Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the Naruto characters used in this fic. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own any original characters that I choose to include, as well as any of my own original plot ideas.

Chapter 6: Friendship

A/N: Okay! This time, I'm introducing a few more characters, as I mentioned at the end of the previous chapter. I'm probably going to spend a few chapters working out these new characters, as well as fleshing out the main plot of this fanfic.

"Hey, hey! You okay?"

Kaoru rolled over, intent on ignoring whoever it was that was talking to her. She groaned as someone poked her in the side with a twig. The young shinobi had no desire to be poked and prodded; nor did she want to wake up. She wanted to return to the nonsensical dream world that had previously occupied her mind, not wake up and stare life in the face. Deciding she was too tired to do something so bothersome at the moment, Kaoru rolled over, pulling the blanket tightly around her shuddering little body.

The poking continued, and Kaoru gave her silent consent. They could poke her all they liked, she decided with a smile, swatting the stick out of the person's hand. They'd just have to find another stick, to poke her with is all. The obnoxious action subsided, and Kaoru curled herself into a ball at the base of, what she thought to be, a tree. Upon further inspecting said tree, Kaoru came to a sudden, sound resolution, despite her her current state of drowsiness.

Trees don't have feet... or wear boots....

"What the hell are you doing? Planning some kind of sexual assault, are we?"

Kaoru twitched. There was no way she could have ever mistaken that gruff voice, even with its sarcastic tone. It was, undoubtedly, Zabuza, and he was clearly mocking her. Kaoru grimaced and opened her eyes, shielding them from the sun with a hand as she sat up and craned her neck to look up at the man staring down at her. With her free hand, Kaoru grasped a small stone, flinging it up at Zabuza, who caught it with ease. She groaned, giving him a good kick in the knee that clearly had no effect at all. Kaoru rolled over, pulling herself into a sitting position.

She glanced around the small forest clearing for the person who had previously poked her relentlessly with a stick. When she spotted no one else in the clearing, she turned around, glaring bitterly at the Demon. So, he thought it funny to poke her with a stick while she was sleeping, eh? Well, that wouldn't last long, she decided.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she pouted, rubbing the side where she'd been jabbed. "Where do you get off sticking me in the side while I'm sleeping? You jerk."

The Demon shook his head at Kaoru. "You think I'd indulge myself by wasting time jabbing you with a stick?" Suddenly, a boy with short blond hair and a Hidden Stone headband tied to his shoulder dropped out of one of the trees, landing in front of Zabuza. "Does this answer your question?" the man said.

"Hi!" the boy said, staring at Kaoru with wide, blue eyes. "I'm Yuta! Yuta Ayasegawa!"

Kaoru grimaced, in hopes that this Yuta kid would leave her alone. But the more she backed away, the closer Yuta got, his blue eyes staring into her brown ones. What the heck was with this kid? Was he already obsessed with her or something? Whatever his issue was, Kaoru was feeling more uncomfortable by the moment. She glanced out of the corner of her eye, wondering if Zabuza was even paying attention to what this new, and obnoxious kid, was doing.

Apparently not, Kaoru sighed, noting that the Demon was staring off into the distance. Thanks a lot...

"Yuta!" a female voice called. "Quit bugging people. She hasn't even been awake for five minutes, so lay off."

Kaoru turned in the direction of the voice and saw a girl her own age emerge from the underbrush. Her hair was a brilliant red and was held back in a ponytail, her Hidden Stone headband tied across her forehead. She grinned at Kaoru as she approached, pushing the blond boy out of her face.

"Sorry about him," the girl said, shoving Yuta to the ground with a smirk. "He's really annoying when he meets new people, but you'll get used to it. I know I have. By the way, I'm Midori, Yuta's older, and more practical, sister. Nice to meet you."

The young Mist shinobi merely nodded. She had no idea what to make of these two Hidden Stone shinobi showing up out of nowhere like this. Pulling himself off the ground, Yuta gathered up a handful of stones and flew up the trunk of the nearest tree. Midori squealed in pain as a stone smacked her in the back of the head. She sneered at her brother and, using the tree-climbing technique Kaoru had learned back at the Academy, shot up the tree after her brother.

