Chapter 3- Uchiha

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The kunai hit, but they didn't hit their intended targets. Instead of the red bullseye they usually tasted, they barely made it into the ring. The wooden board twitched with the force of the throw, almost toppling over.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, and threw another kunai towards his target. It missed the board completely.

Shaking, Sasuke stomped over to the board and yanked his kunai out. He had never been so completely out of focus before, not since he had first started learning how to handle ninja weapons. He had never missed still targets quite this badly.

And it was all that stupid Naruto's fault.

That brainless, senseless, idiot! How dare he think that Sasuke was the one who needed to consider others, that Sasuke was the one who knew nothing about his housemate? Pity? Charity? Would Sasuke Uchiha ever give those things? Sasuke, who understood better than anyone that pity and charity had no place in a grieving man's life?

He traced his steps back to his starting place, and threw his kunai again, imagining that the wooden board was Naruto's head. Surely a few holes in that orange idiot's head could only improve Naruto's mental condition.

Throwing kunais consumed him, and slowly the targets turned back to what they were supposed to be- targets. Sasuke was starting to hit bullseye again, and he knew that he was calming down. Whether he would be calm or not once he saw Naruto, he didn't know, but at least that idiot wasn't ruining his kunai practice anymore.

And then one of his kunai flew into the bushes.

Sasuke took a deep breath, and honestly tried to calm himself down this time. It was almost scary how much anger affected his accuracy. He couldn't allow it to happen. Ninja couldn't be allowed to make mistakes just because they were angry- Aniki wouldn't, and Itachi nii-san wouldn't.

Sasuke went to pick up his kunais, and tried again. Before he knew it, the sun was setting, and the wooden boards started to resemble the cheese Sasuke had ate earlier that day. He knew it was time to go home, but it was anything but what he wanted at the moment.

He didn't want to go back to the apartment, didn't want to go back and see Naruto's sorry face. But... where else could he go?

He couldn't just ask to stay in someone else's house, nor could he go to a hotel. The civilians would have a field day, and there would be talk that Sasuke didn't want going around. He didn't want to sleep in the woods tonight, but somehow the thought of dwelling with others was much worse. There would be questions, questions about where he was staying and-

Hey wait a minute, nobody knew where Sasuke lived, did they? Sure, some people had guesses, but no one really knew for sure. He had heard the whispers; he was far from death. The people who did recognize him (and there were blessedly few, since he had been away for so long) either thought he was staying with a private jounin instructor or...

The Uchiha Compound.

Yes, yes that was it! It was perfect. The idiot blond would never think to look for him there, if Naruto even knew where the Compound was. As far as Sasuke knew, they had never taken down the houses in that area, thinking that it would be disrespectful to the Uchiha. Even in death, the name of Uchiha still held great power.

With a nod to himself, Sasuke started walking towards his old home. The steps he found, were frightening easy to retrace. He hadn't been there in over a year, and yet running from the Academy to his old home, he didn't even have to think about where he was going. It looked like the long memories from his childhood were hard to forget, after all.

Finally, he made it there, to the tall imposing gates and red-black colour scheme. Sasuke took a deep breath, and pushed the gates open.

Even he wasn't prepared for what he saw. He stumbled, ever so slightly, from the flood of memories which rushed through his mind leaving no sane part intact. It... it looked exactly the same as it always did; the houses facing the horizon and the long twining path that ran towards each of them.

Sasuke felt his vision blur, and felt the gate swing closed behind him. This... this was the Uchiha Residence. His home. He staggered forwards, passing the various houses and streets of the large compound, unconsciously tracing the route to his house. Red wood with white paper walls flashed past him, one after another- all too familiar.

He half expected old man Aoi the vendor to wink at him from across the street, offering him a steaming plate of noodles. Sasuke's stomach would grumble, but he would decline, knowing that his mother would give him a scolding if he accepted.

In a house not too far from his, Auntie Mai would call out to him, asking the boy how his day had been, and warning him not to train too hard. Sasuke would blush, and Auntie Mai would laugh and send him on his way.

There would have been guards at the entrance of course, but Sasuke could just pretend that they were being neglectful in their duties and taking a break. He could practically see the streets filled with people, people drudged up from his half-forgotten memories.

He pushed open the door to his house, noting idly that the kunai mark from Itachi's warning shot was still there.

His mother would turn from her spot on the mat, her long-honed senses picking up that he was here. Her book that she had been reading would be in her lap, and when she saw him her expression would change. At first it would be a half-concerned, half-exasperated look; carefully hidden of course, but Sasuke knew her well enough to tell. Then, it would quickly morph to gentle annoyance, and she would admonish him for getting home so late.

Sasuke would act all abashed when he wasn't really, because he wanted to catch up to Itachi nii-san and that was that, but he'd be a little sorry that he'd made her worry. Then, Mother would get up, and gently lead Sasuke to the kitchen, where she had saved some of her left-over soba. Sasuke would complain that she didn't make his favourite –omusubi- and she would scold him by saying that if he had been home on time, she might have considered it.

Father would come in, with that look of his. He wouldn't pay any attention to Sasuke, but Sasuke didn't mind. He knew that Father silently approved of his extended training. Itachi nii-san would be in his room, doing who knows what or reviewing his missions, but he always had some sort of time to play with Sasuke. Sasuke would think about bugging his brother later, after he finished the delicious plate of soba noodles...

Sasuke fell on his knees, and screamed.

