Darkest Hours Chapter 5: Finally Awake, a naruto fanfic

A/N: PHEW – after a WAY too long wait, the new chapter is finally here! I'm so sorry about the wait!

But, first things first… HUGE thank yous for all those AMAZING reviews – gosh, I can't believe they're so many! (HUGGGS!) The responses to those are on their usual places – FOR A FINAL TIME! A couple of reviewers have suggested me to respond to review through 'reply to review' –route, so I've decided to give it a shot. So, reviews for this chapter will appear to your e-mail. We'll see how that goes – I've never been exactly fluent with technology… (sweatdrops)

But now, off to the business! I really hope this chapter turns out to be worth all the wait!

/ I've missed enough, I've got some catching up to do
And if it's not too much, I'd like to do it all with you
I've missed enough, I've got some catching up to do
And if it's not too much, I'd like to do it all with you

And I never felt like this before
I know I'm finally awake, finally awake
'Cause you're just what I've been waiting for
I know I'm finally awake, finally awake /

(Hoobastank; "Finally awake")

Unlike almost everyone thought, even the Tailed Beasts could understand emotions. And Kyuubi was far more in touch with its container than the others.

That's why it could tell that for a first time in very long, its container was satisfied and happy. Elated, actually.

And it seethed.

The kit's growing stronger again.

But it wasn't discouraged that easily.

It'd been waiting for such a long time – it wasn't going to let some brat hold it back. Very soon, it'd be free once more, even if it'd take tearing its container's spirit apart to a very last shred.

CHAPTER 5: Finally Awake

In a hospital room, under Naruto's bewildered eyes, Sasuke kept reaching out for wakefulness.

It took for several minutes before all facts managed to slip into place inside Naruto's head.

Sasuke's open eyes. The raven's feeble movements. The aura of confusion.

But as he finally took it in, he couldn't hold himself back for another second. Not stopping for even a fraction to think – to realize that it wasn't long ago the raven tried to kill him, to understand that it was highly likely the other would attempt to escape again – he wrapped his arms around the boy as tightly as humanly possible, slowly coming to a conclusion that this was indeed reality.

At first, Sasuke attempted to struggle, but in the end his strength died out and he had no other choice but to remain where he was, with the nearly crushing hold entrapping him. No one – possibly not even Sasuke – could tell if the raven's forehead fell against Naruto's shoulder out of exhaustion or something else entirely.

Both teens' eyes fell closed as they sat there, Naruto's hold growing even tighter still. The soul tear of utter joy that rolled shone like crystal when sunrays caressed it. " I swore that I'd bring you back, bastard." His voice was hoarse, but he couldn't bring himself to care all that much. " It was hell a lot of work and you almost managed to slip away, but I did it. I did it, damnit."

He started to feel dizzy as the raven's familiar essence filled him, wrapped around him and succumbed all his senses.

Sasuke was finally back, and better yet, awake. He'd finally succeeded.

From now on, he'd make damn sure the raven would never, ever slip away from him again.

Although he knew far too clearly how much mess there was to be sorted out, he just had to grin into Sasuke's hair. " Welcome home, Sasuke."

Sasuke's head was in utter chaos while he tried to process everything around him.

So… He was back in Konoha. In Naruto's arms.

All of the blonde's emotions overwhelmed him as well. The joy, forgiveness, gratitude, relief, acceptance…He just couldn't understand how they could still exist after all the years passed, after everything he'd done.

Once more, he tried to struggle – just like he fought every single time some came close to him like this – but the attempt was doomed from the start. His head eventually growing hazy from his effort, he settled with relaxing there, feeling far more comfortable than he would've ever admitted even to himself.

Out of blue, the strange voice's words came haunting back.

" You're already loved more than you could ever imagine. But there's someone you have to save first. No one's ever needed you like this before – you'll have to be strong for both of you."

He fought the urge to groan.

How nice. Like things hadn't been confusing enough already.

(He failed to notice that as though working free of his will, he held Naruto as well, albeit feebly.)

A lot of time passed before Naruto heard a faintest of sounds. " … off… dobe…"

He gave the raven a look that hopefully didn't give away all his relief and happiness. " So it speaks", he noted out loud. His hold, however, didn't slacken any. If this was some sort of a sick dream, he wasn't about to let go of it.

Several more moments passed with them simply remaining there, as though lost into a dimension and time of their own. For those blissful minutes, both forgot about all looming darkness.

" You killed him, Sasuke", he finally revealed, not exactly sure of what possessed him into saying so. Most likely he was simply desperately trying to prove Sasuke that there was no reason to leave anymore. He shifted so that he could see the raven's face. " It's over. Itachi's dead."

To his surprise, there wasn't relief upon Sasuke's face, instead something darker than he'd ever seen before. " Yeah", the raven breathed out, eyes falling closed. " I know."

Cold shivers ran through him as a nasty feeling of déjà vu struck. His hold on Sasuke's hand grew a lot tighter, determined. " I'm not letting you leave, Sasuke", he announced. " You're never going to sneak away from me again."

Just then, he got his first proof of how much had changed during the time they'd spent apart. Something he didn't identify as familiar appeared into Sasuke's eyes. " I'm not going to leave, dobe." The voice was croaky and barely audible, but he found himself clinging to each and every word. " My new goal… It's right here."

Utterly perplexed, he glanced at the onyx depths, but before he could ask a thing there was a sound of door opening. He pushed himself further from Sasuke with amusing speed upon discovering Tsunade stood by the doorway.

For a moment, the Hokage seemed surprised upon discovering Sasuke awake. Pretty soon, however, her expression turned into a hard one. " So you're finally awake."

Sasuke felt his body remain almost inhumanly tense all the while Tsunade examined him, causing several surges of pain he suspected unnecessary. Once she was done, he wasn't sure if he or Naruto made it first to ask the one worded question. " Well?"

Tsunade's eyes were hard and mistrusting, though not even nearly as hostile as he'd expected. " You're going to need a lot of time to recover after having been laying in bed for weeks. It'll also take time before you'll be able to activate your Sharingan again. But you'll recover."

