A/N: I just want to thank everyone who reviewed, as always you guys are my muse and the ones that keep me writing. Without you I would probably have given up a long time ago!

Disclaimer: I didn't last time, and I don't this time...I don't own Naruto or any of the other characters, they all belong to Kishimoto-san though I dream about them at night! Heh--good dreams...

Okay now for the long awaited update...

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I sat in the jeep that I'd bought and was currently just outside the city limits of my hometown, pulled over, and staring at the green sign that proclaimed it the town of Konoha. I'd been sitting there for nearly thirty minutes just staring at the sign, trying to work up the courage to drive into the town. My heart pounded painfully in my chest and my stomach was churning with acid and I wanted to throw up. I hadn't eaten since that morning's piece of toast so the option of emptying the contents of my stomach was an impossibility despite the face that I wanted to do it. The sun was beginning to set on the horizon making the clouds my favorite color of orange mixed with a hue of pink.

My mouth was dry but I kept trying to work up a little saliva so that I could swallow and maybe the fear along with it. I didn't fear the town itself but the memories that came with it, memories that I'd put in a little box in the back of my mind and refused to take out again. But now the box was threatening to burst and I was trying to run from it as quickly as possible so that I didn't have to see.

I'd left this town three years ago and I hadn't been back but since my stay in the hospital six months ago I didn't know where else to go and this was home. Dr. Sannin had helped me to buy a house because I didn't want anyone to know that I was here, at least for the moment, until I could figure out what to say to them really. There was only one person who knew that I was coming and she only knew because Dr. Sannin had insisted that I make regular appointments with a physical therapist and had even placed the call herself, making me set up the appointment.

Haruno Sakura just happened to be one of my childhood friends. She'd married her childhood sweetheart, Rock Lee but had chosen to keep her last name for professional reasons. And she was now my physical therapist.

I made the appointment, but had demanded she keep my presence under confidentiality.

"But, Naruto, don't you think that S--"

"I expect you to keep your mouth shut," I hissed breaking her off before she could say his name.

The silence that had greeted me told me that I had hurt her, I'd felt guilty, but I was adamant that no one know that I would be there.

"Okay, Naruto, I will not tell anyone that you are here," she'd agreed.

"That includes your husband."

"I know that." And she hung up.

Now I was beginning to regret making this decision, but I needed to make peace with myself and this was the only place I could do it.

I still couldn't remember anything about that night or what happened. I didn't know if my husband was alive and I didn't know if I could be granted a divorce from a missing man. Detective Morino had been relentless in his questioning but I couldn't give him any information. They'd gone so far as to convince me to see a hypnotist but that had been a bust since I couldn't relax enough to be put under. I'd spent three years controlling my every action, being watchful, and observant of my surroundings that it had become second nature.

A patrol car pulled up behind me breaking me out of my thoughts and I hissed under my breath watching as the door opened and a shaggy brunette stepped out of the car. The sunglasses didn't hide the red fang tattoos on his face and I would recognize those anywhere. I closed my eyes for a brief moment and groaned out a swear word.

"Fuck."

I watched him approach and dropped my head to feign interest in my lap. He tapped on my window and I slowly rolled it down avoiding looking up at him.

"Do you need any help?" he asked.

I shook my head but didn't look up at him, which I knew was suspicious.

"I was just looking at a map to see if I was headed in the right direction," I said softly as an excuse for sitting on the side of the road.

"Where are you headed, ma'am, maybe I could help?"

"Oh, um, I was going to Bear Lake." I was beginning to get to the point that I would soon start hyperventilating and wouldn't that just be dandy. Not only would I pass out but then he would know who I was and the news would spread faster than a fire in dry grass.

"Then you're headed in the right directions. Just head straight and in ten miles you will come to a junction, turn left and after another fifteen miles you will reach Bear Lake." He gave the directions easily and I wondered how many people had gotten lost on this stretch of road. I nearly laughed because it just seemed ridiculous that someone could get lost here. There was only one road until that junction and you wouldn't get lost on it if you paid attention to the signs.

"Oh, thank you!"

"If you don't mind my asking, can I see your license?"

I nearly looked at him at that but forced my head to stay down.

"Why?" I asked.

"No reason, but you won't look at me so that makes me wonder if you have a reason for hiding."

"I've done nothing wrong and if you don't mind, I would like to get going again." My voice had hardened and I'd grown rude in my panic.

"I could ticket you for parking in a no parking zone." His voice had become just as hard.

"If you were going to ticket me you would have done so by now. Please, may I just go?"

He paused as if studying my down turned head then I heard him step back. "Yes, but I have taken down your plate number and will be running it."

I nodded then rolled the window back up. Putting the car into gear I pulled back onto the road and drove into town, looking back just once to see Kiba getting back into his car. I didn't fear that he had the plate numbers because the car was registered officially to my husband. If he dug deep enough he would find me, but just for a simple help with directions he wouldn't go further that finding out who the jeep belonged to.

