Stranger Than Canon : Chapter 1

"Character Talking"

'Character Thinking'

"Kyuubi Talking"

Commentary

Jutsu

-With Someone/ Someplace-

-Flashback-

Okay so before I get any hate from people following 'An Eye For An Eye' you don't have anything to worry about. That story is still going to be focused on, but this idea, mixed with my personal thoughts about the ending of the actual story, kind of just hit me.

I was trying to sleep after being up all night and randomly an urge to write hit me, and I haven't had this feeling about writing for quite some time. So hopefully this isn't too bad.

Naruto struggled to open his eyes and he couldn't, for the life of him, think of any reason his eyelids would be so abnormally heavy. There was one thing he was sure of though, he was tired.

It didn't take him long to change his focus from his eyes to the rest of his body, and as soon as his mind made the switch, it seemed as if ten years of sleep had been stripped from him, in an instant.

He couldn't recall another time that he had ever been anywhere near this exhausted, and with how unresponsive his brain was being, he knew he wasn't going to be able to answer his question anytime soon.

The blonde just wanted to sleep, plain and simple, but something was keeping him from being able to do so. He attempted to open his eyes one last time, and with a great amount of effort he was able to open both eyes about half of their full capacity. It wasn't much, but it was more than enough to allow the outside light to blind him.

Naruto quickly closed his eyes once again as he tried to put an end to the painfully annoying experience the incoming light was causing him. As each second passed by he was becoming more and more aware of his surroundings.

Obviously he knew he was outside, but he also knew that he wasn't lying on a patch of grass. No, he figured from the lack of any type of cushion his back was receiving that he was lying on dirt. He was also slowly regaining his ability to coherently register thoughts, and if he wasn't so damn tired he probably would have laughed to himself.

Naruto slowly opened his right eye as the light swarmed in once again. The blonde toughed it out until he could somewhat make out his surroundings. He slightly opened his left eye to accompany his right and gave them both a second to adjust.

The fog that had been clouding his mind was almost completely gone as he stared up into the sky. It was a beautiful day, and Naruto was somewhat upset that he was spending the beginning of it lying on the ground.

With a surprising amount of effort he turned his head to the right and noticed his long lost teammate, Sasuke.

The best way Naruto could describe it was to say that the floodgates had been opened, as all of his memories of the previous day washed over his mind. He attempted to move, to no avail, so he let out a small groan in frustration.

"I hope we're not dead…"

"Looks like we slept till morning…and you pulled through yet again."

Naruto growled to himself as he tried to move any part of his body.

"Dammit! I wanted to hit you in the face until you finally opened your eyes once and for all!"

The blonde furrowed his brow in concentration as he attempted to lift any part of his body, at this point even a single finger would do. He tried for a second, but stopped as he heard some faint chuckling next to him. Naruto turned his head to face his teammate as he shot him a glare.

"What the hell are you laughing at!?"

Sasuke's laughing came to a halt as he stared up into the sky.

"So you're still wanting to fight me? Even in your condition?"

Naruto's eyes widened slightly at his teammate's question before he resumed his previous glare.

"Of course! There's no way in hell I'm giving up!"

The blonde waited for Sasuke's retort, but only saw a smile appear on his face.

"I'll admit it…I lost…"

Naruto's eyes widened as he stared at the Uchiha.

"This isn't some stupid competition! There aren't any winners or losers! I just want to punch some reason into my friend! The real fight starts after that…when we're all back together!"

The blonde couldn't help but grit his teeth at his teammate's lack of understanding. It wasn't that hard to understand…was it?

"Hey Naruto…-"

Naruto glanced over at his long lost friend, waiting for him to continue.

"-When I die I want you to transplant my left eye-"

"Will you shut up!? You're not going to die! You need to stay alive and help me! My dream is to have all shinobi work together, and believe it or not, that includes you!"

"The fact that it's fine with you is one thing, but I can't imagine everyone else will be so considerate."

"You're so annoying! Stop nitpicking everything I say!"

"…I might come after you again."

"No you won't."

"How…are you so sure?"

"You're really aggravating me! Don't make me repeat myself!"

Naruto glared daggers at Sasuke until he felt a familiar chakra signature making its way towards them.

"Sakura-chan! You're finally here! I was wondering when you'd show up…"

The blonde noticed Sakura's expression turn somber. He figured she had seen their arms…or…lack thereof.

He couldn't tear his gaze from her as he felt the, all too familiar, warmth of her medical jutsu. Seeing her always made his feel better, and he always seemed to forget any troubles he was facing.

"Sakura I…"

Naruto's attention switched over to Sasuke as he tried to communicate with the female member of Team 7.

"Don't…I need to concentrate."

"I'm sorry…"

The blonde smiled slightly at Sasuke's refusal to follow Sakura's instructions.

'It's about time she lets him have it…I'm going to enjoy this.'

"Sorry? For what?"

Naruto's eyes shot open as he gaped at Sakura.

'There's no way…'

He watched in sheer and utter disbelief as Sakura Haruno, the girl who wouldn't take shit from anyone, the girl that could crush every bone in your body with just one punch, the girl whom Naruto, whole-heartedly, believed was the strongest woman in the shinobi world, seemed to revert back to when she had been twelve years old.

