Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
As the silver coins trickled out of the slot machine and piled themselves neatly within the spacious cash tray, Senju Tsunade wondered why she had not realized it was a bad omen until it was too late.
She had always been superstitious whenever her terrible luck failed, and rightly so. Winning was never an option. She had learned that her losing streak was her protection. If she ever won a considerable sum, it always worried her to no end. Something always went wrong whenever she got lucky gambling.
Nonetheless, everything in her life seemed to be going wrong lately already. First, that Sasuke kid defected from the village and left to pursue that snake Orochimaru. Then Naruto insisted on going off to retrieve him personally, only to be whipped within an inch of his life. And now, the rest of Team 7, namely Kakashi and Sakura, had gone on without him to rescue their wayward teammate from his thirst for power and vengeance. Naruto was stuck recovering in the intensive care unit, much to his and the nurses' displeasure. The kid had a knack of sneaking around their firmly-enforced rules. She made a mental note ask him to teach her someday. Discreetly, of course.
Perhaps she was weary of the consistent problems, or perhaps she was too drunk today to bother herself with what was probably a false notion. If the money had been a bad omen, it was probably referring to everything that had been happening these past few horrific weeks. In any case, this was the first time she lugged home a ryo-stuffed suitcase with excitement rather than apprehension in her heart. Shizune would flip.
Nevertheless, the piling problems were troubling her. She felt unfit to be Hokage. It seemed that ever since her return to Konohagakure, the village had been riddled with constant troubles. And it was her responsibility to protect the village with her life. The promise she made to herself felt like a lifetime ago.
Maybe the annoyingly endearing blond-haired runt was right about something.
She tossed the change she had won back into the slot machine and took a swig at her sake. When three sevens appeared before her eyes for the umpteenth time, she smiled gravely.
"Congratulations, miss!" the man beside her chirped energetically. She ignored him and downed the rest of her drink in one gulp.
It was nightfall when she began her long and slow walk back to the Hokage's office. She bid the ill-tempered casino owners a cheery goodbye before setting off in the vague direction of the Academy building, wobbling slightly. It was getting late. She was extremely intoxicated and in a foul mood, despite her ridiculously superfluous winnings. Iie, it was the stupid money that was troubling her. Why was she dragging along that heavy stuff anyways? It would be better to leave it on the side of the road – give the next random passer-by heart failure. Mm, that was her style.
Turning a corner, Tsunade recognized the street where the Konoha hospital was located. She closed her eyes briefly and paused in front of the building. She should pay Naruto a visit. He was probably dying of boredom and irritating the nurses with his antics. Besides, Shizune had been complaining about his boundless hyperactivity the other day. He seemed to be magnetically attracted to that Ichiraku shop, even in his condition, and the hospital staff was not amused. An indulgent smile crossed her lips and she made her way drunkenly in the direction of the double doors. Absentmindedly, her hand reached towards the door handle but she recoiled almost instantly. What the –? It had burned her hand. Before she had a chance to ponder what was going on, she heard an odd rumbling noise and a shrill shriek coming from within the hospital.
It was at that moment that the hospital building burst into flames.
-:-
Naruto woke up to the blazing warmth of fire licking his face.
Naturally, he thought he was dreaming. He was sleepy after all. It was well past midnight, and he had given up sneaking past the hospital people to retrieve his secret stash of ramen. Though he felt perfectly fine, the nurses insisted on keeping him sedated and locked in the hospital room day and night. It was the perfect rendition of hell in his eyes. Especially now. Sasuke was getting farther and farther away with every single passing day he wasted. His only consolation was that Sakura and Kakashi were hunting the down idiotic teme in his absence. But this small comfort was also his source of misery. He should be with them, not lying helplessly in the hospital as if he had just been nearly pummelled to death by the Sound Four. And worst of all, Sasuke had just watched from the sidelines with that carefree smirk on his face. It was as if he didn't care that he was watching his friend being killed before his eyes.
Come to think of it, Sasuke probably didn't.
Regardless, Naruto would never let his friend spiral into the path of evil, even if it cost him his life. This was one of his first bonds. Who cares if the other one wanted to break it so badly? Not him, he was a persistent one. It was his nindou – his ninja way.
