Ok I've been going back and forth with this chapter so much now, it's tiring really. I'll just leave it here for you to judge.

Chapter 8: The number one distraction

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There was a coil of anticipation in Sasuke's stomach that he did his best to ignore throughout the day. Thankfully he'd been able to spend the day accompanying Naori again, which was good because it was easier to deal with someone he didn't know from before. He didn't need to be constantly reminded of his past whenever he looked at her, as opposed to Fugaku and Mikoto. He'd gotten the feeling last night that soon, he would need to face a serious conversation with them. It gnawed at the back of his mind, and he ran through several possible scenarios inside his head as he followed Naori around the village. She seemed to have been having a great day, conversing with him in a light tone, greeting many of the villagers with a smile.

He tried to push thoughts of Itachi out of his head as he changed shirts when his shift had ended, staring blankly into his locker, though without much success. It had been a year since he last saw him, during their fight with Kabuto. It hadn't been enough time, not even close, though their whole relationship seemed to be defined by those words. Always being told 'Next time, Sasuke'.

And now he was facing that time. This was that next time, though in another dimension, with another Itachi, an Itachi that was still alive and healthy… He swallowed thickly, zipping up his chuunin vest. One part of him really thought like that, that this was his chance to have the brother of his childhood back, but it was struggling hard against the part of him that steeled itself to face a completely different Itachi, a stranger. Another Sasuke's brother. What was this Itachi like? He was dying to know, and hadn't dared ask someone. From what he'd snapped up, he seemed to be thought of as strong and serious, but there was a slight disappointment over the fact that he'd left the village to work for Akatsuki instead. He was curios to find out the reason, if Itachi would tell him.

Walking through the main room was still an uncomfortable experience, and he fixated his gaze on the door so he wouldn't need to look at anyone. He breathed a small sigh of relief as he stepped outside, having passed the lobby as well, taking the few steps to the left needed to reach Naruto.

"You sure took your time changing."

Sasuke shrugged, glancing down at the blond where he sat on the uppermost step, arms crossed over his knees.

"No one told you to pick me up."

"Teme, would it kill you to say a simple thanks?"

Instead of answering he started descending the stairs, listening to Naruto getting up with a grumbled "Tch, bastard," and allowing a tiny smile to graze his features. He didn't want to admit it, but Naruto's presence lifted a layer of tension from his shoulders. He carefully schooled his expression back into indifference when Naruto fell into step beside him, arms behind his neck and lips pursed in thought.

"You know, it was kinda nice at first to get some vacation, but now I'm starting to get bored."

"Then find a job."

"Easy for you to say! Tsunade wouldn't let me do missions, and I don't have a dad who can pull strings like yours."

"Hn."

"I have to sit at home bored out of my mind and you get to walk around the village and be all cool and stuff…"

"Are you sulking? Poor dead last, can't get a job."

"Hey!" Naruto had jumped in front of him, bristling with anger, and Sasuke pushed his hands down his pockets, one eyebrow mockingly raised. "You can't call me that, I'm stronger than you!"

"Hn, I'll call you what I want."

Naruto opened his mouth again, but snapped it shut with an incredulous look on his face.

"Wait did you just-"

"Naruto!"

Sasuke felt what little amount of good mood he was in disappear, Hinata approaching them quickly from across the small square in front of the police building.

"Hey, Hinata, what are you doing here?" Naruto didn't sound very enthusiastic as he turned around to greet her, blocking Sasuke's view of her momentarily.

"We're heading over to Ichiraku's for an early dinner, the others are already there."

She came to a halt next to them, an expectant look on her face as if Naruto's natural response would be to immediately go with her. Which it usually was, whether she could know that or not.

"Oh, yeah, I heard from Sakura-chan. But I already told her I'm spending the evening with Sasuke."

Not that Sasuke could remember agreeing to that, but he wasn't about to disagree. Hinata seemed to rub him the wrong way no matter what, and he gave her a cold stare when she put her hands to her sides and leaned threateningly towards Naruto.

"Doesn't matter, you're coming with me."