Why! Why! Why? Why did it have to be this way? Why couldn't it be... why couldn't it be the way he imagined? Sasuke crawled forwards, in the now empty house which hadn't been visited in over a year. There was dust on the floor now, soiling Sasuke's clothes and hands, but he didn't mind. The house was dark now, completely devoid of light. This house had never been something like the apartment Sasuke shared with Edward and Naruto, but it always had a warmth and comfort in it that Sasuke hadn't realized the importance of until now. Now, it felt like death. There was not a sound, except the harsh panting and loud thudding of Sasuke's heart. Just like... that night.

He stopped at a spot on the floor, near the center of the room but not quite there. Sasuke stretched his palms out, spreading his fingers across the floorboards so that he was on all fours. He pressed his cheek to the cool mahogany base, and closed his eyes. He tried to feel for some heat, some warmth, some blood, but there was nothing...

There was nothing remaining of the place where his mother had died.

He could picture it now, so clearly- too clearly. Itachi was just standing there, over Mother's body like some great big bat. Mother was still alive, looking at Itachi with loving eyes. Sasuke wondered if Itachi had seen that?

But he couldn't have, or else he wouldn't have done what he did next. Itachi kicked over Mother's body, saying something coldly to Sasuke. His eyes, they were so bitter, his expression without a soul. He hadn't been Itachi nii-san in that moment, because he-

No! No, he couldn't think about Itachi nii-san like that! Itachi nii-san would never do something like that- Itachi nii-san wouldn't ever-

But he felt the creeping doubt in the back of his mind, ever present and only diminished in Aniki's presence. When Aniki was with him, Sasuke never doubted, never thought for a moment that Itachi nii-san's innocence was suspect. He hadn't ever thought that maybe, just maybe, Itachi couldn't be forgiven no matter what the circumstances. That maybe, just maybe, that no matter if Itachi had been forced into it or not, Itachi Uchiha should have not murdered his family.

Here, at Mother's deathplace, a 'might-be' seemed like a flimsy excuse. Sasuke could almost feel Father's accusing eyes, those hard hard eyes, demanding why he wasn't taking revenge for the Uchiha Clan. Why he wasn't taking revenge for Mother.

No matter what, why would Itachi have murdered the entire clan? What could they have threatened him with that was worth more than the clan, than their family? There was nothing...

In front of his parents' grave, Sasuke could see how weak his excuses had been, how pathetic his reasoning had been. He didn't want to, didn't want to face that his last remaining family member was evil, but he could find nothing to go against it. It seemed so obvious now, so glaringly obvious that Itachi Uchiha could have had no good reason to murder his entire family. There was always always another way, so why hadn't Itachi niisan-?

He wished Aniki was here.

Aniki had such a determination, such a confidence about him, and that confidence bled to everyone around him. With Aniki, Sasuke could believe in his last remaining family member, could actually believe that everything would be fine- or at least, going to be fine. But, Aniki wasn't here now...

Why wasn't Aniki here now? Why wasn't Aniki here to chase away the pain and insanity? Why did Aniki have to go on that stupid trip and leave Sasuke all alone? Why... why...

Was it, was it because Aniki had tired of Sasuke? Sasuke wasn't as talented or as smart as his brother, he knew that. Was that why Aniki had brought in Naruto too, to subtly tell Sasuke that Edward Elric no longer cared about the nine year old Uchiha?

That had to be it, didn't it? Aniki had always like Itachi nii-san better, even if Itachi was a murderer...

Darkness.

The world was dark, and the only thing that could be seen was through the fickle flickering of the moonlight. Sasuke ran, not caring that he could hardly see, not caring that he kept tripping over dead bodies. He simply ran with all his might, because he knew he had to get there before-

Up ahead, he saw the flash of weapons, the glint of the metal of a Konoha forehead protector catching the moonlight. Two figures descended on Sasuke's target, but Sasuke knew that they wouldn't be able to catch him. They would, Sasuke thought with a sinking heart, probably lose their lives.

As soon as the thought entered his mind, Sasuke heard the sickening crash as bodies hit dirt, and he knew that the two ANBU had failed. Sasuke jumped, flying like a hawk over the Uchiha wall. His target was escaping, and Sasuke only had a little bit of time.

Itachi wasn't looking at him- Itachi was looking at the ANBU guards he had felled, making sure that they would not get up again. Itachi had always been better than Sasuke, would never let Sasuke land a hit on him in normal circumstances, but this was far from normal.

With gritted teeth, Sasuke let the kunai in his hand fly. He aimed it, threw it, just like Itachi nii-san had taught him to. He wanted to stop being so confused, so unsure whether the Itachi which stood in front of him like an unyielding hangman was his brother or the clan's enemy. If... If Itachi nii-san lost his forehead protector, his symbol as a ninja and protector of Konoha, maybe Sasuke wouldn't see him as Brother any more. If his purpose for peace was gone, Itachi nii-san could just be Itachi, right?

The forehead protector skid on the floor, and Itachi turned around. He looked almost surprised, in the harsh moonlight. Then, slowly, Itachi bent down and picked it back up, tying it back around his head. Sasuke wanted to scream in frustration; no, no, no! It wasn't supposed to be like this! Itachi was a missing nin, so why couldn't Itachi nii-san admit that?

Then, Itachi nii-san looked at him, and in the moonlight Sasuke could see a stream of wetness on the older boy's cheek. Tears?

... and the world went black.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open.

Sasuke sat up and groaned, rubbing his back. Sleeping on floorboards was infinitely worse than just sleeping in the words; at least with the woods, you could make some sort of cushioning for yourself.

