After being patched up by Shizune, Shikamaru quickly got out of the room and immediately proceeded to Chouji's room. When he got there, his usual bored face quickly changed into a shocked yet sad one. Right in front of him is his best friend Chouji lying on his bed in a coma. Asuma informed him that the Akamichi will be fine but will take days for him to wake up. Shikamaru swallowed nervously. He didn't want his best friend to be in this condition. Same thing goes to Neji. As a newly promoted Chuunin, he expected the mission to be successful but it failed. Looking at Chouji again, the usual lazy and bored nin tried not to cry but find it hard. He rubs his tears away with his hand. Damn you Sasuke, he thought. Damn you. He grabs a chair and sits near Chouji's bedside.

"Hey buddy", Shikamaru said with a sad grin. Chouji looked like an angel sleeping. A thin angel, to be exact. "The doctor said that you'll be fine in a few days. Your parents will be coming in a few hours."

Chouji didn't respond due to his coma. Shikamaru expected that. "Anyway, Neji's going to be fine. Same thing goes for Naruto, Kiba and Lee. Heh, I didn't expect those nins from Suna to help us. Then again, I would be dead and so does everyone else." Shikamaru looks at Chouji again. He sighs bitterly. Although Chouji would be fine, he wished that he would wake up and talk to him all about nothing.

"The mission failed, if you didn't know about that by know", Shikamaru continues. "Remember the time when we were young and the Sandaime chased us one time at the Academy because we were so mischievous? Good times indeed." The young Nara wistfully recalls that memory and then he chuckles a bit. Unknown to him, Temari stands at the doorway. She felt sorry for Shikamaru but at the same time she grins at what he had just said.

"Do you also remember the time when after it was announced that we would be teammates with Ino that we spend the rest of the day trying to kill her off without really trying?" Shikamaru grins at another memory. At that time, Ino, being the bossy one, annoyed the both of them. He leans back on his chair and relaxes just a bit. Temari quietly sneaks to Shikamaru's back and is about to tap his shoulder when he grabs her hand quickly then she anticipated, much to her surprise. He turns around and gives her grin.

"Nice plan, but I already knew you're there from the beginning", Shikamaru said in a matter of fact tone. Temari grins and replies, "Guess your reputation as a genius does work for you." He thinks about this and says, "Sometimes my reputation gets the worst of me." "That's because you're the laziest kid I've ever met", Temari giggles.

Both of them look at Chouji. "How is he?" asks Temari. "He'll be fine. A long period of rest will do the trick", replies Shikamaru. A thought hit him. "What are you doing here anyway?" the Chuunin asks the Sand-nin. "Gaara wants to talk to Naruto and I...kinda wanted to talk to you", Temari answers. "What about your brother? The one with the puppets?"

Temari thinks of a good answer. "He's resting." Shikamaru doesn't buy it by raising his eyebrow. She sighed. "He didn't want to come here so I have no choice but to knock him out", Temari says exasperatedly. It wasn't that she enjoys beating up her brother. She loves both him and Gaara, when the latter doesn't go psycho. But sometimes she wants to strangle Kankuro for being irritating. One thing Kankuro learns later on is never to mess a girl who'll soon be in her PMS stage.

"Your first mission as a Chuunin and you failed", Temari wistfully recalls the mission. It's one of the things Shikamaru would not talk about right now. But Temari continues saying, "Don't worry things are like that. It sucks really if I was in your position." Shikamaru rolls his eyes in annoyance. "Gee thanks for the small comfort." "It was nothing!", Temari grins slyly. The duo continues to talk about nothing. But unknown to them, Ino leans near the doorway outside of the room eavesdropping. What she didn't know at this time, her heart is slowly breaking.

"Are you alright?"

That was the question Gaara asked to Naruto when he first saw him in the room. But the way he asked was in a cold, monotonous tone with a hint of concern. Then again, Gaara was never big on emotions. Naruto looks at him with surprise. To him, the Sand-nin is one of the few people who can surprise him. Naruto only gives him a small grin and replies, "I'm fine".

"No you're not", Gaara answered back. For an extremely emotionless guy, he can know a person's emotions, which could be considered as creepy according to Naruto. "I can tell you're frustrated, angry and sad", Gaara continued.

