Everyone liked Sasuke. He was the survivor of the Uchiha clan, possessor of the terrifying Sharingan, good-looking, smart, strong, mysterious as hell—and everyone loved him for it.

Everyone disliked Naruto. He was someone with no natural talent, the dropout, the moron, but on top of that, he contained an evil creature within himself—and everyone hated him for it.

They were different.

Naruto hated Sasuke and Sasuke hated Naruto. That was their relationship. It was based on hating each other's guts and hoping the other was killed very painfully and slowly—with spiky and razor-sharp objects preferably.

Sasuke had been alone, had accepted his loneliness and done away with it. Naruto was alone since he was born, but he had desperately sought out company.

Naruto was very influential. More than he ever realized.

Sasuke was used to being admired, was used to doing things alone, and putting up with everything on his own, but Naruto didn't care if he was Uchiha Sasuke or not, he didn't care if he distracted Sasuke or not, and he certainly didn't care whether he died from his stupidity or not.

All he cared for was acknowledgement.

Who would give a damn about a reckless moron like him? Sasuke found himself helping the blonde nuisance too soon and too many times for comfort.

He began looking out for the idiot who got in trouble every minute of the day. He began smirking each time the dead last glared at him for helping him. He began to enjoy every moment that he met with his team in the morning, every meal he spent with them, every noisy walk besides them.

He got used to them too fast.

Perhaps he was too willing.

Way too eager to fit in…

They had been mismatched on purpose. It wasn't supposed to work out from the beginning. They were supposed to hate each other. He was supposed to hate Naruto.

… Because Sasuke believed in only one thing, and that was revenge. That was the only thing he had left, and it didn't make sense for him to give that up for Naruto—for the dead last—It was illogical. It was insane, crazy. He was mad.

Yeah… he was. Pretty damn fucked-up. His whole life was a waste of breath… a leftover of the great Uchiha clan.

One lingering drop of water left behind by the rain, just waiting to fall down and disappear for once and for all.

He had to finish up the job. That's why he had been left alive. It was the path he was given. He had to become the avenger of his family and kill his brother for the broken promises, for the empty hate, for the wasted time. For the hideous gap in time that never seemed to stop.

Left without memories. Left without happiness. Left in hopeless misery, in exile.

And then…

Naruto.

He became… his first kiss… his first rival… his first outrage… his first excitement… his first death… his memories.

It was wrong. They were different. They had different motives and goals. Opposite lives.

Sasuke needed strength. Needed it more than he needed memories. More than he needed happiness. He couldn't get sidetracked. He had been too willing. It had been all too soon. One big mistake. He couldn't forget. He couldn't move on. He needed strength at any cost.

His life depended on killing Uchiha Itachi.

And now Itachi was back, and he still didn't give a damn about Sasuke, or the loneliness—the hell—he created for Sasuke.

After all this time—after all that pain—Sasuke was still unable to…

He was waved aside for being weak. This time Itachi went after Naruto, and Naruto was going to die, because Naruto wasn't that strong. Because Naruto was in his the way… and if Naruto crossed his path, he would kill him.

For sure.

He'd show his brother who was really stronger.

Yeah. No more getting distracted. No more family games. No more fitting in. Nothing mattered anymore. He was in hell, he was lonely, and he couldn't do anything about it but smirk. He needed hate… he'd make it work in his favor. Make this hell burn for his sake. Let the hate take over.

Sakura never understood…

He didn't sell his soul; he gave it away.

*

Exile

By Saori-Hime

Comments: Some Sasuke introspection to get this chapter started! It was tough x_x good thing I already had some of it written. 

Warnings: Just in case you didn't notice with last chapter, this is an AU story since it starts with the anime/manga plot but drifts off into its own little tangent XD

Disclaimer: Kimimaro! What have I told you about playing with your bones! Er… Nopes, not mine! Now fetch! *Throws the lawyers Kimimaro's left ankle*

Senbon – Haku uses this type of weapon! Spiky needle-sort of things XP

Sho-kun – Er, that's what Kakashi calls his students when he arrives in the morning… something like ladies and gentleman? lol not sure… x_x 

Flashback

Chapter Two – Irrational Thought

They asked him.

They talked to him.

They persuaded him.

They guarded him.

All of them—were annoying.

He wasn't surprised. He was used to all of their tricks and speeches. From the usual disapproving looks, to the angry retorts. He was sick of them. If they understood, they pretended not to. If they didn't, they didn't care. They were repeating the same mistakes, but it didn't matter. Their time was running out and all they were doing was run around like headless chickens. Morons. It was too late to try and do anything with him. He wouldn't allow anyone to take away his path. He needed to become strong and it didn't matter which side of the war he ended up on. He was an avenger. Liking it, enjoying it, suffering was out of the question. It didn't exist… should have never existed.

"You look quite pale there, everything okay?"

