Okay, so I finished my editing for this chapter a little earlier than expected, but hopefully I didn't miss anything. As always, I don't own any of this and I encourage all readers to review, good or bad, I don't care. Any feedback is good feedback.

NARUTO

"How are you feeling right now, Naruto?"

Naruto readjusted himself in the booth he was sitting in, as he looked down at the table between him and his strange guest. They were in some random restaurant Naruto had decided to walk into. Yomi, as the man introduced himself as, had taken seat across from Naruto five minutes after the blonde ninja arrived. His presence was not entirely welcome, but judging by the ANBU mask the man had on, as well as Naruto's current state of health, he decided not to press the issue. Naruto had just been released from the hospital earlier that day, and he was not fully recovered yet from his fight with Sasuke. Plus the guy bought two bottles of sake, so he wasn't that bad. Naruto twirled his fingers anxiously.

"I feel like my body has been run over by a truck." he stated. Yomi snorted as he took a shot of sake in grace.

"Baka, you know what I mean. I'll ask again, how are you doing?" Yomi stated, this time more calculated and in his tone. Naruto clenched his fists.

"Why should I confess my feelings to some masked man I have never even met before?"

The man shifted his head towards the window before responding, "I am not saying that you have to tell me how you are feeling, but I would advise you against making any irrational decisions."

Naruto's teeth grinded, "AND what would you define as irrational?"

"You know exactly what I mean." Yomi said, crossing his arms as he sat up. Naruto stared down the man from across the booth.

"You're gonna stop me from chasing after Sasuke? He's my best friend."

"That's why he left the village without a word, right?"

Naruto clenched his hand around the cup of sake in front of him, his blood boiling. He took the shot with quickly.

"The fact of the matter, Naruto, is that Sasuke willingly left Konoha with four Oto ninja and headed for what we can only assume is Orochimaru's headquarters. He is a missing-nin now, and if he were to show hostility or posed a threat to the village, he would be an enemy of the state. I know you wish you could bring him back, but reality does not always go as we wish."

Naruto slammed his fist on the table. Fucking fantastic, now I have the pleasure of being scolded by this fucking knob.

"You're upset about the reality of the situation, and you must want to go out there and get him as soon as possible." Yomi continued, level in his tone. "I would advise against that."

Naruto looked up at Yomi, slowly pulling a bottle of sake in before opening the bottle and taking a long, hard, swig. The Genin closed his eyes as the liquid smoothly went down his throat. He was starting to feel its' effects.

"What should I do then?" Naruto asked.

Yomi sat in silence for a minute, staring off in the distance. It was nighttime, with rain lightly hitting the ground outside. Yomi looked back in Naruto's direction. "To be honest, I do not know. However, I do have some consolation for your woes. It is part of the reason why I am here in the first place." This got Naruto's attention. After taking another swig from his bottle, Naruto set the sake down before replying,

"Consolation?"

"Let's just say that one of the Oto-nin that had assisted in Sasuke's 'escape' was found and apprehended by patrolling ANBU in the Konoha countryside a couple days ago. We extracted some intel out of her, but maybe you would like a crack too…" the way that Yomi finished left Naruto confused. Maybe he was just drunk.

"You mean right now?" the blonde joker asked, motioning to take another swig from the bottle. Yomi reached over the table to snatch it out of Naruto's hands before setting it down beside himself.

"Yes, right now. Consider it an one-time offer."

Again it was silent. Naruto realized just then that the whole restaurant had cleared out since he had first arrived. How interesting. Again, Naruto considered his options; although he was not in the mood to socialize with anybody, this was one of the people who had helped kidnap Sasuke from the village. He wasn't about to let that slide.

"Sure."

That's it for Chapter 2! What will happen when Naruto and Tayuya finally cross paths again?