Title: Crisis Reverted
Series: Naruto
Rating: T
Genres: Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.
Warnings: Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.
Verse: Canon Redeux.

DHC: And yet another update! I'm back into the groove! YAY! -dances-

-Night before the exams-

"What was it you wished to discuss with me?" Itachi said softly as he took a seat on his bed. Gaara was absent at Sasuke's formal request to speak with his older brother alone. Sasuke looked around cautiously.

"May I use a genjutsu? It's really important."

Itachi nodded slowly. "If you feel you must."

Sasuke smiled a little before activating his Sharingan and pulled his brother and himself into a genjutsu. This time around it wasn't just a blank abyss, it held Sakura trees and was a calm field. Sasuke took a seat and sighed as he tried to form the words he needed to say.

"It's about the Forest of Death tomorrow in the exams."

"What about them?"

"Well... Tomorrow, Orochimaru will be there."

Itachi's eyes widened a little. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, Ita-nii. He will be there. He will try to place his mark on me then. I barely survived it the first time. I'm going to need your help fighting him."

"You're...going to fight him?"

"Yes. I won't have a choice. If I run, he'll endanger my friends. Sakura, Naruto, and I will fight him. But we're still not strong enough to match him yet. I'll need your help if I'm to come out of the excursion unscathed and unmarked."

"I see. What am I to do?"

"Do you know how to reverse summon, brother?"

"I am familliar with the concepts, but I've never tried it...why?"

"I will place a temporary seal on you, similar to Naruto's Hiraishin seal. When the time comes, I will activate it to reverse summon you to our location. It's the fastest thing I can think of because before, it took everyone too long to get there and I got marked."

Itachi looked intrigued at the concept of it, before nodding a little. "Is there anyone else?"

"Naruto's going to summon Kakashi-sensei as well."

"I see. Very well. Is that all?"

"No... How do I say this? During the second half of the Exams, you'll need to be by the Hokage's side. Naruto and Sakura are going to tell Kakashi and Jiraiya this, too. But you're going to need to protect him... Orochimaru's going to try and assassinate him."

Itachi looked alarmed. "He's what?!"

"Yes... During the exams he posed as the Kazekage and during the seige on Konoha and tried to murder him. He didn't succeed, but came close... And then, after the destruction, came back and actually DID murder him. You need to watch after him. Naruto was so devestated when the old man died... He's like, a grandfather to him. At all costs, we need to protect him. At least until the time comes for us to find Tsunade and convince her to be the Godaime."

Itachi looked so shell-shocked, but slowly the information sunk in and he nodded shakily. "I understand. You need me to be there when you can't be, right?"

Sasuke smiled and nodded. "Yes."

"All right. I'll do what I can to prevent the Hokage's death. I'll need more details later, like the exact time and day later, but for now, we should leave this genjutsu. It's getting late and you have the exams tomorrow."

Sasuke nodded before releasing the genjutsu. They were instantly back in Itachi's room again and Sasuke looked around. "Let me do the sealing and then I'll go to bed. I won't have time in the morning. Just be ready for it, okay?"

Itachi nodded.

"Hold your arm out for me."

Itachi obeyed, reaching out his left arm. Sasuke took it and rolled the sleeve up to expose his forearm. After doing so, he began to quickly make seals and this lasted for a good two minutes before he placed his hand over Itachi's arm.

What looked like black runes ran up the length of Itachi's arm, curling around like vines and whisps before sinking into the skin and all the was left was the Uchiha clan symbol there on his inner forearm.

Itachi looked at it for a moment before nodding. "So that's it?"

"Yes. It's ready. Tomorrow, when I summon you, you'll feel a burning sensation for approximately two seconds before you're reverse summoned. Be ready."

Itachi nodded slowly before giving Sasuke a small push. "Go now. You should get as much rest for tomorrow if what you say is going to happen is true."

Sasuke nodded he made to move, but stopped. He hesitated, before moving and enveloping his brother in an embrace around the neck. "Thank you... I mean... I don't know... I'm just... I'm just so glad that you're here with me this time. I..."

Itachi's expression morphed from surprised to a soft one as he embraced his brother back. "So am I, otouto. I wouldn't miss watching you grow for the world. I want to be here for you whenever you need me."

