for: community
For: community
Title: Put a little fixing on it
Rating: PG
Summary: Back and forth on Sasuke's return.
Warnings: Mostly fluff and some OC's. Switching of tenses; I really hope it doesn't get too confusing.
A/N: Thanks to my encouraging friends who read this over and will be thanked properly soon. Title from "The Fixer" by Pearl Jam.
Mod note: Reminder for the author/artist of this submission, please do not reply to comments signed in, if you want to reply anon commenting is enabled.
"Alright," the Hokage sighs in very bored tones, leaning back in his low chair as the jounin and chuunin wait expectantly, kneeling on mats in neat rows. "Can we get on with this? I have... things to do."
The Hokage's assistant, Iruka Umino, tightens his lips against a sigh; it isn't that Kakashi is a lazy Hokage, he's been doing a marvellous job for the past ten years or so, but he still carries around that indolent manner that had been his mainstay for years. At least, it's a good cover against the enemies of Konoha, who stupidly buy his careless act and are sent home with lungfuls of lightning, never to return.
"What kind of things?" Naruto asks with a laugh and companionably elbows the person beside him in the ribs. This person has his eyes lowered, hair falling in a long choppy fringe over a pale forehead. When he looks up, he gazes right at Iruka with clear, dark eyes, his face relaxed and calm. Naruto stares at the side of this pale shinobi's face and Iruka sees his expressive mouth twist a little.
Sasuke Uchiha gives Iruka a bare but respectful nod. Iruka tilts his head in return, smiling slightly. Iruka's smile widens a little more as Naruto elbows Sasuke again in the ribs, his grin flaring back to life like a triumphant dawn; whatever distracted him just a few moments ago is now buried under a layer of cheer. His resemblance to the Fourth is remarkable now, something that Iruka never fails to marvel over. He isn't the only one: in a council-meeting a few months ago, an elderly council-woman had sniped at Naruto, "Minato, don't think I don't know what you're scheming under all that straw you call hair!"
Naruto had looked torn between being smugly pleased and offended, and only a long stare from the Hokage had sealed his mouth shut.
"Very important things," Kakashi rebukes now and taps his fingers on the surface of the wide, squat table. "You keep forgetting that I'm Hokage, with a long list of things to see and people to do. Or... is it the other way around, Iruka?" He levels a sly gaze at Iruka, who shakes his head, completely used to the Hokage's teasing after all these years.
"It's the other way around, Hogake-sama," Iruka answers mildly, as always.
Kakashi shrugs. "Oh, right. This is why you're my assistant. Anyway, on to the so-called important things. Same sequence, so we don't get lost: Ino, reports on any problems in the community and border patrols. Shikamaru, general security report."
Shikamaru's sigh is loud, but he still has a list ready in his hands.
"Sakura, hospital. Sasuke-sensei," Kakashi breezes through, "school report. You first, as usual?"
"As usual," Sasuke agrees and got to his feet. Some of the older jounin give him cool, mistrustful looks, still wary of him. Sasuke ignores them completely, stepping around the jounin and chuunin of his own age-level and going up near to the Hokage's desk with confident moves. Iruka notes how easily he manoeuvred himself, and barely holds back a smile of pride.
It's all very amazing to witness... since both of Sasuke's eyes are blind.
Sasuke lay in the dark and seethed.
He supposed his face looked fairly calm on the outside, but that was all he could dredge up nowadays: suppositions. There was probably light in his small cell, but he wasn't able to discern it. After all his battles, all his victories, he would of course push himself too far when it came to fighting the jounin in Konoha, and lose the vision in his eyes. Kakashi had been a major catalyst, of course; but it had been Naruto, unsurprisingly, who had sent him over the edge.
He clenched his fists as he lay on the narrow cot. Naruto: always, always his downfall. Of course, they had wasted no time in binding his chakra and throwing him in the deepest goal they had. He didn't know what happened to the rest of Team Hawk. Probably they were in other cells. Probably they were sent home for their own trials.
He felt something like remorse at that, but he quelled it. Their adventures were over. No need to become maudlin over something that had already happened. That was a waste of time and energy. He tried to dredge up ways to exact his revenge, but he suddenly felt very exhausted, as if he had been travelling for years and finally came home to rest.
In a way, that was completely true. However, Sasuke tightened his lips and reminded himself that Konoha had not been his home for years. Still, that bone-riddling exhaustion didn't seem to depart. He wondered if it was related to losing his vision.
He heard the distant metallic clang of bolts being pulled a few corridors away and felt the chakra wards around him shift restlessly. Even though his own chakra was sealed into himself as part of his imprisonment, he picked up the heavy dragging sensation of the wards being parted--no, pushed impatiently out of the way. He knew who his visitor was before they were even inside his cell.
Unexpectedly, his brash company was silent as they crossed the threshold; Sasuke kept himself still, not even flinching when a warm hand touched his wrist, his forearm, his shoulder, neck... he tried to appear even more death-like as possible, vainly ignoring the bleeding of mixed emotions into his skin.
"Sasuke," a low voice called him and he trembled to life. "Sasuke," Naruto murmured again and Sasuke felt something well up in his stomach and his chest, something vaguely familiar; he couldn't identify it just then.
"Sasuke," Naruto said again, as if he could call that name forever. "You're home."
"No," Sasuke growled, feeling the word force up out of him, because while he had had no intention of speaking to Naruto at all, the speech simply drilled past his unwilling lips, past his apathetic exhaustion. "I have no home."
The hand on Sasuke's shoulder tightened, slipping a little towards his neck. For a moment, Sasuke thought that Naruto was going to choke him, take away that phrase with his last breath, but a hot droplet landed beside those fingers. That idiot was crying over Sasuke; Naruto had always been prone to tears, anyway and he tried to dredge up the familiar disdain for Naruto's penchant for being over-emotional: that brash wildness was always unfitting for a shinobi, Sasuke had always thought.
"You think you don't," Naruto said in damp, wavering tones, but his determination shone through every syllable. "But... you do." Sasuke could hear him swallowing. "What's been done to... to your family, to you. I'll make sure it will never happen again, to anyone!"
I'll be Hokage! It was the same tone and for some reason, it made Sasuke want to smile a little, but he didn't.
"Leave me alone," he told Naruto flatly.
"Like hell I will," Naruto snarled in return, tears and emotion gone like a wildfire; this time, as Naruto ranted on, Sasuke did smile.
Kakashi is almost in full-lounge position, looking for all the world as if he is half-asleep. He can feel the waves of amused disapproval emanating from his assistant and he stifles a smile. Iruka thinks it is horribly bad manners for him to look so informal during these monthly meetings; also, Iruka is tickled by it but never verbally gives any clue that he finds it funny. Kakashi is quite prepared, actually, for a solid round of scolding when they return to the Hokage's private offices.
He likes having Iruka as his assistant; before, he had Shizune doggedly following his every footstep when she wasn't helping to take care of the silent Fifth. After Tsunade had passed away peacefully in her coma, Shizune had quit, taking on a permanent position at the hospital with Sakura. Iruka had taken over her work with smooth efficiency and like Shizune, he didn't waste too much time being shocked over Kakashi's half-serious innuendos.
Iruka is able to read him by the level of his slouch, though, and these follow the Lounging Law of Reverse Proportion: in which the lazier the Hokage appears, the more focused he actually is. Right now, Kakashi might seem as if he is dozing off, but he actually hears every single word that Sasuke says.
Sasuke speaks in a disinterested drone, a dry tonal field with no discernible landmarks; Kakashi has heard him in classes, though, and is very grateful that Sasuke doesn't use this voice on the children, or they'd all be lulled into sleep in the middle of the day. Yet, he goes through any problems very efficiently, making his points with succinct clarity. Kakashi had had a grim time when he had suggested appointing Sasuke as a teacher at the school. The council of Elders had thrown fits at the idea, asking snidely if the Hokage remembered what individuals from the Uchiha-clan were capable of. Kakashi had pointed out that as a former traitor, Sasuke would be perfect to teach the children how to recognize and prevent any subterfuge.
"You'll have a generation of shinobi who won't care about their village," one elder had sniped. "What in the world will he teach them?" The rest agreed with him loudly, quietening when Kakashi rose to his feet and stared at them all.
"He's already accepted the offer," Kakashi informed them coolly and the council had erupted in rage.
That had been a particularly good day for subterfuge, Kakashi thinks now with great satisfaction, squirming a little in his seat to get a more comfortable spot. The council tends to operate under the opinion that all their archaic laws and plotting are the solution to every problem that crops up in their gathering. Kakashi delights in crossing them constantly, many times with Iruka's sly advice. These elders have done a lot of damage to their own in the past, not the least of which had cost the village an entire clan, through underhanded plotting.
Kakashi nods at Sasuke's finishing statements and watches Shikamaru make his way up to the front.
"There was a security alert at the western borders two days ago," Shikamaru reports and Kakashi's slouch worsens with concentration. "No intruders detected but still... I have a feeling. I've increased patrols in that sector."
Kakashi nods; he's always trusted Shikamaru's 'feelings'. "Very well. Anything else?"