He squinted slightly, the light flooding in the room from outside and the white paper walls not doing the least bit to block it. Sasuke looked around, taking in all the details of his old living room. It had a completely different atmosphere from last night, not seeming nearly as hostile and much more...

Sasuke blushed, ever so slightly, as he thought about his thought process last night. Just what had been up with him? Of course Itachi nii-san was innocent and Aniki didn't abandon him. Just what had Sasuke been thinking? Had he turned into Naruto all of the sudden- having a brain but incapable of using it?

Or perhaps... Sasuke looked down, and felt his heart skip a beat. It was the room- of course it was. The room where his Mother and Father had died, the room where everything changed. Abruptly, he stood up. He couldn't stay here.

Sasuke pushed open the door to the room and left his old house behind without a second guess. That room affected him more than he cared to think about, and he knew he couldn't spend another night there or he would go insane.

Sasuke walked around, looking for another place to dwell. The Uchiha compound brought back memories, but they were much kinder this time 'round. Sasuke could think about them with a reminiscent, bittersweet now. It was the light, the light made everything so much brighter.

For some reason he was reminded of Naruto, but then he snorted and shook that thought off. Naruto, the light? Ha, only if by 'the light' he meant 'so light because he had no brain'. Still... after last night's episode, his anger at Naruto felt a lot more subdued.

Should he... go home?

No, no he still felt too raw for that. If he went home now, he didn't know what his reactions would be. Besides, he didn't want to see Naruto after last night's episode. Didn't want anyone to see how shaken up he was. Except... except maybe Aniki, but Aniki wasn't here right now.

Before he knew it Sasuke was standing in front of a familiar building, a blazing fan embedded on the door. Uncle Shusui's house. Uncle Shusui, who played with him occasionally, who always gave him odd treats that both Itachi nii-san and Aniki would disprove of. Uncle Shusui, who went missing before the Massacre.

Sasuke felt that he could stay in Shusui's house without going insane.

He pushed open the door, and stepped in. Immediately, the smell of old furniture filled his nostrils. The house hadn't been opened in a year and a half, and it was rotting. Thankfully, the paper walls managed to distil most of the smell, but some of it remained. It didn't matter to Sasuke though; he was used to odd smells from his travels, and even odder smells coming from Naruto's room back at home.

He stepped in... and his stomach grumbled.

Oh yeah, he hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday, had he? Sasuke immediately turned his heel and went towards Shusui's kitchen, knowing where it was from the few times he had been here. Uncle Shusui had to have a few preservatives, right? Sasuke shuffled around in the cupboards, hoping to find something of substance. He was seriously hungry now.

Then, when he opened the door to one of the cupboard, Sasuke saw something odd. There was a little piece of wood, looking like it blended perfectly with the other wooden pieces, except that it was just a tinge darker. Sasuke's spine stiffened in anticipation, and ever so gently he jingled the mismatched wood from its place. Behind it rested a piece of yellow paper.

Sasuke's heart was thumping now. Had he discovered something? Something that they had all missed- Uncle Shusui's last memento? Reverently, Sasuke took the piece of paper from its hiding place, smoothing out the edges and placing it gently on the kitchen counter.

Sasuke looked at it.

It was blank. Completely blank.

Sasuke blinked, then held up the paper. The light in the room revealed nothing. Sasuke was tempted to run it under water, but knew that if there was a secret message on the sheet, then it would be completely ruined by whatever method Sasuke devised to uncover it. The black haired boy shook his head in disgust; he had finally found something that could help them with the Itachi nii-san mystery, but he couldn't capsize on it.

Oh well, he could always get Aniki to look at it when Aniki came back. Edward Elric would know what to do.

Shaking his head, Sasuke stalked to another cupboard, leaving the slip of paper on the counter. This time, he did find some food- ramen. Wonderful.

Letting out an exasperated sigh (was fate playing a joke on him by making him see Naruto wherever he went?) Sasuke prepared the ramen and set the kettle to cook hot water. Just then, he noticed something odd in the kettle's reflection, and almost dropped his bowl of ramen.

His reflection, it was-

Sasuke ran upstairs, not caring if the water was going to overboil. He rushed to the bathroom, and stopped dead. In the mirror's reflection, Sasuke Uchiha stared back at him, but with one feature that Sasuke Uchiha didn't have. Or at least, hadn't had.

His eyes were a bloody red.

The Sharingan.

Shakily, Sasuke raised a hand to his face, unable to quite believe it. When had he- how had-? And then, he remembered. His dream... that was a memory, wasn't it? Itachi nii-san had cried, so Itachi nii-san really hadn't wanted to kill the clan. And Sasuke... Sasuke had gained the Sharingan that night.

Sasuke slumped to his knees, his mind still awhirl. This was- this was-

And then he remembered the slip of paper.

Sasuke ran downstairs again, as fast as his legs could carry him. Just taking enough time to turn off the heater so the water wouldn't explode, Sasuke quickly looked for that piece of wood that he had taken out. It was distinctly darker than the other pieces of wood that lined the cupboards.

Sasuke closed his eyes, willing for his Sharingan to recede. Somehow –maybe it was part of the bloodline- he just knew how to do this. It was like the bloodline limit revealed itself to the owner in some ways. When he opened his eyes again, he couldn't see the difference between the piece of wood he had taken out and the others in Shusui's house.

Just as he thought- Shusui had made it so only someone with the Sharingan could discover his secret.

