The Black Sheep

Disclaimer: I don't own the shithead, you fucks!

Chapter 10: Uprooted

"NARUTO!" A scream was heard all throughout the village as a shock of yellow darted through the busy streets of Sunagakure. Uzumaki Naruto laughed heartily to himself as he was being chased by a brown-haired boy dressed in a simple white t-shirt and dull green pants with black shinobi sandals. He had purple face paint decorating his face, his features twisted into a look of anger. It had been a whole year since the blonde boy had come to the village, and his appearance had changed accordingly.

He ditched the rather unorthodox sunglasses that he once wore as a temporary means to cover his ringed eyes and opted to instead narrow them in order to keep them hidden from view, as he had seen a traveling monk do during his stay in Suna. His hair grew out a bit, his bangs hanging just above his eyes which also helped in hiding them, held back by a black cloth used as a headband. He was dressed in black pants and shinobi sandals with a baggy beige long-sleeved shirt. He had grown a few centimeters within the last year as well, now as tall as Akane. This irked her due to her being almost a year older than him.

"Ha! I got you again, Kankuro! Suck it!" the blonde yelled loudly, antagonizing the boy chasing him further. 'I'll teach this little shit what happens when you draw all over my puppets!' thought the boy now identified as Kankuro.

"What's the matter? Don't you like it when I put makeup on your dolls? They look just like you!" Naruto snickered. "They aren't dolls! And this is warrior face paint, you punk!" As the two boys rounded a corner, they each stopped in their tracks when they saw a particular blonde standing in the way with her arms crossed. She had her hair tied back into four spiky pony-tails and was dressed in a long, simple black dress with black shinobi sandals. Next to her stood a rather large metal box stuck into the sand. "Temari-chan.." Naruto said tentatively, now sweating comically. "Don't you 'Temari-chan' me, Naruto-baka!" she paused before addressing both of them. "What have I told you about running around the village like that? Father gets upset when he receives reports that originate from you guys being idiots!" A tick mark appeared over her head as she heaved the big metal box, which was as large as she was tall, cocked it above her head and swung it squarely at Naruto and Kankuro's unsuspecting jaws, their forms tumbling comically to the floor before recollecting themselves rather sloppily and nursing the large bumps forming on the sides of their faces.

'Ever since she got that war fan, she's gotten ten times more scary.. and painful.' Kankuro mused to himself grimly.

As Temari prepared to berate them further, two girls could be seen walking down the street at a leisurely pace. One had deep red hair and caramel skin, while the other had black hair and was rather pale. As they came into view, Naruto's eyes widened, marginally as to not reveal his Rinnegan, upon seeing them approach. "Mitomi-chan! Akane-chan! Over here!" he waved. "Eh? Oh! Naruto!" Akane shouted back; Mitomi simply waved in his direction. Just like their blonde friend, the two girls also underwent a wardrobe change in the past year. Mitomi wore a simple black qipao dress with a mesh undershirt underneath, black spandex leggings, and black, metal-plated fingerless gloves with black shinobi sandals.

Akane sported a short brown dress covered with a beige strapless top with dark brown trimmings, the sleeves rolled up to expose her caramel arms. To top it off, she had brown shinobi sandals and brown stockings reaching up to mid-thigh, a dark brown collar around her neck. They both had grown a bit taller, Akane the same height as Naruto and Mitomi coming in just a bit shorter. As they approached and began talking amongst themselves, Temari became lost in her thoughts. 'Gaara.. You've picked up some good friends haven't you, baby brother?'

(Flashback)

Four figures stood alone at the playground, not another soul in sight for a few hundred meters. Upon closer inspection, these figures were eight year olds Naruto, Mitomi, Gaara, and a nine year old Akane. Gaara was showing off his sand manipulation in the sandpit, molding it into different shapes, objects, and people with his chakra. As the three children marveled at their friend's abilities, footsteps were heard approaching them. They all turned around to see who would come close to them, as not many people had the balls to do so due to Gaara. As it turns out, balls weren't needed because the person who approached the quartet of children was a girl, and a child no less. She didn't seem to be that much older than the others, appearing about ten years of age. Her hair was done up in four ponytails at the back of her head, and she was dressed in a black hakama. She was watching them with a critical eye, her arms folded in front of her. Recognition passed over Gaara and Akane's faces before the latter greeted the newcomer. "Temari! What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be with Kazekage-sama today?"

