Homecoming

Part One
Memories from the Leaf #1


It was a warm, sunny October day in the Hidden Leaf Village. Two years have passed since Orochimaru's last attempt to destroy the Leaf. The village, like the phoenix, rose from its ashes – stronger and more beautiful than before.

The day seemed perfect for celebration. A group of shinobis were sitting on the grass, preparing for a picnic.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura jumped on Sasuke, who was sitting quietly by himself, his arms wrapped around his knees. He let out a huff of discomfort as the pink-haired girl squeezed him into a tight embrace.

"Sakura…" he wheezed after a moment. "Stop now."

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun, I'm just so happy for you!" she blushed.

"Look how she's all over him," a blonde girl whispered in disgust to the pony-tailed boy that stood next to her.

"You used to be like that too," he said indifferently.

"Mou, but I've grown up!" Ino swatted his arm. "Besides… after he left the Leaf…"

"Hey, Ino! Catch this!" Naruto interrupted her, throwing something in her direction.

"What, wha- oww! Eww!" she grimaced after she saw she instinctively caught a small frog. "Naruto!" she hissed in anger.

"You're spoiling the game!" the frog told the angry blonde.

"Shut up you stupid frog!"

"Mind you, I'm a toad!" it said and leaped away.

"Natuto!" Ino hissed and grabbed Naruto's collar. "What the heck was that for?!"

The blond boy was now a few good inches taller than her, and lowered his eyes to look at her. "I thought you could do something more useful than talking about people behind their backs," he explained quietly.

Ino huffed and released him. He smiled at her brightly and stepped away.

"Mou! Who died and made him the Hokage?" she muttered.

Shikamaru shrugged in disinterest.

"Okay!" Kakashi stepped in. "Who's ready to eat?"

"Me, me!" Choji raised his hand.

Kakashi winked at Naruto. "Birthday boy gets to choose first."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "You remember it's my birthday??"

"Of course, stupid." Shikamaru folded his arms. "Why do you think we're in this stupid picnic?"

Naruto's eyes welled up. "You guys… I've never celebrated my birthday before."

"We even got you a present," Iruka said with a smile and patted Naruto's head. "We'll give it to you later!"

"Well, your birthday was the main reason," Kakashi said and looked away at Sasuke. "Sasuke's promotion to a Chuunin level is a bonus."

"Sasuke-kun's so cool!" Sakura chirped and wrapped her arms around him again.

"Sakura…" he hissed. "You've become a chuunin before me."

She blushed and let go of him.

It was true, of course. Once the Chuunin selection exam was reinstated, they all took it again. Sasuke had won the final tournament, winning against Naruto who made it to the last round as well, but Naruto was one of the few who were selected as Chuunin, while Sasuke remained a Genin. Having witnessed Naruto's rapidly growing strength, and the fact it was Naruto who defeated Orochimaru, Sasuke had a sneaking suspicion that Naruto had faked his defeat in the match, but he had never confronted him about it. The only Konoha Genins to pass that exam were Naruto and Tenten, as well as two forgettable others. The second exam advanced Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Shino to the Chuunin level. Sasuke was the only Leaf Chuunin selected this year, in the third exam.

Naruto reveled in the taste of the Okonomiyaki that Iruka-sensei handed him. He hardly noticed the dark-haired, silver eyed girl that moved closer to him.
Sasuke, however, noticed the blushing girl, who built up the courage to talk to Naruto. He narrowed his eyes as he watched them.

"Na… Naruto-kun…" Hinata mumbled and blushed when Naruto raised his head from his dish and looked at her.

"Hinata! I didn't see you." Naruto smiled brightly at her. "I'm glad you came!"

"Um, uh…" she stammered, her cheeks grew a deeper crimson color. "This… uh, this is for you…" she gave him a small wooden box.

"For me?" Naruto blinked.

"For… for your birthday," she said with a slight smile. "It's not much… I… I made it myself… um…"

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto cried out and hugged her close. "No one ever gave me a birthday present before! Thank you!"

The girl was so shocked, she couldn't even utter a word.

"Looks like Naruto-kun will have a girlfriend soon," Sakura whispered to Sasuke and nudged him. "And what about you?"

"Hmmph." Sasuke ignored her and continued watching Naruto and Hinata.

"Hey young lovebirds, get a room." Kakashi knocked on Naruto's head, making the blond let go of the girl and laugh in embarrassment.

He opened the box and saw the necklace. "Wow, Hinata, it's so beautiful! Did you really make that yourself?"

"Uh huh." The shy girl nodded, feeling more at ease.

