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Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow

Things as they are

Chapter 2

He couldn't care any less about Graduation Day at all, because he was stuck in some dream that he couldn't wake up from and a nightmare that was about to begin. So as Iruka-sensei gave his congratulatory speech that he'd heard for the third time (the first one was when Itachi had graduated, but he was three and didn't remember it; the second was when he had graduated; and ironically, he was graduating again, today), he conveniently tuned him out and fiddled with his hitai-ate, which felt expectedly uncomfortable. Reaching up and adjusting it for the umpteenth time, he ignored the surprised and slightly aghast looks he was getting.

Tch. Hadn't they seen anyone graduate before? Apparently not. But then hadn't Naruto gotten the same looks when he'd walked into the team assignments?

Sending a toned-down glare their way, he scowled and slumped in his chair, doing his best to ignore the urge to simply pull the headband off and toss it. It would only garner more questions and right now he wasn't in the mood for questions. What genius ordered that Graduation ceremonies should be held outside? It was unbearably hot and his neck and forehead were drenched in sweat. If he was training, he wouldn't have minded the sweat, but here he was sitting in a lawn chair listening to his ex-Academy-sensei speak and that, in his books, was hardly worth getting sweaty about.

"… Congratulations, Shinobi of the Leaf!" Iruka ended the speech, and the audience (sans one Uchiha Sasuke) erupted in applause.

It might have been inspiring, and it might have been uplifting, but the fact that it was just a dream still remained and Sasuke would not allow himself to be moved by that speech. He could not, because the past events and such were simply of the past and no more important than the people he'd left behind there. Not to mention, he'd heard it twice before.

He sat on the swing, rocking back and forth in a slow, rhythmic pattern. Staring at the crowd of beaming students and proud parents, he felt himself wishing that his otou-san had come to his graduation; but of course, Uchiha Fugaku could never have come, because by that time he'd already been murdered in cold blood by his other son.

Still, Sasuke did wonder if he'd have come if he hadn't been murdered or would there have been curt excuses that he had to work, that there were more important things going on, or merely a grunt of 'As expected from the Uchiha and the son of the Head of the Clan.' His mother would have come and she'd have been proud, smiling with the other parents. But Sasuke would never know for sure. Itachi had killed them before he could ever find out.

Managing to pull the protective façade of blankness onto his mind, Sasuke wondered idly where Naruto was. That earlier stunt the blond dobe had pulled was probably one of his tricks again—he dismissed the fact that everyone else seemed to have played along with it as mere convincing from Naruto's part—and he wouldn't stand for it. Che. The dobe needed to learn his lesson, after all.

Standing up and bouncing on the balls of his feet to stretch his limbs, he jumped up into the trees and, with one last brief glance at the crowd below, Sasuke dashed away to find the blond Genin.

No one noticed him leave, and if they'd known they honestly wouldn't have cared at all. Except a thoughtful silver haired Academy sensei who was now forced to re-adjust all his carefully made plans.

The dobe was sitting on the bank of a river that ran a fair distance from the Academy. Thankfully, it hadn't taken long for Sasuke to find him, as he was proficient at tracing chakra signatures. Naruto's was one he knew especially well.

Walking up to the dobe, he tapped him on the shoulder. "Naruto."

Naruto whirled around, half-surprised at it being Sasuke (that expression practically screamed How on earth did you sneak up on me without me noticing?!) and half-enraged at anyone bothering him on this day. Annoyance seeped out of his sapphire eyes. "What do you want?" he asked rudely. Sasuke realised with a jolt that Naruto had disappeared from the Academy Graduation Ceremony almost as quickly as he had, if not even more so. What did that say?

"Tch. That stunt back at the class. What did you mean when you said you'd been sitting in that same seat for four years?" Sasuke had never been very good at being subtle. Blunt was more of his personality. (But his social skills, in general, were absolutely failing. The only thing that kept him from being hated was that he was an Uchiha and his looks, but that didn't appear to be the case here.)

"What did I mean?" Naruto asked incredulously. "What I meant, of course. I have been sitting there for four whole years. Or was that sentence too big to get into your stupid head?" he sneered.

"I'm not the one who's considered unintelligent by most of the Shinobi population." Sasuke retorted calmly. Inside, he was seething. How dare the dobe act like this towards him! He was so glad Orochimaru had taught him to be even more indifferent towards others' actions than he already was, because Naruto was really getting on his nerves! Not to mention this was a rather childish fight because now that Sasuke had had some time to think, he realised that he, Uchiha Sasuke, was indeed the one any Shinobi would deem unintelligent upon meeting.

Obviously, Naruto felt the same about him, the whole 'How dare he?' part. "What did you say?" he growled out.

"I said," the Uchiha said coolly, "that I'm not the one who's considered unintelligent by most of the Shinobi population, dobe."

"You—!" The blonde snarled as he jumped up and hot-headedly began attacking him. Well at least that was the same.

