Naruto is created and owned by Masashi Kishimoto

NOT me, well except original characters!! Enjoy!

boldkyuubi

Italics flashback, past events

"quotations"-speaking characters

The Broken Puzzle

By the time he returned, he was seen without his goal. Carried back my his teacher, he knew that he had failed. "Sensei, where's Sasuke?" A sadness is seen glimmering in Kakashi's eyes, "Rest Naruto, rest..." Kakashi was still beating himself up about not making it in time to stop his students from their greatest challenge. Naruto finally closes his eyes from the fatigue that he feels.

As the wind is gusting around them, med-nins show up. "What is Uzumaki Naruto's status?" Kakashi responds "Injured but he'll make it." "What about Uchiha? Uchiha Sasuke?" Kakashi looks up and with a sad tone "Gone...He's gone to Orochimaru." After that the med-nin escorted Kakashi back. Chouji was in critical condition due to the pills' side effects. Neji was injured the worse and they were worried that the Hyuuga prodigy wasn't going to pull through. Kiba was severely injured but his life was not in danger. Shikamaru was the least injured on the team. Lee was also lucky to return with a couple bruises. If Gaara, Temari and Kankurou hadn't shown up when they had, the leaf would've suffered casualties.

Five days later...

"Why am I here? Hello! Where am I?" Nothing can be heard in this dark room that only Naruto can be seen in. "Hello! Anyone home!" Naruto looks around frantically, this time yelling "HELLO!" Now Naruto is running until he starts to hear a sound. It starts off as light tap on metal and it starts to grow louder and louder. Then it just stops. Naruto is now looking around attentively and listening. All is quiet and still and it starts to fill Naruto's heart with dread. "HEL- WHOA!" Right before Naruto was about to finish his sentence a loud screeching was heard and a claw sweeps in front of him, almost snatching him by his jacket.

Keep it quiet brat! I'm trying to sleep!

Naruto is now confused and questions start to arise. "What are you doing here? Where, how, when and why?" Quiet follows and it seems that Kyuubi is now a sleep. Naruto figures that maybe now is not the time for question, so he sits on the concrete floor, trying to figure out just where he is. What Naruto did not realize was that he was in his conscious mind. That is why Kyuubi was there. The reason for this was the darkness that coated Naruto and nothing looked familiar. It seemed that Naruto's injuries were so severe that recovering took a majority of his energy. There was enough to sustain life but not enough for other functions. So Naruto did the only thing he could, he waited.

Three days later...

Hey kid! Kid! Brat Wake up!

Naruto suddenly shot up from his three day slumber to see himself sitting only inches away from Kyuubi's cell. "What am I doing here nine-tails? Did you bring me here?" What are you talking about brat? Don't you remember your fight with the Uchiha kid? Your injuries were so severe that you've been in a coma now for eight days. "Eight days! Was that you three nights ago?Why did you take a swing at me?" You're still sore about that? You were being too loud and I thought it was hilarious. It was also a chance to get out of here. "What!" I'm kidding brat. Breath, don't you have a sense of humor at all? I was concentrating and it was really annoying to hear you scream. "I thought I was alone again..." Please don't start. Remember I was with you all those years. I am not sitting through your memories a second time.

At that moment, the cell had begun to wave and fade out, followed by a lake in spring. The sun was just setting and on the pier sat a child, no less than seven years of age. He could see a family off in the distance. A father and mother were watching their four year old daughter play in the grass when without warning the child fell on the turf. She was crying as she was trying to lift her tiny body off from the earth. Both parents rushed to her side and picked her up. The mother was soothing the the child from the scrap that she had on her knee. Just as quickly as she fell, she stopped crying. She held her mother with a sense of security and fell a sleep. Her father laid a kiss on his child's head. As the blonde child watched with curiosity and loneliness, he began to wonder what it felt like to have that kind of love. He loved to eat ramen but he wanted to feel that kind of love that filled the void in his life. He wanted the pain and hurt to stop. He wanted to stop hating. Hating the adults that cursed him and the ones that just watched him suffer. Why did they like to see him cry and suffer? He would not understand this. Then the scene vanished and both Naruto and Kyuubi were left in the cell again.

Dammit Brat! Did I not just say, I do not want to remember this stuff with you!

"You know, for a demon, you really have issues." And what is that suppose to mean? "Nothing...it" What is it? "You just seem like you were alone too" Shut it!

Quiet followed for several minutes after a while they both started again. "Hey there fox. I'm sorry for asking." It's nothing. "I know, but at the same time, it still feels like I don't know you. Maybe, even if it is a little, even if it's not at once. I would like to know more about you" You know something Brat? It's a deal.

Even though Naruto is still in his coma, he has managed to befriend his inner power. What began as a one-sided relationship, true friendship is starting to occur. What has happened in these past eight days in Konoha?

