So I didn't die despite the cliffhanger I left you with! Sorry about taking so long, and a huge thank you to everyone who has left comments and checked up on me since the last chapter! I've been busy with my thesis and only managed to write a bit of Yuri on ice in the meantime. But now I'm all done!

Important note: I'm deviating from canon a bit with the fact that Obito didn't die in the canon world (which has been mentioned somewhere before) and also slightly from the movie. Hopefully it all makes sense though! Since, you know, the original manga doesn't make much sense on its own... *sweats* Also, the first three "scenes" that are divided by III are supposed to be just one scene with spaces to indicate time skips, but you can't really make empty lines here on ff so... that's the explanation!

I'm also sorry for sometimes taking so long to reply to comments. I'll try to get better OTL. Your comments really mean a lot though and I read each and every one carefully!

Also, it's incredible that this story passed 3,000 kudos on ao3! I can hardly believe it! Thank you as always to both new and old readers, for enjoying my story *hearts*

To anyone wondering about whose POV the scenes are from, I've listed it in the end notes to avoid any spoilers. Since Menma arrived in canon Konoha last chapter, there will be switches between road to ninja-Konoha and canon Konoha!

Now, let's see what's going on in this chapter~

Chapter 39: Making plans

xxx

Menma grew up different. It's not like he hated it, at first – the kyuubi didn't feel like a part of him, more like an abstract concept. What he did hate was being separated, trained on his own when everyone else was put on teams. He never really did figure out the true reason, if it was to protect teammates from potential harm or if the village wanted him to focus on controlling the kyuubi without distractions like teamwork.

He was still invited to things, when missions didn't get in the way. Birthday parties. Picnics. Hinata's weird demands for dates. So it's not like he was alone, but…

Different. That's just how it was, to grow up with something living inside him, something with a mind that couldn't be reasoned with, something that invaded his dreams sometimes, pushed his emotions too far if he wasn't careful. It was just easier to stay different, to keep his distance, smile on the outside and keep his feelings carefully stowed away. Adults really loved polite children, didn't they? And sure, his mother understood, knew what it was like, but she wasn't born with it. She'd had Minato, friends and family, all before the kyuubi.

Menma had the kyuubi first.

At fourteen he'd been sent away to train under Killer Bee, the man carrying the eight-tails. It was nice, easier, to be away from everything and all the expectations of the village. And he got to meet the rest of the jinchuuriki, too. Knowing that there were eight more like him was a relief he hadn't known he sought, but the quiet confession from Gaara that he, too, saw things in his dreams sometimes made things a little bit better.

Sometimes Menma dreamt of a pale woman, eyes blank but voice soft as she sang to him; sometimes he dreamt of a tree too tall to see the branches, and yet he knew they were there in the sky, ripe with fruit.

Sometimes, he dreamt of feeling time rip apart at the seams, of forgetting himself. Those were the dreams that had him crying out at night, heart beating like mad and sweat wetting his forehead.

When Menma returned to Konoha at age sixteen, he started dreaming about a boy.

III

"I think you're lying," Sasuke said, leaning back on his elbows. "No one could survive an entire winter up in the mountains like that."

"Yeah, well. He did."

Menma couldn't help the way his eyes trailed Sasuke's neck, head tilted back to stare up at the drifting clouds. He'd been staring a lot, lately, more now that they went on missions together regularly. It was just so easy to rest his gaze on the other boy, trace his delicate jaw and dark lashes, the pretty bow of his lips. It wasn't surprising that Sasuke had a fan club in the village, mostly girls of various ages, ninjas and civilians alike.

"You're so full of shit."

Almost forgetting that he was supposed to scowl, Menma shrugged and dug at the ground with a kunai from his belt. The thing was, Sasuke didn't like him. He kind of hated him, really, and Menma was supposed to hate him, too.

"Whatever. Someone who's barely been outside the village wouldn't understand, anyway."

Sasuke scoffed, of course. He always scoffed at Menma, no matter what. It was infuriating and wonderful at the same time, because Sasuke didn't treat him like someone different, someone to be cautious around. Even though his old supposed friends had welcomed him back almost a year ago, it was obvious that things had changed.

