Yes hello, I finally return! I wrote this chapter in like a day, BUT GUESS WHAT. I had a breakthrough and figured out the plot in detail. I'm actually very proud of myself.

To those of you reading here on ff, it seems there was a problem with the email notifications last time I updated, so check that you read chapter 36. Also, I'm very sorry that I'm bad at replying to reviews on here. Please consider reading on ao3 instead, or talking to me on my tumblr (fangirladiknowit101)!

I got a very angry review last chapter that I don't update this story often enough and it's such a hassle to reread things blah blah. You think I never have to reread things when I get update notifications of fics I follow? Lol. Anyway, since it has been a while and 99% of you are nice people, I've typed out a summary below of what is going on right now.

I was also asked if I can somehow differentiate between the two Sasukes a bit more, but I couldn't figure out a way to do it in text. I've tried to be as clear as I can, but I wrote out a list of point of views for the scenes in this chapter, which should help. Sasuke and Charasuke don't interact in this chapter so at least they won't be in the same place at the same time.

Previously on:
Sasuke has been assigned a mission together with Fugaku, Naori (a police officer) and Menma, and left in the morning. The mission is to capture a missing nin and investigate some strange chakra signatures in the Land of Tea, but also Sasuke has been asked to keep a close eye on Menma. Naruto was then asleep, meeting Kaguya! She told him Sasuke will die if he goes back to their original dimension, which made him very sad:( The kazekage then arrives, and Charasuke is made to take Gaara on a tour around the village. Gaara tells Charasuke that Menma has talked about him, and that for jinchuuriki it's very hard to find and keep lovers, but Charasuke seems to be compatible with bijuu chakra. Gaara's dad therefore kind of wants to set them up. Menma also had a bit of an angsty inner monologue where he feels like he's 'running towards his end'.

POV's this chapter:
1-Sasuke (canon)
2-Obito
3-Charasuke
4-Itachi
5-Sasuke (canon)

No Menma pov as promised bc it didn't work out the way I wanted to. Anyway, thank you so much for reading, and especially a big welcome to all new readers! Sorry for my slow update rates, Yuri on ice is just too good. I'm in Japan visiting Nora and let me tell you, I'm buying all the merch I can see (almost).

Kiri - hidden mist village, land of water
Kumo - hidden cloud village, land of lightning
Iwa - hidden stone village, land of earth

Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 37: The calm before the storm part II

xxx

It was a small relief that the nights had not yet turned cold, because Sasuke couldn't sleep. He'd spent a while trying to figure out why – was it the open space around him? The quiet shuffling of animals in the forest? The last, flickering embers of their fire?

He really should have known it would be the lack of Naruto's body heat, the dampened strength of their shared beat that told him just how much distance lay between them.

So no, Sasuke couldn't sleep, but he would make a good job of pretending.

As the first rays of dawn trickled through the thick tree crowns, he noticed Menma rising from his blankets. They took no shifts to guard the camp, only setting out a few traps to alert them of any dangers, which made the stealth of Menma's movements suspicious.

Not guarding the camp seemed foolish in Sasuke's opinion, which was why he'd summoned a few small snakes to circle them. No more than a second after Menma had quietly jumped onto a tree branch did one of them slither up to him, hissing into his face.

He'd been surprised that the snakes appeared when he summoned them, but they were so tiny that they couldn't even speak. He supposed that as long as they didn't require the blood contract, summoning the snakes in this dimension was fine. All they needed was a bit of his chakra and then they happily patrolled.

"I know," he murmured to the agitated snake, stroking it over its head to feed it some chakra.

Taking care to move as quietly as Menma, he jumped up into the trees as well and followed the faint tracks left behind. They took him to a small forest spring, water pouring from a gap in the rocky ground to swirl happily around the pool before continuing off into a small brook. Menma sat on a patch of grass next to the spring, staring deeply into the clear water.

"Something on your mind?" Sasuke asked as he landed next to him, keeping his voice carefully neutral.

"Worried about me? I'm not your boyfriend."

Menma's voice was dry, and he didn't spare Sasuke a look.

"Just curious."

"Well, go be curious somewhere else." He picked up a small stone, turning it over in his hand before flicking it into the water. "Let's not pretend we care about each other."

