I know I said I'd write longer chapters but figured that keeping them fairly short would encourage productivity. I'm notorious for writing long chapters, then re-reading them and picking it to pieces. This way, at least, I'm less inclined to do this. As such, I think this story will continue with short chapters—short by my usual standards, that is—and be no longer than ten pages each. This is roughly eight pages without notes.

A big thanks for your reviews goes to: DevilishBea, pennypigeon, Final Syai Lunar Generation, Akirakun17, LurvirsLuvvie, IWishIWasACheescake, KyuuKyuuMoo.

Hope this is up to your expectations. Enjoy. Please read and review.

サスケxナルト

II

The details

サスケxナルト

It all started with an argument.

A ridiculously, childish argument and now, Sasuke was stuck babysitting his teammate that had reverted to a child of two years.

From his place in the corner of the isolated hospital ward, Sasuke brooded.

It hadn't taken long to baby-proof his house—the parts that they would be using, anyway. Although, it helped that he kept things clean to begin with. In the end, all he had to do was put away any stray weapons left lying around. Place anything breakable or poisonous out of reach and then restock his pantry with food for his soon to be guests. The baby supplies would be sorted out later.

When he actually knew what he was meant to purchase.

"Tsunade-shishou said that Naruto would change back gradually," Sakura voiced aloud. She was standing next to the bed in which their teammate and current charge lay; curled up into a ball—the act vaguely reminiscent of a feline—and sound asleep. "But I wonder how gradual it will be... I mean," she paused. "I don't think it will take another fifteen years for him to catch up to the right age but what if—?"

Sasuke had deliberated on that as well. He doubted it was that 'permanent' however. If there was anything he knew of the Hokage, it was that she cared about the stubborn blonde idiot of his team and if she wasn't worried about the timeframe, then it stood to reason they shouldn't, either.

It was unfeasible for Tsunade to allocate three highly valuable resources for a single task as simple as keeping watch over Naruto for an extended period of time. He could understand if it was short term; a couple of weeks, at most but years? No. Not with the village's current struggles with some of its neighbours. They were already down in numbers any more for too long would be potentially disastrous.

However, if Sakura couldn't figure this out on her own, who was he to tell her? It was Naruto's job reassuring her, not his.

Still, he did wonder how gradual this process was going to be. Over the last few hours not a lot had happened, although they were surprised that Naruto was at least toilet trained. This saved plenty of awkwardness on who would change his soiled pants.

When Naruto had been awake, he hadn't spoken a word, either; just stared at them. Mostly at Sakura, because she had cooed over him like an idiot and the blonde had offered a warped, gap-filled grin in return but had remained otherwise mute. Only really breaking this routine when he cried and that was if Kakashi or Sasuke got too close.

Naruto had absolutely no problems with Sakura. Nor did Naruto have any issue with Tsunade or Shizune. Just him.

And Kakashi.

"Hmm? Sasuke, whatever the wall has done to you, I assure it isn't quite as bad as you seem to believe. So please, stop trying to set fire to if with your eyes. We can discuss your desire to become an arsonist when we aren't in a hospital and have a sleeping two year-old not ten feet away."

Blood-red eyes flashed to the nonchalant Jounin. "Shut it, Kakashi."

"Well, someone's crankier than usual."

"Kakashi-sen—"

Sasuke rose swiftly from his chair and swept by the hospital bed and his teammates, intent on the door. He refused to be baited into a pointless argument that solved absolutely nothing. There was still many other things that he could be doing right now instead of sitting around a hospital room, twiddling his thumbs like this lot seemed more than willing to do. Pathetic. And they called themselves ninja!

"Running again, Sasuke?"

A dark brow twitched slightly. "What do you know?" the Uchiha returned, glancing over his shoulder at the older male. "I'm actually going to do something productive."

"Kakashi—"

The man's face was unusually solemn despite the mask shielding most from sight. It didn't change the fact that Sasuke wanted to slam a chidori through his throat. "This isn't any easier on us, Sasuke," Kakashi murmured. "We don't like this anymore than you do but do you see Sakura trying to avoid her responsibilities to her teammate? To her team and village? To her friend?"

"I'm not avoiding anything," Sasuke glared at the implication. He wasn't some coward. Just refused to sit there and be a useless room ornament. "I'm going to fix this." If that meant breaking into the Hokage's office to get the information needed, so be it.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

The panicked cry had Sasuke's head jerking around, the beginnings of a chidori sparking between his finger tips and palm. He dropped it almost as soon as his eyes landed on the scene before him.