So then... Sasuke looked confusedly at the piece of paper lying innocently on the counter. So then... why couldn't Sasuke read that paper? Was this another countermeasure to ensure that Shusui's message didn't fall into the wrong hands? Could there be another requirement other than the Sharinga-

Wait a minute!

Sasuke could have slapped himself for being so stupid. Shusui had completely mastered the Sharingan, so of course he expected for anyone to be looking for his message to have done the same. However, Sasuke only had one tomae. He was still on Level One, and he hadn't even mastered that yet!

Perhaps... perhaps Sasuke's eyes weren't good enough to see Shusui's message yet.

Yes, that sounded like something Uncle Shusui would do. If so, then there was no point in telling Aniki about this. Aniki wouldn't be able to read it anyway, and it'd just bring back painful memories.

With that decided, Sasuke pocketed the slip of paper, intent on putting it in a more safe spot later, and got started on his ramen. It somehow tasted even worse than Naruto's ramen, but that was probably due to the fact that Uncle Shusui's food was probably two years old. Oh well, beggars couldn't be choosers.

And then, Sasuke thought of something.

He had... the Sharingan.

Which meant that he was a full Uchiha adult, which meant that he could finally access the Uchiha vault. Sasuke stood up, his half finished bowl of ramen forgotten. The Uchiha vault... the amount of jutsus that had been accumulated...

He ran out of Shusui's house.

Sasuke sprinted to the main Uchiha house, where his father had told him that all the jutsus in the world was stored. Of course, whenever Sasuke had been there, he had seen nothing special, but now that he had the Sharingan, he knew that it meant nothing.

There probably was a secret passageway or something, a trap door which could only been seen by the users of the elusive eye technique. Sasuke burst into the main room, and scanned the area. There wasn't anything there out of place, except-

There, on the floor, there was a thin line that he was sure wasn't supposed to be there. Sasuke knelt down in front of it, and thought. What was the best way to open it...?

There was no way that it would require anything forceful, or else they'd have to rebuild the trapdoor every time. Maybe there was a switch or something that Sasuke hadn't seen yet. With that decided, Sasuke spent the rest of the day looking around the room, trying to find the hidden switch. Finally, he saw it, hidden on the ceiling beside the light.

Sasuke took out one of his kunais, and threw it. The tip nicked the switch, and a low rumbling sound filled the room. A whole section of the floor disappeared, sliding away to reveal a secret staircase. Sasuke felt a grin spread across his lips; he was a kid after all, and the thrill of discovering a secret exited him.

He quickly got a lamp, and ran to the stairs... only to pause.

Did he... did he really want to go down there by himself? He'd be looking through scrolls sure, learning things, but somehow that wasn't what he wanted to do right now. He wanted to run home and tell a certain blond; sharing a secret was possibly the only thing better than discovering one. But... but this was his family treasure, how could he possibly tell Naruto?

He could hear his father's disapproving voice now, sneering at him for wanting to give an outsider Uchiha secrets. He'd be disowned of course, because the only thing worse than murdering the clan was shaming them.

Sharing a family secret with a loudmouthed idiot would definitely be shaming them.

Sasuke descended down the stairs, taking a lamp down with him. It wasn't like it mattered anyway. Naruto was already busy enough with the academy's work, and besides... besides...

Didn't Naruto say that Sasuke was acting like he pitied the blond? Didn't Naruto say that he resented Sasuke's help and placement? Well, if Naruto was going to act like a complete and utter idiot, than Sasuke had no reasons to consider him at all. Nodding to himself, Sasuke jumped down the stairs two at a time.

When he got to the bottom, all he could see was a large chamber, with hundreds of shelves that were obviously supposed to hold scrolls. The only thing was... there were no scrolls.

Sasuke frowned, and walked the entire perimeter of the underground chamber, occasionally going upstairs to change his lamp, but ultimately found nothing. All the shelves were strangely empty. He wondered if there was another switch that led to the real room, and this was just the decoy.

He didn't know how long he searched for, but he noted that the sky outside was getting dark. Sasuke sighed in disappointment; he didn't want to stay in the Uchiha compound for another night, even if it was within a secret chamber. He wanted... to go home.

And somehow he kept on finding himself imagining another person beside him as he looked- someone with blond hair and blue eyes. But that was ridiculous, wasn't it?

When Sasuke did get home, the scent of freshly made omusubi greeted him. Sasuke paused in the doorway, his mind drawing a blank. Mother...?

But no, it wasn't Mother who awaited him at the table; it was a nervous and twitchy blond with large goggles on his head. Naruto.

Sasuke felt himself slump in disappointment, and then checked himself. The dark haired boy straightened, closing the door behind him with an audible click. He took off his shoes slowly, his emotions aflutter. It wasn't Mother, though he had wished it was. No, it was only Naruto. This was too reminiscent of the scene he had imagined in the Uchiha compound for him to accept Naruto's food.

With that decided, Sasuke walked past the table, fully intent on crawling into his bed and taking out the secret food stash that he hid within his room. As he walked past however, a hand shot out, seizing his arm with an unrelenting grip. He was suddenly reminded why he was mad at Naruto.

"Sasuke..." Naruto's voice was soft, pleading, wholly unlike him.

Sasuke didn't care. He turned his head around slowly, fixating the blond with a cold glare, the frustration and disappointment of not finding the Uchiha family scrolls making it easy. "And what do you think you're doing?"

Naruto looked down, his head bowed in submission, "Sasuke... I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean- well, maybe I did mean it, but you know how I am. I just said what I said out of anger, I don't really feel like that all the time. I can be a real idiot at times and-"

"Only sometimes?" Sasuke muttered, not able to help himself.

