Gaahhh! (screeches in fury) How on earth can you get such mind-killer ideas, Kyuubi-kun! I mean, I was pondering on that for a seriously long time, and then I realized that I couldn't think of a better idea! (garg) Anyways, please enjoy the chapter!

Special thanks to: Kyuubi-kun for helping me with the ideas in this chapter, and to feathergurl, for helping me get more ideas. (gives them pockys, pockys, and more pockys)

CHAPTER FIVE
It had been a week since Naruto had been to the bridge,—he had been in no condition to train—and considering how much technique he had lost, Naruto now had the skill to at least chop up a carrot.

He propped up his elbows on the railing, staring boredly at the water as his reflection looked back at him. He had changed a lot, due to the fact he only had a few days to grow back to his healthy state. His hair had turned back to it's original golden hue, and his eyes…..His eyes were the ones that changed the most.

His bright blue eyes were back to it's original stature as well, yet it held a mysterious presence….It was as if there was a new sense, although no one could decipher what it was. Ecstasy? Sadness? Joy? Anger? No one knew, but one thing was certain. It flickered when its heart's desire was spoken out. It seemed as if he just couldn't completely let go of Sasuke…

He could never let go…

"Naruto!" The voice intruded against the silence in which he had been musing, but nevertheless the said boy turned his head and saw a girl about his age, with shockingly bright, pink hair, running towards him.

Naruto broke into a grin and hollored, "SAKURAAA-CHANNNN!"And with that he bounced up, giving the girl a quick slip of his old self.

"I haven't seen you for ages! It was as if team 7 had disbanded!"—an aghast look crossed her face—"But I missed you!" She quickly coughed, "For a while…" Sakura looked up at Naruto, her eyes searching his. "Kakashi told me you were on a mission, but I had a suspicion that he was lying. Anyways, where were you all this time?" The poor girl was practically hyperventilating, eagerly waiting for some answers.

Naruto cocked his head to one side and a small smile crept up to his lips. It was like they had changed personalities…

"I—…." His voice faded away, as the blonde looked away from Sakura. How was he going to explain this? Well, if Kakashi had told her that, then he might as well finish up the jounin's lie. "—I uh, I really was on a mission! It, er…was a spying mission!" Laughing loudly, he desperately clutched on to the thought that the brightest girl in the Konoha village would believe the obvious deceit.

"Who are you kidding, Naruto! Pah! I know what's going on now…"She glared menacingly at Naruto. "You decided to take a vacation! Without me and Kakashi!"

The blue eyed boy let out a breath of relief. He had truly panicked right then. Naruto looked down at his feet, hoping his act would further mislead the girl. "I'm truly sorry, Sakura-chan…" He looked up at the girl, his eyes already transformed into big, googly puppy eyes.

Sakura already looked like she was about to pummel Naruto on the head, but then dropped her enraged craze and sighed. "Naruto…I'm sorry. It's just, well, after…after the, you know…the accident I've been a bit worried about losing another person I...you know...cared about." She dropped her eyes to the ground and bit her lip. She knew she had stepped on sensitive grounds. Naruto hated to have the topic brought up about Sasuke, but…It was just so hard. The Uchiha had been a part of the team after all.

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his teeth painfully.

Breathe. Get the memory out. Get it out, and breathe. Damnit! But I can't! It's as if he's here with me! I can even feel him! He—

Naruto snapped his eyes open, and took a deep, shuddering breath, his mind near to the state of exploding. He began to be filled with hope, disbelief, and shock all at once. He could actually feel Sasuke's presence! He had to be here!

Naruto hurriedly gathered his chalkra and with a tremendous push off the ground he burst into the woods, completely ignoring Sakura's baffled shouts, as his mind only focused on one thing. It was that one thing that had kept tormenting him all this time. He knew that when he did find Sasuke, he would do that one thing he had wanted to say ever since the day his teammate had died.

To tell Sasuke...that he wanted to be more than just friends.

With that thought, Naruto ran even faster, as he made several twists and turns. In truth, he had no idea where he was going, but his heart was guiding him. He slowed down a bit, panting slightly. He wildly looked around, and then spotted the figure in front of him.

Time seemed to stop. He could hardly breathe as the black haired boy turned around, and their eyes locked together.

Sasuke…

It was as if his vision had been snuffed.

