"Dead at our feet,
Raise the byres high,
Nought but fresh meat,
A widow's slow sigh,
Autumn has come,

Frost on the door,
Tears fall like rain,
Leaves on the floor,
Wind howls in pain,
Autumn has come,

Friends are no more,
Breath fogs the air,
Rich are now poor,
Child's hungry stare,
Autumn has come."

Excerpt from Autumn Has Come, a lament written in Konohagakure after the First Shinobi War. Banned by Tobirama Senju, Second Hokage of Konohagakure.

-O-

Sasuke stood, feeling the tension in the stands. The field of eight ninja had been whittled down to just two; in theory, he and Gaara were the strongest new chunin that the Sand and the Leaf had to offer. A shiver raced down his spine. This was what he'd wanted from the tournament. Here was an opportunity to test himself to the limit. He was almost giddy with excitement.

"Good luck," Naruto shouted from behind him, voice barely audible over the roar of the crowd.

Sakura hugged Sasuke, stress lines on her face. "Gaara is dangerous. Don't do anything risky and dumb."

Sasuke smiled. "When have I ever done anything risky or dumb?"

She smacked him on the arm, but she was grinning now. "I'll get Kakashi to embarrass you on our next mission if you don't behave."

He laughed and ruffled her hair, pretending to miss the way her cheeks flushed. "I'll be good. And don't worry, I don't expect this to take long."

As he marched past Ino, she tapped him on the elbow. He stopped and leaned in close. "I have something for you, later," Ino whispered. Standing on tiptoes, she tilted her head up and kissed him on the cheek. Her breath whispered over his neck as she murmured words he almost missed. "Be careful."

Sasuke inclined his head and, with a look back at his teacher, left the competitors' box for the last time. Kakashi had pulled out a paperback and was flipping through the pages, to the consternation of Guy. He tossed a quick wink at Sasuke, then went back to his book.

It was nice to see such an obvious display of confidence.

Sasuke mulled the coming battle over as he took the stairs two at a time. The Hokage had trained a wide array of skills with him, but there wasn't a direct counter to Gaara's technique among them. His options boiled down to fire, wind, and hitting Gaara with his fists. Maybe he could melt Gaara's sand or something? Sasuke didn't know precisely how hot his fire techniques were, but it wasn't a strategy with great odds.

Plan A was still to punch his way to victory. He felt pretty good about Plan A.

Sasuke had his own strengths to fall back on, anyway. People looked at the Uchiha symbol and thought of fire. Sasuke remembered a long evening where his father had shown him the difference between creating the flame, and controlling it. We do not strike the match, son, Fugaku had said. The Uchiha wield a fan to drive the flames higher. We breathe life into the blaze.

Sasuke was feeling confident as he strode into the arena for the third time that day. He basked in the cheers of the crowd. They would be getting one hell of a show.

Gaara was still arguing with the proctor, heedless of the falling rain. His face, once smooth as a porcelain mask, was contorted with rage. "...can't just leave like that! We need blood."

The proctor was obviously a professional, but Sasuke thought he could spot a touch of annoyance. He brightened up when he saw Sasuke, though. "Ah, here we go. Ready for the final round of the Chunin Tournament?"

"We will kill this one, and anyone who gets in our way," Gaara vowed, clutching his forehead. "I promise."

Sasuke shrugged at the proctor. "Unless you're gonna call a doctor for him, we should start," he said.

"You both know the rules. Begin." And with that, the proctor hopped out of the way, and not a moment too soon. A wave of sand launched out of Gaara's gourd and split into a three-pronged attack. One part aimed for Sasuke's head, another swept around him to cut off his retreat and a third tried to tangle his legs.

Sharingan whirling to life, Sasuke vaulted over the low strike and tumbled past the blow for his head. Wind chakra sheathed his legs, and the sand wasn't quite fast enough to grab him as he darted for Gaara. A thin wall of sand rose to defend the Sand ninja, but Sasuke spun past and planted his fist in Gaara's gut.

