(A/N: Thanks for over 80 reviews!

mika: Addicted? O.o;;; That's not good. You shouldn't check so often. . .I'm not so quick. . Gaara and Neji actually. . .have another two or three scenes in this. . .and I created a major plothole by putting them in last chapter. 3 I'm glad you enjoy the story so much. D And you can say you love me, it's something I'm becoming more accustomed to hearing/reading. X3

Sugahlei: I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

Kurisuteru-chan: Yes, yay! You remembered! ::hands you a cookie:: Unfortunately, Gaara and Neji kinda. . .disappear again.

Yuen-chan: Too fast?! Ack! The world is ending! I like Temari. I think she's that little bit more mature than the other kunoichi (maybe. O.o) and she looks cool! XD Plus, I met a person who was cosplaying as Temari at the con I went. She was really nice. I was Sakura. lol My friends were like, "O.o;;;"

Neko Oni: Ack! Run for cover! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the story.

Kyuubi-kun: I'm glad you're enjoying the story. As for not mentioning the colour, I think you can guess which colour it did turn. Here's the update!

And now, on with the fic!)

Chapter 8: The Demise of Hope

The day was as perfect as a winter's day could possibly be. The sun shone bright in the washed out sky. The snow below sparkled and glittered like a hundred thousand crushed diamonds. The winds had died down, and now, Konoha was busy digging out from under the snow.

It was on that fine day that Uzumaki Naruto was to be married to Haruno Sakura. The entire palace woke early, rising with the sun, and they most likely would not return to their beds until late in the night, or even early the next morning.

Naruto was currently in the care of his grandfather and his father, who were instructing one very sleepy kitsune-jin on how to conduct himself during the ceremony - what he had to say, when to say it, when to take Sakura's hand in his own, and when not to and so on and so forth.

Naruto merely yawned and tried to go back to sleep, which finally resulted in Jiraiya smashing the younger member of the monarchy over the head with a conveniently placed scroll. The Yondaime had merely looked exasperated, as if he had given up all hope of teaching his son anything.

Of course, being taught at five in the morning wasn't something the prince was accustomed to, and for him to be still half-asleep was only logical.

By the hour of six, they were on their way to see Nara Shikamaru, the head of the tailoring team in the castle. Though sewing and cloth-making was considered a female occupation, Shikamaru's family had been tailors for generations, and of course, it was more fitting to have a male make a man's clothes, than many women, for there were measurements to be taken and so on and so forth. It was a mere courtesy to have at least one male tailor.

Shikamaru was less than impressed to see them, and seemed less than impressed to be up so incredibly early. He meandered slowly through the room, leading them to the place where the robes had been placed, talking only when he was required to, and becoming quite annoyed with Jiraiya's constant pausing and ogling women's clothing, and giving pointers on how to make the outfits more suggestive.

In another room, Sakura's outfitting was much more involved, with Tenten and Ino clamouring over the bride, giggling and blushing as they bound their lady into her robes, and fixed her hair in the elaborate style she had chosen for her wedding day.

Tsunade had joined them, to oversee the progression of the giddy girls, who probably would have been lost in clamour had it not been for her. Hinata was there as well, only to present the traditional dress of the bride of Konoha's prince.

In the courtyard, the Special Forces were busy harnessing horses to a carriage, a task which Genma had dubbed 'stupid' and 'far below our potential'. Kakashi had said he was only upset because he'd been kicked by the horses a total of three times already.

Beyond the stables, the kitchen doors were open, and the snow near them was melting, simply due to the immense amount of heat pouring from the room. Akimichi Chomaru and his apprentice, and son, Chouji, were hard at work, preparing the banquet for the festivities and probably sampling the many delicacies as they went.

Iruka was busy trying to entertain Konohamaru, Naruto's much younger second-cousin, who was probably more excited about the wedding than Naruto himself. It was the fact that he was going to be involved in something important, not that Naruto was getting married, that made him so hyper. The eight-year-old was going to be the ring bearer.

His mother, Anko, was currently helping with the flower arrangements for the wedding, and after she was done with that, she was supposed to be getting ready to attend the wedding. She was the Yondaime's cousin, after all.