"You know, for a former psychopath like you, no offense, you can be pretty insightful", Naruto tells to Gaara. The latter smirks at him and said, "I take it as a complement".

Naruto grabs his orange jacket and is about to leave when Gaara intercepts him. "You're not going anywhere."

"Why do you care?" asks Naruto. He has no time for this.

"Because I do." That is Gaara's answer. No pretense. Just a straight answer. Naruto is surprised at this. He didn't expect Gaara, of all people, would care for him aside from Tsunade, Jiraiya and Iruka. Gaara decides to put some sense into him. "So you failed. Big deal. The Uchiha bitch doesn't deserve your pity or anyone else's..."

Naruto cuts him off. "What happened between Sasuke and me is none of your business."

"Do you still care for him as a friend?" Gaara asks Naruto.

"I don't know."

"I won't expect you to answer it immediately."

"What are you talking about?" Now, Naruto is confused.

Gaara simply walks away from the blonde boy who just stood there. Before he left, the Sand-nin said only one thing to him.

"You will protect your precious ones, right? What if those ones don't deserve your mercy and compassion after everything they've done to you? Uchiha is one of those people."

"Just leave Sasuke alone okay?" Naruto asks him.

"You do know once you meet again, you will have to kill him."

Naruto turns around and didn't face Gaara but he knew he was right. Sasuke is now Orochimaru's pawn and their next encounter would result in death. Why things have to be so hard, he thought. It was as if yesterday he had Sasuke and Sakura as his Team 7 and Kakashi as his sensei. Even if he didn't enjoy those D-Class missions, he was more or less happy to be with them since he takes it as a sign of acceptance. He has no idea things would be so complicated. The invasion of Sand and Sound, Orochimaru, Itachi and the Akatsuki and now this. It was as if someone planned these events and if so, he or she did an excellent job, he sarcastically thought. It reminded him back to those days of Neji and his "destiny" crap. Somehow, it fits to their situation right now. Deciding not to wait for Iruka to visit him, he decides to leave the hospital. Gaara pitifully watches him and swears deep down that Sasuke will suffer.

Sasuke quickly run heading towards the Sound Village. But, he didn't as fast as he could due to his injuries after his fight with Naruto. He limply jumps from tree to tree. According to the map, the Sound Village should be at least 5 km. away. His stomach is growling and his head is throbbing. Not very good signs although he isn't very tired, yet. Sasuke decides to rest for a while as he leans over a tree and sits down.

While closes his eyes, Sasuke knew that he is now branded as a missing-nin but not immediately. He knew that he was, and still is, very valuable to the Leaf. He knew everyone respected him, including Kakashi. But, he drops those thoughts and knew that killing Itachi is important right now and by doing that, he will go to Orochimaru, train with him, be the most powerful nin and kill his elder brother.

But, is it worth it?

He also knew of the consequences and the loss of respect of his fellow genins. He didn't care about them or his fan club. He didn't care about Sakura and find her very pathetic after the night when she proclaimed her love to him. What would be her reaction now? Hopefully his action would beat her senseless ass and start training to be a useful ninja. Kakashi would try to find him and so do the hunter-nins.

He is very lonely.

Okay, if or once he will beat Itachi, now what? Ressurect his clan, that's one thing. But most likely not in the Leaf. But with who? Defintely not Sakura or Ino. He could consider kidnapping Hinata but...

...the taste of lips could not wash away from his mind.

Sasuke clutches his chest. He mentally apologized to everyone and to that person.

"Hello, little brother."

