Chapter 3: A Visit

Sasuke settled into a routine. Every day he woke up to a wailing dobe, changed his diaper or fed him. Around 11 a.m he would either poop again or need his bottle. Sasuke rarely left his apartment, and when he did it was for groceries or supplies. Part of the reason was because he didn't want to bump into one of the rookies who took part in the retrieval mission. He knew the Hokage revealed their situation two and a half weeks ago. The teen wanted to avoid questions. Kakashi, Tsunade, and Sakura were the only people he remained in contact with.

The other reason was because when he did go out, people would stare and whisper. It unnerved Sasuke to no end. Though he knew it was because of Naruto as well as himself. He was the village traitor. Naruto was the Jinchuriki.

Sasukee accomplished his routine every day mechanically, trying not to get too attached to the blond infant. He kept in mind, however, that he had to at least hold and stare at Naruto in order for him to not feel so neglected.

Today marked a month. A month ago he was on his way to Orochimaru. A month ago he betrayed the Leaf village and was banished from the Ninja ranks. Sasuke looked at the calendar blankly. It was about noon and Naruto was already fed. Which left plenty of time for him to sulk and glare into space for a few minutes. Not only for the failed defection, but for his Sharingan as well. Sasuke felt powerless without it. He had tried-while Naruto took his afternoon nap-to activate it. But it never worked. He felt the seal placed on him tamper with his chakra, preventing the blood-red eyes. The last Uchiha felt like he lost part of his identity.

"Why the glum face?" said an amused voice.

Sasuke turned around, his eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" he growled, "how did you get in my house?"

"Oh right. We haven't been properly introduced yet!" the man exclaimed while striking a pose, "I am Jiraiya the Toad Sage one of the legendary Sannin!"

Sasuke only stared, this man was a buffoon.

"I'm here to check on Naruto," the Sage informed. The gray-haired Ninja's demeanor changed from comic to somber in a second. He studied the Uchiha up and down. His arms folded.

"Hn, you can take him if you want..." Sasuke muttered.

"Nice try kid, but that isn't going to work," replied Jiraiya, "I can't say I agree with your arrangement but I guess it will do. Where's the brat?"

"In his crib," the boy said simply.

Jiraiya walked over to the Uchiha's room. Sasuke followed close behind him. He was a bit uneasy about Jiraiya being close to Naruto. Not that he was worried about the blond baby. No. Of course he wasn't.

When Jiraiya gazed at the infant he frowned and muttered about how he had lost a valuable student. As well as his Sexy no Jutsu. The old man couldn't decide which he would miss more. Jiraiya took the babe in his arms carefully. Naruto was half asleep and the Sage did not want him to cry. Sasuke had to suppress the urge to rip Naruto from the pervert's hands. Of course the avenger thought it was because he didn't want his chance of freedom being thrown away. Sasuke knew he would be in trouble if Naruto got hurt.

"Hm do you mind if I place the boy on your kitchen table?" the Sage asked.

Sasuke's face was stony. He hadn't been expecting that question at all.

"Why?" replied Sasuke.

"I need to check his seal. Just to make sure there's nothing out of the ordinary," Jiraiya said, "I assume Kakashi or Tsunade brought you up to speed about Naruto right?"

Sasuke let go of the breath he didn't know he was holding. The raven nodded quietly.

Yes he knew about the fox. Tsunade told him about the Akatsuki. Sasuke now knew that was why Itachi came that day. To capture the dobe. Somehow he didn't know what to feel about that. In fact the news motivated the young raven's vendetta even more. His desire to kill Itachi increased, but Naruto was thrown into the equation. In Sasuke's mind it was easier for him if Naruto was not involved. Even if said involvement wasn't directly related to Itachi and the Uchiha Clan.

When all this began 30 or so days ago things were much simpler. The Uchiha preferred not to think about the bond he shared with Naruto. It made things more complex. Regardless, even if Uchiha Sasuke was in denial about it, he felt an urge to protect baby Naruto.

Jiraiya wasn't sure if the youth was answering one of his questions or both but he didn't waste time pondering that. He headed to the kitchen and carefully lifted Naruto's shirt after placing him on the table. The sealed seemed perfectly normal.