Shikamaru shrugs in negation and returns to his place. Kakashi lounges through the reports from the hospital, which Sakura gives with sharp tones, her green eyes resting on each of her fellow shinobi as she reminds them of their regular check-ups. She gazes at Naruto and Sasuke and for a moment, Kakashi remembers the three of them as they once were. He notes that Naruto gives Sasuke a slow, sidelong stare; for as long as Sasuke has been fully free, a year living under Iruka's custody and a year teaching at the school, Naruto has been giving him that curious, smouldering look.
Kakashi wonders about it; for all that Naruto is an open-book, sometimes he has deeply hidden pages.
Naruto's blue eyes meet his and crinkle at the edges in a quick smile. "Are we done, boss?" he sings out. "Because... don't you have people to do?"
Kakashi can almost hear Iruka gritting his teeth and hides a grin.
When Sasuke's parole finally came around, Naruto could hardly stop a feeling of dancing from flooding his skin and bones. He ignored all the Hokage's warnings (they were threats, actually) and clattered down with the rest of the group to Sasuke's cell. He knew the way by heart now, he could even navigate it with his eyes closed. When he wasn't with his genin team or on a mission, he was down here, either by Sasuke's cell or in it, chattering idly about his day.
Sometimes, Sasuke would grunt in response. It lightened Naruto's heart more than a smile from Sakura or Hinata-chan.
"Sasuke Uchiha," some withered guy intoned and Naruto sidled to stand right next the old bat, peering at the scroll in his wrinkled hands. Some of the council-members had been dismissed in disgrace, and others had taken their place, but Naruto had the idea that the more things changed, the more they remained the same. The old man gave Naruto a disgusted glare, but Naruto ignored him.
"Sasuke Uchiha," the elder tried again, bravely ignoring the fact that Naruto was almost climbing atop him. "By orders of the Council of Elders and the Sixth Duly Appointed Hokage of Konoha, I hereby end your sealed punishment and release you to the custody of a trusted and responsible Konoha shinobi."
Naruto fought down a giddy wriggle. Kakashi hadn't said anything as yet, but they would have to place Sasuke with him, right? He was the only one in the whole village who understood Sasuke, and if Sasuke still had his Sharingan, he was the only one (well, apart from Kakashi-sensei, sorry, sama) who could hope to match Sasuke in a fight. He would have Sasuke in his house, to feed and nurture, and for some reason that made him happier than he could express.
The old man had been droning while Naruto was doing his mental flailing, but now Naruto focused enough to hear him ask, "Do you understand the terms of your probation, Sasuke Uchiha?"
There was a slight pause from the darkness of the cell; the metal-door stood open, but shadows grimly covered the walls, lingering in corners.
Finally, Sasuke's toneless voice answered. "I understand."
"And do you vow to follow the rules of your probation and the laws of your village, Konoha?"
"I so vow," Sasuke answered again, but there was a slight lilt to his voice now as if he was smirking; Naruto nearly sighed at that, it was such a Sasuke thing to do, even in the middle of all this rigmarole. The elder hesitated and sneaked a look at the Rokudaime, who shrugged in response.
"Come forward," the elder finally commanded. "And we hereby release you into the care of Iruka Umino."
"What?!" Naruto screeched, his voice rebounding off the stone walls. The chakra wards shimmered, sensitive to any output in energy, like sound. Kakashi squinted warningly at Naruto, but Naruto was busy pouting at his first sensei.
"Iruka-sensei," he complained, still shocked and a lot offended, but Iruka shook his head quickly, an indication that they would have a discussion later. He was going to pull the big guns and whine Iruka-niichan but Sasuke was stepping into the light and Naruto had never been able to concentrate on much when Sasuke was around. Sasuke's dark eyes were hidden behind a strip of clean linen, and he was dressed in plain grey clothing. His hair was longer than ever, and his skin was so pale. The scornful twist that had once dominated his lips was gone, though, and his face looked so different without it.
Sasuke held out a hand, palm-up. Naruto stared at it, gazing at the criss-crossing evidence of scars on his skin; before he could think of doing anything else, Iruka stepped forward and took Sasuke by the elbow.
"Follow me," Iruka said firmly, and he led Sasuke out of his cell completely, and into the corridor.
"Why did you let Iruka be his probation... person?" Naruto hissed at Kakashi as the rest of the group followed. "I should have been his person!"
"Should you?" Kakashi asked conversationally, as if he wasn't being harassed by an agitated blond Jounin while his ANBU protection detail hovered close. "How did you come to that conclusion?"
"I'm his friend! I know him best, I would.... I would care for him." Naruto squinted as they finally exited the lower levels of the prison and into the wide-open corridors of the main floor; Kakashi nodded at Ibiki as they passed him standing stiffly at the door of his office.
"Sometimes knowing someone the best is not good enough," Kakashi told him; Naruto barely managed to stifle an exasperated groan. Since becoming Hokage, Kakashi had become at least 40% more cryptic as far as Naruto was concerned. He made a promise to himself that when he became Hokage, he would be as clear as possible. None of this riddling crap.
"At least I can visit him any time I want." He glared at Kakashi. "I can, right?"
"Of course you can!" Kakashi said jovially. "Iruka-sensei's home will be open to you, especially with Sasuke there. Right, Iruka-sensei?"
"Great! I guess I can live with that!" Naruto cheered, and as they exited into the bright Konoha sunshine, he could see both Iruka and Sasuke shaking their heads.
"Naruto," Sasuke says as they walk out of the meeting, Naruto's hands carelessly up behind his head as they stroll. "I didn't think you were that obtuse, but you always exceed my expectations."
"I aim to please!" Naruto chirps, secretly thrilled that Sasuke uses full sentences with him nowadays. "Although, uh, what am I being obtuse about?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto sees one dark eyebrow lift.
"I'm surprised you know what obtuse means," Sasuke mutters.
"This is me exceeding your expectations again," Naruto shoots back as they go down the stairs. He restrains the urge to reach out and help Sasuke find the bannister, for Sasuke's long pale fingers rests on the wooden curve unerringly. "And Sakura-chan gave me a dictionary for my birthday once. But seriously, what am I being obtuse about?"
"Kakashi and Iruka-sensei," Sasuke finally answers as they reach the ground level, making their way to the main exit.
"Oh!" Naruto grins as he pushes open the heavy wooden door and holds it for Sasuke, nods his thanks and goes down the wide steps without pause. "You mean how Kakashi keeps making eyes at Iruka-sensei and Iruka ignores him? Yeah. Theirs is a complicated love," he finishes with a heartbroken sigh that would do Ino proud. She or Hinata-chan would giggle at that, Sakura would roll her eyes at him, but Sasuke turns his face towards Naruto with a probing expression.
"You noticed," is all Sasuke says as they both head towards the school. "I thought you didn't, what with your parting phrase back there."
"I noticed, I'm not that blind! Or obtuse," Naruto confirms. "But, you know, they're just really good friends. Nothing's gonna come out of it because Kakashi is too weird and Iruka-sensei is too focused on doing his work. Unless you know something I don't know. Eh? Eh, Sasuke?" He nudges Sasuke, who takes a calm step away and doesn't respond.
Naruto takes a deep breath and exhales sharply through his nose, watching the back of Sasuke's head as he walks a little ahead; sometimes... okay, it's awesome having Sasuke here in Konoha, but he would give his right arm and a whole week's worth of ramen to have the rude, talented, self-absorbed boy back. It's like this adult, responsible Sasuke is a shadow of the tortured individual Naruto had known and sometimes it throws him for a loop. He must be messed up in the head, though, because who would miss being called an idiot every ten minutes? This Sasuke hadn't called him that in a long time.... actually, not since he'd been thrown in the prison after a protracted battle in the forest.
He decides that he actually likes it. People change, they mature, and if Sasuke can quit pointing out his flaws every four seconds, then Naruto can quit pining after a boy who always sneered, and appreciate this withdrawn young man. Both, as far as he and everyone else is concerned, are one and the same. Hadn't Sasuke said so?
Sasuke pauses beside the school's entry. He puts his hand on the wooden post of the railing; the air is quiet and warm all around them, and Naruto stares at his impassive face.
"Well. Here you are," Naruto points out unnecessarily, and Sasuke's shoulders move in a shrug of agreement. "Sasuke--"
"Sakura and Sai are coming right behind us," Sasuke cuts in and sure enough, those two persons round the corner in the direction that Sasuke and Naruto had just been coming from. Sai passes them with a quick nod and Naruto gives him a bright grin and a wink. He always does that because he knows Sai will copy the action and sure enough, he does, dropping the most awkward wink known to the Fire Nation; it never fails to tickle Naruto's funny-bone when he does that. Sakura, however, stops, one hand fisted on her hip.
"You two," she begins and Naruto knows that some sort of lecture is on its way. "Remember, you need to do your yearly check-ups this week. No exceptions, even the Hokage is doing his. Well, Iruka-san promised to drag him in, so that's good as done."
"Awww, Sakura," Naruto complains out of habit. Sakura throws him an affectionate glare and then returns her attention to Sasuke; her expression cools a little.
"I've still been researching healing options for your eyes. I think I've found a viable one," she tells him; Sasuke's shoulders stiffen even more than before and that makes Naruto tense. This is a touchy subject for all of them.
"I thought you had stopped looking," Sasuke says through tight lips.
"I didn't."
"Let me rephrase that," Sasuke says coldly. "I thought I told you not to bother any more."
"I'm a medi-nin," Sakura reminds him, quite needlessly in Naruto's opinion. "I'm always looking for ways to heal and cure."
