Infancy

by dmnq8

Sasuke and Naruto have a son. A child whose powers are unknown, but whom every nation wants. "And now for how it gets better," Shikamaru said. "Two babies! Double the danger, double the threat, double the not-fun all these nations will be throwing at us." Mature themes, thoughts on suicide, character deaths, and extreme violence. Sequel to Expectancy.

8. Chapter 8

A/N: My thanks to Gar who hauled me out of my hole, my funk, myself, and got my ass in gear to finish this chap and submit it today. he's my definition of awesome. To those who waited, my humblest apologies for the delay. I thank you just as humbly for your patience.

Onward.

---

Chapter 8

Important.

It was a new word. A new concept. When he heard it from Chou, he knew it was something. Something hard. Something big. Something now, and do, and must.

But he didn't know what it meant. So, like always, he concentrated on the feels Chou gave while saying this word and saying that it was important for Daddy Naruto to help Yuudai. They were scary feels. Scared feels. He studied them for a long time, seeing the words Chou said as a squirming, squiggly mass of colors and emotions (another new word, one that meant feels, apparently) moving just beneath Chou's skin. Mostly red. Alert. That was a word he lifted from Chou's mind when the feel he was seeing was one he didn't understand. Chou was afraid and alert. Because of Yuudai.

He couldn't see Yuudai's inside, but he could see Chou's. And right now, Chou's was full of his alert fear feels about Yuudai. He saw it all, took it all, examined it all, while Chou told Daddy Naruto that in a few short months Yuudai couldn't be stopped-

-No, that's not true-

-and that the only thing that would help Yuudai was a relationship.

Daddy Naruto alone with him and Yuudai, now. Daddy was alert, but not afraid. His big, broad, thick feels were as solid and unmovable as ever. Sometimes there were bad feels, but mostly Daddy Naruto's feels stayed the same. Except there was some bad feels now, under the alert, about Daddy Sasuke. And Yuudai's daddy Hinata. He could feel Daddy Sasuke. Far away. He was okay. Not good, but okay. He'd wait for him to come back and not go to him because right now the important had to be known.

-oOo-

"The hard way usually means you're doing things the right way."

Getting at Yuudai's inside was hard. But he'd have to do it. Because important. Something must.

Yuudai. Beast. A look at Daddy Naruto's feels. A beast was like a toad or snake or some

thing with no mind. But no…those scary awful things his daddies brought had minds. And feels. Which made them worse. Yuudai wasn't like those things. He wasn't scary awful, he was just…closed. No. He knew that word. Something closed could be opened. Yuudai wasn't locked either. He thought a locked thing could be unlocked. He had no word for something that just wasn't. Autistic made no sense to him. Everyperson could love people and talk. At least, he thought so. His daddies' mindpeople did. All of them. Yuudai was not a beast.

Past a certain point he couldn't understand Chou's mind, either. It was all words and feels that were big and far. That was okay. He had enough.

He tried to help Daddy Naruto. The bottle. The cut was ouch. His inside came out. Yuudai fixed it, but then Yuudai ouched him too. He was happy, but it was ouch. Mostly happy, though: Yuudai could communicate. He just didn't know how either.

-oOo-

The playbox. Where they spent every day trying to learn, and he spent every minute trying to get at Yuudai's inside. The important was growing. Whatever it was, it was more than Chou said. He had Chou's feels and thoughts of Yuudai to guide him, and used this with half his inside, while keeping the other half focused on Daddy Naruto.

The first time he did the roof thing to get away from Yuudai's ouchy hands scared him: he didn't know doing that could keep him away in some dark airy space with no sound. He got back by accident, after going somewhere with dirty people and strange buildings. Then the clone. Yuudai did it. And seeing Yuudai do it made him understand how he could do it. Because Yuudai didn't do it like Daddy Naruto. Same result, different….method. New word. New words came to him all the time now because he kept going through Chou's feels and thoughts. He did the clone. Not a nice feeling, but this was part of the important. And doing what Yuudai did helped him get to his inside. He thought it would. The more time he spent with Yuudai, the more he felt him. The suggestion of his inside. It was there. He knew it. And once he made the clone he saw it was easy. Much easier than roofing. He matched Yuudai until his Daddy got mad. Daddy Naruto got mad a lot. He ouched Yuudai a lot too, except Yuudai didn't get ouch. He didn't know how he knew this, since he couldn't see his feels and insides, but ouch was not in Yuudai, ever. There was…understanding. Daddy Naruto had to ouch him a lot before a small understanding of stop doing that came to Yuudai. He didn't know why he never just stopped when he heard the word stop. Yuudai understood his name, all their names. He understood powers too. Maybe because those were things he could see, and most of the words Daddy Naruto used had nothing Yuudai could see to connect them with.

Then the toad thing happened. He really didn't like that little toad thing his daddy brought. But when Yuudai did it, again in his own way kind of, he saw Yuudai wasn't afraid. Yuudai was not afraid of anything. He knew this too. Maybe it was okay? He didn't try to bring toads. He put the jutsu in his mind and executed it, feeling around in the nothing for whatever would come. Hopefully not a toad. He was happy. It wasn't a toad. It was a lot of other stuff he sensed belonged to his eyes, but no toads.

Daddy Naruto wasn't happy.

The other stuff was fun. But it was fun —exciting—because the more he did with Yuudai, the more he sensed his inside. So many new words.

-oOo-

When Daddy Naruto was gone, he watched Yuudai whooshing around the playbox. He tried to follow, but he couldn't. He could only move slowly, awkwardly. His thoughts. He could put his thoughts, his mind, on top of Yuudai's head and follow him that way. He did this every night. Whoosh, whoosh, around the playbox, then whoooooosh up to the ceiling. That was all Yuudai did. All day, unless they were training, and all night. Round and round. A big circle. Whoosh, whoosh, whoooosh!

It made the playbox go away. Not roofing away, just notseeing away. When that happened the only thing he could see and feel was Yuudai. His strong body. His whooshing. His-

Frustration

-search. For something.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoooosh! Whoosh, whoosh, whoooosh! Round and round. Looking.

'Yuudai? I feel you. Can you feel me?'

Whoosh, whoosh, WHOOOOSH!

'What do you want? If you tell me, I can help.'

Whoosh, whoosh, WHOOOOSH!

The important was growing. Bigger and heavier, but all Yuudai did was whoosh, whoosh, whoooosh.

-oOo-

Yuudai was tired. That day he made yuck on the floor. Ate. Sleeped. He lay next to him and the sense of his inside was very there for a moment. But then he was sleeping too.

-oOo-

Daddy ouched Yuudai a lot today. Chou came. Stayed. The whole day was "No, no, no, Beast. No. Good boy."

Yuudai stopped whooshing. Stared at the nothing in front of Chou. Then Yuudai's inside, his mind, big and everywhere and trying to go into Chou, but Chou only blinked and put his chakra up. He made a scream: Yuudai's mind! It was out! He could get it and see it and talk with it-

But it went back into Yuudai, and Yuudai went whoosh, whoosh, whoooosh! until Chou left the playbox.

Important. What did that mean? Why was it? Something in Yuudai. After all this time, the best he could understand from Chou's thoughts was powers. When he thought of the word with himself or his daddies, it was just powers. When Chou thought of it with Yuudai it was POWERS. Stuff. The couldn't be stopped stuff.

While Yuudai went whoosh, whoosh, whoooosh today, Chou stood in a corner and also put his mind on Yuudai. He'd seen this, and put his mind on Chou's while it was on Yuudai's. Getting a look at the inside of Yuudai that Chou could see.

The fear alert went biggest and hardest and made Chou wet. Made his breaths fast. Made him scream inside his thoughts. Scream and scream and scream until he turned and left them with no clones at all.

IMPORTANT:

Okay. Now I can see it. A little. Oh. But…what is that. It's not a here thing. Yuudai's inside isn't here either. Why. It's here, not here. Out.

He had to push Chou's thoughts down a little to pull back enough to examine words and stuff he didn't understand. It was a very hard thing, this outness, but after much ouch and time, he got it. Some.

So…this is a world. The sky and sun and water and toads and me and the foodmind and daddies and Chou and Yuudai…a world. Everything isn't every thing, it's one thing. A world. And there are other worlds. Other heres and theres and realities.

He got away from that word reality quick. It was one of those things he couldn't understand no matter what.

Roofing is me going out. Yuudai's mind sees these other places. He sees…things because of his eyes. He-

He pushed Chou's thoughts all the way down. They ouched his head. He looked at Yuudai whooshing and arranged the thoughts himself —the information—into something he could understand.

Yuudai's mind could see out, but his eyes saw in. All the in of this world. His senses were overloaded. Confusing him. Which made the autism worse. Or the symptoms.

But why is this important. Why is this cannot be stopped.

He didn't know. And it didn't matter because he'd seen Yuudai's mind. And seeing it, he understood that he himself was two things: not strong enough, and not on the right…frequency. He could do the frequency. The strong part…

He tried. Tried pushing his feels at Yuudai on the new frequency—a much, much HARD OUCHING BAD FEELS frequency—but all that happened was nothing.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoooosh!

---

He listened to Chou's footsteps leaving his door. A surprisingly light tread for someone so large. Not for the first time he was rather thankful Chou wasn't ninja. To have that kind of strength, stealth, and intelligence honed into a deadly weapon put sweat on his brow. People that powerful tended to be corrupted by that power. But Chou was a sweetheart. His very own villager. He would have to treat him better. His own shit was no excuse to go alienating his only supporter.

