A/N: Whew. Chapter 11 is done! Finally. I've been busy...of course, school stuff. But, I got in a bit of writing over the last week, and here's what I came up with! Warnings? Well, maybe just a few. 1) Sasuke has a sense of humor (oh, no! he couldn't possibly! yes he can!) and therefore, his OOCness continues. 2) Naruto has a working relationship with Kyuubi! (WTF? yeah, I thought the same thing when I came up with the idea, but really, after so long, I think they'd get used to one another. that's not to say that the Kyuubi is actually happy being cooped up in Naruto's body...) 3) Enter that strange and dark figure again... I'm sure that there are other things that I could tell you, but I have to get started with my course work.

Legal Stuffiness: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters therein. Kishimoto Masashi, sole proprietor, and he owns my soul.

Last time...

The fighting stopped for an instant and they took that brief time to see Naruto turn ten shades of red. The fighting resumed soon after, with renewed vigor, everyone ignoring the two people on the floor who were both too mortified at the position they'd fallen in to move. Naruto had, in an attempt to stay upright, grabbed at the person nearest him, and fallen onto his back. What he had actually taken hold of was the sleeve of Hinata's jacket. She had turned, mid-fall, to ensure that she didn't fall badly, but in the process had ended up in a very awkward position: sprawled over Naruto with her jacked halfway unzipped, exposing a lot of mesh shirt and much of what was under it.

Naruto quickly sat up, and shielded Hinata as she zipped her jacket. Surprisingly, she had only blushed a little. All this, Sasuke saw between ducking and dodging pillows swung by Shizune and Kiba, then hitting Neji and running so that he thought Shizune had done it, which got the woman off of him. Her accuracy was deadly.

Orochimaru would not be pleased. The brother had taken away the seal. It seemed that both of the Uchiha were going to have to die, now. The dark figure that stood near a lighted window smiled. It didn't matter how many he had to kill. So long as his master was happy, that's all that he cared about. At the moment, he had to find a way to kill them. It would be difficult to get the younger Uchiha alone, with all of the people who now surrounded him. But, he was still recovering from what the elder had done. The boy would not be up to full strength for at least another day. He had time. The elder of the two presented a larger problem. He had those eyes…
Prodigal Uchiha
Chapter 11: A New Darkness

Sakura sighed. "Kabuto, is there anything else you need to tell me?" He shook his head. "Are you sure? I mean, I can't ever be certain that you're being honest with me." He assured her that he was being completely honest. This was rather boring. She'd beaten up on him, threatened him, and used various forms of genjutsu and torture. This simply wasn't her thing. Let Neji interrogate people. He seemed to enjoy it. She was just tired. Maybe if she asked him some off-the-wall questions, then he might be caught off-guard and tell her something he didn't want to? Hell, it might even be entertaining.

"Why did you go to work for Orochimaru?"

Kabuto eyed her suspiciously. "Because I wanted to. I hate Konoha and everything it stands for." That was simple enough, and straightforward. And definitely not a lie.

"Ok. What is your favorite food?"

"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?" At a warning look from Sakura, he said in a defeated tone, "Smoked tuna rolls." Again, straightforward. What did she have to say to knock him off-blance?

In an exasperatedly off-handed way, she said, "Are you gay?" She said it jokingly, really. Sakura had simply been running out of ideas. But then again, there was a look in his eyes that told her something was up. "Kabuto?"

"What did he tell you?"

"Uh, nothing. Honestly, that question was a joke. What did you do?" He clammed up. Now that was interesting. Sakura took off his glasses and set them on the table. "Now," she said after taking up a red-hot kunai, "Tell me. What did you do?" The tip of the thing glowed as it neared Kabuto's left eye. He began to tremble. When the point was no more than a hair's breadth from his eye, he broke.

"Fine." His eyes flicked to her face. "I kissed him. You happy? I thought there were rules against this sort of thing." She raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought that you were only allowed to extract pertinent information." Her head tilted to one side, and then she knelt in front of him.

"When's the last time you were hurt and couldn't use your regeneration techniques?" Her voice was calm and dangerous.

"About eight years ago."

