I rescued this story from fanlibs. Trying to finish it with some changes
Pairings are mostly Naru/Hina. Naru/Saku mbe, depends on the reviews
I do not own Naruto btw. Wish I did tho. T.T
Naruto: Threads of Fate
Chapter 1 - Things Fall Apart
"It's a promise of a lifetime!"
Naruto pounded his fist into the practice dummy outside the ninja academy's training area. He tried to drown out the words the echoed inside his head with the sound of his fists hitting wood. It only fueled his anger more as the voice in his mind seemed to get louder with each blow. His blond mane now falling in his face, drenched with sweat dripping into his eyes, blurring his vision. The genin had been striking the oak wood dummy for so long that his hands had long gone numb from the pain.
I will bring him back, Sakura-chan!"
Another fist went flying into another arm on the dummy, this time blood starting to drip from his knuckles. The voices of inspiration cut to his very soul. Over and over, the image of a hopeful Sakura replayed in his mind like a movie stuck on repeat.
". . I promise!"
Blood gushed from his knuckle with the next blow. He ignored it and continued to strike the dummy. For the first time in his life, Naruto had failed to keep a promise; compared the self doubt that plagued the young man, the pain of his hand was nothing. Self doubt was a rare thing for Naruto. However, at the valley of the end he has failed to bring back his former teammate. That failure not only affected him but Sakura-chan as well.
In the last three weeks, Sakura had not been her cheerful and sweet self. Since he and the rest of Shikamaru's team had returned her whole personality changed. She had taken to smiling a lot, yet it wasn't a smile the young shinobi recognized. Naruto knew better. He was a master of using a smile to hide his true feelings, and he could tell right away the girl was hurting inside. He did give her credit for trying to hide her pain. However, he noticed little things about her that some of the others in the village might have missed. She didn't have the same skip in her step when she made her way around town. When she wasn't training with him and Kakashi-sensei, she kept her eyes down and always looked so sad. She had also stopped scolding him about his behavior, which worried him the most.
Of course, Naruto felt he was to blame for the young girl's behavior. That was what he told himself and nothing would change his mind. If he had just brought Sasuke back in the first place, she would still be smiling, she would still scold him and he would never have to see those sad emerald orbs.
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! Leave it to me!"
Tears started stinging his eyes, the voices now sounded like they were coming from everywhere around him. Why wasn't he strong enough? Why couldn't he do what was needed? Why couldn't he bring back Sasuke?
"Damnit ..." Naruto said to himself. "Damn that Sasuke!" He emphasized his last words with another strike to the dummy, leaving fist-shaped blood stains. "Why did you have to make Sakura-chan cry!?"
As much as he tried to convince himself that it was his former teammate's fault, he still couldn't shake his own feelings of guilt. Sasuke, that idiot! He thought as another one of his blows nearly cracked the dummy. The blood from his fists were now dripping down his sleeves and soaking through his jacket. Why did he have to go and mess up a good thing? We were all happy and on our way to becoming great ninjas! Naruto tried to fight his tears back, but he failed miserably. His breathing was becoming labored and he struck the dummy with more force. You had everything! You had the Sharingan, people liked you, you were a genius ninja, Sakura-chan cared about you. . .
Naruto stopped hitting the dummy and collapsed to his knees, his eyes now dreary and red from the tears as they flowed freely. His cerulean blue orbs were now completely devoid of emotion and he couldn't help but feel the familiar emotions of hurt and loneliness. He had let down the girl he loved. It didn't matter to him that she didn't return his feelings; he was hurt because he couldn't keep his promise to her. Naruto Uzumaki always kept his word no matter what. It had been his way. Now, it wasn't true anymore.
He looked down at his hands, now bruised and bloody from his workout. "I'm not going to give up, Sasuke." He said to himself silently. "You're coming back because I promised Sakura-chan I would bring you back. I don't care if I have to beat you till you're senseless."
"You're not concentrating hard enough! Try again!"