"Oh, I didn't ask out of concern," Sasuke countered, letting his tone drop to similarly dry. "I find you unpleasant to be around."

At this, Menma leaned back to look at him, eyebrows raised in such a self-deprecating way that Sasuke almost reeled back. Naruto never looked like that, and the expression made his stomach churn.

"Fantastic," Menma drawled. "We finally have something in common."

Not knowing what to answer, Sasuke frowned at him. He hadn't been around Menma much, and he wondered if it was something he could ever get used to. It was like a Naruto clone that mimicked someone else's personality, twisting the familiar features into unfamiliar expressions.

"I dislike you too, you know," Menma added, settling back to lean on his forearms, tilting his face towards the reddish sky. "But I think Sasuke likes you."

"He's not bad," Sasuke agreed, shifting a little.

Despite knowing that Menma was talking about Charasuke, it felt strange to hear his own name mentioned by a Naruto-look-alike.

"He doesn't think he's hot shit like you do. He-"

Menma paused, thinning his lips. He seemed angry with himself, and Sasuke caught himself wondering about the reasons behind their falling out.

"I'm heading back," Menma said, getting up on his feet, not waiting to see if Sasuke followed before leaving.

Opting to stay behind for a while, Sasuke contemplated prying for more information. He'd been told to keep an eye on Menma, after all, but what did Charasuke have to do with anything? Still, Menma was definitely acting suspicious, and he could understand that the village felt uneasy when a carrier of something as powerful as the kyuubi seemed to follow a different agenda.

He rubbed his temples, tired of all the things he didn't know. If only Naruto was there with him-

Shaking his head, he resolutely decided not to think about Naruto while on the mission. He wouldn't do any good on the team if he spent his time distracted from the task at hand. Taking a deep breath he followed Menma back towards the camp, fingers itching to take out his katana and practice.

Only one day left travelling.

xxx

They were in the middle of lunch at the Hokage tower when Obito noticed a medic nin making her way over to Tsunade, shrinking in on herself at the turn of heads. The Kazekage continued retelling his story, though his voice faltered slightly at the lack of attention from Tsunade. The girl whispered something to the Hokage, wringing her hands, and the atmosphere dropped in the room as Tsunade's brows furrowed.

"Obito," she called across the table, "if you don't mind?"

Important, then, but not terribly so. He rose, excusing himself with a nod, rolling his eyes at Itachi's pitying look. The lunch was quite good, after all.

"Well?" he asked as they left the dining hall, the girl – who was most likely a student at the hospital – skittish by his side.

"Ah, Orochimaru-sensei needs some assistance…"

She didn't elaborate, and Obito didn't ask. He followed her in silence, walking the short distance between the hospital and the tower at a brisk pace. She took him straight to Orochimaru's office, knocking three times on the door before excusing herself with a bow. Obito didn't bother waiting for permission before opening it.

"I take it Tsunade is busy?" Orochimaru asked drily as he closed the door behind him, noticing a second occupant in the room.

Naruto looked put-out, feet propped onto the seat of his chair and chin resting on his knees.

"Yes," Obito replied simply, side-eyeing Orochimaru for any clues as to the matter, but all the doctor did was wave him towards an empty chair.

"Any objections, Naruto?" Orochimaru asked pleasantly, receiving a small glare for his question.

"I have nothing more to tell."

Clearing his throat, Obito sent a meaningful look Orochimaru's way.

"Well," the man said, "perhaps Naruto can explain."

"You make it sound like I'm being scolded for misbehaving," Naruto retorted, though silently, Obito had to agree.

"If it was important enough to send after Tsunade, I'd like to hear what you have to say," he said, turning the chair to face Naruto.

"Fine," Naruto sighed, picking at some invisible lint on his moss green shirt. "I had a visit from Kaguya."

"When?"

Naruto bit his lip, and Orochimaru gave him a disapproving look.

"Yesterday morning."

Leaning back, Obito refrained from turning the meeting into a real scolding. It was difficult sometimes to see Naruto as the strong and experienced ninja he knew him to be from his stories, especially now that he slumped in his chair with a childish pout on his face.

"Is there a reason you waited this long?"

