Author's Notes: Well, here's my first bid at a Naruto fanfic. I hope it's up to snuff! Let me know, since I can't pull it up to whatever standards you have without you telling me what those are! Feel free to mention what I do well too, so I don't forget to do that next time *wink*
~Der Perko
Obligatory Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, and I'm not making any cash from this. If you thought so, you need help. If you thought I thought so, you need more help than the first person mentioned.
Chapter One: The End of an Era
The rain falling on his face forced Uzumaki Naruto to consciousness. He tried groggily to sit up, but only managed a small flop before his body remembered to tell him that it felt that it had been run through a blender for a while. With lemons. Rather than try to lift himself up again, he cracked his right eye open, and let his head fall slightly to the side so he could see, the "how" of his being here flashing through his beleaguered mind.
"Chidori!" "Rasengan!" Crumpf! The two blasts of power mostly canceled each other out, leaving the two rivals / best friends striking each other blows that were merely powerful, rather than blows that could cause instant death. Naruto couldn't have brought himself to make his blow lethal in any case, though. Even if he was currently a traitorous bastard, Sauske was still his friend. Remembering Sauske's earlier challenge, Naruto opted to show him how wrong he was, and clawed the length of Sauske's forehead protector, rather than his eyes or throat. Sauske was not so forgiving, and his weakened Chidori knifed into Naruto's chest, at an angle that would've penetrated through Naruto's left lung and heart if it had any more strength behind it. Then, there was a cascade of light, followed by darkness.
Naruto's blurry vision could still make out Sauske, who was clutching his left shoulder – His Chidori hand, Naruto thought vaguely – and slowly limping away. Naruto couldn't let that happen. This time, however, his body completely ignored his commands to rise, and Naruto's tears were added to the rain water streaming down his face. He couldn't get up. He couldn't stop Sauske.
His final thought, as he closed his eye and let himself drift, aware that he probably wouldn't wake again, was bitter. I… I failed…
The darkness that took him was all-consuming.
Oo. Oo.
Regaining awareness was something that completely surprised Naruto. Even more surprising was that he barely even felt hurt anymore. He shifted carefully, mindful of the wounds he'd felt the last time he'd tried to sit up, but the sharp stabs of pain he expected never came. Only that one spot where Sauske's strike had knifed into his ribs hurt at all, but, even as he thought about it, that pain fled too. His left arm, the one that had hung useless at the end, felt odd, as if it had somehow been disconnected and reattached, but Naruto ignored it. It would get better. He always did.
Although his body was significantly less than broken, Naruto's mind was whirling painfully. All the feelings of betrayal that Naruto had pushed away before, forcing them down underneath his desire to recapture Sauske, came rushing back. It was only now that Naruto realized that Sauske hadn't wanted to come back, that he'd wanted to go to Orochimaru so badly that he'd gotten up and continued moving – despite the damage his body had taken. Naruto knew that he'd given about as good as he'd gotten; Sauske should have been on the ground with him.
Even with his chakra completely drained, he still… Naruto heaved a shuddering sigh. Even if I got him back, he'd have tried to escape again at the earliest opportunity, Naruto realized silently. Tears began to silently fall from his eyes as he continued the thought. The only way I could have stopped him was to kill him. Sakura, I can't keep my promise. His head bowed, and a small, pitiful sound escaped his lips. With his entire body trembling, he admitted to himself that he couldn't have killed him. Oh, it was physically possible, certainly, but mentally… Naruto had gone to convince him to come back. He hadn't gone to kill his best friend. His once best friend.
He was so wrapped in his sorrow that he didn't notice the nurse enter and freeze in astonishment, her clipboard falling to the floor. Nor did he take notice of her excited flight.
Several hours later, he was still so far gone that he didn't even notice Kakashi enter the room until he sat down and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto, I'm sorry," he said, his voice pained and sincere, and Naruto's eyes snapped up to his. "I was too slow to find you, to slow to help…" he trailed off. Naruto shook his head slightly. "It's fine," he said bitterly having come to some realizations during the last couple of hours, "You wouldn't have made a difference," Kakashi's eyes widened in shock. "You didn't see him at the end," he continued dully, his eyes focusing on something that wasn't in the room. He came back after a moment, and his gaze was intense, piercing his sensei. "The only way I could've brought him back was in a body bag. I couldn't kill him, so I had to let him go,"
Kakashi's head tilted slightly to the side, the jounin obviously having a bit of trouble taking it all in. "You let him go?" he asked incredulously. Naruto nodded. "I had a chance; our final blow. I could have clawed out his eyes, or his throat, but I… I just couldn't. I hit his forehead protector instead. Gave it a gash like Itachi's," he finished with a mirthless chuckle.
