AN: Trying out a new way of structuring the story, rather than spacing everything out I'll try to paragraph it a bit more to tidy it up. I'd like to know your opinions of which style of writing you all prefer. Other than that, enjoy the new chapter!
Sakura and Naruto sat together on the couch, looking at the boxes at littered his living space. Naruto stared at his surroundings nervously while Sakura was excited to begin unpacking. "Are you sure you'll have enough space, Sakura-chan?" Naruto said, looking at the pink-haired kunoichi beside him who had a happy grin on her face.
"Of course, we can make it work. I'm sure of it." She said happily as she took his hand in hers. This was a big step for both herself and Naruto, Sakura wanted to make sure he felt as comfortable as possible during the process of her moving in. "Is this really what you want, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked hesitantly as he stared at the pink-haired girl who was gripping his hand gently, Sakura didn't reply for a small lapse of time, not helping to ease the blonde's nervousness. Sakura grinned at the boy and nodded in confirmation, "I'll admit this still feels weird, this is really new to me. It makes me really excited too, like we're finally taking that next step." Sakura said with an ear to ear grin. Naruto smiled as he embraced his girlfriend tightly and breathed in the scent of her hair, smiling at the comfort it brought him. "How did your parents take it?" Naruto asked as he broke the embrace.
"Well…"
"WHAT!?" Kizashi and Mebuki both exclaimed with wide eyes.
"It was kind of a spur of the moment type of thing." Sakura awkwardly giggled at her parents who didn't seem to be amused. "Sakura, you're only 16. I know you'll be seventeen soon but that's still not old enough to move out!" Mebuki said worriedly. "I agree with your mother, I'm afraid the answer is no." Kizashi said, feeling saddened at his daughter's heartbroken expression .Sakura looked at her parents desperately "b-but..-"
"No means no, Sakura." Mebuki reinforced, sighing at the stern tone she had to take with her daughter.
Sakura ran off into her room and slammed the door shut hard as she planted her face into her pillow, letting her frustrations out across its fabric surface. She was almost seventeen for crying out loud, in the ninja world it's not uncommon for ninjas to move out of their parents homes when they attain the rank of chunin. Why were they being so stuck up about this!
Kizashi stood there for what seemed like forever before finally speaking up, "i've changed my mind." Kizashi said as he looked over at his wife who bore a surprised expression across her face, "You can't be serious, dear." Mebuki replied. "We can't continue to be walls for her, Mebuki-chan. She needs to grow up without our help sometimes." Kizashi said as he kissed the cheek of his wife. Mebuki sighed nodded, showing a small smile to the man she loved. "Well then, go tell her." Mebuki said, gesturing to the staircase.
Kizashi proceeded up the staircase and approached the door to Sakura's room, he smiled thankfully at the fact that the door wasn't locked, "Sakura, dear?" Kizashi said as he gently slid the door open, his voice escaping into Sakura's room through the small opening in the doorway.
"What do you want?" She said, her voice muffled by the pillow.
Kizashi sighed as he walked into the room and sat down on the bed, his daughter still face-first in the pillow.
"Is this really what you want?" Kizashi asked as he looked down at his daughter who had shifted onto her side in order for Kizashi to see her face.
"I… Y-Yes, this is what I want." Sakura said, nodding in responseto her father's question.
Kizashi looked at the light pink walls of his daughter's room and smiled, "It was your mother's idea to paint this room pink. I still think it looks ugly." Kizashi smiled as he looked over to the dresser and saw some of Sakura's old photos, he stood up from the bed and walked over to inspect them. It was a picture of Sakura and Ino when they were about 8 years old; Sakura was lying on her stomach, holding her head up with her hands and was smiling at the camera. Ino was sitting on Sakura with a victorious expression across her face but was still smiling and showing a peace sign to the camera. Kizashi looked back at his much older daughter and smiled at her, causing her to look at him with a confused expression.
"Dad?" Sakura said, cocking her head to the left slightly to accentuate her confusion.