A shrug, and then Naruto straightened up a bit.

"Everyone seemed busy with the Kazekage's visit. It's not like it couldn't wait a couple days."

Obito raised his eyes to the heavens for a moment, wondering if Naruto truly thought it could wait or if he was just being a bratty teenager.

"And what, exactly, did she say that made you think it could wait?"

Orochimaru tensed, his eyes narrowed into slits as he regarded Naruto. He looked a little like a snake that isn't entirely sure yet if it should be offended or not.

"It's personal."

When Naruto didn't continue, Obito caught the look from Orochimaru that said Oh believe me, I've tried.

"It's personal," he echoed, and Naruto stubbornly stared at the wall. "What part of you and Sasuke entering this dimension and talking to a literal chakra goddess do you find personal?"

"Most of it," Naruto replied, and if he hadn't looked absolutely serious, Obito would have considered something drastic.

"Right. And how do you expect us to help you if you don't tell us what's going on?"

At this, Naruto turned to him with an incredulous look, and Obito found that he had to reevaluate the man in front of him. Did Naruto… not expect to get any help? Did he think them unable to help, or unwilling?

"No offense, Obito, but what's the strongest enemy Konoha has faced? You mentioned something about one of the bijuus, before?"

"Are you saying we're weak?"

"I'm saying you're not prepared."

Naruto held his gaze, the steady strength in them at odds with his previous sulking.

"We wouldn't go down that easily," Obito said slowly, trying to gauge where Naruto was going with this.

"You didn't hold up that well last time I visited."

There was nothing Obito could say to that.

"Then what do you suggest we do? Build barricades? Gather up an army?"

Naruto contemplated him, and Obito had to wonder – truly wonder – what it was like to hold all that power, to meet with a god and act only mildly annoyed about it.

"I… wish I could tell you to stay out of it," Naruto began, eyes flickering to the floor, lost in thought. "Or that I know what we're up against. But Kaguya didn't tell me anything about that. She only talked about Sasuke."

The room fell silent, both he and Orochimaru waiting with baited breaths for Naruto's next words.

"You know, you get very upset when I or Sasuke keep things from you, but there's a lot you're not telling us, isn't there? About Menma, for example."

"Yes, well." Obito shouldn't find it amusing, but it was at least a little ironic. "You'll have to take that up with Tsunade."

"Oh, I will," Naruto assured him, then stood up and dusted off his pants. "Are we done here?"

"No," Orochimaru said, but Obito nodded, much to the doctor's dismay.

"We'll talk more later. I'll see what I can do about Tsunade, I do think we should cooperate a bit more."

"Hmm." Naruto tilted his head to the side, his gaze assessing. "I like you a lot more than the Obito in my dimension."

"I should hope so," Obito said, walking towards the door. "Are we going, then?"

Naruto made a beeline for the door, not bothering to offer Orochimaru a goodbye. Once outside, he did a full-body shiver, sticking his tongue out at the now closed door before they went on their way.

"I don't know why Sasuke likes snakes so much. That snake sage is always gonna give me the creeps."

"Well, I don't know many snakes that have hurt people."

"Wow, lucky you! I got swallowed by one of his snakes back when I was a genin!"

"You…" Obito stopped walking, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. "I know you mentioned that you fought him, but that sounds a bit…"

"It was so yucky! Oh but thirteen-year-old me was pretty smart sometimes so I blew the snake up with a bunch of shadow clones."

Naruto hummed, one hand on his chin.

"I fought a lot of weird people, but I still think he's the creepiest one. But maybe it's just me."

Deciding to keep his thoughts to himself, Obito merely smiled and continued walking through the hospital corridors. They were almost at the lobby when Naruto pulled up short, backtracking to look down a side corridor.

"Was that Kakashi-sensei?"

Obito went to look, but the corridor was empty, only a door closing further down.

"Maybe? He's not around a lot."

"Eeh? Why?"

Naruto gave him a suspicious look, as if Obito was purposefully hiding Kakashi from him.

"He's doing a lot of missions right now. Apparently, he's working on some bet to complete the highest amount of missions in one year. He probably got pulled in for a check-up, so he doesn't overwork himself."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto stretched, scratching at one arm. "He was really weird last time I was here. Like he'd switched places with Gai-sensei."

