Remnants of Konoha

by Shinobi-Shurikenz

Sasuke has finally killed his older brother and escaped from Orochimaru. He returns to Konoha to see what was happened to all his old friends and companions. A desparate plan is set into action to rescue Naruto in the midst of a war. . TBC inside chapter

Summary: Sasuke has finally killed his older brother and escaped from Orochimaru. He returns to Konoha to see what was happened to all his old friends and companions. A desparate plan is set into action to rescue Naruto in the midst of a war, but what's undernath the underneath? Rated for some language and mature situations. Warning: Character death
Genres: Action/Adventire, Angst, Drama, Romance, Tragedy Warnings: Dark, Death

A/N Hey guys, sorry for not informing you beforehand, but Remnants of Konoha was deleted shortly after it's creation due to me stuffing up the plot big time -.- . .

Any who, hope y'all like the new edited(and revised) chapter 1 of R.O.K!!

Dedicated to DayxxDreamer

Chapter 1

Okaeri Nasai!

Sasuke looked out from the wooded hill to see a city he hadn't seen in a long, long time. Konoha, the village he had promised that he could never return too, now the only place he could go. At first glance, everything seemed the same, but then he saw that a fifth head had been added to the Hokage monument. Sasuke smirked. "Haven't made it yet, have you Naruto?" He walked down the hill towards the main gate. When he reached it, the guards took one look at him and were dumbfounded. Sasuke reminded himself that he was an outcast and a criminal here. Remembering that, he wondered what had become of his old forehead protector. He decided to go straight to Tsunade before any ANBU attacked him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The voice was calm, but Sasuke could hear hatred in it. He turned to face Hatake Kakashi, the man who had taught him Chidori. "Hello Kakashi." The jounin wasn't even reading his infamous book. his full attention was centered on Sasuke. "Answer the question." Sasuke wasn't sure why Kakashi was showing so much hate towards him, but he assumed it had to do with things that had happened because he left. "I came to talk to the Fifth Hokage. My reason for living is over, so I can come back home now." Kakashi glared at him. "You think it's that easy, huh?" He started walking towards the Hokage's office. "Come on, I've been sent to escort you."

The Hokage's office

Kakashi opened the door to let Sasuke walk into the office, then closed it without following him in. Tsunade was sitting in her chair, facing the window. They were the only two in the room. For a long time neither of them spoke. They just stood there, uncomfortably aware of each other, but not wanting to begin the conversation. In the end, Tsunade was the first to speak.

"You've got a lot of guts coming back here after what you did to Konoha. I could kill you right here and no one would say I hadn't done the right thing." Sasuke knew she was right, but he made his argument. "I know that I've done terrible things, but that's why I'm here. I've come to repent for my sins." Tsunade's eyebrow twitched. "Repent for your sins? You don't even know what they are. You have no idea what's happened to Konoha because you left." Sasuke felt a pang of guilt, a feeling he had been having a lot since he defeated Itachi. "Tell me. Tell me what has happened since I left." Tsunade frowned, questioning his motives. "Please." Sasuke had never used that word before, at least, not with any meaning attached. It seemed enough to convince Tsunade. "You're going to regret asking, but I'll tell you."

"For a while after you left, everything kept going on. Missions went on, people kept living. After two and a half years of training with Jiraiya, Naruto returned to Konoha in preparation to look for you. When he first found you and Orochimaru, he fought, but lost. Naruto kept training as hard as he could, trying to gain the strength to defeat you and bring you back here. As we both know, he failed repeatedly. Orochimaru got so confident in your ability to defeat him, he didn't take your body once the three years were up. He knew that what was driving you – the need to kill your brother – was the best way to make your body stronger. You know this much already."

Sasuke nodded.

"Now, where to start? About then is when everything went to hell for Konoha. As you may be aware, The Fire country and the Water country went to war. I sent the rookie teams out on relatively easy missions, but even then there were complications. The ninjas in your year were some of the most amazing talent to come out of Konoha in years. Especially your team. Each one of you had the power to surpass the sannin you trained under. Now all that is gone." Tsunade muttered the last part to herself.