His mind couldn't even process what was happening as he watched the pink haired girl sob to herself. Not so much as even touching Sasuke in anger. The man had literally tried to kill him the day before…not to mention put her to sleep forever…he didn't care if she did love the bastard…that's not something you just overlook.

Not unless Naruto had been wrong about every little sign that Sakura had sent his way…not unless they weren't truly as close as he thought they were…not unless she never cared about him at all…but there was just no way that was true.

'…This can't be real…it's just not possible…none of it makes any sense…'

The next chunk of time was a blur to the blonde. He just couldn't wrap his mind around Sakura's behavior. If this had happened a couple years ago, then sure, he would buy it, but now? There was just no way that this Sakura would act this way.

It almost seemed like the last four years didn't exist and Sakura was still the twelve year old love struck girl that cared about nothing, but looking good for her 'Sasuke-kun.' This isn't how the apprentice of Tsunade, and top medic in Konoha acted.

Before Naruto even realized he wasn't lying next to Sasuke at the Valley of the End, he was standing next to Hinata watching as hundreds and hundreds of shinobi, villagers, and children raced towards him.

He couldn't even react as he watched person after person come up and talk to him. He glanced to his left and got a good look at the Hyuuga standing next to him. He couldn't help but think how pretty she was, and how much she would like to take her out sometime.

Naruto's eyes shot open once more as he backed away from everyone and everything. He didn't know if he was going crazy, but something wasn't right. It was almost as if he wasn't thinking for himself.

'I've never liked Hinata…I mean yeah she's a great girl, but my heart is Sakura-chan's and hers alone…she's the entire reason I've kept my promise for so long.'

Naruto could feel his heart rate pick up as he focused on his previous thoughts, and panic started to overtake him.

'What in the world is going on…none of this is right. Nothing is making any sense!'

He glanced over at Sasuke, who had Sakura clung to his arm. He wasn't attempting to have her to leave him alone. He didn't seem to mind at all, which for someone who had, just yesterday, said that she was annoying and his lack of feelings towards her had never wavered, seemed odd.

Naruto closed his eyes as he rested his head in his hands. His mind couldn't grasp what was happening, and it was starting to give him a rather large headache.

The blonde tried to calm himself until he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He sighed as he looked up expecting to see the Hyuuga staring at him. Much to his surprise it wasn't Hinata…it was Rock Lee…in a suit."

"Naruto–kun are you almost ready to leave?"

Naruto stared at Lee, he was caught off guard by his friend's sudden appearance, but his surroundings were what truly caught his attention.

"Lee…why are we in my apartment?"

The chūnin shot him a confused look as he walked into the kitchen, filling up a glass with some water.

"Naruto-kun are you okay?"

The blonde shook his head in confusion.

"I honestly don't know Lee…can you just tell me what's going on-"

Naruto forgot what he was saying as he noticed his pants. He was wearing dress pants, and from what he could tell he was wearing something similar to what Lee had on.

"-Why the hell am I wearing a suit!?"

Rock Lee made his way over to the blonde, handed him the glass of water, and made him sit down on his couch.

"We have a double date Naruto-kun."

The blonde's eyes widened again as he looked at Rock Lee.

"With who!?"

"Ummm Tenten-chan and Hinata-chan. Who else would it be?"

Naruto could feel his headache's intensity increase as he stared at Lee again.

"I don't remember asking Hinata out on a date! Why would I!? I'm still not over Sakura-chan!"

Rock Lee's expression turned to one of concern as he sat down next to his blonde friend.

"Naruto-kun…you do know you're dating Hinata-chan right?"

Naruto tried to stay calm as he took a small drink of water before shaking his head slowly. He could, once again, feel his heart rate starting to speed up in panic.

"I had no idea…did we start dating like last week or something?"

Lee's expression didn't falter as he shook his head.

"No Naruto-kun it's been about five months."

"Five months!?"

Naruto stood up as he looked at Rock Lee.

"Lee I've got to go see Sakura-chan. I don't know what's going on and I'm sure she'll know what to do."

Naruto was just about to exit his apartment before Rock Lee stopped him.

"Naruto! You haven't talked to Sakura-chan for a couple months now! I'm not sure it's a good idea to just barge into her apartment!"

Naruto could only shake his head as his eyes widened in fear.

"That's not possible! Just a few days ago Sasuke and I were brought back by Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan!"

Before Rock Lee could respond the blonde had already slammed the apartment door, upon his exit.

Naruto jumped from his balcony over to a nearby rooftop as he raced towards Sakura's house.

'This can't be happening! None of this can be real! I don't remember anything at all! Why would I be dating Hinata, and why in the world would I have stopped talking to Sakura-chan!? The entire purpose of even bringing Sasuke back-"

Naruto couldn't finish his thought as he stared wide-eyed at the mountain in front of him.

'There's just no way…'

Okay guys so I hope you liked that chapter I'm sorry it was incredibly short, but I promise they'll be longer in the future.

Some of you may know where I'm going with this and some of you may not, but hopefully you guys will be interested haha as always please read and review and I'll catch you next time guys.