"Hn."

Kakashi sat beside him and took out his orange book. Orange…

The worst part of coming back to the village wasn't the constant nagging or subtle anger coming from everyone that knew about his escape; it was having to put up with his teacher.

Kakashi had spent most of his time training him. He had tried to teach him principles he had long forgotten. He had tried to make him stronger.

Sasuke respected him. Not for his fame as a ninja, not for his philosophies in life, and not for everything he had done for him up until now. He respected him for the enormous burden he carried. A burden that never shattered his personality, not even with the passage of time. He was a mystery to him even after all the time he had spent with him, but there was that link between them that allowed them to understand.

It wasn't the little coincidences like the Sharingan, or the heightened flesh. Their link was rooted deep down to the way they lived, the events they experienced, the attitude they sustained—The pain they endured.

Kakashi and Sasuke weren't that different. Kakashi understood Sasuke, and Sasuke understood Kakashi. Even without understanding what—they understood the why. Kakashi didn't ask him. Kakashi didn't persuade him. Kakashi only guarded him. He waited for his trust—knowing that he'll never get it. Their hopeless cause…

Sasuke slashed that link with a clean blade.

"Evening." Tsunade greeted them as she walked up to them. They were waiting on the hospital's reception room. "So he's finally awake." Tsunade ventured as she went down the corridor towards Naruto's room. She opened the door, and wondered why everything was dark.

"He went back to sleep." Kakashi said casually, eyes focused on his 'textbook'.

"What?" Tsunade asked in an incredulous tone, "He went back to sleep?" What was that supposed to mean? Did Kakashi want to get beat up by a tired Hokage?

"Yes," Kakashi confirmed, looking up from Icha Icha Paradise, and when he noticed Tsunade wasn't in a very good mood, he went ahead and elaborated. "Well, you must have heard about his condition. He seemed tired, so I left him to rest until you arrived." Tsunade's eyes lowered in thought. She went inside the room and closed the door behind her.

The silence that followed after was piercing. The room's temperature seemed to plummet instantly.

The dead last had survived after all—it was impossible. He had seen the injuries himself. The fact that the he was alive seemed unreal. A ghost story. He had seen all the blood. That moron had made it… and he could feel electricity ripple throughout his skin.

"He appeared very healthy… but to wake up after three days and fall asleep right away, maybe he isn't doing too well…" Kakashi commented, noticing the sudden tension building up beside him.

"Naruto should be dead," Black eyes betrayed no lie, "Not asleep."

Orochimaru had once said that his actions didn't match his words. He hadn't been able to grasp that concept until today. His eye relaxed in understanding.

The coldness, his harshness... It was obvious something happened between the two. Something that had Sasuke sitting here beside him… and Naruto shut inside that room in complete darkness. The only problem was that Kakashi couldn't weight the loss and the gains. Actually, he hoped both had canceled themselves out and things would end up going back to normal.

"It looked like it was a tough battle, but Naruto is quite surprising. You never know to what extremes he'd go to prove himself to others." Sasuke's jaw tightened, "But I think he was just doing his best to protect a teammate." He turned to look at his teacher, who in return just watched him passively. "If it wasn't clear before, now it's more than obvious. Naruto can't handle strong enemies. He'll never be anything else but a loud idiot." Sasuke almost smirked, "He was lucky enough not to be killed right away."

Kakashi's mood darkened, "Is that why you are tense, because Naruto is not dead?"

There was a pause and Sasuke knew it was coming. He knew Kakashi wouldn't be able to resist the blinding truth any longer. Sometimes the obvious was hard to digest. "Did you try to kill Naruto, Sasuke?"

"You've already stopped me once." Sasuke provoked without hesitation, and he could feel Kakashi's burning gaze behind that cool exterior of his. The raging understanding of clicking thoughts. Sasuke turned away, shameless, guiltless.

"You will regret not stopping now, Sasuke. Hate won't make you stronger." Eye-level reasoning with a serious tone of voice. Sasuke did not reply.

The door opened, "Still asleep." Tsunade informed them; oblivious to the revelations that had transgressed just a moment ago, "I didn't see the need to wake him up right now. He seems quite worn out… Tomorrow I'll be able to speak to him." She glanced towards Sasuke, "All of you to be exact." The Uchiha boy was silent. "Kakashi, have the meeting place be here tomorrow morning. Don't forget to inform Sakura." The Hokage stretched tiredly, feeling that it would be one of those long nights once again. She sighed, and walked towards the building's exit. "Night," She said before going out.

"Lets go… Sasuke." The raven-haired boy got up from his seat and followed the Jounin outside the hospital. Black eyes narrowed in anger. Why, why did he want to look back?

Kakashi glanced down at his infuriated student. Perhaps he understood Sasuke more than the boy understood himself. His eye narrowed—now all he could do was wait for Naruto to wake up.