"You've grown up so much, I'm so proud of you." Kizashi said as he returned his place on the edge of his daughter's bed, Sakura gave him a small smile in response.
"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them, Sakura-chan…" Her father said as a small tear rode down his features.
Sakura got up from her position and sat next to her father, leaning her head into him as he wrapped his arm around her. Five minutes passed before Kizashi finally spoke up, "If this is truly what your heart desires, I can't keep you here." Kizashi said as he paused, his voice audibly wavering slightly, he stood up from the bed and slowly moved towards the door as he looked around the room, as if taking one final look at all the memories it withheld behind its walls. He reached the doorway before turning around to face his daughter who was smiling gently at him; He pictured her there on the bed as his baby girl, his little Sakura. But she wasn't his little Sakura anymore. She had grown up; his thoughts of that little girl were replaced by the strong young woman that was in front of him.
"Sakura-chan, there are two times when parenting is the most difficult. When the baby first arrives at home… and when the adult leaves home." Kizashi said as he looked at his daughter who was holding back her tears, "But your home isn't here anymore, I understand that now." Kizashi said as he closed the door gently behind him.
Naruto felt a slight pang of guilt run through him as his stomach sank slightly from the feeling, he felt like a home wrecker. He robbed Kizashi of his daughter, the daughter he raised, the daughter he cared for, the daughter he now probably missed greatly. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." Naruto said with self-disappointment evident in his tone of voice.
"For what, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked, hearing the wavering voice of her boyfriend. Naruto sighed as he gripped her hand a little tighter, "I had no right to take you from your father and mother, from the home you grew up in." Naruto said as a sad expression crossed his face, Sakura noticed this and wrapped her arms gently around her blonde knucklehead, "You didn't take me from anyone, Naruto-kun. I chose to be here because this is where I really belong. Right here with you." Sakura finished as they broke their embrace, gazing into one another's eyes. Naruto leaned forward and crashed his lips to Sakura's making her squeal a bit at the sudden contact but she quickly regained her composure and snaked her arms around him, pressing her closer and closer to him until they were squashed together tightly, Naruto blushed as he realized what was pushing against his chest. Their kiss only lasted a few moments longer but the two chunin broke from it with content smiles across their faces.
"So, you three want a mission?" Tsunade asked as she inspected the three ninja in front of her. "You bet, Baa-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he excitedly awaited the amazing mission that was sure to follow.
"Stop calling me that!" Tsunade barked out, silencing the hyperactive blonde. "Well, we don't really have much available at the moment. Sor-" Naruto slammed his fist down gently on the tale, surprising everybody in the room "don't give me that, Baa-chan! There has to be something!" Naruto complained loudly, much to Sakura's displeasure.
Tsunade sighed at his continued use of the infuriating suffix before she looked over at the three, "Look, if you're that desperate to earn money you can all go guard the Tenchi Bridge for a day." Tsunade said, as the three nodded. "Consider it a C rank mission, that's the best I can do. Get packed and leave before nightfall." Tsunade ordered as the three ninja left her room, one definitely more excited than the rest.
"Naruto, slow down. The bridge isn't going anywhere." Kakashi said, trying to calm down the blonde. "I can't Kakashi-sensei, this is my first mission in three years!" Naruto said, pure happiness in his voice. Sakura looked at her boyfriend, he seemed genuinely happy; she couldn't help but smile upon seeing the ear to ear grin on his face.
The first night was uneventful, dreadfully uneventful. Naruto sat with Kakashi while Sakura sat on a wooden placed a small distance away from the boys and casually looked up at the stars. "So, I hear you two have moved in together." Kakashi said as he and Naruto ate their respective meals. Naruto smiled and nodded, "It still feels a bit weird, we haven't really unpacked or sorted anything out. Truth be told it kind of scares me a bit." Naruto said as he finished his meals and tossed the plastic wrapper from its container into the fire.
