Author's Note: I have no idea where this is going. No clue whatsoever. But when I improvise fanfics like this, it always ends up being somewhat presentable. I figure out a plot halfway through, miracles happen, and TA-DA. So, enjoy.

Author's Note 2: This story takes place around the beginnings of the 4th GNW, when Sakura was giving everyone that bull that she was gunna kill Sasuke. It was the one time that I was on Sasuke's side. Kinda AU, kinda not.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, NaruSasu would be a thing already. But I don't. So.

Chapter 1

The Uchiha

Raven hair flutters in the slow breeze as the young man dashed through the wilderness of the sunlit forest, desperately chasing after the man who he swore on his ancestors he would kill. Branches curl downward in a futile attempt to slow him down. His eyes flash red before quickly sidestepping the obstacles. A black cloak with the occasionally red cloud jumps over a large bush before making sharp left. Narrowed Sharingan eyes follow his movements with dangerously increasing anger. The younger Uchiha grunts before his fingers fly into jutsu signs. He closes his eyes briefly before letting a stream of fire unleash from his mouth and explode upon reaching the dry bush. Green immediately wilts into black, leaving not a trace of the foliage which stood once before. Without batting an eyelash, the raven haired teen was on his way once more, resuming his pursue into the large forest once more.

The footsteps in front of the young Uchiha abruptly stop, allowing for him to catch up. Although out of breath, the younger managed to glare at his cloaked nemesis. "Itachi," he managed to growl, eyes narrowed into slits. "What are you doing here?"

The only answer the teen received in return was a brief blowing of the wind, blowing their hair to the west. Patience wearing thin, the Uchiha heir gave a loud tsk before preparing for another jutsu. Just as lightning was about to sizzle around the powered up heir, Itachi speaks. "Foolish little brother..."

"Don't screw with me!" Sasuke yells. His fisted hand is cloaked in large bolts of lightening, his anger the only fuel. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke runs up to his elder brother, hate burning brightly in his eyes.

Itachi turns slowly to the quickly approaching threat, his true countenance covered with a cool indifferent mask...or so Sasuke thought. His hatred-filled eyes met with Itachi's Mangekyou ones, and the world seemed to bend away from under his feet, casting an unused Chidori and Uchiha into the darkness of the earth. A teardrop landed on his face as he fell into the abyss, but as to its origin, Sasuke could only wonder.

"Oi, Sasuke, are you awake?" Zetsu poked the teen awake, looming over his sleeping form on the stiff bed.

The interruption brought his dream to an erupt halt, and with a groan the Uchiha heir stirred, his dark locks sticking out in every direction but down. Rubbing the sleep from his face, Sasuke's sleepy eyes wandered around the small cavern with distaste. Although he had never regretted coming to the Akatsuki, they could had at least provided some quality rooms, rather than dank, small, and web infested ones. Darkness surrounded him until a quick fire jutsu lit a nearby torch hanging on the wall. Zetsu's flytrap banged him in the head as the half asleep teen attempted to sit up, amusing both Zetsus greatly. Scowling, Sasuke dragged himself out of bed, away from the freak of nature towering over him. Why in the world was he watching him in my sleep, that imbecile, Sasuke thought darkly to himself, rubbing his forehead absent-mindedly, I'll kill him.

"Sasuke. Where are you going?" The darker of the Zetsus questioned as Sasuke slipped into darker attire than usual.

Not bothering to dignify the inquiry with a response, Sasuke simply continued to dress, clad in a color similar to his hair. Noticing the air around the shinobi grow colder, the Zetsus wisely kept quiet as the teen finished off his outfit with a concealing dark cloak. "I'll be out for a bit," the Uchiha simply stated before vanishing into smoke. The darker Zetsu blew air through his nostril. "What do we do now? We were told to keep watch over him." A shrugged shoulder and an unreassuring chuckle later, his counterpart responded. "Maybe we should send a double to follow him."

"He'll sense that. It's too obvious." Zestu narrows his one golden eye. "Something else."

The paler half of him pales further. "I-I don't know..."

"Useless," was the curt response, and before White Zetsu could whine further, the mostly unused door to Sasuke's bedroom opened. Artificial light poured into the opening, followed by a tall figure in the Akatsuki's known wear. An orange mask with thin lines swirl toward the circle of his right eyehole disguises the face of the leader of the Akatsuki, whose undeceiving eyes sweep the room with a narrowed Sharingan. "Where is Sasuke?"

Both Zetsus shrug off the question. The lighter speaks. "He just suddenly disappeared without a trace."

The leader's deep voice rolls off the cramped walls. "I see." With a flair of his flowing cape, he is gone, killing off the only other light in the dark room as he closes the door with surprising delicacy. Zetsu, seeing no sense in staying any longer, vanishes into the shadows of the floor below.

Sunlight streams through the small crack in Naruto's window, illuminating the sleeping blond's face. Groaning loudly, the young man turned away from the sunlight, snuggling in the warmth of his thick blanket. Not a second after he settled in, the alarm clock near his bed went off, sending waves of unwanted noise over the sensitive sleep-worn ears of the sleeping teen. Sitting up with a start, the blond glared at the alarm clock, slamming a fist to turn it off. It read 8:00 AM, an hour prior to when the Hokage wanted to meet with him. Why the Fifth had wanted him to wake up at such an ungodly hour, one could only ponder. Wondering about the strange request the older woman gave him, he finally pulled himself out of bed, tiredness screaming at him to return.

