Author's opening Rant- YAY! I got reviews! n.n I would like to thank my reviewers, as always, because you guys are the ones that keep me writing! And I'd like to personally thank Dragonman180 for reviewing both of my horrid little fanfictions. Thank you so much!

So without further ado, here's chapter 2! ::Snicker:: Yeah…that was corney!

Chapter 2- Denial

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Uzumaki Naruto marveled at the sound of footsteps in heavy snow.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Where was he headed exactly? Even he was unsure. But he knew of a few other towns in the Fire Country just outside of Konohagakure, they had to be around here somewhere. Naruto had been walking all night long, his body pricked by bitter coldness, having to dust himself free of fallen snow every so often. The snow was beautiful, he thought, and he made up his mind to find a family that would like to watch the snowfall with him. A family that was kind, and loving, and wouldn't mind eating ramen three or four times a week. These thoughts kept the numbness at bay. Naruto trudged further and further from his old home in Konoha, a permanent smile affixed to his face as he envisioned his faceless new family. This year, he'd have a Christmas just like everyone else. Naruto's happiness was bubbling up inside of him, and kept filtering out in the form of Christmas songs, sung slightly off-key by the little fox-boy. But of course, Naruto didn't really know all of the words to most of these songs, so they came out a little distorted:

"We Wish you a Merry Christmas, We Wish you a Merry Christmas, we Wish you a Merry Christmas, and… a… whole bowl of Ramen!"

Yeah, that sounded about right, in his mind at least. Naruto adjusted the straps of his very heavy backpack, feeling incredibly energetic and optimistic despite his lack of rest, singing all the way.

"Jingle Bells, Sasuke smells, Kakashi-sensei laid an egg!"

Back at Konoha, the current Hokage, the Sennin Tsunade, had called an emergency meeting of the assembled Gennin and their Jounin leaders. Early this morning, Tsunade had found a letter taped to her door, and she had a feeling that one of them would be able to figure out exactly what to do. The rookie ninjas all clustered into the office of the Hokage, and curiously, each of them had a poorly wrapped Christmas present in their hands. "Everybody listen," the Hokage called for silence, her voice far more insecure than usual, "This isn't a field trip. I want one of you to explain this mess to me!" She pulled the slightly crumpled letter from her desk and held it up for everyone to read. The room crowded around the scrap of parchment.

Sasuke-teme,

I'm giving this to you early 'cuz I won't be around for Christmas. It's half from Sakura-chan, so remember to THANK HER, you ungrateful bastard!

I'm going to have at least one normal damn Christmas before I drop dead. If I don't come back, it's been fun! Take care of Sakura-chan, and Kakashi-sensei, and Iruka-sensei, OH! And Hinata! She's real shy and stuff, so keep an eye on her! And yourself too, idiot.

Merry (the chicken-scratch on the next word was horrible, but everyone could guess as to what it meant.)

Sincerely, Uzumaki Naruto.

P.S.-If you take my crap while I'm gone, I'm gonna come back and kick your ass!

And then, printed very neatly at the bottom, we're bringing him back –U. S.

A murmur of concern went around the room quietly. "U.S.?" Inuzuka Kiba stared harder at the writing on the bottom, wondering why it was so different from the rest of the handwriting.

Aburame Shino sighed at Kiba's reaction, "Uchiha Sasuke."

Kakashi shook his head sadly. So that's why his entire cell had gone missing late last night. In his hands, the Jounin held the present from Naruto: The complete limited edition set of the Come Come Paradise series, autographed by the author himself. He cast an eye around the whole of the room; wincing as he noticed how much care Naruto had taken in choosing everyone else's presents. Shikamaru held one of those 'U' shaped pillows for better cloud watching, Ino had a very beautiful flower pin, Shino had been given a few extra pairs of sunglasses, Kiba received a necklace that looked mysteriously like a dog collar and whole bag of dog treats for Akamaru, Rock Lee was limply hanging onto a pair of biker gloves that he had been begging for, Tenten held out a shirt that sported a curious kunai motif, Asuma had an entire carton of cigarettes, and Kurenai tucked a tiny box of chocolates under her arm. Chouji didn't carry a present with him, but judging from the crumbs on his mouth, he had gotten one. Neji had received a book of quotations, probably for a little moral support, Kakashi thought, and a scrap of paper that read I, Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konohagakure Village, solemnly swear that I will alter the Hyuuga clan upon my becoming Hokage. –Uzumaki Naruto. Kakashi just chuckled; it certainly seemed like the only thing stoic Neji would ever want. Hinata's present was a mystery, because she hadn't yet peeled the paper away to see what it was. She just clutched the little package, looking pale and worried sick over the whole thing.