Speaking of his own shit…

He'd begun doing it those few days he was away from the village after they'd arrived. Going back to Hinata's memories. While Chou was prepping Hinata's body. He didn't do it during what his body told him were daytime hours. And he hadn't done it the day Beast had finally gone to sleep. That was perhaps the longest he'd gone without doing it. He'd had to work at not even thinking about it, the same as he always did. He'd gotten really good at pretending nothing was going on with him except the break with Sasuke. Even to himself. Why, he didn't know. Wasn't like it was a major thing. So he thought about Hinata, so what? It was just that lately he'd begun feeling that maybe…well, maybe it was wrong. Sometimes it felt wrong. But it also felt so good. Sort of. Not really, but he needed it. And it didn't feel bad. He didn't know how it made him feel, only that it made his heart pound, and hurt less, and it kept him from thinking about Sasuke.

But now he thought maybe something was starting to be wrong with him. One day he woke up, thought of going into that hellbox, thought of not thinking about Sasuke, and suddenly neither thought was there. Hinata was there. She never left his thoughts completely, but this was different. She'd come without him having to sit down and think about her. She'd been squarely in the front of his mind. The way she'd been in that dream place, right as she'd cupped his face to give him her memories. Not that same scene, but that same feeling. Her overwhelming presence and tangibility. He could smell her. Hear her. And then it was gone. But what it left behind was a much needed buffer between him and the real world. A numbness he welcomed quite apart from the solace he sought when he willingly thought of her.

After, the image of her would surface at really bad moments with Beast and take him away for a few seconds. Or whenever Sasuke's hateful, lying ass crept up on his thoughts. She'd be there to turn him around. He started seeking that feeling out, following the memory of that odd tangibility. He could never manage it. He could slip into her memories just fine, same as he always did, and that was good. But he wanted that other feeling. Somehow she felt more real. Not dead. And right then, when Chou knocked on his door and said he wanted to talk, he'd been within a hair's breadth of finally managing it. After days of failure. The feeling started to come, a swelling sense of impending yes, and then Chou's fucking fist pounded the door.

He was gone now, though. He loved Chou, but shit. All he wanted was five minutes to himself.

Didn't you have all day to yourself? Thanks to Chou?

That had him staring up at the ceiling. He actually had to work to recall anything between the time he'd stormed out of the hellbox and the time Chou knocked. Yes, he'd been about to call up the feel of Hinata, but what had he been doing before?

He sat up. Looked at his pillow. It was dented by the shape of his head. He realized he'd come to his room this morning, flopped down, and hadn't moved a finger until just now.

I just lost ten hours of my life doing what. Daydreaming?

Except he couldn't remember daydreaming. He remembered thinking of Hinata for a few minutes. Chou. That was it. His eyes stung.

His constant companions these days, rage and resentment, showed their faces all too eagerly, ready to comfort him out of despair. To wheedle him back to a sense of righteousness. So what if he thought of her? She was now safely beyond any harm he could do her. Or was this something else the world wanted to take from him? Well, it couldn't. He settled this fact with another flop onto his bed and punctuated it with a cross of his arms. Fuck the world and everyone in it.

Hinata.

---

Kiba stumbled and fell, scrambled to his feet, then whirled around. His eyes bulged at the featureless landscape. At the sky devoid of sun or moon. At the ground that seemed made of solid smoke, or cold flames. Whatever it was, it was in constant motion, as if wind moved the smoke or flames. The ground was black, the sky grey. "Shit!" His voice squeaked. "Where am I! What is this!"

Sasuke sauntered to a chair that materialized and took shape from the ground. "I don't know," he said. "But I think we'll stay here, out of the way, until the armies do their job." He sat.

Kiba forced himself into a semblance of calm. Controlled his breathing. Made himself go still as he stood before Sasuke and studied him. The guy wasn't even looking at him, but off to the side. Slouched down in his chair, head on one hand. He still smelled like rage. Something's wrong with him. "Why'd you bring me here?"

"Do you think they'll kill Naruto?"

"What…he's not dead?"

"No. Icky took care of that."

"What's an Icky?" Keep him talking.

"They won't get Icky, of course. Pretty sure the kid will protect himself, but if they managed to kill Naruto, that's my job done for me. Though, now that I think about it, Icky might protect him. Hn. But if they did kill Naruto, all I'd have to do at that point is go and collect my son. To answer your question, I brought you here to wait out the action. You can sit."

Another chair appeared.

He turned to glance at it, and used this action to do some speedy thinking.

One, Sasuke probably had access to this place thanks to the new eyes he was sporting. Two, he had complete control over this place, as evidenced by the chairs. No hand seals, vocal commands, nothing. He was so screwed. Sasuke could be thinking about the ground rising up to strangle him and he wouldn't even know it. This place wasn't just devoid of visible features, but any features. No smell. No sound. Nothing he could use to warn him or help him. Worse, Sasuke's smell now faded entirely, no doubt thanks to the nature of this place and Sasuke's freaky mind control over it. Least Akamaru got away. He'll warn the others.

He sat. Chair felt exactly like it looked. Like smoke made solid. He tried hard not to shudder as he leaned his elbows on his knees and looked at Sasuke. God. To be in the presence of those eyes… "So. Want to tell me what happened?"

"I don't know what you mean."

Why did all evil people have to be so fucking calm? It was creepy. "Well, let's see now. Last time I saw you, you were ready to take on Tsunade for Nnn…your partner's sake. Sorry, I can't say your name, your partner's name, or the kid's name, now that I know what his name is, so—AAGHGHGAHH!"

Sasuke watched Kiba scream on the floor for some seconds, rolling, coughing, and grabbing his throat.

"Guh. Huh. Fuck! Dude! The fuck did you just do to me!"

"Released that seal."

"…What?" Kiba crawled back to his chair. "Tsunade said that's impossible."

"Nothing is impossible. You just need enough power. Few have the power I now enjoy. Sorry for the pain."

Arrogant motherfucker. He tested himself. "Sss…Sasuke. Holy shit. Naruto. Icky. Ha!"

Sasuke smirked.

"Woo!" Kiba now sat back. "Well, okay then! You're not completely evil. You unsealed me and apologized for the pain. I can work with that. Let's get back to what I was saying. You were ready to take on Tsunade for Naruto—God, it feels so good to fucking talk again— and now you're talking about letting people kill him. About wanting to kill him yourself. Am I missing something? Clearly I am, because y'all were so in love that the dude went and got pregnant. Seriously, how even. You were ready to fight the whole world to keep him safe. Now that the whole world is coming for him, you're happy to sit back and let them? Why? What happened?"

"It's been a while since I've been around anyone besides Naruto. Forgot how annoying you are. I could kill you right here and now. Your body would never be found."

"Can you tell me the story first?"

"To what end?"

"Just want to know what happened. Come on, it's not like I can use what you tell me, right?" Except to help you, and thus save myself, because clearly whatever happened has fucked your mind up good. "So what's the big deal if you tell me? Really. You have total control over this place, and probably me, if that unsealing jutsu was any indication. Spill." He put one ankle on his knee in a show of ease.

Sasuke considered it. "Fine. And when I'm done you'll see I'm right to feel as I do. Not that I need your approval."

"Nah, of course you don't." He laced his fingers over his stomach. "You're going to do what you want to do. I can't stop you."

"No. You can't." He began with Tsunade's last night in the cabin.

---

He had a knack for sensing chakra.

Back at the station, he'd sensed the moment Naruto arrived. Had in fact already been in the process of opening the door when Naruto's unconscious body landed in a spray of broken ice. So when a multitude of chakra sources began approaching the village now, it didn't matter that he was asleep. Chou felt it loud and clear and opened his eyes.

-oOo-

Sakura was at the head of their procession when they arrived. She was, therefore, one of the first to spot the large man standing some hundred yards or so in front of the village entrance. She waved Konohamaru over. "That the guy you saw?"

"Yup."

She raised her fist in a signal for her advisors to keep everyone else back as she moved forward, taking in details the entire time. The height. The short sleeves despite the temperature. The chakra that could be felt, but which wasn't in play. The amount of chakra—that had to be a mistake. The stance. Non-threatening, but definitely not welcoming. She put her own chakra away as she stopped a few feet away from him. He looked at her. At the villagers behind her. Back at her.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. We're formerly of Konohagakure. We've come to see our friend. To help him. It's imperative we speak to him right now. There are enemies behind us, enemies who want his…" She cursed the seal for what had to be the thousandth time.

Konohamaru stepped up. "Just in case you don't know what friend we're talking about, it's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. And the enemies are after his kid. We know he's here."

Chou looked back and forth between the girl and the boy. The girl was pretty. "I understand that and appreciate your urgency, but Naruto, who is Hirukage of Hakumeigakure, hasn't informed me of any impending visitors. I can't let you pass."

Sakura put one hand on her hip. "You really think you can stop us? You're one person. We-"

Chakra bloomed from Chou in an enormous cloud, which then stretched behind him to cover the entire village in a shimmering dome.

Sakura's brows joined in a V.

Very pretty. "I think I'll manage. I'm Chou, by the way. A pleasure to meet you." He smiled.

Sakura grit her teeth at the beauty of it.

---

The tale was done. "He raped her?"

"Kyuubi did. In Naruto's body. I said that already. Don't make me repeat myself."

"Right. Sorry. Just can't believe it. And you! You fucked Hinata right after? You did," he quickly answered himself. "You said that too. And then…" He ran through it all in his mind, still unable to believe it. "Shit, man. Shit."

