Chapter 7: Home Sweet Home

"Neh, neh, that girl you're searching for… is she beautiful?"

The desire in those blue eyes was not unfamiliar. But this was not Naruto, who genuinely cared and loved with all his heart. Sasuke frowned and said, deliberately harsh, "No. She's hideous. Not your type, at all."

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"Why is she so important to you? Do you lo—"

"Shut up."

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Aside from the bothersome questions, Sasuke was almost glad for the shadow's momentary companionship. It wasn't that he was afraid of being by himself in this strange, dark place but that there were things that he would prefer not think about. Or rather, people. To his dismay, he was finding that his past with Sakura had deeper roots in his soul than he had realized.

Conveniently, 'Naruto' distracted him by being the object of his annoyance.

The shadow would ask some idiot question, usually one that involved Sakura and her looks, and he would respond bluntly with 'Shut up'. It was almost like being with the real Naruto in some ways.

Then again, he wouldn't feel suspicious around the real 'Naruto'. Nor uneasy if he had been the one talking about Sakura.

"Hey, there's something up ahead," the shadow squinted at the distance.

Sasuke stopped and stared. Black eyes filled with recognition, confusion, and faint shock. Contemplations of his teammates were immediately halted and replaced with a single thought. It couldn't be…

"Looks like a house. Should we go check it ou—hey!" the shadow yelled in frustration at once again being left behind.

Had Sasuke heard, he would've been reminded yet again of the real Naruto. But as he was too busy moving forward, too shocked to even care about any response but his own at the moment, he never heard a word.

The shadow glared at the back of the figure that was running so urgently away from him. It had been the first time since their meeting that he had ever seen such a loose expression on the boy's face. A visible flash of horror and pain had come across the other's beautiful features. But the indignity of being abandoned again made the shadow more inclined to be hateful than sympathetic.

"Don't be so hasty, you bastard," 'Naruto' muttered before following.

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The door opened with a familiar click. Sasuke paused before entering as he assessed the possibility of enemies and an ambush. The thought calmed him and made him less rash and more cautious. He felt himself regaining a bit of the control he had lost earlier.

A few, steady breathes and his mind was clear again. Surely, this was just some trick, he thought. He withdrew a kunai and was reassured by the feel of the stainless metal against his fingers.

Sasuke stepped into his house, not bothering to take off his shoes.

The hallway before him was one he had traveled many times. The same, mahogany floor. The same, blue wallpaper. The same, long journey to a kitchen where there was noone except himself for company…

He made sure to keep his footsteps muted and his nerves calm. The setting was disturbing, to be sure, but if he had to fight, he would not hesitate to shed blood under his own roof.

Well, it wasn't really his house anyway.

In a few minutes, he had reached his kitchen. Dark wood gave away to white tiles. The room had windows and was full of sunlight. The rays struck the sink and counter unmercifully, giving a clean and pleasant aura.

Behind you.

Instinct going off, he whirled around, ready to plunge his kunai into someone's heart and cause an early death.

"Sasuke…"

His mother's voice was like the sound of a tinkling stream. Musical without being loud.

It had been eight years since he had last heard it.

His arm halted mid-air. His heart seemed to stop as well. He could not breathe. He felt numb, as if all the blood in his body had been replaced with ice and the result was a distant feeling that should've been pain.

It can't be, he thought frantically.

But it was. She was standing a few feet away, dish in one hand and a washrag in another, wearing a bright, red apron and looking at him with questioning eyes.

"Sasuke… what are you doing here?"

"Who's here?" someone asked from inside the kitchen. His father's voice was lower than he remembered, "Is it the Hokage?"

"Why would someone as important as the Hokage want to see you?" his mother replied in a teasing tone. With a spreading smile, she announced, "It's Sasuke. If you haven't forgotten, he's our son. Now don't just stand there, Sasuke. Come see your father. It's been such a long time, after all."

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed his hand and led him to the living room. He felt her fingers and drew in a breath in disbelief. They were the fingers of a mother. When he was a child before he had lost his home, he had never appreciated it. This simple grasp, firm and friendly, full of love and reassurance. During the sad days and cold nights, he had often remembered it. And now, sixteen and almost a man, he couldn't help but feel as if this was something he could die for.

The living room was much more colorful than it was back in the real world. More warm, too. He tried not to stare.

His father was waiting for him. Upon seeing him, time seemed to freeze for Sasuke.

In one instant, with his mother's hand around his own and his father beaming down at him, his childhood returned. With a fierce, unrelenting rush, all his emotions were released. All his barriers came crashing down. Humanity clawed its way back into the heart of a lost son and Itachi no longer existed.

Sasuke's attempt at keeping still failed; he trembled like crazy as he waited for something to be said.

"It's been a long time, Sasuke," his father, smiling, echoed his mother's words.

But they only said it because it was so true. The distance between them hurt too deeply for it to be a lie. Truly, he thought, more dazed than he had felt in years, it had been too long…

Then his mother hugged him and the kunai fell to the ground, forgotten.

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The boy really was a fool.

The shadow watched impassively as father and son were reunited.

The man beamed proudly, placed a hand in the other's hair and mussed it affectionately.

The walls prevented him from hearing what was being said but the shadow could tell the nature of the conversation from the happy smiles. More importantly, from the look in the boy's eyes. He wasn't smiling, but there was a tangible emotion there that was different from the usual resignation and glumness.

Happiness? Maybe, he wasn't too sure. Happiness seemed too out-of-place for that one.

The shadow couldn't understand it.

The boy had shown himself to be strong in combat. He was an intimidating foe with a subtle yet crafty mind. Of course, there had always been a certain essence of doom hanging around him, a silence of someone struggling to live as if power had come at the cost of something more important. But in the shadow's opinion, it was a worthy trade-off.

Yet, now…

After earning such respect, it was as if he was throwing it all away, as if he was giving up all his logic for one pathetic, impossible, hopeless illusion…

Idiot, why are you happy? They're still dead.

Had the shadow known that Uchiha Sasuke was a man-made orphan who had lost these dear people to a murderer he once called brother, it might have understood. Had it known that he had grown up without a mother's accepting love and a father's wise guidance, relying instead on vengeance to give meaning to his life, it might have made sense. It might have even realized that the look in Sasuke's eyes was similar to a child recognizing that he loved his family for the first time…

But it didn't know and it didn't care, and because of this, the shadow was displeased. It turned away with a flash of annoyance from the scenes of reunion.

"You fool…"

The boy was becoming trapped in a dream.