Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto

Co-author and Beta: Etheral-23

Tribute: To Stormy Rebel, you're not forgotten my friend.

Chapter 15: Spiraling Maelstrom

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The tense atmosphere was palpable as Team Gai stood ready to attack at the sight of the Kumo and Kiri genin that stood near Tenten's friend. Naruto had relaxed for a microsecond till noticing the postures of his friend and her teammates. Then realizing his company behind him the blond lifted his hands; "Ten-chan it's alright. They helped me." Haku and Yugito were quick to calm their respected teammates upon seeing these three were no threat.

Neji's eyes only narrowed, not leaving his clan's Taijutsu stance. Lee eyed the foreign Genin cautiously as Tenten kept a kunai in each hand while keeping her eyes locked on Naruto, Kumo, and Kiri; "We saw your chakra pulse."

"Orochimaru… he was here"

Both Tenten and Lee's eyes grew the size of dinner plates, "The traitorous Hebi-Sannin is here? Are you truly certain Uzumaki?" Neji questioned, keeping his composure all the while glaring at Kumo.

The whip user of Kiri snorted in irritation; "Your Kage charged into the forest and is in full battle gear with two squads of Anbu. What wild theories can your brain come up with Hyuuga?"

"Kouhei!" Haku and Naruto both shout.

Neji remained in stance keeping his eyes locked on Yugito's team, "A most likely scenario, Kumogakure scheming to stab Konoha in the back like the cowards they are."

"Oh fuck you Hyuuga," Karui growled while Yugito and Omoi both frowned. "That was years ago."

Neji only snarled back; "Not all wounds heal Kumo."

"ENOUGH!" Naruto's echoing roar making everyone jump. The blond marched passed Tenten and Lee to stand in front of Neji; "These guys aren't the people who tried to kidnap Hinata."

"…You know?"

A dry expression came from Naruto, "I've hung around Jiji in his office since I was little. So yes I've heard things. Yes, you have every right to be pissed. But at their Raikage, not these guys."

The Hyuuga branch member glared leaning in to the younger teen; "Kumogakure is a den of vipers who will do every dishonor deed to gain power."

"We're Shinobi, playing fair isn't in our handbook."

As true as those words were, Neji wouldn't relent his anger. Not when Kumo, his uncle, and his clan elders were responsible for his father's death. No amount of words could ever calm the fury in Neji's heart.

Naruto continued; "And right now I don't have time to waste with my team out in the forest and Hebi-Teme's goons gunning for them."

"And a dead-last like you believes you can beat them?" Neji countered, "Your fate has-" The Hyuuga stopped as he and the rest felt the area around them got colder. Everyone's breath was visible as Naruto and Neji shifted their gaze to Haku.

Kouhei and Chojuru backed away from their female teammate as frost emanated from her body. The grass under her feet and around her started to ice over. Her face was blank save only her eyes than shined with a cold rage. "Insult Naruto-kun again Hyuuga and you won't like the consequences."

Everyone felt a shiver crawl down their respected spines, Neji included till Naruto quickly spoke up, "It's alright Haku-chan. Neji's the kind of people I love proving them wrong," Trying to calm his Kiri friend down before she beats the holy crap out of Tenten's teammate. The two genin resume glaring at each other; "Call me whatever you want, I don't care. What I DO care about is my team, even if Sasuke is an asshole like you. Help if you want, or get lost"

The Hyuuga said nothing but looked to his two teammates. Naturally Tenten gave a look that she was staying which Lee mimicked. Finally Neji relented; "Very well Uzumaki. I wash my hands with these Kumo."

A round of sighs went through everyone as Yugito got back on task; "Which way to your clone spot those Oto Naruto?"

"Not far," the blond Uzumaki looks back to Neji, "How far can you see with your Byakugan?"

Quiet for a minute the Hyuuga finally spoke; "You want me to spot the Otogakure genin?"

"If you're helping, yes."

"…Very well."

Tenten and Yugito both look genuinely surprised while Lee doing a 'Nice Guy' pose. "I will help as well Naruto-Kun. We will protect our comrades, and I will keep safe my dear Nobara-Hime!"

'…I am so glad I straightened up,' Naruto dryly mused as Kurama snorted.

XxX ~ Sakura ~ XxX

She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe… Her scream stuck in her throat as a large snake was slowly constricting her body. Its cold slit yellow eyes staring into her jade; "You won't stop me girl. Sasuke and Naruto will be MINE" its mouth opened revealing the Kusa woman's face smiling before lunging out with serpent-like fangs.