Kakashi nodded, and fished in his pouch for a moment. "I've seen it," he said, pulling out the item in question and putting it in Naruto's lap. Naruto snorted lightly. "Of course," Naruto said, "So Sauske doesn't have the decency to wear his old forehead protector, unlike every other missing nin,"
He ran his finger along the gash, and suddenly knew how to put what he felt into words. "I feel hollow, sensei. Is this normal? Even though he didn't care about our friendship at all -" Kakashi cut him off. "He cared for you a great deal. You were his best friend," Naruto shook his head, snorting again, but Kakashi spoke right over him, "You are still alive, you know, which is important. Did anyone ever tell you how the Mongekyo Sharingan, like Itachi's, is gained?" When Naruto shook his head, Kakashi explained, "A normal Sharingan user gains the Mongekyo Sharingan when he experiences the loss of his most precious bond. Either when he cannot protect it, or when he himself shatters it with death,"
Naruto felt his tears rise up again, but blinked them back. "So what you're telling me is that the Uchiha kekkei genkai reaches its ultimate ability when the Uchiha either fails their most precious person, or when they turn traitor and kill that person?" His fists clenched unconsciously. "No wonder the whole bloodline wound up dead,"
Suddenly, Naruto's whole body decided that it was exhausted, and that it wasn't in the mood to wait around for him to acknowledge the fact. He lay back down as carefully as he could, closing his eyes, and barely managed to mutter, "I'm going to take a nap, sensei," before he was out. Kakashi stood and nodded, though Naruto couldn't see it. "I'm sorry," he said on last time, and left, closing the door softly, leaving Naruto alone with his dreams.
Oo. Oo.
He drifted for a while, which was fairly pleasant. It's jarring, how much worrying constantly can wear you down. What did that nurse say I was being treated for now? He groped through his muddled thoughts for a moment, before deciding that it was unimportant. He could relax now. It was over. Whatever it was that he felt he'd had to do, he'd done it, or at least tried so hard the he had been rewarded with this drifting anyway. He knew somewhere that this wasn't meant to last, but it seemed unimportant until a voice wormed its way through the blissful silence.
"What's the point of visiting if you sleep through the whole thing? Honestly. Waking you just seems like more trouble than it's worth," the voice complained, and Naruto's eyes, despite his immense dissatisfaction with the action, popped open. The figure was blurry, but there was no mistaking the tone of the voice. "Shika… maru?" he asked, forcing himself up on the bed, and pawing at his eyes, trying to get the gunk out of them so he could focus.
"So you were awake," Shikamaru said, one eyebrow raised slightly. "Nah," Naruto countered, "That voice of yours is bad enough to wake the dead," He finished rubbing at his eyes, stretched and yawned. "So, what brings you here?" he asked, looking his friend over. He had a wrap around one finger, but looked fine overall.
"Well, we failed, troublesome though it was," Naruto snorted, but his eyes were downcast. "Yeah, so we did." Naruto said. "To stop him, I would've had to kill him. I wasn't ready for that, as pathetic as it sounds," Admitting it was somehow easier, the second time. He looked up with a rueful smile. "It's not like he listens very well, either,"
Shikamaru smiled slightly, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, then asked, "So, what're you going to do now? The way I've heard it, Orochimaru has around three years before he can take over Sauske's body. You could probably get someone new attached to your team for continued training, and see if you can't find him later. Maybe he'll have learned to listen a bit better," he finished, but Naruto was already shaking his head.