"With Gai?" Obito had a hard time picturing the calm and unexpressive man being as overly excited as Kakashi. "I guess there are a lot of differences between our worlds."

Naruto snorted, shoving his hands down the pockets of his sweatpants and going on ahead. Obito made to follow, then his eyes caught on the small symbol between his shoulder blades. The Uchiha symbol? Really? Maybe they were married and just hadn't told anyone.

Stranger things were going on, after all.

Obito decided not to poke his nose in this one.

xxx

"I'm sorry."

"I know, Gaara. It's fine."

"Yes but-"

Sasuke put his hand on Gaara's wrist, trying not to notice how it caused a blush to form on his cheeks. A pretty blush for sure, but not the reaction he was hoping for.

"I mean it. Let's just enjoy the movie, okay?"

Gaara sunk lower in his plush seat, retracting his hand when Sasuke let go of it. It was possibly the most awkward thing Sasuke had done in the past weeks, even compared to sharing a bed with both Naruto and the other Sasuke. Somehow he'd been dubbed as Gaara's guide for the duration of their one week stay, because obviously his brother or cousin wouldn't do it, and as his mother liked to remind him, Sasuke was the second son of the Uchiha clan leader. Honestly, he only did it because Neji had complained to Hinata who had told basically everyone else and he would not subject Gaara to Neji, thank you very much.

Even though he'd much rather stay home and be miserable.

"I haven't seen this movie before," Gaara said, and Sasuke had to bite back the reply that's the goddamn point.

"Let's hope it's good," he said instead, hoping against hope that his family was only making him do this out of social obligation and not because they agreed with Gaara's dad, who still seemed intent on pairing them up.

Sasuke was not oblivious to his own charms. Just because he'd spent most of them on he-who-shall-not-be-named the past year didn't mean people had forgotten, and there had been a lot of glances from disappointed fangirls as he stepped into the cinema with the Kazekage's son.

His only relief was that they didn't know who he'd been dating the past year. Maybe they thought he and Gaara was in a long distance relationship. It was better than the truth, but not something he wanted to consider.

He wished Sakura was there. Though, to be fair, she was in the back of the theater, pretending she wasn't stalking them. A position that made her completely useless, when Sasuke needed someone to distract Gaara from taking things the wrong way.

Not that he hadn't explained, or that Gaara didn't keep apologizing for the set-up. It would just have made things easier on Sasuke if he didn't have to do this alone.

"What's your favorite type of movie?" Gaara asked, playing with the cap on his bottle of soda. "I like historical ones."

Of course Gaara would like something lame like that.

God, he needed to get a grip. Gaara had done nothing wrong, and he really was a sweet guy. If things were different, Sasuke might have enjoyed sweeping him off his feet, taking him somewhere cute to hand feed him dessert.

As it was, Sasuke did not want to think about the fact that Menma never took him somewhere public, just the two of them. Not where they would be seen, at least.

"Sasuke?"

"Oh, um, I like action? It's a really obvious answer, isn't it."

"No, I can see that. Something exciting. It suits you."

Staring at Gaara, it was hard to believe that he'd just been told that something exciting suited him. Granted, Sasuke had mostly dated girls before, and he usually lied about his preference to make it something they would also enjoy. Menma had always seen right through him, that Sasuke liked action because he wanted to be the hero. The hero always won, right? No one looked down on the hero, or if they did, they were always regretting it afterwards.

"You're such a nice person," he blurted out, not even wanting to take it back when Gaara's lips were tugged into a tiny but happy smile.

"Thank you. I, um," Gaara inhaled, seemingly pep-talking himself into something. "I've never been on anything resembling a date before, so I don't know what to do or say. I mean, not that it's a date!"

Gaara looked so horrified that Sasuke couldn't help but laugh, the nice kind of laugh that started low in his belly and spilled from his lips in happy snorts.

"It's fine, really," he said, relaxing into his seat. "Let's have a great not-date, okay?"

It was too dark now to see Gaara's face properly, all the lamps turning off before the start of the movie. He could sense Gaara's eyes on him though, like he was struggling for words.

