AN: I noticed that almost a month has passed since I uploaded the first chapter, so here's another one. It's not for lack of writing; I'm actually working on many stories and doing request fics (some won't be uploaded here because they're too mature).
Thank you so much for the reviews so far, I assure you even though I don't always reply, I read every single one of them. Unbeta'd.
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2
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Hours after the Hyuuga girl left, he watched as a flustered, breathless, and obviously upset Shizune entered his room. Well, not exactly 'entered' so much as 'burst in like a bat out of hell'. His gaze followed her nervous scan of the room before coming to rest on his face. He tilted his head slightly.
"I'm still here," he remarked casually. He would have raised his arms in a helpless gesture if possible. He was in such a foul mood at this point he couldn't even be bothered to be amused by her antics.
She didn't seem too amused by his either. "What did you do to Hinata-chan?" When his response was to stare at her as if she were an idiot, she elaborated, "She didn't finish the rest of her shift and left without telling anyone if you were secured or not."
Oh, so the Hyuuga's first name was Hinata. Ah, her claims made sense now. Sasuke merely continued to stare at Shizune blankly, almost clueless, but his mind was working with this new information. So, he had gotten under the Hyuuga's skin? He couldn't help the small smirk that flickered. Good. She deserved it for speaking as if she knew or understood anything about him. In a childish thought, he hoped he had made her cry. The medical ninja caught it, however, and flashed him a dark look.
"Well, you're stuck with me until Ino's shift in thirty and you're scheduled for a bath before she gets here."
The dirty look she gave him did not bode well, he learned. Apparently, she was as sadistic as her master and decided to humiliate him by not only giving him a sponge bath but using the roughest materials she could find and scrubbing his skin raw. He couldn't even be certain she was working with 'medical detachment' as she made sure to skip no corners and he was sure she was enjoying seeing him wince in pain. The situation was utterly humiliating and degrading; all he could do was lie there, helpless, grinding his teeth and wishing he could just light her on fire. Black fire.
Tsunade's minion muttered the entire time. He only half listened to her as she mostly addressed her rather negative opinion of his actions and how he had, basically, emotionally scarred so many close to him and blah, blah, blah. It was the same nonsense Tsunade had spewed except on a longer, more exaggerated scale. Yes, he got it already; he had hurt Naruto and Sakura's delicate feelings. They mourned and craved after him for years while he eventually forgot their existence. Yes, he was heartless, cruel, unfeeling, all of those negative adjectives these hypocrites wanted to give him. Why was it his fault those two hadn't wanted to move on? It wasn't as if they had known each other their entire lives; it wasn't even as if he had shared any real deep secrets with them, especially Sakura. He had kept his distance on purpose, not wanting to get close, not wanting to establish any ties. When Itachi came and reminded him of what his true purpose was, he knew he had slipped up, knew he had done the exact thing he shouldn't have. He had allowed them to get close, just close enough to affect him. When he cut those ties, he never looked back, never allowed them to come back to haunt him. Was it really his fault that his past became a distant memory? Was it his fault that those two never got that through their heads?
As far as Konoha was concerned, yes. He would not regret his actions; he didn't care how many of the self-righteous bastards came in and tried to convince him otherwise. Sakura and Naruto's pain was their own.
Thankfully Shizune finished, even going so far as to give him a new gown, complete with pants. She wasn't so sadistic after all. His skin, however, was a bright red and practically throbbing from the 'scrub' she had given him. A very small part of him almost regretted chasing the Hyuuga away; she would have let him bathe himself. It would have soothed the burning humiliation and degradation of this entire situation. All of this was a huge proverbial slap in the face for him, more reminders that he was completely and utterly at the mercy of his captives. And yes, no matter what they thought, he saw them as the enemy and his jailors. No matter what his 'well meaning friends' wished for him, things would never be what they once were. He would never regard them the way they wanted. That bond, that friendship, was gone forever.
About five minutes after Shizune left a woman who Sasuke could only determine was Ino emerged. He had to admit he was surprised by her appearance, she looked much more womanly and serious than Sakura; she was taller, wider hips and larger bust. Her hair had been kept long and her bangs now covered one eye. To Sasuke, Sakura hadn't changed much in appearance, whereas Ino had done a complete 180. The change was so drastic in comparison he almost hadn't recognized her. He could only assume this was because he had rarely associated with Ino in the past, whereas Sakura had been his teammate. A huge grin graced her pretty features, her blue eyes focusing on him. He watched numbly as her cheeks heated in a soft blush.