The silence that filed his house was a comforting one, as Naruto had come to love in the early mornings. Sunlight filed through a nearby window, giving his small apartment a more comforting vibe. Naruto looked around his house with lonely eyes, wondering how different it would be if his parents had lived. Would he wake up to the smell of his mother making pancakes each morning? Would he see his father already wide awake, busy filling out paperwork and fulfilling duties as the busy man he was? Naruto could only wonder. Ever since meeting his parents subconsciously, seeing their happiness at his growth and upbringing, something within the blond had awakened. As if seeing for the first time that he had parents who loved him with their whole heart, watching over him day after day. Wether or not he could see them, they could see him- it was exhilarating.

He had to make them proud.

Instead of the usual ramen, Naruto pulled out a variety of fruits and vegetables. After rinsing the colorful food, he cut them up and threw the concoction into a blender, spicing it up with orange juice. As the smoothie blended, Naruto found bagels and jam to complete the breakfast. Naruto could almost feel his mother crying out of joy, watching him eat something healthy for once. Smiling to himself, the silence of the house began to give way to the quiet hum of the happy teen.

"Naruto, you're late." Narrowed cinnamon eyes drilled holes into the shinobi's head, an eyebrow arched in question. "May I ask why?"

The Hokage's office was filled with warm rays of the sun, blinding Naruto to the point of pain. Squinting against the glare, his brought a tanned hand to help shade some of the brightness. Everything in the office became a lighter shade of its original color, and it gave the area an angelic glow. Distracted, the orange clad teen glanced around the room, his eyes connecting with everything except for the Fifth's.

A scratch behind his wild yellow hair and one shrug later, Naruto responded. "I have no excuse, Tsunade-obaachan. I just..." He trailed off. The blue eyes that were as bright as the sun a second prior suddenly dimmed. Tsunade opened her glossed mouth, about to the give the ninja more grief, before Shizune burst in her office, her state of being anywhere but normal.

Officially ticked, the busty woman stood up abruptly, her aura darkened. "Shizune!" She snapped loudly. "Did or did I not tell you-!"

"It's Sakura," Shizune wheezes, her breathing uneven. "She g-gave me a drug that k-k-knocked me out for w-who knows how long. I d-don't know w-what else she put in it, b-but I feel s-sick..." Naruto's eyes widened at the announcement, and the blond woman behind him fell silent. Shizune continued, her face growing paler by the second.

"S-she told me..." Shizune stutters, leaning heavily on the doorframe to the office. Her breaths became more filled with liquid than air, and in a flash Tsunade lowered the slowly dying body in the floor, administering a healing jutsu to the woman's shuddering chest. Hard, cool eyes narrowed as the difficulty of the healing intensified. "Don't speak anymore, Shizune," she whispers, focusing all of her chakra on the task at hand.

The entire room seems to pulsate with the sick woman's shuddering breaths, each interval getting wider and wider. "Tsunade...-sama...t-there's some...thing y-you need to k-k-know..." Shizune sputters, struggling to pronounce each word. "Sakura...s-she's w-with..."

"I told you not to talk, idiot!" Tsunade barks, silently cursing at the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

"...Sa...su...ke..."

Silence fills the room as the information sinks in. Shizune takes a final, painful breath before sagging under the green glow of Tsunade's healing hands. The female blond becomes still. A small sound similar to a hiccup escapes the woman's mouth, and, gritting her teeth, continues the jutsu. Naruto looks on the scene with a heavy heart, shifting his eyes away from the corpse. No words he can think of will be able to revive Tsunade's dying heart. The silence looms over the two and seems to settle comfortingly as the Hokage continued to heal and silently grieve over her fallen subordinate.

The Fifth's soft words are so elusive that Naruto had to walk forward on heavy legs in order to hear the quiet woman. "Naruto...the mission I had originally assigned you is now null and void..."

The Uzumaki's eyebrows furrowed for a completely different reason other than the rarity of a cancelled mission. Tsunade's voice was slow, dark, and had a malicious undertone. "Naruto," she whispers, sounding out his name with refined clarity, "I am going to send you on a new mission." She turned and stared at Naruto, her features carrying a darkness to them.

Naruto stood at attention, his eyes clouded over while staring at the new and 'improved' Hokage of the Fire Country. It was not a pretty sight. Her eyes were narrowed and lifeless, the light that once adorned them are now completely extinguished. Her pale cheeks began to sag slightly, as if the jutsu holding them up was wearing off. Her glossed lips were now tugged downward in an frown that would make a grown man cry. All in all, she looked like a tired and saddened old woman.

Unable to speak at the sight of this weakness, Naruto attempted to swallow but came to no avail. He remained silent and waited for his next orders. Her long bangs shielded her face from his as she spit out her next words. "I am assigning Team Kakashi, with the addition of Hinata, Kiba, and Shikamaru, on this extremely important mission that must be carried out immediately."

Speechless, Naruto just stared at her, his slow mind still unable to process the events that had just occurred. Sakura did what?

"This will be classified as a Rank S Mission!" Tsunade yells as she stands up. She turns to me with an angry and determined face, with the slighted hint of sadness behind her tough, unbreakable mask. But this time, there was a crack.

Tears ran down her face as she gritted her teeth, practically growling her next words. Naruto, unable to take in the unmasked Tsunade, took a step back.

"Bring me Haruno Sakura immediately!"

So, how you like? Not really, somewhat, not at all? Review me anyway, they taste like skittles *^* I am not the best writer in the world, but, hey, I try. Please look at my other stories...that I should at least attempt to update xD. Thanks for reading! Ja ne!~