wind blew past and ruffled his already disarray hair.
It had been a couple of years since he stepped foot in the house, not since Jiriya left. Tsunade had thought it better if he didn't come around since she needed her space. Naruto knew this and knew it was what Tsunade wanted but it didn't stop the guilt from sometimes creeping up on him for not trying his hardest to help the blonde woman through his hard times.
But then the young blonde footballer remembered it was Tsunade herself who ordered the decision and the guilt he felt momentarily would vanish or fade to the back of his head.
Sighing once again Naruto made his way up the drive way and to the front door, which was painted red and gold, rising his right fist he knocked on the wooden door loudly before waiting for a certain blonde woman to answer the door as he tapped his foot impatiently.
He had called about half an hour ago and told Tsunade he had some news that was urgent, so she knew he was coming.
After about another five minutes of waiting in the cold weather the door crashed opened and Tsunade stood inside the doorway, arms crossed over her breasts and her eyes narrowed in slight annoyance.
"It's about time." Naruto mumbled as he glared at his godmother who returned his glare full force only in a much scarier way.
"Brat, this better be important." She slurred and Naruto rolled his eyes. It was pretty obvious she was drinking but luckily she could hold her liquor quite well, years of practise helped the blonde woman out a lot there.
"Brat, this better be important I was in the middle of some very heavy paperwork." Tsunade lied causing the young blonde male to raise his eyebrows before letting out a scoff.
"Yeah right" He muttered and gently pushed Tsunade aside as he made his way into the warmth of the house, enjoying the heat on his cold cheeks.
"Brat…" Tsunade mumbled under her breath for the second time but Naruto ignored the usual comment as he made his way into the cosy little living room and parked his butt on one of the very comfortable couches.
Tsunade came stumbling after him and sat in the only arm chair in the room, leaning her elbow against the cushioned armrest as she stared at Naruto expectantly.
"Well are you going to answer me or not?" The blonde woman demanded folding her arms across her well-formed chest.
Letting out a sigh Naruto leaned against the headrest of the sofa, draping one arm over the side as he began to tell Tsunade about the day he had and the important information he had for her.
"There was a bit of a problem on the way home." Naruto started and Tsunade raised her eyebrow as concern and worry stared to creep into her mind and it was not for the young blonde in her home.
Tsunade knew Naruto could handle himself he had to learn to survive especially in the horrible orphanage he was placed in at such a young age. No whatever the blonde had to tell her it was something to do with her or Jiriya.
"What happened?" Tsunade asked as she leaned forward and rested her elbows on her needs and her chin in her linked hands.
"Sasuke and I were walking through an alleyway leading to his house when he came face to face with someone he knew…creepy guy…a real snake." Naruto added the pun intended due to the guy's snaky appearance.
"Tsunade he was one of the guys who tortured me when I was little…" He continued and Tsunade leaned forward in her seat her brown eyes wide.
"Are you sure?" The blonde woman asked her voice curious and a little concerned. She knew how hard Naruto tried to make his past remain in the past but she was worried that might change now.
"Yes I'm sure I could never forget those menacing golden eyes that glowed sinisterly in the dark. You remember the one with the snake mask…the one named Manda." Naruto said and Tsunade nodded remembering the man all too well although she never met him face to face before since she met the blonde teenager after Iruka adopted him but she was there when Naruto constantly had nightmares about the man and would wake up kicking and screaming.
The blonde Uzumaki had told her, Jiriya and Iruka all about the man in the snake mask and she vowed that if she ever saw his ugly mug there would be hell to pay.
Tsunade glanced at Naruto and noticed his troubled expression that told her there was more to the story than the blonde was letting on and she was going to find out what.
"Naruto something else happened earlier didn't it?" Tsunade asked and Naruto sighed before nodding.
"Yes but you're not going to like it because I'm not here to talk about Manda but…" Naruto paused and licked his dry lips as he let out a shaky breath before continuing. "It's about Orochimaru."
Tsunade gasped and dragged her fingernails across the arm rest of her chair as they clenched into tight fists. She hadn't heard that dreaded name for years.
"Orochimaru…" She whispered closing her eyes and remembering the utter betrayal over twenty years ago.