"Yeah," Naruto breaks in with a slight laugh. "I mean, wouldn't it be great to have your sight back, Sasuke?"
"Whatever," Sasuke says and turns around, walking down the path to the school's front door. "In any case, I won't keep my hopes up."
Naruto gives Sakura a very apologetic look, but Sakura's face is set in stubborn lines. She and Sasuke haven't been on particularly good terms since his return and that hurts Naruto, a lot. He wants them to be the same as when they were all genin, and it's obvious that they won't be. He rests an arm on her shoulder and squeezes briefly; she smiles at him, small yet true.
"I'll see you later?" he asks.
"Of course," Sakura answers and then motions in Sasuke's wake with her chin. "Well. Go on, I know you're burning to follow him. As usual."
"Hey!" Naruto scowls playfully at her, but she grins at him and shoves him, continuing on her way back to the hospital. Naruto watches her back for a moment and then turns. "Hey, Sasuke, wait up!"
Sasuke stops and waits for him, at the top of a ramp that was built recently beside the short flight of stairs. When Naruto finally catches up to him, he says, "Don't you have a genin team to monitor now?"
"Nope! I had training with them this morning, and I sent them home since we have this night mission later. I think it's to catch someone's pet snake."
"Sounds like fun," Sasuke says blandly. "I suppose you'll want to sit in my class and disrupt it for the rest of the day?"
"Sounds like fun," Naruto answers, grinning. Sasuke simply shakes his head and enters the wide-open corridor of the school.
"Sasuke," Iruka called and Sasuke didn't move. "Sasuke. Sakura is here to see you."
Sasuke didn't answer; however, he could hear Iruka's calm voice speaking with Sakura and then sighed as the door to his bedroom was pushed open.
"Sasuke," Iruka said. "Just let her try."
"And fail again?" Sasuke snapped. "There's no hope for my eyes any more. Tell her to give up and leave me alone."
"Do you think she would actually do that if you or I tell her to?" Iruka asked him in his infuriatingly reasonable manner. He had been Sasuke's favourite teacher in school, because he could be very patient and knew a lot more than he appeared to, but now his tranquil reaction to anything Sasuke did or said made him want to grind his teeth. He had thought he would be able to drive Iruka crazy, the way Naruto used to do in their classes, but there seemed to be nothing that would disturb his zen-like balance now.
Sasuke grudgingly admired that. Iruka didn't treat him with disdain, or shower him with affection; Iruka didn't seem to despise him and he asked that Sasuke help keep the place clean as best he could, and even cook. He didn't act as if because Sasuke was blind he was also helpless. One didn't need sight to do the seals for a tiny katon, did they? And just because most of his chakra was still locked down for his probation, he could get by very well by himself. When his time under Iruka's care was over, he would be able to retreat to the Uchiha compound and manage by himself. He'd figure out how to make money then; hopefully, the Uchiha name still had some kind of clout. Somewhere.
"Very well," he finally answered, sitting up. "Let's get this over with."
He could hear Sakura's light footsteps on the mat of the room. "Sasuke," she said in brisk, professional tones, "I'm going to put my hands over your eyes."
"Do what you must," he told her and there was a long, resentful pause. He said nothing to encourage her; what would be the point? After a few beats, he felt her palms cup over his eyes and the warm sensation of energy wash over his face. He could feel her chakra search carefully through his, and locate that thick barrier that was the cause of his blindness. Her chakra poked experimentally at it and Sasuke tightened his lips even more when pain lanced through his forehead.
"Sorry," she whispered and went back to her exploration, trying to go around the barrier, or over it, but to no avail.
"No result, right?" he asked her snidely when she finished her examination, her hands sliding from his face.
"Not exactly. I found out a lot," she answered. "I have more notes to make."
"Good. Because from now one, notes will be the only thing you'll have to go on. I don't want you to try healing me any more. It's futile, a waste of my time--"
"I'll find a way," she cut in and Sasuke rolled his eyes; in some ways, she was just as stubborn as Naruto. "It might take me awhile, but I'll find it."
"You seem to have a lot of faith in your own abilities," Sasuke mocked.
"A lot more than you do," she snapped and Sasuke knew she was glaring at him as hard as he was glaring at her. "If it wasn't for Naruto..."
"Well?" Sasuke demanded when she didn't say anything else. "What about him?"
"He likes you whole," Sakura retorted and he could hear her getting to her feet. "Why any of us still want the best for you, it's beyond my comprehension."
"You?" Sasuke asked sharply when he knew she was at the doorway. They both knew what his terse question entailed; he thought that he would never want to know the answer, but apparently he did.
"As much as I dislike you for... for how you left us," she responded in a low voice. "You're still one of us. Naruto always made sure of that."
After her departure, Sasuke sat on the edge of his bed, staring blankly into the ever-present darkness for a very long time. When Iruka came into his room, saying, "I have a little technique I can show you, if you like," he had actually nodded willingly, wanting to break his mind out of the memories of the past.
Sasuke knows he cuts a very impressive figure for his students; he still wears his black arm-guards, which are especially helpful when lecturing in weaponry. The rest of his clothes are just as dark, as a matter of fact; he doesn't sport the green vest, but he's aware that the severe clothing he has on sometimes strikes fear into the hearts of his students.
He likes it that way, actually.
"Sit down," he says crisply, going towards his desk. "Saburo, if you know what's good for you, you'll put away that senbon now. Chihomi, brushing your hair that many times won't bring the beauty you seek." He turns his face towards them, hearing their excited whispers and knowing that Naruto is making his way to the back of the class, all wide beaming smiles and sunflower-bright hair. Naruto is dispelling the pallor of his classroom, the way a single beam of sunlight will make motes dance in an attic, and he can almost feel the warmth on his face.
He's going through a quick run-down of kayakujutsu (he can feel delight oozing from some of the pyrotechnic-crazy boys), when he feels a slight tremor in the floor.
The class goes silent. Then a faint explosion reaches their ears and Sasuke doesn't think; he blinks, and the mild sonar-technique that is always active, always pinging off other shinobi, civilians and objects in his path, strengthens ten-fold. Iruka-sensei had showed him how to use the chakra he had to do that, and he had been impressed against his will; Iruka had been predictably modest about it, though. Instead of seeing faint outlines of his surroundings now as he usually does, he can pick up the shapes of their chakra. Not as good as the Sharingan... but still quite useful. He sends out the sonar further, and when the echoes return a few seconds later, he understands that there are wild skirmishes breaking out all over the village.
"Sasuke," Naruto mutters as he runs up to stand close to him, and Sasuke turns to look at him, at the bright spire of his chakra. "What do we--"
Another explosion, closer this time and Sasuke snaps out, "Everyone, this is not a drill. Get into lines, no talking, no pushing." He watches them stand up obediently, and form three neat lines, filing out the door just as they practice nearly every other month. Other classes are filing out into the main hallway, making their way to the roof, where they'll climb the steps that twist along the sides of the Hokage Mountain and go into the deep protective caverns beneath the faces of their former leaders.
"Naruto," Sasuke says and Naruto nods, forming seals with his hands. Sasuke watches his single form split into a legion. Naruto's hand squeezes his shoulder tightly, the warmth of his hand seemingly seeping through the sturdy cloth of Sasuke's shirt, before he follows his clones. Some of them help hurry the children along; the majority tumble out of the windows, racing towards the threat in the middle of the village.
When the last of his students are in the main hallway, Sasuke walks behind them with his hands tucked in his wide sleeves, urging them along.
"Sasuke-sensei?" Mayako asks beside him. She's the smallest of the students this year, really very tiny and is painfully shy; she's falling behind the rest of her line. He feels her little hand twist into the bottom hem of his shirt. Instead of removing her fingers as he usually would, he stops, stoops and picks her up, continuing to walk easily with her negligible weight to the winding staircase at the end of the hallway. "Are we going to die, Sasuke-sensei?" she asks as he climbs.
"We all die someday," Sasuke says pragmatically as he finally exits onto the flat roof and heads briskly towards the stone stairs. "Possibly, today is not that day."
"Okay, Sasuke-sensei," Mayako breathes, and she sounds reassured, even though he had not particularly sought to relieve her fears; she even rests her head on his shoulder as he begins to make his way up the stone steps towards the caverns.
Halfway up, one of Naruto's clones says, "Whoops, gotta go Sasuke, be right back," and suddenly, without warning, all of them simply disappear. It's not the puff of a clone dissipating, or even a teleportation-jutsu; they simply blink away. Sasuke doesn't give himself time to wonder over that right now. He concentrates on moving efficiently.
"Sasuke-sensei," Mayako says in terror just as they're at the very top. "Behind you."
Sasuke doesn't look; the chakra-sonar is doing its work quite well and he had already picked up the strange rippling in the staircase, a large lump crackling the surface towards them. An earth-based movement jutsu; he sets Mayako on her feet and says, "Run inside, all the way in."
"But, Sasuke-sensei--"
"I said go," he snaps and pushes her, not too gently. He turns around and removes the short stick from inside the folds of his shirt. It had been a gift from Lee, a retractable walking-stick, and Sasuke doesn't quite know why he had taken to carrying it around. Now, as he flicks it out to its full length and waits, he supposes that he owes Lee some form of thanks.
Probably; he really doesn't want Lee to be gushing over him, though.
