Darkness fades to shadows

Description:

Darkness fades to shadows is a non-massacre, slightly canon but mostly alternate universe fic with OC self-insert.

Character glimpses:

Naruto: I'll be the hokage, BELIEVE IT!

Sasuke, arrogant much?

Sakura: I LOVE Sasuke-kun…..AS IF!

Setsuka: Wanna know me? Good luck with that.

Itachi: Hn. Idiots.

Author's note:

Titania: We don't really own Naruto.

Blaze: But we don't think Kishimoto-san would mind us "borrowing" some parts of it. After all, it's for the greater good. *wink wink*.

Titania: So, here we are, hoping you'll enjoy the story. Welcome to_

Naruto: Anousa! Anousa! Can I do it?! Can I? Can I?

Titania: Uh…

Blaze: It's ok. No harm done, right?

Naruto: Welcome to Darkness fades to shadows! You'll love it, BELIEVE IT! I love ramen! One day I'll be the hokage and give out free ramen!

Sasuke: Shut up, dobe. You're embarrassing us.

Naruto: What are you talking about, teme?! I totally rock, believe it!

Sasuke: I do not know him.

Naruto: TEME! Forget about him! You guys love me, right? Right? Right?!

Sasuke: Sure they do. In a parallel universe where Kakashi-sensei despises Icha icha paradise and flees at the sight of it.

Naruto: Why you_

Sakura:*Bonks both of them on their heads and pushes them under the screen* Sorry about them. But I really hope you like it and_

Setsu: *Drags sakura down and then pops head back up* What in the world are you looking at? Just read the story!*Ducks head under*

Blaze: -_-

Titania: Anyways, have fun!

*Huge explosion! Both of the authoresses disappear behind the smoke*

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Itachi: You really didn't think that I'd let you have the last word, did you? *Smirks* Hn.

Chapter 1 – Run after the scroll

Haruno sakura's POV

I walked into class to see everyone talking among themselves in hushed whispers. Our graduation exams were to be held today. I wondered why Iruka-sensei wasn't here. I was exactly on time and he had a habit of arriving early. Maybe that's why everybody looked confused. I walked over to the only unoccupied bench and sat down.

I heard a soft thud as someone sat beside me. I turned to look at who it was and fought to hide my grimace. Uchiha sasuke, renowned as the hottest, richest guy in our class. Almost all the girls worshipped the ground he walked on. To me he was an arrogant, stuck up brat who didn't care about anyone besides him. Oh sure, he was good looking. But his 'I am so much more superior than all of you' attitude made me want to introduce my fist to his face. I looked away and sighed. "Annoying" he muttered. I could feel that urge in my hands again. An urge to pound his face in! Couldn't he stand a bit of noise? (Inner: Stupid, arrogant, self-centred Uchiha!) Totally. Wait, who was that? (Inner: I'm you, you idiot. No, scratch the idiot. If I call you one then it's as if I'm insulting myself) Oookaay. That did not just happen. There is no such thing as an inner me. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, Sasuke. As if on cue, he sighed. So he could do it but if I did then it became annoying. I gritted my teeth and took a steady breath. I calmed myself saying hitting him would do me no good. (Inner: Sure would be satisfying though)

I looked around the room trying to ignore him and the voice inside my head which by the way does not exist. Ino-pig, the self-proclaimed gossip queen of our class was trying to find out why sensei still wasn't here. (Inner: He's late himself & he always preaches us to be punctual! Shannaro! ) Chouji was munching on chips (Inner: Hmm, is that a new flavour? Seems to be tasty*drools*) Shikamaru was…..*snore*….asleep it seems. I sweat dropped. Hinata-chan was shyly looking around fidgeting in her seat. Kiba was jumping up and down looking elated since the test was not going on while Akamaru sat on top of his head barking. This boy HAS to be related to Naruto. The similarity between them in the field of obnoxiousness seems to be too great to pass off as a coincidence. Talking about Naruto, where was he? I scanned the room again. Most of my classmates seemed to be gossiping or fawning over sasuke (Inner: Oooh! Look how gorgeous they look with drool dripping down their faces and stars for eyes! Seriously, how much more idiotic can they be?) Ok just shut up already. (Inner: fine. Be on your own then) Thank goodness. Naruto and Shikako couldn't be seen anywhere. Hmm, how odd. Naruto, I can understand but Shikako's never late. Ah, there she is.

Shikako seemed to be looking for someone appearing frantic and worried. I wondered as to what would upset the normally calm and logical Shikako. When her eyes met mine she walked towards me. When she reached me she bent down and said softly "I overheard the teachers talking among themselves about a forbidden scroll having been stolen. It was apparently last seen yesterday night. What I'm worried about is the fact that they also said that the demon's finally done it. Naruto might be late usually but he wouldn't do this on such an important day. He was also in a very foul mood after Iruka-sensei told him he wouldn't pass the test if his bunshin didn't improve. You know that he refused Chouji's offer of treating him with ramen. It's a clear sign of an apocalypse. Naruto's missing, so is the scroll. You do the math".

