Chapter 1:

It was raining again.

The young man gave a distracted smile as he looked out the bus window: he'd always found that rain had a certain calming effect. It drummed off the window, a constant and ever-changing beat, mingling with the engine and the muffled sound of his city. As they crawled through the congested street, lanes fat with taxis, buses and trams, he studied the busy pavement. The red brake lights of the other vehicles seemed to smudge along the condensation-soaked glass, reflecting and refracting, but he could still see everything quite clearly.

Despite the weather people still lined the streets. After all, there was work to be done.

It always amazed him just how many people from all sorts of backgrounds brushed shoulders in the city centre: a middle aged man with a shaved head and goatee used his guitar case as cover from the downpour, a hard expression on his face; one exceptionally short woman was carrying a bright blue umbrella nearly as wide as she was tall; a man in an orange t-shirt and shorts was holding 3 cartons of milk in one hand and a four-pack of beer in the other.

Only the essentials, the young man thought to himself, supressing a chuckle.

There were always interesting people in this city if you looked for them. A particularly great example thanked the driver as he hopped off the bus: sporting a large, well-trimmed beard, his bushy hair tied back in a bun, was a middle-eastern gentleman wearing a shirt, tie and waistcoat. He passed the window, walking into the rain as if he owned the whole street.

As the bus pulled up at a set of traffic lights, he could make out a teen with a pinched, drawn face anxiously waiting for them to change. As soon as it hit green he all but sprinted across the road, hood up, hands in pockets.

What could he be running from? Or towards?

It was raining the night he ran, too.

The thought made its way into his head unbidden, as thoughts of him always did. The smile slid from his face for a second as his brain seemed to freeze, the cogs and sprockets that kept him thinking jamming and sputtering. Jiraiya always did say that they could 'hear the cogs turning' whenever he tried to untangle a particularly hard puzzle; his teacher's words were enough to make his smile slowly return.

The young man snapped out of his reverie as he saw the bridge rushing past and realised he was about to miss his stop – he jumped up, haphazardly zipping up his orange hoodie as he stumbled to the front of the bus. He thanked the driver and disembarked, almost falling over as the wind assaulted him. Finding his feet again, he flipped his hood up, crossing the road and slowly walking up to the edge of the bridge. It was pretty exposed, which made crossing it a bit tricky when the wind was powerful. What made up for it was the view.

From here you could see across the glass roof of the train station, all the way across to the park and art gallery. The main street lay to the right, his view of it blocked by a giant monument, easily 4 or 5 stories tall. He remembered Kiba saying it looked like a "gothic spaceship" – a pretty apt description, he thought. To the left the city climbed a sharp hill: in the forefront the old buildings stood tall and proud against the sky, and further back a castle stood on the rocky hill. He grinned into the wind: it was a beautiful city.

"Naruto!"

He turned to see a girl waving at him from up the bridge, almost bouncing up and down in her excitement. Naruto practically ran towards her, scooping her up in a massive hug.

"Stupid Naruto, let me go!" she squealed, laughing and hitting him in the chest. He obliged, depositing her on the ground gently.

"Heya Sakura," he said, wincing slightly. "I forgot just how hard you punch."

"You know I don't pull my punches for you Naruto!" She replied, a warm smile on her delicate features. "C'mon, I'm starving: can't have you gawking at the scenery too long."

She did, however, give it a glance before completely turning. "You do have a good view from here though. Can't say it isn't pretty."

"Well I'm sure you'll be sick of it again by the time you leave," Naruto replied nonchalantly, falling into pace with her. His hands laced up behind his head as he walked, a habit of his. "I've got to give you the full tour sometime, there's such a difference between living on the edge of the city and actually living in it. Speaking of which, do you know where you're going?"

A look of mock offense crossed Sakura's face. "Of course!" she sniffed indignantly. "We woman always know where we're going. It's just a natural instinct."

She chortled when Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fine, I googled it. Happy?"

