Title: "No Major Harm"

Author: Shaitanah

Rating: R (overall)

Timeline: chapter 411+ (SPOILERS for the latest chapters)

Summary: Look inside you, they said. Naruto looked – and got a lot more than he bargained for. Canon meets AU![Sasuke/Naruto] Please R&R!

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Naruto Pilot Chapter also belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Lyrics from O Daedalus, Fly Away Home by Robert Hayden.

A/N: Yo! First of all, thank you a million times to everyone who read and reviewed the previous chapter! You guys are all awesome. This time we shall see how pilot!Naruto is doing, being stuck in the ninja world. Enjoy!


Chapter 2

Dancing Days

Night is an African juju man
weaving a wish and a weariness together
to make two wings.

The Hidden Leaf Village

The first sensation to have reached him through the dark was ache. Dull, springy, located somewhere at the back of his head. He sat up, eyes still shut, and felt the sore spot tentatively. It was damp, but not with blood: the ground he was lying on was wet, and drops of dew caught in his hair.

Sounds crashed upon him like a mountainous wave. The rustling of leaves, the howling of wind, the creaking of branches. Almost as if he were in the forest.

He sniffed the air, not too quick to trust his ears. All sorts of smells washed over him, strong, primal, natural.

Finally he opened his eyes. Imposing trunks rose all around him, burdened with heavy leafage. There seemed to be every shade of green imaginable there: from the swampy brownish green to the transparent and fresh and so bright one that it looked almost yellow. It reminded him of the vibrant colours splashed around Mount Oinari.

Naruto frowned. There were no such forests anywhere near the Great Mountain.

He inhaled deeply; this time the stench of smoke tickled his nostrils. It was distant, barely perceptible, but the way it irritated him alarmed Naruto. It didn't seem like the smoke of fire. It smelled too much like trouble.

Curious by nature, Naruto couldn't stay put. He took off in that direction as stealthily as he could. There must have been a battle; so far he could only guess this much.

A dog barked near him. A moment later a huge white beast jumped out of the thicket. It stared at him with small intelligent eyes, as if in doubt, then wagged its shaggy tail and rushed back, beckoning him to follow. Naruto blinked. It seemed too familiar.

"K-kiba!?" he exhaled in confusion. "Oh, that geezer and his stupid spiritual quests! Now my head's in such a muddle!"

As he ran after the dog, the daze in his mind began to clear away. The memories of the cave returned in dizzying flashes.

The cave had been small at first, but it grew wider and longer and bigger with each passing hour.

Clouds of mist tasted like sugary water when he lapped at them with his tongue.

"Kiba, wait!" Naruto called.

'Why the hell is he even here!?' a thought flashed.

Naruto wrinkled his nose. Kiba and him had had dealing with each other for a very short period of time – and almost a year ago, no less. The Inuzuka clan was an old coven of shapeshifters; neither they, nor Naruto had a particular liking for each other.

There was a face that looked like his mirror image. A voice that sounded like it came from Naruto's mouth.

Naruto froze. They were in a clearing now close to the village wall. The battle raged on inside.

The mist swallowed everything.

'How did I–?'

Someone called him by name. Naruto crouched, ready to spring into attack if need be. Three people appeared somewhere from above and stood next to him. Two of them looked unfamiliar. He did, however, recognize the third one, and his mouth fell open.

"Kiba! B-but–." His eyes darted back to the white dog that was sniffling the air and growling quietly.

Kiba patted the dog on the withers and grinned broadly: "Well done, Akamaru." ('Akamaru!?') "Hey, Naruto! Hinata thought she saw you. Good to have you back."

Naruto's gaze traveled slowly from Kiba and his dog to the long-haired girl that was shifting from one foot to another next to him. As soon as she felt Naruto watching she looked away decidedly, making him dislike her instantly (the labourers from around Mount Oinari would always avoid looking him in the eye, too). The third guy's face was completely hidden behind a high collar and dark glasses, and Naruto couldn't tell if he was looking at him or at the girl or elsewhere.

"Well, what the hell are you standing here for?" Kiba exclaimed. He gave Naruto no time to come up with an answer. He grasped him by the elbow and made a high leap and ended up on the rim of the wall. "It's the Akatsuki," Kiba added darkly.

Smokescreen hung over the village like a solid grey dome. Beneath it, Naruto could hear the sound of running, many pairs of feet flattening the ground as the people rushed to safety, crushing everything on their way like a frightened stampede. The smell of fear blocked out any other scent for a moment. Naruto wondered if it made Kiba as sick as it was making him.

Kiba continued talking, but his words didn't register. Petrified, Naruto stared at the bleared feast of destruction, the first genuine battlefield he had ever seen.

