Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Enough said.

Author Note:

Hey guy's, Naruhina-Namikaze here. I know it's been a couple of weeks since I last updated my other story 'A Hero's Return', but I feel I need a break from it. I wrote a couple of scenes for it over the past couple of days, but I'm a bit off my game. I've been having a pretty rough week or so, so I just can't get into the flow of writing which is making me stress a bit...well a lot...but yeah.

Don't worry though; I'm not abandoning it or anything. It might just take me a week or so to get the motivation to finish my next chapter.

However, I do have a few ideas floating around between my ears that I want to use for later stories. So, I was kind of hoping that if I begin a new story it might help me get back into the groove of things.

So without further delay I present to you my new story.

Story title: Shadow

***Prologue ***

Uzumaki Naruto, the Hero of Konoha, was left a broken man after the death of Uchiha Sasuke by his own hands, during one of the opening battles of the Fourth Great Ninja War. He had no choice in the matter. At the end of the day, it was kill or be killed. Or in Naruto's case, kill or be captured.

But try telling that to Haruno Sakura. The day he returned from the battlefield with his best friend, dead in his arms, was the last time that his ultimate crush ever spoke to him. He could have just left him to rot with all the other enemy shinobi that had fallen on that fateful day in the blistering desert of Suna, but he brought him back so that he could find his resting place with the rest of his cursed clan.

At the age of just eighteen, Naruto had become a mere shadow of his former self. No longer was he the hyperactive teen that wore such blindingly loud clothes, with his over abundance of 'youthfulness' as Gai-sensei would put it. He had seen too much death, he had felt too much pain, he had become a ruthless killer.

The war had raged on for two long years, and nothing had changed. Every battle ended the same way, with death. The financial burden was not an issue, but the strain on man power for the allies was becoming too great. Uchiha Madara's power base arose around two factors. First, the bulk of his army were specialised clones, and he had the capability to replenish his withering ranks whenever he needed. Second, his generals were original Akatsuki members, who were in effect immortal. Although they were created through Kabuto's Edo Tensei, they achieved a much greater sense of autonomy than those that were summoned through the same means by Orochimaru.

One thing was clear from all of this. The allies could win every battle, but ultimately, they were slowly losing the war.

Tsunade had made a number of changes to village protocol, since the war had begun. With the village on a constant state of high alert, curfews were put in place on the general population. Only shinobi were given the freedom to move freely throughout the village after 11pm. Even with the increasing number of deaths to the allied forces, the 'rookie' teams had mostly remained unscathed, with a few exceptions...

Team Kurenai now consisted of; Hyuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Sai. Inuzuka Kiba perished at the hands of Deidara, around eighteen months into the war. Sai was deemed a fitting replacement as he was a tracking specialist. Hinata acted as the team's field medic, having been taught a substantial amount of medical Jutsu's by Tsunade.

Team Asuma gained a new leader, Yamato-taichou. The ANBU captain remained part of the 'normal' shinobi system after he spent a large stint as Kakashi's replacement. Even though Shikamaru had achieved the rank of Jounin, he was still too lazy to take the brunt of the pressure of being a leader. The Ino-Shika-Cho outfit was proven to be an effective cell over two generations, so it remained the same.

Team Gai also remained the same. They had been the 'lucky' group that had no reason for change. Lee and Tenten were still considered to be at Chuunin level, but their skills had far since surpassed that of their previous selves before the war begun.

Team Kakashi was the most heavily affected by the changes. With Sakura refusing to talk to Naruto, it made team-work almost impossible. Sai wasn't much help in the matter either, and he was quickly drafted into the open position on team Kurenai. Sakura couldn't take the sight of Naruto any longer and requested to become the full time chief medical shinobi at the hospital. After a lot of thought Tsunade finally gave in to the pink haired Kunoichi's wishes, providing that she became her personal aide, following the death of Shizune. Kakashi was given his previous title as the head of ANBU, meaning that in effect he was Konoha's acting general, and the Hokage's 'right-hand man'.

This left Naruto in a position of autonomy over his actions. With his power he could stand alone against almost any foe that Madara could place against him. With all that had happened he didn't feel like he could be a part of a team any longer, and more often than not in battles he acted alone. His so called 'friends' seemed to take pity on him more than anything. But, what else could they do? He had enough sorrow to last ten lifetimes, packed into eighteen painful years.

Between the fight against Pain, and his eighteenth birthday, the rookie Sage of Konoha had killed over three hundred shinobi. Of course, a large percentage of those were Madara's 'clones', yet they still bled out all the same to a real person. So much death on one person's hands can really do psychological damage, especially if they were emotionally unstable in the first place, having to share their body with a demon. Luckily for Naruto, he had complete control over the Kyubi, and could no longer become unstuck under his influence.

"What a birthday..." he sighed as he sat in his darkened room, slowly swigging down a bottle of Sake. All he had done for the past three hours was sit there, reminiscing on how shit his life was. He contemplated everything that had happened since he had been dubbed 'The Hero of Konoha'. It was a little more than two years ago, but it seemed like an eternity.

His best friends blood on his hands, how Sakura had ignored him for almost two years, how he had driven away anyone else who had cared for him. He even mourned momentarily over Kiba. He hated him, but he felt for Hinata more than anything.

The idiotically naive boy he used to be completely shunned her after she saved him from certain death, without even signifying to her that he registered the fact that she loved him. He sat their thinking about the pitiful behaviour he showed towards her, just in the hope that Sakura would finally give him that chance. It broke Hinata's heart, but he was too stupid to even realise. But there was good 'ol Kiba, there to pick up the pieces. And pick them up he did. Their relationship bloomed, until that fateful day came. Hinata's heart was broken again.

