AN: For Chad. I'm going to do everything in my power to finish this story. It had honestly been four years in the making, so I think it finally needs to be on paper. I have no beta, so be warned.

I haven't read past a certain chapter, so this is probably a major AU. As always, reviews are my cocaine.


Naruto shivered in fear as he watched the kunai pass through his opponent's now insubstantial body. His enemy's face was obscured by a ridiculous mask, but he still got the feeling that the psycho missing-nin was smirking at him.

That suspicion disappeared as he gleefully watched the shadow clone shove a rasen-shuiken through the back of Madara's skull.

However, luck had never been his friend. He blinked as Madara burst into a multitude of cockroaches that suddenly began to scurry towards him. While he had never been afraid of bugs, roaches in particular, he still gulped and jumped back. It didn't work. The wave of shiny black insects poured over him. Terror and wriggling black legs made his throat close and his breath stop. He couldn't breathe. A thought, more dangerous than a single old, crafty Uchiha, filled his mind.

Naruto was going to lost this fight.

Desperation wrapped icy fingers around his heart. His mind raced for a way out, a final way to win. All he could remember, however, was a jutsu scroll he had read while with Jiraiya. The old pervert hadn't known that Naruto had read it, though he probably wouldn't have cared if he had. Pointless suicidal tendencies were never Naruto's game, and the jutsu was, very simply, an extremely powerful kamikaze jutsu. Jiraiya was pretty sure Naruto would never use such a jutsu in battle, since the boy still had so much to live for.

Boy, had he been wrong.

The irony was not lost on Naruto, and even with the large roaches trying to force their way through his not-so-large nostrils, he snorted out a laugh. At least he'd go out with a smile.

A single handsign, it was all it would take.


Naruto's mind jerked awake, and immediately he knew someone was there. Expecting a bloody battlefield and an enemy nin attempting to kill him, he kicked out and threw himself to the side. However, all this did was wrap him up in the blankets surrounding him and caused him to fall off the bed with a particular loud thump. Panic was clawing at him which, in turn, made him claw at the restricting covers, not that it made much of a difference.

A soft cough pierced through his terror-filled struggling. Startled, Naruto called chakra to his skin. The force of his chakra expelling out ripped the blankes to shreds, causing them to catch fire in the air. Naruto spun and glared at the shinobi on the windowsill, ready to tear the enemy apart. His brain suddenly stalled.

Kakashi's single visible eye was wide in shock. It was nothing compared to the look of shock Naruto knew he had on his face.

Naruto knew for a fact that Kakashi was dead. He had seen the body of his sensei, looking almost peaceful in death if not for the fact that he had not let go of Zabuza's giant blade. There were very few outside wounds on the man. Completely in shock at the thought of another of his precious people was dead, another sensei gone, Naruto had almost missed the fact that Tsunade had stated the cause of death. Apparently, the elite jonin's heart had given out due to chakra exhaustion. While in a normal time, that would've been a stupid and rare death. In the middle of war against a near-undefeatable enemy, it was an increasingly common cause of Shinobi death, particularly in the jonin rank.

But, here, sitting on the windowsill of Naruto's apartment, in Konoha, was the man Naruto had never thought to see again. The man who had taught Naruto what it meant to be in a team was staring at him as if he was an imposter, and he couldn't bring himself to honestly disagree with the man.

"What was that?" Kakashi said slowly, his body tense and ready to attack. Naruto winced at the sound of his voice, his heart clenching in pain at the fact that he was alive. He could feel tears pricking in the back of his eyes.

"Nightmare," Naruto replied truthfully. He looked down, trying to keep from openly staring at Kakashi. He wondered if he was in a middle of a genjutsu. He didn't put it past Madara to do something like that. The jerk hole.

"Hmm," The jonin hummed, but didn't ask anything else, watching a still burning shred of bedding. "I'm just here to ask what happened. I thought you were all prepared for the Chunin exams. Why did you not show up today?"

Naruto's head snapped up, his eyes almost impossibly wide. "Chunin exams?" He whispered, disbelieving. "That's impossible."

Kakashi's eye tilted into a smile, suspicion almost aglow in his onyx gaze. "Oh really? How so?"