Sasuke nodded stiffly, looking away and mentally cursing this helpless state. After a while, he realized that there was something extremely important he needed to know. Feeling strangely reluctant to do so, he lifted his head and met Tsunade's stony gaze. " What are you going to do to me?" His voice was still frail and hollow, but at least it worked.

Although he didn't look, he could feel how Naruto's eyes widened. " Baa-chan, you… you're not going to harm him, right? I… I mean… He killed a lot of bad guys, and put an end to Orochimaru's scheming. You can punish him!"

Tsunade sighed heavily, some sadness appearing into her gaze. " Naruto… I'm sorry, but that's not my decision to make alone. Sasuke committed to a severe crime. I doubt he'd be allowed to be freed without any consequences."

Although Sasuke's stomach made a tight knot at those words, he wasn't surprised. He'd made a ton of horrendous mistakes – it would've been a much greater shock if all those had been just pushed aside with a shrug.

Naruto, on the other hand, obviously hadn't allowed himself to expect this. Had he been blessed with less pride, he would've winced at how tightly the blonde squeezed once taking his hand. " You're the Hokage! You've gotta be able to do something!" Did he actually hear the boy's voice shudder? " You… You can't let them hurt him!"
Now, Tsunade's eyes were meeting those of Naruto's. They were somewhat harsh at first, but slowly softened up, almost like the woman had realized something. " I'll do whatever I can. But I can't make any promises." When she looked at him once more, her gaze was almost icy. It didn't surprise him, not after everything he'd done. " Whatever your sentence turns out to be, you've got a long way ahead of you before you're considered trustworthy, let alone pardoned."
He nodded, feeling too exhausted for words all a sudden. Konoha, especially the oldest leaves, wasn't known for being forgiving. He could already imagine what was ahead of him.

He felt Naruto shiver at Tsunade's words.

After several moments of dark silence, the woman spoke again. " Now, I'm sure Sasuke needs a lot of rest – as do you, Naruto." Tsunade's eyes were so hard that he couldn't bring himself to ask what she'd meant by Naruto needing rest. " If I'll allow you to stay together in this room for tonight, can I trust you to not disturb each other?"

Naruto grinned brightly, apparently forgetting all troubles. " Sure thing, baa-chan!"

Tsunade nodded. " Good. I'll come and check up on you later." She gave him a hard look. " There'll be a guard right outside the door, so no stupidities. Understood?"

He nodded somewhat mechanically.

The sound door made when closing after her reminded him quite a bit of that he could imagine prison's doors to emit.

When there was a knock on her office's door, Tsunade arched an eyebrow. Dusk was already starting to fall, and she hadn't been expecting company. Gladly pushing away the paperwork she hadn't been able to focus on anyway, she called out. " Yes?"

Surprise wasn't quite a word enough to describe what crossed her when Suzume Aihiko entered, a stony look on her face. " I know I took a huge risk coming here, but I had to come and report."

She nodded, hair in the back of her neck rising. " What's going on?"

" The Akatsuki is still planning on attacking Konoha, but not yet. First, they want the two remaining Tailed Beasts into their hands. They already know the Kyuubi's been… acting up lately. They're in a hurry."

She felt a shudder.

Naruto…

" I've managed to weaken the wielder of Sharingan eyes, and he's far from being able to control the Kyuubi, but I'm not sure for how much longer I'll be able to stall them. It's only a matter of time before they'll get to the traces of the Eight Tailed's container. You'll have to send the escorts a message and tell them to be careful."

She nodded, feeling very cold. " Is there something more?"

" Actually, yes." She was almost sure the girl shivered. " One of those creeps, Tobi… He's not who you think he is." The girl swallowed. " Uchiha Madara is still alive."

She could feel colour draining from her face.

After all these years, after all the desperate fighting and sacrifices… He was still alive, out there somewhere, waiting for his chance to strike?

" And that's not all." Suzume's eyes were filled with warning. " According to the little I've been able to gather, he's got a lot of power in Kirigakure. He's been busy during all the years he's been away."
To Tsunade, that announcement felt like a slap right across the face. She had to swallow hard. " Is he looking for a chance to start out a war?" Because if that man would get his hands on the Kyuubi, and actually pulled the strings of Kirigakure… There'd be nothing left of Konoha once he's swept across it.

Suzume shrugged. " Who knows – he's had a lot of time to plot and gain power, and he's much too smart to trust anyone enough to share his plans. Right now, all Konoha can do is prepare itself for a new storm."

She nodded, feeling somewhat numb.

Konoha had been arrogant enough to think one of its greatest threats had been destroyed, that her grandfather had managed to defeat Madara. And now… they were about to face the price.

After some moments, she managed to compose herself enough to speak. " Thank you for this information – it was a huge risk to deliver it, but at least now the village will be able to prepare itself." Then, despite everything (or, perhaps, to allow her mind an escape) she came to think of something. " I'm surprised you reported to me instead of Danzou."

As the teen grinned, she came to think it was the first time that day (almost ever) she looked even remotely close to her young age. " Haven't you learned by now? My loyalties lie on Konoha. Besides…" The girl's eyes darkened once more. " We both know what kind of danger he'd put the village into, that many innocent lives would be lost, if he'd know everything."

She nodded. Sad as it was, she couldn't have agreed more.

She snapped out of her thoughts as Suzume started to make her way towards the door, the exit that would arouse least suspicion. " I have to go, before any of those creeps becomes suspicious."

She nodded again. " Be careful."

She could only wonder what kind of an expression she would've faced if the girl hadn't put her hood on. " Of course." With that the teen disappeared like a shadow.

Shino's thoughts were straying quite far away while he walked slowly through the darkening streets, his glass-covered eyes glancing every now and then towards the village's borderline he was supposed to protect.

All of a sudden, his formally rather dim eyes sharpened upon spotting movement. His gaze flew rapidly to right, and he found it hard to restrain a grin. " Would you believe me if I'd tell you I've been expecting you?"

