Legend:
-Thoughts-
Narration
"Talking"
(With Certain Character or Scene Change)

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything relating to it, but I do own this plot!

I Always Knew

Chapter 4: A Stranger Enters Konoha

Five years to the day of Naruto's flight had passed in Konoha when two dark figures entered in the dead of night. They quickly made their way to Hokage Tower with eerie familiarity, as though they had lived there once before. Neither had been stopped and questioned until they entered the Hokage's Office where they were greeted by a blond woman with chocolate brown eyes. "Hokage-sama, it's been a long time. How have you been?" one of the figures inquired with obvious respect.

"Good now that you are here thank-you. I see that the years have improved your manners. Is that him?" the Hokage asked already knowing the answer -So, they've finally decided to come home-.

"Yes, would you be so kind as to allow him to return to the village with full ninja status and full pardon for any transgressions as per the original agreement?" the first figured inquired -I know this is just formality but I still feel nervous. I hope the agreement wasn't nulled just because of a change in power. The old man said that it was binding to all hokages past and future-.

"Of course, I can't hold it against either of you for why you left, but what about you? Don't you want to return as well?" she questioned back truly curious.

Both of the figures seemed to relax at her acceptance before the atmosphere tensed up once more. "I am not so sure of that as of yet. Would you allow me three weeks before I make my decision? I would like to see if anything has changed since I left to go get this bastard," the first figure requested as he tossed a playful insult at his companion, who showed no sign that he even heard.

"Very well. You may both return to your previous residents, neither of them has been touched since you left so everything should be as you left them," she informed them in dismissal.

"Thank-you Hokage-sama," the figures replied in unison before bowing and walking out the door.

The two figures walked slowly back to their homes in a companionable silence as they were weary from their long journey. On their way home they passed the Ninja Academy where they spotted a pink haired young woman. "I see you boys have finally decided to come home," she greeted them quietly with her back to them still facing the Academy, but her voice held no contempt for their choices that they had made long ago.

"Yeah, sorry it took so long for me to full-fill my promise Sakura, but this bastard was really hard to find once he got himself lost. He almost forgot about everything that we had worked so hard for to get him to where he was, but I got him here in the end and alive," the first figure explained as the second looked away in shame.

"Thank-you, Naruto, you kept your promise and that's all that matters, I don't care how long it took just that you're both back and safe," the girl turned around and the boys could see silent happy tears streaming down her face as she smiled and embraced Naruto, "I came here every night since you left, just waiting for the day that you would bring Sasuke back to me and at the same time hoping that you would stay. The village isn't the same without you Naruto, the people aren't the same; we need you. Hinata probably needs you more than anyone, since that day she's become a completely different person. In her mind you no longer exist, but I think in her heart you're still there so she ignores it completely. What did you do to her?" Sakura took a step back from him and took in both of their features -Neither of them has changed all that much since we were kids. Their features are more pronounced and their bodies are more toned, yes but like me they still look the same only older.-

At this bit of information the second figure, Sasuke, shot a curious glance at his companion. Naruto felt the older boy's glance and sighed before explaining himself -these two will just keep hounding me about it until I tell them so I might as well start now-, "I made her promise me one thing that day that I thought would be good for her. I thought that if she did that then she would be happy, but from what you're saying and not saying I gather she is more miserable than ever."

"She loves you, you dobe, she won't care about the damn Kyuubi. If you want her to stop being so miserable, just be with her already," Sasuke snarls at him -That idiot, he has no idea what he's doing when it comes to girls. Though I haven't been much help in that department he should've gone to Iruka-

"I know that, I've known that since the first time we met that she liked me and her feelings had only grown since then into love, but that's not what I'm worried about," Naruto responds.

"Then what else could it be? What could cause a dobe like you to hold back on possibly the only girl who can actually stand to be around you for more than five minutes?" Sasuke asked truly mystified.

"The village," Sakura replied bluntly for Naruto as she had already heard his argument before -It's the sad and undeniable truth no matter how you look at it, as if there was another way to look at it-.

"Huh?" Sasuke returns -What the hell does the village have to do with anything?-.