It didn't help that even though Menma now knew how to utilize the kyuubi's powers, he hadn't come back with the skill perfected. Sasuke had apparently been the only one that didn't decline a mission immediately at the thought of having him as a team member, so it usually ended up being the two of them and some random unenthusiastic jounin that Tsunade had assigned. Because apparently, even someone like Menma needed experience with mundane routine missions. He would have complained a long time ago if not for Sasuke.

He may or may not have a small problem, but it's not like he had a crush or anything. Sasuke was just – pretty.

"I don't need to go outside the village to know something is impossible," Sasuke said, lying down on the grass, arms underneath his head. "A human can't survive on eating moss and birds in that cold."

"Maybe he wasn't fully human anymore."

The look Sasuke gave him was so full of disbelief that Menma almost called out his own lie, but he got distracted by the slip of skin showing where the hem of his t-shirt had bunched up.

"Again, you're full of shit."

Somehow the shirt bunched up a little more, and then Sasuke sat up to catch him staring with an amused look on his face.

"Like what you see? Too bad you're not my type."

"I wasn't-!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, flopping back down on the grass. A wave of heat rushed through Menma, embarrassment and excitement in a mix that had him flushed, stubbornly turning his head to stare into the trees surrounding the small clearing.

"I have standards," Sasuke said, and Menma couldn't help but wonder what made him so unappealing. "Besides, aren't you banned from that sort of thing."

Twitching, Menma stayed silent.

"What, you're not going to comment on that? It was way too funny when Tsunade-sama told us."

"It's not funny," he snarled, throwing the kunai at a random three, watching it sink into the stem with a satisfying thump.

"It's a little bit funny."

Menma turned, scowling at the glee showing on Sasuke's face. It was too unfair, that he'd be teased like this by the only guy he'd like to break the rule for.

"You have a shitty sense of humor in that case."

All Sasuke did was grin, infuriatingly sweet despite the smugness. Maybe he should request someone else to come with him on these missions, though he was fairly sure no one would accept.

"Also, shouldn't that Hayate guy be back soon?"

"Maybe he thinks you're too annoying."

"Maybe he thinks you're too dumb."

He didn't expect Sasuke to get on his knees and grab the front of his tank top, faces close enough for their breaths to mingle. He couldn't hide the choked little noise in his throat, Sasuke glancing down for a moment before pinning him with his glare again.

"You know, I felt a little sorry for Hinata when Tsunade told us. She was pretty upset."

"I don't care about Hinata."

It must be so obvious to Sasuke, the way he held his breath, the way he struggled not to move away. Sasuke clearly didn't like him that way, and yet the tension felt thick, Sasuke's hand warm against his chest.

"Do you care about anything?"

"What do you mean?" Menma frowned, heart beating a staccato in his chest. "Why wouldn't I care about things?"

Sasuke was so close, closer than Menma had ever been to someone who weren't his parents. Such a small distance separating their lips, that all he'd need to do was lean in…

"Do you care about me, then?"

The words were whispered against his mouth, dark eyes boring into his soul, a shiver running through him. He couldn't help but expect Sasuke to lean back, play it off as a cruel joke; when he didn't, Menma sucked in a breath and grabbed his wrist. How did they go from insulting each other to this?

"If you're messing with me-"

"I'm not afraid of you, if that's what you think. When Tsunade told everyone to keep their hands off you, I found it so funny, you know? What are you going to do, turn into the kyuubi because someone kissed you? You always seemed so cold and aloof that I didn't think you'd even react."

Clenching his jaw Menma tried to lean back, but Sasuke pulled him back in, holding his gaze with determination.

"It really annoyed me. Everyone is always talking about you, Menma this, Menma that, giving you special treatment. But no one wants to go on a mission with you, not even Hinata. I don't get what the big deal is, they didn't even give us a reason for you being off limits."

Something about the way Sasuke looked at him made his insides feel like they were boiling, liquid fire running through his veins. And yet he felt grounded, held into place, as if the kyuubi clawed at the cage holding it captive and Sasuke had bolted the gate shut.

