The Heavens Above

By: Naisho

Summary: AU Konoha is a rogue aerial base Uchiha Sasuke accidentally trespassed upon. To pay for his freedom, he is forced to work for them…as a mercenary pilot.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto. Kaoru Shintani owns Area 88.

Note: This fic is inspired by Area 88 (I honestly think Saki Vashtar really resembles Neji! XD) but it is nowhere around the said series' plot! Because if it is, Naruto would be desperately trying to get back to Sakura and Sasuke will be tricking Sakura into marrying him. We wouldn't want that, now would we? As for the planes, you can find most of my info from wwwDOTfighter-planesDOTcom. I've become one big aviation fan because of this!

Mission I. Trespasser

Running and running and running more: he had been running for hours already and it doesn't seem like he'll be stopping anytime soon. Wood splinters embed his skin as he forces his way through the thick foliage. Leaves find their way into his wind-played hair. Vanity was forgotten and all that remained was chance – this one chance to escape, this one chance to choose, this one chance that the gods above have let him taste – don't let it be nothing but a second's taste!

The roar of engines and the scream of the wind cutting through the wingspans faded as his endless race took its toll. His limbs were aching, calves throbbing with pain. His mind keeps screaming, Faster! Faster! Don't stop! and he complies without further thought, without further logic.

Sunshine glares at his skin and the blinding light finally reaches his eyes. He falters, pausing and stumbling in his steps. It was light, sunshine, and within each and every cave, the presence of that shine always signifies the end.

But never in His story (1).

Fear and nervousness enhanced his senses, catching that careful rustle of a bush and that light pounding on the ground. He steps forward, pace quickening with each sound he hears – may that be of a bird or the simple whisper of the wind. He runs once again, straight ahead just as he always did. God forbid, he may end up right where he started if he turns, like always, like before, like it will always be.

The sounds grew louder, grew thicker and more dangerous. He keeps on running, and faster still even though his body could not reach what his mind wanted him to do – to fly…away from this place, away from it all…just fly away.

All he could hear were the loud footsteps and the heavy clanking of metal, sliding and hitting each other: guns. And they always bring those things when a chase is given a chance. He never bothered to look back, to see the ones who were chasing him: old faces or that of different territories since the engines had died so long ago.

But he was still being chased.

Whoever these people were, they were not to be

trusted.

He could still hear the old faces calling him, pulling him back to those lies of a 'home' base – those voices that he could never know from the other. They were all mere murmurs of a single being he wished not to concern himself with. Calling and calling, that's what they always did. Saying his name again and again, never stopping, always in that monotonous and robotic tone.

Uchiha Sasuke

The light disappeared once again. He felt his legs give in to the sudden weight upon his shoulders. He could hear voices, voices he didn't know but all that was of no value as he was sent back into his cave, locked in without light.

The gods had cheated him yet again.

Cool air washed his face. Uchiha Sasuke slowly opened his charcoal eyes and focused on the first thing he saw – that which was pink and blurry. He swallowed a groan and resisted the urge to get comfortable. He had been captured so many times he was sure he was a master of this trick now. To make sound and movement only lessens your chance of escape.

Once his sight cleared, he shut his eyes, took one long silent breath then peeked through half-closed eyelids. He was riding a military jeep but the ones who were driving it wore nothing but simple pilot jumpsuits, no uniforms, no ranks. He noticed the cold, rough metal wrapped around his wrists. Carefully, he tilted his head down where the sight of old and rusted handcuffs locked his hands together. He could easily break out of such ancient material but everything must be done in good time.

With his a part of an escape plan in mind, his eyes wandered to his future foes (2).

There were four people conversing within the jeep. A person with loosely tied long black hair was on the driver's seat. He never participated with the light-hearted conversations of the other three which meant he must be someone to look out for. Sasuke was having a hard time guessing if that person was male or female but he was not someone to be fooled by a person's back. From the strict and stiff position of the person, he voted that he was a guy, experienced with battles most likely and very serious. Sasuke would know how to handle this guy.

Beside the driver is another guy (he was sure of that) with hair tied up more for practicality than for style. His shoulders were slumped and his head drooped low, bopping to his chest ever now and then. He would drone out in a long murmuring voice every once and a while when a topic would be thrown at him but nothing more than a minute's hold. A couple of yawns from the person later, Sasuke concluded that this guy wasn't someone who'd enter battles. No need to worry about this guy.

