(AN) Hey guys. It's been a long time since I have gotten back to this fic. Assignments, exams, and again assignments adding to the fact I lost some interest midway due to how I felt the early chapters were and the list goes on. But, for now we are given a break until Christmas.

As always thanks to LyHy, Nutella Man, Axlrose751, Sasha Lakes, maxting2003, Interesteddude, Mobydicks, iskandarrobby47, GB108, StopTeasing, Jutten, Devil's Darklight, LucilliaNovaDreyar, Ninjafairytama, The King in White, xNightShroudx, NerdyMcNerderson, hateme101, balck goku, 1010, obito, anonimi and guest(x5) for your reviews.

So, this chapter is a one-shot and can be considered cannon as well(before going to Orochimaru's hideout). Plot for this was suggested by my friend, who likes reading various doujinshis. So, the idea was taken from there I think(probably), and this could be considered as a tribute to that, well my own version of course.

Consider this as a special chapter for not updating in a long time. Enough of me babbling. Since I have not written anything in a while, chapter maybe rusty but still hope you enjoy it.

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A Trip to Iwagakure

"Land of Stone…?" Chocolate eyes turned with curiosity to look at the ebony haired man beside her. "That is a bit unusual. Aren't we supposed to head to this 'Orochimaru's hideout first? Do we have some business that we need to take care of there?"

"Yes. Do you remember the rogue nin that had attacked us while we were near Kirigakure?" The last Uchiha questioned, as he continued to travel alongside the red head, who was donning a white cloak around her, color in contrast with his pitch black cloak.

"The shinobi that worked under the guy who stole the scroll, right?" Erza asked as Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Are you trying to say they are somehow related to Oyashiro En?"

"It might be the case." Sasuke answered, his lone obsidian eye moving from his front to the red head's face for a moment as they continued to walk. "I suspect that the thief and he had some kind of relationship. Of course, it is only my guess as of now."

"If that were the case, shouldn't we make haste towards the sannin's hideout first then?" Erza pointed. "What is there in Land of Stone?"

"It is true, but since we are anyway near Iwagakure, we might as well go ahead and report that incident. Remember the shinobi who were caught in the poisonous deadly trap that was set by few rogue nin?" Sasuke said. He continued when Erza didn't seem to catch on in a slightly annoyed tone, "Your devotees… The ones that were so infatuated with you."

Erza immediately remembered what incident he was talking about. "Oh, them, right?" She laughed aloud as Sasuke put on a deadpanned expression. "Of course I remember! I still remember their faces, how scared they were of you when you were glaring at them since they thanked only me."

"Yeah, them." Sasuke said with a slight hint of exasperation in his tone at the topic being brought up. "Hn, and for the record, I did not glare at them."

Erza giggled into the palms of her hand in return. "Yeah, whatever you say."

The incident that Sasuke was talking about… It had been around a week since the last Uchiha and his 'wife' had started travelling together ever since they reached an agreement. They were still searching for the ninja who had stolen the scroll from the Orochimaru's hideout and one who had dropped of Erza in this world.

They managed to track his movements at first to some extent upon enquiring in various places and also due to the tracking skills that Sasuke possessed. They were in pursuit of him as they got few leads that pointed them in the direction of the land of mist.

On the way there, near a remote region, they came across an incident in which few Iwagakure ninjas were caught in a trap laid by few Rogue ninjas, shinobi who had deserted from the same village. It was a deadly trap, used to knock your enemies in mere minutes by using faintest of the paralysis poison that was nearly untraceable and undetectable, and a seal that activates another type of poison that finished the task.

So, upon coming across the Iwagakure nin who were already caught in the trap and close to the death door, both Erza and Sasuke had moved immediately to rescue them, albeit Sasuke was a bit slow at first to take the approach on rescuing them.

It was Erza's sudden outburst, her scarlet hair fluttering in the wind out of the corner of his vision, as she jumped into the poisonous fumes made him move as well, something that only his sworn brother, Naruto would do in these kind of situations. Though they did manage to take care of the traps and there were no casualties among the Iwagakure nin, the men oddly for some reason thanked only Erza. That too a lot before the effects of the gas started taking effect.

None of them dared to approach him though. Maybe it was because of his reputation, or the fact that he had glared at them.

Though things were relatively peaceful now, few people begged to disagree.

There were many incidents, where in some places it was even rumored that rogue ninja were banding together and were plotting something that threatened to destroy the peace and stability of this world. The Dark thunder was more of a recent example, the group which Sasuke had encountered before he met Erza.