His pink-haired teammate was on the opposite side of the bed where Naruto had been curled up, only now the toddler was twitching violently. Tiny body contorted in ways that it shouldn't, mouth open in a mute scream and fat tears forming rivers down his cheeks, Sakura's chakra green filled palm hovering over his thin heaving chest. But that wasn't what caught Sasuke's attention. It was the blood trickling from Naruto's nose, his mouth. The phantom impressions on his baby-pink skin, like some bizarre jutsu conducted with the sole purpose of torture that the Uchiha was unfamiliar with.

With a sickening feeling, Sasuke realised it wasn't a jutsu at all. At least, not something that he counter. Could stop.

Turning on his heel sharply, he ran from the room.

The halls were mostly empty and if they weren't, he hadn't cared and shoved whoever got in his way aside, stopping occasionally to demand directions from odd hospital staff he came across. As far as he was concerned, none but Tsunade or Shizune could be trusted around a weakened Naruto, so didn't bother demanding help from anyone else he came upon.

The exercise was trying his patience and left him particularly incensed by the time the missing Tsunade was discovered not five minutes later. He found her, several floors up and going over some paperwork.

"Naruto's seizing," he spat out at her faintly startled expression. It quickly warped into something that resembled worry and she dropped what she was doing, heading for the door.

Instead of following her, Sasuke shot out the window and after locating the correct one for Naruto's room, inched it open enough to fit through, then climbed inside. "Tsunade's on her way," was all he supplied, gaze locked on the small form that was still contorting in painful looking angles. He carefully shut the window. It locked with a sharp snap.

Being powerless wasn't something that he enjoyed—it was far too close to the way he felt as a child—and so being forced to simply watch as his comrade was being tortured by something he couldn't see, let alone defend against left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Poor little guy," Sakura murmured, her sparkling green hands running up at down the trembling baby. "I know. I know it hurts, just hold in there."

It was as if the tiny blonde had his mute setting removed because everyone heard the low, whimper he made. He sounded like a wounded animal. One trying to hide how much pain it was in but still unable to completely silence itself.

Sasuke stiffened and Sakura flinched. "It's okay," she uttered, gently. "It'll be alright. Can you hear me, Naru-chan? It'll be... alright."

"Sasuke."

The dark-haired teen spared his teacher a blank glance. He wasn't in the mood for Kakashi's particular brand of irritation at that moment and was already plotting how to deal a great of damage to the man if he said something Sasuke didn't approve.

"You did the right thing," Kakashi added.

"Tch."

The door flew open and in stalked Tsunade.

"Details," she demanded the moment she was through the door. Sasuke swept over and closed it, ensuring what little privacy the flimsy barrier could afford against anyone nosy enough to try and catch a glimpse of the action. There, he settled against it, crimson eyes absorbing the scene down to the last microscopic detail.

Sakura nodded tightly as Tsunade joined her, back to Sasuke obscuring his view of Naruto.

"It started with small tremors," the girl began mechanically. It was clear that she had slipped into 'nurse mode' sometime between him running out to find Tsunade or Shizune and him returning. "Then rapidly evolved into full blown seizure-like fits. I was trying to ease them when I noticed the blood."

Tsunade nodded then pulled away and Sasuke could see that the baby was back to resting peacefully, despite the smears of drying blood around his mouth and nose. Their phantom prints leaving a nauseatingly obvious afterimage as to their intent even though he could no longer see the impression of hands. Someone had hurt the moron. A two year-old. What sort of sick individual hurt a child that couldn't talk or even walk properly, let alone defend itself?

"Shit," Tsunade cursed, her expression looked conflicted. "I had hoped there wouldn't be any more side effects." The woman's hands were fisted and trembling at her sides.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed to ruby slits. "Hoped? So you had a suspicion there would be other side effects?"

The blonde woman returned a glare filled with as much hatred.

"What else aren't you telling us?"

"You watch they way you speak to me!" Tsunade growled at him, she rose a clenched fist in warning.

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi intervened, placing himself physically between the pair. "Is there anything we can do to help Naruto? You said that his returning to normal would be a gradual process and from what we've seen today, it's already begun."

The woman's amber eyes slid from Sasuke to Naruto, where they softened then dimmed.

"Based on what I've just witnessed I believe we have a timeframe to work with," she admitted. "As to what you and the Uchiha will be able to help with; I'll have some medicine prepared to aid with his growth process as well as assist in easing his episodes. It won't stop them completely, but it will lessen the effects and, where necessary, knock him out entirely. He won't feel a thing until the dosage wears off..."

So, they were to keep Naruto drugged up? Sasuke snorted.

Tsunade was back to glaring at him. "You got a problem with that, Uchiha?"

