Naruto: Dreams Unraveled

What Was and What Is

Lee's surgery had gone better than great. He was now in recovery. He was faring pretty well but was a little upset he couldn't do basic things such as train. He was getting stronger with each passing day though. I unfortunately was the one to keep an eye on him. Gai had missions and the other nurses had trouble keeping the anxious ninja in line. I was the only one for the job. Even though he was in recovery, he still moved pretty fast. Lee had finally been released as I was now the one on a long needed break from the hospital.

Nanami was coming along in her training as she also was putting herself more into her medical studies. She would soon become a decent ninja. As for me though, I had started on my ANBU missions. I also took Jounin missions as well, just not as often as my higher ranking missions. The last mission I had just returned from was a simple escort mission... escorting an elderly man who never could shut up... apparently, I was the only one with the patience to handle the mission.

It had now become night, as I was taking a midnight stroll... literally. It was the middle of the night and everyone was fast asleep. Surprisingly, Uchiha was not about. Maybe it would be about time to try and make a mends with him. He had gotten better around Naruto and he had held his tongue a lot more recently.

That day on the roof when him and Naruto fought, I had been really rough with the both of them. I had already apologized to my brother, but now it was time to apologize with my very old friend... Sasuke.

Yes, as of this moment it was no longer just Uchiha, it was Sasuke. To receive trust you must give it first, yes? I had done that with Gaara, so why not with Sasuke? I had finally come to forgive the young raven and I would make peace with my decision.

At that moment the wind blew into my face as I caught the scent of Sakura near the village gates with a tone that seemed to be worrisome. That's when I got nervous, but then again, this was Sakura, she worried about a lot of things. I didn't give Sakura another thought as I made my way to the Uchiha compound.

I came along the back, as if I were heading into the Sakura tree forest. But instead of heading to my secret place I went onto the main house, where I would find my friend I had made so many years ago. But before I could make it to the back porch, I found his figure on the pier that sat above the lake behind his home.

I sighed. It was now or never. I didn't really make an effort to go around the lake as simply walked upon the water's surface. Once he noticed the ripples he looked at me as I made my way up to him. Once about two feet away I stopped.

Neither of us said a word, we just looked at each other. As I let another moment pass I adjusted my line of sight to the reflection of the stars and took a breath, then releasing it, and closing my eyes, "I came to apologize." He didn't say anything. I opened my eyes to gaze at him again, "I'm sorry for the way I treated you on the roof after you fought with my brother that day... I went a little over board." I turned my gaze down at his feet that dangled over the pier as he still remained silent. I then sighed, looking back up to his face once more, "Please, forgive me... Sasuke."

At the mention of me saying his name, he seemed surprised. "You said my name," He softly spoke up. I just gently smiled, pushing some loose red hair behind my right ear, "Yeah, I mean you have a first name for a reason," I let out a giggle, "I might as well use it."

I paused before continuing, "I finally decided that it was time to forgive and forget. You yelled at me out of raw emotion from a traumatic experience you had just gone through... putting myself in your shoes, I probably would have done the same. But also now that you have somewhat come to friendlier terms with my brother, maybe I should put hope in that bond of friendship to grow. Besides, I want my friend back... even if he isn't the same Sasuke I knew so well back then. Maybe I'm finally ready to get to know this one a little better." He still had that awed look as if I had sprouted wings or something. But within a matter of seconds he gave that infamous Uchiha smirk.

"You're really something, you know that?" He calmly asked. "I'm not anything special. I'm just me," I shrugged. The young Uchiha then turned his gaze up to the sky as he seemed to flinch a little. This caught my attention quickly as I realized his curse mark was probably acting up.

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like if everything had turned out differently?" His voice turned my attention back to him. I hummed for a moment, "Every now and then. But then I have to bring myself back down to reality." He kept looking up at the stars, as he continued, "Have you ever thought what it would be like to leave this place?" Now this question caught me off guard... this was not Sasuke at all. I answered anyway, actually giving him an honest answer, "Yeah... I have actually. But then I always come back to the people I'd leave behind... the ones that mean the most to me." I then giggled, acting lighthearted, "But the Leaf Village is such a wonderful place. Friendly people, loving friends, great food, and a place to call home." He turned back to me as he weakly smiled, "Yeah... home."

At this point he was shifting the weight on the shoulder that posed the curse mark and I could feel the chakra pulsing from it... that dark aura. I didn't so much like it. But I played dumb, speaking up a little motherly, "You look tired, Sasuke." He snapped out of his daze as he replied with, "Yeah, it's been a long day."

With that, he got to his feet and looked down upon me. And it was then I knew that Sasuke, the young Uchiha I once knew and the Genin that was placed on my squad, was not the Sasuke that stood before me. He was very much off. But he ended up giving me that famous smirk of his and only replied with, "Goodnight, Holota." With that I smiled, turning to go my way back across the lake, "Goodnight... Sasuke." And with that he watched me go... I could feel his eyes burning into my back. But it wasn't a creepy feeling... it was longing?

I didn't dare look back until I had crossed the lake, pulling a sweet smile while waving another farewell to the raven. After he returned the gesture, I went on my way.

I knew full well, this was not Sasuke. No, Sasuke had begun to fade the moment that stupid curse mark was bestowed upon him. He was now Uchiha to me again... and I was not at peace with it. But with everything that he had asked me, I knew why Sakura was at the gate... she was waiting for him. He was planning to leave. Sakura was smart, but I never knew she could have been that smart. She must have been more informed than I led her on to be.

But with that, I stretched my senses. Beyond Sakura, beyond the gates, and pushed the presence of everyone in the village to nothing but blank nothingness. Closing my eyes, I let the wind carry the scents of one... two, three... four! Four ninja, with apparent Jounin level skills. They were waiting just beyond the gates. I then stretched my senses back to the Uchiha compound to hear that the raven was indeed scuttling about, closing drawers and opening squeaky doors. At this I 'poofed' home.

I ran straight into my room and grabbed my ninja tools and a few summoning scrolls. Surely I could stop him. Unfortunately, I was disobeying the ninja code, but at that moment I knew it was meant to be broken. I made a clone to send a message to Lady Tsunade, or at least leave the message in plain sight. There was a possible twenty percent chance I could have been wrong about the Uchiha, but I did not doubted my intuition.

Once I was set, I left quickly and silently. On the way to the gate, I spotted the bubblegum hair Genin waiting silently out of sight. But I let her be, not letting her in on my plan. Hopefully her attempts would stop Uchiha, but knowing that it would be very unlikely, I could only hope that she bought me time. From what I could tell, Uchiha hadn't left his home yet, so that would give me a little more time.

Once past an anxiously waiting Sakura, I darted out of the village, being extra sure I was not making a sound.

The Sound.

That's where Orochimaru was. I would head to the border and wait there. I knew Shizune, Genma, Raidou, and Iwashi were out on a mission, but I knew not where. I would have to be extremely careful now. I made my way in silence as I would take my pace at a reasonable rate. And I would be damn sure to not get there too late.