The only person he was angrier at than the Uchiha was himself. If he had succeeded that last time, if he had broken all of Sasuke's bones and dragged him back to Konoha like he promised, he would at least feel some sense of accomplishment.
All he accomplished was the breaking of his own bones.
So he was stuffed forcibly in the hospital. Granny Tsunade had even forbidden him to rejoin the Sasuke retrieval mission, even though he claimed he was perfectly fine. Honestly, he was! But of course, baa-chan never believed a word he said. Typical.
And now, Naruto was rubbing his eyes groggily when he heard a high-pitched scream from somewhere in his befuddled mind. That was when he slowly opened his eyes and found himself face-to-face with a towering column of unnatural-looking fire.
He let out a strangled scream of his own, but it was drowned by the roaring flames.
Abruptly, he closed his mouth and eyes. Acrid smoke was getting into his system, and it would do him no good to breathe in that foul stuff. He had never been in a full-scale fire before, but he knew instinctively that it wouldn't be wise to inhale it.
"Naruto…!"
His eyes snapped open in alarm. Almost at once, the smoke was impeding his vision and making it difficult to breathe or even think. He thought he heard a voice calling his name. And was that someone hammering on the door? He couldn't be sure. He tried to rub the ash out of his eyes, but his efforts seemed to make it worse. The heat was unbearable, and tongues of unrestrained flames stung his face.
"Naruto!" It was the voice again, more urgent and panicky this time. "Stay back, I'm going to blast the door open."
He stumbled off the bed in a daze, lurching blindly towards where he was sure the window was. It was the part of the room farthest from the door, if he had calculated right in his half-blinded state. He heard a loud bang to his left and the door exploded in a shower of wood splinters. Shizune rushed into the blazing room, a damp handkerchief over her nose. In the other hand, she had a half-melted kunai that was smoking slightly, which she discarded immediately when she spotted him.
"Explosive tag…" Naruto mumbled sleepily, his eyes wandering over the smouldering paper on the handle of the misshapen knife. The smoke was getting to his brain. Shizune darted over to his side and caught him just as he crumpled lifelessly to the ground. Leaning down, she felt his pulse. She cursed under her breath and hauled his unconscious body over her shoulder. Then she hurried to the window, her breathing ragged and shallow. The fire had not yet reached this side of the wall, and she leaned against it momentarily, relief seeping through her veins. Then she whipped out an explosive tag-rigged kunai and lodged it in the wooden windowsill. Detonating it with a quick hand seal, she let the window and surrounding wall explode into fragments of shattered glass and plaster. She shielded Naruto's body with her own and ran over to the edge, her heart thudding in her chest.
"Tsunade-sama," she called hoarsely, her voice carrying through the destroyed window despite the roaring flames all around her.
-:-
Tsunade stood by the hospital, her fingers drumming compulsively on the railing as she waited for the ANBU and the Konoha Medic Corps to arrive. Somehow, she wasn't so sure that this had been a freak accident. Above her, an entire section of the wall exploded in a shower of glass, fire, and concrete shards. Shizune…did she really have to overdo it? Tsunade covered her unprotected face with her arms, trying to peer through the wreckage for any sign of her assistant.
"Ano…Shizune?" she called hesitantly, coughing from the cloud of smoke and dust that had settled around her.
"Tsunade-sama…I've got him."
Tsunade sighed in relief. So the boy was fine.
"Just chuck him out the window, Shizune," she instructed, gazing up at the fire-ravaged building. She spread her arms, waiting.
"B-but Tsunade-sama –"
"I'll catch him," she said, stifling a groan of impatience. "Hurry up, we haven't got much time to waste."
Tsunade could almost see Shizune hesitating in her mind's eye and she rolled her eyes.
"Shizune!" she barked.
"H-hai!"
She watched carefully as an orange shape tumbled out of the hole in the wall of the third floor. Tsunade caught Naruto before he hit the ground and examined his unconscious body critically. He wasn't badly burnt, considering he would have been roasted alive if not for Shizune. Tsunade whipped out her stash of medicine and began working frantically on his broken form. His breathing was irregular, definitely a sign of prolonged exposure to the acrid smoke. She flashed through a series of intricate hand seals and her palm ignited with blazing blue chakra. The smoke…if Naruto was this badly affected…
"Shizune!" she called, not looking up from Naruto's body.