"Why do you care?" he found himself asking, licking his dry lips as Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

They'd never been friends as kids, hadn't talked in class or hung out with the same friends. There was no reason for Sasuke to accept missions with him, no reason for him to even talk to him during them.

"I wanted to see for myself, if you were really someone to take notice of."

"And?" Menma gripped Sasuke's wrist harder, chest burning painfully. "Am I?"

They stared at each other for a moment, neither willing to move first. Menma wasn't sure what he wanted to happen, if he wanted anything to happen. There was a reason he was 'banned' from physical relationships, and he wasn't sure about pushing it.

Then again, it wasn't as if he was forbidden because of past experiences. It was just a safety precaution for all jinchuuriki, since intense emotional states could trigger a release if you weren't careful and knew how to stay in control.

Apparently, orgasm was one such emotional state. Of course he'd argued about it, because he did just fine when he was on his own, but his parents kept insisting it was different together with someone you had feelings for.

Well, this might be his chance to find out.

"You're not going to answer?"

"I don't like the answer."

Menma barely had time to open his mouth in surprise, Sasuke's lips soft over his. It was such a strange contrast to their harsh banter, just a brush of lips that sent tingles through his mouth and down his throat, erupting inside him like crashing waves.

"Aren't you going to kiss me back?" Sasuke murmured, hand sneaking up to cup his cheek, fingers pushing into his hair.

"I…"

He didn't have much choice, did he, other than sink into Sasuke's touch like a man starved for it. Sasuke kissed him and he burned, shivering when the hand on his cheek found his neck instead, pulling him closer. It was too much and too little all at once, his hands curling uselessly against his thighs.

"Oops," Sasuke said, leaning back a little in half concern, half amusement. "Looks like my guess was correct."

It took him a moment, Sasuke pointing at his hands. Red chakra bubbled up between his clenched fingers, but rather than recoil, Sasuke started rubbing his wrists.

"Relax," he murmured, ducking his head to nose at Menma's cheek. "I'll guide you through it."

Sasuke was most likely making fun of him, but Menma did find himself relaxing, the burning sensation seeping out of his body. Their fingers laced, Menma's breath hitching at the touch. Something about Sasuke's presence was so soothing. Perhaps that was another reason Menma felt so fixated with him, because even though he didn't want to admit it, even though Sasuke also irritated him so easily, he gave Menma a sense of calm he couldn't feel with anyone else on missions.

When Sasuke kissed him again he felt a shudder go through his body, bones melting with it; for just a moment he felt at ease.

Naturally, he pushed Sasuke off and stood up, wiping at his mouth. His heart beat like mad inside his ribcage, his mind a mess. No one had ever pushed past his barriers like that.

"Never do that again," he spat, all the while wondering if this was how he would die.

III

Menma dreamt about a boy, but he said we should probably not tell anyone. Sasuke had worn at him, had crushed his defenses until there was nothing left but to make sure no one found out.

When the memory losses started, it was Sasuke who pointed it out first.

"You forgot our date last night," Sasuke said, frowning at him. "I waited two hours."

He didn't know what to say to that.

"I must have fallen asleep."

It came out more like a question, because Menma couldn't quite remember going to bed last night. He'd woken up with a headache, sluggish and incredibly hungry.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just tired."

It wasn't entirely a lie. However, it became a lie when he kept losing track of the days, when his mother started asking where he'd been when his room stood empty at night. He had no answers.

All he knew was that if he told someone they'd most likely put him on surveillance, and then he couldn't see Sasuke. And it wasn't that he didn't want to be associated with Sasuke, rather the opposite. Menma didn't want him to get in trouble, or lose his popularity. It was something they argued about sometimes.

Of course, had he known what it was he did those times his memory was left blank, Menma would have gladly shut himself inside a prison cell and stayed there. As it was, things got more and more hazy until he woke up one night in his mother's arms, destruction all around him.