Compared to that, this was a small scale incident. So, Sasuke had thought it was more out of a personal grudge that the rogue nin attacked their fellow Iwagakure nin as a sign of refusal for signing the peace treaty. But, after the encounter with more rogue ninja that had attacked, knowing full well that Erza was under his protection, he began to doubt and tried to link the previous incident and this incident.

"So, anyway, there is a small chance that the trap that was set for Iwagakure nin was in fact for us, and the Stone ninjas were just caught up in the cross fire." Sasuke said, looking straight ahead as he spotted few buildings made of stone in distance. "That's what I thought, so I hid about it since there is an even bigger threat at the moment. But, seeing as we are anyway near the Iwagakure, I thought of reporting to the Tsuchikage just in case before we continue with our mission."

"So that's why…" Erza said, her lips quirking up a bit which Sasuke took note of.

"What are you smiling for?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hm?" Erza looked back at him with a smile on her face. "~Hm, you see, I was just thinking that you may not be such a bad person after all."

Erza had been fascinated when the nin that they rescued told her that she looked pretty and she had to smile more often, if not for herself, at least for them. Even they too must have noticed how hollow she felt ever since she woke up in this world. At least that was what she guessed.

But, it was at least worth testing since they confidently stated no man could stay aloof around her when she smiled like she was doing now. They only probably said that because of the expression Sasuke wore on his face that day.

"…" Sasuke's blank façade did falter a bit when he turned to look at her. But, she could not grasp his reaction since he turned his head away just as quickly.

"What the heck are you implying?" Sasuke said, covering his mouth with his hand, "And, I see that you have started to become overly expressive, which is quite annoying."

"Maybe." She still continued to smile, as she clasped her hands behind her back and continued to walk beside him.

"Hey! It's already way past the time we were supposed to change shifts," an Iwagakure guard shouted as he saw his colleague run towards the gate.

"Well, that's true, but I have a favor to ask…"

"What?"

The man who had come late brought his hands to together, "Please, just cover for me today, will you?"

"Ha…?" The previous guard quizzically tilted his head. "Why? Did something happen?"

"The girl that I had been stalki- liking said she wanted to meet me." He bowed his head. "So, just for today, could you cover? Please!?"

"No!" The guard said sternly. "It is not something that we skip our duties over for."

"Don't say such things, Mori-kun!" The other guy placed his arm over the guard's shoulder. "Please, I know you would do the same if the angel that god sent to rescue us, called to meet with you."

The guard did blush, and stuttered. "D-Don't make fun of me?!" He yelled as the other guy laughed and ran out of sight muttering a 'thanks'.

But, the guy named Mori clenched his hand. "I probably would do the same thing if I were to meet her again."

He recalled that incident, where everything had turned black and white, the paralysis taking full toll on him, as the second poison gas was being released.

He thought he and his comrades were done for. When all hope seemed lost, a beautiful angel with bright scarlet hair that shined despite the dark ambience seemed to descend near him, as she took hold of his hand and carried him out of that gas all on her own. She sure seemed to hold a lot of strength despite the delicate appearance of her.

She was also effected by the same gas, he could see it, but her eyes had held a much firmer determination than his that refused to give up, neither her life, nor his if she could help it. Even as he could see how exhausted and beat she seemed. The only regret he had was that he was the only one who wasn't able to thank her as shortly afterwards, she had collapsed, causing her companion – who was busy treating his comrades – to take her away before giving them few pills to negate the poison flow in their blood as a first aid treatment.

He looked up at the sky solemnly. "I wonder what she is doing right now."

"Um, excuse me?" He turned around when he heard a voice behind him. But, when he did, he could not stop the blush from creeping into his face as the very angel who had saved him stood before him.

His heart skipped a beat as she continued, "We are here to meet the leader of this village. Could you allow us enter through the gate?"

"E-Erza-san?"

As he allowed himself to drown in the pleasure of seeing his angel, his gaze moved towards her companion, who looked exactly like the prince of the underworld with his black cloak, dark hair, pale face and the way he held himself and all.

"Ah…!" Erza blinked, remembering the guy. "You were the last one that we rescued back then! How are the others doing? Are they all okay?"

"Yeah… thanks to you…" The smile fell of the guard's face as he uncomfortably met Sasuke's gaze. "And, you as well."

Now that I see him clearly, he is… Could it be…?

"I figured we might meet again seeing as we were here, but never expected it would happen so soon." Erza said with a fond smile.