The blonde female just shrugged. "I finished all of my duties with Father early. Can I not come and see my baby brother?" questioned Temari with a raised eyebrow. "Yes you can Temari! It's just.. Well, I'm not used to you approaching us outside of the Kazekage tower is all.." Akane acquiesced. Temari accepted the response quickly, shifting her gaze to the two children that she had not seen before. Mitomi had paid attention to when she replied to Akane's comment regarding the Kazekage as 'Father'. "You're the Kazekage's children?" she asked the blonde girl and her racoon-like sibling, her interest piqued.

"EH?" Naruto looked at Gaara and Temari comically surprised, an accusing finger pointed at the two. Gaara gave a tentative nod, visibly uncomfortable with the topic while Temari gave more of a begrudging one, a small frown evident. She shook her head a moment before a confident smile replaced her frown.

"Temari no Sabaku at your service. And who might you be, Gaara's 'friends'?" Temari was no fool. She knew that certain people tried to get close to Gaara in order to take advantage of him. Granted, it was mostly adults who would stoop to that level, but she didn't take any chances.

She was rather surprised when the blonde one, who looked rather silly wearing sunglasses in the more shaded region of Sunagakure, piped up. "Damn right! I'm Naruto, 'ttebayo!" he jabbed his thumb into his chest while a foxy grin formed on his face. The girl who, thankfully for Temari's sanity, was much more soft spoken, waved and smiled at Temari. The smile put her off somehow, but she dismissed the feeling. "Hello, my name is Mitomi." she said in her usual monotone voice. She gave them another look before she nodded her head in satisfaction.

"Alright Gaara, I'm going to go back home and get some rest, you should come home soon too." With that, she waved goodbye to the younger children and walked back from whence she came.

'I might regret this, but I think I like those kids.' she thought while shaking her head with a smile.

(End Flashback)

Temari was shaken from her musings when she heard Naruto and Kankuro's inevitable bickering once more.

"I told you already, they're not damn dolls you idiot!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are t-"

"QUIET!" Temari raised her fan up threateningly once more, prompting the two to quiet down immediately. She huffed impatiently before grabbing Kankuro by the arm forcefully. "I was on my way to the tower trying to find you, Father has summoned us. Gaara is already there waiting, come on Kankuro-baka." She walked off with her reluctant brother in tow, waving goodbye to Naruto, Akane, and Mitomi. The former was still locked in a deadly staring battle with Kankuro as he was being dragged away, before they rounded a corner and disappeared.

The sun began setting behind the large dunes that surrounded the village. With nothing else on any of their agendas, they made their way to Chiyo's estate at the other end of the village, intent on having an intense training session due to having a relatively slow day, Naruto in particular itching for some action.

(Just Outside the Village Gates)

Drip..

Drip..

Drip..

The stench of iron permeated the air as a lone figure stood amongst the still forms of several others sprawled across the sand. A glint of metal reflected from the moonlight as red dripped from the tip of the kunai the figure was holding. Dressed in mesh armor under navy shirt and pants with matching shinobi sandals, the person's eyes were closed as if in thought.

'I don't have much time left.. I'm sorry, but you'll be on your own now.'

They remained still for a few moments longer, before their eyes opened to reveal the red irises of the Sharingan.

(Inside the Village)

A sweaty, bruised, and tired Naruto was walking along the streets of Sunagakure, heading back to Chiyo's estate after stopping by the sandwich shop that he began frequenting. It wasn't quite ramen level, but he had to admit that the food was very good.

As he walked leisurely with his hands behind his head, he felt a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that he was being watched. However, every time he looked over his shoulder, he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

'Oi Kyuubi, do you sense anyone?' Silence. Naruto huffed. 'Well thanks for nothing, you stupid fox!'

He reasoned with himself that it was probably Suna's ANBU keeping tabs on him due to his recent pranking streak that put him at odds with the Kazekage, making sure he wasn't trying anything. With that sorted out, the feeling mostly abated as he approached his destination.

Upon walking through the main entrance, the blonde walked to the side of the house to use the water pump to clean himself off. After washing himself, he moved once more toward the dark wooden door leading inside. Glancing once more behind himself before heading into the house, he quietly made his way upstairs, not wanting to wake anyone.