"So that's why you wanted to go on a mission so bad?" Kakashi asked as Naruto responded with a small nod of his head, "I needed to clear my head I guess, everything's moving so fast with us." Naruto said as he turned around to look at the pink-haired girl who was gazing up at the stars. "Well then slow down and enjoy every day. Life goes by way too fast, Naruto." Kakashi said with a smile, "That's pretty wise of you Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said, slightly surprised at Kakashi. "You should talk to her about how you're feeling Naruto." Kakashi said as he gestured to the pink-haired girl looking up at the stars. "What do I say Kakashi-sensei, what If I mess it up?" Naruto said, a hint of worry coating his voice. "Well, you've done alright so far. Haven't you?" Kakashi said as he attempted to reason with the blonde boy to offer him reassurance. "I guess you're right, thanks sensei." Naruto said as he stood up and made his way from the campfire over to Sakura.
"Hey Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he came and sat down on the log with the pink haired girl. "Oh, is it your turn to take watch already Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked, cocking her head slightly to the left. "No, I just thought you'd want some company." Naruto said as he smiled softly at the girl who leaned into him. Naruto responded by lifting his arm up, letting her fall deeper into his embrace. "I really missed this, camping under the stars. Like old times." Naruto said, looking up at the stars. "It is nice, isn't it?" Sakura responded, joining her boyfriend in his stargazing adventure.
"Sakura-chan, do you ever worry that we're moving forward in our relationship too fast?" Naruto asked, making Sakura's eyes widen slightly as her thoughts started to get the best of her, "Is he breaking up with me?" Sakura thought as he heart broke slightly at the thought, "D-Did I do something to upset you, Naruto-kun? If you don't like all the kissing I can-"
"No, the kissing's the best part, I swear." Naruto responded as the arm wrapped around Sakura squeezed her gently, "I just mean that ever since I got back I haven't given you any time to yourself. I've made everything about me." Naruto said as he looked into her eyes.
"I'm the one that chooses to spend all the time with you, y'know." Sakura said, flicking him gently in the nose, making them both giggle slightly as Naruto held back a sneeze. "But… I guess you're right, we have been spending a large amount of time together, not that there's anything wrong with that." Sakura said, quickly reassuring that she still wanted the blonde around.
"I just want to give you freedom Sakura-chan; I want you to keep training with Tsunade-baa-chan and Kakashi-sensei. Don't give up your quest for being strong just to take care of me." He said, leaning his head against hers.
"Naruto-kun…" She whispered out, almost inaudibly. Some time passed before Naruto spoke again, "We can still spend lots of time together." Naruto said, trying to make sure the woman before him understood his intentions, "But we should both do our own thing as well, I hope you don't think I'm being a jerk…" Naruto said, nervously as he looked at Sakura who was staring at the stars. "You're not a jerk; you've never been a jerk." She smiled as she gently pecked him on the cheek and shifted her gaze towards his calming blue eyes, " We should focus on our own paths but still remember the one we're walking together. Is that what you were trying to say?" Sakura said with a smile, Naruto nodded in response to Sakura with a grin on his face, "you always were the smart one, Sakura-chan." Naruto said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
Finally sunlight dawned upon the bridge, making the native birds chirp and animals move gently in the distance. As the sun's bright rays penetrated through the thick layers of shrubbery and leaves one native animal, the rare Naruto Uzumaki wasn't particularly fond of the sun's intrusion and tried to block the light as it began to spread slowly across his faces, awakening him from his slumber. The blonde yawned as he unzipped his sleeping bag, gently shaking the bags of both his sensei and his girlfriend. Naruto gently brushed the loose hairs away from Sakura's face as she yawned and stretched her arms, smiling at the special wake-up treatment she was receiving.
"Morning you." She smiled at the blonde who replied with a yawned out 'Morning', making the pinkette giggle. He was certainly not a morning person. Kakashi groaned as he too stretched his limbs out, unzipping his sleeping bag after doing so. "Naruto, you and Sakura should pack your gear. I'm going to do one final patrol of the bridge." Kakashi said casually as he yawned loudly after finishing his sentence.
