The Immigrant, The Refugee, The Cold Case

Ayuna is an angular woman with cropped blonde hair and an unforgiving handshake. If there is resemblance between her and her niece, Sasuke can't find it. She has an aura about her that is — he gets the feeling she isn't as easy-going as Sakura.

"Uchiha Sasuke-san? I've heard about you, young man. Pleasure to meet you."

"You too," he says politely, staring off to the side. The wooden walls are cracked and worn. She's owned this house for a while.

"Mmhm. Why don't you go find your friends, Sasuke-san. I'm eager to get to know your sensei," Ayuna smiles at the white-haired man. "Sakura tells me the sweetest things!"

"Go ahead, Sasuke," Darui mumbles. It's clear he isn't enthused by the idea of talking, but he's decent enough not to subject Sasuke to it as well. Meanwhile, Sasuke takes the olive branch, striding towards the kitchen. He doesn't need directions. Naruto and Sakura are loud enough the neighbours could pinpoint their location.

Sakura's sweating, hunched over the table with a half-empty glass of water in her hands. Naruto is smiling wide, the only shortness in his breath because of his shameless laughter.

Apparently, he won.

Sakura interrupts herself in the middle of calling Naruto a cheater when she sees him hovering at the doorway. She sits up straighter. "Sasuke-kun, you made it! Where is sensei?"

"Your aunt is talking to him."

"Oh, that'll be interesting. I hope she doesn't embarrass me…"

"Do you have many embarrassing stories?" Naruto asks, grin foxish. Sakura smacks him upside the head. "UM?"

"You shouldn't ask those questions if you aren't prepared for their consequences," Sakura turns her nose up at him. She pats him harshly on the back when Naruto continues pouting. "Aww, get over it, Naruto-kun. I barely touched you."

Naruto isn't so convinced. "Betcha I have a concussion and a broken back. You are too harsh,"

"And you pout like a child," Sasuke deadpans. He sits with them because he's exhausted of standing, stealing Naruto's glass of water while he's at it. The big dork obviously isn't using it. Someone should.

"Oi!"

"Sasuke-kun, I can get you your own," says Sakura bemusedly. Sasuke ignores them both and chugs it down. "... Or not."

Naruto snarls some childish insults under his breath. Sasuke's eye twitches, but he spitefully refuses to react — it's what Naruto is pining for. Sasuke will hold back if just to disappoint the other boy. Luckily for Sasuke's frayed temper, the blond doesn't have the patience to steadily chip away at his self-control.

To Sakura, he says, "You've got a really nice house, you know?"

"Ah, you think so? It's an old place…"

"No, no, it's super cool! There are so many windows! It's open!"

Sakura grins, flattered and flustered at the same time. "Oba-chan's husband built this place for her before they got married. It's been around for… hmm… twenty-so years? And the shed too. Everything here, he built. Isn't that romantic?"

It's more romantic than Sasuke's parents were, that's for sure. The thought weighs him down with guilt. For whatever it was worth and however long it lasted, Fugaku and Mikoto loved each other.

"You have an uncle? Where is he?"

Sakura pauses, then shrugs. "Dead," she says, like it's nothing, like it's a fact she plucked from a textbook, academic and emotionless. Naruto gives her a loaded look. She laughs softly, "I didn't know him. I don't even know what he looks like. It's fine."

No mention of her parents, Sasuke notices. He wonders if it's the same story there: did she have the chance to know them? He steals a glance at his other teammate, who has turned quiet and contemplative, a kinetic energy about him. He wants to speak. Is it about his family? Sasuke doesn't know why he's curious. But he wants them to say something.

He imagines what he would say. My brother murdered all my aunts and all my uncles while my dad preferred to stand his ground rather than hide like cowards. I think my mom wishes she'd stayed with him but instead she's stuck with me and a fat civilian and a hostage.

Naruto swallows. He tugs on his earlobe and won't look at either of them. "My parents—"

"Oooooi, you three!"

Naruto leaps out of his skin, banging his knee on the underside of the table. He yelps, rolls onto his back, and furiously swears as he cradles the injury. Darui and Ayuna walk in like they're expecting to have to tiptoe over bodies.

"Are you behaving?" The jonin queries.

"Of course," Sakura puffs out her chest.

"Good, good. Boys, say thank you to Ayuna-san for hosting us."

