Not completely different from the original, but it has a badly needed plot revision. I noticed that after three chapters worth of mindless babbling, I had not written a single ninja outside of Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi. D:

Yes, big revisions indeed.

I do hope this one fares better than the last…attempt.

Chapter 1
Peaceful as it may have seemed, the night air tingled with the sharp scent of anticipation. The quiet was not meant to last, but no one said anything. No one needed to.

It was like clockwork, and this year was no different.

Tonight was the night of an annual ritual nearly a century in the making. Kohona has sent out it challenge. Far be it for the Kyuubi no Kitsune to let a challenge go unanswered. The Kyuubi Hunts, they called it. Every year, around the same time, Kohona would send out a group of hunters to try and slay Kyuubi. No one has ever succeeded in the endeavor, although Kyuubi would meet a decent opponent here and there. Whoever Kyuubi came across, he would kill.

No warnings, no mercy.

It was an exercise in futility, but that never stopped the humans before. And truth be told, the hunts initially provided a nice break from his everyday concerns, but the sentiment got old fairly quickly. Kyuubi loved a good fight and he relished in a good opponent, but he had his priorities. His territory, his home, takes precedence over a bunch of idiots with a superiority complex.

The fox demon currently relaxed in a secluded hot spring nestled within the thick forests a few days travel from Kohona. He took on the form of a young man as he lazed in the steaming waters. Bright blonde hair, short and wild, framed a handsome face where three, dark whisker-like marks were etched into each cheek. Although Kyuubi was thousands of years old, his human form looked no older than twenty. Sharp and piercing sky blue eyes hid behind closed eyelids. His lips parted slightly as he dozed in the warm and foggy steam. The darkness of twilight and the thick steam rising from the waters obscured most of his body.

The resting demon stirred from his rest. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly as he slid open his eyelids to the fading light of the sun. Kyuubi knew there would be a long night to come so he had rested well in the past few days. Although he never needed as much power as he saved up, it didn't hurt to be prepared.

He lifted his hands out of the water to gauge how long he had been sleeping. The fingertip skin was wrinkled to what looked like beyond repair so he figured he slept for quite a few hours.

Quite a few hours was probably right as a few muscles in his upper back decided to rebel when he started to sit up. Nothing a good stretch couldn't fix. He languidly arched his back and raised his arms above his head, stretching out the muscles that protested their inactivity. Beads of water still clinging to his skin slowly slid in slow rivulets down his toned arms.

Kyuubi would never admit it out loud, but he was quite smitten with his human form. Claws were nice-Kyuubi loved his claws-but opposable thumbs can be quite useful for many a task, like holding up chopsticks for ramen. The instant noodles were one of the only things that humans got right. There was nothing in the world that Kyuubi loved more than a fresh, steamy bowl of beef ramen; but try as he may, utilizing chopsticks with paws wasn't the easiest thing to accomplish.

Kyuubi finished his stretch and relaxed back into the pool. He lifted his head to face the darkening heavens. It was a clear night, not a wisp of cloud in the darkness slightly illuminated by the last remnants of the sun and the beginnings of a sky filled with twinkling stars.

It was peaceful, but it was a fake peace that was not meant to last.

All pretense of relaxation flew out the window as an acrid smell hit his nostrils. He snapped open his eyes as red swirled over bright blue and immediately sweeped the area for any possible movement. In the blink of an eye, the demon shot from his reclining position to standing crouched, completely naked in the pool of steaming water. Droplets of warm water slid down over his wet skin. The pool, disturbed by his sudden movement, gushed out of the sides and soaked through the ground surrounding the waters. Kyuubi's fingers curled in as his nails extended into sharp claws. Muscles in his body tensed, ready for the fight to come.

There was only one thing that smelled like this. Naturally, it was a human that ruined his peace.

A feral snarl wisped past the Kyuubi's lips, "You."

Elsewhere
Sasuke Uchiha was in a foul mood.