Sasuke, who had expected this, easily dodged all thrusts and kicks from his future teammate. "Is that all you've got?" he asked mockingly. "I know a few civilians who can do better than this!" They were Uchiha civilians, and hadn't been civilians for long, having retired early from a ninja career, but that didn't matter, did it? They were still civilans.

Infuriated, Naruto began attacking more intelligently—instead of blindly punching and kicking, he now planned his attacks. More and more attacks were aimed at his joints and head, while less and less attacks of Sasuke's were hitting. This was not Naruto, his usual style anyway. This spoke of clan training, or ninja parents.

However, Sasuke was not Orochimaru's pupil for nothing; as Naruto's attacks gained more strategy, his defence did as well. His style was the Dance of the Snake, but unfortunately he couldn't use it here. Regardless of that, though, he was still very advanced and pushed Naruto back. He wasn't an Uchiha for nothing and had spent a fair amount of time with Orochimaru, improving on the already near flawless taijutsu.

As he was about to claim victory by knocking Naruto unconscious, he froze. Naruto was standing there, his arms stiff, but in his hands was a huge swirling ball of blue chakra.

Rasengan.

Only this time, the dobe was missing the Shadow Clone that usually helped him with the attack.

That attack—no don't think of that, the Valley of the End was three years ago! How could it still give me nightmares? Don't think about it! This can't be happening, we're only twelve years old! How did he learn this? He's going to kill me!—

Only one word formed on his lips: "How…?"

All seemed as if it was in slow motion. Naruto rushing at him, the water running like time in the small river, the branches dancing their final, haunting waltz in the wind—I'm going to die I'm going to die no I haven't killed Itachi yet why can't I move is this it—

Suddenly, it stopped.

Naruto's half-formed Rasengan—how could he have not noticed that it was only a half a Rasengan and not a fully formed one, like back then?—suddenly fizzled out in Naruto's hands, which were a mere meter away.

Gasping for breath, Naruto collapsed onto the ground and cursed. Then, he muttered to himself, "Why… Why can't I do it?"

Were the Shadow Clones that important to the formation of the Rasengan? At least for Naruto anyways. He didn't appear to know the Shadow Clone technique this time around and Sasuke wasn't sure where he had learnt it the first time, but he'd seen it done enough times to know how it was done. Still … this Naruto would not listen to him. No matter if it was for help, especially if it was for help.

So Sasuke said nothing. He knew far too well the dismay of failure and the lessons that could be learned from it. This Naruto—this angry, dark, arrogant Naruto so unlike the blond dobe he knew—could do well to learn the lesson of pride and unfinished techniques. Even he didn't use techniques unless he had full control over them. He wasn't so arrogant … or perhaps desperate.

But Naruto… that attack… He'd really, truly wanted to kill—or at least massively injure—him, hadn't he? And if so, why?

Tch. It was nothing new, Sasuke tried to convince himself; but a feeling that he hadn't felt since he'd woken up from his injuries in the Valley of the End would not leave. "Dobe," he whispered. "You just want to kill me that much?" feeling an odd flutter in his chest as he parroted a bastardised version of Naruto's words to him.

"I—" Naruto's voice broke off. Conflicting emotions flitted across his face: anger, confusion, regret, shame and sadness. Perhaps he could help the other out?

"That really isn't an attack you should do until you've completely mastered it," Sasuke commented, reverting back to his normal self. "If it doesn't work correctly, you could end up damaging—"

"I know!" Naruto suddenly interrupted angrily. "I know, okay? Don't try to lord over me, dead last! I know!"

Annoyed at this outburst and dismissing all ideas of helping him, Sasuke retorted, "Well, obviously you don't know, because a minute ago you tried to use it!"

"Don't try to understand!" Naruto shouted back. "Don't try to understand! None of you—not you, not otou-san, not anyone, can understand at all! So don't try!" Storming off, Naruto left the Uchiha behind at the river.

Shocked almost beyond words, Sasuke wondered out loud, "What was that all about?" Otou-san? Naruto didn't have parents … did he?

The birds, which had started chirping sometime after they'd stopped fighting, sang their consolation; but what he really needed were answers to the questions he had, and he'd come out with more questions than answers.

Sasuke entered the classroom again the next day with uninterested eyes. After that confrontation, he'd returned to the apartment (he refused to acknowledge it as "his"), where he spent the rest of the day cleaning up –half disgusted and half fascinated with some of the things that he'd found– and musing over the many questions that he had. Now, his expression matching that of a block of wood, he blended almost perfectly with the crowd of students filing in.

He'd hoped that last night, when he went to sleep, he'd wake up in Orochimaru's hideout again—not that he really liked the place, but it was better than having to deal with his old life—but to his dismay, nothing had happened, prompting him to believe that this wasn't a naturally induced sleep and therefor was an unnatural dream. Today, he would get sorted into Kakashi's team again, wait three hours, listen to the others introduce themselves, and then return to the apartment and finish cleaning it up. If he had his choice, he would work on a way to quickly return back to the living world; but as a new Genin, his free days were limited.