"Hai!"
"Get yourself out of there, now," she ordered. "You've already rescued enough patients. If you keep this up, you'll die from smoke inhalation."
"B-but –"
"I've sent for some ANBU reinforcements," Tsunade continued, her lips curving upwards into a humourless smile. "This is no ordinary fire. Hurry and get out while you can. Now."
"G-gomen, Lady Tsunade." Shizune emerged from the cloud of smoke and alighted gracefully beside her mistress.
"How are you feeling?" Tsunade asked, still not taking her eyes off of her work. Shizune coughed violently and shook her head.
"Go find some of the Medic Corps people to treat you," Tsunade commanded, glancing at Shizune's charred kimono with slight concern.
"I-I can heal myself –"
"Go," she repeated forcefully, turning back to Naruto again. "I don't want you losing consciousness in the middle of healing yourself. You don't have enough chakra."
Her assistant dipped her head respectfully. "As you wish, Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade gazed at the blazing building, feeling as if her heart were being torn to shreds. Call yourself a Hokage…? she thought bitterly, wiping away the tears that had sprung up due to the smoke.
She couldn't help the feelings of guilt and premonition that threatened to overwhelm her.
-:-
"Nani?! But Granny Tsunade, that's just not fair!"
She folded her arms across her chest, shooting a vicious glare at Naruto's pouting expression. "You know that's not going to work on me, kid."
"But Obaasan–"
"Naruto. Just save your breath."
They glowered at each other for a long time, Naruto sprawled on the ground and Tsunade propped up against her desk. Naruto poked his arms experimentally, and tried again.
"But look! I'm perfectly fine." He extended his unblemished arms to Tsunade, who glared at them sullenly.
"Don't try that trick," she warned, leaning towards him. "I know the severity of your burns better than you do. You may look and feel alright, but you're not! In addition, you're confined to the hospital for another two weeks. And you're getting an extra one on top of those if I ever catch wind of you pulling pranks on the nurses, is that clear?"
Naruto gaped at her in incredulity from his position on the floor. "At this rate, Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei'll catch up to Sasuke before I even set one foot out of Konoha," he said miserably.
Tsunade just grinned cheekily at him. His expression turned to one of disbelief. "That is what you want, isn't it, Granny Tsunade?" he demanded furiously. "You want them to go on without me?"
She didn't answer. In truth, she didn't want Naruto to go chasing after Sasuke after all she had done to revive him from his nearly-dead state after his clash with the oto-nin. On top of that, he was still recovering from his injuries from the fire. It would do him no good if she allowed him to return to the mission. It would be close to suicidal.
"How could you...?" he wailed, slamming the wall with his fist. She smirked in satisfaction when he yelped in pain. "What if they succeed without me?"
Tsunade cocked an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted this mission to be a success."
"I know but –"
"Don't jinx their mission like that Naruto," she warned half-heartedly, knowing that he wasn't paying any attention. "Do you want Kakashi and Sakura to come home empty-handed?"
Naruto didn't answer. He struggled to sit up and leaned resignedly against the wall he had tried to punch earlier. Tsunade gazed at the young boy fondly. His determination reminded her of Jiraiya. She clenched her fists, her face hardening ever so slightly. What did Sasuke and Orochimaru do to deserve such loyal, persistent friends?
"Baa-chan…?"
"Hmm?"
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, his expression sheepish and furtive at the same time. "Ano…how am I going to be able to stay in the hospital if it's burned down?"
Tsunade had forgotten all about the fire, how stupid. "Eh, I'll arrange something, you're always welcome to sleep on the floor of my office, you know."
"Thanks…" he muttered, glaring pointedly at the wall.
"I'll find a family to take you in for the two weeks designated for your resting time," she mused. "Perhaps I'll ask Haruno-san, since Sakura is on that mission. In the meantime, try to take it easy, and no ramen until you've completely healed."