Naruto's grin grew even broader. "I've missed you Sakura. I know the best med school is up North, but it's not fair we haven't seen each other in 3 years."

Sakura's gaze softened slightly. "I missed you too Naruto: I would have come to visit but the workload was just crazy. My teacher… she's one of the best in her field, but she's so strict." She paused to check the road before crossing. "She's quite a bit like Jiraiya actually."

Naruto snorted. "That old goofball isn't strict!"

"But he pushes you hard, cause he knows you can take it. I remember how wiped out you used to be after every session."

"…Touché."

(╯'□')╯︵ ┻━┻

They reached their destination quickly, a pub not far from the bridge. It was fashioned out of a basement, the steps leading down from street level. Naruto held the door open for Sakura, gesturing inside with a great flourish of his hand.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she entered, but she was still smiling. "You haven't changed a bit, have you Naruto?"

"If it ain't broke…"

Sakura's smile turned into a smirk. "That's a matter of opinion." Naruto just laughed and stuck his tongue out.

They grabbed the first table that they saw, shedding their wet clothes onto the back of their chairs. Sakura pulled off her hat to reveal a shock of bright pink hair, worn short and held back with a hairband.

Naruto was slightly surprised. "Still dyeing your hair? I'm surprised they let you do that, with all the work you do at the hospital." He grabbed menus from the side of table, passing one over to Sakura.

"Thanks. Luckily Tsunade is a more… progressive type of doctor. If by 'progressive,' you mean 'doesn't give a shit about anything but competence.' And since she carries so much clout at the hospital…" Sakura shrugged, thumbing through the menu. "Either way, no one's complained. Hmm, burgers look good…"

Naruto paused for a second, glancing up from his own menu. "Actually, I don't think I've ever seen your real hair colour."

"You aren't missing much; ready to order?"

As they made their way back from the bar, Sakura fished her phone out of her bag. She sighed as she plonked herself down in the seat.

"Great, no signal."

"Well we're pretty much underground, what did you expect? Are you still as addicted to that thing as you were in High School? Iruka must've taken it off you hundreds of times."

"What can I say? Social media beckons me." She took a quick sip of her cider. "I still find it weird that you were on first-name terms with Mr Umino."

"Well you remember how bad I was before he straightened me out." Naruto said, placing the menus back at the side of the table. "I was his first problem student too, so I guess that helped."

Sakura sighed. "I can't believe how much things have changed since then. You're certainly not the mouthy little brat you used to be. And Sasuke…" She trailed off when the smile slid off Naruto's face. "Sorry, I know you don't like talking about him."

Naruto leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, hands once again behind his head. "Nah, it's okay: this is the first time I've seen you in ages, it was bound to come up." He squeezed his eyes shut for a second before opening them again, more composed. "Being partnered with you two for labs is probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. That's when life really started looking up. Because of Sasuke I started martial arts; because of you I started trying harder at school." He looked at Sakura again, and smiled. "I didn't really have much before I had you guys."

"Naruto…"

"Hey, it's true: being bounced around foster homes your whole life sucks. But when we actually became friends… I really had things to hope for. You're one of the reasons I've got as far as I have. Sasuke's another. No reason not to talk about him."

He shifted awkwardly in his seat, suddenly aware of the look on Sakura's face: pity. It wasn't something he particularly liked.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something – exactly what, he wasn't sure – but was interrupted by the food arriving. As the plates hit the table, the moment was broken. Thanking the waitress, Naruto grinned and grabbed his cutlery. Sakura, too, seemed to snap out of a daze as she tentatively smiled and picked up her burger. Naruto was relieved: for now, all was well.

(╯'□')╯︵ ┻━┻

"…and then me, being the idiot I am, look down this goddamn test tube full of copper per-something-or-other, and say 'Oh, it didn't explode-'"

"Only to have it blow up in your face!" Sakura finished, laughing so hard she almost knocked her drink over.

