Well guys, not many more chapters left in this story. I still appreciate all the reviews and what not guys. It means a lot for this being my first fic. I feel like I should announce this now so here it comes. *takes deep breath* *dramatic pause* AAAAANNNDD there's going to be a sequel. Glad I got that out.

But with that said, let's get back to the story.

Exhausted, that was the word he would use to describe it. He had gone a day's worth of travelling and still had a day's more to go. He had to stop periodically since he hadn't had any sleep for a day. He was trained to withstand longer but, he just felt like everything had been pulled out of him at once when he got his heart broken.

The Heartbreak Incident as he had so graciously named it. It plagued his mind and was the only thing he could think of. He didn't even know if he were going the right way. He just followed the tree line next to the same road he and the old perv had taken when they went to bring Tsunade back.

'She wouldn't want to lose the nine tails power and throw off the balance of nations. After all, I'm only some weapon to use. That's all, no one ever even loved me anyways.' His thoughts, when they managed to get away from his heartbreak, always turned and headed back to Hinata.

He wanted to cry, but he couldn't. It felt like he was so sad that he just couldn't form any tears. His heart pained him and he felt as if he were having a heart attack at times but he would just stop and recuperate himself before continuing. After all, it was just anxiety anyways.

He took a brief pause on one of the tree branches in the way as he needed to catch his breath. His heart hurt him again and he needed to slow his breathing. He felt as if he had been having one giant anxiety attack since he left the village.

The village, Konoha. His home that had treated him like nothing. If it all burned to the ground he wouldn't care. It's what they deserved. They all deserved to just be wiped off the map. Every single one who had wronged him.

He reached up to grab his necklace like he had done so many times before while making his way to the rendezvous point with Itachi. When he grabbed it though, he grabbed the wrong necklace. He grabbed the one Granny Tsunade gave him when he won that bet those years ago.

It was also a reminder of how enslaved he was to the village. He grabbed and yanked the necklace off. He threw it to the ground and was ready to take off when he remembered something other than just that necklace that showed his allegiance. His headband. He slowly took it off.

The memory when he first earned it, the night Mizuki told him to steal the scroll. The same night he failed the genin exam for the third time and he had practically quit trying. He remembered being told that he was the nine tailed fox. He also remembered being told by Iruka how he wasn't the nine tails. The first one to acknowledge him as Naruto Uzumaki.

A single tear formed on the side of his eye. 'Maybe not everyone needs to disappear off of the face of the planet.' He wiped the tear away at the memory. What does it matter now, he was a runaway. It no longer mattered if he was a ninja of one village or another.

He threw the headband down to the ground and took off. There in the grass lay the headband and necklace, both forgotten by the ninja who had once so proudly worn them both.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Two ROOT members bowed before Danzo. He had summoned them the second word got to him that Naruto had left the village.

"As you both know by now, Naruto Uzumaki has left the village. Your objective is to retrieve him and return him to the village. He is considered to be a missing nin since he left the village. You may use as much force as necessary to bring him back. Take four others with you, do not fail me."

"Yes, Lord Danzo." They both said in unison. They knew that Naruto was dangerous being the jinchuriki for the nine tails. So they were going to need to be very forceful. With that the two disappeared off to get the others and find Naruto.

Danzo stood still. He knew that Naruto leaving could work in his favor. He would have to speak to the fire daimyo about Tsunade's carelessness. He would take the seat of hokage.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

There was no knock at the door. One second the door was closed, then in barged two old timers. Homura and Koharu. These were the two people that Tsunade was hoping NOT to see.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of the presence of the council today?" Tsunade asked in a snarky tone.

"It's Naruto Uzumaki. He has left the village." Homura spoke up.

"Yeah, I know already, I've sent a squad of my most trusted Jonin and Chunin after him." Tsunade responded.

The conversation was awkward for both sides. Tsunade was still livid about the fact the Itachi had made it into the village without anyone knowing. These two old geezers were not going to make her job any less simple either.

"Pray tell, who did you send on this rescue squad?" Koharu asked.

"I sent Kakashi Hatake, Neji Hyuuga, Shikamaru Nara, Kiba Inuzuka, Choji Akimichi, and lastly Hinata Hyuuga. If anyone can bring Naruto back it would be them."

"Tsunade, are you sure sending the Hyuuga girl is a wise choice? It was under her watch that Naruto escaped."

"There's two things I find wrong about your statement. One, Hinata was under a genjutsu by Itachi Uchiha when she was found this morning. Therefor she is not to blame for Naruto leaving. Two, you said it as if Naruto was a prisoner here in the village." Tsunade knew what they thought of Naruto. They treated him just as any other villager would.

"Naruto is the jinchuriki of the nine tails demon, he should be kept in the village at all times. He is a danger to those around him, he needs to be under constant surveillance. Only if war is threatened should he be allowed out of the village." Homura spoke. He never really liked Naruto or Hiruzen's choice to make the boy a shinobi.