Slowly, the hood that hadn't managed to fool him was moved ever so slightly, just enough to allow him a clear visual to Suzume's amused face. " Your eyes are surprisingly sharp behind those glasses."

He held his quiet for a while, finding himself observing her. " What made you take a chance like this and come to Konoha?" If the Akatsuki would find out about this, she'd be as good as dead.

" There was important information I couldn't risk into anyone else's hands", she explained, her watchful eyes never stopping keeping an eye on her environment. " Busy as the Akatsuki is at the moment, there's no reason to take more chances so long as the mission is in progress." She grinned. " I'll have to go now, but seeing you again was a nice bonus to this little trip."

Had it not been against his nature, he would've smiled. " I suppose I'll be seeing you around." There was quite a bit more hopefulness in his tone than he would've cared to admit.

Suzume threw a strangely wry smirk his way. " I hope not. Because the next time I appear, it won't be good news."

Before he got even a slightest chance to demand an explanation, she was already gone in a puff of smoke that was different from the one he'd seen the last time they'd met.

A clone?

Now, he wasn't able to disguise the lopsided smirk that appeared.

Whatever this Suzume was on to, she was very, very good at giving him a headache.

Although it was most likely hours from their last break, Gaara and Neji didn't feel exhausted or even tired. Moonlight made their path shine with silver as they rushed on in comfortable silence, the only sounds coming from the whispers of leaves and dry branches underneath their footsteps.

All of a sudden, the peace was disturbed as Neji braked sharply with a frown. As though having been expecting such a move, Gaara also stopped almost simultaneously. " What is it?" Just like Neji knew about his nightmares, he'd grown accustomed to the Hyuuga's 'intuitions'. They'd already saved them from danger for a couple of times when they'd faced enemies.

For several long moments Neji stood frozen, observing. Then, slowly, the Hyuuga shook his head, relaxing slightly. " It's probably nothing. I just had a strange feeling."
Not sure if he could trust the other's opinion of it being just a hunch, he also nodded. Now that they were simply standing there, he was beginning to feel very tired. " Perhaps we should take a break here", he suggested, glancing around with watchful eyes. " We're quite close to Suna's borderlines now, and the village we were assigned to go to is only a day away. There's a hut I assigned to be built only five minutes to east from here."

Neji's eyebrow bounced up. " Now aren't you full of surprises."

He found it extremely hard to resist the urge to grin.

Working almost as one again, they sprinted to motion.

High up in the trees quite nearby, stood a hooded figure observing them.

For a moment moon disappeared to behind clouds. When it reappeared, the figure was gone.

Evening was already darkening as Kakashi, Rin, Kiba and Hinata made their way towards their still rather cloudy destination.

Hinata gave Kiba a quick look upon spotting the boy taking yet another glance over his shoulder, towards where the adults were. " W-what are y-you doing, Kiba-kun?"

The brunette grinned. " Keeping an eye on those two. It seems this mission's gonna be a lot more interesting than I thought."

This time, Hinata wasn't able to restrain herself. Very quickly, she glanced towards the two. She could only wonder if the older ninjas had noticed just how close to each other they were moving, if they could sense this strange aura around them that separated them from the rest of the world. " D-do you t-think they h-have feeling f-for each o-other?"

Kiba shrugged, seeming amused. " No idea. But whatever the case… It looks like this mission's going to be very, very entertaining."

She just had to chuckle lightly, despite the coldness that seemed to bite all the way to bone.

Hard as she tried to hide it, Kiba seemed to notice her shudder. The boy frowned. " Are you cold?"

She looked away and bit her lip. Gosh, how she hated always being a burden like this! " A l-little", she admitted in a voice that was even smaller than her usual.

It was comfortably silent for a while, until she gasped upon feeling something warm being placed to her shoulders. She looked towards Kiba with confusion upon noticing it was a jacket.

Apparently sensing her gaze, Kiba shrugged. She could've sworn there was a rosy hue upon the boy's face. " You're cold. I don't want you to fall ill."

For a moment, she was too stunned to be able to emit a sound. Eventually, a whisper light response willed its way out. " T-Thank you."

A foxy grin appeared. " Hn."

Only Akamaru noticed that from thereon, they walked a step closer to each other than before.

The teens should've known their spying wouldn't go unnoticed.

Carefully making sure the prying ears and eyes were well far enough, Kakashi dared to speak. " Why did you leave? I… We all thought…" He couldn't quite bring himself to say the last chilling words.

Rin's eyes grew dark as they were cast towards something in the horizon that was hidden to him. " I've always been a demon container, Kakashi-kun – I'm sure Tsunade-sama told you that much. But for so many years, I was safe nonetheless. The seal was strong, and almost no one in Konoha knew that there was a demon hiding amongst them. But then… Danzou found out, when the Eight Tailed almost got out of control after Obito and Minato-sensei's…" She swallowed harshly, still not looking at him. " He… threatened to kill me. And I have no doubt in my mind he would've done just that. So I had to… disappear. I was left into this small hut in the middle of nowhere. Pretty soon, a blind baby-girl – another fugitive – was given for me to look after." After having wandered lost into her thoughts for quite a while, she chuckled lightly. " You know what's the funniest thing? During that time, there were only three things I missed from Konoha, although that place was supposed to be my home."

His hand twitched and his mouth tingled with words wanting to erupt, but before he could actually do or say anything Kiba spoke, or perhaps rather yelled. " There's a village ahead of us, and Akamaru seems to be eager to go there. What do you say?"

Kakashi mused for a moment. They were all exhausted to bone, and he could sense approaching rain in the air.

Very slowly, he gave a nod. " Alright. We'll keep going in the morning."

Had their minds not been so clouded, they would've noticed how maliciously wind whispered while passing them by.

That night, Sasuke was having the pretty much last dreams he would've expected. They weren't about the hell he'd faced in Orochimaru's lair, nor were they of his family being butchered. But in some twisted way, these dreams were even more terrifying.

For this time, he dreamt of Itachi.

Once more, he was the kid getting a piggy-bag ride from his older brother.

For one more time, he got poked gently.