Once I was sure that he wasn't following, I turned off the main road and drove to my house. It was nearly a mile down a dirt road (the reason why I had taken the jeep instead of the caddy that and the fact that the Cadillac would stand out like a sore thumb) and was situated back from the road and hidden from view by a large grove of trees. It was close to a reservoir where the old men fished when I was little girl but far enough away so that no one would be pounding on my door wishing a visit.

I pulled up to the large, cabin style structure and looked at it with satisfaction. The deep golden color mixed well with the pine and aspen trees. Most of the front was made up of tall windows from the second story roof to the first story floor. It angled outward sharply and was surrounded by a thickly posted porch.

Pulling the two suitcases that I had brought with me from the back of the jeep, I limped up the three steps and onto the porch. I paused long enough to unlock the door and was inside.

The house opened to a large great room that was warm and inviting with Lodge Pole Pine furniture covered with brown suede leather cushions, an enormous fireplace taking up a chunk of the wall on the far side of the room with two door leading off from the right of it, and a large deer horn chandelier hanging from the exposed rafters over head. To my left was a stair way that led up to a loft where there were a couple of spare rooms and a bathroom and beyond that was an open dinning room and kitchen. The kitchen held brand new stainless steel appliances surrounded by the golden wood of the cupboards. A long island separated the kitchen from the dining room which held a long Amish style table in the same golden wood as the cupboards. In the middle of the table was a bouquet of flowers and I knew that they were from Sakura but I didn't go over and examine them. Instead I dropped the suitcases at the door and walked over to the over stuffed sofa and sank down into the cushions, curling up on the leather and thinking that I wouldn't move for the rest of my life.

I sat holding a cup of hot tea and sipping it as I looked out at the night. The stars were shining in great clusters in the deep dark blue velvet night, like a jeweler had emptied a bag of small diamonds across it to display his wares. It was deep night and my body was exhausted but I wouldn't sleep even if I tried. I was too afraid to sleep, because the nightmares would haunt my slumber if I did.

I barely ate and I never slept if I could help it, though my body would become so physically exhausted that I would eventually succumb to the need only to wake a few hours afterward in a cold sweat from the dreams that terrified me and never fully rested.

The cool summer breeze caressed my scared cheeks and lifted the short tendrils of my blond hair as I took another sip of the tea. The forest beyond the railing at the back of the house chirped from several crickets and rustled with the sounds of nocturnal animals that rummaged for food in the darkness undisturbed by my silent presence. I breathed deeply getting hints of a pine scent along with the clean smell of fresh mountain air. It provided the first peace that I'd had in over three years.

I shifted the burgundy fleece blanket higher up my shoulders to ward off the coolness of the night and drew my legs closer to my chest setting my chin on one as I wrapped my arms around them careful not to spill the hot Earl Grey. The deep shadows of the porch hid me from any prying eyes and the cushioned bench I was sitting on was comfortable enough and large enough that if I wanted I could stretch out full length on it and sleep, if I had wanted, but I didn't.

I'd been here for three days and hadn't ventured any further than the steps of the porch, but tomorrow I was supposed to meet with Sakura for my first physical therapy session. She refused to come out here, telling me that it would do me more good to come into town for the sessions. I would have refused but then she would contact Dr. Tsunade Sannin and for some reason I didn't want to disappoint the one person who had helped me so much in the past six months.

I wished that I could return to my former self so that I could put her at ease. But I didn't know where I had buried that person. I can't seem to find her anymore and for some misplaced reason I missed that carefree youth who could tease a perfect stranger, joke with friends, and grin at a moment's notice. I don't remember when she had gone away but six months ago I had noticed that she was gone, possibly permanently.

I absently rubbed at an ache in my leg, I barely registered it since it was a constant hurt and even through the thick denim on my pants I could feel the hard length of a scar that hadn't been removed yet by plastic surgery. They had focused on my face mostly but even there they hadn't been able to remove all of the scars. Three thin lines marred each of my cheeks looking more like the whiskers of an animal really than scars. Tsunade had told me that they gave me a foxy look so instead of trying one last time to have them removed I had allowed them to remain, if only to remind me of everything that I had lost or given up.

I brushed the long bangs out of my face when the breeze shifted them to hang in my eyes and wondered when I would be able to look in the mirror and no longer see the dark haunted blue eyes that looked back at me out of a thin face of a stranger that looked vaguely familiar. I recognized the face but not the person who held it, that person was a stranger and had been for a long time.

I took another sip of the tea then leaned down and set the cup on the wooden planks of the deck then picked up a book, opening it to the last page that I had read and forced my mind away from the thought that I had been having. I concentrated on the book pushing away any other thoughts.

Sakura looked the same as she had always looked. Her bright pink hair was cut in a becoming, shoulder length style with a red ribbon holding it back away from her face. Her green eyes were trained on me as I forced my legs to lift the ten pound weights away from the others. She was very pretty and she smiled easily at me as I succeeded for the twentieth time with teeth clenched against the pain and weak muscles that didn't like to cooperate most of the time.