Next, he turned to the pink-haired girl behind the previous guy. Just one look at her unreasonable hair color and Sasuke had her analyzed. She was very bubbly and probably a big gossip, considering her enthusiastic outbursts and sudden hushed tones. With her firm grip, Sasuke would've taken caution from her but one of her hands was resting on one of his knees. It doesn't seem like he'd have much trouble with this one.

The jeep gained a small earthquake which Sasuke quickly took as an opportunity to jerk his head slightly to his left where the last member of the group was sitting.

The person was undoubtedly a guy with his sharp eyes and almost fang-like canines. He had short shaggy hair and slightly yellow skin. He seemed like the typical gangster. Buff-looking but useful only when it comes to street fights not battles. To add to that, he had a loud and boisterous voice that could match howling monkeys in the jungle. His eyes lacked focus as well since he had been too busy with their petty conversation instead of watching over their prisoner – well, they all were but that would work on Sasuke's advantage so there should be nothing to worry about.

"We must have that road fixed soon. It's not good for Konoha to have such runways. I'll inform Tsunade-sama." The driver spoke for the first time, his voice monotonous and sharp. He shot a pale look at Sasuke through the mirror but the Uchiha's half-lidded eyes made him inconspicuous to the observer's eyes. "Sakura, Kiba, keep watch over the captive instead of blabbing senselessly like that. Shikamaru, do your work as a navigator."

The addressee raised a brow and lightly nodded though his head remained on his chest. "There's nothing to navigate about. It's a taxing lane. It's nothing but cement for miles."

Kiba laughed loudly and gave Neji a friendly slap on the back. His mouth was ready to blabber but Neji's intense glare sent him silent. "Yeah, yeah. No touching." He rolled his eyes but tucked his hands in his arms nonetheless.

Sakura giggled and put one hand over her mouth. "Don't worry about our captive, Neji-san." Sasuke felt a couple of squeezes on his knee, "He's well within my reach." She giggled once again but this one was high-pitched and pinched. "And speaking of our captive, don't you think he's kinda cute?" She leaned forward though her fingers never left the Uchiha.

Kiba and Shikamaru groaned simultaneously.

"I'll surely tell Ino about this! She'll freak out!" The pink-haired girl continued, growing more excited by the moment.

"Don't you ever get tired of doing that?" Kiba said, half-groaning and half-sighing. He massaged his head then rolled it exaggeratedly. "You're always – what do you call it again? Hinata-chan mentioned this to me before." He massaged the sides of his forehead, groaning.

"What?" Sakura tested Kiba with her strict glare, "Fangirling?" A brow rose, "And what's wrong with that? I'm sure Hinata-chan also does it. Every girl does. You're not girl nor gay if you've never fangirled in your whole life!" She made a straight punch at Kiba, her fist stopping mere centimeters from his face.

"We're here." Neji announced, pressing on the brakes hard and abrupt enough to send everyone in the jeep (except him) tumbling forward. "That's punishment for lack of discipline." He declared after setting his feet upon solid ground. He opened the back of the jeep to let Sakura, Kiba and the captive alight from the vehicle easier (3).

As soon as the back was opened, Sasuke took the initiative to escape. He dived, head first, towards Neji. He knocked down the Hyuuga, scattering his limbs all over the older man. He struggled a bit with the handcuffs then, with one big tug, he broke the chains, setting his hands free. Quickly, he stood up and made a dash away from the vehicle and into the nearest and darkest alley he could see but before he could far enough, he felt his legs fumble and he tumbled to the hard and dusted cement.

Without a second to waste, Sasuke stood up after kicking Neji's feet from his but he was quickly pinned down once again. He turned his head a bit and saw Kiba holding him down tightly. From the corners of his eyes, the Uchiha saw Neji standing up and sweeping away the dust and dirt that clung to his gray jumpsuit. He looked to his left and gave a nod. Sasuke felt the light pounding of footsteps on the cement. He hissed. He had yet again underestimated his opponents…but the battle wasn't finished yet.

Catching Kiba when he had lightened his hold of the Uchiha, he sprung back up and delivered a swift punch to his former captor's stomach. A surprise greeted him when his fist met open and ready palms instead of cloth and flesh. Kiba gave him a canine grin and muttered, "Always the stomach. Everyone always aims for the stomach."

Not to be beaten by such a rogue, Sasuke delivered a swift kick to Kiba's legs, knocking the guy down. He stomped on the guy's chest, earning a desperate gasp for air. With the loudmouth down, all he had to do was take care of the authority: Neji.