Sasuke jerks his head up and in a moment of shock and anger, Itachi stands in front of him like a cold statue, only more frightening to the common folks. Activating the Sharingan the younger Uchiha leaps and tries to kick him but as proven from their last encounter, Itachi effortlessly evaded the attack and smacks him. Sasuke hits the tree on his back quickly disappears. He reappears in the air and performs the Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu on the ground. But as the flames are about to hit the ground, Itachi quickly disappears and reappears on the branch. Sasuke, from the air, throws three shurikens but Itachi deflects them with his sword. Not satisified, Sasuke performs the Kazaguruma no Sharingan: Sanjuuken at Itachi. The strings attached to the blades tied Itachi to the tree easily. Sasuke finds this odd. Normally, Itachi would evade it but it didn't matter. Sasuke now performs the Chidori and in full rage, he rushes towards him. Just as the Chidori is about to contact, Sasuke realized that he fought a clone. But not just as any clone though. Sasuke tries to get away from the clone when it exploded. The impact pushes Sasuke away and slamming his back to the nearest tree very hard. Itachi had used the Bakuretsu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, so where is the real one? He tries to get up but a hand grabs his neck and slams him to the tree. Sasuke looks up and sees the real Itachi. The latter stares at him until the former couldn't move at all.

"Don't even try to move", Itachi calmly replies, "I used the Kanashibari no Jutsu on you, so you can't move unless I want you to do so."

Sasuke glares at him. His teeth gnash together, wanted to kill the man who made his life so miserable. Itachi looks over at the back of Sasuke's neck and sees the Curse Seal. Needless to say, he isn't pleased with this development.

"So, you have become Orochimaru's bitch?" Itachi asks Sasuke. To him, even though Orochimaru is a Sannin, he is weak and has reached his peak. He finds him pathetic since he relies more on other people, or rather uses people for his own wants and needs. But to the reader who is reading this story, it is unknown whether Itachi is aware of Orochimaru's real plan for Sasuke.

"Fuck you!" Sasuke snaps back at him.

"Now you learn how to curse? That's a development."

"Shut up!"

Itachi looks at Sasuke's Sharingan, which has now three dots. He was pleased but not showing it to Sasuke.

"You are still underdeveloped and utterly incapable of defeating me."

"I will kill you one day!" Sasuke declares as if it was his mantra of his life so far.

Itachi gives him a poker face.

"Your emotions are getting in your way", he coolly tells his little brother, "I would say "hate me, live to hate me". But no, my little brother, there is more than that. You see, no matter how hard we try to become the best ninjas of this world, there is one thing that would hinder us. Your emotions, for example."

"You were the one who told me to hate you. For that, I did what you told me to do. What did you gain from killing our clan aside your egoistic pride?" Sasuke chided him.

"Let me tell you a story. There once is this girl I met. We didn't fall in love immediately but we trusted each other and she became my first friend who considered me as an individual rather as a genius. For that, we became partners and then fell in love. I truly loved her with all my heart. But she disappreared when she didn't return from an assassination mission. For 8 months, I quietly mourned for her supposed death. I missed her. Then one day, she was spotted in her village. I quickly came to see her and found out that she got knocked up by some mother fucker and is about to get married to that jerk. So what did I do? I washed away my emotions as I and the other members massacred her and her family" Itachi recalls that event. His voice started from calm to anger a little bit. Sasuke is surprised at this.

"So you massacred another clan. What is it you were trying to tell me?" Sasuke asked him.

"She was my hindrance. My weakness. I have to eliminate her. Unless you want to defeat me, I suggest you try hard."

"Why are you here?"

Itachi pauses for a while. "I was looking for you."

Sasuke is surprised. "What?"

"Yes, little brother." What Sasuke didn't know is that Itachi was looking for him without his partner Kisame or that the higher officials of the Akatsuki ordered him to do so. But why?

"Why? So you can kill me?"

"No. To tell you the truth..." Itachi paused for a while. He is trying to convey his message in a simple, casual yet strict manner. "Since you decided to go to that snake-bastard, I challenge you to a fight."

Now this surprise Sasuke the most.

"What?"

"I want you to train harder. Four years from now, I will tell you where the fight will be"

Sasuke didn't understand this. "A-are you challenging me to a duel?"

"Yes."

"But why?"

"You are a Uchiha. You are the only one who can resurrect our clan. But to do that, you will have to kill me. But at your current condition, even Naruto-kun can beat you..."

"SHUT UP! DON'T YOU DARE COMPARE ME TO HIM! AND LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Itachi understood what his little brother said to him. He gives him a silly grin and knocks him out. He gently places him on the ground and gives him a last look before he leaves. He senses someone approaching and he disappears. Minutes later, Kabuto spots the unconscious Sasuke and carries him back to Orochimaru.