Naruto tensed, his grip on Sasuke's arm tightening ever so slightly. Then, he seemed to take a breath, and all the tension drained out of him. "Ye-yeah, I guess I deserved that huh? I shouldn't have thought all that about you, I'm really sorry."

Sorry...

Sasuke hesitated, looking at Naruto. Naruto looked like he was genuinely upset about what had transpired yesterday. Perhaps... perhaps Sasuke could forgive him. After all, it wasn't like the fight hadn't done some good.

"I was a real idiot yesterday huh?" Naruto continued, "I actually know that you... know that you aren't doing any of it because you feel pity or whatever. It's just... hard sometimes you know?"

Hard?

Hard?

Naruto thought he had it hard? Fresh in his memory, the Uchiha compound flashed across his mind, and the night that had changed Sasuke's life forever. Itachi nii-san, and his tears, being forced to do something he didn't want to. Aniki, and the long trips he made, the tired face he had after a long day of looking for information to prove Itachi nii-san's innocence. And Naruto was using the excuse that it was hard.

Sasuke jerked his hand out of Naruto's grip, his voice cold. "I'm leaving."

Naruto's head shot up so fast it was a wonder his neck didn't break, blue eyes flashing with anger, "What?"

"You heard me," Sasuke said frostily, "I'm not here to listen to your little stories of woe."

Naruto stomped his feet. Yes, actually stomped his feet. "Hey I tried to be nice, 'cause I realize that I was wrong and all, but I guess that it doesn't matter all that much to you right? Well good, 'cause I'm sick of the docile act."

Sasuke snarled, his mind reminding him exactly why he was mad at Naruto again. "There you go again, thinking you know what I care or don't care about. What matters or doesn't matter to me. You don't know me at all!"

"I don't know you at all? Okay bub, I admit I made a mistake yesterday, and I sure as heck can't understand your angst-y arse sometimes, but I do know that your favourite food is omuburi and that you hate sweets. Your favourite game is Gamiyu but you feel guilty playing it when you could be training. You're going overboard!"

"Overboard?" Sasuke asked incredulously, "Me? Who's the overboard one? Who's the one who wears bright orange and makes annoying pranks? Who's the one who goes around proclaiming that he'll be Hokage?"

"Hey I'm not only proclaiming, I will become Hokage! I don't care who doesn't believe me, I don't care who thinks I'm an idiot, I'll one day become the Hokage and then people will acknowledge me!"

"The day you'll become Hokage is the day Konoha will collapse," Sasuke snorted, ridicule evident in his voice.

"You- you-!" Naruto's face was turning red now, an odd contrast to his jumpsuit.

"I'm leaving," Sasuke said once again, turning on his heel and stalking towards his room.

This time, Naruto didn't stop him. "Fine! I'm leaving too you ansty bastard!"

There was the sound of stomping footsteps, and Sasuke knew that Naruto had left the kitchen. Well, whatever. All the idiot could seem to do was copy another person's initiative; why was Sasuke even friends with this guy?

Friends... Sasuke paused, and it wasn't just because of the door that now loomed in front of him. He opened the door to his bedroom and walked in, his mind awhirl despite himself. Friends... he had never really had those before, had he? Could this possibly be the reason why he was so angry at Naruto? Not because he thought Naruto was taking advantage of him (which seemed like a flimsy excuse anyway) but because they were... friends?

He shoved that thought down as soon as it appeared.

Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. Sasuke was mad at Naruto because the blond so utterly disregarded the sacrifices others had made, and wouldn't see out of his own little shell to the hardships that others experienced. He wasn't upset because he expected more of Naruto as a friend.

Besides, ninjas didn't need friends. But... but Aniki and Itachi nii-san were friends, weren't they, and they had worked together really well. Plus, Itachi nii-san always seemed happier when Aniki was around, and if Sasuke remembered correctly from Aniki's stories, the mission the two did together-

But Sasuke could never think of Naruto like that, of course. Naruto wasn't Aniki, despite the blondness factor. Naruto would never be dependable enough to be a perfect partner during missions. He was loud, annoying, arrogant...

...dedicated, sneaky, creative.

Ugh! Sasuke slammed his door shut. He didn't come back here to have an argument about Naruto in his head! If he knew it was going to be like, Sasuke would have stayed outside, despite how uncomfortable sleeping in the woods was.

He quickly undressed, and pulled on his navy blue pyjamas. They had an Uchiha crest on the back of them, blazing red in the sea of blue. He had come back to sleep.

But when Sasuke fell into bed, he found that sleep escaped him. His tummy was rumbling ominously, and it was then that Sasuke realized that last time he had eaten was twelve o' clock earlier that day, and even that was just half a bowl of ramen. It had to have been at least thirty hours since Sasuke had a good meal. He was hungry.

It was that stupid Naruto's fault! If stupid Naruto hadn't made omusubi and chased Sasuke out of the kitchen, then Sasuke wouldn't be in this predicament! Grumbling, Sasuke got up from his bed, turning on his nightlight and looking over the side of his bed. He had snacks under there and-

All he saw was wrappers.

With a sinking feeling, Sasuke remembered that all-night espionage mission that he and Naruto had a few days ago. Sasuke had taken all his snacks out then, so that he wouldn't starve when spying out the Academy teachers. And he hadn't restocked yet.

He could have smacked himself for his stupidity. This was a mistake worthy of Naruto! One always had to have emergency rations! They even taught that at the stupid Academy!

