Hey guys! This is chapter one of the sequel to my story "Cruel Irony." If you haven't read it, I encourage you to go back and read it, as this story will make little to no sense without it. Go to my profile and read it! :D
Information: Before anyone reads further into this chapter, I will say their is an original character. But before you abort this entire thing in a blaze of fanfiction outrage, let me just make it clear that this character plays an incredibly small part and will fade out after the first two or three chapters. The main focus of this story is on SasuNaru, with SaiSaku on the back-burner. Also, I own nothing about Naruto or any of it's characters; because if I did, Sasuke and Naruto would be so canon right now it would hurt. And on that note, please enjoy and don't forget to review! Hope you guys like it!
"Hey, asshole!" Was the comment Naruto received as Kiba slapped his hand away from his plate with a pair of chopsticks. "Step off!"
"Geez! So hormonal." Naruto whined, sucking on his bruised knuckle as Kiba stuck his tongue out.
Kiba, Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji were currently eating lunch in Konoha's number one barbecue place (per Chouji's request) as Naruto, in all of his grace, sat shamelessly on top of the table, much to Ino's chagrin.
"Any word on how many more injections you're going to have to take?" Ino asked as she sipped a glass of water.
"Mm...Baa-chan said twice a day for the first six months, but things are going pretty well, so I'm hoping she'll stop them early." Stretching, Naruto leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. "They hurt like hell, so I hope four straight months is good enough."
"Don't be so hasty. It's troublesome." Shikamaru replied as he cupped his hand around a cigarette and lighter. Naruto watched the light flicker between his fingers as Shikamaru exhaled a billow of smoke. "Those vaccinations are erasing two years of extreme damage. You can't rush that kind of thing."
Kiba nodded in agreement as he bent low over his plate and shoveled food into his mouth.
"He's probably right, Naruto. You're really on God's good humor with that medicine. I wouldn't take it so lightly." Ino replied as she sent Chouji a wary look, beckoning him to chew, then swallow.
"No, you're probably right." Naruto replied, remembering how grateful he actually did feel for the medicine.
Tsunade, Sakura and Shizune had labored furiously over isolating a cure for the withdrawal symptoms, and their efforts were the only reason he was allowed to go on missions again. He remembered how constantly ill he felt, waking up every night throwing up or drenched in night sweats. He had been so miserable with the Kyuubi's chakra leaking into his body that he never once considered that he had somehow become dependent on it. Sakura had tried to explain the logistics behind it, but it still didn't make much sense. Either way, he was happy to be through with that time of his life.
"Can we talk about something else?" Chouji asked, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "The negativity of this topic is killing my appetite."
"That's not even remotely possible." Kiba drawled, ignoring the malevolent glint in Chouji's eye that was sent his way.
"How was the mission yesterday?" Shikamaru asked, ignoring the banter and taking another drag of his cigarette. "Heard things got a little scary for a while there."
Ino put her chopsticks down and sent him an irritated sideways glance - a typical indication that she had not been informed of what he was talking about, and thus felt wrongfully out-of-the-loop.
"Hah! Everything was fine. Sasuke and that old hag are just blowing things wildly out of proportion." Naruto smiled as Shikamaru somewhat laughed, though not in a way that meant anything was actually funny.
"What happened?" Ino asked, turning from Shikamaru to Naruto. "Did anyone get hurt?"
"Other than Sasuke's ego? No." Naruto replied.
"Aha! Killed it." Kiba commented through a smirk as he fist-bumped with Naruto, though coughed awkwardly as Ino peered at them darkly.
"Look, it was no big deal. Baa-chan sent us out because there's been some activity in the Forest of Death lately. Just small-shit Shinobi that have been threatening travelers for money."
"And?" Ino asked impatiently.
"And when we got out there, we ended up being confronted by somebody who had a bunch of groupies. Sasuke got cornered, and one of the guys was a poison artist, so when I saw that he was coming from behind with a poisoned kunai, I kind of...knocked Sasuke out of the way."
"Obviously you didn't get hit?" Ino asked slowly, scanning her eyes over Naruto's face for some kind of enlightenment. Chouji and Kiba had even stopped forking down food, suggesting that this story was still garnering far more attention than it really deserved.
"I...did, but I was wearing that armor that Gai sensei made me wear, so it lodged into the chain-mail before it could actually hit me."