It felt wrong, and Gaara barely shifted from the punch. Cracks spiderwebbed across his torso, and Sasuke saw – too late – the layer of chakra-laden sand that coated the boy. There was no time for a thorough examination. More sand was already reaching for Sasuke. He stepped back and away from the grasping tendrils.

With wind chakra speeding his limbs, he was able to pierce Gaara's defences again, and slammed an elbow into his head. Gaara didn't move despite the force of the blow. A follow-up kick achieved just as little, and then Sasuke beat a hasty retreat again. The sand armour was riddled with cracks and crevices, but it would take a serious beating for Sasuke to get through it. Even as he watched, more sand flowed up and repaired it.

Two clones made of sand rose up from the ground and grabbed at him. At the same time, sand bullets shot out at his head. Sasuke demolished the first clone with a spinning kick that tore half the torso off, and beat the second one into the ground with a flurry of punches. With the Sharingan, it was child's play to duck and dodge the endless attacks that Gaara launched.

"Looks like we're at an impasse," Sasuke grunted as his fist slammed into a hasty sand shield. He couldn't land enough hits in a row to break through and injure the flesh underneath the sand armour. Half the time, he couldn't even get past Gaara's active defence.

So much for Plan A.

"Mother," Gaara moaned, swaying on his feet. "We'll break him, mother, I promise. I'll break him for you."

Sasuke took a few steps back and stopped. "Whatever you're trying to do, you're not going to scare me with your routine. I've seen–" so many dead bodies, all piled up and with the crows worrying at them, eating the eyes and the soft flesh on the bellies, and starting with the children "–things worse than whatever you are."

"Sasuke Uchiha," Gaara muttered. "You have friends, you have people who care for you. The crowd, they're cheering for you." His voice rose to a shout. "I will take that away, and leave my mark on the world!"

"It's not an act, then," Sasuke said, wondering. "You really are just crazy."

Rather than answer, Gaara swept an arm out and a wave of sand raced at Sasuke. He had a seemingly endless supply of the stuff; Sasuke wondered if he could make more of it at will, somehow. It was twelve feet tall and moving fast, but Sasuke vaulted over the top with little difficulty.

And was promptly ambushed by a second smaller wave, hidden behind the first.

It batted Sasuke into one of the arena walls, leaving him breathless and nursing his aching ribs. Before he could find his feet, another blast of sand hammered into him. His skin was scraped raw and his arms ached. He barely rolled out of the way of the next attack.

Time for Plan B. Once he had some space, Sasuke blew a Miracle Breath at Gaara. The blast of air tore tiny grains of sand away from the mass that covered the ground, carrying a stinging cloud to the opposite arena wall. Gaara sheltered behind his moving shield and the technique did nothing to him.

That was one idea to toss out, then. Sasuke moved on to Plan C, which was Plan A except with more swearing. He closed the distance, dodging through a spray of sand pellets that Gaara sent out, and slipped past another sand shield. The wind chakra that sped his legs screamed as he threw himself into a spinning kick, launching Gaara into the sand shield.

So far, so good.

Sasuke stepped in close and landed four punches in quick succession, hitting the same spot each time. Tendrils of sand grabbed at him but he ran back out of range before he could be ensnared. A spike lunged for his chest. He stepped aside and used it as a handhold to flip over the protecting sand, landing an axe kick on Gaara's shoulder. His foot was half-numb from the force of the blow; surely it would hurt Gaara some.

As Sasuke limped back out of range, Gaara howled in anger. Sand gathered around him, but instead of lashing out again, it formed a tightly-packed sphere, perhaps eight feet across. A small floating piece of sand, in the shape of an eye, remained connected to him by threads of chakra. Other than that, the arena grew still.

There was no chance Sasuke could punch through this new defence, and neither fire nor wind would make a dent. Gaara would have to breathe eventually. Sasuke sat back on his haunches, deactivated his Sharingan, and waited. He pulled out his canteen. After rinsing his mouth out and spitting sandy water onto the dirt, he took a long drink.

