A/N: As I feared, I've gotten complaints about the characters' actions... namely Narutos. Allow me to remind you that Naruto is 100 devoted to Sakura, and even if something doesn't feel right, he'll do it if he thinks it'll make Sakura happy. If he knew that SAKURA didn't feel happy, he would immediately take steps to fix it. I was hoping that it was possible for some of you to read deeply into the meaning and find that Naruto values Sakura more than anything, but I guess some of you are more interested in me keeping the characters exactly as they should act. I was tempted to refuse to write another chapter out of spite... but then I realized it was mostly my fault. I didn't leave enough explanations. So here's a quick explanation.

Naruto truly believes right now that Sakura is happy, it's because of this that he's not fixing whatever doesn't seem right. He thinks it isn't right that he loves the girl so much and yet there she was, setting him up with a date and smiling about it. That's what didn't feel right to him, not that Sakura's smile seemed weird, but that he seemed to be on the shit end of the stick. Remember, you as the reader know a lot more than Naruto does... you may be able to literally read Haruno Sakura's thoughts, but Naruto sure as Hell can't... he's never been good at reading emotions in the first place, remember? Besides, Hinata was there... how could he say no, especially if he doesn't like to hurt people as kind as Hinata.

Anyway... with my rant complete, I wanna thank those of you who reviewed, it means a lot to me, it really does. I'm hoping that I can continue pumping out chapters at a steady pace. I learned that the deal on the house is closing by the 19th... so I might be out of here by the 23rd... and might not be back for a month afterwards. Until then I hope I can hold everyone's interest with... maybe a really big cliffhanger? -evil laugh-



Promise of a Lifetime
Chapter 4: Sasuke's Return and Naruto's Hiden Aiton

Naruto had taken her out to dinner at a casual sit-down resteraunt close to the borders of of the hidden village of Konoha. Any normal date would have complained about such a date, expecting something all together more... flashy and extravegant, especially for a first date. Hinata understood though, up until he became a Genin, Naruto was being taken care of by a village that hated his existance. Anything 'flashy and extravegant' would be something Naruto could not recover from financially unless he started going on higher level C- or B-class missions. Sinec he had not been able to complete the Chuunin exam, he couldn't do anything higher than a low-level C class job... and even then, he hadn't gone on anything more than a D mission in weeks, and the commission from his recent S-class reconaissance mission to Orochimaru's place was probably waning by now. Something like this, to Naruto, was as flashy and extravogant as he could afford.

Hinata picked idly at her food, her eyes full of concern for the boy sitting across from her. He had agreed to take her on a date because of Sakura's request... but the Hyuuga girl was beginning to think that was the only reason Naruto was here with her. He seemed lifeless... sitting there, picking at the oyster katsu curry he had ordered. It was only half eaten, a sure sign of trouble. When someone as perpetually hungry as Naruto couldn't eat properly, it meant that something was seriously wrong.

"Naruto-kun...?" she asked tentatively, "what's wrong...?"

Her stutter had disappeared. Gone were the days when the kind, shy kunoichi would stutter on every sentence. She had been learning to control that habit since the Chuunin exam, and now only stuttered when frightened or deeply embarassed. The young ninja looked up towards his date. His eyes were piercing... measuring. He seemed to be sizing her up, gauging something. Hinata inwardly frowned, knowing somewhere deep inside her soul that this moment was going to come whether she liked it or not.

"Hinata..." began Naruto, "I like you... I really do..."

Hinata could almost hear the 'but' before it actually came out. She spent the time steeling herself, preparing for the emotional damage he was inevitably going to cause her... whether he meant it or not.

"but... we can't do this. I... I'm in love with someone else..." he admitted, "She may be bossy sometimes, and sometimes she's pretty demanding... she even loves another guy all together... it's just..."

Suprisingly, the pain didn't come. Instead a sudden easiness washed over her. She felt relieved. She finally knew exactly where she stood with the him. Naruto liked her... but he wasn't in love with her. All the fear of rejection melted away, she hadn't been rejected... not entirely. She could still be friends with him, still be close to him. She realized that that was all she wanted from the start. She wanted to be there for him, be close to him, as close as possible. Hinata was as close as she could get without becoming a nuisance... and she accepted that. The best part about this was that Naruto had done everything before she even had to ask. She never had to tell him how much she cared to put another burden on his already heavily-laden shoulders.

"I understand." She said, smiling lightly, "You can't stop thinking about her. It hurts too much when you're with me because you keep wondering what it's like when I'm in her place."

Naruto nodded, she had hit it right on the button, "I'm sorry Hinata."

"Don't be. I-I w-want to be c-close to you, Naruto-kun." she stuttered, blushing brightly, "that's all..."

"Thanks, Hinata-chan," he said, smiling, "Let's finish up this date, but only as friends, okay? We can tell Sakura-chan that--"

He was suddenly cut off, however, as a large explosion shook the small restraunt violently, causing glasses and dishes to fall all over the plass, shattering on the ground. Naruto immediately jumped to his feet, as did Hinata and a few other ninjas who happened to be dining in the small restraunt, the rest of the crowd taking cover under their tables and chairs as more explosions made the very earth under their feet shudder.

