Alright, I'm back! Remember when I said this would be a short chapter? I lied. Apparently I have a talent for rambling. Who knew? (Everyone who knows me raises their hand) I'm really happy with how quickly I've been able to update. I'm hoping I can keep it up, but I won't promise anything. I'm lucky that my job affords me some extra time to sit down and type. I'm really enjoying writing this story, so I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

I really appreciate the reviews so far. I'm beyond thrilled with the kind words. You guys are great! Please keep the reviews and suggestions coming, I need to hear what you think!

Also! To those who have reviewed as guests. I always PM those who review my stories, but I can't do that for a guest review. If you want a reply, you can create an account to review. You don't have to be an author to create an account!

This chapter will be all about the reaction of those in the village. Naruto will be in it a little bit, but this will mainly be the viewpoints of those in Konoha.

On to chapter 4!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Naruto is owned by M. Kishimoto.

Hinata could vaguely feel herself breaking back into consciousness. Her mind felt panicked, frantic, like something was wrong. In her current fog she wasn't sure why she felt that way. Her eyes squinted open, noting that the sun wasn't up yet. For some reason she was cold. Where were her covers? Why did her bed feel so hard?

'Am I outside?'

Why would she be outside? It made no sense. She slowly sat up from the bench she had been sleeping on when she heard the unmistakable clang of something metal hit the pavement. When she looked down to see what it was, her entire world stopped.

There, shining through the darkness of the early morning, was a shinobi headband with the leaf symbol. Pinned underneath the metal was what looked like a crinkled letter.

The memories came flooding back to her. And just like that, she clutched her chest and began shaking like a leaf in the wind. She couldn't control the sobs that began to leak out of her body. Tears streamed down her face without resistance. She cried. She cried harder than she ever had in her life. She didn't care if anyone heard or woke up because of it. None of that mattered to her.

Naruto had left the village. She poured her heart out to him and he left her behind. The pain in her heart was so excruciating that she thought it would kill her. He left because he wanted to protect her. From what? What could be so bad that he needed to leave? She supposed that it didn't matter now. He was gone. She wrapped her arms around herself and began crying even harder than before. Sobs ripping from her without restraint. She was completely heartbroken.

She had to tell someone. Maybe… maybe if she told someone they would go after him. Maybe the Hokage would get someone to bring him back. She had to try something. She was desperate to get him back. He had always been alone for his entire life, and now he would continue to be alone. She couldn't let that happen. She had to pull herself together.

This was no time for crying.

With her newfound plan, Hinata willed herself to stop her crying and shaking. Her breathing began to calm down, and reached down to grab the headband and letter from the ground. She was sure that if someone was tracking him, they would need them to gather his scent. She took off towards the Hokage's office, noting that while she had been crying the sun had started to rise. She didn't bother to stop at home and change into her actual clothes. She was on a mission, there was no time for delay. She just hoped that the Hokage was already in his office for the day.

Hinata garnered a lot of attention from curious shop owners on her race to the Hokage tower. She wasn't surprised. A girl in lavender pajamas clutching a note and a headband while sprinting through the village barefoot isn't exactly a normal occurrence. However, she knew that the embarrassment would be worth it if she could warn someone in time. They had to catch up with him.

She sprinted up the stairs and burst through the doors of the building, again receiving many confused stares. She then turned to run in the direction of the Hokage's office, determined to tell him the news as quickly as possible. When she arrived, she didn't bother to knock. She practically blew the doors off their hinges when she came in. There, standing before her were the Hokage and Kakashi Hatake. They looked at her with wide eyes, shocked at her appearance. She on the other hand, was relieved that both of them were here.

"Lord Hokage! Kakashi-sensei! I need your help! Please!" She pleaded while trying desperately to catch her breath. Her lungs were burning to get some air.

The Hokage seemed to take her words seriously. He met her gaze, "We already know, Hinata. It seems Naruto has left the village. He left a letter behind. I assume you must have seen him before he left?" He gathered, eyeing the headband and letter nestled within her grasp.

She realized what he was staring at, and held the headband out to him, "Yes, I tried to stop him…," She began, attempting to force back tears, "but I failed. He knocked me out and left this headband with me. He also left me this letter behind. I thought you could use the headband to track him." She explained.