"You eternally lucky son-of-a-bitch." Kiba commented, but before Naruto could retort, Ino spoke up:
"So what's the problem here? You helped Sasuke when he was in a vulnerable position. That's what's expected of Shinobi teamwork."
It was then that Shikamaru began to laugh, and Ino looked back and forth between the two as Naruto's eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"What?" She spat as Shikamaru crushed his cigarette in the ashtray.
"What Naruto failed to mention, was that the Sasuke that was cornered was actually a clone. The real Sasuke was waiting to attack from behind until Naruto upset the plan because he was too worried about Sasuke's well-being. Had Naruto been objective about the whole thing, he would have realized that Sasuke cloned himself out before he decided that playing the sacrificial hero was a good idea."
"Damn, Naruto. Since when did you start babysitting Sasuke?" Kiba asked, laughing as he dodged an ice-cube to the head. "He wasn't part of the Akatsuki because he looked great in the robe, you know. Dude is fucking indestructible."
"I wasn't babysitting Sasuke! The clone was just...really convincing." Naruto tried to explain, though his words were drowned out as all four of them broke into laughter. "And it's his fault for not letting me get involved! The cocky bastard never lets me participate anymore."
"I don't know. Sounds like you're playing mother hen to Sasuke. Can't say I'm all that surprised though." Chouji commented around a mouthful of noodles.
"Is he mad about it?" Ino asked.
"Is who mad?" Came a sweet voice, and Naruto looked up to find Sakura approach their table. Scooting their chairs over, she took a seat between Ino and Chouji.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto beamed, flashing her a dazzled smile.
"What are we talking about?" Sakura asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as a server brought her a glass of water.
"Just about how paranoid Naruto's become over Sasu-SHIT!" Kiba hissed as jolted forward, wincing as Naruto kicked his shin under the table.
"Oh. That." Sakura commented blankly as she scanned her eyes down the menu. Tsunade told her everything about everything anyway, so he wasn't surprised to see that she already knew. She probably would have agree'd with them too, so he didn't feel that it was especially worth asking about.
"It's not Sasuke's anger he should be worried about. It's Hokage-sama's." Shikamaru replied objectively. "The village loses money for failed missions like that. The Elder's hold her responsible for that kind of loss."
"Eh, I'm not really worried about either of them. I did my job, so I'm not going to apologize because Sasuke-teme wants to play hero and do it all on his own." Naruto commented as he pulled up a chair beside Sakura and leaned in behind her. "But he's still mad about it, isn't he?"
"Not mad. Just annoyed." Sakura replied as the others conversed amongst themselves. "I think he's frustrated because you're undermining his skill."
"That's ridiculous. I know that bastard can take care of himself."
"Then why is this the third time this month that you've taken an unnecessary blow for him, hm?"
Eyes narrowing, Naruto allowed a huge smile to spread across his face. It took a minute, but he watched in satisfaction as Sakura slammed the menu on the table while her face transitioned through four shades of red.
"Ugh! Gross! That's so not what I meant. Don't be weird." She replied, deciding not to scold him for changing the subject. With any luck, he would come to her about it later when he realized just how annoyed with him Sasuke really was.
"Speaking of weird..." He cleared his throat as he shifted awkwardly. "How are things with...you know...Sai?" He asked, clutching his throat and swallowing in feigned disgust. He graoned as Ino elbowed him in the stomach for asking about a ladies "personal affairs." Truth is, he knew Ino was just as curious as they all were.
It was no surprise by now that Sakura and Sai had established themselves as Konoha's new "it" couple. Naruto pretended like it was bizarre -which it was- but he honestly couldn't think of anyone better for Sakura than Sai. But he was also viciously protective of Sakura, which led to multiple conversations with Sai about all the creative ways in which he knew how to perform a castration if the situation demanded it.
In the last eight months, the villagers had finally adjusted to life with Naruto. The few months following the reincarnation of his seal had been tumultuous, but it earned a trust in the village that left room for people to be genuinely relieved that it's number one most hyperactive ninja had seemingly risen from the dead. Where there once was unspoken grief now rang the relief of a time of years past.
"It's really none of your business." Sakura smirked, earning a sour expression from Naruto. "But I will say, things are...quite good." She smiled malevolently.
"Oh god. The visuals, Sakura. The visuals." He whined, but before Sakura could smack the back of his head, she was interrupted by a deep voice penetrating their conversation as a shadow descended over the table along with it.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"Yes?" He asked in feigned innocence as the large figure of an ANBU loomed over. The formerly loud atmosphere in the restaurant dulled to a few intense stares at the ill-omened intrusion. All members of the table put their conversations on hold.