Everyone blamed the masked man, but Menma knew. Not because his memory returned, but because of the bits and pieces of evidence he managed to gather afterwards. It was highly likely that Menma had killed people, and the thought haunted him long after the village had been rebuilt. The days he'd been gone from the village, the flashes of memory, the stories of burned down towns and of himself fighting in kyuubi mode…

He tried moving on, but the fear gnawed at him.

What if it happened again? Would he be able to stop it? Would anyone else be able to stop him?

In a way, Naruto and the other Sasuke's arrival was a relief. This time it wasn't memory loss, but rather dreams. His fate was inescapable, and though he resented Naruto and the other Sasuke, at least he had the small comfort that they could probably keep everyone safe. Still, he fought it for a while, his body constantly high-strung, his mind constantly a swirling mess. Only Sasuke could distract him, could keep him from bursting at the seams, and it was with a sinking feeling that he realized that Sasuke deserved better.

Menma only hurt him, involuntary or not. He'd told him too much, and Sasuke cared too much in turn. Most of the time they ignored their feelings, riled each other up instead, until Menma woke up one day with no idea what he'd been doing the past twelve hours.

Sasuke was better off without him, and certainly better off not caring when things got ugly. And, if he couldn't have Sasuke, what was even the point of fighting back?

xxx

Menma woke, slowly, to voices coming in and out of focus. He felt as if floating for a moment, a blissful disconnection with his body – all too soon everything hurt. He must have made some kind of noise because the voices fell silent, and whoever they belonged to rushed over to him. Opening his eyes proved too hard, the faint light through his eyelids burning too bright.

"I think he's waking up," a voice said, and was that Sakura?

"That kid's got a thing or two to explain," muttered another, sounding vaguely like Tsunade.

Maybe staying asleep was a better option. The pain lacing his skin and the splitting headache all pointed to him turning kyuubi, and Menma had really thought that when he lost consciousness this time he wouldn't wake up again. Did this mean things were all over, or was it just a momentary respite?

"Naruto? Can you hear us?"

No, that didn't sound right. He tried to move, groaning at the pain. Immediately hands were on him, and a moment later the pain disappeared in a swift wave of warmth.

"Take it easy," said Sakura, or what was most likely her. She never used to speak to him with such a soft tone. "Let the medication start working before you move again."

Sinking into the mattress again, Menma tried to think of nothing. Only when the headache disappeared did he try to open his eyes again, finding his guess to be correct. Both Sakura and Tsunade hovered over him, worry written all over their faces.

"Better?"

No, not really. The last thing he remembered was heading out for a mission with too many Uchiha clan members, none of which liked him much. Being back in the village in a hospital bed could only mean things had gone wrong along the way.

"What happened?" he croaked, despite not wanting to know the answer.

They shared a look, Tsunade's mouth a thin line as she sat down on the chair next to his bed.

"Sakura found you in the woods just outside the village," she said, "surrounded by white Zetsu."

White what-now? He shifted, feeling sleepy now that whatever drug they'd injected to keep the pain at bay was really settling in.

"I don't know what that is."

They shared another look, more concerned now.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Sakura asked, trying for a reassuring smile.

She acted a lot different than usual. He could only think of a few reasons they'd take care to be nice to him, and none were too pleasant.

"Heading out on the mission."

They seemed taken aback by that, Sakura gnawing on her lower lip.

"And… which mission would that be?"

"…the one you just sent me on? With Sasuke and Fugaku, and what's-her-name."

He shifted again, his arm feeling asleep. God, he hated waking up like this.

"Okay," Sakura said, looking a little wild around the eyes. "I'll just ask you a few questions to make sure everything's fine with your head."

He would have laughed if he had the strength. Couldn't it wait until later? He really wanted to go back to sleep.

"What's your name?"

"Menma."

He waited for another question, but it never arrived.

"Aren't you supposed to ask me more stuff?"

For some reason, Sakura looked a little pale. Then, she came around his bed to stand by his chest, leaning in close to look him in the eyes.

"Do you know where Naruto and Sasuke are?"

He frowned.

"Did something happen to them? Wait, which Sasuke?"

