Chapter 4: Midnight Meeting

Children's laughter rang throughout the trees of the forest. The sun was bright and illuminated the whole forest, rays filtering through the leaves weaving patterns of light on the forest floor. Flowers of every color bloomed among the trees and giving ample hiding places for tag. A young blond with whiskers ran carelessly from them with young brunet chasing after him. The two laughed and giggled madly in their own little world. Fox ducked around a tree and giggled. He waited catching his breath, expecting to see the boy come around the tree to restart the chase. He playfully peeked out of his hiding place, only to see that Sasuke had disappeared. Slowly, he walked out and looked around confused.

'Where did you go?' he wondered as he glanced around. That's when he noticed the changes around him.

The forest was no longer the happy place it had been. Now it was dark and dangerous with the shadows shrouding everything. He looked up when everything grew dark to see that there was no sun now, just a thin crescent moon that glowed faintly among the clouds in the sky. The once lively forest was now deathly quiet and it unnerved the boy since he knew instinctively that there was something bad in the surrounding trees. He could feel it watching him, waiting. Fox grew scared as he looked around and realized that he was alone.

Terrified, the blond started running deeper into the forest; away from Sasuke and their games, away from the monster in the shadows. No longer was it a simple game but a battle for his life. The trees seemed to reach out and pull at his body to slow him down, while cutting and scraping his arms, legs, and face. He could feel something else in the dark with him, it's bloodlust was almost palpable. His pursuer made barely any sound as what ever it was moved through the trees. There was only the sound of a branch bending or leaves crunching, nothing more. They always stayed just out of the light. It was playing with him, a sick game of cat and mouse, waiting for just the right moment to make the kill. It terrified the child to his core.

Fox ran panting heavily, sweat dripping off his body as he searched franticly for his attacker hidden within the shadows of the trees or someplace that he could hide , any kind of sanctuary. Kunai flew from the trees around him and the 10 year old dove to clear the attack. Fox saw gleaming razor sharp edge of the kunai embed into the ground where he had been just seconds ago. He screamed in terror as he crawled in desperation to get away from the dangerous knives. With tears falling from his eyes, he scrambled to his feet and ran forward desperately trying to escape.

"Someone please help me!" he screamed terrified of his unseen foe. He could hear them laughing now, taunting him and mocking his frantic attempts to survive. The rough ground tore at his elbows and knees scraping them again and again with each new fall as he tried to escape wave after wave of the deadly knives.

The chase was endless and no matter how much he called for help no one came. He tripped over something and hit the ground face first and was helpless. Pain burned through his right side, the small boy then screamed in agony. Turning around to look up he saw a figure standing over him. In their hands was a silver blade stained with his blood, as the blade was savagely torn from his body. The child crawled backwards on his elbows as he lacked strength to even stand and run anymore. His attacker was only a mass of shadows yet he could sense the murderous intent behind their attack. Pain exploded in his shoulder then and he screamed as he started falling when the ground opened up and swallowed him. The darkness consumed him.

Fox bolted up from his spot on the floor, his breathing uneven from his dream. The boy's blue orbs were wide in panic and shot around the room looking for his phantom attacker. His blonde hair clung to his neck where it had fallen from its tie. The moonlight drifted in from the window casting a faint glow over the room. Using the faint moon light to get his bearings he scanned the room. There was no sign of danger and he relaxed seeing Haku sleeping on the couch calmly. His hands gripped the blanket as the last fragments of the dream still lingered. Like so many other nights, he had fleeting memories of the dream but nothing that would stay with the coming of morning. He remained as silent as possible to not wake either of his companions, especially Zabuza since the man was fed up with his constant nightmares.

'Why am I having this dream again? And why was that leaf ninja in it?' Fox seemed happy in the dream, at least until it became a nightmare. As he got his breathing under control he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He cursed to himself as he tried to make his hands stop shaking.

'Kuzo! Why has this shaken me up so bad? I have the same dream every night, so why does it do this to me still?' He thought watching his hands tremble slightly. His hands grasped his hair tie and methodically worked to get his hair back into a manageable state. It wasn't just the others that were tired of the dreams he was too. Still this one was different. He'd never started in the bright forest before, nor had there been anyone aside from him and the shadow. Sighing he got up knowing sleep was going to elude him for the rest of the night. Grabbing his gear, he quietly moved to the door hoping to leave unnoticed.

…

A soft noise woke Haku from his sleep. After a moment, he knew that Fox was having another nightmare. Knowing he could do nothing to help him, Haku lay there and listened to his friend and brother toss and turn in his sleep groaning softly. His heart reached out for the blond knowing that once again his sleep would tormented by phantoms of his past that he couldn't remember.

