*Advanced warning for Sai fans…he's not here. Sorry! I like Sai too, but upon a promise that I made to another friend…Sai's out and she's in.
Here it is, just as promised! I may take a while, but i get it done! True in real life too! XD
Naruto: Shippuden
Prologue:
Naruto ran down the dark corridors as fast as his legs could take him. All the walls patterns looked the same in the underground hide-out, but it didn't stop him from looking. He checking every door he across – not even bothering to be discreet because he knew he was down here somewhere in one of these rooms.
"He's not here." He growled looking in another empty room. "Where the heck is he?" Naruto asked.
-0-
Ryoko heard his frustration through the comlink. She wasn't having much luck as well since they had split up in different directions. It would've been easier for her if his scent hadn't been all over the place already. 'We know he's here, but where?'
They've been in the hide-out for quite some time and they must've checked hundreds of doors, but none of them had what they were looking for.
"Where are you?" She whispered in the darkness as she ran down another endless hallway that leads to another.
"Where are you?"
-0-
"Where are you?" Naruto ran faster down the dark hall and yelled at the top of his lungs, "SASUKE!"
-0-
From outside, there was a huge explosion that created a giant crater above right above the underground hide-out.
Upon hearing the explosion, everyone miraculously found the one hallway that connected back to surface where the blast had taken place.
Amongst the rubble, a 15 year old girl with waist-length white hair, blood red eyes, donned in clothes similar to the Anbu Black Ops.
She shook off the dirt and stood unharmed on her feet, staring unafraid at her opponent.
Moments later, Ryoko came out of the only exit and rushed to her side, "What happened?" She panted.
The young girl kept her eyes forward.
"Ryoko…"
Ryoko's eyes widen a fraction of a second as the voice registered in her ears, 'It's him…' She slowly shifted her head to her left where she had heard the strong voice. Even after all this time…that kind of voice she would never forget… "…Sasuke…"
When she muttered his name, Naruto came barreling from the exit. When he saw his two teammates standing there he followed their gazes to the top of the pit above them.
They couldn't believe their eyes when they say their former teammate standing almost right in front of them. Three years almost barely changed him. He was paler but he was more adult looking than he had been before, he was a bit leaner than before too. His hair was still the same color and style…his eyes still had their onyx shade although blanker and colder with no real emotion showing in them. His clothes changed dramatically due to being with Orochimaru. Wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, similar to how Kimimaro used to wear his, opened at his torso to show how slightly muscular he got over the years. Dark blue pants with a blue thick cloth hanging around his waist the reached from almost his stomach to his knees, which was supported by the ever familiar thick purple rope that anyone under Orochimaru's care wore. What's new to them is the sword he now carries behind his back.
"Sasuke…" Naruto whispers in disbelief. He couldn't believe how much Sasuke had changed. The memories of their last battle flashed through his mind. He couldn't understand why Sasuke wanted to break their bond, but he wanted to know even more, why didn't Sasuke kill him when he had the chance, "Why didn't you kill me, Sasuke? I thought you wanted to sever our bond!"
"It's not that I couldn't sever the bond…" Sasuke told him in his ever aloof tone, even that didn't change, "I just couldn't stand the idea of attainting power by following in his foot steps. I spared your life on a whim…nothing more…"
Ryoko's eyes harden in rage, "…or maybe you didn't have the balls to do it…"
Right when those words left her lips, Sasuke stood right between her and Naruto. He moved quickly and quietly they didn't know he moved until he spoke. Ryoko visibly shivered when he spoke in her ear in a hushed tone, "You still haven't changed a bit…Ryoko…even though you're supposed to be in the same league as me…you're still weak in your own way." With his free hand, he brushed a strand of her hair, "…tell me…" He whispered softly leaning closer, "…do you remember…our last kiss…?"
He said it in such a taunting way that made her blood boil. Outrage she moved to swat him away, however her movements were way too slow for him. He was already standing directly in front of Naruto in a similar way he was with her, only this time he spoke a little louder, "Come to think of it…Didn't you dream of becoming Hokage someday?" He asked Naruto, "All of that time chasing after me you could've spent it better on training…wouldn't you agree, Naruto? Because this time my whim is telling me…" He pulled his sword out of its sheath, "…to finish what I started."
Naruto hadn't bother to move or defend himself, "I could never become Hokage if I can't even save my friend…isn't that right, Sasuke?"
'It sure has been a long time…' Ryoko thought to herself as she trekked upon the familiar path that lead to the entrance gates of the Leaf Village, 'I wonder if Naruto came home before I did…did he change at all?' She wonder absently touch her lengthened hair that had grew and lighten a few shades due to all her training, '…more importantly how much stronger did he get?' A small smile formed on her face as she quickened her walk when the village came closer in sight, "I'll just have to find out for myself!" She laughed as she jogged her way through the gates, waving hello to the two ninja on duty. She vaguely remembers some Jounin she had seen around the village, "Hey, Izumo, Kotetsu!"
