Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto; the characters of Saphire Tsukikage and Elizabeth of the Black Crescent Moon and their respective jutsus belong to me. The fang of the moon and the fang of night also belong to me. All song lyrics used belong to their respective artist.
This story is rated M for language (a lot of it), violence, and some sexual themes (like innuendos and suggestive things).
MoonShadow Productions Presents
Betrayal and Redemption
A Naruto FanFiction
By: Saphire Tsukikage
Chapter 1 Epic Fail
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They had failed. Sasuke had gotten away, and he, Naruto, had almost died. He would probably be dead right now except for the Kyuubi keeping him alive. He thought Kakashi would have come after him, but the only one who seemed to care was Saphire nee-chan…
Naruto found himself in front of the Kyuubi's cage. The fox was mad, and Naruto could tell it wasn't entirely directed at him. Kyuubi finally noticed Naruto. "What the hell brat? Why didn't you kill that bastard? If it weren't for me, you'd be dead right now! You could have easily killed him, but no, you had to let him go with a scratch on his hitai-ate! You're damn lucky my sister completed her mission early. She'll be here soon. Before you wake up though, you need to talk to the shy Hyuuga vixen when you get back." Naruto was utterly confused, "Why would I need to talk to Hinata-chan?"
Kyuubi growled at him "Baka, that girl has had a crush on you since she first saw you, that crush has probably turned to love by now. It's about time for you to take notice of her and stop chasing the pink-haired, bipolar, obsessive compulsive bitch."
The jab at Sakura didn't register in Naruto's mind. He was too busy trying to register what Kyuubi had said about Hinata. "She has a crush on me? How? Why? I mean, she always faints when she's around me, but I just figured she was sick or something. Are you sure?" Naruto though that this might be a trick of the Kyuubi's to make him feel bad. Kyuubi responded, "Yes kit, I'm sure. But if you don't believe me, just ask my sister, it's time for you to wake up."
Naruto had opened his eyes to find an ANBU in full uniform and fox mask kneeling above him, her hand glowing with her black, blue, and silver chakra.
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As soon as Saphire realized Naruto was awake, she stopped the flow of chakra to her hand.
"Holy crap, you're finally awake! You've been out for nearly ten minutes, I thought I lost you!" Saphire had been somewhat panicking for the last 9 minutes, as she knew that if a person had a concussion and was unconscious for more than a couple minutes, their chance of coming back dropped drastically. What she didn't realize was that he didn't have a concussion because Kyuubi had healed that within seconds. However, she was also panicking because he had stopped breathing for the last couple of minutes (when Kyuubi told him about Hinata's crush).
"Saphire nee-chan, you need to calm down! I'm fine, you know Kyuubi will heal me." Naruto told Saphire.
"Hey, I couldn't be sure you survived that, I know you used his chakra a lot. Also, in case you didn't notice, you took a flipping chidori to the chest! I wasn't sure if aniki could heal you that fast. I swear, I'm going to murder Kakashi nii-san for teaching Sasuke that jutsu!" Saphire replied. "Anyways, we need to get back to the village, everyone else is alive, but most of them need a hospital, Neji, Kiba, Lee, and Chouji especially. Go back to sleep Naruto, Hinata will Jyuuken me to death if you're not conscious when we get back."
The mention of Hinata reminded Naruto of what the Kyuubi had told him. "Saphire nee-chan, does Hinata like me?"
Now, that question surprised Saphire, as everyone knows that Hinata has a crush on Naruto, everyone except Naruto himself.
"Did you finally figure it out, or did Kyuubi tell you? Yeah, she has had a crush on you for awhile, probably since you started at the academy."
Naruto thought back to what Hinata had told him right before he went after Sasuke, that morning.
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"Naruto-kun, wait!" Naruto had turned around to see Hinata running up to him. When Hinata was standing in front of him, she said "Be careful, Naruto-kun."
Naruto replied "Don't worry Hinata, I'll bring Sasuke-teme back." He had assumed she was worried about Sasuke.