"…Ino…?" it sounded like a question. It mostly was.
"Sasuke-kun!" she exclaimed. Apparently the fact that he remembered her name all she needed to bound forward and slam her body into his, her arms wrapping around his neck. Sasuke's breath left in a rush and he raised his head so that her head wouldn't slam into his face, unable to move to push her off of him. He noticed that she smelled of roses and hairspray before she pulled away from him, tears in her eyes.
And then she slapped him.
"That was for Sakura-chan!" she snapped but he only barely heard her over the roaring in his ears, fighting down the urge to want to attack her out of instinct. Instead a muscle in his jaw twitched and dark eyes snapped up at her. If looks could kill.
She didn't at all look apologetic. "I still love you Sasuke-kun, but you're an asshole." She wiped at her face then, a myriad of emotions emerging. "I'm so glad you're alive, I can hardly believe I'm looking at you…"
Initially, Sasuke believed that Ino would not be a candidate to manipulate into helping him escape. Had she not slapped him, he would have assumed that she was still blindly loyal to him and use her fangirl crush to his advantage. With that slap and her proclamation towards Sakura, however, he realized where her true loyalties laid.
He changed his mind shortly after when she continued to speak and treat him. For some reason she still held her fascination over him with those old childish claims of being in love. It was really difficult for him to understand it, he had never even given Ino the time of day, what was she holding onto all these years? At least Sakura had an excuse; the two of them had been teammates. He had shown her a moment of weakness before he had left, thanking her for everything. At the time, he had meant it. Sakura had Naruto had shown him a possible life he could have lived; one where he would have been happy, just the three of them. It had been good while he had embraced it, he wouldn't lie. He held no such ties with Ino, however, so was she really in love with him or with an idea of him? Either way, if he worked on her perhaps he could convince her to break those ties with Sakura once more, promising her a future with him. Cliché, cheesy, morally wrong, yes. Potential ticket to freedom? Completely worth it.
As Ino spent the next five hours with him, he remained silent through her prattling, either half listening or not at all. He couldn't manipulate a complete stranger; they'd be too terrified of him and much too wary. They had robbed him of his bloodline limit, so all he could rely on was raw skill for escape ideas. Anyone who had considered themselves 'close' to him would do everything they could to keep him around. People like Shikamaru, who didn't care either way, were too intelligent to be manipulated. The more he went through the list of prospects, the bleaker his chances seemed. He didn't let himself become discouraged; he would leave this place or die trying; all it meant is that it would take a very long time to accomplish his goals. He wasn't completely impatient, he had trained for years to defeat Itachi; he could wait if he had to. So far there was Ino as a potential, but he would have to be careful. Sometimes the easiest looking route wasn't always so easy.
Sasuke eventually decided that escaping would be his new goal in life. He had to set one; it was either that or go insane without a goal or purpose. If he could not live for revenge, he would live for freedom. After that he would set another goal, but trying to escape Konoha was good enough for now. Thinking of it like that made the prospects look a little less bleak. He would wear down potential people bit by bit; do whatever he needed to do to get people's guards down. It would require lying, pretending to accept his new life until they were convinced. He had to be careful, it couldn't be sudden or they'd get suspicious. He'd wait a few months, maybe even a year, to start to 'open up' again. With that decided he put it on the backburner. For now, he had his role to play.
He didn't recall Ino leaving, only that one moment she was in the room chattering away and the next there was complete silence. Blinking, he even realized that his pillows seemed a bit fluffier and realized she must have changed them. Even the top sheets seemed crisper. Had he really been out of it? The Uchiha had to admit that with the drugs they were pumping into him he tended to get lost within himself but he should have noticed her being that close to him. Hm.
His eyes slid up at the sound of his door closing once more. It was frustrating not having a clock in this room, he couldn't determine the passage of time. He discovered that shifts went in intervals of hours but he hadn't yet figured out how many hours exactly that was. The male that came in was not one he recognized and wore standard scrubs of a medical nin. Sasuke took that time to ask him some idle questions and while he had discovered only little by word of mouth, a few days of observation told him much.
