Yo, are you ready for another installment of Times Change? -silence- Eeha same here. (lolZ!)
Disclaimer: -sigh- How I despise these things. No, I do not own Naruto. WHO WOULD ON THIS SITE!
Traveling
Sakura stayed seated on the bed, swinging her legs softly against the frame. Her hands gripped the covers under her, her eyes staring at the door ahead of her. Naruto had said he had a mission to take care of. It wouldn't take long right? Throughout the course of waiting, Sakura had thought of getting up and going to the door, but decided against it.
"Whatever you do Sakura, stay in here," Naruto growled at her, holding her body close to his.
Sakura gulped, nodding her head, as she was unable to speak.
Naruto grinned, but it was more evil than intended. "Good. I'll be back soon baby," he told her, kissing her quickly before leaving the room.
Sakura shivered, shaking her head. 'Naruto's changed so much. If only I could find a way to turn him back into himself, his old self. Then we could leave this god-forsaken place and go back to Konoha. Naruto could pay off his debt for leaving and everything would be all right. We'll all be together again we'd be a team again Sakura thought but sighed at it. Right, like that'll happen. Don't kid yourself Sakura. You left willingly. Naruto would probably be locked up for life, along with me if we ever came back'.
Suddenly, Sakura heard footsteps and immediately perked up. Maybe Naruto had finally come back? However, the footsteps just continued on, getting softer with every minute. Sakura sighed again, her shoulders slumping. She needed to get out of here. This room was bringing her down.
:) :p ;)
Sasuke adjusted the strap on his backpack, nodding at Kakashi when he was finished.
"Okay then," Kakashi said. "Let's head out."
"Hold on," they heard someone say. The two turned to see Jiraiya standing behind them. "I want to come with you. I feel like it's partly my fault this happened, seeing as I'm the one that helped Naruto to access his chakra to the Kyuubi."
Kakashi shook his head. "That wouldn't have happened if I had just trained Naruto instead of Sasuke. I should have paid more attention to him, but I just brushed him off like he was a pest. So, I'm sorry Jiraiya, but I think it would be better if just Sasuke and me went."
Jiraiya nodded his head. "Fair enough," he said. "Just remember to come back alive!"
Sasuke and Kakashi grinned, Sasuke flashing him a thumbs-up, one like Naruto would do. "You can bet on it."
:) :p ;)
Tsunade sighed, her hand limply clenching the sake bottle. How could this have happened? she thought to herself.
"What!" she yelled, slamming her hands down on her desk. She couldn't believe this. Why would Naruto, of out everyone, leave the village?
"It's true Hokage-sama," the ninja said. "We heard from Sakura herself."
Tsunade sighed, pulling her fingers through her bangs. "Bring me Shikamaru Nara," she said suddenly, looking up at the ninja. "Well, wait are you waiting for? Move!" she yelled at him when he just stood there, the ninja immediately disappearing.
'I remember that day too clearly' she thought, taking a swig of the bottle, hoping it would make the image disappear.
Shikamaru stood there, shocked. "I can't believe it," he said finally.
"Well, believe it," Tsunade said, sitting down. "Naruto has left the village, probably heading for Orochimaru. I need you to form the Naruto Retrieval Squad."
"I would have never thought," Shikamaru said, thinking out loud. "He's annoying, I know. But why would he leave? He even wanted to be Hokage! I don't understand!" he yelled out, showing a side that's not Shikamaru. "Why would he leave!"
'His age group didn't know,' Tsunade thought to herself, finally setting the bottle down on the desk. 'That he was put down by their own parents, for having the Nine-Tailed Fox in him. They never knew at the time, why a boy who always laughed and had a smile for everyone, would suddenly decide to leave. He was suffering inside, that his own classmates would make fun of him for a reason they didn't know. I guess something in him snapped, and he was tired of it. All the pain that he's had to endure and yet he never showed it. And now he's gone.
:) :p ;)
Sasuke and Kakashi quickly jumped through the trees, stopping every few minutes to check their soundings, making sure they were going the right way. All the while, Sasuke kept glancing back, his eyes glazed over by sadness. 'Naruto, he told sadly. You took the path that I almost did. I'm sorry friend, if I was one of the reasons that this happened. If only I could change the past...
Kakashi held up a hand, motioning for Sasuke to stop and jump to the forest floor. "You feel that Sasuke?" Kakashi spoke quietly, Sasuke nodding his head. The wind blew softly around them, once-in-a-while hearing quick dash bursts around them.