So this was his world. The other world. He had been half-joking when this idea had come to his mind, but right now he saw that he had been right in his assumptions. The ones that had found him in the forest, after all, were all wearing the same headbands as that Naruto.

"Konoha," the youth whispered under his breath, almost reverently.

Something exploded near him. The sound overwhelmed him. He inhaled shakily, nearly choking on the dust that saturated the air. A loud growl that most likely belonged to Akamaru thundered to his right. Slowly, Naruto turned his head. The dog flashed through the smoke like white lightning; its owner joined it, and together they vanished out of sight. Kiba screamed something that Naruto couldn't grasp and was gone.

As the smoke began to wear thin, a giant form of a centipede could be seen rising before the wall. Naruto stifled an outcry of shock. His limbs refused to obey him. He thought vaguely if this thing would go away should he pretend nothing was really happening.

The centipede was about to attack when a pair of hands pushed Naruto out of its way and off the wall.

"I–. I'm sorry!" a trembling voice squeaked.

Naruto gathered himself up. 'What the hell is she apologizing for?' he thought at a loss.

The dark-haired girl that was with Kiba was standing on the wall, doing some strange movements with her arms. They flew about her, as though independent on her body; streaks of blue flared amidst the grey.

She had just saved his life.

The centipede struck, enraged by the girl's attack, and tore out a piece of the wall. Everything crumbled; the girl disappeared among the ruins; and then a number of shuriken stars flew out of the smoke. The beast didn't seem to mind them at all. Still invisible to Naruto, Hinata continued to fight. A small yelp was heard, and the dust began to settle.

Naruto stood still, watching, listening, his breath irregular.

'She… She didn't–?'

He willed himself to leap forth, allowing his sharp instincts to lead him. He found her quickly; her leg got stuck between two sharp slabs of stone. The centipede was about to bring its weight down and crush them both.

Apart from the Chief who for some inconceivable reason had always viewed caring for the orphaned Naruto as his responsibility, no one had ever done anything like that for Naruto. She had saved his life.

Naruto slammed his fist into the rock with all his might. A spider-web of tiny cracks radiated from it. He gathered the girl into his arms and jumped.

Eternity after, he released a shaky breath and looked down on Hinata whom he was shielding protectively from the flying debris. She coughed forcibly and opened her eyes. They were whitish, as if two small pools of milk. Come to think of it, the girl was rather pretty.

"N-naruto-kun," Hinata squeezed out and blushed. She was bleeding from a shallow cut across her cheek; the blush was so intense it had nearly swallowed the stain of blood. "A-are you all right?"

Naruto suppressed the urge to snigger. Was he all right!? Great question! It seemed that no one was particularly all right in this world, at least not now.

He let go of the girl, somewhat embarrassed. She flushed even harder and cast her eyes downward.

'Looks like this place could use a hero,' Naruto thought smugly. 'Lucky for them, I'm here!'

"Okay! Here goes!" He readied himself for a leap, then looked back and grinned cheerfully. "Oh, by the way: thanks, Hinata!"

The girl gave a feeble nod. Fibres on her temples began to pulse fervently; the strange milky-white eyes of hers were running a scan of their surroundings. Naruto wondered if she was fully human.

"Dogs," she said a minute later. "And not the Inuzuka family or Kakashi-sensei's dogs."

Naruto snorted. He hated dogs. As if Inuzuka clan wasn't enough (he could bet they were all here)!

The dogs were huge and looked more like wolves. Naruto and Hinata stood back to back as the beasts slowly encircled them. Flocks of saliva dripped from their jaws.

"Now," Naruto whispered.

Hinata started on that strange jutsu at once without asking questions or arguing. For a moment it perplexed him: he was unaccustomed to people listening to him.

He jumped out and fell upon the dogs, throwing punch after punch in his usual hectic mode. The furry typhoon crashed over him, teeth and claws all around. His thoughts were racing. 'If I could only… Nah, that would attract too much attention.'

"These are all summonses," Hinata breathed when the battle was over. "I wasn't even sure there was enough enemy to summon all of these…"

Naruto wiped the blood off his split lip briskly. "We gotta find out who controls them," he said. The scent of animal blood was making his head light.

"You were amazing… Naruto-kun," Hinata said meekly.

Naruto's attention snapped back to her. He drove the sickening sensations away, concentrating on the girl in front of him. Her eyes were wide and rapt, cheeks coloured with crimson that was a combination of her natural shyness and the fighting anxiety.

"Thanks," Naruto muttered uncomfortably. He wasn't used to compliments either.

Hinata was about to add something when her expression suddenly changed. She threw her hand up, waving at somebody.

"Sakura-san!"