Kakashi seemed to light up at that.

"That's perfect. I was going to use my ninja hounds. His scent will be the strongest on the headband than anything else. Great thinking Hinata!" Kakashi exclaimed.

Hinata smiles weakly at the compliment, but she didn't have a sincere smile in her at the moment. She wouldn't until Naruto was back home.

"Hinata."

Hinata looked up to Kakashi, who wore a serious expression. Even though he wore a mask, his face conveyed emotion easily.

"We will find him. I'm going to track him with my hounds. I'm also going to meet up with Master Jiraiya of the Sannin. We'll find him together and bring him home. Don't you worry. Leave it to me." He said. He walked up to her and patted her on the head. Then, he took the headband from her hand and made his way to the door.

Hiruzen stood up from behind his desk, "Kakashi."

Kakashi turned his head to meet his gaze.

"I'm putting my trust in you. Do your best."

Kakashi let the words sink in, a look of determination painting his masked face.

"I will."

And with that, Naruto's sensei took his leave.

Hinata looked back to the Hokage, eyes brimming with tears.

"I'm sorry sir. I-I tried to stop Naruto-kun from l-leaving… but I w-was useless. All I did was cry and b-beg him to stay. I made n-no difference. I-I'm so s-sorry." She said as a few tears escaped.

Hiruzen held up his hand to silence her, "That's enough child. Naruto was determined to leave, you did the best you could. Judging by what he wrote me in this letter, he cares about you a great deal. Don't worry, we'll have him back soon." He assured her with a smile, "Now, please go home and get cleaned up. You have training today. Sakura Haruno will be joining you and team 8 today for training since Kakashi will be gone. Now, head home dear."

She sighed, she didn't want to train now, but it couldn't be helped. She nodded, and turned to exit. Today was going to be torture on her mind. She just hoped that Kakashi would find him.

Lord Hiruzen was at a loss. Ever since he had walked into his office this morning and found a letter to him from Naruto, his mind had been working at a hundred miles per hour. He immediately called in Kakashi to track Naruto. He also wanted him to meet up with Jiraiya, because he truly believed Jiraiya and Kakashi could convince Naruto to return. It was important that he actually wanted to come back, otherwise he would just run away again.

He glanced down at the letter again, unease settling over him.

Gramps,

I'm sorry, really really sorry. I'm leaving the village. I feel bad that you're finding out like this, but I know you're going to send someone after me, so I had to do it like this ya know? I have to leave in order to protect everyone.

Before I go, I need to warn you about Danzo. I think you're already suspicious of him, but please keep an eye on him. He's bad news. He tried to get to me when I was in the hospital, but I knew what he was up to. He doesn't respect you Gramps. Please, watch your back. I would never admit this to anyone else in a million years, but… I'm afraid of him. He terrifies me. Be careful.

There's something else. Please, I'm begging you to watch over Team 7 and Hinata. Oh! Old man Teuchi and Ayame too. I don't want anyone close to me getting hurt or being put in danger because of me. Especially Hinata, I worry about her the most. Please old man, keep them safe. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if someone was harmed because of me.

I want to thank you Gramps. You're the only person who's watched over me all these years. I know you were really busy and didn't have as much time for me as you wanted. But still, you've been there for me. I was really mad at you when I learned the truth Gramps, but I understand why you did what you did. You care about me, I can tell. It means a lot. I'll never forget what you've done for me old man. Please, watch yourself.

Thank you for everything you've done,

Naruto.

Hiruzen read over the letter again. He must have read it a hundred times already, but each time the remorse and guilt he felt was just as intense as the first time he had read it. He blamed himself entirely. If he had just made more time for Naruto, checked in on him more, maybe Naruto wouldn't have run. Maybe he would have told his troubles to Hiruzen, and they could have worked everything out. Naruto kept everything bottled up inside, and felt like he had no choice but to run. It was his fault, it had to be. He vowed to himself that when Naruto returned, he would do better. He would be there for him, ask him about his problems, and try to help him more. He felt like he had failed the Fourth Hokage and Kushina, and he had to make it up to them.