"Um, Naruto-kun, I don't care if you bring Sasuke back safe, as long as you come back safe. Um, Naruto-kun, I…I…lo…love…" Before she could say anything else, Kiba called to Naruto "Naruto, come on! We have to leave!" Naruto turned around to tell Hinata bye, but she was gone.
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Naruto, for the first time ever, had an epiphany. Only, there weren't any angels singing, instead there were two demons laughing their asses off. "Holy crap she tried to tell me this morning! She was worried about me! Not Sasuke-teme! She didn't even care if he came back! Oh my god, I think I know what she tried to say this morning before we left, HINATA-CHAN LOVES ME!!!"
Saphire, still laughing her ass off, told Naruto to calm down. "You still need to rest so you're conscious when we get back."
Naruto, once again feeling the exhaustion from the fight, fell down into sleep, but also just a little further…
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Naruto once again found himself in front of the Kyuubi's cage. The stupid fox was still laughing too.
"Hello again kit, about time you realized the shy vixen loves you. While I'm sure your absolutely ecstatic over that fact, you might want to act a little somber when you get back, no doubt the stupid villagers will be upset that they lost their precious Uchiha. And, more likely than not, they will try to blame you. So, be careful, no doubt there will be more assassination attempts than usual. By the way, what are you going to tell the pink haired girl? You know she will be upset with you."
Naruto wasn't sure what he would say to Sakura, but he was used to flying by the seat of his pants. Besides, he needed sleep…
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Saphire sighed as she picked Naruto up. Since she had been on an ANBU mission, she was still in her uniform, ANBU mask and all. While in her uniform, she went by the name of Tsuki and disguised herself as Hatake Kakashi's sister. Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Hinata were the only genin that knew Tsuki and Saphire as the same person. The other jonins and a few chuunin knew as well, except Gai. While Rock Lee knew, he had promised not to tell his sensei because Gai couldn't keep a secret. Saphire, now disguised as Tsuki, thought that Neji might know because of the Byakugan.
'I wouldn't be surprised if he saw me come after Naruto, I had to go right by him. The others looked like they were doing ok.'
The Fox ANBU sighed as she summoned a few large foxes, one to carry Naruto, and then sent the others to get the people that had gone after Sasuke. As Tsuki started walking, other thoughts entered her mind.
'Sasuke will have to be assassinated, he's a traitor and a missing-nin now. How is the village going to react to that? No doubt they will want their precious Uchiha back, and they will probably want Naruto dead for letting him get away. Stupid prejudiced humans, just because he has a demon sealed inside him, they think he wants to murder them all.'
Tsuki shook her head slightly and looked up in time to see one of the summoned foxes coming toward her. The fox was carrying an unconscious Akamaru and a semi-conscious Kiba.
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Kiba had killed Sakon and Ukon, but just barely survived it. He fully expected to die from blood loss but he was still alive. 'What's happening?' he thought. 'Something is carrying me. Whatever it is…it smells familiar. It smells really familiar…like a fox. But…I only know two people that smell like a fox...Naruto…and Saphire. Wait…did Saphire come after me? Oh no, she probably thinks that I'm dead!'
In fact, Tsuki knew Kiba was alive because of their bond as mates. The bonding ceremony had been done shortly before the chuunin exams by Kiba's mother, Inuzuka Tsume. Not only did they have the Inuzuka pack bond, they also had a rather more potent demonic bond thanks to Saphire. And all she had to do was bite him and infuse the wound with chakra. Hehe, she couldn't help but grin at that particular memory. Rather, the side effects of the bite.
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Kiba could smell the slight arousal coming from Tsuki. As her mate, he was rather sensitive to that particular scent. It usually meant some fun was in store for him.
"Saphire…how are the others?" He asked from his place on the large fox that was still carrying him.
Almost immediately, Tsuki spun around with wide eyes. She had no idea that he was conscious.
"Kiba! I didn't think you would be conscious for a while." Tsuki walked over to where the large fox had Kiba on its back. "How are you feeling? I healed the major wound you had in your abdomen and I put a cast of Akamaru's leg."