When the screen flickered to life again, white light washing over Gaara's face, Sasuke found him sporting an unreadable look.

(It's not unreadable, his subconscious tried to tell him. He likes you already but knows he can't have you.)

"Yeah, okay," he said eventually, sinking back into his seat as well.

Sasuke did not look forward to talking to Sakura later. Considering he was still staying with her – mostly out of spite at this point – he wouldn't have much choice.

If he was lucky, Gaara wouldn't ask to have dinner afterwards.

xxx

Itachi sighed, feeling glum as he watched the preparations going on around him. They were squished into one of the meeting rooms, and TV screens were being set up for the long distance call to the remaining three kages.

Shisui shifted beside him, his arm bumping into Itachi's. His presence was both a comfort and a cause for irritation, and when Shisui grabbed for his hand under the table, he leaned in to hiss at him.

"It's your fault we're here in the first place."

A rueful quirk of lips, and Shisui laced their fingers together.

"…I love you?"

Again, Itachi sighed, closing his eyes for a moment.

"You didn't have to do all that paper work for me, you know. You're not my assistant."

"As your boyfriend, I wanted you to come home in time for dinner tonight."

"Considering this meeting might take a while…"

Shisui rolled his eyes, but stayed silent as Tsunade and the Kazekage entered the room. There were two tables set up, one in front of the TVs, another larger one at the back of the room. Already many of the council members crowded around the front one, most of them clan leaders like his mother. At least Itachi didn't need to participate, not that he looked forward to listening in either. He wasn't going to win the election, what use did he have for all these meetings?

"If you're planning to escape, don't leave me behind," Shisui mumbled, but all Itachi did was lean his chin in one hand, elbow propped against the armrest, and attempt to stay awake until preparations were done.

"Well then, let's start the meeting," Tsunade eventually told them, fixing the glasses on her nose. "You've all been informed of the reason for this meeting, and I remind you now that anything said stays between us."

The room had been soundproofed with chakra, and two Hyuugas went around checking that everyone was who they seemed to be. Not soon enough the TV screens flickered to life, showcasing the leaders of Kumo, Kiri, and Iwa. While the Kazekage was a rather nondescript man with brown hair and a serious face, the other kage showed a bit more flair.

"It's been a while since we all talked like this," the Raikage greeted them in his booming voice.

He was a tall and muscled man with white hair and a big mouth (in more than one ways). Itachi had met him a few times, each time feeling as if the man was too large to fit in normal spaces.

"We have important things to discuss," Tsunade replied, a few of the council members nodding along.

"Well, get on with it," the Mizukage said, throwing her thick, reddish-brown hair over a shoulder. "I don't have all night."

She swept her eyes over the gathered faces, or that's what Itachi guessed she did since she looked at something behind her camera.

"Ah, is that Itachi-kun?" she asked, smiling prettily. "You haven't visited in ages!"

And for good reason, Itachi thought, managing a smile back at her. He didn't have much against the Mizukage in all honesty, though her temper could be rather unnerving. He just hated how moist the Land of Water was, especially during summer.

"Hang on, we're having some technical problems," the Tsuchikage interrupted, his face flickering in and out of view a few times.

Of all the kage, Itachi liked him the least. Maybe because his old age made him grumpy, maybe because he'd been rude towards Deidara during their joint mission in Iwa. Of course, Deidara tended to inspire that reaction in people wherever he went, but Itachi had to think about his loyalties.

Once everything was settled once again, Tsunade wasted no time with introductions.

"As you've already been informed, we're being visited by two dimension travelers. In the weeks since their arrival not much has happened, but we believe that will change soon."

"And why is that?" the Raikage asked, crossing his arms. "You really think this has something to do with the bijuu?"

"That's where things point, in any case," Tsunade said. "Our jinchuuriki, Menma, is currently on a mission that we think will spring a trap."

"You're springing a trap?!" the Tsuchikage shouted, his bushy eyebrows shooting up what little hairline he had left. "Typical Konoha, always going ahead doing whatever you want."

"What about the other jinchuuriki, his mother?" the Mizukage asked, and Tsunade shook her head.

"Her part of the kyuubi's chakra is inactive. She's storing it, but so far nothing seems out of order."