Two minutes later, the strange edifice crumbled. Gaara stumbled out, left hand cradling his head and eyes screwed shut, right hand hidden in a huge mass of sand. The appendage was covered in blue-black veins that pulsed every few seconds, and Sasuke could practically smell the vast quantities of chakra coming off it. His Sharingan activated out of sheer reflex.

Sasuke was almost sick as he saw more of the thing.

Evil chakra clung to every grain of sand in the arm, and flashes of energy raced back and forth along the veins. There was some internal structure, as well, though it was far from the orderly array of stone and soil that most earth techniques used. It reminded Sasuke of something fleshy, or perhaps the web of some monstrous spider, though what manner of beast would have such an array of alien organs and fibrous muscles?

The arm flexed, bent, and then grabbed at the ground and flung Gaara forward.

Sasuke broke into a flat-out sprint, and the arm ploughed a furrow in the ground where he'd been standing a moment earlier. Gaara's speed was something new and horrifying. The arm came around and slashed at Sasuke and he dodged once, twice, then sprang forward. If he got in close, it might struggle to hit him.

Gaara's eyes were wide and staring, but he wasn't seeing the arena. He mumbled to himself, though Sasuke couldn't make out the words. The strange scar on his forehead stood out, stark red against his lily-white skin.

Sliding under the arm, Sasuke slammed a kick into Gaara's stomach, picking him up off the floor. A whisper of motion was all the warning he had before the sand arm struck him across the back, sending him sprawling in the dirt a good thirty feet away. There was a slithering sound as more sand flowed onto Gaara.

Rather than adding to his arm, it formed a second limb, looking much like the first one. Judging by its position, Sasuke decided it was a tail of sorts. Its insides were just as unnatural. The longer this went on, the worse his position would get. Taijutsu was out, his wind technique had failed, and Gaara's sand shield would protect him against fire as easily as air. A single blast of fire would do about as much to stop Gaara as one of the spitballs Naruto had been so fond of, back at the Academy.

Then again, Naruto had never stopped after the first spitball.

Sasuke grinned as a new strategy took shape. Before Gaara had a chance to attack again, he formed hand seals and sent a fireball at Gaara's position.

As the flames raced towards him, Gaara called some of his sand back, wrapping himself – along with his alien limbs – in a thick cocoon. Sasuke's fireball burst against it and showered the grass with embers.

Without giving Gaara an opening to move, Sasuke launched a more focused stream of fire. It scoured the sand clean of any twigs or blades of grass, but it wasn't hot enough to melt the sand. And the thick layers of silicate were too good at keeping the heat out for Sasuke to cook Gaara. The boy was safe in his shell.

But Sasuke wasn't trying to hurt Gaara directly.

He blew until his lungs were empty, then immediately sent another blast of fire out, holding it as long as possible. Heat waves shimmered around the sand, and the faint drizzle wasn't even reaching the ground before it evaporated. It would be getting harder and harder to breathe. Another eye of sand formed next to Gaara.

A long whip of sand lashed out at Sasuke, but Gaara was far enough away that it was easy to dodge. Another spray of sand missiles followed it. Sasuke leapt over it, keeping the focused stream of fire in place. More strikes came out of the sand shell, but they were getting more erratic and less accurate. Three hits in a row went completely wide.

The Sharingan was an unnecessary drain on his chakra, now. Sasuke willed it away as he focused all his energy and attention on his clan's signature ninjutsu. He hadn't practiced as much, lately, but the fire still danced to his will the way it had since he was a child. Those were happier days, when ninjutsu was a hobby and a joy and he hadn't yet learned what fire did to a human body.

Sasuke sucked in a deep breath and hurled another stream of flame. Gaara was still sheltering inside his protective sand wrapping. The sandy eye was gone, either dismissed or scorched to dust. Another shield of sand rose out of the ground, trying to intercept Sasuke's fire technique, but Sasuke ran to the side and bypassed the defence.