"What do you mean gone?" Sasuke asked. Tsunade sighed. "You finally killed your brother, you no longer have the desire to get stronger. Sakura lost most of her motivation when Naruto… And with you back, she won't try any more at all. As for Naruto himself…" Sasuke breathed hard with anticipation. "What happened to Naruto? He didn't die?" Tsunade could feel tears building up in her eyes. Thinking of Naruto now was so painful. "No, everything Naruto came up against he could beat. Everything but you, that is, and that was the most important thing to him. I suppose technically he did surpass Jiraiya. He's probably the most powerful ninja in the world right now, not that it matters." There was an impossibly long pause, that seemed to stretch for an eternity. Sasuke wanted so badly for Tsunade to hurry up, but he didn't dare interrupt the story.

"Naruto worked himself to exhaustion everyday. He trained hard, learned new techniques from everyone around him, and created his own powerful jutsu. Eventually he stopped going on missions that didn't involve finding you. He just kept training. By the time we learned where you and Orochimaru were going to be next, he wouldn't even go on that mission. He claimed he didn't have time, that he needed to get stronger so that he could bring you back. Naruto went crazy trying to gain power. Naruto went crazy trying to bring you back. His fall from sanity destroyed his friends, and confirmed what many people thought long ago, that he should have been killed to kill the Kyuubi." Sasuke bawled his hand into a fist. "Those bastards!" he whispered. Tsunade glared at him, then flung her desk at him hard. Sasuke didn't have time to dodge, and barely managed to block. The desk shattered on his arm. He hadn't taken any real damage, but the point had been made. "Don't you dare insult them. It's your fault it happened. You are the only one to blame for Naruto's condition." Sasuke simply stared. He knew she was right. "Naruto's still here in Konoha, you know. He lives in the old Uchiha complex. He never comes out of there. Supposedly he's still training, but I stopped checking in on him a while back. Sakura and Kakashi even stopped visiting him about a year ago. I can understand why, too. He ignores anyone who talks to him, and if you try to touch him, he attacks you. He put Kakashi in the hospital for a month. Only one person visits Naruto anymore."

Sasuke looked up in surprise. "Who's that?"

"Hinata. You might remember her from the Chunnin Exam. She's madly in love with him. When Naruto lost it, I thought she had too. For weeks she never even came out of her room. When her family finally insisted that I came in, I found her nearly dead from lack of food. Pictures of Naruto were everywhere. On the wall, on the floor, on the bed, everywhere. Some where photos, some were drawings, some were paintings, but they were all of Naruto. I took her to the hospital, and after a few days she was back in good physical health. It took a few more months to bring her mental stability back. The doctors thought she still wasn't all there, but I recognized the symptoms of a broken heart. Hinata still went on missions with her team for a while, even after the war broke out. But, then one mission went terribly wrong. They had been sent to destroy a vital communications post. Somehow the enemy knew they were coming. Kurenai gave her team enough time to get away, and she even managed to blow up the communications post. But Hinata, Shino and Kiba didn't get far before the enemy caught up with them. The official report reads that Kiba was killed in action, but Hinata told me what really happened. Those three managed to defeat most of their pursuers; the enemy had underestimated them. But one was too strong for them to handle. He had incapacitated Shino, and was talking gleefully about how he was going to kill Kiba, then rape Hinata and kill her too. Kiba went wild. He used a suicide attack to kill the enemy. Hinata managed to get both Shino and Kiba's body back here to Konoha. It was a feat of endurance Gai or Lee would have been proud of."

Sasuke was reminded of the evil promises he himself had given while under the command of Orochimaru, although he had never had to carry them out. Fear was a good motivator.

"The funeral service was well attended. Kiba was the kind of guy who made good friends with people quickly. His clan was going to put Akamaru into retirement, but Hinata asked if she could keep him. They allowed it. I haven't seen Hinata without Akamaru since. She quit going on missions after that, spending most of her time visiting Naruto, and the rest of it caring for Akamaru."

Sasuke was hesitant to ask, but finally he did. "What does she do when she visits him?"

Tsunade sighed. "I asked her the same thing once. She said she just sits there and watches him in whatever he does. She cleans up his room, brings him food, usually ramen, and talks to him. Of course he never acknowledges her, but she is adamant in telling me that Naruto is calmer when she is there. I personally don't think so, but I don't tell her that. The last member of that team, Shino, is still alive and well. He's a special jounin now, and he goes on A-rank missions mostly. He's got an excellent mission record. After what happened to his team, he put his all into being a fantastic ninja, and he is. He still visits Hinata, as well as Kiba's grave and the Hero's Stone where Kurenai's name is engraved. People say he could be the sixth Hokage someday."