He wished he could make it up to her, but he knew that she would never accept him again. And it wasn't just Hinata that Naruto had been cold with. He had shut himself off from almost everyone, save for Tsunade, and that was only because he needed to talk to her concerning missions. He saw his 'friends' around, but it was usually very awkward. He had given up trying to get Sakura to talk to him, and he gave her the same silent treatment that she gave him. That didn't sit especially with Lee, and therefore with Tenten and Gai. Neji never seemed to have forgiven him for the way he reacted to Hinata. It was understandable really, considering how close the two had gotten over recent years. Shino was as cold as he was with everyone, and he saw very little of Team Yamato, as they were often stationed in Suna.

The reason for such a depressing train of thought was entirely selfish more than anything. He had given himself an ultimatum, that by his birthday, he would change his life. He had gotten to the stage where he would rather sit in the shadows, than stand at the forefront, only to be looked down upon, or pitied by those he used to call friends. He had reached his decision. Now all he had to do was speak to Tsunade.

*Knock**knock*

"God damnit," he yelled as the knock startled him, causing him to spill his Sake all over his mesh undershirt, and his combat trousers. "Alright I'm coming." The slightly annoyed blonde grabbed some tissues from the table and began to dab himself down, trying to soak up some of the alcohol before he opened the door.

It grew silent outside after the initial knocks. 'Maybe it was a prank' he thought to himself, until he realised that it was past curfew. Only a ninja or a very suicidal citizen could be on the other side. As he walked, the affects of the alcohol were beginning to take its toll. Only when he opened the door, allowing some light into the room, could you see the six empty bottles of Sake lined up on the floor. Only then could you understand why he needed to prop himself up against the doorframe.

"Hello?" The whiskered teen slowly opened his piercing blue eyes to find there was no one there. Only after he looked around the outside of his apartment did he notice the parcel propped up against the wall.

He was oddly puzzled by the small box, as he hadn't seen it for a couple of years. Every birthday since he was about seven, a parcel would arrive at his house, in exactly the same way, with exactly the same wrapping paper. However, he was baffled this year as he hadn't received a present for his sixteenth or seventeenth birthdays. He truly wasn't expecting it. It brought a slight smile to his lips as he looked down at it, before picking it up and giving one sly look down the corridor, before shutting his door again.

It had always been the best part of his birthday, considering what else the day signified in Konoha. This anonymous person, whoever they were, was the only person who ever bought him birthday presents. He neatly untied the bow, and carefully unwrapped the present, before being presented with a small brown box with a note on the top of it.

To Naruto-kun,

Happy Birthday

Love...

The note didn't surprise him, because that's what they always said. He just couldn't understand why they sent him one this year, and not in the previous years. As he opened the lid, the moonlight shining through the tiny gap in between the curtains reflected on the object inside. It was a Konoha Hitai-ite, more precisely; it was his Hitai-ite. He had thought he'd lost it in battle weeks ago. He pulled it out and saw that the red felt that it rested on had been replaced with some blue cloth. It looked significantly better than how it used to be. A lot of the wear and tear had been smoothed out of it. As he undid the knot in the material, a note fell out from behind the metal. '10 free bowls of Ramen at Ichiraku's, valid for one year'.

All he could do was smile as he placed the items on the table, and tidied up before heading on to bed. After all the thinking and drinking he had done on his day off, he finally had something to smile about. Unfortunately it still wasn't enough; he had made up his mind. Tomorrow, he would be asking Tsunade to join ANBU.

That was the answer to all his questions and uncertainties about how his life had become. He knew that such reasons were why Kakashi had joined the corp. and he turned out perfectly fine...right? All he knew was that there was only so much longer that he could stand and watch as one by one, his friends began to succumb to the cruel fate of the ninja world. Although only Kiba had died from their age group, many of the older Chuunin and Jounin had perished.

It felt weird to him that tonight, was the first time in about six months that he had actually smiled. The last time was when he got Gaara drunk. Now that was funny. How could it be that one small present could make him feel an emotion he thought he had completely forgotten? Maybe he wasn't in the shadows on his own?

However, there was one thing he did know. The only time he felt anything, was when he had blood on his hands. Tsunade had begun to pull him off the front lines as he was beginning to be targeted more and more. Madara had begun to send out two or three Akatsuki members into battles that they knew Naruto would be a part of. With his ability to control nature chakra, whilst also having complete control over the Kyubi, Naruto was almost unstoppable in battle, but it also made things more dangerous for the rest of the forces. Many more died in battles he was involved in. And he knew it was not just him. Killer Bee was yet to be captured, and his forces suffered the same fate as Konoha's.

Maybe Tsunade was wrong in forcing the other Kages to utilise the Jinchuriki's power, yet it is clear that without them, the ninja world would have been destroyed by now.

All Naruto could think about as he tidied up, was how to approach such a request. There was a good chance that she would reject it completely. But if he were to become an ANBU operative, he could work outside the parameters of the main forces, without endangering them any further. It really was a good job he had been drinking; otherwise he wouldn't be able to cope with such a rush of thoughts.

Meanwhile...

On the opposite roof to Naruto's apartment complex, a figure watched on from the shadows, their lavender-white eyes being the only feature that an onlooker could distinguish, staring straight into his apartment. Their view was only in negative, but they had a perfect view of the hapless teen opening the present. They could see the miniscule incline of the corners of his lips as he looked down at his present.

"Happy birthday, Naruto-kun," with that whisper, the figure disappeared into thin air as if they were just a Genjutsu, leaving Naruto to rest his drunken head without prying eyes.

Author Note:

It's not great, and it's not that long, but as I said in my initial note, I'm having trouble getting in the groove of writing again.

Anyways, hope anyone that reads this enjoys it, and if you have time check out A Hero's Return.

Reviews are always welcome, and I reply to all reviews good or bad.