***

"Orochimaru-sama," The echoing voice came from down the hall. Instead of turning his attention to her, he listened to her enthralling footsteps, the mischievous swing of hair, so inviting... Body language had never been more satisfying. She paused at the doorway, resting her head lightly on the wooden frame. "Orochimaru-sama, you are always busy—why can't you spare some of your time in me." Came the annoyed tone of his only apprentice.

"Anko," Orochimaru turned away from the window, "I cannot teach you today. Go ahead and practice what you already know."

"I want to be with you." Orochimaru gazed at the young kunoichi with interest. She was so honest and precise. She walked inside the room with no fear, never looking away, never thinking twice. She was quite the shock. Maybe… that is why he allowed her to stay by his side. His lips stretched into a subtle smile. 

"You may." The girl smiled, dark brown eyes sparkling in contentment. She walked closer to him and turned her head towards the window. She was curious to know what Orochimaru had been looking at. He watched Anko closely, observing the way she measured everything that was happening outside. She had keen eyes. Deadly keen. She rested her hands on the window, peering further down, and recognizing Jiraiya and his group of students. He was making them explore their chakra control with the common tree-climbing exercise.

"That boy," Orochimaru said in his softly devious voice, "He has latent potential, don't you agree?"

Anko's eyes studied the boy with the blonde hair in growing interest. "He has nice eyes…" was her quiet reply, which caught Orochimaru by surprise, even though his demeanor never showed any of it. Her eyes narrowed in temptation, and she tilted her head to look up at her teacher. Orochimaru met her gaze. "He is too spirited… what an easy target."

His pale hand reached up to brush her cheek tenderly, "I see…" Anko's breath stopped short. She could feel her thoughts reacting to his alluring eyes.

"This is your chance to prove yourself to me…" Orochimaru's hand slipped down to Anko's collar, which he used to pull her gently towards him. He leaned down and whispered, "Kill him during the exam…" His mouth came down on her cheek, and his teasing warm breath pressed against her skin, making an innocent desire spread like fire around her cheeks. He grinned and stood fully, then walked out of the room without further words.

A hand reached up to touch the side of her face where the burning kiss had been placed. Her brown eyes lowered towards the group below her, which was still working on the chakra control exercise. Eyelashes dropped seductively and a smirk parted her pretty lips in sinful excitement.

To remember that, how long ago was it… The moonlight sun cascaded down her jacket, creating shadows and optical illusions that would otherwise never have been made. She removed her mask and set it down on the tree branch she was currently sitting on. Jiraiya had been right to come talk to her, even if he only managed to aggravate things.

This month had been a constant ache, but there was nothing she could do about it, because when it involved Orochimaru, she was usually the first one to be disturbed… and she enjoyed every scream he caused her to swallow.

Anko smirked behind her tired disposition. 

The only survivor of the sound five had been very helpful to say the least. She wouldn't have found this place if it hadn't been for her collaboration. It hadn't been easy… she had been exceptionally resilient and very bad-tempered, but it made things more interesting in her opinion.

Ibiki wouldn't be happy when he found out…

Ah, if only Jiraiya had been less demanding with her—if he had been a little reserved for once in his life—she would have allowed him to know what she was after. What type of wild risk she was about to submit herself to… and just for the thrill of the kill. Her heart pounded in her chest in response. She was going to enjoy this… 

It was better this way, though. No one would have understood, and Jiraiya wasn't one of the brightest. He was the exact opposite of that—an irresponsible idiot who preferred to stay out of trouble.

Coming back to the village at a moment like this was quite shocking. Could he be up to something? Showing up all secretive in front of her and all...

He just wanted to get under her skin, try to warn her not to fall in too deep—as if he knew she was digging up her grave. Funny. Strange. Too funny and too strange.

He could never pull off something that cunning; No… it was a woman's intuition what was behind it. Tsunade-sama must have known she was up to no good. She had sent Jiraiya to pester her for it, and the hermit had played along. And so had she.

The village feared she would turn against them. Why not, maybe doing a little killing for Orochimaru might prove refreshing. Killing to get paid wasn't her thing, and paying to get killed wasn't either, but she was asking for it…

It didn't matter whether Tsunade and Jiraiya were worried. Things had changed the moment Orochimaru returned to the village and she couldn't hold back any longer. Promises, or no promises, she couldn't resist it.

Yondaime was dead and she was pretty tired of living. She was happier being an emotionless murderer than a shackled slayer. Sinning was okay. Sinning was exciting. She had a perturbing lust for blood and she would definitely do anything for his blood. Anything.

Yondaime ended up sacrificing everything, he had always been vain… and she—she had always been afraid of the last step. 

"I see you are here."