Sasuke growled to himself, grinding his teeth together. 'But now you've gone and taken Sakura with you. I swear, if anything, I'm bringing at least one of you back with me.
:) :p ;)
"Where's Hinata?" Shino asked Kiba in his usual stoic manner.
"She said she wanted to be left alone, to think," Kiba answered, the two immediately knowing why. Shino sighed.
"She has to get over this, you know?" Shino said. "It's been over two years."
"Hey, chill out man," Kiba told him. "She was in love with the guy."
"Still, it doesn't take this long," Shino answered. "He didn't even feel the same way about her, seeing as Sakura is now gone."
Kiba stayed silent, Akamaru whining softly at Kiba's feet. "Plus, if I recall correctly," Shino continued, gaining Kiba's attention. "You seem to have a crush on Hinata."
Kiba immediately started to blush. "Shut up, ya bug freak!" he yelled out at him, Shino snickering slightly.
Meanwhile, in the Hyuga compound, Hinata sat on the steps, head in hands, as she sighed outwardly. 'Naruto-kun,' she thought aimlessly, looking up into the sky. €˜You wanted to be Hokage, you wanted the people of this village to respect you. So then, why did you leave? I looked up to you Naruto, a lot of people did. And just as the village was starting to realize your true potential, you leave. Why? It doesn’t make any sense.’
Then Hinata started to think about when Sakura so-called left with Naruto and a surge of jealousy washed over Hinata. But, it was gone as quickly as it came. 'You love her, don't you Naruto-kun?' she asked him in her mind. 'You only thought of me as a friend, never more. You would never love me the way you love Sakura.
"Hey Hinata!" she heard someone yell and she looked up, seeing Kiba waving his hands around his head, Shino just standing beside him, hands in pockets like always. "Come on Hinata!" Kiba yelled to her. "Let's go train!"
Hinata smiled softly, standing up as she ran over to them. 'Maybe, she thought to herself, stopping in front of Kiba and Shino. ‘I can find someone else who loves me the way I do.
:) :p ;)
Naruto jumped through the trees quickly and quietly. He had sensed trouble the moment he had woken up this morning. Thats why he told a little white lie to Sakura that he had to take care of a mission. Naruto stopped, jumping down to the ground. He grinned to himself, seeing what has been troubling himself this entire time. 'So, the old bat sent the teme and sensei on a mission to bring me back huh? Heh, when will they learn?
Naruto decided to have a little fun with them, as he started to dart quickly around them in a circle, confusing them like he knew he would. He stopped, sensing Sasuke's impatientness. He growled. "Naruto!" Sasuke yelled out. "Come out! We know you're here!"
Naruto jumped out, landing a few feet away from them. "Aww come on Sasuke. I just wanted to play," Naruto said, ending his sentence on a dark note.
"Where's Sakura!" Sasuke demanded, wanting to cut right to the chase.
"She's back at the house, where she belongs," Naruto told him. "Why? You're not trying to take her away from me, are you Sasuke."
"Damn right I am!" Sasuke yelled. "And I ain't leaving until one of you all are coming back with me to Konoha!"
Naruto made a pout, his tails swishing behind him. "Sorry to say Sasuke, but that's not gonna happen. Even with you and Kakashi, there's no way you can take me down."
"We'll see about that" Sasuke mumbled to himself, grabbing a kunai knife and running towards Naruto. Naruto also took out a kunai, as the knives clashed together, sparks flying. Kakashi stood back, waiting for an opening in the fight for him to attack. Since Naruto and Sasuke were fighting in such close combat, he didn't want to make the mistake of hitting Sasuke on accident.
Naruto's hand lashed out; grabbing Sasuke's kunai knife, the object piercing his skin but it was nothing. While he had Sasuke immobilized, he raised his other hand and punched Sasuke, sending him flying back. Kakashi then charged at Naruto, jumping up and using a roundhouse kick on him. However, Naruto caught Kakashi's foot and twisted it, breaking his ankle.
The Kakashi turned into a puff of smoke, Naruto growling. 'Damn clone,' he thought before feeling his jaw twist sideways. His eyes flashed over to see Sasuke, fist in contact with his jaw. Sasuke pulled his fist before sending his other one back into Naruto's mouth. Naruto let Sasuke hit him again, his tails lashing out at the very last second, wrapping around Sasuke's arms and legs, bringing him flying with him. As Naruto's back hit a tree, he took out a kunai, stabbing Sasuke in the shoulder with it, tightening his grip on his limbs.