When it became obvious that no one knew exactly where Naruto had taken off to, Tsunade let her eyes sadly fall onto her own gift. It was a gold necklace, similar but not exactly like her old one, and a note tucked into the side, To replace the one you gave me! A sigh escaped the Hokage's ruby lips as she stood to her feet, "Okay. So it's safe to assume that Sasuke and Sakura went after him, but all things considered, that simply will not be enough. Kakashi, I want you to find Iruka and Jiraiya. Then reconvene here. We'll set up a search party. The rest of you, try to think of a place that the little brat might have run off to."

Kakashi took off in a puff of smoke as the rest of the room exchanged an anxious look, Hinata whimpering to herself as she smushed her little present in her arms.

Sasuke and Sakura had been hot on Naruto's heels since daybreak, following his easily traceable footprints in the snow. The pair of them hopped from snowy tree branch to snowy tree branch, nearly toppling with every treacherous leap. But it was the fastest way to catch the dobe, and they didn't feel like wasting any time. Sasuke hopped from one perch to another, again slipping on the slick snow and nearly tumbling straight out of the tree, "Damn it!" He caught himself at the last moment, gritting his teeth with frustration.

Sakura paused a few trees ahead of him, twisting her head to see if he had fallen, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, damn it, I'm fine!" the Uchiha righted himself on the branch, taking a moment to brush the collected snow from his raven locks. Whether on the ground or in the trees, it wouldn't be too easy for them to follow at full speed. "Damn stupid Naruto…" Sasuke huffed. 'Damn' had become his favorite word today, either because of the inconvenience this was causing him, or out of sincere concern for his teammate. There were, after all, many men after the blonde shinobi, if he recalled correctly.

"Do you think he's gone much further, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura gazed ahead of them, squinting to see through the snow, "We should have caught up with him by now, even if he's running."

Sasuke hurried to catch up with her, pausing on the branch just over Sakura's head, "Yeah, I know." Jet black eyes scanned the wintry forest for signs of the brightly dressed ninja. His footprints were still directly below them, pointing in his direction. So where was he?

"I'm really starting to get worried now. What if…what if someone finds him before us? What if they've already found him? " There was a strong sense of urgency in her voice. Sakura wrung her hands a few times, emerald eyes making a quick sweep of the forest before glancing back up at Sasuke.

"There's a village up ahead. We can ask around there." He masked whatever concern he was feeling with his usual tone of stern apathy. There would be no further discussion on the matter, and he took off again, Sakura close behind but a bit more cautious about her movements. If someone did find that little idiot before them…well, Sasuke was ready for a fight!

Bright azure eyes widened as Naruto finally came upon a village. It was one of those tiny sorts of villages, where the villagers seemed to know everyone's names, and the buildings were all uniformly fashioned. Naruto couldn't help his smile. There were families all over, buying last-minute gifts, grocery shopping, and generally chatting out in the chilly weather. His gaze darted from family to family; hoping one of them might not mind an extra person sitting down to Christmas dinner. With so many choices, Naruto was having a hard time figuring out what he should do next. Eventually, he noticed a very warm and gentle looking woman enter a nearby shop, and his feet followed without permission. When the shinobi swung the door open, a pair of large, brass bells clunked together just over his head. This entertained Naruto to no end. He stared at the bells a moment, then swung the door shut. Clunk. Then open. Clung. Then shut, and so forth for a good ten minutes before the clerk shouted over at him.

"Hey, kid! Knock that off!" a skinny old man screamed from behind a counter, slapping a hand down to emphasize his point, "Either buy something or get lost!"

"Ohh…sorry!" Naruto smiled, giving the door one last quick shove—and a final annoying clunk from the bells—as he strolled over towards the clerk. The blonde Shinobi dusted his snowy jacket off for a moment, staring over the countertop at the clerk with a permanently affixed grin.

The old man eyed him incredulously, eyebrows softly rising as he noticed the ninja headband on the younger boy's head, "You looking for something in particular?"

"Yeah!" Naruto beamed, but offered no further information.

"Well then, what is it?" the clerk bit back, starting to feel a little more than nervous.

"A family!" the shinobi's request was innocent enough; however, the shop owner had long since learned that when a ninja was searching for a family, it was usually to assassinate them.

The old man scowled at the grinning face of the younger boy, "Look here, kid. This is a nice, peaceful place to live. I certainly ain't gonna give you no family's names. Whatever reason you got for coming here, we don't fancy your kind, so get lost. You'll be taking no innocent blood today."

Naruto's smile melted to a look of supreme confusion, "…my kind?"

A withered old finger poked the metal plate of his Konoha headband, "Yeah, your kind. Now get lost."

Naruto stared at the clerk for a good long while. What was wrong with ninjas? He gradually pulled himself away from the counter, noticing that most, if not all, of the customers in the little shop were staring daggers at him. "Ohh…" Bright blue eyes sank to the floor as Naruto shuffled back outside. He tugged at his scarf for a moment, swallowing repeatedly against the little lump of sadness that had appeared in the back of his throat. The blonde glanced across the snowy covered street, catching sight of a father and child staring in the window of a toyshop.

