A Different Path

Dwelling On Obsessions

Sasuke's POV

Maybe if I had been a little less pushy then he might have completely opened up.. I guess.. It's.. It's not my fault! Tch! Why is it so hard to get close to him?! Why am I not able to reach him?! Should I be harsher or-Why the hell have I even been gentle with him in the first place?! It's not like me at all! Urgh! I hate this feeling! How come he's got this effect on me? I'm not supposed to-!
"Sasuke!" Tsunade slammed her hands on her wooden desk, annoyance audible in her voice.

Sasuke's eyes rose up to her face as he jolted awake from his internal exasperation and self arguing.
"I've been calling your name for the past ten minutes!" She rubbed her temples forcefully while he grunted, narrowing his eyes. Lady Tsunade knew the whole 'Naruto thing' had a bigger impact on the raven than the rest so she was trying to be as patient as she possibly could. But it was slowly becoming something addictive and rather unhealthy for him, similar to poison.

The Uchiha had been zoning out very often for the past few days and he didn't seem to be able to focus properly on his missions. Kakashi had to repeat one of their mission's goals to Sasuke three times and he had almost killed Kiba with raw taijutsu when he kept pushing his buttons, asking him if there was a stick up his ass that was making him growl at anyone and anything.

Sasuke had also simply left the Hokage's office after she had tried pulling his tongue to hear what was going on with him. Of course, as soon as he slammed the door, Tsunade grabbed the nearest thing which actually happened to be the documents Shizune had brought her a few minutes earlier, and threw them out on the window. She had later ordered the pissed-off Sasuke to collect all of them, who in return grunted, hissing out a forced 'very well'.
All of that, in five days.

Tsunade sighed heavily before Sakura joined in as she took a small step towards her.
"Excuse him, Master. I'm sure he's just tired." The pinkhead eyed the raven, as worried about him as everyone else was. Sasuke shook it off, turning his head to a side. He had gotten tired of all the 'are you okay?' and 'what's wrong?'. He wasn't a kid anymore and they should just leave him alone.
He didn't need anyone.

"Well then, as I was saying, I'm assigning you to a highly difficult A rank. The goal is to get rid of the rogue clan of ninjas known as the Oharo Clan." Tsunade raised her hand to silence them before Kakashi could say anything about his students' safety. He vaguely remembered those criminals were somehow connected to Naruto which was all the more dangerous.

"Normally, I would have sent more shinobi on a mission like this but the other teams are busy with their own assignments and the ANBU are currently safeguarding the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire. Besides, there's no need for them. Naruto will be joining you." She placed her hands beneath her chin.

Sasuke's eyes lit with hope as his fists clenched and unclenched. He would finally be able to see him. Naruto had been deliberately avoiding him all week, since their last encounter, and that didn't do Sasuke any good at all. In fact, that's what had put Sasuke in that state in the first place. He had even tried threatening to torture Haru if he wouldn't tell him where the blond was. Apparently, the teen didn't know either.

He claimed that Naruto had told him he'd be busy with his long-term assassinations, after Tsunade had supposedly granted him her permission to leave the village only for his missions. The Uchiha had come to realize how fast and effective Naruto was so he could tell that Haru was only covering up for him. But seeing that the teen wouldn't budge, Sasuke gave up on his twisted thoughts of tormenting him.
Only for the moment.

As if he had heard her call his name, a black shadow formed in front of Lady Tsunade's desk, revealing the blond Jinchuriki. He was leaning against the wall with his eyes half closed and arms crossed on his toned chest, his hood engulfing his face entirely.
"Yes, Lady Hokage?" His voice came out a little raspy, but cold as usual. Still, he didn't seem to hold a grudge against the older woman. And that warmed her heart.

Sasuke's gaze jolted towards the young man before his coal-black eyes. He felt relieved to catch a glimpse of him, no matter how small. The raven had already been starting to fear that Naruto might have actually left the village. The only way to comfort himself was to count on Naruto's word. The word he never goes back on.

"Kakashi Hatake. Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura Haruno. Naruto Uzumaki. Here are the mission's details. We have received reports from the ANBU Recon which say that some ninjas from the Oharo Clan have been spotted in the vicinity of the Village Hidden in the Snow, in the Land of Iron. Your job is to find their outpost and retrieve some intell on them, if possible. But the main goal is to get rid of them. They have been causing distress in the Hidden Snow and their shinobi don't match the rogues' level. This way we'd also make ourselves a new ally situated close to the border. Understood?" Lady Tsunade asked before handing Kakashi a scroll with all the rest of the information they needed.

"Yes." They nodded their heads in unison. "And for your knowledge, your squad leader is Naruto." They all looked at him who only opened his eyes fully, his gaze on Tsunade. Clearly avoiding Sasuke's. That pissed him off a lot.
"Prepare well. It's a long journey to the Land of Iron." The Hokage advised them.

"The Oharo Clan is not worth the while. We'll use my Transportation Jutsu and make it there in half a day." Naruto uncrossed his arms and took a few steps towards the door before tilting his head to a side and looking at them with the corner of his left eye. "But you should still prepare as if you'd be leaving for a long time. The Oharo Clan can sometimes be.. Quite troublesome." He said no more before turning his head and disappearing into a dark cloud.

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Heya! What did ya think of this chapter? Enjoyed it? I sure hope you did! Btw, I know Sasuke is kinda different from the actual Shippuden Sasuke but this is a grown-up version of the first season Sasuke. I hope it makes sense. Basically, he became even colder and seemed more emotionless in the second season just because he had been training for so long with Orochimaru. But in my book, he hasn't experienced all that extreme pain and loneliness, so he isn't entirely like the Sasuke Uchiha we know. Like, do you guys get what I mean? Anyway, next time, on Naruto Shippuden: 'Back On Track'
😂Lol, this could actually work!
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~See ya!~
~Bella~
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