It was still fresh in her mind how one of her best friends betrayed her and then ran away…no he was more than a mere friend…they were lovers.
Tsunade loved Orochimaru with all her heart and she was ready to marry him and then she found out…that he was a lying convening bastard but it hurt to know she had been fooled along with everybody else.
"I haven't heard that name in years…but how did you come across it?" Tsunade asked as she locked brown eyes with blue.
Naruto sighed and rubbed the tip of his nose before nodding and explaining. "Yes he is the same man that tried to kidnap Sasuke and the same man…"
The blonde closed his eyes the flashes of painful memories he so desperately tried to forget running through his mind. Taking a deep breath and opening his eyes again he continued. "That tormented me when I was little."
Tsunade let out an audible gasp and her eyes went as wide as saucers. "What? But how? Are you absolutely sure?" She demanded jumping from her seat as she went towards the liquor cabinet…she was in a desperate need of a drink or would be.
Naruto began to stand up to and walked over to where the woman stood and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Yes I'm sure. Sasuke called him it."
Tsunade nodded and raised a hand to her head feeling a headache coming on. "I can't believe this…I believe he's back." She whispered as he sat back down a bottle of strong wine in her hand. She wasn't ready to face up to her past and her still strong feelings for Orochimaru. Yep you guessed it she never truly got over him but she did generally love Jiriya and now she was confused.
Naruto picked up on this and shook his head half in disappointment and half in understanding. "You still love him don't you?" He asked carefully watching as the blonde woman whipped her head around, her eyes narrowed slightly in anger as she prepared to deny the whole thing but Naruto stopped her right then and there.
"Don't deny it Grandma Tsunade please." Naruto pleaded and she sighed and ran a hand through her long blonde hair.
"Ok you got me…but the truth is I don't know if I still do. When Orochimaru and I broke up it wasn't a joint decision in fact it was because he left me without so much as a goodbye." Tsunade admitted as she got up once more and strolled over to the couched and threw herself against the leather cushions.
She glanced up and saw Naruto's look of disappointment and she shook her head. "I love Jiriya don't ever doubt that but Orochimaru was my first love. I was ready to have a family with him, to marry him but after he ditched me I went to a dark place. It was when I started drinking." Tsunade admitted and the blonde boy nodded as he took a seat next to Tsunade.
There was one thing that was playing with Tsunade mind as she thought about how Naruto knew about her relationship with Orochimaru. She knew she had mentioned the man once or twice but never once had she told her godson about her true relationship with Orochimaru.
"Naruto, how did you know about my relationship with Orochimaru?" Tsunade asked as she ran a hand through her blonde bangs as she leaned back against the headrest of the couch.
Naruto shrugged and mimicked Tsunade actions before turning his head and smiling at the blonde haired woman.
"It was pretty obvious the two times you mentioned him. I could see the anger in your eyes but it was a type of anger you get when you lost someone you loved but not in a tragic way." Naruto replied and Tsunade sighed and nodded as she returned the smile.
But Naruto's smile faded as he remembered what he wanted to talk to Tsunade about and he knew it was going to hurt her but he had no choice.
"Tsunade…Orochimaru is Manda the one who tortured me and the other boys in the orphanage. Orochimaru confirmed he was the one who did it already and more than that he told me about that word that makes me go crazy…and I'm scared he might make me hurt Sasuke." He admitted as he leaned forward in his seat and placed his head in his hands.
Tsunade saw the worry and concern deep inside those blue orbs and wanted to just go over there and pull Naruto into a strong embrace.
The feelings raging inside her wasn't any better…Orochimaru was the same person who caused her godson pain, the same man she loved with all her heart at one point in her life. Now she didn't know whether she still loved him or hated him…she needed Jiriya but he had deserted her just like Orochimaru did and it hurt…it hurt a lot.
"How long as Orochimaru been in town? How long have you known about Orochimaru?" Tsunade hissed wanting to get to the bottom of it.
Naruto couldn't help pull back slightly a look of shock running across his face but it vanished when he saw Tsunade hands shake and clench and unclench into tight fists.