Anko turned her head to the side and nodded at Kabuto with semi-closed eyes. The air was slashed by four silver needles instantaneously, each aiming for the gray-haired intruder's vital points. He managed to dodge them all by jumping down into the darkness, exactly as she expected, and a loud thunk was heard each time a senbon nailed itself onto wood. Anko took out a kunai from her pocket and used the tree branch to push herself downwards. He was out in the open, it wasn't surprising that she would try a head-on attack, but he wasn't defenseless. His eyeglasses glinted and his hands began to glow a feint blue. He landed on the ground, and sprung back up, palms aiming for her exposed neck. The kunai stroke him first. It tore his flesh open, covering her hands in red liquid as she jabbed the dagger deeper onto his solar plexus. He had left his guard down in order to get a clean hit at her neck and she didn't miss the chance to strike. She had sharp eyes… but not sharp enough. Her eyes widened as she felt her neck crack.

Both bodies disappeared in a puff of smoke.     

The forest was very quiet.

Another shower of needles made him jump out of the bushes he had used to conceal himself.

"Meh, to think neither of us is playing fair." Came Anko's annoyed but sweet voice. His second Bunshin was soon annihilated by a senbon directed exactly between his eyes, and the rain of silver rays continued to chase him out of his territory.

She stopped briefly, trying to find her prey's new hideout. She took out four more needles, and stopped at mid-throw when a voice said behind her, "Hunter-nins don't allow their faces to be shown." Kabuto stated matter-of-factly, holding a kunai directly to her neck. "Taking off your mask in the middle of the forest was just to distract me from those Kage Bunshin you had already organized."

Her breathing evened out and she replied, "Chuunin-level combat strategies, you read them pretty well, but believe me, I'm not underestimating you." His heart started beating faster the moment he stroke her—another Bunshin! She was toying with him. "Make sure you don't underestimate me..." The air whispered to his startled ears.

He dropped to the ground, gripping his kunai a bit more tightly. He paused when he heard her footsteps behind him as she walked out and into the open. She scanned the different places where her senbon had missed a target. The silver needles stood out like marking signals.

Kabuto didn't make any effort to turn to look at her. He was sure confident, it must be because he was a medical specialist and hand-to-hand combat was his strong suit. Standing here in the clearing must be an open-invitation for him.

But he knew there was something amiss. Took him long enough to notice.

"Senbon are not only precise killing weapons. They are also used to mark territory. By just nailing them on, square per square of land can be checked off if they are free of suspicion… the enemy is cornered without him ever realizing it. A simple ANBU land exercise."

A trickle of sweat traveled down his face. So in that case…

"I know where the real you is hiding." She closed her eyes, "But I'm not here to kill you. Not by a long shot." The last of his clones vanished in front of her, and he stood up tall on the tree branch where he had been observing all along.

"You are pretty smart, but being too smart can sometimes be used against you… when I took off my mask it wasn't to distract you from the cunning tactics you imagined I was using. It was to distract you from the type of battle I had already prepared for you." Kabuto smirked, understanding dawning on him, "So it was Genjutsu all along." From the very beginning she had used the night forest to disguise her Genjutsu, and she had used his interpretation skills against him to snarl him inside the illusion. Those clones must have been part of the it as well: used to look like Kage Bunshin to make sure he didn't pick up on her Genjutsu until she could pinpoint his real position with the senbon attacks.

He had been manipulated all along and there had only been one real body.

It probably was…

He turned around to face the same Anko that had taken off the mask just a few minutes ago—sitting on the tree branch, untroubled, and looking at him with the same strange eyes she had on when he first saw her.

"I've terminated the Genjustsu, since I've found you." Anko informed him seriously. She was still shaken from this revelation. To figure out he had been hiding right beside her the whole time… this guy could manipulate his body extremely well. She hadn't sensed a heartbeat or an intake of breath throughout the battle, and he had been ten feet away from her. Without the Genjutsu things would have turned out a bit more interesting.

Guess both of them were fooled by the simplest of answers.

"I take it you are here because you want to speak with Orochimaru-sama, Anko-san." Her eyes watched Kabuto closely, as if she knew he was up to something. Could Orochimaru have told him about her? No… probably not. She wondered if he was trying to make friends with that respectful tone…

It wasn't hard for Orochimaru to figure things out, he'd always been very resourceful—but to have someone waiting for her… 

"Yeah…" Anko said slowly, eyes turning away to look out into the distance. Her hand reached up towards her neck and she dropped her eyes. "Take me to him…" Kabuto nodded, but halted when she spoke, "Aren't you worried that I could be a spy?" His eyes smiled behind his glasses, "That is why I am here Anko-san, and not any other person." They shared their first truthful acknowledgement and Anko smirked, "I guessed as much."

***

Tsunade yawned. It was getting very complicated waking up in the morning, and her diet—She was eating papers and drinking ink. Who would have thought being Hokage was so tiring? A smile crept to her face. The whole village was doing its best, though. All of them were working maybe even harder than she was. The Sandaime had done a wonderful job as Hokage. She couldn't come up short—she held the dreams of this whole village in her hands.

