A/N: If there are any grammatical errors, then I give my apologies. Can't be helped if HnK doesn't have a beta reader.

Chapter 2

"That's right, one whole month with one young man: Uzumaki Naruto," Kakashi said, grinning into the camera. A picture of a young man appeared onto the screen, his photograph posted at the top, right corner. Sapphire eyes shown brightly within the photo as the young man showed a v-sign, a jovial expression on his face. His wild, blonde hair went well with his tan, the two colors making his eyes stand out… Of course, the whisker marks on his cheeks were no exception.

They made him exotic in his own right.

Yet, for Sakura, it spelled out pure terror for her, and she nearly fell off the couch after the announcement.

"NARUTO? THE NARUTO?!" Sakura yelled as she brought out a hand to brace herself at the coffee table before her.

"Geez, Sakura!" Ino wailed, a pinky stuck in an ear. "That's some pair of lungs you have…"

Sakura didn't take the bait; instead of throwing back her own retort, she righted herself once more. Biting onto her lower lip, Sakura kept silent, eyes intent on the television. Ino gave an indignant snort, slightly perturbed by Sakura's reaction. If Sakura went along with their verbal matches, all is well… But if Sakura gives no reaction, then something was wrong. Tenten, who was watching the interaction the whole time, prodded Sakura gently on the shoulder, her curiosity peaked.

"Sakura, do you know this…Naruto?" Tenten watched as Sakura leaned back against the couch, a hand massaging her temple.

"Hell yeah…" Sakura half-growled. Ice-blue eyes looked off to the side even though the body was facing forward. Ino, who was trying to feign disinterest, perked up some, her hand placing a couple of kernels into her mouth.

"Naruto…is a complete idiot," Sakura stated. Though her voice was gruff, there was a small spark of affection in her green eyes as a wry smile appeared on her face. "He has an obsession for Ramen; he's loud, fool-hardy, stubborn, and…" Sakura trailed off then, making Ino speak.

"What? Is he egotistical? Clumsy…?"

"…A great friend," Sakura finished. Tenten kept her peace while Ino threw up her hands, rolling her eyes.

"Right…and you just reacted to him like he was the plague. In any case, is he bad news for Hinata?" Ino asked.

"That's right; what's he like?" Tenten finally voiced out.

The end of Sakura's mouth quirked up, a smirk spreading out on her features as she shrugged.

"You'll see…"

---

Naruto…was not happy. First off all, he was left at God-knows-where, tied up to a chair in some room. Judging from the noises coming from the open window, Naruto figured that he was situated somewhere near the ocean. The fact was not hard to miss with the cries of the sea gulls and the breaking waves heard in the distance.

"Stupid, stupid Sasuke," Naruto grumbled as he tried to work the ropes around his wrists. "No, the whole lot of them," Naruto added as his eyes narrowed. He still didn't get what his friends were up to the night before…

Naruto was enjoying his ramen at his favorite shop when his cell phone rang. Slurping up the last bit of noodles in his bowl, Naruto placed his money on the counter as his other hand reached into the pocket of his pants. Flicking bits of fish cakes off of his mouth, Naruto answered his call.

"Yeah?"

"Quick man, you gotta be here!" Kiba yelled at the other end, panic in his voice. Naruto straightened up in his seat, the phone caught in his vice-like grip.

"What? What's going on…?"

"No time, but it's--!" A crash was heard in the background before Naruto heard something hard fall onto the ground.

"Kiba? Kiba! Hey, what's going on at your place?!"

There was no answer from the boy; instead, Naruto heard other noises. Something shattered on the other end, and another voice was heard yelling--Lee.

Then Sasuke came on.

"Shit! Naruto, just get here!--" Click. Naruto's eyes widened as he heard the line go dead. Without another thought, he spun out of his stool and ran out of the ramen shop, his coat flung onto his form with a quick flap. Entering his SUV, Naruto slammed his foot on the pedal and drove off to Kiba's place. After weaving through traffic and avoiding any pedestrians, Naruto managed to arrive in one place.