"Truthfully I've only came to realize today that Orochimaru and Manda were the same person…but if you're asking when I first caught a glimpse of Orochimaru, it was when Sasuke first started tutoring me…just before Sai…died." Naruto admitted feeling sadness swell up inside his heart as he remembers the boy who went through just as much as he did.
"How come you didn't say anything then?" Tsunade demanded, feeling a little hurt that her godson didn't come to her then but her fears were reassured when the said blonde shook his head.
"I didn't know who he was back then…I only saw him as some kind of creep that's all and I only recognized him as Manda today was because I know those evil golden eyes anywhere…He's gotten a lot worse since the last time I saw him and that's saying something." Naruto muttered his eyes darkening considerably.
"What do mean?" The blonde woman asked as she leaned forward in her seat watching Naruto leaned back and let out a sigh while running a large tanned hand through his yellow spikes.
"I mean the guy's the total paedophile!" He yelled jumping up, his fists clenched by his sides and his body shaking with anger.
"What?" Tsunade asked a look of shock passing her face although she didn't know why though if what Naruto said was true about him being the one who tortured Naruto when he was younger…
Naruto halted in his tracks and was about to explain when he remembered that he promised Sasuke that he wouldn't tell anyone nor did he know all the facts since the raven wasn't ready to tell him yet…he didn't trust him…and that stung a little…no a lot.
There was a feeling he got whenever he thought about the Uchiha…it was a warm feeling that he liked and also a protective one.
Naruto wanted to just wrap his arms around Sasuke's small frame and protect him from everything that's ever harmed him…Kiba, Orochimaru and himself…
Sighing he turned to Tsunade who was still looking at him waiting for an answer to her question.
"Sorry Tsunade I just really dislike the bloke that's all and plus he does look like one but…" Naruto paused as he bit his lip not knowing whether he should ask such a question but he needed to know. "How did you know you were in love?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow before letting out a chuckle as she finally realized why the blonde teen was really here although she did believe he wanted to tell her about Orochimaru this was much more than that.
"Naruto do you like Sasuke?" She asked in a sly way her eyes narrowed in a playful way as she nudged his arm.
The blonde footballer rolled his eyes at the childish behaviour before shrugging his shoulders not sure how to answer the question since he didn't even know himself.
"I don't know Grandma Tsunade…I really don't know. I know I like being around him and I feel angry if anyone hurts him…but that is what I don't understand…I used to hurt him…a lot…so why do I feel different now?" Naruto said as he slumped backwards and covered his eyes with his right arm, the other resting on the arm rest of the couch.
Tsunade nodded remembering how the Uchiha and the Uzumaki used to hate each other and she had to say she encouraged it kind off.
After what happened to Minato and Kushina the blonde woman found it hard to like or even trust any Uchiha…and found the urge to punish every one of them…so when Sasuke was being bullied she turned a blind eye and pretended that the whole thing wasn't happening…
Sasuke has come into her office beaten and bruised a number of times and she would wave him off. The defeated and lonely look in the boy's brown orbs every time she did was stamped in her mind and she now knew what she did was wrong.
It was Madara Uchiha who was to blame or someone else in the Uchiha clan…Sasuke would not have been born at the time of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze's deaths.
"I think we all did wrong by that boy Naruto…we all judged him based on the name Uchiha instead of looking at him like anybody else…maybe we wanted someone to blame and he was an easy target but the point is Naruto you are trying to make it up to him." Tsunade insisted but the blonde haired teenager wasn't sure.
"I know but I still feel guilty I let my stubbornness and my eagerness for popularity cloud my judgement…I wanted friends but now I realize it's not how many friends you have but how many good friends. People sometimes have millions of friends who love them that are great and I wish I had that…" Naruto mumbled on but was cut off by an angry Tsunade who smacked him over the head with her hand causing him to let out a muffled cursed and glare at the woman.
"Ow! Tsunade, what was that for?" He protested rubbing the sore spot on his head his lips drawn into a pout as he continued to glare at Tsunade.
The said woman only leaned back, arms folded, and shook her head as she returned the boy's glare although hers was then times deadlier.
