Behold the Darkness

BEWARE: This is my very first fanfic! Ever! Lol. I'm kinda using these first few chapters as an experiment. Mainly, I hope that you will review and tell me if you think it's worth continuing. I already know basically where I want to go with this, but if anyone has any ideas or suggestions, well, I'm all ears. Or eyes, 'cause I can't hear your typing.

So, yeah. I DO NOT own Naruto. I don't even own this computer… or my car.

0-0

This fic starts off just after chapter 487 from the manga. It's just one way it could go. All just in my head. Remember, this is just a fic for fun. I'm not trying to diss Kishimoto. He's the master.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. The Raikage, Gaara, even Sakura, they all wanted Sasuke dead. Was he the only one left who believed in Sasuke? He promised that he would save his best friend. And he will do anything to keep that promise. Even if that meant making a deal with an 'old friend'. If all Sasuke could see now was darkness, he would show Sasuke true darkness…

Chapter 1

It was 3 a.m. just on the outskirts of the Land of Fire. Naruto sat up in his makeshift bed on the floor of the tent he was sharing with Sai and Kakashi-sensei. He had just recovered from a poisoned wound cause by Sakura. He had saved her from getting killed. Again. She had attacked Sasuke, the man she loved. After Naruto promised to bring Sasuke back to her, she goes and tries something stupid like that. Naruto began to wonder if she really knew what love was. She was just obsessed with the teme.

'Not as obsessed as I am, though.' Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto was sick of all this. This stupid war, started by Madara. And sick of Sasuke thinking he could just follow the older Uchiha around till he got his revenge on Konoha.

'And then what, Sasuke? Madara won't just let you go when he's done with you. How can you be so stupid?! He's gonna kill you!'

But Naruto's angry thoughts were interrupted when Sai entered the tent.

"Naruto? Kakashi-sensei sent me to get you ready to leave. We need to be back in Konoha by noon."

When Naruto didn't reply, Sai knelt beside him. Sai could really give a person an intense look, for a guy who wasn't supposed to have emotions. It was this look that unnerved Naruto. He had no idea what this raven-haired, penis-obsessed boy could be thinking. Naruto looked straight into Sai's eyes, trying to read what he saw there. After a few silent seconds passed, Naruto couldn't stand it.

"What, Sai? What are you thinking?"

Sai was initially taken back by Naruto's question. But hid it quickly.

"Nothing, Naruto. Let's go."

Naruto got dressed quickly after Sai left, and went outside in the early morning to head back to the village with the others. At first, Sakura tried to ask how he was doing, but Naruto didn't want to hear anything from her, so he dismissed her concerns. He told her, and the others, that he had a lot on his mind, and he didn't want to talk to anyone just yet. Naruto made sure Sai caught the pointed look he gave him.

The blonde still hadn't forgiven Sakura for her bullshit love confession in the Land of Iron. He honestly didn't think he would ever be able to. She had tried to use his emotions against him. It may have worked if he actually was in love with her. He used to have a crush on her, long ago, but now he only saw her as a sister. His feelings toward her were only platonic, but now, he felt disgusted with her. She tried to manipulate him, and failed miserably.

And then there was Gaara. Naruto liked the Kazekage alright. He had become a good person, and didn't try to lie to Naruto's face about Sasuke. But that still didn't mean that Gaara was right. Naruto trusted Gaara, but he just didn't want to hear what the red-head thought about Sasuke's fate. It wasn't his place. If it wasn't for Naruto's loyalty to his friends' safety, who knows where Gaara would be now. Dead, most likely. Why can't the Kazekage see? Sasuke will die, if not by Madara's hand, then by the Raikage's, or Konoha's.

Damn Raikage. He wants revenge on Sasuke. Why was everyone so obsessed with revenge? It's just a useless cycle of hatred and never-ending death.

Naruto's rambling mind halted suddenly when it posed a new question:

What if Sakura wanted revenge on Sasuke?

What if she hated him as much as she loved him? Was she the kind of person who would become so obsessed with someone, that she would rather kill him than even think of him with someone else? Naruto really couldn't find an answer for that. He thought he knew her, but now, he just didn't trust her. What if she'd lost her mind or something? Maybe she thought that by killing him, and then herself, she could be with him in death? Was she insane? Naruto chanced a look at his pink-haired teammate while they ran through the morning air. She was looking straight ahead, with a determined face. She looked so beautiful in the early light. She had grown to be so pretty when she wasn't glaring at him or crying over Sasuke. He'd always thought she was cute, and that's why he'd had a crush on her. But now it seemed, in Sakura's case, beauty is only skin deep.

