This takes place right after the Pain vs. Naruto arc and right before the Kage Summit Arc. Figuired it'd be a good place to put it since this is where all the fillers are in the anime. If y'all have any questions or comments feel free to review! No flames please. If you're going to comment I would prefer praise or constructive criticism. If you don't like the story click the wonderful little invention called the back button. There's no need to be rude about someone else's hard work.

Naruto was in the dark standing on water. He looked around in confusion. The black space surrounding him resembled a never ending sphere containing nothing save the water rippling under every step he took. The water was as black as the space surrounding him, and for some reason wouldn't reflect anything. How strange. Despite not knowing where he was, Naruto found that he felt neither threatened nor frightened by the situation. He had explored his own consciousness enough to realize he was obviously dreaming. However, despite the odd conditions of the dream, he felt strangely calm.

Naruto studied the area more in fascination. As he stared into the vast expanse he realized the landscape was actually familiar. He'd had this dream the other night. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but then again the dream hadn't really lasted long in the first place. He began to walk, suddenly not as comfortable as he had been before. Naruto shuddered unconsciously as he trekked further into his mind. Even though the space seemed empty he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. He began sweating involuntarily as the source of this unease hit him. He wasn't alone. He kept walking slowly watching the darkness around him for any signs or movement. He clutched his kunai seeking out the threat when he heard a voice that was almost a whisper in the darkness.

"Naruto."

Naruto stilled and combed the area looking for the voice's origin. He growled in frustration seeing nothing but darkness. Where was the voice coming from?

"Naruto."

He whirled around still looking for the voice's unidentified origin. "Alright, who are you?!" he commanded in a threatening manner. "What do you want?!" "…hurry…" The voice whispered more urgently. It had said other things as well, but he could only make out the one word. "What do you mean hurry?" He demanded. "Where are you? Stop being a coward and get out here!"

The whispered answers were so soft he couldn't even hear them. He whipped around trying to find the source somewhere, anywhere! Without warning a shockwave hit Naruto and he doubled over in pain clutching his head. Images seemed to explode in the water beneath him. He saw a blue sky, grassy hills, a waterfall, the dark woods, and a figure in shadow laughing then screaming while the dragon wings encircling her arm stood out like a beacon. He cringed under the weight the images seemed to carry. His body seized up and he felt as though they would rip him apart. Through all this he faintly heard the intruder utter one last thing.

"…out of time."

"Aargh!" Naruto bolted upright in his bed panting. Sweat covered his pillow making it clammy and unpleasant. The window revealed the touches of dawn hitting Konohagakure so it was probably around 4:00 in the morning. He glanced at the picture of the old Team 7 on his bedside table and listened to the crickets chirp for a moment. He rubbed his eyes trying to calm himself and noticed his hands were shaking. He eased his shocked body by taking deep breaths in and out. It was just a dream. Naruto rolled back over even though it was obvious he wouldn't get anymore sleep.

A few hours later he was in a book store of all places with Sakura and Sai. He knew they were just trying to cheer him up since his master, Jiraiya, was dead and he had just finished facing Pain a week earlier. Sakura had already bought him all he could eat at Ichiraku's, after threatening him if he made her use all her money of course, and promised to cook him something decent later. He hoped she wouldn't use his fatigue as an excuse to try and get him to clean his apartment. She still hadn't forgiven him for tripping on a ramen bowl in his bedroom when she came to visit. He watched as she nonchalantly picked up a book and muttered "Oh look they finally released the next one." Sai was observing the two as usual with his creepy blank expression. "Oi Naruto," he said suddenly. "You look depressed today. Is your equipment not working right?" Naruto looked up and glared at his socially inept teammate. "You keep making comments like that I'm gonna punch you through a window Sai." Sai blinked and Sakura sweat dropped. "Y'know Naruto," she said putting her hands up in a calming posture. "Sai isn't completely wrong. You do look more tired than usual."

Naruto blinked at his less annoying teammate wondering if he should tell her about his dream. He knew it was just a dream, maybe even a nightmare, but something about the voice made him want to keep the contents secret. "I had a weird dream and couldn't get back to sleep. That's all. Plus I have a headache." Thankfully she didn't pry. "Well, if the headache gets really bad just let me know and maybe I can get something from the hospital to help you. How about we get out of here and just walk around for a while? Fresh air will probably help some." Naruto nodded. "Sure. Thanks Sakura." She simply smiled as they headed out the door.

However, the three were greeted with a surprise as Shikamaru approached them. Sakura greeted their lazy friend. "Shikamaru! What's up?" Shikamaru regarded the three with a bored expression. "So troublesome," he said. "Shizune wanted to brief you and Naruto about something right away. She's in Tsunade's tent. Sorry Sai. She doesn't need you." Sai nodded and disappeared. Sakura turned to Naruto confused. Naruto shrugged.

