Naruto was scared, scared he'd lose his friend. The only one that truly cared for him. Sao was his only source of warmth throughout the years, and she was being taken from him. Tears made little trickles down his whiskered face, as he made his way into the Forest of Death where the chuunin exams were just held. Little did he realize he had a worried Ravenette trailing after him.

Sasuke treid to reach Naruto before he got inside of the forest but that wasn't going to happen Naruto had climbed the fence and jumped onto the other side of the gate. Sasuke sighed, "Well I guess I'll have to follow." He did the same and saw 'his' blur of orange and yellow start heading deeper into the forest. Sasuke called after the blonde, and started to run faster. The blonde was too fast. He lost sight of him.

A tall red head of about 5'8 walked casually through the forest of death, just looking around where the Exams took place when she heard shouting. She thought nothing of it until she saw a yellow blur running towards a pit of traps she herself had just encountered. She smirked at her thoughts of the formidable hell. Skipping towards it she saw how the blur was a boy of small stature, 5'5. He was caught in one of the traps already. It was a net made of thin but astonishingly strong metal. She also noticed how he smelled. He smelled of one of her closer friends... pine trees and Emery flowers. She couldn't just leave him now without feeling guilty. The Woman sighed, climbing up the tree was no task at all, but when she saw tears she almost started to freak out. She wasn't good with feelings. "Hey! Kid! What's wrong with you?!" She pried, shaking the net a little.

Cerulean eyes looked up into the girls blood red depths. Naruto shivered, he wanted to curl up and die, more tears started to pool. "I-" He was too scared to say anything.

"Well?" She asked, "Do you want out of the net or what?" She shook the net a little harder when he curled into himself. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" She was getting annoyed of the small boy. She remembered then, that with scared humans you had be nice. She wasn't really that great at being nice. Red hair swayed as a gust of wind blew against her back she shivered, It was going to get stormy. The blonde kid in the net was sure to catch a cold. She elongated her claws and quickly swiped through the metal. Naruto fell, only for her to retract her claws and jump down to catch him.

Naruto was scared, but even that was an understatement. He was mortified. But when she caught him he relaxed a little. He opened his eyes and looked up at the woman. "T-Thank you." Naruto spoke quietly.

Red hair fell when she looked down at him. She managed a soft smile for him. "No more tears." She looked up at the aphotic sky and asked, Why are you here anyways, I mean, This forest is pretty dangerous when your by yourself." She looked back down at him, her frown back in place. She set him on his feet lightly.

He looked up at her surprised, her mood changed fast. "I got upset... I guess I didn't really know where I was going." The blonde looked at his feet as he realized how childish he was acting.

The red head looked down at him and smirked. "I get like that alot, I know how you feel!" She crossed her arms as she spoke. "Listen, It's getting pretty stormy out, let's find us some shelter to pass the storm, kay?" She looked at him a moment before patting his shoulder "Waiting for an answer kid." she said sternly.

Naruto looked up and nodded. "Okay, But... Where?" The girl smirked as she started walking towards a tremendous tree. She broke off a piece of tree bark and a chunk of the tree itself. It was almost completely hollow. "Wow!" Naruto was amazed.

"Didn't know you could do that did you?" She looked back at him innocently. "Well, come on!" The blonde nodded and scurried into the tree.

Sasuke looked all around the Forest but to no avail. He even looked inside the tower in the forest of death. He couldn't find Naruto anywhere. He grew impatient and worried, He let out a harsh cry he'd been holding in for a while, "NARUTO, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Sao stalked up to the frustrated ravenette, "I can't find him either" She shook her head slowly. She then perked up, "But I think I know someone who can help find him!" She smiled. "Her name's Sukiyomi, I just call her Suki, She sent me a message saying she'd be in town this week. We just have to find her!" Sasuke was up for anything as long as it found his blonde unharmed.

He nodded. "Where is she staying?" He asked anxiously. "And why didn't you say anything about her before?" He growled at the blonde in front of him.

She looked at him curiously for a second before answering. "I just wanted to test something.... And as for Suki, she's staying in this forest!" The girl smiled prettily as she tilted her head to the right.

"She's staying in the forest of death?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. When Sao nodded he sighed, "Well lets look for her..." he was about to head out when he turned and looked at Sao, "What's she looked like?"

Sao smiled, "Well she's pretty tall, she looks unapproachable, she has red hair to about the middle of her back.... What else was there...?" Sao tapped her chin thoughtfully. "OH and she has a tattoo around her neck! It looks like the gates to hell , or something like doors on fire.."Sao trailed off. Is that enough description. Sasuke nodded and headed off in the direction Sao had just come from. The blonde female smiled, "I hope you find her!" She said quietly. "And I hope she doesn't hurt you if you do..."