Something else that was bothering him was this new information about Danzo. He hoped Danzo was unaware of Naruto's departure. He knew that Danzo had many informants, so he wasn't sure what he did or didn't know. As far as he was concerned, the longer they could keep in the dark the better. Naruto's letter had made it abundantly clear that he could no longer trust his old teammate. He had already suspected that, but now he knew for sure. He hated it, but he would have to have someone tailing him from now on, waiting for him to slip up so Hiruzen could catch him. He couldn't allow Danzo to get his hands on the power he desired, otherwise Konoha and the other villages would be facing a serious danger. For Naruto to actually admit to being afraid was quite unsettling, he didn't take that lightly. He was certain Danzo's presence played a large role in Naruto's disappearance.

He sighed. He only hoped that Kakashi and Jiraiya would find him soon. He didn't doubt Kakashi's tracking abilities, or Jiraiya's spy network. It was more that he respected Naruto's ability to be incredibly illusive. His reverence for his unique abilities skyrocketed in the last several days. First he had stolen the scroll of sealing without anyone noticing, then he had left the village without being caught. Not only that, before he left he had snuck into the Hokage's office and the Hyuga compound without being detected, not a simple feat. Naruto had a large head start on them, and he was sure he had a plan to throw them off of his trail. Whatever that plan was, Kakashi would need to be ready for a countermeasure.

He made a hand sign and instantly an ANBU black ops member was in front of him on one knee. He had black hair and wore a bear mask.

"Yes, my Lord?" He spoke.

"Kakashi Hatake is currently being sent on an S-rank mission. He will not be able to oversee the training and missions of team 7 for a while. I need you to make Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha aware of their new temporary arrangements. Haruno will be doing training with Team 8 and Kurenai Yuhi, while Uchiha will be training with Team 10 and Asuma Sarutobi. Please go to both immediately and give them the news." He ordered.

"Yes, Lord Hokage." And he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

The Hokage sighed again. He still couldn't believe he had allowed this to happen. He wished he could go look for Naruto himself, but his Hokage duties would not allow it. However, at least while he was here he could keep his eyes on Danzo and track his movements. Speaking of which…

He reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a scroll. He quickly wrote something down in it and then made another hand sign.

Another ANBU appeared.

"Yes, sir?"

Hiruzen held the scroll out to him, "I have a mission for the ANBU member in this scroll. This is highly secretive. Please make sure he destroys the scroll upon receiving it."

The ANBU received the scroll and tucked it into his jacket, "Yes, my Lord, right away!" He said as he too disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Now all he had to do was wait. He needed someone highly skilled to tail Danzo, someone that would not be caught, and he had someone in particular in mind.

By the time Kakashi had reached a few miles outside of the village, he could no longer track Naruto's scent on his own. He decided it was time to bring in his ninja hounds. He bit down on his thumb and drew blood. He then went through a series of hand signs and slammed his hand onto the dirt path, "Summoning jutsu!"

A cloud of smoke appeared where his hand had been, and after the smoke faded there were eight ninja hounds, each one having a unique appearance. They all wore blue outfits with the leaf symbol on their foreheads.

"What can we do for ya Kakashi?" Asked the pug. He was the smallest of all the dogs.

He reached into his pocket and held out the headband, "Naruto Uzumaki has left the village. We need to find him as soon as possible. This is his headband, you should be able to track him with it." He explained.

The hounds all gathered and sniffed the headband. Then, the small pug spoke up, "We've got the scent Kakashi, follow us!"

"Thanks Pakkun!" exclaimed Kakashi. He was more than ready to get a move on. Naruto had gotten several hours ahead of them, so they needed to make up that ground. He needed to find him before an enemy did.

Ever since Kakashi had been called into the Hokage's office early this morning, he has been wracking his brain trying to figure out why Naruto had left. He felt like such a fool. Naruto had been showing signs of severe fatigue yesterday. He should have pressed him more on it, or he should have postponed training that day so he could talk to him more.

'Who am I kidding?', He thought to himself, 'My mistakes with Naruto began long before now. If I had just been there for him instead of keeping an eye on him from afar, then maybe he wouldn't be in this situation.'