/ " Run, run and cling to life." /

" You're alive today because of love, Sasuke. You have to keep living for the same reason."

He shuddered as he was pulled into wakefulness by a familiar voice he still wasn't used to hearing again. " Teme, are you okay in there?"

He grit his teeth and blinked to rid the burning of his yes. " Yeah, dobe." He felt like there'd been something more wanting to push its way through, but at the moment, he didn't have the strength to utter it.

Naruto was silent for a long time, so long in fact that he thought the blonde had fallen back into a sleep. But inevitably, silence was disturbed once more, though not by speech. Every alarm system inside him snapped to life when he head shuffling of feet, then spotted a dark figure beside his bed. " What the hell do you think you're doing?"

" Keeping you company. I can't sleep with you tossing and turning and muttering."

He growled. " There's no way in hell I'll let you share a bed with me!"

" Oh, shut it bastard", Naruto commanded while climbing in without invitation. " Besides, I was having weird dreams, too. I'm cold."

He twitched with intense discomfort upon feeling the other's warm – too warm – body against his. Extremely dark and unwanted memories surged through to surface. Had he not been so damn weak, he would've pushed Naruto away, but as it was now… " Hard to believe. You're burning up."

Naruto nuzzled closer, stubbornly ignoring all his jerks and carefully hidden shivers while wrapping a pair of demanding arms around him. " Hmh."
As he stared at the blonde head that seemed to glow like gold against darkness, he just couldn't keep himself from asking. " Dobe… Why are you doing this?" He gathered his words for a while. " I tried to kill you, almost did. Why do you still think I'm worth all this?"

Naruto's deep, even breathing clearly stated that he wouldn't get any answers that night.

Emitting a silent near-groan, he turned his gaze towards the roof, in his current condition powerless to do a thing against Naruto's trap-like hold.

All of a sudden, he was very glad they'd be entrapped into the same room for only tonight.

(Depending on one's point of view, it was either fortunate or not that neither noticed how the Kyuubi's red glow slowly died from Naruto's skin.)

Waking up the morning after, Gaara wasn't exactly surprised when he found Neji's bed empty and flawlessly made although it was definitely very early. Somehow, it made perfect sense to him that the young Hyuuga was an early bird, just like he found it fitting that after his nightmares, the other hadn't woken him up.

Stretching a bit, he got out of the bed – and paused with an uncharacteristic blink upon finding a breakfast waiting for him on a nearby table.

Right there and then, knowing that no one was there to see it, he couldn't hold it back anymore. He smiled.

About twenty minutes later, he slowly emerged the hut to find Neji sitting on a porch with his eyes closed.

He felt a tinge of amusement-mixed confusion. " Now what are you doing?"

The brunette shrugged, not opening his eyes. " Enjoying of the morning. It's always the calmest then."

Nodding although the other couldn't see it, he looked towards the forest spreading all around them, allowed his gaze to remain on the faint layer of mist lingering over the landscape. He could already feel the familiar, warm breath of Suna, but here it was still comfortably cool.

At that moment, he found himself agreeing with the Hyuuga.

After several minutes of silence, he found himself speaking. " Thank you for the breakfast, by the way. You should've woken me up to help prepare it."

For a moment, he was almost sure he saw a rosy hue on Neji's pale features, but shrugged it off as a trick of imagination. " It's alright. I didn't want to wake you when you were sleeping so peacefully. Besides, you can consider it a payment for letting me stay here."

This time, he thought he found heat from his own cheeks, though that couldn't possibly be the case.

For some more moments they enjoyed of the morning, until Neji's eyes suddenly flew open, harder than he'd ever seen them.

He frowned. " What's wrong?"

" There was someone in there a couple of seconds ago", Neji announced, gaze locking to a tree nearby. " Only one character, but seemed powerful."

Coldness filled his entire body. So much for the nice, quiet morning. " We should go. This place isn't safe anymore."

Stopping to a safe distance, the figure swore loudly upon discovering the boys go back into the hut.

Things would be much trickier from now on.

One leaf fell as rays of sun revealed there was no one on the tree-branch anymore.

While sitting in a ramen bar right across Temari, Shikamaru was far above glad Gaara was out of the village and would never find out about this. It wasn't a date, of course – that much they'd made dead set before Temari had even thought about saying 'yes' to his invitation. They'd simply gotten hungry after training all morning. There was nothing more to this (or well, so he kept telling himself despite the odd squirming in his stomach).

He woke up from his thoughts upon hearing Temari's voice. " I don't have all day to sit here, and frankly, watching you staring at your food with empty eyes isn't all that entertaining. So could you please get down to it, so we'll get back to training?"

He shot a somewhat nasty look towards her. " Yeah, yeah. Hold your horses."

As he struck his chopsticks into the food in an attempt to take some, his wrist made an unfamiliar movement. And before he knew it, a tiny part of the delicacy flew through the air, landing neatly into the middle of Temari's forehead.

He swallowed thickly, from the girl's stormy expression knowing to expect a merciless payback. " Uh… Sorry?"

Temari didn't speak. Instead – very slowly, emphasising every single movement – she outstretched her own chopsticks and took a teeny bit of her food. Before he managed to process what was about to happen, it landed to his face. He couldn't resist the urge to pay back.

Neither could count for how long the childish fight had lasted until they finally remembered that they'd been supposed to eat the food and called it a truce.

Staring at his stained face, Temari emitted a chuckle unlike he'd ever heard from her before. His chest and stomach feeling funny, he responded with a dry look. " I'm glad you find this amusing."

The girl kept laughing. " We're like a couple of brats, aren't we?"

He shrugged, more focused on the way his heart moved out of its usual rhythm than producing a reply. " Probably so."

At that moment, he made a very, very unnerving discovery.

Despite the fact that there was food staining her forehead and cheek… Temari looked kind of adorable sitting there.

He shuddered.

Temari's eyes narrowed at his stare. " Now what are you looking at?"

He'd never been exactly suave when it came to female creatures. Therefore, it was only to be expected that words bailed on him. Instead of speaking, he lifted a finger and brushed her forehead so roughly it was most likely almost painful. " You… had something there."