By now the earth all around Gaara was bone-dry, and the grass had burned, leaving his sand cocoon in the middle of an empty charred expanse. Red-hot specks of sand fell off the shield and then all of a sudden the shell lost its cohesion, sand sloughing off in great sheets. The heat haze all around was fading, but slowly, much too slowly. Gaara's closed eyes were revealed first, then the rest of his head, then his shoulders – now bare of whatever thing had been attached before. Once his torso was free, he collapsed to the ground. He was fully human again. Sasuke saw his chest was still rising and falling, but it was too shallow and too fast. He didn't move, even as he lay on the baked dirt.

The proctor stepped forwards. "The winner of the final match, and the whole tournament, is Sasuke Uchiha!"

Sasuke turned his face up to the sky and a cool breeze caressed his skin. He was one step closer to his brother. Winning the Chunin Tournament – proving himself as the best new chunin from any of the participating villages – was a triumph, a moment that most ninja would cherish until the day they died. He should have been happy, or excited, or at least filled with grim resolve.

The rain stopped. Sasuke felt nothing.

-O-

Naruto trailed behind Kakashi and Sakura as they headed to the square in front of the Hokage Tower. Far ahead, Sasuke led the procession, stiff with discomfort. In between was the heaving mass of civilians that wanted to see the awards ceremony and had flooded out of the arena.

"Let's get Ichiraku ramen to celebrate after the ceremony," Sakura suggested, smiling at Naruto. He noticed how hungry he was; the sun was low in the sky.

"Ramen sounds great," he said, forcing a grin. "It's a shame about what happened with Gaara; I would have liked to see you fight Sasuke."

Sakura shrugged. "At the end of the day, it wasn't worth killing or dying over, and at least I reached the semi-finals." An awkward silence settled over them, Naruto's face burning with embarrassment and shame.

The Hokage and Kazekage swept past, their ANBU escort easily clearing a route through the crowd. They were deep in conversation, and Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade followed half a step behind.

No doubt they were discussing the tournament too.

Suddenly Naruto wanted to get away from his team. In the teeming mass of civilians, it was all too easy to get separated. One second Sakura was right beside him, and then the flow of the crowd pulled him away. It wouldn't be too hard to force his way back over, Naruto knew, but some time to think was just what he needed at that moment.

He was glad that Sasuke had won the tournament, he really was. But Naruto still couldn't shake the feeling he'd been short-changed by the order of the matches. Neji was the strongest ninja out of his entire graduating class, and a year older than Naruto. They'd fought almost to a standstill and with another month's training, Naruto was confident he could have won. But Sasuke had taken Neji out in the first round. Now Naruto looked unskilled for falling to him in the preliminaries, rather than unlucky for drawing a powerful opponent so early.

Such was the way of the world.

It wouldn't make him bitter, he swore. The world had always been unfair to him. He wasn't about to take an unlucky draw in an optional tournament too seriously. That said, it was a reminder that Naruto couldn't wait for greatness to be thrust upon him. He had to go out there and chase it down.

Naruto flinched as Jiraiya of the Sannin appeared to his left. One second there was an empty spot between two civilians, and then it was filled by red and green clothes and a pile of shaggy white hair, with a warty face buried somewhere in the middle. Jiraiya slung an arm over Naruto's shoulders and leant in close, speaking softly.

"Listen, kid, you already know who I am. Meet me at the front gates tomorrow. Pack enough for two months on the road." His voice was carefree but there was iron in it. He was not a man who expected to be second-guessed or disobeyed.

Naruto screwed up his courage. "No. I won't go unless you tell me why."

"Kid, that wasn't a suggestion. I know some stuff about what's in your belly. Apart from the ramen, of course."

"I'm going to need more of an explanation than that," Naruto said flatly. He shrugged Jiraiya's arm off, then turned to stare the Sannin in the eyes. He put whatever steel he could into the gaze.

Jiraiya glanced over his shoulder at the crowd, then gave Naruto a meaningful look. "Let's not talk here."

They settled on the roof of a nearby inn, watching the award ceremony take place. All eight competitors were arrayed on the stage. The Hokage placed a medal on each ninja in turn.