This wasn't good. No, it wasn't good at all. It seemed plausible for Naruto to get mad & do something really stupid. But I didn't expect him to go to THIS extent. I could feel it in my gut that something was terribly wrong. I couldn't swallow the feel of dread that seemed to be clogging my throat, suffocating me.

I urgently told Shikako, "I need to find Naruto and no, you can't come with me! I need you to control the situation here. If anyone asks for me, tell them that I was feeling very ill and went home early. Please, Shikako! I know you want to come with me but it'll be too suspicious for both of us to go missing together. Even more so during an exam, which neither of us EVER miss! You know I'm right so will you do this for me?" She seemed to contemplate this for a moment and then she nodded unhappily. "Thank you" I whispered to her before getting up and heading out of the classroom.

Once I was out of the school premises, I began running. Where could Naruto have possibly gone? I decided to look for him in his apartment first. I desperately wished he was fast asleep on his bed, snoring as usual. But when I pushed open his door no orange ramen smelling mass was on the bed. It didn't look like anyone had slept in. My breathing hitched. Where was Naruto? What if he was hurt...No! I'm not going to think about that and lose my cool. My best friend needed me and I HAVE to be strong for him. I took a deep breath and stepped into his room. Okay, let's see, where could he be? Naruto's missing. So is the scroll. Hmm, I feel like I'm missing something. But I couldn't lay my finger on it. The only other person so close to Naruto as me was Iruka-sensei. I had to go talk to him. And I needed to hurry.

I spun around ready to take off again only to have my path blocked by a REALLY annoying brat leaning casually against the doorframe. I could feel a vein twitching (Inner: did that bastard follow us? Sakura, punch him in the face. His face is just begging for it) No, I'm not going to take orders from you. I'm my own person so stop irritating me. "Going somewhere?" asked Sasuke raising a brow. "I don't have time for this! Just get outta my way!" I snapped. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I don't think so", he replied coolly. "Don't make me hurt you, Uchiha. If you don't move in the next three seconds, you're gonna find my fist on your infuriating face", I threatened. Sasuke smirked in that uchihaTM style. "I'd like to see you try", he said. (Inner: He asked for it. Come on sakura, just this once. You want it just as much as me) Just this once I told her as I pulled back my hand aiming for his nose. He caught my wrist easily still smirking. Easy peasy I thought. I concentrated chakra in my leg and kicked. Hard. (Inner: Yay! That's what you get for underestimating us) Yeah yeah, now go away I said to her. Sasuke flew back a few feet from the force of the kick but managed to land on his feet.

I tried to get out of Naruto's place but he was faster than me. I really need to improve my speed. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me against the wall. I struggled, trying to get myself free. "Stop" he ordered. Who the hell does he think he is? Giving orders like that "How do you know to concentrate chakra in your legs? They haven't taught that at the academy yet." He asked, his eyes narrowing to slits. "That's none of your damn business! Now let go of me! I have to go find Naruto! He needs my help" I practically yelled.

"Fine" he said stepping back. "But I'm coming with you" I glared at him. "You will do no such thing. Besides you don't even know what's going on. For all you know we might be playing hide and seek." I said giving a frigid glare. "Oh yeah? Is the scroll playing hide and seek too?" he asked with a smirk. "I heard Shikako telling you about it in the classroom. I don't want the test to be cancelled. If we find Naruto early, maybe they'll still conduct it. You are his friend and know all of his hideouts. So yes, I'm coming with you" he said with no expression on his face.

I could feel my anger building, threatening to burst through. "Naruto's life might be in danger & all you are worried about is the damn test?! My opinion about you was right. You are just a selfish spoiled brat!" I yelled. He shrugged unaffected "Naruto means nothing to me. He messes things up on his own. He always causes trouble & isn't worthy to be called a shinobi. Even if he knew he couldn't pass the test, he should have faced it. Not run away like a coward. As if that wasn't enough, he took the forbidden scroll with him. This is just a sick prank. It's his fault and he has to pay for it" he said. I reached my limits. "Go fuck yourself, Uchiha!" I said through clenched teeth.

The next moment I found myself pinned against the wall, his face inches from mine. This has got to stop happening) "Watch your mouth, Sakura! Don't you dare take your wrath out on me! This is all Naruto's fault! He's nothing but an unwanted freak!" he yelled right back. I felt my blood boil. He took it too far this time. Inner expressed her rage with a language that would make pirates drop their heads in shame. I completely agreed with her. I guess she really is me. (Inner: let's kick ass!) I proceeded to do just that. I forced chakra onto my palms & pushed Sasuke so hard that he crashed to the wall in front of us. He crumpled down groaning.