Naruto's grin grew wider. "See, I knew you were there for that." He took a sip of Jack Daniels and Coke, placing it back next to several empty glasses; the meal had run its course, and so had quite a few drinks. Naruto was comfortably buzzed, and it looked like Sakura was a little bit tipsy too.

He continued. "So the cotton ball goes flying, I only just get out the way, and hot copper per-thingy goes all over Kiba's jacket. I almost have my face blown off, we wrecked the test tube, Iruka's furious, and Kiba has the cheek to yell 'Oh shit dude, you ruined my favourite jacket!' And of course, Sasuke just sat there through the whole thing like he was above it all."

Sakura giggled. "I forgot he used to do that. Tell you what got a reaction from him though – your little affair on the first day of third year."

"Shit, man, don't even remind me." Naruto groaned and smacked his head down on the table making Sakura erupt into laughter once again. He threw his hands up in the air. "I don't know who was more horrified, him or me. First day as your lab partner, wanting to make a good impression, and what do I do? Accidently snog Sasuke Goddamn Uchiha. That was my first kiss too."

Sakura's laugh faded and she looked at him in disbelief. Naruto realised his mistake too late, a crimson blush rapidly creeping up his neck. The silence lasted maybe 3 seconds before Sakura exploded, smacking the table in her mirth.

"Your… your first kiss! Priceless! Oh God, I can't breathe."

"Oi, shut it." Naruto's expression lightened a bit. "You're just jealous."

It was Sakura's turn to blush.

A smirk crept across Naruto's face. "Yep, jeaaaaalous." He drew the word out to childish proportions, enjoying the power he held over her. Sakura threw him a withering look, and he figured he better back off. After all, Naruto reasoned, he'd been just as stupid at that age with his crush on Sakura.

"You know I'm only teasing. But man, we were so angsty back then. We were worried about such stupid things: I remember when my main concern was impressing you and everyone else." Naruto paused to consider. "I think Sasuke was the only one with real shit to deal with."

Sakura's expression soured, and she looked down. "It's not an excuse for the way he acted. I still find it hard to believe he actually did what he did… I really thought he cared about us."

Naruto frowned, leaning across the table and laying his hand across Sakura's. "Do you remember the first week we were assigned as lab partners? I was mouthing off, trying to impress you, and you wanted to strangle me. And he just sat there, absorbing it all, keeping distant. I kept trying to goad him, and he'd just have some smart-ass comeback that'd just make me mad. He never lost his cool.

"Then on the Friday I insisted on having lunch with the two of you. You couldn't get rid of me no matter what you tried. I was so hyper that I tripped and fell down the school steps, onto the road, smack bang into the path of a car." Naruto leaned back a little bit, but didn't let go of Sakura's hand. "You remember what happened, right? Sasuke jumped in, quick as lightening, and threw me off the road. He was lucky he walked away from that with just a broken leg."

Sakura finally looked up at Naruto. He smiled. "He did care, Sakura."

"What he did to you-"

"-Doesn't matter." Naruto interjected. "He went through a lot, and we still have no idea exactly what happened: we all saw what they said about Itachi, but is it true? I don't know, but as I said it doesn't matter. I forgave him a long time ago. I just wish I'd understood him as much as I thought I did."

Sakura looked away, her jaw set. Naruto smiled softly: even after all this time, he didn't expect her to forgive as easily as he did. He dipped his fingers in his drink as she turned back to him, about to say something, and flicked them gently at her. For a second she just sat there, sprayed by JD and coke, mouth hanging open. Then, much to Naruto's relief, she threw her head back in hysterical laughter.

"I was just about to tell you how wise you sounded," she said, still giggling. "But I guess you're still you."

Naruto grinned widely. "I'll take that as a compliment."

So the conversation moved on; and although the tension drained away amongst drink and good company, the thought of Sasuke lingered at the back of Naruto's mind.

(╯'□')╯︵ ┻━┻

"I'm telling you!" Sakura exclaimed as they once more crossed the bridge, albeit a little less sure-footed than last time. "The waitress was totally flirting with you!"