Sakura's woke with a start, biting back a scream as sweat dripped from her face. Her breathing was erratic as fear shined in her jade orbs. The rosette held a hand to her chest; 'Just a dream. Just a dream…' Taking slow deep breaths, Sakura gazed to Sasuke who was still unconscious. The Uchiha was still showing signs of pain as he fidgeted and grunted in discomfort. 'I still don't know what that woman did to him. I skimmed through some of Naruto's Fūinjutsu books, but I never saw anything like that.' Images of the blond Uzumaki flashed in her mind along with that 'Orochimaru' person's words.

"I have an appointment with a certain blond shinobi."

Quickly the rosette shook away any negative thoughts; 'Naruto won't let that monster near him. He'll be fine,' despite her mental reassurance her worry still knotted in her stomach. Ever since Nami she had considered the blond more than a teammate, but also a real friend. A tiny part of her still couldn't believe it was Naruto of all people who had been helping her these past few months, yet one thought kept ringing back in her mind.

Why?

Why was Naruto always so kind to her? Thinking on their academy days, she was not proud of herself remembering all those times she was so mean to the blond. Yet it never swayed him from greeting her with a smile, which only added to her shame. 'I bet even if I apologized for everything he'd just wave it off.' He was really that forgiving and kindhearted, 'I may not understand how much I mean to you, or why. But I'll make up for all the mean things I've ever done, I promise.'

While Sakura pulled out her black gloves from her pouch and put her hair into a ponytail with a hair tie. She was unaware of the looming threat hiding in the shadows. "Be ready," Dosu whispered as he narrowed his lone visible eye.

Zaku and Kin grinned murderously back to their leader. "One little fangirl playing Kunoichi, it will be fun making her scream," Kin almost purred licking her lips.

"Long as I get to kill the Uchiha, I don't really care," Zaku retorted with a snort.

Dosu just rolled his unbandaged eye. The lead Oto Genin crouched as he stared at their target. "On my mark" He softly called.

Zaku and Kin grinned, the former channeled chakra through his air tubes while the latter pulled out three senbon between her fingers.

The pinkette had her back turned to them, now was their chance...

"Go!"

They leapt through the trees, their movements so fast and silent there was no way she would become aware of their presence before it was too late. Kin took the lead, eager to draw the Konoha's blood. She threw the senbon straight to the pinkette's head.

The senbon pierced her neck and her body seized, making Kin smiled viciously. She reared her arm back to deliver a devastating blow the little girl's neck and end her life.

Her movement stopped as something tugged her arm. Eyes widening in surprise, she saw the pinkette standing right next to her, holding her arm as the one she had previously attacked vanished before her eyes.

Too late she realized it had been a genjutsu as the Konoha shinobi used her momentum against her, throwing her over her shoulder and right into a tree. Her body collided against the bark, splintering it, the air left her lungs as spit flew out of her mouth.

Both Zaku and Dosu shared a stun expression as Sakura took up her Taijutsu stance. "Always put traps in your traps. Why are you here!?"

Quickly Zaku lifted both his hands firing a concentrated blast of wind at the rosette who quickly dodged. "You didn't answer my question!" She charged both boys, gloved fists clenched.

Then there was ringing. Oh gods the ringing. It pierced into her ears like a drill. She screamed, holding her ears as the pain forced to drop to her knees as she lost her balance. The ringing made the whole world become blurry as she felt herself slipping away.

Then, the ringing stopped, only for a hand to grab the back of her head and slam it over the ground. The blow to her forehead stunned her enough to dull the pain, it was a cruel mercy.

"You actually think we would tell you?" The bandaged Sound Nin said with exasperation. "You're new to this job aren't you?"

She groaned; forcing herself to remained focus even with the swift but strong beating she had just received. "Not so long that I have to used bandages to hide all the times I screwed up..."

Dosu growled, and threw her to the ground once again. "Hold her" He ordered Zaku, who all too eagerly twisted her arm into a painful hold.

Even with pounding in her head and the pain in her arm, Sakura couldn't help but think; 'Smart mouthing the enemy, yep, been spending too much time with Naruto'

As Dosu gazed toward the entrance under the tree Zaku sneered, "Your blond boyfriend won't be here to save you. Orochimaru-sama likely already got him." Sakura only spits at him which Zaku angrily spat back.

"Naruto wouldn't let that bastard close to him," the rosette growled as Dosu looked at her blankly. "He'll come. And kick your asses if I don't first!" Zaku's free hand grabbed her by the throat.

