Yes, I admit, I keep changing the summary, I just always feel like it's either not focussed enough, or leaving out a whole lot (that being the case now)... I suppose it's the fate of summaries :/ I struggle with it anyway.

A huge thanks to my friend HailZuko who betaed and proofread this chapter. It's a joy to work with you and I appreciate your input, opinion, suggestions and corrections. They're making me a better writer, and also better in English :)

Chapter 10 Roomies?

"Ah, Kakashi, thanks for dropping me off." Naruto grinned.

"Actually, I'll come in and say hello." Kakashi quickly closed the door to Sakura's apartment complex.

Having arrived at the door of her abode, Naruto, instead of knocking, just pressed the door handle down, seeing if that would let them in. Much to his delight, the door indeed wasn't locked, and so they snuck in to see if they could surprise anyone.

It seemed both occupants were still home and apparently discussing something. Curious, Naruto snuck closer.

"... on his own for forever and we don't have the space..." That was Sakura. "Why are you so adamant about this anyway? You didn't seem to—"

"They're here," Tatakai interrupted.

An awkward silence followed.

"Why don't you come in?" Sakura reluctantly called out.

Having been found out, they did.

Kakashi got straight to the point. "Naruto isn't to be alone for the time being. Sakura, Tatakai, I trust you not to let him out of your eyesight until I'm back. I need to run a few errands." He quickly ducked out of the apartment, ignorant of Naruto's groan.

"Naruto? What is going on?" Sakura looked questioningly at Naruto, who sheepishly rubbed his neck.

"Aah, well… uhm…"

"We had a run-in with an acquaintance of mine yesterday. One that might quite possibly mean Naruto harm."

Sakura had turned to Tatakai, looking at him with big eyes, their discussion from before suddenly starting to make sense.

"I'll share my room. He can even have the bed," he added.

Now it clicked for Naruto, too. "What? Hey dude, no; we need to talk, like, right now!" He spiritedly stepped forward, grabbing Tatakai's arm to drag him off.

"Naruto, we're in the middle of a conversation!" Sakura reprimanded.

"Yeah, apparently about me moving in without even asking me if I wanted to! That's not okay, so I need to talk this over with the Teme alone! I know it was his idea."

Said one had winded out of Naruto's grasp, glaring at the other. Naruto grabbed him again before Sakura could disagree and Tatakai let himself be pulled into his room where Naruto quickly barricaded the door.

"We really need to talk!"

"Hn."

"Teme, I'm serious. You can't tell Sakura I'll be living here when you haven't even asked me about it. Tha-"

"I wasn't telling her; I was trying to get her permission!"

"Ah, well great. Because that's such an awesome idea. You know what? I've lived on my own since I was very little, and I like my own space when I'm not on missions. Plus, Sakura and I have fairly different views on how to keep house. And she even forbids me to stack any ramen here. How am I supposed to survive?"

"I'm sure we could work out something with her, and I already have the order to clean the apartment. You wouldn't have to do it."

"Yeah, if I lived here, that would be the first thing to change! I don't like this slave business and I know Sakura doesn't, either. But, that's not the main issue… Why do you even want me to live with you?"

"You are in danger."

"Yeah, thanks, I gathered as much. But I'm still not buying all the 'I care' crap you've got going right now. You don't even like me! Nor do you sincerely care about Sakura, you don't even try to hide it. So quit bullshitting me!"

"Hn…" Apparently Tatakai found that an appropriate response, crossing his arms in front of his chest, leaning against the door.

"You're not even saying anything in your defence? What's wrong with you?"

Tatakai only answered after another moment had drifted by. "Would you believe anything I said at all?"

"Depends if I feel that what you say is really honest. I don't want to live with someone I can't trust. People don't suddenly do things for your benefit, there's always a hidden agenda when that happens. I'm sick of this shit. I don't need that in my down-time. I'd love to be your friend, but you'd have to let me be a friend, not a charge. I'm old enough and strong enough to hold my own. And you don't know what I'm capable of anyway!"

"You describe my reality, but you at least have a team and a leader that you can trust. I have neither."

"Well, if you'd let us get to know you, we might offer some trust eventually. Ever thought about that?"

Tatakai mirthlessly chuckled at that. "Dobe, you realize that it isn't that simple, don't you?"

"Why can't it be, Teme?"

"No one here is willing to trust me. They're all playing games. And since I'm a slave bound by a seal, if anyone decides to turn on me, I'm at their mercy. This is not about friendship, this is about being an unknown with ninja abilities in a village run by ninja. And I don't want people digging up my past."