"Nah, pretty sure I would have noticed that." Naruto replied, hands behind his head once more. He looked out over the city: thankfully it was less windy now, and the rain had stopped. All in all it turned out to be quite a pleasant night, straggly clouds tracing across a deep navy sky.

"As if! Everyone knows you're about as subtle as a sack of bricks."

"It's not as if I've never had a girlfriend."

"Yeah, and poor Hinata had to practically spell it out in glowing lights for you!"

"…I can't even argue with that." Naruto sighed, but smiled despite himself. "I still don't know why you didn't just stay at my place."

"As much as I'd love to check in at Casa del Naruto, I'd rather not sleep on your couch. Especially after our graduation party."

"Hey, take that one up with Choji. We got most of the stains off it."

Sakura snorted, staggering slightly over a loose paving stone. Naruto frowned. He was in slightly better condition, but he was also quite a bit bigger than her. "You sure you're okay?" He asked, wondering if he should have cut her off two drinks ago.

"Pffft, I'm fine," she replied, waving a hand. "This is the first holiday I've had in a while, I'm allowed to let loose a bit."

"Tell me if you feel the same tomorrow morning." Naruto smirked as they reached Sakura's hotel. It was one of the nicer ones in the city, all marble stairs and statues. He held the door open for her, earning an eyeful from the receptionist as they sauntered into the lobby. Naruto resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at her.

"Well I best be off," Naruto said, pausing for a second as he considered. "Can you make it up to your room okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura mumbled as she pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry it took me so long to visit. I'll be back soon, okay?"

Naruto wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of closeness with one of his best friends.

Sakura pulled away but still hung onto his arms, her face suddenly very intense. "And take care of yourself! I worry about you. I know you still miss Sasuke, and I-" She hiccoughed, breaking off her sentence. All the intensity had slid from her face, and suddenly she seemed rather confused.

"…and I am rather drunk." She grinned up at Naruto. "I think I need to sleep."
Naruto sighed, patting her on the head. "Okay: let me know how you feel tomorrow."

Sakura winked at him and pivoted on her heel to totter towards the elevator, overdoing it slightly and almost falling over. She gave Naruto the finger when he laughed.

"Swivel on it Uzumaki!" she yelled, holding her hand above her head as she walked away. Naruto also turned to leave, a big grin plastered across his face: she usually worked so hard, it was good to see her enjoying herself.

As he walked to the doors, he noticed the receptionist once more. If she was disapproving before, her expression was now one of utter disgust; nose wrinkled, eyebrows furrowed, she seemed to exude contempt like a bad smell.

Naruto decided, much to her chagrin, that this time he wouldn't refrain from sticking his tongue out as he left.

(╯'□')╯︵ ┻━┻

The route back home for Naruto was, in a word, scenic; he had to pass several pubs, bars, and clubs, the latter always being his least favourite. He skirted a pool of vomit outside one such place, almost crossing the road to avoid the huge crowd of people surrounding it. Deep within, he could make out a man arguing vehemently with the poor bouncer, jostling everyone around him. Shaking his head, Naruto pressed on down the hill. Rounding a corner, he was about to pass through a tunnel. The large half cylinder of brick created fantastic echoes; tonight they were slightly different to the usual joyous shouts of a Friday night.

In his tipsy state, it took Naruto a second or two to see what was wrong: on the opposite side of the tunnel three men were laying into another, curses, shouts and punches flying thick and fast. He was being held by the throat, absorbing blows from all sides. His attackers' yells were twisting and distorting in the echoes of the tunnel, creating a terrible howl of violence and derision. For a moment Naruto just stood there, his tipsy brain trying to process the information.

And then he snapped.

He pushed off the pavement hard, sprinting across the road with his head low. Although the alcohol dulled him slightly, he found himself quickly adjusting; adrenaline made his focus narrow, the world reducing to simple constants. First he needed to separate the man from his attackers.

