The Shadow's Embrace

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic.

Hello once again. This will be my second story I've written so far. :)
Note: This is the sequel to my first story 'Tears of Hope' so if you haven't read that yet, I would suggest you do that first. This follows directly afterwards and makes references to the original.

With that all said I had good feedback on the first story so I'm glad to be writing a sequel. This is for you! :D

This story is about the aftermath of what happened to Naruto and how it has affected his life and the way his companions treat him. A new mission finds Naruto and some of his friends heading off to Sunagakure. But a dark shadow is lurking on the horizon and a new threat seeks to shatter the boy's recently renewed hope. Will Naruto survive the darkness, or will he be consumed once again by it's embrace. Hope you enjoy! :)

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Chapter 1 - A New Mission

A new day dawns in the village of Konoha as the warm rays of the sun gently began to pierce into a small room. As it's gentle touch caressed the face of sleeping boy, two blue eyes began to stir open into it's comforting light. As he wiped his eyes from the previous night's sleep, the small room that surrounded him slowly blurred into view. To most people, this was a normal everyday occurrence, but to Naruto the miracle of life was a precious commodity that had been given to him by the love and kindness of his friends. Every day his eyes opened, the memories of everything that had happened to him flowed freely through his mind and he thanked the heavens for giving him the warmth of their hope.

Naruto sat up and placed his feet over the side of his small bed, stretching out his arms and legs while an exhausted yawn fell from his mouth. He stood up to his feet and walked to the kitchen, setting the kettle to boil for his early morning breakfast. Life had pretty much returned to how it once was, before everything that had happened to the boy. At least from the outside anyway. Inside, however, Naruto's soul had changed somewhat, almost blossoming into something more than it once was. At the same time, there were still deep inner emotions that the boy still had to come to terms with. It would still take a while for his heart to completely mend from the damage it had been dealt, but things were definitely getting better. As Naruto searched around the nearby cupboards, rummaging through it's now filled contents, he eventual grasped a packet of instant ramen and pulled it out. His apartment was far better stocked than it had been in a while. Tsunade had heard about his lack of sufficient supplies from Sakura, when the pink haired girl had visited him few days before and had since decided to twist a few arms into helping the Naruto out. He felt very ashamed about receiving charity so easily, but the insistent looks from the Hokage pushed him into reluctant acceptance.

The kettle slowly came to the boil and let out a sharp whistle, alerting an otherwise dazed Naruto to it's presence. He carefully grasped the handle's base with a cloth in hand, desperately trying not to get burned, and then poured it into the bowl that held his morning meal. To Naruto, life in the village of Konoha had never been easy. He lived off only what he could afford, often eating nothing but instant ramen for days on end. But he didn't mind so much and was never one to complain. Ramen was his favorite food after all, although the instant variant was never near as good as Ichiraku's more home-felt cooking. Naruto never had a family to support him or care for his needs, not even a distant relative. He had to rely on the good graces of the third Hokage just to put a roof over his head, at least until he started earning money from his missions as a shinobi. Even then, the low pay of completing D or C-ranked mission was hardly enough to carry the rent alone, much less anything else.

But as long as he had friends, he didn't care about any of that. To him, the bonds he had formed were worth more than anything money could ever buy. He was contempt knowing that they cared for him despite the secret he held inside his body. They were his family now and he would do anything to keep them by his side. The thought of ever losing any of them was something he just couldn't bare. His existence would be worth nothing if they ever abandoned him to loneliness once more. After finishing his breakfast, Naruto stepped into his shower, his body relaxing it's tension as the warm water oozed into his skin. It's tingling sensation reminded him that he was still alive, that he had indeed survived the trials that stood against him and endured their pain and hardships.

Naruto stood under the massaging water for what felt like an eternity, his mind wondering once again as he was lulled into a dreamlike state. After a few more minutes, he finally finished cleaning himself and stepped out to get dressed. He slipped into his normal orange and navy blue attire and walked over to retrieve his forehead protector from the nearby shelf. As he picked up it's shiny form firmly into his hands, Naruto took a moment to read the warm-hearted messages his friends had engraved inside. The boy made a habit of doing this every morning since he had been released to go home, reminding himself of his worth and the love of those close to him. It was almost as though that simple act gave him all the strength he needed to get through the rest of the day.