She let out a breath, relief and joy on her face.

"Tsunade-sama," she breathed out. "I know where they are now."

xxx

Naturally, the other Uchiha clan members on Sasuke's team had not been happy to find out what had been going on while they were asleep. It took them the better part of the night to search through the cave and discuss what should be done, and by the time morning rolled around Naruto was more than ready to fall asleep.

"Why can't they just decide on something," he complained to Sasuke, staring into his cup of tea where a few crushed leaves swam in what was left of the drink. "We obviously have no way of following Menma right now, why not just go back?"

"And let everyone know that Menma turned into the kyuubi and ran off? People would panic."

We should have just gone with them from the beginning, Kurama muttered, though Naruto chose to ignore him (even if he agreed).

"Then I'll just pretend to be Menma and the problem is solved! Or a clone of mine could."

Sasuke blinked at him, craning his neck to see Naruto's face since he sat slumped against him.

"I guess that could work…"

"See? Sometimes I have the best ideas. Besides, Iruka probably didn't even notice that I left."

"Then you should leave your clone here and teleport back."

Naruto huffed, sneaking his arm around Sasuke's and squeezing it close.

"Or," he said, glaring at the other two Uchihas who were talking lowly with each other, "I send my clone ahead and stay with you."

When Sasuke put his own teacup on the low table with an audible clunk, Fugaku and Naori lifted their faces toward the two of them.

"I just need to talk to Naruto alone for a bit," he announced, and without waiting for a reply he practically dragged Naruto upstairs to his borrowed room.

"Jeez, Sasuke, what's so important to talk abou-"

The rest of his sentence was muffled by Sasuke's mouth latching onto his, his body pressed heavily against the door. It made Kurama laugh much louder than Naruto thought the situation deserved, though he quickly forgot about it when Sasuke licked into his mouth. For someone who had been kissing so little, he sure knew how to work Naruto in all the right ways.

It was all he could do to cling to Sasuke's arms, arching into his touch. He could feel the heat building up, his groin stirring in interest as Sasuke pushed against him more insistently. While it was far better than falling half asleep at the table downstairs, he couldn't help but wonder what brought this on.

Still, he bit at Sasuke's lower lip, grinning at the surprised noise it earned him as Sasuke pulled back to scowl at him.

"Are you trying to be funny?" he asked, and Naruto hurried to shake his head.

"I just… thought it might feel good?"

"You thought biting me might feel good."

"Well maybe it wasn't good for you," Naruto blurted out before he could stop himself, but to his great surprise Sasuke leaned in and bit him in return, which, oh.

Oh.

"What, you're not going to say anything?" Sasuke taunted him, but Naruto was much too busy suppressing the shivers of blistering hot want curling in his gut.

All he managed was a weak little whine, and then he buried his face in Sasuke's shoulder so he at least wouldn't beg Sasuke to do it again. It just felt too good, lighting sparks within his lips that then spread to the rest of his body, rushing down his spine as if Sasuke had used chidori through mouth-to-mouth.

It wasn't until he calmed down again that he realized Sasuke just stood there holding him a little awkwardly against the wall. Not that it wasn't nice that Sasuke had become so comfortable with physical contact, but did he really drag him upstairs just to make out?

"Give me a warning next time," he muttered, straightening up again and huffing when Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"You should be thanking me for giving you a break."

"A break because you bit me!"

Even though Sasuke scoffed, Naruto could tell there was a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

"I meant a break from sitting around doing nothing downstairs, idiot." Then he narrowed his eyes, taking a step back that had Naruto involuntarily following him. "And must I remind you that you bit me first?"

Rather than reply, Naruto pushed him towards the very inviting bed just by the door.

"Then we should use this break for something better than arguing," he suggested, but Sasuke sighed and shook his head.

"We need to decide what we're going to do about what happened to Menma."

"I vote for my idea instead."

When all Sasuke did was stare him down, as if he wasn't the one who started getting all handsy in the first place, Naruto groaned and sank down on the edge of the bed.

"Fine, but we are totally going to do the biting thing again when we get back."