To her surprise, he ignored her last comment. It was completely unlike him, and she gazed at him suspiciously. He inclined his head, and spoke in a plaintive voice. "I don't really want to be a nuisance, though. Hmm, maybe cut it down to a week and a half?" he added hopefully.
That persistent baka!
"No!" she snarled, leaping onto the top of her desk to glare at him.
Naruto yawned insolently, ignoring the waves of killer intent rolling off her. Boy, that kid was tough. Or dense.
"Fine, fine, dattebayo," he muttered.
"Ah, good. Anything other requests?"
"Only ones that you would never agree to," he said dismissively. Then he yawned again and curled up into a ball, closing his eyes. Tsunade's eyebrow twitched, and she eyed him suspiciously.
"What the heck are you doing, kid?"
Naruto opened one eye, trying to suppress his amusement. "Sleeping. You said I was welcome to sleep on your floor, so here I am."
Tsunade threw up her arms in exasperation. "Alright. But if Tonton steps on you, I'm not responsible for the damage and the additional weeks you'll have to spend resting."
"Okay, wait – what?!" Naruto exclaimed indignantly, raising his head so he could see her expression better.
"You heard me."
He grumbled unintelligibly and struggled to his feet. Tsunade smiled and settled back down in her chair. "That's the spirit. Now run along, Naruto. You may come back here and take a nap when it's actually the right time to sleep. But for now, let me attend to my Hokage duties in peace."
-:-
Something was wrong. He could taste it in the smoky air, in the harsh, metallic tang that lingered in his parched mouth. The flames he supposed the oto-nin had produced in order to block their advances were impressive in size and stature. And they spread far too quickly, it was unnatural. He wasn't worried that he couldn't outrun them, though. Years of working with the ANBU taught him the meaning of speed more than anything else. But he was concerned that Sakura might not be able to keep up any longer. She had exhausted enough chakra as it was, trying to barricade Sasuke yesterday with that dangerously risky sealing technique Tsunade had taught her. Though she claimed she had regained enough chakra to continue the chase for another week, he had a vague suspicion that she was bluffing. Gripping the stylized kunai more tightly in his glove-clad fingers, Hatake Kakashi surveyed his surroundings warily. His Sharingan radar did not seem to be able to detect anything out of the ordinary, but he wasn't about to take chances. He had no desire to be ambushed a second time, especially in their weakened state.
"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura panted, her ashen face beading with sweat. With a pang of guilt, he realized that she was looking slightly green. They had been tailing the Sound Four for far too long without stopping. If he was winded, she must be tired as well.
"If you need to rest, Sakura –"
She shook her head vigorously. "No, I'm fine. We've got to catch up to Sasuke, no matter what happens." There was a strange, manic glint in her eyes that Kakashi didn't like. This meant she was close to breaking point, and she was also utterly exhausted. Seeing Sasuke's betrayal with her own eyes, his indifference towards their efforts had strengthened her resolve considerably. She now shared a stronger version of the same desire as the rest of their team to find him and beat some sense into his revenge-driven skull.
"All right," he said finally, twirling his kunai in his fingertips. "But promise me you won't do anything rash. We've got to conserve our chakra while we can, and prepare for the worst."
Sakura eyed him apprehensively. "Sensei, you don't mean –"
Kakashi's hand moved reflexively to the scroll tucked safely in the front of his flak jacket. "You've seen firsthand what Sasuke has become. We can't fail this mission. We can't fail Naruto, after everything he's gone through."
Her lips quivered and she gazed at him pleadingly. It seemed as though she was about to argue, but she closed her eyes in defeat. "W-will Naruto be alright?"
He inclined his head so that his face was hidden in the shadows cast by the flickering flames. "…I believe in Tsunade-sama's abilities. Now, Sakura – let's go."
-:-
"Arigatou, Haruno-san. But I'm completely healed now, Granny Tsunade said it herself!" Naruto grinned winningly at a very sceptical looking Kizashi.
"Are you sure, Naruto? She told me personally that you needed at least two weeks to recover," he said, eyeing him dubiously.
Naruto rubbed his nose and grinned wider. "Heh heh, look at me! Do I look burned to you?"