Hinata could feel the rage choking her, the anger racing through her veins. It was masking the worry, the fear that was buried deep down in her chest. It was easier to be angry that he left them, that he left her, just so he could face an enemy that he couldn't beat alone. It was easier than wondering if when they caught up, if they would only find his corpse.

She could feel Gaara's eyes boring into the back of her head. She knew that he wanted to know if they could get through the barrier, if she could see the battle. He wanted to know if Naruto was still alive.

"Hinata?" Sakura questioned, her voice quiet. Hinata ignored her, whipping around from her glaring at the barrier to narrow her eyes on the Kazekage. Gaara raised an eyebrow at her obvious anger, but didn't comment. Though, considering the man, the look itself was a comment.

"He's in there," she hissed. "The barrier is Madara's doing. There is a weak point three meters up from our position here. It'll be tight, but if Kiribee-san blasts it, we may have an opening to get through."

Gaara glanced up, nodding once. "Can you see how the battle is progressing?" his question was given in a bland voice. She wanted to scream at him for asking the one question she didn't want to answer. Still, knowing her duty, she turned, Byakugan on, to look for something she didn't want to see. It didn't take long. The battle threw more chakra around than any she had ever seen.

"He's losing," was her simple and quiet reply. Everyone turned to stare at her and she stared back at them.

"Kiribee, fire at the point she indicated. Everyone, be prepared to jump, we will not have much time." Gaara ordered.

"Gotcha!" Kiribee said, leaping back and shifting into his six tailed form, prepared to launch a Beast Breast Ball at the weak spot in the barrier. The moment it was launched, Hinata shoved chakra into her legs and leaped. She was only a feet behind the blast and as it hit the barrier, the explosion threatened to launch her back. However, she had never felt a rage, a determination like this before, and she was prepared for the possible back-lash. Tucking and beginning to roll, she unleashed chakra as if in a kaiten. It was awkard, considering her axis of rotation was not the normal veritcal axis, but still, the kaiten worked. She sailed through a hole that was barely wide enough to accommodate her curled up state. She straightened fast enough to land on her feet, stumbling a few steps before she could regain her balance. She glanced back.

Everyone had landed on their feet from bouncing off the barrier. She could see Sakura and Kiba yelling in frustration, pointing at the already closed hole. Soon though, her eyes caught the teal gaze of a certain Kazekage. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of her on the other side. They stared at each other for a moment, an understanding passing between them. An idle thought crossed her mind, that perhaps if things were different, Gaara and her could've been very good friends. Now, though, the only thing that mattered was the man fighting against the monster trying to kill them all.

Gaara nodded, a small nod that spoke volumes, and she returned it. Then she spun and raced towards an almost certain death to save the man she loved.


Naruto wasn't stupid by any means. He was naïve, he'd admit that one, but that didn't mean he had no clue when someone was about to shove a kunai into his eye. Besides, being a prankster in a village full of ninjas had taught him one major skill. He knew how to lie.

"I MISSED IT!" He yelled, jumping to his feet. He almost broke the act with a smirk at his sensei's slight jerk of surprise, but was able to keep it to himself. "HOW DID I MISS THE EXAMS? CRAP!" He set about trying to find clothes to throw on, watching his sensei out of the corner of his eye.

Kakashi's eye narrowed again, but Naruto was sure his act was spot on. Honestly, if he could lie to the face of two Hokages, Kakashi without the Sharingan on was nothing. Of course, if the Sharingan had been on, that would've been a completely different story. Stupid kekei-genkai.

"I see," The not-so-lazy nin drawled. He glanced back down at the ashes that had once been Naruto's blanket. "How often do you have to change the bedding?" He asked without really asking. Naruto stopped his idle hunting and looked over at him.

"Not so often," He muttered, almost guiltily. He did hate lying. An in-grained sense of honesty made him chafe at the necessary evil of telling a lie. Which was dumb for his line of work, he had to admit, but it was true.

"Hmm," Kakashi hummed. "Well, you can take the rest of the day off. I've already spoken to Sasuke and Sakura. We will have a meeting tomorrow at noon in the usual training yard." And, with a swirl of leaves, the jonin was gone.