Others were preparing for the event as well. The Inuzukas were preparing, and today, their son Kiba would be the spokesman for the clan in wishing the newly-weds well, as had his father wished the Yondaime and his match well, and so on back.

The Hyuugas were also preparing, and Hiashi, who was present at the last royal wedding, was going to make the clan's speeches yet again.

All over Konoha, various kitsune-jin nobles were getting ready for the wedding. The uninvited press was getting ready as well, arming themselves with quick talking reporters and various quick snapping photographers.

At the temple of the royal family, the priest and his disciples were finishing their morning rituals and cleaning. The house god, Kyuubi's statue was decorated in gold and jewels, a customary act to signify the family's patron god's approval of the union.

Around noon, the wedding party finally set out, heading to the other side of Konoha in two parties. There was the women's party, with the bride, and her bridesmaids, and all the maids who would attend the future queen, and the female members of the royal family. They were guarded by half of the Special Forces, who were mostly men, because an assassination could have very well been attempted, and had been attempted in the past.

The other party was the men's party, consisting of the groom, his family members and virtually everyone who was not female, along with the envoy of half the Special Forces. The entire party was walking, a ritual which signified the long path to a steady relationship and also, to a happy married life.

Naruto was walking near the Special Forces, occasionally trying to talk to Kakashi, who kept trying to silence him. Though the wedding was a happy occasion, it was also very sombre during the ceremony, and just before it.

Somehow, Naruto couldn't stop a sort of guilty feeling infecting him, so strongly that it felt as if it had been woven into his sinew when he was created. "Kakashi," he started, in a hushed whisper, though his voice seemed to echo on the still air.

High above them, a bird cried out and circled once, twice, then flew off, headed for the mountains.

His commanding officer glanced back at him, his face dull and blank. "Can't you be quiet?" he asked, exasperation clear in his voice.

Naruto shook his head and smiled cheekily, before letting it fade to almost melancholic. "Ah...I just don't feel right about this. I mean, I barely know her."

Kakashi said nothing and they fell silent again. It was then that Naruto happened to notice who was walking on either side of him. Iruka was walking on his left, holding Konohamaru's hand as the younger boy skipped and cheered, and tried to drag the teacher ahead of the envoy. Iruka smiled apologetically and Naruto couldn't help but smile back.

On the right side of him, Uchiha Itachi, who was linked arm in arm with Orochimaru (hence the only reason the human was even there) was walking, keeping pace with him. Without even looking to see if Naruto had noticed him, the human said, keeping his voice even and low, "Did he say anything to you?"

Naruto could only assume that Itachi was talking about Sasuke, which seemed to make that stupid guilty feeling intensify. Naruto decided that after the conversation was over, he would not talk, mention or even think about Sasuke.

"No, why?"

Itachi glanced to his right, then back to the blond kitsune-jin. "He visited two nights ago. Why, I don't know. He might have said something to you, but apparently not. It doesn't matter."

And with that, the conversation ended. The rest of the walk to the temple was silent, and Naruto, once or twice, found his thoughts wandering to Sasuke, even though he'd promised not to.

The two parties met outside the temple, and Naruto took Sakura's hand in his own and led her into the temple. The remainder of the party fell on their knees, huddled outside, waiting for the ceremony to complete, and then, for Konohamaru, who scuttled up the icy steps and presented the wife and husband with the rings - perfect little circles of gold, which symbolized the never-ending cycle of birth, marriage, and death.

The celebration began then, and there was drinking, and dancing and merry-making and it lasted long into the night, and at the end of that, he was supposed to return to his chambers with his bride, and allow her to warm his bed in the stead of someone else.

He didn't dare touch her, despite that it was their wedding night, and the marriage had to be consummated before it would be considered valid. Somehow, he felt that she would murder him if he dared to lay a finger to her person, and it probably wasn't far from the truth as she slept as far as she could to one side of the bed, with her back to him, and he slept with his back to her, Yume nestled and confused between them.

There was other reason her wouldn't touch her, though. He couldn't bring himself to, for every time he looked at her, he was trying, and waiting for that pink hair to turn black, and her skin to blanch just a little more. Of course, it wouldn't happen, no matter how badly he seemed to want it to.

