haha...and like....a year later....

Perfect circles turn in orbit

following a perfect path

from your perfect hand

Sasuke stood by the water. He looked out on the horizon. His team was with him. They were quiet, which was odd because Karin didn't have a silent bone in her body. He told them after he 'killed' Itachi and after the other Uchiha, Madara, had come to him, that he would destroy Konoha, and they would help. He believed what Madara said. What reason had he to lie to him?

As he stared straight ahead, he thought maybe he had been to hasty in making his decision. Destroying Konoha would mean....destroying his home, and the people in it. Where would he go then? He thought about those other people. Kakashi Hatake and them. He really liked Kakashi-sensei. He didn't deserve any of that. And that Sakura Haruno girl. She never did anything wrong. She had been a friend. She didn't deserve any of this either.

But those bonds were severed with a giant sword. He shouldn't have cared for them anymore. But Naruto...

Naruto had been his best friend. One of the only people he opened up to. Someone he fought for now reason. Someone to challenge. That bond...was it holding by a single thread now? Was it gone completely? He frowned. He hoped Naruto didn't have any hard feelings about him trying to kill him.

"Sasuke?"

Was that...

He turned to his left. Karin looked at him worriedly. "Are you ok, Sasuke? You've been making odd faces at the horizan. You're thinking really hard, aren't you?"

He turned back. "Aa. It's nothing."

"The scenery is all nice and all boss, but we should be doing like, something," Suigetsu said, finished drinking water and was now restless.

"Shut up, water boy, Sasuke's trying to think!"

"It's nice here," Juugo said.

"Well tell him to think while walking, ya dumb broad."

"Why you-!"

"Enough," Sasuke said. He turned fully around and started walking. They followed him. "I've made up my mind and changed it. I'm going back to Konoha-"

"Aw, really? Well, that's nice. You were a cool leader man," Suigetsu said.

Sasuke looked at him.

"And I'm sorry for interrupting you..."

"I'm going back to Konoha. But I'm not just going to return. I decided that I'll have them find me. My whispering fingertips will lead them to me."

"Um...what the hell?" Suigetsu and Karin said in unison, causing them to glare at each other.

"Don't say what's in my head," Suigetsu said.

"Same to you!"

"What... do you mean, Sasuke?" Juugo asked.

Sometimes Sasuke thought Juugo was the only sane one. Sometimes. "I'll leave clues. Go to different villages openly without hiding my identity, maybe leave my name. This way would be more...fun."

"Dude..."

"Yeah... I agree with you, Sasuke. It's kinda like a game," Karin said.

Juugo nodded.

"'Fun' though? Wow ok," Suigetsu said.

Sasuke turned to him. "You don't have to follow me anymore. None of you do."

"I'll go with you, Sasuke!" Karin said by his side. Juugo was on the other.

Suigetsu stopped walking. "Hey, man. That's mean. Wait up! Stop walking so fast!" he said and ran to catch up. He walked on Juugo's right, so the Team Hawk formation from the back was Karin, Sasuke, Juugo then Suigetsu.

"So...where are we going?"

"I think we'll take a little trip to the Hidden Waterfall village. We had a mission over there before years ago."

"Interesting," Karin commented.

"Sounds boring," Suigetsu said.

"Shut up, idiot," Karin glared all the way to her right. "We're going on an adventure. Show some respect."

Suigetsu growled.