"Oh." Naruto averted his gaze. "I hadn't thought of that."

"And you want to be Hokage one day?"

"Well, yeah! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed.

00000

"Because when I explain, I could be twisting things to suit my purposes, instead of being honest." Sasuke had no idea how they'd ended up in this ridiculous argument. He'd expected to be accused, to be interrogated (though probably with questionable technique; this was Naruto after all). Instead, they'd ended up in almost friendly banter for several minutes.

"So what? If I feel like there's something fishy and can't make the connection myself, I can still ask someone else for a second opinion."

Sasuke shook his head in disbelief at Naruto's easy-going nature. "Whatever," he grumbled, then finally sat down on the bed in anticipation of a possibly longer discussion. Sometimes Naruto was very perceptive, so much so that at other times, Sasuke wondered if the other was just acting dumb. The discussion had somehow been turned towards arguing why Sasuke could possibly be dangerous, and he really wondered what the other was trying to accomplish with it.

Naruto had followed his example, sitting on the bed cross-legged and looking at him expectantly.

"I'm not one of your trusted ninja. In fact, I'm an outsider with ninja abilities obtained by an unknown source. It's a question of loyalty." Sasuke elaborated.

"I'd say you're doing pretty well with that. You're not trying to grease your way in, you're not offering any intel... but you're not trying to get us to spill the beans, either. That's what I initially liked about you, too. You were so resistant. You seemed to only want to be left alone because you were alone. And you're not even trying to get out of your status as a slave… which by the way, I don't understand at all."

It was rather funny how Naruto was trying to reassure him, but seeing as it gave Sasuke more time to think about what to do, he went along with it for now.

"It could be part of my cover?"

Naruto vehemently shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so. But really, how is slave life? I know you haven't lost yourself like Sai had, that must mean something. Don't you want to get free?"

"What do you think?"

"Uhm, well, uh... how should I know?"

"That was a rhetorical question, idiot," Sasuke said with a pointed glare. "I've tried plenty of times. All it does is knock me out. So for now, I'm biding my time."

"That sucks." Naruto looked at him sympathetically. "Maybe we could talk to Sakura."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because if I go around asking to be free, people will trust me even less. Besides, when people go buying slaves, there's usually a reason for it. This situation is complex enough without adding to it."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, for once staying quiet. Sasuke remembered how the other day, Naruto had almost walked out on him when he hadn't been forthcoming with his explanation. Naruto seemed content to stay right now, but Sasuke was painfully aware that the other had not yet agreed to do so permanently. He'd have to explain himself to gain the other's trust.

"Look, I…" Naruto finally began, "...I appreciate your help for learning to read properly—"

"I'm not going to ask you to live here as payment, it wouldn't work," Sasuke cut him off. He'd played with the thought, but he knew Naruto would just slip out through some backdoor if he wanted to leave, metaphorically speaking. Naruto was too much of a free spirit to be held down by a mere agreement. He needed a reason. He needed facts.

"Good," Naruto carefully spoke, once again falling silent, still waiting for an explanation.

"Hn..." It was not easy to find a start. He'd stayed quiet about all of his background for so long, it was strange to even consider putting it into words. And while he had thought about it a bit more before confronting Sakura about the living situation, he still wasn't sure how to convey the reasoning behind it to Naruto. The other seemed to sense this and stayed quiet, waiting. Finally, Sasuke decided on a wordless approach to get things rolling, getting somewhat agitated at the prospect of revealing sensitive information. He leaned toward his dresser and got out his sketchbook. He carefully took out Sai's drawing and held it out for Naruto to take, barely keeping his hand from shaking.

Naruto tentatively took the drawing, instantly recognizing its style as Sai's. Furthermore, he recognized the guy in the portrait from when he'd first met Tatakai… when he'd grabbed him rather roughly, and this stranger had appeared, telling him to back off. "It's that guy… the one who appeared and threatened me when we first met!"

While Sasuke could keep it off his face, he reeled back inwardly for a moment. Naruto had seen him before? Oh, right. He'd almost forgotten that Naruto had triggered that at some point. It hadn't happened in a while now. He hadn't let himself be triggered as easily after realizing what it could mean within Konoha. And trigger points were becoming less, too, as he grew more familiar with the people around him. But now was not the time to think about that.

"If you ever see him, avoid eye contact at all costs and run."

"Alright. Why?"

"This is Kisame's partner, and my brother."