Sasuke scoffed, which was practically a yes. He stayed by the door, leaning against it in one of those poses Naruto had thought made him look like a great jerk when they were kids. He still thought it, but just a little bit.

"Are you sure you could pretend to be Menma?"

"Uh, well, last time everyone believed I was Menma for days, even his parents."

He tried not to think about how that experience had been both blissful and horrifying.

"This time they can recognize the difference, though."

Shrugging, Naruto propped his head up with an elbow on his knee, peering up at Sasuke. It would have been much nicer if Sasuke had sat down next to him.

"Then we'll just make him pop in and leave right away. No problem."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, but he didn't disagree which meant Naruto was right, again. Life was so good lately.

"I guess we could say he went to Akatsuki's headquarters."

"Oh yeah, that could work." When Sasuke gave him a meaningful look, Naruto twitched. "Wait, you mean I need to go there to make it believable? No way!"

"You could send a clone."

"That's still terrible! It's enough if I just fake leaving, isn't it?"

While Sasuke didn't look happy about it, he also looked like he'd already made up his mind. Oh, Naruto was going to die.

It's just a clone, Kurama told him, but he sounded so smug about it that Naruto ignored him again. He was sure he'd be getting a scolding from Kurama sooner or later, but for now he focused on glaring at Sasuke.

"I'm not going."

"We'll see what the others say about it."

Groaning, Naruto flopped back on the bed, annoyed when Sasuke didn't show the least amount of sympathy.

"Last time was awful."

"You don't have to stay there, just walk inside the door."

"If I get traumatized from the memories you'll owe me big time."

Sasuke heaved a sigh, somehow managing to make it sound all condescending.

"Name your price then, idiot."

Squiggling back and forth on the bed, Naruto tried to come up with something that made the whole thing worth it. It would have to be something big, something important, something-

"Oooh, I know!" He shot up on his knees, grinning wide. "You have to wear one of my shirts!"

"No."

"Aaahaha, and definitely an orange one."

"What kind of price is that?! I'm not wearing your shirt."

"It's the price you have to pay," Naruto told him, all serious with crossed arms.

Is this about the time that guy mistook you for an Uchiha?

Of course it is!

He could tell that Kurama was rolling his eyes at him, but well. Naruto had never pretended he wasn't petty. Or he might have pretended but Sasuke really had it coming.

(If the thought of Sasuke wearing his clothes appealed to him, well. That was an entirely different thing.)

"Either way you should send a clone back to Iruka's house for it to work," Sasuke reminded him, and Naruto couldn't help repeating it mockingly.

"I knew that," he said, quickly creating a clone and sending it on its way.

Now that he thought of it, wasn't it a little impressive that his clones could teleport that far? Sasuke really should praise him more.

As it was, Naruto had to survive on only one more stolen kiss before they unfortunately ventured downstairs again.

xxx

Sasuke woke up with a good feeling in his stomach. Why? Because he didn't need to see Gaara at all today. Truly a wonderful day! He stretched, breathing in the scent of coffee. Sakura had most likely already headed for a shift at the hospital, but hopefully she'd made enough for two.

He had just settled down on the couch again with a steaming mug, fully intent on watching trashy movies and be completely useless until he could just fall asleep again in the evening, when the doorbell rang. Wondering who it could possibly be, he decided to ignore them. Of course, this aggravated whoever was on the other side, and the bell buzzed and buzzed until Sasuke threw his hands in the air and dragged his feet over to the door.

He only opened it halfway before attempting to slam it shut again. Unfortunately his brother was too fast, and unfortunately strong enough to pull it back open.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Itachi asked drily, sauntering inside like he owned the place.

(Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, but Sasuke didn't feel very forgiving today.)

"No."

Itachi sighed, sinking down on the couch and drinking from Sasuke's coffee cup without a single ounce of shame.

"Get your own damn coffee," he muttered, leaning against the wall with crossed arms. "And whatever it is, I don't want to hear it."

"I'm on your side, you know," Itachi murmured, but he didn't set the cup down.

"There are sides now?"