Once again, it was Kakashi that cut in. "If this outcome was at least accepted as a possibility, it can then be presumed that this is the jutsu you'd been expecting," he stated instead. "What else should we know about his condition, Hokage-sama? I think it would be best if we knew all the details surrounding this jutsu so we can at least try to counter it as effectively as possible."

The Uchiha's eyebrow twitched but he said nothing.

"Very well, Kakashi," Tsunade relented. "As I informed you earlier, I know only as much as I've been able to read up on cases. Which, you must understand, are very rare with the jutsu being so close in nature to the forbidden shadow clone jutsu."

"How, Tsunade-shishou?"

The Hokage sighed and ruffled the blonde hair curled upon Naruto's head. "The shadow clone jutsu is forbidden due to the fact that it requires so much chakra to form a single clone," she began, briskly. "Most normal shinobi would be unable to make ten such clones without collapse from chakra exhaustion yet, the same shinobi could easily use another form of clone jutsu and not have the same issues. Why do you think that is?"

"Because..." Sakura started tentatively, sounding her answer out. Sasuke glared at her; they weren't in class so she wasn't getting marked on her answer. "An elemental clone jutsu is a manipulation of an element into the form of the user while a shadow clone relies on no elemental assistance to do the same?"

Tsunade nodded. "Correct. The shadow clone relies completely on the chakra and will or essence of the user to manipulate it into the user's form. It is, in a sense, one of the purest forms of clone available.

"Some researchers believed that this essence was actually part of the user's self. Part of their own spirit, if you want to put it that way. A theory which is supported by the fact that when a shadow clone vanishes, it's consciousness returns to the user, carrying all its memories with it. However, as this is a forbidden jutsu many of the other effects aren't really known, or if they were, they've been lost to time. "

Sasuke said nothing as he tracked the conversation, swiftly composing then discarding hypothesis after hypothesis as they formed. If he was correct in his speculation—and he was pretty certain of its accuracy—then he knew exactly what was coming next. He wasn't disappointed, though it did unnerve him.

"When Naruto performed the jutsu, he would have been applying the same theories and ideas behind the shadow clone technique. However, due to the disruption, instead of creating a copy of himself with his memories and consciousness, he pulled everything from inside the darkest corner of his mind outside his body and formed it around himself instead."

"So... Naruto is basically a walking memory?" Sakura questioned, biting her lip.

Tsunade blinked, then nodded. "In a sense, you could say that. A fleeting reflection of a life already lived."

"And he can't be freed from this sooner?" Sakura pressed, gaze flickering back to the sleeping child. "Without forcing him through another episode like that?"

The blonde woman shook her head, face grim. "His mind is too weak as it is right now. More pressure would only cause unnecessary distress. I know Naruto is a resilient brat but I don't believe even he could go through more of that all in one day."

"Poor Naruto," the pink-haired girl murmured. "Why did he never say anything? Ask for help? I know... he used to be close with the Sandaime, right?"

"Naruto isn't the type of person to mope about his past," Kakashi reminded her. "If he stumbled, he'd pick himself up then move forward, intent on his dream. Nothing would hold him back. You must also remember that it wasn't until he started at the academy that had anyone he could truly rely on. It is also, however, a possibility that he simply doesn't remember."

"An amnesia-like psychological self-suppression," Tsunade uttered, looking at Naruto thoughtfully.

"You mean, like he may have made himself forget his time at the orphanage?"

"Yes, Sakura," Tsunade replied, her gaze not moving from the baby. Her brows were drawn down. "It's possible... in severe trauma cases, patients have been known to intentionally block out certain memories."

"Will he remember this?" Sasuke asked, his own eyes adhered to his rival's tiny body. He glanced over at Tsunade briefly. "Any of it?"

"I don't know," she replied, gruffly. "We'll have to see how much he remembers once he's aged."

Sasuke's lips thinned.

"Tsunade-shishou, may I look at the files of all the people that were employed in the village orphanage during the span of Naruto's stay there?"

At this, Sasuke glanced up and over at Sakura. Her face was constructed in a carefully determined expression as she gazed back at her mentor, awaiting a reply that Sasuke could have given. Still, he was interested.

"Sorry, Sakura. No can do," Tsunade replied, her own expression twisted into an unhappy frown, mouth pulled down in a tight line. "Those files are confidential. The only way we can look into them would be if a case of child abuse were to be brought forward and proof of the accusations supplied."

"We have proof!"

"Think, Sakura." Tsunade interjected coolly, "Naruto isn't really a two year old. He hasn't been enlisted as a ward of the orphanage for over a decade. We can't use this as evidence for something that happened years ago even if the jutsu is a reflection on what he suffered as a two year-old. We can't really prove it, not with so little known of this jutsu and I doubt once he's returned to normal, he'll willingly offer names if he knows them at all.