Tsunade stood over Sakura as she scolded her for what seemed like the one hundredth time. The young girl was breathing hard and her red dress in tatters. Her training with the Fifth Hokage started at dawn and her progress had been slow throughout the day. In fact, her overall training as Tsunade's apprentice had been slow going with little progress. She had been proud of herself to having the courage to ask her if she would take her on an apprentice, but at the moment her lack of success had given way to second thoughts.
"You have to have total control over your chakra, Sakura" Tsunade explained. "A Medic-Nin cannot afford anything less. You are the first and last line of hope for any of your teammates if they are in injured."
"Yes, sensei." Sakura replied. She began to concentrate all her chakra into her hand once again, willing it to take the shape of a knife. The goal was to hold the chakra knife's form effortlessly while doing other tasks, such as fighting or dodging the enemy. In order to hone the young kunoichi's skill, Tsunade forced Sakura to dodge an assault while the girl held her chakra blades. To make matters worst she was not attack.
"Move faster! The enemy will not give you time to breathe!" The Hokage shouted at her before throwing a large number of kunai her way. Sakura did her best to dodge, but the blades were starting to blur. The Hokage was fast, faster than she realized, but it was to be expected; she was a legendary ninja after all.
The rain of kunai and darts did not stop coming at Sakura, but the girl moved as fast as she could. Getting close to Tsunade was easier said than done. The female Sannin moved around the room at a speed Sakura couldn't detect, so Sakura never knew where the woman was or where the attacks coming from.
"I've got to keep moving." She told herself. "I've got to get stronger so I can bring him back." Her mind went back to the day she opened up the door at the hospital and heard Naruto say that Sasuke got away. That moment was all that was needed to distract her and allow one of the kunai to hit her. She fell to the ground with a yelp as the blade sliced her across the side of her leg. She crumpled to the ground, unable to look Tsunade in the eye out of shame. The Fifth walked over to the sullen Sakura, looking her over briefly before reaching a hand out to help her apprentice.
"You did much better than the last time. That's the closest you've come to me. But you have to clear you're mind if you wish to master this. You have to keep you're control at all times. A medic-nin is only as good as their concentration. Remember that." Tsunade explained. Sakura would have smiled at the small praise her teacher gave her if she was hadn't been so determined to be serious during her training. She took The Fifth's hand and pulled herself up before dusting herself off. "Now once again."
"Hai!"
Sakura concentrated once more to bring the chakra blade to life and then she steeled her gaze at her teacher. She had a job to do, and she promised Naruto she was going to help him. "He made a promise." She thought. "Naruto never makes promises unless he intends to keep them. And I'll be by his side to help him next time! Sasuke, I'm coming for you!"
"Don't stop this time!" Tsunade shouted at the young girl. Sakura did no intend to do so.
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"So you've found me." The slithery-voice rasped at the dark-haired young man.
"Yes"
"And you realize why you sought me?"
"Because of power."
Sasuke did not struggle as he stood before Orochimaru. The two Sound Ninja guards held him, but he knew he could easily get dispose of them. No, he had no reason to fear them, or Orochimaru in this case. Orochimaru stood up from his seat and walked towards him. Sasuke did not twitch of avert his eyes.
"You realize that I will give you nothing for free." The Oto leader said to him, his predatory expression locked on the young boy.
"Then I'll work for you." Sasuke said simply. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow then laughed.
"Work for me! No one just works for me, Sasuke. They pledge their lives to me."
"Then I'll pledge my life to you," Sasuke told him. Orochimaru touched the young man's chin, pulling his face level with his own.
"And how much power do you desire, Sasuke Uchiha?"
"Enough power to kill my brother," He said simply. "If you give me that power, I will be loyal only to you."
Orochimaru stood up slowly and then placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. He smiled triumphantly, finally achieving the first of his goals! He snapped his fingers and the two guards released him. As they both slid into he shadows, another ninja appeared next to the Legendary Snake Sanin. He held out something to his master, and Orochimaru took it into his hand. It was a forehead protector with the insignia of the Hidden Village of Sound. He held it out over the young man's head and looked at it. He smiled once more before tying it into place around his head and stood back.
"Sasuke Uchiha, you belong to me now."
