Summary: Twelve years after becoming a Genin, he finally became Hokage. He had everything: a good life, wonderful friends and a gorgeous Sasuke. However, an encounter with a strange Jutsu happened and had the both of them crashing back into time, twelve years earlier.

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A pair of blue eyes scanned the afternoon horizon.

"Oi Naruto," a woman with pink hair called up at the blonde seating on top of a branch, "you're wandering off again. Konahamaru-kun was ready to tear his hair out when he realized that you left without finishing the paperwork for today."

The blonde looked down at the woman and grinned a little, his feet dangling playfully off the branch, "Saa, he keeps worrying too much." He scooted a little to the side of the branch to allow some space beside him which he patted gently, "Come Sakura-chan, care to join me? The sunset looks great as usual." The blonde glanced back to the setting sun.

Sakura shook her head, smiling a little, "I can't believe you still have time to do things like these." She leaned against the trunk and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Even if she didn't join the blonde on top of the branch, she looked ahead anyway to stare at the afternoon sky. "You should have been used to the workload by now. It has been three years already, right Hokage-sama?"

The blonde looked down at her from the branch, giving her a sour look, "Sakura-chan! I hate being called like that by my close friends." He whined. True, that it was his life-long dream to become the Hokage. On the day that he finally earned the name, he thought that he could never be happier. Well maybe not happier than the time he and the last Uchiha finally tied the knot. Still, it was a feeling larger than life. All of the people close to him shared his victory. After all, they have been with him since the beginning and until now. Nowadays, few people get to call him with his first name and that was only reserved for less than a dozen people in his life.

He was now the Hokage and everybody accepted, respected and loved him. It seemed that the village finally realized the difference between the monster inside their Hokage and the blonde young man who decided to become its tamer.

"Ne, Sakura-chan," Naruto called, "would you and Lee like to come by later for dinner?" On nights when Naruto would be left alone, he would often invite friends over. Once he got used to the feeling of having people around him and caring for him, he didn't want to feel being alone again.

Lee and Sakura had been spending most of their time together, now that Naruto had been become busier. Not that Sakura herself was not busy, in fact, she had her hands full of work in the local Shinobi hospital. There were times when she had to visit Suna to attend conferences and sometimes to give some. She was known in several villages and Naruto could bet that even outside of the Fire Country, her name was respected. Haruno Sakura, the woman who inherited the strength and wisdom of the Great Tsunade.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. But we already made plans tonight." Sakura replied, then looked up at the Hokage, expecting to see evident disappointment on his face, "But don't worry. I'm certain you won't be alone tonight." With that last statement, she prepared to leave.

Leaves on the branch rustled as Naruto asked confusedly, "What do you mean I won't be alone?" He fingered his whiskers marks unconsciously while thinking, "Sasuke is away on his mission, won't be coming back for at least two days … Iruka-sensei will go out to dinner tonight with Kakashi-sensei…" He called after the already departing woman, "Oi! Sakura-chan, what are you talking about!"

"Well," She looked back at the Hokage, with her eyes twinkling. Naruto was reminded of Kakashi-sensei's expression when he was telling them a secret, "My real intention in going here was to let you know that Sasuke just came back from his mission. Apparently, his team seemed to have finished it earlier than expected." Then Sakura left with a knowing smile.

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Coming Back

Chapter 1: The Hokage and the ANBU Captain

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Sasuke was finally home! He couldn't slow down the rapid beating of his heart. It has been so long since he last saw that ANBU captain. Thanks to the stupid S-class missions, he had no choice but to send the strongest ANBU team and be separated from Sasuke, yet again. Even if they were finally together, they were still apart because of their work. The Hokage and his ANBU captain, so near yet so far.

Naruto rushed immediately to the office, his long white coat billowing behind him in his haste. The guards on his doorway bowed to him as he passed by the Kage's office door. He gave them a small nod in recognition and proceeded to enter the room. The doors somehow opened on their own, expecting him already.

