BIG HUGE THANKS TO: Kakashis-First-Kiss for being an awesomely awesome beta!
Thanks to: Soulcaster, odoorikimura, RedMoonLight009, hogo-chan, Syciara-Lynx, Anonymous Sister of the Author, DarkRavie, JigokuShoujosRevenge, KitsuneyJenfner, Lady Renyel of Arella, hogo-chan, Dreamsofdragons, Odoori Kimura, geka0taitsume0taikaiyou, and Liana Uchiha for reviewing! I love everyone of you (in a non-freaky kinda way)
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"Absolutely not!" Tsunade said, slamming her hands down on the table. "I forbid it!"
"But it's for the best!" Naruto cried indignantly. With his new found resolve he found it easier to act a little more…alive.
"You tried to kill yourself! What makes you think I'm going to let you go out on a mission? Do think I'm fool enough to put you in a situation where someone can do the job for you?" she yelled. Naruto flinched back, but wasn't dissuaded. Sai and Sakura exchanged a glance behind his back and Kakashi leaned back against a wall with his nose in a book.
"I know that was stupid, and I'm very glad I didn't succeed in killing myself. I was confused by what had happened to me. But right now I think the best thing for me to do is not baby myself. I just need to act normal. Besides, can Team Kakashi really afford both me and Sai missing, and can Konoha afford replacements for us?" Naruto did his best to stay calm. He just needed to get out of the village.
Tsunade looked at Naruto. He seemed almost back to his old self, but something was off. Naruto shouldn't have been able to snap out of that deep depression so easily, but he had a point. There were never enough ninja and confining two well trained and tested ones to the village was a luxury Tsunade didn't really have. She sighed.
"Fine, your team will be leaving for a mission in the Land of Lighting. They have requested help searching for a missing-nin. Orochimaru's always rumored to be there, I want you to look into it without being obvious. We aren't sure where that land's loyalties lie." Naruto eyes flashed at the mention of Orochimaru, but he managed to conceal it. Where Orochimaru was Kabuto would be as well. The group turned to go, but Tsunade stopped them,
"Naruto, you are not free to go back to your own home yet. And on this mission Sai will still be watching you very closely." Naruto made a face. "But…" He whined, but it didn't really matter being sent out on a mission, particularly a mission that brought him so close to his goal; because that was what he'd wanted out of this meeting.
"No! As you pointed out earlier, Konoha can't afford to lose ninja to suicide!" Naruto glared momentarily, before following the rest of his team out of the door.
"Do you think that's wise Tsunade-sama? Sending Naruto out like that?" Shizune asked worriedly. "What else could we do? Let him waste away in the village? No. Even if he ends up dead, he'll die a ninja and not a scared boy in a dark house."
"But the elders…" Shizune began.
"Won't know unless someone tells them, and since Danzo has yet to mention Naruto's suicide attempt to them. I do think he will." Tsunade's brown eyes were fixed on Shizune, who blushed and mumbled something that she had to do and left. Tsunade stood and looked out her window with the horrible feeling that she would never see Naruto stand in her office again.
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Kabuto stood above the ruined mass of Orochimaru's form. He looked down at it disdainfully; he'd been a fool to play with fire not once, but twice. Kabuto had seen the Uchiha in the hallway and had made a point of ignoring him; the boy had death on the mind and reasons to want revenge on Kabuto. But Sasuke wasn't who Kabuto was thinking of at the moment. No, Kabuto was thinking horrible selfish thoughts about a certain little blond. Kabuto's glasses flashed and he turned and left the room. As he left, the knowledge that love is a very selfish thing clung to him.
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Sasuke walked through the woods followed, silently for once, by Suigetsu. He felt rather let down. Killing Orochimaru had been…easy, and Sasuke felt cheated. It was, he supposed, partly his own fault, since he had waited until the man was at his weakest, but still he felt that Orochimaru could have risen to the occasion. Sasuke mentally shrugged. It didn't matter. Itachi wouldn't let him down.
It was his intention to simply leave the Land of the Lightening. There was nothing for him here; the place was even particularly warm. That had been the plan, until purely by chance he stumbled on to some very familiar charka signatures. An evil smile came to Sasuke face. He simply couldn't pass up this opportunity to toy with his old teammates: he might even get around to killing some of them this time.