The lump trundles right up to him, and Sasuke leaps straight up in the air, coming down with all his force to ram the stick into the ground. The side of the staircase explodes as the nin that had been within it blasts their way out to avoid being impaled. Sasuke digs into the deep pockets of his black trousers, flicking out an arch of shuriken at the enemy shinobi who is still twisting through the air. A strangled cry drifts back; Sasuke doesn't wait for the sound of the body hitting the ground, or for other invading shinobi to come up through the crumbling staircase at his feet. He turns and sprints up the rest of the steps, and races down into the deep caverns, pinging with his chakra until he finds where the large group of students and other teachers hiding.
These attacking shinobi... they're using sonar too. Sasuke can feel it as more of them tunnel up towards their hiding place. They must have been the ones to set off the alerts near the western borders two days ago, and apparently, they've been lurking underground all this time.
This is a textbook attack; they're hoping to take out the most vulnerable and yet the most important element in any hidden village: the children, the future.
"Stand firm," Sasuke says as the other teachers take their place beside him, forming a protective line in front of the students. "They'll come out of the ground."
"We will," an answer returns and the group of enemy-nin burrowing up to them is massive. Sasuke breathes in and out, hearing his own heartbeat slow.
He's counting down the seconds and is wondering the best way to set off exploding tags to disrupt the sonar and attack of the invaders without causing a cave-in, when he feels the air shimmer beside him.
"How is he doing that?!" Naruto fumed, watching Iruka throw a ball towards Sasuke, who plucked it out of the air every single time and threw it back. "Aren't you supposed to be blind?"
"That's real tactful, Naruto-sensei," Ren, one of the girls in Naruto's genin team said drily. Naruto scowled at her.
"What does 'tactful' mean?" The other girl, Ayano, asked brightly. The sole boy, Hiroki, sighed from behind a book he was reading. Hiroki was always reading something, Naruto noticed, and sometimes he had to drag him away for lessons. Naruto hoped he didn't get into Icha Icha, he'd be just as bad as the Hokage.
"Hiroki, tell Ayano what tactful means. Ren, I don't need tact, thanks. I never did." Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke again. "Now, how comes he's catching the ball so easy, Iruka?"
"Magic," Iruka told him mysteriously and laughed when Naruto's expression twisted. "You're far too old to be making faces, Naruto."
"In my opinion, you're never too old to make faces," Naruto said with an expression of hauteur that didn't suit him at all. He melted and gave his genin team a slightly guilty but affection-filled glare. "Don't make faces, kids! They'll, uh, stick that way."
"He's using his chakra as a sonar, Naruto-sensei," Hiroki reported from behind his book. Naruto whirled on him.
"How'd you figure that out?" Naruto demanded and Hiroki let out another long-suffering sigh.
"Iruka-san said so when you were yelling," Hiroki told him.
Naruto said, "I'm glad you're utilizing all those observation techniques I've taught you, Hiroki, even from behind that massive book."
"Ah, another happy family," the Hokage drawled as he stepped inside Iruka's flat, motioning to his ANBU detail to remain outside. Naruto's genin team scrambled to attention, their gazes fixed in wonderment on the Hokage's concealed features. Kakashi's eye curved up happily under his broad red-and-white hat.
"You look so comfortable with all these children, Sasuke!" Kakashi beamed. "Don't you think so?"
"No," Sasuke answered blandly, catching the ball again. Kakashi tracked the action with his visible eye very carefully.
"That's good!" he said, tones dripping with cheer. "Because I have an offer for you."
"I don't trust you," Sasuke muttered and Kakashi gave a oh-well kind of shrug. "Well. What is it?"
"Your enthusiasm is heart-warming," Kakashi said with deep feeling. "Let's talk."
As Iruka, the Hokage and a suspicious Sasuke went into the living room, Naruto told his genin team, "I have a technique twice as neat, you know. Even cooler than the Rasengan."
His genin team blinked at him for a moment; then Hiroki went back to reading, and the girls tried to crawl closer to the living area.
Naruto rolled his eyes, and went to show them how.
The air beside Sasuke seems to shimmer and bend, and Naruto is suddenly there again, his hand grasping the exact spot he had squeezed not so long ago. He's standing so close that Sasuke can smell him, and when he turns his head, their faces are near enough that Naruto's breath falls on his cheek.
"I hope you can leave the way you came, and take the children with you," Sasuke tells him, and pulls a handful of exploding tags out of his pocket, sending a little of his chakra into each. Naruto chuckles, the sound warm and Sasuke smiles a little, even in the middle of all this.
"This is the Uzumaki Express!" Clones pop into view around them, and each of them take hold of a student or a teacher. "Let's go!"
The rest of the teachers have armed tags as well, and as they disappear with the clones, they release them, letting them flutter to the ground in a seemingly benign drift of paper. Because Naruto loves the drama, he and Sasuke are the last to leave; Sasuke smirks as the enemy-nin pop up through the ground in a spray of dirt and rocks, expecting to see a crowd of cowering children. Sasuke can see the pulses of their chakra, right before Naruto steps even closer. They're pressed together from chest to thigh as they disappear.
Sasuke hears the explosions right in front of his face one moment, the sound and heat beginning to press against his skin; the next moment, they're in the middle of a bustling field full of Konoha shinobi, and the sound of the blasts are distant.
"I told you it was cool, you guys!" Naruto bellows at his genin team as Hiroki bustles forward with his tiny medi-kit.
"What is it?" Sasuke asks calmly, not pointing out that Naruto is still clinging to him.
"Flying Thunder God Technique," Naruto whispers. "It's my father's jutsu, but when Kakashi showed me, I figured if he could do it with one of himself, why not with a bunch of clones?"
"Ah," Sasuke says. "Surprisingly clever." He still isn't pointing out that Naruto is wrapped around him like a vine around a tree.
"Why are you hugging Sasuke-sensei?" Mayako demands, her piping voice filled with righteous anger. The rest of the children swarm around them, peeling Naruto from Sasuke, and for a long moment Naruto holds tightly onto his hand.
Before the children finally cement their victory, Sasuke gives Naruto's hand a quick, promising squeeze. Then the children separate them fully and clamber all over their taciturn teacher, much to his apparent dismay; they babble in excitement as Naruto goes to join the other grim shinobi, dragging and covering the bodies of captured tunnelling invaders... and a few of their own, bodies limp, their chakra non-existent.
Sasuke holds their attention, and makes sure they don't see.
The day before Sasuke began teaching, Naruto visited him at the apartment that had been set up beside Iruka's.
"Got your lesson-plan ready?" Naruto pestered. "How about books? Materials?"
"I'm prepared," Sasuke responded, one hand placed flat to the open pages of a book as if he was absorbing the information through his skin.
"Oh." Naruto squirmed a little; he was sitting on the couch near to Sasuke. "Are you nervous?"
Sasuke shrugged. "A little."
Naruto let out a sharp laugh. "You know... the old Sasuke would never say something like that. He'd probably just give me a look, you know?"
Sasuke's shoulders went tense. He closed the book slowly, hiding the raised dots and stared at the opposite wall.
"Do you want that Sasuke back, Naruto?" he asked dangerously, and turned his head, dark, unblinking eyes locking with Naruto's. "Is that who you want?"
"I--"
"He's still here, you know," Sasuke murmured, almost crooned and Naruto shivered. For a moment, he could see a flash of red in Sasuke's eye, something that was impossible now; that red flash had dominated his nightmares for months, Sharingan red and black like spilt blood and gore. "That part of me is always here, ready to wreak pain and havoc. Is that really who you long to see?"
"I don't," Naruto told him, quietly and firmly. "It's just... I mean, you're kinda still the same anyway, locking yourself away and not letting me get close to you at all--"
"Why would you want to be close to me?" Sasuke tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. His hair fell in his eyes and Naruto clenched his fist so that he won't reach out and brush the dark strands out of his face. "You're incredibly stupid to want that."
"So you tell me, all the time," Naruto retorted without thinking. "That doesn't stop what I want from being true."
Sasuke stared at him as if he could see every detail of Naruto's face; he was probably using that chakra-sonar trick to map out Naruto's expression. "What do you want?" His voice was low and flat; he shook his head immediately. "Don't answer that."
"I will, if you want."
Sasuke looked away again and Naruto took a deep breath and leaned in; Sasuke turned his head in surprise and their lips brushed awkwardly. Sasuke went still, Naruto froze and they both sat there like two training-dummies.
Then, Sasuke's lips parted and Naruto breathed hard as he let his tongue slip into Sasuke's warm mouth. They were still positioned in a graceless fashion, mouths slanted over each other's and moving slowly, experimentally, but Naruto still thought that of the five or so kisses he'd gotten over the years, Sasuke would always be his first and best.
He moaned a little when Sasuke's tongue dragged sensually against his, and Sasuke pulled back abruptly, his lips swollen and colour in his cheeks.
"I'll be a terrible teacher," Sasuke said idly, as if he was changing the subject... even though the sides of their hands touched where they rested on the seat of the sofa and Naruto was almost in his lap. Naruto wanted to let out a shout of delighted laughter, but he barely restrained himself.
"No," Naruto answered with perfect confidence, bravely taking Sasuke's hand and squeezing with promise. "You'll be great, you'll see. And if anyone says otherwise, I'll pummel 'em."
