The rain was falling, thin opaque sheets upon the peaceful village of Konoha, seeping into its closely huddled buildings and the dirt covered streets, scattering the last of the villagers that covered the market streets. Both those who where daring enough to keep their stalls open with the miserable forecast and those that were brave enough to weather a soaking to get a few necessities before the market closed down for the night.
Among the bustle of the market walked a lone figure, blonde hair plastered to his face as his piercing blue eyes roamed the skies searching for answers he wasn't sure he would receive, the misery and weariness of the sky seemingly reflected there.
He walked on ignoring none too subtle glares of disgust and loathing from those who felt they could spare it a few seconds in the down pour that assaulted them.
He was used to the feeling by now.
He returned only an hour ago, from a week long solo mission to the Wave country to quell an uprising that threatened to destabilize the entire country the same way it would have done all those years ago when they had fought Haku and Zabuza on the bridge that was now named in his honour.
That was a life time ago and the surprise and joy of being immortalized by a bridge had long worn off, now serving only as a memory of his failures and shortcomings, memories that he would rather forget but could not.
The mission was a simple task for a shinobi of his calibre and he made short work of the four missing nins that were trying to get a foot hold in the Wave. He hunted them down and separated them one by one over the week and killed them with little effort, catching them of guard and ending their reign of terror before it could begin.
He had had no chance to change out of his battle gear, for when he returned to his apartment he found all his things thrown out in the rain by the landlord and with an array of colourful words told in no vague terms what would happen to him should he show his face again and wasn't allowed back in. So with little complaint he took what little he owned and sealed it away in one of the many scrolls that Jiraiya had given to him before he had passed on.
He smiled at the memory of the old pervert, blue windows shuttered to the rain leaving his other senses to take in water that still pelted him, trying to tear his black ANBU gear off his body as it intensified. The smile soon fades in an angry wave of noise, "Get lost Demon!" "You Don't Belong Here You Monster!"
A sigh of resignation escapes him, windows open and a blue pain stares of into the dark sky, opting not to turn to the source of the verbal assault he walks on.
The puddles begin to form and grow all around him as he walks, his head no longer directed at the darkness but down at the liquid misery that now covered his path. He walked on, his destination not clear to him yet, for he had nowhere to stay and all his friends where probably still celebrating the holiday he had tried to so hard to miss and forget. . . .
It was the eleventh of October and the festival of The Kyuubi's Defeat had taken place yesterday from the early hours of the morning and only now, more than twenty-four hours later had it begun to end. The nine tailed demon he contained in his gut a permanent and painful reminder of his past.
The mission had been purposely requested by him so he could avoid it but kami or the shinigami or whatever other deity that existed, seemed to be plotting against him and the mission had gone too quickly for his liking and now he was stuck out here wondering the empty, unfriendly streets, watching those who shunned him celebrate in the warmth of their homes and presence of their friends.
The peace that now reigned over the elemental nations meant that the villagers could celebrate without having to worry about the future and threats that could endanger them, but all but a few of Konoha's residents would give credit to the hollow man that now roamed their streets, the same man who defeated and brought to their knees the entire Akatsuki and their ruthless leader the immortal Madara Uchiha, with help from the rookie nine and their senseis.
No one questioned their defeat; the return of the hero's was a huge celebration now dedicated to all those who aided in the battle.
Everyone except Naruto.
The villagers refused to accept that he had saved them and all credit was passed on to the others, at their protests the villagers just amplified their praise over the shinobi's attempts to give Naruto the credit due to him.
As the others were swept away from the gate on the shoulders of the crowd of overjoyed villagers Naruto was left standing at the gate gazing after them before he let a sad smile grace his lips and disappearing off to the Hokages tower to complete the report so that the others would not have to worry about it, but he never noticed the head of pink hair trying to fight its way back through the crowd or the pained emerald eyes that emerged shortly after he disappeared.
That was two years ago and here now, standing in the rain staring at an old and dear friend he finds himself thinking that maybe he doesn't deserve recognition, maybe this what he was meant to be, the Guardian of a village who shunned him and the protector of a family who ignored him.
He sits on the swing in the academy grounds, the old friend from his past, and gently swings himself back and forth as the rain continues to wash over him and his tears mingle with the sorrow of the sky and he grins at the muddied ground and the man he has become.
"Happy Birthday to me I guess" he whispers.
Sakura always disliked the rain; it got everywhere and into everything with almost no exception. Rain had also reminded her of the times she cried, the time she wasted crying and more importantly whom she had wasted those tears on.
The traitorous avenger that left them when they were still genin, the boy she claimed to love and the man that nearly destroyed all she cared for. Those tears she shed for him, the curse she placed upon a friend for him and the lives she endangered for him. All wasted when they could have been better spent on the man she was now looking for.