"While I don't necessarily agree with Tsunade's choice of action," the Kazekage spoke up, "I think we all need to prepare for an incident such as the one eighteen years ago."

The room fell silent, each of them thinking back to what had happened. Within the same year, all nine bijuus had broken out of their hosts and attacked the villages. At the time Konoha possessed both the sanbi and the kyuubi, though the sanbi had been stolen by missing nins and forcefully sealed within a Konoha ninja. For decades before that, the bijuu had slowly been losing consciousness, becoming the wild beasts that needed sealing so they wouldn't wreak havoc on the world.

Kushina was the only jinchuuriki that had survived.

"So, what sort of trap are we talking about? How do you know it won't blow up in your faces?"

It was the Raikage who broke the silence, a worried look passing over his face. Kumo had both the Nibi and the Hachibi, both of them important ninjas close to the kage if Itachi remembered correctly.

"One of the dimension travelers is with him," Tsunade replied, and Itachi could see how his mother's lips pursed in worry. "We'll just have to wait and see."

Her words triggered a heated discussion, and when it seemed like it wouldn't end anytime soon, Itachi passed a tired hand over his face.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Shisui asked quietly, gnawing on his lower lip.

"Hopefully nothing. If we're lucky, we get some clues, and figure out why Menma is behaving like he is. If we're not…"

He left the rest of the sentence hanging, Shisui grimacing.

"Sasuke's strong."

Neither of them mentioned their own Sasuke, or the fact that he still avoided coming home. So far Tsunade had been lenient, choosing to wait out the mission results before forcing Sasuke to tell them what he knew about Menma. Itachi wished it didn't have to be like that, but once they discovered their relationship it was too late to change things. Menma had been monitored since the attack of the masked man, and there had been enough changes to his personality and chakra patterns that something was obviously going on.

Better to trigger it far away from the village.

He didn't want to think about the other part, about how his brother seemed to be compatible with jinchuurikis. It was no secret that a carrier of a bijuu needed to be careful with strong emotions, as proven by Menma's anger issues lately setting off the kyuubi. He knew how much his mother had fought against the request of the Kazekage, to no avail. If Sasuke was not only receptive to bijuu chakra but also managed not to trigger it, he was the perfect candidate for a political marriage.

Well, Itachi would have a thing or two to say about that, if it was ever suggested out in the open.

xxx

As they passed the border into the Land of Tea, Sasuke noticed how Menma grew increasingly unresponsive. Both Fugaku and Naori seemed to notice as well, slowing down the pace until they appeared to be out on an evening stroll. There were no forests here, so they'd been running for a while, and Sasuke did not appreciate the change.

"Shouldn't we move faster?" he asked, but Fugaku shook his head.

"We're on time. We'll meet with our contact at one of the tea houses at the village outskirts, and spend the night. We'll scope out the area tomorrow in daylight. That should make it easier to find any traces of Kazunari or the attacks."

Sasuke sighed, glancing at Menma, whose face was passive. He almost seemed distant, in a way, slow in his responses. It was hard to keep an eye on someone when you didn't know what counts as worrying behavior.

"I sure hope the tea is good," Naori said, raising an arm and leaning to the side to stretch.

It sounded strained, like she was making an effort to appear casual. Not that Menma seemed to notice, staring sluggishly into the distance.

Perhaps Menma was not the side mission after all, but rather the reason they were out here in the first place.

The tea house also served as an inn, and they were immediately sat down by a long low-end table in the banquet hall, sitting on the floor on tatami mats. A middle-aged woman sat with them, introducing herself as Miyamoto Asumi, their contact. They made small talk as they ate dinner, though Sasuke kept his replies short. He felt on edge, wondering what to expect. Mysterious chakra signatures could be anything, after all.

Once the dishes had been cleared and tea had been served, Asumi finally stopped talking about vegetables, or whatever it was she'd been eagerly discussing with Fugaku.

"Things have been strange for a while," she hummed, moving a stray lock of the dark hair that fell to her waist, peering thoughtfully into her tea. "Ever since that man visited – a missing nin, wasn't it? – there's been incidents."

"There had been attacks?" Fugaku asked, and Asumi nodded.