"Brat! You do have lots of good friends…in fact apart from Inuzuka you have made great choices in the friend apartment and now you can add Sasuke on to the list. Look brat you want my honest opinion…yes I do think you like Sasuke more than a friend but you're too scared to admit it in case he turns you down. I think you do know your true feelings over the Uchiha but you're just afraid to admit them out loud." Tsunade said and Naruto turned his head away a look of confusion and understanding etched to his facial expression.
Every word that Tsunade just uttered was correct he was scared…terrified in fact. The feelings that were raging inside of him was strong and they were all aimed at the Uchiha but there was something else stopping him from pursuing Sasuke…
"I'm afraid I'm betraying my parents by liking Sasuke…"He finally blurted out feeling very horrible but it was only today…the moment he recognized his feelings for Sasuke…his true feelings that he remembered his parents and their everlasting war with the Uchiha…
From what he was told the Uchiha's made life hell for them and even nearly drove them out of town on a number of occasions…
Tsunade shook her head and laughed slightly. "No your parents wouldn't have been mad in fact they would be pleased that you found someone you loved in fact…I'm going to let you in on a little secret." She whispered as she gave him a wink.
Naruto raised an eyebrow as eagerness settled into his stomach. It was always good to hear about his parents especially the juicy bits.
"Your mother was actually friends with an Uchiha herself…best friends in fact…the two were inseparable they would go everywhere together. People would stop and stare and whisper behind their backs but they didn't care. They were friends and that was all that mattered it didn't matter how many people tried to break them apart they never budged." Tsunade smiled at the mere memory but it vanished instantly as she then remembered what happened next and guilt began to swirl around in her stomach.
The girl's name was Mikoto Uchiha and was in fact the granddaughter of the leader Madara Uchiha and this caused much friction between the three clans. Everyone tried to rip the friendship apart and it was her that succeeded.
It was a memory that would forever haunt her.
"Really? Who was this woman?" Naruto asked jumping up and down excitedly in his seat as he waited for more gossip on his mother but then he noticed Tsunade guilty look and his grin and excitement went down.
"Something did happen though didn't it?" Naruto questioned feeling disappointment coming on already as Tsunade sighed then nodded, closing her eyes.
"Yes but I won't tell you the details all you need to know is that I did something stupid and selfish and I'm not proud of myself. If I could turn back time and do everything all over again I would…but Naruto don't make the same mistake. Sasuke is a good friend and I can see that you like him so don't give up on that and no matter what anybody tries to tell you make up your own mind." She told him sternly as she gazed into his azure orbs that glistened in the light.
Naruto paused before nodding. "Don't worry I will…I just wish I could do something about Orochimaru." He admitted shivering slightly at the remembrance of those cold, evil golden eyes.
Tsunade smiled happy to know she had such a kind-hearted godson. Glancing out the window she let out a audible gasp as she jumped off the couch bringing Naruto with her.
"Oh my god look at the time Iruka must be worried sick…you better get home before he goes all mother hen on you and sends out a search party and comes here…" The last part was mumbled under her breath.
Tsunade really didn't fancy a frantic looking Iruka showing up on her doorstep that would be a disaster. Naruto chuckled and nodded as he took his coat of the coat rack and headed out the door his mind a lot clearer than it was before.
"Hey Naruto" Tsunade called just before he went out into the cold air, the blonde teen paused the door half way open as he turned back to Tsunade.
"Yes…?"
"Don't worry about Orochimaru I'll sort him out it's about time me and him had a few words anyway." She hinted as she smashed her fist into her hand a dangerous look dancing in her brown orbs.
Naruto couldn't help but smile and nod as he gave Tsunade a little wave. "I almost feel sorry for him…well bye Grandma Tsunade and thanks for reassuring me."
"No problem brat and remember don't make the same mistake I did ok." She said and once again Naruto nodded and headed out the door, shutting it behind him
Ok there we go…
You'll learn more about Sasuke's and Naruto's mum in the upcoming chapters and also a lot more about Jiriya, Orochimaru and Tsunade.
To give you a little teaser of what will come in the next chapter there will be a big brotherly moment between Itachi and Sasuke and a death.
Next chapter will be longer depending if people still like this and want more even though I didn't think this was an overly good chapter but I still hope you all like it.
Please review and if you have any questions then please don't be afraid to ask and NO FLAMING please.