The man who was and is her best friend, her source of security, her protector and even when need be, her punching bag. The man who housed a mind numbingly dark past that had left her trembling with sadness and disgust for the things she had put him through. The man who had wanted nothing more from her than to take her out for a single date and the same man who only wanted to see her happy so badly that he would throw away his hopes and dreams just for her and no one else . . . . .
She shook her head ridding herself of the painful thoughts and memories, using her hand to rub away the tears that threatened to fall. She had someone to find and couldn't waste time, he should have been back by now and she was on her way to see if he was at his apartment on the less travelled part of the village.
Her ninja boots splashed in the puddles as she rushed to the shiftier side of the village, before she found out about the Kyuubi she never understood why Naruto chose to live in such a crap place, he earned enough to at least get an apartment that's roof didn't leak when it rained or looked like it had been hit by a exploding tag. After she found out that it was the only place in the whole of Konoha that would let him rent a room had surprised and angered her, and further saddened her when she found out that it was only because the owner was forced to by the third Hokage.
When Naruto told her about Kyuubi she was overwhelmed and angry at herself for never seeing the pain behind his smiles and attempts to gain attention, but what really hit her harder than the things he told her were the things she learned from Kakashi latter on when Naruto had passed out from Bunshin training with Yamato. He told her of the attempts on his life since Naruto was only four, the beatings he had received almost every day since his fifth birthday and the reason why he loved ramen as much as he did was because it was the only food he was able to get when he was younger since no one beside Ayame's grandfather allowed him into their shops.
She cried that day for him as she watched him recover from his training, pushing himself till he collapsed to bring back the traitor; the tears had flowed for what seemed ages and only stopped when he woke up. So concerned about her that the first thing he did was ask who had made her cry and promising that he would "Make them pay for making Sakura-chan cry". It was that day she had realised how far he was going for her, how much he was willing to give up for her and it made sad to know that all she ever did for him was little things.
Now she wanted to pay him back for all the things he had done for her. She suddenly stopped finding herself standing outside a dark apartment, the rain still beating down on the umbrella.
"That's odd. He should be home by now." thinks Sakura out loud. She walks up the creaking stairs and knocks twice. No sound comes from the apartment so Sakura looks in through the window and gasps when she sees empty rooms. Rushing down she knocks on the owner's door, a short chubby old man in his late forties opens up, short greying black hair tops an obnoxious face.
"What is it?" says the man, rather upset at being interrupted while still celebrating the Festival.
Slightly apologetic Sakura answers "Sorry, I just wanted to know if you know why the apartment upstairs is empty, I'm looking for the person who lives there?"
The man snorts "Bah, you mean that monster!" Sakura flinched; she had never heard the names the villagers called Naruto before." I kicked him out this afternoon, that good for nothing piece of filth deserves it." At this he burst out laughing, again making Sakura recoil in shock at the way Naruto was treated and at how the boy still managed to smile at those around him when he was treated like this.
She clenched her teeth "Do you know where he went?" She barely managed to hiss, desperately trying not to lash out at the man for the things he was saying about her friend.
"It was heading that way." He said pointing, not noticing the woman's anger, "But I wouldn't go near that monster if I was you young lady" he said bitterly before turning around shutting.
Shaking in fury and sadness she set off in the direction he had pointed, she could think of only one place that he would go to in this direction, for it's the same place she had found him thinking and planning many times after failing missions to bring back Sasuke, after being treated the hospital for the many life threatening injuries he had received during those missions.
Unconsciously she quickened her pace, she needed to find him.
He had sat there for an hour and the rain had soaked his ANBU gear all the way through and plastered his dusty blonde hair over his eyes as if trying to close them to the world, to stop him from hurting anymore. His thoughts drifted back to all the things that he could not do, the top of this list was failing to make the love o his life happy, and not being able to save the one she had loved.
He remembered the day clearly it was the year before the defeat of the Akatsuki . . . . .
The wind had swept across the Valley of End, the once pristine landscape was now showered with craters and deep gauges in the earth, the status that once stood proud watch over a water fall of great elegance were now nothing more than rubble being washed away by a raging stream of water that ran free from the river that fed it.
Amongst the ruin of land stood two shinobi heaving in breathe after breathe planning the next attack, neither wanting to lose to the other. The one shinobi now covered in purple chakra looked more monster than ninja and was covered in more cuts and bruises than he had ever had in his life but it was nothing compared to the limp blonde shinobi that was struggling to his feet, fighting his bodies pleas to collapse.
"Give up dobe!" shouted the Uchiha after regaining a semblance of balance "I'm not coming back with you to that sad excuse for a village!"
The blonde now on his feet looked up, his eyes reverted back to normal from Sage mode and he looked critically at the monster his once friend had become, he gasped as a spike of pain shot up his leg making him drop to one knee. The blonde looked like he had just been thrown into a tornado and spat out into a raging inferno, his hair had been singed and his outfit torn to pieces with scratches and wounds covering his entire body.