'He's been like this for as long as he's been with us. I wish he could sleep more than a few hours at a time.' He thought as he turned his head to watch the boy. As much as he wanted to help, there was nothing he could do. In the dark, he saw Fox bolt up from where he lay. He could hear Fox's labored breathing easily. The pure horror on Fox's face was painful to see. It was some consolation that he wasn't as loud as the first few times it happened, but Haku wished what ever haunted the blond would go away. It made things especially difficult at times when they tried to avoid patrols. Knowing that Fox was going to leave when he got up Haku made his presence known.

"Fox?" he heard Haku ask as soon as his hand touched the doorknob. Fox froze knowing he had been caught. It was almost funny how his partner knew what he was going to do when he was trying not to get caught.

'Guess I should have known better.' He sighed with his hand still resting on the doorknob. The blond knew Haku was watching him with concern in his eyes. It was the same every time he had a nightmare.

'At least he doesn't ask me to talk about it any more.' Fox hated having to explain the terror he felt, remembering the horror after the nightmare was gone. The blond found the only sleep he got that was peaceful was the bliss of pure exhaustion that came when he worked himself to the bone. He responded to the feminine boy's unspoken question without turning around.

"I can't sleep Haku, so I'm going to get to work. Don't worry I'll be fine." Fox said as he went out the door closing it softly.

'I'm not in the mood to be questioned.' He thought going down the hallway to the exit. His movements were in a practiced fluid grace that was the product of his silent comings and goings in the last two years. The guards in the hall didn't even notice him as he slipped away into the dark of the night. Haku watched Fox vanish into the trees from the window.

'Be careful Fox.' Haku thought drawing the curtain and lying back down on the couch.

…

The blond sat in a tree just outside the builder's house watching. He hadn't moved for the last hour. Considering who was inside the house he found himself slightly relaxed. Everything was still and no one was awake not even the jounin. His mind was racing tonight as he once again tried to gain some answers from his dreams. His gaze drifted to the window that he knew to be the Jounin's. He knew that these people knew him once but how he wasn't sure.

'Maybe I should talk to them again, but…NO! Zabuza said to stay away from them and avoid all contact. It was safer when Kakashi was injured because I could get away if necessary but this is suicide. I can't believe I'm even considering going in there.' He thought running a hand through his hair as he gazed up at the stars. Fox sighed and hung his head.

'But I need answers; these dreams are getting more persistent. At this rate I'll get us all killed by alerting a patrol.' He growled in frustration with himself stopping that train of thought. 'What is wrong with me? I could be finishing the job right now and we could get out of here.'

But he knew that he couldn't kill the old man. The look the old man had on his face that night replayed itself in his memory then. Fox hated being the cause of the hopelessness and fear in his eyes. He just didn't have the heart to kill someone that never did anything to him. Both Haku and Zabuza had tried to help him, Zabuza more physically than the other. It hadn't worked though. Even in all their random fights with other shinobi and thugs, he'd been unable to kill. Fox looked back up at the moon and stood up on the tree branch. The wind blew gently through his hair and blew back his cape, golden hair waving softly around his face.

'Zabuza is gonna kill me if he finds out I didn't follow his orders. I can't believe I'm gonna do this.' Taking a deep breath he vanished into the darkness.

…

The two children were running around in Konoha's massive forest playing a mixture of tag and hide and go seek. Naruto jumped from behind a tree and tagged the Uchiha. The blond laughed and the sound rang though the trees as the child leapt away.

"Catch me if you can nii-san." He called over his shoulder while grinning madly. Sasuke smirked and took off after Naruto determined to tag the blond. Their game had lasted for hours and each time one tagged the other the game escalated. Sasuke ran into the trees to have fun playing their game. He heard Naruto's laugh coming from the other side of some bushes and he dove through them. 'You never could hide well when you were cocky about getting away.'

On the other side Sasuke noticed the forest was wrong. It wasn't even a forest, just a pitch black void with no sound or other life. He looked behind himself only to be completely lost as the forest was completely gone.

"Naruto! Where are you!" A younger Sasuke called out running through the darkness. There was no one around and nothing was visible. He caught a glimpse of his friend running far ahead of him. The sight filled him with joy as he sped up.

"Naruto wait for me!" he said with a small smile on his face.

But the blond didn't wait for him, instead he continued to run onward. Sasuke didn't understand as he raced after his brother. Naruto never did this, he would wait for the Uchiha if called after.

"Naruto!" he cried running after him. However, no matter how fast he ran he just couldn't catch up with the blonde. It was like Naruto could not hear him as he called out to him repeatedly. The darkness swallowed them both as they kept running.