The Uchiha learned overall that shifts were in five hour intervals. The nurses were not required to watch him around the clock inside the room but were required to be in the vicinity in case he needed anything or in case something happened. Every hour they were required to come and check his vitals and ensure that the pain medication was flowing through the IV. He had a hint that the pain medication was also the reason he was having a hard time focusing on things around him at times, drifting in and out of his thoughts. All of it was a tad annoying and he was sure there was much more he didn't know or understand. He did not enjoy being at that sort of disadvantage when it came to his body.
After that more nurses he didn't recognize came in for shifts and he learned through the rumor mill that Tsunade expected Sasuke to be ready for release within another week or so. For the most part his injuries were healed and his heart would be fine if not a bit scarred. It might have been part of Naruto's plan for Sasuke not to really die, but that hadn't stopped him from making the blow lethal. Surprising, as Tsunade told him he had missed Naruto's heart by inches. Not that the chidori required him to make a direct blow, inches was good enough; it was the principle of the matter.
So, if what the nurses were saying was true and by his own estimation, by the time Naruto and Sakura entered his room a total of almost forty hours had passed starting from when he had first opened his eyes. By then he had already been fed and used the facilities, although he felt a little out of it from the drugs. His vision was only slightly unfocused as the couple entered, eyes bright yet nervous and wary. Despite the dizzy sensation he still managed to keep his head raised. His eyes narrowing was only an added benefit, they didn't need to know he was scowling because of his lack of vision.
Naruto entered first, clad in a strange long black jacket with orange flames at the bottom. He had let his hair grow out a bit more making him look oddly like someone he had seen before but the name and significance escaped him. Naruto was still shorter than him but taller than Sakura. A strange necklace hung from Naruto's neck but other than that, he wore the same black pants and shirt as always. Sakura's hair was also growing again, hanging down to her lower neck instead of at her chin. She stood a bit behind Naruto, her face a mixture between guilt, sadness, excitement, and caution. As if needing the reassurance as well as making an obvious statement to Sasuke, the pink-haired woman reached out and took Naruto's hand. The blonde didn't look back at her although his face softened and he squeezed Sakura's ungloved hand. Sakura, however, made sure to meet his gaze as Naruto's grip tightened, as if to say 'this is what you could have had.'
Sasuke's return gaze was something along the lines of 'I never wanted it in the first place'. That did make her turn her gaze away and he felt a bit better about himself at her pained expression. Had he ever wanted Sakura? He had thought she was annoying and a worthless member of the team for quite some time. Although she had been easier to deal with than Naruto, her uselessness and narrow-minded views had grated on his nerves. In addition, Naruto had made it more than obvious he was in love with Sakura, a situation Sasuke had never wanted to get involved in. The last thing a team needed was a hopeless love triangle to distract them from important missions; at least, that was what he had thought at the time. So, he had valued her friendship and companionship. He had admired the fact that she had started to try more to become stronger instead of depend on the two of them. Yes, he had even thought she was pretty. Had he ever wanted to date her? No. It was too easy to see the irony of the situation; Naruto pining after Sakura and being rejected while Sakura went to Sasuke in the exact same manner. Many times he had thought the two of them deserved each other and was not surprised to see them together now. Maybe now that they were together they'd finally move on and stop pining over him like two whiny puppies. One could only hope.
"Sasuke," Naruto began, sliding his hand from Sakura's to close the distance and face him. Sasuke hated it, but he had to tilt his head so he could look up, look up, at Naruto. "Told ya I'd get ya back didn't I?" His smile was as nervous as his voice and Sasuke could only glare up at him in response.
"Sakura," he began after a moment, keeping his gaze on Naruto, "Tell me, did this idiot boyfriend of yours tell you he purposefully tried to throw his life away because he knew you'd come to heal me first?"
One could have cut the tension with a kunai, it was that thick. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sakura stiffen and gasp. Oh, Naruto hadn't told her then? Well, he had officially guaranteed Naruto a future ass kicking from Sakura. Today was starting to look up. He was sure she still had a mean left hook.
Naruto's expression tightened, hardened even, and there was a flash of pain and even…regret there?
"Sakura-chan didn't heal you first Sasuke." The blonde's voice was quiet, solemn. Even Sasuke couldn't hide his surprise at that proclamation. "She stopped the bleeding for me and when backup arrived she went to treat you while Hina-chan and Ino continued to treat me."
