A/N: On TFF, Thorn (a.k.a. xxThornxx here at FF(dot)Net), started a Chain Story, where different authors write a different segment of each chapter. For Chapter One, I picked #6, meaning for Chapter 2, I'll be #5 since we're slightly staggering the order for each chapter. Anyways, this is my contribution to this potentially awesome fic. Enjoy!

Chapter One, Segment #6 -- "M2J" MandalorianJedi

Though she had not known him long- only for the last couple of months- there are many things that Shizune had come to associate with Uzumaki Naruto.

Considerate, caring, loud, brash, confident, intense, hopeful, desire, luck, orange, ramen, and Hokage- to name a few.

If there was ANYTHING she would never have associated with him, it was the very emotion in his eyes, the very tremor in his voice, the wavering sound of the words as they left his mouth.

There was only one word to describe the look in his eyes, the expression on his face, the tremor in his posture and the cracking of his voice.

Fear.

Wild, untamed, unimaginable, unadulterated, horrifying, terrible fear.

"Naruto-kun?" asked Shizune with concern.

"N-nee-chan... S-Something..." Naruto stuttered.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Shizune asked again, a bit nervously. She took a step towards the near hysterical shinobi.

WEAK. PATHETIC.

"NO!" shouted Naruto suddenly, startling the concerned med-nin.

"Naruto-kun!" Shizune shouted as she rushed to the aid of her charge.

"St-stay away!" shouted Naruto, flailing his arms in a near hysterical panic. "St-stay... stay... away..." He voice had gradually become more of a whispered plea instead of the panicked yell it had been just moments before.

FOOL.

Naruto shuddered at the sound of the second voice in his head. He held his hand to his forehead in a feeble attempt to stave off the splitting pain in his head.

It was no use.

As he succumbed to the darkness once more, the voice spoke out again...

"RESISTANCE IS FUTILE."

The remaining loyal members of the Konoha 12 were very dowtrodden, as was much of Konoha.

Rock Lee had seemingly lost his fire, and Yamanaka Ino had become somewhat of a recluse, sticking to only those she knew she could absolutely trust. Much to her parent's dismay, they were not apart of that VERY exclusive group. Even the mask of the stoic Aburame Shino seemed to have cracked, as a constant frown marred his once impassive face.

While the betrayals of Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura had shaken each of them to their very cores, affecting them in no insignificant amount, it was the fall of Uzumaki Naruto that had changed them.

There was a tenseness within the village that seemed to stem from the self-destruction of Team 7.

But no one was seemingly more affected than Nara Shikamaru. For the last few weeks since the end of the mission, he had been training relentlessly- both mentally and physically. As he trained, the images of that ill fated mission ran through his mind on constant replay.

Hyuuga Neji and Akimichi Chouji had each been mortally wounded in their respective battles. They had been all but dead when they had finally received medical attention, but both were going to make a full recovery. Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru had been in critical condition. Akamaru had suffered from many cracked and bruised bones, while Kiba had nearly gone into shock from blood loss. Lee had only aggravated his injuries from his match with Gaara during the Chuunin Exams and had set back his rehab several months, while he himself had merely suffered from a single broken finger. Naruto had completely broken. He had fallen into a deep coma and while he was completely healed physically, he seemed to lose all will to live...

Despite all their efforts, it had been all for naught.

To make things even worse, when word had initially gotten around about the failed mission and the conditions of each of its' members, many people had demanded retribution in the form of spilt blood from the catatonic Naruto.

It was only through the swift actions of the Godaime Hokage that the ANBU had been dispatched in time to maintain the peace of Konohagakure no Sato.

As the weeks passed, the Clan Heads also met, in secret. They had decided to take a more neutral stance in the case of the young, defenseless Uzumaki. While they weren't slandering and vilifying his existence, they weren't exactly supportive either. They even went as far as to discourage members of the clans to distance themselves from the final member of a team with a failed teacher and two traitors.

This had lead to a division in the clans as the members of Naruto's class stood up to their parents. The members of Team Shikamaru would not forget the efforts of their comrades in their ill-fated mission. Nor would they abandon the one who had tried and fought hardest to bring back his wayward teammates.

It had been, to the surprise of many, Shikamaru and Hyuuga Hinata, the latter with much encouragement from her cousin, that had fought the hardest against their clans, leaving a few Clan Heads more than a little ashamed of their actions. Though it had been a trying time, they had managed to get their parents to back their comatose friend.

However, much to their chagrin, Yamanaka Inoichi would not enter Naruto's mind for unexplained reasons that the Godaime had seemed to understand. Nor would any other Yamanaka for that matter, save for Ino.

Unfortunately, Ino had been expressly denied permission to do what her clan had outright refused to do by both her father and the Hokage. When she had attempted to do it anyway, she had been banned from the access list of those allowed to visit Naruto, thus a different member- usually Shikamaru or Hinata- would deliver a fresh bouquet of orange flowers to Naruto everyday.

Shikamaru couldn't hold back his depressed sigh. Dark times awaited Konoha and he was certain it would only get worse from there...

Jiraiya was getting sick and tired of this.

His apprentice, his godson and the son of his former apprentice- considered by many, the comatose blonde included, as the greatest shinobi whom ever lived- was currently laid up in a hospital bed.

Only once had the boy woken up, and even then it was only to yell out in agonizing pain and to create a god awful mess. The boy had been experiencing so much pain that the body couldn't take it and the body began to turn it into orgasmic pleasure. Tsunade said that it was a miracle Naruto even survived that, considering the levels of extreme pain and pleasure he was expiriencing simultaneously.

And the one person Naruto needed, the one person he could possibly connect to in lieu of the rest of his friend's betrayal, was currently hosting a pity party for himself, avoiding his remaining student once more.

"Kakashi!" Jiraiya shouted pounding on the door. "Kakashi, open up right now, damnit!"

Jiraiya waited a few more minutes before knocking again.

"Kakashi..." Jiraiya growled, "Naruto needs you!"

Getting fed up of waiting and playing nice like he had been the last few weeks, Jiraiya decided on a more direct and forceful approach.

"Fine, but don't complain later!" yelled Jiraiya as he busted down the door.

However, the words he had been about to shout out became stuck in his throat. He became utterly speechless at the sight of a rather large pool of blood on the floor. On the nearby table was a note, which only held three words.

Naruto-

I'm sorry...