"Look, I know you don't want to hear this," Jiraiya said. "But there's things happening that I can't talk about right now. It was hard enough getting the Hokage to sign off on this without needing to share S-rank secrets with a chunin. The short version is that you'll need to spend some time outside of Konohagakure and away from your team."

"You say the Hokage said yes, but does that mean it's an order?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Kid, there's ninja who would literally cut off a hand for the opportunity I'm offering you."

"I'm guessing that means no." So Naruto had a choice in the matter. This was the Leaf's spymaster, warning him of impending danger, but he was being asked to save himself and leave his team behind to face the threat alone. He frowned. "Sorry. I get it's important, it's just… my team is supposed to finally be back together again. I can't leave them."

"...Have you heard of the Fourth Hokage's signature techniques?" Jiraiya asked, changing the subject.

Naruto blinked. "Of course. He could summon giant war toads, he was a sealing master who captured and contained the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, and of course he's the only ninja to use the Flying Thunder God technique. Even the kids who don't go to the Academy know about him."

"Before he became Hokage, he was a snot-nosed brat with big dreams called Minato Namikaze. I know because I was the one who trained him," Jiraiya said, staring off into the distance. He looked torn between pride and regret. "He received the summoning contract for the toads from me. And apart from the Flying Thunder God – which he called the Hiraishin – he developed one other personal technique, called the Rasengan. If you work with me here, I'll teach you how to summon toads, or the Rasengan, whichever you prefer."

"That's a really nice offer." For a split second, Naruto pictured himself as the heir to the Fourth Hokage's legacy. And then he pushed the dream aside, because if his team wasn't there with him, it was worthless. "But if I went on a training trip, and then I got home and Sasuke or Sakura were hurt, I don't think I could take that. That's not something I'll ever let happen. I need to be close enough that I can protect them. It's the most important thing for me."

Naruto faced the awards ceremony again, fighting down disappointment. He would have loved to learn one of the Fourth Hokage's techniques; the man was his hero.

"Oh, that's why you want to stay." Jiraiya dragged a hand across his face, exasperated. "In that case, let me explain what I meant when I said you were in danger. Your presence, here, in this village, risks drawing an attack by an organisation of S-rank ninja calling themselves Akatsuki. Staying close to your teammates will put them in harm's way. If you want to protect them, you'll have to come with me."

There was an uncomfortable silence on the rooftop.

"Then it doesn't sound like I have a choice," Naruto said, staring at the clouds on the horizon. Too many things had happened too fast, and he didn't know how to feel. He settled for bitter regret. If he'd known he would be forced to leave the village, he would have spent more time with Sasuke and had been training hard, but it was just a tournament, and that time together might be something he never got back. And he'd have enjoyed his meal with Kakashi more.

There were so many things he could have done differently. It was astonishing how one piece of news could change his perspective on the last month.

"We're gonna have to leave the day after tomorrow, at dawn, but you can have one day to say your goodbyes. I'm going to explain everything to you once we're somewhere safe." Jiraiya's stern frown faded and he looked more tired than anything. "If it helps, I'd rather be off doing my own thing than watching over you. I wouldn't do this if it wasn't necessary."

"Well, time for me to enjoy my one day of freedom," Naruto said, tossing a sarcastic salute at Jiraiya. He hopped off the roof and down into an alley between two shops, but Jiraiya caught him by his collar and held him dangling from one hand.

The Sannin scowled down at Naruto. "You can stop with the pity party. Just today, Tsunade and I foiled an assassination attempt on the Hokage. We don't know who sent the attackers, but it looks like it could have been Orochimaru. This is serious, and I expect to be working with a chunin of the Leaf, not some brat who wants the world to bend over backwards for him."

"I didn't ask to be an orphan with a demon sealed in me," Naruto spat.

"That's life as a ninja for you, kid. There's plenty of filthy jobs that need doing, and by wearing that headband, you've become a volunteer."

