Sasuke waited in the dingy, dim lighted room. Nothing moved, save for a small ant crawling across the cracked linoleum floor, overwhelmed by it's task of carrying a crumb, and it's surroundings.

Sasuke sat on the bed, his knees bent, and his arms resting on his knees. His head was rested against the wall, eyes scanning the ceiling.

It had been approximately five hours since he had sighned up the anbu black ops unit, well, actually, Tsunade had signed him up, but five hours since the interview. It was more of an interrogation, than an interview.

He had been at Ibiki's less than tender mercies, as he sat in that cold steel chair, the one dim light focused on him. His wrists and ankles retrained with chakra enhanced steel bands.

He remembered when Ibiki had grabbed his chin, steadying it while the medics in the room carefully stuck acupunture needles into his neck, neutralizin his vocal cords, so he wouldn't damage them when he screamed.

Sasuke couldn't quite remember what they did to him, because they had cast a minor genjutsu over his body, to lessen the pain. But what he did remember very clearly, was the pain.

His head had felt as if someone had drived a knife through it, and not only that, he felt as if his brain were being cast on fire, and a war was raaging withing his skull. The pain had unbearable, and nearly undescribeble.

He later found that they had used a forbidden jutsu on him, one that he, infact, had used himself once upon a time back in sound.

The Mind Intrusion Jutsu. A horrid technique that allows it's user to invade the victim's mind, accessing memories and information they otherwise would have forgotten, or kept locked away.

The jutsu caused excrutiating pain to victim's body, as well as his head. It causes the blood, pressure and adrenhalin to increase dramatically, to a fatal level.

The reasoning the jutsu is forbidden, is because of the backlash it causes on the user's body if not performed correctly, right down to the last finger possition of the hand seals.

If not perfromed in the exact right manner, the jutsu could backfire, causing not only the victim to die, but the user's head to be blown off, or mind to completely wiped.

Sasuke returned to the presen. He never knew the pain of the jutsu until it was performed upon him. There was no other way they were going to get information out of him about Orochimaru, even thougg the man had died in the war, killed by Itachi.

Sasuke completely understood this, but still.

Six hours. It had now been six hours. Sasuke counted away the seconds timed to his pulse, the only watch he ever needed.

He stopped second guessing himself hours ago, he wasn't going to make it in. The anbu only accepted the very elite, and considering Sasuke's record, he wasn't exactly the best choice.

There had to be something he could've done to better his chances, not betraying the village to join Orochimaru seven years ago would've been a good start to that last list.

Suddenly, the small window high up on the back wall shattered, sending shards of glass flying in every direction. Sasuke jumped up, his hands automatically going to the katana at his back, a habit he had picked up in sound.

He walked cautiously up to the window, his eyes shifting to the sharingan, and peered over. His every sense on alert.

There was no one there.

He straightened, carefully placing his head out the window, looking around, waiting for the attack that never came. "Hn." he said, and stepped away from the window.

What was he to expect? No one in their right mind would launch a kunai through the window of the interrogation offices, and stay to face the heat, unless they commiting at assassination attempt, but that clearly wasn't the case.

Sasuke began to walk over to where the kunai had embedded itself into the wall, but he didn't lower his guard, he still watched the window with his sharingan. Just because he didn't sense any chakra, didn't mean that there wasn't anybody out there.

Hanging from the kunai was mask, swinging back and forth, scratching faintly against the wall. It's thin leather strap tied through the ring of the kunai.

Sasuke pulled the knife out of the wall, and untied the mask, holding it in his hand.

He was in.

Screams filled the air. Three years in sound, Sasuke was used to this. He fought alongside Orochimaru. Cutting down anyone who dared challenge him.

Orochimaru soon drifted away, fighting leaf jonin who had launched a rather powerful letter bomb at him. Sasuke was left alone to fight off a few masked chunin.

Suddenly, as Sasuke ripped his sword out of the last one standing, he sensed someones presence. He lifted his eyes from the body that layed sprawled out before him, his entrails staining the grass red.

His eyes widened at what he saw. There stood his two teammates he left behind. They stood there, staring at him.