"I've been looking for you for over an hour. The Hokage requested your presence an hour ago."
"Why?"
"I have not been told."
"Uh...where is she?" He asked.
"In the Hokage Tower. Where she's been for the past five years."
"Dickwad." Naruto mumbled under his breath as the table struggled to stifle their giggling.
"What was that?" The ANBU asked.
"Nothing."
"Then please be on your way shortly. Valuable time has already been wasted." With that, the ANBU flashed out of the building, leaving nothing but a smoke trail behind.
"You better go." Sakura commented. "It sounds important."
"Yeah. You're right." He replied, standing up and stretching boisterously as the restaurant's customers went on with their lives.
"Be gone with you." Kiba replied teasingly, though not before Naruto casually strolled beside him, jacked one of the pork skewers off of his plate and bolted for the door. He heard a few colorful obscenities escape Kiba's lips as he dodged a skewer flying past his face.
"Bye guys!" He shouted as he ducked out of the door, narrowly escaping the chopstick that lodged itself into the wall next to his head.
"What an idiot." Shikamaru commented as he smiled and lit another cigarette. "It's good to have him back."
(HOKAGE TOWER - Twenty Minutes Later)
"Sorry I'm late, Baa-chan, but that ANBU you sent for me was a bitch in heat." Naruto explained as he stepped into Tsunade's office and turned to shut the door. "What's the proble-"
He stopped, though, when he saw Sasuke, clad in full ANBU uniform with one hand on his hip, glancing back at him impatiently. Tsunade stood up and folded her arms.
"Nice to finally have you join us, Naruto. Though I must say, if the village ever burns to ground, it's good to know now that you'll probably be the last to show up."
"Maa, Maa. Don't be like that Baa-chan." Naruto commented as he appeared next to Sasuke and placed his elbow on the darker boy's shoulder, earning an annoyed glance in return. "That ANBU must have the tracking skills of a brick if it took him that long to find me."
"That ANBU specializes in tracking, and is ranked directly under Sasuke."
"Well that explains everything." He commented to himself, and laughed as Sasuke shoved his elbow off. Tsunade sighed loudly and wordlessly opened a drawer in her desk. Weaving through a large assortment of files, she slid one of them out and threw it on her desk in front of them. Naruto watched as Sasuke stepped forward and opened the file. Appearing next to him, Naruto observed the stats and information of a random ninja. His place of origin read "Kirigakure", though a red mark reading "Missing" was stamped over it.
The ninja's picture was...rough, to say the least. A man in his late twenties who had shaggy, gray hair and black eyes. A scar was etched crudely above his lip, and a completely inappropriate smile curved up his face. He was the perfect picture of maniacal.
"Damn. Who is he?" Naruto asked, glancing up at Tsunade.
"Yujirou Ono. Missing nin from Kirigakure. He defected twelve years ago."
"'B-Class criminal?' Sasuke asked skeptically, though not bothering to take his eyes off the paper. "I don't know if I'm supposed to be insulted by this or not."
"Yes. Let me explain." Tsunade commented tiredly. "Normally, I wouldn't commission you two to take on a case like his, but he's different. This whole case is different, actually."
"How?" Sasuke asked, flipping to the next page. "He's somewhat dangerous, I give him that. But his history doesn't report any homicides, and he hasn't been seen in over six years."
"Until recently." Tsunade commented, grabbing an opened letter off of her desk and handing it to Sasuke. "This is a letter from Gaara of the Sand, writing to say that their have been reports circulating that this guy's been spotted in all of the major villages in the last month. He's been taking hostages at awkward times of the day, and has been using them to demand ransom money."
"Has he killed any of them?" Naruto asked.
"No. But his actions are becoming increasingly unpredictable, so I've been warned to approach this with a very real seriousness. Not only that, but there have been rumors stating that he was once approached by Akatsuki, but ultimately turned them down."
Naruto felt his body run cold and a distinct dip in Sasuke's chakra at the mention of his dead brother's organization. Sensing that both boys understood the severity of the situation, Tsunade spoke up:
"That's why I'm asking both of you to be on high alert for this guy. He has something dangerous enough that the Akatsuki asked him to join. We can't afford to take this lightly."
"There's no mention of Kekkei Genkai in his records." Sasuke stated, extending the letter back to her.
