A/N: Hello again. Time for the next installment. No warnings - I hope you like it.
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They woke early seeing nothing left of Itachi and Kissime but some colored shreds from the robes they wore. They were really gone. Raylin watched Sasuke as he looked over to where his brother once was. She walked up to him and took his hand. "Let's go."
He snapped out of his trance and looked at her. He smiled slightly and nodded. He turned without a look, gathered his things and left the memory of his brother and all the hate he had carried behind.
On the way to Konoha, Sasuke told Raylin all about the people who lived there. He told her about how he was matched with Naruto and Sakura and that Kakashi had been their sensei. How they had originally failed the initial part of survival training, until they started working as a team, thus being the only team Kakashi ever gave a passing grade to. "Yeah, we were a team. Squad 7. Team Kakashi. Now there's some guy there named Sai who's pretty much taken my place. He tried to kill me once. Was actually sent to assassinate me. But somehow he abandoned his mission to create bonds with his team. My old team. It was weird. It's going to be weird when we get there. They may not treat us very warmly."
"They will when we explain what's happened. Nobody knows that Orochimaru and Kabuto are gone yet. They have no idea that Kissime and Itachi are too. They should be indebted to you."
"To us you mean."
"To us." They continued to walk and Sasuke told her more about the other sensei that were there. An eclectic bunch, each as talented as the other in many different areas. But he told her, none, not a single one could match her. Raylin never flaunted her power; she just strived to make it greater. She knew she could rule the world if she wanted to, but she didn't want to. She just wanted to be useful, and be with Sasuke. That was enough. That was what made her happy.
After traveling three days, they reached the gates of the hidden leaf village. Sasuke said, "There it is. The village hidden in the leaves. Konoha." He stood there looking at the gates.
"Let's go in. Where will we go first?"
"We'll go to Naruto's apartment first. I hope he's here. He can help us get everyone together so we can tell them all at once what's happened."
"Good idea."
"I'll warn you. Naruto's loud, obnoxious, and will probably try and kill me when he sees me. It's only fair; I tried to kill him, more than once. So, stay back and out of sight until he's calmed down."
"Ok. You two need to sort through some things. I understand. Still, I can't wait to meet him."
"You may regret saying that." She eyed him curiously.
Sasuke steadied himself and with a final look at her, he turned forward and walked through the gates into the village hidden in the leaves. He was finally home, and this time, he wasn't alone. He'd never be alone again. He reached out and touched Raylin's shoulder as they walked. She looked at him and said, "What was that for?"
"Nothing, I was just thinking."
"Of what?"
"Of the last time I was here. I was so alone. I'll never be alone again."
"No you won't." Raylin wanted to cry she felt so happy. She looked away from him while smiling so he didn't think anything was wrong.
They came upon people here and there. Most didn't even bother to notice them. Finally a shinobi did a double take. Shikamaru almost fell over; he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Sasuke Uchiha is walking down the streets in Konoha! And he's with someone! Is he part of Akatsuke now? Who is that he's with? I'd better alert Hokage right away. He slipped away and made his way quickly to Hokage's offices. Sasuke turned to Raylin, "That was Shikamaru. And he's wearing a Chunin vest. He must have passed the exam after I left."
They continued on. Some of the regular folk recognized him, and began whispering. "Isn't that Uchiha? Isn't that Sasuke who left to go to Orochimaru? Is Orochimaru here? What is he doing here? Didn't he try and kill that Naruto kid?" A small group started to follow them at a distance, whispering and pointing. Sasuke said, "I was afraid of this. As long as they don't rush us, we'll be ok."
"How far to Naruto's?"
"Not far. If we have to, we can make a run for it. But no violence. Not here. We have to gain their trust."
"I could hit them with a genjutsu and make them forget us for a few minutes."
"Only if it comes to that. Right now, just keep walking."
"Ok." She made no move to touch him, even though she wanted to hold his hand. She didn't want to give the impression that they were together – not yet. Not until the time was right.
Sasuke said, "Here it is, through the door and up the steps, end of the hall. When we go up, keep out of sight. I'll see if he's in." She nodded to him, and they entered the building. The crowd was growing, wondering why Sasuke had just walked back into Konoha, and wondering if he was there to destroy the village. The tension was building in the street.
Raylin hid in a shadowy doorway a few doors down from where Sasuke stopped. He looked over his shoulder and nodded to her; she nodded back and flattened herself against the wall. He knocked quietly and waited. Nothing. He knocked a little louder and heard, "OK, ok! Jeez, hold on a second, I'm coming!" The door opened and Naruto stopped short, staring at Sasuke. "Sasuke? Sasuke!" Naruto's face hardened as he looked at his former friend. "What are you doing here? Are you here to try and kill me again?" Naruto's voice got louder; he started to growl at him. Sasuke tried to interrupt him, to stop him from causing a scene, but Naruto decided to strike first and take Sasuke down before he had a chance to try again to kill him. Sasuke took a step back, only to have Raylin insert herself between the two of them, her head down, her arms out shielding Sasuke behind her.
She said simply, "Not another step Naruto."
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A/N: The countdown continues! 8 more chapters to the end.
Next Up: The Uchihas need help from Naruto. Will he give it? Find out. See you soon.