"What are your thoughts?"

"My thoughts? I'm thinking I would have been surprised if you did manage to stay together. Dude, what happened was fucked. But my thoughts. Okay. Gimme a minute."

He studied the ground, really considering what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. Sasuke was no longer smirking, so that was something. He was still capable of feeling, if his frown of pain was any indication. He, too, was leaning forward with elbows on knees now. His voice had gone low and gruff less than halfway in. A whisper that was muddy with grief.

"First and foremost," he began, "the biggest mistake was for either of you to be so fucking isolated. Tsunade should never have sent you to that cabin, and most definitely should never have taken us away. If ever there was a situation that needed the support of friends, this was it. None of what happened would have happened had she seen that. So I will never forgive her for that. But also for trying to kill Icky and Hinata. That can never be forgiven. She was my Kage. A woman I would willingly have laid down my life for. Now, if I ever see her again, I'll be hard-pressed not to go for her throat."

Sasuke choked back a sob, making him do a little forward-jerk on his chair, and Kiba thought He's so broken. I can do this. I can help him if I'm careful.

"That's neither here nor there, though," he resumed. "I guess my first question is why? Why didn't you tell Naruto you'd slept with her? You told him about Sachi, which I still can't get over. So why, man?"

"Because I knew it was the one thing he wouldn't forgive. I cheated on him. Then I lied about it. You didn't see him the first time he asked me. His face. I'd just gotten him back from Kyuubi, you think I wanted to lose him again right after? Especially since I'd just disappeared for two weeks? I was still pissed that he'd raped her, anyway. I know it wasn't him, but you know what I mean."

"No. I don't. In our clan, when the rut is on us, our minds are gone. Gone. And that's with a single consciousness, our own, inhabiting our bodies. Naruto has a demon, Sasuke. That demon can and will take over sometimes. Or it used to. He's essentially two personalities. You're just lucky that you've been shacking up with the dominant one, the one in control."

No response.

"Look, man. Back when you had Orochimaru or whatever still inside you. If he'd come out and done some shit, would you have said that was still you?"

"Of course not. But that-"

"Nah. Same fucking thing here. It wasn't Naruto. I know it sucked what Kyuubi did to you. More than sucked, but it was Kyuubi. Naruto'd kill himself before he hurt anyone he loved. You know that. You didn't see him those four years he chased you. Most of us didn't help him so we could save you. We did it so we could save him. He'd never do what Kyuubi did to you."

Sasuke kept his eyes closed.

"And about what Kyuubi did to you," Kiba said in a lower voice. "That's not shit you just get over. I know. There've been…a few instances in the clan where people in rut hurt loved ones or other people by mistake. Happened to me. I was ten. Wrong place at the wrong time. My fault. But it's not something you forget. Ever. Forgiving, well. That's another matter. My deal happened for about an hour. Big, hairy elder. Way stronger. Ruts are dangerous. You can get killed or end up killing, so I did what you did. Went along to survive. Submitted. To survive. It's all you can do. And after, I put it away. Your deal was much worse. You love Naruto, and Kyuubi's, well, Kyuubi. But I think you also have it in you to deal with that. And move on."

"I have."

"I know. Except you haven't. You hating Naruto? That's not moving on."

"And that's not from Kyuubi. It's from everything after."

You said you started hating him from Kyuubi, but I'll just leave it. "Right. The way he changed."

"I know how much he loves me. Loved me. Saw what it did to him when the memories of Kyuubi and the rape came back to him. What he did to Icky…but he died, Kiba. Naruto died, and I wish to God he hadn't. I wish that screaming, broken version of him had lived because that I could have worked with. I could have brought him back to himself. I know it. Even though I used to tell myself I'd never be able to bring him back if he went dark, I think now that I could have. But when he died? The person Icky brought back just wasn't Naruto."

"And how would you feel if you had to shoulder all the guilt he says he's carrying around? How would you be?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I know Naruto. Better than you do, because I didn't leave the village for four years. I know he doesn't catch feelings for anyone. All he ever wanted was you, so to come back from the dead and the guilt of Kyuubi only to find that you'd cheated on him had to have sparked the change you're talking about." He moved to the edge of his seat and raised his hands as if grasping a ball. "It's not just that, though. Hinata, period. You two, you and Naruto I mean, were inviolate. Sacred. Never would I have believed someone could come between you two…then again, I could never have imagined the shit that went down up here. My point is, you two were a single unit. So it makes sense that if a change occurs in one half of the unit, the other half is going to change as a result. You get me?"

"You're saying it's my fault he changed."

"I'm saying never mind who's at fault. What matters is neither of you is the same. I can tell you one thing about him you might not have realized. I don't even need to see him to know it, either. Can tell from how you described him."

"What."

"You're not alpha anymore."

Sasuke looked at him for the first time in a long time. Confused. "What?"

"Top? That ain't you anymore. It's him. So part of the reason you can't connect with him is probably how you're approaching him. You're probably just as unrecognizable to him."

"I don't understand. How we fuck isn't something that changes or…or…"

"On the contrary. Alpha status is subject to change. Nor is it solely about fucking. It's not necessarily about who's physically strongest, either. It's more about up here," he tapped his temple. "That's why I was so shocked at that housewarming party we threw for you guys, when you told me you were top. The Naruto I know doesn't bow for shit. The fact that he did for you told me he had perfect trust in you. And not too much in himself when it came to the relationship. You were leading there and he let you. That's gone. Trust is gone, his walls are way up."

Sasuke looked aside. "Huh."

"But listen. I understand where you're coming from too. It's okay to hate him, man. If you love someone you're going to hate them sometimes. That's just love. Us? Inuzuka? Sheee-iit, you should see the way we tear each other up sometimes. And sometimes literally. But it's all part of the package. The bigger the love, the more violent the fights. The uglier the fights. But that also means the bonds are that much stronger. You're like a dog that's been kicked one too many times by its owner. Dog is ready to turn on the owner but deep down it's still loyal. Still loves the owner. That never goes away. And that's you."

Those dangerous eyes narrowed. "I'm a dog?"

"Loyal. Devoted. In spite of yourself."

Sasuke let out a breath and sat back. "I know I love him. But Kiba…I swear to you, I can't see his face or I will kill him. I mean it. I will."

"Even though you've admitted that what he did to you wasn't his fault?"

"He turned on me. He left me. Took my son. He has to die."

This is what happens when ninja fall in love. Kiba watched him dig a forefinger and thumb into his eyes.

---

Sakura left Chou guarding the village entrance to consult with her advisors. Konohamaru was present. "I need to get past him, and I don't think I can. I think he's strong. I mean obviously he is, look at that shield. When's the last time any of you has seen a one-man shield of that size and strength?" She shifted her shoulders, feeling the buzz and power of it hum through her bones. "Options. I'm open to suggestions, but I'm pretty sure we can overwhelm him with a dozen people. The right people. Our friend is in there and we have to get to him. I didn't come all this way to be stopped by some asshole."

The elder Jounin frowned in thought. A few nodded. Konohamaru raised his hand.

"What," Sakura said.

"I say we talk to him."

All eyes turned to him. "Why? And say what? He's made his position clear. Look, Kon-"

Konohamaru spoke over her. "Why. Because Boss is in there, which means he knows this person. Must trust this person. That guy only put that shield up to protect Boss, so I'm betting we can trust him too. I say one person goes up to him to explain the sitch. If he's the man Boss thinks he is, this guy will listen."

Sakura stared at him. Konohamaru dropped his eyes and took a step back. "Well said, Konohamaru. You are now the designated spokesperson. Get in there, get to your Boss, and bring him back out."

"Yes, sir." Konohamaru's face was red as he bowed low.

-oOo-

Chou watched the kid bound up to him. "Hello."

"'Sup. Name's Konohamaru. I know you want to protect Boss, I mean Naruto, but so do we. That's why we left the village. They wanted to kill his kid and we disagreed. A bunch of other villages are right behind us, looking to take that same kid, so we really need to warn him."

"Konohamaru, you sound sincere, but for all I know you could be the very ones trying to take Naruto's child." His eyes moved between Konohamaru and the villagers behind him.

"Fair enough. What can I say that will make you trust me?"

"Nothing. Unless Naruto himself tells me I can trust you, I won't. Period."

"Okay…what can I do then."

Chou considered it. He was fairly certain Naruto could defend himself against the few hundred villagers before him. Most weren't in possession of defined chakra. However, there were quite a few who were. He saw a number of Hyuuga. Hinata had been Hyuuga. Perhaps this boy was telling the truth. If so, then Naruto was in sore need of more support. Something was going on with him whenever he was in his room, and something needed to be done about the way he handled his kids. He couldn't continue to be Hakumei's sole citizen. He needed help.

"I will let you in," he told Konohamaru, "If you let me put you to sleep. I will take you to Naruto. You better hope you're not lying to me."

"I'm not. And thank you. Just don't kill me, okay?"

"I won't." he reached for Konohamaru's head and neatly muzzled his senses. The boy went limp in his arms.

---

Sakura frowned at seeing this, but muttered to her advisors to stand down and await her command. "If he's not back in five minutes we storm this shield." She adjusted her gloves.

---

He woke up in a house, facing a door, with Chou standing beside him. "This is Naruto's room," Chou said. "He's in there. Said he was going to sleep."

Konohamaru knocked. No answer, so he tried the knob. The door swung inward, and he saw Boss for himself, stretched out on a queen size bed. Eyes wide open.