He spotted Naruto sitting in his seat again, and noticed the subtle glances the blonde was giving him. He couldn't decipher their meaning. He did notice that Sakura and Ino were glaring at each other and yesterday's grumbling with Sakura came to mind. Was the dobe hoping he'd sit next to him again to avoid a fangirl? Or was it yesterday's little fight that was getting to him? Whatever it was, Sasuke knew the horrors and the annoyance of fangirls and as much as he disliked the dobe, fangirls were something he only wished upon Orochimaru. So, on a whim, he strode over to the desk and—ignoring the aghast and horrified looks the rest of the class gave him—pulled the chair out next to Naruto and sat down.

Almost immediately after he set down his bag, Sakura and Ino stormed over to him. Those two were amazingly united when faced with a common enemy. "What are you doing?!" Sakura screeched.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Sasuke shot back, rolling a lazy eye at them. (It was hardly in character for him, but teasing these fangirls was absolutely an irresistible idea to him, because contrary to popular belief, Uchiha Sasuke actually did have a sense of humour! Just not one that most actually understood.)

"Get out!" Ino ordered. "I'm sitting next to Naruto-kun!"

"Tch. As if."

"Out!" Sakura shouted, raising her fist. "Or—!" The fist plummeted towards his head.

In a flash, Sasuke's arm was out and his hand firmly grasped her fist, effectively stopping the attack. He didn't even blink. Stunned into silence, both girls and the rest of the class stared at him. He was not Naruto and as such he would not allow the pink haired annoyance to hit him just for her own satisfaction. He couldn't care less about her own desires.

He debated mentally whether to leak some sakki out and decided that, for ruining his morning, these annoying girls deserved it. As the sakki washed over the crowd, Naruto's eyes—which had been staring at him ever since he'd sat down—grew progressively wider.

"You were saying something?" Sasuke asked.

With small 'eep's the two girls rushed back and the sakki dissipated. Rolling his eyes at them, Sasuke sat back, closed his eyes, and relaxed. No one else would bother him, another bonus to that little move.

A tap on his shoulder from his right. Except that dobe, he thought, miffed.

"What?" he asked, not bothering to open his eyes. He'd also been up late cleaning out that monstrosity he was supposed to call home.

"How did you do that?" Naruto asked. His voice was calm and serious—nothing like the tone he'd shouted in the previous day.

"What?" the Uchiha asked mockingly. "You want to learn?"

"No," Naruto hissed back, "but I want to know how you, of all people, did that."

Sasuke opened his eyes. "Naruto, you're so nice," he said sarcastically. Then, his tone reverted back to normal. "How else do you release sakki? I thought that by now even you would have realised that I'm not the dobe you think I am."

A familiar, scarred-face, brown-haired chunin walked into the room as Sasuke finished saying this. Great timing, the Genin thought as he watched Naruto's face flash enraged, then annoyed and finally passive blankness.

Iruka cleared his voice. "Alright, settle down, class." Surprisingly, the class did settle down this once, because all of them were eager to find out which teams they were on and who their teammates would be. "The assignment for the teams will now be announced."

Tipping his head to the side and staring at him with a dilated but unsurprisingly blasé gaze, the Uchiha waited for him to start.

Iruka, however, found some difficulty in doing so, seeing as almost all of the class girls were glaring at Sasuke, while the rest of the class was staring as well… and it didn't help that Sasuke was staring at him with the strangest expression he'd had all year long. Iruka found himself wondering if Sasuke was trying to emulate Naruto in the hopes that people would treat him like that treated the blond. It had his heart ache to think that Sasuke had given up his dream to be Hokage just because Naruto didn't want to be Hokage. Perhaps later he'd talk to the genin.

Still emulating a person was one thing, displaying skills he had not previously had was another matter entirely.

Taking a breath, he said, "Team 1 will consist of…"

Sasuke conveniently tuned him out as Iruka rolled down the names. At least my team isn't Team 15 or something, he thought dryly, because then I would have a long time to wait…

"Team 2… Team 3… Team 4… Team 5… Team 6…"

Finally.

"Team 7 will consist of Namikaze Naruto, Haruno Sakura—" Namikaze? Odd.

"Yeah!" Sakura shouted in glee while the other girls in the class moaned.

"—and Inuzuka Kiba."

Sasuke jerked up in his seat as if he was struck by lightning. "Wha…" He couldn't believe it. With a dropping lurch in his stomach, he realized that—How on earth could have been so utterly stupid?!—of course, the Graduating Exams counted towards his grade. So when he'd passed that last test, he'd… changed the teams!

He couldn't speak. Words simply stuck in his throat. How on earth?! So what had happened to Naruto in his world? How had the dobe passed? Back then he'd never thought to find out because it had been unimportant.

