Proofreaded by LORDANTAS

I couldn't even bother checking everything in my old home and have a moment for myself for remembrance. The second I found my old bed, my body gave in and fell asleep. Not caring if it was clean or not, I only focused my mind on sleeping for a long time. Anything else would be dealt with later, after I was fully rested.

However, I couldn't describe my dreams as being pleasant or happy. They were the same dreams that I had back at Suna, except a new sequence appeared. It was blurred, and everything was yellowish, but I could still see that it was a hand holding a humble beaded necklace and the person presenting the accessory was a very young child. Soon after, a red-eye opened on the distorted sky and corrupted the scenario, shattering and engulfing everything in darkness. Yet I could still see my hand desperately trying to reach for that necklace before a slim yet abnormal hand snatched it away and disappeared within the void.

And strange but alive things arose from there.

Instinctively, I shut my eyes, and when I opened them, there was no darkness. Instead, I was greeted by a greenish roof that required maintenance, since I could see cracks forming. But that didn't matter. That dream or nightmare was very fresh in my mind, and calling it that felt wrong, as I could somehow tell it was far more than a mere dream.

It brought me to think about that necklace; it was too detailed to even be considered as a product of a dream. I would even dare to call it a memory, but I couldn't even recall anything similar from my mind.

And the second I tried to think harder, a small pang of pain coursed through my brain. Instinctively, my hand went to massage over the spot. Yet that didn't happen, as there was a weight on my left arm. Immediately, I turned to see and discovered that I wasn't alone in my bed.

Karin was sound asleep next to me with my arm around her, keeping her close.

I could feel my face contort into a frown, since nobody was with me before I fell asleep.

My mind quickly sent a warning to check under my covers. I threw them off and saw that I was still wearing the same clothes, and Karin was almost topless and didn't have her glasses on her. I dragged my free hand all over my face as I groaned, wondering why the first thought that came to mind was that she fucked me in my sleep.

She was more exhausted than me, to begin with.

I carefully nudged her with my shoulder enough times for her to slowly open her eyes and let out a long yawn as she shifted her position, giving me the perfect opportunity to remove my trapped arm.

"When did you enter my room, especially my bed?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Karin hummed as she rubbed her eyes, "Not a good morning kiss?" I only poked her forehead in response, "You aren't fun, Sasuke-kun. But to answer your question, I guess an hour or two ago."

I let out a long sigh, checked my old room, and saw that it was exactly as I had left it before the whole escape. But it was strange to see a dusty TV. It felt out of place in this world. Even if I missed the technology for entertainment, the whole chakra meditation and training kept me occupied most of the time. I have mostly missed the past routine that I was accustomed to.

However, even from a relative distance, I could see the reflection of my balcony, and there was something very strange. Almost immediately, my Sharingan flared up and looked at the screen with much better clarity and discovered something moving in the distance in the neighboring buildings.

I leaned closer to whisper into Karin's ear, "Can you detect them?"

Karin tensed for a second but said nothing for a moment as her hands clasped together.

Her silence lasted for a short while, "I count five, but I fear there might be others hiding their chakra."

The answer made me frown; she wasn't wrong to be cautious, but it was still an issue she had yet to rectify.

"Act normal for now. I have an idea." I whispered before leaving the bed and removing my shirt as I went to my bathroom. Even if nobody said it, I needed a shower as soon as possible. Days in the wild and running non-stop were enough reasons.

After taking a shower, the only problem I faced was that my clothes would only fit a twelve-year-old Sasuke, leaving me to wear the new clothes I bought back at Tanzaku gai. Karin took the opportunity to steal a glance while I was drying myself before using my shower.

Only then did I take my time to dress myself and do some stretches to prepare for a new day inside Konoha, except the little discovery from earlier left a sour taste in my mouth.

As I left my room behind, I stumbled into the green-haired jinchuuriki wearing the same white clothes, except she was fresh out of a bath since her hair was down and wet, "Where are you headed, Fu?"

She gave a mild shrug, "Dunno. I was just looking around at first, but I got hungry, so the kitchen is next."

After confirming there were no windows in sight, I quickly checked my surroundings and stepped closer, and leaned closer to her.