"Hokage-sama! Where have you be…" Konohamaru was cut off when he noticed the blonde searching frantically for something on his desk. "Are you looking for something?"

Naruto continued scanning the papers on his desk, "No, I'm trying to see if my table has grown some flowers while I was gone." Then he grinned as he sensed Konohamaru's annoyance, "I'm looking for the recent report that …"

"That the ANBU captain has just submitted?" The teenage boy's expression changed and he smiled at him. "It's right there, underneath your blotter." The younger boy stared at the Hokage while the latter clumsily searched for a stack of papers underneath the table blotter, knocking some books off the table in the process. Naruto-nichan was still as easy to read as an open book. Once the blonde finally got hold of the report and began reading it, Konohamaru spoke again. "Yes, he's back… and you just missed him a few minutes ago."

Naruto tried to hide the overwhelming excitement running through him at the knowledge that Sasuke was finally here. At the same time, he was feeling slightly disappointed that he missed seeing Sasuke the moment he returned to Konoha. He was also feeling a little guilty because Sasuke had found out that he was sneaking out of office... again. He just had to see him now. "Konohamaru-kun, I …"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll tell them you have gone off early today. Personal matters, of course. I'll take care of it… Naruto-nisan." The boy gave him a mock-salute and a mischievous smile.

Naruto returned the smile, "Arigatou, Konohamaru."

---

The sun has already set and the village was silently glowing with its tiny country lights. The view from the top of a tall tree was something else had Naruto been paying attention to it. But right now, he was rushing to get to their home. He didn't want to do anymore sight-seeing for he only wanted to see a certain pair of obsidian eyes. He didn't know how fast he was running. He jumped from branch to roof until he spotted a familiar looking house. Finally! He landed in front of the house and noticed that the lights inside were already on.

His heart was still beating furiously. It could be because he was running in flash. He tried to calm himself down, wiped some cold sweat from his brow, and ran a hand nervously through his hair. He noticed that the front door was open and he proceeded inside. He looked around their living room. The lamp on the corner was on and the windows were open. But there was no sign of any presence. Naruto tried to feel the air around him, extending his senses to find a certain aura. He didn't move from the entrance while evaluating the place.

Nothing.

There was not a sign of chakra here. Naruto let his guard down and felt a little disappointed. Where was Sasuke?

Without warning, a presence suddenly materialized just behind Naruto and without a second's hesitation the blonde spun around to deliver a tenketsu pressure point on the new presence. But the new-comer swiftly avoided any contact and shifted so quickly, that Naruto only saw a blur move behind him.

"Oi Dobe." A familiar, deep voice called. Naruto swore that no matter how many times he heard this voice, it still made his heart stop beating every time. "Is this how you welcome me home?" The new-comer wrapped strong arms around Naruto's waist and pulled him close.

Naruto gasped and turned to face him, the hold of the hands around his waist were loosened a little but still didn't let go. Blue eyes stared into obsidian ones, "Sasuke..." was all Naruto got to say as Sasuke claimed the blonde's lips in an urgent kiss.

Not letting him go… not letting him go… was running through Naruto's mind as his arms climbed on Sasuke's shoulders and behind his neck. Sasuke pulled him closer, closing any tiny gap between their bodies, even if there was already none. Even with his eyes closed, Naruto could feel that the ANBU captain was still wearing his uniform. So, the blonde got here not long after the arrival of the brunette.

Naruto broke the kiss after a while, and he stared back at the ANBU captain. Sasuke was finally here and he was being held by him at this moment. Naruto ran his hand through Sasuke's black hair which was a little longer compared to when he was still a genin. The blonde's stare never left Sasuke's eyes and neither did Sasuke, until Naruto gave a little laugh. "You don't tire of this staring contest, ne Sasuke?"

Sasuke smirked, "Not when it's you I'm starting at, dobe." He was still holding Naruto in his arms, which the blonde found to be very comforting.