Uchiha Sasuke made a dash towards the Hyuuga, fists ready for action. Neji instinctively raised his arms to defend but instead of getting an impact, he felt himself falling to the ground: he was kicked on the legs. Reacting quickly, Neji placed his palms on the ground to soften his fall and deliver a side kick to the Uchiha's chest. He stood up straight and took on a low back stance with his hands formed as knives ready for action (4).

Sasuke spit on the ground and took on his own fighting stance, bouncing lightly for mobility. He made another lunge but he lost control of his speed when he felt a strong push on his back. For the third time that day, within unknown territory, somebody had made him eat their dust.

Furious at his new attacker, Sasuke stood up, eyes blazing with shame and anger. He leveled his fists to his chests and erected a back stance. He expected Kiba to be the one teaming up with Neji to disable him but instead, a blonde woman with well-developed breasts was towering in front of him. The woman was seething, Sasuke could tell, but why? He would soon find out.

Sakura was standing behind the woman with worried eyes darting between him, Kiba and Neji. "Tsunade-sama."

The woman raised a fist and brought it straight onto Sasuke's face. Even though Sasuke was fast enough to block it, the force was still strong enough to knock him down. Quickly, Tsunade sent a solid punch directly onto the captive's chest. Sasuke's breath hitched but he refused to cough for much needed air. With one quick neck chop, Sasuke was sent back to his cave to ponder, yet again, for his overestimation of his own power and underestimation of foes.

"Take him to jail. I'll deal with him later."

"Who in the world would use rusted and ancient handcuffs to bind a captive?" Sakura sent an uppercut breaking Kiba's cranium into dust. "That's like locking a person up in a cage and giving him the key!" she waved her arms furiously then paused. She turned to her current victim and inquired with hysteria, "You didn't give him the key, now did you? Sure, he's really cute but I'd rather not face Tsunade-sama's wrath."

Kiba sat up, rubbing his chin. "Of course not! I'm not that stupid!" he crossed his arms and contented himself with sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Those handcuffs were the ones given to me, okay? Lee said it was the newest and best but it turned out to be the opposite." He grumbled, grinding his teeth, "And we all know who does those pranks."

"He'll be in big trouble with Tsunade-sama." Sakura sighed, almost feeling pity for the guy, "But then he's always in trouble with Tsunade-sama." She dropped onto the bench across Kiba, shoulders slacking.

A couple of people passed by that hallway. A few glanced at the two but gave no heed to their antics. It was normal to see those two like that.

Barks and soft footsteps resounded through the empty hallway. From one of the ends, a girl with short bluish black hair came jogging towards them. A small and scrawny dog accompanied her jogs with jumps and sprints. The girls eyebrows were knotted together, her pale lavender eyes – a twin of Neji's own – glassy with worry. She stopped in front of the two and put her palms on her kneecaps. She took a few deep breaths, "I heard about the captive! Neji-niisan told me he beat you up, Kiba!" her voice was soft, almost a whisper.

"WHAT! HE SAID THAT!" Kiba screamed. "Sure I got beaten up a little but he did as well!" he pointed a shaking finger at the girl, "Tell your itoko (5) to stop being an ass!" His attention went to the dog that jumped onto his lap as soon he started shouting. He gave the canine a tummy-rub, "Hey there, Akamaru! Sorry I couldn't bring you with me but Tsunade was being prickly about it."

"Oh, umm, I'll try to tell him that, Kiba-kun, even though I'm pretty sure I can't say it the way you do." The girl said silently.

Sakura smiled softly and waved at their visitor, "Hi, Hinata!" she tapped the seat beside her lightly, "Why don't you sit down? Ignore Kiba though. He's just sore about losing to our cute captive and being 'victimized' at the same time."

Kiba protested but, as Sakura herself said so, he was left ignored.

Hinata put a hand to her cheek, fingers absent-mindedly toying with her bottom lip, "What happened this time? Did you run out of gas?"

"No, Tsunade-sama banned that a long time ago. She said it cost too much." Sakura waved a hand, gesturing for a denial, "Kiba received a rusted handcuff – which is the reason why our captive got a good shot at his ass." The two girls giggled, "I'm pretty sure Tsunade-sama will ban that as well seeing the harm it could've caused. On the other hand, I'm sure Kiba will be punished along with it. He should've checked the cuffs before taking them."