His stomach rumbled.

There was no choice now. Sasuke turned off his light, and crawled back into bed. He'd just have to spend a night hungry. Sasuke closed his eyes, intent on sleeping, but his stomach churned in protest.

He couldn't do it! He couldn't sleep like this. He had to... he had to...

Sasuke thought of Naruto's omusubi, which had seemed heavenly before, but now seemed practically like a temptress. Well, they'd never be quite like Mother's, would they? With a groan, Sasuke sat up from his bed. He had to have some.

As Sasuke slowly made his way to his door, he tried to rationalize what he was doing. Well, what time was it anyway? The idiot was probably asleep by now, and Naruto would never know. Besides, even if the idiot suspected, Sasuke could always deny it. Naruto would have no proof that Sasuke gave into his desires and ate the omusubi.

Sasuke nodded to himself as he opened his bedroom door and made his way towards the kitchen. His explanation made sense. Yeah, it'd be fine. Definitely.

He found the kitchen just as he'd expected it- empty. Thankfully, the omusubi was still there. Sasuke glanced at Naruto's door, and let out a sigh that he hadn't known he was holding. It was closed.

Shaking his head, Sasuke sat down at the table, and started on the plate of omusubi. It wasn't exactly as good as his mother had made it, or even the brown haired woman who Sasuke dimly remembered. But, it was alright nonetheless, and it filled Sasuke's stomach. Plus, it was omusubi; no matter how badly it was made, Sasuke wouldn't refuse it.

He finished half a plateful within seconds.

He wanted to eat more, but Sasuke thought that if he finished the whole plate even Naruto would suspect something. Well, that was fine. Sasuke was pretty full anyway; he'd be able to survive the night now.

He got up from the table... then glanced at the omusubi. It was made with okaka and tomatoes, just as Sasuke liked it. Sasuke shook his head. Honestly, what was Naruto thinking? Tomatoes went bad really easily, and Naruto had left it outside. The idiot really didn't know anything about food.

Sighing, Sasuke picked up the plate and went to the fridge. Immediately, yellow luminescent light illuminated the room, and Sasuke had to blink for a few moments to get used to the light from the fridge. He put the omusubi in the large white box, and closed the fridge door. The room flushed back into darkness.

Sasuke turned away, intent on getting back to his room, but a soft click stopped him. The balcony door. Letting out a small, unsure breath, Sasuke turned around, meeting the deep blue eyes of Naruto Uzumaki.

He was standing right in front of the balcony door, his right hand still on the doorknob. He looked stunned, as far as Sasuke could tell, though the dark haired boy had to admit it was hard to distinguish emotions with only the moonlight.

"You-" Naruto began, "I was just outside, and then I saw a flicker of light coming from in here. I thought- you were-" Then, his voice turned accusing, "You ate my omusubi didn't you?"

"It wasn't yours," Sasuke replied automatically, before his mind was even able to catch up with him. The banter with Naruto was familiar, and he had missed it. "You said you made it for me."

"Well yeah, but you refused it!"

"No I didn't, I said I was leaving." Sasuke corrected.

"Psht! Well, same thing! Ugh, you are so infuriating!"

"Not half as infuriating as you are."

"Yeah right, you're- heh, I guess I am pretty infuriating, aren't I?" And Naruto sounded proud of that fact.

Sasuke sighed, smiling tiredly, "That's what the teachers at the Academy would say, yes."

Naruto practically giggled, "Yeah, do you remember that time when we put blue hair dye in Mada-sensei's shampoo? He wouldn't come to school for a week!"

Sasuke snorted, "How could I forget? But my personal favourite was still the 'Noodle Incident'."

"That was cruel," Naruto sniggered.

"Maybe," Sasuke smirked, "But he deserved it. Who did he think he was teaching anyway? Toddlers?"

Naruto laughed, long and loud. Then, he trailed off, looking uncertainly at Sasuke. "Friends again?"

Friends...? Someone who had the same interests as you, someone to spend your time with, someone to share laughs with? But, there was more than that. Sasuke thought of Edward Elric and Itachi Uchiha, thought of the people he had encountered in his travels around the world. Friends were something more than just laughing buddies. They were someone you could depend on, someone who you could rely on in your moments of weakness, someone who understood you...

Friends again?

Sasuke hesitated, then shook his head.

Naruto's face fell.

Sasuke shook his head, his voice exasperated and maybe even slightly amused. "Please. And you said you knew me. We... were never not friends."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was, once again, doing his paperwork. Scritch, scratch went the sound of his quill, zig-zagging across the numerous sheets. Yes, he was making inane comments, but it was ht paperwork that was driving him crazy!

Honestly, if he knew there was so much paperwork involved in the Hokage position, he would never have taken it!

Just then, he felt something at the edge of his senses. A loud set of footsteps that wasn't supposed to be there, the heavy scent of ramen wafting ever closer...

Hiruzen blinked, and then a faint smile spread across his face. He placed the quill back into the inkpot, and shifted the white papers around him so that his view of the office door wasn't obstructed. As soon as he was done, the door flew open, and Hiruzen had to fight down a grin. After all, it wouldn't look professional of him to welcome the distraction, would it?

The age old Hokage frowned at the intruder, steeping his fingers together and looking very stately indeed. "Naruto, why have you come here?"

"Gramps!" Naruto cried, racing up to the Hokage's desk and launching himself at the Sandaime. The blond wrapped his arms around the Hokage in a stranglehold, and Hiruzen inwardly mused that this would be a very easy way to assassinate an unsuspecting Hokage.

