Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
A/N - This is my first fan fiction, so please feel free to give constructive criticism in the reviews. (: The setting is shortly after the Pein vs Naruto arc. The story does not exactly follow the story line, but still has the main plot points in the original story. This first Chapter may be short but it is just an intro, I intend to make chapters longer after this. Please enjoy. (:
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"Konoha?" The female teen said with the slightest of curiosity.
"That is the village where you will find him, I expect you to carry out your mission there, you already know the details." The Akatsuki member said, his low voice resounding throughout the empty halls. The female sighed, a sadness in her eyes as they continued down the echoing halls. She then gave a hesitant nod as they neared the exit.
Once they came to a stop, the man gave his last goodbye to his distant relative, in whom he had grown feelings for. As his feet began to adjust to take off, he felt a tug at his cloak. He began to hear the quietest of sobs. He turned to face his relatives face covered in tears, a sight he did not want to see.
"I-Isn't there another way, Onii-san?" She said choking on her many tears.
"I am afraid not, either way, I will die sooner or later, I do not regret my decision." He said, his chest hurting with each word he said.
"We will find a way, we can find someone to heal you! We can-" She then began to collapse, the man being able to catch her, held her in his arms, looking down on her with his sharingan eyes which had cast a genjutsu on the teen.
"Now sleep, and when you wake up, you know what you have to do."
He layed her against the wall on the cold floor, and tapped her forehead with his two fingers. As he pulled away, in her last efforts she grasped his hand lightly, as a single tear fled her eye, her hand slowly losing grip and falling into her lap as she went off into slumber, never to see him again. The man stood up and cast his eyes to the sky as he took off.
"Looks like its going to rain."
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"Sakurrraaaaaa! Ramen! I want ramen!" The yellow haired hero complained.
"You know just because you saved the village doesn't mean you get to slack off during reperations! Ramen this, ramen that! Thrust your enthusiam towards something else, like repairing the village!" Sakura said slowly losing her temper.
"I hear ramen has lots of nutrients, dattebayo! Maybe if I grab a bowl it will replenish my-"
Naruto's body then proceeded to fly into a half rebuilt house, making the building cave in. Naruto found himself out of the rubble, and apologized to the upset workers, who were sure to forgive the hero quickly.
"Sakuraaaa! What was that for?!" He said with an innocent whine as he rubbed his cheek, now with imprints of Sakura's knuckles. Sakura took notice of the curious stares from the villagers who had witnessed her bout of rage, which made her feel embarassed.
"Ahhhh! Sorry,sorry! You see it was an accident!" She spoke nervously to Naruto with beads of sweat running down the sides of her head.
"Accident my ass!" Naruto said, catching her in her own lie. But Naruto made contact with her evil glare, and immediately stopped protesting.
"Uhhh, yeah it was an accident. Dont worry about it." Naruto said out of fear to his companion. The crowd looked on confusingly at the two, but then soon returned to work after the awkwardness had passed.
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After hours of hard work, the sun began to set on the horizon. Everyone began to halt their work and decided to call it a day. Sakura had already gone home, so there was no fun in staying for Naruto. He then went to a makeshift Icharaku Ramen restaurant, which consisted of foldable tables, chairs, and the Ramen itself.
It was now night in Konoha, and as Naruto began leaving, he couldn't help but look at the beautiful silhouette of the night sky and it's stars. As he looked up, he realized how at peace he was after the storm he encountered had blown away. His daydreaming then halted as he felt as if a strange presence was looking at him. He moved his head straight forward and his eyes encountered a figure wearing a hooded cloak, similar to the Akatsuki cloak design, but not exactly the same print.
Naruto decided to move toward the figure, when something stopped him completely in his feet. Underneath the shade of the cloak the figure was wearing, its eyes began to open slowly, revealing a distinct feature of the Uchiha. Blood red eyes met with blue. He gasped as his mind raced with thousands of thoughts.
No way. No way... Is that... Sharingan? Can it be? Is it really him? Is it really...
"Sasuke?"
As Naruto uttered the name, the figure began to run towards the woods outside of Konoha. Naruto began to run after the figure, hoping in his mind, that this person could be Sasuke.
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"Yo, Sasuke can we get a move on? I'm dying for a fight!" Suigetsu asked, proudly bearing his shark like teeth at him.