"You're a cocky little brat aren't you," Dosu muttered, "A lot of confidence for a dead-last." The rosette only growled; "To bad you didn't get to hear the rest of that little dossier on blondie back in class. Wonder how you would feel about learning what he really is." Dosu only chuckled seeing Sakura's eyes shine with confusion; "So he never told you or Uchiha eh?"

"No surprise Dosu. You saw how Uzumaki acted. Nearly got told to the whole class he is a monster," Zaku smirked.

"What are you talking about?" Their words weren't making any sense to Sakura.

The face bandaged ninja chuckled as he leaned closer. "Tell me, have you ever heard the word 'Jinchuuriki'?"

"...It's above my pay-grade" Were the words she replied with.

Of course she had heard that word. In the academy they didn't go into the finer detail of it, but Jinchuuriki were so ingrained the history of the ninja wars it was impossible to discuss the subject without mentioning them.

Living weapons. Deterrents. The villages' trump cards... Holders of the Tailed Beasts.

Sakura couldn't imagine a fate like that, to seal such monsters inside a person, to be treated as another weapon of the village, while a very shinobi thing to do, it seemed just so... cruel.

Konoha was very tight lipped about the information regarding their Jinchuurikis. The most that ever got out was as far as 'we have 'em', but their identities were a secret only the Jonin and select chunin were privy to.

...A cold feeling dropped on her stomach. Where were they going with this?

"Those freaks have a lot in common. Their government treats them as weapons, even more than the regular shinobi. And their own people?" Dosu snorted. "To show how grateful they are to Jinchuuriki for doing they duty they shun them. Treat them as pariahs, pests they'd rather just disappear"

No... No, no, no, no. That couldn't be true.

Sakura wasn't among the top of her class for nothing, if the dots were there she would connect them.

'Stay away from him' all the adults would say. 'That boy is nothing but trouble', even her own family acted so nervous about him.

Lots of people acted that way with him, the way they looked at him with so much... anger and hate in their eyes.

The date of the Kyuubi attack, his birthday...

"Ohohoho" Dosu took delight in the shocked expression her face was making. "You've figured it out haven't you?"

Naruto... was Konohagakure no Sato's Jinchuuriki.

Her mind played back the past events. From sneering of a few academy teachers, how she and her classmates all treated Naruto... And even before the academy... A few stray tears fled from her eyes before practically roaring as she fiercely fought against Zaku's hold on her.

"Ah, figured out you treated him like a monster like everyone else eh girlie?" Dosu only smirked seeing the despair in the rosette's anguished/rage filled eyes as she struggled.

"N-No..." She told herself. "I-I never..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Zaku snapped at her. "We don't care what you feel, we're pretty much just doing this for shits and giggles" And orders, but she didn't need to know that.

The pinkette wasn't hearing him; she was lost in her own world as she tried to process the truth. She had just... gone with the flow, so to say. Everyone always treated him like that; it was just so ingrained ever since she was little. And yet... And yet she never stopped to consider how much it all must hurt him so much. Finding out about his status as Jinchuuriki only made things worse.

To mock and make fun of the orphan boy... Gods, looking back at it she realized how horrible it all was. She treated him like everyone else; he must have thought she saw him like the villagers did, a monster...

Blood and spit came from Sakura's mouth from a hard punch from Dosu; "If we decide to let you live, you can soul search as much as you like later. For now we have a job to do." The bandaged Genin looks back to the unconscious Uchiha as he pulls out a kunai.

'Naruto...' No. Now was not the time to feel berate herself. Sasuke, her teammate needed her. She would not cry she would not lay down and do nothing. She struggled against Zaku's hold, but the Sound ninja did not let her move, she was too weak at the moment to struggle.

"You stay right here pinky" He sadistically said with a smile on his face.

Kin walked up to them, having recovered from the blow she received when she hit that tree. She held her side as she glared with murder at the Konoha shinobi. "You little bitch..."

"You can kill her later. Make sure nobody interrupts" Dosu ordered as he moved over the Uchiha's vulnerable frame.

"Sasuke..." Sakura whispered in desperation.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sasuke knew this was a dream… Yet his heart did not stop racing as he saw his younger self crying over his parent's lifeless bodies. "If I was stronger, could I have stopped him!?" his younger self whimpers looking down at his mother and father as he wept.