"I don't need you to fight for me," Sasuke grumped, but he laced his fingers through Naruto's and held on comfortably.
fin
Title: Put a little fixing on it
Rating: PG
Summary: Back and forth on Sasuke's return.
Warnings: Mostly fluff and some OC's. Switching of tenses; I really hope it doesn't get too confusing.
A/N: Thanks to my encouraging friends who read this over and will be thanked properly soon. Title from "The Fixer" by Pearl Jam.
Mod note: Reminder for the author/artist of this submission, please do not reply to comments signed in, if you want to reply anon commenting is enabled.
"Alright," the Hokage sighs in very bored tones, leaning back in his low chair as the jounin and chuunin wait expectantly, kneeling on mats in neat rows. "Can we get on with this? I have... things to do."
The Hokage's assistant, Iruka Umino, tightens his lips against a sigh; it isn't that Kakashi is a lazy Hokage, he's been doing a marvellous job for the past ten years or so, but he still carries around that indolent manner that had been his mainstay for years. At least, it's a good cover against the enemies of Konoha, who stupidly buy his careless act and are sent home with lungfuls of lightning, never to return.
"What kind of things?" Naruto asks with a laugh and companionably elbows the person beside him in the ribs. This person has his eyes lowered, hair falling in a long choppy fringe over a pale forehead. When he looks up, he gazes right at Iruka with clear, dark eyes, his face relaxed and calm. Naruto stares at the side of this pale shinobi's face and Iruka sees his expressive mouth twist a little.
Sasuke Uchiha gives Iruka a bare but respectful nod. Iruka tilts his head in return, smiling slightly. Iruka's smile widens a little more as Naruto elbows Sasuke again in the ribs, his grin flaring back to life like a triumphant dawn; whatever distracted him just a few moments ago is now buried under a layer of cheer. His resemblance to the Fourth is remarkable now, something that Iruka never fails to marvel over. He isn't the only one: in a council-meeting a few months ago, an elderly council-woman had sniped at Naruto, "Minato, don't think I don't know what you're scheming under all that straw you call hair!"
Naruto had looked torn between being smugly pleased and offended, and only a long stare from the Hokage had sealed his mouth shut.
"Very important things," Kakashi rebukes now and taps his fingers on the surface of the wide, squat table. "You keep forgetting that I'm Hokage, with a long list of things to see and people to do. Or... is it the other way around, Iruka?" He levels a sly gaze at Iruka, who shakes his head, completely used to the Hokage's teasing after all these years.
"It's the other way around, Hogake-sama," Iruka answers mildly, as always.
Kakashi shrugs. "Oh, right. This is why you're my assistant. Anyway, on to the so-called important things. Same sequence, so we don't get lost: Ino, reports on any problems in the community and border patrols. Shikamaru, general security report."
Shikamaru's sigh is loud, but he still has a list ready in his hands.
"Sakura, hospital. Sasuke-sensei," Kakashi breezes through, "school report. You first, as usual?"
"As usual," Sasuke agrees and got to his feet. Some of the older jounin give him cool, mistrustful looks, still wary of him. Sasuke ignores them completely, stepping around the jounin and chuunin of his own age-level and going up near to the Hokage's desk with confident moves. Iruka notes how easily he manoeuvred himself, and barely holds back a smile of pride.
It's all very amazing to witness... since both of Sasuke's eyes are blind.
Sasuke lay in the dark and seethed.
He supposed his face looked fairly calm on the outside, but that was all he could dredge up nowadays: suppositions. There was probably light in his small cell, but he wasn't able to discern it. After all his battles, all his victories, he would of course push himself too far when it came to fighting the jounin in Konoha, and lose the vision in his eyes. Kakashi had been a major catalyst, of course; but it had been Naruto, unsurprisingly, who had sent him over the edge.
He clenched his fists as he lay on the narrow cot. Naruto: always, always his downfall. Of course, they had wasted no time in binding his chakra and throwing him in the deepest goal they had. He didn't know what happened to the rest of Team Hawk. Probably they were in other cells. Probably they were sent home for their own trials.
He felt something like remorse at that, but he quelled it. Their adventures were over. No need to become maudlin over something that had already happened. That was a waste of time and energy. He tried to dredge up ways to exact his revenge, but he suddenly felt very exhausted, as if he had been travelling for years and finally came home to rest.
In a way, that was completely true. However, Sasuke tightened his lips and reminded himself that Konoha had not been his home for years. Still, that bone-riddling exhaustion didn't seem to depart. He wondered if it was related to losing his vision.
He heard the distant metallic clang of bolts being pulled a few corridors away and felt the chakra wards around him shift restlessly. Even though his own chakra was sealed into himself as part of his imprisonment, he picked up the heavy dragging sensation of the wards being parted--no, pushed impatiently out of the way. He knew who his visitor was before they were even inside his cell.
Unexpectedly, his brash company was silent as they crossed the threshold; Sasuke kept himself still, not even flinching when a warm hand touched his wrist, his forearm, his shoulder, neck... he tried to appear even more death-like as possible, vainly ignoring the bleeding of mixed emotions into his skin.
"Sasuke," a low voice called him and he trembled to life. "Sasuke," Naruto murmured again and Sasuke felt something well up in his stomach and his chest, something vaguely familiar; he couldn't identify it just then.
"Sasuke," Naruto said again, as if he could call that name forever. "You're home."
"No," Sasuke growled, feeling the word force up out of him, because while he had had no intention of speaking to Naruto at all, the speech simply drilled past his unwilling lips, past his apathetic exhaustion. "I have no home."
The hand on Sasuke's shoulder tightened, slipping a little towards his neck. For a moment, Sasuke thought that Naruto was going to choke him, take away that phrase with his last breath, but a hot droplet landed beside those fingers. That idiot was crying over Sasuke; Naruto had always been prone to tears, anyway and he tried to dredge up the familiar disdain for Naruto's penchant for being over-emotional: that brash wildness was always unfitting for a shinobi, Sasuke had always thought.
"You think you don't," Naruto said in damp, wavering tones, but his determination shone through every syllable. "But... you do." Sasuke could hear him swallowing. "What's been done to... to your family, to you. I'll make sure it will never happen again, to anyone!"
I'll be Hokage! It was the same tone and for some reason, it made Sasuke want to smile a little, but he didn't.
"Leave me alone," he told Naruto flatly.
"Like hell I will," Naruto snarled in return, tears and emotion gone like a wildfire; this time, as Naruto ranted on, Sasuke did smile.
Kakashi is almost in full-lounge position, looking for all the world as if he is half-asleep. He can feel the waves of amused disapproval emanating from his assistant and he stifles a smile. Iruka thinks it is horribly bad manners for him to look so informal during these monthly meetings; also, Iruka is tickled by it but never verbally gives any clue that he finds it funny. Kakashi is quite prepared, actually, for a solid round of scolding when they return to the Hokage's private offices.
He likes having Iruka as his assistant; before, he had Shizune doggedly following his every footstep when she wasn't helping to take care of the silent Fifth. After Tsunade had passed away peacefully in her coma, Shizune had quit, taking on a permanent position at the hospital with Sakura. Iruka had taken over her work with smooth efficiency and like Shizune, he didn't waste too much time being shocked over Kakashi's half-serious innuendos.
Iruka is able to read him by the level of his slouch, though, and these follow the Lounging Law of Reverse Proportion: in which the lazier the Hokage appears, the more focused he actually is. Right now, Kakashi might seem as if he is dozing off, but he actually hears every single word that Sasuke says.
Sasuke speaks in a disinterested drone, a dry tonal field with no discernible landmarks; Kakashi has heard him in classes, though, and is very grateful that Sasuke doesn't use this voice on the children, or they'd all be lulled into sleep in the middle of the day. Yet, he goes through any problems very efficiently, making his points with succinct clarity. Kakashi had had a grim time when he had suggested appointing Sasuke as a teacher at the school. The council of Elders had thrown fits at the idea, asking snidely if the Hokage remembered what individuals from the Uchiha-clan were capable of. Kakashi had pointed out that as a former traitor, Sasuke would be perfect to teach the children how to recognize and prevent any subterfuge.
"You'll have a generation of shinobi who won't care about their village," one elder had sniped. "What in the world will he teach them?" The rest agreed with him loudly, quietening when Kakashi rose to his feet and stared at them all.
"He's already accepted the offer," Kakashi informed them coolly and the council had erupted in rage.
That had been a particularly good day for subterfuge, Kakashi thinks now with great satisfaction, squirming a little in his seat to get a more comfortable spot. The council tends to operate under the opinion that all their archaic laws and plotting are the solution to every problem that crops up in their gathering. Kakashi delights in crossing them constantly, many times with Iruka's sly advice. These elders have done a lot of damage to their own in the past, not the least of which had cost the village an entire clan, through underhanded plotting.
Kakashi nods at Sasuke's finishing statements and watches Shikamaru make his way up to the front.
"There was a security alert at the western borders two days ago," Shikamaru reports and Kakashi's slouch worsens with concentration. "No intruders detected but still... I have a feeling. I've increased patrols in that sector."
Kakashi nods; he's always trusted Shikamaru's 'feelings'. "Very well. Anything else?"
Shikamaru shrugs in negation and returns to his place. Kakashi lounges through the reports from the hospital, which Sakura gives with sharp tones, her green eyes resting on each of her fellow shinobi as she reminds them of their regular check-ups. She gazes at Naruto and Sasuke and for a moment, Kakashi remembers the three of them as they once were. He notes that Naruto gives Sasuke a slow, sidelong stare; for as long as Sasuke has been fully free, a year living under Iruka's custody and a year teaching at the school, Naruto has been giving him that curious, smouldering look.