"Well," she said, with her calm never wavering, "I suppose that you'll just have to get used to the pain." With that, she pressed the hot metal to his forearm, the sizzle of burning flesh filling the room. His mouth and eyes both widened in shock. Sakura knew she was being vindictive, but she couldn't help it. Her hand caught Kabuto's chin, and forced him to look her in the eyes. "That's for kissing Sasuke." Then, she kicked him in the crotch. "And that is for betraying the village." Huffing softly, she dropped the kunai into a bucket of cool water and left the room. That had been nearly pointless. But then again, she discovered something about herself. She had done something quite cruel, and it had felt very, very good.

"Hinata-chan?" The young Hyuuga woman looked up, and smiled when she saw Sakura. "Ohayo, Hinata. How is everyone? Are they nervous? First exam is tomorrow." She had just finished giving her report to Tsunade, and had the rest of the day off. Hinata stood from her seat on the front porch of the house. She had taken the week off from teaching the little kunoichis, to help Sasuke's team train, and get the house in order for her distant cousin. Sakura felt a little twinge of guilt that she'd been so busy. She felt that it was her job to do those things, not Hinata's. She felt like she was inconveniencing her friend.

In a quiet voice, Hinata said, "They're fine. The last couple of days, they've been resting." Sakura raised a questioning eyebrow. Sasuke, rest? She suddenly wondered what was going on. He never rested unless it was absolutely necessary, and even with all of the changes that he had obviously gone through, she was sure that that was at least one of the few things that had stayed the same.

"Has anything happened? It isn't like him to rest this close to an important exam."

Hinata shook her head. "It isn't my place to say anything about that. I'll take you to Sasuke. He's been in the garden since dawn." She followed Hinata through the house to the large courtyard garden. She blinked in surprise. The last time she had seen this place, it had been full of weeds. Now, the black earth was visible, and there were new little plants everywhere. Over near the tree, there were banks of violets, to grow in the shade. Other flowering plants were scattered around, but it seemed that Sasuke had developed a fondness for different kinds of climbing vines. There were small structures erected to allow vines to twist around, traveling slowly skyward. Several types of ornamental grasses bordered the pathways in some places as well.

In the middle of it all was Sasuke. He was on his knees in the dirt, his shirt thrown aside, a light sheen of sweat over his skin. It appeared that he had opted to twist his hair into a messy top-knot to keep it off of his shoulders. Hinata left with a soft goodbye, and Sakura stood watching him for a moment. Something seemed different about him. The stiffness and tension in his movements was gone. He seemed relaxed, but was that it? As she walked over to where he was, she saw it. His curse seal was gone. In its place was a scar in the same shape, but the seal itself was completely absent. Her feet crunched on the stones of the path, and he looked around. When Sasuke saw her, he smiled. It wasn't his old smirking smile, but a genuine easy and open one that fit his face well.

He rose, brushing his hands off on his pants. "Ohayo, Sakura."

"Ohayo, Sasuke. Your garden is beautiful." He smiled happily. It was obvious that he loved the work. She could not remember a time when he seemed so at ease. It might have been the fact that he was home, or that his seal was gone, or that all of his friends were around him, or all of those things. Or none. She just wasn't sure what had him looking so content.

He took a few steps toward her, coming to rest less than a foot away. "I missed you." Sasuke said simply, his voice calm and deep. He brushed a stray hair from her face. In spite of her shock at his open expression of affection, she smiled up at him, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"I missed you too, Sasuke." She made a face. "I just got finished interrogating Kabuto. Ugh. I hate interrogations. Got some interesting information out of him, though." Sakura looked at the flowers nearby, allowing her voice to trail off, as if she hadn't really quite finished speaking. When she looked back at him, he had one eyebrow raised.

"And what would that be?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh, it isn't that important. But it is interesting…" She kept her face straight, and her voice level, without even the merest hint of amusement. This was quite a feat, since she felt the giggles bubbling up in her stomach, waiting to be released.

"What did he tell you?" His eyes narrowed, voice suspicious.

Squinting her eyes at him, she said, "He told me that you kissed him." Oh, that was difficult. How she didn't laugh, she had no idea. His jaw fell open and he blinked repeatedly. This only lasted for a moment, since he recovered quickly, anger slithering over his features.