"That's what scares me. There's little to no information about this guy, which means no one can really prepare for him." She explained, a worry etched on her face that meant this was no joking matter. "The only thing I can really tell you guys is to be ready for anything."
"This guy sounds more hype than anything. Sasuke and I will kick ass on this one." Naruto tried, ignoring the obvious eye-roll from Sasuke.
"Speaking of...Naruto, I need to speak with you privately when this is done."
"Uh..."
"Is that all?" Sasuke asked blankly, interrupting him and directing the focus back to the situation at hand.
"Yes. You're excused, Uchiha." She replied flatly, ignoring his obvious air of smugness. Naruto watched in annoyance as he turned, opened the door wordlessly, and walked away. "Still mad." Naruto thought boredly, eyes still lingering on the door.
"He has a right to be." Tsunade replied, filling the stagnant room and seemingly reading his mind.
"Oh come on!" He exhaled in frustration, flopping gracelessly into a chair. "Sasuke doesn't let me do anything anymore! He lived so long without fighting in a team that he does it all on his own. I did the right thing, dammit!"
"You-" She barked, bracing herself on her desk with both hands and leaning towards him menacingly. "Almost jeopardized the entire mission. You weren't even trying to think rationally, Naruto. Had you not reacted off pure emotion, that mission would have been successful."
"Okay, so I screwed up this time. Can we get past that now?"
"This is the third time it's happened, Naruto. This leads me to believe that you and Sasuke lack the trust that is necessary to sustain a team. I'm going to have to take action if this happens again."
"Okay, okay." Naruto commented in surrender - an indication that he knew he was probably wrong here. Sensing the frustration of the younger boy, Tsunade's eyes softened as she took a seat on the corner of her desk.
"This isn't like you." She commented softly. "What are you so afraid of?"
A sour expression morphed his features.
"That's not a very attractive face." She replied flatly, though sighed loudly when he simply turned his gaze to the adjacent wall. Grabbing his cheeks with her thumb and pointer finger, she led his gaze back to hers.
"He's really not going to break, you know."
"I know." He whispered in a way that meant he really did know, just didn't believe it as much as he should have.
"All I'm saying, is if this reckless thinking develops into a pattern, there will be consequences. You could have been seriously hurt for no reason at all if things panned out the way they should have. you got lucky. If you can't be objective when you work with Sasuke from now on, I'll have to put you on a different team."
"I understand." He replied, twitching his nose as she let go of his face.
"Good."
"Baa-chan?"
"Yes, brat?" She asked, shifting the papers on her desk into a pile.
"Can I stop the injections early?" He asked carefully, wincing as he waited for the answer.
"No." She replied flatly, not bothering to make eye contact.
"Ah...well, it was worth a shot, right?" He chided. "Get it? A shot? Damn, I'm hilarious."
"Indeed." She replied boredly, indicating that it really wasn't funny. Or even worth a shot without the humor.
"Well, this has been fun and all, but I really gotta go, Baa-chan." He replied as he stood up and stretched. "See you soon?"
"Get out, Naruto." She replied through a smile. "Go be productive or something."
She caught the tail-end of his coat sliding through the door as it shut with a click, and she somewhat frowned as the room ran silent.
She had known there would be complications all along when she decided to re-establish Team Seven. There was trauma in their lives that would need a considerable amount of time to gloss over, so she had hoped that this thoughtless abandon that Naruto had acquired for Sasuke was just a phase - one of the "kinks" that would have to be ironed out as they both adjusted to working together again.
At first, their teamwork was flawless, but she hadn't really expected anything different anyway. She had heard tales of their teamwork, so naturally she was neither disappointed nor surprised to find that the stories were true. That state of flawlessness was held for a solid five months of missions, until last month when an "incident" had occurred that rendered Sasuke in the hospital for two weeks. Naruto had taken it especially difficult, but she had theorized that part of it was due to the fear that Sasuke would be put under another coma.
Since then, Naruto's ability to stay rational and objective in their missions was on the rocks and falling steadily all the time. It was Sasuke's job to bring written reports to her about the failed missions, and when asked about their reason for failure, Sasuke conveyed to her clearly that Naruto was to be held responsible for them. She knew, however, that Sasuke's frustration came not from the failed missions, but from Naruto's sheer lack of trust in his ability to stay alive. She also knew, though, that separating the two of them held a level of uncertainty that she couldn't anticipate, but would eventually have to happen if Naruto couldn't keep himself in check.