"Come on, let's go!" cried one of the shinobi.

"Hinata! Check for enemies!" ordered Naruto as he and Hinata raced out of the restraunt, followed swiftly by a small unit of ninjas.

Hinata nodded and closed her eyes in concentration for a moment as she followed Naruto. They could all see the damage to the wall from here, part of it was completely destroyed, a hole large enough for Gamabunta to fit through was burning even larger, a fire elemental technique had burned through the walls surrounding Konoha.

"Byaakugan!" she cried in her thoughts. The nerves and blood vessels leading to her eyes swelled as she activated her bloodline limit, allowing her sense of sight to reach out in an almost perfect 360 degree sphere.

"There's 20... no 30... no.. wait... I can't count them all fast enough!" she called to Naruto.

"My god... who are they?" asked one of the other ninja that had accompanied them, deciding that following the Hyuuga girl would have been their best bet for staying alive.

"I can't see their forehead protectors, but their definitely ninja!" replied the young girl as she hopped along the rooftops with the rest, "They're all over the place!"

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" called out Naruto.

Suddenly Hinata and the three other ninjas that decided to come with them were running amongst a herd of orange-clad shinobi. The three unknown Konoha shinobis all widened their eyes. The Kage Bunshin no Jutsu was not unheard of... but such a large number of clones was pretty rare. There had to be at least a hundred.

"Alright! Everyone it's time for search and destroy! Hunt down everyone who isn't from Konoha and beat the crap out of them!" yelled Naruto.

There were a bunch of cries of excitement, of agreement, and of confirm ment as all 100 Naruto's dashed off in different directions at once just before they reached the destroyed gate. What they saw astonished them. There were ninjas left and right, all in the middle of battle, many Konoha ninjas were scattered over the ground as well as the attacking ninjas. All of this was basking in the soft orange glow from the flames of the burning gate. The other three ninjas and Hinata immediately leapt into battle, finding and engaging with a foe. Naruto's fist curled into a ball as he saw the forehead protector of one of the fallen ninja. They were sound ninja, but that meant that... he looked up to the gigantic hole in the wall. There, not more than 40 yards from him... stood the boy he had promised to bring back to Sakura.

"Sasuke...!" He growled in rage.

Red chakra spilled from his body in massive quantities as he stared down the boy. It wasn't something he could help at this point... he had had a long discussion with the Kyuubi inside of him after he had fought Sasuke. For the first time in it's entire existance, the demon was scared during that fight. He had poured almost all of his power into Naruto and Sasuke had still overpowered him. The fox... after being so close to death, agreed to let the boy use his power whenever he felt it necessary, without the downfall of losing control. This emission of red chakra wasn't of Naruto's will, however... it was the Kyuubi, remembering their last encounter with the Uchiha.

"Naruto..." said the black-haired boy casually, as if it were just a normal day and things weren't on fire and people weren't being slaughtered left and right. "I don't have time to deal with you today, dobe..."

"Something's changed in him..." thought Naruto, "His eyes are different..."

There was a deep coldness embedded within his eyes. A coldness that was on par with Orochimaru's. Even when Naruto had fought him, Sasuke still held at least a little light in his eyes. This wasn't the Sasuke that Sakura thought of as a lover... this wasn't the Sasuke that Naruto thought of as a brother. This Sasuke wasn't even the Sasuke he fought in the Valley of the End. This Sasuke... he was pure evil, he had a more evil air around him than Orochimaru himself did.

"I'm here for Sakura..." he said with a small smirk.

Naruto's eyes widened at this, "S-sakura! What do you want with her!" he demanded... his 'whiskers' becoming more defined and his nails turned into sharp claws at the mere mention of him being after Sakura.

"Power..." explained the boy, his smirk widening into a grin as he began to laugh. It was a maniacal laugh... but it was also a calm, dangerous laugh, "I can gain even more power through her... Orochimaru has shown me a powerful kinjutsu... one that will finally give me the power to kill Itachi... and afterwards... you."

In a flash, the boy disappeared. Naruto, with his Kyuubi-enhanced speed and reflexes, took off after him. Naruto could barely keep up with Sasuke, racing along the rooftops at maddening speed, sending roof tiles flying with each step. At that rate, it wasn't long before they found her. She was running along the rooftops as well. He saw out of the corner of his eyes Sasuke forming a familiar set of seals.

"The Chidori!" thought Naruto as he put on an extra burst of speed... Sakura hadn't seen either of them yet, and her only hope was if Naruto got their first, "Is he really planning to kill her! My only chance is... that technique!"

The Chidori was completed and black lightning crackled around Sasuke's form. Naruto's chakra enhanced speed managed to get him in front of Sakura, who let out a startled, "Naruto! What are you--?" as she stopped.