"I understand your feelings on the matter, Sakura. I do and want justice to be served just as much as you. No one deserves this. Not an innocent child and definitely not Naruto but my hands are tied."

"There must be something," the pink-haired girl insisted.

"All I can do is hope to prevent something like this happening to anyone else," Tsunade informed her with a heavy sigh. "I'll be reviewing the cases of all children to have been in the orphanage over the last fifteen years. The entire system will need to be addressed again and I'll evaluate all staff that have served during this time. I'll start later this afternoon," she sighed again. "I believe this will take a few days."

Sasuke locked eyes with the woman for a split second—an understanding of a sort passing between them—then went back to staring impassively at Naruto. So he had a timeline now and more or less free reign to confidential information to do with it as he willed.

His eyes flickered to Kakashi, knowing only he'd caught the brief exchange between Hokage and Uchiha.

"When do we take Naruto back to Sasuke-kun's home?" Sakura questioned. "I want to get him settled in before night time. Most children are scared of the dark and I don't want to introduce him to a new place once night's fallen," she went on to explain.

"I think it'll be best to keep Naruto over night where I can observe him," Tsunade replied. "I'll have Shizune make up the nutrient serum and the draught to ease his episodes. You can take him tomorrow morning. I'll be back later to relieve you of your duty, for now if you need assistance, call Shizune. I'll have her posted in the lab just down the hall should you need her.

"Kakashi, a word?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

With that the pair left the room, plunging it into a deathly quiet.

Silence. Something that Sasuke usually cherished and could never fully achieve being around his exuberant, loud-mouthed, blonde-haired rival. Yet now he had that blissful silence, he wanted it gone. It seemed unnatural.

The sound of trickling water had his eyes snapping to the source, only to find Sakura filling a small bowl with the warm liquid. Dipping a facecloth into the bowl, she dabbed away all the dried blood from Naruto's face with a meticulous gentleness. Once that was done, she rinsed the cloth and then used it to wipe around that small face and a too thin neck.

"I always thought he was so annoying," Sakura began lowly, still tending to the toddler. "He was always so loud and he had no manners and liked that god awful orange."

Really, Sasuke wanted her to get to the point already. An inky brow twitched in vexation as he gave a noncommittal grunt.

"But then I got to know him better. Was around him more often and began to realise that he wasn't as annoying as I first thought. That he was actually so dedicated to his dream and his friends and the village. Still, it probably wasn't until after you left that I really started seeing who he was.

"But you saw the true him before all that, didn't you?" She looked up at Sasuke briefly, then back down to her charge. "That's why he was so desperate to get you back, right? Because you were the first person to see him. Acknowledge him for who he was and I'm... I'm jealous of that. Of you."

Charcoal eyes narrowed, shrewdly. He wasn't about to assuage her guilt for whatever part she played in causing Naruto more pain in the past and if this was a love confession, she was speaking to the wrong person.

His eyes slid back to the blonde. The tiny chest rising and falling in deep, steady breaths beneath a too big hospital gown.

"He means a lot to me," Sakura went on, almost in a whisper. "It took me a little while to realise it, but he does. And I know, he must mean something to you, too. So let's... let's do our best in helping him through this hard time, okay? Let's give him the kind of love and attention he missed growing up the first time around."

Sasuke said nothing.

The door opened, admitting Kakashi and the room fell back into silence.

サスケxナルト

Several hours later—after Tsunade had returned to the hospital and his team had gone home for the night—found Sasuke perched outside Naruto's hospital window, back wedged against the glass pane and the sill. The moon had risen in a sliver of luminescent ivory high in the inky depths of night beckoning him to rest.

Sasuke ignored it, his mind too full on the information he'd gorged himself with some time earlier. Even if his mind wasn't preoccupied with all this, he doubted he could sleep with the guilt weighing so heavily on his mind.

There we go people! Like it? Loathe it? Con-crit, questions, comments; all is welcome! Next chapter will commence with the proper Naru-sitting. I just felt that the first chap didn't explore enough nor explain everything to a satisfactory level. Even now, I'm not entirely convinced.

This story will be told from Sasuke's perspective, as I'm sure you've already deduced yourselves. Even so, unlike my stories with Naruto, he won't have an inner dialogue. But for those of you who have read my other Naruto stories, which character do you feel I write best? Sasuke, Naruto or both? I might make this a poll, later.

Another note, Naruto and I aren't gettin along too well in terms of Sanctuary at the moment. It seems we can't agree on what should be included in the next chapter and as such, no chapter updates.

Thanks until next time,

~Gen