Sasuke looked at Tsunade, appalled at hearing that Naruto had lost his chance to be Hokage and that one of his friends was going to take it instead, but he was mostly appalled at himself, because he knew that he was the cause of the situation.

"And that's what happened to team Kurenai. Now, team Asuma. Both Chouji and Shikamaru were part of the original group sent to bring you back when the sound ninjas took you. They had their own reasons for being strong, but they both supported Naruto as much as they in his quest. When they found out about him, they were both shocked and saddened. Shikamaru kept leading missions for a while, but he could never succeed at them. Eventually it got so bad that he lost half his team because of sloppiness. He finally accepted that he was no longer a good leader. He left Konoha. There were too many painful memories for him here. He went to see Naruto before he left, and played a game of chess with him."

Sasuke nearly lumped into the air. "I thought you said that he ignored everyone?!"

Tsunade nodded sadly. "Shikamaru translated the type of attack Naruto was practicing into a move for Naruto. Naruto lost miserably. After that Shikamaru's teammates got an occasional postcard from him as he wandered the land, doing odd jobs. Eventually he settled down in the hidden Sand village, and married Temari. He's one of their shinobi now. His friends go visit him sometimes, but he never comes back here. When the war broke out, he supported the Kazekage's orders to support Konoha."

"Ino and Chouji got married too, to everyone's surprise. He even thinned out a bit for her. I've got to admit, he looked pretty good. All the girls were jealous of Ino for a while. Eventually they both became jounin, and went on missions with Asuma. One day, though, they got too careless. Asuma had been knocked unconscious, and the enemy was going for a lethal attack on Ino. Chouji jumped in the way, taking the hit instead of letting the woman he loved die. Ino drove the man crazy, and he killed himself within minutes. Chouji nearly died that day. They got him back here, and I was able to save his life, but his days as a shinobi are over. Ino goes on the occasional easy mission, but mostly stays home and keeps Chouji company. He gets so nervous when she goes out on missions now, because he's can't protect her anymore. It's a sad thing to see."

Sasuke couldn't imagine what he would do if he was told he couldn't be a ninja anymore. He decided that the old him would have killed himself, but the new him could probably go on.

"Asuma is still going on missions as well. He goes on every mission Ino goes on, and promises Chouji that he will protect her with his life. It does seem to ease Chouji's worries, if only a little."

Tsunade stopped to take a few long breaths. Sasuke could tell that this next part was going to be hard on her.

"Team Gai stayed together even after all his student achieved the rank of jounin. They worked so well together, and they were all masters of combat. Those four on the battlefield were worth twenty or thirty normal jounin. Often times they won battles when they were greatly out numbered. And in the woods of their home country, they became known as the "Wraiths of Konoha" to our enemies. Gai and Lee were legends of their own. They look so alike that when they attacked together, their enemies thought that it was just one incredibly fast ninja. They called this Lee/Gai figment the "Green Ghost of Konoha" Of course, Gai and Lee loved it. Things were going well for that group. They became the closest of friends from spend months in the field at a time. Lee even proposed to Tenten at one point. She was completely taken by surprise of course, and asked for time to think about it. She never got to answer him, though."

Sasuke winced and braced himself for what he knew was the sad part of the story.

"They became so infamous that the Water country hired a group of assassins to take them out. They ambushed team Gai when they were on their way back to Konoha. They were powerful Ninja who specialized in defeating taijutsu-type ninja, greatly reducing the ability of all the members of team Gai. One of the ninja targeted Tenten with an instant death jutsu, but Lee pushed her out of the way and was hit instead. When Gai saw Lee dead, he became enraged. He opened all eight chakra gates and quickly defeated their opponents. His last words were, 'Lee, taken in the springtime of your youth, you should have lived so much longer.'"

Again Tsunade stopped to take a breath, and calm her nerves.

"They were buried together, and both their names are on the Hero's Stone. They would have wanted that. Tenten and Neji are still doing missions, always together. Most people say that they should get married, but they won't do it, because they feel that it would dishonor Lee's memory. So they keep doing missions together, loving each other, but not being able to show that love."

Sasuke glanced back at the door. "What about Kakashi?" Tsunade sigh again.

"After Naruto went crazy, Sakura barely put any effort into anything. He was the only chance we had at bringing you back, and with him gone, you were gone as well. Kakashi blames you for destroying both of their lives. As do many of Naruto and Sakura's friends. You won't find many people here who don't want to see you dead."

