You Can Never Go Home Again

THE IMPORTANT AUTHOR’S NOTE: If you don’t read the rest of the A/N, it’s fine, but this part is IMPORTANT. So, I had this entire story planned out in a notebook. I went on vacation with the intention of working on this and the next chapter, however when I got to my destination, I discovered the notebook was gone. I don’t know what happened to it. As such, I’ve been freaking out non-stop since it vanished. I don’t know what to do, if I dare try to write any more without the notebook, or hold out and hope the thing shows up. God, I hope it does. I feel like I lost my right arm or something, that’s how important that notebook was.

So yeah…now you can go read the rest…or skip on down to the story.

A/N: I’M SO SORRY GUYS. THIS TIHNG HAS BEEN SITTING THERE 95% COMPLETED FOR THE LONGEST TIME…Coz…I didn’t want to write the scene with Tsunade and Naruto, lol. It was so fucking hard, to start piecing together that conversation, coz I knew what it’d be about and it was painful for me to even think about. Wow, conversation with Tsunade was harder to write than that smut scene…crazy. (and the one in the next chapter’s gonna be even harder to write T_T)

…kay, I thought of something else, too…Tsugi’s from Wave Country. lol, correcting myself after watching the Naruto Dub. Considering there IS no ‘Water Country’…but you all knew what I was talking about, anyway, right? Right. K.

For Hells, my love *heart* (And everyone who’s been waiting so patiently for this chapter, I SORRY!)

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Naruto or any characters therein associated with him. All are copyright Kishimoto-sensei. Thank you for your brief attention.

ENJOY!

You Can Never Go Home Again
Chapter Six: Desperate, We Are Young

He spent three hours at the same bath house he’d occupied just hours before. He stood in the spray of the showers, watching warm water slide over his tan skin. Watched his tan skin turn red. It didn’t matter anyway.

Everything bleeds red.

When the water turned cold, and people started filing into the room, he figured it must have been morning, and killed the water. Naruto dried himself best he could with one of the bath house’s small rectangles they called towels, and pulled on the clothing he’d been wearing the previous day. They smelled like Sand.

They smelled like Sasuke.

He made a note to burn them the first chance he got.

!!!!!!!!

Sunlight burst through the tree line, and he heard Konohamaru calling his name, drawing him from the white darkness of sleep. He was still in the tree, feeling a bit dizzy and a bit disoriented. After a moment, stretching, he managed to look down at his team. Konohamaru and Mizuo were up, Mizuo moving around to wake the others, at the same time getting a breakfast prepared.

Naruto let sighed, glancing around once more, letting Kyuubi’s senses stretch out, searching for anything threatening. Once he was satisfied, he let himself drop from the tree landing with the grace of years of practice, on one knee and a hand, and rose, motioning for Konohamaru to come speak with him, aside from the others.

“You’ll stick close to the Lord and Lady today.” He held up his hand before Konohamaru could protest, “It’s better this way. You can use more chakra on healing. Leave the rest to us.” He put a hand on his good shoulder, “Don’t go doing anything stupid.”

Konohamaru nodded, eyes serious, but managed a smile. “Come on, ‘nii-chan. Let’s have breakfast and get the hell out of here.”

He watched the other go, then followed, a few footsteps behind.

Kyuubi shifted uneasily.

!!!!!!!

He chose to walk to the Hokage’s offices, instead of leaping roof to roof. He’d agreed with his team the previous day that they’d meet at the bridge in front of the building, to organize and be ready to present themselves to the Hokage with honor.

The walk gave him time to think. Let him move on from thoughts of Sasuke, since they only led him in circles, and always to different, more confusing paths. His team had grown, bonded, and for that one year, they had been one being. He wondered when they had gone from a squad, doing a simple escort, to the team taking on an ANBU-level mission.

Tsunade hadn’t known. He didn’t really blame her.

“Oi.” The voice filtered into his thoughts, though he pushed it aside, figuring it to be just another person in the crowd, calling out to someone down the street.

He ducked his head a bit, adjusting his hitai-ate, then dropped his hands into the pockets of his pants.

“Naruto?” Now the voice hit him like a memory from a dream, and he stopped, lifting his eyes from the ground, looking a bit surprised. Standing in front of him, about 10 paces, was Shikamaru. His eyes lit up as he took in the other’s form. Practically unchanged, Shikamaru was a bit taller, his hair still up in the ridiculous ponytail, and standing in his normal bored, slouching form.