"Are you kidding? If Sauske ever learns to listen, I'll give up ramen for a year," Naruto ran his fingers through his hair. "And I'd hate to have to break some newbie in on team seven. It would be 'most troublesome,'" He finished in a rather bad impression, but Shikamaru chucked dryly in agreement, before saying, "I guess you would be all by yourself, too. Did you know that Sakura took up training with the Fifth? She wants to be a medic nin,"
Naruto shook his head. "No one told me, but then, you're only the second person to catch me. Awake, that is - Who knows what other people told my sleeping body. Good for her, though, really. Kakashi never really taught us much of anything," He stretched again, and Shikamaru winced at the popping sounds his bones made. "You know what?" Naruto said slowly, clearly thinking, "I think I've had enough action for a while, what with saving the village a few times here lately. I'm due for some time off, or something,"
Shikamaru glanced at the clock on the wall, then sighed dramatically. "Well, I don't have too much more time to spend with a genin like you," he said with a somewhat forced air of snobbery. "Here," he pulled a slip of paper out of his vest, and handed it to Naruto. "That's your pay for an A ranked rescue mission, as well as a cut of the reward for the confirmed termination of several high rank ninja from the bingo book," As he walked out of the room, he raised a carless hand over his head in a farewell gesture, and said, "I'd splurge on that vacation, if I were you,"
Naruto was shocked at the amount on the voucher, and didn't notice the slight gap in the door that someone was watching through before Shikamaru reached it, though the Nara boy noted it automatically.
Oo. Oo.
Naruto stretched as he walked the streets of his hometown for the first time in a week. He'd been unconscious for two days, they said, but they wouldn't let him leave after he woke up! He'd let them have their way for nearly a week, but enough was enough! Naruto had had to growl at the nurse to get something to wear out - his orange uniform having been basically tatters. Then she'd set the doctor on him while he was changing. The doctor had gone on for a while about chakra depletion and nerve damage and so on and so on, but Naruto wasn't paying attention. He hadn't felt pain since his side stopped hurting before Kakashi came and saw him, and his left arm was even feeling like an arm again.
So he'd growled at the doctor too. "That's enough!" Naruto shouted, completely cutting the doctor off. Shocked, he could only watch as Naruto's hands slammed into the ram seal, and he shouted "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" The entire hospital was suddenly filled with Naruto's. "Catch me if you can!" they cried out, and bolted through every conceivable exit.
Naruto plucked at his current clothing while he chuckled at the doctor's reaction. It itched terribly. It was a fairly weak material too; nothing like standard ninja attire. If he tried to move too fast, the fabric would tear. How he knew this was a sort of mystery to Naruto, as his clothes were fine. He somehow had memories of one of his clones, low on chakra, taunting an ANBU member into chasing it. He remembered how all of his clones had gone out, oddly enough, but the ones that seemed to have learned something stuck out in his mind when they were dispersed. He supposed it must have something to do with the jutsu. If he concentrated hard enough, he could remember a lot of different things that he'd had his clones doing, while he was busy with something else. It was interesting, especially since he'd never realized it before.
However, his speculation was not helping him get into some better clothes. What he needed was to head to the bank. There, he could cash his voucher or get some of his savings out and reequip himself. He seemed to have lost just about everything on that last mission. Most of his kunai, all of his shuriken, and, it seemed, the teammate he'd left in Konoha. Silently, he swore. I thought I decided I wouldn't think about that. But it was no use. Almost all of his year mates, and Team Gai, and everyone else he knew, had been to visit him while he was stuck in the hospital, excepting only those too injured to move. But neither Sakura nor her friend Ino had come. Sadly enough, Naruto couldn't say he blamed her. He'd failed her, right after she'd been betrayed by the crush of her life. And Ino would've picked up on whatever Sakura was feeling. Apparently, she'd joined up with the medic nins as well.
Naruto shook himself. That still doesn't get me any closer to new… oh. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, but apparently his subconscious hated these clothes as much as he did. He was standing outside the First Konoha Bank, where the Third Hokage had helped him set up an account so long ago. He pawed at his eyes, tears threatening at the thought. Damn it! When did I turn into a freaking emotional wreck? Pull it together!
He entered the bank once he'd centered himself a bit, and found it nearly empty. A receptionist looked up and asked, "Can I help you?" Naruto moved toward her, and said, "Yeah, I need to cash this, and make a withdrawal," She nodded sagely, and took the voucher from him. "How much do you need?" He blinked. "Actually, I'm not too sure," he said slowly, gesturing at himself as he spoke. "I need to replace just about everything I had. I lost it all on my last mission," She smiled at him, which was a fairly confusing thing for Naruto, as people he didn't know usually regarded him with suspicion at best. "Ninja?" she asked, and he nodded, his confusion mounting. No one much older than he had ever failed to recognize the Kyuubi's container before. "I'm new in town, so I don't recognize all of you yet," she said, still smiling. "Why don't I set you up with some payment slips? They're really easy to use,"
She didn't really wait for his reply, but ducked behind the counter and started rummaging around. "Normally, we wouldn't do it for someone so young, you know," she grunted from somewhere he couldn't see her, "but I'm sure a ninja will be up to it, and this'll be much easier on you than carrying around your whole account in cash," She stood up, fully three feet away from where she started, holding a small metal object and a small stack of paper, and said with increasing quickness, "Here you go. Just take the stamp, sign your name here and make a mark with your blood here," Dumbly, Naruto just went along with it. She seemed really excited about this. She must have noticed the look in his eyes, because she immediately started talking about how happy she was that she'd been moved from one of the outlying banks to this one. She chatted away as Naruto made his signature on the metal stamp, and bit his thumb, dabbing a small amount of blood onto it.
