24 moves to checkmate

Thoughts "italic"

Dialogue "words"

I do not own Naruto. The work is property of Masashi Kishimoto.

First Move, Pawn to king 4

And so began the game. How my fate was ever altered in such heinous fashion as this is beyond my comprehension. When Shizune analyzed the cells in my body her discovery put me at life's twilight hour…

After a brief and otherwise monotonous mission in the land of grass Team Kakashi returned to their rebuilt home in the village hidden in the leaves. Sai had to catch up on his reading, Sakura was probably needed at the Hospital and Kakashi was due at a Jonin meeting to discuss progress in the future with the elders. Kakashi left immediately, despite being late anyway. The only one without some pending responsibility, Naruto began to think of ways to kill the little bit of time he had before getting assigned another mission in the coming days. Not wanting to waste too much time contemplating instead of acting Naruto began to ask Sakura for a cup of tea or a bowl of ramen, on himself of course. "Sorry Naruto, but I'm needed at the hospital due to a shortage of medical ninja. Maybe we can eat a little later though." She sort of smiled and looked away. This wasn't uncommon for him, having heard like statements countless other times. Not one to get down quickly, Naruto sprang out of his dejection and proceeded to leave his teammates. Sakura and Sai parted ways, and the three ninja faded into the numerous lives that they lead.

While jumping from rooftop to rooftop as he had done for his sixteen years, Naruto had suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart. The pain was incessant, causing him to imagine his whole being ripped in four. He began to plummet in mid air. The fall would have been fatal if he didn't have enough cognizance to call shadow clones to cushion his fall. He still hit the ground hard, his shadow clones losing form almost as soon as he summoned them. What was wrong with him? Nothing drastic or cataclysmic happened to him during the last mission so what caused the problems were beyond him. Although he hated it because he felt confined, Naruto proceeded to go to Konoha hospital. At the welcome desk the nurse kindly told him that Sakura wasn't there, figuring that seeing her was the only reason for someone as fit as him to be at the hospital. When he told her of his pains she had Naruto wait. Having dealt with Ninja for as long as she had, the nurse was confident that Naruto simply had a bad reaction to some foreign foods or dysentery. She was in no rush when Shizune happened to see Naruto in the emergency waiting area. "Naruto-Kun, what happened to you? Why are you in the emergency waiting room?" before Naruto could answer however, he fell unconscious, the pain in his heart becoming to much for even someone of his fortitude to bear. Naruto awoke to the beeping of a respirator and Heart rate monitor. What surprised him was that they were not his. He was in the room of Lady Tsunade, still under severe care due to her battle with Pain. Looking to doorway from the bed adjacent to the Hokage's, Naruto saw the shadowy visage of a figure. It was Shizune, dressed in her surgical garb and holding a clipboard. She appeared very grim, like a large event was about to take place.

What I didn't know at that moment was that fate can continue to be cruel to people already beaten down by time's onslaughts. I was at the end of my light, so welcoming the dark was easy.

"Naruto, I'm sorry… but it seems that you have a rare form of a certain cancer found in people who hail from the land of whirlpool." Shizune's eyes were glassy and blank when she starred perpetual holes into the papers that detailed Naruto's fate. "We would have some hope of you recovering due to the nine tails inside you but even its power is more of a detriment than a deterrent. It's the battles that you have fought in these last two years. Every time the demon took over your body the faster the cancer cells divided and spread." Naruto was being crushed by the weight of every single word the woman said, finding the inner confidence he developed through all his accomplishments of late drowning in a sea of despair. "How much… time do I have left, Shizune?" With this question angry tears streamed down his whiskered cheeks. Shizune placed the clipboard possessing Naruto's data on the table and distanced herself away from him, unable to face his tear filled azure eyes directly. "You have a little more than twenty four months to live. Two years from this date it is effectively certain that you will not be off this earth anymore." Shizune could not hold in her tears much longer, and they began overwhelming her professional ties. "Naruto! You're dear to me, to Sakura, and to the rest of the village! I'm so sorry!" It was surprising to see a wide smile, wider than any that he had ever held before. "Two years, huh? Sounds like fun. Lately I've felt like my life would never find peace, no matter how many battles I fight or enemies I defeat. Your diagnosis hasn't doomed me at all; in fact, you've saved me from a life of ceaseless battle. Thank you." With that statement Naruto jumped from the window onto an adjacent roof top. 'Father, Pervy Sage, I'll meet you soon enough.'

Shizune was still inserted into the window of shock that Naruto left her in prior. 'Why is he happy? Why is he smiling? All of his dreams are dead, so why be happy?' It was at that exact moment that Sakura came into the hospital. Her mind was molded on the concerns of her potential patients, blocking out other distractions like her skirt riding up or her hair being a mess. Due to Tsunade's comatose state Sakura's status as a medical ninja was elevated greatly. Her colleagues call her a genius, a sixteen year old girl with the most precise chakra control and surgical skills. She modestly dismissed their claims, saying that she was just average. Her experiences as a medical ninja braced her for the betrayal of her childhood love for a second time, the destruction of her home, and the fall of her master but nothing could prepare her for the events that began to transpire. When she entered her master's room as she did daily she felt an ominous air. When she opened the door Shizune's form was different. Trembling on the floor, the slim sound of wailing and inhaling occurred in slow rotations. "Shizune! What's wrong? What happened? Why are you crying?" Sakura's hair fell as she knelt on the ground next to her mentor. Shizune looked up, tears streaming, eyes red with blood and rage. She kept uttering a simple phrase. "Why Naruto? Why?" When Sakura attempted to console her she snapped away with stubborn force. She seemed to calm down as she stated solemnly, "Go… find Naruto. Ask him why." Before Shizune could finish the rest of her somber statement the door was jutted open and the entrails of the room and halls were silent. Only the sounds of Tsunade's respirator and Shizune's heavy breathing were heard.

