Edited: 7/13/12

Happy New Year!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its Characters.

Strange: Part 2

Neji didn't eat the food despite Naruto coaxing him to take it. And it was not hard to see why Naruto's efforts failed. When the three of them entered the room, Neji barley acknowledged them from the front of the table where he was too engrossed in his writing to pay complete attention to them.

Quietly, Sakura, Naruto, and Sai – they had run into him on the roof tops on their way to headquarters – had taken seats around the table and watched their captain work.

Neji was not his usual pristine self. His brown hair was – instead of being tied into a low ponytail - loose and getting on his way. His eyes were blood shot and had dark circles under them. It was obvious their captain did not heed his own order.

Sakura took a piece of tamagoyaki, too hungry to show some restrain. Not having anyone to talk to – Naruto was preoccupied with his own breakfast and Sai was pointedly ignoring them – Sakura had nothing better to do but look around the room. She had to admit she was impressed by the resources the ANBU provided to its members.

The small room they were using was in the tactics wing of the ANBU headquarters. It was the room assigned to their unit (each unit was given their own room). It was furnished with a table and chairs, white board, a medium size bookcase containing jutsu and strategy books, and a mini-fridge. The walls were covered with maps of each country and pictures of the ten most wanted Shinobi. Sakura avoided the picture of Criminal Number Two.

"Finished", Neji's satisfied voice was heard. He rose from his seat, stretched his stiff muscles, and began pacing, organizing his thoughts into what he wanted to say first. After a minute, he figured he should just start with what had been hunting him for the past two days.

In Sakura's opinion, Neji would benefit from not being too blunt.

"We are the ridicule of this village", he began; his voice hard and unfaltering. "We were the ones given the chance to bring back peace and honor to this village, and we blew it. No – don't interrupt me, Naruto – you all know it's true. We failed, but –" he looked to each of his subordinate's eyes and felt the heat of determination blazing in his eyes, "we can learn from our mistakes. And this time, we will succeed."

Neji settled the piece of paper in front of him. Sakura edge over her seat to get a better look, but she couldn't make out what the neat, elegant writing said.

"We will succeed by preparing for the unexpected and using the best this team has to offer", he threw a look at Naruto, who was slurping his ramen. Sensing all eyes on him, Naruto slurped the last of his ramen before giving a nervous chuckle.

Neji gave one last reprimanding look at Naruto before continuing, "I believe that I had it right when I agreed to follow Naruto's suggestion of dividing us into pairs. You see, we have to take Madara into account. He is not going to stay at bay, knowing Sasuke is in danger."

"So you're suggesting we divide into pairs again?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, and this is how it will go", he said, tapping the paper with a finger. "We don't know under what conditions and exactly where we will confront Sasuke once we arrive at his headquarters, but what I do know is that to kill Sasuke we need to stall Madara."

"Just stalling", Sai stated his dark-eyes bright with understanding.

With a frustrated exhale, Neji said: "I've been thinking about it all night, and I can't think of how to kill Madara. His power and our power are at another playing field. Killing him will take more than the four of us.

Sakura's features changed into a thoughtful expression as she crossed her arms. Madara could not be immortal, could he? There had to be something they were overlooking.

"Everyone has a weakness, even Madara" Inner Sakura reminded her. "You just need to think of what that weakness is."

Neji cleared his throat and continued: "But our target is not Madara. So the plan will go as follows. We need those with the greatest amount of stamina to hold him off while the fastest go after Sasuke. But most importantly, what we need is bait."

Immediately, Sakura thought of the perfect bait and turned her head to his direction. Naruto had stopped eating and was looking down at his hands expressionlessly.

"I know is dangerous, Naruto but you and I will take on Madara", Neji said calmly. Sakura waited for Naruto to argue, but the blonde ninja remained uncharacteristically quiet.

Waiting for any complaints from his team, Neji paused but once none came, he turned to Sakura and Sai. "It's all on you two. It was not the easiest decision. But, combined, you are strong and fast enough to handle Sasuke. You will win, especially if you use your shield Sakura."

