Full Summary: Sasuke has been forced back to the village by 2 strange ninja and one that he never expected to see unless it was for a battle to the death. The secret that Itachi has kept from Sasuke for so long will finally be revealed. But is Itachi ready to tell Sasuke the truth? Can Sasuke even bear to hear it?

Warnings: Manga spoilers 399-402. Original Characters. Light M/M.

Chapter 2

Naruto was walking back from the training field when he noticed large crowds gathered around the various buildings of Konoha. There wasn’t a parade or a festival, why were so many people outside? Naruto was finally close enough to listen to what the people were saying. Their voices were panicked and worried. “Did you hear…Itachi…back…strange ANBU…dragon…Sasuke…” Naruto’s eyes widened and he broke out into a run for the Hokage’s office. Once he got to the mansion two guards stopped him outside.

“Hold on there bud!”

“Yeah, Hokage-sama is busy!”

“But everyone’s talking about Sasuke! Is he back?!” The two guards looked to each other in surprise. They sighed in defeat.

“Well, we were supposed to keep this from you, but apparently with such a public way to enter the village, the two ANBU sent out to retrieve him came back with him and Itachi!”

“They walked proudly through the main street up to here!”

“Sasuke’s in the hospital. No one’s allowed to see him until Lady Tsunade figures out what to do with him.”

“What!!!???” Naruto yelled. The two guards were taken aback by the sudden burst of sound.

“Well, he did betray the village.”

“I don’t care! He’s still my friend!” Naruto turned on his heels and ran as fast as he could in the direction of the hospital. The back of his collar was grabbed and he was pulled back into an alleyway. Anger coursed though his body until he saw Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, Sai and Yamato.

“Slow down there!” Kakashi said smiling.

“We all want to see him too; well at least Kakashi-sensei and I want to,” Sakura said with a small blush creeping up her cheeks.

“I’m curious about him,” Sai stated. Yamato just smiled nervously.

“Then why are we hiding in an alley?!” Naruto questioned loudly.

“Quiet!” Kakashi said. “We’re not hiding in the alley, we’re just gathered here. I pulled these two back here as I saw them running for the hospital.” Kakashi motioned to Sakura and Sai. “Yamato was already with me.” Naruto looked from Kakashi to Yamato suspiciously, but said nothing on the subject. He figured they were talking about something that didn’t interest Naruto one bit, after all Kakashi enjoyed those porn books way to much to even be considered slightly gay.

“Well we’re all here now! Let’s go!” Naruto turned around and started for the hospital only to be pulled back again. “What!?”

“They have ANBU stationed outside the hospital. No one is allowed inside except if they have family in there and when they’re allowed in, they’re escorted to their family member’s room. The Hokage is taking this very seriously.”

“We were his team though! Sakura-chan! Can’t you convince her to let us see him!” Sakura shrugged.

“She’s really busy at the moment. Apparently she learned something big.”

“Great…now I wanna know!” Naruto whined. Kakashi rolled his eyes. He thought Naruto was maturing, but he started having second thoughts.

“We can wait outside the Hokage’s mansion to be seen by her. It may take a while, but I don’t think we have any other choice.”

“I knew you three were all on the same team but I did not know about this mission!” Tsunade said as she re-read the details about a top secret mission that had been given to Itachi long ago. “Itachi, I don’t even know what to say! You…you’re a hero!” Itachi didn’t even blink. He continued to stare impassively at Tsunade. The weight of his stare made the Hokage uncomfortable. “I’ll need to tell the village about this!”

“No,” Itachi stated. Chiyu and Kaia both turned to look at him with wide eyes. “If they find out the truth, Sasuke will be mistreated. They will associate him with the others because of his desertion. You cannot tell them.”

“But if I don’t tell them, you’re still a villain to them.”

“That’s the part I have to play.”

“It’s not fair! They forced you to ruin your life! The least I can do is allow you to come back home as a hero!”

“I’m no hero.”

“Yes you are Itachi,” Chiyu’s voice was sweet, like sugar. That voice was the only voice in the world that could make Itachi feel happy. “You saved the entire village from your clan. That must have been the hardest thing in the world to do. And you did it because you love Konoha.”

“I’m no hero. I wish to be treated as you would have treated me if you had not known about this mission.”

“What!? No!” Chiyu protested.

“That’s not fair!” Kaia yelled.

“It’s what must be done. Even you know it Lady Tsunade. In order to clear my brother’s name, you have to.”

“You know you will be put to death,” Tsunade said weakly. She didn’t want this. She could explain to the village what really happened. They would understand! She could make sure they knew that Sasuke was too young at the time to even be told that the Uchiha were planning a coup d'état. However, she knew that the village would always hold some fear of the man that stood before her; she knew that the village would think that they would try to join forces with an enemy nation to try to finish what their clan started. She sighed sadly. People were always so suspicious of each other. There was hardly any room for love.