She opened the hospital doors and entered the building. Her drowsy features started to dissipate, and her honey eyes scanned the surroundings for a certain team. Her eyes settled on the pink-haired girl waiting patiently by Naruto's hospital room. Tsunade didn't fail to notice the lack of sleep the young kunoichi displayed—she must have stayed up the entire night.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama." Sakura greeted her when she recognized her figure. Tsunade nodded, "Good morning. I'm glad you haven't caught Kakashi's unpunctuality." She grinned, "Those two will probably take a while to arrive, so I'll go ahead and check on Lee-kun before—"

"HOKAGE-SAMA!"

Tsunade cringed—Gai's yell had rendered her ears useless—and Sakura's morning senses had been awakened at an unhealthy rate. She could feel her hair tips curling up. "This way Hokage-sama!" Gai approached Tsunade in a hurry, "Lee is waiting for your passionate report, let his young and flaming spirit rejoice with healthy prognostics."

Tsunade was swept away by Gai and dragged towards Lee's quarters, while a disarrayed Sakura stared at both adults in half-shock half-embarrassment. On the other hand, she hoped that Lee-kun would be able to get out of the hospital soon.

***

It was early in the morning and no one in their right mind would dare to break the tranquility of a tender sunrise, specially not if they lived in a village where anyone could turn around and beat you up for it. Gai understood that concept, but… this was an emergency! A call for strong and flourishing new beginnings!

In other words, his rumbling and vigorous voice resonated off the hospital walls the moment he stepped inside Lee's room. "Lee! Lee!" The young ninja heard his teacher calling him from far away, and he could only murmur 'Gai-sensei' in response. "Lee!" He saw his teacher atop of a hill, sparkling brilliantly and surrounded by a heavenly aura only Gai-sensei could create, full of incredible power and mainly beauty. Was he dreaming? Gai shook him by the collar, and if Ino had been present, she would have understood where Tenten got her waking-up techniques.

"Wake up Lee!" The older man cried out desperately, and Lee's eyelashes finally lifted. Tsunade felt a droplet of sweat accumulating by her temple. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the disturbance… could Gai be any more compulsive? She had to stop the urge to whack him over the head as if he was a kid.

"Gai-sensei…" Lee's horse voice emitted through thick slumber clouds, and his eyes were greeted by Gai's shiny grin, "Tsunade-sama is here, Lee! This promise of a lifetime shall not be broken, now she will—" His jaw fell when he noticed that Tsunade was gone.

***

Could he be noisier! Tsunade frowned in escalating worry; there was no doubt about it. She had heard a scream—A scream coming directly from Naruto's location. Her thoughts raced, conclusions were drawn, and possible treatments were prepared. She just needed to find out what the affliction was.

"N-naruto!" Sakura finally exclaimed as she watched the boy in front of her shake with some unknown sickness. Her eyes widened as he brought his hands up to his neck, the door swinging wide open as he tried to get out.

"Bleh! Eh! Ewww… wah! Ugh…!" Naruto gagged in a frenzy, not knowing what to do in a situation as horrible as this one. His eyes were drowning, and his nose was running. Sakura stared back at him in astonishment, observing in morbid fascination as his face turned different shades of colors.

"T-that—what the hell!" Naruto accused with a cry, "I thought it was—food…" His mouth pulsated in horror, making him even more restless. "Eh, food?" Sakura asked in confusion, until it finally made sense. Yesterday she had—her face changed from alarmed to amused. So he had tasted Lee's 'healthy' dumplings. Sakura started chuckling to Naruto's torment.

"S-sakura-chan…" Naruto pouted, "That dumpling," Sakura tried to explain, "I brought it… but—" She laughed lightheartedly, her face flushing slightly in embarrassment. "Sorry Naruto, I couldn't warn you." Naruto's face fell, "It was you Sakura-chan…?"

Tsunade stopped by the sidelines and listened to the explanation of what had almost given her a heart attack. Her eyes drifted to the blonde boy, who seemed very healthy at the moment. She didn't see him acting strange—in Naruto terms that is—maybe Iruka had been too preoccupied over nothing…

"It was meant to heal you faster Naruto!" Sakura stated angrily, with one finger extended for emphasis, "That's why I gave it to you," she gave him a disapproving look, "You should be happy!" The blonde continued to fret about the taste, his tongue sticking out in protest, and his cheeks red from the exhilaration. He turned his head to the side, having that funny sensation of being watched.