Tsunade looks at the father-son tandem of the Aburame clan with disdain.

"Are you sure this is positive?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama", the elder Aburame replies. "Based on our reports, the group has increased its members. Unfortunately we have to flee before they could identify us. I might have gone further but I was concerned with Shino's safety."

"I understand your concern", Tsunade nods at him.

"If our guess is correct," Shino adds, "the members would have been missing-nins for their respective villages."

"If that's the case, then why not go to the Akatsuki?"

"That we don't know" said the elder Aburame.

Either the group has a good offer or PR skills of the Akatsuki sucks, thought Tsunade. Even though the Aburames have told her that the group wouldn't be much of the threat at the moment, they would be bigger bad news in the future.

"Thank you Aburame-san, Shino-kun", Tsunade said. "You can go now."

Both men bowed at her and exited the office. Tsunade leans down on her chair and tries to relax at the moment. She was tired and frustrated. She was concerned at Naruto at the moment. She wanted to comfort him but she was stuck with her duties as the Hokage. She has to admit Naruto can be good at convincing people or otherwise, she wouldn't be stuck at this very demanding job and continue to gamble.

Her train of thought is interrupted when she heard a knock on her door. The door opens and Shizune reveals herself.

"I'm sorry if I disturb you, Tsunade-sama", Shizune meekly replied.

Tsunade smiles at her apprentice. "It's okay Shizune. What is it?"

"Jiraiya-sama is here."

Tsunade's smile turns into a frown. Oh great, she thought, he has to be here way too late. She sighs at this and decides to have a chat with the author of Icha Icha Paradaise.

"Send him in", ordered the Godaime.

Shizune nods and lets Jiraiya enter the room. To Tsunade's surprise, he has a large black eye on the left and a large bruise on the right forehead.

"What the hell happened to you?!" asked a stunned Tsunade.

"I bumped into an old friend. Let's just say that our reunion involves bruises", a not-so-thrilled Jiraiya answers.

"Who is this old friend?"

"You know him. He knows you. Remember the Chuunin exams?"

Tsunade paused. She trying to recall which person...then a thought hit her.

"Oh...him."

"Yep", said Jiraiya, "The lonely bastard who doesn't want to tell his name. So anything happened while I was away?"

Tsunade frowns at him. "A LOT! Uchiha Sasuke ran away from this place to join Orochimaru."

Jiraiya is shocked. "WHAT?"

"I sent Nara Shikamaru to retrieve him. Apparently he, Naruto, Inuzuka, Akamichi and the branch member of the Hyuuga were trying to bring Sasuke back."

The ero-sennin doesn't take this very well. "Are you out of your mind? What the hell were you thinking sending a chuunin and four genins in a very dangerous mission?"

Tsunade sighs. "Orochimaru's henchmen wounded a few Jounins. But those kids put up a good fight. With the help of Lee and the Sand-nins..."

"Sand-nins?" Jiraiya interrupts. "You don't mean..."

"Yes, Gaara and his siblings. The Leaf and the Sand have signed a peace treaty. Needless to say, the mission failed."

Jiraiya grabs a chair and sits down. "How are the brat and the rest?"

"They're fine. But Naruto...Jiraiya...I think he took this failure badly."

Jiraiya understood Naruto's situation. He knew that the kid hated losing, especially to the Uchiha brat.

"I'm concerned at him, Jiraiya. He looked as if he took a beating" said a very worried Tsunade.

"Don't worry. I'll talk to him do you know where he is?"

"He's at the hospital at the moment."

"What do you mean he's not in his room?" asked a very worried Iruka.

One of the nurses doesn't know what to answer. "He-he's not there. We don't know where he is."

"He can't just leave this place", Iruka mumbled quietly.

Just then, Kakashi arrives and sees the scenario.

"What's going on?" asked a curious Kakashi.

Iruka looks at Kakashi with a worried look. "Naruto's gone!"

"What!?"

"The nurse said that he left 30 minutes ago!"

"Iruka-sensei, we better find him. At his current condition, I'd say he'll be in bad shape" Kakashi replied in a calm yet steely manner. Iruka nods at him as they try to find Naruto.