"M-Me too. I never thought we would meet again…" He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I-I w-wanted to…" He paused, glancing in the last Uchiha's direction once again.

Sasuke could see that the guard was hesitating with him being there. He closed his eyes and took a step into the village, "Erza, you should rest here. I'll go and see the Tsuchikage alone. It won't take too long."

"Eh?" Erza was confused, as she saw Sasuke start walking towards the village alone before halting for a moment, and turned back.

"…And, besides he looks like he wants to say something."

"No! I…!" Sasuke did not wait, as he did not pay any heed to the guard's indignant sputtering and walked away.

"…There he goes again." Erza sighed, resting her head into the palm of her hand. She did not understand what went through his head most of the times, and it wasn't like she was telling him everything either. She turned towards the guard, and gave a gentle smile as she sat on a small boulder, "Well, don't worry about it. He said it was fine."

The guard named Mori paused for a second, before hesitantly taking a seat nearby where she sat.

"I w-wanted to thank you, for saving my life." The guard said.

"You already thanked us, right?" Erza asked tilting her head.

"No, I wasn't able to at the time due to my condition." The guard said, looking down. "I am happy that you are safe. For a moment, I thought I may never get the chance to thank you since you had collapsed shortly after."

"Well, there were many of you back then, so I had to risk it." Erza said, resting her hands gently on her legs.

"By the way, that guy with you…" the guard named Mori paused for a second, looking back at her. "Could it be that he is the Uchiha clan's last survivor?"

"Hm… yes." Her eyes slowly moved towards her feet as she replied.

"I heard that he left Konoha many years ago and joined Akatsuki during the war."

"…" Erza stayed silent, knowing what he was talking about. Even if Sasuke wasn't willing to tell her about his crimes, it was still the talk of the town in whichever town he set foot. And, he had even explained everything regarding his clan already.

"After getting back up, I heard some rumors when I inquired about you." The guard said, clenching his fists a bit. "They said that you were already married off to some guy and now seeing him with you makes me believe it. I know someone as kind as you wouldn't choose a bad person, so I was sure he was wonderful, but…"

"But, what?" Erza hesitantly asked, remembering the events in Kirigakure where the crowd began saying things about the Uchiha clan. She feared it was the same in this case as well.

"He is not here?"

"Yeah, the old man is in another country right now." A woman with short black hair stood before him. She wore the standard gear for the Iwagakure nin. "I guess he won't be back for a while."

"I see." Sasuke nodded.

"By the way, it seems that you have saved few of our shinobi recently," Tsuchikage's granddaughter, Kurotsuchi said, placing her right hand on her hip. "They were intimidated by you, so they asked me to thank you on their behalf."

Sasuke did not respond verbally, but just showed some gratitude on his face, causing Kurotsuchi to raise her eyebrow in surprise.

"Hm, it seems you changed a lot from the trouble brat as grandpa likes to call you." She said, crossing her arms.

"Regarding that… I am still hesitating to move when others are in trouble." Sasuke admitted truthfully, though his face was devoid of expression. "It was because of my companion's quick responsiveness that I was able to move."

"~Hoh, a companion?" Kurotsuchi had a suggestive grin. "Is it by any chance your wife?"

Sasuke ignored her question, and turned around to leave instead, knowing full well how she came to know about it.

Kurotsuchi was confused by his actions for a bit, before she realized her question hit the mark.

"That reaction says it all!" Kurotsuchi laughed, rushing to stand in front of him. "Geez, what a surprise! I thought it was only rumors that Uchiha Sasuke had taken a wife, but I didn't think it was true!"

She leaned in further to get a good look at his face. "Man, you are smooth despite how you act!" She said, before a mischievous grin formed on her face. "So, did you do it?"

"It doesn't matter, right?"

"Who am I kidding? Of course you did it!" She cackled again. "You are travelling with your wife alone after all. Surprisingly, you are the obvious type."

"…"

"Well, isn't that nice. You get to be with someone you treasure, and I am sure she treasures you as well since she married you, as looks were the only thing that was going for you few years back."

Sasuke just continued listening, since the conversation was way past the point of denial. Although, his mind was now briefly wondering about that possibility. The possibility of having a family of his own after he found out the answers he was searching for.

And, the revival of his clan.

"You are not alone anymore. You shouldn't forget the past and all the people who were caught in the barrage also won't forget." Kurotsuchi continued in a much softer tone. "You must have something that you must carry with you for the rest of your life. But, now you have wife who will take care of combining that together, right?"

"…Yeah."