“I know.” Itachi’s voice was distant.

“Itachi, I really don’t want to do this,” she said weakly.

“This mission has to die with me. It’s the only way.”

“Sasuke will be angry.”

“Don’t tell him.”

“Don’t tell him?” Chiyu spat. “We said too much in front of him when we killed Orochimaru! He’d try to beat it out of me and Kaia!”

“You both are strong enough to withstand him.”

“No, I refuse! You did so much good for this village!” Chiyu’s eyes started to water. “You risked everything for it! You gave up everything for it! I’m not allowing you to be killed by the village you sacrificed everything for!” Itachi didn’t respond. He merely looked at his former teammate with stone eyes. Chiyu’s body shook with anger. “You…you were gone…we wanted to help you…we could have you know!...We could have…done this…together.” Tears spilled down the ninja’s cheeks. “We love you Itachi! Don’t you fucking leave us again! We were so worried about you! We heard about your clan and what you had done! We…we didn’t understand…we were so lost. Until…until the Third told us what really went on…we were so upset that you didn’t confide in us! We’re your team!”

“Were.” Chiyu’s eyes widened in shock. That one word bit into his skin so painfully that he wished he would have been killed by it. He looked away defeated. Kaia saw the pain etched into her comrade’s face.

“Itachi, let’s run away, the three of us. Let’s go to a town far away where no one knows us and live like normal people and not like ninja. That way, the mission would still be a secret and no one would have to die.” Itachi didn’t respond. He wasn’t expecting his old team to be so persistent. But then again…he should have, after that day…

The rain was pouring down like a rushing river. Itachi’s body shook from the cold. They had just become ANBU. The mission wasn’t simple. They had assassinated a military leader of an opposing nation’s army. Now that entire army was after the three of them. They sat in a cave huddled by a fire. Itachi was angry at himself. If it weren’t for him their mission would have been a complete success. But he couldn’t jump high enough, or fast enough, unlike Chiyu, who could fly and Kaia, who rode her panther to escape. Itachi didn’t have any summoning jutsu or transformation jutsu. All he had were his stupid eyes! A guard from their army spotted Itachi climbing a fence to get out of the camp. The guard had some kind of jutsu that allowed for him to see clearly in the dark. He saw Itachi’s headband and got a good look at him. The entire army knew that their commander was assassinated by someone from Konoha, and it was all Itachi’s fault. “Cheer up buttercup!” Chiyu said as he scooted closer to his comrade. Itachi’s face didn’t change. Kaia looked at him from across the fire and tried to smile at him reassuringly, however her efforts never reached his eyes. He wouldn’t look away from the fire. “We didn’t plan this one out too well did we?” Chiyu continued on. “Maybe next time we’ll make sure you’ve got a good escape vehicle too!”

“We can’t go back now,” Itachi said.

“We can soon enough,” Kaia reassured. “As soon as either the peace talks are completed or one army surrenders to the other. It’ll be okay Ita-chan.” That was Kaia’s nickname for her friend and teammate. He was always so serious and when she said that for the first time, he blushed like crazy. It didn’t have the same effect as it had when she first used it, but it always seemed to bring a smile, however small, to the Uchiha’s lips. As the three of them pulled out their bedrolls and got ready for bed, Chiyu placed his unbreakable protection “shield” over the entrance to the cave. They were deep enough inside that no one could tell someone was even in there, but they weren’t taking chances. Chiyu’s absolute defense system didn’t stop with just the scales on his body, he was able to create wind barriers that would knock anyone back if they tried to walk into the entrance of the cave. The wind formed an invisible shield. Kaia had settled into bed and was sleeping soundly, she had been exhausted from a day of running and fighting any of the enemy’s ninja. Itachi was sitting on his bedroll, with that look of disappointment on his face. Chiyu came back into the area they set up camp and smiled softly at his friend. He sat down next to him on his bedroll and didn’t speak for a moment as he watched the fire dance.

“I’d die for you, you know?” Chiyu said. Itachi looked over at him in surprise. “You’re the only thing in my life that gives it meaning. I’m glad you messed up, because if you hadn’t, we’d be back in Konoha, and we wouldn’t be together right now. Don’t try to push me away with your pouting and emotionless faces. I can see right through them you know. I know when you’re sad or when you’re happy, I can tell when you’re angry or scared. So don’t even try to push me away. I love you, and you’re going to have to give up and give in. Because I’m never leaving your side.”

Itachi didn’t say anything; he looked over to Chiyu who smiled at him happily. Chiyu read that seemingly emotionless face as if Itachi had blurted out what he was truly feeling. “He can hide with us can’t he?” Tsunade took this into consideration. She could announce to the village that Itachi had been sentenced to death but she could easily place him in ANBU.

