20

They stopped to take a break once they were almost halfway to the rendezvous point. Naruto sat down on an old downed tree, and the others followed his example. He took off his mask; they did the same. He looked at them curiously, then spoke.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you guys are acting like I'm your leader. Why?"

Karin looked around at the others. "Well, I can only speak for myself, but until we find Sasuke, you would make a fine replacement. I mean, you can even control Juugo's Demon."

Juugo and Suigetsu nodded, agreeing with her. Naruto raised an eyebrow and shook his head with a smile.

"You already know my reasons." Konan said. "You are my leader unless you betray me."

"Same with me." Sai added. "You saved me from ROOT. Besides, I have no desire to stay anywhere where people betray someone so completely for making a mistake. Where else would I go?"

"And you, Itachi?" Naruto asked.

"Its natural law, isn't it? The weak stay with the strong to protect themselves. Both you and Sasuke are stronger than me now. Madara wants Uchiha eyes, regardless of if they work or not. I can help you, and you can help me. Not to mention, of course, I owe my brother quite a few years of my life."

"Quite the group of misfits, aren't we?" Naruto said with a sigh. The others joined him in wallowing in the irony of the situation.

"That's true. I've never seen the Hokage send off a whole bunch of Rogue ninja without making a move to capture them either. I suppose it was a last gift, huh?" Suigetsu said and there was scattering of laughing accompanying the comment.

Suddenly a thought came to Naruto. "After we find Sasuke, what are we gonna do?"

There was a long silence following the question and Itachi was the one who eventually answered him. "We aren't strong enough to go up against Madara as it is. I believe you had the same sentiments with starting to train for the rescue mission, but, I'm afraid it will take more than two weeks to train for something that big. Since Sasuke killed Orochimaru, Madara has taken over command of both Akatsuki and the Sound village, not to mention that more ninja are joining him every day. We don't have the numbers or strength to take down an organization of that size."

Suigetsu jumped in, surprising them. "Plus, if Madara is as strong as Konan and Boss Naruto say," Naruto snorted at the title, but Suigetsu ignored him. "Especially if he just brushed off Boss Sasuke's full-out attacks, then all of us together would have a hard time dealing with him."

Konan entered the conversation next. "Perhaps we should wander for a while. Wait until we're sure what resources Madara has, perhaps even gather our own. Madara himself won't get much stronger unless he gets hold of Naruto, Sasuke, or Itachi-san."

"We can't assume that, but we definitely need to keep them out of his line of sight." Sai added.

"Right." Naruto replied. "But, I guess we'll need to talk about this when Sasuke is with us. He'll have a hissy fit about not having been included in the plans." Everyone was amused at the mental picture his prediction formed and Itachi even snorted softly, gaining amused glances from the rest of the group. Naruto grinned.

"Well, is everyone rested? I know you guys want to get there as much as I do."

They all nodded.

"Let's go then."

They all put their masks back on and picked up the packs they had all discarded when they stopped. Naruto signaled their departure as he started running out of the clearing. They'd abandoned the road not long after leaving the Leaf village. Taking a straight shot to Wave, they would meet with Sasuke in a few hours.

xXx

Sasuke sat near the top of one of the three trees Team Seven had used for training all those years ago. This was the third day of the week time limit he had given Naruto. He and Deidara had camped here once they had left the village. Every day, Sasuke would do some training by himself, spar with Deidara, and then spend the rest of the time sitting in the tops of the trees. He'd had much time to think about things. One of which was whether he really wanted to go back to Konoha.

Sure he loved his old village, but he severely doubted he would be accepted back just like that. Even if Naruto backed him. But he wanted to be near Naruto. Why? Why was the blond so important to him?

"Damn it! I should never have left in the first place!" he growled.

"Damn right you shouldn't have!"

Sasuke almost fell out of the tree. He hadn't even felt the man come near.

"Naruto!" The blond grinned at him, crouching on the tree limb of the tree opposite him like a bird. Then he pounced. Sasuke barely kept his footing on the tree as Naruto jumped at him, clutching him in his arms, tightly hugging him.

"I wish I had had the chance to do this in Konoha." Naruto whispered harshly in his ear. "I missed you so much."

"I…missed you, too. And…I'm sorry." He replied in an uncharacteristic, soft, hesitant voice.

Naruto pulled back with an expression that said he didn't know what Sasuke was talking about.

"For everything. For trying to kill you, for hurting you, for not listening to you-" He would have continued, but Naruto cut him off, and he was almost thankful for it.

"You did nothing wrong. You made a mistake, that's all, albeit a rather big and important one." Naruto barked out a laugh and shook his head. "I've long forgiven you. Why else do you think I've been searching for you?"

"I don't know, dobe. How could I ever know what a dunce like you would think?" Sasuke said sarcastically to regain a bit of his face after being-Kami forbid!-sentimental.

"Ooh, what kind of way is that to treat someone who came all the way out here to look for you?" Naruto smiled, even as he pouted.