The three made it to the tent where Shizune was treating the comatose Tsunade. Shizune looked up when they entered leaving Shikamaru to guard the entrance. "Oh good you're here," she said. Naruto looked her over. She didn't look like she'd gotten any more sleep than he had. "What did you need to tell us Shizune-san?" Sakura asked. Shizune looked troubled as she relayed the information to them. "Gaara contacted us through a messenger this morning. It seems there have been some thefts in the archives in Sunagakure. He is concerned these thefts are actions meant to help provoke war." Naruto was confused. "So they've been stealing from their archives, so what? Why does he think they want war or whatever?"

Shizune rubbed her head. "The thefts are scattered and very small scale. Gaara only realized what was happening a few days ago and there's been no evidence left behind other than the missing pieces from their archives." "So they're ninja." Sakura reasoned. Naruto narrowed his eyes. "That still doesn't explain why he thinks it's an act of war." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Did Gaara explain what they've been stealing?" she asked Shizune. Shizune nodded her head. "It seems like they've been looking for something inside the archives themselves. Gaara said many of the scrolls taken are pointless and he firmly believes it's a cover for whatever they're really after." "Does he have any leads?" Sakura asked again concerned. "What's in the archives aside from the documents?"

Shizune frowned. "That's the trouble. The archives themselves were adapted shortly after the death of the Sage of Six Paths as a dying wish. Every Ninja village has five scattered in different locations around them." "What does that have to do with anything?" Naruto impatiently interrupted. Shizune glared at him. "If you'd let me finish, most of the early records detailing what the archives contained are for the Kage's eyes only, and many of them were destroyed in the Third Shinobi War. Not all of the pieces in every archive and in every village have been accounted for yet even though it's been quite a few years." "Meaning?" Naruto questioned. Sakura smacked him in head sending him realing. "Meaning, you idiot, that there are probably a lot of scrolls and artifacts in the archives that no one knows about. There could be information on bringing down Sunagakure!" she yelled at him. Naruto rubbed the back of his head and glared at Sakura. "You could've just told me that instead of slamming my head into the ground! Anyway, wouldn't Gaara know about all that stuff since he's the Kazekage?"

Shizune spoke up. "Normally he would, but information on the archives is not passed down to a Kage until they have served four years as leader. Gaara has only served two." Naruto frowned. "So what is it exactly that he wants us to do? There's not much we can help with if we don't know what they're after." Shizune sent him another glare. "He doesn't want Danzo getting a hold of any of this information since the man is currently under suspicion. As two of the most trusted Shinobi in Konohagakure, regarding our allies in Sunagakure, I want you and Sakura to research these thefts in the files Gaara sent. I need you two to help me determine whether or not these people are a serious threat to the other villages as well as the Sand." His teammate nodded at her mentor. "We'll get right on it Shizune." Naruto grumbled his agreement and the two headed off with the files to do some digging. "Good luck you two," Shizune said as they exited.

One week later

Naruto was exhausted. He'd had little to no sleep in the past week because of his dreams. They were always the same. He'd run around trying to find the voice only to be assaulted with images of Konoha and a black-haired girl. Most of the images were of her smiling and laughing. Though the shadow no longer covered her, the face was still blurred aside from her smile. It bothered him because it felt like he should know who the girl in the images was. He hadn't told anyone yet because he couldn't shake the feeling that whatever was going on needed to stay private. Besides, if he could figure out what was going on himself he could solve the problem without having to involve anyone.

On top of that, he and Sakura were still investigating the thefts in Sunagakure. They had been slaving over the papers for almost a week, and there just wasn't much to offer on the thieves. The documents contradicted any indication that this was the work of one person. Whoever these people were they were very thorough. All the eye witnesses, namely the guards, were knocked out before anyone could see them and they were gone with whatever documents went missing. All they knew about what had been stolen was that they were all documents or books of some kind. The people who worked in the outposts weren't even sure what any of them contained. Naruto found this annoying. Shouldn't the people who were guarding this stuff know what was in it?

The only real thing he and Sakura had resolved was that the person or people responsible weren't linked to Madara. The new Akasuki he was overseeing liked to make a big scene and always left eye witness accounts. Besides, Sasuke wouldn't have left without taunting Gaara. These attacks were too careful and thorough. They were still speculating on whether or not Danzo was involved. However, the situation was just as Shizune had informed them. The thieves had literally left no trace behind wherever they went. Not even a piece of clothing or a fingerprint. Naruto threw the paper he was looking at down in frustration. Sakura looked up from her seat across the table. "No luck?" She asked. Naruto growled. "No. You?" Sakura sighed. "No. All this information is saying is everything we already know. They came, knocked the guards out or the guards didn't see anything, and took off without any evidence left behind. Same account at the other four places they already robbed."