Ino knocked Sakura's door for the nth time in a row. She knocked so loud that the neighbors can hear her.

"Sakura please I'm sorry! I want to talk to you!" a concerned Ino said. There was no response.

"Sakura please! Open the door! Please!"

Any minute by now, Ino would look like she's ready to cry, which she did. "Sakura please!" a sobbing Ino begged.

Sakura was in her room, trying to avoid her and everyone else. She, like Ino, is crying but for a different reason. She hated her life. Sasuke is gone and Ino told her to die. She doesn't want any confrontation from anyone. Luckily her parents aren't here since they're on a mission. She decides to grab her Discman and listen to a song, any song.

Well no one told me about her

The way she lies

Well no one told me about her

How many people cried

Sakura continued to weep for her misery and sorrows. She couldn't take this anymore.

Well no one told me about her

The way she lies

Well no one told me about her

How many people cried

She knew she was real dead-last, not Naruto. She's useless. Her smarts wouldn't take her to the pantheon of the great shinobis. She felt she let everyone down. Damn you, she mentally cursed her self.

But it's too late to say you're sorry

How would I know?

Why should I care?

Please don't bother to find her

She's not there

She hated herself. She hated doing this self-pity activity.

Well no one told me about her

Well no one told me about her

How many people cried

At this point, her life is at the crossroads, leaving her confused. A bird lands on her balcony, tweeting to her sweetly. She looks at it tenderly.

But it's too late to say you're sorry

How would I know?

Why should I care?

Please don't bother trying to find her

She's not there

She's not there...

Just as the song is about to end, she fell asleep as Ino decides to go home. Both girls are feeling down at the moment.

Naruto walks towards the village on his way home limply. He doesn't want the villagers to know he is in a weakened state but judging on the way he walks, he might give them a clue. One villager, a dirty-looking man, looks at him with disgust.

"Hey demon!" shouted the man. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Naruto just ignored him. He wasn't up for the "Get Angry With The Kyuubi Day", which is in fact almost everyday. Unfortunately, a few people joined in the bash and learned of Sasuke's disappearance.

"Demon! What did you do to the Uchiha!?"

"Where is he you freak!?"

"Monster! You probably killed him!"

More taunts came to Naruto. He tried to ignore them but their words were harsh and cruel. It was the same as always until someone threw a rock at him. It hit him in the back of the head. Soon more rocks were thrown at him. He tried to deflect one but another one would hit him. Naruto dodged down, trying to defend himself from the villagers. He didn't want to hurt them but he has the choice of doing so.

"Murderer!"

"Freak!"

"Monster!"

It was at this point Naruto began to cry. He wanted to get away from here. No wanted him. They all hated him. They-

"NARUTO!"

Naruto turns around to see Iruka running towards him. The Chuunin shouted the angry mob to leave him alone but to no avail. As he is near his former student, he got hit by a rock. On cue, Hatake Kakashi appears in a puff of smoke, which caused the mob to stop throwing. Kakashi gives them his deadliest glare. They knew not to mess with him and they run away in fear. Iruka checks on Naruto. The genin's forehead is wounded while some bruises are on his body.

"Naruto," asked Iruka, "are you okay?"

Naruto didn't answer his question and instead runs away from his sensei as fast as he can.

"Naruto!" Iruka calls him back. Kakashi is concerned on his student's condition.

"Don't worry Iruka-sensei," replied Kakashi, "he'll be okay. He's a strong boy."

Unfortunately, everything's not going to be okay and he knows it. He silently prays that everything will be okay.

UP NEXT: Death, heartbreak and sorrow.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

1. Number one rule when it comes to my fics: expect the unexpected.

2. This chapter has references on the people I've made who are VERY important to this story. Symbolism is applied here in one scene.

3. The song Sakura heard is "About Her" by Malcolm McLaren.

4. Another pairing I'm planning is JiraiyaxTsunade. Hold that thought. Make that perversion/Icha Icha ParadaisexJiraiyaxTsunade.

5. If you have any questions or want to hear spoilers on how this story will progress, e-mail me.