Uzumaki Naruto felt slightly sick. Here he was, supposedly on the happiest day of his life, and he, the proud kitsune-jin prince and heir to all of Konoha, was missing some stupid human whore.

How utterly pathetic.

In the morning, sleepless, and feeling wretched, from probably a bit too much alcohol the night before, Naruto finally reached a decision. In this was, he would have closure, and he would be able to move on, and look at his wife, and actually bear to see her in his bed.

He would see Sasuke to Suna, the oasis city in the Western deserts, and then, return to Konoha and return to his life. Nothing could deter him - not Kakashi, not Iruka, not his father, neither of his grandparents, not any of the Special Forces officers, not Sasuke himself.

He knew the party was leaving early that morning, and he was prepared before the sun rose, to go, and when he left his chambers, he ran into Hinata, who was just bringing in the things for breakfast.

Naruto stopped her and told her not to set a place for him, and when she asked why, he told her that he was leaving. She had paled visibly and said, "But what about your queen?"

Naruto shook his head and smiled. "I've reasoned all night," he said, placing his firm hands on her shoulders, and the inside of her mind was screaming, about how this was almost like a romance novel.

"I think this is the best thing for us," he continued, and Hinata marvelled at how rich his voice seemed. "I'll go and see Uchiha to his new home, and close that forever, and while I'm gone, Sakura will have time to adjust to life here in Konoha."

Hinata had started blushing and now she was stammering, and wringing her apron in her hands. "Oh, but of course, Naruto-sama!" she cried, looking at the floor, trying to stop herself from flushing. "That must be the best course of action."

He was gone by the time she said that, however, sweeping down the hall, his shoes 'tak'ing on the floor. Hinata stared at him, then realized she'd have to explain to his bride that he was leaving and going somewhere with the human whore he'd owned. Any pleasure she had received from having Naruto's hands on her shoulders was untimely crushed by that thought. Sakura was going to be terribly displeased.

- - - - - - - - -

Tsunade looked up from her tea cup, just in time to see Naruto charging down the steps into the courtyard, where the party going to Suna was preparing to leave. It wasn't a large party - just a horse and a creaky old wagon, which probably wouldn't make the return trip, and Kakashi, who was loathe to go.

Kakashi should have been staying in Konoha as the commander and organizer of the Special Forces, as he was the highest officer, and he really hadn't originally been going to Suna. However, Genma, the one they had elected to go, had backed out at the last minute, saying that Hayate was on his deathbed, and that, after all, Kakashi was much more suited to the job.

Kakashi had vowed that when he got back, he was going to kick Genma's ass so hard, he'd meet the other kitsune-jin in the following week. But for now, he was stuck escorting some slovenly human boy to Suna, for the Yondaime's cousin.

And now, apparently, he was going to be taking the prince of Konoha with him, and escorting him too. He sighed heavily.

Jiraiya, who was also outside, shook his fist at the blond boy. "You! Get back inside and tend to your woman!"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the old man and ran right by him, hopping up into the old wagon, which groaned angrily and swayed a bit on its wobbly wheels. Sasuke glared at him.

Jiraiya stomped his foot and pointed at the ground. "Boy, you get down from there now! You can't go gallivanting off with that whore! You have a wife!"

Naruto said nothing in reply, but turned to Kakashi and said, rather enthusiastically, "Are you ready to go?"

The silver-haired officer nodded and sighed. As if dealing with the moody ex-slut wasn't enough, now he had to deal with the hyper and married prince of Konoha.

Jiraiya was still ranting at Naruto, telling him that he had a responsibility and that he couldn't just up and leave now, that he had to stay in Konoha and so on and so forth. Tsunade laid a hand on his shoulder, smiling lightly.

"Dear," she said, with a half-glare at her grandson. "He must walk his own path."

"Damnit!" Jiraiya cried, shaking her hold off of him and tearing at his hair. He pointed dramatically at Naruto. "Listen here, brat! When you get back, I'm gonna knock some sense into that head of yours! Maybe then you'll listen to some advice from a man as wise as me!"

Naruto stuck out his tongue and said, mockingly, "Just because you're old doesn't mean you're wise."

"What?!" Jiraiya screamed, clenching his fist and gritting his teeth. "Naruto, you brat!"