"If you'll remember the letter, I didn't ask you to come." They kept up their banter for a few minutes before they were interrupted by soft laughter.

"I see you're feeling alright, Uchiha-kun." Finally being released by Naruto- they'd only just then realized they were still in each other's arms, which was more than a bit awkward- Sasuke saw the woman, Konan, standing beside them on the branch. He cursed himself that he hadn't noticed her approach either. He was getting out of practice.

"Yeah, you should come down and see everyone, Sasuke. But, first-" He said as Sasuke started to move to jump down to the ground, which was barely in sight from this height. The Uchiha paused and looked back. "You need to keep an open mind. Your brother, he's alive." He had to tighten his grip on Sasuke's arm to stop him from immediately moving. His eyes had widened and flickered down at the branches below them, as if he could see past them and to the ground. "Let him explain before you try to kill him, alright?"

"I don't plan on killing him, damn it! Let me see my brother!"

"Okay, okay! Just trying to help!" Naruto yelped as he was pushed back. Sasuke free fell to the ground. Before Naruto and Konan left the branch, though, Naruto leaned back against the trunk and heaved a sigh.

"Are you all right?" Konan asked

"I'm fine, I think. I'm just so glad that he's okay. If Madara had-"

"It wouldn't have been your fault."

"I know. I just…I don't know what I would have done..." Konan gave him a curious look, like she was working on a puzzle and was deciding which of two pieces fit in a particular spot.

"Naruto-kun…Are you…?" Naruto shook his head, apparently brushing off his contemplative mood. He looked up and smiled at her.

"Call me Naruto, Konan. Am I what?"

"No, never mind. We should go down there. I want to see Team Hawk's reactions."

Naruto gave her a confused look, but nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's go."

xXx

By the time they were down on the ground, Naruto and Konan only just managed to hear the ends of the conversation between Itachi and Sasuke.

"…was a clone. I still had a few things that I needed to do, but you needed the Mangekyou."

Sasuke pursed his lips in a scowl that someone could have described as a pout, had they wanted to be killed. "And that's the only reason I beat you? That's not fair, Aniki."

Everyone in the group could tell that calling Itachi by this familial title was Sasuke's way of reconciliation. Neither Uchiha could apologize, because both had believed they'd been in the right. Now they just…understood each other.

"Well, think of it this way. You're stronger than me, now."

"Yeah, yeah. Now." He huffed and turned away slightly. "Why are all these people here? Surely you didn't need such a big force to take me back this time, Naruto." Sasuke said when he saw Naruto and Konan step into the circle that was surrounding him. Team Hawk stood off to the side, behind and to the right of Itachi. Sai stood opposite them and he saw Konan go to stand next to him after jumping down from the tree after Naruto. Naruto grimaced at Sasuke.

"We're not going back."

"What? Why?"

"Tsunade basically put out a 'dead or alive' order on your head. If you go back, you will be killed or sentence to life in a maximum security prison." Karin told him. Sasuke's eyes widened. He seemed to be struck speechless at the news.

"I know." Naruto said, interpreting his expression into words. "So we all left. I refuse to stay there if you're not allowed to come back."

"But, Naruto…" Sasuke locked eyes with Naruto. The blond knew what Sasuke was about to say in that moment.

"We'll talk about it later, alright?" Sasuke hesitated before nodding. But, abruptly, the tension of the short conversation between the two of them and the others, who were wondering what Naruto and Sasuke were keeping from them, was cut to shreds.

"Ne, Sasuke~! Why didn't you tell me they were here?!" A loud, annoying voice pierced there little solitary haven. Both Sasuke and Naruto blinked, suddenly realizing that everyone in the group was staring at them, or rather, had been staring at them. Now they were staring at Deidara, who had just shown up, jumping down into the clearing with a bag in his hand, which he threw down next to a tree behind him.

Everyone in the group turned to look at Sasuke again when the man whined Sasuke's name at them again. The younger Uchiha in the group glared at the ex-Akatsuki member. "Deidara. Be quiet."

"Ooh. You're mean, Sasu-chan!" Glancing around the group, Deidara gasped and grinned. Then he proceeded to dart at Itachi. The group was surprised, to say the least, when Itachi didn't move, but allowed Deidara to hug him. Even more so when he hugged back. Deidara nuzzled Itachi's neck. "I missed you 'tachi."

"Aa. How are you 'dara?"

"I'm fine. How'd your brother take your appearance?"

"Why don't you ask him?"

Deidara chuckled. "That would be a good idea, wouldn't it?" The blond turned in Itachi's arms to look at the other confused ninja of the group with Itachi's arms still around him. Deidara was short enough compared with Itachi that Itachi could, and did, rest his chin on the other man's head. Naruto blinked.

"I assume that this is the ex-Akatsuki member you were saying freed you, Sasuke?" At Sasuke's nod, Naruto strode up to Deidara. Stopping, Naruto bowed formally to the man. "Thank you."