"Boss?" He put himself at the bedside and shook one shoulder. "It's me, Konohamaru. Best student ever. Gang's all here, so…Boss?" He shook harder. "Boss!" He turned wide, accusing eyes to Chou, who was coming into the room with a frown. "You did something to him!"

"No." He put a hand to Naruto's forehead. Narrowed his eyes in assessment. "I didn't. Clearly he's not sleeping…I'm not sure why he's unresponsive, though."

"Huh? What? What do you mean, what's wrong with him?"

"Just said I'm not sure."

"Did he get sick? I mean-"

"No. I saw him this morning. He's been in this room all day, but I spoke to him not too long ago."

Konohamaru stared up at him. "Boss wouldn't stay in one room all day long. Something's wrong. I have to get Sakura, that pink-haired lady you spoke to. She's a medic-"

"So am I." Chou finally moved his hand and looked at Konohamaru. "And I'm telling you, he's not sick. Not physically. Nor is this a coma. I can't wake him. It's like his chakra is holding him under."

"He's doing it to himself?"

"So it would seem. Strange…"

Konohamaru stared at Naruto's face until he shook his head. "No. Fuck this. I know my Boss. Stand back, Chou no Niisan. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

"What—hey!"

"RASENGAN!"

Chou squawked and made a lunge for him, but he ducked and rammed the jutsu right at Boss's face.

Naruto's hand snapped up and grabbed Konohamaru's wrist. He blinked. Blinked again at the ceiling.

"Boss, goddammit!"

Naruto's eyes rolled down and sideways. Blinked again. "Huh. Sih...ffff. Ashtuh?" Another blink, the eyes sharpening. "Konohamaru?" Then comprehension animating his face as he looked at the wrist he was holding and back to Konohamaru's bobbing head. "The fuck?"

"It's me," he sobbed, wrenching himself free to throw himself at Naruto. Naruto was sitting up; he was momentarily flattened again. "We came, we thought you were dead, but you're not and we came to help save your kid and shit, and fight and, and, and you're aliiiiiiiiive! God, Boss!" The rest was lost in snot and tears on Naruto's tunic.

Naruto stared at Konohamaru's head.

"Naruto?" Chou tilted his head. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah."

"Who am I?"

"Chou?"

"Who's that?"

"Sarutobi Konohamaru. My protégé."

"Of Konoha?"

"Yeah."

Chou stepped closer, until Naruto raised lifeless eyes to his, but switched to looking upward, at the ceiling. "Do you know a Haruno Sakura?"

Naruto squinted at the ceiling. "What is that? Feels heavy."

"My shield. Naruto-"

"Sakura used to be on my team back home. She's my friend. One of my best."

"She's here. Along with a few others."

"Yeah." Naruto looked down again. Put a hand to Konohamaru's back in response to the ongoing hug and lingering sobs. "Knew they were on their way."

"I see. You don't seem excited."

"I'm not." Naruto finally took a breath. He seemed to settle into himself. Shake off the cobwebs of whatever daze he'd been in. "Yo." He pushed Konohamaru up and waited for him to swipe a hand beneath his nose. "Neji here? His uncle?"

"Yuh huh…why? Oh. Shit. Hinata. She really dead, man?"

Naruto stood up. "All right. Well." He rubbed his hands together. Gave himself a shake. "Let's get this over with."

---

Sakura was pacing directly in front of the village entrance. As close to that shield as she could stand to be. She'd put a chakra-covered hand out toward it once Chou'd gone, but the vibrations it gave off warned her against touching it. She settled for glaring at the street Chou'd disappeared on, and the huge steel rectangle rising like a fort from the village square. What was that thing? No windows, no sign. Just the metallic surface gleaming white in the sun and making her shift her eyes.

"There he is," Kakashi muttered at her elbow. And suddenly Neji and Hiashi were stepping up on her other side, Byakugan trained on the three figures walking toward them. Walking. Not running. Sakura frowned. "Keep the villagers back until I find out what's going on."

Kakashi slid away. Her advisors came to stand beside her, but she gestured for them to hang back as well. The Hyuuga gave off silent warnings with a glance. We're not going anywhere. Sakura looked away in time to see Chou part the shield with a hand. Naruto and Konohamaru stepped out in front of her. Chou stayed behind, inside. Watching them.

Konohamaru's grin at her was savage. "Got him, sir!"

She stared up at Naruto. At the stranger who stared back at her, eyes hooded. No hug. No greeting. Face blank. Until Naruto turned from her and aimed himself at the Hyuuga. She was watching hard, and so saw the way his back straightened, before bending at a perfectly right angle in a bow that he didn't straighten from.

"Hiashi-sama. Neji." It was all he could manage. Those eyes. Full of rage and pain and a hundred questions.

Neji waited for his uncle to speak, as was correct, but no words came. Naruto didn't rise. Neji stepped forward and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto flinched, but held strong. He squeezed. "It's okay, man." He swallowed. Put his head back, but the tears came anyway, like they always did. "If we know nothing else, we know it wasn't your fault."

Naruto dropped to his knees, bawling like a child, and put his forehead to Hiashi's feet.

Sakura watched all three of them become a mass of grief and clutching hands right there on the ground, before she pointedly turned toward Chou and marched over. "Put this shield down."

"I don't take orders from anyone but my Kage."

She stared up at him and tightened her fists where they were buried in her armpits. "What. Didn't he confirm to you who I am? Who we all are?"

"He confirmed you as his best friend, and the boy as his student. Nothing more."

"So let me in!"

"When he tells me to."

His voice was so damned calm. "Look. Chou. I'm tired. I'm really fucking tired. But I swear to God I will…" She closed her eyes. Inhaled. Tried a different approach. "Please let me in."

"I'm not sure what you want in here, when the one you came to see is out there with you, not fifteen feet away."

"I really want to punch you, Chou."

Chou gave that smile that made her vibrate in her core. "You're welcome to try just as soon as Naruto gives me the all clear."

The grief session was over. Naruto stood and she turned away from Chou's shiny teeth in disgust, ready to get some answers.

But Kakashi and the rest of her advisors were coming forward. All the friends who'd been at the cabin. Surrounding him. Hugging him. Clapping him on the back, exclaiming about his living status, asking questions. Naruto received and deflected as necessary, until he did a subtle step back and cleared his throat. "So what's going on?" he said.

Sakura had had enough. She was dangerously close to breaking her own arms, they were folded so tightly. "You might want to direct that question at me. I'm in charge."

He looked at her over one shoulder. "Okay? So answer."

It was an interesting thing to discover that certain heights of rage could threaten to release her seal. And at seeing the continued disinterest on Naruto's face she did nothing to check the possibility. "Can I talk to you in private a second?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. Sakura was now close to vomiting, her fury was so keen. Tears gathered in her eyes, but she followed Naruto along the shield, away from all the people looking at them. He stopped by a group of half-buried boulders, put his hands in his tunic sleeves, and rested a foot on one rock. "What," he said.

"What. Okay. That's how it is, then. I won't ask if you want to know why or how I'm here. I'm just going to tell you I have five armies at my back, hours from this very spot, all hell-bent on getting your k…your ch…getting what they came for. We came to help."

Naruto nodded, staring at the ground, but not as if focused. Just bored. "That it?"

"Yes, Nnn…yes. That's it."

He twisted his moccasin on the rock. Ducked his head. Looked up at the sky. "Granny with you?"

And that fast, her heart broke. She broke. It hit her afresh that he'd been dead, that Tsunade might have killed him, had certainly tried to kill Hinata and his son, and that he was broken too. His trust was gone, Sasuke was gone, and she could finally see now that he was broken too.

She grabbed his head and brought it to hers, ignoring his shout of pain. Held him in place. Tried to. She felt him sag against her for all of two seconds before he was yanking back and shaking his head. "No." He jerked a hand across his streaming eyes. "No," he reiterated. "I'm fine."

She didn't push. But she needed him and said so. "Soon as she told us you were dead we booked. We were done with her and her fucking half-truths. The Jounin elders and villagers came with us. We have no country. No Kage. We were coming for Sss…for our other friend and the bbb…and you guys' you-know-what. To help. Some shit went down, and the procurement, those armies, got wind of your location when I did, and are right behind us, but we high-tailed it here as fast as we could to support you. You're all we have left. And I really need my friend right now. Was sort of hoping you needed me too." These tears she let fall, unraveling completely, and powerless to wind herself back up.

He almost lost it with her; his face crumpled in on itself, but he sucked it back to normal. Cleared his throat hard as if that would dry his eyes. Left his hands in his sleeves. "I do. You're…" He couldn't meet her eyes.

She touched his arms. Rubbed them. Hugged him, but he didn't hug her back. She stepped away, practically bleeding in her heart. "What do you want to do?"

A shrug. I don't know. I don't care.

"About the armies?"

Shrug.

"About the villagers?"

"Chou will settle them. You've vetted them?"

"Uh…not exactly."

No anger, just a nod and a head shake all in one, while he stared at the horizon. Chakra mode winked on. Without a word, he turned and went toward the villagers. Konohamaru trotted over at once and dogged his heels.

Naruto stood in the middle of the throng. People moved aside to make room for him. Smiled at him. Bowed to him. Oblivious to his absent gaze and furrowed brow. Ten seconds. "They're clean," he said to no one in particular. Then he raised his voice. "Welcome to Hakumeigakure, where I am Hirukage. Chou will get you all settled in. There's plenty of room." And with that he turned and walked back toward an open-mouthed Chou, through the shield, and out of sight.