"Ah!" he yelled, "It's the old hag! Hey, hey, what are you doing here?" His face connected with the floor right after that, and Tsunade's eyebrows twitched in anger, "Disrespectful brat," She murmured through gritted teeth, "Weren't you supposed to be resting in bed?" Naruto rubbed the sore spot on his head with both of his hands and sat up touching both of his feet together. He murmured something about being pounded by ridiculously-strong hags, and then added, "… I was hungry, and that yucky thing I ate…" He paused, smiling up at Sakura-chan, "Well... hehe…" He drifted off... he didn't really want to make Sakura-chan mad.

Sakura gritted her teeth through her printed smile, what an ungrateful guy!

"Hey, old-hag Tsunade, why don't you take me to eat ramen!" Naruto smiled brightly, and turned towards his crush, "Sakura-chan, you can come too!"

"Wait a minute, Naruto." Tsunade admonished, "First I need to make sure you are okay."

"I feel fine!" Naruto protested, "I'm just hungry!"

"Hokage-sama!" A well-known wail reminded her she didn't have much time to argue with Naruto. "Why did you leave my cute Lee without checking him first!" Tsunade sighed, and Naruto said to Sakura without any consideration to hearing-ranges, "Look! It's super eyebrows!" Sakura glared daggers at the idiot, "Naruto!" She hissed, and Naruto grinned sheepishly while putting a hand behind his head.

"I will check you both there," Tsunade came to the conclusion, and pointed towards Lee's room, "I'll take you out for ramen after that." The blonde perked up instantly, "Alright!"

"Sakura, could you wait here for Kakashi. Knowing him, we might be out even before he arrives." Sakura nodded, after all, she was used to waiting for them all the time. She smiled; things were going back to normal. They really were. She held onto that thought desperately…

***

"Naruto-kun" Lee's face lit up and Naruto stared at Lee in confusion, "Why are you in here?" Lee sweatdropped at Naruto's honestly naïve expression, "Hokage-sama healed my injuries completely, Naruto-kun, and this time I will be able to—" Naruto's face widened into a grin, "I knew old-hag Tsunade wasn't just an irresponsible gambler!"

Tsunade was ready to challenge the loudmouth idiot for a duel outside, but Naruto's gasp and newest rambling soothed her urgent need to kill. The blonde was troubled because he saw that Lee's flower was in perfect condition, while his had been perfectly dead.

"Morning, Lee-kun," The Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha turned his attention to Tsunade and away from the babbling ninja beside him, "Good morning, Hokage-sama." Tsunade walked up to him and asked him to stand up. He did so without any struggle. That itself was very impressing. Tsunade walked behind him and her eyes examined his shoulder blades slowly. Naruto had both eyes closed in blinding confusion.

No signs of post operation trauma in the muscles, and not a drop of blood covered his bandages. His leg was just as intact. Everything had healed at an extremely fast rate. The truth was that this boy was in perfect health, which made her skepticism seem ridiculous, but how…?

Her eyes fell on the dozen of empty baskets lying around on the floor. She smiled…

"Everything is in perfect condition Lee-kun, you are one of the first ones to show this type of miraculous recuperation. In fact," She looked at Gai, "Rehabilitation won't be needed." She turned to Lee, "You may start training today if you feel it necessary."

"YAY!" Lee cried out and Naruto chimed in, "Hey! Hey! Lets go outside and I could show you my newest technique!" Tsunade's eyes narrowed, "Didn't Jiraiya scold you for that already." Naruto's face fell and he crossed his arms in front of his chest stubbornly. Gai, meanwhile, was crying rivers and lakes in the corner of the room.

Tsunade walked up to Naruto and touched his forehead with her palm. He blinked, ready to start protesting, but paused in mid-syllable. He felt weary, "Ano… what happened to the others, they are okay, right?" There was a hidden edge of desperation filtering through his voice.

Tsunade nodded, still concentrating on searching for some type of internal injury, since he was perfectly fine from the outside. "All of you are wonderful ninjas." She glanced at the necklace Naruto was sporting and grinned, "I'm proud of you."

Naruto stared at Tsunade, taken aback by the compliment. He swallowed hard, "Hehe…" He lowered his head, something Tsunade took as a way to hide his embarrassment. Tsunade stood up, "No use in trying to search for something wrong, you are as healthy as Lee-kun, Naruto. I guess I'll keep my promise…"

Naruto looked up, "Yes! Lets go to Irakachu, hey! Hey! It'll be a celebration of how great I am. No one would have been able to do this mission without me!" Naruto's ego inflated into a robust balloon and Tsunade sweatdropped. She walked towards the exit to give him more room to boost. "Maybe it would have been better to keep you in the hospital after all." She said as she opened the door.

"You are paying!" Naruto yelled and Tsunade paused at the doorway, "Wha—" She was about to objection when the tension from outside hit her. Naruto's grin didn't fade as he walked past Tsunade until that same cold-stinging rush hit his spine.