"Team 8 will consist of Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke."

I… I'm in Yuuhi Kurenai's group? Sasuke realized, horrified. This… This can't be! Taking deep breaths and ignoring the puzzled glance from Naruto, he tried to reassure himself. This is just a dream. When I wake up, it'll all be fine. I'll forget about this strange dream and go back to being Orochimaru's pupil. It'll be fine…

Despite being an Uchiha he really didn't want to focus on genjutsu and with Hyuga Hinata no less. It would be the most un-talkative group in rotation. Shino never spoke unless he had to, the same with Sasuke and Hinata was so shy that she just didn't speak at all. Genjutsu v.s. Kakashi.

On one hand he'd never had Yuuhi as a sensei before and it did open up some possibilities for him, but on the other hand he wanted Team 7. He didn't know why but he wanted it and he was going to fight for it. Dream or not.

Though something—something nagging at the back of his mind—told him that this reality was far more than a dream.

He had to change the teams.

It was only half an hour after the introductions and Sasuke was already feeling, say, utterly doomed. It wasn't that his teammates and his sensei, Kurenai-sensei (he couldn't at all even think that title without sarcasm, because the last sensei he'd had had been a blundering pervert and horrible teacher), were bad, but simply put, it wasn't Team 7.

Genjutsu v.s. insanely powerful yet lazy pervert. That month Sasuke had spent training with Kakashi had taught him a lot about the supposedly lazy jonin. Still …

Kakashi was not his sensei now. Sakura and Naruto were not on his team, no matter how annoying he found them. Instead, he'd gotten some type of reconnaissance team, and he was not a reconnaissance type of person. He was more of an assassin-type of shinobi. Genjutsu and tracking meant that he had to hang back, stay low. That was not his style. Naruto had taught him way too much about hitting first and asking questions later, a most effective way of going about things.

Oh yes, he was doomed.

Doomed to watch Team 7 go on without him and with Kiba; doomed to see them be the team that Kakashi had always wanted; doomed to see them move higher than him as a front line assault team. He was not Naruto. He was not what Kakashi would want and he knew that Kakashi had valued Naruto for his loud brashness even if he'd never said it. It was just in the way he'd sometimes stare at the blond … like he was seeing someone else.

He tried not to care; he really did. Because he'd left that team—he'd made the choice to leave them behind for power. But still, something about those times always made him feel better, whether it was Kakashi's chronic tardiness, Naruto's rivalry, or Sakura's irascible attitude. They were his family. Naruto had made that clear to him at the Valley of the End and at the time it hadn't been enough. Now that he was denied them, suddenly what he'd thought was going to be a chore was the only thing he truly wanted.

Team 8 was not Team 7. He would not be able to find that same sense of belonging here. Team 7 had been a ragtag bunch of misfits that had come to find comfort in each other's presence. Their differences were too glaring to ignore or wait out till this dream ended. Kurenai-sensei was strict, far stricter than Kakashi ever was, and Shino was far too quiet. True, he himself was fairly quiet by nature, but compared to Shino he talked far more. Hinata was far too shy. She would blush and stammer whenever she was asked a question, and that irritated him. What was the use of being nervous if you were a ninja? Would enemy shinobi ever take pity on you if you were fighting them? He supposed it was a good quality for a nurse or doctor, but that was it. Sakura's loud exclamations of devotions were so much more determined and spoke far more highly of a possible kunoichi in the making, if she could focus on the right things.

He'd left the small meeting without saying a word. When asked for an introduction he'd grunted, earning himself surprised glances from all of his teammates, most especially his sensei. He'd left before he'd been dismissed with only the statement that an Inuzuka would be far more beneficial to the team than he would.

Now, he was standing in the middle of the intersection between the main road and one of the smaller roads. The apartment was to his left, away from the centre of Konohagakure, but the Hokage's office was to the right. And if he seriously wanted to change the teams, he would have to ask the Hokage himself. Would he really be so daring?

A dream was a dream so perhaps the murderous rage of the Hokage would somehow wake him from this reality.

Tch. Being teammates with Naruto must have lowered his IQ somehow, he thought as he turned right. He was now willing trying to go back to the dobe … after running from him for so long.

"Is the Hokage free for a meeting right now?" Sasuke asked casually as he walked up to the secretary. The woman took one glance at him and nodded, tipping her head to motion for him to go in; then, she returned to her paperwork.

Wary at being allowed entrance so easily, he walked slowly to the door. This could be a trick, so he had to be more careful. Quickly memorizing the escape routes as he glanced around, he stepped in front of the door and almost knocked.

He jumped back as two Chuunin guards shunshined into place. They also glanced at him with some sort of recognition, though the light in their eyes was more afraid and suspicious than calm, like the secretary's. "Uh, do you have business with Hokage-sama?" One asked. Odd. He'd never been regarded as such in the Hokage's office. Then again this place was just brim full of firsts for Sasuke.