Deidara was silent for a second before he grinned. "No problem, Uzumaki-kun. I would have done it for Itachi anyway, though."

"All the same…"

"Itachi…Are you two…together?" Sasuke asked tentatively, stepping forward and interrupting Naruto's motions on his behalf.

"Yep, that's right! We got together not long after I joined Akatsuki." Deidara answered for Itachi, grinning brightly. Itachi just nodded, backing up Deidara's statement by taking Deidara's wrist and bringing it to his lips. Deidara blushed.

Naruto grinned. "Cool. It's good you found someone, 'tachi-san." Itachi's lip twitched upwards into a small smile, but it disappeared a moment after it graced his features. Looking at Sasuke, the older Uchiha could see the smirk on the other's lips.

"What the dobe said." Sasuke added in approval. He wasn't about to object to his brother's relationship choices when he'd just gotten the man back. Regardless of if Itachi's boyfriend was annoying or not. He just wondered how ithad happened.

Deidara grinned at him. "Yay! Sasuke approves! I told you not to worry, but no~. Don't listen to me!" Itachi cuffed him on the ear. "Hey~! 'Tachi! Don't be mean. You just don't like admitting I'm right!"

"Exactly." Itachi muttered, putting his nose in the crook of Deidara's neck and inhaling, as if reaffirming the man's scent.

They all looked on the scene with a feeling of contentment for the two. It was strange, seeing as some of them had only just met the two. Konan shook her head at the couple. She would have let the moment continue, however, they needed to talk over a few things. Plus, there was a question she had for Naruto.

"Naruto…" She asked quietly, breaking the moment. Naruto turned to look at her in question. "Was there a reason you and Sasuke were just staring at each other when we first got here?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto replied. He glanced at Sasuke. "We were talking to each other."

"Naruto, neither of you said a word."

"It must have been the Sharingan." Itachi said suddenly. "Sasuke pulled Naruto into his Sharingan mindscape and they talked there. Me and 'dara did the same thing accidentally sometimes when we weren't paying attention to anything else."

"Interesting." Konan said. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances and shrugged. Well, Naruto shrugged. Sasuke just raised an eyebrow. Naruto shook his head, amused at the…lack of expression… Sasuke was trying to give out.

"Well, regardless of newly discovered skills, we need to figure out what we're going to do from now on…" Konan said.

xXx

The newly completed group sat around a moderately sized fire, underneath the tree they'd met up with Sasuke at. Everyone was relaxed at the moment, but anyone looking at their expressions could tell they were discussing something important.

"So we're all agreed?" Naruto asked. "We'll wander?"

"I don't see another choice. I don't like the idea of staying in one place with the reputations we all have." Sasuke said.

Suigetsu's head shot up, startling Karin and Juugo, who were both sitting next to him, Karin leaning against Suigetsu's shoulder with her legs draped over Juugo's thighs. It was an amusing picture, and Naruto saw that Sai had his sketchbook out and was occasionally looking up at the trio and then back at the paper, his pencil moving rapidly yet precisely.

"Hey, hey! Why don't we create a third side?" He said.

All of them looked at him as if he was crazy until Karin asked him to explain. "There are two sides of the war right now, right? Konoha and most of the other villages and then there's Madara, with all the rogues and outcasts and crap. What if we were to create a third side? There are people who don't want to join Madara in the war, even when they don't know he's the one leading his side, but some don't want to join the villages, either. We can offer them an area in between and protect them or, at least, offer support.

"Think about it. We don't agree with any of the leaders of the villages, and they're just as bad as Madara's side at times. So basically, we're a wild card. We can work towards either side as long as it benefits our goals. We can offer services to people who need them and all the while, work on ridding both sides of the corrupted leaders."

The other eight ninja in the old training area looked at him as if he had only just suddenly grown a brain.

"What? Just because I'm a missing-nin doesn't mean I'm stupid." He smirked as he said it, content in the fact that he had managed to throw them all for a loop.

"That's…" Naruto started. "That's not a bad idea. Right now, the villages are all acting biased in who they let request missions. We can start our own village, in name at least. We don't have to make a huge town or anything, but the people who become 'citizens' are people on our side. We can take missions and, like he said, work on both sides until we can take them both down or make them change. Like Akatsuki, but for a better purpose!"

As he spoke, people were nodding.

"I like it." Konan said.

"I do as well. It suits our situation perfectly, and we can move as we please if we keep it secret long enough." Sai said.

"We have enough estates in different villages under the Uchiha name that we could move discreetly, right Itachi?" Sasuke added.

"Yes, we do. I agree as well, and it gives us something to do while we travel, too. I have a few contacts we could talk to who would agree to the idea easily."

"What about you three?" Naruto directed the question to Juugo, Deidara, and Karin.

Juugo and Karin nodded slowly, still thinking it over. Lastly, Deidara hmm-ed and nodded as well.

"It needs some refinement," He said. "But it could work."

"Then we've got our plan." Naruto grinned.