"Your responsibilities increase, but that also means you have grown up." She said, nodding to herself. "You have to go through a lot of things since you decided to stay by her side."

The raven haired teen stayed silent for a moment contemplating what she said before speaking, "…I am curious."

"Huh?" The stone kunoichi tilted her head. "Curious about what?"

"I did not know that you were married." Sasuke said, as Kurotsuchi's lips immediately thinned which the last Uchiha noticed. "Or, why else would you be lecturing a married guy about his responsibilities. Am I right?"

"I-It doesn't matter right!" An embarrassed Tsuchikage's granddaughter replied.

He did not reply anything for a while as he gave her a deadpanned expression. He sighed, deciding it was pointless and that it was almost time for him to be heading back after a moment. "I'll be leaving now. This scroll contains the report of what happened back then. Since, he is not here, can I trust you with this?"

"O-Of course!" Kurotsuchi said, taking a black scroll from Sasuke's hand. "Good luck to you on your current mission."

Sasuke bid farewell and started walking back.

But, at least I have someone left in this world. In Konoha…But, she… Sasuke remembered how he chose to ignore the soft sobbing that he heard the first few nights he travelled with her. How he decided that it had nothing to do with him.

And, yet she still tries to live every day to the fullest possible. Always smiles, but doesn't want to show her tears in front of anyone. He clenched and unclenched his fists. "I will try to send her back as soon as possible. I don't want to burden her with walking on the limited path that is left for me."

Besides that, I am sure her family must be desperately trying to rescue her from the other dimension.

He hadn't realized that he had almost reached the gate, until he heard the guard's voice.

"Just as I thought, he is the coolest person I have ever seen!"

"Huh?" Erza was pleasantly surprised by what the guard was telling.

"I know you said you haven't met him until recently, so you might not know this." The guard smiled. "Well…! What I am saying right now is based only on rumors but, he was the one with the ocular jutsu; who together with Konoha's Naruto-kun released us from Madara's infinite Tsukuyomi."

"He fought Madara…?" Erza asked, since Sasuke never mentioned anything about him fighting the main progenitor of the forth great ninja war.

"Yes. Madara was the ultimate boss. He was a true monster and a beast, and it is said that he even wiped around ten thousand soldiers all by himself in an hour," the Guard said, perhaps too excited for his own good. "Even the five kages fell before him, but Naruto-kun and Sasuke-san fought him and released the genjutsu. It is as I thought! The one you married is definitely a hero who saved the world, and that fact won't change."

He turned to her with a smile, "The first time I met him during that incident, I knew right away. I actually have great observation skills. You should have seen how worried he was when you collapsed all of a sudden."

"…" Chocolate eyes fluttered with discomfit as she looked back into her lap.

"What's wrong?"

She felt bad now about not trying to clear up the misunderstanding before. It was wrong for others to be associating her with Sasuke like this. It wasn't that she hated at being referred as such, but after berating Sasuke in Kirigakure to not refer her as such, she felt guilty. "To tell you the truth… I am not-"

"Oh, that's right! I originally wanted to thank you, and yet I kept on babbling about stuff! Sorry!" The guard realized how Erza fell silent, as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "But, I am glad that a kind girl such as you… I am sincerely happy that it was him."

Erza couldn't say now that it was all a lie, her being his spouse, rather didn't want to say now. So, she found herself saying, "Thank you."

It was at that moment Sasuke chose to let others know about his presence as he walked over to them.

Seeing him, both of them stood all of a sudden. "Sasuke, you finished your meeting with the leader?"

"No. He has gone to attend an important meeting outside the village," All the kages were probably gathering in Konoha regarding the moon threat that was likely known only to the top brass as of now. "I just handed a scroll to someone instead."

"Ah… that's right!" The man said bowing his head in shame. "Tsuchikage-sama isn't here in the village. I am sorry."

Sasuke turned around, heading for the exit not waiting for the red head. "We are leaving."

"Okay." Erza began to move, before the guard's voice stopped them both.

"Um… thank you for taking time to talk with me!" The guard looked away shyly.

"Same here. It is nice to talk to someone who would respond and reply for a change when spoken to." Erza said. "By the way, I didn't get your name. Can you tell me what it is?"

"…It's okay." Mori said, surprising Sasuke, who understood what the guard was feeling towards Erza. "In exchange, I'll be happy knowing that you remember that someone like me is there in this village."

"I won't." Erza gave a bright smile that reminded Sasuke of the things he was thinking before again. Regarding the sobbing, his talk with Kurotsuchi. "Please do approach if we were to meet again, someday."