"Yes," Sasuke replied warily. He still wasn't so sure of these two.

"I'm sorry," the other said. "We don't allow visitors at this time. Please come back another time."

"But the secretary said I could go in."

"Did she?" The first one asked disbelievingly, glancing at the other. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, knowing that he could take these two on but also realising that it probably wouldn't get him to see the Hokage in the way that he wanted.

Well, technically she hadn't said so, but it had definitely been there in the actions. It was almost as though she had wanted to get rid of him. "Yes," Sasuke said. "Besides," he leaned closer, "I'm an Uchiha." This had always worked before, and it was the less troublesome path to go down.

When in doubt, pull out the family name, even if he didn't really like to.

The two glanced at each other, unsure, but then one said, "I'll go in and see if he's free."

"Sir, one of the Uchiha wishes to see you."

"What? Which Uchiha?"

"He didn't give his name, Hokage-sama."

"Did he not give his name, or did you not ask him?"

"..."

"..."

"Gomen nasai, Hokage-sama."

"That's better. Now what does he want to talk to me about?"

"We don't know."

"You didn't ask him about that, either?"

"Gomen nasai, Hokage-sama."

"I can't be interrupted right now. Tell him to come back later."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"… Wait, describe the Uchiha."

"Aa... He has black hair and black eyes, a white shirt—"

"Does he have a hitai-ate?"

"Hai." The chunin wasn't sure how much difference that made, considering this was a ninja village.

"A new one?"

"Hai."

"... Send him in."

"Hokage-sama?"

"I said, send him in."

"...Hai."

"Hokage-sama will see you now," the Chuunin said with a hint of confusion in his tone.

Sasuke smirked. "Thanks," he said casually as he walked in. He didn't feel that the chunin deserved the thanks but he gave it anyway.

The Hokage's office was well-lit and airy; in fact, it was so bright outside that he couldn't see the man's face against the sun. Instead, there was a black silhouette against the blue sky. Whenever he'd been in the Hokage's office, not that that had been many times, it had never been like this.

However, bright or not, he could tell enough that this Hokage was not the Sandaime. And once again he was floundering in hot water. He had to tread carefully.

The Hokage's hat was on the desk, looking almost as though it had been tossed there, and wild, spiky hair stuck up in all directions before falling gently at the sides. This man was also taller, and younger. Another difference was that piles upon piles of paperwork lay on the desk and on the floor. Although the Sandaime had never liked paperwork (what Hokage actually did?), he'd still gotten it done. Though now, it seemed that this man did none of it. Or he just simply didn't touch it till it obscured too much of the floor.

He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light, and promptly gaped.

Sapphire eyes sparkled at him. "Hey, Sasuke-kun. How are you?" Such familiarity? What? How? When? Even though he had never met the man, had never seen his face anywhere but on the Hokage monument, he knew exactly who it was but that still didn't help him.

The… Yondaime Hokage?!

Sasuke choked. "What," he managed to gasp out in his confusion, "Are you doing here?"

The blond man—apparently the Yondaime (that realization he accepted quickly enough, because if this was a dream where Naruto was dark and he was hated, the dead Hokage could definitely show up as well but apparently he needed to work on his reaction of surprise. He needed to squash it because this wasn't helping his 'get back onto Team 7' mission)—frowned at him. "Sasuke-kun, that's rude."

The boy had the fleeting sense that someone had turned off the lights when that man had frowned. Just like Naruto, when the dobe frowned. Their smiles lit up the room, and their frowns darkened it. But nothing showed on his face as he muttered, "Not like it matters." He was supposed to not care about the dobe, to break his bond. Naruto was not supposed to mean anything more than someone who held him back from what he wanted.

"What was that?" The man's frown deepened and Sasuke felt sure he was in an eclipse. A part of him was cowering under that frown, utterly mortified at having caused such a reaction at all.

Stop frowning, he wanted to shout. Stop frowning. You're disrupting my thinking, because you look far too much like a certain someone I know, who apparently isn't himself anymore. Stop frowning so that the world will be ohkay again. Just stop frowning! Instead he said, "Nothing. Hokage-sama, I request to be switched from my team." To be safe, he bowed. He could take no risks with this unknown person, who was apparently a Hokage.

"Eh?" The startled Yondaime exclaimed. Oh right, Naruto was never polite to the Hokage. Why would his dream-self be any different. But then what did his dream-self call the Hokage? Naruto had called the Sandaime 'Jiji'. The Yondaime wasn't exactly an old man.

Sasuke risked taking a glance up at the blonde's face and read it easily, another trait he seemed to share with Naruto. It seemed that the request was not the only thing that surprised him. "What?" He asked, momentarily forgetting the manners his parents had drilled into him when he was young.

Suddenly, the man began to chuckle, and then laugh straight-out. Sasuke resisted twitching his eyebrow. "It has to be something really, really serious for you to call me 'Hokage-sama'!"

