Chapter Thirty-Three

It was only a day later when they heard who the person who'd killed Orochimaru was. When Sasuke heard the news, he decided to avoid telling Naruto and choose to pace his room. Thankfully, Naruto had been wrong, the hair hadn't been his father's, but whose it was made him worry more.

Gaara had found him a little while later, holding his mobile. After consoling with Sakura, who'd been left out of the loop, Sasuke decided to wander the main house. He paced the parameter for a few hours before he came to stop in front of a room which was his father's study. Itachi had pulled him away a couple hours early, explaining their father had returned with interesting news to follow. Being well kept from the media's eyes and ears, Sasuke had found out his father had changed after counselling. To why his father had counselling was beyond him, but if he had changed…?

No, Sasuke turned away and returned to his room where he spent a few hours' playing cards with Naruto before letting the blonde retire. He was again found pacing the main house, unable to settle his own thoughts.

When he finally realised where he wandered to, he found he couldn't leave it. He was, again, in front of his father's study, with the exception. He'd come face to face with his father.

His father sat on the walk away, a long pipe settled in his hand as he watched the sky. He didn't turn his attention to his son, but acknowledged him. "You seem troubled."

"I would be… ending up this close to you," Sasuke choked, suddenly feeling dirty. "Heard you were seeing a counsellor, care to share why?"

His father evaded the question. "Orochimaru's dead?"

"Yes, he is."

"Thought so, glad to see the bastard finally gone."

"That's a surprised since you two were once business partners," Sasuke pointed out.

"No, he was never a business partner to me, but to Minato."

Naruto's father. Sasuke took a deep breath in and gave a thought to that. "Minato's alive."

"I know, we've spoken."

Sasuke was startled. How did he know, when they had kept their mouths shut?

"He's grown cold, Minato. Something's changing in him."

"You killed his wife and tried to kill him."

"No, that was Orochimaru as well."

Well, he'll be damned. "Then… what was your part in this?"

"I did nothing, that's what. I should have done something, but I turned a blind eye." Fugaku smoked his pipe in silence for a moment before he glanced at Sasuke for the first time that night. "I know this is late, but I'm sorry."

Now Sasuke was worried. His father was-

"I've destroyed your life," his words were filled with deep remorse. "I hurt you and your brother, and your mother as well. I just wish… I could take things back, but then again, it was probably the drugs."

"D-Drugs?"

"Orochimaru worked secretly with the black markets, and convinced me into trying them. All the things I did, was because of them. Nothing can take back the time I've lost, not even with the little time I have left."

A sudden chill ran down Sasuke's spine. "What do you mean?"

"I haven't been seeing a counsellor, but someone to sort out the will. My own death is around the corner, and I must leave behind something for you and your brother. At least… just enough to know you two will be alright in the future… you and your partner."

Somehow, Sasuke wondered his he'd guessed. "You know I'm seeing someone."

"Naruto, Minato's son. I expected as much, considering I, too, had feelings for Minato at some stage. I stepped away, since he was in love with Kushina. I choose your mother later on, not because I felt depressed about losing Minato, but I generally cared for her. She and Kushina grew close, and I know deep down, she wished Kushina had never been killed."

"But it's too late for that now."

"Yes, it is." Both fell silent while Fugaku finished what was left in his pipe. He stood up and gently placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "I can't take back the things I have done, but I want you to know, that no matter what you choose, I will always be proud of you, both you and your brother." And then he disappeared into his study. Little did Sasuke know that would be the last time he would speak to his father.

The next day, the news of Fugaku death reached the house ears. Instead of being killed by the aftermath of the drugs, he committed suicide. Sasuke heard his father wore a smile, and for the first time in his life, Sasuke felt free. For the first time, he cried for his father. There was so much more he wanted to ask, but knew he would never know the answers to.

Time passed and soon the funeral for Fugaku had been and gone and yet still they remained trapped in the family house. Sasuke tried to focus on his new novel, but found everything was becoming grey. Depression, he'd experienced it once before, and knew he was burdening himself with unnecessarily things. Naruto happily went on, unable to spot what was wrong with Sasuke. That was fine, he found the solitude he got every now and then peaceful, but it allowed him to notice he pain more.

Lying on the bed, Sasuke finally decided he needed to act on the cause of this and left his room late that night, long after everyone had gone to sleep. Sasuke knew what he had to do, in order to protect Naruto.

Sasuke had almost made it to the front entrance when something smashed into the back of his head. Turning around with a curse, he came across Neji, who had wheeled himself to the entrance, or as close as he could. They stared at each other for a long moment before Sasuke sighed and approached. "I bet you're angry, right? I brought you all here to protect you and then I decide to run away."

Neji's face stiffened and he tried to stand up, startling Sasuke to race to him and catch him before he fell. He swore but Neji choked out, unformed words, strong enough to suggest deep anger.

When Neji refused to let Sasuke help him back on the wheelchair, he helped him to a couch chair in a nearby room. Neji once again tried to say something but nothing formed. His eyes filled with tears of frustration.

Sasuke sat there in silence before something clicked inside, something that wasn't being said but didn't need to be said. He was depressed, sure, but there was something deeper here. He stared at Neji who was still trying to speak what was on his mind, watching him grow angry with himself.

And he laughed, startling Neji. Pressing his face to the others knee, he laughed bitterly. "We're so weak, us humans. We can't even protect the things precious, run away from our troubles, grow selfish and forget that there are people worse off than us." He laughed again. "That's what you wanted to say, I guess? You're worse off than me, but you are facing it… no, you're forced to face it. What you have isn't something that can be brushed aside, yet someone like me who can turn a blind eye tries to run away."

Neji gently patted him on the head. When had he become so selfish? Something was whispered, something Sasuke could barely distinct but some part of him knew what was being said. He smiled softly, and then sighed.

"Should I tell Naruto… about who was behind Orochimaru's death?" He looked up at Neji who shook his head.

"How about you and I go and look for him," a new voice filled the room as Gaara approached, pushing the empty wheelchair. "If you need to get away for a while, then we'll head off and look for clues."

Neji made a noise, but Sasuke understood Gaara's aim. "We'll it be safe to leave-"

"There's something deeper here, something we need to uncover. I think the best place to look is at your family business. You're father may have left something."

Sasuke glanced at Neji then stood. "Alright, but what about Itachi?"

"Get him to find the murderer," Gaara glanced at Neji. "We're going to need Kakashi as well."

Sasuke understood that. "Alright, but will-"

"I have an idea," Gaara said softly. "But we need to speak to Naruto first."

Speak to him about what?

A/N: I don't normally like posting notes up in my stories like this but I have to come out straight.

I'm not going trying to make an excuse, but my love for this story has disappeared over the past two years. Back when I started this story, I was still very passionate about SasuNaru, but many things have changed in the last two years, such as my passion for Naruto in general has disappeared because I'm just so disappointed in the manga. Even though two years ago, I felt very similar (my interest began to vanish in the early stages of this fanfic) I was still crazy about this pairing and this story. I can't say I've matured, but I can say my interests have changed.

The thing is, I don't think I'm going to finish this story any time soon, but I will try and post random chapters every now and then because I hate leaving stories incomplete. This story is, however, nearly finished. I might get finished in the next coming months, but I can't promise anything, I'm sorry. I do want to see this story completed, trust me.

I hope I haven't disappointed to many people. Thank you to everyone whose stuck through this story and my dreadful writing haha.

~MotherNight92