Sasuke smiled and pulled away slowly. "Good night, Ita-nii."

"Oyasumi, otou."

Turning, Sasuke padded out of the room and Itachi listened to his steps until the door of their room closed.

Gaara entered several long moments afterward, looking a little concerned at the glossy, far away look in the elder Uchiha's eyes. "Itachi?"

In an instant, the older shinobi's eyes sharpened and looked over at him. "Yes?"

"You were off, is all." Came the soft, but monotone voice.

"My otouto gave me much to think about just now. I'm sorry."

Gaara nodded, before getting a vaguely curious expression on his face. "So it is true, then? They really know the future?"

"The future for us is their past. They're changing their past to make our future better. I have seen their reality with my own eyes."

Gaara looked a bit speechless but nodded after a moment. "What did he tell you?"

"He told me... Orochimaru is going to try and place a cursed mark on him." Itachi answered with a small frown, placing his hand over the seal his brother had given him.

"I see... So you will help them?"

"Yes... My brother has a plan."

"Mm."

Itachi smiled before reaching out and lightly grasping Gaara's arms to pull him closer until he was all but in his lap and brought one hand up to run lightly through the red locks of hair.

Gaara gasped quietly. "What--"

"Just relax. You need it."

The redhead wanted to protest, he didn't need anything, but the slow, repetitive motions through his hair had his eyes lowering halfway and before he knew it, his face was burried in the crook of Itachi's neck, arms around him loosely as his body relaxed against the older boy.

"Tomorrow will be trying, even for you. You need to relax and rest as much as you can."

Itachi's voice sounded like a soft purr in Gaara's ear and he could only nod dazedly as his eyes slid fully shut. It wasn't long at all until his breathing had evened out completely. Itachi only smiled as he stood up, lifting Gaara's body with him before going around to the side of the bed and settled the boy down on it. He gave the boy's hair one last pet before he slid away.

He quietly exited his room and padded down the hall to go take a shower.

------

-The next day -- The Forest of Death-

Sasuke sighed heavily. He felt a headache coming on. He, Sakura, and Naruto had rounded up the Rookie Nine and they were talking amongst themselves before the beginning of the trial. The ill feeling he had that he was being watched never left him, but he ignored it as best as possible.

Slowly, he looked up.

"Everyone," He spoke.

At once, they all fell silent and turned to look at him.

"We asked you here for a reason: The Forest of Death is no laughing matter. Sakura, Naruto, and I think it would be best if all of us stayed as a group. We're still mostly inexperienced genin, there is more safety in numbers than trying to go alone."

There was a murmur amongst thr groups, before almost everyone nodded.

Neji snorted, crossing his arms. "The point of the test is to see if we can make it as a three-man team, not to coddle one another by being in a large group. You're being foolish, Uchiha."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "There is no wrong way to get through the forest, thus, there is no point of it at all. Therefore, it would be more wise--and prudent--to go through it as a group. People will be expecting us to split up, the older genins will prey on us like mice. It's safer as a group."

"You're being an idiot."

Naruto glared. "He is not! You're being inflexible!"

Neji glared at the blond. "You're being a loud mouthed baboon who doesn't know when to keep their nose out of other people's business!"

Sakura got a vein tick. Angrily, she stomped over. "Take that back!"

Neji looked at her. "Why should I? There's nothing you can do, you're just as useless!"

Sakura's expression darkened. An aura formed around her that only few people recognized. Immediately, she was in Neji's face, had him by the collar, her eyes ablaze with fury.

"Listen, and listen well. You will not insult Sasuke, Naruto, or any of my friends. You will not insult me. If you've got a problem with cooperating with everyone, you get all the scrolls on your own. If you try to start a fight, I swear to kami, I will rip your hitai-ate off your head and shove it SO FAR up your ass your Byakugan will go faulty, am I fucking clear?" She hissed at him.

"..." Neji stared at her with wide eyes, mouth agape slightly, speechless. Around them, everyone else was silent and in shock at her outburst.

"Good. Now, still think I'm useless?" Sakura let him go, smiling cheerily as if nothing had happened.

Everyone's perceptions of Sakura were shattered by the side she just showed. Well, except for Sasuke and Naruto's, who already knew how explosive she could be. She had a tempermental shishou, after all. Neji stayed quiet after that and Sasuke went back to explaining his reasons to them all as to why it would be easier and safer to go as a group.