Soon enough he found himself at the top of the staircase, where he was greeted with a hallway, which then branched into two rooms opposite of each other. He stealthily slipped through the doorway to the right, while noticing Akane and Mitomi had already fallen asleep. Following suit, he eagerly retired to his bedroll.

xXx

A Suna nin was stationed atop one of the many rooftops of the village. He was dressed in the typical garb of a jonin, being the brown flak jacket with brown pants and shoes complete with a white turban atop his head to protect from the heat. He lazily looked around, his face carrying a general expression of absolute boredom.

A black streak of movement danced across his vision before he felt a searing pain suddenly erupt from his neck. When he put his hand up, he withdrew it to reveal copious amounts of blood. He struggled to speak, only managing to gurgle before he fell to his knees and onto the floor, lifeless. The black blur was revealed to be a cloaked and masked figure with no discernable hitai-ate on their person.

They wiped the blood from their tanto and resheathed it, using their hands to form a signal. As they did this, three more equally cloaked and masked figures materialized in a shunshin next to the first. Another hand signal was made, directing the cell toward the residential area of the village before they all took off at blinding speeds.

xXx

A loud crash shook the children from their slumber. None of the children could process what was going on in their current groggy states. Four figures all forcibly entered through the window of the room they were sleeping in, grabbing Naruto and binding him in ninja wire in one fell swoop.

Mitomi noticed this and immediately activated her Sharingan, a kunai finding it's way into her hand from her sleeve before she threw said kunai at Naruto's bindings to attempt to give him a way to escape, but the intruders seemed to expect this, as one of them intercepted the projectile with one of their own kunai before it could find it's mark, lighting the room in sparks from the resulting clash of metal. The blonde cried out in surprise before he was swiftly gagged with a rag to prevent any unwanted attention from his calling, in addition to having a chakra suppression seal placed on him to prevent him from escaping.

As the figures made their way back out the window, Chiyo burst through the door just as they began making their escape. Thinking quickly, she hurled several kunai toward the attackers, only for hers to be deflected as well. Chiyo cursed to herself before she turned toward her two female charges. "Mitomi, Akane. I'm going after the brat, I'm trusting you to go and gather reinforcements to ensure that they can't leave the village. If you can, get Gaara. His sand manipulation could be the key to seeing your blonde idiot of a friend again." With that, she jumped through the window to give pursuit to the kidnappers.

Despite her old age, her movement and speed hadn't left her. As a result, she caught up to them rather quickly. Seeing as how Naruto was being held captive, Chiyo had to think about her next plan of action. Her options were limited, as a lot of the jutsu in her repertoire were rather destructive and/or lethal, and she didn't feel like having to scrape whatever would be left of the jinchuuriki off of the pavement. As she gave pursuit to the jinchuuriki's kidnappers, her mind briefly wandered to how her two female charges were fairing.

(With Mitomi and Akane)

The two girls raced for the Kazekage tower, well aware of the danger that Naruto was in. "I hope Naruto will be okay…" worried a panicking Akane. "Do not worry Akane-san. Lady Chiyo has more than enough expertise to keep track of him and the enemy shinobi. She is not one of the retired counselors of the Kazekage for nothing you know." Hearing that from her raven-haired companion stifled some of the anxiety she was feeling, but she still worried for the Rinnegan bearer. However, even as Mitomi said that to help calm the redhead, doubts began to form in her mind. 'These thoughts again… Is this what worry feels like?'

They approached the door to the manner and briefly knocked on the ornate door, for Temari to greet the two. She yawned before addressing them. "Hey guys, what do you want?" she sobered from her tired state when she saw the look in Akane's eyes. "What's going on?"

"It seems that enemy shinobi have found a way in and kidnapped Naruto-san. Lady Chiyo is giving chase, but we fear that it may not be enough, and thus would like to enlist Gaara to help us with his sand. You could be quite useful with your wind techniques as well, Temari-san." As the fan wielder was about to respond, she felt a presence behind her come from out of nowhere. "What's this I hear about a kidnapping?"

All three children were surprised to come face to face with the Kazekage himself. His commanding presence easily affecting Akane and to a lesser extent Temari. As his daughter was about to respond, the Kazekage beat her to the punch. "Save your breath. I will get Gaara to pursue these intruders. If you wish, you may accompany him, Temari." She nodded affirmatively.

