Disclaimer:Naruto and all its characters are the properties of Masashi Kishimoto. No profit is made off of this fan-fiction story. Any additional original characters located in this story are designated at such and belong to the author, Jae (Dirtyangel).

A/N: Another week and another chapter! This is just another set up installment and the story will move along in the next chapter round. Enjoy, and I hope that all of you that live on the eastern coast of the US like me made it out all right from Frankenstorm Sandy. Take care! (Also be sure to check out my profile and follow me on Twitter to keep up with chapter updates.)

Beta'd version

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VI.

How It Was And Is

Sasuke observed the silhouetted figures mulling around the inn room behind drawn window curtains. He absently twirled a kunai around one finger and then flipped its handle into his hand. A glance at his watch told him that it was a quarter past seven. If Naruto stuck to his routine, the blond would have his kid in bed by seven-thirty.

For the past four days Sasuke had been taking up watch of Naruto's activities while he was under house-arrest. After he and the Hyuugas apprehended Naruto, the Godaime made the decision to place the missing-nin in one of the village's many ninja-friendly lodgings. This particular inn was not too far from the Hokage's Tower and was small enough to keep track of Naruto's movements. It wasn't too small, however, for the owners to become suspicious. As far as they were concerned, both father and son were the visiting relatives of some jounin that didn't have the space to accommodate them.

It was Sasuke's opinion that civilians were too nosy for his liking. He barely had the chance to plant his surveillance tags prior to Naruto's check-in without the inn owner's wife wanting to engage him in conversation. For the sake of his assignment, he allowed the woman to give him a full tour of the place. It gave Sasuke the opportunity to take in all the possible exits someone with Naruto's skill might think of using. At the end of the tour, the jounin had left the woman with the impression that he would keep her business in mind when recommending lodging to friends and co-workers. That was highly unlikely.

Sasuke turned his attention to the three other kunai that were pinned to the side of the wooden water tank he was perched on. Each had a tag that hung from its handle—one for each area he had placed a corresponding tag within the inn: The reception area, the dining parlor, the upstairs hallway, and Naruto's room. The tags had a simple jutsu applied to them. Whenever Naruto entered or left an area containing one of Sasuke's surveillance tags, the tag attached to the respective kunai would become active. At the moment, the tag attached to the kunai he held was the one glowing.

Normally, using this method to track specific chakra would require a more refined technique; but, Naruto's chakra signature was so large that the basics were all that was needed. In fact, Sasuke found his chakra to be too large. During their chase a few days ago, he had analyzed Naruto's chakra with his Sharingan. There was an odd blue-violet glow to the blond's chakra, and it extended a few inches off of his body. He knew that because of the Kyuubi, the other man had a robust chakra store, but Sasuke didn't remember it being like this.

What could have caused such an abnormality?

The jounin grimaced and set the thought aside. This was yet another question that Naruto needed to answer—one more thing that irked Sasuke about seeing him again. Sasuke flipped the kunai in his hand a second time before nailing it to the side of the tank with the others.

The main reason he volunteered to be a part of this twenty-four hour surveillance of Naruto was because he wanted to make his own observations. After eleven years—four of which he spent searching for Naruto—Sasuke needed to assess him at a comfortable distance. Any time spent in close proximity with Naruto would inspire an anger so fierce that he knew he would physically assault the man. It was like Itachi all over again. Here was someone else who had abruptly changed his life, and then disappeared.

Sasuke smiled bitterly at the thought of his brother.

A soft hiss came from one of the tagged kunai. He furrowed his brows and looked over at them curiously. The tag monitoring Naruto's room had stopped glowing, and none of the others lit up. Sasuke turned back to the window in time to see a figure crouched on the sill, pulling one of the panes shut. The hint of yellow hair that caught the moonlight left no doubt as to who it was. Sasuke tsked in disdain and pushed himself off of the water tank. Leave it to Naruto to upset anything that had the semblance of a schedule.

Within a few seconds Sasuke cleared the two rooftops between the inn and his surveillance spot. Just as Naruto made his way onto the tiled roof of the inn, the dark-haired nin landed three feet in front of him. The blond looked at him cautiously but did not make a move to run. Sasuke stared back at him with a cool expression.