Sasuke lowered his gaze to the floor. He had let all his old friends down. He had taken the support, care, and love they had given him, and in return had ruined their lives. He had destroyed them all. "What… What about Sakura?" Tsunade shook her head. "You should ask her."

Konoha Hospital

Tsunade had to take Sasuke to the hospital and explain the situation to the attendant nurse. Before she left, she turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, I hate you very much, and I don't think anything short of a miracle will change that. But this is your home, so I won't keep you out. Naruto would have wanted us to accept you, so we will." With that, she turned and left the hospital. The nurse toke Sasuke down to a room where Sakura was tending to a patient. Just as he got there, she came out. The nurse left them alone.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sasuke hadn't heard those words for a long time. And coming from Sakura, they were like a slap in the face. "Sakura." They stood their staring at each other for the longest time, then Sakura ran up and hugged Sasuke. "Sasuke, I'm so glad that you're back. I… I think that you're the only one." Sasuke pushed her away so he could see her face. "I'm the only one?" Sakura nodded. "You're the only one who can save Naruto."

Uchiha complex

Sasuke and Sakura walked up to the door, and Sakura knocked on it. For a moment Sasuke wondered who she thought was going to answer it, but then Hinata opened the door. Akamaru, who was big enough to ride now, trotted up along side her. Sasuke could clearly see where the tears had been running down her face. "Sakura-chan and… Sasuke-kun! What are you doing here? Haven't you done enough to destroy Naruto-kun's life?! Get out!" Hinata began pushing Sasuke away from the door, but Sakura stopped her. "No, Hinata! That's not it. I brought him here to try to help Naruto." Akamaru whined slightly. "Are you really here to help Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. Sasuke nodded, unable to say anything. Hinata looked like she still didn't like the idea, but let the through anyways. "Come on, he's in the courtyard, training." They both followed Hinata, who seemed to know her way around the place as if she had lived there her whole life. Sasuke glanced at the walls, but no longer saw visions of horror and death. Now he only saw the walls. He was haunted no longer.

They came around the corner and there, punching the air rapidly, was Naruto. He looked like he hadn't shaved in weeks, his hair was an absolute mess, and his clothes were in rags. Sasuke realized that Hinata must have been trying to keep his appearance up, maybe while he was sleeping. This was a very dangerous thing to do, if Tsunade had told the truth about Naruto attacking anyone who touched him. "Naruto-kun, Sasuke's here to see you." Naruto didn't seem to notice, he continued punching the air, throwing in a kick every now and then. Sasuke noticed that he couldn't follow Naruto's movements at all without the Sharingen. Tsunade had been right about Naruto's power. Hinata turned to Sakura and Sasuke with a hurt look on her face. "He's never going to acknowledge you, Hinata," Sakura said, "You need to accept that and move on." Hinata glared fiercely at her. "Like you did? If I stop taking care of Naruto-kun, no one else will take my place. He'll starve himself to death before he comes out of here." Sakura sighed. "Well, maybe it would be better to end it. Are we really doing him any favors by keeping him alive?" Hinata pointed her hand at Sakura and said angrily, "I will never give up on Naruto-kun. Never. That's what he taught me." Sasuke put a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "It's ok Hinata. I think you're doing the right thing. I'm going to go see if I can talk to him now." Hinata nodded. Both she and Sakura watched silently as Sasuke walked slowly up to Naruto. When he entered Naruto's line of sight, Naruto stopped moving. For a long time Sasuke wasn't sure what was going on, but the fact that Naruto was reacting to him at all seemed like a good sign. His hopes were rising. "…Sasuke?" Naruto walked forward slowly, and then put his hand on Sasuke's chest. Sasuke took Naruto's hand with both of his. "I'm here Naruto. I'm right here. You can stop training now. I promise that I won't ever leave again." Sasuke stared into Naruto's blank eyes, searching for some flicker of recognition. Then he saw it. "Don't worry, Sasuke," Naruto said, "I'll definitely save you and bring you back to Konoha!" Naruto flashed his 'never give up' smile at Sasuke. Then he turned and began kicking and punching at the air again. Behind him, Sasuke heard a sob. He turned to see Sakura crying hard, her hands up to her face before she ran out of the courtyard. The tear stains on Hinata's cheeks were shining again too. Sasuke could feel his own eyes begin to water, but he refused to allow tears to come out. Tsunade had been right. Without Naruto, Konoha had fallen apart.