"Thanks," The boys deliver flatly. Ayuna raises her eyebrows, and this time Naruto manages to inject his tone with a smidgen more sincerity. "Sakura-chan said your dessert is delicious."

"Did she?"

"U-huh. Real shame she won't be eating any tonight."

"You cheated," Sakura says instantly. "I bet you have supplements hidden in your offensive hoodie and you took them before we started so you would win. You have inhuman stamina. And zero morals."

"Says the slow poke!"

"I'm not slow,"

"You're like the tortoise to my awesome hare!"

"Did you read that story? You complimented me!"

"Nooo, I called you slow. Don't try get intellectual with me, Snail-chan!"

"I — let me have some dessert," Sakura says, abandoning her dignity to clasp Naruto's hands in hers. She pulls out some puppy dog eyes. "Please, Naruto-kun, I need to eat too!"

Naruto says, "You already ate. Remember?"

He pauses for dramatic effect. Sasuke looks beseechingly at Darui to break them up already, but Darui is picking at his nails, eyes blank as he daydreams away from their reality.

"Ate my dust!"

Sakura is prepared to throw hands. "I will beat your face and ass. I can't miss out on oba-chan's pudding, okay? I can't! Let's make one more bet—"

"No way,"

"—we can arm wrestle!"

Naruto chokes on absolutely nothing. He yanks up his sleeve so everyone can see his noodle arm. Even Sasuke has more muscle, and for a moment he silently revels in it. Even if Sakura outclasses them both, it's nice not to be dead-last. "Do I look stupid?!"

"Yes," says Sasuke. Naruto kicks his shin under the table.

"I'm not wrestling with you!"

"Fine. A memorization game."

"I'd lose!"

"That's the point, Naruto-kun, I need to get some of the pudding no matter what," Sakura slams her fist into an open palm.

Naruto rapidly shakes his head. He is going to dislodge his hitai-ate at this rate. "No no no. Not a chance. Ask Sasuke if you can eat some of his dessert because I'm not sharing!"

Sakura sulks. "But… it's Sasuke-kun's… Oba-chan, can't you just prepare an extra serving?"

Ayuna doesn't hesitate to shoot her niece's dreams down. "Absolutely not. I'm not intruding on your little ninja games. A woman is only as good as her word, so you need to keep your promises, Sakura. No dessert for you tonight."

"What? This is so unfair…"

Darui snorts, sounding a bit like he's waking up from a micro nap. Sasuke wouldn't put it past him. He looks so lifeless it's a wonder he hasn't already spontaneously dropped dead. "You made your bed, Sakura. Now you must lay in it."

Sakura looks like she is about to cry, which does nothing to Naruto but alarms Sasuke. He hates when Kagen cries. He hates when anyone cries. It's annoying and pointless. "Just take my serving," He sighs resignedly. Sakura makes a noise. It is practically a squeak. "I don't like sweets."

"But you came anyway?" Naruto tilts his head at that. "Huh."

Sakura has rediscovered her vocabulary. "Oh, um, are you sure?"

"It's whatever,"

"Well — thank you, Sasuke-kun!"

She is blushing. Sasuke narrows his eyes at her. "This doesn't mean anything," he says hotly, and Sakura jolts like she's been shocked. "I just want you two to shut up."

"Ah, naturally," Sakura sighs, but she doesn't appear downtrodden by his rejection. Water off a duck's back. Instead she turns to grin at Ayuna. "I do get pudding after all!"

Ayuna shakes her head slowly. "More drama than a soap opera," she says teasingly. Ayuna kisses her niece's forehead and smiles at the room, slightly more relaxed than she was at the door. "Anyone want to help me out?"

Darui purses his lips and stares pointedly at the ceiling. "Not too great at cooking," He says, mumbling about how his attention-span isn't fantastic. Food preparation bores Darui, often leading to overcooked meals and charred pots or so he claims. It's possible he's exaggerating to avoid getting up.

"I can make ramen?" Naruto volunteers, rubbing his whiskered cheek on his left shoulder. "It has to be in a cup though,"

"We'll be fine without it," Ayuna says bemusedly. "And I already know Sakura has no talent in the kitchen—"

"Damn right," Sakura grins, high-fiving Naruto about it.