Sasuke woke from his dream suddenly. He could sense someone else in the room with him. He sat up and grabbed a kunai from the bedside table only to see Naruto sitting in a chair across the room from him. Naruto had changed a lot; his hair was longer and pulled back into a small ponytail at the base of his neck. It still looked like he hadn't ever brushed it. There on his cheeks were the tell-tale whisker marks. The black cloak pooled around the blond hiding most of his clothes from view. Sasuke could see traces of where the hood was ripped. Underneath that was the old white shirt and black threadbare pants. It looked nothing like the little ball of sunshine that was his younger brother. Without the orange he just looked wrong.

'The bridge builder!' he thought realizing that it might be too late as he started to get out of the bed. 'He wouldn't have…' Naruto seemed to have sensed his concern.

"Relax everyone is fine. They are all asleep and will stay that way for a little while." Fox said without looking away from the window as he stared out into the night. The blond's mind was obviously somewhere else. As much as Sasuke wanted to see Naruto, he was still cautious. Kakashi's words echoed in Sasuke's mind.

"That may be Naruto, but he has changed Sasuke." The masked ninja said to his angry student once they had returned to the relative safety of the house. "We don't know what he will and won't do. Above all that makes him dangerous"

Seeing that Naruto meant no harm Sasuke lowered his weapon as a sign of trust.

"What do you want?" he asked cautiously. Naruto was obviously tired and seemed to radiate confusion. His eyes held a lost look that was haunting in those familiar blue eyes. Fox looked up and locked eyes with Sasuke then. The gaze lasted only moments before he looked back at the moon with his eyes half closed, like he was looking at something only he could see. After several long moments of silence he spoke just as Sasuke was about to lose his patience.

"I see you in my dreams….in a place I don't remember…" he stated hesitantly, with confusion permeating his features. Sasuke stared at the blond not expecting this. Fox continued heedless of what the other teen thought. "I need to know why you are the only thing that I can remember,….even if it is only your face. Maybe then I can find out who I am….or where I'm from." He said tiredly looking back at Sasuke with his piercing blue eyes.

Sasuke sat back down on the bed and ran a hand through his thick black hair. Inwardly he groaned. 'This is worse than I thought. Where do I start and what do I tell him?' Sasuke sighed before he began. Looking back he found Naruto's eyes piercing him, as though looking into his soul to make the connection. The seriousness was just strange on the face of Konoha's legendary prankster.

"Well….your name is Naruto Uzumaki and you disappeared from Konoha two years ago." He began, not really sure where to start beyond that. The boy in front of him didn't seem to recognize the name as his going by the concentrated look on his face, like he was racking his brain trying to find what he was being told. "We were best friends, more often like brothers, and did everything together at the academy and out of it. We lived together with Kakashi at his house since we didn't have any family." He explained knowing the boy had to wonder why they lived with the masked jounin.

Fox became lost in his thoughts for a moment. 'That doesn't make sense. That can't be right. If what he says is true…'

"But what happened to me? If I was your best friend why was I left to die?" Fox asked locking eyes with the Uchiha for a moment. Sasuke looked away ashamed of something. Fox was on edge since only someone guilty would hide something. Most shinobi never learned the meaning of guilt, lying was part of the job description.

"We don't know what happened." Sasuke said not wanting to meet Fox's eyes. Taking a deep breath, the Uchiha continued. "Kakashi and some others searched for weeks. There was blood all over the forest, but we never found a body or the causes for the blood. There was no sign you were even alive." He said finally looking up. The other boy seemed to be in pain.

"Naruto have you been ok?" Sasuke asked trying to direct the conversation in a less painful direction. Naruto sighed and leaned his head back against the wall closing his eyes. The building pressure between his eyes died away as fast as it came.

"I guess, I mean things are hard but it's not so bad. Zabuza is harsh but he's kept me alive." He said remembering everything that had happened in the last two years. The blond's face was shadowed by pain as he remembered the more unpleasant of them. Sasuke's sharp eyes caught this instantly.

"Has he hurt you Naruto?" Sasuke asked with a hint of rage in his voice. Naruto returned his gaze to Sasuke then. Fox didn't understand why this boy continued to call him Naruto, but he allowed it, hoping it might trigger something in the back of his mind. Sasuke didn't know what he was asking with his more recent demand though.

"Only for not following orders." He said softly remembering some of his punishments. 'Like right now.' he mused to himself and his grip tightened slightly. The jounin had no qualms about hitting him for mistakes. As long as he was suitably recovered by morning, Zabuza wouldn't care. It was that fact alone that kept the former kiri-nin from beating him as much as he sometimes saw fit.