Kakashi wonders about it; for all that Naruto is an open-book, sometimes he has deeply hidden pages.
Naruto's blue eyes meet his and crinkle at the edges in a quick smile. "Are we done, boss?" he sings out. "Because... don't you have people to do?"
Kakashi can almost hear Iruka gritting his teeth and hides a grin.
When Sasuke's parole finally came around, Naruto could hardly stop a feeling of dancing from flooding his skin and bones. He ignored all the Hokage's warnings (they were threats, actually) and clattered down with the rest of the group to Sasuke's cell. He knew the way by heart now, he could even navigate it with his eyes closed. When he wasn't with his genin team or on a mission, he was down here, either by Sasuke's cell or in it, chattering idly about his day.
Sometimes, Sasuke would grunt in response. It lightened Naruto's heart more than a smile from Sakura or Hinata-chan.
"Sasuke Uchiha," some withered guy intoned and Naruto sidled to stand right next the old bat, peering at the scroll in his wrinkled hands. Some of the council-members had been dismissed in disgrace, and others had taken their place, but Naruto had the idea that the more things changed, the more they remained the same. The old man gave Naruto a disgusted glare, but Naruto ignored him.
"Sasuke Uchiha," the elder tried again, bravely ignoring the fact that Naruto was almost climbing atop him. "By orders of the Council of Elders and the Sixth Duly Appointed Hokage of Konoha, I hereby end your sealed punishment and release you to the custody of a trusted and responsible Konoha shinobi."
Naruto fought down a giddy wriggle. Kakashi hadn't said anything as yet, but they would have to place Sasuke with him, right? He was the only one in the whole village who understood Sasuke, and if Sasuke still had his Sharingan, he was the only one (well, apart from Kakashi-sensei, sorry, sama) who could hope to match Sasuke in a fight. He would have Sasuke in his house, to feed and nurture, and for some reason that made him happier than he could express.
The old man had been droning while Naruto was doing his mental flailing, but now Naruto focused enough to hear him ask, "Do you understand the terms of your probation, Sasuke Uchiha?"
There was a slight pause from the darkness of the cell; the metal-door stood open, but shadows grimly covered the walls, lingering in corners.
Finally, Sasuke's toneless voice answered. "I understand."
"And do you vow to follow the rules of your probation and the laws of your village, Konoha?"
"I so vow," Sasuke answered again, but there was a slight lilt to his voice now as if he was smirking; Naruto nearly sighed at that, it was such a Sasuke thing to do, even in the middle of all this rigmarole. The elder hesitated and sneaked a look at the Rokudaime, who shrugged in response.
"Come forward," the elder finally commanded. "And we hereby release you into the care of Iruka Umino."
"What?!" Naruto screeched, his voice rebounding off the stone walls. The chakra wards shimmered, sensitive to any output in energy, like sound. Kakashi squinted warningly at Naruto, but Naruto was busy pouting at his first sensei.
"Iruka-sensei," he complained, still shocked and a lot offended, but Iruka shook his head quickly, an indication that they would have a discussion later. He was going to pull the big guns and whine Iruka-niichan but Sasuke was stepping into the light and Naruto had never been able to concentrate on much when Sasuke was around. Sasuke's dark eyes were hidden behind a strip of clean linen, and he was dressed in plain grey clothing. His hair was longer than ever, and his skin was so pale. The scornful twist that had once dominated his lips was gone, though, and his face looked so different without it.
Sasuke held out a hand, palm-up. Naruto stared at it, gazing at the criss-crossing evidence of scars on his skin; before he could think of doing anything else, Iruka stepped forward and took Sasuke by the elbow.
"Follow me," Iruka said firmly, and he led Sasuke out of his cell completely, and into the corridor.
"Why did you let Iruka be his probation... person?" Naruto hissed at Kakashi as the rest of the group followed. "I should have been his person!"
"Should you?" Kakashi asked conversationally, as if he wasn't being harassed by an agitated blond Jounin while his ANBU protection detail hovered close. "How did you come to that conclusion?"
"I'm his friend! I know him best, I would.... I would care for him." Naruto squinted as they finally exited the lower levels of the prison and into the wide-open corridors of the main floor; Kakashi nodded at Ibiki as they passed him standing stiffly at the door of his office.
"Sometimes knowing someone the best is not good enough," Kakashi told him; Naruto barely managed to stifle an exasperated groan. Since becoming Hokage, Kakashi had become at least 40% more cryptic as far as Naruto was concerned. He made a promise to himself that when he became Hokage, he would be as clear as possible. None of this riddling crap.
"At least I can visit him any time I want." He glared at Kakashi. "I can, right?"
"Of course you can!" Kakashi said jovially. "Iruka-sensei's home will be open to you, especially with Sasuke there. Right, Iruka-sensei?"
"Great! I guess I can live with that!" Naruto cheered, and as they exited into the bright Konoha sunshine, he could see both Iruka and Sasuke shaking their heads.
"Naruto," Sasuke says as they walk out of the meeting, Naruto's hands carelessly up behind his head as they stroll. "I didn't think you were that obtuse, but you always exceed my expectations."
"I aim to please!" Naruto chirps, secretly thrilled that Sasuke uses full sentences with him nowadays. "Although, uh, what am I being obtuse about?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto sees one dark eyebrow lift.
"I'm surprised you know what obtuse means," Sasuke mutters.
"This is me exceeding your expectations again," Naruto shoots back as they go down the stairs. He restrains the urge to reach out and help Sasuke find the bannister, for Sasuke's long pale fingers rests on the wooden curve unerringly. "And Sakura-chan gave me a dictionary for my birthday once. But seriously, what am I being obtuse about?"
"Kakashi and Iruka-sensei," Sasuke finally answers as they reach the ground level, making their way to the main exit.
"Oh!" Naruto grins as he pushes open the heavy wooden door and holds it for Sasuke, nods his thanks and goes down the wide steps without pause. "You mean how Kakashi keeps making eyes at Iruka-sensei and Iruka ignores him? Yeah. Theirs is a complicated love," he finishes with a heartbroken sigh that would do Ino proud. She or Hinata-chan would giggle at that, Sakura would roll her eyes at him, but Sasuke turns his face towards Naruto with a probing expression.
"You noticed," is all Sasuke says as they both head towards the school. "I thought you didn't, what with your parting phrase back there."
"I noticed, I'm not that blind! Or obtuse," Naruto confirms. "But, you know, they're just really good friends. Nothing's gonna come out of it because Kakashi is too weird and Iruka-sensei is too focused on doing his work. Unless you know something I don't know. Eh? Eh, Sasuke?" He nudges Sasuke, who takes a calm step away and doesn't respond.
Naruto takes a deep breath and exhales sharply through his nose, watching the back of Sasuke's head as he walks a little ahead; sometimes... okay, it's awesome having Sasuke here in Konoha, but he would give his right arm and a whole week's worth of ramen to have the rude, talented, self-absorbed boy back. It's like this adult, responsible Sasuke is a shadow of the tortured individual Naruto had known and sometimes it throws him for a loop. He must be messed up in the head, though, because who would miss being called an idiot every ten minutes? This Sasuke hadn't called him that in a long time.... actually, not since he'd been thrown in the prison after a protracted battle in the forest.
He decides that he actually likes it. People change, they mature, and if Sasuke can quit pointing out his flaws every four seconds, then Naruto can quit pining after a boy who always sneered, and appreciate this withdrawn young man. Both, as far as he and everyone else is concerned, are one and the same. Hadn't Sasuke said so?
Sasuke pauses beside the school's entry. He puts his hand on the wooden post of the railing; the air is quiet and warm all around them, and Naruto stares at his impassive face.
"Well. Here you are," Naruto points out unnecessarily, and Sasuke's shoulders move in a shrug of agreement. "Sasuke--"
"Sakura and Sai are coming right behind us," Sasuke cuts in and sure enough, those two persons round the corner in the direction that Sasuke and Naruto had just been coming from. Sai passes them with a quick nod and Naruto gives him a bright grin and a wink. He always does that because he knows Sai will copy the action and sure enough, he does, dropping the most awkward wink known to the Fire Nation; it never fails to tickle Naruto's funny-bone when he does that. Sakura, however, stops, one hand fisted on her hip.
"You two," she begins and Naruto knows that some sort of lecture is on its way. "Remember, you need to do your yearly check-ups this week. No exceptions, even the Hokage is doing his. Well, Iruka-san promised to drag him in, so that's good as done."
"Awww, Sakura," Naruto complains out of habit. Sakura throws him an affectionate glare and then returns her attention to Sasuke; her expression cools a little.
"I've still been researching healing options for your eyes. I think I've found a viable one," she tells him; Sasuke's shoulders stiffen even more than before and that makes Naruto tense. This is a touchy subject for all of them.
"I thought you had stopped looking," Sasuke says through tight lips.
"I didn't."
"Let me rephrase that," Sasuke says coldly. "I thought I told you not to bother any more."
"I'm a medi-nin," Sakura reminds him, quite needlessly in Naruto's opinion. "I'm always looking for ways to heal and cure."