Naruto was standing on the roof of his building, inhaling the cold air in his lungs. His thoughts concerning the events that occurred earlier in the day were mostly nonchalant and unconcerned, like a scattering dream. His life was a far off memory, filled with lofty goals and minimal expectations. And what result occurred besides the protection of a village that for the longest time despised him, and the dogged determination to return someone who didn't want to come back into his life anyway. "Why am I so stupid? Why didn't I see that my dreams and goals for the most part equated to meeting stupid goals and saving ungrateful people. I have only two years to make my legacy, right pervy sage? That gives me two years for me to achieve your goals. I'm going to change this world for the better. No more regrets….

Running down a busy bazaar-like street, Sakura dwelled deep in subconscious thought. A bird of pray, her deep green embers burned brightly. This hawk was probing the village for something, like an owl hunting the night fields for mice. 'What did Naruto do or say to evoke such a deep emotional response from Shizune? I have to find you, you idiot!' It was then when this bird found the potential den of her fox. Ichiraku ramen smelled like delectable sea salt and freshly brewed tea. Standing at the front of the establishment was the amiable Ayame, her brow drenched with sweat and her brown hair tied behind her head wrap. Sakura focus on the large bowl of sea salt ramen, Naruto's favorite, that Ayame was headed for the last seat with. The hawk was ready to swoop when she realized who the dish was for. Sitting in the corner reading instructor notes was the familiar form of Iruka Umino. His scar was luminescent, lightly glowing in the moon as he sipped his tea. "Good evening Sakura. You appear more beautiful with every mission you accomplish." His tone was sincere and his smile was jovial, much like Naruto's. "Thank you, sensei" were the only words Sakura could utter before blushing slightly. The older chunnin continued. "So… where are those two teammates of yours. I'm really surprised that Naruto isn't here enjoying some ramen with me." Sakura thought internally, having the same thought process as Iruka. "Sai is probably at the library, and who knows where Naruto is. I had actually been looking for him myself." Iruka had a questioning look on his face after Sakura finished. "Why do you seem so on edge Sakura? Did Naruto say something stupid again?" Her reply was simple. "I don't know. I went to check in for duty at the hospital when I found Shizune-nii crying on the floor. It was weird. She kept uttering "Naruto Why". I think he may have done or said something to her to make her cry, and if he did he's going to pay for it with his life! Sorry sensei, but I have to go find Naruto. See you later." With a quick hand gesture and a sharp turn to exit, Sakura's puff of pink hair was once again in pursuit of her prey, a one Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto sat on top of the Hokage mount, on the statue of his father's face. He became angry, cursing his heritage and damning his blood. "Why? Why do I have to suffer like this? I can never become Hokage. All of my dreams have met their tipping points, and all of them have fallen." His rage permeated through the air, voice cutting the peace that the village once knew. He was going to die. This pain in his heart was not like the Akatsuki or the people of the village. He could not simply overcome them. He had lost everything. Never before did he feel like Sasuke as he did at that moment. Like Sasuke Naruto was willing to risk it all. But unlike Sasuke, Naruto was going to make the utmost of his fate before he met his end.

In the center of town Sakura heard a terrible sound. It was a sound that she knew only she could recognize. The sound was clear. Naruto was in the deepest hells of pain and anguish, and it was something that she knew all too well of. The last time she heard that cry Naruto was fully enraged, prepared to kill Orochimaru for his perceived possession of Sasuke. This cry was different. It was as if Naruto was crying out for a quick and painless death. Sakura jetted off to the source of that sound, completely forgetting about all that happened between them to this point, her back forming the view of an exquisite woman. Unbeknownst to her, the shadow-less halls of the night encaged a specter, one who wanted to investigate the outcome of this dark night.

The moon was now visible again. The clouds broke subtly, blooming in fullness and life. The visage of a woman still on her back, Sakura had almost made it to her destination. Climbing the many stairs that span the Hokage Mountain, Sakura was suddenly halted with a calculated kunai throw. Attached at the end of the kunai hole was an exploding tag. Sakura ducked just in time to avoid the explosion but she was unable to block a wayward fist from this assailant, who hunted the hawk to perfection. Slowly slipping into unconsciousness Sakura thought her mind was playing tricks on her. Bright red eyes pierced her very soul, burning through her subconscious. She had seen this person so many times. Whether this was one of the sweet dreams of her past, or a beautiful nightmare of her present, she didn't know. What she did know was that his arrival had resounding meaning. Before she finally fell into the dark depths Sakura was able to speak one word. Why was he here, this specter, this traitor? "Sasuke…"

To be continued…

This concludes the first chapter of 24 moves to checkmate. I hope you enjoy reading this story as I enjoy writing it. The plot will get very dark, with rape, suicide, drug use, gratuitous cursing, a rap album, murder, extortion, pimping, and other elements. If you wish to flame go right ahead. The odds are that no one will find happiness in this story, because I intend to write it like Neon genesis Evangelion, minus the crappy ending. Please review the chapter if you like plot or my personal writing style. I am very open to ideas concerning writing and plot lines, pairings, and endings. Rape in next chapter…

Thank you, Asuka Kallen Haruno Sohryu (Author) and Grey 1171 (editor)