Something I never told you

NOTE: Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I've had essays coming out of my ears lately, so I've not had time to do any decent writing. There will be more delays before I can get the next chapter done, too, but hopefully it'll be up on AFF sooner rather than later.

ADDITION!!!

Unfortunately my computer has died. Again. This is the second machine that's done this to me, and all my chapter 3 rough drafts were on there. What does this mean? That until my computer's fixed, I won't be able to update. Sorry peoples, I hope it gets fixed soon. :/


!! In the meantime, please leave a review, it's great to hear from people who've read the story so far. It gives me happies and makes me want to write more n_n; !!

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Two


Naruto slid his hands behind his head as he stared at the slowly lightening ceiling of his cramped bedroom, eyes fluttering slowly as the dawn light slid across them, revealing the dark circles etched into the skin around them. His normally bright blue eyes looked watery and unfocused as he stared thoughtfully upwards. The curtains drifted in the early dawn breeze, moving the strands of messy hair that hung in front of Uzumaki Naruto's face. He shivered and let out a long, slow sigh, not bothering to move the hair from his face. He really couldn't care less - he'd spent most of the night in this same position, eyes unfocused, trying angrily to force himself into a sleep that just wouldn't come. That in itself was irritating, since Naruto's normal sleeping habits would have had him asleep and snoring loudly like a chainsaw as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The truth was that the anxiety and tenseness from last night hadn't really drained from him when he'd got home. All his muscles seemed on edge and ready to pounce; his stomach felt as though someone was screwing it up in their fist, and flashes of memory that he'd tried to force out of his mind seemed to keep pestering him like a personal slideshow.

'...If I sever our bond... I will become stronger... much stronger.'

Naruto closed his eyes in an exhausted frown and shook his head slowly, shaking away the remnants of that memory and forcing himself to watch, unfocused, as the murky blue light on his bedroom ceiling changed into a dim bluish-green.

"I bet that bastard would have a field day if he knew I was losing sleep over him." He concluded bitterly, turning onto his side with a heart-felt effort and staring at the sky outside his window. Naruto couldn't see a single solitary cloud, and far off from the forest came the echoing sound of birdsong. Unlike the freezing chill of the night before, today was going to be another beautiful, cloudless spring day.

...so Kiba will want to go out somewhere.

Naruto felt his stomach churn guiltily at the prospect. He could just imagine the bright features on that feral face drop when Naruto turned him down. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to spend time with Kiba, but he just knew he wouldn't enjoy it. After four years he was far too used to this mood he was in, and he knew that if Kiba managed to drag him out that front door, everywhere the blond's eyes turned he'd be sharply reminded of Sasuke. He'd remember that the raven had once said this here or that there, or that he'd argued with him on this very spot, and slowly Naruto would be reminded yet again, of the promise he couldn't keep. Of just how badly he'd failed.

Slowly the blond raised a hand up to his tired eyes and rubbed at them gingerly. He didn't know if sleep was even possible now, but he had to try to get at least a few hours' sleep - he didn't have a mission today, but he had to at least do a little training this afternoon, even if it was only practicing his chakra control.

"Sleep." He muttered to himself angrily, teeth gritted as he forced his eyes unwillingly shut, blocking out the dim light fluttering through the curtains onto his eyes. "Sleep... sleep... SLEEP!"

The frustrated blond took to muttering the word under his breath like a mantra, somehow hoping that his brain would take the hint and do what he was asking. Unsurprisingly, his brain didn't seem to be listening, and it was another full twenty minutes before his closed eyes finally relaxed, his breathing deepened, and the final 'sleep' drifted in a slurred mutter from his mouth, to be replaced at last by low, peaceful snores.

"Naruto... Naruto...?"

"Mmmmnnnn..." Naruto frowned in his sleep and turned onto his other side, wrapping his arms around his cold shoulders with a babyish pout. Through the sleep, Naruto was vaguely aware that someone had just pulled the covers from off his bed. Bastards. It was probably Kiba playing a practical joke, but Whoever they were they could get screwed. Naruto had worked hard to get this sleep, and he wasn't going to ruin it now, even if the god damned village was on fire.