"Hey! Mind your distance!" she reacted quite badly as expected. She tried to shove me away but failed to do so since there wasn't enough strength behind that move.

I ignored her. My request was far more important than a small outburst, "I need your insects to find all the spies and the Aburame bugs around the house."

With my request done, I pulled back. Fu was ecstatic like a statue, her eyes frantically moving around as her right hand was moving in strange patterns I had never seen before.

I couldn't understand what she was doing, but the effects were almost immediate as I heard the buzzing of an insect close to my ears. Soon after, I saw a small insect land on her right cheek and buzz its wings a couple of times. A couple of seconds later, another insect landed on her left side and made the same buzzing sound.

Her face contorted into a deep frown but quickly relaxed before she addressed me, "There are seven. And I couldn't find any insects behaving strangely. But honestly, I'm not even sure since I never saw an Aburame bug, so I could be wrong."

At least I could appreciate her honesty, but that only put me on edge as she revealed something concerning to me, "Seven, huh? Karin only found five. I need you to come with me. I don't think this place is safe from eavesdroppers."

I turned around and left towards my room to pick up our redhead, who hopefully was finished with her entire morning session.

Arriving at my room, I didn't bother to knock and saw Karin combing her wet hair sitting on my bed but stopped and looked at me in surprise, "Do you need something, Sasuke-kun?"

"Follow me." I said, before leaving again.

Karin was quick to catch up and didn't ask any questions.

It was a silent walk towards our destination, the only safe enough place I could think of within Konoha. When we arrived, a wide pair of doors greeted us with the Uchiha symbol painted on them, half on each door.

And a single paper seal was working as some sort of lock, preventing anyone from entering.

Unless that person was an Uchiha.

I simply took off the paper without ripping it apart by accident and pushed the doors open, allowing both girls to pass to my clan library.

After they were inside, I closed both doors and placed the seal, effectively closing the room from the outside world and isolating us.

"They can't see or hear anything from this room."

"What's this place?" Fu asked, her gaze constantly shifting in awe of my clan's entire collection perfectly organized on shelves.

"This is the Uchiha library, a protected place from prying eyes of outsiders. Especially against the Byakugan." Fu's expression had a slight hint of surprise at my explanation but didn't give any comment and ventured further, looking at the organized scrolls.

I led them towards the nearest table, where everyone took a seat.

"So, why did you bring us here?" Fu was the first to ask as she scratched her head.

There was a moment of silence as my gaze shifted, looking at each girl for a few seconds before I took one deep breath, "I want you two to find where Tsunade is hiding my family's eyes."

"What?" Karin slammed both hands on the table; the sudden movement almost dropped her glasses and revealed her wide-open eyes. However, she quickly adjusted her glasses and recovered from the sudden outburst while Fu silently watched, her eyes squinting.

"Tsunade killed Danzo, and he stole a lot of Sharingans which are now in her possession. However, she refused to return them and hid them somewhere in the village. I will play along with her stupid games. Meanwhile, you two investigate their whereabouts." I explained once things calmed down, but it was my turn to feel the burning rage of impotency at the memory of my talk with Tsunade.

"Well, winners take all. I don't see the problem." Fu said, her arms crossed and wearing a nonchalant expression.

My hands clenched into fists, but I released the grip as I calmed myself from an emotional outburst and looked at the jinchuuriki, who maintained her uncaring stance, "The problem is that those eyes are property of my family; I won't allow anyone to use them for their personal gain."

Karin held her chin in thought, her face contorted into a deep frown, "Why would the Hokage refuse your right? It is not a good move to alienate you unless she thinks the pros outweigh the cons. She is a village leader. I wouldn't put it past her to take advantage of such powerful tools and squeeze their worth as much as possible."

She was correct, and Tsunade wasn't wrong in taking that stance, but that didn't change how offensive it was to my clan. But my nerves cooled down, and I could speak normally, "She will keep a close eye on me, but not you two. At least not as strict. I have faith you two will be able to investigate the village and find potential sites."