Naruto cocked his head. Another girl he was supposed to know. Bright-pink hair was the first thing one would notice about her.

She came to a halt, slightly out of breath, then looked up at Naruto with her big, serious eyes. They were the purest aquamarine he had ever seen. Naruto decided she was pretty too and noted with amusement that he was beginning to envy his local counterpart.

"Naruto…" the girl said quietly, catching her breath. She looked like she couldn't choose between hugging or smacking him. Naruto took a step back in case it turned out to be the latter. "Come on," she said finally. "I think Tsunade-sama needs to see you."

She grabbed him by the hand before he could protest and dragged him on, towards a pretty ugly building in the centre of the village. Its deep red walls were covered in black scorch-marks; puffs of smoke were rising all around it.

They burst into one of the offices, practically tearing the door off the hinges. Naruto wrinkled his nose: the place must have been re-equipped into emergency hospital in haste and thus permeated with the ever-present stench of blood and sweat. Blue flashes here and there sparkled in his eye. He squinted, feeling exhausted, and leaned heavily against the wall.

'What the fuck am I doing?' he thought wearily, people in strange white clothes floating around like mere shadows. 'This isn't my battle. So why do I have to be stuck here and fight for these people?'

He had once been selfish enough to run out on them and find a new life. Carefree, secure, lonely. Hell, he had been selfish enough to do that only this morning! After all, that's why the Chief was always bugging him.

Naruto sighed, doomed. The image of the dark-haired girl on the wall popped into his mind again. She had saved his life. He wished he could just ignore it, forget it, scorch it out of his memory – so that he didn't have to feel obligated.

'Okay,' he reasoned pointedly. 'I'll win this battle for them and then I'm off. No one's making me stay here and play ninja. If that other guy is stuck in my world now, bully for him. I bet he isn't playing along either.'

Someone grabbed him by the hand, snapping him back to the dreary reality. Naruto allowed Sakura to pull him out of the room again – and into another lodging. It was smaller and blocked up with boxes and rubbish, but at least there were no patients.

Naruto turned his head to regard a woman that halted on the threshold and was looking at him.

"Sakura," she said in a soft voice that nevertheless sounded like it was used to giving orders. "Naruto and I need to talk. Leave us for a moment."

The girl nodded without objections and walked out. Naruto swallowed nervously. He didn't like the woman. She looked young, a little over twenty, but her eyes were older like they had seen too much and known the infinity of sadness. Almost like the Chief's eyes. Naruto hated looking the Chief in the eye because it made him feel ashamed for everything he'd done or would have planned to do.

"You're faster than I thought," the woman said. A small smile crossed her lips, and she added with sudden affection: "I'm glad you're here, brat."

Naruto stared at her. He sniffed the air uncertainly to check if she was a threat to him. To his surprise, the woman was afraid. Not of him, perhaps not even of the enemy. But something weighed heavily on her, and Naruto wanted to say something nice to comfort her, but he didn't know how much 'in-character' that would be. Besides, he was a failure at niceties. So he shrugged and drew out with false bravado:

"Well, you know me, I'm that awesome!"

The woman closed the space between them. Her gentle amber eyes gleamed wetly like she was about to cry. For some reason Naruto knew she wouldn't. Keeping up the appearance was too important in this chaos. He realized with a start she was the local Chief.

"Naruto," Tsunade-sama (right, that's what Sakura had called her) began. "Did Fukasaku mention who the attacker was?"

Naruto tensed automatically. Questions, unfamiliar names – that was disconcerting. He wondered if she was shrewd enough to figure out he was a fraud. And if she did, what would she do to him?

"The Akatsuki." He remembered Kiba saying this name and hoped this was the right answer. To his relief, Tsunade nodded gravely.

"Yes. But not just the Akastuki. Naruto… It's Pein himself." The way she said it told Naruto this couldn't be good. "I do realize how you must feel. However, right now we must put our emotions aside. This is not about vengeance and not about Jiraiya. It's about protecting our home. Jiraiya put his faith in you and so do I. I haven't believed in anyone like I believe in you for many years. You're not a weapon or a tool or a monster. You're the defender now. Go and be a shinobi."

In other circumstances Naruto would most likely have laughed at this speech. But something about the woman's voice, or her scent, or the pained look in her eyes stilled him. He met her gaze boldly and unexpectedly found himself whispering, "Okay." Then he turned his back on her and left the room. He only knew that someone named Jiraiya who was most likely already dead had put his faith in him – and screw it all, but he was going to prove that it hadn't been in vain!

Out in the streets of the village, he fought. Sometimes familiar faces would pass by, blurry because of the speed. They would vanish a few seconds later as if they had never been there. Naruto lost his orientation completely, raw instinct guiding him, overriding fear and insecurity. This way, he could vent his carnal rage without being recognized for what he really was.

