SF4E: My longest story so far and this is only the first chapter! I don't own!

Naruto walked down the street with his friends; Sakura, Sai and Sasuke. They had just come out of the movie theatre after watching:

Night at the Museum

They were laughing and joking as they walked and Naruto and Sasuke came up behind Sakura and Sai. Giving Sai a quick push they jumped back as he gave a girly scream of suprise that souded sucspiciously like:

"Attilla the Hun's come to get me!".

Naruto turned and grinned at Sasuke, both turning away and blushing as they caught the others eye.

Sakura whipped round and chatised them on scaring her precious Sai kun.

It was getting late and the group split at the cross-roads each heading their seperate way home.

The four were were the best of friends, yet they came from very different backgrounds.

Sasuke was from an important family, high in the society of the city and when he was made an orphan by his cold hearted killer of a brother he inherited everything including a house; where he lived with his 25 yr old cousin, Orochimaru.
Naruto was an orphan, living in the backstreets of Konoha in a council apartment with his guardian; Iruka.
Sai was a bit of a mystery. The only thing they realy knew was that he had a brother called Serpentine (5) or 'Snakey.
Sakura still had both her parents and they were quite well off. They had a nice house where Sakura lived with her parents and a gaggle of small brothers and sisters.

Cherri (10)
Flower (2)
Drago (8)
Drake (3)

Oddly enough, they had discovered that Serpentine, who hated most people, rather liked Sasuke's cousin. They had found this out when he had come to collect Sasuke, when they had all had a party at Sakuras house. Sai had brought his little brother with him. Serpentine, or as called by his brother and his friends, Snakey, had clung onto Orochimarus leg and absolutely refused to let go. They couldn't discover why, because Serpentine had yet to say his first word. Though the boy did have an affixation with snakes, and owned his own Python, and made a range of hissing noises that, Sai swore blind, snakes understood. Though Sasuke hadn't said at the time, he later confided that he regularly heard Orochimaru speaking in that hissing language. Both Sasuke and Sai then admitted their cousin and brother were adopted. Though in Orochimarus case that was a good thing; Sasuke's brother had murdered his entire family except Sasuke. Had Orochimaru been a blood cousin, he too, would have probably been slaughtered.

Sasuke had approached Orochimaru but had been told simply that he would learn in time about this whole gen-world.

"Illusion world? What do you mean?" He had questioned, but had recieved no anwser.

Although in the local shopping store about a week later Sasuke and Orochimaru had bumped into Sai and Snakey.

Snakey had wandered up to Orochimaru and said something in the Serpentine toungue that sounded a bit like:

"Kessssstthhhhtossss."

At which point Orochimaru had crouched down to the young boys level and replied:

"Kessssstthhhhtossss isss hessss issso."

Standing Orochimaru had nodded to Sai before continuing on his shopping expedition. Sasuke had shrugged at Sai and followed he didn't acknoledge Snakey; if he had the boy would have probably just kicked him in the shin or bitten him anyway. Sasuke didn't get on with young children.

When the four reached home there were different things awaiting them all as well.

Naruto returned to an empty flat. Iruka was at work. So he started searching the cupboards for a pack of Instant Ramen.

Sakura returned to a smiling mother, a giggling bunch of siblings, and her dinner on the table.

Sasuke returned to find his cousin asleep in a white leather arm-chair in front of the wide-screen plasma tv with the foot-ball on. Sasuke was used to this happening.
Orochimaru was akways tired these day's. He seemed drained somehow. So Sasuke went to the phone and ordered pizza. Orochimaru was bound to wake up when there was the tempting aroma of pizza around.

Sai returned to an empty house. His brother was at a sleep-over at his friends. So Sai went to find what was in the cupboard. He sighed:

"Only cooking for one this night..."

This life had started approximately two-years ago.

The day Sasuke, Sai, Naruto and Sakura had awokenout of comas to discover they were no longer ninja. But that was realy all they could remember about there lives before. That they were ninja.

But these people around them could not understand what they were talking about.

Naruto had apparently been in a coma for a few years. Ever since the day he was beaten to near death by a mob who had attacked him for seemingly no reason. At least; according to Iruka.

Sai had been run down by a car; that was what the doctors told him. And all of a sudden he found himself living a new life with a three yr old adopted brother.

Sasuke had jumped out of bed and screamed when he had awoken to find Orochimaru standing over him. It seemed, along with remembering the fact he was a ninja, Sasuke had managed to retain his fear of Orochimaru. Though he had been sedated and then told who Orochimaru actualy was, at least according to this: 'Gen-World'.

Sakura had awoken to find herself surrounded by a family she had no memory of. But as she didn't have a memory of much at all anyway she soon found things she was told filling in the gaps of her past.

Now two years later they were still living this life and had come to the conclusion that maybe their minds had invented a world where all ninja stuff happened as a way of keeping the teens occupied while they were in the coma.

But now Sasuke had begun dreaming, dreaming of a strange place called Konoha where magical things called Jutsu's were possible. Where apparently he and Naruto and Sakura had gone to a ninja academy.

He watched his dreams like a movie being played out before him; of fighting and missions. Of death and destruction.

He found Sai was not in one of his dreams. Though he guessed why that was when he committed the ultimate crime. He betrayed Konoha.

Since these ninja teams were three man, he guessed when he left he was replaced with Sai.

Just when he started to believe his dreams, that this stuff was happening he would wake up. Then it would be a day of school or hanging withhis friends and he would forget about the dreams.

Though he decided when he woke up the next morning, they would finaly find out the truth. Which world was real.

Which is why Sai, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke found themselves standing in the middle of a small waste-ground; covered on each side by abandoned warehouses.

"I told my dreams to you didn't I?" Sasuke asked nervously.

"Yes! Get on with it already! We need to find out once and for all!" Naruto jumped up and down impatiently.

"Fine."

Sasuke walked to oneside of the waste ground and facing the far stone wall raised his hands and quickly performed the necessary hand signs; just like he'd seen in his sleep.

He was about to release the energy that he had been balling in his chest when Naruto interrupted.

"This 'Jutsu' is supposed to make fire, right!?"

"Yes." Replied Sasuke irritated.

He started again, quickly performing the seals before:

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

And... Nothing happened.

Naruto started laughing his ass off.

Sasuke suddenly bent over coughing and Naruto suddenly stood upright concerned.

Sasuke gave a particularly hard cough and a smoke ball cloud thingy came out. It was extremely small but had definitely happened.

Sasuke straightened his eyes shining.

"It worked!" He shouted happily.

"Let me try again!"

So he did.

And concentrating every single bit of energy or 'Chakra' into his chest he performed the handseals before looking up into the sky and shouting:

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

And an enourmous fire-ball erupted from his mouth and leapt into the sky as the flames kept on pouring. After about two minutes it stopped and the fire-ball erupted into a gargantuan mushroom cloud.

And as the fire alarms went of in the warehouses Sasuke and the rest ran for the local park where they hid in one of the shelters.

"That was amazing!" Naruto practicaly sqeaked.

As they heard the sound of sirens they scattered and ran home.

The next day the news-paper headlines read:

GIANT FIREBALL HANGS OVER FACTORY COURTYARD

IT IS THOUGHT THAT THE GIANT, NOISELESS EXPLOSION WAS CAUSED BY FAULTY FIREWORKS AS FOUR TEENAGERS WERE SEEN FLEEING THE SCENE.

The language of the snakes that Orochimaru and Serpentine speak:

Kesssstthhhhtosss: Hello

Isss: To

Hessss: You

Issso: Too