"Oh, I didn't get Naruto anything for his birthday." Sakura put her hand over her mouth. "I don't know what a sixteen year old boy needs…" she mumbled.

"You bought me a gift for my birthday…" Sasuke reminded her. "But you're right, I didn't need it."

Sakura frowned and swatted his arm. "Stop joking around."

"Hmmph." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I bought you a gift for becoming a Chuunin," she told him after a moment. "But I'll give it to you later, when we're alone."

"Uh, Sakura… you really shouldn't have," Sasuke sighed and got up, brushing his pants. "But thanks anyway."

Sakura watched as Sasuke walked away to exchange a few words with Kakashi. After a while, he turned around and slammed his fist on Naruto's head.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" Naruto grumbled and looked up at Sasuke. "You bastard!"

"Get up, idiot." Sasuke smirked. "I have something to show you."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and then turned to look at Hinata. "I'll talk to you later, ne?"

Hinata nodded and watched as Naruto followed Sasuke away from the meadow and into the woods.


Sasuke looked around making sure they were alone. Naruto stepped closer. "Why are we here-" his words were left hanging in the air when Sasuke pulled him closer and slammed him against a tree.
The newly-selected Chuunin leaned in and pressed his lips against Naruto's mouth.

"Mmm…" Naruto groaned against Sasuke's mouth and wrapped his arms around the taller boy's neck, kissing him back passionately and shoving his tongue into Sasuke's mouth.

Sasuke slid down his hand over Naruto's green vest to his crotch and groped him, enjoying the boy's muffled moans.

"Sasuke…" Naruto groaned, pushing the taller boy away. "What are you doing?"

Sasuke moved his hand back up and touched the new necklace that hung around Naruto's neck, above the one he never took off. "Seems like that girl is totally in love with you," he whispered.

"Who? Hinata?" Naruto asked. "Don't be silly. No one is in love with me."

"You are so blind." Sasuke smiled and caressed Naruto's cheek. "But that works better for me, I guess."

"Are you… jealous?" Naruto lifted an eyebrow, emphasizing the last word. "Girls lose interest in you…"

"Heh. Who cares about girls. They're all weak." Sasuke let go of the necklace and stepped back. "I got something for you," he said. "For your birthday."

"Really?" Naruto rubbed his hands together. "What is it? What is it?"

Sasuke reached into his new vest and pulled out a small leather sheath. He threw it at Naruto's direction and the blond caught it, looking at it in amazement.

"It's a Tantou," Sasuke explained when Naruto slid the small dagger out of the sheath. "It's used as a hidden weapon. You suppose to hide it in your shoe or something, and use it when you're pushed to a corner in a hand to hand battle."

"It's beautiful…" Naruto whispered, admiring the blade and decorated hilt.

"The blade is made from the same steel as the Katana and the Wakizashi," Sasuke said and took the tantou from Naruto's hand.

"Let's make an oath," he said. "So we'll be connected by blood forever."

Naruto watched as Sasuke slit the palm of his hand without even flinching. Blood started to ooze from the wound. For such a small blade it sure made a nasty cut. Sasuke handed Naruto the knife and Naruto locked his eyes with Sasuke's glimmering ebony eyes as he slit his own palm.

Sasuke reached out and held his bleeding hand to Naruto's. They held their bleeding hands together for a long moment. Then Sasuke moved forward. Without letting go of Naruto's hand, he positioned himself between Naruto's thighs, shoving him further against the tree and leaned in to kiss him.

Naruto clasped his fingers together with Sasuke's, letting their wounds pulse together and the blood mix. He closed his eyes and raised his chin instinctively, aching to feel Sasuke's mouth. But Sasuke just brushed his lips quickly against Naruto's mouth, and teased him with his tongue. "Tonight… at your place… I won't back down," he whispered hoarsely.

Naruto opened his eyes slowly and stared straight into the burning coals in Sasuke's eyes. "I won't… back down either."

Sasuke smirked and released Naruto from his hold. The blond cleaned the knife from the blood and put it back into the sheath, hiding it in his vest.

"Let's go back before Sakura-chan starts looking for you," Naruto smirked back and started walking away.

"What took you so long? We were waiting for you to eat the cake!" Iruka said when they returned. All the while trying to hold Choji back from devouring the cake all by himself.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura jumped to her feet and ran over to the boys. "You're bleeding!" she grabbed his injured hand. She looked at Naruto. "What did you to him?"

"Nothing, nothing." Naruto smiled and waved his hand. "We just had a little match, nothing serious."