"It took her long enough to choose." was Sasuke's response. Sakura wasn't fully over him, he could tell that, but that bit of information let him know that she had finally moved on. He did look at her then, taking in how the color had drained out of her face and her fingers shook as they covered her mouth, understanding the severity of what Naruto had tried to do and of her own actions. Naruto had expected Sakura, who had loved Sasuke for as long as she could remember, to save him first and to get to Naruto after. What the pain and regret was there for he wasn't entirely sure.
The next look Sasuke got was confusing to him. "You…you really never loved Sakura-chan…did you?" Naruto looked as if he were pleading. What did this idiot want him to say? Why were they asking him these questions?
"No." No hesitation. "We were twelve, idiot, what do you think? I had other things, better things on my mind. You two were comrades, friends, nothing more."
To Sakura's credit, she didn't slump or drop to her knees as if he had punched her in the gut. She merely closed her eyes, sighed sadly, and walked over to join Naruto. When her green gaze met his next, she seemed closed off, distant. Just as well, she needed to face reality. They had been kids back then and then he had cut ties, there had been no room in his heart for love then and there wasn't now. The fact that she had held onto it for so long, still held onto it, was ridiculous.
"Well," Naruto began, cutting into the silence "I think the other villages will let us keep ya, I'm still hearing from them. Granny told me ya think I'll put you in the slammer…I wouldn't have gone through the trouble to bring ya home to just lock ya up," He shrugged "I got plans."
"What sort of plans?" Sasuke wanted to know.
Naruto went and did that annoying scratching his head thing and looked sheepish. How the hell was this joker Hokage? "I can't tell ya just yet. S'surprise."
"You're kidding." No really, he was joking. What, did Naruto think this was a vacation for him? He was trapped here, a prisoner, and Naruto was talking as if he had gotten him a fucking present or something. "Don't screw with me Uzumaki."
Sakura moved to say something but Naruto moved to block her way "Look, I know this sucks but I had to do it this way okay? They wanted you dead Sasuke, I couldn't do that-"
"And of course you couldn't ask me what I wanted right?" There it was, that anger again. "What if I told you I had wanted to die that day? What if I told you that I'd rather die than be stuck here for the rest of my life, stuck in the place where my family was slaughtered by this village's orders?" He was practically shouting now, ignoring the burning pain in his chest, ignored how difficult it was to continue focusing on them.
The Hokage looked as if he had been slapped "You don't mean that…"
"Fuck you; you don't know anything about me," Sasuke snarled. "All the two of you idiots could think about were yourselves, your memories of me, how much you wanted them back. You didn't give a damn about whether or not I wanted to come back; you would convince me of the 'error' of my ways. Was that the thought you two had in your brains? 'If we get him back, we can make it better, we'll have our team back, we can be happy again'; never mind if I was happy or not in the process, it was all about what you wanted. Well, I'll make it clear for you so that there's no confusion in the future: I didn't want to come back. I don't want to be here. I don't regret anything I've done, that includes leaving. I'm a prisoner here, forced to be here against my will because you two couldn't get over the fact that I had moved on without you. I don't want to have anything to do with either one of you and things will not go back to the way they were." his eyes narrowed and a cruel smile slowly emerged. "You wanted me, you got me, whether I like it or not. Congratulations, mission complete. Now get the hell out of my room, the sight of you two makes me sick."
The two left shortly after, Naruto claiming that he'd return and that Sasuke would eventually 'understand', he'd make sure of it. The idiot was tenacious, that was for sure. Sakura didn't say anything at all; she hadn't needed to. Those expressions of hers had spoken volumes. He had to admit he felt a lot better having gotten that all out of his system, and he fell into a fitful sleep shortly thereafter.
He didn't see Naruto again. Sakura, as one of the nurses who was familiar with the seals on his arms, appeared over the next few weeks. They spoke little if at all; Sakura would come in, check his vitals, see to his needs and then leave. If anything, she was like one of the regular nurses, except for the obvious tension between them. Often Sakura would open her mouth as if she wanted to say something, think better of it and continue with her work. The girl was brooding really, going over his words over and over - at least, that's what he was assuming - and figuring out what she wanted to do with that information before finally addressing him with whatever speech he knew was going to be coming.