Not allowing a moment to spare, the Kazekage continued. "Now go. Teach these shinobi what it means to mess with the might of Sunagakure."

xXx

Mitomi and Akane both raced across the rooftops to catch up to Chiyo. A plan was made for them to come up from the rear and assist the master puppeteer in her endeavor of stopping the shinobi while Temari and Gaara made a wide circle around them to cut them off before they reached the exit.

They spotted Chiyo engaging one of the ninja with kunai and shuriken, attempting to pick them off one at a time rather than risk catching Naruto in the crossfire with ninjutsu or her puppets. The aged woman noticed their converging forms, and allowed them to catch up to brief her on the situation.

"Temari and Gaara are en route to intercept them up ahead. We are here to provide backup if necessary." Though from the looks of it, she seemed to have everything going just fine. As they kept in pursuit, sparks flying from kunai and shuriken bouncing off of one another, suddenly a wave of sand rose from the village streets below to reveal two of the three Sand Siblings riding atop it.

Temari opened her fan and gave it a huge swing, forming fierce air currents that were sharp enough to tear scratches into the shinobi's clothing and skin. The blast of wind knocked them off course, but they managed to recover quickly before Gaara could attempt to capture them. Gaara then focused and formed a wide barrier of sand around the fleeing targets, shrinking it to encase them in it. Once they were unable to move, tendrils shot out from the wave of sand and grabbed Naruto, bringing him safely to Gaara's side.

With that out of the way, he turned his full attention back to his friend's assailants. An unmerciful look in his pupiless ringed eyes, Gaara raised his hand up, bringing the ninja encased in sand up higher in the air, before he closed it into a tight fist.

"Sabaku Kyū (Sand Coffin)!"

Sand fully encased the four unknown attackers before it compressed tightly, tearing their bodies asunder. Not even a scream of pain was heard. Mitomi was surprised, even if she didn't know it; not by the rather brutal way that Gaara dispatched their foes, but that said eight year old managed to best not one, but four Root nin. This was a testament to his growing strength. After all, he was the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi.

xXx

Naruto and Mitomi found themselves face to face with the Kazekage in his office. His elbows sat on his desk with his hands folded in front of his face, looking over the two children before him. "I believe it is about time you give me an explanation." he said, his icy stare seemingly piercing right through them.

Naruto's brow furrowed at the demand. "Explanation?! I almost got kidn-" he started, before stopping himself as Mitomi quickly threw him a glare that clearly told him to be quiet. Knowing Naruto's brashness would probably complicate the situation more than it already had been, she decided to address the village head. "Yes, Kazekage-sama. As you may suspect, we are not originally from Suna." The man nodded, prompting her to continue. "We actually come from the Land of Fire." She decided to leave out that they originally hailed from Konoha, lest they be declared as spies.

"Where we came from, we were targeted for treason, although we did nothing to instigate such measures, it was a misunderstanding blown out of proportion. Myself and my friend here-" she gestured toward Naruto, "-fled to Kaze no Kuni where we decided to try and live a peaceful life in your village. This was the first time that we had been targeted since we fled, so we had no idea that they would be coming for us."

Staying silent after Mitomi's explanation, the Kazekage pulled out a file from the many papers littering the drawers of his desk. "Then can you explain to me-" he pointed to a picture on the dossier, "-why we found bodies that looked similar to those who infiltrated my village just outside of the gates?" The Kazekage could tell that Mitomi wasn't telling him something, but detected no hint of lying so he decided to let it be.

Naruto and Mitomi faltered for a moment, gazing at the picture that the Kazekage pointed out to them. 'There were others? Who killed them?' wondered the disguised Uchiha. Mitomi took over again, seeing Naruto trying to make sense of this revelation. "We had no knowledge of them, Kazekage-sama. The incident tonight was the first we have seen of these people since we escaped from our original home. We apologize for the danger we put your village in, and would like to rectify this in any way you deem necessary."

"I see." he simply stated. "Well, I believe the best course of action is for you to leave as soon as possible." He let that bit of information sink in, causing Naruto to gulp and Mitomi to avert her gaze. "I'm well aware of the relationship you have with my three children, as well as Chiyo's star student, but I must put the security of my village above all else, and I'm afraid there is no other way to protect it than to remove those who threaten its peace."

Naruto wanted to yell. He wanted to get into the man's face and scream, but he knew it would only end badly. Not only for him, but for Mitomi as well, and the last thing he wanted was for someone else to get punished just for something he did. Mitomi understood the village leader's decision, though she couldn't help but notice a sour feeling in her chest.