"Oh, no. He kissed me. Not the other way around. That lying jackass…just wait until I get my hands—" She couldn't hold it in any longer. Her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground, laughing so hard that she couldn't breathe. The rocks from the path were digging into her knees, but she didn't really feel them. What she did feel was Sasuke picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of rice.

She suddenly stopped laughing. "W-what are you doing, Sasuke?"

"Teaching you a lesson." His voice held more amusement than it should for that statement. He walked through the house to the back yard, and to the pond, then out onto the dock. When she realized what he was going to do, she started to struggle. His grip was like steel, and she couldn't get free. After a moment, he paused, and said, "Stop struggling, Sakura, and take your punishment." Grudgingly, she went limp. Then, he tossed her into the pond.

She hit the water before she was able to gather chakra to her feet and land on the surface of the pond. After the initial splash, she came up sputtering and cursing. "Damn it, Sasuke! It was a joke!" She huffed and slapped at the water, splashing in irritation. "Now all of my kunai and shiruken are wet. My scrolls, too."

"Ooops." He was still rather amused when she hauled herself up onto the planking of the dock. With a sardonic grin, she unzipped her chuunin vest and pulled it off. After squeezing as much water out of it as she could, she laid it out to dry. She did the same for the rest of her uniform, not really noticing the surprised look on Sasuke's face. She did see it when she turned around, though. On an impulse, she decided that revenge sounded really nice.

"You know," she said, sauntering over to Sasuke and supressing a smile at the uncomfortable expression on his face, "I think you need a bath." She tackled him and they both landed in the water with a splash. When they resurfaced, she laughed. "Ha! Revenge is mine!" He glared at her after blinking the water out of his eyes. His hair had come out of his top-knot, and was now plastered wetly in messy tangles all over his head, especially his face. Sasuke dove under the water, and came back up, face now clear of hair.

"I suppose you think you're pretty clever?" She nodded, smiling and trying hard not to laugh at him. He looked like a sulky five-year-old. "We'll see about that." He started swimming back to the dock, but suddenly dove under the water, and Sakura's eyes narrowed. What was he up to? She found that out quickly enough. His hands closed on her ankles, and pulled her under. Without the chance to take a breath before going under, she began to panic, and she struggled. She flailed her arms, kicked and may have scratched him a few times. It took a few seconds for Sasuke to clamp her arms to her sides. In a moment, she felt hands on her face, and then lips closed on hers, forcing her mouth open. Sasuke breathed into her mouth, and she calmed, at least having some oxygen.

When she opened her eyes, all she could see in the dark water was the vague shape of Sasuke's face, and the dark spots that were his eyes. They kicked to the surface, and when she could breathe air again, she gulped it in greedily. She looked over at him, frowning. "Please don't do that. I nearly drowned once when I was little." He nodded, and she started swimming for the dock again. Then, Sakura felt Sasuke's hand on her arm. Turning around in the water, she faced him.

For a long moment, he only looked at her. "Are you angry with me?" His voice quiet, with an almost fearful tone to it.

"Not really. It's just that it's scary. Of all ways to die, I think I'd least prefer drowning." He flinched when she mentioned dying. She nearly sighed. It was going to take some getting used to him showing his emotions so easily. "Thank you for helping me to breathe."

Sasuke watched her climb back up onto the dock. He tried not to, really. It was just that, well, it was distracting. Her bra and panties were white, and when white gets wet…stop it, Sasuke. You're worse than Kakashi! He mentally slapped himself. What was worse was when she started trying to put her wet pants back on, and ended up having to hop around to pull them up. He had to look away when she did that. When she was fully dressed, she looked down at him, pouting. "I have to go home and change. I'll be back in a little while." When she turned to leave, he called out to her.

"Sakura, wait."

"Yes?"

"If you like, you can borrow something." She shook her head, saying that his clothes wouldn't fit her. He frowned, glancing around for something to give him an idea of how to keep her here. It had been days since he'd seen her, and he didn't want her to leave. Suddenly, an idea came to him. After biting his lip for a moment and silently asking forgiveness, he said, "My mother was just about your size. You could borrow something of hers."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Are you sure about that?" She fidgeted with the edge of her vest, looking very uncomfortable, and not only because of her clothes. He nodded, and started to pull himself from the pond. He looked at her, and smiled. It seemed to reassure her.

