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Sorry for the slight delay in this chappie, any enjoy

Broken hearts

Chapter two; Isolation

Since their initial encounter a couple of days before Kurenai and Naruto had not seen each other, both were caught in a dilemma of their own creation. Kurenai felt conflicting emotions of rage and a strange sense of comfort. Her rage was born of the perception that she was betraying Asuma and his memory; a part of her felt disgusted with herself for feeling that moment of understanding and comfort with Naruto, even though nothing was said or intention was apparent. A part of her wanted to spend more time in the company of this kindred spirit. Unfortunately at the present time rage and disgust were the more dominant and so she stayed within the confines of her home; she stopped visiting the memorial stone and his grave, she didn't know what she could say to Asuma to make up for this breach of trust. The reality of her situation was that she was more alone than ever, Anko had yet to return from her latest mission, so all she did was dwell and wallow in her misery.

Naruto had been a different case, daily he would go to the same spot in the trees that overlooked the memorial stone and just wait for her presence; just the sight of her was of bare comfort. However she never came, and he did what any person alone and depressed would do, he blamed himself. It was his fault, if only he had not approached her, she would still be visiting the stone and he would still see her, if only from a distance. Naruto felt that just seeing her from a distance was more than he deserved or could ever expect from any woman. He started to believe that isolation and pain would be his only companions in life. It felt to him that the even the air that he breathed was devoid of warmth.

In his desperation he would sit for hours on end in the trees in the vain hope of obtaining a glimpse of her, but that wasn't to be. Training the one thing that he could look forward to and thrive on, no longer held the appeal that it once did. The emptiness he felt could only be understood by another as devoid as himself and as such the resolution he sought was out of reach. Kurenai was being consumed by guilt and not having Anko around only served to add to her loneliness and emotional isolation. Little Asuma was as time passed becoming more of a reminder of her past; she would often sit alone in the lounge and just look into his eyes reminiscing on the good times that she spent with Asuma, but it also reminded her of her loss which felt so clear and fresh even though it had been over a year it seemed like just yesterday. The ache in her chest seemed like it would never cease and the darkness that came with it would only deepen compressing the atmosphere crushing what remained of her spirit.

Naruto and Kurenai spent the following week in conflict with their inner demons, neither gaining any ground. He still sat in the trees by the memorial stone lost in his own thoughts, when he sensed the presence of another. He looked up to see Anko, it seemed she had returned and had come in search of Kurenai. Anko had come straight from the Hokage's office expecting to see Kurenai at the stone, as it had become a ritual for her. She felt a deep sense of unease about the situation and extended her senses, finding a chakra signature close by, she shunshined over to the source. There she found a dishevelled blond with dull eyes fixed upon the stone. "Eh shit stain whatcha doing here?" she demanded, he looked over his expression never changing "just waiting " he replied almost inaudibly. This aroused her suspicion, but seeing as she was looking for Kurenai she filed it away for later when she had time. "Have you seen Kurenai" she asked in a gruff manner; which for Anko was bordering on polite. In an almost despondent tone he replied "She hasn't been here since you left". She took in the tone in which in spoke; but then what he said also soaked in; Anko quickly realised that something was wrong with Kurenai as she always without fail came to the stone. She took one last look at the dishevelled form of Naruto and took off at a sprint towards Kurenai's home.

Anko arrived at Kurenai's home feeling apprehensive; she knew of Kurenai's depression and hoped that she hadn't done anything foolish. She knocked furiously at the door and waited for a response; there was no response and the anxiety within her grew as did the fear of losing a friend. Anko pulled her foot back to kick the door in, when the door slowly opened, what greeted her was a home immersed in darkness. She stepped and walked over to open the curtains and was fully intending to give Kurenai a piece of mind for the worry that she had caused; but what was revealed put an end to that. To say that Kurenai looked a state would have been an understatement; Anko had not seen such a sight since immediately after the death of Asuma. Kurenai's dress was dirty and shredded, her hair was knotted and matted; Anko looked at Kurenai's face and saw that her skin was pale, the beautiful red eyes which were once full of life seemed to be dead to the world. This was a source of confusion for Anko as when she left for her last mission she clearly remembered that Kurenai was at least attempting to move on in some aspects of her life; and here was now apparently having given up. Anko was inwardly angry, wondering what had happened to have caused this, whilst thinking if it was a man then she would be inflicting some pain tonight.

Anko walked over to Kurenai and held her close to comfort and reassure her friend; upon feeling the comfort Kurenai broke down into tears and collapsed to the floor taking Anko with her. " what's the matter " Anko whispered gently into Kurenai's ear, desperately wondering what the problem was and more importantly who was the cause of the problem? Kurenai began to mumble almost incoherently in between the now muffled sobs; the only words that Anko could perceive were Asuma, betrayed, Naruto and memory. Instinctively Anko got up and said to Kurenai that she would be back shortly with that she flew out of the home. To say that Anko was pissed was an understatement, she took out a kunai and headed to where she last saw Naruto; she was going to get some answers.

A/N; Read and please review...it's good to know if the audience (you) are enjoying the story.