She didn't wait to hear the greet back or the surprised look on their faces when she ran by. She was on her own mission to find Naruto.
-0-
"Hey, was that?" Izumo asked leaning over the booth to see the back of Ryoko running towards the village.
Kotetsu stiffly nodded, "I think it was…"
They shook off their thoughts when they heard more travelers walking through the gate. Their mouths dropped a second time when they saw a very familiar orange-clad blond hair Genin walking with Jiraiya.
"That couldn't be…"
"I think it was…"
-0-
Ryoko knocked on Tsunade's door. When she heard the muffle voice that granted entrance she pulled back a smile and opened the door to greet Tsunade.
"I'm back!" She sang raising one arm in the air.
Tsunade smile and set aside a sheet of paper. She linked her fingers together and rested her elbows on her desk, "So I take it that everything went well on your mission?"
Ryoko shot her cheesy grin that reminded her of Naruto. She gave her a peace sign, "Of course it went well!" She reached into her pouch and pulled out a red scroll to show her, "I've even got all of their signatures of approval."
Tsunade nodded proudly, "I see. I'm very proud that you managed to pull everything off. So do you feel any different? Any stronger?"
Ryoko scratched the back of her head, "Well to be honest I couldn't tell you, but I did learned some pretty cool things."
Tsunade stood up from her desk, "That's good. Now let's put them to the test. Naruto should be in the village by now." She said walking around Ryoko to go to the door, "Let's go meet him, shall we?"
"Yeah!"
-0-
"Show of hands! Who wants Ichiraku Ramen?" Naruto cheered walking ahead of Jiraiya and Kakashi.
"As promised, Kakashi, he's all yours." Jiraiya said watching Naruto run down the street.
Kakashi looked up from his newly attained Make-out Tactics.
"I suspect the Akatsuki will make their next move soon so I'm going back to gather intelligence." He informed him.
"Whoa!" Naruto yelped in surprise when he saw a barely familiar figure standing beside Tsunade.
Hearing the yelp, Ryoko turned around to see her long time friend and teammate, "Naruto?" Ryoko exclaimed surprised, running over to Naruto she had to slightly reach to touch his blond hair and his slightly darkened face, "Yeah, I know this mess of blond hair, cheesy grin, and whisker face anywhere!" Ryoko laughed letting go of Naruto's face, "Wow, you barely changed…I think you got a little taller."
Naruto grinned and checked his friend out, "I'll say, you changed a little bit too! Your hair is longer and you filled out a bit!" He exclaimed giving her a thumbs up.
Ryoko blushed and scratched her cheek, "I guess I'll take that as a compliment!"
"All right!" Tsunade interrupted, "Enough with the emotional reunion. Kakashi."
Kakashi closed his new book with a snap, "Wow, it sure has been a while." He said facing his teammates, "From here on out, you two are going to part of my team again. Not as sensei and students but as equals. Fellow Konoha Shinobi." He reached into his pocket and showed them two very familiar bells, "Now…I want to see how much you've both grown. The rules are the same as when we met. Attack as though you mean to kill or you'll never stand a chance."
-0-
Practice Field 3
"The rules are the same as before. You may use whatever tactics you wish to take the bells from me. You have until sunrise tomorrow." Kakashi explained while reading his book again.
Naruto and Ryoko looked at the training field with the three tree stumps in the middle.
"This place brings back memories." Naruto whispered.
Ryoko nodded in agreement, "Yeah…"
"Oh, right. This was the site of your very first exercise." Kakashi said starting to reminisce as well.
Ryoko nodded soberly, "Yeah…the squad full of problems…"
"Squad 7…" Naruto mutters.
"…Back then…we had Sasuke too, didn't we…"
There was a painful pause before the two genin sunk on their elbows and knees with their heads hung low into depression with gloom clouds hanging over their heads. Sasuke's name was officially taboo.
After they had recovered, Kakashi closed his book, "Alright, let's begin."
Naruto tightened his forehead protector with a smirk, "Heh heh, not gonna read this time Kakashi-sensei?"
Ryoko cracked her knuckles, "Or have you finished it already?"
Kakashi tucked his book away, "No…just saving it for later. Besides, I get the feeling that…" He moved his forehead protector to reveal his Sharingan, "…this time I'm going to have to make more of a serous effort."
The three shinobi stood at a stand still…waiting for someone to make the first move. Even with the advantage of two to one, the genin still knew that they had to be careful when fighting their former Sensei. They weren't the childish genin that they were before when they did this exercise. They knew better now.