As a response, Temari lifted her own hand and all but smacked the top of his head. There was a mirth-filled expression upon her face. " You had something there, too."

He responded with a glare.

When they finally made it out of the diner, having cleaned up both themselves and the mess they'd made, Shikamaru felt his heart just about still when they almost bumped into Kankuro.

The boy's eyebrow arched, and rose even higher at the realization of their close proximity (which they'd failed to notice). " Well isn't this interesting."

He was about to mutter something along the lines 'this isn't what it looks like', but decided to spare himself some dignity.

Temari narrowed her eyes at her brother. " If you tell Gaara…"

Kankuro waved a hand, seeming to be an inch from bursting out laughing. " Your secret's safe with me." The boy then started to walk away. " I'll see you kids later."

Looking at the boy's distancing back, Temari gained a suspicious look. " Now where are you going?"

Kankuro didn't turn to face them. " I've got… an important meeting."

As soon as the boy was safely far, Shikamaru gave a huge sigh of relief which, unfortunately, didn't go unnoticed by Temari.

Smirking, almost chuckling again, the girl took his hand and started to pull him forward. " C'mon, tough guy. Time to go back to training."

None of the moaning and complaining he did while they walked managed to scratch away the fact that in reality, her warm touch felt quite good against his cooler skin.

Because of her blindness, Izumi had from quite early age seen tremendous effort to learn ways of reading people that didn't require eyes. That's why she had no trouble with telling there was something wrong with Ino, who was helping her give Hajime a bath with the boy splashing water absolutely everywhere. " You seem worried", she pointed out.

Ino was silent for a while, she could feel the girl's eyes on her. " It's… stupid, really." The girl sighed. " Sai was sent to another mission, straight after being injured." She didn't need to ask who Sai was; the girl had mentioned the boy's name so many times she'd lost track.

She couldn't help but smile. " You shouldn't worry. Judging by what you've told me, he's strong. He'll be fine."

Ino scoffed. " He'll better be. Because if he won't… there's no telling what I'll do to him."

She was surprised by all the feelings she found from the girl's voice. Well as she'd known the other's feelings for a while now, she'd never heard a ninja get that emotional before. Eventually, another small smile took place. " Like I said before, you shouldn't worry. You'll get your chance to tell him."

" Tell him what?"

The utter puzzlement in Ino's voice made it hard for her to stifle a laughter. It was incredible to her that someone, let a lone a ninja, could be that oblivious to their own feelings.

While she picked Hajime gently into her arms and Ino started to towel the boy dry, her ears twitched slightly at the sound of a faint jingle. " Your guard shift's over", she announced, starting to dress up her son once Ino was done with the drying.

She could sense a frown. " Are you sure you'll be fine?"

She nodded. " Now go."

Air moved ever so slightly when the other waved a hand. " See you tomorrow. Bye, Hajime."

As soon as she could be sure Ino was gone, she spoke. " You can come in now, Kankuro." She almost chuckled upon hearing someone jump in from the small, open window nearby roof, then tentative steps. " I don't understand why you're sneaking around like this."

" Because I don't want Temari to find out about this. She'd never let me live it down if she'd know I'm spending time watching over you", the boy stated in a somewhat grave voice. She heard a faintest sound of hair being ruffled. " Hey there, squirt."

" I'm no squirt, Kanku", Hajime announced matter-of-factly. " I've grown an inch."

From the sound of it, she could tell Kankuro didn't chuckle often. She found herself liking the sound far more than she should have. " Really now? Then, I suppose you'll be taller than me one day."

" Really?" She could hear utter delight from her son's voice.

" Definitely."
-

At that moment, Kankuro could feel a slight change in the air. He frowned a bit at the look upon Izumi's face as she got up, but she spoke before he ever got the chance to. " I'll have to go to kitchen. Hajime's already hungry."

He was far beyond confused. Had he done something wrong, or scared her somehow? He, however, figured there'd be no point in pressing her. He followed her out of the bathroom, glancing around to make sure they were alone. " Are you expecting another babysitter?"

Izumi's chuckle brought something warm into him. " Not for an hour or so." She was silent for a beat. " It sounds like you didn't get flue after all."

" Yeah. That stuff you gave me worked like magic."

Although he couldn't see the girl's face, he was almost sure she smiled.

He opened his mouth once more, but never got the chance to speak out a word until there was a knock on the tiny safe house's door. He frowned yet again. " Didn't you say you weren't expecting anyone?"

The girl nodded stiffly, putting Hajime gently to the floor, then walked up to open.

Kankuro felt cold shivers as soon as the door was opened. Behind it, stood two ninjas he immediately recognized as members of Root. One of them – a boy with ebony hair, a lot of scars and tanned skin – stepped forth with a stony expression. " Izumi Daikake?"

She nodded again, obviously preparing for a fight. " Yes. What do you want?"

The other ninja – extremely tall boy in his late teens with long auburn hair on a ponytail – spoke this time around. " Danzou-sama has ordered us to take you into another safe house."

Izumi frowned in protest. " But Tsunade-sama…"

The ninja who'd spoken first cut her sharply. " You'll be much safer in this place. I'm sure she'll understand."
" Just come with us", the second one pressed on, strange golden eyes sweeping towards Hajime, who was glaring at the arrivals with suspicion. " For your son and his safety's sake."

Kankuro couldn't control himself anymore. " She's not going anywhere without me. I'm her guard right now." There was something extremely weird about this. He wasn't about to let her go without making sure she'd be safe.

Both Root members seemed extremely annoyed. The second one spoke. " Fine, you may escort her. But let's get going; none of us has all day."

Kankuro didn't trust this. And judging by how stiff Izumi's moves were as she picked up her son, neither did she. " Fine", she growled.

While the two ninjas guided the girl, stood on both sides of her as though to make sure she wouldn't escape, Kankuro's eyebrows furrowed.

What the hell was going on? Did Tsunade know about this?