"So I see that you were close by," Naruto stated, gauging the other. He was dressed only in a shirt and a pair of pajama pants. Compared to Sasuke's full jounin attire, he looked vulnerable.

"Are you upset about that?" Sasuke said sardonically.

Naruto's eyes lit up with irritation, and he frowned. "Actually, no, teme," he folded his arms defensively, "I was hoping you were so I could get your attention easier."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him.

"Were you? That sounds like a really shitty escape plan, dobe," he placed an emphasis on the insult. He didn't miss Naruto's use of his old jab. It annoyed Sasuke. They weren't kids again making friendly banter. "Regardless of where you are, you're still a prisoner and leaving your 'cell' will be interpreted negatively."

"But you're not the type of guy to act rashly before you think, Sasuke. At least, not normally. So I didn't see it being interpreted too badly."

Naruto saw the subtle twinge in his former teammate's jaw that indicated his annoyance. Sasuke never did like it when someone felt they had an advantage with him. When the jounin flipped the flap of his kunai pouch up and flicked one of the knives into his hand, Naruto wanted to roll his eyes. He held his hands up in a placating manner.

"Listen, I only wanted to talk. I don't plan on going anywhere or fighting anyone," Naruto said.

"Your lips are moving, but I haven't heard anything relevant yet, Uzumaki," Sasuke took a menacing step forward.

Naruto hesitated, unsure. He knew Sasuke could be obstinate on principle, but he didn't know how far he wanted to push his luck. The blond swallowed.

"I just want to know how much longer I'm going to be here. It's fine if you keep me holed up in this inn for weeks but at least allow me to send my son home if that's gonna be the case."

Sasuke narrowed his dark eyes and watched him suspiciously.

"And where exactly is home?" he asked.

Naruto's lips pressed into a thin line, and he remained silent for a moment. Everywhere he turned, there were persistent questions. He understood why they were being asked; he had a lot to answer for, but he just wasn't ready yet.

His eyes didn't stray from Sasuke's face as he stood there. Now that Naruto was no longer caught up in the initial rush of being brought back, he could finally look at him. Cold eyes and a dark expression. That was signature Sasuke. Always stoic.

Except for once. At the Valley of the End, when Sasuke wasn't stoic. In the rain and among the aftermath of their fight, Sasuke had just been...sad. Naruto remembered sitting on the water's edge, covered in mud and blood, shoulder to shoulder with his friend—saying nothing while the rain ran down their faces. It had been the most honest moment shared between them.

Thinking about that time made Naruto's mouth go dry. Guilt crashed into the pit of his stomach like a lead weight. He couldn't look Sasuke in the eye anymore.

"It's further south. Thirty-two kilometers northwest from Tea Country."

Sasuke's glare eased slightly. He'd only half expected his question to be answered.

Thirty-two kilometers northwest of Tea Country. That was in the southern handle of Fire Country where there lay mostly marshes and rice farmland; the backwaters of Fire.

"That's four days travel by train from Fire proper," Sasuke said, straightening his stance to a more passive one. He still kept the kunai prepped in his hand.

"It's an additional three days by foot. Two days if you manage to catch a carriage on the way to the next rail town."

The dark-haired ninja was silent, thinking on this new information. He said nothing for three breaths before replying; "That's a long way to send a kid by himself."

Taking note of Sasuke's abandoned stance, Naruto relaxed a bit. Though, he wasn't foolish enough to let his guard down.

"I don't plan to," he said, then quickly added, "All I want is to ask Tsunade to allow me to send a message to my wife's family to come get him."

Reflexively, Sasuke's eyes shifted to the silver ring on the blond's left hand. Sakura had informed him of her conversation with Naruto and him being a widower. It had never occurred to Sasuke that Naruto would get married and start a family. The idea itself was strange. In fact, Sasuke thought it was unfortunate.

He stared at Naruto contemplatively. His temperament hadn't improved since the beginning of their discussion; and it pissed him off that Naruto felt he still understood him enough to predict his reactions. The desire to strike the man was beginning its move from being a distant thought to a possible action. But he was more rational than that.

Sasuke's expression went neutral again, and he placed the kunai back into his pouch. The jounin watched the muscles in Naruto's shoulders loosen when he did so. He took some pleasure in knowing that the blond was at least on edge.

"You could have spoken to Kakashi in the morning about this rather than pull your little stunt."