"Gramps..." Naruto's tone turned more whinny, and Hiruzen was put instantly on his guard. Nothing good came out of that tone. Nothing. Last time, Naruto had somehow convinced Hiruzen to pay for his ramen meal ticket, and that had drained Hiruzen's finances for a week. And he was the Hokage! Hiruzen's theory was instantly confirmed when Naruto looked up, his eyes wide with his signature puppy-dog stare.

Hiruzen struggled, and failed. He sighed. Naruto's puppy-dog stare should be a S-rank jutsu, seriously. It was undefeatable. "Alright Naruto, what do you want?"

"Well..." Naruto shifted, letting go of Hiruzen and sitting on the edge of his desk. Hiruzen glared, and with an awkward laugh Naruto scooted backward- and crash, Naruto fell off. Hiruzen put his hand to his head and sighed; at least nothing was boring with Naruto. Still, sometimes Hiruzen wondered if Naruto's quirks couldn't sometimes be attributed to the number of times he fell on his head.

But no... Kushina had been like this too. Honestly, though Naruto was the splitting image of his father, his personality seemed to be inherited solely from Kushina Uzumaki.

Naruto jumped right back up, grinning at the Hokage and looking none the worse for wear. "So... Gramps... you're the Hokage, right?"

Hiruzen instantly turned wary. Buying ramen did not require any specific profession, especially not one which controlled the military force of Fire Country. "Yes...?"

"WELL, then you must know a lot of people, right."

"Yes..."

"So... you should know some sealing expert, right?"

...huh? "Huh?"

"I mean, you're the Hokage and all, so you must meet lots of people everyday right? That means that you must know at least one person who knows how to seal, right? So, if you don't mind, could you please tell me the name and address of that person, so I could go bug them? Please, please, please, please, please!"

...Hiruzen still wasn't quite over his shock yet. But, his trusty old brain did most of the work for him, and quickly deduced what this was all about. Really, he shouldn't have been surprised, considering Naruto's heritage. Still, the blond himself didn't know about Minato, so how in the world did Naruto stumble across Sealing?

Just then, a horrifying thought hit him. Could it be- the Kyuubi?

But no, if it were the Kyuubi that Naruto had discovered, there would be a rain of questions directed at him, not this subtle way of learning sealing first. Naruto was not a good liar and a very curious person, a combination which ensured that Naruto's sudden thirst for knowing how to seal was sincere and not faked.

Was it just perhaps... fate?

Looking at Naruto's determined eyes and innocent face, Hiruzen couldn't help but be reminded of another blond. A blond who also had an interest in sealing, a blond who also downplayed the situations he was in. A blond whom Hiruzen himself had respected, trusted with protecting the village which he loved above all else.

Naruto was something that went beyond Minato of course, with a completely different personality and charm, but at times like these Hiruzen couldn't help but be reminded of Naruto's late father. And now, sealing... could this be fate?

Hiruzen shook his head, trying to clear it. Now was not the time to have an inner monologue about the complexities of the world.

"Aw what the heck, even the Hokage doesn't know anyone who knows how to seal? Is it that hard, I mean-"

"No Naruto, that's not what I meant." Hiruzen cut in, before Naruto could go into another of his tirades. "I just... when did you develop an interest in sealing?"

He could even feel a headache coming on. If Naruto was in any way as talented in sealing as his parents, Konoha would never have any peace and quiet. Hiruzen could already see all the pranks that sealing could be used for, and that was just Hiruzen. Who knew what Naruto could come up with!

"Um..."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at the blond's slightly guilty expression. There was a story here, and he didn't know about it. It was his duty as the Hokage to know every story that went around Konoha! Hiruzen coughed, bringing out his most authoritative and stern voice- well, most stern voice for children, anyhow.

"Naruto..." Hiruzen warned.

"Well..." Naruto took a deep breath, " ."

...

"What? Naruto, could you please repeat that? I can't quite understand gibberish."

"I- I kinda made a bet..."

And then, Naruto took Hiruzen the whole sodden story, ending with- "And it's been six days already. I've been trying to figure out sealing, but I can't make head or tails of it! That's why I came to you Gramps- you must know someone who knows about it, right?"

Someone indeed. Hiruzen sighed, and rubbed his temples. "Naruto... how do you get yourself into these situations?"

Naruto pouted, "It's not like I try- well, okay, maybe I overestimated myself a little this time, but Gramps! The past is the past, what we've got to worry about is the present!"

"That's... surprising mature of you."

Naruto gave his eighty wattage smile, "Read it from a book. It's awesome, isn't it? Some books have some really useful phrases, like-"

"Nonetheless," Hiruzen cut in sharply, not exactly wanting to hear what exactly the Prankster of Konoha had learned from books. He knew it was going to give him yet another headache. Why was it always a choice between boredom and a headache? Why? Why couldn't it ever be a choice between no boredom and no headache? Really, it wasn't fair. "If you don't learn from the past, I'm afraid that there won't be much of a present for you."

Naruto frowned, "Man, that's gloomy Gramps. Lighten up a little."

Hiruzen slapped his forehead, "Naruto, I thought with your title of Hokage on the line, you'd be serious but-"

"I know." Naruto suddenly interrupted, and his tone was serious indeed. "I know that this isn't just some joke. I know that you can't just cancel this bet either. If I don't come through, no ninja's gonna respect me because they'll think I can't keep my promises. I know I have to learn sealing."