Sounds of a scuffle echoed through the small clearing as Midori proceeded to smack Yuta around, the rocks falling to the ground as they fought. Kaoru glanced up, grinning as Yuta tried to escape his older, and stronger, sister. Although she didn't have anything against Yuta personally, Kaoru was quite pleased to see that Midori was doing what she had thought of doing to the boy when he'd stuck his face into hers: knock the tar out of him.

Kaoru glanced up at Zabuza with a smirk. "Okay," she said. "What's going on here? Who the heck are they? And I don't wanna hear some lame excuse. I want answers."

"They're just like you," he replied. "Orphans from the Hidden Stone, searching for a purpose, I suppose. When we evacuated after assassinating Yagura, we had to stop to get you some medical attention. Midori, it seems, has been expertly trained in medical ninjutsu. She's the one who healed your leg."

"What?" Kaoru immediately pulled the blanket away, carefully inspecting her left leg. As Zabuza had said, her leg was, indeed, healed. All that was left of the massive wound Kakashi had "graced" her with, was a scar about the size of Kaoru's fist. The young ninja grinned. Although she had just met Midori, she was already grateful that the girl had shown up.

With a scream, Yuta came crashing to the ground, Midori right on his tail. "That's what you get for hitting me with rocks," she laughed, placing a foot on her brother's head and striking a victorious pose. "I win again, Yu-Yu."

"Don't call me that!" Yuta whined, rolling out from under his sister's foot. "And don't put your feet on me, you witch. You're gonna get dirt in my hair."

Kaoru laughed. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad with Yuta and Midori tagging along. "So, how old are you guys?" Kaoru asked.

"I'm seventeen, and Yuta's twelve," Midori grinned, running a hand through her red hair. "What about you?"

"Save the lengthy introductions for later," Zabuza said, cutting in. "We've already wasted two days to lick our wounds. We have to get moving."

0 -- 0 0 -- 0 0 -- 0

Naruto hung his head as he sat in Sakura's hospital room. He couldn't believe that he'd failed to protect his comrade in the heat of battle. He knew that he'd had the power to protect Sakura, but he'd allowed his obsession with capturing Zabuza to separate them. The young shinobi sighed, blue eyes filling with tears. What would he do if she died? How would he be able to forgive himself? Naruto clenched his fists, tears running down his face.

"I... I swear," he choked between sobs, "I'll never... never let anyone... hurt you... again... I'm sorry, Sakura... I'm so sorry!"

Sakura had been unconscious for two days now. After closely examining Sakura upon Team Kakashi's return to Konoha, Lady Tsunade had determined that the young medical ninja's trauma had been caused by nothing more than blood loss and shock. She had been brutally attacked, almost to the point of death. Her left arm had been sliced at the elbow joint, almost going through the bone. The wound that had caused Sakura to lose the most blood was a large gash had been made in her abdomen, from the right shoulder to the left hip.

Not only did I fail to protect Sakura, but I didn't make it in time to prevent Kakashi Sensei from getting hurt.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was far from critical condition. The only injuries the Konoha jonin had sustained, had been a maimed left shoulder and a few minor cuts on his face from Kaoru's bones and kunai knives. Although his sensei's injuries had been minor, Naruto continued to lament over his poor judgment during the battle to protect Yagura. A battle, and mission, that had failed. Naruto had failed to protect, yet, another person.

Naruto thought back to Kakashi's assumption concerning Yagura's death. If the jonin was correctly analyzing the situation, and it was rare that he didn't make a correct analysis, at one point during the battle, Kaoru had somehow conjured up two clones. One disguised as Yagura, and one to fight Kakashi while the real Kaoru took out Yagura, only to take her battling clone's place once the deed had been done.

The young shinobi sighed. Sure, the explanation made sense, but it still didn't change the fact that he had failed to protect his comrades and successfully carry out his mission. How could he let people get hurt like that? He wanted, more than anything, to have the strength to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, and become the next Hokage. But at this rate, his dream would never become a reality, and Sasuke Uchiha would forever reside within the darkness that had infiltrated his heart.

"Naruto? Are you still here?" Tsunade said as she entered the room for Sakura's hourly examination. "Naruto, you really should go outside. Get some fresh air and something to eat. After all, it's unhealthy to worry so much."

"I'm not hungry," Naruto said, swiping angrily at his eyes. "And... If I can't protect Sakura, how can I ever expect to bring Sasuke home?"

