I own nothing except my ideas.

A week later

Naruto waited in his room, excitedly pacing from wall to wall. Baba would be back any moment now and that meant he'd finally be able to go out into the real world for the first time. Kyuubi lay curled up on his bed, eyes lazily following his master as he paced.

"I can't believe this! I finally get to leave!" Naruto excitedly gestured around the room. "I finally get to go outside and feel the sun on my skin. I finally get to breath fresh air." He whirled around to look at his pet. "Do you know what it's like to breath smelly, dank, cave air for seventeen years?" Kyuubi placed one of his paws over his nose. "Exactly!" Naruto shouted.

"Just imagine it...", Naruto sunk down onto his bed, "I bet the people are super friendly and have lots of different foods we can try." His mouth started to water. "Steamed dumplings, roast beef, turkey, oh and those cute little tart cakes...". Kyuubi stretched out his front paws before standing and walking off. Naruto huffed."Well then, forget you to."

"Were you talking to that moocher again?" Naruto looked around so fast the midsection of his braid slapped him in the face. "Baba! When did you get back?" He scrambled up and rushed to hug him. "I'm so glad you're back home." Baba gave a deep laugh that rumbled in his chest. "You just wanted me to hurry up so you could go outside." Naruto sheepishly ran a hand through his hair. "Whaaaaa? Psh, I don't know what you're talking about. I just really, really missed you is all."

Baba gave him a look. "Mmhmm. Well I just came down here to tell you that i'll be ready to go in an hour. Be sure to dress warm and make sure you wrap your hair up tight. We don't want you tripping all over it on the way down." Naruto nodded rapidly and Baba sighed. He hoped this little excursion into the real world would be uneventful. The last thing he needed was trouble.

He was shaken from his thoughts by a loud clatter. A lone shoe had sailed through the air and collided with a bowl that was resting innocently on his little bedside table. Naruto had dived into a pile of clothes and was currently throwing what seemed like his entire wardrobe around as he searched for something to wear. Baba slowly shook his head before turning around to leave."I expect that mess to be cleaned up before we leave." Naruto gave a whine and stuck his tongue out at Baba's' retreating form. "I saw that." He shouted over his shoulder making Naruto quickly suck it back in.

Sasuke stared at a red chested bird that hopped along a branch searching for something. That bird probably had the freedom to go wherever it wanted to. No family holding it down. No obligations. Probably just quiet days drifting on a warm breeze. Sasuke's eyelids drifted lower. "The sun is out today...that's nice. I should probably take Midnight out for a ride today..."

He was interrupted by a book being slammed onto the table in front of him. Sasuke slowly looked away from the window and settled his gaze onto his teacher, Kakashi. He scowled up at the man with his stupid gravity defying hair and his stupid cloth covered mouth. "I know you don't want to get sick but damn. You don't have to wear it year 'round."

"What do you want?" Kakashi pretended to think. "Oh I don't know maybe to get something for my birthday that doesn't suck or maybe to get laid every once in a while or better yet, get my only student to stop half-assing his work and show some initiative for once because I seriously don't get paid enough."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this. "That was a little bit too much don't you think?" Kakashi sighed and folded his arms. "When will you start taking things seriously? Despite what you think people do depend on you. They want to see you succeed and be happy. The sooner you get that through your thick head the better."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He couldn't be bothered to answer him back. He was so sick of this. Since when did people start depending on him? Everyone knew that his older brother would get the throne. There wasn't really a reason for him to have to do much. His days have become completely predictable. Get up, eat breakfast, got to his daily lessons, have a light lunch, got back to lessons, eat dinner, go to bed, then do it all over again the next day. When did his life get so repetitive?

All he wanted was to be left alone. He didn't need anybody and nobody needed him. It was a win-win situation. He suddenly got an idea. "Hey, Kakashi." The teacher raised a brow in question. "I'm going to take off for a few weeks." He stood up and was about to leave when Kakashi cleared his throat to catch his attention. "As much as I love your spur of the moment idea, I think it would be best if you actually finished up your work first." Sasuke let out a despondent sigh. "Fine but i'm leaving right after that."

Kakashi raised a brow. "And what, pray tell, are you going to tell your parents?" Sasuke shrugged. "I'll just tell them i'm going on a hunting trip." Kakashi picked up his ever present leather bound book. Sasuke was ninety percent sure it was one of those perverted books he'd heard about. "Sasuke, I know what you're trying to do and I want you to think really hard about it. Are you sure you want to do this? Running away won't solve anything. " Sasuke sat back in his seat with a blank expression. "What are you talking about? I just want to go out for a little bit."

Kakashi pursed his lips. "Alright, if that's the way you want to go about it, make sure you pack everything you need and don't stray outside of the kingdom's territory." "I won't-"

"And"-Kakashi drew out the word- " you have to take at least six people with you." Sasuke opened his mouth again but Kakashi held up a hand to stop him. "Either take them or don't go at all." Sasuke closed his mouth. Kakashi had his no nonsense face on. The only reason he could get away with speaking to him like that was because he had been with Sasuke his entire life. He was actually more of a father to him than his own. It was sad to think about but it was the truth. And Sasuke was okay with it.

There was a moment of silence in which Sasuke and Kakashi stared each other down. Sasuke gave a tiny nod and then looked away. The man was going to have his way no matter what he did so why fight it? Kakashi sat back apparently satisfied. "Okay, back to your lesson. Now, the year before you were born was one of strife..."

Naruto stood at the mouth of the cave, his eyes wide. He couldn't believe it. The view was so unbelievably breathtaking it was hard to believe it was actually real. The sky was splashed with different hues of orange, pink, and gold; the perfect backdrop for the forest that lay beneath it. If he craned his neck a little he could see the river flowing across the forest floor, the sun's dying rays bouncing off of it.

"This is probably the most beautiful thing i've ever seen in my entire life..." Naruto whispered to himself. Baba looked down at Naruto and couldn't stop the spark of guilt that flashed through him. He truly was sorry he had deprived him of something as simple as this. Baba straightened up before abruptly turning. "We need to get going if we want to make it to the village while the sun is actually still out.

Naruto quickly turned to follow him, careful to keep to the trail. It was so narrow that he would be sent tumbling all the way to the ground if he wasn't watching where he was going. "I can't wait to get down there!" Naruto babbled excitedly. Baba grunted in response, hoping to get this over and done with as fast as possible.