Hiruzen blinked, surprised. Naruto had matured. He smiled softly; he knew Edward would be a good influence on the blond. "Very well, I shall teach you sealing."

Of course, he could have dedicated any number of other ninja to the job. After all, he was the Hokage. However, the council would have seen it as blantant favouritism, and to be honest Hiruzen did not trust any other ninja to sincerely teach Naruto. Plus... might it be selfish to say that he wanted to train the future Hokage this time, rather than let his student do it?

"Really? Great, thanks Gramps, I knew I could- eh? You'll teach me sealing?"

Hiruzen frowned lightly, narrowing his eyes at the blond. He knew Naruto didn't think much of his ninja skills –he had tried to keep it that way after all- but seriously, this was too much!

"Yes," Hiruzen said testily, "I am one the Hokage. Of course I know how to seal."

Naruto eyed Hiruzen warily, then, his face split into a wide grin.

Hiruzen smiled. It was nice to see that the boy trusted him so-

"This is great! If even you can learn sealing, that must mean that I can get it in no time, right?"

In the end, it took Naruto nine months.

Tsunade crossed his arms, looking critically at the boy in front of her. He had made prodigal progress over the past two years; eating up the texts she gave him like they were candy and easily coming to all the conclusions she wanted him to. He wasn't like Shizune, who although was the world to Tsunade, was suited to be an assistant. He was a true genius at medicine.

Edward shifted nervously, probably having figured that her stares never meant anything good. Hmpht, ungrateful brat.

Uncrossing her arms, Tsunade smiled, and drew Edward into a hug. Edward sucked in breath as his face was buried in her chest, and awkwardly hugged her back. Finally, she let him go, smile growing wider at the lovely shade of red he was turning.

"You could have killed me you know," Edward complained, rubbing his sides.

"Then you wouldn't have been my apprentice." Tsunade answered with a grin, "You should know by now how to channel your chakra through your body so that you won't be affected by my 'strength'. Edward, I'm going to miss you."

And she was. He had been a blessing to have around for the past two years, and he had cleared a lot of their debts with the luck hands he drew at poker. Tsunade had a suspicion that he cheated somehow, but hey she wouldn't accuse as long as the money was rolling in.

Edward blushed a deeper shade of red. Aw, how cute.

"You'd better become the head of the surgical wing at Konoha's hospital," Tsunade continued, ruffling his hair, "I'd hate to see all that talent go to waste."

Like any other medical ninja, Edward did have his specialty too. Medical ninjutsu wasn't just as simple as 'healing someone'; there were branches and specialties just like any other technique. Of course, Tsunade herself now was well balanced in all branches, but that was after decades of practice. Edward right now, while very good at poisons, chakra control, etc, had taken like a fish to water in surgery. Unlike the other branches of medical ninjutsu, surgery had no previous battle application, however...

"And don't use your special taijutsu if you can avoid it," Tsunade added for good measure. It was an amazing technique that Edward had created, and what he spent most of his two years doing. It was a scary technique. When Tsunade had first seen it, she had gotten shivers from its potential, its implications. It could change the ninja world. "And do not let anyone steal it."

"I know, I know," Edward muttered, "I created it only for missing nins, remember? Besides, even if someone stole the technique they'd need my skills to use it, right? Am I good to go, mother?"

He got a bonk on the head for that.

Edward winced, but he didn't utter a sound. Instead, he just made this sullen, pouty face, that clearly indicated that his head hurt but he was 'too man' to admit it. Shizune had once commented that it was the most adorable look in the world.

Tsunade sniffed; she would really miss the kid. "Must you go back?"

"Yes," Edward got an all too familiar glint in his eyes, the same glint he had gotten when he was questioned about whether he had ever killed anyone and then he thought up of that world-changing technique, "Now that I have enough power to... there's something I need to do back in Konoha."

"Ah yes," She muttered knowingly, "That 'something'."

That something which he had confessed to her a year and a half after becoming her apprentice. By then, it was too late to stop teaching him, as he'd already pretty much learned everything and just stuck around for more practice and tips on how to perfect his taijutsu. Somehow, the boy had gotten the delusion that learning how to fight with medical jutsus would help him on his stupid quest.

She'd tried to talk him out of it; they'd argued for hours. But, if it was one thing the apprentice was already better than the master at, it was stubbornness. In the end, he had convinced her, with a few hurtful but honest words about her brother and lover. They hadn't talked for a month after that.

Finally, Tsunade realized how stupid she was being, but she knew she was partially right. However, that was something Edward would have to discover for himself.

She ruffled his hair for the last time, "Just... don't get killed."

A/n: FYI, Naruto took nine months to master the BASICS. He's still got a long way until mastery. BUT, nine months to get the basics of sealing is still pretty impressive.

Wow, the sealing thing has gone on for far more time than I intended to. Sorry if it bored you, but I felt antsy leaving out any parts... so I added in a whole lot more than I originally planned to add. By the way, as you've all figured out by now, although this main characters thing says 'Edward&Itachi', really the main characters should be Edward, Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto. Unfortunately, they only give you two spaces, so I had to go with the two more predominant characters. If you hate Sasuke and Naruto, you should probably come back in Arc 3, because Arc 2's focus will be on those two (along with Edward of course).

Edward wasn't really in this chapter at all, but don't worry, the next chapter's all his!

p.s. I'm a little unsatisfied with Naruto's and Sasuke's reconciliation- I wrote it before I had the actual Uchiha Residence idea, so now Sasuke's thoughts don't seem to flow. Any suggestions?