"Naruto isn't just some weapon for you to use! He has done nothing but try his hardest to prove every single one of you arrogant people wrong! You treat him with little respect. If you were to lock that boy inside the village, and take away him being a shinobi, he wouldn't have a damn thing to live for. He wouldn't only be trapped inside the village, he would be trapped inside his own mind. You all have no idea what it's like to lose everything you ever hoped to be. So it wouldn't be fair to him." Tsunade was emotionally disturbed. She remembers hating the village after the deaths of Nawaki and Dan. But Naruto made her remember, and she would be damned before she let anything happen to him.

"But the politics behind the control of the jinchuriki-"

"Are none of your concern, now if you would be so kind as to leave my office, I have to sort things out punishment wise for Naruto once he returns."

With that the two elders were out of her office. All Tsunade could do was sigh in contempt for them finally being gone. They were a headache she really didn't want to deal with right now. Her thoughts drifted to the status of the team she sent after Naruto.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"AHHHH I'm gonna kill that idiot when I get out of here!" Kiba was not the most patient guy in the world. He hated waiting and being stuck inside a barrier just wasn't something he liked to do on a daily basis.

"Kiba calm down." Kakashi ordered hating to hear all the complaining coming from the teen.

"No I won't calm down, I need to beat his ass. He deserves it, first he hurts Hinata, second he runs away, and third he traps us in this damn barrier!"

"He n-never hurt me Kiba. It w-was the other w-way around." Hinata choked out. She still hated herself for hurting Naruto.

Kiba took a deep breath so he wouldn't yell at her. He did view her like a sister and she wasn't emotionally able to be yelled at. "Either way, he should know when someone cares about you."

Kakashi spoke up again wanting to defend Naruto. "That's where you're wrong Kiba. Naruto never knew what it felt like to be loved. He doesn't have parents or siblings to show any kind of emotion to him. All he got growing up was looks of hatred, and at most, people tolerated him. That's why he holds on to his bonds of friendship so dearly, because each of you acknowledged him as himself and not the nine tails. Even if that were the case he still doesn't know what it's like to be loved. So he runs away from it and hides sadness with a smile. So please, don't blame him for anything."

Kakashi watched as each of their faces grew a little solemn. He knew that they all cared for Naruto. So he was going to do everything in his power to make sure Naruto gets back.

"Now, Neji tell us what you can see about this barrier we're in."

"Right. BYAKUGAN!" With that Neji activated his blood limit and searched around for the tags that concealed them. "There are five, one to the North, one to the North East, one to the South East, one to the South West, and another to the North West."

'Looks like Naruto learned something from our mission to save Gaara.' "Alright I'll take the North, Kiba the South East, Shikamaru the North East, Choji the South West, and Neji the North West." Kakashi began shouting orders and the four took off.

"What about me Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata squeaked.

"Well, if it's anything like the mission we went on to save Gaara, the seals will cause replicas of ourselves that we need to defeat. And from what Guy told me, it's no easy task." Kakashi knew what he was in for if it was anything like that.

"Oh, I see." Hinata lowered her head. 'Even Kakashi-sensei thinks I'm too weak to help with this.' Hinata was snapped out of her thought process by a hand being placed on her shoulder.

"Hinata, it's not that I don't think you're strong enough, but it's the fact that if the clones of ourselves are created, I want you to be the one to go after Naruto. Because I honestly believe that out of all of us here, you are the only one that can bring him back." Kakashi spoke, seemingly reading her mind.

Hinata looked up at him who was smiling down on her. 'I'm the only one?' "Right!" Hinata readied herself to go after Naruto as Kakashi disappeared into the woods towards the north.

It was only a few minutes later that they heard Kakashi's voice over their short range transmitters. "Is everyone ready?" He waited for the response of the group before going. Once he got the 'all clear' and a 'troublesome' from Shikamaru he began the count down. "3…2…1… NOW!"

The barrier fell and Hinata was off in an instant. The other five were not so lucky because instead of a clone copy there was another tag underneath that when the first tag was removed would summon two hundred clones of Naruto.

Hinata could hear the battle cries from the distance she had covered. She knew each one of them would prevail, but she also knew that they would be stalled, so it was up to her.

Her mind drifted to Naruto. He saved her with that smile of his. He was her sunshine from the very first time she met him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Hinata had just ran away from her house. She hated hearing her father talk about her as if she were a weakling. She tried so hard, but it never helped. She would always be weak to him.

That's when it happened, she ran into the bullies. Made them drop their ice cream. They were mad but they only picked on her because of Neji. Neji made it worse for her growing up. Living in the shadow of her cousin.

Before she knew it she was being grabbed by the hair and pulled into the woods. They threw her on the ground and made her apologize for running into them. Tears were streaming down her face and they pushed her further to the ground, wanting her to bow in respect.

That's when he showed up. Knight in shining armor to the rescue of the damsel in distress. She didn't hear everything he said but he repeated his "I'm gonna be Hokage one day!" proclamation.

One of the boys got tackled by him. There was a small wrestling match and then the three boys began beating him up. He took every punch, and before anything else happened Ko had shown up and taken her away.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Hinata couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. She never thanked him for that. But he also didn't know that was the start of her admiration for him. Her admiration eventually grew into a crush, then that led to something more.