“Shikamaru!” He felt a piece of him slip back into place, and he launched forward, tackling the other to the ground with a cloud of dirt.

The other released an annoyed noise, but allowed Naruto to cling to him for a few seconds before, “So you’re back…We thought…”

Naruto sat up slowly, then climbed off of him, offering him a hand up, “Yeah. We thought we weren’t coming back either.”

“So what happened?” A different, gruffer voice joined into the conversation, from behind.

Naruto felt a grin slip across his face and he spoke as he turned, “They could smell your bad inu-stench and ran away.” Kiba stood with his hands on his hips, and Naruto caught the sly grin that fell into a slightly annoyed frown. Kiba’d grown taller and slimmer, muscles defined along bare arms and under a black netted shirt. There were guards on his knees, scratched from use, and white cloth wrapping around his knuckles and up to his wrists. Dark, tousled hair glittered in the morning light, casting spiky shadows over twinkling eyes.

They stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up. Then they moved, Naruto simply shifting his weight, as Kiba moved forward, holding out a hand. The blonde reached out to shake it, but Kiba yanked him forward and gave him a giant hug.

A sound much like, “Gack!” escaped Naruto’s mouth, before he tried to escape the grip, “Yes,” he wheezed, “Good to see you too…”

Kiba laughed and released him, stepping away, “It really is good to know you made it back.”

Shikamaru moved to Naruto’s side, looking lazily between the two of them, then rolling his eyes and looking away, “You going to Tsunade?”

“Yeah, time for a debriefing.”

Shikamaru’s eyes turned back to Naruto, heavy-lidded, but Naruto could sense the deep focus. “Is everything okay?”

“Well…the original mission was a success, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“But obviously more went on than just a simple escort.”

“Obviously.”

Kiba frowned, “You’re not going to give anything else to us?”

Naruto shrugged, “Classified until Tsunade-baba says anything. And I really doubt it’ll be anything too worrying for Konoha now.”

“BY THE BRIGHT SUN THAT SHINES ABOVE US ON THIS BEAUTIFUL DAY…IS THAT NARUTO?” A voice suddenly echoed down the street, startling everyone into silence. As a mass, everyone in the area turned around, and were simultaneously blinded by a tall, lean figure wearing nothing but green and orange, who was striking a pose somewhere between an attempt to be cool and an attempt at surprise.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow, “Lee?”

“NARUTO!” And there was a blur of green and Naruto was again being squished against a firm, strong figure, only this one was actually lifting him off the ground.

“Careful Lee, he’s turning blue…” Kiba said through a bout of laughter. Lee set him back on his feet with a blush and a wiggle of his massive eyebrows.

“SORRY!”

Kiba sighed. Shikamaru rubbed the bridge of his nose, “Lee, tone it down, we’re right here.”

Naruto cracked a smile and shook his head, “Heya, Lee. I see you, at least, haven’t changed.”

“Hey, I haven’t changed!” Kiba protested.

“That’s because you’ll always be a little kid, trapped in an adult’s body.”

Kiba snarled at him.

“Look, guys, it’s great to see you and everything, but I really DO have a meeting with Tsunade-baba.”

“So THAT’S why she looked so irritable.” Lee grinned, and struck his trademark pose, thumbs up jammed in Naruto’s face, teeth glistening in his smile, “Good luck, fair friend!”

Naruto stared at him for a long moment, speechless. “Um…yeah. Thanks?” He took a step back, and lifted his hand in a wave, “I’ll see you guys later, we should have dinner.”

“If Hokage-sama’s done with you by then.”

Naruto flashed a grin that made him look years younger, “She’ll be ready to get rid of me before I’m even completely in the room.”

“Later, man!”

“Bye, guys.” Naruto took a turn into an alleyway, and pulled himself up onto the rooftop of a shop, then took off across the skyline, towards the tower looming in the distance. All signs of happiness that had been on his face just seconds ago were wiped clean and replaced with stony features and cold, hard eyes.

!!!!!!!

The first thing he became aware of was that his pillow was moving in a steady up and down matter. The only thought that crossed his mind was that he must have rolled over in his sleep to cling to Naruto. But something was wrong with that thought, and with the scene. The warm figure beneath his head lacked Naruto’s scent, bright and sweet. Instead, the figure smelled like woods, dark and heady. And there was less muscle definition. What the hell was going on?