"You look beautiful." Naruto pointed out of nowhere as he began folding up his bag, making Sakura blush slightly at the compliment. "That was out of nowhere." Sakura openly admitted, making the blonde chuckle slightly. "It's true though, you look stunning." Naruto said as he smiled at the pinkette. Sakura knew that she was a mess; she hadn't bathed since they left for Tenchi Bridge and her hair probably looked like a mess since she hadn't brushed it yet, but she knew that the blonde would still compliment her anyways – it's just how he is.
"NARUTO, SAKURA." Kakashi called out from the bridge fetching the two flirting ninja's attention, they immediately rushed over to see what had gotten Kakashi so riled up. They approached the masked jounin and stood by his side; they looked down the bridge and saw two figures both wearing hoods over their heads but their chakra felt… familiar. "Kakashi-sensei, it can't be them. Can it?" Naruto asked, looking over at his sensei with a slight look of worry in his eyes. "I can't see it being anyone else, not with that chakra…" Kakashi said as he readied his kunai. "What are you guys talking about, who Is it?" Sakura asked nervously.
The two men lifted their hoods, it was them. The one of the left bore glasses across his cold features, glasses that hid malevolent intent to kill and harm behind them while the one on the right had skin as pale as snow, a twisted smile warped onto his face as he looked at the three ninja in front of him with those eyes… those eyes that could be mistaken for those of a snake. It was him. It was definitely him.
"Orochimaru…" Sakura uttered out in a mix of shock and fear as she too readied her kunai in front of her, the two men smiled at the three ninja before Orochimaru decided to speak up, "Hm, we really didn't expect that we would have company on this journey. How… interesting." Orochimaru chuckled as he looked at Naruto like a predator stalking his prey, "Isn't that something… Naruto Uzumaki. You've certainly grown up haven't you… and to think I still remember shattering your shoulder only a few years ago." He said as both men donned evil smiles on their faces.
"Shut up!" Naruto yelled, Sakura and Kakashi looked at Naruto. His eyes weren't his normal calming blue orbs anymore. They were red; his pupils now looked more the slits of an animal's eyes. "This isn't good." Kakashi thought as he examined the boy and then returned his gaze to Orochimaru who cackled.
"Hmm, I guess It's time to evaluate how much power the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails possesses" Orochimaru thought as he cracked his neck, readying for a fight. "So Naruto, how does it feel to have your best friends blood on your hands? How does it feel to be a KILLER?" Orochimaru cackled, sending Naruto over the edge.
"Shut up, Shut up, Shut UP!" Naruto said as he charged at the sanin, a malevolent red chakra began surrounding him as a tail began sprouting from the hind end of the red chakra, making Sakura gasp and Kakashi go wide-eyed with worry. "We need to stop this right now" Kakashi thought as he looked at Sakura, "We need to help Naruto." Kakashi said as Sakura nodded in agreement as they both charged after the blonde boy before being stopped by two kunai thrown at their feet.
"Sorry you two, Lord Orochimaru does not wish for you to interfere in their battle." Kabuto said as he fixed his glasses, "Therefore I will be your opponent." Kabuto said as he readied his poison-laced senbon.
"How I wish I could've been there to watch as the life drained from Sasuke's body!" Orochimaru yelled as dodged a punch and continued to egg Naruto on. "I'M GOING TO CRUSH YOU!" Naruto angrily screamed as he sent his fist colliding into Orochimaru's face, sending him reeling back through a countless number of trees before catching up to him, grabbing his feet and swinging him around once more to add even more momentum to his attack. "Naruto…" Sakura whispered quietly as she watched her boyfriend fade from her view.
Finally a clearing in the trees approached, Orochimaru flipped and landed on his feet as he slid back slightly, trying to regain his footing. Orochimaru looked over his injuries and their appeared to be nothing more than a scratch on his cheek, making the Naruto who had now caught up to the sanin quite shocked, "Naruto, you know you can't beat me in the state you're in. Come on you murderous demon, show me that chakra everyone hates you for having! Show me the power of the NINE TAILED FOX!" Orochimaru shouted as Naruto seethed in anger.
