Author's Note: Okay, so I'm re-writing this story since I thought that the first version was awful. Hopefully, you guys will like the edited version better. I'm really trying to make the chapters longers and more interesting. Review and let me know what you think. PM me if you have a suggestion for a title name for the current chapter.
Disclaimer: This will be the only time I'll say this for all my stories: I do not, and will not (ever) own Naruto.
.: Memories and Regrets :.
:. Chapter 1 .:
The moonlight washed over the silhouette of a young man leaning against a tree. The woods were quiet with the exception of the dull chirping of crickets and rustling of leaves. Dark clouds rolled into the night sky, showing the first signs of the oncoming rain. The moon shone down eerily; its white light illuminated the small clearing and reflected off the nearby lake. A twig snapped, which ruined the peaceful illusion of the place as Uchiha Sasuke stepped back.
He turned towards a group of ninjas, who were standing behind him, a small distance away. One of them had a large silver halberd strapped to his back and light-blue hair that messily fell into his eyes, which became apparent in the soft moonlight as Sasuke beckoned him over.
"Suigetsu."
"Yes, oh great Sasuke-sama?" questioned the said man; his tone held a tinge of mockery. He grinned, showing off his sharp, shark-like teeth.
Onyx eyes narrowed as Sasuke glared at him.
"Hn. I want you to scout around for a lake or river nearby so we'll have a place to wash up in the morning," ordered Sasuke, turning his back on them once again. "And when you're done with that, bring back a few pieces of wood to light a fire." He turned to the rest of his team and ordered, "Set up camp. We're staying here tonight."
Suigetsu walked off into the forest, grumbling in annoyance and shifting his heavy sword slightly. The others prepared to spend the night in the little clearing; they set down their bags and bustled about, putting up the tents.
Sasuke watched them impassively, his face stoic. His ears perked up as he heard someone walk up behind him; he stiffened.
"Sasuke, are you sure about this?" A man who wore an orange mask over his face crossed his arms over his chest; his only visible eye swirled with the Sharingan, the bloodline trait of the Uchiha clan.
"Madara, we've been through this already. You're going with the rest of the Akatsuki to capture the two remaining Jinchuuriki, while I'm going to go to Konohagakure with Taka, to avenge my clan…and Itachi."
The man being addressed to sighed and came to the conclusion that nothing would change the stubborn Uchiha's mind.
"Very well, Sasuke. I just hope you know what you're doing," said Madara, shaking his head slightly. "So, when are you leaving?"
"We leave at dawn. That way we'll have a better chance of reach-"
"JUUGO!!!!! Now look at what you've done, you moron!!!" screeched Karin. She was the only female member of Taka; she tried to put out the fire she had managed to make with a few broken twigs lying on the ground.
"I'm sorry…" Juugo mumbled, ashamed, as he pulled out the remnants of a tent which he had accidentally managed to destroy.
"Ugh. Really, Juugo! You're so clumsy and stupid! I still don't see why Sasuke would want you as a member of Taka. You're completely useless! And now you've burnt Sasuke's tent." Karin scolded him as she adjusted her glasses.
Sighing, Sasuke walked towards the two members of his team and glared at them in annoyance.
"Now what happened?" asked Sasuke dryly; he sighed heavily in irritation.
"Oh, Sasuke…Juugo burnt your tent," whined Karin. She tried to make what she thought was a cute face, and failed miserably.
"Oy! What's all the commotion? I could hear Karin's bitchy voice all the way in there," called out Suigetsu. He stumbled into the clearing, and gestured towards the thicket behind him while he tried to balance a bundle of logs in his arms.
"Why you little-" started Karin, before she was cut off by Sasuke.
"Karin, that's enough. Suigetsu, keep the logs over there and help Juugo set up the other two tents," ordered Sasuke, massaging his temple in irritation.
"But where will you sleep, Sasuke? You know…you could always share a tent with me…" said Karin, her voice suggestive. She moved closer to him and sat down, winking in a way that made him mentally cringe, as he forced down the bile that came up his throat.
His dark eyes locked on her fiery red ones and he scowled at her. He shot her an icy stare which made her think twice about her words.
"Suigetsu and Juugo can share a tent with Madara or something…so, what do you say, Sasuke-kun?" asked Karin as she batted her eyes and moved closer, trying to lean on Sasuke's arm. She ignored the look of disgust etched on his flawless features and latched herself onto his arm.
"Suigetsu, you're sharing a tent with Karin. Juugo, you're with Madara. I'll keep watch out here and then I'll switch shifts with Juugo." Sasuke stood up suddenly which caused Karin to fall flat down on her face.