Naruto made the first move throwing five shuriken at Kakashi-sensei who countered by ducking low and throwing three shuriken of his own. Naruto easily jumped into the air to avoid them. Kakashi threw three more while he was mid-air. To save himself Naruto created a shadow clone to pull him out of the way while still in air. When the original Naruto transformed his shadow clone into a larger shuriken to throw at Kakashi but caught Naruto from behind, holding his hand and head to stop him from moving. From behind Kakashi was another clone holding a kunai to Kakashi's back. Kakashi was impressed that Naruto's use of shadow clone and timing has improved. "You really have matured, Naruto…alright, go!" Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Ryoko looked at her surrounds for any sign of him visibly. She sniffed the air and detected a faint scent of dog coming from underground. "Found you!"
Channeling her chakra into her fist she punched the ground under her feet with such power that it shifted the earth plates and as an added measure she pumped more chakra and created sparks of blue lightening through the cracks, forcing Kakashi out of hiding.
"Heh, heh, got you now, sensei!"
Kakashi jumped out of the rubble at a safe distance, "My, my, you've improved as well, Ryoko. Alright, kids, now it's my turn."
-0-
Night fall…
After almost a full day of fighting and dodging Ryoko and Naruto were forced into hiding to recover some of their energy while they tried to think of a plan to get Kakashi-sensei.
"Kakashi's still as strong as ever…" Ryoko panted wiping sweat off her face with her arm, "…that Sharingan is one annoying Kekkei Genkai…we got to disable it somehow."
"Yeah, but how…?" Naruto pondered in thought, "What's Kakashi's weakness?"
Ryoko crossed her arms in thought, "We know that over use of Sharingan drains Kakashi's stamina so we could continue to attack him when he's weak…but with his keen nose he'd smell us coming."
Naruto snapped his fingers when a thought came to him, "Oh! There is one weakness!"
Ryoko looked a him in shock, "What? What is it?"
Naruto snickered behind his hand, "Come on, Ryoko…you know it too when you think about it. It's something he always has around on him."
That hint clicked easily, "Ah! That's it! Why didn't I see it before! If we time everything right we got him! Naruto you're a mad genius!"
"Then let's go!"
-0-
From his position Kakashi could smell Ryoko and Naruto approaching quickly. He was prepared for them when he saw them approaching him from the front. He was disappointed they would try a useless frontal assault.
"Do it, Naruto!" Ryoko shouted.
"Got it! Hey, Kakashi-sensei! Make-out Tactics' final plot twist! The main character is really…!"
Kakashi's eyes widen in fear and he visibly paled, "What? No…!" He clamped his hands over his ears to block out Naruto's voice and when he saw Naruto's mouth still moving he closed his eyes, 'Gah! Because of the Sharingan, I can still read his lips!'
Ting
When he didn't feel anything happen Kakashi uncovered his eyes and ears to see Ryoko and Naruto holding a small bell.
"Heh heh, 'A ninja must see through deception'" Naruto snickered jingling the bell he stole from his former sensei.
Ryoko held hers up too, "Isn't that right, Sensei?"
-0-
Into the morning…
"You two have really grown! I honestly didn't think you'd manage to take these bells."
"Heh! Heh! Maybe I surpassed you, Kakashi-sensei."
"Who knows, he is getting old." Ryoko teased.
"I'll have you know that this old dog still has some tricks…in fact just the other day I invented this amazing new jutsu-"
"I could go for something to eat right now." Naruto interrupted holding his growling stomach, "I still haven't gotten my Ichiraku ramen yet."
"Yeah, I haven't eaten anything since yesterday."
'I miss the cute little newbies who used to react with wonder at everything I said and did…' Kakashi thought dejectedly.
"Hey, let's see if Kakashi-sensei can teat us!"
"Good idea!" Naruto cheered.
Kakashi gave a two finger salut, "Sorry, gotta go submit the platoon list with the new teams. Later." He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Why am I not surprised that he blew us off?" Naruto grumbled.
Ryoko crossed her arms and shifted her weight on her left side, "I bet he wants to read the rest of that book."
Naruto crossed his arms behind his head, "I guess it's just the two of us."
"Yeah, we can split the check…huh…" Ryoko peeked over Naruto's shoulder when she saw a familiar face approaching them. It was Shikamaru and Temari!
"Hey! Shikamaru! Temari!" Ryoko called waving them down, "Guess who's back in town!"
Shikamaru's bored expression lightened up a bit when he recognized Naruto and Ryoko, "Hey, you guys are back? When did you return?"
"Yesterday." They replied.
"You two seem different for some reason…more mature looking."
"Thanks!" Naruto boasted basking in the praise.
Ryoko regarded them to talk to Temari, "What are you doing in Konoha?"
"It's almost time for the Chunin Exams again and while I've been acting as liaison between the Sand and Konoha…" Temari trailed.
"I'm being forced to act as an exam proctor, so I was ordered to escort the Sand Ambassador." Shikamaru finished.