Not that Naruto relaxed any with the dramatic disappearance. He concentrated for a moment, sensing the chakra around him before letting the tension in his shoulders drop. The jonin had truly left.

Naruto glanced around, taking in the familiar surroundings. He had no clue what was going on. He wasn't even sure if this wasn't a Madara-Sharingan induced coma, which was always a possibility. The last thing he remembered before waking up to his apartment was the battle with Madara on the side of Kazehana Mountain.

He sat on the edge of his bed, mind racing. 'Okay, slow down,' He thought, trying to focus. 'Let's make a list, like Ero-Sannin told me to. Aright, number one. I was fighting Madara and losing. I used the Kamikaze jutsu to attempt to kill Madara. So, I'm dead.'

Sudden realization hit him hard. "I'm dead," he whispered. "Oh, crap!"


Hinata didn't stop as she raced towards the clashing super powers. She was running headlong into a battle where she was the weakest person, but she couldn't help herself. It wasn't the first time she had thrown herself in between Naruto and an enemy. She could still remember the feeling of Pein's chakra blade stabbing her in the side. She refused to let it stop her. She had to help Naruto.

She broke through the tree in time to see a Naruto hit Madara in the back of the head with a rasen-shuriken. She couldn't help a tiny little shiver as the Uchiha exploded into a monstrous mass of black cockroaches. Most insects had never bothered her, having Shino as a teammate, but roaches were the one bug that gave her the heebijeebies.

She activated her Byakugan, blinking hard at a sudden realization. The roaches were not a genjutsu, but an extension of Madara's body. She didn't even know something like that could even exist. She watched helpless as the insects washed over Naruto.

She took a small step forward as Naruto made a handsign. Another step as she saw all the chakra in his body rush towards the center of his chest. She stepped forward once more as she realized what was happening. Her Byakugan dropped, hiding the evidence of his decision as if it would make it go away.

Hinata was kuniochi and as such, she was accustomed to her opponents dying. She had learned during her genin years not to be so bothered by an enemy's death, and she held to that now. However, there was one death that still gave her nightmares.

Team 8 had been on a mission to hunt down an assassin killing the young family members of the Frost Dayimo. The mission had been successful and they had cornered the assassin, trying to capture him for his exexution. Hinata had been watching, preparing to attack in unison with Kiba and Akamaru when she had noticed the man concentrating his chakra into the center of his body. She had warned Kuranai and flinched when her sensei had screamed for Kiba to call off the attack.

The resounding explosion took out a forty meter wide swath of earth, blasting all of Team 8 back. Kiba and Akamaru had been severely injured and Shino, who had been standing futher back, had still suffered injuries and a lost a quarter of his colony.

The worst part of it was that Hinata had watched the man die. She had watched his chakra pathways bulge and explode in his body. She had witnessed the moment when his skin, swelled to the breaking point from the chakra expansion, ripped apart. She had seen when the chakra had hit the air and, like an exploding note, erupted into a blast that destroyed almost everything in it's path. It was the most horrible thing she had ever seen.

Now, she was watching Naruto do the same thing.

She didn't even realize that she was running towards him until her foot hit a hole and she hit the ground hard. She fought to get back up, panic clawing at her chest. "No," she whispered. "NO!"

It was almost as if time stopped for a moment. The cockroaches had shifted just enough to show Naruto's face. Sky-blue eyes met lavender-tinged white. Whatever amusement had been written upon his face disappeared as he looked at her. It was too late though. He closed his eyes shut tightly and she screamed, but it was unheard over the sound of the explosion the ripped through the field.

She watched the red-tinged wave as it washed over her, burning her alive.


Naruto ran out of his apartment so quickly that it took him almost eight steps for him to realize that he was still in his singed pajamas. It took him ten seconds to run back to his apartment, two minutes to change, put on his shoes, and find his headband (which he normally kept on the dresser, but for some reason, was under his pillow) and head back outside of his apartment, hell-bent on getting to Ichiraku's. In all his life, there was only one place that he could to get his mind working, and that was his favorite ramen shop. It didn't help that he missed the place. It had been destroyed so long ago, and he had been gone so long he didn't know if the old man had been able to rebuild yet. Didn't matter now, he guessed, being dead and all.