A/N. . Hate it? Love it? Let me know!! And btw, this IS Special Edition #1, which means two chapters in one!!

Chapter 2

Summon Of Shadow

Nara Shikamaru walked towards the Hokage Tower as easily as if he had done it just the day before. In reality it had been years. The forehead protector wrapped around his arm no longer showed the symbol of the leaf, but of the sand. Some people recognized him as he walked up the stairs and greeted him, but he never gave them more than a brief nod. He had already visited Ino and Chouji, and the rest of his friends could wait until after the meeting with the Hokage. Shikamaru remembered four days ago when he had gotten the letter.

Dear Nara Shikamaru,

Your friends tell me that you are doing well. I'm sorry I haven't had time to come and visit you personally, but the life of a Hokage leaves little time for visiting, and none whatsoever for traveling.

I suppose I should get right to the point before you through this in the fire. Recently, we have added something to Naruto's environment which he reacted too. I'm sure you are as surprised as I was, and you must want to know what it is Naruto reacted, but I can't tell you in a letter. If it was intercepted, there would be trouble.

Anyways, I can't tell you how Naruto is progressing with this new element, because I'm writing you this letter just after I found out. After Sasuke left, you were pretty much his best friend. Your close ties to him may help bring Naruto back in conjunction with the new stimulus. I don't know what it is you're doing for the Sand, but I hope that you can put it on hold for this.

Godaime Tsunade, Hokage

Shikamaru hadn't told even Ino or Chouji the reason of his visit. Seeing as this was his first visit since he left Konoha, they were more than a little curious as to what brought him back. But he didn't want to get their hopes up in case everything went to hell.

He noticed he was passing a mirror in the hall and stopped. Looking at himself, he realized, not for the first time, how much he had changed. He now bore scars not unlike his father's, and he had taken to wearing darker colors like gray and black. Never green. Of course, that wasn't the only thing that had changed. Much like his attire, his own soul had gotten darker since he had left Konoha behind. No longer a child by any rite, he had loved, hated, and killed. Living outside the protective walls of Konoha, the world hardened you, made you into something that could never be made in a village like this one. His travels had made him stronger, but they had also made him weaker.

He continued walking until he was almost at the Hokage's office. Shikamaru didn't recognize the chunnin standing guard outside the door, which meant that he had probably obtained his rank after Shikamaru had left. It was also probably why the poor boy tried to stop him.

"Excuse me, sir? You can't go in there just now. The Hokage is in the middle of a meeting." Shikamaru walked right past the man, bumping his shoulder out of the way. "Hey, I said you can't go in there!" Shikamaru tuned his head and gave the man a glare that froze him instantly. Inwardly he chuckled at the irony of no longer needing a shadow to freeze people. Outwardly he turned back to the Hokage's door. Just looking at it brought back a flood of memories. Just looking at it made Shikamaru irritable. Damn it, now I'm pissed.

He pushed through the door, ignoring the yells of the man behind him, and saw Tsunade sitting behind her desk, and a black haired shinobi standing between them, facing away from Shikamaru. "It's okay, Yahiko. You can go back to your post." The man was startled for a moment, then quickly regained his composure and left the room closing the door behind him. Once it was shut, Shikamaru, who had been staring at Tsunade since he had walked into the room, spoke.

"Okay Fifth, this had better be damn good. I didn't come all the way to Konoha just for-" He stopped as the other shinobi turned towards him and he saw a face that for years he had only seen in his worst nightmares.

"What the FUCK do you think you're doing here?!" Tsunade stood up. "Shikamaru, calm down. Sasuke is here because…" Shikamaru didn't hear her at all. He couldn't hear anything over the blood pounding through his ears. We walked up and grabbed Sasuke be his collar, and pulled his face close. "Do you have any idea what you fucking did to this place? What you fucking did to Naruto?!"

Sasuke grabbed Shikamaru's wrists and pulled his hands off of his collar. "Yes, I do. Tsunade told me what happened to Naruto and the rest-" The punch was so fast that Sasuke never saw it, but rather felt the fist collide with his face at an unprecedented speed. He was thrown back into the wall by the sheer force of the blow. His vision was blurred for a moment, but when he cleared it he saw Shikamaru standing over him. This time Shikamaru grabbed him by the throat and held him up against the wall. Sasuke tried, but he couldn't push Shikamaru's hand away like he had last time. Shikamaru suddenly felt a hard tug on the back of his shirt and was sent flying to the opposite side of the room.