Dark.
This place was dark… it was familiar… it was where the beast resided. "Why am I here again?" Naruto called out as he banged on the cage, "You're here because you lust for my power." The fox replied as he smashed his giant head against the sealed cage, rattling its surface. "That's not true! I don't need you to beat him!" Naruto rejected the fox, making the nine-tailed beast laugh at his response. "Face him without my help and you will die, you know it's the truth. He will kill you and everyone you care about, including the girl. Use my power; it's your only choice." The fox replied, making Naruto take a large gulp as he pondered over the fox's words. "Fine…" Naruto paused as he admitted defeat, "Give me your power then, just remember that if I die you're coming with me" Naruto said as he closed his eyes.
Red.
Red was all Naruto could see as he opened his eyes, he felt no power over his body, he couldn't control anything. All he felt was anger. Pure, unrelenting anger.
Orochimaru jumped back as two more tails sprouted rapidly from the chakra surrounding the boy and a third begin to emerge, Orochimaru's eyes widened as he saw the very skin of the blonde boy begin to burn off and be replaced with nothing but a solid composite of red chakra, the boy screamed in a primal roar as the skin began to tear off and his clothing began to rip along with it. Finally, after minutes of agonizing screaming the boy was no more. Replaced with a beast that seemed to have consumed his physical form. The fourth tail had emerged. The beast roared mightily, sending Orochimaru reeling back into a rock at the sheer force of its power.
"Kakashi-sensei, what is that?" Sakura panted out as she kicked Kabuto away. The three ninja looked into the distance and saw a huge red substance around the area that Naruto and Orochimaru were headed, "Please, don't be what I think it is…" Kakashi thought as he dodged one of Kabuto's senbons. "I'm going to dispatch of you quick, my student needs me." Kakashi said as he looked upon Kabuto.
"Come and try it then." Kabuto replied as he held several senbon in his hand that were ready to be thrown. Kakashi sprinted as the man, sending Kabuto reeling with a kick. Kabuto landed on his feet and threw several senbon at Kakashi who now had his full sharingan activated.
"Sakura!" Kakashi called out, breaking the chunin from her blank gaze at the evil chakra filling the air. Sakura readied her chidori and charged at Kabuto, almost connecting flush with the attack, Kabuto managed to dodge just in time. The snake apprentice winced as he felt a bleeding come from his lower right leg. "Lucky hit." Kabuto said as he looked at the girl who still had a worried look on her face as she took occasional glances to the red chakra filling the sky. "There's no such thing as luck." Kakashi said as he appeared behind Kabuto, connecting flush with a kick that sent Kabuto reeling to the other side of the bridge.
"Earth Style: Earth Dome Jutsu!" Kakashi called out as he placed his hands to the ground, suddenly a huge rock formation appeared around downed shinobi and encased him, Kakashi sighed as he removed his hands from the ground, earth style techniques weren't his strong suit and that particular jutsu drained a lot of chakra in order to keep active. Nevertheless, the two ninja decided to quickly push on to the source of the chakra disturbance in the area.
"This power… this is unbelievable." Orochimaru said as he eyed the four tailed beast in front of him with a look of surprise, the snake sanin cackled as he opened his mouth to inhuman lengths, sending out a large wave of snakes at the four-tailed beast who stood in place awaiting the snakes to approach, growling as he glared the venomous reptiles approaching him in immeasurable numbers. The beast slammed its hand down hard, creating an explosion at the area of impact that dispatched of the snakes quickly; the immense power of the explosion caused both the beast and Orochimaru to be knocked back a few feet away from their original position.