She always wanted to help him. Even if only a little. Anything just to get him to notice her. She wanted nothing more than to be at least acknowledged by him. But she would be lying to herself if she said that's all she wanted. She wanted to be looked at the same way he looked at Sakura, but it would never happen.

She at least remembered the mission to find the bikochu beetle. He had seen her under the waterfall that night. The next day he had called her beautiful. She was nervous as can be and remembered blushing insanely as he explained it to Kiba and Shino.

Then towards the end of the mission the fight with the giant wasp. She had actually protected him and not the other way around. When she started to fall tired he had been there for her and actually held her. She was so happy. He acknowledged her for being strong.

He did so much for her. He claimed to beat Neji and actually did. If it wasn't for her being so weak he wouldn't have had to do that. But if she hadn't lost he never would have admitted he liked people like her. She was so happy about that, she still had a chance with him even if so miniscule. She had actually helped him get over his fears.

Then more recently on their date he gave her the rose. Even if insignificant she cherished it for everything she had. Their date that had ended up with them kissing! She couldn't let him go, not now. She loved him, and even if he didn't love her anymore she would not let him leave.

Her thoughts were drawn to a halt as she was nearly blinded by something on the ground reflecting the light. She dropped down to the ground to get a closer look at the item. She gasped as she realized what it was.

Naruto's headband and his necklace. He was always so proud of them. She couldn't let him throw them away like this. She grabbed the necklace and put it in her pocket, and then took the headband and placed it around her neck with her own.

'Naruto I will not let you go. If I have to block every chakra point in your body to bring you back so be it. I won't let you run away!' With that last thought Hinata rushed forwards again doubling the speed in which she had already travelled.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Kakashi let out a brief sigh, he hadn't planned on wasting so much time defeating the clones he was put against. He hated the fact that he had to send Hinata ahead alone towards Itachi but he hoped she could catch Naruto before then.

"How is everyone holding up?" He spoke through the short range radio.

It was Neji who first spoke up. "I'm doing fine but I had no intentions of wasting as much chakra as I did. But I think I'll hold."

Kiba spoke up next. "I'm doing fine but Akamaru is exhausted. He'll need a little bit to rest then we could get going again."

"Kakashi-sensei, Shikamaru is absolutely depleted on chakra, he's not going anywhere any time soon. I should stay with him just in case." Choji spoke over the radio.

"Right Choji. Neji you and I will continue on. Kiba you catch up when you can. Choji, you take care of Shikamaru in the meantime. Let's go."

With that Kakashi and Neji were bolting through the forest in the direction of Tanzaku town. 'Let's just hope we weren't stalled too long. Hinata, hurry.'

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The darkened crypt like area felt disturbed. The power emanating from the tunnels could be felt for miles. He was strong, too strong. He could beat those of kage status. And the only way for his power to go, was up.

"So now that I have trained you what are you going to do?" The larger of the two men spoke.

"Simple, I need more power." Spoke the second figure.

"Oh, and how do you plan to do that?"

"I'm going to kill someone very close to me."

"I see. You're going to need help if that's the case. I could assemble you a team."

"A team? No, where I'm going, I need an army. If I'm to kill Itachi then I need the mangekyo sharingan. And to obtain that, I need to kill my best friend. I need to kill Naruto."

"The Kyuubi brat? Very well, if it is the leaf village you plan on attacking, I will lend you the aid of the sound village."

"Thank you Lord Orochimaru."

With that Sasuke stalked to his room. He needed to plan. Attacking the leaf village would not be an easy feat. And he needed to test his abilities on Naruto now. The only person that could even possibly rival him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto stopped again. He felt the pain in his chest from another panic attack. They were coming more frequent. If he didn't get his mind off of Hinata, then he would quite possibly pass out.

'Almost there, just a little further. Although I can't take Itachi on like this if it is a trap.' He reached up to hold the necklace Hinata had given him again. He has done it so much it had become second nature to him. This time however he finally noticed he was doing it. 'Why do I still have this? Do I still have feelings for Hinata? Maybe I could go back and talk to her, NO, she loves Sasuke. I guess, I never thought she was just another one of his fan girls. But that doesn't change the fact that every time I start thinking about her I get this tight sensation in my chest like it's going to explode.'

Naruto gripped his shirt around his chest and proceeded. It wasn't long before he was standing in a clearing right before Tanzaku town. He slowed his pace to a walk to proceed carefully. He had no intention of alerting any ninja in the area that he was there. He masked his chakra signature and continued on.

He was close to the town entrance when he heard a voice calling to him a little ways away.

"Naruto, there you are…"

Ooh cliffhanger! So what'd you all think? Naruto effectively stalled the Naruto rescue squad (all except Hinata of course). Only two from the group are now after him. ROOT is after him, Sasuke is after him. S%^*s about to go down.

Now before any of you say oh Shikamaru shouldn't be so exhausted. Let me say this. Shikamaru never struck me as someone who had a lot of reserve chakra. He used his intelligence to provide himself with as much time as possible using his smaller amount of chakra. This is evident in the Sasuke retrieval mission, and also when team Asuma is fighting Hidan.

Anyways, don't forget to review!

See ya next time

Dcept