As he tied his headband around his forehead, Naruto's eyes caught a glimpse of the photograph he and his friends had all taken together a few days earlier. It was sitting right next to his picture of team seven. He picked up its wooden frame and looked longingly at the warm smiles staring back at him. He felt so happy on that day, like the whole world had come to a temporary standstill just to give him the freedom to smile. Naruto then looked over to the red haired shinobi that stood nearby him in the photo. Even Gaara's face seemed to have lightened up into a grin, despite the boy's normally stoic expression. It was like he himself had changed in the short time he spent in Konoha, almost as though a new purpose had embedded itself in his soul and reignited the meaning of his existence.

Naruto suddenly snapped back from his thoughts, shaking his head from side to side to regain his grip on reality. He knew he had to hurry to the Hokage's tower for a mission briefing from Tsunade and he didn't want to be late. He carefully returned the picture to its place on his shelf and rushed out the door, racing over to his destination as fast as his feet could carry him. Naruto darted across the rooftops while the thoughts of what they would be doing raced through his mind. Excitement had already overcome his entire body at the thought of a new adventure, knowing the mission had to be somewhat important if Tsunade was briefing their team directly. He was tired of all the D-rank missions the Hokage had been giving him, although he knew she probably did it because she was still concerned about his health. As he approached the massive structure that was the Hokage tower, Naruto quickly raced in through the front entrance and down its busy hallway. He could see his teammates entering through the door to Tsunade's office just as it came into view.

"I'm... here now" Naruto panted, as he stepped into the room. Everyone shot around to face the tired boy, his pants growing heavy from his rushed exhaustion. Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi were already inside. "You're later than usual" Sasuke smirked, eyeing out the exhausted body before them. "Even Kakashi was here before you. What were you doing to keep you so long?" Naruto's face flushed bright red as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well... you know... I was just... hey wait! Kakashi-sensei got here early!?" Naruto's jaw dropped as his finger shot up to point in surprise. Kakashi just gave off what looked like a smile under his mask and waved at the blond haired genin. "Would you keep the Hokage waiting?" he murmured, turning to face the increasingly impatient Tsunade. "No... I guess not."

Tsunade cleared her throat to gain the attention of the present shinobi. "I'm sure you're all quite fascinated by all of this, but we do have a mission to attend to." Naruto shot back into attention at the sound of Tsunade's words. He was exploding with so much enthusiasm that it was almost tangible. "So Baachan, what are we doing this time? Are you finally giving us a B-rank mission?... or... or maybe an A-rank mission." Tsunade just gave off a deep sigh as the proverbial bomb shook franticly in front of her. She was glad to see Naruto's remarkable recovery, but this was a bit much even for him. She hadn't seen so much flare in a room since Gai and Lee explained the concept behind the power of youth to her. Tsunade would sooner throw herself of the top of a building than sit through something like that again.

Tsunade snapped out of her now wondering thoughts and resumed her composure. "Anyway" she finally continued. "You've been called here for an escort mission. Our client should be..." "What?!" Tsunade's eyes shot up to meet the now pouting Naruto. "Why an escort mission? That's so boring! Nothing exciting ever happens on those" Naruto cried, his body slouching over in disappointment. Kakashi just gave out a deep sigh. "You said that the last time we had to escort someone and you remember what happened there don't you?" Naruto's body suddenly tightened up again. "Oh yea, you mean with that old man Tazuna. But that was just a fluke, what are the chances of something like that happening twice?" Tsunade cleared her throat again, breaking up the conversation so that she could continue. "I'm sure you'll find this one quite pleasant Naruto. The client is a personal friend of yours, not to mention the fact that you'll be visiting a place I'm sure you'll be excited to see."

Tsunade nudged her head towards the doorway, coercing everyone to look in it's direction. Two black sandal wearing feet stepped slowly into view, revealing the red enveloped sand shinobi as he entered in from the hallway, causing Naruto to jump in surprise. "Huh?! Gaara! I thought you left Konoha already! Have... have you been assigned to this mission to?" he muttered, surprised to see the sand shinobi still in the village. Sakura walked up to the blond haired boy and proceeded to knock him over the head with a closed fist. "You idiot! Gaara is obviously the client Tsunade-sama is talking about!" Tsunade nodded her head. "Saukura's right. You'll be escorting Gaara safely back to Sunagakure. Baki has been too busy running errands and hasn't been able to retrieve him yet. Due to the dangers of travelling such a long distance alone, I've assigned you four to guard him and have also called in three additional shinobi to be temporarily assigned to your squad." Naruto was now completely confused. It might have been the large bump that now bulged out of his head, but he was pretty sure this all seemed a little bit wonky. Not only was their client one of his closest friends, but there were even more shinobi joining them as well. All that still didn't do much to deter the excitement he felt inside however. It would be good to spend more time with the sand shinobi that had grown into his friend and the chance to see the famed Sunagakure was equally enticing.

