Tears of Crimson
By: Tsukikage-Kiki
A/N: Alright, so I found this really neat Sasuke fan-site (which I now forget the URL for) and decided to write this. Hopefully, I'll actually finish this story, ne?
Warning: SasuNaru!!! Evil Naru!!!
Chapter 1: Rage
Jiraiya watched his charge carefully. The boy just hadn't been the same since Uchiha Sasuke left to join Orochimaru. That had been two years ago now, but Naruto had lost all of his hyper, cheerful, knuckleheadedness. The blonde boy had changed physically as well. Sure, he was taller and looked less like a child, but that isn't what really bothered his sannin sensei.
Naruto's eyes, once a beautiful shade of blue, had darkened to a deep violet color after a particularly nasty training session with Kyuubi no Kitsune's chakra. His hair had faded into a dull gold, rather than the bright yellow his friends were used to, and firey red streaks had made themselves known. The whisker mark scars on his cheeks were more pronounced, and he never smiled now.
As they approached the gates to Konoha, Naruto raised his head and glared fiercely at the fire kanji that stood out on the wood. Jiraiya put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Easy now, kid. This is your home," he said. He was careful to keep a serious tone. Whenever he started joking around, Naruto had a tendency to beat the crap out of him. He haddefinitely improved.
This is no home of mine.
"Deal with it, brat. We have to find out about Uchiha."
The boy relaxed at Kyuubi's scolding and they entered the village. Jiraiya glanced around. The village was still as peaceful as when they'd left, but Tsunade had definitely made some changes. The security was better, and Jiraiya could sense about twice the ANBU that had been in the village two years ago. It still wouldn't be enough though, if Naruto lost his temper.
"I have to talk with Tsunade. Why don't you go find some of your old friends?" he suggested. "And try not to destroy anything." Naruto didn't even spare him a glance before disappearing. He left no trace of ever having been there. Jiraiya sighed. This could be difficult.
The stares were getting irritating. The whispers were even worse now that he could actuallyhear what was being said. Naruto forced himself to not lose his temper with the civilians. He needed to know about Sasuke, after all. He bumped into someone and there was a squeak of surprise.
"Naruto-kun?"
Naruto frowned slightly and looked down at the girl. Those eyes… "Hinata?" he asked. The girl nodded and Naruto held out a hand to help her up. "You've grown up," he complimented. Hinata smiled shyly.
"So have you. You look different," she said. Naruto shrugged. He felt oddly at ease with Hinata.
"I am different. So where is everyone?" he asked. Hinata looked around.
"Well, most of them are off on missions. Lee's doing a lot better now. Neji keeps saying he's improving at a faster rate than before. We think it's because Tsunade infused him with some of her chakra during the surgery, and that gave him whatever he needed so he could properly mold his own. Kiba and Shino are the same as always. Most of us girls are feeling a little left out of everything, since the guys are spending more time together. We feel horrible for Sakura though. Without a team, she can't even perform any D-rank missions, so she's been working around the Hokage tower for Tsunade. She's getting really powerful though."
"Talking about me?" asked a voice. Naruto turned around and locked gazes with his old teammate. She looked older, and he could tell she was stronger. She smiled, but he didn't.
It's your fault Sasuke left.
"Nice to see you, Naruto. Tsunade-sama told me I could come to talk with you. Catch up, you know?" she said. Naruto looked away.
"I… I don't want to talk Sakura," he said quietly. Sakura blinked in surprise. Naruto had dropped the '-chan' after her name.
"Naruto, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned. Naruto shook his head and turned back to Hinata.
"Do we know anything about Sasuke?" he asked her. She shook her head sadly, then perked up.
"Gaara might! He's Kazekage now you know. He keeps detailed reports on all the missing-nin that are sighted in the desert. He's in the village now, I can take you to see him, if you like," she said. Naruto nodded. Hinata smiled sympathetically at Sakura, then led Naruto away. Sakura remained where she was, broken and falling all over again.
Naruto, what's happened to you?
"Jiraiya, long time no see," Tsunade greeted. She was in a particularly good mood this afternoon. Jiraiya felt horrible that he would have to ruin it. Mainly because it meant he would have the shit beat out of him.
"Tsunade, I need to talk to you about Naruto," he said. Tsunade's cheery mood evaporated at his tone.
"What's wrong with him?" she demanded. Jiraiya hesitated.
"Well, he's changed, a lot. He... doesn't think of Konoha as his home anymore, and he doesn't want to be Hokage." Tsunade's eyes darkened, but Jiraiya pressed on. "He hasn't been the same since Uchiha Sasuke abandoned the village. For a while, he blamed himself, and I couldn't get him to train at all. Then… then he decided it was Konoha's fault that Sasuke left, and he trained harder than ever. I don't think Konoha has his loyalty anymore," he finished. Tsunade stared at him for a moment, then turned away. Jiraiya could tell she was trying her best to not cry.
"Stupid Uchiha…" she muttered. "I'll kick his ass if I ever see him again. Ino!"