The four-tailed beast looked at Orochimaru before opening its mouth, creating a ball of chakra at its mouth, "So, it knows a few tricks it seems." Orochimaru said before his eyes widened in shock, the four-tailed monster was condensing the ball of chakra to inhuman levels, "Even I won't survive a blast with that much condensed chakra." Orochimaru said as he began to bite his thumbs. Once the beast finished condensing the ball of chakra it then swallowed it, Orochimaru realized what the beast was planning and quickly hurried the jutsu he was preparing. The beast let out an audible roar before releasing the chakra pooling inside of it, sending out a large blast. "Summoning Jutsu; Triple Rashomon" Orochimaru yelled as he summoned three gates out of the ground just in time to avoid taking the blast head on, the first gate was absorbed some of the attacks power but fell in the end, the second gate was able to lessen the attacks power significantly before falling and the third gate was barely able to disperse of the attack before crumbling itself.
"This isn't good, I didn't expect the boy to pose this much of a threat. It's time to retreat and reconsider my options." Orochimaru thought as he quickly disappeared behind the crumbling third Rashomon and went to find Kabuto on the Tenchi Bridge. The four-tailed beast roared loudly as its intended target had fled, only adding to its anger.
"I-Is that Naruto?" Sakura said with wide-eyes as she looked at the atrocious beast roaring inside the crater. Kakashi didn't say anything for a while as he looked on in horror at what Naruto had turned into, "Yes, I'm afraid so." Kakashi replied with a mix of fear and worry. Without saying another word Sakura quickly leapt off the tree and rushed into the crater, "Sakura!" Kakashi called out as he tried to catch up to his student.
The beast roared and slammed its first into the ground once more, creating another shockwave that shook the area around it, blowing back the approaching Sakura and Kakashi who just made it into the crater, "Naruto-kun!" Sakura called out as the beast turned its attention to the woman in front of it. "Naruto-kun, it's me! It's Sakura-chan!" Sakura said as she hesitantly approached the beast who growled at her slightly as she moved closer and closer to it.
Sakura felt a sharp pain on her right cheek as the beast whipped its tail at her, sending her recoiling back into her sensei's arms. Sakura held back tears she felt the stinging pain on her cheek, "Sakura, it's not Naruto anymore." Kakashi said as he readied his lightning blade to attack the beast with before Sakura stopped him by raising her hand in front of her sensei. "He's still in their Kakashi-sensei, I'm sure of it." Sakura paused a she looked at the roaring beast in front of her, "It's my turn to save you this time, Naruto-kun." Sakura said as she stood up and approached the beast once more with a much more purposeful stride.
The beast eyed her, his pure white eyes fixed on her green orbs. "Naruto-kun, I know you're in there! I know you still know who I am! It's me, it's Sakura-chan!" She shouted, getting even closer to the beast than she got before, the mark on her cheek now started to burn and began bleeding slightly, "Look at me!" Sakura shouted as the mindless beast fixated its gaze to her eyes, "I know you feel like you're to blame for what happened to Sasuke but you're not! H-He chose his own path, a path we couldn't save him from! Naruto-kun, this… this isn't you!" Sakura said choking out the final parts of her speech as tears ran down the sides of her face, "I want my Naruto-kun back! I can't live without you, Naruto-kun! I…I love you!" She sobbed as she looked up into the beast's eyes as it seemed to… shed a tear?
"S…kura-ch..an" the beast growled out in a voice that sounded slightly like Naruto's making both Kakashi and Sakura gasp, suddenly, the tails began to return back into the beast as the chakra started to fade from around the beasts physical body, after a few moments of the chakra rescinding something was finally visible, his spiky blonde hair was the first thing to come into vision. After some more time had passed his face and upper body were finally visible, his skin had been burned into a rosy shade of red from the red chakra he had been encased in. Sakura reached forward and caught the boy who fell forward into her arms; she encased him tightly as she let her warm tears fall onto his skin. Finally, his whole body was clear of the chakra, all the remained were his pants that were torn so bad that they resembled the look of shorts.
Naruto's eyes opened gently as he felt pain coursing all throughout his body, he smiled as his ocean blue eyes met her emerald green ones. "Don't cry, Sakura-chan." Naruto muttered out quietly, his voice dry and raspy. Sakura looked at the blonde and smiled gently as he passed out in her arms.