Divergent

A crease formed on Tsunade's brow as she looked down at the mission summary on her desk. Her eyes had stared at one section of the report for so long, the words had very nearly begun to look more like a foreign language: "Naruto Uzumaki, Absent Without Leave. Has also taken Sasuke Uchiha from ICU at Union headquarters. Whereabouts unknown." At last, she gave a tired sigh and looked up to Yamato, the only one she hadn't dismissed after the group had returned. "This cannot be happening…" she muttered, knowing it was weak of her to admit that but too stressed to care. "I already have half the jonin out looking for the ones who attacked us but now our home defenses are weak, leaving us more exposed than what I feel comfortable with. Naruto sure as hell picked a fine time to get a boyfriend…" she snorted.

As a former ANBU member, Yamato had too much practice in hiding his emotions but even he winced minutely. "I didn't help the matter any; after Naruto found out Sasuke wouldn't be coming back to Konoha, I yelled at him to stop being selfish. I should've been patient and tried to understand his feelings more." He cast his eyes downward, becoming introspective.

"No, you were right," Tsunade said, her voice gaining strength as she drew herself up. "He is being selfish. Sasuke was where he needed to be, in the hands of some of the best medics in the world. I also never said it was entirely impossible for Sasuke to return, but that the village still needed time. I never would have expected Naruto to completely desert Konoha like this."

"Agreed," Yamato murmured, closing his eyes and regulating his breaths to hide his pounding heart. He figured he already knew what was coming next, the order for the hunt.

Tsunade sat back, crossing one leg over the other as she stared out of one of the many windows. "This whole thing started when Sasuke nearly attacked someone in defense of Naruto. Now Naruto is running away, thinking that's how he'll protect Sasuke. Those two might think they have the perfect relationship, but I'm worried they've become co-dependent. They care about each other so much that they no longer function without the other, with the result of also pushing away everyone else around them." Her voice softened a bit as she added, "A love so fierce, that all they need is each other."

Yamato said nothing, swallowing down an ache.

Noticing it, Tsunade gave a sad smile. "Sorry, about that. Either way, I'm not going to go make you track those two down. As much as we could use the added assistance, we haven't the spare people needed to go find them. We'll deal with finding whoever those people are first, and then we'll come up with a plan to handle Naruto and Sasuke."

Taking that as a dismissal, Yamato bowed and quickly left, still trying to get his unusually tender emotions to settle.

~.~.~

Note to self, replace the door. Naruto balanced two sacks of groceries in his arms as he pushed against the front door of the small home he'd been allowed to rent. The material was on the cheaper end and was prone to swelling in the humid summer heat with the result that immense force was needed to get it open. He honestly didn't want to break it, but after several bumps with his hip, it was still refusing to budge. He was so frustrated, he was about ready to skip past a Rasengan in favor of a Tailed Beast Bomb and just obliterate the damn thing.

At just that thought, he heard something hit the floor rather hard on the other side of the door. That was all it took for him to shift his positon to literally kick in the door, dropping the bags the instant he was inside. Immediately, he raced to the back of the house where the bedroom was at but didn't need to go any further as the source of the noise had easily presented itself.

"Sasuke!" Naruto automatically shouted, running up to him and kneeling down. Sasuke was at long last awake, but he was sprawled on the floor of the hallway. Looking behind him, Naruto saw that Sasuke must've crawled out the bed and hit the floor, which explained the sound. "About time you're finally awake! You've been asleep for days!" He reached forward to hug him, but Sasuke used his arms to pull himself forward some more, clearly not in the mood for cuddling or hugs. "Hm? Where are you going?"

"I need to piss. Now," Sasuke grit out, pulling himself forward some more but only by inches.

Naruto didn't question him any further. Scooping him up, he carried him the short steps to the bathroom and sat him down, but hesitated a moment. Should he stay and…help? He wasn't sure as to what Sasuke could do on his own just yet.

"I know how to use a toilet so I'd appreciate it if you'd leave," Sasuke snapped with urgency.

The blonde bolted, whipping the door shut behind him. With the separation between the two, he allowed his face to break out into a massive smile, one that hurt his cheeks in its strength. Sasuke was up. He'd finally be able to see the beautiful land that they'd come to, a paradise that seemed almost made just for them.

Going to the bedroom, he reached for two crutches that he'd placed beside the bed. It was evident Sasuke had missed them in his hurry, but they should make getting around a little easier. He tapped on the bathroom door and called out, "I have something here that should make it a little easier to walk…"

He heard the toilet flush and there was some shuffling as Sasuke turned on the faucet to wash his hands. However, before he'd finished with that, the door was opened with him leaning on the counter, his face strained with the effort of trying to keep himself up. Perhaps he'd already seen the crutches as he held a hand out, waiting for them to be passed to him. Naruto quickly came forward, supporting him as he slid each one under his arm.