He started pretending to snore loudly, just to put his message across a little more solidly.

There was a pause, then a long slow sigh emitted from behind the blond. He took it as a sign of defeat and felt a triumphant smirk slide across his half-asleep face, nuzzling into his pillow and trying to get back to sleep.

"... ... ...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHH!!!!!!"

Naruto let out a high pitched scream as he jumped out of bed, eyes wide in pain, legs giving way underneath him as he went. He landed with a heavy thud, face-first into the floor, holding his ass cheeks in pain. He'd just had a pair of fingers rammed into them from behind, after all.

Kakashi blinked in surprise at the young ninja in a heap at his feet, then shrugged, gave an innocent smile and scratched the back of his neck. "Mmm? Maybe I should have uh... woken you up more gently..." he said quietly, apparently a little bemused at the reaction he'd evoked from Naruto. At the Jounin's feet, Naruto groaned and rolled onto his side, rubbing his ass sorely.

"K...Kakashi-sensei...?" He croaked, trying to focus on the blurred face above him as the pain in his lower half subsided. He finally brought his teacher into focus: eyes closed, and still smiling a little too innocently. Naruto's eye twitched angrily as he hauled himself clumsily back to his feet, an angry, sleepy pout forming on his face.

"What do you think you're doing, coming in here and waking me up like that?! Haven't you heard of knocking? Couldn't you have just shook me awake?! And how -" Naruto's rant stopped mid-sentence as Kakashi raised a hand for silence. Normally Naruto would have just carried on, but Kakashi's features had just changed. He was no longer smiling innocently - he suddenly seemed more serious.

"I already said I was probably wrong about waking you up that way." He said, scratching the back of his neck again. Naruto thought that 'probably' was definitely not the word he would have used, but he stayed quiet for once. Now that he was more awake, he could tell something was wrong. Kakashi was here and it was only just past dawn. Whatever the matter was, it obviously couldn't wait. "And I didn't have time to wait for you to wake up on your own."

"What is it?" Naruto yawned, rubbing his eyes free of sleep. Whatever it was, it sounded serious. Kakashi shrugged evasively.

"I... don't really think it's my business to tell you." He said with that innocent smile flashing across his features one more time. Then his face fell flat. "Just get dressed and come with me, Naruto. There's something I think you need to see..."

*****


"Why don't you start talking and make this interview end a lot quicker?" The Hokage snapped, tired eyes narrowed at the chair before her as Dawn started to arrive over Konoha outside the window, the sun rising slowly from behind the horizon, casting a dim golden shimmer over the surrounding, dew-laden forest. Tsunade was in no mood to appreciate the sight now though - It had been a long, long night. She'd had two whole bottles of sake to herself last night, had three hours sleep, and then been rudely awakened by ANBU hammering on her door. It was now six long hours later and she was tired, anxious, and had the mother and father of all hangovers pounding inside her racing mind.

Of all the wanted-ninja she'd been expecting to see as the captain of the ANBU unit had led her across the dark cold street to the Hokage's office - a hand raised to her throbbing head as she tried to force herself to come to her senses - it had certainly not been this boy. Uchiha Sasuke. She, like the rest of Konoha, had thought they had seen the last of the Uchiha that day he had disappeared over the border. Even Naruto, who had been so adamant to go and find Sasuke in the beginning, had finally come to his senses and given up the chase over these past few months. Yet here he was, large as life and right here in Konoha after all this time, unconscious and bound in the chair opposite her desk.

If Tsunade hadn't had such a bad hangover, she probably would have laughed at how ridiculous it all seemed.

Sasuke was awake now. Wide awake. Once he'd come round, he'd been dazed and groggy for only a few seconds before his memory had apparently come flooding back. He'd winced as the pain rushed through the deep purple bruise on his cheek, then his eyes had flown wide briefly and with cobra-fast reactions he'd darted forwards and jumped for the window, in a bid for freedom.