"Oh no! No way in hell am I sharing a tent with little miss I-have-so-many-issues-and-problems-'cause-I'm-an-ugly-bitch-who-needs-a-serious-attitude-adjustment-so-there!" yelled Suigetsu. He glared at Karin as she scrambled back to her feet, dusting herself off.
"What did you call me?!" screeched Karin. She pulled at her reddish hair in frustration and anger. She looked quite comical with her glasses askew and her bright red hair even messier than usual.
"What? Is your crappiness affecting your hearing, too? I said, I am not sharing a tent with you, you little miss-"
"Ugh! I know what you said, you jackass!" yelled Karin as she aimed a punch at his face.
"Oh yeah? Then why'd you ask?" mocked Suigetsu as he dodged the hit.
"I swear, I'm going to-"
"Enough."
The two stopped bickering and turned to look at Sasuke who glared at them. His Sharingan swirled dangerously as his eyes narrowed in anger.
"You're both sharing a tent whether you want to or not. Unless one of you prefers to sleep outside in the cold, you'll both do as I say," commanded Sasuke coldly as he deactivated his Sharingan.
The two of them exchanged glances; their eyes reflected the flame of the flickering fire which Juugo had lit.
"…Fine. But you're sleeping in the corner. I wouldn't want any of your weird, mental diseases passing onto me…" grumbled Suigetsu, as he finished setting up his tent, earning a snarl from Karin. She glared at him as she went inside and flashed him an obscene hand sign.
"Asshole," she muttered. Suigetsu closed the tent flap with a little more force than necessary, which made it rip down the front.
"What the- great. Just great. First, I end up sharing a tent with you. You; of all people. And then you rip the bloody door in half!!!" yelled Karin, as she glared at him. Her face coloured in anger.
"Oh yeah? Well let me tell you something, princess. It's not a 'door'. It's called a tent 'flap', so shut the hell up. And I guess it ripped in half because it was too difficult for the tent to keep in all of your damn bitchiness," snapped Suigetsu, glaring back at her with equal venom held in his stare.
"You are such a bastard! Apologize now!"
"No."
"Apologize, you little piece of shit!"
"Okay, fine. Geez, Karin, I'm so sorry you're such a bitch. Really, it's heart-wrenching… I cry just thinking about it…" said Suigetsu, earning a punch from Karin which he dodged expertly.
"God! Whatever. I'm going to sleep. If you come even an inch near me, I swear, Suigetsu…you're a dead man," growled Karin.
"You don't have to tell me twice…I'd rather be castrated than be near you," remarked Suigetsu, smirking; this earned another glare from the redhead.
Sasuke shook his head as he sat watch, and sighed, frowning at his teammates' bickering.
The Uchiha sighed and leaned back against a log. His gaze swept around the vicinity before it stopped its perusal on the night sky. Stars were scattered across the dark abyss, their delicate pattern shaped out a constellation or two. The small fire crackled as the flames hissed; the blaze illuminated their little settlement. His eyes flickered shut, before he opened them again. Dark eyes reflected the smouldering flames; small specks of gold danced on a background of eternal black.
'Konoha… Is this really the right decision?'
Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he shook away thoughts about a certain blue-eyed teen, who was almost like a brother to him and a young girl, who's sparkling green eyes gazed at him lovingly. He directed his thoughts in another direction as he pondered on ways Taka could quietly enter Konoha without alerting any of the ANBU. They were sure to be on patrol that night. He sighed heavily and leaned his head back as his eyes slid shut.
-:.:x:.:x:.:x:.:-
"Wake up, Suigetsu!" yelled Karin, as she threw a bucketful of water on him. The young male jolted up from his heavy sleep in alarm.
"Huh? Who? What? Where? I SWEAR I DIDN'T KNOW!!!!" He yelled as he shook his head frantically; his eyes were still clouded with sleep.
"Get a grip, man!" screamed Karin, slapping him. "Sasuke says we have to leave. Now."
Karin hurried about, bundling up her sleeping bag and other supplies into her small messenger bag. She stepped out of the tent into the crisp, cool morning air. Suigetsu glared at her as he rubbed his cheek; he now sported a bright red mark where she had slapped him.
"Ugh! Will you get up?" She screamed from outside.
Grumbling, he got up and started to pack.
About ten minutes later, they resumed their journey to Konohagakure. They jumped from tree to tree with inhuman speed, Sasuke leading them. Taka, which had separated from Madara's company. As daylight set in, they sped up as they neared Konoha, wanting to arrive when the least people would be around and security would weakest.
"I can see the village gates up ahead. Karin, check the vicinity for any signs of ninjas," ordered Sasuke.
The redhead performed the required hand seals and focused her attention on the surrounding area, scanning the place for any indication of shinobi presence.