"So, when do we leave?!" Naruto yelped with glee, now growing excited about the mission once again. Tsunade noticed the large grin etching itself into his whiskered face. It was different to the smiles he normally gave off before. Almost more... genuine, as though it were the first time he truly felt happy in life. She stood from her desk and then finished her briefing. "Your new teammates will meet you at the entrance outside of Konoha. After you've made contact with them, you are to leave immediately. You are all dismissed!" Everyone then proceeded to exit the door as she finished, Naruto rushing out to catch up to Gaara's side. There was allot for them to talk about and Naruto knew his time with the boy was limited. Kakashi was the only one to remain behind.

"You have something to ask?" Tsunade sighed, falling back into her chair. Kakashi's mask did little to conceal the concern evident on his face and Tsunade knew he wouldn't stay unless he was troubled. "Yes, in fact I do. I find it very strange that you've assigned so many shinobi to one mission, especially considering it's an escort mission where being subtle is of most importance. Something else is going on that you haven't let on to." Tsunade gave out a deep sigh. She knew Kakashi wouldn't be easily fooled. "It's Naruto isn't it?" he continued, as if to state the glaringly obvious. He always did have a knack for picking up on the subtle hints that can be read by a persons body language. It was made even easier by the fact that Tsunade never once took her eyes off the boy during the whole meeting. He could see that they were filled with concern, or maybe even fear.

"Heh! I really should try to cover my emotions a bit better" Tsunade sighed. "No one can blame you. We were all shaken by what happened to Naruto. I myself have also had a difficult time just letting him go home by himself after our missions. I've tried to offer my company, but I don't think Naruto likes to feel as though he's a hindrance." Tsunade took some comfort in Kakashi's words. At least someone else knew exactly how she felt. She just couldn't let the boy they had almost lost forever fall into any further danger. "I knew he would catch onto the fact that I'm trying to keep him from harm by handing out lower rank missions." she began to respond. "He would be furious if he knew that the only reason I wasn't giving him anything higher than D-rank rank missions was because of my own fears for his safety." Kakashi nodded in understanding. "So you gave him a C-rank mission to ease his tension, but also made sure he was well enough protected. That's why you've added additional shinobi to our team."

Tsunade let out another deep sigh, before slowly nodding her head. It disturbed the Hokage that her intentions had so easily been read. It was a good thing Naruto was too naive, or innocent, to see through her ploy. He was probably so happy about being able to spend more time with Gaara on his way back home that he didn't even recognize anything out of the ordinary... she hoped. But, none the less, it was a convenient surprise that served her purpose quite nicely. Kakashi, having confirmed his suspicions, turned to walk out the door. "Wait Kakashi!" Tsunade gulped, slouching even deeper into her chair. Kakashi turned his head around to see her terrified face staring back at him. It was unusually pale, almost oozing with a sickening look of genuine fear. "Please... please just watch him carefully. I can't lose anyone else precious to me, my soul just wouldn't be able to bare it." Kakashi gave one last heavy nod and then turned out the door, closing it behind him. As soon as he was out of view, Tsunade allowed her emotions to crumble loose. Her facial expression dropped into what could be described as instant depression and tears stung at the back of her eyes. A sinking feeling formed in her gut, almost warning her to call them back. But she had to let go, she had to let Naruto live his life how he wanted to, otherwise the boy would never be happy again.

Kakashi walked slowly down the hallway out of the Hokage tower, his mind wondering back and forth between his thoughts. It had become very clear just how important Naruto had become to them all. They all needed his glow of kindness and understanding just as much as he needed their love and acceptance. A life without the bright eyed boy now sounded like an empty proposition, one that those who knew him would never be able to live with. Kakashi shook of the ill feeling that had formed over his stomach. He had to concentrate on the mission. They would all have to be prepared for the long journey ahead of them. The trip to Sunagakure was a few days at best and they had to be ready for any trouble. He only hoped the addition of extra shinobi didn't alert Naruto to their concerns.

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Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my new story. More will come soon!
Please review!