The door flew open and Yamanaka Ino stumbled in.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama?" she asked. Tsunade looked at her.
"Go find Naruto and bring him here, by force if necessary."
Confused, Ino nodded and dashed from the room obediently.
Naruto and Hinata raced through Konoha, Hinata subtly glancing at Naruto worriedly every few minutes. He sensed it, but since he couldn't catch her in the act, left her alone. She was probably worried about what had changed him. After all, he had been pretty cold to Sakura, but the stupid girl deserved it. It was her fault Sasuke was gone… well, partly. Naruto sighed. Who was he kidding? It was all his fault Sasuke was gone. He was the one who let Sasuke kick his ass, after all.
"Naruto-kun, we're here," Hinata said softly. She lightly knocked on the apartment door and it opened immediately.
"Hinata-chan! What a surp- Naruto?" greeted a young woman. Her blonde hair was pulled up into four pigtails, and she wore a black dress instead of her old white one. "You're back?" Naruto nodded and the Sand kunoichi smiled. "Come on in, I'll tell Gaara you're here."
Hinata and Naruto walked in and sat on the sofa Temari directed them to. Naruto looked around. Judging by the layout of the living room, Gaara probably stayed in this apartment frequently. Interesting.
"Naruto."
Naruto looked up, and for the first time in a long while, a smile graced his features. It was amazing what that did. Hinata gasped and nearly fell off her seat, Temari and Kankurou (who'd been spying) collapsed over each other from shock, and Gaara's eyes widened a bit. It seemed they'd all heard how cold Naruto had become. The blonde Jinchuuriki got to his feet and embraced his friend warmly. "It's good to see you," he muttered. Gaara glanced at Temari, who smiled. Gaara returned Naruto's hug.
"You too," he replied. Naruto pulled away and the smile was still there. "Why are you here? I thought, once you returned, you would want to visit all your other friends before even thinking about me."
"You don't know me very well then, do you? Except for a very select few, I have no friends in Konoha. Most of them, like Haruno, only pretended to be my friend for some reason or another. My real friends, I can count on my hands, with fingers left over. I bumped into Hinata (literally) and she offered to take me here. I want to talk to you about Sasuke."
Everyone except Naruto and Hinata froze. Gaara's face iced over and Naruto frowned. That wasn't what he expected… "I can't help you Naruto." Naruto's face fell for a moment, and Gaara looked ready to apologize, but then it happened: The boy exploded.
"Of course not! Why would I think anyone wanted to help me find my best friend? Especially not now, oh no, I'm too unstable, I might kill him! Or worse, join him! That's what everyone's been saying, you know? I heard them all the way here, whispering like they don't know I can hear it. Who knows, maybe they really believe that. I don't care though, I'm tired of it. Always having to deal with it because I'm a demon. If I were a fucking demon you think they'd fear me, instead of acting like a bunch of idiots andprovoking me. Of course, I was little, I couldn't do a damn thing, but now I'm stronger, which of course, is even worse because I could destroy the village at any minute. I just can't make any of you happy, can I?!"
"Naruto, calm down," Gaara said firmly.
"No! I'm tired of being treated like I'm not human, like my needs don't matter. Keep secrets from Naruto, he won't notice a damn bit! Well we all know how that turned out, don't we!"
Gaara scowled and sand began to wind up Naruto's legs. The blonde surprised everyone by releasing a quick burst of chakra that instantly turned the sand into glass. That's really when everyone got scared. Hinata tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't have it. He just kept raging, never actually moving, but bilding up enough tangible chakra that everyone was getting very nervous.
"Naruto, stop." Gaara's voice was barely audible, but Naruto heard. It was the tone that made him stop. "I don't like you this way. When you're hurting like this. I can't stand it." His hand moved up and clutched at his shirt – right over his heart. Naruto's eyes widened.
"Shit." With that, he clutched his stomach and passed out.
A/N: So, what do you think? Haha, cliffhangers, gotta love 'em. So anyway, I'm liking this story so far, and as long as I'm careful with it's development, I might be able to finish it. Um… either in the next chapter or throughout upcoming chapters, I'll explain what happened with Naruto while he was gone, but here's a sneak peek!
Chapter 2: Envy
"You brat, what did you do?!" Kyuubi roared inside her cage. Naruto curled up at her feet, yelling in agony.
"Kyuubi, it hurts! It hurts!" he cried, clutching his head. "He keeps yelling at me and it hurts!" Kyuubi roared again and slipped one of her tails through the cage. It wrapped around Naruto and pulled him to her.
"Shh, Naruto. It hurts me too. Try to break that bond," she told him.
"I can't, Kyuubi. If I do, it'll mean he's gone! It'll mean he's really gone!"
"Will you all stop staring at him like he's infected with something?!" Gaara snarled at the bystanders. "Someone get Tsunade, NOW!"
Ino ran across the village, frantic. She met up with Tsunade halfway to the tower. "Tsunade-sama, something's wrong with Naruto, we need you," she exclaimed. Tsunade nodded.
"I heard from the Tower. Come on," she said.