"— which leaves Sasuke-san. What do you say? Wanna help me out, kid?"

If it put distance between him and those twin clowns he is forced to call teammates, Sasuke could be convinced to do anything.

\V/

Ravine seventy-three remains unchanged upon arrival.

Naruto shifts his backpack from his shoulder and drops it at the base of a tree. Sakura's vow of not heckling him for answers starts feeling the pressure. The pack is bulky, evidence that it's full and poorly packed, but it must not contain valuables: Naruto abandons it without a second thought.

At a loss, Sakura faces Darui-sensei. "Do you know what's in there?"

"It'd be pretty lame if I didn't," answers Darui-sensei. He blows out a harsh breath, putting his hand on her head. "Don't worry about it, Sakura. We have other problems."

The other problems turn out to be Sakura's stamina. She didn't figure Darui-sensei would take Sakura's loss in a friendly race as meat for a training regime: turns out she was wrong as hell.

Darui-sensei gets her to go through a "low intensity" workout. Sensei is getting a dictionary for Christmas. Sakura runs forty laps around the valley — which isnot tiny — and goes through push-ups, sit-ups, burpees, and suicide runs on top of it. She loses count of how many she does. Enough to kill a small dog she suspects.

Darui-sensei always seem to be there when she falters, hands in his pockets, chewing on his lip. "One more," He'll lie (it is never one more) and then he'll say, "You're doing well, Sakura."

Like she said: lies.

After her last cooldown lap, her legs give out. Sakura is a few inches away from the river. She'd crawl if her arms didn't feel like — well like shit, basically. Sensei squats by her head and splashes her a few times.

He lets her wheeze like a fish out of water. "You're strong, but you can't last long, can you?"

Sakura does not have the capacity to reply.

"Battles can go on for hours. Sometimes it's about luck, about being the last person to buckle. At the moment you're my strongest student, but Naruto would beat you in a spar because he can get up more times than you can knock him down. Sasuke is quicker. That's all it takes. You need to be more balanced."

Darui-sensei pitifully splashes her one more time. It's enough to inspire her to crawl the last inches to dip her entire head underwater. She only comes up when her lungs scream for air.

"You'll be fine," says Darui-sensei.

"Even — though — I — suck?"

"You don't suck. You're inexperienced. And if you were trash, that's what I'm here for. Your sensei teaches you what you need to know to survive out in the real world."

Sakura dunks herself again. It's fresh water, but she has no idea how clean it is, so she resists the urge to drink. Darui-sense hauls her to her wobbly legs. "I think you're done for today,"

Sakura throws his hand off viciously. "No. I can keep on. What else do you have in store—"

Of course, she collapses before she can finish a step.

Darui catches her around her waist, sighs, then throws her over his shoulder. "It is a rest day tomorrow, use it to recover. You know it's necessary."

"Sasuke and Naruto haven't needed to recover!"

"I haven't blown out their legs with exercise, have I?"

That's possible. She bites back on another protest. Shishou already stresses the importance recovery enough for Sakura not to turn her cheek to the idea. It's necessary. And if sensei was right, if this is low intensity, then Sakura needs to treat her body properly in order to train it.

But it stings. To be useless over his shoulder while the boys have doggedly tackled chakra-walking to their own detriment is frustrating. She cannot be happy about this. "I'm taking you back to your aunt," He tells her.

"What about the boys?"

"Naruto's camping here. I'll come back for Sasuke."

"Hah?! You said it was rest day, and anyway, is that safe?"

"For you. Have faith in me, Sakura. He won't be unsupervised."

Darui-sensei doesn't explain further: he has to mean himself, though, so Sakura bites her tongue and tries to relax. Sensei goes to the boys. Sasuke's new tactic involves crawling up the wall using all-fours, which is interesting and is improving his understanding on chakra-walking. Naruto is also using holistic methods, testing stickiness with his hands.

"It's Sasuke's idea," the blond says defensively upon seeing Darui-sensei. "He said chakra was hard to channel to your feet and— what's wrong with Sakura-chan?"

"Nothing," Sakura mutters.

"I killed her, sorry. She's going home now."

"You good, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura attempts to give him a thumbs up over Darui-sensei's shoulder. Naruto accepts it easily enough. "You're coming back, aren't you?"

"How else is Sasuke supposed to get home?"