Sasuke ground his teeth together, trying to break free of Naruto's grip. Naruto grinned devilishly, almost letting out a chuckle. "Poor baby Can't take the pain?" Naruto's arms flew for Sasuke's neck, his grip dangerous strong. Sasuke coughed, feeling the air sharply cut off. He gasped, Naruto grinning with pleasure as he tightened his hold on his neck.
Suddenly, Naruto felt a stinging sensation of pain shoot through him. He yelled out, immediately dropping for Sasuke, who was crouched on all fours, gasping for breath. Naruto turned his head, looking at who was causing this pain. It was Kakashi. And he had a hold at the base of all of Naruto's tails. Naruto growled, twisting his body as he lashed his claws out at him.
Kakashi only grinned through his mask, giving a hard tug on the tails. Naruto immediately stopped, feeling the pain course through his body. It was similar to the pain he felt when he was first trying to break the Kyuubi's seal. Kakashi pulled harder again, making Naruto fall to all fours, groaning in pain.
"You know how to make it stop Naruto," Kakashi spoke to him, placing a foot on his back. "Surrender, and come back to the Leaf Village with us."
"Never!" Naruto snapped at him, his eyes glaring at him with fury.
"What are we gonna do?" Sasuke now asked, gently caressing his neck as he walked up to the two. Kakashi sighed.
"As unfortunate as it may seem, Naruto is too stubborn to listen to reason. We might have to go as far as permanently damaging these tails and dragging him back." Kakashi readjusted his grip on them, the tails thrashing wildly in his hands.
Naruto's eyes widen at the thought. 'Its damn near painful just to grow another one. I ain't going through the pain of Kakashi pulling them all out. However, if I struggle, I'm just urging him on. How can I get out of this without getting hurt in the process?'
"What about Sakura?" Sasuke asked, Naruto growling softly to himself at the comment.
"If she figures out that Naruto's not coming back, then she'll have to journey out to find why. We'll just have to hope that she has enough sense to come back to the Leaf Village and not get killed in the process," Kakashi explained, Naruto and Sasuke visibly flinching at that.
"But that's too risky Kakashi-sensei!" Sasuke protested.
"Enough," Kakashi said, stopping Sasuke from his rant. "Sakura's smart. I have no doubt she'll figure out what's happen to Naruto and be able to safely make it back here." Sasuke nodded, seeming okay with the situation.
"But you still have me to deal with," Naruto growled, staring up at him.
Kakashi smirked, making Naruto even angrier. "You?" He tugged on the tails roughly, causing Naruto to yell out in pain. "You're no threat to us anymore. We've got you trapped between a rock and a hard place."
Naruto snorted, knowing he was right. 'If I fight, I'll just get hurt again.'
"Now how are we gonna get you back to the Village?" Kakashi pondered out loud. He motioned his head over at Sasuke. "Sasuke! Open my pouch and get the rope!"
"Right!" Sasuke said, jumping over and grabbing it. He sat on Naruto's back, grabbing his wrists and tied them in a way so he couldn't do handsigns. Naruto grabbed Sasuke wrists, his claws tearing through the skin and veins.
Sasuke yelled out in pain, wrenching his hands away before kicking Naruto in the head. Kakashi struggled a little in his grip on him, as Naruto had scooted across the forest floor some. "Sasuke, be careful!" Kakashi warned him. "A little more rougher, and I could have my grip on him." Kakashi then sat on his back, grabbing the rest of the rope as he tied his ankles together in a similar fashion.
Naruto immediately started struggling through the ropes. 'Why can't I cut through this! It should be a piece of cake!
"You might as well stop," Kakashi told him, as if reading his mind. "These ropes are enforced by my own chakra. They're be no way of you breaking it, not even with all the Kyuubi's strength and those claws of yours." Naruto just growled, trying once more before finally stopping.
He then felt a foot against his foot. Bearing his fangs, he glared up to see Sasuke, smirking as he crushed his foot harder on his skull. "What's the matter Naruto? Can't take the pain?" Sasuke said, mimicking Naruto from earlier as he took the foot off him.
Naruto just growled up at him. "Shut up bastard," was the last thing he said before Sasuke hit in swiftly in the neck, knocking him out.
Whew! I finally finished the chapter! Well, seems we'll have some more conflict in the story. But I'll be off duty & gof will be writing it. Laters!