When they heard of their teammates in the hospital, they could do nothing but wait. Shikamaru was waiting outside of the room that held his best friend, Chouji. He sat there wondering if his friend was going to pull through. If everyone else was going to recover. Neji was also on his mind because he has sustained severe injuries that many didn't know if they could save the genius. "Will you stand still? You're starting to get on my nerves." At that moment, Shikamaru had forgotten that the Sand Kunoichi was there with him. "This was my first mission. I did not think it would end like this" saying this was troublesome for the Chunin as he was pondering why he was explaining himself in the first place. "Didn't you receive training about this kind of thing? It happens so don't be so hard on yourself." As these words were beginning to sink in, Shikamaru was starting to walk away. "I'm going to give up this job." He states this calmly then stops when he hears a response by Temari. "So you're just going to give up on your comrades? This was not your fault so you need to hang in there. If you choose to give up, you're nothing but a sniveling coward! Walk away from your them because you're afraid they're going to get hurt!" Shikamaru continues to walk then he stops again after hearing another voice. "You know, she has a point" "Women are to troublesome, so I'm not going to argue." "There will always be a time when you have to make decisions that don't just pertain to you son. On a mission you're life is always in danger along with your teammates. The only difference is that you have a chance to be the one who takes care of them. Quit now and you're friends are still going to be on a mission but under someone else. Would you rather be with them when they get injured or let them get hurt under someone else? She is a right, you are a coward for wanting to walk away." Shikamaru now stands there, letting the words sink in. He starts to tremble as he realizes the truth. At that moment Tsunade comes out of the room. "I have good news, Chouji is now stable and out of danger. He just needs to rest now." Relief floods Shikamaru's system and at that moment his knees start to buckle. Then Shizune comes into the hallway "Hyuuga Neji's condition is now stable and Uzumaki Naruto has returned with Kakashi with severe injuries." Tsunade looks at Shikamaru. "Well it appears that the mission is a failure but everyone is still alive and that is what matters the most." Shikamaru is now on the verge of tears. "Next time, I'll execute the mission flawlessly." He thinks to himself, next time.

Sakura was with Ino at the flower shop when they had heard the news about the injured team's return. Immediately, they went to the hospital almost running over an old lady on the way, but poor Ino managed to trip over a cat. While that was happening, Sakura was still running with her back turned laughing, that is until she ran into Tenten.

Tenten was walking with Hinata when they overheard the news. Hinata was bringing some medicine that the boys may need. Right when they were turning the corner Tenten ran into Sakura. "Ow! What where you're going you clutz!" "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you...Tenten! Hinata!" Hinata tried her best not to laugh but instead she went to help both her friends up. "Sakura, watch where you're going next time. What would you have done if you knocked Hinata over?" "Umm, Tenten..." "I mean really, I think you scared the poor girl." By this time Ino joined in the conversation covered with dust. "Did you here about the guys coming back from their mission?" "Yeah, do you know if the brought Sasuke back?" With that last question, Sakura couldn't help but think about how he left. Ino, Tenten and Hinata were looking at Sakura because she was spacing out. Ino decided to get her attention. "Hey, Sakura, let's go and see how the boys are ok. Maybe Sasuke is back." "Yeah. Thanks Ino." Right then, all four girls were now on their way, well Sakura and Ino were running causing Tenten and Hinata to jog.

The girls weren't allowed to see they boys except for Shikamaru who wasn't in the mood for talking. Temari had left after hearing that everyone was all right. She went on to find Gaara and Kankurou. Tsunade had told them to go home and that they can be seen the next day. They had also learned that Sasuke wasn't coming back. Sakura couldn't help but cry. Ino tried her best to console her friend. Hinata almost fainted when she heard that Naruto was in a coma. Tenten was just mad because she wasn't allowed to see Neji or Lee. After a while, they all decided to part ways and come back the next day.

Kakashi was out for training after he heard of Naruto's condition. He decided to take this time to reflect his own weakness. He wasn't strong enough to see the signs and act on it with more strength. No, Sasuke was past wanting power, he needed power. All the while he was trying to climb the 30,000 ft cliff in under 3 hours. The pain in his left arm was past bearable but his motivation was enough to keep him going for several days. After this climb was over, he would climb again, this time with his right arm.

Day 2 and Naruto was still in his coma but he was improving. All minor wounds were already healed and the severe wounds had stopped bleeding. Hinata sat there wondering if he would ever wake up. She thought about what they had told her.

"Naruto is now stable, we were afraid that he could've taken a turn for the worse, so now we're going to remove the machine from his lungs." Hinata couldn't take her eyes off of him, he had a tube down his throat which was put there because the moment he arrived, he had slipped into the coma. Most of his body functions were still working but his lungs were still healing. "Hinata-sama, he'll be all right." Hinata looked at the nurse and felt reassured.

Earlier, Hinata had stopped by to check on Kiba and Akamaru. It appeared that Akamaru was injured pretty badly but was recovering just fine. Kiba on the other hand was more worried about his best friend. His injury was severe but it was not anything too serious. So he was told to rest for a few more days. He said something about "training so this won't happen again." The thought was shaken when she looked back at Naruto. He looked so innocent in his sleep. So she sat there stroking his head, asking him to never leave her. She knew that he couldn't hear her but it was a silent promise she made to herself. Hinata Hyuuga would get stronger to protect him. Then she silently cried by his side.

To Be Continued...

I hope you guys like this.

I would like to Thank DJ Rodriguez for inspiration and for letting me pick part of his brain. His story Open Your Heart is my favorite fanfic so you guys should check it out.