He began to guide Sasuke back to the bedroom, but the Uchiha switched directions, wanting to head down the hallway. "Where are we?" he asked as he hobbled into the living room, taking in the unfamiliar furniture. "The last thing I remember was seeing you in that place…with the guys in the white robes." He fell quiet, thinking about his time imprisoned, reliving his desperate fear and just how close he'd come to dying.

Naruto noticed it and pulled Sasuke into a hug that wasn't returned, either due to needing his arms to keep the crutches balanced or he was still lost in his memories. He traced a thumb down the corner of Sasuke's mouth with their foreheads together and revealed the big news. "We're not in the Land of Iron anymore. In fact, we're not even on the continent anymore. We've been given asylum in the Land of Spring."

"And just where's that?" Sasuke asked, his voice not betraying the previous pain he'd been remembering.

To his question, Naruto shrugged. He was terrible with geography and answered with, "You know…the Land of Snow? We helped them out several years ago with the princess—"

"I remember now," Sasuke cut him off, the cogs on his mind clearing their dust as he became more aware. Moving over to an old arm chair, he eased himself down, placing the crutches aside. Naruto came over and sat facing him on the ottoman in front of the chair. "Why are we way over here? Did they need us to do another mission or something?"

"…No. We're the only two from Konoha that are here," the blonde informed him, beginning to feel a little uneasy. The idea of coming to the Land of Spring had sounded brilliant to him in his head, but now that he had to explain it, he was worried how it'd come across to Sasuke. Knowing the raven would get impatient with his hesitancy, he went ahead and said it. "Nobody from Konoha knows where we're at."

An unfortunately familiar sensation was beginning to take hold and Sasuke knew there was much more missing from this story. He also had the sinking suspicion that Naruto had done something dumb—irrevocably dumb. "Naruto. Start from the beginning. And tell me everything," he demanded, pinching his eyes shut.

In compliance, Naruto did just that, retelling how Yamato had assembled himself, Sai and Hinata to help track him down. He detailed the genjutsu that'd nearly held up their progress and about the underground base. And as a fierce protective pride took over him, he didn't hide the fact about the deaths he'd committed, all to rescue Sasuke. He informed him of their time at the Union headquarters and that Konoha had been attacked by the same people they'd seen underground, and that even this didn't constitute enough concern to allow Sasuke to return. And finally, Naruto informed him of his decision to abandon the village.

"I did it for you," Naruto said with an edge, not liking the look on Sasuke's face, the look that told him a fight was coming. "For us. Tsunade was willing to cast you out so long as she had me but I'm not just a jinchuriki to be used whenever they feel like it!"

There it went. Sasuke's dark eyes snapped as his emotions flared. "No, you're worse. You're a complete idiot who never thinks anything through. Did you ever stop to consider how this is going to look on both of us?"

As though to prove his point, Naruto immediately stood up, stepping closer to where he nearly towered over Sasuke. "I think it looks exactly as it should! Nobody expected 'dumb Naruto' to actually leave but maybe now, they'll realize I'm not just going to be their pawn. By rejecting you, they rejected both of us. If anything we're the ones with leverage! If they want me back, they have to take you back as well!"

If there was one thing Sasuke hated, it was being talked down to. In his fury, he only grabbed one of the crutches, but it was enough to at least get him on his feet. He drew himself up, putting his face in Naruto's as he advanced. "You seem to have this idea that you're so goddamn special that they'd never just kill you and take the Nine Tails back! You're not some omnipotent god, Naruto; there is always someone stronger than you."

He flashed to his imprisonment and then shut the thought down. "And what, you thought we'd just elope to a new country and they'd come begging for us back? If the village didn't want me before, they're definitely not going to want me back now. Now they know that if I'm not glued to your side at every fucking moment, you get pissy and run away. You said they treated you like a pawn but all you succeeded in doing is making Konoha your pawn. Tell me, is that any better?"

Naruto couldn't even answer his last question, his heart having stopped at the 'omnipotent god' sneer and how much that hurt. From somewhere deep inside, a well burst and the words spilled out. "Sasuke Uchiha, you are probably the most ungrateful person I have ever met! I've spent not just these past few months, but years trying to do everything I could to help you and never once have you at least acknowledged my efforts! Like I said, I did this for us! Was it the best idea? Who frickin' cares! At the absolute least, you could say 'Thank you Naruto for caring so much.' But I'm guessing your Uchiha pride won't let you say that, huh?"

Before either of them could stop it, Sasuke slapped him. For a long moment, neither of them moved as they continued to burn each other with their eyes, neither ready to cave. Finally though, it was Naruto who reacted first. The blue orbs lost their intensity as he put a hand to his cheek. "Ow…" he whispered, a tear falling down to his palm.

The Uchiha realized then that he'd crossed a line. Hitting Naruto before they were dating, or sparring with each other was one thing. The slap was probably the lightest hit he'd ever given him, but with their emotions now so entangled, even that much now came off like a punch. Never had he thought he'd be one to commit domestic violence and the shock of it rendered him speechless.

Keeping the hand to his cheek, Naruto couldn't say anything more. He turned around and went into the bedroom, locking himself inside.