"Yeah," Naruto breaks in with a slight laugh. "I mean, wouldn't it be great to have your sight back, Sasuke?"
"Whatever," Sasuke says and turns around, walking down the path to the school's front door. "In any case, I won't keep my hopes up."
Naruto gives Sakura a very apologetic look, but Sakura's face is set in stubborn lines. She and Sasuke haven't been on particularly good terms since his return and that hurts Naruto, a lot. He wants them to be the same as when they were all genin, and it's obvious that they won't be. He rests an arm on her shoulder and squeezes briefly; she smiles at him, small yet true.
"I'll see you later?" he asks.
"Of course," Sakura answers and then motions in Sasuke's wake with her chin. "Well. Go on, I know you're burning to follow him. As usual."
"Hey!" Naruto scowls playfully at her, but she grins at him and shoves him, continuing on her way back to the hospital. Naruto watches her back for a moment and then turns. "Hey, Sasuke, wait up!"
Sasuke stops and waits for him, at the top of a ramp that was built recently beside the short flight of stairs. When Naruto finally catches up to him, he says, "Don't you have a genin team to monitor now?"
"Nope! I had training with them this morning, and I sent them home since we have this night mission later. I think it's to catch someone's pet snake."
"Sounds like fun," Sasuke says blandly. "I suppose you'll want to sit in my class and disrupt it for the rest of the day?"
"Sounds like fun," Naruto answers, grinning. Sasuke simply shakes his head and enters the wide-open corridor of the school.
"Sasuke," Iruka called and Sasuke didn't move. "Sasuke. Sakura is here to see you."
Sasuke didn't answer; however, he could hear Iruka's calm voice speaking with Sakura and then sighed as the door to his bedroom was pushed open.
"Sasuke," Iruka said. "Just let her try."
"And fail again?" Sasuke snapped. "There's no hope for my eyes any more. Tell her to give up and leave me alone."
"Do you think she would actually do that if you or I tell her to?" Iruka asked him in his infuriatingly reasonable manner. He had been Sasuke's favourite teacher in school, because he could be very patient and knew a lot more than he appeared to, but now his tranquil reaction to anything Sasuke did or said made him want to grind his teeth. He had thought he would be able to drive Iruka crazy, the way Naruto used to do in their classes, but there seemed to be nothing that would disturb his zen-like balance now.
Sasuke grudgingly admired that. Iruka didn't treat him with disdain, or shower him with affection; Iruka didn't seem to despise him and he asked that Sasuke help keep the place clean as best he could, and even cook. He didn't act as if because Sasuke was blind he was also helpless. One didn't need sight to do the seals for a tiny katon, did they? And just because most of his chakra was still locked down for his probation, he could get by very well by himself. When his time under Iruka's care was over, he would be able to retreat to the Uchiha compound and manage by himself. He'd figure out how to make money then; hopefully, the Uchiha name still had some kind of clout. Somewhere.
"Very well," he finally answered, sitting up. "Let's get this over with."
He could hear Sakura's light footsteps on the mat of the room. "Sasuke," she said in brisk, professional tones, "I'm going to put my hands over your eyes."
"Do what you must," he told her and there was a long, resentful pause. He said nothing to encourage her; what would be the point? After a few beats, he felt her palms cup over his eyes and the warm sensation of energy wash over his face. He could feel her chakra search carefully through his, and locate that thick barrier that was the cause of his blindness. Her chakra poked experimentally at it and Sasuke tightened his lips even more when pain lanced through his forehead.
"Sorry," she whispered and went back to her exploration, trying to go around the barrier, or over it, but to no avail.
"No result, right?" he asked her snidely when she finished her examination, her hands sliding from his face.
"Not exactly. I found out a lot," she answered. "I have more notes to make."
"Good. Because from now one, notes will be the only thing you'll have to go on. I don't want you to try healing me any more. It's futile, a waste of my time--"
"I'll find a way," she cut in and Sasuke rolled his eyes; in some ways, she was just as stubborn as Naruto. "It might take me awhile, but I'll find it."
"You seem to have a lot of faith in your own abilities," Sasuke mocked.
"A lot more than you do," she snapped and Sasuke knew she was glaring at him as hard as he was glaring at her. "If it wasn't for Naruto..."
"Well?" Sasuke demanded when she didn't say anything else. "What about him?"
"He likes you whole," Sakura retorted and he could hear her getting to her feet. "Why any of us still want the best for you, it's beyond my comprehension."
"You?" Sasuke asked sharply when he knew she was at the doorway. They both knew what his terse question entailed; he thought that he would never want to know the answer, but apparently he did.
"As much as I dislike you for... for how you left us," she responded in a low voice. "You're still one of us. Naruto always made sure of that."
After her departure, Sasuke sat on the edge of his bed, staring blankly into the ever-present darkness for a very long time. When Iruka came into his room, saying, "I have a little technique I can show you, if you like," he had actually nodded willingly, wanting to break his mind out of the memories of the past.
Sasuke knows he cuts a very impressive figure for his students; he still wears his black arm-guards, which are especially helpful when lecturing in weaponry. The rest of his clothes are just as dark, as a matter of fact; he doesn't sport the green vest, but he's aware that the severe clothing he has on sometimes strikes fear into the hearts of his students.
He likes it that way, actually.
"Sit down," he says crisply, going towards his desk. "Saburo, if you know what's good for you, you'll put away that senbon now. Chihomi, brushing your hair that many times won't bring the beauty you seek." He turns his face towards them, hearing their excited whispers and knowing that Naruto is making his way to the back of the class, all wide beaming smiles and sunflower-bright hair. Naruto is dispelling the pallor of his classroom, the way a single beam of sunlight will make motes dance in an attic, and he can almost feel the warmth on his face.
He's going through a quick run-down of kayakujutsu (he can feel delight oozing from some of the pyrotechnic-crazy boys), when he feels a slight tremor in the floor.
The class goes silent. Then a faint explosion reaches their ears and Sasuke doesn't think; he blinks, and the mild sonar-technique that is always active, always pinging off other shinobi, civilians and objects in his path, strengthens ten-fold. Iruka-sensei had showed him how to use the chakra he had to do that, and he had been impressed against his will; Iruka had been predictably modest about it, though. Instead of seeing faint outlines of his surroundings now as he usually does, he can pick up the shapes of their chakra. Not as good as the Sharingan... but still quite useful. He sends out the sonar further, and when the echoes return a few seconds later, he understands that there are wild skirmishes breaking out all over the village.
"Sasuke," Naruto mutters as he runs up to stand close to him, and Sasuke turns to look at him, at the bright spire of his chakra. "What do we--"
Another explosion, closer this time and Sasuke snaps out, "Everyone, this is not a drill. Get into lines, no talking, no pushing." He watches them stand up obediently, and form three neat lines, filing out the door just as they practice nearly every other month. Other classes are filing out into the main hallway, making their way to the roof, where they'll climb the steps that twist along the sides of the Hokage Mountain and go into the deep protective caverns beneath the faces of their former leaders.
"Naruto," Sasuke says and Naruto nods, forming seals with his hands. Sasuke watches his single form split into a legion. Naruto's hand squeezes his shoulder tightly, the warmth of his hand seemingly seeping through the sturdy cloth of Sasuke's shirt, before he follows his clones. Some of them help hurry the children along; the majority tumble out of the windows, racing towards the threat in the middle of the village.
When the last of his students are in the main hallway, Sasuke walks behind them with his hands tucked in his wide sleeves, urging them along.
"Sasuke-sensei?" Mayako asks beside him. She's the smallest of the students this year, really very tiny and is painfully shy; she's falling behind the rest of her line. He feels her little hand twist into the bottom hem of his shirt. Instead of removing her fingers as he usually would, he stops, stoops and picks her up, continuing to walk easily with her negligible weight to the winding staircase at the end of the hallway. "Are we going to die, Sasuke-sensei?" she asks as he climbs.
"We all die someday," Sasuke says pragmatically as he finally exits onto the flat roof and heads briskly towards the stone stairs. "Possibly, today is not that day."
"Okay, Sasuke-sensei," Mayako breathes, and she sounds reassured, even though he had not particularly sought to relieve her fears; she even rests her head on his shoulder as he begins to make his way up the stone steps towards the caverns.
Halfway up, one of Naruto's clones says, "Whoops, gotta go Sasuke, be right back," and suddenly, without warning, all of them simply disappear. It's not the puff of a clone dissipating, or even a teleportation-jutsu; they simply blink away. Sasuke doesn't give himself time to wonder over that right now. He concentrates on moving efficiently.
"Sasuke-sensei," Mayako says in terror just as they're at the very top. "Behind you."
Sasuke doesn't look; the chakra-sonar is doing its work quite well and he had already picked up the strange rippling in the staircase, a large lump crackling the surface towards them. An earth-based movement jutsu; he sets Mayako on her feet and says, "Run inside, all the way in."
"But, Sasuke-sensei--"
"I said go," he snaps and pushes her, not too gently. He turns around and removes the short stick from inside the folds of his shirt. It had been a gift from Lee, a retractable walking-stick, and Sasuke doesn't quite know why he had taken to carrying it around. Now, as he flicks it out to its full length and waits, he supposes that he owes Lee some form of thanks.
Probably; he really doesn't want Lee to be gushing over him, though.