"Okay, here we go!" she said in a gleeful voice, taking the stamp back and whacking five of the papers in quick succession. "Now, I'm going to store this stamp in your vault, so you have it if you need more slips. As for the papers," she went on, pushing one towards him, "you should write the amount here, sign here, then mark it with blood again. No one will be able to tamper with the amount afterword. Anyone attempting to do so will get a nasty surprise," she said firmly, giving Naruto a sly wink. "Works just about like cash. The vender will come here and trade it for the amount of money one the sheet. Remember to mark it with your blood again, or we won't cash it and you'll be in trouble!"
Naruto nodded again at this, furiously committing the steps to memory. "Now I'll go look up your account, and I'll write your current balance on this sheet here," she continued, indicating the last strip of paper. "You can use this to keep track of how much money is in your account at all times, by adding your wages and subtracting the amounts you put on your payment slips,"
She disappeared again, but popped back in quickly, smiling at him again. "You sure do have a lot saved up, little man. Here," she wrote an amount on the slip. "Now, you take a break or something. You're way too young to work so much," she finished with another wink, and he smiled. "I'm actually taking a vacation into consideration," he said, "but I haven't had any time to really thing about it yet," Then he looked down at the amount she'd written on the slip. He goggled at it and she laughed at him. He managed to choke out a thanks as he left, blushing furiously.
Oo. Oo.
By the time Naruto made it back to his apartment, he was very happy with his new wardrobe. He had known, of course, that the missions he was going on paid well, and he'd known that the Third had been sending him a stipend for food costs and his apartment, and that his medical treatment was covered on account of his being a ninja. He'd known that the way he lived, ramen and milk for most meals, was cheap, and that that meant that he was saving a goodly amount of money, but still! He'd never bothered to check on his account growth before, only ever dealing with what he kept on hand out of his pay.
He'd managed to put a nice dent in it today, though. He'd gone for uniforms first, and, for the first time in his life, decided that bright orange might not be the best thing to wear, as he might want to hide at some point. It went against his normal "screw your version of 'normal,'" but sometime during his recovery Naruto ha realized that he wanted to be a true ninja, and if that meant he had to change a bit, he would.
He'd gotten three sets of loose black pants and loose, long sleeved, dark green tops, each reversible to light tan and white, respectively. He'd kept different environments in mind when choosing the colors, and was quite proud of himself for doing so. He'd even grabbed a few scraps of cloth for next to nothing, some black and some tan, to cover his hair with if he needed to. Bright yellow wasn't the sort of color to blend well in any land. And all of it was this really tough material, which the lady had demonstrated by having him beat the crap out of a mannequin wearing some samples. The lady needed a new mannequin, but the clothes had held up remarkably.
He had stopped at an armory next, and, to his vague surprise, found himself eyeing the armor on display. He'd never considered it before, but he was thinking of Sauske's Chidori when he entered the store, and… The proprietor was a kind old man who'd answered all of his questions, though Naruto was sure they sounded stupid, and he'd ended up taking a shirt of light chain off the rack, the only one that fit him under the shirts for his uniform. The old man had even managed to fortify it with a coating of some black material, so it wouldn't conduct the electricity of Sauske's favorite attack very well. It fell to about mid-thigh, but apparently it was supposed to. It was heavy, but Naruto knew he'd get used to it – heck, he'd outrun ANBU members from time to time; this was nothing!