Clinching his fists, the older Sasuke both seethed and shuddered as more corpses of his kinsmen appeared around his younger counterpart. "Yet we did nothing." Sasuke gasped as his younger self smiled sinisterly as another, older and malicious voice overlapped with his younger self. "Our clan died because we were weak. If we had power, we could have stopped it. If we had more power, we could kill Itachi!" Younger Sasuke's eyes turned yellow with serpent-like slit eyes, "Power to crush all those who stand before us!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

A deafening roar above shot all their heads upwards as a large crystal dragon descended for the Oto Genin. "SHIT!" All three collectively yell as they jump out of the way. The massive dragon shattered hitting the ground, Dosu skidded back looking in every direction; "UZUMAKI! Where is he?!"

Kin landed safely on a branch, also scanning the area along with Zaku who still held Sakura tightly in his grasp. Dosu's danger senses screamed as the bandaged Genin sharply turned only to have a blue sphere of pure chakra slammed into his chest like a drill.

"RASENGAN!"

'H-he finally learned it,' Sakura looked in awe remembering the months Naruto spent learning that jutsu.

Dosu roared in pain as he was sent flying like a spinning wind wheel till slamming into one of the massive trees. His body a mangled mess and motionless as Zaku snarled lifting his free hand; "I'll kill you myself Uzu-"

As chakra built up in his air-tube a firm hand grabbed his wrist. Before he could react another hand struck his elbow with such force everyone heard the bones break. Sakura found herself free as her captor screamed in pain. Leaping over to Naruto, Sakura gasped seeing Haku partially within one of her ice mirrors behind Zaku.

The Kiri kunoichi shunshined as the enraged Oto Nin used his one good arm to send a devastating blast of wind that shattered the ice mirror. Zaku's body soon froze up; behind him Haku stood having placed a senbon on the Oto Nin's neck. He fell to the ground like a statue. The brunette teen said nothing before turning her eyes to Kin.

The Oto Kunoichi readied herself only to find herself surround by Kumo, Kiri, and another Konoha team ready to strike her down. "Give me a reason," Karui smirked with her sword drawn beside Omoi who lazily rolled his lollipop in his mouth. Yugito's cat-like eyes glared as her fingernails extended as sharp as a kunai pointed at Kin.

Kouhei and Chojuru had their respected weapons drawn while Lee and Neji had their taijutsu stances at the ready. Tenten had a kunai in each hand as she scowled; "Not harming my friend's team on my watch."

Naruto's cerulean eyes were wide as he looked at the rosette's bruised face, blood dripped from the edge of her mouth. Her eyes couldn't, or rather wouldn't meet his as she stared at the ground. "I'm okay," she whispered softly.

"You don't look okay" Naruto said gently.

She let out a humorless laugh. "Part of the job isn't it?"

Naruto lifted his gaze to glare at the remaining Sound ninja standing. The group prowled like a predator stalking over a wounded prey, the kunoichi's gaze darted frantically trying to find for an opening, anything that would allow her to slip way. In a desperate move she called forth the strongest genjutsu could muster at the moment, a distortion of sound vibrating through the air that made their eardrums hurt, their vision become blurry and their footing to become unbalanced.

It was only for a moment before the most adept of their group at dispelling illusions managed to cancel it, but Kin had already moved to gather her teammates, having removed the senbon in Zaku's neck, trying to get him on his feet while a clone helped Dosu. The Sound Trio soon formed up as they slowly backed away.

The gauntlet wielding glared with utmost fury at the enemy before him. "You will pay for this!"

Kouhei shook his head as the genjutsu passed. "Really? Cause it seems to me we just kicked your asses" The teen was already charging chakra through his weapon, a few crackling arcs of electricity could be seen.

"Give it up" Naruto said resolute. "You're done for"

Whatever response the trio had, or whatever was their group going to do next, they were all interrupted by sensing a sudden rise of sickening chakra.

Neji, being the first one to see it thanks to his wide range of vision, turned around with an incredulous gaze that unconscious form of the Uchiha... that was now rising as the chakra kept raising. "What is this..?"

Dosu's one eye along with Kin's and Zaku's stared solely at the Uchiha; 'The curse mark is activating... This is bad,' the injured bandage Genin glanced to his team who looked back. Without saying a word, the trio agreed to escape, departing via shunshin they went unnoticed.

"S-Sasuke?" Sakura shuddered as visible purple chakra erupts around the Uchiha who begins to sit up.

Yugito heard Matatabi hiss in her mind, sensing the chakra like she was doing. And not liking one ounce of it radiating off Sasuke if her words were any indication. "That chakra feels so... wrong," the feline Bijuu growled out.