He remembered one relatively peaceful night back on Mount Oinari. He must have been about ten years old, embittered and fed up with everyone rejecting him as a demon's spawn. He used to ask the Chief lots of questions about various battles the old man had taken part in, secretly hoping that one day he would run away from Mount Oinari and find a battle of his own. A battle that would change the world – and himself along the way.

"What was it like?" he had asked back then. "Fighting the Kyuubi?"

"Like tearing through a storm," the Chief had answered. "There were nine of us. I watched my friends fall one by one and I kept going because at that moment nothing mattered more than stopping the bloodshed and keeping the villages safe. It was like fighting near the end of the world. Like the entire world depended on my victory. I had to shut down my feelings and let my gut guide me."

'Gut' had seemed pretty icky to Naruto; he had made a stupid comment about how the Kyuubi would have smelled the Chief's blood much faster had he disemboweled himself.

He knew exactly what the Chief had meant. That sensation that had saved him so many times, multiplied by a thousand, guided him, shaped him, made him stronger. At some point, the world around him grew dark. There was no one but him and Pein, that strange, almost artificial man with abundant chakra and dizzying, piercing eyes.

'Lucky bastard,' Naruto thought weakly, the other Naruto's face flashing through his mind. 'He's got a place in the world to die for.'

And with that, he thought he was ready to die.


He came to in warm darkness, disturbed slightly by hushed whisperings. Numerous voices, rising and falling in his ears. He didn't want to open his eyes, but the pattern of his breathing changed and he knew they'd notice it.

A hand ruffled his hair gently. He looked at last – and his eyes entrained into Tsunade's tired eyes.

"Did I do well?" he croaked, his mouth twitching into a smile.

The woman nodded curtly. Naruto's eyelids fluttered shut again. He lay on what felt like a couch, breathing in and out evenly. No smells bothered him here. Tsunade was giving out directions in a firm, resolute voice. As soon as she was done, the place grew empty. Naruto squinted up at her.

"Three down," Tsunade said. "You killed one. Do you remember it?"

Naruto shook his head. Damn! So much for the glorious battle if he couldn't even recollect the details. Tsunade put her warm palm on his forehead. It was then that he realized his goggles were off.

"I have them here," the woman said, having guessed his thoughts by the harsh look on his face. She handed him the goggles carefully. "Where is your headband, by the way?"

"Lost it," Naruto answered a little too hastily.

Tsunade arched her eyebrows. "You deserve some rest, brat. Go home, take a nap – and a shower preferably." Naruto couldn't hold back a snort. "He won't be back. At least not today."


It was dark outside. Naruto moved his feet automatically along the streets littered with fragments of shattered rock, stained with splatters of blood. Black spots over some walls smelled like soot. Naruto had no clue of his final destination; after all, he didn't know where he was supposed to live. But that didn't bother him much.

He lifted his foot to make another step and, as he lowered it, a faint splash was heard. He looked downward. He had stepped into a small street puddle. The water in it was tinted with pink.

Everything out in these streets inspired loathing.

Shaken, he couldn't bring himself to move.

"Why?" he whispered hotly under his breath. "Such a perfect life! Friends, purpose, people ready to freaking die for you! Why would someone want to destroy it? Why is it that everywhere it's the same thing!? Wars, wars, wars–."

He ran short of breath, feeling tears well up in his eyes. It wasn't often that he would allow himself to snap like this. But this place was swelling with pain that filtered through his defenses and contaminated him.

A hand lay upon his shoulder softly. Naruto shuddered and turned his head rapidly. It was her, the pink-haired girl with green eyes. She smiled at him. Perhaps she was related to Tsunade in some way; sometimes their mannerism seemed quite the same.

"How are you feeling?" she asked sympathetically.

Snap! He couldn't let himself space out like this. One slip – and they would see how different he was from the Naruto they knew.

"I'm just…" he began to say, but fortunately, Sakura saved him unwittingly.

"Sick, isn't it? You just never expect it on your own territory." She nodded towards the traces of battle. Slowly, they began to walk in some definitive direction. "No matter how many times it's happened before." She sighed. "I wanted to see you after… you know. But they whisked me away to the hospital. So many wounded."

"You're a doctor?" Naruto blurted out before he could stop himself.

Sakura cocked her head. "Very funny." He gaze drifted lower, down to the goggles Naruto was clutching in his hand. "Hey, I haven't seen those since the Academy days!"

Naruto panicked inwardly. How many mistakes could he make with one person?!

"Brings back some memories, eh?" he teased insecurely.

