Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, though I wouldn't mind owning the little kitsune-shounen.

Warnings: Violence (eventually), languagemost definitely yaoi/shounen ai, some yuri, possible het. Dark tones, but NOT a dark fic.

Notes: Oh BOY am I going to have fun with this one… First Naruto fic, and I expect to ENJOY writing it. Grins. More so than anything I've written for Weiss or Harry Potter, I expect.

Now onto business—Contrary to what the summary may allude to, this is NOT SasuNaru to NaruSasu. Reasons?

A) Naruto loathes Sasuke for his betrayal of the Leaf and his treatment of Sakura.
B) Sasuke's chakra-bound to Naruto until Tsunade, Jiraiya or Naruto himself see fit to release the seals. (Think Neji's Hakke attack, but long term, and combined with a seal.)
C) Naruto dies, Sasuke loses his chakra. Forever. Now, as I see it, forced obligations and resent aren't exactly conclusive to a working relationship, get my point?

However, that isn't to say that this will not have yaoi/shounen ai, or yuri/shoujo ai, because I fully support both, as well as most het pairings for Naruto. The only pairings you can most definitely rule out are SasuNaru, KakaIru, and SakuNaru, though there will probably be hints of that last one.

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More From Me
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"Uchiha Sasuke, you have been tried and found guilty of treason by the Council of Konoha. Do you have anything to say in your defence before your sentence is pronounced?"

Bound and chakra-blinded, Sasuke sneered at Tsunade and the rest of the council, who were hidden in the shadows of the darkened room despite the jutsus several ANBUs held on the boy. "Yeah—Screw you." Silently, he smirked at the hissed breaths that met his statement, but his amusement faded away as Tsunade began to talk once more.

"The prisoner has spoken and so tradition has been observed. Esteemed council members, do you agree?"

"We do." Sasuke hissed inwardly, unconsciously straining to hear his punishment.

"For the crimes of treason, attempted murder, assault against a Leaf shinobi outside of training or exams and desertion of the village…" There was an anxious pause, the heavy air inside the hidden council chamber eddying sluggishly around its occupants as they waited for the sentence to be handed down.

"The sentence is death."

"No!" Sasuke jerked in his bonds at the sound of Sakura's voice to his left, head snapping around in her direction as her ragged sobs broke the ungodly silence. Ahead of him, several council members murmured among themselves, before one spoke.

"Hokage-sama, we of the council must object. Uchiha Sasuke is the last of his bloodline, save for his elder brother, Uchiha Itachi, an S-Class missing-nin. It would be a crime against Konoha itself if we were to destroy the last true possessor of the Sharingan ability."

"Hyuuga Renbin (1), death is the only clear punishment that I can see." Mentally, Sasuke could see the Godaime scowling at the objecting elder, before sighing. "However, if the council advises a different course of action, I will gladly take it into consideration."

"The seikon fuuin. (2)" The room was silent.

"The seikon fuuin is forbidden, Hyuuga-san. Without the assent of the—" Tsunade snapped, before the old man interrupted.

"The assent of the Council, you cannot administer it, yes, I know. But I believe we can all agree to its use in this situation. The traitor," Beside Sasuke, Sakura gasped in dismay at the distasteful label, and Sasuke sneered. "Must be dealt with appropriately, but we cannot afford to lose the last carrier of the Uchiha bloodline, am I correct?" A chorus of agreements answered the Hyuuga elder, and Sasuke found himself counting the voices, only to find that the entire Council had indeed agreed.

"Very well. Uchiha Sasuke, while it is against my better judgement, I must acquiesce to the demands of the Council." Sasuke hissed as he felt her eyes shift to the ANBU restraining him. "He is to remain under constant surveillance of no less than four jounin or ANBU at any one time until someone to control the seal can be fo—"

"I'll do it." The voice came from the far corner of the room, harsh and broken, the chakra of its owner masked skilfully enough that Sasuke couldn't determine who it was, despite the Hokage's swiftly indrawn breath of concern and the current of shock running though those assembled.

"Are you sure? You're still not fully healed…"

"Hai."

"Controlling the seikon fuuin is—" The voice interrupted. "No harder than controlling the fox at it's worst, Hokage-sama, and you know it. I can handle the seikon fuuin, just keep the bastard away from me." To his left, Sakura choked back another cry, and he could hear Kakashi's voice, low and barely audible, comforting her.