The first thing Sasuke saw when he opened his eyes was a blue tee-shirt, and beyond that, feet stretched out, and just beyond that…the remains of a party. And it all rushed back.

His birthday party.

He groaned softly and tried to sit up, putting a hand immediately to his forehead as the warm, sharp pain of his hangover washing over him. When the room stopped spinning enough for him to handle looking around, he discovered that his pillow wasn’t the only other person in the room. Bodies were sprawled out all over his living room floor, a sea of trashed humanity.

I’m going to need a lot of coffee…

And then he tilted his head to his pillow. That bastard from the night before. Tsugi? Yeah, Tsugi. What the hell was he doing, holding him against him? He growled under his breath and shoved the arm slung loosely around his hip off, charging to his feet. Of course, he regretted it immediately, as he swayed, but he wouldn’t fall back down again.

Tsugi made a short noise, grunted, then sat up, blinking blearily.

“Get out.”

“Mn, g’mornin to you too, princess.”

“Shut up and get out. I’m kicking everyone out now.” He growled, then attempted to storm passed him and get to his kitchen, hearing aspirin and coffee beckoning to him. He kicked the person sleeping in front of the door, but the figure just grumbled and rolled, so he stepped over them and let the kitchen door swing shut behind him, finding perverse pleasure in the ‘thunk’ he heard as it smacked the back of the guy’s head.

He heard people moving as he swallowed the aspirin, and then Tsugi was suddenly beside him, leaning against the counter. He glared at him, then turned on his coffee machine. “I thought I told you to get out.”

“I think you did…” Tsugi shrugged, “But everyone else is still sleeping.”

“Hn.” He glared at him again, and went back out into the living room, and started kicking people awake. He wondered if Sakura was in the mess somewhere. Probably upstairs. He growled rather loudly at that thought, startling awake someone, who woke and sat with a start, then scrambled to their feet and seemed to being searching for someone or something.

Sasuke stalked up the stairs to the second floor, the hallway was dark and empty, but doors were closed that he tended to leave open. So, he stormed down the hall, throwing each one open with loud bangs, startling people awake, and growled loudly when he got to the end, “Party’s long over, go the fuck home.”

Back down in the kitchen, he found Tsugi drinking his coffee. He glared at him, gnashed his teeth, and poured himself his own mug.

“Brilliant party.”

He forced himself to ignore the other.

“Should do it again some time.”

Silence.

“You can’t ignore me forever.”

Good thing I’ve had practice. He thought smugly, taking a long drink.

“So what’s on today’s agenda.”

He turned, casting a sharp glare on the dirty-blonde. Tsugi seemed unmoved by the look and simply quirked an eyebrow.

“Get the hell out of here.”

“But I rather like it here.” He grinned and leaned forward, “I think I rather like you.”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed, and he turned sharply, retreating once more to the rest of the house, pulling open the front door and shoving a few still-blinking-away-sleep people out.

He wrinkled his nose as the sunlight streaming through the front door roused his hangover into a new level of irritation. This, of course, meant that things could only get worse.

Surprisingly, it didn’t take Tsugi very long to prove his theory correct.

The blonde leaned right over and kissed him.


!!!!!!!

There were three shadows waiting in the shaded side of the huge building Tsunade called her office, when Naruto approached. As he stepped onto the bridge they moved, and he quickly found himself surrounded by them.

“How is it?” He asked calmly.

“Running smooth.”

“It’s good to be home.” Konohamaru relaxed visibly.

“Don’t let your guard down.” Sigume shifted his weight, hand hanging in an almost careless gesture, that Naruto knew to be in truth very defensive, a quick movement and his hand could be filled with any of his weapons of choice. Naruto nodded in agreement.

“I have to see Tsunade. She’ll need to know.”

“Will she do anything?” Mizuo’s quiet voice asked a dangerous question.

“Probably not.” Naruto crossed his arms and looked at the ground, frowning, “At this point, there’s not much she can do. Besides,” He looked up at the three of them again, “This is our mission, first and totally. It extended from the original, do we want someone else to come in and finish what we started.

“NO!” Konohamaru shouted, suddenly looking angry, then shrank back again as he realized how loudly he’d spoken, and tugged at his hitae-ate, which sloped down over his right eye.