"Not really. You were pretty much a pain in the neck for everybody."

Ouch.

At least some things do not change.

"But I guess so was I," Sakura added wistfully. "Happy days." It seemed to him she was about to cry.

"Say, Sakura," Naruto uttered. "This Pein guy. Why was he in the village? What does he want?"

The girl took a deep breath to smother the upcoming tears and glanced at him in mild surprise.

"That would be you, I suppose."

Naruto stumbled. O-okay, things were becoming more and more confusing.

"Me? Why?"

He was grateful to her when she answered without trying to analyze his strange behaviour.

"Because of the Kyuubi."

There was a slight questioning note in her tone, but otherwise she looked calm and didn't seem to take him for some alien suffering from a personality disorder.

Naruto gasped. So that was the reason for all the chaos the Akatsuki caused. Cautious not to make another slip, Naruto winked at Sakura.

"They won't get him, no worries!"

"I know. I have faith in you."

They stopped short of a squat, as though shapeless building that looked like a crumpled pie without its glazing. Sakura patted his shoulder gently and, having said her good-bye and instructed him to have good rest (did they always treat him like a baby?), left. Naruto skewed his eyes upon the building. So this was his place apparently.

He walked up the crooked staircase and passed by a row of doors. So which one was his? He wrinkled his forehead and tried to think like Naruto. Hell, he was Naruto, so it couldn't be that difficult!

"If it were me," he muttered thoughtfully, "I'd pick the last one."

He marched up to the last door and halted at a loss. So… how would he get in? He peeked under the rug (some people hid keys there). Nope. 'Should have learnt that smoke jutsu when I'd had a chance,' Naruto thought wryly, peering through the keyhole.

Tough luck.

Trying to come up with an alternative plan, he took a small tour around the building and discovered with satisfaction that his apartment had a balcony. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, then jumped up and nestled against the window. Stupid owner of this stupid flat! Naruto never shut his windows; and these were shut! Not to mention, curtains were drawn, and he couldn't see anything.

Naruto poked the window-frame carefully. The last thing he wanted was to break it. 'Maybe it's not my place at all?' he thought, growing cold.

The balcony door creaked suddenly and slid open. How characteristic of him to remember the windows, but leave the door unlocked! Naruto exhaled slowly in relief and crouched inside the apartment, looking around wildly for any indication that it belonged to him.

The inside of this place was pretty featureless. Light, roomy, strongly resembled his own flat in the city. Dark floorboards glistened in the soft light that fell from the outside through the half-open balcony door. Naruto trod softly, unwilling to disturb the warm stillness of this place.

An old tapestry adorned with the Leaf symbol hung at the head of the bed. Naruto squirmed. Could this guy be any more patriotic? A poster on the left wall, however, caused him to grin: it depicted a large cup of noodle. 'Definitely my place!' Naruto thought and felt more secure at once.

He lowered himself on the bed, kicked his boots off and stretched out, painfully conscious of how exhausting the battle had been.

'Seems like we live a pretty good life here, huh?' he mused. 'Well, you won't be needing it anymore, Naruto, 'cause obviously you're now meeting with the joys of my world. So what if I take it all for myself? It's not like this place could go a day without Uzumaki Naruto.'

He rolled to his side, trying to make himself more comfortable, and spotted a picture frame on the nightstand near the bed. He dragged it closer. It was a group portrait: three kids and a grey-haired masked man in a skewed-up headband. Smiling Sakura in the centre. Bristling Naruto to her left, bright and orange and defensive. Some moody dark-haired guy to her left. The older man's hands resting on the crowns of their heads – Naruto's and that other guy's – as if holding them in place.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered. So it was really him. Sasuke.

He put the picture back, face down, and turned his back on the nightstand. Suddenly he didn't want to sleep anymore.


In the morning the Hidden Leaf Village was alight with sparse sunlight. It swathed like golden dust over the ruins, imparting phantasmagoric colours to them.

As the day progressed, Naruto made a few small discoveries which left him pleased, curious and even a bit unnerved.

Firstly, he needed a headband. Having spent half an hour fighting off his doubts as to whether he should ask somebody where to get it or simply look for it, he gave up and questioned Tsunade. The Chief-woman seemed surprised, but nevertheless directed him to the supply department. An hour later he looked no different from the local Uzumaki Naruto.

Except for the shoes.

Naruto cursed softly. Everyone here wore weird sandal-like shoes. Not too different from Naruto's old military boots, but still. He wrinkled his nose. Why did clothing items have to be different too? He liked his goggles (it was a lucky charm) and his boots, but he would have to give them up in order not to seem suspicious.

'Perhaps I'm taking it far too seriously.'