Sakura put down the papers and propped her face on her fist. She looked down at the papers Naruto had thrown on the table. She eyed one of them curiously. "Naruto, what's that paper there on the bottom?" Naruto picked up the paper she had indicated. "This? It's just a list of the archives and which ones were robbed so far." Sakura held out her hand. "Here let me look at it. If we're lucky we might be able to find a trend in the attacks." Naruto scoffed. "You mean besides the fact they're all top facilities that shouldn't be able to be breached in the first place?" Sakura smiled. "Just give me the paper idiot." Naruto handed the paper over to her and rested his head down on the table. "Naruto?" He opened his eyes to see Sakura looking at him in concern. "Is your head any better?" He thought about lying to her. "Not really, but don't worry about it Sakura. It's not like I can't handle a little pain." He knew Sakura wasn't buying it, but she went back to looking at the paper anyway. Her eyes suddenly stopped near the bottom of the page and she frowned. "That's weird." Naruto sat up. "What is it?"

Sakura rummaged through some more papers. She frowned even more. "Why in the world…?" he heard her mutter. She stood up and sorted through the papers they had thrown on the floor. "Huh. This is so strange." Naruto was on the edge with curiosity. After a few minutes with no response from her Naruto finally said, "Well are you gonna tell me or do I have to grab the paper from you?" Sakura looked up. "Oh sorry. Look at this." She held up the paper to him and pointed at one of the locations. "This list has Sunagakure's jail as one of the places they broke into besides the archives." Naruto wrinkled his face. "Why would they break into a jail?" Sakura looked at him as if he was missing something obvious.

"What?" he asked annoyed.

"Naruto, why do people normally break into a jail?"

"That's a stupid question. To break people out…oh!"

"Sometimes I wonder how you're still alive."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her. Sakura rolled her eyes. "Well, aren't you mature?" she said sarcastically. "This could be important, but this is so bizarre." Naruto looked at his friend in confusion. "What is?" She got up off the floor and showed him the other sheet she had been puzzling over. "This is a list of the items stolen and from where, but I don't see any prisoners listed here. It doesn't say they broke anyone out." "That is weird. It's not like Gaara's people to leave out information like that." Sakura frowned. "I know. That's what worries me. We should go tell Shizune about this."

After explaining what they had discovered, Shizune was just as puzzled as they were. "You're saying there was nothing at all on that list about anyone being broken out of the jail?" "Why would we be telling you if it was otherwise?" Naruto muttered sarcastically. Sakura stamped on his foot. Naruto yelped. "Yeouch!" Sakura glared at him. "Be polite you idiot." She addressed Shizune. "None at all even though it was on the list of facilities they broke into." Shizune looked worried. "This is a troubling matter. I'll have a messege sent to Gaara right away and tell him to have the guards make sure no one is missing. I'll notify you two as soon as I get a response."

Naruto groaned. "Perfect. More waiting." To his surprise Sakura turned to him and said, "Naruto it's about time for dinner so why don't we go to Ichiraku's to celebrate the break through?" Any aggravation or stress he had been feeling suddenly flew away and he could feel his face light up. "I'm there!" He could hear Sakura laughing at him as he rushed out the tent door. He had made it to the street by the time Sakura caught up with him. She grabbed his arm. "Hold up and wait for me!" She yelped. Naruto froze. Not because of Sakura, but because he was assaulted with an image. He could see the black-haired girl whose face was shadowed again. She grabbed his arm pulling him to a hault. "Wait for me would ya? My Dad's gonna be mad if we get caught! " He grabbed her wrist pulling her along faster, and then he was back in the street with Sakura.

Naruto clenched his head and groaned. Sakura was concerned again. "Naruto are you sure you're ok?" He shook the headache off as best he could. He straightened back up and smiled at her. "Of course I'm ok. I'm about to have Ichiraku's!" Sakura stared at him awhile. "Fine," She finally said. "Let's go." Naruto grinned running the rest of the way to the restaurant. He had his usual bowl of ramen and ate it happily. When they left, Sakura turned to face him. "I'll come by your house in the morning." She said. "It'll be more convenient for Shizune if we're in the same place when she summons us."

Naruto chuckled at the sudden memory of her slipping on a ramen bowl in his bedroom. "Alright. Just remember you enter at your own risk." She smirked. "Believe me, it's hard not to remember that when it comes to your house cleaning skills." Naruto laughed and waved goodbye as they headed in opposite directions to go home. When he got there he drifted off into a for once dreamless sleep. Yeah, he wished.

So there's my new and improved first chapter! Just in case you didn't notice in the description, My Secret Friend of the Past fanfic is the prequel fic for this one. So if you haven't read it please do. My four main OCs are introduced in that story. There are a grand total of 8 OCs in here by the way. Anyway, feel free to leave a comment or question in reviews please. I appreciate constructive criticism, and if you don't care for the story simply click the back button. :)