He turned next to look at their new traveling companion. Karin was pretty too, but not as pretty as Sakura. Just another girl who was apparently obsessed with the teme. Naruto didn't know anything about this girl, really. Just that she can heal and she was a sensor. Other than that, he didn't know her at all. He'd love to be able to talk to her alone, but that wasn't going to happen. She could give him all kinds of information about Sasuke and the Akatsuki. But, as soon as they got home, she would be interrogated, and ultimately, broken.

His gaze jumped around to each of the other ninjas in his group. To Lee and Kiba, who were still angry with Sakura for tricking them. To Yamato and Kakashi. Yamato was probably ticked at Naruto for skipping out on him and running after Sakura. But Kakashi had swayed the man by telling him that if Naruto hadn't took off, Sakura just may have lost her life.

At last, his gaze went back to Sai. To Naruto, Sai had been acting strange. Danzou had just been killed, but Sai had been odd before they went to samurai land. Well, more odd than usual. Naruto couldn't figure the artist out. He was always cold, but he seemed to be warming up. Especially towards Naruto. The blonde just hoped there wasn't more to Sai than friendship. The guy creeped him out enough already. When said guy suddenly met Naruto's gaze in mid jump, the blonde flushed and quickly looked away. He couldn't believe Sai caught him while his train of thought was on something like that. Naruto didn't think his own gate swung that way, but if it did, he would die before he ever thought Sai was hot. Sai was a weirdo jerk.

0-0

It was afternoon when they finally reached the destroyed Konoha. They were walking up to where the main gates used to be when Karin spoke up for the first time since they left.

"I know you may not want to hear what I have to say, but I'm going to say it anyway." It didn't seem like she was speaking to any of them specifically, until she turned to address Naruto. "I may not have known Sasuke as well as you did, but I had met him once. It was the chuunin exams, here in your village. He saved me once, like a real gentleman. He even smiled at me." She seemed to have lost herself in a fond memory then, and gave a soft smile as she looked away. Sakura just glared at her from behind.

"Go on, Karin." Naruto urged her on.

"But now," She met his eyes once again, and Naruto could see the fear she must be feeling. "he's changed. I don't know what happened to him. He's just so cold."

"Sounds like Sasuke's taking this darkness thing a little too seriously." Kakashi said.

Kiba scoffed. "He's always taken himself too seriously, the little prick." The dog-lover's comment earned him double glares from the two girls.

"Is there anything else you can tell me about him, Karin?"

"Naruto, I think you'd better let the interrogation force handle any more info from her. Alright?"

"Alright, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi sighed. He apparently didn't know exactly how he should handle the situation he was in now. He was the acting Hokage and he looked absolutely lost. So, he sent most of them off to find someone to help or just find something to do while he took Karin to Ibiki.

And there was plenty to do in Konoha. The ninjas had set up temporary camps to house the villagers. Even though Konoha was now a crater, it looked more like a military camp. The whole place was filled with tents, ranging from small ones used for normal camping, to huge tents, some the size of buildings. The small ones mainly housed the ninja teams, while the bigger tents were shelters for the regular civilians. But the biggest tent of all was the medical tent. It was so large that it held many smaller tents inside, with beds set up with equipment. Sakura headed there, and Naruto thought about following her to check on Tsunade-baachan, but before he could take even one step, he was attacked.

"Boss! Look everyone! Naruto's back!"

If Konohamaru hadn't shouted first, his tackle/hug would've sent Naruto to the ground. Laughing, the blonde tried to pry the kid off him. There were many villagers gathered around them now, hailing Naruto as their savior and hero.

"Yeah, some hero I am. We live in tents in a barren crater." He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. Having all this positive attention was odd, but he loved it nonetheless.

"Oh, c'mon boss. It's not like we can't just rebuild! We have a lot of help, ya know. Suna is sending supplies and extra hands, and even Kiri and the Land of Waves are putting some in. We'll have everything back to normal in no time!"

"Kirigakure is helping us?" This surprised Naruto.

"Yep. The new Mizukage is really trying to look good. She allied with the Kazekage, and he asked if she could help us out. Or something like that. That's the rumor, anyway."

Konohamaru gave Naruto a big grin as he bounced up and down on his feet. 'This kid has too much energy.' He just grinned back.

"So, where to first Konohamaru?" Naruto looked around. There were tons of people working on everything at once. The small crowd that had gathered to welcome him back slowly dispersed, all going back to work. Naruto thought this must be the 'will of fire' that the old man had talked about. None of the people were mad that they had all this work to do. They looked happy. Just thankful to be alive.

"That's easy, boss. To Ichiraku's! You must be starved for ramen, right?" The kid was bouncing again.

"Ichiraku's?! He's already got a new stand?!"