After that, of course, he had no choice but to stock up on shuriken again, but when he began to eye the kunai, he paused. The shuriken were cheaper, and it was easier to throw a couple of them at once, so if he wanted to throw something, he might as well throw them. If he wanted to stab his opponent with something on the other hand…
That's how he's ended up with a dagna, about two hands long, the old man had said. It was a fingerless gauntlet with a blade hidden in the forearm, and, when he pulled its release, the blade popped out and locked that way. He hadn't meant to end up with such a strange weapon, but it was the apparently a 'chakra blade,' and the way the man said the words Naruto knew that this was some kind of property he couldn't pass up. Sadly, it was the only one the man had had on hand, but Naruto wasn't about to miss out on gaining a few more edges over his competition. It had cost a good bit more than everything else Naruto had bough, but he'd thought it worth it.
After that, it was a challenge not to buy every explosive tag the place had, and Naruto was sure he was drooling again just thinking about it. He'd restrained himself, somehow, and only bought a bunch instead.
Eventually, he'd dragged himself away from the very happy old man and got into a more general supplies store. He'd gotten a couple of packs of trail rations - which had everything a ninja needed for a day, but tasted terrible! – a scroll of seals – just in case he ever had enough stuff to stuff in it – and an interesting pack set. It was two packs, the first a smallish pack that went over one shoulder and fit some basic supplies, like his new scroll and his first aid kit. The second pack had a special place for the first, and held anything else they could need besides. Naruto was fairly certain that the second pack would be outsized on Gai-sensei, but it had a couple of clever clicky things that released the straps instantly, so he wasn't too worried about carrying it. He also picked up a collapsible tent, just because it would fit and he could afford it.
At home at last, Naruto finally got to try everything on. He quickly tore off his hospital clothes and snapped his new pants on. Whatever they were made of wasn't soft to the touch, but it didn't itch either, which was a blessing in and of itself.
He slipped on a white undershirt so the chain wouldn't chafe him, and pulled himself into the armor. Not as awkward as I feared, he thought as he checked the fit. He left the bottom of it to hang out of his shirt, rather than tucking it in his pants. I can imagine the problems that would cause, he thought, Sorry, I can't fight now, I have a chain wedgie!
He snorted and pulled the dagna onto his left arm. It encased his forearm completely, and covered the back of his hand, and, though the plate was held with a strap across his palm, it didn't interfere with his hand seals. Good, good. He pulled the release, and watched as the blade popped out with a satisfying thunk. He smiled, pulled the release again, and used a small ridge on the metal forearm to lock it back into the ready position.
His shirt was next, and it slid on nicely. It was a bit tight with his armor on, but it didn't constrict him or show his chain through the material, and Naruto's grin got wider. As the final touch, he popped one of the black scraps over his hair, and checked himself out in the mirror. I look so awesome. Now, let's see if we can't surprise a Hokage…
Oo. Oo.
As he travelled toward Tsunade's office, the memories he was still desperately fighting against resurfaced. Everywhere he looked, there was another place where he'd done some stupid D rank mission with the rest of Team 7. Just how many times they'd caught the Firelord's wife's cat was a mystery to any genin, and Naruto was no exception. These memories, however, only served to remind Naruto that his team was officially missing in action. Everywhere he looked, and new memory of time shared and friendship growing was thrust into his face, and it was making his eyes water and his head pound.
And he still blamed himself. He'd failed Sakura by returning without Sauske. He'd failed Sauske by not being able to bring him back, not being able to convince him to return, even though he knew that it was ridiculous to feel that way.
It was a long journey to the Hokage's office.
Naruto had his grin firmly back in place when the chunin guarding Tsunade's office let him in and announced that she had a visitor. He, of course, had let them in on the prank he was pulling, and was more than happy to let them watch in.
The Fifth, though, was stamping paper after paper in rapid succession with a grimace on her face, and had quite a pile to get through, even though the sun was beginning to set. "What do you want?" she asked without lifting her eyes. Naruto ignored her, and said, "You've been slacking today, Hokage-sama," eyeing the piles of paper.
Her gaze snapped to him quickly, but there was no recognition before she was back to her paperwork. "I don't have time to be patronized. Tell me why you're here or get out,"
Deciding not to push too hard, Naruto said, "I'm offended, baa-chan. You don't recognize me, and you don't have time for me?" doing his best to sound hurt and sad.