Leaping up onto the curb, Naruto dropped his elbow swiftly down on the centre attacker's wrist, disconnecting it from the victim's neck. In one fluid motion, he placed his left hand gently on the man's chest to slow his fall and snapped his right leg back into the first aggressor. Naruto briefly registered the look of shock on his face before he was cannoned backwards, landing hard on his back. Just as surprised, the other two froze, one backing up slightly. Using the temporary lull in fighting, Naruto let the victim slowly fall to the ground. Dark hair covered most of his face, angled down on a limp neck. Naruto gritted his teeth: he could only make sure the man was okay after he'd got rid of these clowns.

Turning, Naruto now had more time to assess the situation and size up his opponents: from their tight t-shirts to their giant biceps, these kids were gym rats through and through. The man in the centre was staggering back to his feet, his meticulously-styled blond hair now dishevelled; to Naruto's left, the one that had stepped away nervously glanced back at Blondie, the dim light catching his eyebrow piercing; the last one, sporting the world's most pathetic goatee, just stared at Naruto looking rather concussed.

Blondie spread his arms in what he must have thought was a grand gesture. "Well, it looks like he has a boyfriend! Gonna defend your princess, huh?"

"Just try it dickhead, see where it lands you."

Blondie swaggered forwards, pushing Piercing as he went. Naruto braced, getting ready to read his actions but not surprised when he needn't have bothered: Blondie made a big show of winding up his right for a punch to the face. Naruto casually leaned to avoid it, grabbing the huge fist as it sailed past his head. He followed through with a left to the body, straight to Blondie's stomach. As he doubled over, wheezing, Piercing tried to circle round his left and charge him. Still holding Blondie's fist, he pivoted and pushed off the pavement with his left foot. Cycling his right leg as a feint, he snapped his left up, catching Piercing under the jaw. He was instantly floored, his body airborne for only a second before slamming into the cobblestones with a wet slap.

Landing softly, Naruto turned his attention back to Blondie, now to his right; he jerked the bigger man forward by the wrist he still held, bringing his left arm up to clothes-line him. Blondie went down. Hard.

Grinning smugly, Naruto started to rise, only to feel something collide with his temple. The force of it took him sideways, smashing off the wall of the tunnel and onto the ground. Groaning, Naruto rolled over, his vision blurring at the edges. Towering over him was Goatee, having apparently come out of his coma in time to help his friends.

Dammit, I forgot about him…

Goatee lumbered towards him, stumbling slightly as he left the pavement. Naruto's head spun, his limbs not wanting to obey him. He couldn't move, couldn't think properly.

A dark shadow whipped across his vision; focusing on his impending beating, Naruto thought nothing of it until Goatee dropped to one knee, yelling in pain. Someone was behind him, twisting his arm up behind his back. The arm was yanked higher and, accompanied by an awful snap, his yells turned to screams. The man behind him leaned in close, head bowed.

"Leave. Now."

He spoke in a low, threatening voice; despite only saying two words, Naruto had never heard anyone speak with such venom. Yet the voice seemed strangely familiar…

The man kicked Goatee in the back, making him sprawl, sobbing, on the road. Blondie and Piercing, who had been looking on in horror, quickly scrabbled to their feet and grabbed their friend. As they dragged him away, Naruto saw the other man reach into his pocket. His vision started to clear as the man stuck a cigarette in his mouth and brought a lighter up to it. As the spark took and ignited, Naruto finally saw his face, illuminated in the dancing flame.

It can't be…

He exhaled, a cloud of smoke drifting into the air. "You're just as reckless as ever, Naruto… can't say I ever expected you to change though."

He spoke slowly, each word measured and weighed with precision. His face, although dripping blood, was exactly how Naruto remembered it: pale, almost expressionless, with clear traces of his Asian lineage. His eyes were piercing black, intense, currently looking sky-wards as he took another drag of his cigarette.

The man turned those searching eyes to him, smirking slightly. "What's wrong Naruto? Cat got your tongue?"