"Suigetsu, that is no way to talk to my Sasu- Er, I mean, Sasuke!" Karin said annoyingly as blush ran across her face.
Sasuke looked toward the two, signalling that they should shut up and listen, as he was in a relaxed position, leaning against the wall.
" Here's the plan. We head to the Land of Iron, and infiltrate the Kage Summit that will ensue in a couple days. Karin, you need to make sure we are untraceable until we reach our target, got it?"
"Yes, I would do anything you want Sasuke-kun." Karin said with determination as she grabbed hold of his arm and hugged it, though her gesture was soon rejected as Sasuke shook her firm grasp off of his arm.
"Sorry Karin, but Sasuke is only interested in one Uzumaki, if you know what I mean." Suigetsu said jokingly as he pulled her away from Sasuke. Sasuke then shot a look that read " Shut up now or I am going to kill you."
"I-I was only joking Sasuke, you know me." Suigetsu exclaimed nervously as he inched towards Sasuke a few feet away, but he was soon frozen in his tracks. "What the hell is this, Sasuke?"
"I'm not doing it idiot!" Sasuke said annoyed as he tried to move and soon realized Suigetsu was not the only one who could not move. No one was able to move. As Karin and Suigetsu freaked out, Juugo and Sasuke kept calm. Sasuke began to think.
Shit, what is this? A genjutsu? This presence, it seems familiar. Okay think how do I get out of this? How did I even get in this anyway?
Sasuke calmed his breathing and spoke in a calm raised voice " Whoever you are, come out and show your face!"
A minute passed, and you could begin to hear faint footsteps down the hallway of Taka's hideout. As the steps inched closer an closer, Karin showed a shock stricken face.
Sasuke then asked hurriedly " Who is it, Karin?"
"It's... It's..."
The figure then revealed itself, coming out of the dark hallway. Sasuke's eyes grew wide in disbelief as he looked at the unknown cloaked character.
" An Uchiha."
The figure with Sharingan eyes continued to walk towards Sasuke. Sasuke began to believe he would be seriously hurt if he didn't escape the strong genjutsu the Ninja had cast, but he failed to find any possible loopholes.
Once the figure reached Sasuke, he looked deep into it's eyes with a confident smirk, putting up a front to hide his nervousness. The Ninja looked right back at Sasuke, but what Sasuke had not expected was eyes filled with sympathy. Sasuke wondered why the eyes reminded him of someone who understood exactly what he has gone through. He wondered why those eyes showed no intentions for violence.
The figure then leaned in towards Sasuke and whispered 10 unforgettable words in Sasuke's ear, " Is this what Itachi would want, or what you want?"
The figure then began to back away, but not before leaving with a goodbye gesture. It lifted its hand and pointed its middle and index finger from its lightly fisted hands. Its hand reached closer to the raven haired teen's forehead above his widened eyes, and tapped it with it's two fingers. The figure then faded away before Sasuke, and team Taka realized the Genjutsu had been released.
Sasuke then inched back toward the wall in disbelief, his back thudded against the wall as his body fell to the ground. Team Taka looked at him in shock. His breathing became short pants, and his face was now covered in sweat. Sasuke soon realized that he was put into yet another genjutsu, which consisted of him and his brother when he was younger. All his good memories of Konoha, all his friends, Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi... All the good times.
"Sorry, Sasuke, maybe next time."
"We both knew, even though we never said it, that we were... friends."
"Sasuke-kun!"
"Sorry I'm late!"
" Is this what Itachi would want, or what you want?"
Sasuke then fell to his side, his breathe began to calm, and he drifted off into sleep.
"Sasuke! Sasuke!" Karin exclaimed.
"Karin its okay, he is just under a genjutsu, he will wake up ina couple of hours." Suigetsu said reassuringly.
"What about the mission?"
"That will have to wait." Juugo said as he made his way to the sleeping Uchiha.
Juugo then picked up Sasuke and slung him over his shoulder, leading Sasuke to his room. He kicked the door open and lay Sasuke on his bed and positioned him in a comfortable position. As Juugo stepped towars the door, he found himself listening to Sasuke's sleep talk.
"Naruto... Kakashi... Sakura... I've missed you."
Juugo could not believe his ears and turned to check on the passed out Uchiha. Juugo witnessed something truly astonishing that day, something in which he had never seen in his life.
An Uchiha's smile.
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Intro. End