The next thing Naruto learnt was that he didn't like funerals. Especially massive funerals. Especially those of people he didn't know. Everyone was dressed in black (and so was he since he found a 'funeral' outfit in his wardrobe). Everyone looked sorrowful, but tried not to cry. As if venting grief could be disrespectful.

After the torment was over Naruto did his best to memorize a few names. He had always been pretty bad at it, but something told him these people would frown upon 'sudden amnesia as the result of hard training' for an explanation of his newly developed quirks.

The masked man from the photograph was called Kakashi. Sakura called him 'sensei'. As far as Naruto understood, this man was neither his first 'sensei' nor the last, but none the less influential for it.

The other guy on the team, Sai, positively creeped him out. He had about as good social skills as a stone, smiled in a weird way and seemed to have a strange fixation on male reproductive organs. It took Naruto some time to deduce that he was a replacement for Sasuke who had been part of Team Kakashi before he left.

Another reason to despise Sasuke.

He also discovered with a bit of puzzlement that he liked Sakura. The girl wasn't exactly beautiful (humans never are if you look at them close enough), but she had a fiery soul and a passionate heart that reflected in earnest in her eyes – and that would take your mind off the candy floss hair, and the prominent forehead, and the – let's be honest! – flat chest, in a heartbeat.

He was inspired to discover that she seemed to like him back. She held his hand during the funeral, almost straight through the ceremony (that had to count for something) and smiled at him (as much as at anyone else, but he ignored that fact) and was clearly glad to see him when he dropped by the hospital on Tsunade's directions.

"Naruto," she said once with all the gravity a girl's look can contain, "why don't you call me 'Sakura-chan' anymore?"

Bang-bang, you're dead!

Another slip. Naruto chewed on his lip thoughtfully.

"Sasuke never did," he said carefully, uncertain how safe it was to bring that name up in a conversation.

"You're not Sasuke," Sakura pressed, and so he 'started' calling her that 'again', and she smiled with the corners of her lips every time he did when she thought he wasn't looking.

A few days afterwards Naruto made up his mind to kiss her. He had already figured out that she wasn't his girlfriend. That made things simpler in a way. Not knowing much about kissing, he realized, nevertheless, that it was quite an intimate act – that could have had his cover blown within an instant had they already been that close.

Of course Naruto had kissed girls before. Once or twice. By rights, when he pulled Sakura close and nipped at her lips gently (if a tad awkwardly) and grazed her lip with his teeth lightly, she was supposed to enjoy it. She pulled away at once, slapped him in the face and took her leave proudly, her back rigid as if she had swallowed a steel bar. Naruto rubbed his reddish cheek. Did he do something wrong?

What he couldn't have seen was the smile that flashed on Sakura's lips once she was safely out of sight.

His first week in the Hidden Leaf Village was all unremarkably remarkable that way. Sometimes he felt like a child learning to swim, tossed into the river and fighting the current. At other times he was a historian trying to memorize an entire period overnight. Whatever the hardships were, his life had never been more fun. That was why a silent wave of rage flooded him from head to toes the day Tsunade announced the Akatsuki were returning.

"It's not Pein this time," she went on gravely. "And they're not hiding. That means they don't count on taking us by surprise. They know for certain Naruto's here now. And that's not all." Her face darkened. "Intelligence informs Uchiha Sasuke is with them."

Sakura stiffened. Naruto stared downward, fists clenched and jaw set.

"Naruto!" Tsunade's voice rang. The youth threw his head up immediately. "Don't do anything stupid."

As they left the Hokage's office, Sakura grabbed him by elbow, eyeing him almost reproachfully.

"What's got into you?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't you hear what she said? Sasuke-kun is with the Akatsuki!"

Naruto nodded slowly. He did hear her but what difference would it make? A surge of panic rolled through him. What would they do if they got to him? Why would they be looking for the Kyuubi here anyway? Where in this world had the Kyuubi gone? How had he been defeated?

Run away – that was his last remaining option. Someplace where they couldn't find him. Somewhere safe and far away.

His chest hurt. Something about this place would not let him go. Something that made him want to defend it fiercely. Could Mount Oinari be having the same effect on that Naruto?

He stayed, ignoring the survival instinct that screamed at him to get out.


In a room full of shinobi of various ranks the stillness was so absolute that one could easily hear a pin fall. The sound of Naruto's heartbeat, booming and hurting, felt like a cannon volley.

The Akatsuki stood in the forest just outside the village. Watching Konoha 'sleep' while in fact, everyone was watching them.

"What are they waiting for?" Naruto asked one of the Chuunins, a guy about his age with a funny, pine-apple-like hairdo. His face looked vaguely familiar, thus debatably trustworthy.

"Us," a curt answer came. "They want us to attack first."