Yes, Kakashi had been watching him all this time. No one knew, not even the Hokage. But, Naruto was his sensei's only son. He had to keep watch over him, make sure he didn't get hurt. But, he had failed. While he hadn't let Naruto get hurt physically, Naruto's heart and mind had been severely damaged by his upbringing, that wasn't hard to see. After a certain amount of years, Kakashi thought about coming to him then, but he didn't out of fear. He was afraid Naruto would hate him for not being there for him earlier. He cringed mentally at his own stupidity. So what if Naruto had hated him? He would have gotten over it in time probably, and then he would have had someone who cared for him. Someone who he knew would always be there for him.

There was no getting around it in Kakashi's mind. He had let his sensei down. He knew Minato would be appalled at what was going on right now.

'Minato-sensei… I'm so sorry, I allowed it to get to this point. I should have taken better care of Naruto, been more than just a sensei to him… just like you were to me. But I promise when I find him, things will be different. I swear it!'

It wasn't just a promise to his late sensei, it was a promise to himself. Naruto would have someone to rely on. No matter what.

Sasuke was incredibly irritated at the moment. He had awoken feeling that way. As soon as the rays of the sun had peaked in through his curtain, he was annoyed. He knew that another day meant more wracking his brain over the most infuriating distraction there was: Naruto Uzumaki.

Something was going on with Naruto, that was easy enough to see. Sasuke had noticed it ever since the day they were placed into teams. Sure, the old Naruto was still there, but he had changed quite a bit. Others may have chalked it up to the death of Iruka-sensei, but Sasuke knew better. Something else was going on, he could feel it.

Things got even worse yesterday when Naruto had shown up for training. He looked like the literal definition of death. Sasuke couldn't believe how terrible he looked. What on earth could be troubling him that much? Naruto had tried to throw out some lamebrain excuse about being too excited to sleep, but Sasuke didn't believe it for a second.

Then an even bigger surprise came yesterday afternoon after the bell test Kakashi had given them. He was thankful that they had passed, he couldn't afford to spend another year at the academy, that was for sure. On his way home, he had spotted someone passed out in the dirt. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the passed out figure was none other than Konoha's number one unpredictable knuckleheaded ninja. He let out a frustrated sigh when had found him. He must have exhausted all of his energy during training. Well, he couldn't just leave him there. So, he threw the blonde knucklehead over his shoulder and brought him to the hospital. Thankfully the Hokage had been there on business, so he was made aware of the predicament. The Hokage had thanked Sasuke and told him he would handle it from there.

Sasuke let out a frustrated groan. He couldn't understand why Naruto's troubles were affecting him so much. Why did he care what was going on with Naruto all of a sudden? It shouldn't matter to him.

He had known Naruto for a long time. He knew that Naruto was an outcast and had no family. He was probably the only one in the village who could understand Sasuke's pain and loneliness. Sasuke had even considered trying to be his friend a time or two, but decided against it. He didn't need friends for what he wanted.

And what did he want?

It was simple. Sasuke simply wanted nothing more than to see his older brother Itachi lying dead at his feet. He's wanted that desperately since his entire clan had been slaughtered, and nothing had ever been able to distract him from it.

Until now.

That's why he was so irritated. How had Naruto managed to get under his skin? He was nothing more than a loser, the dead last at the academy. Sasuke wanted nothing to do with him, and yet he couldn't help but feel he needed to help Naruto. He wasn't sure why, but it was as if there was an unspoken connection between them. He wondered if Naruto felt that way too. Perhaps the shared pain had made that connection possible. Although they had never gotten along, they understood each other in a way that others just couldn't.

One thing was for sure, whatever was wrong with him, Sasuke would need to find out and help him get over it. Right now, Naruto was becoming a huge distraction from Itachi, and he couldn't allow that to continue.

'Whatever the dobe is dealing with, I'll find out about it and help him move on from it. After all, I can't afford to waste any time in attaining my goal. I will avenge the Uchiha!'

Sasuke was brought out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. He hadn't been expecting anybody, so he wondered who would be here this early. He opened the door to find an ANBU in a bear mask standing in front of him.