“That’s what I thought. We all bear too many scars to let this one go. Now,” He looked around, eyes casting a casual glance over the city skyline, “while I trust Tsunade and her choice of patrol…I trust you all better.”

He started walking towards the enterance.

“Naru-nii.” Mizuno called, and he paused, because Mizuno never called out to him for anything, “Remember not to hope for anything.”

He nodded and continued.

Hope was something that died out months ago. He barely remembered what that word meant.

The shadow of a giant bird broke through the bright light that divided them. Naruto didn’t see it, and the others shot a glance at it, then each other, before dispersing.

!!!!!!!

He felt eyes on them, hundreds, simply watching. They became jumpy, kunai being drawn at even the slightest noise. The Lord and Lady quickly learned to make no sudden movements.

A midday, they learned the true meaning of humidity, as a hot, wet blanket of air settled over them. They packed away what little they were wearing they could afford to take off, but their heavy clothes that helped hide them weighed them down. They rested in sort spurts, when the Lord and Lady demanded it, quiet and heaving for air. Naruto cast short glances around at them all, during these moments, wondering which one would break under the stress first.

He extended Kyuubi’s hearing, listening to movements. But it didn’t take Kyuubi’s hearing when the sound of fluttering wings reached him. The Lord was on his feet in an instant.

“Whooo?”

The single sound burst everyone into a flurry of movement, weapons of choice drawn, Konohamaru dropped into a protective stance in front of the two non-nin, and Toshio and Sigume behind, in a 3-sided circle of protection. Mizuo had his hands raised, curled into a seal, and they all froze, waiting.

Naruto had not moved from his seat.
There.

This owl was small. Blending in easily with the branches of a tree about 20 feet up.

“Who?”

It watched him with interest, head tilted. A tan color, this one didn’t look anything like the other. It fluffed it’s wings, looked away from him and preened for a moment, then looked at him again.

Alive. This one’s alive.

Kyuubi rumbled, pleased with itself in him.

Let’s eat it.

Shut it. Is there anyone else?

Nothing.

Naruto relaxed, and opened his mouth to tell them it wasn’t like the last owl they had encountered. But Kyuubi flared suddenly.

NOTHING.

What?

There is Nothing…there, above and beyond it. Like before.

What do we do?

Move.

Naruto rose slowly, looking over at the others, and nodded, “Get your things together. We’re going.”

“But-“

“Now.” He hissed, pulling his own pack onto his shoulders again, “We have to make good time today.”

He didn’t let them waste any time, helped them get everything together, gave them orders. He put Mizuo with Konohamaru, guarding their charges, he set the others in front, leading. He fell behind.

And they moved quickly.

The eyes followed.

Hundreds.

The eyes followed.

And then the weapons.

Kunai whizzed past Naruto’s ear, embedding in the tree just ahead of him. He cursed under his breath, then called an order to keep the others moving.

“Kage Bunshin no Justu!” And he was suddenly flying with a hundred other Narutos, an intimidation tactic, hoping maybe he could push off the attacker.

Another kunai.

He let the others go, slowed to a stop and watched them vanish before turning to face their attackers.

There were three, all in black and shining, silver material. No hitae-ate. He frowned. Nothing to identify a country. Wonderful.

And then they were on him, and he didn’t have time to think about their nationality anymore.

!!!!!!!

Tsunade’s office was surprisingly dark, curtains drawn over most of the windows. When he entered, she didn’t look surprised to see him.

“Good morning, Tsunade-baba.” He offered her a cheerful grin.

She watched that face he used as a mask for a moment, before nodding and rising to greet him. Instead of a warm handshake or hug, he gave her a hard salute, then waited for her to take her seat again, before he would relax even the slightest bit.

“I’m glad to see you survived the night.”

Naruto shrugged and slipped into one of the uncomfortable chairs, “I’ve seen worse.”

Tsunade watched him, quiet, but he gave her nothing else. She drew out a file, opening it slowly, “The others have turned in written accounts, but there seems to be large gaps.”

“A lot happens in a year.”

She folded her hands and leaned forward, “Maybe you should tell me about it.”

“I’ve written a report.”

“Indulge me.”

He suddenly looked uncomfortable again, shifting and looking around.

“What happened, Naruto? What’s made you so jumpy? It’s all over, isn’t it?”

The last question made him freeze, then ask carefully, “Who said it was over?”

There was a soft knock at the door, then a familiar face appeared, “Hokage-sama?”