When Itachi patted the space beside him, Sasuke stubbornly remained by the wall. It was far enough away that he could (maybe) escape if he needed to. It also made him feel some sense of control. He was still angry, and while Itachi hadn't been the one that hurt him the most, he was still part of it.

"Look," Itachi sighed, tugging at his ponytail. "I know mother and father didn't handle this the best way, but things are tense right now. Menma is… unstable, I suppose you could call it. But he's not the only important thing going on."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you haven't missed that the Hokage elections are coming up soon."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, Itachi giving him a small smile.

"I might not like politics, but relations to other villages are important."

"Are you here to tell me I should be nicer to Gaara? Because I'm already nice to him."

"I'm here to say maybe you shouldn't be too nice to him."

Making a face, Sasuke gave up and walked over to the couch, making sure to sit as far away from Itachi as possible. He did snatch his blanket though, wrapping it around him like a protective shield.

"He said his dad is trying to set us up. Isn't that ridiculous?"

"Is it?"

At least Sasuke thought it was. An arranged marriage, in this day and age? Absolutely idiotic.

"It would provide a good reason to keep our alliance with Suna intact," Itachi continued, peering at him over the cup. "And make sure you're off limits for Menma."

"That's funny," Sasuke said, feeling hysterical laughter building up. "I almost thought you were serious for a moment."

"I think it's a terrible idea, but I'm not the Hokage. And mother is worried about you. It's no secret that you're a bit, well, promiscuous."

"So she thinks I'm the troublesome child and wants to marry me off so I won't stain the clan's reputation."

Itachi shrugged, finishing up the coffee and setting the cup down on the low table. Something seemed to crawl up Sasuke's skin, unpleasant and scratchy.

"I think she's hoping you'll enjoy his company and consider the offer when it comes."

"I don't think Gaara will make the offer." Sasuke picked at his blanket, wishing he could pull it over his head and just disappear. "He's a nice, reasonable person."

"Well, it wouldn't happen overnight."

Frowning, Sasuke waited for Itachi to elaborate. Even if Gaara did seem a little bit interested in him, he doubted he was even brave enough to ask knowing Menma already liked him. There had to be some sort of loyalty between jinchuuriki too, right? Either way Sasuke didn't enjoy being thought of as some bargaining chip with no say in the matter.

"You obviously felt you needed to tell me, though."

Itachi heaved a sigh, and for once he looked as young as he really was. It was hard to imagine him as the Hokage, sitting at a desk day in and day out, dealing with politics.

"There's been talk about sending you to Suna after the election. For diplomatic reasons, of course."

"Who could possibly want me as a diplomat."

At least that made Itachi grin a little, and he made an attempt at ruffling Sasuke's hair. After a whole life of practice he managed to avoid it easily.

"I'm sure you know how to behave if you need to. You'd be an assistant though, so it's not like you'll have any powers."

Sinking deeper into his blanket, Sasuke contemplated the idea. He did want to do something more important. If things hadn't been as they were, he probably would have been excited at the possibility. But as usual he wouldn't be doing it out of his own merit. It instantly soured things. Was he really that expendable that he would only be allowed to do what was convenient for the clan? He had his own goals and motivations. He just needed to figure out what they were first.

"I'd rather enlist as the Daimyo's personal guard," he muttered, knowing full well that only ninja who couldn't find proper work in the village were desperate enough to join a non-ninja guard force.

"Either way you're invited to dinner tonight," Itachi said, "and by invited I mean you have no choice but to join."

Sasuke was starting to have a bad feeling about today.

xxx

The top secure facility lay underground, and Sakura had to go through several steps in order to reach the prisoner she needed to speak with. The walls were a bright white, humming with reinforced chakra. Few people were imprisoned here – only the most dangerous ninja. In truth, it had been built after the war to house one particular ninja.

Obito.

The prison guard came with her, opening a barely outlined door in the corridor. It led into a small room with no furniture, one wall made entirely of glass. On the other side sat Obito on a small bed, reading a book. She knew that Naruto had come here a couple of times to talk to him, but she hadn't felt the need herself. Without Madara's influence he was apparently much more like his former self, the young boy Kakashi had once called teammate.