Naruto blinked, suddenly remembering where he was. He shakily made it to his feet, leaning slightly on the wall for support. His brain throbbed against his skull: he couldn't quite wrap his head around what was happening.

After all, Sasuke Uchiha had been missing for 3 years.

"S-Sasuke?" Naruto finally managed to stutter.

The man in question rolled his eyes, and brought the cigarette back up to his lips. He looked like Hell: a large cut above his left eye was streaming with blood, gently dripping onto his white shirt. His jaw was swollen too, dark bruising already beginning to develop. It took Naruto a second to realise that Sasuke was the one they had been beating on. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and Naruto could see him checking all his teeth with his tongue. Evidently this wasn't his first rodeo.

"But… you left." Naruto stumbled over his words, suddenly forgetting how to speak. "You told me you were leaving the city!"

"And now I'm back."

His head beginning to clear, Naruto pulled out a packet of tissues and made his way over to where Sasuke stood. He reached out, trying to apply them to the gash on his forehead, but Sasuke batted his hand away.

"Stop playing the tough guy." Naruto growled. "You're bleeding pretty bad, we've got to get you to the hospital. I think you might need stitches."

Sasuke glowered at him, but grabbed the tissues all the same. "I'm not going to the hospital." He said bluntly, dabbing at his face.

Naruto sighed. Same old Sasuke alright, it's like pulling teeth…

"You really shouldn't be doing vigilante work." Sasuke said, flicking his cigarette into the gutter where it extinguished with a dull hiss. "Especially if you've had a few drinks. You got sloppy."

Naruto's anger sparked as quickly as the cigarette's flame was doused, his hands curling into fists. "I got sloppy? Those bastards were having a pretty good go at knocking out your teeth before I showed up!"

Sasuke shrugged, rubbing his battered jaw. He turned away, and paused as if he was going to say something. But he just sighed and started walking.

"It was nice seeing you again, Naruto."

And Naruto watched him limp away, hands in his pockets. The friend he hadn't seen in 3 years. The friend that had abandoned everyone that cared about him, had hurt everyone that wanted to help him, had spat on everything his friendships had meant…

And he was walking away again.

"Wait!" Naruto shouted, running after him. Sasuke half-turned, his expression... bemused? Naruto couldn't quite tell. He caught up with the other man, suddenly unsure of what to say.

"Have a drink with me." It was the first thing that came into his head. He could feel a blush creeping up his neck.

Of course he wouldn't want to. He'd made it very clear where he stood when he ran off and-

"Sure."

Naruto almost did a double take. The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched slightly as he took in Naruto's dumbfounded expression, wincing slightly as his jaw moved.

"Close your mouth, idiot, you'll catch flies. Let's find a bar."

(╯'□')╯︵ ┻━┻

Sasuke walked slowly, but with purpose: he seemed to know where he was going.

"Got somewhere in mind?" Naruto asked, falling into step beside him. Throwing his arms behind his head once again, he gave a sideways glance to Sasuke. Despite the time difference, he hadn't changed much: head slightly bowed, hands in his pockets, his posture was one of understatement. But there was something there, an underlying confidence and power. He'd always had that, as long as Naruto could remember. He still viewed the world through hooded eyes, an expression of what seemed like perpetual boredom etched on his pale features. But there was something different about those piercing eyes, something Naruto couldn't quite put his finger on.

Sasuke absent-mindedly dabbed at a spot of blood on his sleeve before realising it was splattered all over his chest and collar, giving it up as a bad job. "There's a nice place nearby, a whisky bar." He glanced at Naruto and rolled his eyes again, mumbling something under his breath. Following a questioning look from Naruto, he sighed. "I forgot you did that with your arms. You look like a goddamn idiot."

"Says the man who looks like he's been hit by a truck on his way to a funeral. What's with the suit by the way? You a gangster now?"

"It's called class, Naruto, not a concept you're familiar with if memory serves."

"If you say so Mr Capone, just don't send the mob after me."

Sasuke shot him daggers as he turned to enter a bar just outside the tunnel.