'Not even your chakra feels like that.'

"No chakra should feel like that, kitten."

As Sasuke fully stands, his Sharingan glows bright as strange black marks slowly rise up on the side of his face. "...Naruto," There voice maliciousness in his tone.

'Something's wrong, REALLY wrong here.' The blond felt sick just being close to that chakra coming off his teammate. 'I mean your chakra feels like pure hate furball. But what the hell is this?!'

Kurama only snorted; "You figure it out yourself brat."

"Sasuke... are you feeling okay?" The young Uzumaki tentatively asked, slowly taking one careful step forward.

The Uchiha laughed, yes LAUGHED, out loud. Throwing his head back and rolling his neck before finally setting his gaze upon his fellow teammate with an unnerving grin. "Oh I'm better than okay. I'm feeling fantastic~"

"...You're not okay" Naruto flatly retorted, more than a little creeped out by this development.

Karui looked nervously at the oddly behaving Uchiha. "You know him better than I do, but I can tell your teammate is acting way out of character"

"That chakra" Neji muttered as his gaze narrowed at a specific point on Sasuke's neck. "It's foreign, not his own. And it's infecting him like a virus, spreading through his body. This must be the reason to his... altered behavior"

Sasuke's grin widened as the marks continued to spread throughout his body.

"...Gee, whatever gave you that idea?" Tenten droned as she pulled out various scrolls from her pouches, preparing herself for the worst.

"Let's all act calmly" Haku said in a soft peacekeeping tone. "We don't know if he means us any harm"

"Naruto" The Uchiha growled out. "Fight me"

Kouhei deadpanned; "Well so much for that..."

"The hell?" The blonde in question muttered. "Sasuke, you're NOT well. Just... Just calm down!"

His words were of no use, the Uchiha took one menacing step towards him, oozing killing intent, godsdamned killing intent at his own teammate, in waves. "I need to fight you... I need to fight you" He repeated himself like in a mad trance.

"Why?!"

"Because you're strong... So if I defeat you then that means I'm on the right path"

"...I know this is hardly an ideal situation, but did you just compliment me?"

'Seriously?' Was everyone's thought as they sweatdropped.

"Show me why you're not some clan-less dead last loser anymore," Sasuke took another step forward as both Kiri and Kumo looked at each other in confusion before the Uchiha dashed with blinding speeds.

'He's faster,' Naruto pushed Sakura out the way before just barely blocking a high roundhouse aimed for his head with his forearm. The blond hissed, 'and he's stronger...If I didn't have my crystal armor up my arm would have been broken.' And even with his armor, it still hurt! "Snap out of it Sasuke! I'm not fighting you like this!"

His teammate wasn't listening, and quickly delivered a reverse spin kick at Naruto straight on the chest, sending him flying back and hitting his back against a tree before falling the ground. "I don't think your buddy is a listening mood Uzumaki!" Kouhei yelled out.

Haku and Tenten were about to jump and help him, if not for the Jinchuuriki suddenly shouting; "Stay back!" He said in between ragged breaths. "He'll go after you too!" The blond hissed, holding his chest as he slowly got up. Even through his shirt he felt the cracks in his armor. "I'm not fighting you teme!"

Sasuke grin slowly turned to a sneer; "Then I'll kill you."

"Listen to yourself damn it! This is not you! Whatever Hebi-Teme did to you is making act crazy!"

"Doesn't matter," the Uchiha seethed; "I feel more alive than I ever been. But I need more power, much more if I want to kill Itachi!"

Now Naruto's temper was getting the best of him; "It won't bring your family back! Your dad, aunt Mikoto, none of them will come back by killing your brother!"

'Stop it,' Sakura watched on as dread was welling up in heart. She shook her head as her teammate fighting more viciously than ever. 'Stop it...' Her jade eyes went wide as her body had reacted upon seeing Sasuke going into familiar hand seals. "STOP IT!"

Naruto and Sasuke both stopped as Sakura stood in front of her teammates. "Look at yourself Sasuke! You're acting insane, wanting to kill your teammate!" She fought through the tears. "Enough! You can't even see how much this is affecting you!"

"Stay out this" He seethed in anger.

Once she would have been taken aback by him addressing her in such a way. Now though? She was running on adrenaline after having the crap kicked out of her, she couldn't care any less. "Oh I'm sure your parents would be really proud, seeing you act against your own comrades like this!"

He took a menacing step towards her. "You dare…!"

"Sakura don't push him!" Naruto begged her.