"We can?" Sakura wanted to know. Her confidence level plummeted the moment Neji started talking.

Neji nodded, picking up his pen, "You said that it stopped the chidori, Sasuke's favorite technique."

"Yes, but my shield has not been perfected", Sakura admitted, kicking herself for not using the free time she had to work on it. "And Uchiha was not at full power last time. There was something off about him", she said as she recalled his labored breathing and the cataract in his eyes, so miniature she could not rule out the possibility it was dust. She told the group as much.

Neji considered this and when he spoke, he did so slowly as if remembering something from long ago. "I heard a tale once about Madara. It was said that he and his brother gained the mangekyō, but it was Madara who inevitably went blind because he over used the power. He had no choice but to take his brothers."

"And you think that Uchiha is going through the same situation and will take Itachi's" Sakura concluded, feeling a little sick to her stomach.

"That's exactly what I think."

"How? Itachi is dead." That was Naruto who looked pale and was gripping the edge of the table with his hands.

"I don't know how. But remember this, his body was never found. Madara could be preserving it, waiting for the right time to give the eyes to Sasuke. Now, I don't know Sasuke as well as you two, but I know him well enough to say he hates losing. He will feel the urge to take his brother's eyes."

Somberly, Naruto and Sakura agreed. Sasuke hated to lose, and in his mind, he saw what happened as loosing. And defeat always prompted Sasuke to seek more power.

"For this reason, it's imperative we consider this thoroughly. Sakura, how exactly does that shield of yours work?"

With all eyes on her again, Sakura proceeded to describe the mechanisms of her shield. She told them that the way it worked was she concentrated a calculated amount of chakra in her palms while visualizing the form her shield will take. As the chakra begins to radiate, it spreads, taking the visualized form. Depending on Sakura's intentions, the shield could be small or large. She concluded by telling them that the longest period of time she managed to maintain her shield was ten seconds, by which time her shield came down.

"Why don't you add more chakra to keep it going?" Sai suggested, speaking to her for the first time in hours.

Blushing, Sakura murmured it was not the chakra but her stamina that was the problem.

Neji scribbled what Sakura had said on his paper.

"Unbelievable", Shikamaru said, slumping onto the chair before the Hokage's desk. His face showed the disbelief he felt from hearing what the child had said to them hours ago. Kakashi could not blame him. It was a lot to take in and swallow. Fortunately for Kakashi, he had already gone through the process.

"But it's an explanation of why that tree reacted the way it did. You did research what asked you to research?" Kakashi asked, leaning forward, eager to hear if his suspicions were true.

"I did. But let me tell you it was a pain getting the librarian to let me touch the book. You would have thought I was planning to steal the thing from the surveillance I received" Shikamaru complained.

"One cannot be too careful when it comes to a diary written by Sage of the Sixth Paths", Kakashi simply said and then laughed. He too had his encounters with the irritable librarian who tended to be too over protective of the library's books.

Shikamaru scoffed at being laughed at for his misfortunes. He had yet to ask what the Hokage was planning to do with the information they acquired from the boy. It had been over an hour since the left they hospital. They would have left sooner, but they waited until the child fell asleep since he refused to part from the Hokage. In the mean time, they passed the time asking the boy questions about his life, careful not to make him suspicious to the fact they were not the people he thought them to be.

Shikamaru shook his head in disbelief one more time, recalling all he learned. It all made him his head spin. And to be honest, he found the situation too troublesome. If he had the option, he would ignore it. It was a pity Kakashi was in charge. He shifted his wary eyes to the Hokage; he had a feeling the older man has planning to do something very foolish and downright stupid.

Kakashi sensed Shikamaru's eyes on him. The young Shinobi probably wanted to know what he was planning to do now. But really, there was nothing much he could do. The decision had already been made for him.

"You know, I have a dept to repay", Kakashi said, wanting Shikamaru to understand his reasons. "It was years ago; a teammate gave his life to save mine and our friend's."