Or... he would have, if his hands hadn't been bound to the chair he was sitting in.

That had been the first and last real reaction Tsunade had got out of the raven-haired ninja since he'd woken up. For the last two and a half hours, Sasuke had sat there in absolute silence, calm and collected. Not a single emotion had shown itself in Sasuke's face. He hadn't even acknowledged that there was anybody else in the room with him.

Tsunade's eye twitched in agitation and she slammed her hands down on the desk in front of her, sending paperwork flying across the office in all directions. "WHY are you in Konoha?! Is your master nearby? Did Orochimaru send you to spy on us?"

Sasuke's brow furrowed at the mention of Orochimaru's name, but other than that he seemed to be in some kind of deep hypnosis. Tsunade's patience was beginning to thin, and she raised a hand to her temple as it began to twitch. This was getting ridiculous, it was like talking to a brick wall, only a brick wall would have perhaps been a little more responsive than the ninja currently sitting in front of her.

Moments of silence passed, and then...

Sasuke stirred slightly and sighed. "...I didn't come back on Orochimaru's orders."

Tsunade blinked as the words sank in. Finally, he was speaking! She hadn't heard the raven's voice in more than four years, but even back then it had been filled with an arrogant distaste she hadn't liked. Now, after four years with Orochimaru, that distaste was even more prominent. Her brows knitted in a distaste of her own and she stared at him thoughtfully. He was now finally staring back at her, disapproval written on his pale, bruised face, but still with that air of complete calm.

"You're lying." She insisted. "Or you came back for another reason. To steal something? To kill someone...?" A thought ran briefly through Tsunade's mind at that. A memory of a young ninja she'd always held a soft spot for, lying in a hospital bed, unconscious, the work of the same ninja sitting in the chair in front of her. Her eyes narrowed angrily at the raven, as though it was already confirmed. She leaned back and muttered in a low growl: "...did you come back to kill Naruto?"

At that, Sasuke blinked at her slowly, still showing no emotion, nothing to betray his thoughts or feelings to Tsunade.

"Well?" She urged.

Sasuke seemed to lose interest in the conversation, and went back to watching the rising Sun beyond the woods.

The Hokage sighed in agitation and pulled down the blinds to the office with a sharp snap, obscuring Sasuke's view of the slowly-dawning sky outside. He blinked serenely, pale and tired-looking lids closing over their smoky-brown eyes, but otherwise made no sign that he was aware that anyone else was even in the room. Well... Tsunade had expected that. She sighed and sat down opposite the Uchiha, placing her hands on her aching forehead as she began speaking more quietly, in a more urgent tone than she'd used all night.

"Sasuke," She uttered quietly, staring down at her desk in irritation, "had you been any other wanted ninja, ANBU would have killed you right where you were. They could have done it easily, without my permission. If they had come across you anywhere but Konoha, you'd already be dead. If you don't start answering questions, I'll assume you pose a threat to Konoha, and I'll be forced to let the ANBU execute you, like they were meant to the moment they saw you on that rooftop."

There was a slow silence as the three ANBU members - up until now standing unnoticed in the corners of the room - drew in closer to Sasuke, their white masks eyeing Tsunade grimly through the gloom of her needlessly dark office.

"Why did you return to the village?"

Sasuke's frown stayed passive on his face, but inwardly his stomach walls felt as though they were coated in acid. His insides were burning in agitation, and his cheek felt as though when he had been punched, his jaw had shattered into a thousand pieces. Not that it mattered if Tsunade was about to order him dead - How could he say that the reason he'd returned was because he couldn't get the idea of Naruto out of his head and that the idea of returning had been tormenting him for ages? He inwardly snorted - it wasn't like she would believe him anyway, and one way or another she'd still give that order. He couldn't believe he'd allowed himself to be forced into this position - He should have payed more attention up on that rooftop, instead of thinking about Naruto, thinking about how the blond had moved on without him...