It wasn't the normal, quiet detachment he usually eluded. No, this was a fierce, hate-filled ticking bomb, seconds from detonation. When he got like this, heads would literally roll, so most sensible people stayed out of his line of vision. Unfortunately for Sakura Haruno, circumstance forced her to be within both his line of vision and his kunai throwing distance. Both of which were the last places anyone wanted to be if the whole "living" thing was their cup of tea. Her only comfort came in the form of Rock Lee, her painfully oblivious and blindingly glittery boyfriend.

"-and of course, Gai-sensei saved the day with such enthusiasm that I was inspired to-"

The taijutsu master went about with his usual brand of exuberance either ignoring or uncaring of the heated death glares sent his way.

"-it was a prime example for what all ninjas should strive for and-"

Sakura was safe in the knowledge that if Sasuke decided to start mutilating his teammates, he would go after Lee first, leaving Sakura with a bit of time to flee for her life. She knew it was cruel to think of her boyfriend in such a way, but when it came to Sasuke's vicious temper, all bets were off.

"-I'm training extra hard to rise up to the same level as-"

Under the tutelage of the current Hokage, Tsunade, Sakura practically lived at the village hospital, but she had no intention of visiting the clinic as a patient. Those needles hurt like a bitch.

Ideally, they would suffer through nine days without conflict, injury or death. The three of them would then return to Kohona, resume their normal routines, and look at back at this as if it were all a really bad dream. Realistically, however, conflict and injury were inevitable and death was very probable, especially if Lee kept up with his antics.

"-ne, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura jumped as she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder. She jerked her head around to see the bright expression plastered on the taijutsu master's face. Her eyes widened as she realized she had no idea what he had just asked.

"Uhm…Ye-Yeah." Sakura stuttered a bit, but she hoped Lee hadn't noticed her inattention.

Fortunately, she had apparently answered correctly because the sparkles in Lee's eyes intensified, and he continued on his enthusiastic speech. Sakura had only a moment to contemplate what she had just said yes to before her eyes caught a slight movement from grim figure of her second teammate. She also noticed Sasuke's fingers hovering alarmingly close to his shuriken holster.

Despite her survival instincts screaming at her to get up and run away as fast as her legs would allow, she decided to prevent a bad situation from deteriorating any further. She was pretty sure Sasuke had no intention to murder of his fellow teammate outright, but that didn't mean Sasuke was above physically venting his annoyance. Knowing those two for as long as she had, both sported a hefty amount of pride that would never allow defeat at the hands of a rival. It wouldn't be long before they both wasted precious chakra in a scuffle over complete rubbish and in turn make Sakura waste chakra healing their injuries.

Men are stupid like that.

Sakura moved her hand to rest on Lee's shoulder and he immediately stopped his speech to turn to look at her.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?" Lee practically beamed. He still floated on the high of finally getting Sakura to date him after spending years of painfully overt wooing. He had fallen in love with her the second he laid eyes on her when they first entered ninja academy, but she had been a Sasuke groupie back then.

"I think we need more firewood," Sakura said as calmly as she could manage, "I'm a bit cold." She tossed in a charming smile for good measure.

Lee shot up into a salute and loudly declared, "You can leave it to me, Sakura-chan!" He gave her a sparkling grin. "I'll gather the best firewood in the forest for you!"

Sakura chuckled, albeit nervously, as she sneaked a few glances in Sasuke's direction. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Sasuke's hand resting on his stomach.

Lee, still completely oblivious, gave Sakura a quick peck on the cheek and disappeared in a green blur. Sakura rolled her eyes in exasperation, but smiled at Lee's antics. She never really knew why she liked him, but she figured the reason didn't matter. There was just something about the taijutsu master that grew on a person after a while. Her smile faded as she turned back to the black cloud that was Uchiha Sasuke.

"Please excuse him, Sasuke-kun," she tried, "He doesn't mean to be-"

Sasuke cut her off, his voice low and biting, "He doesn't need your excuses." He turned away from her, effectively ending their conversation.