"WELL, thanks for the support!"

"Don't worry, Kiba. I'll stand up for you when Tsunade-sama asks." Hinata assured the canine boy with a calm smile.

"Be thankful that Hinata-chan's so nice, Kiba!" Sakura commented. She shifted her attention back to Hinata, "He's just lucky today. He's on a scout so he's not here to face Tsunade-sama's wrath!" the pink-haired girl shook her head for effect and out of concern, "That Naruto and his pranks—"

"Hmm? What about Naruto and his pranks? You got victimized again?"

Sakura considerably paled. She jumped to the wall, looking like she got pasted on the cement and let out a shrill scream. "KAKASHI-SENSEI!" (6)

Kiba jumped, almost squashing Akamaru's tail. "Jesus, I'm never gonna get used to Kakashi-sensei's sudden appearances and Sakura's screams." He grumbled his complaints to his dog. He sat down on the floor and Akamaru jumped onto his lap once again.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted. Half of his face was immersed in his infamous and notorious Icha Icha Paradise novel. He moved his head from the book and smiled at the three through his face mask.

"Kakashi-sensei." Hinata bowed in the traditional Japanese way of greeting. It seemed that she was the only one who was unfazed by Kakashi's appearance. Being the one facing Sakura, she must've seen Kakashi coming and had her ears and pulse ready for the scream. Why she didn't warn Sakura – well, let's just say things are better left in the course of 'fate'.

"Naruto has tricked you guys again? I thought you would've at least been cautious about it. He's been doing that for years!" Kakashi giggled lightly – both for his little joke and the book he had resumed reading, "But then, Naruto is, by all chances, the god of all pranks!" he said proudly as though he was the one who had taught Naruto everything.

"Yes, that should be something you know, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura grinned, a malicious glint appearing in her eyes, "Since you're Naruto's Number One Victim! The only person he manages to prank – and succeed at doing so – on a monthly basis!" she pointed an accusing finger at her senior.

The senior forced a light-hearted laugh. He gave them a smile and a nod, "Well, I should be going now. Tsunade-sama asked me to interrogate our new prisoner. We're still deciding whether to hang him, shoot him or simply let him rot in jail. He's quite a rowdy one, ne? Causing such a scene…like the time Naruto came." he closed the novel and tucked in under his arm.

"Except he wasn't trespassing at all." Kiba and Sakura said at the same time.

"He just believed he was." The older man sighed. "Okay! I'd best be going now!" he gave the three an informal salute and went on his way, skipping over Kiba and Akamaru on the way.

"Matte yo, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura stood up and raced towards Kakashi. She stumbled lightly over Kiba but managed to land safely behind her senior. "Could I come with you? Please? I wanna see the interrogation!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess you can wait outside. I don't think Tsunade-sama will let you in the interrogation room – even Naruto was banned."

The pink-haired girl just smiled in what seemed like content. All she wanted was to see their 'cute' captive. Of course there was that cursing and Naruto-ing (a.k.a. let-Naruto-do-his-pranks-to-them-ing) to be done if they ever deform his face but that's only in case of emergencies. Sakura twirled to wave and wink at Kiba and Hinata, "Ja! Later guys!"

The room was big enough to be a bedroom and square enough to be a cardboard box. It was washed with bluish white paint that was chipped off on the corners and the ceiling. There were dusty cobwebs on the angle of the floor and the walls and on the barely lighting fluorescent bulb above. From the ceiling, rust-colored marks made this room look like it had been flooded once.

In the middle of the room, Sasuke sat on a wooden chair that was placed without thought in front of a table. The chair creaked every time he moved, which lead him to suspect the very same thing with the table since it was similar to the chair. On the left corner of the table was a metal desk lamp. Upon closer inspection, you'd see that the light bulb was broken and that the lamp itself is covered with faded burns. The plug was cut off the lamp. It was simply a useless thing.

"We had a few mishaps with that lamp. Apparently, one of our captives was a little on the mental asylum sane side. We asked him were he came from and what made him come here and he went crazy. He grabbed the lamp and started hitting one of the interrogators on the head. Unfortunately, he was wearing metal handcuffs and when the damn started sparking, it sent volts and volts to that poor captive's skin. He was dead within minutes and our man was on a coma for a month." Tsunade appeared from behind Sasuke. She smiled, leaning over Sasuke's shoulder to grab the lamp. "Nobody bothered to change the lamp though. You can have it if you want." She put the burnt lamp on Sasuke's lap.