Sasuke clicks his tongue furiously, miraculously not losing his temper.

"Don't fight while I'm gone. Boss will be pissed off if you two die on my watch."

"Who is Boss?"

"The Raikage, obviously,"

Naruto scoffs. "That old man?"

Darui-sensei's voice goes strained. "Of course you call him that. Listen, just behave. I won't be long. Naruto, your guardians know about your camping trip, right?"

Naruto crosses his arms childishly, saying, "As if I could get away with keeping anything from them. They're so nosy!"

Darui-sensei hums ambiguously. "Say goodbye, Sakura."

Sakura is too upset to really do it. She grumbles to the ground instead. No one minds, which is cool but also frustrating. She knows she keeps out of their business, but can't the boys ask for more information? She bets they didn't notice her training at all. They're self-absorbed jerks.

Sasuke-kun is just driven, says Inner around a yawn that can't be possible considering she's not real. We can appreciate that, can't we? Doesn't he look cute when he's focusing?

Sakura is too tired to notice his cuteness today. She tells Inner as much and prepares for the bombard of offended screaming from her. It gives her a migraine. Sakura tries to tune her out.

"I'm gonna ask about your wife," says Sakura warningly, "It's the least you deserve."

"I've withstood scarier interrogations," Darui-sensei tells her apologetically. "Hang on, kiddo. We're jumping."

\V/

"You're scratched up, Naruto."

Yugito's voice is as fond as it always is, a warm hug after a dark night. At the moment it is someone speaking to him when he thought the house was empty. The voice doesn't belong. He plummets from the wall screaming, and Yugito, naturally, doesn't move a muscle to catch him.

Sasuke drops much more gracefully from his perch, alert to the stranger in his space. "Who are you?"

Yugito blinks, unmoved as Sasuke reaches behind him for a weapon. "Naruto hasn't told you about me?"

She sounds hurt. Naruto laughs nervously and mouths at Sasuke to relax, alright?

"This is my sister, Yugito," He introduces them. "Nee-chan, that's Sasuke. He's an ordinary guy."

"Eat dirt, dobe."

Sasuke's hands hang empty at his sides. He keeps a careful, intense eye on Yugito to gauge her threat level to him. It's kind of interesting to wonder what he sees. Yugito holds herself with confident, precise grace, with all the languid movements of a trained killer. She's outfitted in tight-fitting clothing and sharp edges because she doesn't need to hide how dangerous she is. Is he wary?

But Yugito is kind, too. Thoughtful and introverted. She's the best person Naruto knows. There is no way for Sasuke to tell — that's an injustice. Naruto has hoarded memories of every compassionate act Yugito has turned his way. He wants to share them, suddenly, but it's ultimately not the bastard's business.

Sasuke reaches a conclusion. He turns his back to them. "Just keep it down," He orders Naruto, and appears disgusted when Naruto sticks his tongue out.

"What are you doing here?"

"I haven't seen you all week. I missed you."

Naruto's face burns hotter. "Ah, I missed you too. Where's Bee?"

"Mission, still. You know he'll visit when he gets back. I can't believe you train in this ravine when you don't know how to chakra-walk. How do you get here everyday?"

Naruto freezes. He can't tell her the truth .

"Teamwork," He blurts out believably. He hurries to change the subject. "Actually, do you think you can help? I think I have — a lot of chakra."

Yugito pinches her lips together. "So?"

"Well, you only need a little, don't you?"

"You can control the three-tails," Yugito reminds him bluntly. Of all the people not to understand his plight, Yugito was the last on his list. A harsh betrayal.

"That's the opposite of my problem?"

"You aren't going to know what the right amount of chakra is until you use it. There's no advice to give. You're doing it right."

"Sakura got it instantly!"

"In that case: Hello, Sakura."

"Eh? I'm not Sakura-chan!"

Yugito leveled him with an enormously patient look. "How is your other training going?"

Naruto screws his lips to the side. Yugito is his primary teacher about the Kyuubi — Bee his secondary — and he's not surprised she's asking. Wouldn't be surprised if its her main concern. It usually comes back to Kyuubi. He and Naruto are considered one entity.

"I meditate," He says.

"Every night?"

"Yeah yeah, I have. Not much of an improvement."

"You are talking, though?"