Sakura inhaled to reply but found she didn't have any words to say. A long stretch of awkward silence followed, and it grated at Sakura's sanity. She found herself fidgeting nervously, trying to decide whether to speak up or stay silent. The lack of sound was maddening, but she didn't know what she could have said. Sasuke Uchiha didn't do idle chat. He spoke when it was absolutely necessary, and usually that was only to Tsunade or Kakashi.

Had it been four years ago, Sakura would've been happily chattering away, trying to gain Sasuke's attention—and perhaps affection. It had taken her quite a few years to get over her childish infatuation, and part of her heart will always gravitate towards his porcelain face and mysterious demeanor, but she has thankfully grown out of her obsession and moved on. Only, never did she dream it would be with Rock Lee. But then again, when she finally gave him a chance, Lee was surprisingly fun to be around.

Sakura registered movement in her peripheral and jumped to attention. Sasuke had stood up, his back turned to her.

"Sasuke-kun?" she asked.

The dark-haired shinobi turned back around, a bored expression on his face. "I'm taking a walk," he said in a low voice. Don't follow me, he didn't need to say it.

"But-" Sakura started to protest, fruitlessly, as Sasuke had already disappeared. Deflated, Sakura sighed, but finished anyway, "-we're suppose to stay together."

Kohona: Hokage Tower
Tsunade glared at the mountain of paperwork clogging up nearly every inch of space on her desk, debating how to get rid of the pile without her attendant, Shizune, noticing.

The numerous stacks piled high enough that she had to stand up to see anything in front of her desk. She'd been working overtime for the past week but the unsightly pile just refused to shrink. If it were not for Shizune constantly breathing down her neck, said pile would've already been lit on fire and thrown of a secluded cliff. Sworn duties as Hokage be damned.

A poof of smoke in front of her desk signaled the arrival of the copy-nin, Hatake Kakashi.

"Working hard, or hardly working, ne Hokage-sama?"

Kakashi never knocked and no amount of negative reinforcement would deter him from that habit. Subtle hints at manners didn't work. He either didn't get it or just plain ignored them. Direct request to knock didn't work either. Kakashi just continued to pop merrily into the office without touching the door. Physical violence, a method that had never failed Tsunade before, failed. The Anbu guards spent an entire day boarding up the multiple holes in the walls of the building and the resulting paperwork just produced more trouble than it fixed. Threatening his prized stash of porn didn't work, mostly because Kakashi had his collection so well hidden that even her prized anbu team couldn't find it.

Nothing worked, so Tsunade finally just gave up. She figured that since he wasn't popping in on important meetings or mission debriefings, she could just let it go.

"Kakashi," Tsunade huffed, still scribbling away at the paper in front of her, "I'm busy."

"Tsunade-sama," Kakashi started, completely ignoring Tsunade's remark, "Am I bothering you?"

Tsunade paused in her writing but she didn't look up.

"And what made you think you're bothering me?" she asked sarcastically, sparing another heated glare at her paperwork. To her dismay, the pile still didn't spontaneously combust.

When she didn't receive an answer, Tsunade looked up and surveyed the silver-haired jounin through a narrow slit between two paper towers. Kakashi just stood patiently, waiting for an answer. There was only one thing on his mind when he got like this. Tsunade rolled her eyes in exasperation, "What did Sasuke do this time?"

"Well, it's not as much what he did as what he's going to do" Kakashi replied, his tone now serious. "He's been set on getting a reassignment to train elsewhere."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Tsunade chuckled, "Those fangirls of his would make even the strongest of my ninjas break down and cry. I've contemplated hiring them for interrogation."

"He's stays here only because he thinks I still have something to teach him about the Sharingan," the silver haired jounin continued. "I'm afraid that when he finds out I don't have anything else to teach him…" then he fell silent.

"Is that true, now?" A half smile tugged at her lips. It was empty, though. The painful memories still cut deep. "Sasuke can be stubborn at times," she drawled, "But that's mostly your fault, you know."