Deciding he'd had enough of the royal family's dramatics, Kakashi spurred the horse into motion and the wagon went rolling down the small hill, toward the palace gates. Naruto waved at Jiraiya, who was still screaming at him, and Tsunade, who had a hand over her forehead and was shaking her head in dismay.

And so, they were off, toward the future and the unknown and all that wonderful crap.

Sasuke glared at Naruto, wrapping one of the blankets in the cart around himself tighter to protect himself against the winter wind. Why had he shown up and decided to make things difficult again?

Sasuke had been brought back the night before the wedding, and he had refused to see Naruto. He was sure it would be easier that way. If he didn't see Naruto, he couldn't think of Naruto, and therefore didn't know Naruto, and hence, couldn't feel anything for the kitsune-jin.

But no, it was like Naruto to screw something up. Sasuke remembered once or twice, when during a moment of true intimacy between them, whether as friends or otherwise, the blond said something entirely inappropriate and destroyed whatever they'd been sharing.

He shook his head, trying to dislodge the discomforting thoughts. It wasn't going to help him let go, if he kept looking back and thinking and rethinking of what had been and even contemplating possibilities of what could have been.

It wasn't good to linger, and he had learned that the hard way. He had lingered in the place where his clan had been murdered, and he had been afraid of ghosts and he was sure that on the darkest nights, their unrested spirits came to haunt him, for living the life that should have still been theirs.

His nightmares were recurring, and instead of running away from that place, he'd lingered and had to relive all the memories in the fresh pain of his loss, and once or twice, he'd sent himself into hysterics doing that. The blood and the ash and the smell of death lingered there too, and he was stuck with the memories of that which haunted his dreams now.

He'd lingered on the memories, and their deaths for more than a year, and he'd made himself very, very sick - sick in the heart, sick in the head, and sick, just sick. He'd lost any will he had to live and he just wanted to sink into the shadows and die, so he could sleep with the rest of the Uchiha blood.

It was better to move on, quickly, without looking back, because looking back was what got the coyote killed.

He refused to speak, or even look at Naruto. Instead, he went back to musing over what had occurred two nights ago now.

Oh, yes, he was truly brilliant. He had walked back into the hands of his former tormentors, Neji and Gaara. He could only be glad that the Special Forces had actually come to fetch him, or, as he realized in hindsight now, he would have been back on the damn street corner.

Really, what had driven him back was his absolute craving for that damn drug to be back in his veins. He'd been without for months on end, but he wasn't over it yet, and he was still craving, craving...lusting after that elusive feeling it gave him. He wanted to be high, he wanted to be so fucking high that he couldn't keep his eyes open.

He wanted to overdose, he wanted it that bad, he wanted it, he needed it. Of course, what most people would deem the worst was over - the fever, the nightmares, the sleeplessness, and so on and so forth, all symptoms of withdrawal. Of course, no one quite realized that what came after was probably worse than the physical pain. No confidence, self-loathing and self-doubt, depression and that damn need for it that was invariably what drove every drug addict back from the road to recovery.

So, Sasuke had gone to his source, and oh, they'd played with him, and they'd let him have it, they'd let him have the little brown paper bag with the stuff, because they thought he was staying. He was behind on payment, but he was back, and he'd catch up eventually.

It had been the only thing he'd escaped with when the Special Forces had whisked him away. His shoes were still there, his scarf was still hanging about the pegs of the coat rack. He'd liked the scarf, he thought miserably, and he wouldn't mind it back, but he couldn't dare go back there again.

He still had the little brown paper bag with him - it was in his backpack, with all his stuff, tucked neatly away for later use. Or, hell, right now. He wanted it bad, and Naruto was making him nervous. He needed to relax, he needed to get out of here, right now.

Naruto watched in fascination as Sasuke went digging suddenly in his pack, trying to find something, obviously. They'd barely been gone an hour, and were just now reaching the city limits, travelling steadily West.

"Are you hungry?" Naruto asked, offering the other boy half of his already-been-chewed-on chocolate bar.

Sasuke hissed a reply and kept digging, then he pulled out that little brown bag, the one he'd been looking for. Naruto grinned. "Ah, your stash, eh?"

