Chapter 2
"Sasuke-sama... why?" Kabuto asked pained. One attack from Sasuke had taken enough damage that the skilled medical-nin couldn't withstand any longer being conscious. He heard the last sentence the raven-haired boy said though, before he dizzed out.
"I'm going back to Konohagakure. It's... all I have left."
When Sasuke had first come to Orochimaru, he was in a pretty bad shape. He had taken a heavy load of damage from the massive Rasengan Naruto summoned. It took several weeks to get in his normal shape, because of the Rasengan but also because he'd used the 2nd level cursed seal. The straints on his body were immense, and for a while it was uncertain that he would be able to use his body at full capacity. Fortunately, Kabuto who served Orochimaru had great knowledge in the medical area, and with his help Sasuke recovered a week after.
Orochimaru were reluctant whether or not to teach Sasuke jutsus or techniques. Learning him jutsus that Orochimaru already knew of? What would Orochimaru gain from that? Nothing. So they worked on strenghtening Sasuke's body instead, to prepare the snakes container. He couldn't have anyone's body, after all, it had to be strong.
After a while, though, he found that he could use his newfound toy as other things than just being a container (A/N not what you're thinking, OroSasu-fans out there :P). He was also suited as being a splendid bodyguard to Orochimaru, and so he was often out with his master to test his strength. With his bloodline, the Sharingan, it also served as collecting information (namely jutsus) to the snake, which was more than happy for this. He was, after all, going to take Sasukes body. Well, about four years from here on anyway, but why not start working on his ambition right now?
It was on one of those missions, that happened. The Akatsuki were not exactly afraid of the old snake, but he could pose a problem in the future, so they decided to get rid of him. The problem wasn't that, it was which team the Akatsuki sent. A team which consisted of a Hoshigaki Kisame and a certain Uchiha Itachi... Sasuke was enraged.
Flashback"Itachi...!"
"Little brother, how good to see you. It seems as if you've grown. Not at all according to my expectations, though." Itachi said with a disappointing tone. Then a battle initiated.
End of flashbackSasuke had been able to kill his elder brother. He didn't know how to react on the fact that his meaning in life no longer existed. He first felt satisfied, and even started laughing. Then he started crying, for the first time since that incident. Then... came nothing. Say what you want about Itachi, but he was the reason Sasuke was still alive to that day.
Even though Orochimaru was relieved that his most dangerous enemy was taken down, he still wasn't quite glad at the fact that the shark-man got away. Such battle as the one that occurred wasn't going to happen soon. He was a little dissappointed, but was entertained that he had such a powerful body at his side. Yes, a little while longer... he would have wanted the final level of the Sharingan, the Mangekyou Sharingan, but he couldn't get everything, he knew that... did he? Well, not that he accepted it.
Sasuke was clenched in an even deeper darkness than he was in before, until... ...Naruto? What would you do if you were me? Then came light. Konoha...
"Sasuke-sama... why?" Kabuto asked pained. One attack from Sasuke had taken enough damage that the skilled medical-nin couldn't withstand any longer being conscious. He heard the last sentence the raven-haired boy said though, before he dizzed out.
"I'm going back to Konohagakure. It's... all I have left."
It didn't take long to reach the borders of the fire country, and to the place where Naruto and him fought so many years ago. How are you all...? He remembered the words the blond had said to him. "When I'm with you... I wonder if it feels like having a brother." A brother... maybe it wasn't so bad after all. To have a real brother... Knowing our dark-haired prodigy, he'd never get excited. But now, he couldn't barely hold himself, to get back to his old team... to meet his former teacher... maybe have a rematch with the green beast of Konoha, Rock Lee. But mostly of all... to have a rematch with his blonde-haired team-mate, and this time without hate or anger."Hokage-sama! Uchiha Sasuke have been spotted at the east gate, and will soon be escorted here together with Blue Team." An ANBU said, after being "poofed" in the Hokage's office.
"What...? Then hurry!" Tsunade-hime ordered.