Naruto emitted a growl upon waking up to an odd sensation of poking. It took a moment before his sleep-blurred mind registered a slightly hoarse voice calling out for him. " Dobe, wake up!" Although all his reason messaged that he knew exactly who the voice belonged to, he'd had this dream for so many times that he didn't quite dare to believe. " C'mon, you idiot, move it! My arm's numb!"

Very slowly, he opened his eyes to meet a pair of onyx ones. He closed his eyelids once more, then opened them again even more slowly than the last time. A huge grin appeared when he realized that it was still his best friend's face in front of him. " This is no dream, huh?"

Sasuke smacked his head, though it felt more like a caress than anything else. " Does that feel like a dream to you, dobe?"

Both jumped slightly when there was suddenly a cough from the doorway. Rapidly turning their heads, they spotted smirking Sakura stood by the doorway, a tray of food in her arms.

Quickly jumping further from Sasuke, almost ending up falling from the bed, Naruto managed to utter. " G-Good morning, Sakura-chan!"
" Morning." The pinkette's expression remained amused. " Did I interrupt something?"

" No", came a perfectly simultaneous response.

At that moment, apparently, Sakura couldn't hold herself back anymore. True enough, she was no longer a fangirl, but Sasuke was still precious to her and she'd missed him like crazy. Had Naruto not been too worked up by other things, he would've been amused by how Sasuke squirmed against the girl's hold when she put away the tray and pulled him into a tight hug.

The fact that he was feeling jealousy wasn't what surprised him. But what did come as a shock was that he couldn't tell to whom it was directed.

When Sakura had been holding Sasuke for far longer than he found himself comfortable with, her face buried into the still struggling raven's shoulder, he spoke out. " Hey, I'm here, too!" Receiving the duo's attention, he spoke to Sakura. " What made you come here, anyway?"

The girl smiled as though she would've known something he didn't. " I figured Sasuke-kun would be hungry after being unconscious for so long. Plus, Shizune sent me to tell you that you're good to go. So long as you take it easy, you can go home."

Yet again, he was confused by his own emotions. Why wasn't he more thrilled than this by the idea of going home – after all, he was sick of the hospital already?

He snapped out of his thoughts upon spotting Sasuke make a stubborn attempt to eat. He wasn't sure if rage or humiliation was more apparent upon the raven's face when after only a second the spoon slipped from his hold.

Sakura gave the Uchiha a sympathetic look. " Your muscles are weak after such a long time in bed, Sasuke-kun. That's only understandable." She took a step forth. " Maybe I can…"

Sasuke's pout-filled glare halted her words. " I don't need help, Sakura."

Rolling his eyes, Naruto took the spoon instead, disregarding Sasuke's heated look. " I can take care of the sourpuss, Sakura-chan."

Sakura had a strangest expression upon her face. " Are you sure?"

He nodded confidently. " Yeah. You've got a lot of patients, right? You should go. I'll make sure teme's good and nourished before I take off."

Sakura nodded as well, then gave a small wave while heading off. " I'll see you two later. Please, try not to kill each other, alright?"

He couldn't resist the temptation to make an amused sound. " Like the teme would be able to harm a fly right now."

Sasuke growled. " Idiot, if you don't shut up I'll show you…"

He cut the raven off with thrusting a spoonful of food into his mouth. " Eat up, teme", he told the other in a far softer voice than he'd ever expected. " If you ever want to get out of that bed of yours and prove to me just how tough you are, you'll have to build up your strength. So stop threatening me and eat."

Sasuke sulked, but didn't really have any other choice but to do as he was told.

Comfortable silence lingered as he kept stuffing food into Sasuke's mouth (careful to make sure the dosages and pace were precisely right), then started to hum softly without even noticing it.

As soon as Tsunade heard the knock on her office's door pretty late that night, she knew to expect the most annoying type of trouble. She wasn't proven mistaken.

" So you've allowed your little secretary to go home?" Danzou noted in a clipping voice, obviously referring to Shizune.

Her eyes narrowed. " What do you want?"

His eyes radiated something she'd never come across before. " To give you a chance to leave the Hokage's position with dignity."
It was a close call she managed to stifle her laughter. " What?" Her eyes then hardened once more. " Danzou, I don't know what…"

" I know about the Uchiha, Hokage-sama", the man cut in, sounding like he'd been sneering at the two last words. His eyes were filled with loathe and hatred. He remained silent for a while. " That family rose against yours, Tsunade, almost managed to destroy it. Your grandfather put his life into line to protect the entire village from them. And you… you spit against everything he sacrificed and managed to gain, turn your back on your family's legacy. And for what? That traitor – that piece of filth who left the village and spat at everything he'd been taught to respect." Most definitely seeing something in her eyes, the man gave a triumphant look, as though he'd just spotted an easy prey. " Yes, I know Sasuke is back. That the last Uchiha has come back home."

Her eyes flashed. " I'm not letting you sentence a child to death!" she snarled.

Danzou didn't seem to pay much heed. " And, I also know about your little… habit. Your breath reeks of sake all the way to here." The man's expression brought chills that went all the way to her spine. " Tomorrow morning, I'll give the Council my full report on all this, but I won't wait until that long. As we speak, my subordinates are working on the process of taking over the control of Konoha. And as for that precious Uchiha of your…" His eyes flashed. " As soon as he and that lowly demon container have become close enough, I'll execute him, right in front of that filth's eyes. If that doesn't pull… that thing's true nature to surface, nothing will." With that, the man started to leave. " If you as much as warn either one of them, I'll have you arrested for treason."

She found herself shivering from rage unlike anything she'd ever felt before. " Are you honestly expecting me to leave this here?"

Danzou chuckled in a way that infuriated her to bone. " After all the mistakes and misjudgements you've done, I think there's nothing much more you can do." Already at the doorway, the man stopped. " Oh yes, and one more thing… From now on, your daughter is under my custody. I'm about to find out exactly how corrupted her mind is after all the years spent with your allies – and what her heritage is."

After he'd left, she sat absolutely frozen for a longest time, the only movement given her trembling of fury. In the end, her moves were so brash they nearly startled her as well. The almost full bottle of sake made an unnaturally loud sound in the otherwise silent office when she threw it against the door the man had just walked through, then lifted her gaze towards the window and sky.