One person he did not see again was the Hyuuga, which only struck him at odd times and then was quickly dismissed. Perhaps he had overestimated her after all if she ran away after that one encounter. If he was never going to see her again then he wasn't going to worry about her being an immediate threat to him any longer. Instead he focused on healing and was pretty much healthy and good to be released around the time the rumor mill had predicted. The only reason he was still on hold had to do with whatever 'surprise' Naruto had in store for him. Another three weeks had gone by before he heard any further word. It came in the form of Shikamaru Nara, walking inside of his room with a rather bored expression on his face, Ino behind him.
By this point, Sasuke felt as bored as Shikamaru looked. Being healthy but unable to leave the hospital or do anything unless someone released his seals was mind numbing. When Ino fully entered the room she made the hand signs he had grown familiar with concerning his seals. He didn't even jerk this time when movement was back under his control, he merely got out of bed and stood, regarding them.
Shikamaru tossed a pile on the bed. Clothing. "I've been assigned to take you to where you'll be staying," he drawled. Sasuke's hand moved over the pale clothing and looked back at Shikamaru, keeping his expression blank. Shikamaru might look lazy but there was a sharpness to those eyes of his that could not be ignored.
"You're being released Sasuke-kun!" Ino chimed in, grinning broadly "Naruto finally got the other villages to keep you for good, so long as we…"
"Ino," Shikamaru warned and the blonde clamped her mouth shut and shot him an apologetic smile. The Nara ignored it.
"Look, just get dressed. I'm only escorting you because I can manipulate your shadow. They don't want you trying anything funny. Naruto is there and he'll explain your situation then." He sounded as if he wanted to do anything but escort Sasuke anywhere. "Ino is my backup in case that fails. I promised Chouji lunch today so don't try anything that'll make my job harder than it already is."
"Whatever," was Sasuke's response. With that, Ino quickly, but carefully, removed his IV and shut down all the machines keeping track of his vitals. With a smile and a wink he was eventually left alone to dress. The outfit given was simple, dark blue baggy pants and a long sleeved robe-type bone white top which rested at the hips. Even the sandals were standard issue blue. He used bandages to taper off the pants at the ankles, similar to what he remembered Kakashi doing, and wrapped up his forehead, hiding the curse mark. They had given him only five minutes, he had dressed in three.
As promised, Shikamaru guided Sasuke through the village using his shadow manipulation, Ino right behind him in case she would need to take over his body should that fail. He looked like a prisoner heading to his jail as he walked in-between them, watching as the villagers, some he recognized, some he didn't, stared at him in shock and wonder. Many looked at him in fear, some of the children had even decided to throw rocks at him before Ino ushered them away and scolded parents for not keeping better control over them. For the most part, he ignored it, looking straight ahead, head held high. These people would see nothing but pride for him, he had done nothing wrong. They were the enemies, the criminals.
A lot had changed. Most of the reconstruction here had been done by memory and there were things he found familiar, such as the Yamanaka flower shop and Ichiraku Ramen. Many of the buildings looked a little too fresh, a little too new. Briefly, he wondered if they had bothered to reconstruct the Uchiha territory or if it was something else now. The thought of his home being turned into a business district did little to improve his foul mood.
While he hadn't been around Hyuuga territory much, he knew it when he saw it. There was something noble and regal about the area, as if they knew they were held in high regard and prestigious. The entire place screamed wealth and power. They didn't go near the main compound, instead they moved inside and almost back out again, turning eventually and going deep inside a little mini bamboo forest the grounds boasted of. The clearing they reached was manmade, he could see the freshly cut stalks that marked the border of the area. There rested a house, recently built from what he could tell, in the same traditional style as the other Hyuuga homes. It was much smaller; however, he guessed maybe a two bedroom at best. He noticed a few figures in the distance hiding in the forest. ANBU maybe? With all the precautions they were taking he didn't put it past them. As they approached the house Sasuke found his shadow so abruptly released he almost collided into Shikamaru.
"Naruto's inside…" the chuunin began but was cut off as the Hokage stormed out of the house, the largest, goofiest grin on his tanned face.
"Sasuke!" he greeted, as if the two of them hadn't had the conversation of a few weeks back and they were just the best of friends again. Sasuke snorted and crossed his arms, looking away.
Of course, this did not deter Naruto. "Hey, heyhey, you won't believe how cool this place is!" he spoke in a rush, clapping his hand on Sasuke's arm. When the raven-haired male just stared at him with open hostility he turned his back and began to walk back towards the house.