"What is the village like?" Naruto asked wanting to change the subject off of Zabuza, as if talking about him would make appear in the room with them. Sasuke sort of smiled and his voice took of a reminiscing tone as he spoke about the village. Sasuke leaned back against the headboard of the bed, putting his hands behind his head relaxing.

"It's a huge ninja village with a forest surrounding it on all sides with the stone faces behind it. It has all four Hokages on the cliffs. There are these massive gates that take several people to open without the use of chakra. All the buildings are so colorful and have this completely random street layout that all usually lead to the main road. It can hurt the eyes after staring at it for awhile." He explained seeing the image so clearly in his own head. He wanted Naruto to see it as he described the village as if that alone could give the blond his memories back.

"We used to go to Ichiraku's Noodle shop after training for ramen or head up to the stone faces to watch the sun set. You could eat ramen like there was no tomorrow, especially the miso." He finished the last sentence with a slight chuckle. He noticed that the blond had stood from the chair sometime while he was speaking. He had a small grin on his face, and it relieved Sasuke since it made the blond look more like his friend.

"Hey why are you called Fox?" Sasuke asked curious sitting up on the bed, Fox leaned on the wall with his arms folded. The question startled him a bit judging from the small widening of his eyes. "I mean why do you think that's your name?"

"When I first woke up that was the only thing I could remember." He answered slowly. There was a tone of irritation of in his voice showing he didn't want to talk about the topic. Silence reigned for a few moments.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" Fox asked moving to the window. He looked outside as though his questions would be answered out there. "I mean right now I'm the enemy." the boy stated more to himself than to Sasuke, like he was trying to get it through his head. He quickly turned to the bed and drew his sword with a cold gleam in his eyes as he directed it to Sasuke's chest. Sasuke sweated in fear not sure what the blond was up to.

"I could kill you right now and no one would know the difference. It would be easy to finish off all of you and the old man." Fox said in a dark tone. His calloused hand tightened on his sword's hilt.

'But could I really?' he thought. Sasuke's reaction wasn't what he expected.

"If you were going to hurt me, any of us, you would have done it already." The teen said looking Fox in eyes the before looking down as though surrendering to whatever the blond would do. "Besides….." he started, "you're my best friend." Sasuke said looking up to meet eyes with Naruto again, but he only saw the curtain waving in the wind.

'Naruto.' Sasuke thought staring after him.

…

He couldn't believe this genin's confidence in him. The fact that Sasuke could stare him down while helpless and not think he would kill the teen confused and scared him. He ran. It was a pathetic and cowardly course of action. Fox had jumped out the window and was racing through the treetops seconds after the words left the boy's mouth. The blond struggled to make them go away. Mid leap from one tree branch to another, he couldn't tune them out any more.

'You're my best friend.' The Uchiha said with his head down and neck exposed to him for an attack. The kunai said in his lap forgotten apparently. The boy's words rang with a sincerity that Fox could not fathom.

So great were the words, that he lost his concentration. What should have been a simple catch and flip maneuver failed. His hand fell just short of the branch and Fox fell the distance to the forest floor. Blue eyes widened as the boy cursed realizing his mistake. Fox rolled with his momentum when he hit the ground to not injure himself further. The impact was sharp and he skid and rolled for several feet before stopping just short of a tree trunk. Grunting as he pushed up to his hands and knees, the boy silently berated himself. 'Get it together! You could have killed yourself.'

Seeing he didn't have anything wrong with himself, he picked himself up and brushed off the dirt off of his clothes. His eyes remained closed as he leaned back onto the tree that he'd almost hit. If anyone was present they would have seen the anger on his face.

'Damn, why is this bothering me so much.' He thought in anger. Fox slammed his fist into the tree behind him in frustration as he grit his teeth. Talking to the Uchiha was almost like remembering. He knew that Zabuza was right about him being left alone to die in the forest. His injuries should have been fatal, even he knew that with his limited knowledge of medicine. Sasuke also told him that he had disappeared in the forest two years ago, the same time Zabuza had found him. But that's where the stories changed. Sasuke gave him the impression that people liked him, well if not the village at least a few people; and Zabuza gave him the impression that he was hated by the whole populace of where ever he came from. The man had never used the village's name either, so he didn't even know it seemed. Fox let loose the pent up frustration that had been building for days. A frustrated growl tore itself from the blond's throat.

"Who am I suppose to believe!" he shouted to the forest as he slumped back against the tree, wishing for someone to answer him with the truth as he pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head.