"Sometimes," Naruto shrugs loosely, "Mostly he tells me to piss off before booting me to the curb. Did — did yours ever…?"

"Of course she did," Yugito laughs softly, "Years of resentment for my species and her circumstances. She was a cornered animal. She is a cornered animal, our truce hasn't undermined the truth. I endured years of her swiping at me before she trusted that I wouldn't needlessly hurt her for my own gain. That's the relationship you need with the Kyuubi."

"It can't be afraid of me," Naruto is offended by the prospect. "It's — everything it has ever done—"

"And everything we've done, you must consider that. Loneliness and anger are his only company in that cage we've stuck him in. Trust takes time."

It's an absurd idea. Nobody thinks of the most powerful chakra beast as nothing more than a scared, angry little brat — an abused animal. The Kyuubi nearly flattened Konoha. It is a construct of hatred and bitterness, it feeds and grows and feeds and grows on it. Maybe it's different because Niibi is takes the form of a domesticated cat. Kyuubi is a fox: wild, untamed, with pointed teeth to chomp off the hand that fed it right from the wrist. Yugito's got it wrong.

"You can do it, Naruto."

Frustration bubbles up in his gut, hot enough to make Naruto want to shout. It isn't okay. It isn't. What did the Niibi ever do to Yugito? Not abstractly, but personally? Because Naruto's prisoner killed his parents and stole his childhood. He doesn't want to be nice to it. He doesn't want to be its friend. He wants it to cooperate so neither of them get freaking murked by the Raikage.

He can't tell Yugito that. She's always kind, unfailingly so. Between her and Bee's uncompromising grip on their civic duty to the village, Naruto's feelings are small and childish.

"Moron!"

Yugito's eyes go wide. "Does he call you that?"

"What, bastard?"

"You call him… Naruto. That isn't how teammates talk to each other."

Sasuke dismisses her with a glance. Yugito can't hide that it ticks her off, but she's a jonin well-versed in childish arrogance so it doesn't set her off. Shame. He'd like to see his sister kick Sasuke's ass. She wouldn't break a sweat.

"Are you gonna stand around chatting all day?"

"I've still got all night to train," Naruto bites back. "And I'm not chatting! This is serious stuff, not that I'd expect someone like you to get it. Why don't you worry about yourself?"

"Why don't you quit running your mouth?"

"You started it!"

"Just shut up already and do the exercise. You're leagues behind me. At this rate you'll never catch up."

Naruto pats Yugito apologetically on the arm. "Sorry nee-chan, but I gotta make this bastard eat his bullshit. Are you sticking around? Sensei said someone would be around to supervise."

He didn't think it was a coincidence that Yugito showed herself so soon after sensei left. Naruto is a ways from the village and his usual watchers. Even though he would never, the old man makes sure Naruto's babysat on the regular so he doesn't run off to be a hermit in Iwagakure or something. Yugito says it's to protect him from kidnappers, but Naruto's an awesome ninja now. What's there to worry about?

"It'll be an anbu member," Yugito tells him. She eyes Sasuke curiously. "Who did you say he was again?"

"Sasuke."

"Does he have a clan?"

"Yup. Uchiha. His mom is pretty."

Yugito makes this face. "So he's that boy… And you shouldn't talk about his mother like that."

"It's true, she's pretty. He looks just like her, it's so creepy."

Her expression becomes stranger, like she's really trying not to say something incriminating. "Interesting. Do you two get along?"

Naruto shrugs. Sasuke pissed him off, but that's it. "He doesn't know anything," He starts, thinking about his obtuse moment of not believing chakra is visible, when a stone hits the side of his head. "BASTARD!"

"Stop making things up, clown. I can hear you."

"Maybe you shouldn't eavesdrop!"

Sasuke scoffs like the accusation doesn't apply to him although it clearly does. Naruto dusts his palms on his orange pants. "I really gotta get back to training, Nee-chan. I'll talk later, okay?"

Naruto captures her in a quick hug before breaking into a sprint.

\V/

To be honest, he isn't fond of leaving Naruto alone in a solitary ravine he can't escape from when he gets in trouble. Darui almost throws him out when the sun goes down, though, citing that he has people waiting for him and Sasuke needs to go home so Darui can go home. People are watching Naruto: a claim Sasuke can't help but doubt. He's seen no one except Naruto.