"C'mon bastard, it's definitely better than jail okay? Just take a look inside!" his arm waved as he moved to walk back inside the house again. The door slid open at the same time Naruto reached out to open it and he staggered a bit. Sasuke heard a gasp and someone exclaim "Naruto-kun!" before the blonde side stepped, laughing and putting a hand behind his head at the almost near collision.
"Haha, sorry Hinata, Sasuke got here and I got excited."
To Sasuke's surprise the Hyuuga girl was the one at the door, although her attire was different. Instead of her normal shinobi clothing she wore a pale violet kimono with a dark blue obi. The kimono itself held no real design, it looked like everyday wear. She ducked her head at Naruto's smile, a blush emerging on her pale face, nervously tucking some hair behind her ear. Those almost eerie pale eyes connected with his dark gaze and she blinked. Her hand moved to her face almost in a thoughtful manner and he couldn't shake the impression that she looked like a doll.
She did not, however, look ashamed, scared, upset, or anything that would denote that she held ill feelings about their encounter. That struck him as odd, hadn't Shizune said that Hinata had practically run off afterwards? That would mean that she should be looking anything but curious right?
"Uchiha-san is here?" she asked in that quiet voice of hers, her gaze flicking back to Naruto, "Um, the futon and everything is ready for him so…"
"Great!" the Hokage slapped Hinata on the back and she jerked forward, eyes wide in surprise. It took her a brief second to regain her balance and shoot him a shaky but kind smile. "You're awesome Hinata, taking on this project on such short notice. Sorry ya missed hours at the hospital."
"It's okay," she said. As Sasuke walked forward, of his own violation, he watched Hinata carefully. The way she fidgeted slightly around Naruto, the small looks of longing mixed in with resolution and resignation. She had difficulty meeting Naruto's gaze at times and Sasuke was able to determine a few things by such a brief encounter.
One, Hyuuga Hinata was in love with Naruto. Made sense, the girl had practically stalked the current Hokage when they were kids. Two, she hadn't 'run away' as he had initially thought, she had been pulled aside to work on this 'housing project' for him. This explained her reaction to him. Three, Naruto was doing a really good job of ignoring the fact that Hinata was in love with him, meaning he knew Hinata's feelings. Naruto hadn't changed that much to the point that Sasuke couldn't read the idiot's expressions. Whenever Hinata looked up at him Sasuke could see the hint of sadness in Naruto's eyes, borderline pity even. The way he acted around Hinata was so friendly it was almost forced, the blonde's movements were slightly jerky, almost as if he didn't exactly know what to do about her, afraid she'd break at any moment. Oh, they looked normal enough but Sasuke knew better. Something had happened between these two, something recent and very raw. Something to use to his advantage later?
Habit had him taking off his sandals before he walked up the stairs, bare feet enjoying the feel of the wood beneath him. It felt like home, his old home, and for some reason that didn't bother him nearly as much as he thought it would. Perhaps because even though those memories had been damaged by his brother, he no longer hated Itachi. It was easier to remember the good times now that they weren't clouded with 'the betrayal'.
"This explains why you never came back," He remarked to her, completely ignoring Naruto. He had told that idiot he wanted nothing to do with him, so it was time to play the part. He watched her response carefully, the small nod of her head, the way she didn't look away from him as she did Naruto, the small step back she took when he got too close. Curious, he decided to just stare at her, wondering if she'd squirm away and hurry back into the house like a mouse to its hole. To her credit, she continued to meet his gaze although she did look a bit uncomfortable. Amusement crept upon him when he saw curiosity float around in there as well.
"Oy!" Naruto practically yelled in his ear and Sasuke snapped his gaze over, eyes narrowing at the Hokage's squinty eyed glare. "Don't ignore me bastard! So so, what ya think? It's all yours, pretty sweet huh?"
"It's still a prison," the Uchiha remarked dryly before turning back to Hinata. "You. Hyuuga. You're in the way."
Hinata moved out of the way automatically before she registered his words, although it was too late by then and he was already inside. He could feel eyes on him as he looked around. The place was small and simple. The flooring was all tatami and it held the fresh scent of it in the air. It was a mix of modern and traditional, the kitchen was to his right and in a corner, he was sure that wasn't covered with tatami but it was blocked off to the point where he couldn't see. There was a hallway to the left and the right of him and the back wall facing the outside was all rice paper screening. There was a kotatsu and cushions sitting in what he believed to be a dining room and a small sofa and recliner off to the left corner where a small television sat. Beyond that there were no real decorations, another reminder that this was not a 'home' but rather a prison.