Kiba was surprised he was even alive and he only noticed a dull throb in his arms and legs. He wasn't worried about himself, he was worried about Akamaru and the others who had gone after Sasuke. He was about to say as much when another thought entered his mind.
"Saphire, why are you in your ANBU uniform?" Kiba asked.
Tsuki sighed. "I finished my mission early. As soon as I got back to the village, Hinata found me and ordered me to bring Naruto back safe. Then Tenten, Ino, and Sakura found me. Every one of them told me what had happened so of course I came running after all of you."
By now, Neji and Chouji had been found as well. Saphire told the foxes to stop walking so she could check everyone's injuries. While she didn't know the names of every muscle, nerve and bone she knew when something was out of place and where it needed to be. And since she had extra chakra to spare, she made a decent emergency med-nin. She stopped Neji's bleeding, gave him a blood restoration pill, and then continued on to check Chouji. Chouji just had a couple broken fingers and a lot of bruises.
'What did Chouji do? He's almost dead from chakra exhaustion.' Saphire thought to herself as she checked them. By the time she was done Lee had been found as well, surprisingly accompanied by Sabaku no Gaara.
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Gaara had no idea who the ANBU tending to the Konoha-nin was and he was slightly alarmed when she waved at him. And then she noticed how bad Lee looked.
"Lee what are you doing out here! You were still supposed to be in the hospital!" the ANBU almost yelled when she saw Lee. She immediately moved towards Gaara and Lee and found her way blocked by a wall of sand. Gaara had no idea who this person was and for all he knew she could be working with the Sound-nin that had taken Sasuke.
At this time, the other two Suna siblings had arrived. They were mildly surprised by what they saw.
The fox ANBU turned around at the sound of their arrival and gave them a small wave. Then she turned towards the ball of sand that hid Lee and Gaara from view.
"Gaara what do you think you are doing? Lee needs to be treated for his injuries before they become any more severe!"
Saphire could hear Lee say something to Gaara inside the ball of sand. The ball of sand dispersed and returned to Gaara's gourd.
"ANBU-san, remove your mask. I will not let my…friends be treated by someone I neither recognize nor know." Gaara said before Saphire could do anything.
Saphire, or rather Tsuki, couldn't help but grin beneath her mask. So Sabaku no Gaara couldn't recognize her chakra hmm? Well, she would just have to mess with him a bit. No doubt, Shikamaru knew who it was underneath the mask, but he seemed to be the only one. The only ones currently awake were Temari, Kankuro, Lee, Shikamaru, and Gaara. And of those people, Shikamaru was the only one who knew about Tsuki the Fox ANBU and Saphire the genin being the same.
"Gaara-san, I apologize. I should have introduced myself. However, I'm rather hurt you didn't recognize me on your own. Surely your siblings recognized me?" Tsuki turned toward Kankuro and Temari to see if they recognized her or not, and neither one of them said anything. "You don't recognize me?" She sighed. "I was hoping you would, but of course I'll remove my mask."
Tsuki grinned to herself as she reached up for her mask. She could see Gaara's sand rustle in case she reached for her sword.
Gaara's eyes widened slightly when she removed her mask and cloak in a dramatic swoosh. Temari and Kankuro almost fell out of the tree they were standing in.
"How..?" was all Temari managed to say. Even though it was obvious to the Sand Siblings who the ANBU was, it made no sense. As far as they knew, Saphire was fourteen years old, and a genin. The girl - or rather woman - standing in front of them looked like she was about 16 or 17 years old, had the hardened muscles of an experienced ninja, but the sleek and curvy body of a, well a young Tsunade. She also had the same mask as Hatake Kakashi minus the headband over her eye. In short, they were looking at a 16-year-old version of Saphire.
Temari was the first to recover her voice. "How the hell are you ANBU? Last time I checked you only had enough experience to be a genin. And I know for a fact you're not the same age as me."