"Don't you dare call him a freak! He's so much better than you. He's not a coward either. In fact he's the bravest person I know! Do you even have an idea what it's like to be hated, despised by the people of your own village and not know why?! Do you know what it's like to see everyone turn away from you anywhere you go?! Do you know what it's like to be called a demon when you've done nothing wrong? If they don't do that then they act as if he doesn't exist. If I was in his position I would have hated those people. I wouldn't have cared about their happiness. But Naruto never feels like that. He wants to be the hokage and protect everyone. Even people who want him dead. He loves this village more than anything even though he hadn't anyone who he could call his own. He didn't even have anybody who loved or even cared for him. Do you know what that is like, Uchiha?" I growled.

Sasuke sat there frozen, eyes wide. I saw some kind of emotion flicker in his eyes for a moment before he averted them, looking to the ground. It was too quick for me to know whether it was guilt, sympathy or something else. For a second I thought it was pain. "You are annoying" he mumbled. I simply turned towards the door. He walked beside me and said "This doesn't change anything. I am still coming with you". "Fine. I've wasted enough time as it is arguing with you" I said and started running towards Iruka-sensei's home. I finally reached and knocked on the door. There was no answer. I tried again to have the same result. "Damn it! Where did sensei go at a time like this?" I muttered closing my eyes and rubbing my temple.

"Why couldn't the dobe just learn the jutsus from the damned scroll instead of taking it?" Sasuke said in an exasperated tone. My eyes snapped open. When you put it that way…. (Inner: eureka!) "Idiot" I said as I took off running. "What did I do?" sasuke demanded while running beside him. "Me, not you" I muttered. "What? Why?" Sasuke questioned looking intently at me. "Damn it all to hell! Why didn't I think of it sooner?!" I said ignoring him. He looked annoyed to be treated this way. "Will you tell me what you thought of for kami's sake?" he asked.

I finally decided to grace him with an answer. "Naruto wants to pass this test real bad! He'll probably try to learn some jutsu off the scroll. He has this idea in his head that he'll be respected if he learns some 'amazingly cool' jutsu. The moron! He couldn't have come up with this hare brained idea on his own though. Naruto may be a prankster but he wouldn't come up with a plan of stealing a scroll simply for passing a test. He wouldn't put the whole village at risk for the damned test (I looked at him pointedly and he scowled) He's susceptible to persuasion though. He has this habit of trusting what people say without thinking it through. Someone else is definitely involved in this. This just became extremely dangerous".

Sasuke looked confused so I explained "There's a reason why those scrolls are forbidden. Some of them have jutsus which in the wrong hands could destroy the village. And there's no reason why a konoha shinobi should steal the scroll unless he's a spy". Sasuke asked with a frown. "But why would a spy who is bound to be strong ask Naruto to do it for him? I mean, Naruto's an idiot. He's the deadlast of our class." I shook my head "Naruto isn't weak. Naruto may not look or act like it but he's smart. He's very good at strategic planning. How do you think he's able to prank so many people without harming anyone? I mean I've seen shinobi after him all the time. Its people like Iruka-sensei who know him well that are able to catch him. Heck nobody would even know that he did it in the first place if he didn't announce it to the whole village and their grandmother. He does those pranks to get people to acknowledge him. He thinks it's better than getting ignored. Due to his pranks he knows the inside of the hokage tower like the back of his hand. Plus he knows the shifts of the guards, how to get past each of them etc. He's the logical choice for such a venture".

Sasuke's frown became even more pronounced and he seemed to be deep in thought. After seeming to grudgingly accept the explanation he asked where we were going. "Training ground 3. That's where he always goes if he needs to practice without any interference. However he doesn't know anything about the amount of chakra required for the high level jutsus. If he uses too much then he would be vulnerable or even experience chakra exhaustion. He shouldn't have attempted something like this without knowing the proper precautions. Baka! Couldn't he have just come to me?" I said.

When we approached the ground I heard grunts, thuds and a lot of really weird noises. It sounded like there was an army out there with the amount of noise being produced. It sounded like the perfect place where Naruto could be found. After all he did have the reputation of being the loudest ninja. We followed the noise and came upon a clearing. We froze at the sight before us. Bloody hell.

Author's end note:

Now I am sure you are wondering who the hell is Setsuka and where in the world she is, right? Well, she's gonna appear after a few chapters. As to who she is, you'll have to wait. See, we love leaving you at the edge of your seat waiting for the next chapter*smirks*.Anyways, the point of views go on changing between the main characters so setsu doesn't monopolize the story. You must have noticed that we changed sakura's character a lot, right? Like her, we've given a new twist to almost all of the character's personalities. We hope you'll love them like we do. Don't forget to review!