"He's worried that the village and the clans, especially the Hyuuga clan, will do the exact same things to her as they do to him on a daily basis. He doesn't want Hinata to ever go through that kind of rejection," she clarified and all Sasuke did was nod in understanding for he knew of the boy's past.

"Naruto I get that, but wouldn't the rejection of someone's first love be much harder to bare?" Sasuke asked looking sternly at the boy, his eyes demanding an answer.

"I never told her that I didn't feel the same I could never do that to her, but I just didn't want her to be even more rejected by her family than she already was. Sasuke, you remember how that was for you when Itachi betrayed you that day, don't you?" Naruto inquired seriously -this is the only way he'll come to understanding me-.

"I guess I see your point, I couldn't trust anyone for a while after that incident, but are you sure that you didn't just ruin her trust in everyone anyways?" Sasuke questioned him skeptically -Couldn't you have used a better way of dealing with this?-.

"How do you keep your faith, Naruto? You've had it so much worse than anyone I've known," Sakura asked.

"Just because.. I don't mean... Ahh! How do I explain this so that you understand?" Naruto questioned himself in frustration scratching the back of his head, then as he brought his hand down he let out a sigh and began again, "I know what I did was risky, but there wasn't any other way for me to get through to her. Hinata always had this- this inextinguishable hope that I would look her way and... I don't know be with her most likely, but that wasn't possible with Konoha's attitude towards me and she refused to see it. Hinata never saw all of their hate-filled glares, their ice cold words, she never saw any of that only me that's what kept me going, it was such a relief that someone saw only me and nothing else. However, that could get her..." -killed. It could get her killed because I hold Kyuubi and there are people, power-hungry people out there who would do anything to get a hold of his power-

Naruto turned his back on his teammates trying to regain control of his emotions, both of them understood what he had left unspoken. Sakura then spoke up turning his attention back on her, "Naruto every single villager knows of the Kyuubi inside of you, but what they don't know is your condition for staying. I wanted you to be able to make an uninfluenced decision by the villagers for staying, just know that I am hoping that you do."

"Thank-you. Sakura, why don't you stay with Sasuke tonight? By the sounds of things I'm going to need every second of sleep I can get and that will be impossible if I have to watch over him all night or listen to that prick babble the night away," he requested solemnly still not turning back to them -I need some time to sort things out to make a decision. Maybe I'll ask her this time-

"Sure no problem," she assured him -This isn't going well at all. I hope I did the right thing in telling him about Hinata, and that that doesn't get him too depressed. He won't be any good to anyone it he were like that, I hardly recognize him as it is, it's like he's a complete stranger now, he's just so much colder then when he left, it's the only thing that's really changed about him-.

"Good," he replied then turned around to Sasuke with a mischievous smile to tease him, "Now Sasuke, be a good boy for Sakura-chan here and maybe tomorrow I'll give you a special treat."

"Shut up dobe I'm not a little kid anymore," he growled in protest -He must be really upset to be teasing me like this, I can only imagine how hard this is for him and even then it's probably not even close-.

"Well you sure could have fooled me all these years, and you really shouldn't frown your face might get stuck like that. Night you two," Naruto grinned with false cheer before disappearing in a puff of smoke and revealed to the two of them that in the end they had been talking to a clone.

"That baka, he's always running off and leaving a clone in his place without anyone noticing and to make it even more frustrating he doesn't even use a diversion or any sort of cover he just does it in plain sight. How does he do it?" Sasuke questioned allowing frustration to seep into his voice.

"No one really knows, except maybe Hinata who was always watching him. That was how he ran away from Konoha without anyone even noticing that he was gone until it was too late," Sakura answered before walking to the Uchiha's home knowing that Sasuke would follow, which he immediately did.

-Well, at least that baka set things up so that I could be alone with Sakura tonight. This is the perfect opportunity to let her in on everything that's really been going on whether Naruto likes it or not- "Hey Sakura, why don't I lead?" Sasuke offered as he quickened his pace to catch up to Sakura and the lead the way to his abandoned home, the home that he hadn't seen in eight years.