"No one's here. We're clear to go," stated Karin, as she hurried along with the rest of them.
"SAKURA-CHAAAAAAAAN!!!"
The said kunoichi whirled around quickly, kunai in hand as her green eyes glimmered in annoyance. She scowled as she saw a blonde ninja running towards her, closing the distance between them, yelling his head off.
"Naruto, you baka, shut the hell up! What are trying to do? Alert every ninja in the place of our whereabouts? What if there are some enemy shinobi out here, huh?" She whispered fiercely, as she bonked him on the head.
"Ow…Sakura-chan, that really huuuurt…" whined Naruto as he massaged his scalp, pouting.
"Whatever," mumbled Sakura, crossing her arms. She seemed to be in quite a foul mood. "What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you said you were going to beg Tsunade-shishou for a mission or something." She tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear.
"That's what I came to talk to you about. Grandma Tsunade told me to come and get you. She's offered us an A-ranked mission! Isn't that awesome?" said Naruto, bubbling with excitement at the prospect of finally getting a new mission after such a long period of time.
"Well, why didn't you say so before? Let's go," said Sakura, as she started to run back to the village, crossing the forest quickly. She giggled lightly as she yelled out to him. "Race you back!"
"Huh? Wait! Hey, that's not fair! You started before me!" yelled Naruto as he started to run after her, a large grin present on his face.
"Come on, slow-poke! You can do better than that!" yelled Sakura, laughing. She picked up her pace as she turned a corner and was startled as she felt herself bump into something firm. She fell back on the ground with a soft 'thud'.
"Oh, I-I'm so s-sorry. I-I didn't see you, there," stammered Sakura, as she scrambled back to her feet hastily, dusting off her clothes. She cursed herself mentally for sounding like a babbling idiot before she tilted her head up to glance at her victim apologetically. Viridian eyes widened as they landed on the youth in front of her; her breath caught in her throat.
"Sakura-chan, wait up!" yelled Naruto, from behind her as he sped up. He came to a halt beside her, panting lightly as he gripped his sides. Cerulean eyes travelled upwards to meet those of the newcomer's before they too, widened in shock. Naruto clenched his fists as he let out a low growl, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Teme," he muttered, his voice low and menacing, as he glared at his former teammate.
"Naruto," replied Sasuke, his expression was cool and impassive. His eyes stared back at the two, their onyx depths void of any kind of emotion whatsoever. Other than the slight narrowing of his eyes, as he regarded him with the same indifference he often showed to everyone else.
"Sasuke-kun…"
His attention was brought back to Sakura, and he turned his head towards her slightly. He glanced at her uninterestedly before he turned back to his team; he motioned them to keep going. Taka started to move away, leaving Naruto and Sakura to stare at their retreating backs in shock.
Naruto stepped forward and let out another menacing growl. His blue eyes began to take on a reddish tinge as his quivering form was engulfed in a cloud of red chakra.
"SASUKE!!! Don't you dare walk away and turn your back on us again!" yelled Naruto, as Taka continued moving forward.
"Sasuke!"
His attempts were futile though, as they kept on walking without a backward glance. Red eyes narrowed dangerously as Naruto pumped chakra into his legs and broke into a run. He ran ahead of them before he whirled around to face them challengingly. He whipped out his kunai from its holster, and held it out in front of him.
"I swore I'd bring you back no matter what. Even if I have to fight you for it!"
"Where is he? The damn kid was supposed to be here ages ago. All he had to do was bring Sakura…" muttered a blonde woman, tapping her fingers on her desk, as she reached out for a bottle of sake.
"I'm sure Naruto's on his way, Lady Tsunade. Meanwhile, why don't you finish the rest of that paperwork? You've been putting it off for quite a while now," suggested Shizune, Tsunade's assistant, as she pushed a stack of papers towards her. The Hokage groaned in frustration.
"Ugh…stupid, bloody paperwork…stupid duties…stupid, stupid, stupid…" muttered Tsunade as she dragged the papers towards her. She flipped through the pages, and giving one last sigh, she started to work on them. As soon as she began reading the tedious documents, the door to her office swiftly burst open and an ANBU officer rushed in, panting slightly.
"Lady Hokage, there seems to be a problem outside the village. My men heard an explosion and they went to look for the source. When they came back, they informed me that they had seen Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura fighting an S-ranked criminal, and missing-nin," stated the officer, as he struggled to catch his breath.
"Whom did they report seeing?" inquired Tsunade, as she looked up urgently, her brown eyes narrowing.
"…Uchiha Sasuke."
::.::X::.::
Thanks for reading. Thanks go to: Naruto-fan-Okami-chan and StarsInTheRain for their amazing beta-ing!
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