Two minutes later, they were all in agreement they'd go together.

In actuality, Sasuke wanted them together to make it safer for the others so they wouldn't get caught up in the dangers of Orochimaru and the Sound. Once trouble started, he could send them off to safety easily. Naruto had already commented about how soft Sasuke was for the idea when he presented it to them the night before. That had earned him a smack from Sakura.

Ten minutes later, after Anko's explaination, the gates were opened and the rookie nine plus team gai entered the forest.

They walked about a mile inwards before Sasuke stopped. He turned to them all. "Alright, here's the plan: Sakura, I want you to go on a head for another mile and set up a small checkpoint."

Sakura nodded with a grin. "Got it!"

"Alone?" Some of the others questioned.

Sasuke nodded. "Yes, I trust Sakura. She's more than capable. We've been pushing her hard in training, she can handle it if a situation arises. She knows how to get in contact with us."

Without a word, Sakura jumped up into the trees and took off, jumping from one to another until she was out of sight.

"Ino," He began. Immediately, she was all over him smiling charimingly.

"Yeeeess, Sasuke-kun??"

He cringed, as did some of the others around him, but he put up with it.

"I would like for you to go out and use your genjutsu skills to set up some traps to the east of us. Lee, Kiba, would you please accompany her? Kiba, I need you to be able to smell if any one is coming and Lee, you'll be there to back the two of them up with your fighting experience."

Kiba nodded and Akamaru gave a yip while Lee flashed one of his bright grins and spouted off how he'd protect Ino and Kiba with his life because of the bloom of youth or something along those lines. Ino nodded and with a giggle and a promise to Sasuke, the three took off towards the east.

"Naruto, please head northwest of Sakura's location and use your shadow clones to set up traps there. Shino, Tenten, would you go with him?"

Tenten gave a salute while Shino merely nodded silently. Naruto grinned widely.

"You got it, Sasuke! We're off!" Without much ceremony, the blond boy took off at a sprint, leaving the other two running to catch up because of how fast he'd gotten.

"Hinata, I would like for you to head due west and set up a checkpoint there. Set up some traps there as well. I trust you to know when to retreat towards Sakura's location if you're confronted. Chouji, please go with her and watch over her."

Hinata fiddled with her fingers, looking unsure but she nodded slowly. "I'll do my best, S-sasuke-k-kun..." She took off at a run in that direction. Chouji just took a bite of his chips as he followed after her at a slower pace.

"Neji, I know you don't want to work with me, but I need your abilities. We're to stay here and set up traps here. Then we'll wait. Knowing how greedy some of these other genin's are, we'll get the scrolls in no time."

"You're playing it rather defensively, Uchiha." Neji mumbled, a little scathingly, but didn't bother to insult the other because he was still shaken from what Sakura said to him.

Shikamaru finally spoke up. "No, he just doesn't want to endanger everyone. He split everyone up according to their strength's and weaknesses. Think about it: Our teams are all speciallized in one thing or another, Sasuke split them up in a way they'd be able to watch after one another in case of something."

"So then, why are we here?"

"Because, as Sasuke said, he needs your eyes."

"Why are you here?"

"Because he wants me to be, apparently."

Neji snorted, but didn't make a response.

"I need your strategies in case mine go wrong. Anything I could have overlooked and the like." Sasuke replied with a sigh.

------

Neji used his Bakugan while Shikamaru and Sasuke set up the traps carefully. Sasuke covered them with several genjutsu layers once they were finished. Once they were finished with that, they waited.

Sakura checked in with Sasuke an hour later and Sasuke nodded to her then sent her off again to go check on the others before reporting back in.

"Do you really trust her that much" Neji asked once the girl had gone.

Sasuke looked at him seriously. "With my life. She's stronger than she looks. She could splinter a large tree like this in one hit if she wanted. I have full faith in her and Naruto. If I had any doubt, I wouldn't have sent them off. Why, don't you trust yours?"

Neji didn't respond for a long time. "Not so much as you."

Sasuke sighed. "To each their own. But I know my teammate's strengths and weaknesses, I know what they're capable of. I wouldn't send them haphazardly into a possibly dangerous situation if I didn't."

