Authors' Notes: Hmmm...it didn't upload properly two days ago, and I couldn't upload yesterday, so FINALLY, this mug is up and updated. Crticize how you will, I'm a big boy, I can handle it. To those who reviewed the intro section, I thank you, and if you notice, I took your comments to heart.

So. Read. Enjoy. Hate, but definitely, let me know.

Oh...a disclaimer. I originally came up with the idea of Naruto, somewhere between 1827-1827 Deuce and a quota. Kishimoto, bastard that he is, stole the idea from me, and managed to capitalize it. Damn him...so now I'm having to resort to writing fan fiction, for no money, while...he...sits like a fat rat...oh well, he did a better job than I would have anyway.

I probably would have had Mizuki kill Iruka, but then again...there's enough angst in the world...without me contributing to it.

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Fourteen: One

Warm light cascaded down from the early morning sun onto the village; spring's warmth slowly permeating the Fire Country as the last throes of winter were waning into the distance. After an unusually harsh, cold season, the heat was completely welcome. The pink blossoms of the Cherry trees danced in the wind, signaling to many that spring had truly come, and the streets were busy as Konoha prepared for the new season. Pushcarts started to line the streets, and the Yamanaka Flower Shop was slowly becoming the most beautiful shop in the village once again.

Parents were eagerly waiting, as in a few days the Academy would welcome a new batch of students, and kids were eagerly waiting, as parents would soon be returning to jobs. Times were well for the hidden village of the Leaf, and the future looked to be no different.

A lone figure stood atop the monument that was attributed to the Hokage of the past. Black hair was thrashed around by the warm gusts of wind coming from the south; a black shirt rippled in synchronous effect as black eyes watched the village awake from the torpor that had suspended it for so long.

Two winters had come and gone, along with two summers and autumns. Spring had returned once again, and for the boy, the symbolism of the village was not lost upon him, for he too had once been asleep. The spring of now offering warmth that the wintery past could not. The last two years had been much warmer than the previous twelve.

To anyone that had ever paid any attention to Uchiha Sasuke , he seemed as he ever was, a beautiful yet emotionless genius...but to someone that truly knew him, the changes were astounding. Yes, his foremost goal was to pull the last living breath out of the man that massacred his family, and yes, he still desired to rebuild that same clan, but he did not have to do them as soon as possible.

He realized Itachi would wait for him, and he could always find a woman. His main goal right now was to just get stronger.

Tired of watching his back, Naruto took a step forward.

"It's nice to get away." Naruto spoke, startling Sasuke, who had obviously been consumed within his thoughts.

"Yeah...or so I thought." Sasuke replied without turning around, though Naruto knew he was probably smirking.

Reflecting on how close he and his rival had become, Naruto realized he had more in common with him than he could have imagined. Both grew up with no parents, Sasuke's cruelly murdered, and his, not known at all. Both had ambitious, nigh-impossible dreams. Sasuke wanted to kill the man who was arguably the most powerful ninja from the Leaf, and then there was his dream to be recognized by a village that loathed his very existance. Both wore masks to keep others from knowing the discord that was within, that bastard feigned entropy, while he showed too much emotion.

Seemingly opposite to the world, the two boys were kindred spirits to each other.

Naruto let out a small grunt. "Asshole."

They let their masks slip for no one but themselves, their friendship, undeniable by anyone that knew them, but only they knew how deep it was, after all, reputations had to be maintained.

He had saved Sasuke from a future of the darkest night. If he would have continued down that path, his rival most likely wouldn't be standing here at this moment. Sure, Sasuke's future was still dark, but with the light added it was more a grey area than the pitch it once had been.

He turned and smiled at Sasuke, who only offered a slight smirk and a snort in reply.

"Come on dobe, we've got that meeting with the Hokage this morning."

Nodding, he took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air.

"GO!"

And with that they were off...

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Naruto opened his eyes, and found himself not running down a mountain on the first day of spring with an old friend, but rather, laying on the ground in the middle of the night, very much alone. Frigid rain streaking across his face and the rumbling remnants of thunder echoing in his ear, were obviously the reasons he was pulled from his unconscious bliss.

Another dream. Not surprising really, considering that every time he managed to catch a few moments of rest, Sasuke was there to greet him with the might-haves and could-have-beens, constantly reminding him of his failure so long ago. A failure that irrevocably changed his and the lives of all who were within Team Seven.

The memories of that time still haunting, torturing him no matter how hard he tried to forget.

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He didn't know what time it was, hell, he didn't even know where he was, and though there were so many unanswered questions, the finality of one question was painfully apparent to him.

Sasuke had no intentions of returning home.