Fu chewed her cheek, and her eyes looked at the roof, thinking before nodding, "I will try, but first, I need to learn more about the Aburame Clan. I think they can be a problem in the future."

I nodded, "That's a good assumption. My clan kept vast records on the Aburame, from their history to their strengths and weaknesses. I will provide as much information as you need."

"Cool."

Then, my attention shifted to the redhead, "And you, Karin?"

"You know the answer. But I worry about…" She bit her thumbnails as her gaze averted to anywhere but me. However, the answer was apparent to me.

"Tayuya?" I finished for her.

She bit her lip and frantically nodded with her eyes closed.

A groan escaped my lips, "I hate to admit, but the little time we spent together, I can tell with confidence that she is an excellent spy since learning from one of the best. Have you already thought of a way to deal with her?"

"I thought a couple of ways, but please, no drastic measures." She pleaded.

"I will try, but for now, I'm leaving it all to you." I made a compromise with Karin since I trusted her ability to achieve her goals, but that didn't mean I wouldn't worry about Tayuya meddling in our business like she had been doing for the last couple of months, and she had the home advantage.

She let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

"Good. I'm sure those annoyances are getting suspicious. Fu, you can be the first to leave. I will give you the information you need later today." I said. There weren't any clocks inside my library, so I couldn't tell how much time had passed. It was in everyone's best interest to return with the rest as soon as possible.

Or face more invasive security.

"Sure." The jinchuuriki stood up and went towards the door, but stopped since it was sealed and waited for me to arrive so I could remove it and let her pass.

Karin soon tried to follow, but I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back before she could set one foot outside.

As expected, she looked at me with strange eyes, trying to understand my sudden action.

But that confusion died down the second I gave her a peck on the lips. Her eyes widened as her entire face burned bright red.

"You want to do it here?" She looked away in embarrassment.

Her reply made me roll my eyes before I poked her forehead, "No, you idiot, we will pretend we did it and leave this room as we fix our clothes to throw off any suspicions. I kissed you to get you all flustered. I'm sure they are watching the entrance from wherever they are hiding."

She gave me a pout, but that turned into her playful smile, "Ah, just say so. Not like I mind it, though."

We unbuttoned our upper clothes, leaving them semi-open, revealing part of our navels and chests. I could see her black bra. It wasn't as if she was trying to hide it from me, though. I even was able to catch her smiling at me.

"Let's go." With my signal given, we exited the library together as we were fixing our clothes, hoping to dissuade any thinking of scheming. Karin kept walking and left me behind since I needed to close the library.

Placing the seal was enough to lock the room, so soon after I left, walking in the direction of the living room as it was highly possible Juugo and Suigetsu were lazing around in that room.

But as I kept walking, my body suddenly demanded breakfast or anything to eat and made it very clear with my stomach growling, so I changed direction towards the kitchen to check if there was anything left or if at least Karin stored our food there.

I turned to the left but came to a sudden halt as I saw Suigetsu standing very close in front of me with surprise plastered all over his face. It was a good thing we both had good reflexes, or we would have stumbled into each other by accident.

The Sharkboy was quick to recover, and his eyes narrowed, "Where were you? We have somebody with strange eyes waiting for you for a while now."

"You let him in?" I frowned. Suigetsu was very reckless to let a stranger inside my home. Better said I was suppressing my anger against him and felt the desire to lash out.

He shrugged, "I would have chased him away, but he pulled out a scroll and told me it was the Hokage orders, and I know you wouldn't have liked it if I caused any trouble, so I decided to leave it you."

His answer was logical, and I couldn't find a rebuttal as I was nowhere to be found moments ago, and he acted very rationally according to the situation. My emotions ceased to be, and two keywords remained, "Strange eyes?"

The swordsman nodded and walked away.

There was only one group in Konoha whose eyes would be considered strange by outsiders.

I already had an idea of who he might be, but I needed to see him to confirm his identity. With that in mind, my feet picked up the pace to reach the living room as soon as possible to put all those doubts to rest.

In a matter of minutes, I arrived at the room and crossed the entrance. Everyone was waiting for me, but Suigetsu, who I knew, had left in the opposite direction. However, one more person was inside, standing in full display with his white eyes locked on me.