"Who would have thought you were such a worry-wart." Darui chuckles, "Your mood swings are such a drag. Have some consistency, Sasuke,"

Sasuke isn't a worry wart. You have to care about someone to worry about them; Naruto and Sakura barely cross his mind and he sees them every day.

With that in mind he lets Darui take him away. He's made it more than halfway up the wall. His reserves are exhausted. He'll rest tomorrow, regain his strength, and come back with a greater understanding of his task. He's got the control down. Now it's a matter of maintaining it for longer and subconsciously. Not easy, but it needs to be.

Dinner is in the fridge. He eats his serving without warming it and showers, bathing for half an hour to indulge himself. He sits until steam fogs up the mirrors and the water turns cold.

It's a simple thing to drift off in thought. Itachi usually plagues his mind when he's not actively distracting himself. It's a haunting: what changes is who he considers the ghost. Most of the time it's Itachi, but sometimes it's Fugaku and even Sasuke's considered that it might be him. What are ghosts? Remnants; scars left on the world from the deceased. They're your actions, your regrets, a piece of your soul left behind.

Sasuke has acted and he has regrets and he has left things behind. He counts. His only problem is he isn't dead when he very well should be.

His mother knocks on the door softly. "Sasuke, please don't fall asleep in the bathtub. You'll prune up."

Sasuke sighs. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"We're nightowls, you and I," she jokes, knocking once more, before he hears her footsteps pad away. Sasuke pulls out the plug with his toe and regretfully gets to his feet.

Mikoto is sitting in front of a scroll. She smiles at him tiredly. Exhaustion lives under her skin now. Sasuke struggles to remember his mother unreservedly happy.

She's more of a ghost than I am, Sasuke thinks, and feels guilty for it almost instantly.

The scroll has writing on it. Not even seal work. Just a message that says: Find me in the meeting room at your earliest opportunity. The kanji could have been stenciled in; there are no flaws. Mikoto presses her finger under the ink. It's dried, but her touch is light as if she's afraid of smudging it.

"I had it on me when we left," Mikoto says apropos of nothing. Her smile corkscrews into a grimace. "When I grabbed you and started packing, I was only thinking of our survival. What we would need to make it on the road: clothes, weapons, money, trade items. I didn't grab the family album, or my wedding kimono, or your art I kept on the fridge. I had Itachi's first report card under my bed. I should have grabbed it. There is so much I would do differently if I had the chance."

"Mom…"

"I would have grabbed your father by his hair and forced him to come with us. Itachi, too. I left behind so many photos… My pregnancies, my team, my friends… I really, really abandoned everything."

Sasuke watches her trace the lettering. He can't shake the feeling that she's blaming him. She wouldn't, even though it's his fault.

"That's everything that remains of Father," He says. He can't help the poisonous edge in his tone.

"Not everything," Mikoto says tenderly. Sasuke flinches. "My son, those were material objects. I left them behind because I can live without them. I took you because I couldn't. I knew back then that my memories were enough, and I was right, even if I doubt myself in my quieter moments."

Sasuke felt like he never left those quiet moments where doubt was the loudest voice he could hear. Mikoto is miserable. A proud shinobi reduced to a broodmare to ensure Sasuke's conditional citizenship. It isn't fair, and it isn't right that years after the massacre the world believes Itachi did it out of madness, that Mikoto and Sasuke are missing because of chance and not because they were shown the door, that Konoha remains unpunished for their hand to play.

"I have your father in my heart. I know Itachi is alive. I have you and Kagen within arms reach. It's enough."

Except for when it isn't. A chill goes down Sasuke's spine. He misses his mother. She's here but he misses her because this is a mere shade. Uchiha are fire-born. Mikoto simmers. Her light is dying.

Sasuke sits, hiding his shaking hands under the table. "Tell me about your team, then."

Mikoto looks a little confused. "You want to hear about my team?"

"Yeah. You never talk about them, except for when you said you met your best friend there."

"Shouldn't you be going to sleep soon?"

Sasuke rests his chin on his hand. He's bone-tired; that much is obvious to him. "Just go ahead already, I'll have time to sleep in anyway. Rest day."

His mother's eyes brighten like she can't help herself. "As long as you make it clear when I've rambled on for too long," she says girlishly, leaning forward. "Maa, where to begin…"