Disclaimer:

I just want to make a few things clear. First of all, I do not own Naruto. Nor do I own any of the characters of the anime/manga series of Naruto. Although, I really wouldn't mind Kakashi owning me .

Second, this may be my first Naruto fanfic, this isn't my first story. My last one only received ONE review…one…it said only one thing also … "MORE!" I will not continue the story if you don't give me feedback on it. Whether it's good or bad, TELL ME! Give me ideas, criticism, praise, whatever just give me something.

Thank you and I hope you like the story and don't worry, it'll get hotter later on so please be patient.

The Dark Jestyr

Festival of Memories

Ch 1

Not Your Average Mission

Tsunade woke with a start at the commotion just outside the door to her office. She pouted finding her sake bottle empty but smiled immediately upon hearing the all too familiar "Granny Tsunade!" Naruto Uzumaki, probably the only one could get away with calling her that without receiving a serious blow to the head. The lady Hokage chuckled softly to herself at that.

By the sound of things, Naruto was winning another battle against whoever was trying to hold him back from breaking the door in. 'They failed,' she thought with a sigh as the door was thrown open with all the force that was Naruto. Behind him followed the very exhausted looking Kakashi Hatake and Sakura Haruno. Tsunade remembered how just a few weeks ago, Sakura had come to hear asking to be her apprentice. The training was definitely taking its toll.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN MISSIONS ARE CANCELED FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS!"

Naruto's demand shook her from her thoughts. "Maybe for three," she said with a shrug then smiling at him with a mischievous smirk, "why, is that a problem?" Of course she knew his answer to this. Ever since Tsunade came back to Konoha with Juraiya and Naruto, he had come to her requesting big missions several times a day. He complained when he didn't think too much of the mission given and completely became unbearable when there weren't any missions at all. Whenever that happened, he would always bring up one really painful thorn in her…

"Well then how come I still can't…"

"Now before you bring up that again Naruto, maybe you could shut-up and let me explain why I called you three here today," the lady Hokage demanded with a tone that instantly made him quiet. Although he was quiet, he didn't quit glaring at her the entire time. Tsunade crossed her hands letting a small sigh pass, "I called you three here because I have a final mission for you before I stop them for the two or so weeks."

"So, tell me again why we have to do this?"

"Because Naruto, you would just complain about not doing anything if you didn't take the mission"

Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi walked leisurely down the main road out of Konoha. Their mission had been to locate and infiltrate a highly secured, not to mention very well hidden, building complex. While Naruto still was upset about it not being like an A rank mission, Sakura smiled to herself remembering what her mentor had told her about a week ago.

Tsunade was in her office when Sakura came in to give her report on her daily progress. She was anxious to hear what her training had accomplished in the eyes of her mentor.

"Ah, Sakura, I was just about to go talk to you. I have a very important task for you to do."

Sakura was confused at first but listened patiently nonetheless to what her mentor was about to tell her.

"Tell me," Tsunade said with and mischievous smile on her face, "Do you know whose birthday is coming up?"

This really confused the little green-eyed kunoichi. Why would Tsunade, who was the 5th Hokage for Kami's sake, who had trained her so hard over the past three months, asking her about a birthday? She decided to take a guess lest she make her mentor annoyed for waiting.

"Umm…yours Lady Tsunade?" Sakura tried.

"Nope," she said her smile stretching into a grin, "Try your own sensei, Kakashi."

Sakura was now grinning as broadly as her mentor did when she told her the plan. The best part was the fact that she, once again, knew something her two teammates didn't. Well, no big surprise with Naruto, he was as clueless to the things around him as Kakashi was strange. Little did they know that their real mission was to get their sensei, Kakashi the copy ninja with his super analyzing eye for detail, to his surprise

party without him noticing a thing. That was the hard part, but at least the place they were heading to really was difficult to find as well as dangerous to sneak into. Apparently it belonged to an old friend of Tsunade's who liked her privacy, or as she put it herself, Konoha's best self-kept secret.

"Looks like we're getting closer to our targeted destination, "Kakashi said with a bored, almost sad look in his eye.

"Why do you say that Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked unsurprisingly.

"Because," he continued, "we just past several serious genjutsus…and you were just about to step into another trap."

As he said this, there was a snap, a whirring sound, and finally the screaming of Naruto to get him down after being pulled up an unusually tall tree by a simple rope trap. Sakura shrugged and shook her head as Kakashi sighed and began walking up the tree to the not so simple pulley system holding Naruto.

'Well, it seems Tsunade-sama was right,' Sakura thought to herself with a little chuckle, 'at least this will be interesting.'

Author's Note (AN):

Well there it is, the first chapter of my first Naruto story. Hope you liked it. Please, tell me what you think. If you liked it, didn't like it or any ideas how to make it better or even ideas for later chapters… (and yes, I did say chapters, not those too short to care "chappies" or whatever they're called. Hope to hear your reviews.

The Dark Jestyr