Naruto nodded and Jiraiya dropped him. By the time Naruto had landed and looked up again, he was alone in the alley. His head was spinning with everything he'd just learned. Assassination attempts, Akatsuki, his upcoming trip, it was all too much to make sense of. He rushed off to find his team and tell them everything.

The first place to check was Ichiraku's, which also ended up being the last place because his team was already there.

Sasuke and Sakura had somehow shepherded Kakashi into the ramen stand without him wandering off and disappearing for a few hours. Naruto had no idea how they'd done it; perhaps Kakashi had been held at knifepoint the entire time. Still, it would make this next part easier.

"Congratulations!" Naruto said, clapping Sasuke and Sakura on the back. "You really made the village proud. And I'm proud too, of course."

Sakura ducked her head and blushed, while Sasuke smirked. Kakashi tapped a finger to his nose. "You all did very well to be promoted so fast. The only other team from Konohagakure that managed it this year is Asuma's. The exam and tournament solidified Team Seven's reputation as the best new Chunin."

Sasuke was the first to realise that there was more news Naruto wanted to share. "What's the matter?"

"Lord Jiraiya pulled me aside during the ceremony," Naruto said with a watery smile. "He had some news about a group of criminals called Akatsuki. They have some S-rank missing-nin, and they're after me specifically, for reasons."

When Sakura shot a meaningful look at his stomach, Naruto nodded once. "What will they do to you?" she asked.

"I don't know, but Jiraiya says I need to leave the village for a little while. I don't think it will be for longer than a few weeks, maybe a month, at a time. But I won't be able to go on missions with you guys much, or even hang out."

They all looked shocked, apart from Kakashi. He never showed emotions he didn't mean to, but in this case–

"You're not surprised," Naruto accused.

Kakashi nodded slowly. "This isn't entirely unexpected. There's things moving that have lain still since the last war. This Akatsuki is just one part of the bigger picture. When the villages are working together, organisations like that are stamped out fast. The only thing that can threaten a ninja village is another ninja village; Akatsuki must have allies, or at least sympathisers, in a foreign village. Otherwise, Jiraiya would have delivered Akatsuki's heads along with his news."

Sasuke snorted.

"What do you think, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"That's bullshit. We're meant to be a team. When things get rough, we should be sticking together."

Sakura bit her lip. "It doesn't seem fair that Naruto has to leave for something that's not his fault."

"I won't put the village in danger, or you guys," Naruto said. It was meant to sound grand and heroic, but it came out very small.

"This is what it means to be a chunin. You're not children anymore," Kakashi told them, serious for once. "The Second Hokage once said that Konohagakure rests on the shoulders of her chunin. Long missions away from your friends and family is part of that."

"I know," Naruto said, thoroughly miserable. "I just figured that on a mission like that, I'd have at least one friend with me."

Kakashi patted him on the head. "I'm sure you'll come by the village every now and again. This isn't goodbye forever, you know."

"And," Sasuke said, smirking, "if you have Lord Jiraiya to teach you for a few months, maybe you'll catch up to me."

Naruto laughed. "Next time we fight, I'll tie one hand behind my back."

"I'll tie both hands behind my back then, to make it fair," Sasuke shot back.

"Kakashi?" Sakura interrupted. "When you said that we're not children anymore, does that mean we're allowed to try a sip of alcohol?"

Kakashi pretended to mull it over. "Well, there's a long answer to that, but… no. If I catch any of you with a drink before you're eighteen, you will regret ever being born."

It hurt, it really did, knowing that Naruto would be leaving all this behind. He pasted a smile on his face and ordered for the group. "I'll have one pork and one miso ramen, both with egg. Sasuke will have a miso with bamboo, then a salt ramen with beef for Sakura, and Kakashi likes his noodles boiled in an old shoe and with cloves of raw garlic sprinkled on top."

"Just a pork ramen with mushroom for me," Kakashi corrected.

"Coming right up!" the old chef said.

Team Seven sat and ate and talked long into the night. It felt to Naruto like they were all trying to store up some of the camaraderie, so it would last them through the lean times to come.