Further exploration revealed a rather spacious bath, a toilet room, a bedroom which held a low sitting desk, a futon and a small dresser. The second bedroom was exactly the same. The dining room led out to the back yard. This, he was a little impressed with. While the front wasn't so spacious the back held just enough room for a good sparring session. There were even training dummies. Sasuke couldn't help the small smile that emerged; he had been sitting in a hospital for six weeks, he knew he was out of practice and if he was going to eventually get out of here he'd need to stay in shape. The fact that they allowed him this small luxury did not make him forget about the seals, which he pointed out to Naruto when the other male joined him outside.
"We're getting rid of those," he remarked "The one on your forehead though…we can't get rid of that. Once it's there it stays," he even looked apologetic. "All we can do is 'loosen' it up so you can use the Sharingan."
"And when will that be?"
"When ya decide to be one of us again." Naruto's expression was stern and dead serious "That's the deal Sasuke. You get your Sharingan back when ya become a Konoha ninja again."
"I'd rather die."
The Hokage sighed and shook his head. He didn't seem discouraged; he looked more as if he were exasperated from dealing with a stubborn child. That somewhat pissed Sasuke off.
"What's the catch?" no sense in putting off the inevitable.
"Someone who can activate the seals will be with you at all times." This time it was the Hyuuga who interjected, making Sasuke turn and blink in slight surprise. When had she gotten behind him? "Um, it'll be a weekly rotation, that's what the other room is for. We'll be watching over you and seeing to your needs. If after a year you behave, it was agreed that the non-stop watch would break off into weeks. One week someone will be here, the next week you'll be on your own."
"And I'll be visiting when I can," Naruto chimed in, "And so will Sakura-chan. So don't think you've gotten rid of us yet."
He wanted to roll his eyes. Such a situation would have only happened in his dreams, he was sure. Dismissing Naruto's comment, he focused on the Hyuuga girl's words. One guard per week for the entire week. He was sure that there'd be guards stationed in the area as well, just in case. To top it off, they put him in Hyuuga territory; tracking him would only be so simple should he try to escape. They had really been thorough about this, he was impressed. So in short, escape would be extremely difficult even if he were able to get someone to help him. If he could just get that person to release the other seals and allow him to activate his Sharingan in addition to helping him escape it'd increase his chances to well over fifty percent. A Hyuuga would be ideal, a Hyuuga from the main house would be outstanding. Who better to deal with Hyuuga than a Hyuuga?
Patience was key here. He was sure they'd send Hyuuga to watch over him, he'd just have to bide his time and make it work. If they sent him a female near his age that'd be even better; Sasuke hated using the fact that women found him attractive to his advantage but as a shinobi, but as Orochimaru's formal pupil, he knew and understood the art of seduction and manipulation. Hated it, hated the fact that it had been Orochimaru and Kabuto who had taught it to him, but it would come in handy now, he was sure of it. He could almost hear Orochimaru giggling right now. Sasuke had always scorned and dismissed that sort of training, claiming he'd never ever need it. The irony of this situation didn't escape him.
"So who is first?" he asked, walking back inside and not looking to see if they'd follow. He knew they would.
"Um, I am."
Stopping abruptly, he waited just a second for her to collide into his back with a squeak and a muffled apology before turning to face her. No, no good. Although she fit the requirements, she was in love with Naruto and had been for years. He wasn't going to get through to her. Even if he could seduce her, which he was fairly certain he could considering the circumstances between her and Naruto and how easily he could take advantage of it, she definitely remained faithful to the idiot and the idiot wanted him to stay no matter what. Pointless.
Well, at least it wasn't Sakura with her awkward stares and tense moments and it wasn't Ino still holding her little fanboy crush on him. He figured the Hyuuga would be more tolerable company; she was quiet and would probably be unobtrusive in her observations of him. She wasn't one of his fangirls, to his joy and regret – he couldn't manipulate her so easily- so he wouldn't have to worry about ignoring lustful looks and hearing pining sighs. Out of all the females he could have gotten for his first week, and despite the fact that he was still somewhat pissed at her for her self-righteousness earlier, she wasn't so bad.
"I hope your cooking is better than Karin's," was all he said as he turned his back from her and headed to his new 'bedroom'.