Naruto was on his feet in an instant, breath caught in his throat, “I-Iruka-sensei.”

Iruka’s face broke into a smile and in an instant, the two were meeting in the middle of the room to share a warm embrace. For a moment, Naruto let himself feel like his old self, seeking comfort in the familiar arms. And then they were stepping away, and Iruka was going to ask questions. Questions Naruto wasn’t ready to answer.

“Can I help you, Iruka?” Tsunade broke the reunion, “We were just beginning a debriefing.”

“Ah, sorry.” Iruka scratched the back of his head, “I just wanted to see if you still had time later for that meeting we had talked about?”

Tsunade nodded, “Bring everyone in two hours.” She glanced at Naruto, “If we’re not done, then we’ll take a break and indulge you.”

“They’ll be happy to see you, Naruto.”

Naruto looked confused, “Who?”

“Your friends.”

Friends.

The word was bitter in his mind, like an old fruit he’d forgotten to dispose of. He’d forgotten the meaning of the word, and it all came rushing back in a sudden wave of mental anguish.

“Oh. Yeah.” Was the only lame reply he could come up with.

Iruka smiled anyway, issuing a short bow, then vanished out the door.

Tsunade turned her golden-brown eyes on Naruto again as the door clicked shut. Naruto ignored her for a moment, then sighed and faced her again.

“Start.”

“From where?”

“The best place. The beginning.”

“Well…I suppose, the best place to really begin…is the moment we realized we were lost.”

!!!!!!!

He couldn’t get his bearings, they moved too fast, kept him spinning and retreating, looking for an opening and finding nothing. Around him, his team fought to keep their charges protected.

The clash of metal on metal, as two kunai connected. Grunts. Scents.

Kyuubi continued to get nothing, and was useless to Naruto.

And then they fell back, vanishing into the shadows.

“Naru—“

“Shut up.”

Silence, everyone froze. Naruto sorted through the sound of everyone’s heavy breathing, but found none that didn’t belong in the group.

“Hurry up.”

“Slow down.”

“All the time in the world…”

“And no where to run.”

“What now, little fox?”

“What now?”

Three voices. One right after the other, changing location each time. Naruto spun. His team watched him for a signal or guidance of what to do next.

Think, Naruto. Think.

“The games begin, little ones.”

“Don’t blink.”

“Or you’re dead.”

“Don’t sleep.”

“The nightmare becomes you.”

“Don’t breathe.”

“Or Mercy shall not fail to find you.”

Riddles. Kyuubi growled, I hate riddles…let me eat them.

As tempting as that sounded, Naruto forced himself to ignore the comment and not reply.

A flash of light to his left and he was spinning, Kunai whistling through the air. He almost missed the figure dropping to the ground, fingers splayed. The ground rippled.

Strong. Sweet.

Dangerous.

It was female, wrapped in tight coils of black, ankle to wrist, with silver guards on her forearms and shins. Brown cloth covered her hands and mouth. The piece around her chin wrapped back over long brown hair, sealing a ponytail to the back of her neck. Dark eyes glittered.

“Hello, boys.”

!!!!!!!

Uchiha Manor was quiet, the soft sound of bare feet echoing coldly across hard wood floors. He moved from room to room, breathing in cold air and dead spirits, exhaling them in small puffs of frosted breath.

Disconnected from himself, Sasuke questioned what had happened.

Alone. Left you alone again.

And he deserved it. He deserved the sound of doors closing. He deserved the sharp pang of waiting for someone to return to him. He had well earned waking in a cold, empty bed.

He knew. Somehow. He knew. He knows.

Someone was knocking at the front door. Sasuke changed his path, moved a little faster.
Naruto knows. He’ll never understand.

He pulled open the door. A messenger held out a scroll, and remained silent, looking bored. He took it, nodding to the boy, then turned away. He broke the plain green seal as the boy vanished.

Hey there, hot stuff!

Sasuke almost dropped the scroll.

That handwriting. He stumbled back, and stared at the single line. Fingers shook as he unrolled the parchment and more words spilled out.

He knew that handwriting. The slow curve of hiragana, sloppily flowing together.

At the end, he found a signature he’d recognize anywhere. Kanji that formed a name he never thought he’d see again.

Tsugi.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ch. 6 Fin.

I did art of the first scene of the story... http://www.deviantart.com/view/37248940/