"This is peculiar…nothing like this has ever happened…there's nothing wrong with the seal…then why is the brat like this?" Jiraiya muttered. He tugged the shirt back down and rubbed his chin.

"Well, you checked what you needed now leave," Sasuke ordered.

Jiraiya didn't respond for a long time. In the end he gave up thinking about the situation for today. He told Sasuke he would check in once every few months and left.

The solitude and quiet didn't last. The prodigy heard Sakura's voice approaching as well as a few others.

"Look guys I know you want to see him but Sasuke-kun-" Sakura was cut off by Kiba.

"The bastard has had enough time on his own. We want to see Naruto! Right Akamaru?" Kiba's dog barked in agreement.

"P-please understand Sakura-san…we want to kn-know i-if Na-naruto-kun is okay…the o-others co-couldn't be here..and.." Hinata said as she played with her hands.

Sakura sighed as their steps approached Sasuke's cave. The others were on missions today...she supposed. Sakura knocked on Sasuke's door. Her palms were sweaty.

"Sasuke-kun! Can we come in?" Sakura asked. The girl heard footsteps and the sound of the door 'click' open. Sasuke opened the door. His face showed no signs of emotion. KIba shoved past him and demanded Naruto's location. Akamaru barked along as he did so. Hinata followed her teammates silently.

"Oi urusai," Sasuke hissed silently, "He's asleep and I don't feel like dealing with a grumpy baby." The boy spoke from experience. Naruto was not a happy baby when he missed his afternoon nap. Sasuke chased the blond all over the apartment. Naruto was a crawler and that day he made sure that Sasuke was miserable.

"Ano…U-uchiha-san…" Hinata murmured, "c-can w-we see him?"

Sasuke nodded and silently led them to his room, "As soon as you see what you came for you leave…" he told them.

Hinata tried her best not to wince and to be strong, for Naruto and herself. She, along with the recovering rookies were in a state of shock when the Godaime revealed Naruto's condition to them. For a time Hinata became depressed. Her relationship with Naruto would never be born if the blond never returned to normal. This made Hyuuga Hinata's heart ache. But she decided that having Naruto as a friend was better than having no connection to him at all.

Kiba and Hinata followed silently. When they looked at Naruto they couldn't believe it. Hinata, though resolved not to feel like she lost something special, began to cry quietly. Kiba's mouth hung as he stared at Naruto. He knew the idiot was a baby. But to actually see it was another thing entirely.

"..No way," he gasped.

"…" Hinata said nothing. Her eyes were downcast. Deep down the heiress had hoped...maybe Tsunade-sama had lied to them.

Sakura watched in silence. She felt bad for Hinata. It was obvious she liked Naruto for a long time. 'She probably feels like she lost him' Sakura also compared the feeling to what she felt for Sasuke. Although she began to wonder if she had really lost him. It was dawning on her that she never really had him. Yes, they were teammates and friends but that wasn't enough to keep Sasuke from wandering from the Konoha flock. Sakura had been trying so hard to enter Sasuke's carefully guarded heart during the past 30 days. But, the medic ninja in training was beginning to think she should stop.

"How old is he?" Asked Kiba.

Sakura answered, "He should be around a year old. I think. He's so small though…"

"Um...well…I-I..n-n-need t-t-to g-go…thank you Sakura-san, Uchiha-san…" Hinata scurried away quickly. Wanting to be left alone.

Sasuke stared after the Hyuuga and then fixed his gaze on Kiba. The Inuzuka sighed.

"Well I'm going to make sure she's okay. Thanks Sakura," he said and then glared at Sasuke. "Bastard…" he growled as he walked away.

"You know you shouldn't be so isolated," Sakura admonished, "Naruto needs social interaction and fresh air. You do too," she muttered.

"Hn,"

Sakura sighed, "Okay, well bye Sasuke-kun."

Sakura left. As she walked away from the apartment, she could only hope that Naruto was able to melt Sasuke's heart.

Its been a while...ah well. Thanks for the reviews and follows...