"So by saving Sasuke, you are repaying your friend?" Shikamaru stated. "Letting personal matters get in the way of your duty is not something a Hokage should allow."

Kakashi had to chuckle at that.

"You are young, Shikamaru, but I think you have discovered the answer to that one already", he said, thinking about Shikamaru's dead sensei and how the Shinobi had risked his life and that of his team mates to avenge their mentor's death. "Everything we do is personal to some degree or another."

Shikamaru gave a tired sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "You do realize this will bring all kinds of trouble? The Alliance won't allow it. The Kage's are all dead set on beheading Sasuke. To go against them means a declaration of war from Konoha, not to mention no one in this village will risk their lives for a criminal."

"Oh, I can think of two or three people who will."

Shikamaru was not fully convinced. Kakashi could see it.

"So you are really going to do this?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes", he said. "And I will start by convincing the one who will carry out my plan."

Kakashi rose from his desk and crossed the room to open the door. Outside, pacing from one side to another was an anxious Sakura. She was muttering to herself, but her words were too fast and low for Kakashi to know what she was saying.

"What are you doing, Sakura?"

The girl stopped and took in the stares she was getting.

"Exercise", she said in a hurry.

"Is that so? Well, come in", Kakashi opened the door wider to let the girl in. "Naruto is not around is he?" As much as it pained him to do it, he needed to keep the blonde in the shadows for now if his plan was to succeed. "Have you seen the boy?"

Sakura shook her head. "I thought it was best if I didn't."

"Poor little guy. He was hoping you would come by while he was awake."

A tender smile lit up Sakura's face; one that was rarely seen on the kunoichi. It was a reassurance that what Kakashi was planning to do was the right thing to do.

"Kakashi-sensei, is the boy an Uchiha?" Sakura said, getting straight to the point and hesitating at the last word.

"He is", he confirmed.

"Then… he is Itachi's son", Sakura stated, not considering that there could be another father.

Kakashi shared a look with Shikamaru before answering. The hard part of his plan was coming up. The explanation. This was going to difficult, especially with Sakura being of the rational kind.

"No. He's not Itachi's."

Sakura frowned and slowly found her voice. "Madara's then?"

"No, Sakura", he said adding the truth at the end. "He's Sasuke's."

As fast as lighting, Sakura whirled around. Her eyes wide with shock. Then a thought occurred to her that made her eyebrows knit together. Her voice was unsteady as she said: "Sensei, this boy looks around five. It's impossible."

"Nothing is impossible in this world. There are things that exist beyond reason and logic. The existence of the tail demons is an example."

Sakura looked like she was about to argue back, but she bit her lip. He could tell her mind was struggling to understand, to accept.

"What are you going to do with him?"

"Keep him safe until we bring Sasuke back", Kakashi said, knowing how Sakura would react. He was not disappointed.

"WHAT!" yelled an incredulous Sakura, staring at him like he was insane.

"Lower your voice, Sakura. We don't want to alert the whole village."

"What you said just now…you can't be serious!" she turned to Shikamaru for support. "Tell him. Tell him he can't suggest what he just did."

"Calm down, Sakura. I thought you of all people would understand."

Sakura turned back sharply; her eyes were burning bright with anger.

"Understand what, Sensei? That you're the Hokage, yet you want to commit treason? He's a murder! You saw all the things his done. He even tried to kill you. And now you want him back safe and sound just because he has a son. There's something wrong with you, Kakashi."

While Sakura was out of breath and working on getting it back, Kakashi calmly took something square from his drawer and placed it on his desk, facing Sakura.

"That's not fair", she accused in a low voice, not taking her eyes off the picture of Team Seven, taken years ago.

Kakashi felt no shame as he asked, "do you trust me, Sakura? If you do then, you know I have my reasons for what I am going to ask you to do. But know this is not only for Sasuke. This is for you and Naruto."

Unexpectedly, she began to step away from him with the intention of leaving.