"Umm, but-"

"Don't even think about it." Sasuke reached a hand out to intercept the one Hinata stretched towards Naruto's shirt, grabbing her wrist and squeezing it in warning.

"What the hell!" She pulled her arm free, directing her newfound anger towards him. "Are you his guard dog or something?"

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, fed up with her attitude and most likely overreacting, he stared her down with a look of contempt.

"What I am is none of your business. You, however, are nothing to us. His answer was no, now get lost."

He could see Naruto gaping at him from the corner of his eye before he was forced to sidestep Hinata's hand reaching out again, this time with her fist enclosed in chakra. Placing one foot behind the other, he twirled around and promptly ran a knee into her back as she passed him, sending her flying towards the ground. Perhaps it was the fact that his nerves had already been tightly wound as it was, perhaps he'd just had enough of her, either way it felt highly satisfying to see her coughing on all fours.

"Sasuke!" Naruto's voice sounded worried and reprimanding all at once, and he sighed in response.

"Whatever, let's go."

He started walking again, Naruto catching up but sending glances over his shoulder towards Hinata.

"You didn't have to be so rude," he said, a frown on his face, teeth biting on his upper lip.

"No, but I chose to be. Maybe if you weren't such a pushover I wouldn't have needed to."

"What?!" Naruto exploded, shoving at his arm. "You can't just go around kicking people whenever they bother you! Everyone's been really nice to us and-"

"In what way has she been nice?" he bit out, clenching his fists within his pockets. "You need to stop being so scared of people disliking you. Not everyone is going to anyway, and why would you need to stay on her good side? You have enough people liking you already, you can afford to be a little rude if it gets the point across."

Naruto was gaping again, at a loss for words apparently, because he was making strangled noises while trying to keep up with Sasuke's fast pace. He forced his gaze away from widened blue eyes, gritting his teeth. What kind of nerve did that girl have, demanding Naruto's obedience like that? And then that moron, letting himself get pushed around, by someone whose neck he could snap with the flick of a wrist. Though, he tended to act the same way around Sakura at home, too.

"I'm not scared," Naruto objected, and Sasuke heaved a frustrated sigh. "You can't solve every conflict with violence!"

"Since when do I do that?"

"Since now, apparently! And what do you mean enough people like me already, like, having some friends makes it perfectly fine to be an asshole towards everyone else?"

"No," he started, stopping when Naruto did, sick of the subject, sick of Hinata, sick of the nausea threatening to invade his throat if his thoughts lingered too closely on the inevitable meeting with Itachi later.

"Then what the hell does it mean, that you're the only one allowed to boss me around?! You like me enough so I don't need other people to?"

The response that had started forming in Sasuke's throat got stuck on the way out, his brain trying to wrap itself around the meaning of Naruto's last words. What even…?

Naruto was scowling at him with defiance, a challenge, and possibly something less self-assured. The air between them seemed to bristle with that last something, confusion hitting Sasuke like a brick wall to the face. He had enough to deal with at the moment without Naruto asking weird things out of the blue. Why were they even talking about this?

Oh, right, he was reminded of the reason when Hinata came charging, spinning violently with her Gentle Fist technique aimed towards him. Really. He jumped, avoiding her just in time, an annoyed twitch in his eye as she stood to face him in a battle stance. Sighing, he shifted his feet just enough to be prepared for another attack, but Naruto rushed to stand between them before anything happened.

"Okay, stop that!" he said, turning his head back and forth to make sure they stayed in their places. "Don't fight over stupid things."

Hinata glared past Naruto for a few more seconds, Byakugan focused on Sasuke, but then she thought better of it and relaxed.

"Fine, but this ugly jerk better watch it!" she spat, lifting her chin defiantly, as if to dare Sasuke to quietly accept her words.

"What did you just say?!" Naruto faced Hinata now, taking a step towards her, shoulders tense. "Sasuke is not ugly!"

"He's the ugliest guy I've ever seen!"

"Ugly guys don't have fan clubs!"

"Then I guess he proved you wrong, didn't he!"