"Well, no –"
"I'll be off-ttebayo! Thanks again for everything," Naruto interrupted cheerily. He waved to Sakura's father and fled before he could stop him. When he turned a corner, he let out a sigh of relief. He knew Tsunade would kill him, but he couldn't stand living in Sakura's house and doing nothing when he knew that she was risking her life to complete the mission he failed.
It was true Sasuke and the Oto Four were more than a match for him. But Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan…they didn't even have the Kyuubi to protect and strengthen them. With that in mind, he began to walk faster.
He would track them down.
"But first…ramen!"
He stopped in front of Ichiraku's, his stomach grumbling shamelessly. Alas, it had been a solid month since he'd eaten properly.
"I'd like some beef ramen, please! With some of that crunchy stuff on top!"
"Coming right up!" Teuchi called from within the back room.
Naruto settled himself comfortably on the stool as Ayame placed an extra-large bowl in front of him.
"Gee, thanks!" he mumbled in appreciation, scooping noodles into his mouth.
"No problem!" Ayame smiled at him warmly. "We haven't seen you for a while, how are you Naruto?"
"Heh heh, Obaasan forbade me from eating ramen for a whole month!" he exclaimed.
Before she could reply, a voice from behind Naruto cut her off.
"And there's a good reason she did that."
He whirled around and found himself staring at a furious Tsunade. She glared at him and placed her hands on her hips.
"Ano…hi Granny Tsunade!" he cried, faking a goofy smile. In his head, he was going through all the possible ways to escape the ramen bar before she destroyed it with her freaky strength. Tsunade bent over and grabbed his ear.
"Give me one reason I shouldn't toss you all the way to Sound Country. I've been looking for an excuse to test my rusty throwing skills."
Naruto gulped, trying to tug his ear free to no avail.
"None?" she growled threateningly.
"Would you still throw me if I told you I wanted to go?"
"You're hopeless," she groaned, releasing her grip on his ear.
"Well, it is where Kakashi-sensei is," he said defensively.
Tsunade sighed. "Don't make me keep you under lock and key, Naruto. Now come, and you'd better apologize to Kizashi-san for all the trouble you've caused. The poor man was worried about you."
"He what?!"
She glared at him fiercely. "He was in charge of taking care of you, and you run off just like that?"
"He was probably worried that you would kick his butt," Naruto muttered.
"Apologize to him or I'll kick your butt."
"Gomen, gomen…"
"To him, not me!"
"Okay, okay-ttebayo…!"
-:-
"There they are. Now! Sakura, seven o'clock!"
Kakashi watched appreciatively as she yanked a kunai from her pouch and hurled it in the direction he pointed out. He heard the telltale clang of metal hitting metal and he gritted his teeth.
"Missed…" he muttered to himself, before launching fistful of shuriken of his own at the burning trees.
"Missed!" he heard the cackle of the Otogakure kunoichi, Tayuya and knew she was right.
"Let's see you dodge this!" Kakashi pulled out two smoke bombs and threw them in the direction of her voice. They exploded in a shower of colour, obscuring his view of the trees ahead temporarily. He smiled grimly when he heard her and the rest of the Sound Four coughing in earnest.
"Stupid…trick…" she wheezed, emerging from the cloud of pink smoke, her face livid. "You piece of trash…you'll pay…!"
Kakashi crossed his arms, unimpressed. He eyed the three sound ninja and Sasuke, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Where is that other one…Jirobo, isn't it?" he asked, trying to maintain a straight face.
"Like we'd tell you!" Tayuya stated derisively. "Bah, but it won't make a difference. You and that midget will be dead before the day is up anyways. He's in Konoha."
Kakashi froze. "Konoha…?"
"Oh, just doing some business for Orochimaru-sama," she said, her face alight with malice. She gestured to the burning forest around them, her eyes glinting.
"Fire…" Kakashi breathed. Of course…
"You've caught on rather quickly, have you?" she said, laughing.
"Stop wasting time, you idiot," Sakon whispered urgently, earning a contemptuous glare from his red-haired teammate.
"Don't tell me what to do!" she snapped. Kakashi twitched. He could hardly dare to hope that they would quarrel amongst themselves. He shifted, signalling to Sakura with his eyes that it was time to attack. She nodded almost undetectably.