He had failed at so many things in life, and in fact, aside from the demon contained within him, the only thing most people knew about the boy, was that he constantly failed at anything and everything.

But this failure was different. Before, the only person affected was himself, this time, however; he had failed many others as well.

Shikamaru, Neji, Chouji, Kiba ... Lee... they had all given everything they could. Oba-chan, who believed in him enough to give him the most precious necklace of the first Hokage. And Sakura...he had broken his promise to Sakura-chan. How could he face her when he returned?

Moments passed and Naruto found himself dwelling upon that last thought. The meeting was inevitable, so he may as well get started. All journeys began with a single step and opening his eyes was about smallest one he could take. He only needed to get started, after all, no one wants to rush and and tell everyone how they failed.

Small amounts of sunlight trickled through the dense canopy of the trees, breaking the thick shadows on the forest floor only slightly, as small leaves teeter-tottered their way to the ground. Realizing he was on his back, he made an attempt to get up.

Pain flowed, like blood, coursing throughout his body.

Trying to gauge the damage done to him, he tested his limbs, but nothing moved. He most certainly was in possession of a few broken bones, among other injuries... the journey home was going to be a bit longer than he first imagined. Trying once again to get some kind of response, he groaned as nothing moved, except for the world as it spun while he slowly passed out of consciousness...

A stone floor greeted him as he fell upon it, the coolness quickly bringing him to his senses. As he pushed himself from the floor he noticed that he was in a hallway, a long one that faded into darkness, a small glint of light in the distance offering the only resistance to the darkness that encompassed everything around it. The hallway seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite remember from where. Complete silence was broken as he took a step forward; the darkness that was once in the distance now completely enveloped him, and the glint of light shined like a beacon leading him like a ship trying to make its way home.

Ages passed as he made crept towards the drop of light that seemed to grow with every step. As he got closer, he noticed the glint slowly manifest into something more foreboding.

Something very recognizable.

A gate.

Two massive red eyes narrowed as he approached.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" The silence, that had only been poked as his sandals clopped, had now been viciously stabbed; the gates, rattled from the power behind the voice of the demon.

Moments passed, as Naruto tried to answer the question. A small, "I'm not quite sure." was the best he could muster. He was still thoroughly confused as to how one moment he was on the soft ground of a forest, and the next he was falling onto the hard stone of a hallway, and now he was before the Kyuubi, which was imprisoned within him. "Am I dead?"

The roar that followed felt like the stiff breeze that prances before a storm, causing the boy to fight, trying to maintain his footing, the rage easily detected behind the bestial sound.

"NO, BUT YOU DAMN WELL SHOULD BE! DO NOT TOY WITH OUR LIVES!"

"Who cares?" He scoffed as he turned to walk away from the gate. "I only wanted your chakra, not your lip."

The growl coming from behind the bars was the first signal that Naruto had given the wrong answer. The hair on the back of the boy's neck prickled as the sound started to crescendo into something more.

Nothing could prepare him for the sound that followed, an audible tidal wave of anger, quite tangible, as Naruto found himself on the ground, several feet from he was standing just moments ago..

"I PLAN ON EXISTING, AND WILL NOT FALL TO A WHELP LIKE HIM!"

Naruto sighed as he picked himself up from the floor. The reference to Sasuke painfully reminded him of his recent failure, his normally jovial countenance was now marred with an expression of emotional dissonance.

The soft laugh that escaped from behind the bars stood in direct contrast to the roar that still echoed throughout the darkness. The voice that followed, soothing, the way a mother would talk to her child. From above, spears of light began to pierce the darkness.

"Some things take time to accomplish."

Turning quickly towards the gate, he saw that red eyes no longer stood out through the darkness behind the bars.

Eventually, what was once the darkest black, had become the brightest white, and Naruto was forced to cover his eyes.

As torrents of pain rushed through his body, Naruto felt himself being hoisted onto someone's shoulder, his abdomen numbing while pain tore through the muscles as a shoulder pounded into it with every step.

And with every step he faded more and more from consciousness.

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The soft, rhythmic crunching of leaves, ripped him from his memories, and the pressure of something at his throat, made him acutely aware, that he was most definitely, not alone.

"Tag. You're it." a honey sweet whisper purred into his ear, as he descended into blackness, yet again.

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More notes from the author...

Yeah I hear you..."Does this guy ever shut the hell up?"

The answer...not really.

Anyways...expect lots of Kyuubi-Naruto talk, as he falls back to his memories quite a bit, it serves a purpose.

and on a final note...

If you haven't bought Season 6 of Stargate SG-1, you better go get it, it's good stuff!!!

(I'm not only an anime fan you know...)