"Come on! Try to kill me too!" She shouted, making the others inwardly worry that Sasuke's wasn't the only one going insane. Sakura taunting him like this was a terrible idea, at this rate he was going to unleash all that mounting aggression on her.

And he would have, had she not said the following words.

"Do it! Be just like your brother!"

Sasuke's body froze mid-step. His eyes widening in horrifying realization, the marks halted in their advance as his heart seemed to stop for a second. What... What was wrong with him? That sheer impulse to fight, that drive to kill, that... that rage guiding him. Where did it all come from?

He took long breaths, trying to calm down the chaotic influx of emotions and erratic chakra coursing through his body, the marks began retreating to the source on his neck. He... He attacked Naruto with no provocation, threatened to kill him and then Sakura...

"I... I..."

His words died on his mouth when the end of a lightning shrouded whip struck him right on the chest. "HRRRK!" His body convulsed as arcs of electricity coursed over his form, before finally falling flat on his face, smoke coming out of his unmoving form.

The other ninja looked at the once more fallen Uchiha, and then at Kouhei who was folding his whip.

Naruto summed it up best. "Dude what the hell?! He was calming down!"

"Better safe than sorry"

Naruto just heaved a long sigh along with everyone else as the blond walked over to his once again unconscious teammate. Then to Sakura; "Get some rope, we're making camp here for the night." The rosette nodded as Yugito and Haku came over, "Thank you for helping."

The Hyoton user just smiled; "Of course, we'll stick around just in case."

"Better going together than separated," the Nibi Jinchuuriki wisely states. "Besides, we already have our scrolls for the exam." Haku nodded the same showing her own for her team.

Helping Sakura secure Sasuke, Tenten looked up; "So do we."

Neji crossed his arms as he glared at the Kumo Nin who made their own little camp. "The situation has calmed, we no longer need to intervene. We should get going Tenten"

The weapon mistress looked at him in disappointment. "We're staying, Neji. Our fellow Konoha comrades need the help. Right Lee?"

"It is most unyouthful to just leave then on their own considering the circumstances!" The second coming of the green beast announced passionately.

"Besides, you really want the three us to head on alone with the damn Snake Sannin out there?" The Hyuuga couldn't reply to that. "Thought so, we're staying together until this part of the exam is over"

Casting one last glare at the genin from Kumo, Neji decided to let it go for the moment; "Fine"

After securing the Uchiha, Sakura gazed around to everyone setting up for camp as well as traps before noticing Naruto was in front of her. He was looking over her bruises as the rosette waved it off; "I'll live Naruto," she said quietly.

"Least let Haku-Chan or Yugito look you over, they have medical supplies. I would have used that seal I made for us but it got damaged by that damn snake bastard." He noticed how quiet his teammate was being; "Sakura-chan? What's wrong?"

The rosette froze before slowly turning away till Naruto gently turned her back. She still hasn't looked him in the eyes; "What's. Wrong?"

Sakura bit her lip before sighing; "I know..." She muttered getting a confused look from the blond; "I know you're the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki..."

Time froze as everyone sharply turned hearing her words. Tenten dropped whatever she was holding as she looked wide-eyed along with Lee and Neji.

For Naruto, the world became unnaturally quiet; he couldn't hear the rustle of leaves nor any of the myriad of noises that haunted the Forest of Death constantly. He swore he could only hear his own breathing and heartbeat; he stared at Sakura who continued to avoid his gaze.

"Y-You..." He felt terrified, he felt like running away. He never... never wanted any of his friends to know, even if he knew how pointless it was. "How did you know?"

"The Sound nin told me. And... Well, you just confirmed it"

Tenten's eyes darted between the two of them, mostly lingering on Naruto. Lee found himself at a loss of words for once, while Neji's showed an uncharacteristic amount of unnerved surprise.

Naruto's gaze fell to the ground, his fists clenched and unclenched as he tried to gather his thoughts, thinking on what to say. But his damn mind was empty; he just didn't know what to do...

Thankfully, Sakura once more knew what to say

"I want you to know this... doesn't change anything" She assured him. "You're still my teammate and my friend"

The blond lifted his head seeing Sakura teared filled jade gazing into his cerulean. Not even acknowledging the tears trickling down his own. Before he knew it she had wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly; "I accept you. And I'm so sorry... For how I acted during the academy. Even before...I was..."

Naruto had slowly returned the hug; "Thank you," his voice nearly a whisper fighting his tears. "Thank you…"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Till next time!