Sasuke was slightly taller than him, Naruto noticed this as they were growing up. The Uchiha had always been taller, ever since they were genins. Now, Naruto had grown some height, but so did Sasuke. Their hairs have grown longer, their faces lost the traces of childhood, but their eyes never lost that passion for each other. Naruto thought while he was playing with a lock of Sasuke's hair on his hand, while the other hand was still on Sasuke's shoulder.

They both have come a long way. Naruto remembered their first 'accidental' kiss, the countless times Sasuke saved him, their chakra control training in the wave country, their fight with Haku and Zabuza, the Chuunin selection exams, their fight with Gaara, their fight with each other and their reunion after three years.

There had been three times in his life, when Naruto had felt so scared. The first was when he didn't know why the villagers were chasing him away. The second was when he thought that Sasuke had died. The third was when he thought that he couldn't save Sasuke. There were also three moments in his life, when Naruto knew he was so happy. The first was when they got Sasuke back. The Second was when he became Hokage. The third when Sasuke asked for them to be together and to live together forever.

There were only a few moments in Naruto's life when he was truly happy. One of those moments was happening right now.

"Oi dobe, say something." Sasuke said, "It's strange to see you just staring at me like that and not muttering anything." Sasuke kissed his nose. The blonde pouted at the action and Sasuke smiled, "What?"

"I feel like a kid when you kiss me on the nose." Naruto replied.

The Uchiha's smile never disappeared, "I see. So where do you want to be kissed then?"

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Near the outskirts of Konoha, just past the mountains, there existed a dense forest. This forest was avoided by most of the travelers, for it was too dark to pass through and there were many monsters that weren't even heard of. Anybody would be scared at the sight of it. The trees were so tall, they appeared to be staring down at you if you look up. The sounds to be heard inside were too indistinguishable. The leaves were so many, there didn't seem to be any path to walk on.

What was stranger than this forest, was the fact that there were these humans who dared to spend the night in it. They were four of them and they were all wrapped in dark cloaks.

"By morning tomorrow, we should be arriving finally at Konoha." One of the figures said.

"You said that you could feel his chakra already."

"See? It's very strong! That boy possessed more power that he could ever control or at least appreciate! It shouldn't have belonged to him." One hissed.

"Quiet." The eldest didn't shout, but his voice had enough coldness to deliver his point. "By tomorrow, it would finally be over." He was the eldest of the four and he always felt it every time he glanced at his brothers. "All of us have managed to master the ritual. Our only problem is getting him. "

The second one never left his gaze from the fire that was burning silently to warm their camp. "I hear that he's being accompanied by a very strong fire wielder. It would be difficult to defeat …"

"We're not here to defeat them. We will do that in a different time." The tallest one said. "Once we manage to abduct the him quietly and proceed with the ritual, we could leave this place."

"What happens after the ritual, Aniki?" The youngest one asked.

"Haven't you been listening to the plan?" The third brother snapped.

"It is something quite difficult to explain." It was the second. "But I will try." Amusement was evident in the second brother's voice, despite realizing that his youngest brother should have understood their plan already. "You see, it's supposed to take consciousness and send it to another world or in a different time that we wish."

"We will send him back through time?" The youngest looked confused.

"Apparently so. Since at this moment, he has become too strong for us. We need to take him back into a time when he … when his physical body was still weak and his skills were new." The second explained patiently.

"It's still confusing." The youngest sat upright, "Don't you think he still would regain the memories of his present self even if we send him back?"

"Oh, he would definitely remember everything, but his body and his chakra won't."

With that, the second settled on his own blankets and told his little brother to go to sleep. They still have a lot to do tomorrow.

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Meanwhile, somewhere in the southern Konoha, Naruto was sleeping peacefully against Sasuke's chest. The Uchiha was embracing him gently as he tried hard to get some sleep.

He was feeling something, at the back of his mind, but he couldn't place it at the moment. It was disturbing but he couldn't figure it out yet. He looked down on the blonde whose eyes were closed so beautifully it really pained him to see. He'll figure this thing bothering him by tomorrow.

Sasuke gave in to the sweet arms of sleep.

Little did he know, that tomorrow might be too late.

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end of Chapter 1.