"I don't think she would mind." Her face flashed through his mind. Her warm, dark eyes, and the way she used to smile at him when she would try to make him act like the kid he was, and not a shorter version of Itachi…those were the things he always remembered. "She would have liked you, I think." Sakura nodded. As they walked back to the house, their feet making watery noises in their shoes, he told her some things about his mother. She used to make the best onigiri, which he really missed. Her cooking was how she really showed how much she loved him and the rest of the family.

"And she would always wipe my face, even if we were in public. It was embarrassing. Did your mom ever do that to you?" He looked to her, and she nodded. There was a strange look on her face, one that he could not place. She kept looking away from him. He sensed some anxiety from her, but he couldn't figure out why she would be anxious. "Is everything all right, Sakura?"

She looked at him for a moment, not really seeing him. "Hai. I'm fine. Just thinking." They continued walking to the house in silence. When they got there, they left their shoes outside to dry.

Sasuke said, "We're going to have to make a run for it. Both of us are soaked."

"Lead the way." She giggled. How she found this fun, he would never understand. He took off running through the house, trying not to fling water everywhere, or to stay too long in one spot. To his surprise, it seemed to be working. When they came to his room, they stood panting for a moment and then Sakura asked him where the bathroom was. He pointed to the door on the far wall, and she went in. In a moment, he had shed all of his clothes, and belted a robe around himself. He knocked on the door to the bathroom. "Yes?"

"I'm going to go find something for you, okay?"

"Hai." Her voice was muffled not only by the door, but also by the shower, which was now turned on. Putting on an old pair of slippers, he walked down the hallway to the stairs that led to the attic. When he opened the door, he looked around at the dust that covered everything. He remembered where many of the things he'd dragged up here were, so he headed straight over to the trunks where his mother's things were kept. The first one held a few house dresses, and a lot of shoes. He shook his head at that. His mother loved her shoes.

The next trunk had an assortment of kimono, and other associated articles. None of them looked quite right. His mother's taste in clothing had been affected by being married to his father. When he was very small, he thought he remembered her wearing lighter, or brighter colors. But later on, she just started to wear the darker grays and blues that his father favored. Finally, at the very bottom of the trunk, there was something he thought she might like.

A pale blue box, wide and flat. He nearly choked when he opened it. His mother's favorite festival kimono, the same color as the box, lay inside. It was of a heavy silk, and the pattern of golden lilies that trailed along the sleeves and hemline would really be beautiful against Sakura's skin. The white obi had gold embroidery that was set in a squarish geometric pattern. It was all a bit old-fashioned, but he hoped that she would want to wear it and not go home. Not that he was ready to say anything like that out loud. It took a lot just for him to say he missed her, let alone practically beg her to stay.

Throwing the obi over his shoulder, he shook out the kimono. It had a few wrinkles, but he could fix that. Surprisingly, the thing didn't smell musty. He took the rest of the things out, and looked at them all. How did women wear all of this? After replacing the box, he carefully folded everything again and went back down the stairs. When he got to the laundry room, he pulled down the ironing board and took out the iron. Spreading the kimono inside out over the board, he smoothed the wrinkles with gentle heat from the iron and water that he sprinkled over the cloth. In less than ten minutes, it looked just as it had the last time his mother had worn it. Placing it on a hanger, he took it and the obi back to his bedroom.

He knocked, and was admitted. Sakura was wearing one of his shirts. "Here, Sakura. This was my mother's." Her eyes widened, and she smiled, taking it.

"Arigato, Sasuke." She leaned over to him and gave him a small kiss. "I'll be out in a moment." It took more than a moment to put on the kimono, obi, obiage, obijime, and all of the other things he had given her. Twenty minutes later, Sakura emerged from the bathroom, and though she did have a mild look of irritation in her eyes from the amount of time it had taken, Sasuke didn't care. She looked beautiful. He allowed himself to smile, but then realized he wouldn't have been able to stop himself. She saw him looking at her, and she shifted her feet.