"Why don't we?"

"We need them on our own ground. Outside the barriers, there can be any number of them. The last recon operation failed and had no results. We go into the forest – we end up trapped while they get in and slaughter the civilians."

"But suppose they know you think this way," Naruto prodded. "What if they don't attack first?"

"They will," the ninja said categorically. "They have no choice."

It must have been the longest night in Naruto's life. Once or twice he caught himself nearly falling asleep, his eyelids drooping heavily. He hated waiting. He'd rather have it all start and end sooner.

A blonde whom he observed talking to Sakura in a whisper stood up and gestured at the Chuunin to join her.

"Meh… What now?" he muttered. The words he dropped casually afterwards made Naruto jump. "Troublesome again."

It was too late to call him back, and Naruto remained blinking in astonishment long after the Chuunin was gone.

Shikamaru.

Holy f–.

"They're in!" a shrill voice cut the stillness.

The shinobi rose as one and poured out in the streets. It was still dark. The black, starless sky flashed scarlet for a brief instant.

"But… where are they?" someone asked.

The plan was to ambush them as soon as they entered the village – but it seemed there was no one to ambush. The alarm had gone off; that much was known. Naruto stiffened. The ground beneath his feet felt strange. As if shaking.

"They're not shinobi," Sai mouthed.

Naruto turned his head.

Bijuu.

Unleashed on the village.

He screwed his eyes shut for one painfully long instant and took a long, deep breath. When he opened them he was ready to fight.

The Leaf ninja scattered in all directions as the monstrous thing forced its way through the streets, crashing everything before it. It moved so swiftly that Naruto couldn't tell what it was – only that it had several tails that whipped fervently through the air. A mingled sense of anger and pity flooded him.

"About time to show what Fukasaku had taught you," Kakashi had told him.

Naruto had never tried going up against any of the Bijuu. To his knowledge, they were either extinct or in hiding in his world, most of them having refused to accept the human/demon pact.

'Cowards!' he thought indignantly, dancing around the raging beast along with his fellow shinobi. 'Damn easier to send this forth than fight on their own.'

A swift shadow past him by. Naruto's heart leapt. One of them. He darted after the Akatsuki instinctively but couldn't tell which way he went. The Bijuu roared behind his back. Naruto halted indecisively.

More of them showed up. They wore the same black cloaks embroidered with red clouds as Pein. A building was on fire; its scarlet shine flickered upon their faces as they walked.

Something exploded in the distance. A few outcries were heard. The beast laid a few buildings flat and bellowed in blind rage.

Naruto lost track of time. He fired jutsu after justu at the insatiable beast and felt rather than saw his comrades fall around him; the sleeves of his sweatshirt were soaked in blood. What was going on heaped up in disconnected blocks in his mind. Flashes of fire. Sai caught in a fight with a red-haired woman. Kakashi fighting a tall, heavily-built guy. A man with a scar across his nosebridge (during his time in Konoha Naruto had managed both to learn and forget his name, but this man was supposed to be incredibly important to him) staggered back just in time to avoid getting hit by one of the Bijuu's tails.

Naruto spotted Sakura at last. They got separated in the beginning of the battle. She got set up against one of the Akatsuki, and her incredible strength proved to be nearly useless against him; he liquefied parts of his body skillfully each time he got hit.

Naruto leapt towards them. A shadow separated from one of the ruined walls; they narrowly avoided collision in the air. In flight Naruto managed to discern only a pale cheekbone, a lock of dark hair and a flash of crimson somewhere around the eye level.

His breath hitched.

He skidded over the ground, his landing unstable, and looked back. His opponent did the same. A few metres of deformed ground lay between them. The youth's Akatsuki cloak was open; a white shirt could be seen beneath it. A hand, drawn aside slightly, held a bloodied blade.

Naruto knew that face.

Uchiha smirked (or so it seemed in the deceptive glow of the fire) and continued on his way. Naruto blinked. Somewhere behind him Sakura-chan screamed, and he realized he was supposed to follow. He caught up to Sasuke quickly and blocked his way.

Their fists met wordlessly. He was fast, really fast and agile for a human. A hint of admiration seeped into Naruto's heart. The bastard was definitely good!

But the other Naruto never told him he was part of the Akatsuki. Shit! He probably didn't know. Lucky he wasn't here for another heartbreak, then.

The Bijuu had made it their way and was now raging in the close proximity of their own duel. Every now and then they had to dodge the swipes of its powerful tails.

Sasuke threw his hand up. Blue sparks flared around his fist. Electrical current streamed straight into Naruto, causing him to cry out in pain. He doubled over, pain jolting through every cell of his. He had never had the honour of being electrocuted before; well, that certainly was an interesting experience.