Sasuke did twitch his eyebrow. Why would calling a Hokage 'Hokage-sama' be unusual? Then again for Naruto it would be. For Naruto it would be the equivalent of a child looking lovingly at a parent and saying 'I love you' when what they were really saying was 'I'm buttering you up because I want something from you that you wouldn't normally give me'.

"Don't you usually call me 'Minato-oyaji'?" Ah so now he knew what he was supposed to call the man. Still he couldn't bring himself to actually do so. It just went against everything he stood for … even if there was a part of him that found a childish sort of amusement at being able to call the Fourth Hokage that.

"Why…" Sasuke asked with a tinge of indignation, pushing away his previous thoughts "Would I call you that?"

The Yondaime—or 'Minato-oyaji' apparently—stopped laughing, settling for scrutinizing the Uchiha carefully. "Are you okay?" he asked gently after a moment. "Did something happen? Cause you know you can tell me anything right?"

Sasuke stared at the Yondaime, confused. "Why would I be feeling sick?" he asked incredulously. Why did everyone think something had happened? Even Iruka's first reaction had been to ask if something had happened.

"We-ell," drawled Minato-oyaji, "You address me as Hokage, you ace the test—don't try to deny it, I already talked with your sensei—and you are so serious." He rolled his eyes. "Who wouldn't think you're sick? You're never serious. Don't think I've forgotten about the orange paint explosion you rigged in my office. Orange is a nice colour and all but that was just too much orange. Now that I'm thinking about it, you're not even wearing the colour anymore."

"And what sickness would make someone skilled?" Sasuke shot back, still miffed at the idea of being sick. He never got sick. He was also choosing to ignore everything else the Hokage had said. It was something Naruto would do, not him … but apparently in this world he was Naruto so it was sort of a moot point.

The Yondaime sighed. "Were you perhaps … hiding it?" he asked as a glint of suspicion sparked to life in his eyes. Suddenly the laughing Hokage was gone, the concerned leader vanishing as though he'd never been there at all, replaced with a clearly experienced Shinobi, one that had earned the 'flee on sight' order in every bingo book from here to Kumo. To Sasuke's knowledge no one since then and no one before the Yondaime had ever managed to achieve that.

Slightly apprehensive, Sasuke replied carefully. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Oh, I don't know," the Hokage replied in a sing-song voice that didn't match his earlier expression. "Maybe you're a … spy, perhaps?"

Blinking once, Sasuke felt the hairs on the back of his neck jump up. This man was deadly. Of course he is, his common sense—which seemed to have disappeared a moment ago—shouted. He's the Yondaime. What would you expect? And replying mentally, he shot back, I don't know. It's not like I ever really knew the Sandaime, or the Godaime. And at that time, they seemed pretty harmless to me. Well they weren't giving me that look.

He didn't say anything. He simply blinked back at the blond. When all else failed, say nothing.

Unexpectedly, irritation seeped into the Hokage's previously careless demeanour. "You know I was just kidding with you," he said, frowning. Not the frown again. Stop frowning! Those blue eyes, they were too similar, too much like Naruto. Sasuke wanted to run in two different directions and that was confusing to say the least. One, as far away as possible and two, straight towards the Yondaime and right into his arms, as though they were old friends. It wasn't natural! Yet the urge was there.

Sasuke didn't reply yet again. Biting his lip and reminding himself once again what the purpose of this visit was, he took a breath (surprising himself, because he rarely needed to take a breath to calm himself; and yet, this man made him want to) and said, "I want to be changed from my team." Firmly, yet emotionlessly; without the use of titles so that earlier confusion wouldn't be repeated. The Yondaime's mood was constantly changing but Sasuke supposed he wasn't exactly helping matters.

"What?" the Yondaime asked, surprised. "Is Kurenai really that bad?" The hint of a smile danced on his lips but there was also a strange hidden anger in his eyes that confused Sasuke.

He's probably thinking that I'm kidding. Sasuke shook his head. "Kurenai-sensei and my teammates are fine, but I feel that I would be better able to function on a different team, such as Team 7. Team 8 is clearly a reconnaissance team, but I have no skills regarding that." It was a lie, but he fervently hoped it would not show. He needed to get to Team 7. "Team 7 is more of an all-round team. I feel that Kiba, with Akamaru and his Inuzuka skills, would better suit Team 8."

The man showed no expression during this whole explanation, and with bated breath Sasuke hoped that it would work. However the anger was gone from his eyes and instead replaced with an odd sort of relief. For a Hokage, he sure was easy to read … just like Naruto.

"But… why?" the Yondaime asked, slightly confused.

Staring at the Hokage, Sasuke asked himself if this was really a Kage. Hadn't he just explained everything? He blinked as he tried to process this question. It wasn't like he was asking Sasuke to repeat everything. It was more like he was trying to understand something.