Naruto's eyes grew big. "Oh."

"Both my brother and Kisame are very dangerous… and it appears you caught their attention. Look, I haven't spoken with my brother in three years. There's nothing simple about our situation, but my brother recently managed to send me a message through Sai. And while I don't understand why, he told me to protect you from him. So that's why…" He trailed off.

"Oh, alright. But you realize I'm well-protected within Konoha? And I think Sai passed on that message. The Hokage is aware of the danger, so she'll watch out for me."

He'd expected as much, so he wasn't surprised to have this confirmed. The implications of his brother's message sent Sasuke's thoughts racing again. All the possible scenarios that it could end in. The possible reasons why his brother could have warned Konoha. He didn't understand. Did it mean that his brother had been loyal to Konoha all along? Did it mean that his brother was trying to get him a place in society? Did it mean he'd reveal himself to the world soon? Why now? Why…

"Uhm, Tatakai?"

Did it matter? Shikamaru had pretty much figured him out. Was it worth it to hide any longer? He looked up at Naruto, then at the drawing, which the other had laid to the side in favor of getting comfortable on the bed without ruffling it. Itachi's eyes seemed to haunt him from it.

Shikamaru had seemed alright with just waiting and seeing what happened. If Sasuke revealed himself to everyone now, he'd also be revealing Itachi's identity and profile. Konoha might go for eliminating the threat instead of just protecting the target.

Their anonymity had held off most hunter-nin, as there was no bounty on their names and faces. But that would change. Who would protect his brother if it came to that?

Then again, it was only a matter of time. And if he was to follow through with his brother's request, he'd need Naruto to know whom he was up against. And so, in a split-second decision, he took a leap of faith and spoke...

"Sasuke."

Naruto looked at him questioningly.

"My name is Sasuke."

Eyes grew wide.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto's mouth fell open for a moment while he processed what he had just heard. "...Uchiha?... The Uchiha are dead… so that would mean… you... How…?"

"That is not important. What is important is that it's an Uchiha that you'd be fighting against."

"I… but no one has ever seen another Uchiha after the…" Naruto averted his gaze to stare at the ground in thought, still not quite believing him.

"Look at me!"

He followed the voice, staring into eyes that suddenly swirled to red. Naruto reeled back, shocked.

"We exist. My brother and I are still alive. And my brother is a master at illusions, which is why, under no circumstances, should you ever look into his eyes."

Naruto only stared unblinkingly, mesmerized.

"Do you understand?" Sasuke's voice was sharp, trying to cut through Naruto's daze. Said boy slowly unwound, nodding. He then sat back on the bed, leaning against the wall while trying to process the whole dimension of new information that had just been dumped on him. He whispered... and only after a while Sasuke realized that it was his first name.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke…" Naruto repeated, brows furrowed as if trying hard to recall something. Then his eyes grew wide, and he stared at the other. "Oh, God... you're that kid. We went to school together, didn't we? Oh, we should tell Sakura about this. She'll be so happy! She was devastated when… God, she used to have—"

"Absolutely not. You will not tell her."

"But, she was so—"

"Don't tell anyone about my identity. My brother might be hunting you now, but considering the fact that he warned us and told me to protect you, I'm suspecting you're not his real target…" He still held Naruto's gaze. "...but I know he will make it believable if you force him to, so you better not compromise his efforts. If this information gets into the wrong hands, he might take drastic measures to keep his cover."

"Uh…"

"I know what my brother is capable of. And I'll remind you, he used to be a shinobi for Konoha. He knows this village like the back of his hand."

"So, that's why you insist on me sleeping here."

"Hn." Sasuke leaned back.

Naruto straightened up. "But won't he be more likely to attack when I'm on a mission? You're not cleared for those."

"I'm working on it. Now, what is your answer?"

"Uhm... if you can get Sakura to accept ramen in her cupboard, then yes."

"Hn, alright. Let's talk to her."

Sasuke watched as Naruto enthusiastically sprang from the bed and unlocked the door.

"Sakura-chan!"

00000

Sakura had been sitting in her room, door open, reading while waiting for the boys to re-emerge from their discussion. They had dared to lock her out, and somehow, she could hear absolutely nothing through the door. It was as if the room had been sealed off. Therefore, when she finally heard the door open, she felt relief.

"Sakura-chan!"

That was Naruto, who was bouncing through the hallway in search of her.

"I'm coming…"

The boys had indeed emerged from Tatakai's room. Tatakai himself was leaning in the doorframe, waiting for Naruto to calm down. She led them into the living room for a proper discussion, and the slave quickly took word.