"Kakashi. Do you really think you can defeat us?" Sasuke spoke for the first time, his eyes hard and glassy. Despite the oto-nin's obvious distraction, he could read Kakashi's infinitesimal movements effortlessly with his Sharingan. Sakura let out a tiny gasp and dropped her kunai to the forest floor.
"S-sasuke-kun…"
"Sasuke," Kakashi called, trying to give Sakura time to recompose herself. Despite her previous resolution, she still seemed prone to mistakes like these. "I'm not looking to defeat you. We're taking you home."
He let out a ruthless laugh that pierced Kakashi's heart, despite his own resolve. He should cut Sakura some slack. "I've told you before. I have severed my ties with the Leaf Village. I have no intention of returning, so stop wasting your time chasing after me."
"Sasuke-kun…"
Kakashi gritted his teeth in frustration when he realized that Sakura still hadn't picked up her kunai. Sasuke's gaze flickered to Sakura's for a moment.
"Sakura. I don't like to repeat myself. I told you once, I walk a different path from the rest of you. This…is my path. Don't interfere. I won't hesitate to kill you."
She stared at him for a long time, her eyes filling with tears. "And I told you once…I'd do anything for you to stay with me. Naruto promised me that he would bring you back. And I promised myself, that in his place, I will fulfill that promise. And…I will bring you back, even if I have to break every bone in your body!"
Sasuke's face hardened. He was no doubt remembering that Naruto had once spoken the very same words. "Then we will have no choice but fight you. And we won't lose."
Kakashi silently retrieved Sakura's fallen kunai and handed it back to her. He gazed at Sasuke's motionless figure and heaved a sigh. And now, he also had no choice. His fingers traced the outline of the tightly bound scroll, his face hardening with resolve. He had promised Lady Tsunade he would only use it as a last resort. But he hadn't counted on Sakura's devastated reaction to Sasuke's change in behaviour. He couldn't fail her. He couldn't fail his team. Never again.
"Sakura. Do you have enough chakra to barricade us from the effects of the jutsu?" Kakashi murmured quietly, sliding the scroll free of its bindings. The pink-haired kunoichi's eyes widened and her face paled. She moved her trembling hand to brush the hair out of her eyes.
"H-hai," she whispered, the unshed tears spilling freely down her cheeks. Kakashi repressed a sigh at the unrestrained display of emotions in front of enemy shinobi and especially Sasuke. He knew she was torn up, and he had to consider her feelings in the light of recent events. He glared up at the oto-nin perched calmly on the tree branch, wanting nothing more than to wipe the sneer off their arrogant faces.
"I'm sorry Sakura, but it can't be helped. You've seen it for yourself. You've seen how far Sasuke's fallen. Twice, in fact. It won't do anyone any good if we keep stalling time. We have no choice."
She nodded mutely and wiped her eyes.
Sasuke glared icily at them, his face betraying nothing but sheer contempt. Had he really lost all his affection towards his former teammates? Or had he never really felt anything from the beginning? He began to speak, and he sounded irritated. "Since when did you two become as persistent as Naruto? If you insist on following his footsteps…you'll end up just like him. None of you stand a chance against Orochimaru's power."
Sakura felt as if her heart was breaking. "S-sasuke-kun. Why…? Why are you saying these things? P-please…don't…"
"You fool," Tayuya sneered, reclining against the tree trunk, her hair whipping in the firestorm-induced wind. "Can't you see? Nothing you do or say will bring your precious Sasuke-kun back to the village. Revenge and power means much more to him than you, foolish girl. It always has. Leave, leave and save yourselves while you still can. It was his own choice! No jutsu will change is mind."
Kakashi gazed up at the sound ninja, his eyebrow raised slightly. "Is that so? I can assure you this," he held up the scroll, "will wipe his mind blank of his vengeance. A hundred percent guaranteed."
Tayuya laughed scathingly, but Kidomaru shot her a withering glare.
"What?" she demanded. Kidomaru's eyes were fixed in horror at the scroll resting innocuously in Kakashi's outstretched palm. "T-that's no ordinary scroll. The Leaf shinobi is serious. If he activates the jutsu, it really will wipe all of Sasuke's memories."