"So... What's your name?" Naruto asked awkwardly from across the inside of the tree.

The red head looked up at him for a moment before going back to what she was doing, sharpening her shaken and kunai. As she had finished with her shinobigatana awhile ago. "My name...? Why do you want to know?" her red orbs flickered to him and back to her objective every so often.

"Well.. Because, I guess because you saved me!" The blonde answered truthfully.

"Suki." The older woman answered. It then grew quiet, She looked back up at the boy he looked like he was contemplating something. "What are you thinking about?" she asked, her eyes grew wide as she asked the question. She was being totally out of character. Usually the only person who could get the quiet woman to talk was one of her closer companions.

Naruto looked up abruptly but shy nonetheless. "Umm... I-I was wondering... about that thing around your neck." He spoke softly.

She smirked, "I see, Well before I'll tell you that... I want to know what your name is." She knew she was making the boy nervous but she never really cared about other peoples feelings before.

"My name is Naruto! Uzumaki, Naruto!" He smiled foxily, "So, why did you get Doors in flames tattooed around your neck?"

"Uzumaki?" Suki said under her breath. she then spoke up, "I didn't... I was born with this tattoo. I don't know how so don't even ask. But it's supposed to be hells gates. The flames are escaping through." She looked at the blonde darkly. "Do you want to know what that means?"

Naruto looked at her, gulped quietly and nodded slowly, he waited for her to continue.

"It means evil will escape through small cracks, it doesn't matter what kind of door you use." She finished darkly.

"Wait.. So no matter what, people who are evil will always be around?" Naruto questioned as he leaned over her weapons slightly.

"No, not always... Only when the good let up on the evil, will there alway be evil." Suki spoke, "There will be peaceful times, just as there are terrible times." She looked at the boy sagely.

Naruto blinked once then twice, he let their conversation roll around in his head for a good while before he spoke. "As long as I'm alive, I'll try to stop any kind of evil! Even if it kills me!" Naruto declared, "And That's a promise!"

The older woman looked at him in shock before she regained her composure. The red head then asked, "But is it a promise you can keep?"

Naruto looked at her, she obviously never heard of him and his promises. He never went back on his word. Never. "I'll keep it!" He affirmed.

The red head smiled. "Good!"

The two then heard shouts, it sounded like a person.

"NARUTO!"

The blonde looked around as he also heard tree branches now breaking in the wind and the rain pouring harshly upon the earth, and yet he still heard his name being called.

"NARUTO--" The voice was drawlish and it sounded tired.

The blonde sat up he recognized the voice as Sasukes'. What Sasuke was doing there, in the middle of the forest, Naruto immediately wondered. he then knew that his friend was looking for him, in this weather too.

"NARU--" The voice was cut off abruptly.

Naruto got up and went out into the storm he found his clothes getting soaked rather quickly, the cold bleeding into him fast. He looked around violently, He couldn't see Sasuke. Suki came up behind him and pointed towards the center of the forest and spoke "There's a chakra source coming from that direction." Naruto nodded and headed towards where Suki was pointing.

The blonde ran as fast as he could, after a couple minutes of sprinting he came across a muddied body collapsed on the forest floor a branch atop it. "Sasuke!" Naruto called trying to see if he would call back.

Instead an arm positioned itself to try and get up while a small voice called out the other boys name hopefully. "Naruto?" Naruto looked hopeful as he sat beside Sasuke moving the branch off and carefully rolling Sasuke onto his back and lifting his head into his lap as the rain drenched the two exhaustively.

"Sasuke, can you walk?" Naruto asked softly but loud enough for the koneko to hear. When the ravenette nodded tiredly, the blonde helped his friend to his feet. When Sasuke tried to take a step he started to fall. Naruto caught him and told the older boy to get on his back.

Sasuke shook his head. "It's fine, go find shelter..... I need.. You to be... safe-" he confessed before he fell unconsious.

Naruto felt like crying again and was about to when someone picked Sasuke from his lap and spoke, "I thought I told you, no more tears!" The red head was doused in water the rain not only made her hair wet but everything else too, Her clothes her under layers, and her skin. "Let's go back to the Tree." The blonde nodded sadly following closely behind.

Friendship was great but it was also a great source of Sadness.

Thanks for reading guys! And HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO THOSE WHO CELEBRATE!

TO EVERYONE ELSE HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Sorry the chapter was so short!

What is Suki talking about?

Will Sasuke and Naruto EVER realize their feelings for eachother?

And Where'd Sao go?

Who's to come into the story next? Another blonde?... Or a long lost sister?

lots of love and R&R,

~kisa