Damnit, you old pervert, she mentally hissed, a troubled look in her eyes. Where the hell are you when I'd need you?

In a room that'd been given to her in the Akatsuki's hideout, Suzume's eyes flew open at the sound of a firm, demanding knock. She groaned, her hand still glowing with the electricity she'd used during this lonely training session. " What?"

In a moment, Kisame peered in. " Our patient needs you", the man announced. " He says he needs an extra dosage of medicine."

She arched an eyebrow. " Why isn't he asking for Konan?"

" She's… not feeling well at the moment." The man then emitted a sound of irritation. " Would it kill you to complete even one chore without putting up a fight?"

Feeling deeply reluctant to do so, she allowed the electricity to die from her hand. " Fine, then. Duty calls."

True enough, Kisame hadn't allowed himself to feel too much for a very, very long time. But nonetheless – or perhaps, therefore – he was excellent when it came to reading people. That's why he frowned upon watching his young partner's disappearing back.

True enough, she played her part well. But still… Something didn't seem to click. Something – he couldn't tell what no matter how hard he tried – was out of place. Or perhaps it was just a gut feeling.

It felt a bit too much like working with Itachi once more when he was with her.

She was just about to get away when his words stopped her. " Hold on a moment, brat."

The girl's eyebrow was arched as she turned to look at him. " Now what?"

His eyes hardened. " I just thought I should make something very clear…", he stated in a warning-filled voice. " I detest nothing more than people who stab my back."

Suzume rolled her eyes, not even a trace upon her face revealing that she would've been affected in any way whatsoever. " Stop being paranoid." She then turned her back on him, starting to walk away. " I know, training at dawn. I'll see you then." Upon leaving, she uttered just loud enough for him to hear. " You're far too suspicious for your own damn good."

As he watched her distancing back, a small frown appeared.

I really hope you'll never end up backing down on those words, brat, he mused.

" I suggest you to wipe off that look." Zetsu's voice nearly managed to catch him off guard. Turning his head, he found the man leaning against a nearby wall. " Nothing good ever follows when you get like that."

He fought the urge to cause injuries, instead settled with growling. " Did you have something to tell me or do you just enjoy harassing me?"

" Can I choose both?" one half nearly snickered, just before the other replied. " I've been doing some… investigating work. Pein's getting impatient."

He arched an eyebrow. Now that was something he wouldn't have expected. " And?"

" He isn't going to wait for longer than a few weeks, not when he's this close to his goal." Zetsu's eyes darted towards the direction where Madara's chamber was, almost like making sure the man wouldn't hear. " Every pawn in this little game is sliding towards their correct places. Plus, Sasuke has woken up, which means both he and Naruto will start to get stronger very soon. Wasting much more time would be a huge mistake. If he's not fully recovered when time is right, Pein will simply use another pair of Sharingan eyes."

Kisame knew immediately what that meant – after all, there weren't many Sharingan wielders anymore. He nearly fidgeted. " So… It's almost time, huh?"

Zetsu nodded in confirmation. " Yeah."

His icy grin revealed a row of sharp teeth. " Well how about that. It looks like we'll finally get some real action around here."

TBC??

A/N: Aww, a little bit of calm before the storm…

Yet again, I'm in a HUGE hurry, so I'm starting to tune out. But first… Don't forget to review! You know that each and every ounce of support means a world to me, right? (gives those huge, annoying puppy-dog eyes again, and flashed a huge bag of chocolates)

'Til next time, folks – I promise, I'll work my hardest for it to come ASAP!

Peace out!

DarkMiko13: Yes, he indeed opened his eyes! Gosh, how glad I was I could finally write that scene! (dances around)

And yup, Izumi really is Tsunade's daughter. Hmm, who's the father indeed, and if she knows? We shall see, we shall see… (grins)

Thank you so much for the review! Stick around, yeah?

colgate :): HOORAY – I was nearly cheering when I wrote the scene of Sasuke waking up! (snickers)

More, hmm? (grins) Your wish is my command!

Huge thank yous for the review! I really hope you'll be staying tuned.

Laurkan: Hmm… I think your question about was somewhat replied in this chappy, but as to Izumi… It'd indeed be interesting to know who her daddy is, huh? (snickers mysteriously)

Wee-hee, I'm so proud to think I manage to keep you in suspense, and glad that I reassured you about the SasuNaru thing!

Enormous thank yous for the review – I'm so happy you liked the chapter! See you around, un. (chuckles) (I really hope it won't take a year!)

lydia-chan: (smirks) I'm also way above happy that Sasuke's FINALLY awake! (cheers madly)

Colossal thank yous for the review – I'm so proud you've liked the story so far! 'Hope you'll be staying tuned.

dragontwister: Hooray indeed – Sasuke's finally awake! (keeps cheering until gets smacked by Sasuke) Hey!

Huge thank yous for the review – I'm so glad you liked the chapter! See you around, un.

Maci-bby.: LOL, so I'm not the only one who squealed at the scene of Sasuke finally waking up! I'm so glad I finally got to write that scene!

Heh, I bet poor Kakashi nearly passed out from shock when meeting Rin eye to eye. But hey, now those two are finally together again (eh, for now, at least…)! (huggles the Copy nin) Poor Kakashi-kun deserved to get one of those he's lost back!
Thank you so much for the absolutely incredible review – I'm so happy you liked the chapter! (performs a completely ridiculous dance) I really hope you'll keep looking forward to the chapters to come.

(Cupcakes? Aww, thank you so much! I respond with sending you a bag of amazingly delicios chocolate chip cookies!) (smirks)

Chibi-Chaaan: (snickers evilly) Cookie traps indeed are impossible to resist, huh?

I'm a real meanie-face, aren't I – cutting off the chapters just when it's getting good? (offers some more cookies) Here's something to comfort you.

Massive thank yous for the review – for readers/reviewers like you, I'll definitely work my hardest to get the next chapter done ASAP! See you around, un?

