Three times when Sasuke ended something, and one time when he started it
...
If things had been different, Sasuke imagined that his father would have led him to the secret room for a special occasion. When he had become a jounin, maybe. Or when he had fully mastered the sharingan.
Instead, he descended into the chamber on his own after being released from the hospital, Itachi's words still ringing in his mind. He'd never felt so alone as when he stood in front of that altar and reached for the scrolls of his clan – the scrolls that were now his, and his alone.
He read the scrolls slowly, committing each word to memory. Only when he carefully put them back in their place did it dawn on him. His childhood was over. He couldn't continue to be a child when he was the last member – last true member – of his clan, when he knew its secrets, when he had a duty most adults would never bear.
When he walked back up the steps, he was only a few minutes older. He wasn't any stronger, couldn't perform any jutsu any better, nor had he gained any wisdom that would help him avenge his clan. In his mind, however, he was now an adult.
...
While Suigetsu rummaged for clothes, Sasuke looked around him and frowned. He'd been in Orochimaru's lab before, he'd seen his experiments: failed, deformed, preserved for future study. Suigetsu was the only living person in there. The rest was just an obscene reminder of Orochimaru's methodical insanity.
"I'm ready."
Sasuke heard Suigetsu, but he still didn't move. Orochimaru was gone, but Kabuto wasn't. He might pick up the experiments, and continue the horrors that had been going on in the lab.
"Sasuke? Are we getting out of here anytime today?" Suigetsu asked in a bored voice.
"Yeah. I just need to finish something."
He had started wrecking the room when he set Suigetsu free. He finished it with a Katon jutsu. Before long, the room was engulfed in flames, vials and jars exploding from the intensity of the heat. Only then did Sasuke leave.
...
As they approached Konoha, Naruto started showing signs of nervousness. He had made Sasuke ditch his Akatsuki cloak the first day of their trek back, but even so he didn't seem to approve of Sasuke's attire. He kept looking at him and frowning, muttering under his breath about his clothes and his lack of forehead protector. Sasuke wasn't sure why it mattered. He was a missing-nin. He had consorted with enemies of Konoha. He wasn't denying it, and no one in Konoha could ignore who he was. A forehead protector or Konoha-style clothing wouldn't change that.
"Just let me do the talking, all right?" Naruto said as the village appeared in the distance.
Sasuke replied with a grunt that he hoped sounded like an agreement. He doubted anything Naruto could say to the guards would change much in the end. And so he barely even listened as they reached the doors and were stopped by the evening guards. Instead, he watched the village in front of him, this village he had missed so much for so long – this village he wasn't sure was his anymore.
After mere moments, two ANBU appeared. One of them made Sasuke surrender his katana and the travel bag in which he kept a change of clothes, a few scrolls, and some money. Sasuke handed them over dispassionately. When it came to that, he could fight without the katana if he had to.
"Let's go. The Hokage has been warned."
Naruto stepped between the ANBU and Sasuke, arms crossed and looking as mulish as ever. "Not yet. He's been walking for three days with broken ribs. He needs to see a medic before we go to the Tower."
The ANBU didn't like being ordered around, but Naruto made enough of a fuss that in the end they relented and contacted the Hokage. She must have agreed because the four of them were soon en route for the hospital. Two more ANBU joined them before they got there, and the four guards kept a tight watch on Sasuke as they moved on. Not as tight as Naruto's, though. He was walking closer to Sasuke now, and continued to throw quick glances at him, as though expecting him to suddenly go berserk and attack everything that moved. If he had only known what Sasuke was planning…
They finally reached the hospital, and the medic-nin had to navigate around Sasuke's minders to examine and heal him. In truth, Sasuke could have done without a side trip to the hospital; his injuries had already started healing. It wasn't worth arguing with Naruto about it, though. That, and now that the time was close, Sasuke was getting anxious about meeting the Hokage. If she had agreed to have him healed, she probably wouldn't order him to be executed, but there were still a few unpleasant outcomes possible.
Night had fallen when they walked out of the hospital. Sasuke watched the moon slowly rise as they made their way to the Hokage Tower. It cast light on the mountain and its carved faces. It was strange to see a fifth one there. It had never been so clear to Sasuke that it was a different Konoha he had returned to.
The Hokage was waiting in her office, standing behind her desk. Her secretary, two advisors and more ANBU guards were there. She glared at Naruto as he and Sasuke stood before her, then finally turned her attention to Sasuke.
"Are you done running, Uchiha?" she asked coldly.