Sasuke groggily blinked. The whole world was swimming before his eyes, and a hammer-like pain tried to pound in his head. He groaned, slowly coming up to sit in an upright position.

Wha—What happened…?

As if the words had been spoken out loud, a familiar voice easily answered back, "You apparently became unconscious, not coming to until a week later. You were also delirious, and had malnutrition, which was the the main cause of your coma-like state." There was something about that voice…It was oddly comforting, yet intimidating and ominous at the same time.

Sasuke groaned again, but this time from the mental stress he had begun to receive. How the hell did he get knocked out so easily? Damnit! He needed to be stronger than this if he wanted to get through this mission. He couldn't let a human ninja beat him!

"Now that you are awake, we can stop wasting valuable time and get acquainted. My name is Uchiha, Itachi. I see you don't remember that I was your dearest brother when you were younger, for your eyes tell me so. Therefore I suggest that you and I become even closer in our..." Itachi hesitated, playing the next words on his lips. "...Family relationship. You shall be accompanying me along my own mission. And be sure to obey me, since I am your aniki after all." Itachi smiled sweetly, but his tone accentuated his speech, for there seemed to be a 'do-as-I-say-or-I'll-kill-you'aura laced within the words.

Sasuke instantly became suspicious. A ninja, out of the blue, was saying that he was his brother! The fallen angel automatically glared, "Well, dearest brother--"Sasuke spat the words out. He didn't know why, but he seemed to have this burning desire to kill the man. "Why should I listen to a pig headed brat like you? For all I know, you may be a homocidal freak."

An amused smirk pulled up the corners of Itachi's lips. "You still have the same impudence as you did long ago. Well, I have been watching you, and I see you already saw your teammate. A boy with blonde hair…blue eyes….and three marks on each side of his face."

Sasuke's mind seemed to freeze. How had Itachi been seeing him without Sasuke noticing the man? More importantly, how did Itachi know the mysterious, blonde boy?

"What's it to you?" Grumbling, he avoided looking at Itachi. He knew now, pulling information from the facts, that Itachi had an ability to actually see your mind. Besides, he had a bad feeling about Itachi. He knew deep down, that it wasn't wise to bring the ninja and the mysterious boy into the same situation. But he was curious…Little did he know that his curiousity would be the very thing that would lead him further away from Naruto.

Itachi inwardly was very pleased. Everything was going so smoothly, and if it continued to be that way, he might as well have had the Kyuubi in his hands right at that moment. He could even already see that Sasuke was itching to ask him what the boy's name was.

"Who is that boy, anyways?"

Itachi had to keep from chuckling. It was so fun to have a predictable brother sometimes.

"Oh, I'm afraid you'll need to know more about him than knowing his name first."Itachi smirked, knowing well that Sasuke would then demand for the name.

"I want the name, not his life story, damnit!" Sasuke was nearly roaring. Why was Itachi dawdling! He didn't have time!

"If you really must know, then I guess it's quite alright. It's...Naruto." The older Uchiha finally let the name slip from his lips. If he were going to use Sasuke, he would at least let his younger brother know the name of the holder of Kyuubi.

"Naruto…" Sasuke murmured, letting the name roll on his tongue, as if he was sampling a rich, yet foreign chocolate. He could have sworn he had heard the name before, and not to mention that the name itself sounded so alluring…

"Hide." The word was smoothly spoken, quickly shattering Sasuke's deepest thoughts. It was as if his body were controlling his brain, for before Sasuke knew what he was doing, he disappeared in a wisp of smoke, only to appear once again, hiding in the brushes.

"Itachi."An icy, sharp voice cut through the air.

"Kakashi."Itachi replied back in a polite manner, as if he were enjoying a cup of tea.

"I know you found him. Where is he?"

"Somewhere." Still answering in his pleasant how-to-do tone, a smirk that uncannily looked like Sasuke's sat snugly on the Uchiha's lips.

"Itachi…" The jounin growled in a warning manner. He knew that each passing second counted. It didn't help that Itachi was dragging the time either.

Sasuke crouched down even more, peering through the leaves. What did the man mean, that Itachi had found 'him'? Who was he trying to find? A rustle in the leaves behind him made Sasuke freeze--the fear of being discovered burned painfully in his mind. Slowly yet cautiouslyturning around, he looked up to see who exactly was in the shadows. The fallen angel inwardly gasped as bright blue eyes flashed from the darkness.

Naruto…

CHAPTER FIVE HAS ENDED