Sakura was looking down, features hidden by her pink hair, and beside her stood Kakashi-sensei and…

The tension tripled and the air was so thick you could suffocate in it. Konoha's #1 loudest ninja was struck silent.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and Sasuke looked at Naruto. The things they felt and thought were secrets never again to be discovered. It was Naruto's honest disappointment, and Sasuke's always-unreadable expression, but behind their masks, at the core of each of their personalities, in the most intimate spot of their mind laid a burning betrayal that neither could comprehend. A stinging sensation spreading maliciously towards a goal. Erasing the good, implanting the bad.

Both boys turned away instantly, frowns flaunting all over their faces.

Everyone was silent. Kakashi had always known the explosive rivalry between the two. He had watched them go at it every day and night. However, he had also noticed the worried looks, the protective gestures, and the friendly grins. Teamwork… what happened to it?

"You two look like an angry couple," Tsunade pointed out the obvious, even if it was quite radical.

"This bastard just pisses me off!" Naruto yelled, crossing his arms in front of his chest, eyes closing into slits.

"I'm not here because I want to." Sasuke replied nonchalantly, waving aside Naruto's outburst as if he wasn't even there, and directing his cold demeanor towards Kakashi.

"You three are here because you have a meeting pending with me." Tsunade informed them, "So how about we go out for ramen and—"

"No." Naruto suddenly cut in, surprising everyone. Had Naruto just refused a meal? Ramen on to of that? Sasuke closed his eyes in annoyance.

"Ah! The power of youth, Konoha's lotus blooms brighter than ever!" Gai's greeting interrupted the claustrophobic tension, and everyone's attention was drawn towards the pair exiting the room. "Ah! Kakashi, I see you are also here, shall we finish our postponed match?" Kakashi took out his orange book and ignored Gai purposely, sending the other men into an outburst of inconsolable rejection.

"I don't know who is louder, Gai or Naruto…" Tsunade murmured as she tried to settle down the raging Jounin.

"Lee-kun!" Sakura said, seeing he was walking without any aid. "Hokage-sama has approved for me to start training," The bowled-cut boy said proudly, and gave her a thumbs up. Sakura smiled nervously, "I'm glad Lee-kun." She could feel a chill run down her spine.

Naruto and Sasuke…they were still acting weird. She glanced towards them in growing worry; memories of their last encounter at the hospital roof haunted her mind. Lee looked at Sakura, and then at the silent boys in front of him, who were turned away from each other.

"Sasuke-kun," Lee smiled, "Welcome back, I'm glad you've returned safely…" Sasuke didn't say a word. Naruto was awfully quiet as well. Sakura's eyebrows knitted in preoccupation, and Lee regretted bringing that up…

"Didn't think you'd be here." Resentment

"Hn." Superiority

Naruto turned to face him, a shaky anger disturbing his very core, "I won't lose to you!"

Sasuke smirked, turning slightly to meet his gaze, "Took you long enough to get out of that room." Naruto's eyes widened in growing anger, and Sasuke maintained his cold and calculating smirk.

"I won't lose." Naruto said through gritted teeth, slamming his hands inside his pockets and walking away in frustration. Lee looked at Naruto's retreating figure, and Sakura watched Sasuke lower his gaze to the ground. Cold. 

"Wait Naruto, where are you going?" Tsunade called, but Naruto never turned back. Kakashi glanced at his students… and turned towards Tsunade, who had a troubled look on her face. "They'll work it out." He assured her. The Hokage was silent until a defeated sigh escaped her tired face. "I'll leave it up to you then Kakashi, you know them best… but report to me if anything happens."

The Jounin nodded, and turned to his team, "Follow me, Sho-kun," Sakura looked towards Sasuke, who never met her gaze. Not once since he had returned. She held back her sorrow.

Tsunade said to Gai without taking her eyes off the retreating team in front of her, "Lee-kun is very strong Gai, as expected from a student of yours, but don't push him too hard this week… never tempt a recovering body." Gai nodded, his eyes watching his eternal-rival as well. Kakashi was in for youthful mistakes. He put a fist in front of his face, and wished him luck with tearful eyes.

"Gai-sensei…" Lee looked up at his teacher, and Gai blinked, "Yes, Lee?"

"When you quarrel with Kakashi-sensei, you mean no harm, correct?" Gai looked down at his student, "Of course, we may be eternal rivals, but he is still my comrade." Gai grinned, "We can always settle our disputes in friendly matches!" His eyebrow twitched in anger, remembering the way Kakashi had ignored him today. His twitching stopped when he came to the conclusion that Kakashi had just been afraid of loosing again. He laughed with pride.

Lee was lost in thought for a moment, and then, "But… what if you were meaning to hurt him?" Gai paused, and continued seriously, "Lee, no matter how much you wish to prove a point, power shouldn't be used against your comrades. It should only be used—"

"—To protect precious people." Both said simultaneously, and Gai smiled.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"It's training time!"

"Roger!"