Shikamaru was hanging upside down from a branch, with his hands behind his head. "Sasuke's right. I mean, they put us on three man teams for a reason, ne? We'd have to know our teammate's strengths and weaknesses. I trust Sasuke's judgement."

"That's because you're--"

Sakura came running back with wide eyes. "Sasuke! Trouble! Hinata and Chouji--"

That was all Sakura could get out from her wheezing before Sasuke and Shikamaru were down on the ground to meet her.

"Neji, please stay here--we'll go help them out."

Neji didn't look too happy, but he gave a nod of compliance to Sasuke.

Without anything else, Sasuke motioned for Sakura to lead the way and they took off.

--------

Hinata took a defensive stance shakily as she was back to back with Chouji, they were surrounded on three sides by two genin each.

"Heh-heh... Just hand over your scroll and we'll let you off without much trouble." One of them said, taking a step forward they wore a mist symbol on their hitai-ate.

"We-we don't have a scroll. O-Our leader does." Hinata stuttered softly.

"Hah! A likely story," Another one responded, they were a redheaded kunoichi with a mist symbol.

"I say we just kill them and get it over with," Another one voiced up, grinning sadistically.

Hinata's eyes widened with fear. Chouji did his best to be brave for her. "You won't!"

"Oh? Who says, fatty? You? You don't look like much but a lump of lard." The redhead taunted, placing her hands on her hips.

"D-don't call him that!" Hinata spoke up, doing her best not to look scared. As one, the group of genin began to close in on them.

"SHANNAROU!!!"

Before any of the group could make a move, they were all sent rocketing back by a large shockwave. Hinata fell to the ground with a squeak from the shaking and Chouji wobbled.

Sakura appeared infront of them, pulling her hand out of a large crater without a flinch.

Sasuke and Shikamaru appeared next. "Good work, Sakura. Hinata, Chouji, are you alright?"

Hinata stood up, looking shaken. "Y-yes... I-I'm f-fine." She mumbled.

Chouji looked angry. "They called me fat!"

Shikamaru winced. "Well, how about we show them otherwise, eh?"

By then, the other genin recovered.

"It doesn't matter how many of you there are! We'll trounce you and get all the scrolls!"

Sasuke snorted, taking a stance. "I'd like to see you try. Hinata, stay back. We'll handle it."

"R-right!"

Without any other premonition, Sasuke dashed forward, delivering a swift kick to the ribs of one of the genin, sending them flying into a tree.

Sakura leaped to engage one that tried to go after Hinata and gave them a hard uppercut to the jaw, making them fly upwards before she roundhoused them and sent them flying back.

Shikamaru and Chouji double-teamed one, Shikamaru trapping them in his Kagemane while Chouji bowled them over with his Nikudan Sensha.

Having taken three out in one go, Sasuke turned to the remaining. "Want to face the same fate?"

Shaking, the other genin tried to run, but got caught in Shikamaru's kagemane.

"Sakura, search them for scrolls."

Nodding, the pink haired girl went and searched them, taking four scrolls from them.

Shikamaru let them go the the three ran off into the forest.

Hinata watched them all with wide eyes, wishing she could be so strong and confidant like that. When Sakura turned to her and asked if she was okay, she broke out into tears.

"I-I-I was s-so sc-scared!" She confessed, hugging onto the girl and Sakura patted her back and fussed over her.

"Sakura, take Chouji and Hinata with you and gather the others. We'll go get Neji." Sasuke said softly, so as not to disturb the poor Hyuuga girl any more.

The girl nodded and Shikamaru gave Chouji a wave before taking off with Sasuke.

-----

They all met up at the mini-campsite Sakura set up. By then, Hinata had composed herself and was back to normal as much as she could be, though she was relieved to be back with her teammates again.

They all showed how many scrolls they got and how many more they needed.

"Two more until we've got enough." Sasuke said thoughtfully.

"I think we should start heading to the clear-zone and take out whoever gets in our way. There's more than enough of us to do so." Neji put in with a shrug.

"I guess we could do that. It doesn't really matter much anymore." Sasuke agreed with a nod.

Before they could even begin to head off, a voice broke into the air.

"Kukuku... What have we here? Twelve little genin all in a row..."

TBC