They bid farewell to the guard, and made it few meters outside before Sasuke started speaking to her.

"It seems that guy likes you." He said, a smirk appearing on his lips.

"Eh! You were spying on us?!" Erza said, flustered as her fingers twitched dangerously. A sword began manifesting in her hand as she turned towards Sasuke, waiting for an answer patiently.

"Relax. I wasn't." Sasuke said, closing his eyes, completely ignoring the fact that she had drawn a weapon. "It was just a coincidence since I returned first."

Erza did lower her sword, but did not stop glaring at him. "And, for your information, he was just thanking me. He doesn't like me that way."

"He was rather obvious. How did you not notice?"

"B-But but… he said that he thought I was your… wife." She lowered her voice right at the end, looking away as if it was a taboo to be saying all this to him.

"Trust me, very few people are pure in this world. Not everyone is a saint, and not everyone has pure thoughts going through their mind." Sasuke said, peeking an eye open to look at her.

"But, still he seems like a nice person." Erza said, looking at her feet as they walked before she smiled a little. "…You know, it isn't as bad as it was before." She said quietly, knowing well that Sasuke knew about the tears she shed during the first couple of nights. "Even with people all around me, I felt alone. But, now… that isn't the case anymore. Perhaps I should have given some sort of response to him then."

"Then you should perhaps meet him again after we find the scroll." Sasuke spoke, looking to his front, snubbing how his voice sounded just now.

"~Aw, don't feel bad, Sasuke-kun. Believe me! I am happy to be with you." Erza said, her sword converting back into small mana prisms, dispersing into the thin air as a teasing smile fell on her lips. "But, it isn't like I have gone on a date with you either, so…"

This kind of future shouldn't have existed in the first place for him. It wasn't like she knew what crimes he did in specific, but if it's at least for even a while longer, he would like to maintain that illusion and this false pretense that was between them.

- It just means more responsibilities, if you want to stand up beside the one that you want to. Go through the things that are necessary if you have decided…

Kurotsuchi's words rang in his mind.

"Hmph." Sasuke smirked. I haven't decided anything yet, but I do know what I want to do at the moment.

"What's wrong all of a sudden?" Erza moved few steps to her right. "You are creeping me with that sudden smile. Or, smirk? Are you smirking right now?!"

"You said we haven't gone on a date, didn't you?" Sasuke said, holding out his hand, signaling her to come closer. "It's true that we have to make haste to go to Orochimaru's hideout…" As soon as she was near, he poked her forehead, causing her to stumble backwards. "But, protecting you is also my responsibility. We made a deal, didn't we?"

"…huh? What do you mean?"

"You'll know when the time comes." Sasuke started walking forward. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Erza called out, causing Sasuke to stop. He simply turned around, and held out his hand once again, this time a smile gracing his face which was Erza's first time seeing Sasuke smile.

"It's special today." He might have lost all means for his happiness, but that didn't mean he had to ignore and neglect others. He may not be able to make her happy but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try, until she returns back to her home world, never let her feel alone while empathizing in what he felt for the past twelve years. "Let us make this a date then."

The reply he was got was a blushing Erza, who smiled after a moment and took hold of his right hand.

The smile he held might have been fake, but the unfamiliar feeling that was bubbling in his stomach sure seemed genuine.

(AN) So yeah. This chapter should have been added somewhere in the middle as it makes more sense since I kind of skipped this part.

I am already working on the next chapter, where we will pick it where we left off.

Iwagakure - village hidden in stones.

Kirigakure - village hidden in mist.

Power levels? That is always up to debate. Many have their own opinions, and I am trying to write how I felt when I watched these two anime. Of course, I am also using vsbattles wikia as a reference. And, when I had written the Irene and August part (1 year ago I think, which is kind of long now that I think about it), nothing was revealed regarding them, except their entrance. I had used Fiary wiki as a reference at that time.

Get to the point already? Well, I understand your impatience, and well frankly, I had wanted them together by chapter 10 and end it there. But, my friend suggested that it would be too short and also this fic kind of speaks about how Sasuke is still coping with the after effects of the war and how he has yet to come to terms with himself, you know still searching answers and all that.

I think I managed to speak about few things that were brought up in the reviews. In case I am forgetting something, just PM me. Also if you are interested in another Sasuke crossover, you can take a look at Finding oneself that I started. It is a Naruto + Fate/stay night cross over. I also wanted to make a SasukexDXD cross-over, but it looks like it won't happen for a while until at least I get to the closing point of either of my currently running fics.