"Shikamaru, that's enough. If you try to touch him one more time, I'll beat you up myself. Besides, he's the reason you're here." Shikamaru stood up and put his hands in his pockets, although hatred was seething from every pore. "This bastard is what Naruto reacted too?" Tsunade nodded. "It wasn't enough to bring him back to his former state, but he responds to Sasuke. Not all the time, mind you. And at one point he did attack Sasuke."

"I hope it hurt." Shikamaru spat out. Tsunade ignored him. "But, this is progress. We could keep on having Sasuke visit Naruto and hope that in a few years, Naruto reverts back to his old self, but I don't think that's the best approach. I think we need to shock his system to such an extreme that it forcefully jolts him back." Shikamaru glanced at Sasuke, then looked back at Tsunade. "I know what you're thinking Shikamaru. What could possibly be more of a shock than having Sasuke walk up to him and say hello?"

"More profane, but that was the jist of it." Shikamaru replied

"Well, how about if Naruto himself killed Orochimaru and brought Sasuke back to Konoha himself, just like he always planned to do?" Shikamaru's eyes went wide with shock. He looked from Tsunade to Sasuke to Tsunade again, and then asked, "Are you crazy?" Tsunade smiled slightly. "We already have Sasuke's cooperation, now all we need to do is get Naruto and Orochimaru in the same place.

"That bastard is more likely to run off and join a power hungry maniac than to help his own friend, and Naruto will never leave the complex."

"You could make him leave with your shadow technique."

"Ah. So that's why you wanted me."

Tsunade sighed. "No, that's not why you're here. That is only one way to fulfill the objectives of your mission."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "My mission? You want me to lead a mission?" Tsunade nodded. "I know that I don't have authority over you anymore, but you're the only person I can rely on to do this.

"Rely on me? I get half my squad killed when I go on missions. My hands are stained with more blood than you know. You can't rely on me." Tsunade crossed her arms. "It wouldn't matter to Naruto. He would still trust you with his life, as he did so many times. And that's good enough for me."

"I won't do it."

"If you don't take this mission, I will give it to Sasuke."

He spun around and stared at her. "You're fucking with me." She shook her head. "He has a level head, he knows everything about Orochimaru's strengths and weaknesses, and he is the perfect bait to lure Orochimaru to us."

"That makes him a good choice as a member, not a leader."

"If you don't like it, all you have to do is take the mission."

For the longest time, Shikamaru just stood there, staring at her, turning things over in his mind. Finally, he turned around and said, "Fuck this." He walked towards the door. "Where are you going?" Tsunade asked.

"To see Naruto."

Shikamaru opened the door, but before he left the room, he turned his head to glare at both Tsunade and Sasuke. "If I see that bastard again, I'll kill him."

Outside the Uchiha Complex

Shikamaru knocked on the door. He never knocked any more. Even when he was visiting his own Kazekage. People had gotten used to him walking in whenever he needed something. Nobody ever tried to stop him.

But here, he knocked. Even though it was raining hard, and he was getting soaked, he didn't barge in through the doors. He heard barking from behind the door, and then it opened. Hinata, who had clearly been out in the rain since it han begun looked like she was soaked to the bone. She was shivering, and she sneezed before she spoke.

"Shikamaru-kun!" Akamaru sniffed at his feet, then bounded out the door, clearly enjoying the rain. "Will he be alright?" Hinata nodded. "He can't spend all day cooped up in here. Normally I take him on walks with me, but I'm not feeling so great today." Shikamaru nodded. After an akward silence, Hinata finally spoke. "I never thought I'd see you here again, Shikamaru-kun." Shikamaru shrugged. "I never thought I'd see me here again either." Hinata shuffled Shikamaru inside, out of the rain. "Have you heard about Sasuke?" Shikamaru thought it was weird not hearing a formal ending attached to a name when Hinata spoke, but then Sasuke didn't deserve one. "I've seen him." Hinata nodded. She understood the way he felt. "Naruto-kun's out training. I was worried he'd catch a cold, so I was watching him."

"Naruto hasn't been sick a day in his life. You, on the other hand, look like you're about to collapse." Hinata smiled a bit. "I don't want Naruto-kun to get lonely."

Oh, how Shikamaru pitied her. Did she really believe that her being there helped Naruto? And after years of trying to get Naruto to react, Sasuke just waltzes in and Naruto actually speaks to him. That little fucker.