Naruto looked up at the blue sky, "The Chunin exams…that takes me back…"
"Oh! So what are you two going to do?" Shikamaru asked them.
"Eh?"
"About the Chunin Exams." Shikamaru clarified, "You two are the only ones, besides Sasuke, in our year who are still Genin!"
It took two minutes for those words to sink into their minds, "WHAT?"
"And just so you know, Neji, Kankuro, Aki, and Temari here, are already Jonin."
"No Way!" Ryoko cried.
"Oh! Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed, "What about Gaara?"
-0-
In the HiddenSandVillage…
Gaara stood proudly in his Kazekage robes over looking theSandVillage. He sometimes couldn't believe that he was the one put in charge to protect it.
"Lord Kazekage…the meeting is about to begin." One of his servants informed him.
Gaara shifted his eyes to him, "Very well…has there been any news from Aki yet?"
The servant bowed his head, "Not yet, sir, she's still patrolling."
"Over the past few years, this village's power has stabilized and our relationships with other ally nations' shinobi villages have flourished. We've even seen great success in recruit development since we incorporated Konoha's training programs into our curriculum."
"The Chunin exams are approaching, eh? I look forward to the results."
"…however…again, at this juncture…unsavory rumors abound…"
"Such as?" Baki asked.
"This is from Master Jiraiya of the Legendary Sanin…has anyone ever heard of an organization call 'The Akatsuki'?"
-0-
Later that night in the Sand village Aki was finishing up her patrol when she felt a small shadow cast over her. Looking up a white hawk, bigger than any of the normal sized hawks she had seen, 'Hold on…' She jumped on the nearest tallest building to get a better look at the hovering bird, "That bird isn't native to this village…" She observed the bird flying closer to the Kazekage building. Looking closer she faintly saw a blonde hair man dressed in a black cloak with red clouds on them. "That cloak…where have I seen it before…?"
She watched the cloak figure land on the roof of the Kazekage building and not a moment later a whip of sand shot out in retaliation.
"Gaara!" She quickly flashed step over to the Kazekage building to witness Gaara fighting the cloaked figure in the night sky.
-0-
"How could we still be Genin? We have more skills than Genin." Ryoko cried in her bowl of beef ramen.
"How can I be Hokage if I'm still a Genin?" Naruto whined, slurping his ramen.
"Don't get so hung up on rank, you two." Iruka soothed them, "You two have been training hard that last two and a half years and that counts for a lot."
"Yeah, I bet I can even beat you, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto snickered, "Oh, het! Did you hear that Gaara became Kazekage! He became a kage before me!" He shouted like it was an outrage.
Ryoko chuckled, "Well, he always was special!"
-0-
The battle between Gaara and the Akatsuki explosive maniac was getting out of hand. Gaara was forced to take shelter in his sand ball while the Akatsuki member created a giant winged object. The Junín from below had gathered it was a giant explosive and tried to take the city evacuated before the bomb dropped any further.
Everyone thought the worst went it exploded in a fiery inferno, however when they opened their eyes they were in awe by the size of the sand shield that took most of the explosive impact. When the villagers saw that it was their very Kazekage's sand that protected them, they burst into cheers for their Kazekage. But their moment of triumph was short lived when there was an explosion inside Gaara's sand ball. Everyone's hearts fell as Gaara's sand shields slowly slipped away, along with their Kazekage.
"Gaara!" Kankuro and Aki yelled as they watched Gaara fall into the Akatsuki clutches. Without waiting for orders, they rushed into action to retrieve Gaara themselves rather than wait for the rest to think of something. They were determined to get Gaara back, even if they died trying.
-0-
"Nuh-uh! Now way!" Naruto strongly disagreed, "I'm not taking that lame mission!"
Tsunade frowned annoyed by Naruto's disobedience, "Young man, who do you think you're talking to?"
"Well, the mission is kinda childish…" Ryoko agreed meekly, not wanting to face the Hokage's wrath, but not wanting to go on such a lame mission of finding the mission cat again.
"Yeah, old man Hokage picked better missions." Naruto muttered.
"Excuse me? What did you just say?" Tsunade snapped hearing every word.
"Nothing!" They yelped in fear.
The room doors burst open as a young short haired women ran inside, "Lady fifth! Urgent news!"
"Report!" Tsunade ordered.
"We've just received word that the Sand's Kazekage has been kidnapped by a member of the Akatsuki!"
Naruto and Ryoko whipped their heads around in alarm. 'Gaara has been kidnapped?'
Tsunade retracted the mission slip and gave the three shinobi and serious stare, "Team Kakashi I hereby amend your mission. You will leave for Sand now! Assess the situation and report immediately! Afterward you will follow Sand's orders and provide them whatever assistance they require! Is that understood?"
"Yes ma'am!"