They were both yelling in each other's faces, and Sasuke stared at them in dismay. It was, honestly, strange how Hinata seemed to hate him so much. The only logical explanation was that his counterpart had done something to her and now she was confusing them, just like she apparently confused Naruto with Menma.

Naruto was radiating poorly contained anger, and Sasuke was just about to break them apart when a new voice cut through the strained atmosphere.

"Oi oi, what's this, I'm jealous. Your brother is always in the middle of these lover's quarrels, isn't he?"

The voice belonged to a large man, with bluish skin and sharp teeth, whom Sasuke had a vague memory of meeting once during an episode he much preferred to forget. Next to him, however…

"I'm sure he didn't ask for it," Itachi replied, one eyebrow raised in curious amusement as the two of them approached.

Itachi looked… Sasuke had to swallow, inhaling deeply when Itachi stopped a few steps away. His Akatsuki cloak was casually open at the front, revealing the outfit underneath to be dark, standard pants tucked into light grey shin protectors, and a v-necked black shirt over a mesh undershirt. He wore his forehead protector, with a line cut straight over the leaf, his hair tied up like always with a few bangs hanging loose at the front. His necklace also hung around his neck, a thin chain decorated with silver plates shaped into stylized eyes.

He looked the same, too much the same, and Sasuke kept his eyes trained on his chest so he wouldn't have to see his face. He could sense Naruto coming up to stand next to him, close enough for their clothes to brush, and he focused on that feeling rather than the chaos inside his mind.

"It wasn't a lover's quarrel," Naruto disagreed, crossing his arms and most likely grimacing as well.

"Haha, is that so?" the blue man asked, amused.

Kisame, Sasuke remembered his name to be, Itachi's partner in Akatsuki. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck starting to rise in discomfort, and he bit into the inside of his cheek.

"Who would fight over someone like him," Hinata added, stepping up next to Naruto. "Now that Itachi's here, he can just hang out with him instead and you can go with me."

The last part was obviously directed at Naruto, who sighed and rubbed his cheek in annoyance. Then he, surprisingly, threw his arm around Sasuke's shoulders, managing to startle him out of his trance.

"Nope, I'm going with Sasuke. So, Itachi, are you busy right now? We've got some stuff to talk about."

Sasuke blinked, glancing towards Naruto's grinning face. This dobe… Sighing through his nose, he shrugged out of Naruto's arm, braving a look at Itachi. His brother had quirked one corner of his lips, a good-natured expression on his otherwise serious face.

"I was wondering when you'd get around to it," he said in his deep voice, Kisame snickering for no apparent reason. "I'll just tell father I'm back, but why don't you continue on home and we'll meet there?"

Naruto nodded, and Sasuke forced down the lump in his throat when Itachi smiled at him before heading towards the building behind them. He was acutely aware of Naruto's presence next to him, his chakra all but vibrating with unease despite the happy front he'd put up. Straightening, he turned in the other direction and started walking at a brisk pace, figuring Naruto would follow and hoping Hinata wouldn't. He stared ahead but saw nothing, his mind filled with unwanted memories. People stepped out of the way as he plowed through them, Naruto apologizing left and right by his side, tugging at his vest a few times to maneuver him around larger obstacles.

Hinata must have given up, because there were no further interruptions as they made their way through the village. He vaguely recognized someone calling his name, but left Naruto to deal with it.

"I think it was one of your relatives," Naruto said as he caught up with him again, "because she gave me some dried plums for you."

Sasuke didn't react, but it's not like he needed to. It was when they reached their destination that it struck him that Naruto could have just teleported them there. If he knew the dobe, there was no way he hadn't already marked his room. He went inside the house, up the stairs, and sat down on his bed. Naruto, like always, had followed him and hovered by the doorway. One look and the other ninja shut the door with a huff, then made himself comfortable in the armchair by one corner, bag of plums dropped to the floor.