Beside him, he noticed Hinata starting to stumble. He caught her as she fell towards the ground. He carried her with him until she found where she was staying. A small room, sparsely decorated, with a little fire going. He set Hinata in the bed and covered her with a thick blanket. Looking down at her, she seemed so peaceful, so serene in her sleep. Now Shikamaru envied her. What wouldn't he give for a peaceful night's sleep?

A splash out in the courtyard distracted his attention from Hinata. He walked out the door to see Naruto, in just about the same place he had left him in, but a few years older. He was creating a Rasengan in his hand, which was held above his head, but it was almost as tall as Naruto himself. Rain that got near it was sucked into the spinning chakra, joining the endless spiral of blue.

"Rasengan, huh? Boy, that brings back memories. The people we beat with that move. I remember the day you finally managed to do it without the shadow clone. You said, 'Now I've caught up with Sasuke! Neither of us will need any preparation to use our jutsus.' By that point you had also mastered toad summoning. More than once you had been able to take the bell from Kakashi. You were one of the most powerful shinobi in the entire village.

The rest of us tried to keep up with your strength, but you left us all behind. You didn't have time for us. Your only goal was Sasuke. One by one, we gracefully admitted defeat, that you were beyond us, in a class unto yourself. And you still are. But we're closing the gap, Naruto. What will you do when we've all caught up to you? Throwing kicks at the air is training, sure, but it will only get you so far. The rest of us, we've fought wars, Naruto. Wars where only the strong can survive. Wars with other nations, and wars inside ourselves. I've survived through both, Naruto."

Shikamaru sat on the ground under an overhang, leaning against the wall. Naruto didn't show any sign of hearing him at all though.

"Let me tell you what happened to me after I left Konoha, Naruto. At first, I didn't think living on my own, always on the road, would be to hard. I quickly found out that I was wrong. For a while I went from town to town, doing odd jobs, trading labor for food, a nights rest, a bit of cash. Sometimes I found other wandering shinobi, like me. The first time I saw one, she attacked me. I managed to get her with my shadow, and I asked her why she had attacked me without provocation. 'Your forehead protector', she snarled. I looked at it, then looked back to her, and saw that hers had a scratch down the length off it. So right then and there I did the same to mine, marking myself as a missing-nin. I figured it would be a lot less troublesome to do that than fight every ninja I cam across. Troublesome. There's a word I haven't used in a long time, Everything's troublesome now, there's no point distinguishing any of it. Anyways, she seemed satisfied, although she left as soon as I released my jutsu. After that, other missing-nin either tried to kill me for a bounty, or traveled with me for mutual protection. I learned some ninjutsu from them. I even learned how to summon scorpions from one really creepy guy. After a while I was able to create my own jutsu. I can do things with shadows that would probably break your brain just to watch. No one elses, though. Only an idiot like you would have a hard time comprehending it."

Shikamaru grinned at the familiar feeling of calling Naruto an idiot, but then faded back into his somber mood.

"Taijutsu is used much more commonly than ninjutsu or genjutsu out in the world, so I had to become a master of that. Betcha that isn't easy to believe, eh? I was always so weak, and couldn't keep up with any of the rest of our class when it came to taijutsu. I guess you just need the right motivation. More than once I was willing to just let myself die, rather than fight too hard against the enemy. But then they would insult my heritage, where I came from, or my friends. Every time, they would insult my past, and then, I discovered that I would get angry. You've never seen me angry, Naruto. Even Tsunade and Sasuke today. They don't know what I'm like when I'm angry. I was holding so much back then. I nearly killed him. I nearly killed him, Naruto."

Face in his hands, Shikamaru started crying.

"What if I had, Naruto? You put your life on the line and lost your sanity trying to save him, and I almost killed him. Not only that, but we need him if we want to have any chance of bringing you back."

Shikamaru sat there for a long time. Tears ran down his cheeks, already wet from the rain. He cried until he was just to tired to cry anymore. In front of him, Naruto went into a handstand, then started doing vertical pushups. Behind him, he heard Hinata stir, then sit up. "Shikamaru-kun?" Shikamaru replied, "Over here, Hinata." She came out and sat next to him, watching Naruto as well. "What were you talking about?"

Shikamaru sighed. He knew the tears would be hidden by the rain. "Just reminiscing about old times." He saw Hinata's small smile slide away, and decided to try to cheer her up.