Tsuki grinned. "This is just my disguise so the other ninjas don't know how strong I am. It keeps the other ANBU from thinking of me as a kid too. I was just on a mission so I was still in uniform." Saphire turned to Gaara. "Can I take a look at Lee now? I still need to check his injuries."
Lee tried to walk forward, but he was stopped by the fox that had been sent after him. Saphire told Gaara to help Lee lay down so she could check him and so he could rest.
After Saphire checked Lee's injuries and used a jutsu to make him sleep she, and the others that were awake and uninjured, continued heading towards Konoha at a walking pace. They couldn't move any faster without risking the Konoha nin's injuries getting worse.
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It was only a few hours later, not long after the sun had set when:
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Naruto suddenly woke up screaming and thrashing around. Immediately, Saphire was at his side trying to hold him still before he hurt himself or someone else. Everyone but Saphire, Gaara, and Temari was asleep.
Saphire was worried. "Naruto, what's wrong? What happened?" She asked, but Naruto didn't hear her. He was mumbling in a panicked voice "Sakura-chan no! Stop, it wasn't my fault. I'll bring him back. Kakashi sensei we almost died. I can still bring him back. Please give me another chance…" Naruto's mumbling faded and now he was just staring into space.
It was a few minutes before Naruto noticed Saphire. "Nee-chan…I failed. I promised Sakura-chan that I would bring Sasuke back. I promised Kakashi-sensei too. And I failed. Sasuke got away and the villagers are going to hate me even more! Sakura is gonna kill me when she finds out I let her precious Sasuke get away! The whole village has always hated me and most wanted me dead and now they will all want me dead even more!" Naruto's voice had risen into a shout, but now he just sat next to Saphire, shaking and with tears rolling down his cheeks.
Saphire sighed. "Naruto you didn't fail. You promised you would bring back Sasuke. You never said you would bring him back today or tomorrow. And I'm pretty sure Sakura and Kakashi will be more worried about every one's injuries when you get back. As for the villagers…if they try anything they can be charged with treason. And guess who gets to deal with traitors."Saphire gave Naruto a small smile, "ANBU are in charge of tracking down traitors, Naruto. If any of the villagers try to hurt you I will take them out myself. Besides, if the villagers try anything at all you have the support of the major clans of Konoha."
At this point, Gaara felt he had to say something. "Naruto, you will also have the support of my siblings and I. The entire Sand village is grateful to you because, without your help, I would still be…psychotic. Also, if they attack you they are, by extension, attacking Saphire. And Saphire is technically still a kunoichi of Sunagakure."
Naruto looked at Gaara for a second before saying quietly "Thanks, Gaara."
Temari didn't want to be left out. "Besides, gaki, if it gets too bad you can get a mission that brings you to Suna. I'm sure your Hokage would find some reason to give you a mission that gets you out of Konoha."
Saphire smiled. "Yeah, I could request a training mission for you. Kami-sama knows you need help with genjutsu. Since I'm ANBU I would be allowed to take you outside of the village."
Naruto had a smile on his face now. "Thanks. I shouldn't have broken down like that just because of some stupid nightmare. After all, what's the worst that could happen?"
At this point Naruto yawned, gave his nee-chan a hug, and then walked over to his sleeping bag. He was out in seconds.
Temari had a slightly worried look on her face. "Did he just say what I think he said?" she asked.
Saphire sighed. "Yes he did. Obviously no one ever told him that some superstitions are very much true. He just jinxed us all."
'And,' Saphire thought, 'somehow I think his nightmare was more than a mere dream.'
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Author's Note
Woo! I finally finished the first chapter of Betrayal and Redemption! As I have done in the two chapters of my other story, I like to have a little interactive bit in the Authors' note. This time, if someone can guess why Naruto saying "What's the worst that can happen?" is a bad thing you get to….design a side mission! Yes, I will let someone design a side mission for one of the characters and I will work it into the story. Or, I might let you pick who and how Sasuke dies. Or if he dies. Please leave a review! It's easy and you don't need an account!