"You have never been one for logic and persuasion, Sasuke," the man continued. "but more for feelings. Why do you feel that you need to be on Team 7?"

"Because I—" Sasuke stopped abruptly. He couldn't go over that whole speech again. It would be suspicious and he couldn't say why he really wanted to be on Team 7, that that was where he was before so it was the only place he'd accept now.

Well, when in these situations, lying always worked for him, and what he was about to do made him want to die of mortification. And since logic wasn't working on the strange Hokage, it was time to get illogical …

"Because—Because Sakura-chan's on that team and I really, really, really want to be on her team! So I thought if I sounded all smart and everything like Naruto-teme then maybe you'd say yes!" he burst out. I hope that worked. I am not doing that again! He grit his teeth, jaw clamping together painfully. I sounded like a total idiot!

No, correction. I sounded like Naruto.

The Yondaime stared at Sasuke for a moment, and then burst out laughing. Fricken bipolar maniac! "Oh! I see now." Now gently smiling at him, he said, "Well, I guess I could pull a few strings… I'll let you know soon, 'kay?"

Sasuke nodded, not daring himself to speak after that humiliating event. And as quickly as he could, he turned around and left the room, leaving a befuddled Yondaime.

He didn't even say goodbye. The Yondaime mentally sniffed.

Finally, he thought, scowling as he all but stomped down the steps of the Hokage's office. I'm glad that's over! I'll never confess my 'love' for Sakura ever again!

His temper cooled off as he stepped onto the main street, though. At least he'd gotten what he'd come for—a switch in teams. Absentmindedly he wondered whether changing the teams on a whim like that was even possible—before remembering that that man, although he didn't look like it, was a Hokage.

He walked down the street towards his apartment at leisurely pace. His fingers itched as they begged to take off his uncomfortable hitai-ate, but he resisted. This was Konoha, after all. Not Oto. He couldn't take it off—not yet. Besides he was going to continue cleaning that horrid apartment. He'd need the damn hitai-ate to keep his hair out of his face.

The boy's mind idly wandered as his legs moved mechanically. It was as if he couldn't direct them, but that was fine, seeing how he didn't really have any place to go anyway. He'd spent the whole of yesterday cleaning the apartment—surely more cleaning could wait. Things were starting to move in places they shouldn't, like the washing pile, which just so happened to be everywhere.

Besides, he had things to think about and walking was always nice.

This was a dream, right? Simply a dream, albeit an unnaturally realistic one. Things that had happened in the past and things that hadn't… had happened. It wasn't true. This was a dream.

Just a dream…

Idly, he thought it would be nice if this were reality, and he could redo all of his Genin days with foreknowledge.

And then scolded himself for thinking it.

He'd made that choice long ago, and traitors didn't deserve second chances. He knew that. Had told himself that every time his mind wandered over to a certain blond dobe. Traitors couldn't undo what they did. They didn't get second chances.

Did they?

Namikaze Minato was stunned. Absolutely and completely stunned. No, stunned barely began to cover the emotions he was feeling.

What on earth had happened to Sasuke-kun? Had someone hurt him and they had all somehow missed it? He'd though Iruka's concerns had been slightly over exaggerated but this, this showed that they'd been highly understated.

He sat back, utterly baffled as to whether he should get his ANBU to fetch the boy back and then question him for espionage. It was a horrifying thought, really. Was that boy actually replaced by a spy?

It was the only thing that made any sense. But would a spy be so blatant about his skill difference? No, unless the spy was horrible at spying … and in that case, why bother sending the spy? Sasuke-kun managed to completely stun Iruka, Mizuki, and his classmates by not only passing, but also effortlessly. Furthermore, he renounced his dreams and goals, and completely switched mindsets of energetic and happy to sullen and arrogant. Surely this could not be Sasuke-kun. Something had to have happened and should that something have been on the negative side, people were going to wish it hadn't happened at all. Minato would make sure of that.

He'd gotten a report about a tomato stand incident but he'd dismissed it because he knew that Sasuke liked the things and at the time he'd been easily thrown to the ground by a civilian. Still … that might have only been shock on Sasuke part. For that matter why would Sasuke be shocked at all?

Once again, he found himself thinking that this could not be the same boy.

And yet, it was. The boy, although it was if he'd changed literally overnight, still held the same aura as Sasuke-kun had. Minato couldn't have been deceived—he was a Hokage for goodness' sakes!

But that twinge of doubt kept nagging at him, and he frowned as another two questions entered his mind.

Why would Sasuke-kun ask to be switched from Team 8 to Team 7? Furthermore, how would he know Team 7 even passed? If he knew about Kakashi-kun, which he would know as a spy, he'd think that they didn't pass and therefore it would be pointless to be switched from Yuuhi's team to Kakashi-kun's. The man was notorious for having ridiculously high standards as well as a long list of failed students. If a spy wanted to get into the ranks of Konoha Shinobi, Kakashi-kun was definitely not the way to go about it.