"Do I look alright?" Sakura bit her lip nervously. Sasuke nodded. That seemed to make her happy. "Are you going to get dressed? I mean, it's not fair for you to be able to laze about in a robe while I'm all trussed up like this." Sasuke laughed.

He moved to the closet, and reached in. Sakura shoved him out of the way. "Hmm. You need color, Sasuke. Not like Naruto or anything, but have you ever considered wearing green?"

"I look like I'm going to vomit if I wear green, Sakura. Look how pale I am." He pointed to his face, and she nodded. He wasn't just pale. He was transparent. Too much time indoors coupled with his naturally fair skin had caused him not to have a very healthy look to him at all. His skin seemed to take on some of the color of whatever he was wearing. He gently nudged her aside, and chose a pair of light gray hakama and a long-sleeved blue shirt, a shade or two darker than her kimono. Then he went to a drawer and took out a pair of tabi, because his feet were cold. "Now, I'll be out in a few minutes. Why don't you go into the living room for a bit and talk to Hinata?" She nodded, and left the room.

Ten minutes later, he was in the living room door, watching Sakura sitting in a chair near the window, watching the street. She was painfully beautiful. He remembered well how he made himself forget her; telling himself that there was nothing other than power. The only conclusion he could come up with was that he had been delusional. He was grateful to her for bringing him back, but he loved her too, so much he found himself wishing that she could stay with him forever. But that was what scared him, really. Everything he had ever really wanted for himself had been taken from him at some point. And if that ever happened to Sakura, if she was taken from him, he knew that he would die.

Sakura turned away from the window, and smiled when she saw him. There is a way to have her stay forever, you know…He thought this, but was he really ready for that? Baka. You're never ready for that. Just do it! Sasuke's heart started to beat a skipping rhythm, and he tried to calm himself. What if she said no? This wasn't the same Sakura he used to know. She very well might turn him down. He wasn't the same Sasuke anymore, either, which begged the question of if she still loved him in the same way. He silently prayed that she did.

"Sasuke? Are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost." Sakura stood and walked gracefully over to him, then led him to sit on the couch. There was concern in her eyes when she looked at him. Sasuke thought he must really look bad if she was that fearful.

Nodding, he said, "Hai, Sakura. I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About what?" She said as she held his hand.

"You." He watched her eyes grow large, and she bit her lip. "I'm fine. Really. I just don't want anything to happen to you." Sakura looked at him dubiously.

"I can take care of myself. You know that." She was trying to reassure him, but it wasn't working. The only way he would know that she was safe would be if she was with him. He took her in his arms and held her close. She felt wonderful. There was an almost sick feeling in his stomach. Nothing that felt this good was ever meant to last. How did he explain that to her? If he were to tell her, would she understand?

"You're strong, Sakura, I know that. But I've had everything taken from me, more than once. I don't want to lose you." His voice was a hoarse whisper, and he pulled her tighter against him. "I don't want you to leave me." She lifted her head from where it had been resting on his chest, and stared into his eyes. Those liquid pools of green were pulling him in, and for once, he let himself be pulled. One hand held her around her waist, the other moving up to the nape of her neck, pulling her to him for a kiss that was at once gentle and possessive. When Sasuke pulled himself away from her, he smiled faintly at the look on her face. It was surprised and happy.

"Sakura?"

"Mm?"

"Will you stay with me?" He saw confusion in her eyes. "I mean...I love you, and I want you to always be with me, Sakura." Sasuke braced himself. The confusion in her eyes multiplied. He swallowed the lump in his throat, only to have it return immediately. Her eyes seemed to lose focus, and she gripped his arm. Only too late, he realized that she was about to faint. Of all the reactions he'd expected, this was not one of them. She just sort of collapsed in a boneless heap into his arms, and he was at a loss as to what he should do.

When he began lightly tapping her face with the palm of his hand, she came to quickly enough. The confusion was still there, and she blinked owlishly at him. "Sasuke, did you just ask me what I think you did?" He nearly laughed as he nodded, settling on a smile, instead.

