WARNING! Sakura bashing ahead! Not too bad… but she's definitely portrayed in a bad light. Will she redeem herself?!?! …Probably not. I like after-timeskip Sakura, but for the sake of the story, she's shallow here. Just a warning for those who like Sakura.

Naruto stared dully at the water, trailing his hands through it. Sure, he knew it was bound to happen one day, but…

Cheering could be heard still from behind the behemoth walls of Konoha. Naruto winced, and continued walking onwards.

He held back frustrated tears. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

He removed his hand from the water, instead lying on his back, facing the stars. He wondered if anyone missed him.

Naruto absently fiddled with his new forehead protector as he thought, running calloused hands over the smooth, worn metal.

Naruto had done no official crimes, nor had he left Konoha by his own free will. Therefore, by law, he couldn't be marked a missing-nin. This also meant he couldn't be stripped of his rank (even as low as it was- genin) by giving up the proof that he was once a ninja. So Konoha did the only thing they could do. They took his old forehead protector and melted it down, hammering it smooth until it was unmarked plate, the sign of an unaffiliated ninja. Unfortunately this meant they could ban him from entering their territory; even give the Konoha shinobi orders to kill him on sight. Ah, well, you can't have everything.

Naruto smiled and held the metal closer to him self. At least it was still Iruka-sensei's. He'd been surprised when they let him keep it, but then he guessed that they didn't want to waste good steel on a 'demon' like him. Naruto snorted at the thought. How could he be a demon? Sure there was the Kyuubi, but… the Fox laughed inside Naruto. The only thing remotely resembling himself in his host was the fierce protectiveness they both shared. That and the inability to stand down, sheer stubbornness. Everything else… well, it was an insult to be compared to the boy.

Foolish mortals, unable to see past their hatred. Though he would never admit it, Kyuubi respected the Yondaime immensely. The demon recognized Naruto's spirit as being kindred to the Yellow Flash's. So, grudgingly, he allowed the boy his respect. Yes, allowed. The gaki(1) should feel honored.

Konoha was unusually quiet the next morning, as parties had gone on long into the night. But Sakura Haruno was up and ready just slightly after her usual time. Tsunade-shisou didn't tolerate tardiness. But when Sakura reached the Hokage's tower, no one was there. The secretary probably had a hangover, but… Shizune was always on time! Which meant the Hokage was always on time! Sakura searched all throughout the tower, but she couldn't find the pair anywhere. Perplexed, Sakura left the building. Tsunade had probably drunk to much last night, and Shizune was taking care of her. Yeah, that sounded right.

If only she knew. Sadly, not once had she thought of her former teammate. To her, it was like he'd never existed.

Tsunade had led Hinata to her family home, slightly outside of Konoha itself. That was fine- they needed to get away from the village. They had their own party. A sad, mournful one at first, but it soon picked up. "Remember when Naruto-" was repeated over and over, and wistful laughter ran throughout the room. Eventually more people came. A- for once quiet- Jiraiya entered first, followed closely by a red-eyed Iruka. Shikamaru, Kiba, and Chouji came together, separating from the rest of their teams. They had been the closest things Naruto had to friends, back in the academy. Kakashi dropped by once, and whispered something to Iruka that made the Chunin's eyes water again, before leaving once more. Neji wandered in at one point too, immediately going to Hinata's side. He told them that Lee and Gai had locked themselves into Lee's dojo(2) and refused to come out, claiming everyone was 'unyouthful'. This brought a weak smile to everyone's faces. Ayame and Teuchi Ichiraku sent over a massive delivery of free ramen, they all laughed at that. Even Konohamaru Corps came, but they soon nodded off, it was much to late for them. Tsunade put the children to bed in a guest room.

By the end of the night, everyone was drunk(3), and laughter rang out frequently as they reminisced. Sadly, though not surprisingly, Sakura never showed up.

Hinata stared dully up at the unfamiliar ceiling. Somehow it seemed more welcoming then her own. Tsunade had lent everyone rooms in her home, seeing as half of them were too drunk to walk.