"You can't just keep changing you mind, sensei. Not everyone is as strong as you", Sakura said softly, reluctant to meet his eye. "I – I have to go. I need to prepare for tomorrow."

Kakashi raised himself to full height. He wasn't completely sure Sakura would follow through. He could only hope.

"Bring him alive, Sakura", he ordered.

He didn't seem the type, given his cheerful personality, but Naruto liked the rain. It had its usefulness.

When he was younger – about eight years old – he had been the Hated Orphan of Konoha. The villagers cursed his very existence, treated him like he was dirt. Observing their parents' hate for him, the other kids adopted their behavior. When he was not shunned, he was bullied and cursed at. For any kid his age, this would have sent him straight to tears.

Not Naruto. He waited until it rained. And, as soon as it did, he climbed to the top of the Fourth Hokage's head where he set his pain free, and the rain washed down his tears.

Now, this didn't mean he preferred the rain to the sun. The rain did have its downside. It made him cold, wet, and hungry. Not to mention, it was hard to see through during missions.

Today, he had mixed feelings about the rain. The rain was not cold, but it made it difficult to see where he was going. Luckily, he managed not to fall off the roofs each time he jumped from one on to another.

Naruto yawned.

"Too early", he muttered.

And he was right. It was about six. Most of the villagers were still asleep. That had been Naruto's plan as soon as Neji released them from the drill he had them practice after the meeting. But he didn't get a wink of sleep. And he could guess why.

Ever since Naruto had seen Sasuke again, he had become restless, especially at night. Nothing could calm him down. Not even being next to a sleeping Sakura. His thoughts were traitorous as the waters of the sea. When he least expected, they turned against him. They attacked him on every opportunity they had. Whispering to him what a failure he was for not getting his best friend back, for failing to be loved by Sakura.

Those thoughts.

He hated them as much as he hated the kyuubi trapped inside of him.

Speaking of that ugly demon, he had been unusually talkative these past two days, making snarky remarks whenever he could and enjoying every single moment Naruto felt miserable. He had hoped he wouldn't hear from him again after completing his training with Killer Bee, but it seem that was a blessing that would not come to pass.

"I will be content watching your demise at that hand of that Uchiha, boy. If I could, I would rip you to threats. Savoring each of your screams. Chewing you slowly to make sure they happen", he said, overjoyed with what he thought was Naruto's imminent death.

"Piss off", Naruto said, quieting the demon fox for now.

Naruto stopped on top of the house in front of his apartment. The lights were turn off as they were supposed to be. There was no one waiting for him inside. It would just be him and his thoughts.

He didn't want to go in. Today, he wanted his emotions to be free.

Purposely, his feet began to moved, carrying him to a place where he could let his guard down and not have to be afraid of being caught. The monument of the Fourth Hokage was no longer an option. Since learning the Fourth was his father, Naruto felt like he was crying in front of his father. Something no son wanted to do in front of his father if he could help it. So he moved on to another deserted place in the village.

He supposed the Uchiha District became a sort of second haven for him shortly after Sasuke left. He initially came to the district hoping to find answers that could help him understand his former friend a bit more. He thought that if he walked the same deserted streets Sasuke walked every day, he would be given an insight of how life was for the young Uchiha. At first, he was creeped out by the eerie looking houses and the smell of death that seem to be everywhere in the district. It didn't help he only came out at night when there was a small chance he would be caught.

Naruto landed in the center of the district. Sasuke's house was just a short distance away, about a block away.

"Enjoy your last day of being alive, boy." The demon was back, making Naruto groan with frustration. He needed to figure out why his control on the demon was slipping before he was driven insane by him.

While proceeding to Sasuke's house, Naruto's mind wondered back to when Neji said they would be the ones to face Madara. At that moment, Naruto didn't know how to feel. There were so many emotions to choose from, but the ones that stood out were disappointment, sorrow, and anticipation. His opportunity to avenge his parents and his mentor had finally come. Neji had said that killing Madara was not a priority, not knowing the history between Naruto and him. All they needed to do was distract him long enough to give Sakura and Sai time.