This time, Tsunade's eyes snapped up and stayed, but it still took a long moment before they widened and she stuttered out, "N-Naruto? What the hell did you do to your clothes?" The chunin at the door had a hard time keeping their chuckles stifled at the look on her face, but a great ninja's ears are fairly well tuned, and her glare quickly snapped them back to the other side of the door. Naruto shrugged. "My old ones were pretty much nothing but tatters, and I found out I had a bunch in savings, so…"
Tsunade and Naruto bantered on for a while, the paperwork sitting forgotten as Naruto with explained how and why he'd ended up with such a different look along with giving his long belated account of the battle to the Hokage. She watched him during his explanation, and by the end her eyes were gleaming suspiciously. "Anyway," Naruto continued, pretending not to notice, though he knew how much his story with Sauske sounded like hers with Orochimaru, "I didn't come up here just for that. I've been thinking lately – I haven't had a break in a long time. I'm tired of all the tension. Can you rummage a vacation assignment up for me?"
"I thought Jiraiya had offered to train you for the next couple of years, since Akatsuki will be dormant and Orochimaru will be unable to take Sauske's body," Tsunade replied,
"Tsunade," Naruto said uneasily, "I told him I'd think about it, but I really, well... As great as his offer to train me is, I need a break. There's just been so much going on recently, and I just want to wind down a little before I do anything else. Besides, like you said, we've got some time," She didn't look convinced, and when she pressed he admitted that every street in the Leaf had had, at one point, some kind of occurrence in which both he and team seven had participated. Ero-Senin, of course, had only a small direct relation to Sauske, during that mission to actually find Tsunade, but it was enough. Naruto was beginning to wonder if leaving would even get him some peace from memories of Sauske.
Tsunade took a while to answer, which was starting to make Naruto worry, but she still looked thoughtful, and she wasn't outright denying him, so he hadn't given up when she said, "I may have an assignment for you then, helping with relations in the Hidden Sand village," she said, and Naruto's eyes lit up. "If you go, our ambassador will need you to do work. It won't be easy, and," she gestured to the pile of papers beside her, "it will likely be boring,"
Naruto looked up at her with barely contained enthusiasm on his face. "Will someone be trying to kill me or getting me dragged into life threatening situations every other week there?" Tsunade gave him a half smile and a shake of her head, and he grinned back at her. "I'll take it then!"
Tsunade dug through her pile of completed papers for a moment, and drug one out that'd been stamped so many times that most of the paper was red instead of white. She studied it shortly, frowning, and began penning a reply. "Naruto, you are accepting an extended C class mission to assist our ambassador to Sunagakure. The duration is six months. You will be provided housing and meals throughout. When you arrive, you will place yourself at the disposal of Ame Rin. You leave in three days,"
Oo. Oo.
Three days is a hell of a lot less time than I thought it was, Naruto thought frantically as he rushed about his small apartment, trying to check and make sure that he hadn't forgotten anything, but he was too tired to do it properly. It was the night before his departure – well, it was the morning of his departure, technically, but still. He checked the clock again, the bright red lights showing a little past two. Throwing up his hands in disgust, he climbed into his pajamas and got into bed. He'd just have to check in the morning.
Most of his anger was with himself, he thought as he rolled, trying to get comfortable. He knew he was going on a mission in the morning, but he'd allowed Kiba and Choji to talk him into some kind of eating contest that had lasted for hours, before he'd realized that this was his last chance to say goodbye to everyone. Starting at nine-thirty, he'd been tearing around Konoha, banging on doors and rapping on windows until sleepy people answered and he could talk to them.
Naruto had left the Yamanaka house off his list, and saved the Haruno household for last, but he still hadn't quite been able to work up the courage to face Sakura. He knew he should apologize, say something, anything to her, but to his shame, he couldn't even imagine it properly. He'd left her a note, instead. It was disjointed, but he'd been able to write what he hadn't been able to say; he wasn't sure it was enough, but it was all he could bring himself to do.
So he'd rolled into his apartment around half past one, and realized that he'd been cleaning his equipment when Kiba and Choji had come over – so not a single piece of it was packed or ready.
He finally thought that he'd gotten it taken care of, but he still felt disappointed in himself, both for his lack of preparation and his cowardice in the face of failure. There just wasn't anything he could see himself doing to fix it right now.
It was some time before he finally fell into sleep.
Author's Notes: Well, that's the end of chapter one, hope ya'll had a good time. Interestingly, I seem to type 'ya'll' often, while I never say it aloud… hmm. Anyway, Chapter 2 will start off with the trip to Suna, and I'm thinking travelling partners will be the Green Beast's of Konoha. Here's hoping, anyway; I love those guys.