"Why did you do it Sasuke?" Sakura asked, her voice flat, and toneless. "Why did you betray us?" Sasuke's
fingers tensed around the hilt of his black, blood-stained katana. A few beads of sweat sliding down his face.

Naruto remained silent, and just stared at him with glassy eyes. "Why Sasuke?" Sakura asked,"why did you leave us behind?"

She began to walk toward him, her fingers reaching for him. Naruto followed suit.

For once in his life. he was actually afraid of his teammates. As they staffered toward him, he began to back away, but fell backward hard onto his back, tripping over a fallen tree branch.

He couldn't move, his hands clenched into fists as he felt Naruto's cold hand close around his throat....

Sasuke shot up, covered in a cold sweat, breathing hard. "A dream, it was only a dream." He layed his head back dow on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. The vision of the dream still fresh on his mind.

He rubbed his neck, he could still feel Naruto's rigid grip on his throat. As if the ghost of Naruto's deadly
intetion lingered there.

He sighed, trying to forget the nightmare. This was the third time he had had a dream consisting of some bad decision he had made, and he wondered if he was supposed to feel guilty.

He sat up, he needed some kind of freedom, the air in this room began to get heavy, and started suffocating him.

He stepped out of bed, the cold shock of the floor tensing his nerves. He stood for a second, staring
into the mirror. Staring at the faceless somebody he didn't know.

Years ago, his reason for survival had been clear to him, but now...he wasn't so sure. He had been so sure of himself, he lived to kill Itachi, and nothing else. But then why did it feel so wrong and out of place? Why did he see Konoha as more than just a village? Why did he care?

He closed his eyes, slamming his fist onto the dresser. Damn! He didn't want these feelings, he didn't want this hole inside of him. He had done it, he had fullfilled his debt, he had killed his damned brother, but yet...he didn't feel any happier, what the hell was wrong with him?

Then it struck him. Back before he had betrayed the village, Kakashi had told him this would happen, he remembered.

"Revenge won't change anything Sasuke, once you're done, you won't be any happier, revenge doesn't induce happiness."

His mentor had been right. He had been absolutely right. "Why didn't I listen to him?!" Sasuke yelled aloud. He was so damn tired of this. He sighed in angry annoyance, slipped his shoes on, and slammed the door behind him, intending on clearing his mind.

~*~

Sasuke walked down the darkened streets of Konohagakure, the moon casting a dim, misty glow upon him.

What now? What was he supposed to do now? He had tried everything, there was just no escaping this cold, hollow feeling.

He thought back to when he still on Team 7. The answer came to him. He was still the same as he was before, he hadn't changed a damn bit.

He recalled how he had felt when his teammates had meant something to him. He had felt warm for once, he had felt as if someone was there for him whenever he needed it. He had felt happy.

But Orochimaru's influence destroyed all of that. Sasuke hated the man with all of his being, even as much as he hated itachi.

Switching back to the subject of his brother, Sasuke sighed, leaning against the railing of the bridge he was standing on.

Itachi's face came to view. Sasuke had killed him, and payed his debt, why was he not happy? What was missing?

Love. The word floated into his head. 'no' he thought, 'is that what's really missing?' He shook his head, and pushed the thought out of his mind. 'There's just no way' he thought to himself, 'love can't be it....right?' he sighed and stared at his reflection. His brother was dead, and his debt repaid, so, now what? What was expected of him now?

Nearly three years ago, he had returned to Konoha, dead set on leaving again, this time to find his brother, but that time never did come, because Itachi came to him. Though, not for him of course, it was because he was after Naruto, and Sasuke had realized this, but that didn't mean he had to pass up the opportunity to of a life time, that could never come again.

Sasuke sighed, turned and slid into a sitting position, leaning against the railing, and bent his knees, so that he could rest his elbows on them. He gazed up at the clear, velvety night sky. "Now what?" he asked himself quietly. No response came to him.

He got up, and shoved his hands in his pockets. He sighed, and began walking back to his apartment, not feeling any different, or any better.

~*~