Kakashi's team was getting worse and Kakashi was at his limits. Naruto and Sakura would fight about the most random things and Haku looked like he was out of the loop, not knowing what was going on between the other two. Naruto and Haku were getting along just fine when doing missions but Naruto did not confide in the older boy too much. Kakashi didn't blame him though. Considering the circumstances in which the two had met it was a miracle that they were friends at all.

Kakashi decided to ask his friend Tenzou for help one day and they decided to teach Naruto something new, well actually to help him improve his rasengan by adding the wind element to it. Kakashi knew that Naruto was more than capable to do this although he was still a genin but since he wasn't a wind user himself he needed some help from Tenzou. In the meantime Haku would teach Sakura medical skills that were suitable for her chakra control. This way the two would be apart more than not and they would all have some quiet for once.

His plan seemed to work just fine. Naruto was focusing on the task at hand and was in a slightly better mood, his skills were improving and Sakura learned something new too. It was perfect.

Sasuke had not seen Naruto around the village in quite some time and he couldn't help but grow concerned so when he saw Kakashi, Iruka and Tenzou at a coffee shop he marched in although he was not alone.

"Is Naruto alright?" He asked in a hurry before Shisui could drag him away from his previous teachers.

"He's in the hospital."

"What happened?" he began to panic. Naruto has never been in the hospital before not even when he was abused by the villagers and had some nasty cuts and bruises and nothing dangerous ever happened in D rank missions so he couldn't find a reason for Naruto to be hospitalized.

"He overdid it with training." Kakashi managed to say before Sasuke was dragged away by Obito.

After he got home he went to his room and refused to leave it or talk to his mother. She asked him what was wrong but what good would it do to tell her the reason? At some point he heard Itachi argue with their father:

"He's practically a ninja, father. He can live on his own if he wants to."

Fugaku scoffed at ridiculous insinuation. "With the payment he gets from completing those D rank missions he could barely pay for a room in the worst part of the village. No son of mine will live in such conditions. It would destroy my reputation and as long as he lives under my roof and eats his mother's cooking, he will do as I say. "Sasuke buried his face in the pillow. "And why would he want to go back to that teacher of his? He didn't even try to get them into the next chuunin exam."

"I'm sure Kakashi has his reasons. The man was an ambu at least give him credit for that."

"If he had been Root I would have, probably but since he was chosen by that incompetent old man, I can't. Do I need to remind you that he trained a traitor?"

Hours later, Itachi came to his room, closing the door behind him.

"Are you asleep?"

"No." Sasuke's voice was muffled by the pillow.

"Father cares too much about the clan's reputation and will not let you go. If you want to leave you have to run away from home. Think about it and tell me your decision tomorrow but don't rush it because there's no way back."

"If I run away he'll have Obito drag me back anyway."

"Maybe not, maybe he will disown you." Sasuke raised his eyes from the pillow to look at his brother. "Are you sure Naruto is worth that?"

As soon as Itachi left the room Sasuke started packing. He knew what he had to do and will do it, consequences or not. He told Itachi his decision and the older brother looked sad but did not try to stop him or make him change his mind.

"Do it tonight. I'll distract the patrol until you leave the district but once you're out you can never come back." Sasuke nodded.

That night didn't come fast enough in Sasuke's opinion. Itachi kept his promise and soon enough Sasuke was on his way to the hospital. He didn't pack much or else it would have been hard to run and jump over the wall that was surrounding the district. He only took his clothes and some small belongings leaving everything else in his room but it didn't matter. Naruto was living just fine and he didn't even have half the stuff Sasuke had.

It took him some time to find Naruto's room but when he did his lips curved into a small smile.

"Dobe, wake up." He shook the sleeping blonde gently.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked with a sleepy voice.

"You're a ninja, dobe. You should be more alert even when you sleep." Naruto shifted oh his back to get a better look at his friend in the moonlit room.

"What are you doing here?"

"What I should have done a long time ago." Sasuke's tone became rather harsh as he remembered his father. "Look, I know how you feel about families and stuff, how I should cherish them since I have them and I do but I can't stay in prison even if it is my home." He was expecting Naruto to give him a mouthful about families like he sometimes did but Naruto did not take the conversation down that path.

"So what's going to happen now?" Sasuke sensed the sadness in the blonde's voice and he hated that it was there. He hated himself for causing it too.

"I'll talk to the Hokage tomorrow to let me back on the team then I'll start looking for a place. I'll need to crash at your place until then."

"Sure."

"But enough about me. Care to tell me what that is?" He made a head motion towards Naruto's arm which was wrapped in thick bandages.

"Nothing much, really. I guess Tsunade-baachan exaggerated."