She sighed.
"Please get over this, Naruto." She exhaled as she swallowed a shot of Saki. "For the good of all of us."
(SCENE CHANGE)
"I don't blame him for being concerned, but he's going to cause more damage than not." Sakura explained as she looked out over Konoha's bridge. The wind rustled her hair and the leaves tumbled at her feet as she and Sai gazed into the setting sun. "Even when we were kids, Sasuke hated to be stifled like that. He doesn't appreciate it."
"According to my research, trauma can dramatically upset the state of one's mental health." Sai replied clinically. "I think Naruto suffered some degree of trauma when Sasuke was put into a coma. No matter what kind of person Sasuke was, Naruto was always able to find him somewhere, somehow. But Naruto couldn't reach him when he was comatose, and that scared him. I believe he might be living in fear that it can happen again."
"Hm." Sakura hummed, silently agreeing with Sai as her thoughts drifted elsewhere. She watched a leaf fall through the air and land gracefully into the orange lake, rippling outward. "You're becoming a regular psychologist, aren't you?" She teased.
"You think?" He asked, a genuine smile spreading on his face.
"Absolutely. You're a hundred times more intuitive than you used to be. I see definite progress." She smiled, covering his hand with her own. A few minutes passed as they both looked out, counting the petals that fell from the Sakura trees.
"So pretty." She commented in wonder.
"Yes, you are."
"Hm?" She asked, glancing at him.
"Nothing." He replied quietly. "It's not important."
(SCENE CHANGE - NARUTO)
Naruto, in all of his graceless glory, was currently lying upside down in a chair with a book in his hands. It was around 9:00 at night, and every light in the Uchiha manor had been turned on. He typically didn't like to be there alone, but only because he was pretty sure he heard the ghostly wails of a hundred dead Uchiha's scolding him for tainting the furniture with his poverty-stricken presence.
"What are you doing here?" Came an annoyed voice followed by the slamming of a door, but Naruto continued to read the book in his hands.
"It says here that the most important aspect of a relationship is trust." He commented factually. "But I think that's bullshit. Communication is the most important thing. Ne, Sasuke?"
"You're holding the book upside down." Sasuke replied flatly, not bothering to spare a glance at the blond who was currently sprawled upside down in his chair. Naruto, who simply glanced at the book in confusion before dropping it sloppily on the nightstand, flipped over and stood up.
"Eh. Minor details."
"And they say education is a dying art."
"Hey! I do all right, and contrary to popular belief, I'm not highly educated."
"Glad I was sitting down for that." Sasuke replied sarcastically, earning a pouty expression from Naruto who sighed loudly and stood up.
"Okay, okay. You're angry. I get it. What do I have to do to earn your forgiveness?"
"Go home."
"...that's not gonna' happen."
"Neither is this conversation."
"Oh come on, Sasuke. Don't be a prick. I'm trying, here. Can't you just talk to me?"
And with that, Sasuke abruptly stopped and faced him with a coldness that meant there was no humor in anything about this topic.
"What else is there to say? We've had this conversation before, and you don't listen to shit. At this point, words aren't going to get the point across. I'm not afraid to take action."
"So what are you gonna' do, huh?" Naruto asked through a scoff. "Request to be put on a different team? That's hilarious, Sasuke. Really." Naruto explained, though when the Uchiha merely gazed at him in total rigidity, he felt Sasuke's words frost over with seriousness.
"Oh." Naruto whispered, suddenly feeling like a child who had just had their hand slapped by the teacher for being unruly. "Yeah. I see."
A few minutes seemed to pass as Naruto waited for Sasuke to say something, but when the Uchiha merely brushed past him, he felt himself reach out and grab the darker boy's arm.
"I'm sorry." He replied with sobriety. "I won't do it again."
"Yes you will. And next time, you're going to get hurt."
". . .okay, so maybe I will, but-"
Before he could continue, he felt Sasuke twist out of his grasp.
"Is this a joke to you, Naruto? What part of this do you not understand?" Sasuke spat, and Naruto wondered if the Sharingan would automatically trigger in response to the anger. Naruto could tell by Sasuke's expression that he was expecting some kind of answer, and his eyes narrowed in annoyance when one never came. "Go home, Naruto."
But before he could brush past him, Naruto reflexively grabbed the front of Sasuke's shirt, and pulled him into a kiss without the slightest of permission.