She sighed, and turned over, hugging a pillow close to her body. Despite what she'd told the Hokage, Hinata felt shattered. Naruto was practically her world, and with him gone…

A single tear dripped down her face. She'd never gotten the chance to tell him… and now she never would. Poor Naruto… poor her… poor Tsunade… poor Jiraiya… poor Iruka… hell, poor Kyuubi! Not even a demon deserved what Naruto went through! Something must have made him attack the village! This whole, curse'd(4), bitter word, stained by innocent blood and heartfelt tears, she felt sorry for them. Each and every person in this godforsaken village had sold their souls, and none of them had realized it yet.

She shook her head sadly. She felt no hatred. How could she despise such pitiful people? Naruto…

But, her eyes hardened. The time would come when she would find Naruto. Then she would tell him. But the time wasn't right. Yet.

Sakura was having a bad day. She had looked all over town, and still couldn't find any sign of her master. People were acting odd, too! Everyone was supposed to be celebrating! She passed Ino, and shot out her customary insult, but was shocked when the girl didn't retaliate. Ino paused, looked at her searchingly for a second, and shook her head. Almost… pityingly. Sakura stood gape-jawed as the normally fiery girl walked away without a word.

Next, she ran into Lee. The boy was buying a large amount of groceries, most of them non-perishables. Almost like he was planning a stakeout. She sighed; likely it was another crazy training regime.

"Lee-san!" she called, smiling happily. She had become fond of the boy after the Second Stage of the Chunin Exams.

"Sakura-san!" he shouted back, less cheery than usual, "How've you been managing?" he seemed worried about her for some reason.

She blinked, "Fine thanks?" she replied, obviously confused. Why wouldn't she be well?

Lee froze for a moment, before- like Ino- peering at her searchingly.

"What?" she asked, annoyed. He merely shook his head, seemingly disappointed. Huh? Did her want her to say 'Horrible, thanks for asking,' or something?

"I'm sorry for you," he said, monotonously, before turning and walking away.

Sakura blinked. Now she was really confused. What was going on? Today was supposed to be a day for happiness and celebration! Why, today was probably going to become an annual festival!

Again, Naruto never crossed her mind.

The light, airy tune of whistled song filled the air as a figure strode down a dusty road. The figure, strangely enough, was dressed only in a ceremonial, white (or previously white would be a better term) male under-kimono. He had no bag, no provisions, and no weapons. Only the clothes on his back and the blank forehead protector on his head.

Naruto smiled as he walked. It didn't quite reach his eyes, though, unlike his old ones.

Somehow, that seemed the biggest shame of them all.

Author's Notes: Awww, people liked this story! I'm so happy! I got some reviews just after I posted it, too! Well, that's good, because right now, this is my 'story of choice'. I have the most inspiration for this story. And I actually got the update out in less than a week! I'm getting better! Lol!

As always, I'd like feedback on my work! This'll be the last chapter that jumps around randomly with no real point. Basically I made this to show how people are reacting to his banishment and give a hint on how it affected him. If you flame, I'll make smores. No big deal.

Inserts:

gaki(1)- It means brat, incase you didn't know. I'm hoping most of you do, but for those who don't…

Lee's dojo(2)- It's from a filler episode in case you haven't seen it/ have forgotten/ are confused. He actually has a dojo! xD I like his dojo, it's awesomefull

everyone was drunk(3)- First off, this IS before the timeskip, so yeah, the genin are still like 12 or 13. But they are also considered full adults in their village, so they are old enough to drink: ) The only ones there that aren't allowed are Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon, but they're asleep. Also, genin are only able to drink while in a Hidden Village. Any other place reserves the right to kick them out. : )

curse'd(4)- Okay, this is just a little FYI. I meant for that apostrophe to be there. It's supposed to be an accent over the 'e' but every time I try it gets deleted. This is basically an old way of saying cursed (Curse'd, winge'd, etc.). It's pronounced curse-ed. Not curse-d but –ed. I like this way better, and it fits in with the sentence. So no, I did not spell 'cursed' wrong.