"Hey, remember his twenty-first birthday party?" A hint of a smile found it's way onto Hinata's face. "More kegs have never been seen in one place before or since. Almost everyone was completely hammered. Of course, Naruto's stamina ensured that he could drink more beer then anyone else and still stay awake. He could barely stand. Every time he fell on his knees he thought it would be the funniest thing in the world to propose to the nearest person." Hinata's flicker of a smile grew stronger. "Most of them were drunk, but then he fell on his knees right in front of you. He asked you to marry him right then and there." Hinata's grin spread from cheek to cheek, though she was blushing visibly. She opened her mouth to continue the story. "I couldn't believe it. Sure, he was drunk, and sure, he had already asked twenty other people, and yeah, he didn't remember it afterwards, but that night Naruto asked me to be his wife. I've never been happier in my life." Her smile began to fade again. "By that time, he was only going on missions involving Sasuke. He left later that week, and came back a few days later, completely broken. I was so afraid that he was going to die. I just…" Tears began falling down her cheeks again.

"Hinata," Shikamaru started, "I don't know if this will make you happy or sad, probably a lot of both, but since there's the possibility that Naruto will never really speak to us again, I think there's something you should know." Hinata had clearly gotten used to people telling her that waiting for Naruto was hopeless. Her back stiffened and she stared straight forward, looking at Naruto, but didn't say anything. "Look, since Sasuke came back, Naruto actually has a chance again. That's why I'm here. Tsunade asked me to lead a mission that will hopefully help bring Naruto back to us." Hinata blinked in surprise. "You're going to lead a mission to save Naruto?"

"Actually, I haven't decided yet." He could see, out of the corner of his eye, her whole composure fall. "But I just told you that so that you don't think I'm another idiot who thinks Naruto is never coming back to us." Hinata looked up at him, then smiled. "Thanks, Shikamaru-kun."

"Don't thank me yet, you may not like what I'm going to say to you. As you know, after Sasuke left Konoha, and Sai mysteriously vanished back into the organization from whence he came, I became Naruto's best friend. Before he left on that mission, after the party, he took me aside and told me a secret. He said, 'Shikamaru, you're never to tell this to a soul.' I said ok. He got real close and whispered into my ear, "Back at my party, People told me I was proposing to everyone around me. I don't actually remember most of that, but I do remember one thing. I remember proposing to Hinata.' I just shrugged. 'So what?' I asked. 'I know I was drunk, but the alcohol only let it out. I didn't mean to propose to Hinata, but I do have feelings for her.' I was, needless to say, as shocked as you are now. 'I really love her, Shikamaru, but I can't let her know. Her family would kill me, and she deserves better than a demon anyways.' I shook my head and said, 'Women are troublesome. But men do need them. Men are nothing without women.' He said that he'd think on that, then hurried to get ready for his mission. He really did love you Hinata."

Hinata just sat there, staring at him openmouthed. She tried to say something, but the words were stuck in her throat. Eventually she closed her mouth. After a period of silence, Shikamaru stood up, and began walking for the door. Suddenly he felt two arms close around his waist. "Please, Shikamaru-kun, please do everything you can to bring Naruto back." "I will," he whispered. She gently let him go, then turned and walked back into her room.

Poor girl. Shikamaru began walking towards the door to the Uchiha complex. His mind was made up. He was going to take the mission. He had to try to pay for his sins, and saving Naruto was the best thing he could do for this world.

A small voice in his head, one that perhaps belonged to the younger Shikamaru, asked him, 'When did it start? When you stole? When you lied? When you cheated? When you murdered?' Shikamaru kept walking. 'You say you want to pay for your sins, but you don't stop sinning. You just lied to Hinata about the most important thing in her whole life.'

"She deserves to think that he loved her." Shikamaru said out loud, startling some people who were nearby. 'She deserves to know the truth.'

"Hmph. Remember what happened to me when I went after the truth? Eleven dead, including women and children. I lay in an alleyway, broken, for a day and two nights before I was rushed to a hospital."

'And you overcame it, just as she will.' Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets. "She already knew the truth. I convinced her that the truth was a lie. Now she's stronger." 'You really think that? If you sneak back there now, do you think that she will be sitting there happily or crying over missed opportunities?'

"Fuck this. I'm going just as crazy as Naruto, taking to a voice inside my head. All I know is I need to save him. I have to keep my sanity together long enough to save Naruto."