"I could've, but I wanted to talk to you," Naruto said, guileless.

Sasuke was unmoved. What was it to him if Naruto wanted to talk? He hadn't been the one who left.

"Tch, you say that as if we're still friends."

Some of the anger that simmered in him made its way into his voice. His words came out harsh, more than Sasuke had intended. Naruto visibly flinched.

The blond blinked, surprised at how venomous that response was. He felt confused. Why was Sasuke so angry with him? Since the moment they had crossed paths again he had encountered nothing but aggression from him. At times it bordered on contempt. Sakura said that Sasuke had been the one to find his note so many years ago—that he had been the first to read it. Didn't he understand? Naruto had left because he loved them.

He suddenly felt angry.

"What are you getting at, Uchiha?" Naruto demanded. "Being pissed about me tryin' to run I can understand, but to think I'm not your friend? I've always been your friend and I have always cared about you. Always!"

In his anger, he had cleared the distance between them, but did not notice until he felt Sasuke's forearm shoved against his throat, with a kunai held centimeters from his face. The ninja glared at him with a deadly look in his eye.

"Watch yourself. It won't be the first time I've had to subdue a prisoner," Sasuke's voice was hushed but filled with ill-intent. It immediately sobered Naruto, making him step back in concession.

Sasuke's patience was now at its limit.

"You'll see the Godaime before your interrogation tomorrow. You can plead your case then," he said.

This shocked Naruto. "Interrogation? Tomorrow? Why wasn't I told about this before?"

Sasuke regarded him impatiently. "Maybe you should have tried to speak to Kakashi instead of me."

With those words, their conversation was over. If Naruto attempted any further words with the jounin, he knew that it would come to blows and that wasn't ideal for his current situation. One thing he could definitively say about Sasuke in their development into adults is that the man had mastered the art of being a dick. Naruto shook his head in disgust and began to backtrack to the edge of the inn roof. He kept his eyes on Sasuke, wondering to himself about how things had come to this. Had he not made the right decision eleven years ago? His best friend seemed to be filled with more anger now than when they had first met back at the Academy. In the back of his mind, Naruto questioned if part of it was his fault.

When the back of his foot touched the edge of the roof tile, he stopped. He glanced down to make sure he was over the right window. Naruto hoped Kanaye had remained asleep while he was up here. The last thing he needed was a curious seven year-old who wouldn't go back to bed. After one last look at Sasuke, he jumped back off the roof, landing in a crouch on the wide lip of his room window's outer sill.

He huffed out a frustrated breath.

If he was honest with himself, a rush went through him each time he fell back into his old shinobi habits. There was no dashing through tree branches and leaping off of roofs in the quiet farming village he'd settled in. At times he had found himself unknowingly using chakra to keep his feet above water in the rice paddy fields. It was this type of feeling that kept him torn between trying to leave and wanting to stay.

All these thoughts were shoved aside when he realized one of the window panes was already open. Alert, he pushed the curtain to the side. The room looked exactly the way he had left; Kanaye sleeping soundly in one bed and empty sheets on the other. Naruto eyed the interior dubiously.

He hopped in off of the outer sill onto to the wooden floor, then pivoted his hip to the left to grab the figure standing in the shadows on the other side of the window. A hand reached up to parry his attack but Naruto was ready with his right fist to punch the intruder in the jaw. When it connected, instead of the person falling to the floor, there was a small pop and a puff of smoke.

A shadow clone?

"You can never be too careful, Naruto." Sasuke's voice drifted in to the room.

Naruto stuck his head back out the window and looked up. The jounin was looking down at him from the edge of the roof, an amused smirk on his face. Naruto thought he appeared every bit like the cocky asshole he was prone to be. He glared at him.

"Teme!"

Sasuke was unfazed by his curse. "Try to stay inside this time. I'm not in the mood to talk anymore."

He was gone in a wisp of smoke.

Naruto scowled and gripped the edge of the window, irate. How could he forget how spiteful Sasuke could be? Sometimes people just never changed, or refused to.

He gritted his teeth. After several minutes his irritation deflated and he felt very, very tired. Tomorrow they were going to interrogate him. What else did they have in mind after that?

Naruto knew he had to get his son back home soon before anything serious happened. So much for their father-son bonding trip around Fire Country.

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