---

Kiba gave Sasuke as long as he needed. There were no tears, though. Just Sasuke's bowed head and fiercely fought-for control. But finally there was a sigh and Sasuke loosened. Sat up. Kiba thought it was safe to venture a question. "What was your life like before your family died?"

"I don't talk about that."

"Maybe you should."

"Ever."

"Could be good for you."

"And I could still kill you."

Kiba made his peace with this fact then and there. Unless he embraced the fact that he wasn't getting out of here, he'd never be able to get through to Sasuke. And considering the power Sasuke now had, getting through to him was imperative. Not just for his sake, but for everyone's. "It's human nature to lash out when we're hurt. Stop the thing that's hurting us. Or run from it. To endure pain is unnatural. Ninja do it because we're trained to. Learned behavior and all that. But I have to think you had a happy life before your family died. Really happy. Happier than most."

Sasuke snorted. "Why is that?"

"Because you have absolutely no ability to process pain. Like, at all. The least little thing happens in your life and you're ready to kill people. It's like you have no tolerance for pain."

"No tolerance for pain? What do you call living all those years with the knowledge that my brother'd killed my clan?"

"I'd call it you hurting your team, leaving your village, hooking up with Orochimaru, and learning how to kill effectively. More lashing out. And then Akatsuki-"

"And what about me coming back to the village? Huh? Living with the pain of my brother's death?"

"That was because you had something stronger than your pain at that point. Naruto. And you hoped to see vengeance on the clan, which you did in the form of the council's exile."

Sasuke blinked at him.

"See, I don't think you've ever just lived with pain. Just existed until your spirit healed on its own. Granted, the things that happened to you weren't normal pains people experience in life, and your brother did tell you to get stronger, but the moment you knew it was all a lie, what'd you do? Swear to obliterate Konoha. You don't face things, Sasuke. You think you're the only one horrible things happen to?"

"I faced Kyuubi." Sasuke sat back. "I faced that."

"You endured that. Kudos, since you seem to need acknowledgment of that fact. That may be the first time you've willingly endured a painful situation, but it cost you. And then you slept with Hinata. Lied about it. You didn't cope with your first taste of perseverance very well. I mean, you could have gone after Naruto and spoken to him once he'd taken Icky. He may be angry but he's not unreasonable. Besides which, he's in pain too."

"He is unreasonable. He won't forgive me."

"Why should he?"

"Well, why not? I forgave him for Kyuubi. Stabbing Icky. Dying on me. All of it."

"None of that was in his control. Except for maybe stabbing Icky. Even then, he wasn't exactly in his right mind."

"Right." Sasuke flipped a hand. "No, none of it is ever his fault. Perfect Naruto, always the hero."

Kiba leaned forward and turned his head aside so that he could scratch the back of his hair. "You know? I've tried seeing things from your side. Tried seeing whatever it is that Naruto sees in you, but you are selfish as fuck. Just this stuck up, selfish asshole. The only person who exists outside yourself is Naruto. And maybe your kid. Before them, your brother. What. Do you have some inability to acknowledge more than one person at a time? Because take that one person away, whoever it is you've decided is your reason for living at the moment, and that's it. War. Death to all. I must be AVENGED. The fuck is wrong with you? There is no your side, his side, I-went-through-the-worst-shit-imaginable-so-I will-kill-you-all. According to each of you, you've done something unforgivable. You with cheating, Naruto with the rape. You each suffered something ugly. Him with the pregnancy, you with Kyuubi. You guys have a kid. And he has a kid. Guess what: Hinata's gone, so that makes her kid yours too-

Sasuke surged to his feet. "No. No. That thing is not mine."

"Do you deserve to die?" The temper scared him not at all now.

"What?"

"Naruto has to die because he hurt you. Do you have to die for hurting him?"

"You make it sound like that's the only reason I want him dead."

Kiba's voice went high with surprise. "Oh. I'm sorry. Let me try and think back." He ticked the reasons off on his fingers. "He went Kyuubi and raped you, and that hurt you. He tried to kill your son and that hurt you. He died and that hurt you. He came back, decided he didn't like your cheating ass, and that hurt you. He took your son away from you and that hurt you. You think he should die. That about it?"

Sasuke looked at him, trying to understand. "These things are forgivable to you?"

Kiba, seeing the confusion, knew a moment of amazement that Sasuke's sense of justice was truly this stark. "These things, with the exception of stabbing Icky, were involuntary. You cheating on him wasn't. Lying to him wasn't. Fucking Sachi wasn't. If I thought your sense of justice was a valid one, it would be you who had to die."

"So maybe I should." He fell back into his wispy chair.

"Ooooh, no, son. No. We're not going the other way into self-pity. Not on my watch."

"I really will kill you," Sasuke groaned, scrubbing both hands down his face.

Kiba's chest tightened, but not in fear. Right then, everything about Sasuke finally clicked into place. A connection he'd never felt with him bloomed so that he got up, went to Sasuke, and knelt in front of him. Put a hand on one knee, next to Sasuke's elbow. Sasuke hands remained over his face. "No, you're not," Kiba said quietly. "If you were going to, you would have. Naruto always called you his friend, but I bet you never saw him that way. I know what he is to you. And I can wrap my head around the fact that he takes up too much space for you to think of other people. Just like I know that you've never had a friend, not even on Team 7, or Team Freak, or in Akatsuki."

Wetness began leaking between Sasuke's tightly closed fingers.

Kiba squeezed the knee in his hand, squeezed harder when the response was a barely muffled sob. "I want you to hear me with all the pain you're going through and know that what I say is the truth: I'm your friend, Sasuke. I got you. We are going to sit here and figure out what it is you really want, and then I am going to help you get it."

Sasuke rocked forward. His head collided with Kiba's chest, but Kiba caught him. Hung on tight. Those hands never came off Sasuke's face.

"I loved her," Sasuke said.

"I know."

He almost choked on the words. Gagged. "I loved her while I was hating Naruto."

Kiba was quiet this time. He knew what was coming. The poison behind the pain, the deepest darkest shame Sasuke had in him. He held on to him, squeezing: It's okay. Get it all out, I won't turn from you.

"I liked Sachi even after she'd threatened my son. After she sent Naruto away. I laughed with her, let her hold my kid. I fucked her. I fucked her and part of me hoped it hurt Naruto more."

"Okay."

"…I'm glad Hinata's dead. Glad she…died the way she did. Oh my God. No. But…I am. I loved her, but hated the way Naruto always defended her. He'd drop everything and run to her, always, no matter what. Same way she did for him. Sometimes…sometimes I think I loved her because it took them away from each other. Like shitting on their perfect little pure relationship. Except it was real. For a while. Hated myself for falling under her spell. She was weak. But while it lasted I felt…like…I was the most powerful thing under the sun."

"What else?"

Sasuke pulled back, looking away in embarrassment. But Kiba stared at him, and Sasuke looked him back in the eye. "I wished her baby was mine. That I'd put it in her. The final fuck you to Naruto. Even when her body showed up, I'd hoped. Despite seeing the fight with Tsunade. But he came out the image of his parents. I hate that kid for that alone. Naruto stamped all over him in body and power. Bigger than Icky. Stronger. She had feelings for me. I know. But she loved Naruto the way I love him. More. She could forgive him for things I can't, and seeing her kid so much more powerful than Icky makes me feel like what she had with Naruto was real, and what I had with Naruto wasn't. She gave him a better son. A more powerful son. She didn't give me anything."

Kiba waited.

"She's gone and I'm glad she's gone. Hated her in the end, with Naruto's kid in her. Even though I wanted to fuck her again. Hated her. Hate Naruto. But I want him. I want him back."

Here we go. "Why? As much as you hate him and want him dead. What could you possibly want with him?"

Sasuke sat. Wiped the snot off his face, scrubbed it down a thigh. Stared up at Kiba from his drained sprawl as if truly purged of an illness. "Thank you."

"What?"

"For letting me say those things. Letting me see those things for what they were. Hearing myself say them made me sick, but it also felt wonderful."

"To get it off your chest?"

"No. To admit that I'm not a good person. I'm never going to be a good person." He suddenly laughed, and a last tear was squeezed from one eye, running down the angle of his cheekbone. "Fuck me. For the past two years I've been trying to be something I'm not. Live in the light with Naruto, love Naruto, go to Konoha, be a good citizen, be understanding, and supportive, and well-adjusted. Useless. I'm not those things. I will never be those things. I don't want to be those things. And hearing myself say that shit finally made me realize it."

"So…"

Sasuke smiled.

For Kiba, it was the first genuine smile he'd ever seen on the guy's face in absence of Naruto to put it there; this had nothing to do with Naruto. Interestingly enough, and to his private consternation, the smile gave him a tickle in areas he reserved for girls. He clenched his jaw.

"I'm exactly what you said, Kiba. Selfish as fuck. And a selfish fuck. I hate more than I love. I want to kill people who wrong me. They should die for wronging me. I'm powerful and rare and I am entitled to what I want in this world. That is who I am. I'm Uchiha Sasuke."

"Well, so, okay…what do you want?"

Sasuke stood, and the world returned. They were in front of the little house. The air now held the scent of the villagers who'd passed through. Akamaru, faithful mutt who'd stayed behind to wait for him, barked once at seeing him and bounded over. Kiba grabbed him up, hugged him, buried his face in his fur, and inhaled his rank but familiar smell.

"I want my son," Sasuke said when Kiba straightened. "I want my family. I want Naruto."

"You hate Naruto."