"What is it?" He questioned him.

"Sasuke Uchiha," He began, "Kakashi Hatake is currently out of the village on an S-rank mission. Because of this, he regrettably will not be able to oversee your training. You will temporarily be training with Team 10 and Asuma Sarutobi. These orders are directly from the Hokage. That is all." Before Sasuke could say anything else, the ANBU had disappeared.

'What the hell? An S-rank mission? And now I'm stuck being around than Ino girl all day? Great.' He thought sarcastically. He wondered if Naruto and Sakura would be joining him as well, or if they would be training with other squads. It wasn't ideal, but training was training. He would have to push himself either way. Then afterwards, he could question Naruto until he figured out what was wrong with him.

That was the plan for the day.

Sakura had already been up for a while going about her day. She had gotten dressed early and came downstairs to her mother cooking a delicious breakfast and her father drinking coffee and reading the paper. It was a normal day at the Haruno residence. She wondered how things would be different if she were alone like Naruto.

Ever since her discussion with Sasuke yesterday, she had begun to think about how Naruto never had any parents or family of any kind. Having a family to be there for her was always something she had taken for granted, she had never thought about how bad Naruto had it. He always put on such an act around people, making them think that everything was fine. However, she knew now that he was everything but fine. After seeing his condition yesterday, that had been obvious.

Sakura admonished herself for always being so mean to Naruto. It had started because she had gotten annoyed at his repeated attempts to ask her out. She didn't like him that way, so she thought she needed to be mean to him in order to get him to back off. Of course it didn't work, Naruto was persistent. And now all she could think about was how she could have been a friend to him if nothing else. She wasn't sure if he even had any friends. That thought really troubled her.

She had friends, she had a family. Her life was easy in comparison. Naruto had none of those things, and he was definitely going through a rough time. Who would be there for him? Who would he talk to? Sakura felt a pang of sadness run through her when she couldn't think of an answer.

Just then, she heard her mother poke her head in from the living room.

"Sakura, someone is here to see you." She called.

'Ooh! I wonder if it could be Sasuke-kun! Probably not, but I can dream, right?'

She made her way into the living room to see an ANBU black op standing by the front door.

"Um… hello.." she said nervously.

"Hello Sakura Haruno. I have been ordered by the Hokage to deliver you a message. Kakashi Hatake is currently away from the village on an S-rank mission. Regrettably, he will be unable to oversee training and missions for team 7 in the near future. You will temporarily be assigned to train with Team 8 and Kurenai Yuhi until he returns. Good day."

Sakura opened her mouth to respond, but before she could he was out the door and gone.

So, Kakashi was gone on an S-rank mission? It must have been an emergency for him to leave before filling them in himself. She wondered where he had gone to. She was curious to see where Naruto and Sasuke would be assigned during this time. She doubted they would be training together, considering adding three new members to one team seemed like a bit much, even if it was temporary.

'Oh well, I wasn't expecting this, but the life of a kunoichi is an unpredictable one! I'll just have to adapt! And if I see Naruto today, I'll be sure to be really nice to him! I'll be a friend to him. Maybe it will help him get through whatever he's dealing with.' She thought hopefully.

In any case, Naruto had always been nice to her and, like many things, she had taken it for granted. She told herself that would no longer be the case. Even if she wouldn't date him, she wouldn't allow herself to be a reason he thought negatively about himself. He deserved some happiness.

Hiruzen tapped his fingers against his desk nervously. He couldn't stop fidgeting, all this waiting was making him crazy. He had attempted to distract himself with paperwork, but to no avail. He would feel much better once his ANBU agent arrived.

Just as the thought entered his mind, there was a flash in front of his desk. He calmly looked up and saw a young ANBU member with chestnut hair and a mask that looked somewhat like a cross between a fox and a cat.

"Ah, so you've received my message have you?" He asked the young man.

The ANBU straightened up upon being addressed, "Yes, sir. And I disposed of the message, just as you asked."

"Were you followed?"

"No. I made sure. I am alone." He assured him.

Hiruzen stood up from his desk and began to stare out the window as he spoke.