Sasuke resisted at first, but eventually backed down when Naruto spread his lips apart with his tongue and moaned softly into the Uchiha's mouth. It must have triggered something, because Sasuke's previous resistance abruptly changed into something more aggressive, and Naruto felt himself slam into the wall as Sasuke pinned his arms above his head.
He would never admit it to himself, but he actually loved kissing Sasuke. It was one of his favorite pass-times, and he found that it never got old. He took pride in the fact, however, that any and all of Sasuke's barriers could be broken down with kissing. He whispered Sasuke's name in between the kiss -something he had eventually realized was a huge turn on for Sasuke- and somewhat winced as the kissing became more desperate. He wiggled uncomfortably as Sasuke crushed him into the wall, all while digging his fingernails into the blonds forearms.
"Sasuke, wai-" He tried, but was cut off as Sasuke covered his mouth with his own, realizing just how different this time was. Finally getting his arm free from Sasuke's grasp, he peeled himself away from the Uchiha who could only stare in confusion and frustration at the blond's sudden retreat. They stared at each other for what seemed a small eternity, the only sound being the heaviness of their breathing.
"I really scared you. Didn't I." Naruto asked through labored breaths, though it was more of a statement than a question. He licked his swollen lips as Sasuke's countenance flickered, but settled into a weird expression that Naruto couldn't immediately identify.
"You should go." Sasuke replied darkly, and Naruto felt himself run rigid at the unspoken affirmation in that answer.
"Yeah." He replied halfheartedly, because he really wanted more of a resolution than this. Walking to the door, he spoke up one last time. "I really am sorry. I didn't know. I didn't think..." He heard himself trail off. "I'm sorry, Sasuke."
"I know." Came the reply, though it lacked the eye contact that Naruto needed.
"I'll see you tomorrow for training, right?" He asked hopefully.
"Fine."
"Bye." He commented, not hearing the curse that escaped Sasuke's lips as he shut the door.
(SCENE CHANGE - FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER)
Naruto, who was currently walking back to his apartment in the darkness of night, was currently trying to piece together the puzzle of what had just happened fifteen minutes before. He was mulling it over in his head and trying to understand it in the most objective way possible -which apparently was something he wasn't able to be, lately- and he came to the conclusion that he really had scared Sasuke, and he didn't know how he was supposed to feel about it.
"Ugh...shit." He whined, massaging his temple to fade the beginnings of a headache. This was too much thinking for one day. "I'd do it again, bastard. You can't blame me for...not for this. Not this time. You're finally here to stay. And you can't blame me for trying to keep it that way. No, I'd do it again. A hundred times over."
"You sound so mental right now." Came a voice, and Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin. Peering through the darkness, he saw the bright orange hair of his favorite female pupil Moegi.
"What?" He asked dumbly.
"I said you sound mental. What, with talking to yourself like that and all."
"Oh. Yeah." He commented, giving credit where credit was due, considering he probably did look bat-shit insane. "Why are you out here this late?"
"Konohamaru and I train at this time every night. I was walking back to my house right now."
"Ah." Came the reply. "And by 'training' you mean kissing, right?" He teased, and watched in pure joy as the red-head took on six shades of red.
"No! Ugh. Just...never mind." She pouted, and he ruffled her hair. She may have been a young woman now, but she and the other two would always be his dopey little groupies from his genin days.
"Well tell Konohamaru that I've got my eye on him." Naruto chided, and this time she backhanded him upside the head.
"I'll tell him nothing!" She fumed.
"All the same." Naruto commented through a smile. Before she could reply, however, a rush of wind passed by, and both Shinobi were rendered immobile by the presence of a weird chakra staining the air. She glanced at Naruto nervously, who only stared into the dark city.
"Did you feel that?" She asked, bracing herself into a defense position as her hand hovered over a kunai.
"Yeah." He commented seriously, scouting the rooftops for any sign of foul play. They waited for a few minutes in deafening silence, only to realize that the chakra signature had all but faded into oblivion.
"That was really weird." She replied, subconsciously tracing her eyes down the alleyways in between the buildings.
"Yeah. I'm gonna' walk you home, Moegi." Naruto replied, not taking his eyes off of the entrance to the Forest of Death. The last of the chakra trail had dissolved into that area. "Let's get out of here." He explained as they both turned down the street and kept their guard on high alert.
(END CHAPTER ONE)
So that's it for the first chapter! I already have chapters two and three outlined, so stick around! Thank you all sooooo much!