Naruto's clawed hands moved at blinding speeds as he formed the proper seals, "Ryu, Usagi, Uma, Inu, Saru, Tori, Ousu-buta, Ryu, Hebi, Tora, O-hitsuji, Tori, Tora, Ryu,O-ushi, Uma, Inu!" He thought as his hands blurred the seals.

"HIDEN AITON! SAKURA KEKKAI NO JUTSU!" he screamed as he thrust his out to either side of him, a small swirl of wind circled around Sakura and himself just before the Chidori connected... with a swirling mass of small beads of chakra. The chakra was a strange color... a pinkish purple, as where most people held white or bluish white chakra. Every time an arc of electricity threatened to go around the small barrier of pinkish chakra, another small bead of chakra would appear.

To say that Sasuke was suprised would be an understatement. He stared wide eyed as he jumped away, the Chidori already gone.

"A barrier that can stand against the Chidori! Impossible!" yelled Sasuke, his normally black eyes turning as blood red as Naruto's as he activated his bloodline limit, the Sharingan. As soon as he did, his eyes opened as wide as they could... he could see why he couldn't get through it already.

The small beads of chakra that had deflected his attack faded into view all around himself and Sakura. Each and every one of the beads resembled the heart-shaped petal of a cherry-blossom. With his Sharingan activated, he could actually see what was happening.

"Hiden Aiton, Sakura Kekkai no Jutsu..." repeated Naruto, "It's a technique that uses both of my chakra sources... a normal barrier works by sending chakra out in a steady stream that rotates in one direction, and wastes a lot of chakra... not to mention has a very weak point... it also requires that you constantly concentrate on maintaining the barrier, or else it will fail..."

"This barrier, however, uses chakra in small beads that jump in the way of attacks, that way I don't waste a lot of energy... when an attack does come, the chakra rotates in two different directions...so there is no week spot... and it isn't controlled by me..." Naruto said, grinning.

Sasuke gave a low, dangerous growl... it was a technique that he couldn't copy... he didn't have two sources of chakra, and even if he did, he didn't have the second mind to maintain the flow. He remembered the fight back then... how Naruto's chakra seemed to be able to move on it's own... and it protected him... just like...

"So in other words..." the orange-clad ninja continued, "this is a more perfect defense than Gaara's!"

Sasuke twitched in fury as he looked up at Naruto. It was true... there was no way he could get through that with any attack. It was impenetrable. Even if he made a saw with his chakra that opposed the flow of chakra of his barrier... the other part of the barrier that was spinning in an opposite direction would repel any attack.

Sakura had fallen down at this point, staring between the two boys. She was in shock... so much had happened so fast. Her head turned to Sasuke... her lover... something was strange about him. He seemed darker than before... colder than she had ever seen him... and she couldn't find even a little of the old Sasuke in those eyes of him... what happened to him?

"S-sasuke-kun..." she whispered to herself, finally finding her voice as she slowly stood up, "w-what happened... to you...?"

"Naruto... get out of the way. This has nothing to do with you!" yelled Sasuke, irritated, "I'm here to kill her!"

Sakura's eyes widened at these words. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, Sasuke... wanted to kill her? That didn't make sense. She had told him she loved him, she told him she would do anything for him. She had given up her best friend for Sasuke-kun... he wanted to kill her...? Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a monstorous growl from Naruto... it was inhuman, and filled with a deep-seeded rage. She was at a loss for words.

"If you even lay a finger on Sakura-chan..." Naruto breathed visciously, "I'll make you regret breathing..."

"As if you could..." Sasuke said nonchalantly, then looked away as if distracted, "Dammit. I'm sorry I can't stay to play with you some more... but it's time for me to leave..."

Naruto followed his gaze... and he could see them coming. Jiraiya and Tsunade, both of them dashing towards them at full speed.

"Sakura." He said, the girl looking up at the black haired boy, who licked his lips, "I can't wait to taste your blood..."

With that, he vanished, moving with such great speed that it couldn't be tracked by the human eye. Naruto's eyes followed Sasuke as he ran, making sure that he was over the Konoha wall before he finally let the barrier down, sighing heavily. Making that barrier, even though he didn't have to concentrate to maintain it, put a constant drain on his chakra. His eyes reverted back to their normal blue.

The poor, pink haired girl was shaking in fright, Sasuke's words echoing in her mind; "I can't wait to taste your blood..." It sent shivers down her spine... was that really the boy she had fallen in love with? "I'm here to kill her! he had come back... but to kill her. It was too much for the girl to take. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she got light-headed and began to lose her balance. She hit the tiles of the roof with a light thud... the last thing that she saw before she fainted was a pair of beautiful blue eyes, filled with worry.


A/N: Sorry about this chapter. Again, something didn't feel quite right... I think I may have missed something again. It has nothing to do with Sasuke.. I'll explain about his odd behavior later. Still, as I wrote this, something felt a little out of place. Anyway, I'm going to take a short break from writing this fic, though I suspect I'll be able to get another chapter up by this Saturday, if I'm lucky.