EdSpikeSesshyGirl: (chuckles) I just couldn't resist writing in that piece. I also think it's just like Naruto to be off towards training grounds straight after coming to. (huggles the kitsune)

And WOO-HOO, Sasuke's FINALLY awake, and portal for SasuNaru interaction is open! I can't wait to get to that. (grins)

Enormous thank yous for the review! I really hope you'll be staying tuned.

Halskr: Aww, I'm so glad you liked the part with Itachi – it was a real joy to write! (makes a happy dance)

You've liked that more than the manga so far?! Woah – thank you so much! (Though I'm not fully certain if I'm completely pleased with the latest twists, either. I wonder what's running through Kishi-kun's head.) (glances with suspicion)

Huge thank yous for the inspiring review – heh, it's my pleasure to share to readers/reviewers like you! I really hope you'll be staying tuned.

Kai's kitty: Viva NejiGaara fluff! (huggles them both, ignoring all protesting and attempts to make a lethal strike) (chuckles) I'm so glad you liked that 'interaction' between Shikamaru and Gaara! I just couldn't resist the idea.

And Sasuke-kun's finally awake – HOORAY! 'Bout time, too, Uchiha – Naru-kun needs you!

So I'm not the only one who thinks poor Kakashi-kun deserves some happiness! He's lost so many people, it's 'bout time he gets one of them back. (huggles)

(sniff) I also feel so sorry for Naruto, Gaara and Sasori – so much pain! (chases after the three with hugs while they run away screaming)

(snickers) It'd indeed be interesting to know who Izumi's daddy is, huh? No worries – all will be revealed soon enough…

Enormous thank yous for the review! See ya around, un?

sevenchiikeins: (chuckles) My goodness – I'm completely baffled here! I find it nearly impossible to believe that someone would like something I've scrabbled up, let alone that much! (blushes) Thank you so much!

(I'm totally in love with Naruto, too!) (waves flags and cheers)

Enormous, HUGE thank yous for the incredible review and support – I'm far beyond proud you've loved the story so far, let alone you consider me cool in your eyes! HOORAY! I really hope this new chapter was worth the inexcusably long wait.

jinsane226: He opened his eyes indeed! Hooray!

Thank you so much for the review! I really hope I'll be seeing you around.

Moriko-Demon: (chuckles) I was so excited about finally getting to write that scene of Sasuke waking up! (I swear, I almost started screaming with delight!) I'm so glad you liked it, too. (cheers)

Aww, and Kakashi-kun's not alone anymore! (huggles) 'Bout time, too.

(Sasuke, at the moment, in the manga – spitting against everything Itachi sacrificed his life for, and being an idiot enough to join Madara…) (hits with a frying pan as well) (WAKE UP, DAMNIT!)

HUGE thank yous for the amazing review – I'm so proud you've liked this fic so much so far, and 'LCLD', too! (cheers extremely loudly) I really hope you'll like the chapters to come as well.

piratepenguin666: I'm such an impatient nature myself, that I can just feel your pain! (winces) Therefore, I'll most definitely update as soon as humanly possible, believe it! (smirks)

Thank you so much for the review – I'm so proud you've liked the story so far! I hope you'll be staying tuned.

realityfling18: Sasuke indeed opened his eyes! WOO-HOO! 'Bout time, too, damnit!

If that voice was Itachi, hmm? (smirks evilly) All I can say is that all questions will be answered – eh, eventually…

I'm so proud you like the OC! It'd really be interesting if she and Kisame would become comrades, huh? (I find the idea of Kisame missing Itachi irresistible – smallish KisaIta fan here… - and although he'd rather die than admit it, he seems to feel paternal affection of some sort for her. So… We'll see, we'll see…)

Colossal thank yous for the heart warming review – I'm so glad the update brightened your day, because your review definitely did mine! I really hope you'll keep looking forward to the updates to come.

Belladonna-Isabella: I'll definitely take to account the most recent chapters as far as it's possible, though I must confess Kishi-kun managed to catch me badly off-guard. (sweatdrops) 'Wonder what he's up to.

I'm so happy that Sasuke's FINALLY awake, too! Geez, 'bout time! AND, I'm so proud I've had you intrigued! (You liked the GaaraNeji parts? So cool – it's one of my most recent favourite pairing!)

Huge thank yous for the review! I really hope I'll be seeing you around.

atemswhitetigermew: He opened his eyes indeed! Geez, you can't believe how much I've been wanting to write that scene!

(I'm not much of a Sakura-fan either, although I don't consider her as much of a bitch as I did when she was younger and kept torturing poor Naru-kun.)

Aww, Sasuke, don't be so huffy about it – it's obvious to us all you love the cute 'lil Knucklehead. (screams when the Uchiha activates Chidori with murderous eyes)

Massive thank yous for the review! See ya around, un?

MelissaKS: I'm also far beyond frustrated I can't keep updating as regularly as I'd like. (winces) But having understanding reviewers/readers like you helps reducing the stress. (hugs)

Thank you so much for the review – I'm so proud you find the story interesting! 'Hope you'll be staying tuned.

Mimiaru: Dear goodness, he indeed is waking up, and 'bout time, too! HOORAY!

(Aww, I LOVE SaiIno and GaaraNeji, too!)

Suzume's ambition, hmm? To gain world domination! (chuckles) Okay, just kidding – I'd never forgive myself if I'd make a bad guy out of her. Let's say that we still don't know all about her – yet. (grins mysteriously) (Btw, I'm so proud you think she's making great progress!)

Enormous thank yous for the review! I really hope I'll be seeing you around.

KusajishiFuktaicho: ShikaTema rulez! (keeps waving flags) It's one of my fav couples, so it'll definitely be there. (grins)

Thank you so much for the review! Stay tuned, yeah?

DeathRow609: Sasuke's indeed FINALLY waking up! Goodness, how I've been waiting for a chance to get to write THAT scene! (bounces all over the place)

I'm so glad you like the couples introduced so far! (cheers)

Massive thank yous for the review! Don't be a stranger, yeah?