"Naruto agreed to stay. I'd like to accompany him to his place some time today to get his essentials. He also requests a place to stock his ramen in the kitchen."

"He what?"

"He agreed to stay."

"Well, I heard you the first time. Naruto, what's this about?"

"He asked nicely, and explained that if I needed company at all times, it might as well be here with my team. Now, what about the ramen situation?"

"Uh…" She wove one hand into her hair in confusion. "... if you're really fine with living here, then it's alright. But we're going to get a second bed into that room. No one is going to sleep on the ground."

00000

When Kakashi returned later in the day to check up on the others, he was surprised to find the place vacant. Furthermore, when he checked the slave's room, he found it rearranged and a second bed frame crammed in. He sensed something else about the room as well... a sizzling presence of activated seals, just at the edge of consciousness. It took him quite a while to figure out that the walls were absorbing any noise made inside the room. It was an interesting discovery, but he decided to ignore that in favor of the second bed. The room was big enough to allow having it there, but now there wasn't much space left to spare. Not sure what to make of this development, he decided to wait instead of trying to find them.

The three strolled in about fifteen minutes later, and he curiously observed the strange progression from his hiding spot, concealing his presence.

"...really cool. You should teach that one to me." That was Naruto.

"Unpack your things first. Then, you may have a look," the slave answered.

There was rummaging, and Sakura walked past him carrying a whole bunch of instant ramen packages in her arms, mumbling about it being unreasonable and unhealthy.

He decided to show himself, dropping from his hiding spot to the door frame, he looked into the guest room.

"Oh, hi Kakashi-Sensei."

The kids were unpacking things from a storage scroll. Not quite what he had expected, but certainly resourceful. He figured that was what they had spoken about before. Naruto probably wanted to take a look at how the scroll worked and how to replicate it.

"Are you moving in, Naruto?"

"Yes. The Teme, here, found that it would be easier to just move in if I already need someone around at all times. He promised to teach me some cool stuff."

"And what would that be?"

"I intend to teach him to read properly, as well as teach him how to counter illusions of all kinds. And I agreed to be his sparring partner," answered Tatakai in an annoyed tone.

"Curious." Kakashi said more to himself than anyone else.

"Naruto, where do you want these?" Tatakai was holding up some picture frames.

"Oh you can put them on the window sill for now. Or do you think we can share the dresser? Maybe we can hang some of them up in the living room, too."

"The first drawer is mine; do whatever you want with the rest," the other murmured as he moved to put the frame down there. He found some more frames, stacking them all on the dresser for now while Naruto filled his side of the closet with his clothes and other stuff.

"I think we need some kind of shelf over the beds. Dang, I thought I had less stuff than this. And I still need to talk about rent with Sakura."

Tatakai had just retrieved Naruto's blanket and pillow from the scroll. It didn't smell all that fresh and Kakashi saw Tatakai sigh. "I'm gonna air this out a bit. Find your second set of bed sheets, we're gonna change them. Ah, and Kakashi, this goes into the kitchen." He pointed to the stack of food on the ground that was waiting to be moved, then grabbed the blanket and left the room.

Shrugging his shoulders, Kakashi went to do as asked. Sakura was just stuffing the last few packets into a practically overflowing cabinet.

"Don't tell me there's more." She rolled her eyes upon seeing him indeed carrying more ramen, but quickly worked on rearranging another shelf to fit everything.

"So what's this all about?" Kakashi asked.

"Somehow, Tatakai decided that Naruto needed to move in. I'm not completely sure how he got that idea, but he convinced Naruto. And I don't think it was as simple as an 'I'll be your friend if you do' kind of thing." She stuffed the rest of the food onto the shelf she had cleared and stood up.

"Also, he has apparently started to help him with reading. They're reading Notes of a Hokage in Training, based on a notebook that Namikaze Minato left behind."

Kakashi's eye widened a tiny bit. He hadn't known such a book existed, and it was most strange to hear that Tatakai, a non-Konohanian slave, had picked out precisely that to teach Naruto. And it had to be him! Naruto would never open a book that could possibly focus on paperwork.

Sakura nodded at his apparent surprise. "I know, right? Well, we should give him a chance, I suppose; maybe he'll really do Naruto some good. Anyway, let's check up on the boys."

Said boys were still stashing things away. They confirmed that they were almost done, though.