"I do. But I also love him. If you're right, and hating is part of loving, then it's just something I'm going to have to accept. I'm not a forgiving person, you're right about that too. I'm vengeful. An accounting will be made, by both of us, because, as you said, what I did was voluntary. He deserves his pound of flesh from me. I guess he really is like food."

"Huh?"

"Sometimes you like it, love it, or hate it. You can live without it for a while, but you'd die without it completely. I don't think I'd die without him. But I'd stop. Stop being. He pushes me. Challenges me. Fuels me." His sword was pulled from its sheath and held so that he could see his eyes. Suddenly they were black again, the power hidden. "He loves me. He loves me, Kiba. Dark, selfish, vengeful, unforgiving me. I'm pissed as fuck at him, hate him right now, but I'm not letting him go."

"I see. And the fact that he's just as pissed at you?"

"Will be duly addressed. He wanted honesty from me. I'll give him honesty. I almost wish I could go back in time and have the opportunity to confront Kyuubi again. I'd cut his ass down so hard, so fast…" He took a deep breath, put his blade down with a complicated twist. "Just have to settle for the here and now. But if I'd accepted sooner who and what I really am, none of this would have happened. I'd have sent Hinata back when she tried to stay. Dealt with Kyuubi as Naruto said I should have-" he stopped. Stared into the distance.

"What?"

"Naruto's always known exactly what I am. I never understood why he couldn't understand my actions with Kyuubi. He's right, that wasn't me. What the fuck, I actually told him I did it to protect Hinata, and I did, but mostly I've just been off my game since moving back to Konoha. I gave up who I am when I went back, but I really lost it when I found out he was pregnant. Decided I had to be really good so…so that this amazing thing, my new family, wouldn't be taken from me again. And that was the precise moment I started letting him down."

"You're forgetting that I was at the cabin too. And I was in Konoha. You said earlier that you're not supportive, but I've never seen a more supportive partner. You took care of him. You-"

"No. If I'd been taking care of him, I would have confronted the council and demanded things be different. Stayed around Naruto's support system. Called Tsunade on her bullshit. Instead, I let everyone fuck us over. Deprived Naruto of the things he needs to survive. He loves me and needs me, but he only thrives around people. His friends. It was selfish of me, and I am selfish, but that was when I needed to put him first. I put myself, my fears, my own drama first. He said he wasn't fair to me, that he checked out first, but no. I did. He checked out because I failed him. You were right, Kiba, but so was Naruto. He said we're only whole when we're together. That we hold each other in place." He shook his head slowly from side to side. Looking hard at something in his past now. "Naruto's face when he took Icky? Walked away from me? So full of disgust. Right before he took him he called me a liar. And told me the man I'd been never had cause to lie. He's right. Lying is for weak people. I owned my shit back before all this. Who didn't like it could go fuck themselves. He doesn't trust me. He's right not to; you never know what a weak person might do. They might let you run wild and fuck your best friend. Get her pregnant with a kid that ends up killing her. God." He shook his head again, this time violently. His face was a study in anguish. "I failed him so hard it's no wonder he won't take me back."

"Huh." Kiba shifted. Scratched the back of his neck. "Guess you won't be killing him, then. Good. Progress. See? But I still say you being a good person, or trying to be one, isn't the problem-"

"Naruto didn't fall in love with a good person. Can't you see that? I finally do. He fell in love with me at my worst. As I am. The vengeful, unapologetic me. He can be good enough for the both of us, but I am what I am. And so help me, I'm done running."

"So. We going back?"

"We're going back. My eyes are my business for now."

"Got it."

Sasuke looked at Kiba then and felt something strange. Foreign. A kinship, a unity of minds that at once put him on guard and made him feel exposed. He was still staring at Kiba's face when it hit him.

"You're my friend."

"What? Of course."

Of course. It was something Kiba said to him before, but he hadn't understood it until this moment. "No. You're my friend."

"I don't follow."

And neither had he. Never had he understood that word. All the times Naruto had used it, or whenever he'd heard it used, he could never understand its meaning. A friend seemed to be someone you laughed and behaved stupidly with, yet the word itself was given so much more importance. People died for friends. He'd never been able to see the significance of dying for someone who made you laugh or played pranks with you. Family was the only thing he'd given that level of importance, and friend seemed to be a weak substitute for family.

But now. This. Right here and now, looking at Kiba's puzzled face, he realized something. Before Kiba showed up, he was actively contemplating ways to kill Naruto. And now, after speaking with Kiba, that idea couldn't be farther from his mind. He wanted to preserve Naruto, to cherish him. And yet, the idea of killing him had been sound. At least in his mind. He'd had complete faith and conviction in that course of action. And he would have lived with it had he done it…but it would have been a mistake. Probably the biggest mistake of his life. He wouldn't have known that if Kiba hadn't shown up. And now that his mind was opened to this concept he realized other things. Namely, that he'd consistently made gross errors in judgment. With this situation, as well as in his past. But he'd never had a friend to steer him right. To show him he was wrong.

You had Naruto. You always had him.

And Naruto had always tried to guide him to the right path, Sasuke realized. He just couldn't realize it because he hadn't understood the concept of what a friend was. It wasn't laughing and being stupid. That was simply what Naruto did with his friends. He'd never wanted or needed that, ergo he'd never wanted or needed friends. Hated whenever Naruto bleated at him about being his friend. It seemed to him at the time that Naruto always said it whenever something serious was going down. Their battles. The shack. Those were serious times, times clearly inappropriate for games and laughter, but maybe Naruto hadn't being offering laughter. Maybe he'd been offering this. Guidance. Support. And come to think of it, when he'd left the village, Naruto's friends hadn't been laughing. They'd supported him in trying to bring him back. They all knew he, Sasuke, had been wrong. How? How did they know what was right while he didn't? He was smart. Fiercely so. He knew this.

But he also knew that Kiba was his friend. His guide. Willing to sit in his presence and show him what was right despite their difference in power. Despite the threat of death. Kiba felt strongly enough about guiding him to ignore his own life. That was what a friend was. Why people died for friends. And it flat out amazed him that he'd gone his entire life without realizing this lack in himself. Which led him to Naruto. Naruto, who went on and on about his friends, being a friend, needing his friends. A friend wasn't a weak imitation of family, not as he understood the word now. No, it was just as important, maybe more so, because family wasn't voluntary the way friendship was. One chose to go to these extremes for people they didn't share blood with. It was…the word came to him after much thought. Noble. It was a nobler, higher relationship than family.

He hadn't just deprived Naruto of people he liked to hang out with, as he'd originally thought when he said he'd taken him away from his friends. He'd deprived him of who and what he was. Naruto's friends were what had gotten him through every obstacle in his life. They supported him. Fed the starving hole his lack of family had created in him. Lifted him. Allowed him to be the shining idiot of goodness he was. He didn't need guidance. He was the guidance. But he needed his friends. Without them, he didn't function. Not properly. He needed them in order to be complete.

And I'm his best friend. His biggest support. Words out of his own mouth.

This final realization of who Naruto was both warmed and shamed him. He'd failed him in more ways than he'd thought.

"Sasuke?"

He was crying again, he realized. He wiped his face, but then just stood looking at the wetness on his hand. "I've never had a friend, you're right about that too. Didn't know what it meant. And because of that, because of my stupidity…"

Kiba frowned.

"I asked Naruto to trust me and then I failed him. Because I failed him, Hinata is dead. That's my fault. And because she's dead, Naruto failed himself and her. Hinata was my friend too, back before I understood. So I failed her as well. I got her killed. I got her hurt then I got her killed."

"Soooo, is this some side effect of your God complex? This raging pity fest?"

"Naruto was my friend. And I didn't understand it. Now I do. Maybe we can't be lovers anymore. Probably not. But I can be his friend. I'm going to be his friend. And you're mine. I see that."

"We're back to that. Okay. Yes. I'm your friend."

"You support me."

"Yes."

"Guide me."

"If you need it."

"And you'll fight for me."

Kiba gave a nod. "Yes. Yes, I will."

Sasuke received this with the gravity it was due. He squared his shoulders and bowed from the waist. "Thank you."

Kiba jerked his head. "Uh huh. And you're my friend, right?"

Sasuke straightened. "Absolutely not."

"…Wait, what?"

"You have enough friends. I'm sure they do a much better job than I could. There's not much I fail at, but this is clearly an area where I don't excel. It'll be enough for me to try and be Naruto's friend. Let's go."

"But-"

"You can tell me about these armies on the way."

Kiba mounted Akamaru. This fool is actually serious. He isn't just crazy, he's dangerously ignorant.

---

After dumping the village on Chou's capable shoulders he went right back to his room, right back to where he'd left off, thinking of Hinata. But Konohamaru barged into his room right behind him, blowing his concentration away with a, "Sweet digs! Shit. So, Boss. I got something to tell you. The armies found out your location from me. Yeah, man. I was nailing this bitch —that's right. It's official. I have been laid, I'm a man—and it turns out she was using me to spy on Sakura and crew, feeding the info back to wherever. So that's my fault. I'm sorry. But I killed her and helped us find you with Kage Bunshin. Tell me you ain't proud! So I was thinking, now that I'm here and all, if I could, like, be your assistant and shit. You're Kage now. You need an assistant. I'm your man. Mo and Udon are around too, so. Oh! Can I see your kid? And I heard you got Hinata pregs! Is that true?"

Not a pause for breath or a by your leave in this speech. Naruto quite literally felt numb at the assault. Oppressed at the sudden lack of solitude. "Dude. You're in my room."

Konohamaru looked around. "Yup. So, can I? See the baby?"