"I'm hoping to actually make chuunin this time around. After that, I can work for a while, then hopefully take the jounin exam. Once I'm a jounin, would you marry me?" He was sure that she would want to be comfortable, and since his inheritance was nearly spent, there was the problem of having a steady income. Sasuke looked expectantly at her. She punched him hard in the chest, without warning, and he could hardly breathe.

"Uchiha Sasuke, why would you even think, even for one second, that I would want to wait that long? It might be years before they let you take the jounin exam." When he started gasping for breath, she smirked. "Quit being such a baby. I didn't even use a third of my strength." He knew what her full strength could do, and he wasn't keen on being on the receiving end of that kind of a beating just now.

"You don't care if I can't support us?" His voice was incredulous.

Sakura's eyes rolled. "Baka, do you think I'm going to quit my job just because I'd be getting married? If that's what you're thinking, try again. Yes, I'll marry you, but you're going to have to get rid of all these ideas you have about being the 'breadwinner.' Just because your father did, it doesn't mean you have to. Okay?" Then, she leaned forward and kissed him, making him forget the pain in his chest. When they separated, she gave him a questioning look, wanting an answer.

"Uh-huh." God, he sounded like Naruto, but it wasn't like he could help it. This was a special circumstance, and he thought he could afford to sound stupid, just this once. After all, he was in uncharted territory. He had never had a girlfriend, let alone a fiancé or a wife. So there was the likelihood that he might hurt her, or that she would beat him to death. But then again, this was Sakura, so the chances of her actually beating him to death were slim.

"What are you two doing?" Hanabi had just come in, fresh from checking in with her genin team. She said that they didn't have to train much together just now. Sasuke had brushed it off. He wished her well in the exam, and hoped that they didn't end up at odds with one another during the second part. She was very unpredictable.

"None of your business, miss busy-body." Sakura stuck her tongue out at the girl. Hanabi made a rude gesture, smiling the entire time. Sasuke watched the exchange with amazement. "How are your teammates, Hanabi-chan?"

Waving a dismissive hand, Hanabi said, "They're just as stupid as usual. Keiko is drooling over that moron again." 'That moron' was Ishida, the third part of Hanabi's genin team. He was similar to Naruto, but actually had much better problem-solving skills. He just chose not to use them most of the time, opting for satisfying his morbid curiosity. One example of said curiosity was last month's Ishida adventure. Hanabi had told them earlier that the month before, Ishida had repelled down the Hokage Monument with a rope that was too short, then simply let go. He had been fifty meters from the ground. It was a very good thing that the boy had mastered gathering chakra into his feet, because otherwise he would have killed himself. As it was, he had jumped higher than anyone Hanabi had ever seen.

Keiko, on the other hand, was a boy-crazy genjutsu user. In spite of the fact that she had the attention span of a three-year old, she had mastered such high-level genjutsu that she often was asked by Iruka to demonstrate for some of the higher-level academy students. Keiko's infatuation with Ishida was legendary. She was the only fangirl he had, but he still ran from her as hard and as fast as he could, which reminded Sasuke a little of himself. Ishida was of the opinion that there would be plenty of time for girls later, and that he was having a great time pulling pranks and being a complete moron by himself. Konohamaru could only wish to be as outrageous.

"So, Sasuke, when you're done with the exams, I take it the others will go home?" Sakura asked, eyebrow raised.

"I'm not running a commune, Sakura. They have parents, and homes." She smiled at him, but seemed a little disappointed. "It is nice having people in the place again, though." He could hear Konohamaru and Moegi arguing distantly, and he thought he saw out the window Sonora gathering insects. "It feels alive. If the others want to take up residence in any of the other houses, they could possibly do that, and pay rent. I wouldn't have any objection to that." His home used to be so quiet, with no sound at all, other than the hum of the electricity if he had lights on, or his own footsteps. Now, there were voices, people, and friends.

It was the fact that he had friends now that he was grateful for. He had Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi when the man felt like popping up, and hopefully soon he could count Konohamaru and Moegi among his friends. Ino was his friend now, too, and while it was frightening how that came about, he at least knew that he could talk to her. The rest of the Rookie Nine were more like acquaintances, unless you counted Hinata. She was like a little sister. For a moment, that thought felt very nice. He would have liked a sister. It had been only he and Itachi, but he remembered wanting to have a sister (mostly just to have a change from just Itachi).