Naruto had another plan in mind. He would give it his all to end Madara.

Sasuke's house was large inside and in the back. Inside there were many rooms, and as he had found out during his exploration many years ago, Sasuke's room was the last one in the back. He never went in there. He felt like he had already violated Sasuke's privacy by breaking into his house and entering his room went way over the line. Instead, he entered the dining room and turned the light on.

It was a nice room. There was the wooden table in the middle where the family ate together. On one wall, a banner with the Uchiha crest hung. The family's garden could be seen through a glass door.

Naruto surveyed the room. It had accumulated dust since the last time he came here, well over a month ago. But unlike the last time, he would not clean it nor would he tend to the garden. Sasuke was never coming back. There was no point in looking after his house anymore.

Sitting on one of the cushions, Naruto closed his eyes. He imagined the room clean and bright. The seats around the table were no longer empty. They were occupied by his parents and mentor. His mother was scolding his father for eating his food too fast, setting a bad example for their son. Jiraiya was trying hard not to laugh at his former student's predicament.

This scene and many like it could have been real if it wasn't for Madara.

"Face it boy, you will never beat him", the demon laughed. His sinister laugher made it hard for Naruto not to shiver.

"Just watch me and then I'm coming for you!" Naruto shot back, bringing his hand down at the table.

"You're an unusual person, Uzumaki", a woman's voiced said from behind. Naruto turned back, taking a kunai out.

"I mean no harm to you."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, trying to see who she was through the darkness. Upon a closer look, he recognized her. He could never forget a person with such stoic face. He thought that he never seen her smile once, not that there was something to smile about, considering the circumstances under which they kept encountering each other.

Setting that aside, it was odd to find here in the Uchiha District of all places.

As if knowing what he was thinking, Samui simply said, "I followed you here. Although, I never took you for the kind of person to reside in such…depressing places."

Naruto shrugged. "It's quiet. How's Killer Bee?"

He was surprised to find himself actually missing the big oaf. Like him, Killer Bee was a container to a tail demon. It made him kindred spirit of sorts. And if there was one to have news of him, it was Samui since Killer Bee had been her sensei.

"He is well and looking forward to meeting you again. He sends his regards."

Naruto smiled a little at that. He had another thing to look forward to when he came back from his mission. And maybe, Killer Bee could help him with the Kyuubi again.

"So, why did you follow me?" Naruto stood up, dusting himself.

"Uzumaki, I need to know – "

Naruto didn't get the chance to hear the rest. Faint shouts coming from outside, sent the two ninjas quiet and in alert. Spearing a momentary glance to each other, they jumped over the table and headed to the glass door. Naruto yanked it open and followed the direction the shouts were coming from with Samui right beside him.

They saw groups of ninja heading in two directions. One direction was where he knew the prison was located. The other was in the opposite direction where the hospital was. His heart began to beat fast and a feeling of dread took over him.

"Samui!"

Naruto recognized Kankarou's voice. From the corner of his eye, he saw as the puppet master joined the kunoichi. He wondered how the two knew each other.

"What's going on?" Samui inquired.

"Someone attacked the hospital. I heard a kid was taken."

Naruto wasted no time. He changed course, heading to the forest where he knew the kidnapper was heading.

A couple of hours. That was how much time Sasuke had to wait before the transplant took place. At the moment, Sasuke was in a training room, practicing taijutsu since he was displeased with his last performance.

He should have been resting as Madara told him, but Sasuke hated the idea of lying around, having nothing to do. He was not the most patient person in the world and practicing techniques always made time pass faster for him.

Sasuke shot one fist forward, then another, followed by a round house kick. He wondered how long it would take for his body to adjust to its new eyes. Madara told him not to worry about it, and he didn't. The Alliance would be mobilized and on their way to the Akatsuki hideout while Sasuke recovered, but he was confident enough to think he would be ready in time to face them.