Naruto felt the most indescribable urge to kill Konohamaru. Just shut him up permanently and reclaim his privacy. Right then, the fact that his village was here, his friends were here, Sasuke was gone, Hinata was dead, he was a rapist, and no longer Naruto The Hero was all summed up in this kid who was nearly his height now, getting muscular, and whom he'd loved as a brother. He wanted to kill Konohamaru. And that was when he knew for real and for true that he was not okay. Not by a mile.

---

Sakura stood to one side as she watched this Chou. She had no idea what'd gone on up here between Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata, but the result seemed to be this: Naruto now only trusted Chou.

She hated Chou.

But she couldn't fault the way he rose to the grossly unfair responsibility of settling an entire village. First thing he'd done was ask who was in charge. That was her. He asked her who her next in commands were. She pointed out her advisors. He met them, and assigned each one to a task: sorting families from tradesmen; sorting the tradesmen; hunting; inventory the food they'd brought; sick and wounded. These last he directed toward himself. "I'm a medic-"

"I'm head medic, student to Tsunade herself. They're mine," she was forced to interrupt him by saying.

Chou turned his wide face to her. "I remember Tsunade. She studied under my parents a long time ago. I was really small. I don't doubt that you're good, but I'm afraid my appointment was made by Naruto. You can update me on your wounded."

"You can kiss my ass. I want to see the Hirukage."

"I'm sure if he wants to see you he'll summon you." Chou said this as he carefully monitored the villagers filing past him and assigned them homes in quadrants of Hakumei.

"In the first place, Chou, you've just shown me you're a liar. I know every mentor Tsunade ever had. Second, no one summons me anywhere, least of all some self-appointed jackass who seems to have forgotten exactly who I am and what I'm capable of. I know he's in pain, but this? He has lost his fucking mind. What happened to him? That is not the guy I've known for years, or the guy I left my village for."

"No, he probably isn't." Pause. "A lot happened. I'm not clear on most of it, or the finer details of what I do know, but part of what I do know is that it's not my place to tell. How close were you?"

She was caught up in digesting the first bit of real info she'd heard. "What?"

"To Naruto."

"Close."

"Girlfriend?"

"Friend."

Chou turned and she was hit with something she couldn't immediately name. Masculinity, or power, or whatever it was, it baked off him in waves, aimed, to her offended mind, directly at her. "You're a bitch," he said.

"What!" Her voice was a shriek of impending violence.

"I can tell. It's fine that you are, because I think you can get through to him. He sort of scares me-"

This from a guy nearly seven feet tall, who was currently hunched over her, huge hand wrapped almost double around her upper arm, while still managing to keep watch over everyone entering the village and their possessions.

"-so I get intimidated every time I try to talk to him, but he needs help. And I think you can help him."

"Let go of me."

He stared down at her for a long moment-

What kind of eyes are those?

-before slowly releasing her arm. "Will you help him?"

Her heart resumed beating. She made a show of straightening her clothes. "Where is he?"

"Probably home. In his room."

"Point the way."

---

Konohamaru was in Naruto's house, along with what Kiba had taken to calling the squad, and Konohamaru enviously dubbed the cabin crew. No Naruto. They were all in the kitchen. Chouji was at the stove, handling huge slabs of seal meat with the care of a loving parent. She stopped in the doorway, looked at them looking at her, and planted her hands on her hips. "I am so fucking over this situation."

They adjusted themselves so they were facing her. All except Chouji, who was frying up the steaks with onions he'd brought. He cocked his head toward her to show that he was listening.

"That fuck we ran all the way here to see?" she clarified. "Not the Hirukage, the other one. The one who took Kiba. And now this fuck, the one right here. I can't believe I've mentioned the armies and nothing's been done. They will literally walk in here and just take what they want. What the hell did we kill ourselves getting here for? Sun's shining, food's cooking, and everything's just fine. It's like we entered another dimension."

Neji was the only one sitting. He didn't get up now. "No one's getting past that giant. Got a look at her chakra. Never seen anything like it."

Blank looks.

"Her?" Sakura said. "Her, who? Only giant I saw was Chou. He's not that tall, either. Asshole."

Neji shook his head. "I heard the pronouns, but she's female. I…saw."

"You perv!" Konohamaru cackled. Then he grew serious. "Girl, guy, Neji's right. No getting past Chou. Not easily. Boss looks fine too. When they come, we'll fight." He shrugged. Stared toward Chouji and what he was doing.

"Where are they?" she asked.

Shino answered. "The armies? Camped fifty miles away from our first stop, where we left Akamaru. My kikai report no change in their movements."

"They're either waiting for reinforcements, or have us infiltrated to gather info or extract the prize without bloodshed. Either way, the jackass running this village doesn't seem to care. Is he in his room?"

"Nope." Konohamaru filched a steak, and slipped beneath Chouji's fist. "Vanished. And nobody infiltrated anything. Boss said the villagers were clean, they're clean."

Sakura silently wished he would choke on his steak. "I really need to talk to him. Something is horribly wrong here."

-oOo-

This much became evident as the endless daylight hours wore on. At one point Chou found them in Naruto's house, cabin crew and advisors alike, to make his report. "Not that I owe you any information until such time as Naruto sees fit to tell me so, but I thought you'd like to know that the villagers have been settled comfortably in homes. A hunting party has been dispatched south via teleportation technique and will return the same way with food and supplies. Tradesmen have located suitable workshops and shops, and are getting the business of commerce underway, I believe. Ah…yes. Sakura. You and I will need to coordinate to open a hospital, a clinic, and see about acquiring staff. You can report your medic-oriented associates to me and I'll cull out anyone unsuitable-" He blinked as Sakura slowly began advancing on him. Her face was pale with rage. "Something wrong?"

"Yes. Chou. Something is very wrong. See, I'd love nothing more than to scratch your eyes out right now." She stopped right in front of him, hands girlishly clasped low down in front of her, shoulders near her ears. Eyes wide, bright, and fervent. Mouth curved in a catty smile. Her voice dropped to a throaty purr eloquent of a very real, very physical desire to do serious and immediate damage to Chou, who was apparently captivated by this display. The cabin crew shifted towards the rear of the room. The advisors went on high alert. Konohamaru seemed to be the only one amused as he fought to maintain a straight face. He looked back and forth between Sakura and Chou, shivering in excitement.

"Well," Chou said carefully. "Seeing as I've done nothing to warrant this aggression…maybe you're stressed from other things? Your journey, maybe. Or uprooting your life for Naruto, only to find him less than welcoming. Do you want to talk about it? I'm a good listener." Here, Chou put a sympathetic hand on Sakura's shoulder.

Konohamaru squeaked out, "Oh, shit!" right before Sakura's seal exploded over her face and Sakura herself finally erupted.

The cabin crew watched, but didn't get involved. The advisors were another matter. Chou didn't deserve this; clearly, Sakura was suffering from stress and so wasn't thinking; there were other, much more pressing matters to address, and a fight right now wasn't one of them. These were all valid reasons to step in and stop Sakura. The one and only reason they didn't was Chou. There wasn't a soul there who hadn't seen his shield and assessed Chou for themselves. He was not to be engaged lightly. During that first minute of Sakura's shrieking attack, they twitched toward intervening but remained where they were. Which ended up being fine. Their moment of hesitation was all Chou needed to neutralize Sakura himself.

He countered the ridiculously enhanced chakra strength that came his way with a single palm he aimed at Sakura. A 'no, stop' gesture that swallowed the chakra fueling the attacks. Her seal reversed itself immediately. Without the slightest pause in surprise or hesitation, Sakura resorted to Taijutsu. The hard, devastating punches and kicks she was known for. Chou looked down at her wild pink head as she plowed her attacks at his midsection, seeking damage to his vital organs. And when her assault weakened, became hands that clutched at his T-shirt as she sank to her knees on a sob, he stooped, picked her up, and calmly left the house.

Silence.

The cabin crew and advisors looked at each other. Konohamaru announced, "I want a Chou."

---

He didn't go far. Only next door, to his house, where he deposited Sakura on his couch.

She stared at her lap.

He hunkered down to her level and stared at her lap with her. "I won't pretend to know what you're going through, but I do know this: you need rest. You're exhausted. For now, I want you to forget about being in charge. Just lie down here, close your eyes, and sleep. Okay?"

"But the armies." She fell sideways, already yawning.

"Naruto's problem now."

"My people."

"Being handled by me." He drew a bear fur over her as she began snoring lightly. "Just sleep."

She was gone. No further protests. He gazed at her for a few minutes. Considered touching her hair. Such a shade. But he got up and left instead.

Naruto needed to answer for a few things.

---

"Why are we walking these two hundred miles?" Kiba wanted to know. "Can't you just blink us there?"

"I could."

"Then why are we walking?"

"Because I want information."

"On?"

"Everything that's gone on since I last saw you."

"Oh, well…"

That took up a few dozen miles. After, Sasuke said, "Smart, sending Ino and Shikamaru to Konoha, but they aren't there anymore." He explained why, then stopped walking. Looked at Kiba. "Since you don't actually have anything to tell me about the armies-"

"Hey, I told you what I knew."

"We should get Ino and Shikamaru. See what they've discovered."

"Which is nothing. Ino would have passed any intel along to her dad."

"They wouldn't have been targeted for assassination if that were true. You see that, right? And there was a Genjutsu over them, one Ino wouldn't detect."

"The definition, the purpose, of a Genjutsu is to bypass detection."