...And even in this room, with ANBU members closing in on him from the dark edges of the room ready to execute him, Sasuke still couldn't shake off the sinking in his stomach that he'd come to associate with missing a certain idiot blond.

Tsunade's lips formed a thin line in determination as she waited for Sasuke to respond, but the raven's eyes merely flickered up to her face and back again contemplatively, and Tsunade's stomach sank slightly. Sasuke really wasn't going to give in, and despite what she'd said, she really didn't want to cause the death of a Konoha ninja - especially this one, but it seemed Sasuke was too dangerous for the good of the village. She took a deep breath. Naruto would never forgive her for what she was about to do...

The Hokage placed both her hands on the table in front of her and lowered her wide eyes to the paperwork on her desk, suddenly giving a very brief nod.

"Do it." She muttered bitterly.

It was over in a second. The ANBU seemed to lunge forwards as one, kunais at the ready. Then with a sickening spatter of blood, one of them connected viciously with Sasuke's neck.

Tsunade didn't need to look up to know Sasuke wasn't even struggling. Her already wide eyes slid wider as the Uchiha's blood spattered the paperwork in front of her. Suddenly her neck jerked up to look at the scene ready to change her mind and yell wait, when something happened that drowned out her words completely.

Sasuke's whole body suddenly seemed to be bathed in blue static, his eyes closed even against the pain of the kunai piercing his skin, and before the ANBU had time to even back away there was a high pitched, ear-splitting screech, and all three of them seemed to be blasted away from the Uchiha and slammed against the far walls. The chair beneath him seemed to smash to pieces, and the ropes around his arms fell to pieces within the field of blue static.

Sasuke had closed his eyes the moment Tsunade had lowered hers, concentrating hard on his chakra. When he'd left Konoha all those years ago, his Chidori technique wasn't perfect, but after four years virtually alone and training, he could now produce a Chidori that could cover his entire body, and that was precisely what he was using now. He opened his eyes and glared at the Hokage, who still stood with her eyes wide at what was going on, then turned and skidded to the wall where his Katana stood while the ANBU got to their feet, and his Chidori faded. Tsunade could sentence him to death as much as she wanted, but Sasuke had no intention of dying on anybody's orders. Even if Naruto had forgotten him, he still had work to do; a brother to kill...

Sasuke's neck was screaming in pain as blood slid down his neck, staining his white shirt red, but he didn't have time to think about that now: The ANBU were back on their feet, and Tsunade was starting to overcome her shock and move around the desk to join the fight. The raven panted as he held his Katana out threateningly at the four ninja closing in on him, his eyes changing from smoky brown to red in a flash. The full-body chidori took up a lot of Sasuke's chakra, he didn't have the strength to perform it again, or to keep his Sharingan working for long and he was still dazed from being knocked out... as strong as he now was, he didn't know if he could fight off three ANBU and a hokage, the state he was in.

SLAM

Tsunade's door suddenly flew from its hinges and crashed across the room, sending Tsunade's desk screeching across the floor as the two collided and filling the air with dust. Sasuke's eyes flitted from the four ninja in the room towards the doorway nervously. The others didn't seem to know what was going on either, but as the dust cleared, Sasuke's heart seemed to stop beating altogether, every muscle in his body tensing as he took in the view standing before him as the dust began to clear.

Tsunade's worried expression turned to a frown as she saw Naruto standing in the doorway, a bewildered look on his face as Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder, his expression placid as the Hokage gave him an angry glare. Kakashi didn't seem to notice.

"I hope you don't mind us bursting in," The Jounin said pleasantly. "The door was locked."

Naruto, however, hadn't heard a word of it. His eyes were on the blood-soaked Uchiha backed up against the wall, Katana still held defensively before him.

"S... Sasuke...?"

The Sharingan faded from Sasuke's bruised and bloodied face, and for the first time in four years the pair of young ninja finally stood watching each other, face to face.