“Itachi, is that what you want?” she asked. Itachi nodded. She smiled with relief. “Itachi, from here on out you will be with ANBU once again; however you’ll be on the special forces. You will be assigned a special mask, like Chiyu and Kaia. Do you have a special animal in mind?” Itachi thought for a moment.

“A crow.”

“You are only allowed out at night when most of everyone is in bed asleep. You can not talk to other villagers or ever get married in this village is that clear? You are dead to this village.” Itachi nodded in acceptance. “Very well then. Welcome back Itachi.”

Naruto paced back and forth outside of the Hokage’s mansion. He wanted to march right up in there and demand to see Sasuke. Kakashi followed Naruto’s movements with his exposed eye, he was mildly entertained by the blonde’s impatience. “Kakashi-senpai, Tsunade-sama will now see you.” Naruto bolted into the tower and ran up the stairs. Kakashi sighed and made his way into the Hokage’s tower. “Sasuke! Why aren't you allowing anyone to see Sasuke?!” Naruto demanded. Kakashi rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall. That was no way to talk to Lady Tsunade if you valued your life. Tsunade smiled at Naruto and stood up. Everyone remained silent.

“Because this is a very delicate situation, I have not allowed anyone to speak with him until Ibiki has had a thorough examination with him.”

“You’re torturing Sasuke!?” Naruto shouted. Sakura bit her lip, she hoped it wasn’t true!

“No, he’s merely speaking to him. I just want to know all of what Sasuke has learned and if he has no allegiances with Orochimaru.”

“What are you going to do with him Tsunade-sama?” Sakura asked. Tsunade didn’t respond. She sighed and turned around to look out the window.

“I don’t know. If you didn’t know, I had sent out two ANBU to infiltrate Orochimaru’s hideout and retrieve Sasuke, however, someone else showed up to protect Sasuke.” Everyone held their breath in anticipation. “Uchiha Itachi.”

“What! But, I thought he hated Sasuke!?” Sakura said a pitch a little too high for comfort.

“I said this was a very delicate situation Sakura. Apparently he doesn’t hate him and he never has.”

“What will be done with Itachi?” Kakashi asked.

“Death sentence. As soon as possible.” Tsunade lied. Everyone believed her though, and no one seemed to want to protest that one.

“Can we go see Sasuke now?” Naruto wined. Tsunade chuckled and turned back to face everyone.

“Why not. Take this with you. It states that I’ve given my permission for you to see him.” Naruto snatched the paper out of Tsunade’s hands. He persisted in running down the stairs and over to the hospital where he then had to wait impatiently for everyone to get there. Once everyone was gathered, Naruto handed over the note and the ANBU guards allowed them all inside. One ANBU wearing a white cat mask escorted them to Sasuke’s room, where two ANBU were stationed outside of it. Naruto walked calmly inside first, followed by Sakura and then everyone else. Sasuke was staring at the wall. His arm was bandaged up and he had a brace on that kept his bandaged arm resting in front of his chest.

“Sasuke?” Naruto spoke. Sasuke looked over at his former comrades, but turned away in shame. He hated to have them see him like this. “Sasuke! We were so worried about you!” Naruto and Sakura threw their arms around the raven haired boy, but were careful as to not hit his broken arm.

“Why? I left you didn’t I?” Sasuke spat.

“But we understand and everything’s okay now! Itachi is sentenced to death any time now!” Sakura said happily. “You won’t have to worry about killing him anymore! Konoha is going to avenge all the Uchihas’ deaths for you!” Sasuke’s eyes widened in horror. That wasn’t what he wanted anymore! He had questions! Questions that burned with desire for answers. He tried to get up, but Sakura gently pushed him back down. “I’m a lot stronger since you saw me last time. Careful Sasuke. We understand that you wanted to be the one that killed Itachi but he’s too strong. Let someone else do it for you.”

“No!” Sasuke screamed. “I need him to answer my questions! I need to see him!” Everyone noticed the panic in the boy’s voice. “Please! I’ve got to see him!” Sasuke tried once again to get out of Sakura’s grip, but she was a lot stronger since last time. Kakashi noticed something different in the boy’s eyes. They weren’t emotionless, they held confusion and fear. What had happened when those two ANBU went to retrieve him? “Sakura please let me go see him! You don’t understand! None of you understand! Get off me!” Sasuke managed to get out from under Sakura’s grip. He jumped out the window before any of them could catch him. Just as quickly as he had jumped he was being forced back by an ANBU, who then handcuffed his good hand to the bedside railing. Sasuke looked broken and hopeless. Naruto noticed the lack of hate energy that usually emitted off of the onyx eyed boy. It was strange to Naruto. “Please…” Sasuke said barely above a whisper. “I need to see him.”

Reviews are nice and not creepy in any way shape or form. :P