Sasuke looked at the lamp with scrutinizing eyes. He might be able to use this just in case he doesn't get through with this interrogation thing. It was only then that he noticed he wasn't handcuffed. He looked suspiciously at Tsunade. With that kind of person guarding him, who would need handcuffs?

"Oh, it's not rigged or anything. I've checked it lots of times. The only thing it's useful for is suicide. Or you could treat it as a souvenir from Konoha!" Tsunade laughed, giving Sasuke light punches on the shoulder. The other remained silent. Frowning, she moved across Sasuke, past the table and pounded her fist upon the wooden surface, "Com'n! Lighten up, will you?"

Black orbs narrowed into a winter stare as they pierced through light chocolate ones. "Just who are you?" he hissed the sentence then cursed himself for actually getting the habit of hissing like that.

"Me? I'm Tsunade. Just Tsunade. World class gambler. Genuine beauty." She beamed at Sasuke, "Oh, and Chief-in-Command, if that's what you want to know."

A woman? Commander of a base? , Sasuke frowned but decided not to say anything. He had witnessed this person's strength first hand and he was sure she was holding back. Sighing, he decided to get a little comfortable by placing his feet on the table and leaning onto his chair. "When is this interrogation gonna start?" he mumbled, swaying the chair to create a rhythmic squeaking and creaking.

"It was supposed to start an hour ago but your interrogator is a bit late." The commander said. Surprisingly, she's letting such irresponsible management of time slide through her fingers. "On a normal rate, we would start four hours after but given the current situation, he should be arriving now."

As if on cue, the door swung open and a silver-haired man came in. Sasuke would've taken that chance to escape but he got a glimpse of pink which he suspected to be that girl. Uchiha Sasuke faces consequences, danger and death but never torture.

"Yo!" Kakashi saluted. He opened the book that was tucked under his arm and covered the half of his face that was already covered with a dark piece of cloth. He grinned at Sasuke – or so that was what the man's right eye was saying since the other was covered with a pirate's eye patch. He approached the captive, still flashing the book's cover to Sasuke's eyes.

Icha Icha Paradise? , Sasuke squinted his eyes. He's never heard of that book before but then, he's never heard of anything except missions, requests and trainings.

"So, I should begin the interrogation now, right?" Kakashi looked at Tsunade who gave her nod of approval. The commander moved near the door and leaned beside it. Kakashi focused his attention on the captive.

Sasuke glared at the man's only eye, trying to lock the interrogator under his stare but it proved fruitless as Kakashi just peeked at him over that weird book. The silver-haired man smiled, meeting Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke felt himself stiffen and when Kakashi climbed on the table (with much difficulty, to add), crouching down in front of him, he felt himself turn into stone. It was supposed to be the other way around. He was the one who was supposed to set limits to that man by his glare.

"Boku wa Hatake Kakashi. Yoroshiku desu." Kakashi extended his hand over Sasuke's conveniently place feet.

Sasuke stared at the hand, wanting it to just wither away and die. Again his eyes met with Kakashi's. He wanted it to disappear and it seemed that his wish was coming true as Kakashi seemed to get farther and farther away from him…. And then…

THUD!

Tsunade and Kakashi doubled over, clutching their stomachs in aching laughter. Uchiha Sasuke had just fallen off his chair.

Embarrassed beyond death, Sasuke kicked one of the table's legs to attempt to save face through the misfortune of others. The table quickly gave away but Kakashi was prepared for this and instead, slid down the surface with ease and finesse, landing in front of the Uchiha.

"Gomen nasai." Kakashi giggled one last time then closed his book. He extended his hand to Sasuke, "It was the first time something like that happened in our interrogation. It's also the first time someone's been so calm and confident during one."

With his Uchiha pride dissolving into almost nothing but a grain of rice, Sasuke slapped the hand away and stood up by himself. He dusted off his clothes and stared at Kakashi. "When are we gonna start the real interrogation?" he demanded. He grabbed the chair and sat at it with the backrest facing his front. He crossed his arms over the backrest and turned his head away from both Tsunade and Kakashi, "It's Uchiha Sasuke."

Uchiha? , Kakashi quickly looked at Tsunade. "Oh, welcome to Konoha, Sasuke-kun!" He grabbed Sasuke's hand and shook it vigorously, "Has the Icha Icha series reached you yet?" Kakashi shoved the book to their captive's face, "Let me buy you the first volume! It's very educational! Consider it a gift, ne?"