"That one Dad! I want that one!" The little boy pointed and jumped around excitedly.

His father smiled warmly down at him, "Well, we'll see."

The horrible feeling that Naruto had in his stomach threatened to spill out in the form of silent tears. Deciding that there was no one here for him, Naruto turned and left, his feet dragging through the heavy snow as he left the tiny village behind him. It wasn't…pleasant…having nowhere to belong. And he was afraid that he was becoming too used to the feeling of complete isolation. Naruto's previously chipper attitude dampened into the usual onset of depression that hit him along with these thoughts. He trudged along, no longer amused by the sound of his heavy footsteps, off to hopefully find another village.

Unbeknownst to the fox-boy, two dark and shadowy figures watched his every step from a good distance, both of their raven cloaks dotted by bright white snowflakes. "Well…now?" one spoke up from under his wide straw hat.

"No." the second commanded, eyes trailing from Naruto's back, "He is being followed."

Both mysterious figures disappeared into the lurking shadows. And just in time, too; right where they had been standing, Uchiha Sasuke suddenly took a dive into a snow back, cursing all the way down. "CRAPPPPP!!"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura was shortly on the ground, hovering over the now completely covered Sasuke, "Are you alright?! I told you to slow down!"

"Just shut up…" Sasuke shivered, slowly dragging himself out of the snow. Damn, if that wasn't cold! He had thought, for an instant, that he had seen Naruto, and so had sped up to catch him. But the moment he increased his speed, his boot slid on a patch of snow collected on a tree branch, and Sasuke went sailing down quite a distance to the ground. Lucky for him all this snow had cushioned his fall.

Sakura grabbed one of his sleeves, helping pull him back onto his feet, "Maybe we should rest for a second."

"I don't need to."

"But-"

Their conversation ended when the old man came stomping from his little store to see what all the racket was about, "Now there's MORE of you?!" Sakura and Sasuke's eyes fell on the foolish old thing, wondering what he was getting so excited about. The clerk's vision fixed right on Sasuke's headband, "What's with this all of a sudden? I that other Leaf Ninja to get out, and I mean it! We don't want no trouble in our village!"

In a flash, Sasuke had the old man pinned to the tree he had just fallen from, gripping the clerk by his shirt collar and holding the older man aloft, "What did you just say?"

"Wha…wha…" The clerk panicked; astonished that a little boy could so easily lift him off of the ground.

"You said you saw another Leaf Ninja. What did he look like? Where did he go?" Sasuke only tightened his grip threateningly.

The clerk was silent, hypnotized by the look of death he was staring down. Sakura added to the questioning, but for whatever reason, didn't suggest that Sasuke let the poor frightened old man down, "Please, tell us! Was he a blonde kid about our age? We need to find him right away!"

"Y-yes…" the old man managed to choke out, "A bouncy little blonde brat. He went off in this direction here, headed north."

"When." Sasuke demanded.

"Not more than five minutes ago. I-if you hurry, I'm positive you'll catch him!" the old clerk suddenly found himself dropped in the snow as Sakura and Sasuke took off in their pursuit of Naruto.

Just seconds later, they caught sight of the orange winter jacket and screaming blonde locks of their missing teammate. Sasuke and Sakura rushed over at him—on the ground this time—the Uchiha giving a shout, "Naruto!"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked a few times, surprised to hear Sasuke's voice. As he turned, the little fox-boy smiled, waving a greeting furiously over at them, "Hey you guys!"

His two friends skidded to a stop in front of him, huffing from having chased him all night. Sasuke suddenly developed the eye-twitch from hell, "…Hey you guys'…?!?! Naruto, what the hell is your problem?!"

"We've been looking for you! Why did you run away?" Sakura restrained herself, figuring she'd hit Naruto after she'd figure out what he was thinking.

"What the hell is you problem?!"

"Where are you going?"

"WHAT the HELL is your PROBLEM?!"

Naruto's bright blue eyes stared at them in shock—mostly due to all the screaming, "I wasn't running away, Sakura-chan."

"When you take your stuff and leave, it's called running away!" Sakura belted him once in the shoulder. Yeah, she seemed angry, but she was secretly relieved that they had found him before anything terrible had happened. Naruto flinched from the decidedly weak strike, pouting fiercely at the kunoichi. Sakura laced her gloved fingers through her hair a moment, letting a smoky breath escape her lips before she spoke again, "What are you doing then? What were you thinking, running off like this?"

Naruto stuffed his hands into his pockets, fixing his posture as he offered them both a tremendous grin, "I'm going to borrow a family for Christmas."