"Na—" The heavy rustle of silk in front of him alerted Sasuke to the Hokage's movements, before a low voice halted whatever she was about to say.

"Drop it, Tsunade. If he says he can handle it, he can handle it."

"I… Very well. Jiriaya, if you'd assist me?" Sasuke's brows rose at the almost casual mention of the sennin's name, before three sets of footsteps moved towards him, two firm and resolute, the third just as determined, but limping. The brunette stiffened as someone moved to stand behind him, the scent of saki, smoke and incense overwhelming his senses, their thumbs and index fingers touching to form a crude seal against the back of his neck, making the hairs there stand on end. The other two—most likely Tsunade and the volunteer, moved into position in front of him, hands callused from hours of handling kunai and shuriken intertwining roughly with his own before they were raised to chest level.

"We are ready to begin—Esteemed elders, are you still sure of your decision?" The Godaime's voice—no longer Tsunade's, rang with authority and purpose.

"We are." The woman made a sound of acknowledgement, before Sasuke felt her attention shift to the figure standing behind him, slipping into the ritual phrases with ease. "Jiriaya, are you prepared?"

"I am." The resounding quality of the sennin's voice, so different from just moments before, startled Sasuke enough that he missed the Hokage ask the bearer of the seal the same necessary question. What he couldn't miss however was the growing level of chakra in the air around him, making it heavy and hard to breath.

Then the pain started.

Just a dull throbbing at first, his entire body ached hollowly, his hands from the wrists down burning harshly as his chakra was drawn away from him forcefully, but the rhythmic throbbing soon turned into waves of agony as the chakra he needed just to perform low level taijutsu was drawn off and sealed, leaving him no better than a villager. Eventually the seal was completed in a flash of blinding pain that left him feeling empty, and the room was silent, save for his heavy breathing.

All too soon, the hands in his wrenched themselves away violently, and Sasuke lurched, free of the ANBU's restraining jutsu's, to fall to his knees. Through the rushing of his blood, Sasuke heard Jiraiya move away, and Tsunade address the assembled council, ANBU and jounin. Footsteps rang through his already aching head as the room emptied, and only when he felt Kakashi move to help him up did he open his eyes, no longer blinded by genjutsu. His mentor—or ex-mentor, looked down at him, pity clear in his eyes before his gaze shifted to the figure standing in front of Sasuke, eyes stern.

"Satisfied?" The jounin's voice was quiet, but the sheer disappointment in his voice was clear.

"Very, Hatake-san. Now keep him the hell away from me. He makes me sick." The figure in front of them stepped back in deference to the jounin, before turning to walk away. Sasuke jerked his gaze up from were it was level with the person's shoes, taking in the dark camouflage gear over tightly wrapped bandages that were spotted with blood, similar to the chuunin and jounin uniforms but lacking the flak-jacket, the dark tattoos—seals, he realized, around wrists and forearms, and close cropped, pale blonde hair poking out from under a black bandana, the Konoha hitae-ate tied securely in place around his head as it ought to be. "Matte!" The figure paused, but didn't turn around.

Sasuke swallowed thickly, frozen by the sheer malicious intent that was focused on him. "Who… Who are you?"

The question hung in the air uncertainly, before the man—no, boy, Sasuke realized, turned to face them. Blue eyes met black, pure malevolence aimed only at him shining from slit pupils surrounded by an oh-so-familiar azure.

"What, you don't recognize me, Sa-su-ke?" The harsh voice mocked as a familiar grin split even more recognizable features, tainted with promised violence, and Sasuke sucked in a breath, eyes wide. Masaka… It can't be! "Then again, I'm only a dobe, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, ne?" Uzumaki Naruto smirked, then spun back around. "Hatake-san, Haruno-san—Keep him out of my way, or I won't be held responsible for whatever damage comes to the traitor.

Sasuke crumpled to the floor once more as Naruto's footsteps faded down the hallway.

1) Hyuuga Renbin: I chose the name Renbin as my own bit of irony. Most of the Naruto characters have names that reflect traits of theirs (Kiba – fang, Haku – tool, etc…) so I decided to make my own play on names. Renbin means mercy in Japan. Not that I think Sasuke's punishment is merciful, but compared to death it is.

2) Seikon fuuin: Simply put, 'spirit seal'.

A/N: Well, there's the beginning of my first Naruto fic! Right now I'm writing without a beta, so any advice/corrections/etc. would be supremely welcome. Any offers to beta are welcome as well.