"Don't give me that, Naru. You've never been in the hospital before and Kyuubi takes care of everything. Kakashi said you overdid it with training. What were you even doing?"

"I'm just trying to make a jutsu that will match your chidori."

"But you have the rasengan."

"Yeah and now I'm improving it by adding wind to it."

"You're crazy, you know that? I can't use the chidori more than three times a day or it will damage my hand. That's why I worked to channel it in a sword."

"I can't use swords and I can't do that with the rasengan anyway."

"That's why I said you're crazy."

"Sasuke…come back on the team." Sasuke's expression softened and he smiled at his friend but he couldn't make a promise just yet. It was the Hokage's decision after all. "Now take the keys to my apartment and go get some rest before Tsunade catches you here. She's nice but she can be scary too."

The Hokage had not been pleased to see Sasuke in his office early in the morning.

"Do you know what you ask of me Sasuke? You ask me to go against the head of a clan." Taking a stash of papers from a large pile on his desk he began reading and signing them one by one giving Sasuke the impression that he wasn't even considering his request.

"I'm a ninja and I can make a living."

"Apparently your father doesn't think so."

"I know there will be consequences for you too if you go against father but…"

"Sasuke" the older man interrupted with a stern voice. "I am the Hokage but I can't do what I want. I need the people and clans of this village to support me and I can't afford to anger any clan."

"But you don't really have the Uchiha's support, do you?"

The man sighed. He didn't know how Sasuke knew that but it was true none the less. The Uchiha's were trying to remove him and he was still there because he had the support of the other clans, especially the Hyuuga's who were against the Uchiha's publicly.

Kakashi entered the Hokage's office where he had been summoned minutes ago. That old man knew him too well and knew exactly where to find him. He also knew that Kakashi hated to be interrupted during the visits to his father's grave so there better be a good reason.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked as the Hokage was involved in a conversation with Tsunade, his student and the head of the hospital.

"Not at all. Please take a seat." The Hokage urged him and he reluctantly did so.

"Is this about Naruto?" he asked thinking that Naruto's medical condition in going to be brought up.

"No." Tsunade said "He's fine and will be released tomorrow but I don't want him to do any missions or training for a week. I'll make an appointment for him in a week and decide then if he can commence work. For kami's sake, Kakashi be more responsible with your students when you teach them such things. His arm was almost useless when you brought him in." Kakashi gave her a sheepish smile. There was no way he could tell her that Naruto didn't stick to the training program that he and Tenzou made for him.

"Sasuke came to see me this morning." The Hokage said and Kakashi raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner. It was not what he had expected to hear. "He ran away from home and wanted me to let him back on your team."

"Did you?"

"No. I'm afraid I can't do that no matter how much I want to help the boy. I can't afford to go against the Uchiha clan. I lost their trust when Orochimaru was caught researching forbidden techniques and they didn't like the fact that I allowed Naruto to be a ninja either. I called you two here to ask you for a favor. I want you to help Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto needs his friend and Sasuke is the only Uchiha who doesn't care what Naruto is."

"I don't understand…" Kakashi started to say something but the Hokage interrupted him.

"I'm getting old, Kakashi. I've been thinking about this and I want to spend more time with my grandson. I'm retiring and I want you, Tsunade to take my place."

"Me?" The woman gave her teacher a questioning look. "But the hospital is taking my whole time."

"I'm sure Shizune can handle it. Please, Tsunade. You can take a new student and teach her to help Shizune."

When Naruto was released he went home although he would have liked some ramen after being cooped up in a hospital room. Sasuke had not visited him after saying that he would talk to the Hokage and he was curios what had happened.

When he entered his apartment he found Sasuke lying on the couch listening to music and just staring at the ceiling.

"Sasuke? Are you alright?" The raven shifted his head to look at him and gave him a sad smile.

"Now that I can see you again, I am." Naruto smiled at him and pushed Sasuke's legs to make some room on the couch to sit. Sasuke shifted his position and put his head on Naruto's lap.

"The Hokage won't let me on the team again."

"What?" Naruto asked shocked. He had been sure that everything will go back to normal now that Sasuke ran away from home. "What did he say?"

"That he can't go against father." Naruto brushed a black bang behind Sasuke's ear.

"So you are the only one who would go against him?"

"It's politics and power that connect the clans in this village. I don't care about that."

"Are you going back?"

Sasuke scoffed "Of course not. I'll get a job somewhere."

"Sasuke, you're a ninja. There is no other job for you. Sakura will be glad to see you again either way."

"Why do you have to bring her up?"

"Because it's my fault that you were removed from the team."

"No it's not."