"The mission I am assigning you is top-secret. No one, I repeat no one can know about it. This is an S-rank mission, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," he answered.

Hiruzen turned to face him, "I need you to tail Danzo Shimura. I want to know what he's doing, where's he's going, and who he's associating with. If he goes to the bathroom, I want to know about it. At 6am every morning you will report to me the previous day's activities. You cannot be caught. Can I trust you with this assignment?"

"Yes, sir, of course. I will succeed." He spoke confidently.

Hiruzen exhaled, "Thank you, Tenzo."

So far everything had been going according to plan for Kakashi. He had been traveling along a path through the forest following Naruto's scent. It seemed at this rate, Kakashi would find Naruto in no time. Maybe he wouldn't need to meet up with Master Jiraiya after all. He knew the Hokage had already sent him a letter explaining everything, but he could easily send him another one telling him not to worry about it.

Suddenly, the hounds came to a complete stop and Kakashi froze in his tracks as well. They seemed a bit puzzled by something.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked Pakkun.

"Well, it seems Naruto was expecting someone to track him by scent. I can smell Naruto's scent coming from exactly one hundred different directions." He explained.

Kakashi let out an exasperated groan, "You've gotta be kidding me. Well, we've got no choice. We have to split up and check each scent. Maybe we'll get lucky and guess the correct one early on. Let's go!"

In an instant Kakashi and the hounds split up and took off in different directions.

Kakashi knew that he was supposed to be meeting Jiraiya in Tanzuku town, but if he could manage to find Naruto before then, that would be ideal. However, a part of him wondered if he would be able to reach Naruto emotionally like Jiraiya could. Maybe Naruto hadn't met Jiraiya yet, but that didn't change the fact that Jiraiya was Minato's sensei, and he is also Naruto's godfather. In Kakashi's mind, that could give him a leg up.

Of course he could always drag Naruto back by force, but at some point they would have to address the issue of why Naruto ran off. He had to want to remain in Konoha, otherwise he would feel like nothing more than a prisoner in his own home.

Kakashi was brought out of his thoughts when he realized he was getting closer to one of the scents. He was brought to the top branch of a tree. There, he discovered how Naruto had thrown off their noses. There, pinned to the tree was a small strip of Naruto's orange jumpsuit.

'He must have torn up his jacket into many pieces and then spread them throughout the forest. I have to say, I'm surprised he thought of something like that.'

Kakashi sighed. He knew that this had the potential to set them back at least a few hours, and that was time that they didn't have.

Hinata had forced herself to get ready that day. She vaguely remembers some members of the clan questioning where she had been when she got home, but she had not bothered to answer them. She was using all of her energy to will herself to her bathroom so she could take a shower and get ready for training.

As she stared at herself in the mirror, wearing nothing but a towel, she felt disgusted. She had never felt more negative about herself than she did right in this moment. In the mirror, she didn't see the shy Hyuga girl who pushed forward no matter what. That's what she used to see. Now, she only saw a girl who was a complete failure. She had failed to be there for Naruto like she should have been. She should have approached him years ago, but she let her painful shyness get the better of her.

She had failed to find out what was wrong with Naruto. She knew there was something wrong with him. It had been obvious. However, she had decided not to press him about it. She didn't want to put pressure on him to talk about it if he didn't want to. That had been a huge mistake. One she would always regret.

Lastly, she had failed to stop him from leaving. She had only been able to cry and beg him to stay. She had even gotten desperate enough to confess her love to him, hoping by some miracle that would be enough to make him stay. What a joke. She couldn't believe she had done that. It had been all for nothing, and he probably thought she was insane or something. Sobbing like that in front of him, pleading with him, telling him she loved him… he was probably repulsed by her. And it had all been for nothing.

He was gone.

She wondered how she could be expected to go about her day like everything was fine, like she wasn't breaking apart on the inside. Like she wasn't fighting the urge to weep openly every second she was conscious.

She pulled the towel away from her body, shivering involuntarily at the cool air. She turned to hang it on the rack and find some clothes to put on. She couldn't stand to look at herself in the mirror any longer.