Sasuke stared at him, almost in horror, before realizing, with a wash of relief, that Naruto thought it was food. He nodded, numbly, and swallowed nervously. Hesitantly, he unrolled the bag and fished out a needle, making sure to fill it while it was in the bag, as best he could. This was going to be a sloppy job, but it was the best he could do, with Naruto and that other kitsune-jin sitting right there.

He pulled the needle out of the bag, and jabbed it into his arm, knowing instinctively where to put it, from having used it so long. The wound in his arm had never really healed, though it had gotten better.

He depressed the needle, pushing the drug into his veins, and threw his head back, as if in relief. Naruto was staring at him, and as the heroin began to work its magic, he just kind of smiled lazily and pulled the needle out of his arm.

"What the hell did you do?" Naruto screamed, pulling the bag out of Sasuke's numbed grip and looking inside. "Oh, Kyuubi," he muttered, and without a second thought, threw the bag away.

Sasule half-glared at him, but was too tired to really do anything about it. He wanted to curl up and sleep, sleep for a long, long time. Naruto was starting to look really comfortable. . .

One can only imagine Naruto's surprise when Uchiha Sasuke, who was high on heroin, dropped into his lap and fell asleep.

- - - - - - - - -

Orochimaru wasn't in the best of moods. That much was obvious when he came stalking into the bedroom, slamming the door and started throwing things around. Not just any things, however, but sharp and pointy things, like kunais and shruiken and other weapons.

Itachi watched from the bed with vague interest, only smirking when the general cut himself on one of the weapons and hurled it across the room, letting it embed itself in the wall.

Orochimaru had just returned from some interview or other with the Yondaime - things of that nature were always going on, and Itachi never bothered to pay attention, because they did not directly concern him.

It wasn't as if Orochimaru was carrying on an affair with the Yondaime, for if he ever laid a finger on said Yondaime, he would have three very angry people to answer to - Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Itachi, who could kick his ass any day of the week, given he felt like it.

And if something threatened Itachi's existence, which Orochimaru's need for him did, Itachi felt like kicking that thing's ass.

Orochimaru had just been informed by the Yondaime that there was some form or other of uprising in the country of Kiri, a land of cold, water and northern climate second to none. Of course, he was being sent there.

He couldn't have asked for better timing. He absolutely wanted to go thousands of miles away, to fight some bloody battle he could die in, just for a king who never actually paid him so he could keep his empire, and he wanted to tromp around in the snow, and try and find the enemy on their own turf, and last but least of all, he wanted to leave his pregnant bed slave here in Konoha, probably when the Uchiha would be the most submissive he'd ever been in his life!

Orochimaru, to say the least, wasn't impressed by the Kiri rebels' obvious lack of timing.

Itachi finally decided to inquire as to what had caused Orochimaru's suddenly foul mood.

"What happened?" he asked, sighing, rolling over, and absently patting the growing bump of his stomach.

Orochimaru growled and continued getting his gear together. Itachi sat up a bit, resting his hand on the bump, and then noticed that he was touching it and pulled his hand away.

"I asked you a question," he said, watching as a kunai whizzed over his head and landed in the wall.

"I have to go to stupid Kiri," Orochimaru growled, the continued stuffing weapons into various holders. "Some stupid fuck decided it would be a good time for a fucking rebellion."

Itachi rolled his eyes. "You get pissed off over the stupidest things," he sighed.

Orochimaru grunted but said nothing more. Itachi slid off the bed and slid across the floor, seizing Orochimaru's shoulders in his hands and working out the tension knots that had resulted from the general's bad mood.

"Look at that," he murmured. "You're all worked up for nothing, and now I have to work out all these knots...tsk tsk..."

Orochimaru gritted his teeth and said nothing. On a whim, he turned about and grabbed Itachi the forearms, exclaiming, "You're going with me!"

The Uchiha looked stupefied, for the first time ever. "Me? Now? Go? Are you insane?"

Itachi pulled away from his master, pointing at himself. "You want me to go to Kiri with you, and tromp around in sub-zero temperatures, waiting to be massacred by rebels looking to overthrow Konoha while I'm carrying your child."

Orochimaru nodded.

Itachi shook his head in utter dismay. "You are a fucking basket case..."

- - - - - - - - - - -

(A/N: R&R?)