Sasuke frowned. He wasn't ready to be pressed about personal matters but he would much rather have those than these silly questions. How long were they gonna make him go through the merry-go-round? "Just ask me the correct questions."

"Do you have a girlfriend, Sasuke-kun? Or maybe you like boys instead? Have you studied martial arts or is all that fighting from the streets? Are you allergic to anything?" (7) Kakashi continued on with the nonsensical questions, poking and poking the brunette's shoulder.

Yet Sasuke refused to answer. He grabbed Kakashi's hand and gripped the man's wrist tightly, "Ask."

Kakashi paused for a moment, looking at Sasuke with such boredom. He sighed in defeat, "There were five planes hovering around Konoha territory a few hours before you were caught. You were found running away from the direction of those planes. Why were you running away? What do you want with Konoha?"

"Nothing." Sasuke answered, quickly, as though rehearsed, "I don't want anything from or with Konoha. I was being chased so it is only natural to run away and within a forest I am not familiar with, my best bet is to keep going forward." He visibly relaxed, "And I came here. Chased and caught."

To Sasuke, the following silence was heaven. To Kakashi and Tsunade it was work. Through looks and signals, they communicated with each other. It is never wise to talk with words within in interrogation room.

"Okay, Sasuke, we've decided!" Kakashi crouched down in front of Sasuke so that he was looking upward to meet Sasuke's eyes. "Trespassing upon without recognition or claim is still a crime equal of death. Given your current situation, we'll reconsider it." He stood up, hands placed on his hips, "To pay for trespassing into our grounds, we would require you to work for us."

Sasuke looked up at Kakashi and raised an eyebrow.

"I was thinking you can be a pilot. Haruno is outside this room right now. She'll tour you around." With that Tsunade opened the door and said their decision to Sakura. Squeals and high-pitched laughter entered the interrogation room. They could almost feel the earth quake and shake under Sakura's constant jumps.

Tsunade approached Sasuke and put a hand on his shoulder, "We'll talk about the details tomorrow. Familiarize yourself with the base and the staff first."

"You're supposed to fear me."

"Oh no, you're supposed to fear us." The commander smiled, steering Sasuke towards Sakura, "Because we can give you to the people you were running from." Tsunade closed the interrogation room. They could hear Sakura dragging Sasuke away from the room in obvious excitement.

"So…you think he's genuine?" Tsunade turned to one of her most trusted generals, "You should recognize an Uchiha well since Obito is…"

"Yeah, he is genuine. Obito talked about him once and if he's the real one, Naruto should know." Kakashi smiled and flashed his notorious book once again, "Nonetheless, we can't let him stay in his hands.

"Yes, it'll be dangerous for Naruto, too dangerous. We might lose him."

"Sasuke? Is that your name? That's so cool!" Sakura exclaimed, quickly taking her place on Sasuke's right arm. "I'm Haruno Sakura, by the way. Since I'm touring you around the base, does that mean we'd be working together soon?" she squealed, jumping up and down while still clutching the Uchiha's arm.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had tuned her out and was looking around the base instead. Despite of his prejudice of Konoha (since his encounter with the commander), it seemed a well-equipped place hidden by fake façades. It was better this way though: to lie low and inconspicuous then become the hero when deemed appropriate. All that he needs to check are the pilots and the staff. Whether they are of value or not will be judged by his eyes and as of the moment, this girl who has latched herself onto his arm didn't encourage his view of the people.

"Oh look, Sasuke! He's back!" Sakura pointed to the skies where a black dot was becoming larger and more formed: it was a plane – an MiG-31 Foxhound (8) coated in blue and white with streaks of orange blurred by the speed of the fighter plane. The wind roared as it descended onto the ground. On the Foxbat's tail was an orange swirl engulfed with black flames as a sign of ownership over the plane. Upon a closer inspection and constant viewing, you would realize that that swirl there is actually a fishcake engulfed in flames.

Sasuke let himself be pulled by Sakura. It had been a long time since he had last seen a Foxbat and this wasn't something he'll miss.

"That stupid little prankster! He'll get it NOW! He caused us so much trouble with that rusted handcuff! Of course, it was a big help to you, Sasuke-kun, but you still got hurt by Tsunade-sama! That's why you should never get Tsunade-sama angry!" Sakura waved her finger for a no. "It's only that prankster that could really face Tsunade-sama's anger! He's useful at times, you can say, but Naruto is still Naruto nonetheless!"