"Yep. So how about it? I think he got it back up so quick just for you, heehee."

"Heck, yeah! Let's go!"

0-0

'Still the best ramen ever.'

Naruto was grinning ear to ear now that he was home again. He'd already helped finish one building, and was on to the next. He was having fun with this manual labor. It felt like he was really getting something done for once. You can't get immediate satisfaction from training, not like this. He could see wall after wall going up, and by the end of the day, he was just as excited as Konohamaru for the rebuilding. When most of the people started piling in their tents for the night, Naruto headed for the forest. He wasn't tired yet, even after such a long day, and he wanted to be alone so he could think. He found a large clearing and sat down at the base of a particularly large tree. The full moon was shining brightly down on him, and it took him back to a simpler time.

He thought about Team 7. He recalled memories of training, eating, fighting, and laughing. He remembered Sasuke's face when he would come up with some ridiculous plan that was so crazy it would work. Like, when they had to fight Zabuza to free Kakashi from the water prison. He remembered Sasuke's smirk when the plan that he had cooked up actually worked. He missed that smirk. Then, Naruto thought about Haku. The conversation between them in the forest, about having a precious person to protect. He saw Haku laying dead and heard Zabuza asking to be with Haku in the afterlife as it started to snow. A tear rolled freely down Naruto's whiskered cheek. He wondered if they were together somewhere. Was it snowing?

Such unnecessary suffering. They loved each other. They weren't just tools. No human is. Living beings can't be stripped of emotion. He thought of Sai. How hard is this for him? Sai's relearning how to feel. Is he free now that Danzou is gone?

Naruto's mind raced. The Sandaime. He died protecting this village. His beloved Konoha.

'Just like my father. And I was so mad at him for the kyuubi. What would I have done? Hm, I wonder if I'm like him at all.'

Naruto didn't know. At one time, he could've asked Jiraiya. The Pervy Sage knew his father. If only he could have just one more day with him. He'd have so much to ask. So much to thank him for. More tears ran as Naruto thought of the only man he could have truly called family. Jiraiya was more than a mentor. He loved that pervert like a father. Naruto broke down into sobs. He missed him too.

'Why am I out here crying like a baby when I still have so many important people to protect? Iruka, Kakashi, Sakura, Konohamaru… Sasuke. Oh Sasuke. If you could know how I really feel, would that be enough? I meant what I said, though. I will die for you. If I have to kill you, then you won't go alone. I'll follow you. Just like Zabuza and Haku.'

A crunching sound broke Naruto out of his stupor. He looked up to find, once again, Sai interrupting his thoughts. He quickly wiped his face and started to move, but Sai had already sat down. Right next to him. Naruto tensed but stayed sitting. Sai never looked at him, instead focusing on the moon above. When Naruto was about to make a break for it, Sai finally spoke.

"He doesn't love you. Not the way you love him. Why can't you forget him and rebuild your life, Naruto? You don't deserve to hurt. Not because of him."

Blue eyes widened. He was speechless. He couldn't breath. 'What the hell?'

"Sai, what…why…I don't…"

"Naruto." Sai then looked directly into Naruto's eyes, that same intensity as before, burning out of black depths. "You have made me so confused. I don't know what I'm feeling, but I do know I feel something. I trust you. I want to protect you. Naruto, I…"

"Sai, what are you trying to say?" Naruto was panicking. 'Oh God, please don't let this be some kind of confession!'

"What I'm saying, Naruto, is that you need to forget about Sasuke. He's lost the ability to love."

Anger flooded through Naruto so fast, he thought he had just caught on fire. He abruptly stood and looked down at the artist. But his anger changed to sadness at the lost look he was being given.

"Sai, no human loses the ability to feel. We all love, hurt, need. It's not something that we can get rid of. No matter how hard we try. Our hearts are with us, forever."

Naruto walked away, all the way back to Konoha, alone. His body felt exhausted now.

He just wanted to cry again.

0-0

That night, when Naruto was finally able to fall asleep, he didn't dream. Instead, he was pull deep into a dark, damp sewer. His sewer. Apparently, the kyuubi had something to say.

He knew this place only too well. He decided he might as well find out what the fox wanted. He made his way through the dark tunnels to the large, dimly light room that housed the demon's prison.

"You finally came to see me, kit? It's been awhile."

"Yeah, it has. What do you want, Kyuu?

"Don't get snippy with me, kit. How many times have I saved your ass now? If you didn't have me, you would have died a long time ago."

"Saved me? You've only worried about saving your own fur. Don't pretend like you care. It doesn't suit you."

A loud, low rumble echoed as the kyuubi laughed at Naruto.

"Touché, kit. And I'm about to save your petty little life again."