She settled for her usual navy blue pants and top, along with her tan jacket and sandals. It was her normal outfit, slipping it on was just going through the motions for her. That would be what this day was about. Just going through the motions.

As she approached her bedroom door, she steeled herself before walking through it. She would have to do her best to put up a strong front for the outside world. They couldn't know how bad she was hurting, how broken she was.

She exhaled, and turned the knob to open the door. She swiftly made her way through the compound and outside of the gates. She didn't want to take her time and chance running into her father or Hanabi. Or worse, Neji. She couldn't deal with any of them today, it would be too much for her, and her bravado would come crumbling apart. If she cried in front of her father or Neji, she would never hear the end of it. She would never hear the end of how weak and fragile she was.

Although at the moment, she couldn't blame anyone for thinking that of her.

She began walking towards the training grounds, hoping with everything she had that she would get through the day without falling apart.

He continued leaping through the trees, over and over, hour after hour. He didn't think it would ever end. He felt like he had been doing nothing but this for days, even though it had only been hours. At this point it was just muscle memory. He had shut his mind off to what his body was doing long ago.

No, he couldn't focus his mind on moving, because his brain was too overcome with the gut wrenching pain in his heart. It was too focused on the horrible emptiness he felt. It was too preoccupied on how dead he was on the inside, like his very soul had been extracted.

He wasn't sure when he had stopped watching where he was going. Maybe it was hours ago. Maybe it had only been a few minutes. Who knows? He couldn't see the forest anymore. All he could see was her face.

Her expression full of sadness and heartbreak.

Her eyes red and puffy, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks.

Her lips quivering as she cried and pleaded with him not to go.

He could still hear her voice in his ears too. Her confession ringing over and over again in his ears.

I love you!

I don't want safety! I want you!

I would be miserable without you...

Please… just stay here…

It was torture. He felt like he was slowly slipping into madness from the overwhelming pain he felt. He didn't even notice the tears that began to slip from his eyes.

'Snap out of it kid! Those leaf ninja are already tracking you, stay sharp!'

Naruto blinked away his daydream.

'Easy for you to say. You saw what happened. You heard what she said to me…'

'So what? You're going to start doubting yourself because of some girl?' The fox yelled in his head.

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed, and his sadness was quickly replaced with anger, 'She's not just some girl! She's anything but just some girl! She's amazing! She's the first person to tell me that they love me. She's perfect! And I…'

He paused.

He let her down. He left her behind after all that. After she poured her heart out to him. He knew it was what needed to be done… but that didn't make it any easier. He broke her heart.

She must hate him now. She must think he's an awful human being. She probably never wants to see him again.

Soul crushing guilt had taken up permanent residence in his heart. He would never forgive himself for making her cry like that. It destroyed him to see her that way, to know he was the cause. He would never forget the look on her face.

He had no idea whether he returned her love or not. The concept of love was so foreign to him, he didn't know what to think. It didn't matter, he knew that. He would never see her again. But he still dwelled on it. His mind and heart were consumed by her. She haunted his thoughts every waking moment since she told him she loved him.

'I don't pretend to understand human emotions,' the fox began, 'but what you're feeling doesn't change the fact we still have to avoid whoever they sent after you. You were smart to listen to me about throwing off their noses. But eventually they'll track us down. You need to get somewhere they can't track you. Somewhere your scent will be lost to them. Somewhere even the Byakugan can't see…'

Naruto scoffed, 'And where exactly do you expect to find a place like that?'

'Actually, I know of a place…'

Naruto landed on a tree and stopped his movement.

'How on Earth do you know of a place like that? You've been cooped up inside of me for 12 years!'

Nine-tails growled, 'Bah! Must I explain everything to you, brat? Your mother was my jinchuriki, and she wasn't from that damned Konoha. There's an island that's abandoned now. It's called Uzushiogakure. If we go there it will be very hard for someone to track us down.' He explained.

'Well I didn't know that!', He countered, 'Anyway, do you know how to get there?'

'Yes. But you need supplies first. Find some quick and let's get moving.'

'But wait! I look like me! If someone from Konoha comes around and asks questions, the people in town will just point them in my direction! What do I do about that?' He questioned.