Tayuya folded her arms across her chest, smirking. "Mm, and what do I care?"
"You don't understand! All of Orochimaru-sama's efforts would be wasted if we bring him an amnesic Sasuke. What use would he have for him if the Uchiha can't remember how to do the Sharingan? And what about his thirst for power and his abilities to activate his curse mark? Besides, it wouldn't be wise to stay here, and lose our own memories as well. T-this is a far-reaching long-range jutsu. Come on Tayuya, let's get out of here!"
"They're almost out of chakra," interrupted Sasuke harshly. He was eying the scroll in disgust and apprehension. "They won't be able to catch up. I say we go, and quickly." He leapt up and disappeared into the swirling flames. The three sound ninja eyed each other warily and followed Sasuke's example. There was no time to waste.
"Sakura, the barrier seal. Now!" Kakashi fumbled with the scroll as Sakura swallowed, nodded, and began to perform a series of complicated hand seals, her brows furrowed in concentration.
"Metsu!" Kakashi released the memory jutsu sealed within the scroll just as Sakura did her final hand seal and shouted something incomprehensible. The ground shook slightly and a delicate, spidery barricade rose up around them. Just as they were encased in the protective covering, Kakashi's memory jutsu radiated its deadly aura in waves of purple energy. It would catch up to the sound ninja soon, as he was sure they didn't have much of a head start. The purple glow pulsated more strongly, and the walls of Sakura's jutsu gave an ominous quiver. The translucent wall looked dangerously frail. There was something very wrong. It didn't even look solid. Sakura let out a cry of horror.
"Sensei! I don't have enough chakra!"
Kakashi swore under his breath. "I've completely exhausted my reserves as well. My jutsu…used up too much energy. First gate, open!"
"Sensei!" Sakura cried urgently. "The barrier won't hold!" As if on cue, it cracked ominously and she shrieked, terrified.
Kakashi tried to channel his energy into Sakura's weakening jutsu, but it depleted almost instantaneously. How much chakra did this technique eat? He groaned inwardly, realizing at that moment just how exhausted Sakura must be from doing this justu twice in only one week. She was almost as good at bluffing as Naruto. He lifted his head and smiled at her wryly. Seemingly, he had come to terms with his own fate. This was the end. At least they were taking the Sound Four and Sasuke down with them. At least it hadn't all been for nothing.
"I'm sorry, Sakura." The barrier shuddered again, and more cracks appeared down the sides of the fragile walls. A beam of purple light forced its way through a miniscule gap and Kakashi dodged its advances, half-dragging Sakura out of the way.
"No…no…! W-we can't just lose everything…there has to be a way. There has to!" She dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands, sobbing quietly. "But Naruto, we've succeeded. I'm sorry Naruto, I'm sorry…"
"Sakura…" Kakashi should have never taken her along. He knew the risks, he had been so willing to give up everything…but the girl still had her whole life ahead of her. Deep inside his heart, Kakashi yearned to give up everything, to start anew. But Sakura didn't deserve this fate. She didn't deserve to lose what little she had in her twelve short years of life.
She lifted her tearstained face, looking surprisingly calm. "S-sayonara, sensei…"
"I'm sorry, Sakura…" Kakashi repeated sincerely, knowing that he could never forgive himself, even with the loss of his memory. The barrier gave a final, violent shudder, and shattered into a million pearlescent shards of hope. Because there was hope…there was always hope…
Within a five-kilometre radius of their present location, memory ceased to exist.
-:-
Two days later, Naruto was called to the Hokage's office by a teary-eyed Shizune.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Naruto asked anxiously. "Baa-chan, tell me, please tell me what's wrong!"
Tsunade gave him a strained smile, but didn't answer.
"Aw, come on, Granny Tsunade," he pleaded, worry creeping into his voice. "Hey, I didn't mean to run off…I was just going to get ramen, and then go home and rest for a few days…then go find Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei…" He trailed off, wary that she would unleash her fiery temper.
To his surprise, Tsunade's expression became pained, rather than furious. He began to feel slightly better. "So it's not me?" he asked hopefully.
Her eyes closed slowly. "No. It's…not you."
"Then what is it? Come on, tell me!"