"Oh? I didn't know I was in danger. Other than being in here with you, of course."

"You are a danger to yourself, brat. You don't really want to die for that little Uchiha, do you? You really plan on letting him kill you? What about all the other people who need you? Your death would destroy their poor little hearts…"

"So, your just trying to talk me out of dying so you can finally get out of here and go on another killing spree, is that it?"

"Humph. Trying to talk you of out something you've already made up your mind about is a waist of time. You're too stubborn for your own good, kit. But… maybe there's another way?"

"Another way? To get Sasuke back and stop this war?" Naruto was wary about what the kyuubi might want him to do, but if there was something the fox wanted to tell him, he would at least hear him out. After all, he was a powerful demon. And he's been around a lot longer than Naruto. And, Kyuubi wanted Madara dead. Just another revenge nutcase.

"You can't stop Sasuke from wanting vengeance on this village. But you can cut off his source. We all know that Sasuke isn't the real problem. It's Madara."

The giant kitsune spat out the elder Uchiha's name like it was venom.

"That filthy human destroys everything he touches. But he knows his game, I'll give him that. He plays his pawns so well. He knows what they will do before they do. You cannot take him while you are so week though. Even if you were to release me now, I wouldn't have the power to kill him. We need my full strength to win against him."

"You're full strength?"

"Did you not listen to your father, brat? He told you himself. He only sealed half of my chakra within you."

For the second time that night, Naruto was shocked into speechlessness. He had completely forgotten what his dad told him. Other than that he believed in Naruto. He was just so happy to finally find out who he was. He was the son of the Yondaime. He was still proud about that.

"My father must have only sealed half of you for a reason. He probably thought I would lose control or something."

"No, kit. He couldn't fully seal me. He could barely force this half to stay put. And that was with the Shinigami's powers."

"…….The death god? I…I don't understand…"

Kyuubi was laughing at him again.

"Of course you don't. Your father used a jutsu on me that could manipulate the Shinigami's powers of sealing. That's why he died. The Shinigami is a powerful being, and he requires compensation. The God of Death has powers even demons have to obey. He is a god, after all."

This was all too much for Naruto's mind to process at once. He had never known any of this. How strong was the Fourth? That he could use the power of a god to defeat a demon? Naruto figured that, if he had that kind of strength, he really could beat Madara Uchiha, and get Sasuke back. He could stop all this madness, before it got worse.

"So, where is the other half of your chakra? Is there another jinchuuriki?"

Kyuubi sighed. "That's the problem, kit. I have never been able to find my missing chakra. Until now. I first sensed it while you were in the Land of Iron. It was very faint then, but now, I can almost taste it. I feel it's just out of my reach. It's so close, yet so far, kit. And it's being…protected. By a foreign chakra. But a chakra I have felt before. But that chakra isn't layered over mine, like a host. It seems more like a ward."

"What's a ward?"

"An ancient jutsu. And a strong one, at that. But I can't tell where it is. That's a problem with warding. You can't find anything that's protected by it. But, like I said, I know that chakra. And there is someone who may be able to find it. Go to him, kit. He knows more than you think. Get him to take you there. My power is waiting…"

0-0

Naruto now had too much to think about. The next day he got up, went straight to Ichiraku's, then went back to work in the village. Citizens and ninja alike were working so hard to repair their home, and the blonde felt bad because he actually considered leaving. But he knew he had to do something. And what the kyuubi offered him sounded like a nightmare to Naruto, but it may be the only way. He wanted to protect everyone, save the world, and get Sasuke back. The promise he initially made to Sakura wasn't really just for her. He vowed to himself, and to Sasuke, that he would never give up. He would do anything for that teme. Why? He didn't understand why he felt so desperate. Maybe he would find out on the way to saving his best friend.

After he worked all day, Naruto grabbed ramen to go that night. He had taken three bowls and headed back into the forest. He made sure that no one (Sai) had followed him, and silently made his way toward a certain area.

'It's a good thing this part wasn't destroyed by Pein. I guess it's good, anyway…'

Naruto still couldn't believed he was actually doing this. 'I must be insane. Sneaking out here in the middle of the night to find somebody who may or may not be dead already, and he's an enemy at that! This better be worth it, you stupid fox…'

Grumbling the entire way, Naruto finally made it to his destination. Deep in Nara clan territory, he sat the ramen on the ground. He pulled out his stolen shovel, and began to dig.

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Ok, what you think so far? I'm not sure about pairings, yet. Other than the whole SasuNaru thing, which I don't know if I'll actually get them together or not. And yes, I think Sai has a thing for Naru. But that's just me. Oh, well. Chapter 2 should be up real soon.