"Perhaps." Kakashi answered. "But, I'm not sure I can handle him anymore." A nostalgic glaze passed through the jounin's visible eye, "I remember our first lesson. His heart was beating so fast I didn't even have to look." He paused for a moment, recalling those first few lessons. His daze faded, and he turned back to Tsunade to address her, "Nowadays when he hides, I can't seem to find him so easily."

"So what are you saying?" And Tsunade had the nerve to look coy about it.

"Maybe I'm loosing my touch?" If someone could see through masks, they'd see a small pout forming on the silver-haired jounin's expression.

"No, you're not loosing your touch, Kakashi" Tsunade reassured jokingly, "You're not that old. Yet."

"Coming from you, Hokage-sama" his pout only grew bigger, "That hurts me right here." He placed a hand over his heart.

The Hokage shook her head and grinned, "Sasuke's become a good ninja. It's only natural."

"I need to speak to him in private about his training and progress, but he keeps avoiding me." Kakashi huffed and shook his head in exasperation, "It makes me wonder if he already knows what I want to tell him."

"He's got you figured out pretty well, Kakashi." Tsunade replied, a wistful smile on her face, "He takes to the one place you would never think to look."

Kakashi sighed in response, "But that still doesn't help me find where he hides all the time. I turn over ever rock in this town, even to the tiniest pebble" he whined, waving his hands dismissively. "He's just not there…"

"Come now, Kakashi." Tsunade nudged, "Where is the one place you don't expect him to go very often?"

The silver-haired jounin didn't seem very amused. "…the girl's bathroom?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes in exasperation, "Kakashi."

The jounin only answered with another pout behind his mask.

"Sasuke told me to keep this from you at all costs," she admitted, matter-of-factly. Kakashi's pout increased ten-fold. He even slouched his shoulders to emphasize his sulk.

"But." She interjected with a short, purposeful pause, "Since I do owe you a favor for saving my booze from Shizune last week, I'll give you one hint." She held up her finger in warning, "I never said any of this."

Kakashi nodded eagerly, "I'm completely and utterly deaf right now."

Tsunade lowered her voice, even though they were the only ones in the room, "The thing that hurts Sasuke most, is his memories."

The jounin's eyes widened in realization. He then dropped his head into his hands and chuckled to himself, "I can't believe I didn't think of this before."

"I was surprised when I learned it myself," Tsunade nodded in agreement, "It seems so obvious now, doesn't it?"

"Yes does. And I'll make sure to take note of it." Kakashi answered as reached into his inner vest pocket and pulled out an unmarked scroll, "Thank you for the information, Tsunade-sama."

It was then that Tsunade realized something was wrong. The smile on her face changed to one of confusion, "Kakashi?"

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama." Kakashi said, a pleasant smile on his face, "But this has to be done…"

Tsunade realized too late, and she only had a moment to curse herself for letting her guard down before she saw a flash of blue, then nothing.

When Sasuke was sure he put enough distance between himself and the makeshift camp his teammates had set up, he slowed down to a casual stroll and surveyed his surroundings. The darkness of night did not allow him to decipher much and the large trees were common in the forest surrounding Kohona. He hadn't paid much attention to where he was going. He just needed to get away from the nauseatingly bright bubble of Rock Lee. Although Sakura had sent Lee away with that lame excuse, the taijutsu master would eventually come back and Sasuke just couldn't deal with that brand of exuberance at the moment.

He wouldn't even be in this situation if it weren't for Kakashi.

The time came for the annual Kyuubi Hunt and every able-bodied person to turn seventeen was required to go, but the shinobi of the village went merely as a formality. Sasuke's former teacher had thought it was a good idea to go as teams. He had suggested that everyone picked teams by drawing straws. "It'll be good training for you all," the silver-haired jounin had said. Bullshit. Most of Kakashi's "good ideas" usually ended up humiliating and painful for all parties involved. This one was no exception.

Sasuke thought it was a rather dumb idea and voiced his opinion as such. It didn't change the outcome though.