The fox let out a groan, 'Baka. Just use that jutsu where you transform. Moron…'

"Oh yeah!" He said out loud. He would just use the transformation jutsu before he entered town. That way no one would be able to recognize him. Then they would go to Uzu and hopefully lose whoever was tracking them.

Naruto was actually grateful that Nine-tails was speaking to him. Even though they didn't like each other, it was a distraction. Because if it got too quiet, he would just begin to think about pale lavender eyes filled with tears.

He would deal with anything to take his mind off of his own broken heart.

'Hey, Nine-tails?'

'Hmph. What is it?'

He hesitated, 'Well..I was wondering…'

'Just spit it out!'

'Well… we're going to be each other's only company for a while now. So I was hoping I could call you by your real name.' He explained.

Nine-tails didn't say anything for a moment. Naruto was hoping he hadn't angered him.

'You want to know my name?'

'Well… Yeah.' Naruto was curious. He did have one right?

'Kurama.'

'What?'

'That's my name. Kurama.' He responded.

'Kurama… I like it.'

He sighed in comfort as he relaxed into the plushy corner booth of his favorite tavern. The sake had drowned away his inhibitions as usual, and now all of that was replaced with high spirits and a warm feeling in his cheeks. He giggled lecherously as the the two blonde beauties on either side of him began to cuddle closer to him as he told his old war stories.

This was always the highlight of his week. He would save up his earnings from his many erotic novels currently on the market, and then treat himself at the end of the week. Brothels, taverns, parties, this was the life. He threw his arm around the lovely lady on his left as he began enthusiastically retelling the battle of he and his teammates vs. Hanzo the Salamander.

He supposed a part of him missed the old days. Sure, he ran a spy network for Konoha and would always come home if his old sensei needed him, but it's not like the action-packed days of old. He and his old pal Orochimaru along with the busty beauty Tsunade. Together they were an unstoppable team. Now, their team is nothing more than tattered ruins of their former selves. He's a drunk old pervert, even he would admit that. Tsunade is a wandering gambler who does nothing but drink away the few earnings she manages to win. And Orochimaru… he'd rather not think about that.

This was his life now, along with maintaining his spy network. Great food, great sake and great women. What more could he want?

"Is that really what happened?" Inquired the blonde on his right.

"Of course!" He exclaimed proudly, "That's when we became known as the Legendary Sannin. Pretty great stuff huh?"

Just as he was about to leap into another one of his dramatic escapades, a felt a tap on his shoulder.

He shifted his drunken gaze upwards to see an elder gentlemen, holding a scroll out to him.

"Are you Jiraiya?"

He smiled giddily, "Why yes I am!"

"This scroll came by messenger hawk. It's for you."

He figured it must be the Hokage asking questions again, or his publisher wanting to know when he would be done with his next book.

He sighed and took the scroll from the man, thanking him. He unsealed the scroll and began reading its contents carefully, the task taking a bit longer in his inebriated state.

His eyes widened, and he audibly gasped.

"Uh ladies, I'm sorry about this, but I have to run. Keep in touch?" He said as he winked.

"Bye Master Jiraiya!" Both women said in unison, using a sultry tone.

Normally that would have floored him, but he was too focused on the document he held in his hand. He made his way outside of the tavern, allowing the cool air to hit his heated skin. He took a deep breath, attempting to lose of some his buzz from the sake. This scroll was different than any he had received in years.

He looked up to the full moon and closed his eyes, letting the news from the scroll sink in.

"Naruto…"

Authors Note!

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I know, super gloomy right? Just stick with me, this story will have happy moments too, I swear! But I need the gloom and doom for the happy moments to really pay off. Anyway, next chapter will be an even split between those in Konoha, Kakashi and Jiraiya, and Naruto on the run. Lots of action!

Don't forget to leave a review! I've gotten a few suggestions for a pairing for Kakashi, and I will make my final decision on that after next chapter. A lot of people like either Shizune or Anko, so tell me what you think! I've also had a few people comment about the war, let me know what you think about that as well! War or no war? Some of you want the war but done differently. It'll probably be a little while before I make up my mind on that.

Thanks again! As always, see you next chapter!