"Nothing severe, but there's this area up north… People have seen strange white shapes lurking around, and my friend's child fell through the ground into some sort of half finished tunnel. Most attacks were just horses being spooked, but one of the merchants was adamant that he saw a human-shaped being he called 'slimy and white'."

Slimy and white… Sasuke had a bad feeling about this.

"We stay away now, but I suppose your colleagues found something strange as well since you were sent here."

"Chakra signatures," Fugaku confirmed, leaning his chin on his clasped hands. "A sensor-type ninja was in the group, and she said there were chakra pulses in the ground, seemingly leading into the area."

"Well, just be careful if you go there," Asumi said, tapping a finger against her tea cup. "I don't know much about ninja business, but we'd rather not have anything like that close to the village."

Fugaku asked a few more questions, but she didn't know anything that hadn't already been reported. Eventually they retired to their rooms, Sasuke forced to share with Menma. The other guy seemed tired, a stark contrast from that morning. Back then he'd seemed agitated, almost, while now he barely managed to wash his face before falling face first onto his futon. Sasuke contemplated mentioning it to Fugaku, but figured he'd keep an eye out and see what things were like in the morning instead.

It was difficult to relax with Menma nearby, at first so still he might as well be dead, but around an hour after falling asleep he started tossing and turning instead, muttering to himself. He didn't utter words so much as groans and incoherent mumbling, and it made Sasuke wonder if he'd slept at all the night before. Was he having nightmares?

A while longer of this and Sasuke sat up in his own futon, stretching to turn on the ceiling lamp. He observed Menma for a while, noticing the light sheen of sweat on his forehead, the way his face alternated between scrunching up and relaxing. It certainly looked like a nightmare, and Sasuke wasn't feeling generous enough to try and wake him up from it.

To Sasuke's relief he calmed down soon enough, breathing evening out until his sleep was peaceful. Turning off the lights again, Sasuke turned to lie facing the wall, back towards Menma. He tried to meditate, but his thoughts kept turning to Naruto. Was he having trouble sleeping, too? Probably. Pushing one hand close to his chest, Sasuke let it curl above his heart. The extra beat inside wasn't weak per se, but he could feel a definite difference compared to being in the same area as Naruto.

It was honestly a little surprising that he hadn't noticed any clones following him yet, but perhaps Naruto had been appeased by the teleportation mark. It must be nice to be able to leave marks on anything, he thought with an eye roll, to have everything you want just a quick teleportation away. For a while he entertained the thought of Naruto appearing in front of him, for no reason other than to check on him and be obnoxious. He'd scold Naruto for sure, but maybe he'd let him stay the night, just to see if it would let him sleep. Then he'd kick him out in the morning, ignoring his inevitable smugness. Maybe he could also-

Sasuke froze, holding his breath. Menma had stirred, but rather than toss in a nightmare he'd thrown the covers off himself, sitting up. He listened as Menma's bare feet touched the tatami mats on the floor, his movements barely emitting any noise as he stood. His neck prickled with Menma's gaze, and Sasuke carefully angled his fingers towards his wrist, ready to summon a kunai if needed.

For the longest moment, Menma simply stood, staring at him. Then he turned, light on his feet as he went over to the window. They were on the second floor, hardly a height for a ninja, but Sasuke didn't dare turn as he heard it slide open. It sounded like Menma hopped onto the windowsill, that prickling feeling back on his neck for a second, and then a faint shift in the air as he jumped out.

He only needed a split second to decide.

Glad he'd brought his shoes with him to the room he slipped them on, creeping over to the window, ears attuned to the smallest noises. Menma was nowhere to be seen, but when Sasuke landed softly on the ground after grabbing his katana he could easily detect trampled grass, hurried footsteps leading towards the dirt road that would take him north of the small village.

Well, he thought, Sharingan flashing red, finally something happens.

Deciding to leave the other two to sleep, he took up chase.

So! Next chapter we'll finally get some action! Nora said I should just kill Menma and make Charasuke marry Gaara instead, but like. It sounds a bit drastic lol. We also had an argument about the snake summons, but I think I managed to convince her that if Sasuke could actually summon his usual big snakes they would be able to transport him home through dimensions and that would make the whole story kind of pointless lol.

Thanks for reading:D