Sasuke looked at her, at the Elders at her side, then at Naruto. He clenched his fists, then released them again as he looked back at her.
"I'm done."
He wasn't lying. There was no more need to run. Everyone he wanted to kill or protect was in Konoha.
...
Sasuke's bloody face revealed nothing. "It means I said I'd keep you safe, and until all Akatsuki members are dead, you won't be safe. Now are you going to stay there and wait like a damsel in distress, or are you going to come help me?"
Naruto crossed his arms, annoyed at being called a girl. Let the fight just end, and then he'd show that bastard who was the girl exactly. And in the meantime… "Who finished Madara?" he pointed out.
Sasuke grimaced, sparing Madara a last glance. "Idiot. Let's go."
They ran back, retracing their path from earlier. When Naruto asked why Sasuke was allowing him to get near the danger now, he got an eye roll for his trouble.
"We're some of the strongest fighters Konoha has. We can't just sit here. One Akatsuki at a time should be OK. And you'll stay away and use your clones."
Naruto snorted. "We'll see about that," he muttered under his breath.
Judging by the nasty look Sasuke threw him, he had heard.
The first fighters they ran across were Suigetsu and Kisame. Both of them were bloody, cuts adorning their bodies even as they slashed their swords at each other. Sasuke tried to join in and help—only to be yelled at by Suigetsu.
It took Suigetsu a few more minutes to end the fight on his own terms. Naruto itched to move on and go find someone else who needed help, but Sasuke, standing there with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face, didn't seem like he wanted to go anywhere. He was still scowling when Suigetsu turned to them, grinning widely, a sword in each hand.
"What are you going to do with two swords?" Sasuke asked, eyeing him warily.
Suigetsu looked at his new acquisition with a fond smile. "Start a collection, what else? There's five more for me to find!"
"As long as you don't come back to use them against Konoha."
Suigetsu grinned at Sasuke's warning. "We'll see. You've got to admit it'd be a fun fight."
"No," Sasuke said coldly, "it wouldn't. Goodbye, Suigetsu."
With a deft movement, Suigetsu slid his sword back in place on his back, keeping Kisame's in hand. "Bye. Thanks for the fun."
Next, they found Juugo and Karin. They had defeated the Akatsuki woman and she was lying, face down, a few yards away. Juugo's skin was covered in a strange inky pattern and his body was deformed. He was holding Karin by the neck, choking her. Naruto started running forward, but Sasuke was faster. He stood in front of Juugo, his eyes now red and black, and called out his name.
"Juugo! Calm down!"
And just like that, Juugo did. When he had returned to his normal self, he apologized profusely to Karin, who, still massaging her throat, kicked him in the shin.
The four of them started running again, but there were no more sounds of fighting to guide them. The next battle scene they found was also finished – but much grimmer, too. Kakashi lay on the ground. Trees had fallen around him, rocks were broken, the earth upturned. There was no sign of an adversary – and no hint of chakra coming from Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
Naruto rushed to his side, knowing already from the lack of body that Kakashi had used his advanced sharingan attack – knowing, also, that they were too far from Konoha when Kakashi's chakra level was lower than it had ever been.
Kakashi opened his left eye and smiled. "You… OK, Naruto-kun?"
"Don't talk, just… rest."
Naruto looked up hopelessly at Sasuke, but Sasuke wasn't looking at him or Kakashi. Instead, he was staring at Karin.
She crossed her arms and turned away. "I'm already exhausted myself."
Naruto had no clue what she meant by that, and was even more bewildered when Sasuke said, "Please."
That simple yet so unusual word from Sasuke seemed to make up Karin's mind. With an exasperated sigh, she kneeled by Kakashi's side opposite from Naruto and pulled down his mask, exposing his mouth. Naruto was too stunned by what was going on to even realize he was finally seeing his teacher without his mask.
"What—"
"Just watch," Sasuke said behind him.
Karin pulled up her sleeve. Her skin was covered in a pattern of black circles. She brought her arm next to Kakashi's mouth before instructing him to bite her. He must have used his remaining strength to do as she asked. Chakra surged around them, and Naruto could only stare in amazement as he realized that it was flowing from Karin to Kakashi.
Just then, Sai rushed into the clearing. He had lost his mask and was bleeding in several places, but he didn't appear to be too badly injured. He stopped at the curious sight, and gave Naruto a questioning look. Naruto got to his feet and shrugged helplessly. He didn't know any more than Sai what was going on.
After a few moments, Karin pulled away. She was panting and a little unsteady as she slowly got to her feet. Kakashi was already pulling his mask back in place and adjusting his forehead protector over his right eye. His left eye was wide open and incredulous.