"We'll meet Yamato at the training ground at 1 PM today," Kakashi announced. "We're resuming your personal training with his assistance, Naruto, but I thought we could hit the training ground before that to do some team exercises."

00000

Sakura found herself facing Tatakai. Kakashi had decided that they needed to work out their differences before they would do more training exercises, nevermind missions, together. He had left with one pointed look, then went to train with Naruto and Sai, who had joined their sparring session. Tatakai was longingly observing them, prefering to be anywhere else than in her company. He did not want to talk about what happened with the slave seal, and he wanted to explain how it worked even less.

"So, how are we going to do this?" she said, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Easy. If you set something off, I'm going to tell you how to reverse it and you do it without questioning the why or how," he said coldly.

"I don't think Kakashi will go for that. Talking could compromise a mission."

"If you set something off, it's most likely you already said something. Therefore, I don't see the problem. And we both know I only need eye contact to let you know."

"It's still a risk he wouldn't take. I won't lie to him just so you can accompany us on missions and risk everyone's lives, especially your own. That's not how a team works. You're lucky that Sai said only I needed to know, otherwise it would have been quite possible that Kakashi would have given you the ultimatum... something like: 'Spill the beans in front of everyone or never go on missions with us again'. But I want you to tell me exactly what happened to cause you to pass out last time. I'll settle for nothing less."

"Fine. I fought you, and I'm sure you realize that I can't go all out on you because the seal prevents me from forming any fatal blow against you."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

Tatakai groaned. "What do you think is the reason that it's considered safe for someone like me to be a slave?"

"Because the seal prevents you from harming me, I assume; they told me about that."

He snorted mirthlessly. "Ts, it's more than that… but essentially, yes."

"So you're saying that you can only train with me, but not actually fight me?"

"Oh, I can fight you... I could even hurt you..."

"But?"

"I can't do it on purpose."

"So, it matters if it's intentional or not?" Sakura prodded, trying hard to figure this out. He wasn't very forthcoming. Who did he think he was?

"Yes." Tatakai leaned against the tree, arms crossed in barely hidden annoyance.

"That's not all of it though, is it?"

"No."

Sakura waited for more, but he didn't elaborate, and probably wasn't planning to. It made her angry. Not the superficial kind, either, where she'd smack Sai or Naruto for saying something inappropriate. No, this was anger that had deeply taken root, been fed and repressed. She had tried to show understanding for his situation, his attitude, but it was getting to the point where it was more than just pushing buttons. It was starting to boil.

"You're really going to be like this? Are you trying to tire me out so you don't have to spill all of it?"

"Hn."

"Well, fine then. I'm not playing this game, it's stupid. You're the one who wants to join the team and go on missions. You know what you need to do. Find me when you're more willing. I'm not wasting my time," she said in a practiced, calm voice that betrayed how she really felt. With that, she turned around and stalked off.

He didn't follow. Probably that stupid pride of his. Oh well, it wasn't like she cared if he followed her to reunite with the others with that pissy attitude of his.

When she looked back, he was gone. Brooding bastard. She was only trying to help. Why couldn't he believe that?

00000

Itachi and Kisame had once again been observing their target. Naruto had left the apartment with the Nara heir this morning. Itachi suspected he'd been summoned. He returned with Kakashi, who left shortly after.

They weren't too close to the apartment complex, so they couldn't see more than the comings and goings of people. They weren't trying to get a view inside, just observing their target's pattern. After a while, Naruto left, the pink-haired girl and Sasuke accompanying him. They went to a store that resold used furniture. They did not seem to carry any purchases when they returned to the apartment, but Itachi knew that they might have used a storage scroll. Shortly after, they left again, going to another apartment complex. They spent quite a while there, but eventually returned to the first. He and Kisame speculated that that had probably been Naruto's home.

The group had then gone to a training ground. Itachi noted that Sasuke had a talk with Sakura that ended in her stomping off and him leaving right after. He then concealed himself at a distance to watch the training unfold, but stayed far enough away so they would most likely not be aware of his presence unless they searched for it.

"Foolish little brother, what are you doing?" he murmured as he watched the training unfold. If he had one guess, he'd say his brother wanted to be alone while simultaneously guarding Naruto.

When the rest of the group finally walked back to the apartment, they were close enough to overhear the passing group's conversation.

"... know you can't pay for both. Look, how about we wait for a month, see how it goes, and then decide? Don't worry about it just yet. I'd rather you not rush this."

"Uhm, okay. Where did he go anyway? I thought he wanted to stick around."

"I don't know, he didn't say. I was just pissed at him, so I left."