"Ha, why don't you use the demons powers dobe!" taunted his opponent "It would make this more entertaining!"
The blonde wearily pushed himself to his feet holding a limp arm to his side, ignoring the obvious taunt he grit his teeth and said "I made a promise Teme and I plan to keep it. Your coming home with me wether you like it or not!" and with a shuddering release of breathe whispered "I promised Sakura-chan I would."
Team 7 minus Sai and the InoShikaChou trio had been sent on a mission to the border of the fire country to track down Team Hebi and subdue them, they had intelligence from the former toad sennin Jiraiya's spy network that they were spotted heading past the border in that direction.
When they had finally caught them they had been split up, and a brutal battle had ensued. Team 8 were dragged into battle with Juugo and they disappeared into the forest chacing after the deranged mutant, leaving Sakura and Kakashi to deal with Karin and Sugetsu the other two members of team Hebi. Kakshi had instantly targeted Sugetsu, seeing him wield Zabuza's old sword had set him off and the two disappeared in a blur and clash of metal.
A resolute Sakura and determined Naruto stared down the leader of the team and the last member, Sauke, and his loyal follower Karin who stood close by his side. Without a word Karin rushed the pink haired kunoichi tackling her into the underbrush of the forest, Naruto turned about to rush to his loves aid but was stopped by the emotionless voice of the man that haunted his dreams. "This ends here Uzumaki."
He can't remember how long they had fought but he prayed his friends were better off than he, the thought of Sakura igniting the last of the strength in him. He turned toward his rival and a clone appeared next to him, "Your right Sasuke, this must end here and you're coming with me" the clone began forming a Rasengan in Naruto's still functional hand.
"So this is how you die, how ironic and oddly fitting." sneered the Uchiha. Gathering chakra to his palm the sound of a thousand frantically chirping birds filled the air. "You die now Uzumaki! Chidori!"
With the last ounce of strength both shinobi leapt into the air both attacks colliding in the air and as had happened all those years ago the force of the two jutsu mingled and formed a purple sphere that grew in size till it filled the entire valley. Just as the sphere reached the end of its growth five faces appeared at the end of the clearing looking battered, Shikamaru was carrying a limp Ino and Chouji was being supported by a drained looking Kakashi. When Sakura's eyes met the giant sphere and her heart stopped, her instincts telling her the remaining members of her team were the cause of it. Suddenly the sphere grew rapidly smaller and then exploded outwards blasting the surrounding with such force that the recon team was blown to the ground, also drowning the valley in white noise and smothering a scream of terror that tore free of Sakura's throat.
"NO!"
After what seemed like hours the wind died down and the air became still, the silence filled with white noise. The group of ninja who had bore witness to the awesome display of power slowly staggered to their feet and glanced down into what once was known as the Valley of End and what they saw brought relief to the eyes of them all but none more evident than that of Sakura.
On an outcrop of stone lay the self proclaimed avenger, seemingly knocked unconscious from the force of the blast but that is not what caught the eye of the other ninja. Not an arm span away was the boy who had risked everything for this mission, the same boy that the pink haired medic that was now rushing towards.
Sakura was painfully aware of the blondes reasons for bringing back the deserter and not a day had gone by since that realization that she had not thought of the blonde. She watched as she ran how the blond boy slowly pushed himself unsteadily to his feet, trying his best not to fall over. Once he was standing as best as he could with the pain over loading his nerves he looked up and awarded the running girl with a shaky grin.
Sakura's eyes began to tear when she saw Naruto smile at here, he had done it. He had finally subdued their long defected teammate so they could bring him home, so he could bring him home for her.
The smile that was slowly forming on her lips quickly changed when her eyes widened at the sight of the raven haired avenger staggering to his feet behind Naruto. In that moment just metres away from her old team time seemed to come to a standstill as she watched the man she had once so boisterously claimed to love charged up one last Chidori behind the one who called him brother.
The cream of horror that ripped itself form Sakura's throat would never be enough to stop the horrible nightmares of the words and memories that escaped her grasp in that moment.
Before her screams reached Naruto was when she heard the words that would haunt her dreams. The Uchiha spoke to the blondes back with such malice that it shook her to the core.
"You may have won Naruto but I will end this now, nothing will make me ever return to that village so I'm leaving this place . . . . and you . . . . will be coming with me!" and with a grin a deranged man stabbed Naruto through the back of his left shoulder, ripping through his weakened body till his hand stuck out the front on him like and impaled puppet before the remaining life and chakra left him.
It was then that time decided it had taken enough liberties and sped up again, it was in those painful unreal moments that followed afterwards that the scream that had halted in my lungs left with frightening clarity as I watched the blood flow from the gaping wound in my best friends chest.
"NARUTO!"