"Shikamaru's team found Sakura and Kakashi yesterday," she said quietly. "Near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound…"
Naruto's eyes widened. "No, no! Don't…don't tell me that they're…they're…" his voice broke.
"Ah, they're not dead, Naruto," Tsunade said gently.
He brightened immediately and mopped his eyes with is sleeve. "That's great! Does that mean we can all go off to get that teme together soon? 'Cause I'm all better now! And I'm ready to kick his butt and drag him all the way back to Konoha!"
Again, Tsunade didn't answer.
"Granny Tsunade…?"
Her heartbroken smile was unsettling. It was as if she were about to tell him something very serious, very upsetting. Naruto didn't see the point of it. Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan were back! What was so upsetting about that?
"Naruto," she said finally. "There's no need to drag Sasuke back to Konoha anymore."
"Nani?!" Naruto's indignant yell carried through the open door of the Hokage's office and down the hallway. "Hey…he can't be dead?"
"No, he's not dead," Tsunade murmured.
Naruto glared at her. "Then why? What the heck is wrong? Tell me!"
The pitying, faraway look in her eyes was infuriating. Why didn't she want him to retrieve Sasuke anymore? Was she giving up on him? Did she really think that they would never succeed, and had decided to call off the mission? Naruto curled his fingers into fists.
"If you're not letting us go get Sasuke, obaasan…then I'll run off again, and you can't stop me! I'm bringing him back, no matter what it takes!" he declared.
Again, that irritating look! Naruto glared at Tsunade, who just gazed sadly back at him. He stood up, fuming.
"There's no need to be so hasty," she said calmly. "Naruto, there's no need to bring Sasuke back…because he's already back."
"WHAT…?!"
Naruto felt a strange mix of bittersweet joy and anger coursing through his veins. "What are you getting so worked up about? So Kakashi-sensei succeeded after all!" he said joyously, clapping his hands together. Time to celebrate with a trip Ichiraku's, with the entire Team 7 at last!
"I guess you could consider the mission as a success…if you're classifying it based off of the books."
"What do you mean?" he inquired, confused.
Tsunade sighed heavily. She knew he would take it badly, but she couldn't hide it from him any longer. "You'll have to see it for yourself. But take heed of my warning – you're not going to like what you see. You might even despise me for it."
"Why would I despise you?" Naruto asked incredulously.
Tsunade just shook her head. "Come," she commanded.
Naruto squinted at her, but didn't complain. He just followed her wordlessly as she led him out the office and through the streets. The hospital had been restored to its former glory, and it glowed with fresh paint and rejuvenated vitality. It was far too important a building to leave half-destroyed for long. Tsunade motioned for Naruto to enter first and he complied, looking unusually solemn. It seemed that he had had his first misgivings the moment he realized their destination.
The Hokage and the young boy disappeared into the hospital. An unnamed young man watched them go. He was painting the exterior of the hospital and enjoying his volunteer work immensely. The hospital was a refuge for the injured and the sick, and it was absolutely necessary for it to return to its previous condition as soon as it could in his eyes. As he dipped his paintbrush into a can of white paint, his gaze fell upon a battered suitcase lying innocently beside him. Why hadn't he noticed it before? Curious, he dropped his brush and examined it closely. It seemed to be singed slightly. It probably had been there since the hospital fire. Unable to contain his interest, he unfastened the latches and gazed at the contents. A shocked scream pierced the air. The man collapsed the floor, and the thousands upon thousands of ryo notes fluttered to the ground.
A few hours later, he was admitted to the hospital for heart failure.
I usually come up with the weirdest, most persistent ideas when attempting to free some writer's block. D:
Anyhow, for some reason, every chapter I write for every single story is under 3000 words, and most average 1000. I wanted to write something much longer, hehe.
And also, my other Naruto stories are all a bit too canon for my liking - I have to keep going back to rewatch episodes because I need the exact dialogue. I've already watched episodes 1, 2, 3, 33, 34, and 41 at least six times each. ._.
Ah, so this plot! It's going to deviate completely from the original timeline, yay! Now if only I'll be able to juggle updating this, my other three stories, and my final exams that are coming up... ;^;
Thank you so much for reading!