Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto. Story belongs to me.

WARNING: spoilers.

Infortunium (noun) L.

1. bad luck, punishment, misfortune.

There had been a lot of strange, and tragic, occurences in his relatively short life. Occurences that he never would have anticipated at the time, and quite frankly, never expected to. The murder of his family being one of them. The fact that they were murdered by one of their own, another.

Much less, by his older brother.

He seemed to have a knack for attracting misfortune, and out of all of the bizarre circumstances, named and un-named, this one is up there.

It all started with the battle of the Jyubi. He had shown up for the fight, but only when it was in the final stretch. Naruto (against the odds, as always) had somehow managed to turn the tables, despite the the ten-tail's power, and backed Madara and Obito into a corner.

Upon his arrival, he immediately jumped into the fray and intercepted a golden-hued Naruto, who had then wore a shocked, angry, and excited expression all at once. The ensuing fight was an all-out blood bath, and they grappled desperately in flashes of black and gold.

It was, in all forms of the word, a war.

Though at a severe disadvantage even with susano'o, as the fight wore on, he began to gain the upperhand. Naruto had taken on others before he had reached the battlefield, and thus wasted precious chakra. He was approaching his limit fast.

By this time, Kakashi had separated Obito from the Jyubi, and the two clashed with frightening intensity. The rest of shinobi alliance, encouraged by the newfound chink in their armor, advanced on Madara and the ten-tails. Everybody was exhausted and running out of chakra. The battle would soon come to an end.

But not the way he wanted. Really, he shouldn't have been surprised, since when did anything ever go his way?

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the ice-blue flare of Kakashi's signature lightning blade tear through Obito's stomach, crushing his dreams and purpose for the future. But at least it was a mutual hit. Obito's hit was cut short by Kakashi's, but it still managed to do some serious damage. He watched as the silver-haired man fell, unconsious, next to the body of his former best friend.

And apparently, he wasn't the only one who noticed. Naruto, startled out of his reverie of rasengan barrages, felt his teacher fall with the last dregs of his sage mode. The boy's eyes, full of concern, glanced in the other direction. It was only for a split second, but it was all he needed. Using the last of his strength, he brought the susano'o's fists down in a skull-shattering smash, and felt bones snap beneath it.

Spent, and not wanting to fall over, he squatted on the ground, searching the rubble for a flash of yellow as the violet barrier receded back to the recesses of his mind. As the dust settled, he saw the orange-clad body in the middle of a giant crater, unmoving.

But the subtle rise and fall of the chest told him that the blond was still alive.

Obstinate.

Using his katana as a make-shift crutch, he limped over to Naruto's beaten form. There, the boy laid sleeping, like he didn't just fight a war. Pathetic, he thought. And so ends the forth great ninja war. Obito, killed by his ex-teammate, and Madara, sent back to the afterlife not long after. He watched with dim interest as the Jyubi was taken down, as the multitude screamed and cried their victory, and he thought, he honestly, truly thought, about his life.

He hated his life. Who wouldn't, in his place?

The battle was over. He stared down at the unconsious boy.

I could kill him...

Just one flick of the wrist, and it'd be all over...

He raised his sword over the blond's neck.

He was really going to do it.

But before he could bring his katana over the blond's head, he was knocked over by a thunderous force. He was weak and in no shape to fight, and the blow to his side made his head swirl. Ignoring throb in his gut, he quickly got up and blocked an oncoming hit, grabbing the arm and twisting it around the enemy's back. The shinobi balked, squeezed his hand with the arm held captive, and promptly proceeded to throw him over their shoulder. He flipped over in the air and adeptly landed on his feet, only to sidestep the flurry of pink-hair and stony green eyes.

His blank eyes remained indifferent to the familiar face, but his mind was sending out warning signals. The medic-nin looked tired, but she could still take him out at that point. He needed to escape. He devised a plan in his head, and when she came at him for a third time, he was ready. He faked to one side, and in that milisecond of confusion, materialized behind her and brought his hand down in a chop, right over the nerve in the junction of her neck, instantly rendering her immobile at his feet.

He sighed, finally able to catch his breath. His wounds were becoming too painful to move around in, and he needed treatment and rest. Immediately. The other shinobi were bound to happen upon him, and he had a feeling it would be sooner rather than later. He didn't know where Karin was, and his team probably abandoned him, after he abandoned them. So where w-

-He looked down.

And that was why he was currently fleeing through the woods with Sakura Haruno resting over his shoulder.

-TBC

So, whadaya think? Got a brand new chapter out, and I have high hopes for it. This will be my first multiple chapter fic. Hope I didn't bomb it. XP