His posture was terrible, with one leg draped across the armrest, arms hanging over the sides, lower lip jutting out in an annoyed pout as he glared at the ceiling. Sasuke thought idly of Sakura's comment that he needed to get a haircut, and silently agreed. Running his gaze over Naruto's slouched form was a lot better than dwelling on his brother though, and it wasn't the first time this past year that he'd used him as a distraction. Naruto had skipped his jacket again, wearing a black t-shirt one size too big that he didn't recognize. There was a smudge of dirt on his left knee, but overall his appearance was unusually clean. Often he or Sakura needed to make a pointed reminder that washing machines existed for a reason. One time Naruto had walked around in the same mesh shirt for a week simply to annoy them.

"What," Naruto asked in a flat voice, looking for all Sasuke knew like he was sulking again.

"Nothing," he replied, knowing it would bother the other.

"You were staring at me."

"And?"

Naruto crossed his arms, sinking lower into the cushioned chair and muttering something underneath his breath. Leaning his elbows on his knees, Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him.

"Meeting dead people is weird," Naruto said, changing the subject and causing another wave of emotion that needed to be suppressed.

"You seemed fine," he pointed out, clasping his hands so that they hung in front of his knees, jaw tensing.

"Yeah, sure, so did you. I mean, it's one thing in the middle of a war, but here it's like, they act as if they're part of your life. I got too comfortable last time I was here." He stretched, arms above his head as he slid down to half-lie in the chair. "I don't know, it's just weird."

Sasuke could only stare as Naruto frowned up at the ceiling, squirming around until he found a better position. Then Naruto turned his head, catching Sasuke by surprise with how serious his expression was.

"Your dad will probably tell him what's going on. So, at least you won't be forced to pretend. That's the worst part. It feels good for a while, but then it just sucks."

Blinking slowly, Sasuke heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, elbow digging painfully into his thigh as he leaned on it.

"I'm fine," he insisted, giving blue eyes narrowed in disbelief a tired look. "I don't need your so called advice."

"Then do you need a hug?" Naruto stretched his arms out, and Sasuke twitched.

"Get the fuck out of my room, Naruto."

Grin wide now, Naruto wiggled until he was practically upside down, still stretching his arms out and signing for Sasuke to come over. Gritting his teeth, he got up and stalked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. He wasn't angry, not really, but he didn't like how vulnerable he felt right now, and how easily Naruto saw through him. Besides, Naruto's mood swings were giving him a headache. He might have grown up since the time they were Kakashi's students, but what their sensei had said still seemed to hold true in Sasuke's opinion: Naruto was the number one most surprising ninja.

He leaned against the door, his bones feeling like they were sagging underneath his skin. It didn't take long before he could hear Naruto shuffle over to the door, and open it just a little bit, enough for Sasuke not to fall seeing as he still leaned against it. Turning his head he stared at Naruto, who stared back in silence for a minute or so, fingers tapping hesitantly on the wood as he held it still with his shoulder.

"You're my best friend, Sasuke. You know you can talk to me."

It wasn't the first time Naruto had said it, wasn't the first time Sasuke broke eye contact either, to stare at the opposite wall instead. From below them, he could hear the front door opening, and for a moment his lungs ceased to function.

"I mean it," Naruto said, but Sasuke clenched his fists and pushed himself off the door.

He took a few steps, but paused, waiting for Naruto to follow.

"It's fine," he repeated, frowning when Naruto placed his hand lightly over the small of his back.

The touch only lingered for a second or two, but it was enough in terms of supportive gestures. Not that Sasuke needed one of those.

"Alright then," Naruto replied, his tone light as he walked towards the staircase," I always wanted to properly meet your brother anyway."

So, yeah, Itachi but not yet talking to him. It'll come in the next chapter. I also have to announce that on Monday, uni starts for me again, and I have a few other things to finish up before that so I really don't know when the next chapter will be out. I didn't mean to leave you with a cliffhanger but I guess this is how it is. We're gonna meet Akatsuki pretty soon though, so if anyone has any requests for a character you'd like to see some extra of, don't hesitate to tell me.

Also, I really hope this chapter wasn't too much all over the place, it's not beta'ed or anything so please tell me what you think.