"Very good, Naruto," she praise as she wrote on her clip board.

I grunted in response letting my leg drop as well as the weight. I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the small white towel that she had provided.

"So how have you been?" A personal question. I had been expecting it sooner but she had put me through my paces first without even a hint of curiosity. She'd asked it softly and I looked up at her.

She could see the dark circles under my eyes and the thinness of my body. It didn't take a genius to know how I've been but she asked anyway. I didn't know if I should respond with the truth or if I should make up a pretty lie. I opened my mouth to respond with the lie but then closed it saying nothing. She waited patiently. She'd been patient through the whole session, calmly offering praise here and there and waiting for me to do the required exercise.

"I don't know how to respond," I said simply. Her eyebrows rose at that and she studied me closely.

"Would you mind if I asked what happened?"

"Yes, I'm not comfortable talking about it right now."

"Would you come over for dinner tonight?"

"No."

"I didn't think so. You know that you can't hide forever, someone will eventually see you."

"I know, but I…I can't deal with it right now."

"You know we're here for you, no matter what?" Sakura's voice had begun to tremble with emotion.

"Don't!" I said harshly anger suffusing my being and I forced it down. "I don't need your pity!"

"It's not pity. It's hurt, anger, and grief! You left and didn't bother to come back! You didn't write, you didn't call! HELL, you didn't even come back for your father's funeral! What the hell happened to you, Naruto?!" Sakura's voice had risen. "When you finally do show up, you're this hollow shell, and you're nearly crippled!"

My chin rose as I composed my face into an impassive mask, or what I hoped was an impassive mask. I couldn't afford for her to know how weak I was, because if she did I would see that pity I'd accused her of having earlier. I couldn't stand to see that look in her eyes, in any of my old friends' eyes which was another reason why I was avoiding them.

Why had I come back? I thought now. Did I want to punish myself? Sakura was right about one thing, I had cut myself off from them. I'd run from here at first but I still meant to keep in touch with most of them. But at some point I'd chosen to forget about my life here. I'd done it to protect myself and my friends, or was it my decision?

I rubbed at my temples then stood and gathered up my bag and the light jacket that I had worn against the chill of the morning. I didn't put the jacket on but just held it over my arm while I swung the bag up onto my shoulder.

"Naruto, look, I'm sorry," Sakura apologized as she too stood and her hand came out to touch my arm. I flinched involuntarily at the gesture and she quickly pulled her hand back. I'd been so long since someone had touched me that it was awkward and uncomfortable for me, foreign. She stepped away from me with a sigh. "Just…just know that I will help you in any way that I can, and I won't tell anyone that I've seen you. I just…" She shook her head unable to finish as tears welled in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, I…I shouldn't have come here. I should have known that I couldn't come home." I moved to the door coming up short as I looked out and saw Kiba's patrol car parked in front of my jeep. "Shit!"

"What? What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Kiba. Fuck! What the hell am I going to do now, because if I go out there, he's going to see me?" I covered my face with a hand and rubbed my forehead trying to think of a solution. He had recognized the jeep and now he had probably guessed that I had lied to him about needing directions, well, maybe.

I fumbled in my bag looking for a pair of large sunglasses that could possibly hide my face. I heard a thud and looked up, my eyes widened in fear as I was that he had gotten out of the car and was coming toward the building. I gasped and turned to see Sakura with her arms folded across her chest and a smile gracing her lips.

"Looks like your time has run out, Naruto," she smirked at me. I looked around the office trying to find a place to escape to but she didn't even have a bathroom! My heart was thundering and I looked at her. The smirk left her lips as she saw the stark terror in my eyes. "Hey, hey, Naruto, it's not that bad! Kiba wouldn't hurt you." But my mind was beyond logical thought; I was at the scared rabbit trying to run from the wolf stage ready to bolt into oncoming traffic.

The door opened allowing a breeze to wash over me as I spun to face him. His eyes recognized me and a huge grin lifted his lips but my world went gray as I fainted for the first time in my life.

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A/N: Wow, another cliffhanger! I hope that you enjoyed the chapter...

Okay for those of you that missed it in the first chapter, the beginning was a memory, or a dream of a memory, then there was a time skip and no, Naruto and Sasuke aren't together here, her last name is or was supposed to be OTO. Then we have another time skip here that I hope you caught which was six months.

Alrighty, now I've given hints about what happened and left more mystery behind....hopefully to entice you to continue reading! If you have any ideas about what happened or what should happen, hey, go ahead and leave them behind and I will take them into consideration! I've still got two chapters fully written but I think that this story is going to be a bitch to write because I'm going completely off my imagination! Now please leave a review! even if you don't normally because they are what inspire me to write quickly! Let me know what you liked about the chapter, what you didn't like (if anything), or if I just made a mistake somewhere that I didn't catch!

Now, I've got to go and get ready for work because I'm running behind!!!!

ZEN