He shook his head, trying to forcefully remove the thoughts from his mind. He refused to think he had died. It was just wrong. He refused it even more, because he knew that if he had died, he had done it to himself. That was really, really, wrong.

He was almost to the ramen shop when he suddenly dropped to the ground, rolling a few feet before rising to a crouch. The rock that had whizzed above him exploded on the fence behind him, making him blink before realizing it had just been a clod of dirt. He glanced back, rising slowly, to see Sakura and Sasuke walking towards him. The bit of dirt on Sakura's hand told him who had been the one throwing.

Immediately, he gulped. If he had died, then this had to be some twisted sort of heaven, because it was obviously set before everything went wrong. Here was his team, walking towards him, alive and together. Sasuke wasn't off, bent on destroying Konoha. He hadn't even left yet. He probably didn't even have the curse seal. And Sakura, she wasn't crying. She wasn't stuck in a medic tent, elbow deep in another shinobi's ribcage, trying to fight an already lost battle. They were still kids, still the closest thing to innocent genins could get. They were still his friends.

"BAKA!" Sakura yelled, pointing at Naruto's nose. "WHERE WERE YOU? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Naruto blinked, fighting back the emotions and memories welling up inside him. He knew what she was asking. Why hadn't he been at the chunin exams this morning. But suddenly, her questions had taken on a whole new meaning. Where was he? What was he thinking? He swallowed, mind racing to think up of an answer.

"Um, well," He hedged for a moment, and suddenly inspiration struck. "See, what had happened was, there was this army of cockroaches that invaded my apartment! They were trying to eat me alive! It was horrible! I couldn't let them take over my home, so I fought them! It was an epic battle, and there were moments when I thoug-"

Both Sasuke and Sakura looked confused, before Sakura interrupted him. "Okay, did you just pull a Kakashi?" She asked, incredulous.

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "I thought if it worked for him.."

Sakura's face turned a bright red and she began yelling, "UZUMAKI NARUTO, I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU!"

In all honesty, the following rant was highly entertaining. As far as Naruto could remember, it was definitely one of Sakura's best, but it didn't really ring true. There was something in her eyes, the tilt of her lips, that made Naruto wonder if she wasn't relieved or something. Anyways, it made the walk to the ramen shop interesting.

Naruto did almost trip along the way. He was too busy watching Sakura, trying to figure out what was going on in that pink head of hers, when this kid ran right into his leg. He stumbled and turned, trying not to fall on the red-headed child who looked to be about six. The kid looked up, mumbling an apology before running off. Naruto looked up to see Sasuke smirking at his moment of inattention. Sakura was in mid-rant though, and really didn't notice.

Finally, Sakura was starting to wind down. " I can't believe how irresponsible you are! Your lateness held us back, and now Sasuke-kun will have to wait another six months before becoming a chuunin!"

Sasuke let out a huff of air that sounded almost affectionate, and began walking away. Sakura noticed, but didn't try to call him back, instead turning to Naruto. Her shoulder's seemed to sag with relief, and she gave him a quick smile and a wink, before racing off to catch up with the Uchiha.

Naruto smirked. Yeah, he thought that was what that had been about. Sakura had been terrified of the chuunin exams, worried that she was going to be the one holding him and Sasuke back. Now though, she was off the hook. It was his fault that they weren't in the exams, and she could save face in front of Sasuke by berating Naruto. Once upon a time, that would've really bothered him. But now? He understood and could even help her it. It was just another dynamic to their team.

Pursing his lips, he began whistling a merry little tune with extremely raunchy lyrics that he had learned from Jirayia. He was walking the last few steps to Ichiraku's when something made him glance to the right.

He froze, the melody dying on his lips. He could feel the blood drain from his face as he stared in a pair of startled lavender-tinged white eyes. It almost felt like time had stopped, and he realized with an almost gut wrenching feeling that the look in her gaze was almost the same look when he had released the Kamikaze no jutsu.

He wasn't the only one dead.