He lifted his head as the guard knocked on the glass, blinking in surprise at her presence.

"Hello," he said, getting up to stand before them.

Clad in a simple shirt and pants he looked thin, no mask covering his face. The guard had informed her that the glass was as secure as the other walls, not that she was worried. Obito's chakra had been sealed, and now he was going to live out the rest of his life inside these walls.

"Obito," she greeted him, and he nodded with a faint smile.

"It's been a while, Sakura."

She hummed, contemplating him. It had crossed her mind before, fleetingly, to search for Naruto and Sasuke in other dimensions. Unfortunately, Obito was the only person with the ability to search, and during the fight against Kaguya he'd needed Sakura with him to heal the strain it put on his body. Tsunade hadn't deemed it worth the risk. Obito may be back to his original self, something Ino had even been able to confirm using her techniques to search his mind, but he was the one who had insisted on being locked away. Though he was the only one to think so, he didn't believe that Kaguya was truly sealed. It still didn't explain how Menma could appear when she'd been fairly sure that place had existed within an illusion, not as a dimension of its own.

"I'll go straight to the point," she said, fingers twitching before she closed them into fists. "If the restraints were lifted, could you use kamui again and jump through dimensions?"

For some reason, Obito didn't seem surprised.

"It's possible, I think. I would need some time to rebuild my chakra first."

"Could you go to that place where you dropped me and Naruto once? The one you made that was some kind of copy of Konoha?"

At this, he raised his eyebrows, placing his hands behind his back.

"I wouldn't call it a copy… Even I'm not sure where that place comes from. Black Zetsu told me about it."

"But…" Sakura searched his face, trying to detect any lies. "I actually thought it was a world you made with genjutsu?"

Shrugging, Obito tilted his head in thought.

"It's true that I brought you there by using a prototype of the infinite tsukuyomi on you, but that was merely to keep you under control and make sure you fully merged with it. That world existed as a copy of our world, but it also changed when I brought you there. I think Zetsu called it a possible world, or something like that."

"That doesn't really make any sense."

"You could say that it was a very real illusion, like the infinite tsukuyomi was during the battle with Kaguya, but it seemed to exist on its own as well aside from my meddling with it."

Sakura pinched her nose, wondering why everything that Naruto ever touched had to be so unbelievably complicated.

"Well, either way, the Naruto from that dimension that you used to attack us just showed up here."

"Ah."

"Is that all you have to say? He's clearly a real person."

"Then that means it wasn't merely an illusion."

They stared at each other, Sakura's mind whirring with all the possible reasons for Menma's arrival. Menma had told them that both Naruto and Sasuke were fine and staying in that Konoha, but hadn't been able to go home. He also seemed to have no idea of how he ended up in the forest where Sakura found him.

"But you could go there again?"

"I can try," Obito told her, scratching at his neck. "I only went there a few times though, so who knows if I can still find the correct place."

She nodded, already considering her arguments to make Tsunade allow it. If anything they should at least try to bring Menma back. Still, it could be days before Obito regained enough chakra to make an attempt.

"Try to remember. I'll be back as soon as I've talked with Tsunade-sama."

With one last look at him, Sakura turned on her heels and walked back the way she came. As relieved as she was, she'd spent too much of her life constantly waiting for the next catastrophic event to happen. Was this the next thing going down? She shivered, wrapping her arms around her as she walked. Even the sunlight outside couldn't properly dispel the cold she felt creep along her spine. They'd had a whole year of peace, of trying to rebuild. No one in the village was ready for anything big.

She could only hope that whatever was going on, it was happening only in that other world.

List of POV's
1. Menma flashback
present
3. Naruto
4. Charasuke
5. Sakura

Now that I've graduated law school, I hope I'll be able to write lots at least during summer. As always I have too many stories and too little time, but I'll try my best!

All the love to you for reading:D

P.s. You can still find me on tumblr under fangirlandiknowit101, as well as twitter under katsudonforever. Feel free to check there if I'm alive and/or productive;)