I don't know how to ride a motorcycle, Sasuke thought to himself unhappily. He didn't want to ride a motorcycle. If Itachi were here, they would have already found a way back to Konoha. Akamaru would have never turned into an Octopus who liked to chase the clowns around with large knives, and Kiba would be less depressed about life.

If Itachi had been around, they would have never touched seals. Really if any of the Uchiha had caught them they would probably have hidden the seals away in some secret dojo only the Hokage knew about. Kiba and Sasuke would have been reprimanded and all would be correct in the world. He could hear the ghost laughter of Shisui and the feeling of Itachi's reprimanding glare.

"Your brother is so scary," Kiba laughed. "I'm glad it's you I'm stuck with."

Sasuke refused to acknowledge the warmth that bloomed in his chest. He wouldn't want to be stuck with anyone else either. Even Itachi, as much as he loved him, was a control freak who wouldn't allow them to have fun. Sakura wouldn't have been too bad though, but the thought of her seeing the thoughts in his mind made him shudder. Much worse would have been Naruto being the one stuck in his head, Sasuke was sure he would have done something drastic. Like experiment with seals again.

Anything would have been better than being stuck with Naruto for a prolonged period of time. The feeling of agreement from Kiba was nice, Sasuke enjoyed being right.

But back to their current problem. Neither Sasuke nor Kiba knew how to ride a motorcycle. It seemed similar to a bicycle so in theory it should have been easy to use. It couldn't be as hard as tree walking, that's for sure.

"Tree walking was a piece of cake." Kiba commented.

It really wasn't. Embarrassing as it is to admit tree walking had taken him a while to learn. Even now it made him nervous just at the thought of being thrown off the tree.

He could feel Kiba laughing, that asshole. This is what he gets with being honest with him.

"We're getting off track again."

Right the motorcycle.

As easy as tree walking and as smooth as riding a bicycle. I've got this, Sasuke thought. So easy.

It was very difficult.

At least it went smoothly at first, actually riding the bike wasn't so bad. Kiba couldn't take control of their shared body but he could somewhat possess it. The muscle memory of balance wasn't there so they did fall off the bike a few times. Kiba ended up having to take control of their muscles to guide them onto the bike without falling. After a lot of trial and error they were on the road.

Riding the bike was amazing. Faster and faster Sasuke would push on the gas pedal and watch as the world flew by him. The screams Kiba let out were so loud that Sasuke was sure that everyone could hear him. Akamaru had decided to stick to the back of the bike as well. Sasuke could only hope he hadn't somehow fallen off. They had just retrieved the dog - octopus? - he would rather not have to go and find him again. It was a lot of effort to stop Akamaru from trying to stab any of the circus clowns, they were trying to stay in the circus not run from the law because of murder.

"We totally need one of these for when we go back home!" Kiba hollered.

"Yeah," Sasuke couldn't help but gasp out. "We would be the coolest."

It wouldn't be good for killings or stealth missions. Tracking would also be difficult. As an intimidation tactic it could work though they would be hard pressed to justify it.

Telling the Hokage they invented a motorcyclist just for fun and not for the betterment of the village was not a viable option.

"Akamaru could build it."

That was a good idea. Akamaru was good at a of-

No. Sasuke thought firmly. We're in this situation because we let Akamaru draw the seals. Imagine if we let him build the bike!

"Hey! He just did what we told him to do!" Kiba defended, his metaphorical hair stood up at the back of his neck.

Behind them Akamaru made an odd noise. It was his way of barking. Because of the fact that he was an octopus he could no longer communicate like he used to do so they improvised.

"What?" Sasuke said out loud. "Akamaru you need to speak louder I'm driving this stupid thing to fast." He craned his neck behind him trying to get good luck at the dog. "Seriously this is so inconvenient!"

Unfortunately for Sasuke he could not treat riding a motorcycle like tree walking. When they were in Konoha and beyond he relied on his Chakra to steer him in the correct direction and avoid obstacles. Muscle memory helps to avoid pitfalls and loose branches.

He could not feel the soil beneath his feet. The wind hitting his face was much faster than he usually would run and it came much harsher. The air was different, thicker and harder to breathe.

Neither Sasuke or Kiba would see the object they crashed into. They never saw the motorcycle hitting something. They could only feel the joint pain of their neck snapping and the weightlessness of their souls rushing forward.

A joint consciousness split into two, they drifted. It was hard to tell how much time had passed. It could have been an eternity or none at all. They couldn't see light or darkness, the touch and feel of each other's thoughts were gone. It was empty.

Then…

"What do you mean he's missing?" Itachi said. Calm though he may have sounded, inside he was a raging storm of fury. "Sasuke would not deflect." He couldn't, not Sasuke. Not my precious brother.

"I didn't say that." The Hokage frowned. "I'm saying that he's missing without a trace. The Inuzuka clan is missing their child as well. Neither of them were suspected of defecting before this."

Minato Namikaze looked every bit his age as he relayed this information. It was easy sometimes to forget how young he was when he took the hat and how much of a roll the responsibility must have taken to have pulled his shoulders down so much.

"Sasuke and Kiba were acting suspicious the weeks before their disappearance." Minato pulled out a sheet of paper from his robe. "Iruka from the academy, he was their former teacher, sent in a form because he was concerned. According to him the two had reached out because they were interested in advanced math."

"So they decided to further their education." Itachi whispered. His eyes locked onto the paper as if he could burn it with his stare alone. "It means nothing."

"No," Minato agreed. "By itself."

Itachi reached forward with a nod from the Hokage. Gripping the paper tightly he scanned it. With each line his face grew pale. "Does this mean-?" He left the question hanging. Holding out for the safety of his precious brother.

"Kiba and Sasuke have tampered with space time seals. They could be anywhere." Minato stood. "That's why I have brought you here. I have a task for you and two others. Should you take it, you will be working closely with them to bring them back to Konoha immediately."

Kiba? The name rang a few bells. Yes, his brother's childhood friend, and Hana's little brother. It made sense for the two to do something so foolish.

"I accept." Itachi bowed his head. Finally showing the respect the Hokage deserved and required. For his little brother he would do anything.

"Go to the location and report to your superior officer. Your mission details will be following. Dismissed."

With a gust of wind Itachi was gone.

Minato sighed, putting his head in his hands. To create seals with such complexity and detail in drawing. The two had to be geniuses in the field. It wasn't a matter of bringing home Konoha's wayward children; not entirely. It was not letting their prospective seal masters out of their hands ever again.