Granted, everyone worked with each other well enough when need be, but they weren't genin anymore. Not to mention, no one took this as a serious mission. The annual hunt was more of a traditional ceremony, a tangible passage into adulthood.

The excitement of the initial hunts had faded mainly because the reason why they had started in the first place got lost in the past few decades. The new generations never really learned what had happened to spark the hunts and older generations were being quite tight-lipped about what had happened. Whatever the reason, no one really cared anymore. Everyone suffered through a planned camping trip, very few of them actually faced the fox demon, and most of them went back to the village, continuing on with their lives. Simple as that.

But of course, Kakashi wouldn't leave well enough alone. He would make things as hard and painful as possible.

Having had the silver-haired jounin as a teacher, Sasuke knew he would be in a world of pain, be it mental or physical, if he went along with his teacher's ridiculous idea. Kakashi, being the jerk he was, never gave Sasuke much of a choice on the matter.

After all the straws had been drawn, the older jounin had all but shoved his former student out of the village gates. Sasuke didn't give up so quickly. After all, this was Uchiha Sasuke. In fact, he had returned to the walls of the village multiple times, but Kakashi just shoved him back out each time.

When the number of times Sasuke tried returning to the village breached triple digits, Tsunade had had enough. She gave Sasuke the 'official' mission to follow through with Kakashi's suggesting so technically, Sasuke wasn't giving in. He was just following orders.

That way, no one's pride was stepped on too harshly.

There wasn't much of anything useful that Sasuke could think of gaining by going on this so-called 'training'. He had much better things to do with his time. The only potentially good thing Sasuke could possibly get out of this entire fiasco was the absence of his royally obsessed fan club members, breathing down his neck every second of his waking life. However, his temporary relief would probably be shadowed by a nauseating 'Welcome Home' bash worse than anything he had endured before.

But that wasn't his greatest problem at the moment.

Lee was the problem. Usually, Sasuke simply ignored the excitable jounin, but usually when the taijutsu master got this bubbly, they were separated by a tent wall or at the very least another person. However, this time Sasuke had to bear the brunt of the other ninja's enthusiasm ever since leaving the village and those antics had given him the migraine from hell.

The worst part was that Lee did not understand the subtle hints Sasuke was giving him. Lee wasn't the type to pick up on subtle hints outside of it bashing him in the face. Sasuke had tried to go faster and put some distance between them, Lee just figured it was a healthy bit of rivalry and paced himself to stick within chatter distance. When Sasuke moved faster, Lee just moved faster to catch up with him. At points, Sasuke tore through the forest at a speed normal people couldn't even see. However, Lee was an outstanding shinobi in his own right and he easily kept up with Sasuke.

Sasuke had been so focused on trying to get away and Lee had been so focused on squashing Sasuke's attempts at getting away that they managed to lose Sakura. Twice.

Eventually, Sakura had suggested for them to set up camp, probably because she was exhausted from trying to keep up with her two teammates. She was never a stamina fighter. Sakura always had a disposition for the medicinal branch of the shinobi, and she certainly had the chakra control for it. However, compared to many of her peers, she just didn't have enough chakra to last very long.

Of course, all of this could've been well avoided had Kakashi not insisted upon his bright ideas. This whole situation was completely unnecessary and Kakashi was totally at fault.

Sasuke promised himself that he would make his former jounin teacher suffer dearly for this. Someway, somehow, Kakashi will rue the day he ever messed with Uchiha Sasuke.

As if on queue, the distinct sound of a snapping twig broke through Sasuke's silent raging. For a few seconds, the lone shinobi didn't move a muscle, stretching out his senses to feel any foreign or threatening chakra. A dark crimson flooded over his eyes. He cursed himself for letting his guard drop so long.

On queue, a deep, husky voice spoke up. "Well, well. Look who we have here..."

Only one word came to Sasuke's mind.

Shit.

To Be Continued…

Suspense! A sense of direction! OH, PLOT, HOW I'VE MISSED YOU SO.