Third story! Rejoice! Haha, yeah. Like I said, the ideas are flowing. This is actually my first Naruto fic. This is a used idea, but every fan fiction is different in their own way right? Oh well. I'm in a huge Naruto mood anyway, or NarutoxSasuke rather. Don't like, don't read. There is no reason for you to be here if you don't like the pairing, so I. Will. Not. Accept. Flames.

I had the song Every Heart playing, so please don't mind that fact that this is a bit sad. I actually cried.

Better Summary: The Kyuubi, Demon Fox, begins to change Naruto, slowly. To escape, Naruto comes up with a foolish plan to run away from the Leaf Village, away from the taunting and the many other things that came with it. This left Sasuke, Sakura, and all those who were close to him baffled and upset. Especially Sasuke, who suddenly became mute and would tell nobody his reasons for doing so.

Many years passed, and now Sasuke is 17, Sakura is 16, and Naruto is 16. Everyone changed over the course of years. Sasuke was now an ANBU, Sakura was a medical ninja, and nobody had seen head or tail of Naruto. But, who is this strange man that Sakura finds wounded in the forest while chasing a few genin?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I'm too lazy to come up with a crafty disclaimer as well.

Chapter One: Prologue

" Naruto! Naruto!" Sakura called, trying to find her teammate. He hadn't shown up for their lesson, so she, Kakashi-sensei, and Sasuke were looking for him. They all eventually met up together at the training grounds.

" No luck?" Kakashi asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

Sakura shook her head, " No."

Sasuke shook his head as well, " Same here. No sign of him."

Kakashi sighed, " Oh well, looks like we have to report to the Fifth then." He said, scratching the back of his head.

Sakura stared at the ground, " I hope nothing happened to him..."

xXx

" You're telling me you lost Uzumaki Naruto?"

" Ma'am, we didn't lose him. We thing he just ran off on his won." Kakashi said, trying to escape Tsunade's wrath.

" And you three looked everywhere?"

Sasuke and Sakura nodded.

Tsunade sighed, putting her hand to her forehead and motioning her assistant over, " Send a search team out for Uzumaki Naruto. He has blonde hair; blue eyes, and wears an orange outfit." Given that information, her assistant nodded and was off.

" Now, lets try to figure out why he disappeared. Had he been acting differently?" The questions were directed at Sakura and Sasuke.

" Um... not really. He was just a little more defiant than usual." Sakura answered.

Sasuke agreed, " Yeah, he wasn't as talkative either."

Tsunade nodded, " All right. Was anyone treating him differently?"

Sasuke answered first this time, " He was getting teased and mocked by quite a few people."

Tsunade rolled her eyes, " Well, there's our answer right there. He most likely ran off to escape being taunted. He was probably fed up. How long was this going on for?"

Sakura thought, " Hm... About two weeks." She concluded, proving Tsunade's theory further.

" Well, if they don't find Naruto, then I don't know what to do. Unless he comes back on his own I think we've lost him."

xXx

" Sasuke? Hello?" Sakura nagged, trying to get a response out of the Uchiha. He refused to answer her, and she was trying to figure out why.

" Come on!" She followed him down the street, shouting and earning many odd looks from the villagers. She turned a bright shade of red, soon yelling at Sasuke again, " See what you made me do! People are staring now!"

Sasuke stopped walking and turned his head to face her, glaring as if telling her to leave him alone. Shoving his hand sin his pockets, he continued walking. This only succeeded in frustrating Sakura more.

The Ninja that Tsunade had sent out were unable to find Naruto, making their worst fears a reality. What would happen now? Everyone in the village seemed happy, always talking about how happy they were that the Kyuubi, Fox Demon, was finally gone.

Sakura eventually gave up, after about an hour of pestering Sasuke. He finally got his point across that he wasn't talking to her, or anyone for that matter. He didn't even say hello or anything to Kakashi when they ran into him on the street.

Sasuke sighed, he was finally able to have a moments peace. Sakura wanted answers, and she'd get them eventually. Just not any time soon. Sasuke was upset, what was there left for him here? His whole family, excluding his brother, had been killed, and now his best friend was missing. Yes, Sasuke considered his best friend to be Naruto Uzumaki. He even found it hard to believe, but he did. He held a special spot in his heart, or what was left of it, for Naruto. Just another tragedy to add to his list.

Yeah I know, it was short and a bit rushed. Oh well, that was just the prologue. Please continue reading! The next chapters will be better, you'll see! Well, third times the charm as they say. Let's hope that my third story is a hit! D

- Arina