Tsunade smiled tenderly at the boy, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. She could understand how he felt, to a certain extent. She, too, had lost those she loved when she was young. Not only her brother, Nawaki, but her lover, Dan, and even a childhood friend, much like Naruto had lost. Without so much as a word, Tsunade took Naruto's hand, lifted him off the stool, and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"It's okay to cry," she said, placing a hand on the shuddering young ninja's back. "After all, tears are one of the things that make us human. There's nothing for you to be ashamed of, Naruto. And no matter what happens, your friends will always have a place for you in their hearts." Naruto lifted his head, and Tsunade wiped his tears away. "Even Sasuke. Nothing can break a true bond of friendship or brotherhood, Naruto. Not even hatred."

Naruto nodded, turning to glance at Sakura, fire burning in his blue eyes. He stepped out of Tsunade's embrace and approached Sakura's bed, fist clenched and arm outstretched. "Sakura... I swear, the next time... I won't let anything hurt you. I give you my word!"

Looks like he's himself again, Tsunade thought with a grin as Naruto left the room. Contrary to this village's previous beliefs, that boy is shaping out to be a damn good ninja. Who knows? Naruto just might be the one to bring Sasuke home... and become the next Hokage.

0 -- 0 0 -- 0 0 -- 0

Sasuke Uchiha, clothed in Akatsuki garb, trudged around the Akatsuki hideout almost mindlessly as he considered his various options. Having been born and raised in Konoha, the young Uchiha knew that it would be no simple task to infiltrate the village, let alone destroy it. But Konoha had some kind of weakness, and of that he was sure.

A tree leaf fluttered down from one of the tree branches above Sasuke's head, landing in his outstretched palm. He ground his teeth, crushing the leaf with a fist. Nothing was perfect. After all, even the strongest tree had a weak point of some sort. In this case, Konoha was the tree, and its inhabitants were the leaves. All he had to do was discover Konoha's weakness, understand it, and exploit it. Only then would he be able to destroy the village that had disgraced his mighty clan.

The Uchiha turned his head, glancing up through the tree leaves at the blue sky above. Even here, far from his birthplace and former home, the sky was still the same. The same endless canvas of pure blue, occasionally painted with splotches of white. Sasuke grinned, allowing the remnants of the leaf to fall from his hand. Soon enough, the sky above Konoha would be red with blood, agony, and regret. Regret for mistreating the Uchiha clan. Agony for all the time Sasuke had been forced to live within a lie. And blood... blood in reparation for the blood of his loved ones that had been spilled out of fear and spite.

Sasuke laughed. "The last thing they will know in this world, is how powerful I am. They will tremble before the raw power of the Uchiha! Only then can I bring balance to this world, and truly restore the honor of my clan!"

Yes, that would be it. They would pay dearly. And not just the elders, but the entire village. Even his old "friends." Even Naruto.

"Why would you waste so much effort... on me?" Sasuke remembered saying.

Like always, Naruto had grinned that stupid grin of his. "Because, for me, you were part of my family."

Naruto... Naruto...

The name stuck in his head like white on bone. Forever impressed upon his memories; upon his eyes. As hard as he tried, Sasuke couldn't rid himself of the memories he and Naruto had shared. From the day they had become genin to their battle at the Final Valley, the two still seemed to have something special that linked them. A link that couldn't be broke by something so trite as betrayal. The Uchiha sighed. He couldn't allow passed emotions to get in the way of his goal. Especially not now. He hadn't let his former love for his brother, Itachi, stop him from taking his revenge.

Big brother... Itachi...

Sasuke cringed at the mere thought of his brother's name. As much as he hated to admit it, Kakashi had been right. All that had come of his vengeance so far... was more pain, suffering, and loneliness than he'd ever felt before. But that pain was what now drove him. His newfound suffering had given him even greater reason to destroy Konoha and redeem his clan, his family... his beloved brother. He could never forgive himself if he left that debt unpaid. Not after he'd learned the truth behind Itachi's betrayal.

But Naruto... No! Sasuke thought, mentally closing the door on his friend. No one can be allowed to live! Not even you... Naruto.

Yes, Sasuke made his debut in this chapter. XD Surprised? Well, my reasons for including Sasuke will become clear soon enough. But in the meantime, please review and enjoy! Thanks for reading!