Upon hearing his own words turned back at him, Sasuke's jaw dropped. He stared, bewildered at the idiot for a few tense moments, but quickly tapped back into his anger, "I was kidding, you moron!!!"

"Hey! Don't call me a moron, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto's composure quickly unraveled and a fist shook at Sasuke.

The two of them began shouting curses at each other, a hand full of snow being tossed here and there. When Sakura could no longer stand the cold, or their incredibly filthy language, she attempted to pry them away from one another, "Alright, alright you guys! This isn't the time for this! Let's just get back to Konoha before too many people miss us!"

Sasuke growled, shaking his hair out as he turned towards home, "Yeah, yeah…let's get going, dobe."

Naruto smacked the snow from his jacket, grimacing at the both of them, "I'm not going home!"

"…What?" Sakura's bright green eyes widened at him, Sasuke coming to a stop just behind her and glancing back over his shoulder at the blonde.

"I'm not going home!" Naruto only repeated louder, "I told you, I'm going to go find a family for Christmas!"

"And I told you I was kidding!" Sasuke whirled back around, ready for round two of the shouting competition.

"Well I'm not!" his voice echoed in the bitter air. Naruto stood in front of them both, a look of stubborn determination on his face as he met their quizzical faces, "This is just something I have to do. You guys wouldn't understand it."

"Oh please." the Uchiha folded his arms across his chest, "Don't act like you're the only one with—"

"It's different, Sasuke! You may be alone, but at least you've got memories! I would give anything in the world to have the same kind of pain as you do!" after his outburst, the three of them fell deadly silent again, the snow still filtering down from the dusty sky. Sasuke stared at Naruto. That had to be the single most disturbing thing he had ever heard, that someone would willingly put himself in that situation. After a few quiet moments, Naruto spoke again, but quietly and withdrawn this time "…its…I don't know anything about my family. I don't even know if I had a family, you know. Sometimes, I just wonder, if 'Uzumaki' was just a name that the Third Hokage made up for me." He paused again, finding his hopeful smile again, "So I'm gonna find out what it's like to have a family."

"But…Naruto." Sakura's eyes shone with sympathy, "What about your dream? Don't you want to become Hokage anymore?"

He just shrugged at her, "Sure I do. I'll come back…eventually."

Sasuke very abruptly turned and began storming off, "Waste of my time!"

"Sasuke-kun! Hold on a second!" Sakura stared at his quickly retreating back. She didn't want to just take off and leave Naruto behind. Maybe, a little more convincing would get the blonde shinobi to change his mind and go home with them.

"Forget it!" Sasuke shouted back at her, "He wants to act like an asshole, Sakura, let him! Come on!" This earned him a hard glare from Naruto, and he knew it, but he wasn't about to try reasoning with the little moron.

Sakura's eyes trailed back to Naruto, unsure as to what she should do next. Naruto just smiled at her through the falling snow, bright eyes lighting up, "Merry Christmas, Sakura-chan."

She was unable to answer him, only dashed off to chase after Sasuke, "Wait up! Sasuke-kun, wait!"

Naruto sighed to himself. He was kind of glad he had seen them. After all, he didn't know when he'd be able to see them again. Even if Sasuke was an ass, he was a good friend. Naruto inhaled the arctic air slowly, adjusting his crimson scarf as he turned in search of the next village over.

Sakura scampered up behind Sasuke, casting an occasional look backwards. When she could no longer see Naruto, questions came spilling from her mouth, "Sasuke-kun, what are you doing?! We can't just leave him! What if a rival village finds him and kills him?! What if he starves to death, or freezes to death?!"

Sasuke suddenly scuffed his boot in the snow, kicking a pile of it up into the air, "Damn it!"

"Sasuke-kun…?"

"Spoiled ass brat." The raven-haired shinobi glared off into the distance. Figures, stupid Naruto was too blind to see just how good he had it back home. There was more than one way to be a family, Sasuke mused, but god help the man that tried explaining that to the clueless blonde. Sakura watched Sasuke's face as he slowly slipped into a daze. She wondered what he could be thinking, but more so than that, worried what would become of their less-than-intelligent teammate.

There was a sudden crunch of snow just behind Sasuke—too heavy to be Sakura's footsteps, and too sudden for anyone to have approached them. Had someone dropped out of a tree? Other Shinobi? Sasuke's mind would have played with the thought further, but all at once, he felt his heart stop.

"…well…if it isn't my foolish little brother…"

Author's ending Rant- ::Smirks evilly:: Cliff-hangers are fun!

I hope you enjoyed this installment! Remember to read and review, please. I feel that this chapter was a little rushed, I just hope it didn't come off that way. Because, really, this one was kinda important for the dobe.

Like I said, it's gonna go fast so It can be finished up for X-mas!

And if you can't guess who the 'two shadowy figures' were by now...well, just wait for the next update!