"Niisan."

Sasuke's words broke the silence that had settled over the cave-dwelling in which he and his newest friends had made their home. Raindrops pelted the rocky roof and outer walls. Sasuke sat a few feet away from the campfire, hugging his knees, staring into the shadows. Nearest to the fire lay Suigetsu and Karin, who were rolled up in their blankets, fast asleep. Opposite of Sasuke sat Kimimaro, who had Juugo's head in his lap and was gently stroking his hair. Juugo, whose eyes had begun to grow heavy with drowsiness, became alert at the sound of Sasuke's voice.

"Hm?"

Sasuke hesitated for a long moment before he went on.

"When you found me in the forest and stopped me from bleeding to death …I heard your voice, and I called out, thinking the voice belonged to my big brother Itachi. But …why did you save me …and tell me I could call you by …that title if I wanted to? Even though I was a Konoha ninja…even though you'd always kept to yourself before, afraid of losing control and hurting anyone. It was like committing to a lifelong bond. Why did you do all of that for me - and so readily?"

After some time, Juugo sat up, leaving Kimimaro's lap. He motioned for Sasuke to draw nearer, and, with a strange feeling of bashfulness, he crept over to sit beside him. Next to that great, muscular frame, he felt small, frail and childlike, not at all like the version of himself that he had been in the Leaf Village, the team leader who had had to be strong, quick-witted, cool and noble at all times in order to impress and protect his weaker teammates.

In those days, Sasuke had thought that he'd known and understood his place as the only surviving member of a clan of arrogant, mentally-troubled and power-hungry people who had struggled with the concepts of friendship and teamwork. He had hoped to forget his mother and father and redeem himself by exercising teamwork and protecting Naruto and Sakura. More than that, with these endeavours, he had hoped to make Itachi's wish for him - that "perhaps someday you'll have at least one person …who loves you as much as Mother and Father and Oniichan did" - come true.

The Chuunin Exams had changed things. He had received a Curse Mark from Orochimaru. His self-control had weakened, and his desire for power had begun to grow. He had worked with Kakashi to suppress the mark with some success. Then the Sand had launched an attack upon the Leaf. Team Seven had faced off against Gaara, and Sasuke had gone so far as to resort to the Curse Mark, but even with the additional power it had lent him, he had been beaten and rendered comatose. Naruto had been the one who had not only defeated Gaara, but had made allies of the Sand Siblings.

Their battle on the hospital rooftop had caused Sasuke to come to a realization: While once he had understood his place, by becoming inferior to Naruto, he had lost his place. Had he ever truly had a place to begin with? Curse Mark or no Curse Mark, had he been destined to be a danger to his friends from the day of his birth?

Not long after Orochimaru's attack upon the Leaf and his subsequent defeat, Sasuke had left the village. Naruto had pursued and confronted him. Livid with Sasuke for having become a deserter, abandoned his friends and, in his eyes, succumbed to selfish self-pity, Naruto had declared his intention to end Sasuke's life and, with it, their rivalry. He might have succeeded in killing Sasuke had he granted the Ninetails mastery over him, but he had wanted to prove that he could defeat him without resorting to that out of pride.

Naruto's pride had cost him his victory. Sasuke defeated him and, thanks to the influence of the Mark, would have killed him if he hadn't remembered himself. A weak, wounded Naruto had made his way back to the village, but Sasuke, after a great deal of reflection, had decided that there had been nothing left for him to live for and that he would prefer to die by his own hand than risk causing another person pain ever again or be taken down in disgrace as if he were a mad dog.

Now, however, he felt the warmth of Juugo's large, calloused hand upon his head. He was safe now, he had found a family, and, though it hadn't been a year since his departure from the Leaf, all of the feelings that he had had before were like memories from a distant past.

"You've wanted to ask me this for a while, haven't you?"

Sasuke said nothing. Juugo began to comb his hair with his fingers, and his gentleness reminded him of Mother's touch, the hardness and roughness of those fingertips of Father's touch.

"Forgive me, Sasuke. You overestimate me." Juugo's voice, always quiet, became even softer than it usually was. "I acted out of selfishness."

To say that Sasuke was confounded would be an understatement. He drew back to study his face. "Selfishness?"

"Juugo." Kimimaro was reproving. "Stop it. There isn't a selfish bone in your body."

"No, Kimi, it's the truth. Sasuke, when you cried out for your big brother, I was filled with pity for you. You were a child - a lost child who had been hurt. Seeing you was like seeing a starving bird with a broken wing." Juugo paused. "But deep down, I knew that you wouldn't be safe around me. It was my loneliness, my desperation for companionship, that caused me to say what I did."

"And that's what you mean by 'selfishness'? You think you were selfish for not wanting to be alone for the rest of your life?" Sasuke wasn't criticizing - not yet, at least. He shared Kimimaro's feelings - Juugo was the last living person to whom he would ever attribute a fault like selfishness.

"There are times when you have to put the wellbeing others before your own. In a rush of weakness, I put my feelings first. Thanks to me, you could have been hurt."

Juugo's hand came to rest on Sasuke's head once again, but Sasuke could feel the unsteadiness of that hand. Juugo, who, when in his normal state, had always been a rock of calmness and stoicism, who seldom displayed emotion, was trembling.

"But if you hadn't taken me on and saved my life, if I hadn't managed to be your cage until Kimimaro-san came back for you, what would have happened to little Karin and Suigetsu? They would've still been alone if not for you."

"Sasuke." The word came out with the weight of sadness and weariness behind it. It was as though Juugo had more to say, but didn't feel that Sasuke would understand. And so Sasuke continued, albeit with more effort. Juugo had explained himself, and now he must take the plunge and explain his feelings.

"And I - I would've died even if you hadn't taken me on. I was the only who put myself in critical condition to begin with. To me, life meant nothing, anyway. It's only thanks to you - you, Kimimaro-san, Karin and Suigetsu that I - I…"

He trailed off and found that he could neither finish his little speech nor meet Juugo's eyes. Only once since the day of the massacre had he bared his soul like this to another person, and his outpouring of emotion, his confession of friendship, had ended in a fight that had come close to killing him and Naruto.

"Otouto." Without warning, Juugo encircled Sasuke with his arms. Sasuke, too startled to react, allowed himself to be swallowed up by this enormous, warm embrace. The members of the team, with the exception of Kimimaro, to whose unsolicited, liberal displays of affection Juugo had had to grow accustomed, weren't much given to embracing or kissing one another, least of all Juugo, who showed his care in quiet and practical ways. On the rare occasion that he was hugged, Sasuke was still caught off-guard - and he still melted from the inside out.

"Otouto." He could hear in Juugo's voice that he was smiling - another thing that didn't often happen. "Thanks."