Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Sakura would dead and Naruto would have had a boyfriend by now…

Visions in Darkness
Do I Know You?

For days, Naruto ran, stopping only to rest for an hour or so, only when he was completely exhausted; and even then, he didn't sit still for long. He cursed himself when he realized that his choice of masks seemed to stop the circulating of air on his face.

He wore a white bandana over his hair, so he wouldn't attract too much attention. He also wore a black facemask to hide his supposed "birth marks." Naruto endured the stifling heat until he came across large gates, the words "Konohagakure no Sato" written in Kanji across the top.

Of course, Naruto couldn't see the words, but the feel of the hustle and bustle of life in the village was enough for Naruto to approach the gates. As he tried to walk past the gates, someone stopped him. "Verification, please."

"I don't have any…" His voice was muffled a little by the mask over his face.

"Well, then you can't enter." The guard said in a firm voice.

"Teme… I'm tired, and he won't let me in," mumbled an aggravated Naruto. He turned to walk away until he bumped into something… or someone. "Itai! Teme, watch where you're going!"

"Why don't you, you walk like a blind man." The person he had bumped into spat back.

"That's 'cause I am, teme. What's your name, anyway?"

Teme... he hadn't heard that insult from anyone for a while, not since... No, he couldn't dwell on that. But then, this man seemed so much like him, he even seemed to be around the same age. "Gomen, I mean, about the insult. My name is Uchiha Sasuke. What is yours?"

"Uchiha, eh? Are you related to an Uchiha Itachi by any chance?" 'Itachi never told me about any relatives he had...'

"Itachi…" Sasuke growled out, remembering the man who had ruined his life. His eyes slowly turned red at the mention of the man. Naruto could see that the mention of Itachi had some sort of result on the man in front of him; his chakra color, which was navy, had started changing when a stream of red started seeping through.

Sasuke lifted up the petite blond by his collar and demanded, "How do you know Uchiha Itachi?"

"I won't tell you." Naruto put his smaller hand over Sasuke's wrist, and forcefully pulled it off his collar, happy to have his feet back on the ground.

Angry at the response, Sasuke swung his arm, aiming for Naruto's head and expecting to make contact when Naruto leaned to the side, effectively dodging at the punch. This only proved to make Sasuke more furious, and he let loose an onslaught of attacks, each one dodged expertly by the mysterious young man.

He was about to strike again, when a familiar voice stopped him, "Oi, Sasuke. You shouldn't be bothering people you don't know."

Sasuke's head turned towards the voice, "Hn." He assumed his calm exterior, while on the inside, he was flaming with anger. He put his hands in his pockets and walked away, towards the village, Naruto noted.

As soon as Sasuke had left their sight, Kakashi turned to the young man just in time to see him run his hand through his hair, bandana hanging from his neck. The golden hair struck him as familiar, but he shook his head as he knew that his old student had been claimed dead. His thoughts were changed as he saw the blonde's eyes…

Sky blue eyes, no longer filled with that innocence.

As Kakashi looked closer into the cerulean depths, he could see the determination of a young man who would do anything to protect the ones precious to him.

These were the eyes of his old student, the loud-mouthed brat who could and would do anything to protect his friends. The same loud-mouthed brat that had changed so many lives and was still hated by many. The same loud-mouthed brat that had been kidnapped and brutally murdered by Orochimaru and his Sound-nin...

The same loud-mouthed brat that could possibly be standing right in the middle of the road leading to Konoha.

Kakashi leaped down from the branch he had been occupying and stood, arms crossed, in front of the blond.

"Who are you and what business do you have here?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, I'm here to –" He was cut off by Kakashi's voice, laced with concern.

"Naruto? Where have you been? Everyone was all worried about you and…" Kakashi never rambled, unless something amazing happened, and this was worthy of being deemed 'amazing.' He never knew that his life could simply fall apart at the command of four words… but it did.

"Do I know you?"

A/N: I'm very very sorry for not updating in a very long time! It's just that being "gifted" is stressful... and with all the excitement and my friend moving to Brazil... I don't want him to leave... Well, thanks to Spr1te Zer0 (formerly know as C-Entury) for editing and tweaking my story... and I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter even though it's really short... Please review... and, where should I go with the next chapter? I'm not sure because originally, this chapter wasn't even going to be included... anyway... yea