"Sasuke-kun!" a female scream rang. "Stop!"

Naruto spun around and jumped, but the lightning strike was faster. It hit Sakura flat in the chest, jolting through her heart, doubtless; she sank backwards like a rag doll. Naruto caught her in his arms. A second later a mighty tail of the Bijuu landed where he'd just stood.

She was still breathing. Her pulse was vague, but distinguishable. He entrusted her to Sai who had just made it to them and rose.

This was personal.

"You want a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox?" he growled, his eyes flaring red. "It's Nine-Tails you're gotta get!"

He formed the three seals speedily, belching out, "Kyuubi no Jutsu!" at the top of his lungs. The world around him jumbled up. His vision bled from the regular human to the heightened one of a demon, splashes of colour contracting in his slitted pupils. Suddenly everything became too bright, too smelly, too loud.

He threw his head up and roared, the ground shaking beneath his paws. And then he sprang forth, determined to get to Sasuke at all costs.

Sasuke jumped back, his expression frozen at some point between shock and disbelief. He wasn't exactly frightened, but he left a very vivid trace in the atmosphere, pulsing with cold light in the heart of the fire than engulfed the village. Naruto turned his head towards him, pressed his long ears to his skull and spat.

The duel continued, having grown into a fierce death match. Anger boiled in Naruto's veins, overriding every other emotion. Sasuke bent low to avoid one of his tails passing right over him and exhaled volleys of fire that flew in Naruto's direction. The fox whirled in place. Its tail finally hit its target, smashing Sasuke into a wall that fell over him immediately.

Naruto moved his ears. His accelerated hearing delivered a long-drawn-out moan. Sakura. Somewhere in the corner of his mind he suddenly feared what she would say once she saw him in this form. What they all would say.

"Naruto!" Tears in her voice. She was trying to get to him, but someone held her in place, trying to haul her away to safety. "NARUTO!" Her voice became shrill, overwhelming. "DON'T DO THIS! PLEASE!"

Sasuke crept out of the ruins and looked up at the fox. His eyes, still red and slightly inhuman, transformed into something even more peculiar. His lips moved automatically.

"Mangekyou Sharingan!"

And then he fell on his knees and screamed. Pain jolted in his brain, igniting the neurons mercilessly. Blood streamed down his cheeks. It must have felt like his eyes were about to implode.

Sakura yelled something. Confused, Naruto looked back. The Akatsuki Bijuu was running in his direction. He reared, snapped his jaws and plunged his teeth into the beast's shoulder joint. They clashed mindlessly, rollercoaster-riding on the waves of all their primordial fury and agony, purest instincts. Kill or be killed. All that surrounded them was temporarily lost to Naruto.

The red-haired woman landed next to Sasuke, collected him and swept him away from the fight. She couldn't hold back a sigh of terror when she saw his damaged eyes.

"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled, her voice cheating on her.

He came so close to defeating the Bijuu. His teeth constricted around its throat, he was ready to pluck out its windpipe. And then, while the beast was still in shock, he would reach its heart and tear it out too, a bloody clot of chakra that it was.

For a tailed beast to kill another tailed beast, it was piece of cake.

Naruto unclenched his jaws all of a sudden and screamed in agony. Something went wrong. He rushed about, breathing in the fear that closed down on him like an impenetrable bubble. The Bijuu used his confusion to its advantage and knocked him off balance. His body hit the ground heavily. The misfortunate ones that ended up in the vicinity of the two demons bolted.

From the corner of his eye Naruto saw another Akatsuki man. This one was wearing a goofy orange mask that concealed his face completely.

'What… What are they doing?' a thought flashed.

He was changing back, giving out.

Within an instant Sasuke was near him, his pale cheeks lined with red trails of blood. He and the masked man argued about something. Naruto strained his hearing, trying desperately to stay conscious.

"We retreat," the man commanded. "We've got the Nine-Tails."

"It was never my objective," Sasuke retorted with a hint of exasperation in his voice. "This is where we part ways, you and I."

"Don't you want to complete your revenge? You seriously believe you'll be able to crash Konoha alone?"

Naruto moaned, his mouth full of the sharp taste of blood. It seemed to him Sasuke lowered his head slightly; his gaze barely flickered over Naruto's face.

"My fate should not concern you," he said pointedly to his interlocutor.

Someone grabbed Naruto. It seemed to him he was flying.

"Suigetsu! Kisame!" the masked man cried out. "Hold them off; then retreat."

The man that carried Naruto bolted. Sasuke's face became but a blur before it disappeared for good and the last words that he heard were:

"The fox… What the hell was that?"

"No idea. Something I never expected to find."