"Understandably so. Well, his loss. You did the right thing Sakura-chan."

"What convinced you to agree, anyway? I mean you…"

They stepped out of hearing range, and the two Akatsuki members exchanged glances. Itachi had his suspicions, but he wouldn't speak of them until it was confirmed.

At noon, after Itachi had purchased some dango and fish for himself and his companion, they ate while observing the very same apartment they'd been led to multiple times.

"When will you face your brother?"

"Not now."

"Are we going to involve him at any point?"

"Too early to tell. He'll be met with a lot of controversy as soon as they realize we are Uchiha."

They sank into silence again, deciding to follow their target.

"I wonder when they'll make their move on the Kazekage," Kisame quietly said.

"We will know when they do. Naruto is close friends with him, after all, and Suna will probably call Konoha for support."

00000

Sasuke had searched for a place to think. He was angry at having messed this up, but at the same time felt justified. He decided to keep to himself for a while until he could figure out how to proceed. However, his plans were overturned once more when a ninja with a mask suddenly appeared in front of him and slightly bowed.

"Tatakai, slave of Sakura, you've been summoned by the Hokage today to report on your mission."

The other bowed again, and then disappeared as quickly and silently as he'd appeared.

Sasuke just stood there, dumbfounded. Report to the Hokage? Mission? Was this about him guarding Naruto? Or would the Hokage reveal that she knew who he was and which clan he belonged to? Or would she simply ask about the threat his brother posed?

Would they interrogate him?

Could he do anything to preserve himself and his brother?

The ninja had seemingly just left. Was this a plot to see if he'd come on his own? To make him less guarded? Was someone watching him right now?

He started moving. He knew one shouldn't ignore a Hokage's summoning. He remembered it only vaguely, but whenever Itachi had been summoned, he'd left immediately and it was unsurprising that one would go immediately, even if no urgency had been mentioned. The message had only come just now, and he had half a mind to let the Hokage wait, just because he could. After all, he could just say he didn't know the customs of Konoha, not being one of their trusted ninja. It was tempting.

However it could quite possibly piss off Lady Hokage. He'd heard of her before, and felt like he was in no place to try her patience right now. He didn't need to incite any more antagonism. A direct audience could even be an opportunity for him… unless the goal was to take him into custody for interrogation. That possibility did not sit well with his stomach.

Without further ado, he returned home, grabbed a piece of paper to write a short message for the others to find, then grabbed his key and left.

The way to the Hokage building was short. He entered, looked around, and finally decided to go to the front desk. He was sure that Konoha ninja didn't always announce their visit there, but this was his first time of summoning, and he was not one of them.

"Excuse me, I've been summoned by the Hokage..." He trailed off.

"Aah, not from here, then? Well, just go up the stairs, find the Hokage's waiting room, and wait until Shizune calls you in."

"Hn." He bowed and went to search for the stairs. The room was easy to find. It was more like a hallway kind of thing, actually, and he sat down in one of the chairs provided. There were a couple of other people, mostly ninja. The one he clearly recognized as a civilian held a stack of papers that looked suspiciously like a petition.

He waited and observed. It was quite a while before a lady opened the Hokage's office door. She quickly surveyed who was present, then called a name. One of the ninja unfroze and quickly stepped through the doors. It didn't take long until he was out and away. The next person got called.

Sasuke's thoughts whirled. His senses were heightened, a battlefield symptom, only that there was no battle to fight. He was painfully aware of the fact that he did not know what awaited him in there. He also knew that he had no choice but to stay and wait it out. He could not run, he could not fight. Whatever the Hokage wanted, he'd have to live with it. If he was to be arrested and interrogated, there was nothing he could do about it.

He had probably waited half an hour or more until Shizune, he assumed, finally turned to him.

"Tatakai? Please, come in."

Hi again, decided to make it a bit shorter as this was the perfect place to cut the chapter off. Sorry, I couldn't resist. I hope you liked it anyway and please let me know if you did!

A huge thanks goes also to my faithful reviewer fugitivus, and also to HailZuko who left a lovely review for each and every chapter while reading through. I appreciate your thoughts and the discussions we're having, both of you! It motivates me greatly!

Thanks also for those who follow and favourite in faith that I'll update this story or simply like it. It means a lot to me that what I write is being read!

Good news if you'd like to keep reading sometimes, the next chapter is mostly written already, but in need of an end and a lot of revising. Can't say yet when I'll be able to push it out, but it's coming!

Can we make 40 reviews before then?