The lump trundles right up to him, and Sasuke leaps straight up in the air, coming down with all his force to ram the stick into the ground. The side of the staircase explodes as the nin that had been within it blasts their way out to avoid being impaled. Sasuke digs into the deep pockets of his black trousers, flicking out an arch of shuriken at the enemy shinobi who is still twisting through the air. A strangled cry drifts back; Sasuke doesn't wait for the sound of the body hitting the ground, or for other invading shinobi to come up through the crumbling staircase at his feet. He turns and sprints up the rest of the steps, and races down into the deep caverns, pinging with his chakra until he finds where the large group of students and other teachers hiding.
These attacking shinobi... they're using sonar too. Sasuke can feel it as more of them tunnel up towards their hiding place. They must have been the ones to set off the alerts near the western borders two days ago, and apparently, they've been lurking underground all this time.
This is a textbook attack; they're hoping to take out the most vulnerable and yet the most important element in any hidden village: the children, the future.
"Stand firm," Sasuke says as the other teachers take their place beside him, forming a protective line in front of the students. "They'll come out of the ground."
"We will," an answer returns and the group of enemy-nin burrowing up to them is massive. Sasuke breathes in and out, hearing his own heartbeat slow.
He's counting down the seconds and is wondering the best way to set off exploding tags to disrupt the sonar and attack of the invaders without causing a cave-in, when he feels the air shimmer beside him.
"How is he doing that?!" Naruto fumed, watching Iruka throw a ball towards Sasuke, who plucked it out of the air every single time and threw it back. "Aren't you supposed to be blind?"
"That's real tactful, Naruto-sensei," Ren, one of the girls in Naruto's genin team said drily. Naruto scowled at her.
"What does 'tactful' mean?" The other girl, Ayano, asked brightly. The sole boy, Hiroki, sighed from behind a book he was reading. Hiroki was always reading something, Naruto noticed, and sometimes he had to drag him away for lessons. Naruto hoped he didn't get into Icha Icha, he'd be just as bad as the Hokage.
"Hiroki, tell Ayano what tactful means. Ren, I don't need tact, thanks. I never did." Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke again. "Now, how comes he's catching the ball so easy, Iruka?"
"Magic," Iruka told him mysteriously and laughed when Naruto's expression twisted. "You're far too old to be making faces, Naruto."
"In my opinion, you're never too old to make faces," Naruto said with an expression of hauteur that didn't suit him at all. He melted and gave his genin team a slightly guilty but affection-filled glare. "Don't make faces, kids! They'll, uh, stick that way."
"He's using his chakra as a sonar, Naruto-sensei," Hiroki reported from behind his book. Naruto whirled on him.
"How'd you figure that out?" Naruto demanded and Hiroki let out another long-suffering sigh.
"Iruka-san said so when you were yelling," Hiroki told him.
Naruto said, "I'm glad you're utilizing all those observation techniques I've taught you, Hiroki, even from behind that massive book."
"Ah, another happy family," the Hokage drawled as he stepped inside Iruka's flat, motioning to his ANBU detail to remain outside. Naruto's genin team scrambled to attention, their gazes fixed in wonderment on the Hokage's concealed features. Kakashi's eye curved up happily under his broad red-and-white hat.
"You look so comfortable with all these children, Sasuke!" Kakashi beamed. "Don't you think so?"
"No," Sasuke answered blandly, catching the ball again. Kakashi tracked the action with his visible eye very carefully.
"That's good!" he said, tones dripping with cheer. "Because I have an offer for you."
"I don't trust you," Sasuke muttered and Kakashi gave a oh-well kind of shrug. "Well. What is it?"
"Your enthusiasm is heart-warming," Kakashi said with deep feeling. "Let's talk."
As Iruka, the Hokage and a suspicious Sasuke went into the living room, Naruto told his genin team, "I have a technique twice as neat, you know. Even cooler than the Rasengan."
His genin team blinked at him for a moment; then Hiroki went back to reading, and the girls tried to crawl closer to the living area.
Naruto rolled his eyes, and went to show them how.
The air beside Sasuke seems to shimmer and bend, and Naruto is suddenly there again, his hand grasping the exact spot he had squeezed not so long ago. He's standing so close that Sasuke can smell him, and when he turns his head, their faces are near enough that Naruto's breath falls on his cheek.
"I hope you can leave the way you came, and take the children with you," Sasuke tells him, and pulls a handful of exploding tags out of his pocket, sending a little of his chakra into each. Naruto chuckles, the sound warm and Sasuke smiles a little, even in the middle of all this.
"This is the Uzumaki Express!" Clones pop into view around them, and each of them take hold of a student or a teacher. "Let's go!"
The rest of the teachers have armed tags as well, and as they disappear with the clones, they release them, letting them flutter to the ground in a seemingly benign drift of paper. Because Naruto loves the drama, he and Sasuke are the last to leave; Sasuke smirks as the enemy-nin pop up through the ground in a spray of dirt and rocks, expecting to see a crowd of cowering children. Sasuke can see the pulses of their chakra, right before Naruto steps even closer. They're pressed together from chest to thigh as they disappear.
Sasuke hears the explosions right in front of his face one moment, the sound and heat beginning to press against his skin; the next moment, they're in the middle of a bustling field full of Konoha shinobi, and the sound of the blasts are distant.
"I told you it was cool, you guys!" Naruto bellows at his genin team as Hiroki bustles forward with his tiny medi-kit.
"What is it?" Sasuke asks calmly, not pointing out that Naruto is still clinging to him.
"Flying Thunder God Technique," Naruto whispers. "It's my father's jutsu, but when Kakashi showed me, I figured if he could do it with one of himself, why not with a bunch of clones?"
"Ah," Sasuke says. "Surprisingly clever." He still isn't pointing out that Naruto is wrapped around him like a vine around a tree.
"Why are you hugging Sasuke-sensei?" Mayako demands, her piping voice filled with righteous anger. The rest of the children swarm around them, peeling Naruto from Sasuke, and for a long moment Naruto holds tightly onto his hand.
Before the children finally cement their victory, Sasuke gives Naruto's hand a quick, promising squeeze. Then the children separate them fully and clamber all over their taciturn teacher, much to his apparent dismay; they babble in excitement as Naruto goes to join the other grim shinobi, dragging and covering the bodies of captured tunnelling invaders... and a few of their own, bodies limp, their chakra non-existent.
Sasuke holds their attention, and makes sure they don't see.
The day before Sasuke began teaching, Naruto visited him at the apartment that had been set up beside Iruka's.
"Got your lesson-plan ready?" Naruto pestered. "How about books? Materials?"
"I'm prepared," Sasuke responded, one hand placed flat to the open pages of a book as if he was absorbing the information through his skin.
"Oh." Naruto squirmed a little; he was sitting on the couch near to Sasuke. "Are you nervous?"
Sasuke shrugged. "A little."
Naruto let out a sharp laugh. "You know... the old Sasuke would never say something like that. He'd probably just give me a look, you know?"
Sasuke's shoulders went tense. He closed the book slowly, hiding the raised dots and stared at the opposite wall.
"Do you want that Sasuke back, Naruto?" he asked dangerously, and turned his head, dark, unblinking eyes locking with Naruto's. "Is that who you want?"
"I--"
"He's still here, you know," Sasuke murmured, almost crooned and Naruto shivered. For a moment, he could see a flash of red in Sasuke's eye, something that was impossible now; that red flash had dominated his nightmares for months, Sharingan red and black like spilt blood and gore. "That part of me is always here, ready to wreak pain and havoc. Is that really who you long to see?"
"I don't," Naruto told him, quietly and firmly. "It's just... I mean, you're kinda still the same anyway, locking yourself away and not letting me get close to you at all--"
"Why would you want to be close to me?" Sasuke tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. His hair fell in his eyes and Naruto clenched his fist so that he won't reach out and brush the dark strands out of his face. "You're incredibly stupid to want that."
"So you tell me, all the time," Naruto retorted without thinking. "That doesn't stop what I want from being true."
Sasuke stared at him as if he could see every detail of Naruto's face; he was probably using that chakra-sonar trick to map out Naruto's expression. "What do you want?" His voice was low and flat; he shook his head immediately. "Don't answer that."
"I will, if you want."
Sasuke looked away again and Naruto took a deep breath and leaned in; Sasuke turned his head in surprise and their lips brushed awkwardly. Sasuke went still, Naruto froze and they both sat there like two training-dummies.
Then, Sasuke's lips parted and Naruto breathed hard as he let his tongue slip into Sasuke's warm mouth. They were still positioned in a graceless fashion, mouths slanted over each other's and moving slowly, experimentally, but Naruto still thought that of the five or so kisses he'd gotten over the years, Sasuke would always be his first and best.
He moaned a little when Sasuke's tongue dragged sensually against his, and Sasuke pulled back abruptly, his lips swollen and colour in his cheeks.
"I'll be a terrible teacher," Sasuke said idly, as if he was changing the subject... even though the sides of their hands touched where they rested on the seat of the sofa and Naruto was almost in his lap. Naruto wanted to let out a shout of delighted laughter, but he barely restrained himself.
"No," Naruto answered with perfect confidence, bravely taking Sasuke's hand and squeezing with promise. "You'll be great, you'll see. And if anyone says otherwise, I'll pummel 'em."
"I don't need you to fight for me," Sasuke grumped, but he laced his fingers through Naruto's and held on comfortably.
fin