Expelled from Konoha

Disclaimer: None of these cut scenes 'officially' happen in the Connections series, so they may contradict what the original story shows.

"He can't stay."

Sasuke Uchiha gritted his teeth and reminded himself yet again that he was in no position to yell at the fifth Hokage of Konoha. Naruto might get away with something like that, but it had repeatedly been demonstrated that there was something about the other boy that caused people to take a leave of their senses. Sasuke, on the other hand, was lucky he hadn't been brought up on official charges of treason after the thing with Orochimaru, and as it was, was on unofficial probation. Shouting at the Hokage that she was a disgrace and out of her fucking mind was not going to win him any concessions.

And unfortunately, Sasuke desperately needed those concessions.

So he kept his mouth shut and waited for permission to lay out all of the many reasons why she had better change her mind. But even showing that bit of decorum was not going to be enough and the woman narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't give me that look, Uchiha. We all knew he wasn't staying here permanently."

Like hell they did! Sasuke had never intended for his cousin to even leave the protection of the compound, if he could find a way to keep the boy hemmed in as much as possible. Leaving the village was not something he even wanted to contemplate.

The woman arched an eyebrow at him, and apparently that was his cue to say something bright.

"He is recorded in the clan records. He has citizenship." Which the Hokage could revoke if she so desired – but even she had to have a good reason for stripping a civilian of their citizenship. Their rights, certainly. Citizens only had rights in a nin village when they could be afforded some. But citizenship was what held a village together and it was not a matter taken lightly. Not even by the Hokage.

She sighed. "I'm not denying his citizenship," she said, the 'yet' hanging ominously between them. Sasuke was aware that the addition of Harry Potter to the Uchiha household had not contributed to the wellbeing and safety of the village. He was untrained, vulnerable, and somehow it seemed like everyone and their disgraced half-brother had heard about him and was in the market for his physical remains. Even if said remains were flawed and lacked the sharigan. Four attacks had made it within the village walls already, though only the first had made it into the compound itself. The Hokage had increase security in their sector after that – both for the integrity of the village and for Harry's own safety. Sasuke was aware of that.

It was not that he was ungrateful, he just damn well expected as much.

"The village has as much to lose should another village get access to him," Sasuke argued in perfectly logical and respectful manner.

The Hokage scowled as if he had personally insult her, ridiculous woman. "I'm not saying throw him to the wolves, Uchiha! But his own kind wants him back and I'm getting mighty tired of wasting resources on defend one child."

Sasuke had never been more grateful that his cousin was not a nin. The Hokage had significantly more options on how to handle an inconvenient soldier. But as a civilian, even at his age, harry was still a minor by village law. And the Hokage had strong feelings about children.

"Clearly his own kind is incompetent." Sasuke might still not know everything about the mess his cousin had managed to get himself into, but he knew enough not to let the boy out of his sight. Because apparently it was not enough to have half the nin world wanting his blood and Itachi personally trying to finish what he had started, Sasuke's cousin had to also have his own blood feuds back in his own world. The entire reason Sasuke's uncle had been sent away was so that he would be safe in the non-nin world, an unusual mercy for a clan like Uchiha but the only way to justify not killing the child then and there to prevent a clan weakness. For it have backfired to spectacularly only further solidified the notion that their family must have truly pissed off the wrong deity.

The Hokage snorted. "Those incompetents certainly gave you a run for your money," she pointed out. It had not been one of Sasuke's finest battles, but wizards apparently didn't have to follow the same rules that nin when using chakra. It made even their low ranking soldiers unpredictable and difficult to counter.

"All the more reason he should stay here," Sasuke gritted out. Having his failure pointed out, and by the Hokage no less, was humiliating. But Sasuke had learned the hard way when to swallow his pride, and if there was one thing that could make him it was keeping his only living cousin still very much alive.

The Hokage slapped her hand on her desk, loud enough to make her point but not enough to cause any structural damage. "Get over it, Uchiha. The boy's going to have to go at some point. His people want him back and they've made damn sure I know it. So get him out of my hair before I decide it's time for me to do something about it."

"As clan head, I have the right to determine what education he will-"

"Denied."

Sasuke scrambled to remember all of the tasked and duties his father once held over determining the fates of his many cousins. There had to be some justification she could not deny. But any logic he could come up with was drowned out by internally cursing himself for not have planning more proactively for this. He had thought there would be more time. Delays that would have necessitate keeping Harry here longer, maybe even putting this wretched school business off for a season or two. The logistics alone of getting the boy back safely to where he came from would take weeks of planning!

"The road alone would be far too-"

"This isn't a discussion," the Hokage announced, "it's an order."

Sasuke kept very still, his breathing and heartrate as calm as if he were sitting on his back porch and not losing control of his entire life. He couldn't send Harry away. Not now. Not when he could not guarantee that the other boy would be safe. Harry needed Sasuke. He was far too vulnerable on his own. It was bad enough having to trust one of his team mates to keep an eye on Harry when Sasuke had a mission he couldn't turn down. At least then he knew that Harry was safe in the village and someone trustworthy was watching his every move.

If Harry left the village, then Sasuke would have to too. It was the only way to ensure his cousin's safety. It was going to be hard enough out on their own without the protections a village did offer, but the alternative option of his cousin facing that alone was unacceptable. Sasuke had thought the Hokage understood the situation, but apparently not. Or she was foolish enough to think that he would leave as well.

No sense drawing her attention to that fact, in either case. He would need to work quickly. Figure out what they could take with them and what would only slow them down. Pick a destination point tha would provide them some cover both from nin and wizards. Find a way to ditch the rest of the team.

The last part was going to be tricky, but Sasuke was motivated. He was capable of all kinds of things when motivated.

The real question was whether or not the Hokage was smart enough to place him under arrest starting immediately or if she'd foolishly wait for 'justification'. Perhaps that was why she insisted that Naruto was not welcome to this meeting. The idiot was accustomed to butting his head into any business he wanted, so it was unusual for her to expressly deny him entrance. A test, maybe? Or did she perhaps fear that Naruto might actually take Sasuke's side in the matter?

…that would make the situation much more tenable.

Going by the narrowed eyed look she was giving him, she suspected him of something.

"The preparations will take time," Sasuke said, letting his voice go as tight and strained as the rest of him felt. He would never let this go without a fight. It was best to make her think that he intended to draw that fight out as long as possible in a bit for more time to prepare.

No amount of preparation would be enough to send Harry out alone, so they might as well go as fast as possible.

The Hokage rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean it had to happen today, foolish boy. There are letters I must reply to," she said as if such correspondence itself was as offensive as the repeated kidnapping attempts on her soil.