Naruto? , Sasuke stopped, "Did you say Naruto?" he pulled Sakura who, in turn, blushed and giggled like a love sick girl. Sasuke sighed, growling a bit because of the girls silly antics. He quickly let go of the girl, almost rashly pushing the girl away from him.

"Yes, weird name, right? And to think he's a ramen addict as well!" Again, Sakura dragged Sasuke, leading him to the landing plane. She babbled on and on about Naruto, insulting him even but it was as good-hearted as she could get with the fetish she was under as of the moment.

All the while, Sasuke remained silent. It was not the stoic silence that had made millions of girls fangirling all over the world but it was shock. So many of his plans had shattered to pieces, so many of his dreams have been forgotten at the moment Naruto was mentioned. And all because he was the only one left.

"Naruto!" came Sakura's scolding voice.

The pilot climbed down, his bright black and orange jumpsuit did nothing to hide his being. Sasuke stiffened. He was wearing orange. It must be nothing but a coincidence. Orange is a common color. Anybody could love it.

The shiny black helmet prevented anyone from looking at his face. Only a foxy grin could be seen from his face. Gloved hands were put on either side of the helmet, tugging and pushing at the helmet until it finally released a lush of messy blonde hair. Bright blue eyes sparkled as he grinned his apology at Sakura, who was scolding him as of the moment.

Sasuke couldn't find his voice. He had long since believed that Naruto was dead ever since that incident. He had tried so desperately to find him but it was like as if he never existed. Nobody knew him. Nobody would talk about him. Yet right in front of Sasuke…with that same feral grin and whiskered cheeks…with those same eyes of the sky…with those unchanging messy golden locks that never ceased to amaze him with its brightness (9).

"Na…ruto."

The blonde put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, pausing her for a moment. With curious eyes, he walked closer to Sasuke, helmet pressed tightly to his chest. He squinted his eyes and turned his head from one side to another. He walked a couple of steps backward and let out a wondering sigh that sounded more like a cat's purr.

Sasuke smirked. The blonde had not changed much for the past six years. "Dobe."

Naruto's eyes grew wide. The helmet he had been cradling fell without care onto the hard concrete road. It was sure to create a scratch or two. The blonde's breath hitched as though someone was trying to choke the life out of him. His jaw dropped, stupidly preventing air from coming in instead of the other way around.

"Sa...Sa…Sasu—"

(1) Let me just clarify this. It's HIS story. Not THIS but Sasuke's, okay?

(2) The descriptions of Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba and Sakura there are in Sasuke's view and analysis. We all know they're more than that, ne?

(3) The jeep isn't covered, okay? Nor does it have a door. What I mean is that the back board could be opened via flap process. It would be easier to drag Sasuke out of the jeep instead of carrying him, now wouldn't it?

(4) Imagine the Gentle Fist style but cruder. Take taekwondo lessons (or any martial arts for that matter). It'd be easier to describe stances and battle moves ;)

(5) Itoko cousin

(6) Sensei isn't always used for teachers. Just that. In case you ask XP

(7) This is not as light-hearted and humorous as it means. Simply said, to get the best answers, you must give the simplest questions ;P

(8) Go to the site I told you about: It's a 1983 fighter plane ;)

(9) I love Naruto, okay? So regardless of whose point of view it is, may it be Sarutobi's or Kisame's, I shall describe Naru like this.

Can you guess who were the ones chasing Sasuke? XD

Anyway, before any of you protest about the OOCness of Sasuke, let me just tell you something. I believe Sasuke is more human than we all believe and thus, he is feels fear and shows it to the only person he trusts: himself. Oh, and they're not shinobi here, dear, so you can't complain about stamina and whatnot. And his antics? Well, we could have a day-long debate over that :)

Digressing yet again…how do you like my first chappie? I'm using this fic to get a boost back into the fanfic world because I'm dmn tired of reading fics and I wanna write one. I actually have the sketches of the chapters up to the 10th so there's no need to worry about loss of ideas for a while. The chapters will come out a bit late though :)

As for the pairings, well…I do have a few ones in mind. I'm being swayed by my fetish over SasuNaru but I'm still wondering about it because I don't think I'll make a shounen-ai (much less yaoi and lemon) fic. Oh, and please persuade me to refrain from describing Sakura as a 'pink disturbance'