The apartment complex that Kiba resided in loomed before him, dark clouds swirling about in the sky. The moon hung low, then, and Naruto shivered in the cool night.

Something…was not quite right. Just what was it that had Kiba, Lee, and even Sasuke rattled like so, especially to call him over? All of them were capable of taking care of their selves; self-defense classes weren't just for show. Surely years of studying martial arts would make the group well-prepared for most dangers.

Though alarms were going off in Naruto, the young man shrugged it off as he ran in. Passing through the lobby, Naruto made a bee-line for the elevators and, after fumbling with the buttons, he managed to set the elevator to go to the fourth floor. During its slow journey, Naruto tapped his foot as he crossed his arms over his chest. A scowl was on his face now, and Naruto nearly slammed his fist into the paneled walls out of sheer frustration.

Damn it, they might as well be dead at this rate!, Naruto thought as every worse-case scenario played through his head.

Once the elevator arrived to its destination, Naruto dashed off to the right wing, doors blurring around him as he did so. Up ahead, room 245--Kiba's-- appeared, and Naruto forced himself to slow down. With all that running, Naruto felt his adrenaline kick in as he felt himself instinctively crouch low, his steps slow and measured. Even though he had the urge to just rush over and kick the door down, Naruto knew it was better to be more cautious. Sparring matches taught him that, especially when his sparring partner was Sasuke. Reaching the door, Naruto noticed the thing to be partially opened…

Not good.

With his face setting into a determined expression, Naruto narrowed his eyes as he took up a stance. Reaching out, Naruto gently pushed against the door, the thing swinging with a large moan. Yet, during its movement, someone grabbed the handle on the other side, making Naruto bring his fist back. Before Naruto could punch the living daylights out of the person on the other side, Sasuke's voice reached his ears.

"Gotcha."

"The hell?!" Naruto cried out when a bright light flashed into his face, and before he could squint pass it, a fist made contact with his abdomen.

"Oof!" As Naruto doubled over, Sasuke stood before him, a smirk on his face.

"Be good, Naruto. You're going to be on TV…"

Before Naruto could make a smart remark, a hand chopped into the back of his neck, rendering him unconscious. As Naruto descended into darkness, he heard Kiba's chuckles become faint while Lee's parting words echoed afterwards.

"Sorry Naruto…"

Some friends, Naruto snarled mentally. Just what where they thinking pulling a stunt like this? Whatever it was, it was not funny, and once Naruto managed to get out of this predicament, there will be hell to pay.

"If only I could get…this…off…" Naruto muttered under his breath. Craning his neck, Naruto tried to look over his shoulder to his hands tied onto the back of the chair. Moving his line of sight forward, Naruto found out that his legs were tied up as well. With his eyebrows furrowed, Naruto concentrated on his breathing, taking deep, long breaths. After he managed to calm himself down, Naruto then focused on the bindings on his wrists and ankles. With his stomach tightening from the effort, Naruto tried to hop in his seat.

He didn't budge one bit. Instead of escaping, Naruto managed to make the ropes bite into his skin.

"Argh… Come on Naruto, you-can-do-this--HA!" With his second attempt, the legs of the chair managed to get off the floor for a moment before gravity reacted. "Yes, I can do this!" Naruto breathed out, small beads of sweat forming at his brow.

"Third time's a charm…" With that said, Naruto forced himself to hop once more, and that's when the door to the room clicked open. Startled, Naruto lost his balance, and instead of landing on an upright position, Naruto titled to the side until he crashed onto the floor. The side of Naruto's face stung from the impact, and with a growl, Naruto glared at the intruder, a tear forming at the corner of his eye.

Perhaps it was that jerk Sasuke that entered the room; he'd smirk and then go onto telling Naruto how stupid or careless he was. However, it was not the case this time, and Naruto's angry face melted to that of disbelief.

Instead of Sasuke, there was a girl at the door. No, correction--a young woman at the door… The air became thick right then and there, and it was at that moment that lavender-pearl eyes first met with sapphire ones.

TBC…