"Yes, Hokage-sama...!" The ANBU-guard followed his order, and "poofed" out again.
Uchiha Sasuke... so Naruto's predictments were true.
"Uchiha Sasuke..." Tsunade looked out from the window, with her back against the subject in question. "What's your business?" It wasn't really a question, more like an order that he'd explain himself. "You do know that by returning here, you will be punished accordingly to your acts."
"I am ready to take that punishment, Godaime-sama," Sasuke said cooly, while continuing. "However, it may be of your interest that I am not sided with Orochimaru anymore."
Tsunade almost knew this fact, but didn't take it easy on him because of it. "Did you come here to ask to be forgiven?" She never liked the kid, abandoning Konoha when it needed him the most, but mostly because of his treachery against Naruto and Sakura. Sakura was, indeed, a student of hers, an excellent one at that, and Naruto... she viewed Naruto as her brother.
"Not at all," Sasuke said. He was glad to be back in the village he grew up in, but his patience lost ground awfully quick. "I am merely here to re-instate as a Shinobi for Konohagakure, Godaime-sama."
The meeting with the city council was almost unnecessary, they all was relieved to have secured one of their triumph-cards, which had been lost for years. They all agreed on the fact that he was to become a shinobi for the city once again, but they also decided that a punishment were on it's place. Why they only gave him 5 days in an isolation-cell was not nearly enough for the treason he committed, to Tsunade. Then again, they were short on resources, even though they managed to build up most of it's former force. And it was the matter with Naruto... they didn't know the two stood so close to each other, so they dismissed it as no action would be taken.
"Free..." The 5 days in an isolation-cell was nothing. He'd been treated well by most of the guards, and the food there was the most delicate food he'd have since his leave from Konoha. Now, what to do...? He had been pondering about this for the last 5 days in the cell, and hadn't made up his mind, despite the long time he spent thinking. He didn't really want to re-explore the city, so he decided to do the first thing that came up in his mind. Namely ramen.
Argh... I'm starting to pick up his weird hobbies. Now, let's see... What was it's name again? Ichiraku? On the way there, he found himself being the center of attraction. Namely he was getting gazes from everyone he met. Good thing they don't seem to remember me. And yes, it was. Partly for angry villagers, partly for girls.
So here he was, standing in front of the infamous Ichiraku Noodle Bar. He was getting nostalgic. When he went in, the owner and his daughter looked very surprised. To think that the last member of the Uchiha-clan came here to eat! And after he'd been away for years.
"A..." He looked at the menu, and couldn't tell the different tastes from the other. "A miso ramen, please."
"Miso-? Ah, coming right up!" Both Ichiraku and his daughter decided that it probably was for the best not to jump up and scream at the arrival of the young Uchiha. Sasuke decided to sit down at the counter. All of a sudden, he heard a familiar voice.
"A miso ramen, pleeeeeease!" Sakura. She sat down next to the stranger, and suddenly she saw who he was. She was speechless.
"Long time, no see, Sakura." Sasuke decided that the girl probably wouldn't say anything soon, so he was the first one to greet his old friend. "It's nice to meet you." And he really meant that.
"Sa... Sasuke...? Is that you...?" Sakura was shocked beyond imagination. "Is that you?" She started crying. "Is that really you...?" Uh oh, the last thing he wanted was a crying girl hanging at his neck. But it was okay, this time at least... The consolement lasted for some minutes, before he spoke up again.
"Sakura... the food is getting cold." He was hungry, and couldn't take it anymore.
"Oh... right." She smiled. She was so glad to see him. At last another from the famous Team 7. The team had grew very famous a while after Sasuke's treason. Sasuke, the genius offspring of that special clan, who had betrayed the village and had joined forces with the mighty Orochimaru, one of the Sannin. Sakura, who was Tsunade-hime's apprentice, and was now a splendid user of medical jutsus. Naruto, the one who had convinced the current Hokage to come back to Konoha, the one who was once a trainee under Jiraya-sama, the one who looked so much like the fourth, and the one who...