Sasuke threw a glance at Naruto and gasped when he noticed Naruto's wound was already closed and starting to heal. He really shouldn't have been surprised.


*~*~*end of flashback*~*~*


"You will have a week to settle down and organize for the orientation," Tsunade said and watched the blond man, who started pacing back and forth restlessly in front of her. "Don’t worry, you'll be all right. I trust that you'll know whether to pass them or not."

"Well, I remember that exam very well, as if it happened yesterday." Naruto crossed his arms. "I just don't know…"

"You will have three kids that will admire you as the closest thing to the Hokage!" Tsunade smiled, trying to cheer him up. "There's nothing to be nervous about."

"That's not it…" Naruto scratched his head. "Ah well… so who are the other fellows?"

"Iruka-sensei is still working on the teams, so we won't know until the orientation day!"

"Is that so?"

"Well, I have a pretty good guess."

"You do know, don't you?" Naruto faced her.

The Godaime sighed. "You've grown brighter, brat. I guess there's no fooling you anymore."

Naruto flashed a broad smile, along with a chuckle. "Okay, so tell me."

"Okay, your team will have a girl named Nara Hikari…"

"Nara?" Naruto perked his head. "Don't tell me it's Shikamaru's daughter!"

"Yeah, she is. A bright little girl, but a tad lazy." The godaime mused.

"He always wanted a girl… this is so weird…" Naruto mumbled and rubbed his hands together. "So I got the boy with the lowest marks… the average, but smart girl…" he rubbed his chin. "So… who's the genius? Since you're assembling the teams to balance the strength… don't tell me it's that Hyuga Neji's kid…"

"No, Ryoichi isn't Neji's son," Tsunade said with a small smile. "He's also Sasuke's son."

Naruto was taken aback. Literally. He took a step back and looked at the Hokage in shock and confusion. "Huh?"

"Uchiha Ryoichi is this year's number one rookie, and he will also be on your team."

"No, no, no. you have got to be kidding me!" Naruto grabbed his face with both his hands. "How can that be?"

"It's quite simple really, Ryoichi and Kenji are twins," Tsunade explained. "But they're the polar opposite of each other."

Naruto feared for a moment his legs wouldn't hold him. He went to sit next to Hokage again, hiding his face in his hands. "Is it too late to change my mind?"

"A man never takes back his words."

"I know that!" Naruto yelped, raising his head. "But… but you tricked me!"

"I did not, I just didn't tell you the entire truth."

"And how is that different?!"

"Look, it's not a big deal. Ryoichi is a good boy and a very dedicated and talented student. He won't give you any problems."

"I'm not thrilled about training Sasuke's rebellious son, let alone two of them!"

"I know there's bad blood between you and Sasuke," Tsunade sighed and Naruto clenched his teeth in response. "But Kenji should not be the one to suffer because of that."

Naruto continued to sulk, as he contemplated the Godaime's words. He kept clutching and loosening his fists in nervousness.

"I just think it's a bad idea…" he whispered with a sigh and looked down at the palm of his hand. He observed a thin, pale line that crossed his palm. An old scar that was nearly invisible. "It's best not to open up old wounds."

"That's true enough," the Hokage agreed. "If they are indeed closed."

Naruto smiled thinly at her and got up. "I better get some sleep."

Tsunade got up. "That's right. You must be exhausted. Here's the keys to your new apartment," she said and handed him a set of keys.

"Thank you."

"Good night, Naruto." Tsunade walked him to the door.

Naruto opened the door and turned around to look at the female Hokage. "Uh… how's Sakura-chan, by the way?" he asked with a small smile.

"Um, well." Tsunade's face darkened. "I'm afraid she's dead."

"What?!" Naruto grabbed her shoulders.

"She died during childbirth. She never saw the twins," Tsunade said quietly.

Naruto stared at her in utter shock. "This can't be… not Sakura-chan… I… I never wanted her to die…"

The old woman in the young-looking body noticed the single tear that crossed the man's face. "You loved her, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I loved her." Naruto reached out to wipe his tear.

Tsunade expected him to speak further, but he just looked at her in silence, before mumbling good night and walking out the door.


----
notes:
Okonomiyaki – pizza-like pancake fried with various ingredients.

Tantou – this is a traditional Japanese weapon, actually a knife/dagger that Samurai used to carry around. sometimes they carried it along with their Katana (samurai sword) instead of the Wakizashi (a sword similar to the Katana only shorter, used for battles in small rooms). I know it's not really used as a concealed weapon, but it fitted me better than actual concealed weapon.