"You're welcome," Karin snapped at him.
Kakashi blinked and belatedly said, "Whatever it is you did, thank you."
"Kakashi-sensei? Are you OK?" Naruto asked.
"I will be," Kakashi replied, his voice still a little weak. "Did you defeat Madara? We couldn't stop him when he went after you."
"He's dead," Naruto confirmed. "And so is the Akatsuki woman. Did you—"
"Kill my adversary? Yes." He grimaced. "Barely. We had trouble at first when they stuck together."
He gave Sai a pained look, and for the first time Naruto wondered where Sai's ANBU partner was.
"Separating the different Pain bodies was the key. We owe a lot to Shikamaru's plan." Kakashi finally got to his feet and covered his ear with his hand. He listened for a moment to the report from other groups of fighters before relaying the information he had heard. "The teams in Konoha managed to take down two Pain bodies, but not before they inflicted some serious damage to the village. And the first team in the forest took down the plant guy."
"Zetsu," Sasuke supplied shortly. "That doesn't account for all the Pain bodies though."
Kakashi nodded. "Correct. He seems to have given a retreat signal when the Akatsuki losses became too high."
"So it's not over," Naruto said, his relief disappearing. He couldn't bear to think of how many people had died already to protect him – and how many more would fall still. "They might launch another attack."
"Probably, but not any time soon." Kakashi's eye narrowed slightly. "And we don't have to wait until they do. We can take the fight to them and end it there. And in the meantime…" He looked intently at Sasuke as though trying to see right through him. "The village will be safe. Won't it?"
Sasuke closed his eyes. Waiting for his answer, Naruto held his breath. He realized in that moment that he, Kakashi and Sai were standing on one side, with Sasuke and his team members on the other. He took a step to the side, coming closer to Sasuke. Part of him was determined; he'd promised Sasuke his support and he would give it to him, whatever he decided, not because they were partners, but rather because it was the right thing to do. Another part was afraid, though. He didn't want to fight his friends or sensei, nor would he let anyone hurt them if it could be prevented.
After a few seconds, Sasuke nodded. Naruto breathed again, and Kakashi visibly relaxed. He probably would have liked that fight no more than Naruto would have.
"Let's go home, then," Kakashi said, grinning behind his mask.
The village was already cleaning up by the time they returned. They brought Kakashi to the hospital, and met Tsunade there. As soon as she saw them, a shadow lifted from her face. She was smiling as she reached behind her neck and pulled off her necklace before handing it to Naruto.
"I think this belongs to you."
Naruto took it gratefully, and was wondering whether to ask if she had read the letter when she turned her attention to the other fighters around him.
"Sasuke. Would you introduce us to your teammates?"
He nodded once. "This is Karin and Juugo. They both fought for Konoha."
"So I've been told," she said solemnly. "And Konoha is thankful. You two may join our village if you wish to. You can work missions for us. I'm afraid you'll never be anything more than chuunin, however."
Juugo shook his head and held his hands palms out. "I don't want to fight anymore. I just want peace."
The pronouncement didn't seem to bother Tsunade. "If that is your choice, it's perfectly acceptable."
Karin, on the other hand, wasn't so agreeable. "Why only chuunin? I can fight better than—"
"Karin," Sasuke interrupted her. "It's more than you'll be offered anywhere else. If I were you, I'd take it."
Huffing and puffing, she crossed her arms and accepted. "For now. Until I get tired of this village." She looked at Tsunade suspiciously, pushing her glasses higher on her nose. "And where will I live? It better not be anything like a jail. I've had enough of those."
Tsunade had apparently already thought of that, as she answered at once. "You'll be living in the Uchiha district. Right, Sasuke?"
Sasuke didn't even blink. "Of course. They're part of the Uchiha clan now."
Juugo and Karin both looked as stunned as Naruto felt, but neither said a word. Tsunade was the only one who voiced her surprise.
"I thought you were going to let your clan die?"
Sasuke shrugged. "I thought so, too. But maybe it can live on in a different way."
There was a slight catch in his voice, reminiscing of his raw emotions when he had come out of the genjutsu. Naruto couldn't help but wonder if this change of mind came from Sasuke's encounter with his brother's image. He'd have to ask him again what Itachi had said.
Tsunade observed Sasuke for a little while before asking, "Does that mean it's really over?"
Sasuke turned to Naruto, and a corner of his mouth lifted in the faintest smile, causing Naruto's stomach to flip in the most peculiar fashion.
"No," he said coolly, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's only beginning."