Hanabi sat in one of the chairs opposite the couch, regarding them with her enigmatic white eyes. "You're going to be a landlord? That would be interesting. But I won't be staying. In fact, Hinata and I are going home tonight. The exam is tomorrow, so I need to have some peaceful time." She leaned back in the chair. "Would anyone be interested in lunch?"

They all went into the kitchen, and Sasuke watched Sakura and Hanabi making lunch. He really did like having people around. It was wonderful how his life had changed so much in a very short amount of time. It was all strange and new to him, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"What?" Naruto asked, as he came to stand next to Neji. The man was examining a spot of ground outside the Uchiha main house. He looked as if he were staring into the ground, rather than at it. For all Naruto knew, he probably was.

He pointed at the patch of earth. "There is a very faint residue of chakra here. I've never seen anything like it. It's like it's black, or something. I don't like it. Gives me a feeling like what I had when you had us all go inside the other day." Naruto nodded. He bent down, and put a hand to the ground. Closing his eyes, he woke up the Kyuubi.

What do you want, pipsqueak?

Look at this. Have you ever seen anything like it? The fox used the contact with the ground to 'look' at the chakra signature. It seemed to back away, hissing. What is it?

You don't want to deal with that thing, kid. It'll eat you alive. Literally. Kyuubi grumbled for a long moment, and then spoke again. It's something that shouldn't be alive. And really, it isn't. If it's here, your friend is in trouble. I don't know what humans call it. I call it the Soul Eater. When I was only a kit, I watched from the shadows as others were devoured. You don't want to mess with that thing. You wouldn't be able to see it, even with me to help you. There are only two people you know who can. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going back to sleep, kid. 'Night. Before he could ask the fox what to do about the Soul Eater, or how it worked, or anything, the fox had already gone back to sleep. He stood from his crouched position, brushing off his hands.

"Neji, I think we've got a problem." The other man's eyes widened. "Where's Hinata?"

"In the main house, why?"

"I need her to go to the library." He adjusted his gloves nervously. "I'll be back. I'm going ask her to do a little research for me. This is bad, and I need to know more." And with that, he left Neji, who was becoming more paranoid by the second. He was back at the Uchiha main house in moments. When he went in through the back door, he found Hinata in the tearoom. "Hinata-chan!" She looked up from her tea, and seemed startled. Naruto ripped off his mask, and walked over to the table, seating himself near her. "I need to ask a favor of you."

"Certainly. What do you need?" She set down her tea, to give him her undivided attention.

"I need you to go to the library in the Hokage Tower. There's something I need to know about. Kyuubi calls it a Soul Eater. I know that it 'eats' people, but he didn't tell me how, and he said that only two people I know will be able to see it. That could be anyone. Would you be able to go and look up something like that for me?" He chewed on his lower lip, waiting for a response.

Hinata smiled slightly. "I don't think that will be necessary. We only need to visit someone. Can you leave your patrol for about an hour or so?" Naruto nodded. If it had to do with this, he was sure he could. He would just have to radio Neji and the others. "Good. Then we'll go and see Ebisu."

Naruto started. "That pervert knows about this stuff?" Hinata bubbled laughter.

"He isn't just a pervert, Naruto-kun. Ebisu knows many things. And not many people know it, but he's an expert on many myths and legends, as well as on the demons, such as the one you have in here." She put her hand on his stomach, and he could feel the warmth of it through his shirt. He smiled at her, and she blushed slightly.

"Thank you, Hinata-chan. I'll just go change, now. Not that many people need to know that I'm an ANBU." It was true. More people than should knew that he was, and normally, he would have to either kill them, or take them to the Hokage. However, it was not necessary to do either with this group of people. They needed to know. So, he allowed Hinata to finish her tea, and he went to another room to radio Neji, then change his clothes into a normal chuunin uniform. Then he and Hinata left the house to go and visit Ebisu. Naruto hoped that the man had information for them. If he didn't, he'd have to put up with the way the older man looked at him for no good reason.

A/N: Hooray for Naruto! I love that kid, don't you? Still makes Hinata blush...every now and again. And Sasuke? Well, I guess we all have to grow up some time, right?