Hmmm. Something had just occurred to him that he had not given much thought to before. Who exactly was going to perform the transplant operation? As far as he knew, Madara's medical knowledge was moderate, not sufficient to perform the procedure himself. And the Akatsuki did not have a medic-nin.

Sasuke got an ominous feeling that made him uncomfortable with the situation. He sensed he was being left out of the loop, again. He recalled how Madara behaved the last time he saw him. Apart from the thing with Suigetsu, nothing came to mind. He went further than that to when he came to Sasuke's room, but – again – Sasuke could not think of anything out of the ordinary. Madara had been as persuasive and irritating as ever. But still, Sasuke could not shake off the feeling – just like the one time Madara ordered Suigetsu - there was something wrong. This time he could not afford relax until he got answers if he was going to be asleep for hours.

So he left the room and set out to find Madara. He didn't know where to start. Madara could be in the dungeons, watching ninjas being tortured for information; the kitchens, eating all the inarizushi; or in the conference room, carefully tracking the moves of the Alliance. Sasuke never had a reason to seek him out. Madara always came to him. He finally decided on checking the conference room first when he heard the boy cry, again.

Sasuke stopped on his tracks.

"That boy is at it again", he thought, annoyed with the boy for being so weak and giving to his grief. Sasuke tried to walk away, tuning out the cries. It didn't work. All he thought as he walked was that someone needed to teach the boy a lesson.

Putting the search for Madara on hold, Sasuke changed his direction. He understood the boy had lost his family. He himself lost his at the age of eight. The boy was vulnerable, alone, and most likely afraid. But if he was going to make it in this world, he needed to bury those emotions and become strong, especially if he was going to be used by Madara.

Sasuke found the boy curled up in a ball. His room was lit by three torches in different walls. There was a plate and cup of touched food and water on the floor. The boy looked pitiful, yet Sasuke felt no sympathy for him.

"Stop crying", he said coldly. "Don't you have pride?" If anything, this made the boy cry harder. Annoyed, Sasuke shut the door behind him.

"Boys don't cry. You're father never taught told you that?" he demanded. Sasuke's own father taught him many lessons when he was younger, but the two that he specifically stressed were the one he told the boy and "Everyone is beneath the Uchiha."

To his surprise, the boy nodded.

"Then quit it. You look pathetic."

Again, the boy reacted. He quickly used his sleeve to wipe the tears running down his cheeks. For the first time, Sasuke took note of the boy's clothes. He was wearing a white, long-sleeve shirt, and navy blue shirts. Sasuke couldn't help thinking that the boy would look better with red shirts. Red and white suited pink hair well.

Sasuke waited for the boy to compose himself somewhat. Finding Madara had seized to become a priority. Since he had time to kill, he decided to talk with the boy. Even he knew it was uncharacteristic of him, but he was curious about the boy now that he (the boy) was listening to him. Sasuke started with the most basic question.

"What's your name?"

No answer. Sasuke could feel a vein throbbing on his forehead and his anger rising.

"Why don't you speak?" he asked, and then thinking that the boy's upbringing might have been similar to his, he added. "Did your patents tell you not to talk to strangers?"

A nod. Good. He was on the right track. There was one way he could get past that order. Sasuke could not stop himself from smirking

"You know, we could introduce each other, and then we wouldn't be strangers anymore. I'm Sasuke."

The boy straightened up and gasped. "Sasuke."

"Yes, that's my name", Sasuke said in a barley patient voice. "What's yours?"

The boy leaned on his hands. An excited smile broke on his face. Sasuke wondered what was to be excited about. Maybe the boy heard about him, but then that was not something to be excited about. It was more like something to cower in fear about.

The answer was unexpected.

"Sasuke. My name is Sasuke too!"

To Be Continued

A/N: So what do you think? Good, Bad? Please review! This chapter made me uneasy because of the different point of views. Multiple points of view are not my taste, but they were necessary. I would like to thank the messages and subscriptions I received. They are truly encouraging. Thank you! About the next chapter, I expect it will be long, but if everything goes to plan, chapter eight will be the beginning of SasuSaku. About time too!