"I will allow you to stay the night in order to prepare, and I will provide you with a few day's rations to at least make it to some other place of residence, but I expect you two to be gone by tomorrow morning. I will have my children see you off. You are dismissed."

As the ornate door to the Kazekage's office closed behind them, Naruto couldn't help but ball his hands into fists. He was angry at their current situation, but moreso angry at himself. If only he could have done something. 'Damn it! Another home gone just because I couldn't kick their ass!'

Shaking his head of toxic thoughts, Naruto carried on through the hallway of the Kazekage tower to the exit with his Uchiha companion. He looked over to her to see how she took the news, only to be met with her usual impassive stare as she looked ahead.

He realized that beating himself up over this wouldn't help any. He just had to carry on and become stronger. As he neared the front door, he saw Akane seated on a bench, twiddling her thumbs in nervousness. She perked up when she saw her two friends approaching, but seeing them up close did nothing to ease her nerves. "How'd it go?" she asked.

"We have to leave the village by tomorrow morning." Whatever she hoped to say died in her throat as she simply stared incredulously at her raven-haired friend. "...What?"

"Us being here is a danger to everyone in the village." Naruto spat. He didn't want to believe it, but there was no denying what happened almost half an hour ago..

"But you can't just leave! What about Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara?!"

'What about me?'

Naruto stared helplessly at the redhead he'd become friends with over the course of the past year. "I know. It's complete bullshit but we can't just not do what he says." he had a point there, but Akane still didn't want to accept it. Naruto walked out of the door, flanked by his two female friends. All three of them began a solemn walk back to Chiyo's estate in silence.

(The Next Morning)

Naruto and Mitomi were standing just beyond the imposing walls of Sunagakure, dressed in brown hooded cloaks to protect them from the harsh desert weather. Standing in front of them were all three Sand Siblings as well as Akane and Chiyo.

"Well.. this sucks." Kankuro said lamely. Because he wasn't present for the events of last night, it came as a sudden shock once he woke up that morning to hear that his friends were being exiled.

"Indeed." was all that Mitomi could say; her limited interaction with people didn't prepare her for farewells. She was used to just vanishing without a trace. Gaara spoke up next, which surprised everyone due to Gaara's usually reserved, timid nature.

"I'm.. sad to see that you must go. It was fun having you here. I only wish there was some way to let you stay." Temari huffed at that. "Well you know Father. Once he comes to a decision he sticks to it." She walked forward and unexpectedly hugged both Naruto and Mitomi before backing off and allowing Gaara and Kankuro to shake their hands. "You were a lot of trouble, punk." Kankuro said as he gripped Naruto's hand tightly. "So were you and your dolls and makeup, baka." Naruto retorted slyly despite the rather somber circumstances.

"What was that?! Why I oughta-" Before Kankuro could throttle the blonde, Temari held him back. Akane stepped up next to bid her friends farewell. As she backed away from the hug she gave them, a tear streaked down her cheek. She found that her vocal cords didn't seem to want to work, only allowing her to say "G-goodbye Naruto, Mitomi.."

Chiyo stepped up and ruffled the two children's hair, a smile on her face. "It was good having you here, brats. If it was possible, you made my life both a blessing and a living hell, but I couldn't ask for anything better.

'Sasori… You could have learned a lot from these kids.'

With that, the two waved their final goodbyes and walked into the sweltering heat of the deserts of Kaze no Kuni.

xXx

As night descended upon Naruto and Mitomi, they decided to take shelter once they came across a small outcropping of rock, the structure of stone sticking out of the dunes far enough to provide a roof over their heads.

With no wood, they could not create a campfire so the duo each munched on a small portion of their rations that were given to them before Mitomi unsealed their bedrolls and they slowly began drifting off into the realm of unconsciousness.

…

…

Until they heard something crash onto the dunes not too far away from their location. Deciding to investigate, they poked their heads out from under their rock to see a prone form laying in the sand. They cautiously approached the figure until they spotted a familiar shock of red hair.

"Akane?!"

A/N: My bad for the huge delay in this chapter. I know I tend to just make excuses every time I upload but writing this in addition to dealing with all of the real life shit going on with me is a bit of a challenge. Regardless, here it is for those of you who haven't given up on me just yet.

Awesomesauce out.