Teacher and student parted with their respective farewells, and Tsunade was left behind to ponder everything that had happened this morning…

***

"Kakashi-sensei, where are we going?" Sakura finally ventured, anything to break this disturbing silence, "To eat." He said cheerfully, "Huh…" Sakura looked puzzled at her teacher, how could he be so calm when this was happening? She felt a boiling anger overcoming her rational thoughts.

"Old man! Serve me another one!"

Sakura's ears perked up, so that's what he meant. Sakura looked down, embarrassed at her wrongful assumptions… She sighed… leave it up to Naruto to make her worry while he ate ramen! 

Kakashi leaned in to enter the small shop and sat down on the stool beside the rushing blonde. His two other students stayed outside. Sasuke had no intentions of going in there, and Sakura would never be able to take her eyes off Sasuke after what happened. In conclusion, Kakashi went in alone.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted in surprise, while his teacher continued to read his novel, "You can't just run off like that Naruto. We have many missions to complete today."

"I can't!" Naruto replied honestly, while he received another bowl of ramen with both hands, "Pervert Sennin promised to teach me more awesome techniques! I can't go with you!" He smiled and started eating his ramen at an extremely fast pace, even for Naruto. "I can't… waste… my chance to… become Hokage!" He said between mouthfuls, "Pervert Sennin—will come to pick me… up any minute now!" Naruto slurped loudly, cleaning his mouth with his sleeve. He looked around as if he imagined Jiraiya hiding from his view just to make him fret then hurriedly ordered another plate of noodles.

"Naruto, you are eating too fast."

"I will eat a hundred plates! Dare me to do so Kakashi-sensei!"

"Naruto—"

"A hundred in one hour!"

"No need to—"

"Just you watch, I'll become Hokage in no time! That old-hag Tsunade will see I'm the best suited for the position. She'll give up her place. Hey! Hey! I'll seriously eat at least 50 bowls! Only I can do it because I'm—"

"Naruto." He said it so harshly… in a tone of voice he'd never heard his teacher use. Everything seemed to stop in time. Blue eyes stared in astonishment at Kakashi-sensei. His teacher looked at him silently, and Naruto dropped his gaze suddenly.

"Jiraiya is not coming Naruto. He left the country yesterday."

Naruto's eyes widened, and a terrible horror settled on his stomach. Kakashi was about to continue, but something made him stop.

He hadn't been there for Naruto. No… he hadn't been there for his team. He glanced towards Sasuke and Sakura. One wasn't even facing the small stand, and the other was looking at the floor with both hands pressed tightly together. He closed his eye and a haunting feeling welled up inside him.

He had been so busy with Sasuke… that Naruto had moved on to Jiraiya. Naruto was so honest. It… made that feeling grow thicker…

This time it seemed ramen wouldn't be able to make it up to him.

He probably initiated the team's rapture with his lack of—

"I'm full." Naruto broke the terrifying pause, "I hope we have good missions today, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto grinned at him, and hopped off the stool. Kakashi's eye was semi-wide as he watched him saunter off towards Sakura. He had begun a conversation immediately, bringing life back into the pink-haired girl. A second later Naruto was getting pounded for saying something stupid.

Sasuke turned towards the loud pair slightly, even though he had that same cold stare in his face… but that was something that could be fixed. 

Kakashi sighed, putting one hand on his face. For a moment there… he got worried. He closed his eye, curving it up into a contented smile. Everything was back to normal now.

He paid for the bill, and got up.

…

That same feeling welled up inside him again, and Kakashi's eye narrowed. No. He wasn't going to do it again. He wasn't fooled—He wasn't fooled one bit. Not this time. He knew the truth.

He had learned to look underneath the underneath.

Everything had changed. 

TBC…

Hallucinations are sensory perceptions that occur in the absence of real, external stimulus or are gross distortions of perceptual input. Usually auditory. 

Delusions are beliefs that are maintained even though they clearly are out of touch with reality.

Comments: Yay! Got some action in o_o! More Kabuto characterization in later chapters! BTW, I always thought Anko would make a cool Hunter-nin, and Orochimaru calls her one of Konoha's 'special Jounin' so I kind of put two and two together…! *Tries to stop all the reviewers who are ready to correct the writer* Eek! XP Good thing I'm protected by the AU-stamp! Mwahahah…

To those who asked me stuff, answers will be given in later chappies!! Sorry about that ^___^; but I have a few meanings for last chapter's symbols:

Rain – Hopelessness

Butterfly – "Out of loss, change, death, and destruction can come new life."

Setting sun – Death

Bear with me guys! And if you have a kind heart review ^_^ (Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter! You made my day ^^)

BTW… wasn't 209 exciting!!!!! *DIES FROM THE ADRENALINE-RUSH* Aw geez, I seriously can't wait for 210! AW GEEZ! T____T AWWW GEEEEEZ! *Throws a convulsive fit*

-Saori