He was wearing a white kimono-shirt with long, loose sleeves and matching pants combined with a navy-gray apron tied around his waist. Giving the perfect image of a member from the famous Hyūga clan, especially the long brown hair.

"We meet once again, Uchiha." Neji finally spoke.

"So you will be my glorified babysitter. Honestly, I was expecting a random Anbu or maybe even a Jounin to be sent to annoy me." I said with my arms crossed, looking at the Hyūga from the ground up, hoping to find anything amiss and get the perfect excuse to throw him out.

His face hardened when he heard my disdain. "Then I am glad I met your expectations, Uchiha. I will watch over you as long as Lady Tsunade requires me to."

His face irked me. Somehow, I could tell he was smirking at me under his stoic expression.

"Aren't you supposed to be protecting the heir of the Hyuuga clan?" I asked. Neji was considered one of the best Hyuuga fighters in the generation, and as a branch member along with his immense skill, he would be much better posted to protect Hinata or Hanabi unless they required him to leave for a mission.

Neji merely blinked, "Lady Hinata has other bodyguards assigned to her."

"Get lost, Hyūga. This is my family's home." I sneered at him.

His expression twisted into a deep frown, "I'm under Lady Tsunade's direct orders. I won't leave unless she explicitly orders me to."

"I thought the Byakugan was famous for seeing everything. You don't need to be here. And I don't want you to be here. There are many empty houses within my clan compound. You can pick whichever you like or seem fit. But you aren't welcomed inside my home." I pointed at the exit. I couldn't care less about the ramifications, but after he brought up Tsunade, the memories of our quite unpleasant conversation resurfaced, making me angrier than usual.

Neji stared at me for a long while in silence, his blank expression fitting for a Hyūga, "Very well."

He turned around and left towards the exit.

Moments later, I heard the main door closing.

I was glad Neji didn't try to break my door out of pettiness. He truly changed for the better.

Karin walked up to me with concern in her eyes, "Do you think it is a good idea to provoke him? He will report this to the Hokage."

"So? I didn't break any of her rules." I shrugged off the possibility.

"Still…" The redhead bit her lower lip and let out a long sigh before turning around and leaving my side as her right hand massaged her forehead. I didn't stop her from leaving. It was better to leave her alone to calm herself, as I had already put a lot on her plate.

I checked my living room one last time before turning around in the exit's direction of my house. There was a place I felt attracted to visit once again. It was special for both of 'us' for some strange reason.

"Where are you going?"

I turned to see Fu calmly approaching with her arms behind her back.

"Somewhere nostalgic."

Her lips slowly turned into a long smile, and she leaned closer, "Can I go?"

I shrugged, "I don't see why not."

It wasn't a secret spot, and I would appreciate some company.

AN: Hello hello! So I didn't say anything in the last update, well, to be honest it was laziness and when I realized my little mistake, it was too late to do any change so I left it and moved to this one. I hope you all had a fantastic New Year and Christmas!

Anyway, this note might be a bit longer than usual.

It has been like more than 4 years writing and stuff and my first story had to go through a full rewrite, losing so much progress but it was for the best. So after some good thought, I decided to write a serious original story and I have been occupied with it for over 3 months now, designing characters, worlds and getting help from friends, proofreaders and editors. It wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for writing and improving here and all the positive comments and encouragement you guys gave me through the years, and after careful consideration I decided to create a P word account. Before you crucify me, I'm not paywalling anything because I'm not that type of person and it would feel wrong on so many levels.

It is entirely just for support and is mostly made for my original works.

Also my original story is called "Stolen Wonderland", a Dark Fantasy adventure that I'm sure you will like. It will be posted on a few platforms so you can pick, FimFiciton, RoyalRoad and ScribbleHub. Alongside with the other stories, "Your Faithful Knight" and "The mighty quest to sell Epic Loot"

And before you think you will be waiting, I already wrote quite the number of chapters for the release which is already out and is scheduled to release more chapters over the coming days.

And if you feel generous, you know where to support, just search for my name Luferx. You will find it very quick since it has the same pfp.

Either way, Thank you guys for everything.