Spoken by someone who has no experience with it. Sasuke refrained from commenting on his stupidity. "Not that this is common knowledge, but there are a few clans that are hard to put under. If the clan member is trained. Even so, if you manage it there's almost a hundred percent chance of detection. Uchiha is one such clan. Yamanaka is another. There are even fewer Genjutsu that can snare us completely. Less still, people who can execute them. Now. Let's assume that Ino knew she was under suspicion, and the council was aware of this. To get the drop on her at that point would be impossible. You'd need a master of the art. An attack that didn't use chakra, so as not to disturb the fine subtleties keeping the Genjutsu in place. Stealth beyond your comprehension. Do you think such a person was just sitting around Konoha? No. Council had to send for someone. A specialist. And they would only go to such lengths if Ino and Shikamaru had sensitive intel. Intel," he pressed when Kiba protested, "that was too sensitive to risk sending, even telepathically."

"Isn't that the safest way to send info?"

"I've heard tell of people who could intercept telepathic signals."

Kiba thought of the girl who'd used Konohamaru. "I guess such obscure arts are coming out of the woodwork now. Council probably had one such person in the village. Ino probably knew." Which explained why they'd gotten virtually no communication from her.

"So we're going to her."

"You show your face in Konoha and that's-"

"Not Konoha."

The world shifted. Ice, mountains, and sky all bled together, then righted themselves to reveal a forest. It was night.

-oOo-

"Oh my God."

Kiba whirled to find Sasuke approaching Ino and Shikamaru, the latter of whom was the one who'd spoken. While Ino threw her arms around Sasuke, and Shikamaru murmured at him in a low voice, he scented the air. Looked at their make-shift camp. Just a small fire and a lean-to. Rabbits and grouse cooking over a spit.

"Going by how you just appeared," Shikamaru was saying to Sasuke, "how we left Konoha was your doing. Right? Ino said she saw you. I didn't. What happened." It was a demand Shikamaru posed with folded arms and unblinking eyes.

Kiba said nothing. Sasuke turned in place, scanning the surroundings, before saying, "That's my question."

"Mmmno." Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the back of Sasuke's head. "My answers first. See, you yanked us out of Konoha and left us to our own devices. Why? Last I knew, Kiba was with Sakura and her group. Now he's with you. Why and how? Why are you here with us? And speaking of here, since when can you travel like Madara?"

Sasuke faced him. "You and Ino were seconds away from being assassinated-"

"What?" Ino put herself in front of Shikamaru, staring Sasuke down. "What do you mean?"

He explained.

"But that doesn't tell us how you knew about it, or managed to arrive at precisely the right time, or why you left us out here without a word of explanation," Shikamaru said.

"No," Sasuke agreed. "It doesn't." His eyes were just as challenging.

Ino frowned at the ground now. "The last I heard from my father, Hinata was believed dead. The villagers were on their way to Ss…to you." She looked at Sasuke. "Where's your you-know-what if you're here? Did it…oh God, did it die too? With…with him?"

Sasuke surprised them all by grabbing Kiba's arm and dragging him out of earshot.

"The fuck is-"

Sasuke cut him off. "Advise me."

"What?"

"My instinct is to hide my eyes, but, as shown, my instincts aren't always correct. I'm not used to revealing power unless called on to do so-"

Kiba held up a hand and matched Sasuke's hiss. "I thought you told me lying was for weak people?"

"I'm not lying."

"Lying by omission." At seeing Sasuke's blank stare, he shook his head. "Can either of them touch you in power? Can anyone?"

"Them? Not likely."

"Then what does it matter if they know? Let them! Let rumors of your power grow and spread. That's how you keep threats away from what's yours."

"It's also how you call threats to what's yours."

"They're your friends."

"No, you are. I don't trust them."

"Naruto does."

Sasuke looked at where Shikamaru and Ino were staring at him. "True. All right. But only because I trust Naruto, and it'll probably come out anyway."

Ino covered her mouth with both hands when Sasuke strolled up, eyes exposed. Shikamaru only continued to stare.

"First off…" Sasuke performed the same unsealing on them both. When they recovered, he said, "I think this will go a lot quicker if you just lifted the info from me directly, Ino."

She nodded. Placed four trembling fingertips on Sasuke's brow. Closed her eyes.

Shikamaru took in details. The way Kiba stood just behind Sasuke's elbow, frowning in concern. Or maybe something else. If it was something else, Sasuke sure hadn't waited long to move on from Naruto. He just couldn't believe Sasuke would move on at all. And with Kiba, of all people. Kiba seemed all for it. Letting himself be pulled away like that. Looked like Sasuke was topping him, too. And here he'd thought Kiba was firmly in the market for females. When did he even have time to hook up with Sasuke? Maybe-

"Oh God." Ino stepped back, fingers now pressed to her mouth, eyes flooding. "Sasuke."

Shikamaru stepped into her line of sight. "The suspense is killing me."

Ino summarized her findings, before turning away with a hand to her stomach. She put her other hand against a tree.

Watching her, Shikamaru summarized further. "Naruto's alive. Pissed at you, left you, which gave you your new eyes here. Fine. When exactly did you hook up with Kiba?"

"Hours ago."

Not what he'd assumed, then. Or maybe it was.

"What did you and Ino find out in Konoha?"

Still looking at Ino, who was now on her knees, Shikamaru said, "Plenty. First, Konoha has a new Jinchuuriki."

Kiba and Sasuke responded in unison. "WHAT!"

"In fact, all the nations do. Gaara, who was the only Kage opposed to the procurement, has gone missing."

"How long ago?" Sasuke barked.

"Six, maybe seven months now. New Kazekage is a monster, by all reports. When you saved us —thank you, by the way—Ino and I were going over who has what Bijuu. But I think there's something more troubling than the procurement armies."

Kiba snorted. "What could be worse than that?"

"Sachi."

Sasuke stepped closer, holding Shikamaru's gaze. "What about her? I know she had some connection with Madara."

"She also had a brother."

"Yes, a younger one-"

"No. One who was two years older. No record of him exists in Konoha, not officially. But Tsunade never stopped investigating that family. She had an agent go to their hiding place, where they'd lived all those years. Scouted around. Asked the nearest villages about info regarding them. No one had any information, of course. But up in the mountains, a grave was found. Young teen. Male. Eyes removed. Signs of a small family living there."

Sasuke digested this. "So she probably has Eternal Mangekyo-"

"I'm not done. Naruto's got the Nine-Tails. That leaves eight Bijuu in the wind. Suna's got Shukaku again, if you can believe it. Kiri's got the Five-Tails. Iwa, the Two-Tails, Kumo, the Eight-Tails. That's four Bijuu still unaccounted for. The Three, Four, Six, and Seven-Tails. Now here's where things get interesting. Konoha was leading this war for two reasons. One, Naruto is a citizen and Konoha's Jinchuuriki. His kid might be insanely powerful, but first and foremost it's Naruto's kid. And yours. A Konoha citizen by rights. Actually, there are three reasons. The third is this: Konoha's new Jinchuuriki was reported to be in possession of those four remaining Bijuu. All at once. And that person went missing when the villagers left with Tsunade."

Kiba and Sasuke waited.

"We think that person is Sachi," Ino said. She straightened and turned to face them. "We won't bore you with the details of our research or how we came to that conclusion, but we think it's her. We think that's why she was sent with that team to subdue you at the cabin, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked back and forth between her and Shikamaru. "You're right, that is interesting. But the Bijuu were locked in Gedo Mazo. Only the Rinnegan can control it. Or someone with both Uchiha and Senju blood. If all this is true, who released them?"

"Likely Madara," Shikamaru said. "But you bring me to my next point. In case it wasn't him, it was probably Sachi. I'm in favor of this idea because Madara wouldn't have released them while on the run from you and your team for that year. Sachi, on the other hand could and would."

"You can't pin everything on her," Sasuke began.

Shikamaru was unmoved. "If we were about to be silenced, and I don't doubt you, it was most definitely because of our final mission inside Konoha. Ino and I had self-appointed tasks. Our last task was for Ino to make contact with a member of Sachi's family. They are warded and guarded beyond any mere ninja, Sasuke, even long-lost Uchiha. We got the mother. From a distance. I won't discuss how difficult this was. Ino was in and out of her mind like that, but even so the woman detected her. We barely made it back to our place. Had just gotten back to compare our findings with what we knew of the Bijuu when you did what you did."

Sasuke said, "What'd you find out?"

"Much. But the gist is simple: Sachi isn't her daughter. Not from her body, anyway. She was brought to them as a baby by Madara."

"But she's Uchiha. You're saying there are more Uchiha out there somewhere?"

"I don't know. I do know that this family was smuggled out of Konoha long before Kyuubi's attack. Hidden. Records of them erased. Their disappearance was planned. What'd the assassin look like?"

Sasuke described him.

Ino and Shikamaru exchanged a glance. "That's Sachi's father," Shikamaru said. "No mistake."

"Sasuke," Ino said. "I couldn't see what the final goal was, but it had everything to do with you."

Sasuke turned away from them. Naruto was right. She was aimed at me.

He stood there and coldly considered the fact that he'd had Sachi in his house. Fed her. Fought her. Fucked her. Let her hold his son. And she'd been lying the whole time. He'd suspected something, but not this. Never this. She'd probably healed herself seconds after vanishing and was now just biding her time.

Naruto wouldn't be able to stop her. Wouldn't even see her coming, since he was convinced she was dead. Icky would be taken.

"We're leaving," he said. "Grab on."

They each put a hand on him, whereupon they were gone with a parting of the atmosphere.