"I see that you are well." Sasuke smiled for the first time in ages.
"Yes, I train under Tsunade-hime. It's a pain, she's so strict, hahaha." Oh, how nice it was to be able to laugh again.
"You do...?" Sasuke was impressed. He hadn't expected something like this, and the new Sakura was indeed strong... not a match to himself, but strong nonetheless. "Wow. Congratulations, or something."
"Hehe, yeah, I've learned pretty much... I'm a medical-nin now, you know." Sakura was proud, you could notice it from a mile away. Then the silence crept upon the two, the reason of Sasuke's return wasn't needed to point out. It was obvious to Sakura that he'd been able to fulfill his ambition. Then...
"What about Naruto? Has the idiot gotten any stronger since last time?" Sakura's head snatched up, and then quickly down again, and another silence fell upon the two. "Sakura?" Sasuke began to have a bad feeling about it, and wasn't sure whether or not he really wanted to know the reason behind Sakura's sudden sadness. She spoke after a while.
"You haven't heard?"
"Of what?" His old, cold self was re-surfacing, the friendly discussion they had before was gone with the wind.
"Naruto... he's... nowhere to be found." Sakura continued after verifying that Sasuke was listening. "He disappeared the day after you went to Orochimaru..." Sasuke snapped.
"What do you mean?! He couldn't just have disappeared!"
"I'm telling the truth... I don't know much, it's classified. Even Tsunade-sama won't speak of it..." She had noticed the saddened look on Tsunade-hime's face when someone spoke of her blond-haired ex-friend, and didn't push it on her.
"Naruto..." Sasuke took in this new information, while clenching his fists. The Akatsuki... I got to see Kakashi-sensei. "I gotta go, Sakura." And he was gone in a blink of an eye.
The copy-cat ninja had been extremely schocked to see one of his former students look him up in his apartment. Sasuke had asked him about what happened to Naruto, when he'd taken Sasuke to the hospital-room in which Naruto had been stationed.
He didn't really understand the message Naruto left them with. He had heard that the new Hokage was someone named Tsunade, she had even treated him before, but he didn't think that this was Naruto who wrote it. The dobe didn't use titles... Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei and Sakura-chan, but... to use it like this... it isn't like him at all... Tsunade-hime-....
No, he didn't understand, and immideately voiced it out. "I don't understand, he would've never done anything like this." Kakashi nodded.
"So we thought, but we were apparently wrong..." Kakashi held out something, and Sasuke knew that.
"There's something else, right? Tell me."
Kakashi had suspected that he'd been able to see through his act, and so fortelled the truth.
"Akatsuki...? Why would they want Naruto? Is it because of his powers...?" His old sensei didn't answer, he didn't need to. "I'm going to recover him."
"Sasuke, forget about Naruto." Unbeknownst to them, Jiraya-sama had said the same thing to Naruto about Sasuke. "He's probably dead already. There's nothing you can do." He had trust in his former student, but he really did think that he was dead.
"I'll take him home, even if it's the last thing I do." Right now, Naruto was top-priority. "He's not dead. He's not that weak." A little spark of hope was lightened inside Kakashi. He couldn't stop Sasuke even if he wanted to.
"Just come back safe and sound."
Four years after the abduction of Naruto, Sasuke set out on a journey to retrieve his lost friend.
Authors notes/comments
I don't really know when the Akatsuki will make their move to retrieve Kyuubi or when Orochimaru can take over another body again (either 3 or 4 years).
Also, I know that the "The Naruto/Akatsuki plotline" has indeed been made too many times, but it won't cirkulate around that (hopefully?) and... well, you'll see (I'm pretty tired of these fics, too). But I hope it'll be original enough. :)
And no, there's nothing meshy going on between any of the members of Team 7. Thank you for your time.
And oh (tired of 'and's?), I'm currently working on a KurenaiNaruto-fic. Yes, I've never seen one before, so I thought I'd make one. Because of this, this fic is pushed aside until i release the first chapter of earlier mentioned fanfic.