Signalling to one of the ANBU surreptitiously placed outside the window, Minato ordered, "Falcon, go after Uchiha Sasuke and bring him back here. He just left the building—he shouldn't have gone too far." He didn't want to do this but it was necessary.

As the ANBU bowed and left the room with his teammates, Minato sighed, sat back, and took a good long look at the office. He really needed some new décor; paperwork just didn't seem to be the right theme.

Before Sasuke had even reached the intersection where he was supposed to turn, he knew ANBU were following. Three of them, to be precise, swiftly gaining on him. Their speed was nothing hard for him to match or even outrun, but the tricky part was finding a time to suddenly disappear.

Walking faster, Sasuke surveyed his options. On one hand he could disappear, but on the other that was suspicious, something he did not want to appear to be right now.

The main street was always densely packed with people, and almost always two or three pairs of eyes followed him—out of curiosity, he supposed, for their stares were anything but threatening—but still, they were watching him. They would undoubtedly alert the nearest Konoha Shinobi about his suspicious acts, if they acted according to the hatred he sensed from them. The thought of dancing in front of them with his hair dyed pink and his outfit bright green, flashed through his mind and he shuddered violently, banning the thought to the dark corners of his mind.

He wondered mildly what he had done to deserve their hatred. Not that he cared—because Uchiha Sasuke did not care about others—if anything, he couldn't care less!

It just disrupted his plans. That's all.

The edge of his mouth twitched as he decided that his oblique reasoning was certainly hypocritical.

Casually turning into an alleyway and walking to the end, Sasuke stopped, his gaze even and unsurprised by the three ANBU which appeared in front of him. Unconsciously his eyes rolled to the side, catching sight of the one ANBU at the entrance of the alleyway. Cocky, weren't they? They thought that he wouldn't be able to run.

Naïve, naïve fools. He could have outrun them any time he wanted from the moment of their chase.

"What is it?" he demanded. "Why have you been tailing me?"

The ANBU paused for a split second, undoubtedly from the startling realization that he'd known about them for quite some time. "Uchiha Sasuke," he said—suddenly it was all formalness. "Hokage-sama wishes your presence."

"Didn't I just leave there?" Sasuke's response was short and caustic. He didn't particularly want to go back and see the bi-polar maniac Hokage that was too darn much like Naruto but as the same time wasn't. "Don't bother me."

"But Hokage-sama—"

"I don't care what the Hokage says." Sasuke cut in, and he was sure the ANBU—along with his teammates—stared at him incredulously from behind their mask. "I'm tired." Well, that wasn't completely true. He was tired, but from this infuriating dream, not from the day's events.

The ANBU paused for a lengthy time, and then uncharacteristically for a Shinobi and an ANBU at that, shook his head. "Look, Sasuke-kun," he said in a surprisingly young voice compared to his stiff and formal tone earlier, "We're not going to hurt you, okay? Yondaime-sama just wants to talk to you. It's not like you haven't done this before."

Briefly Sasuke considered retorting that no, he hadn't done it before today, but his instincts screamed for him not to do it, and he generally trusted his instincts. Besides it would be foolish and pointless, something that would only garner more questions and a date with the T&I department. He'd never been one for dates.

So instead, he settled for the stubborn look, crossing his arms. "You might not, but he might." It was true—he was not so arrogant as to claim that he could defeat the legendary Yondaime Hokage, provided he was the same person. The thought of the Yondaime laying a harming hand on him made him want to puke but it was one of those alarmingly uncharacteristic thoughts of his, ones that he'd strangely been having all day.

"Come on, Sasuke!" The ANBU laughed. (His easy manner was so unnerving that Sasuke desperately wanted to flee. His ninja instincts were screaming at him, because ANBU—and if he suspected, the Hokage's personal ANBU—did not easily laugh.) "Stop being so guarded! You know very well that Hokage-sama dotes on you. He'd never hurt you for the world!" Then he amended quietly, "Though he might joke around quite a bit…"

Sasuke was quiet for a moment, and then asked, "What will you do if I don't go?"

The ANBU rubbed his chin thoughtfully which looked strange considering he was wearing a mask. "Aa… Gag you, tie you up, and cart you off to the office, where we will most uncharitably dump you on the floor." He finished matter-of-factly.

The boy blinked once. He didn't doubt the ANBU's words for a moment. He'd seen it happen to Naruto often enough. Still, he wasn't Naruto and he actually knew how to escape from ropes.

"So come on!" The ANBU held out a hand grandly.

And Sasuke found himself accepting the hand—but only because this man reminded him of someone he knew in the far past. A part of him so desperately wanted to go back to the days which had been so carefree in the clan—

Can't go there, he reminded himself. Aloud, he spoke quietly, "You remind me of my cousin."

Amidst the wind, however, the words were quickly blown away. "Huh? Did you say something?"

"No," Sasuke shook his head. Some things were better left behind doors.