Fated Reunion?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… Wait! … Nope, I still don't own it. Go figure.

I was fairly disappointed with this chapter, but hey, I'll let you guys decide what to think. Hope ya enjoy!

XXX

"W-what is this…?" muttered Kakashi, his single eye as wide as it would stretch. The Diamond village, once guarded by a huge natural gully-wall, was now blasted open like a cracked egg, revealing the horrifying content held within. Rubble littered the ground. Only a few houses remained, and even they had not gone unharmed, whether they had missing roofs or no walls. "So that explains why no one came to pick up the instrument." Muttered Kakashi.

The genin were all staring in shock, but Naruto… He'd fallen to his knees, absolute shock on his face. "No… This can't be happening!" a face flashed in his memory, a young girl with tanned skin and lime-green hair. "Fuu-chan…"

Running his fingers through his gravity defying hair, Kakashi let out a sigh. "Right, we split up and look for survivors." From a pouch he pulled out four capsules. "If you run into trouble, throw one of these on the ground- it's a flare and if I see it I'll come running." He handed one capsule to each of the genin. "I'll stay to the south," he said, motioning to the largest area of destruction. "Sakura, you go east, Sasuke west and Naruto, you go north. Alright?" As his team nodded, the jonin disappeared in a blur of speed, while Sakura and Sasuke dived off in their appropriate directions. Naruto was left to walk slowly, thoughts bombarding his head.

No one knew that Fuu had come here, how could they possibly? Six years ago, he and Utakata had brought Fuu here, where she'd been perfectly happy. The last letter he'd received from her was seven months after the Vein-Mist incident, via a messenger pigeon. So unless she'd revealed that she was a jinchuriki to someone who wasn't trustworthy, no one could have found out… He remembered the hard face of Gen Remake, the bastard who'd given him a scar on his forehead. The only eligible solution was that one of them had come. Those who wore the same cloaks as Ooi and Axel.

He peered into one of the houses, and saw only rubble. A doll was lying on the ground, its face cracked slightly. Blood was splattered on the walls. Gritting his teeth, he slammed a chakra-charged fist into the wall, causing a huge chunk of it to fly off in a random direction. For another half hour he wandered the deserted diamond village, finding nothing but wrecked buildings and blood-soaked walls. And then he found it.

A river, running by the gully's dead end, into a deep cavern which presumably led to the sea. Sitting by the river on a boardwalk was a woman with cyan-blue hair and frosty-pale skin. Unperturbed by Naruto's arrival, she continued to play her woodwind type instrument- an ocarina. The sound of beautiful music drifted through the air, like a haunting lullaby. Cautiously, he approached the musician, taking a snails pace onto the wooden boardwalk, observing the surroundings rather than the player. The sakura trees that were planted beside the river seemed oddly out of place in the deserted village, but deep inside, Naruto knew that this was probably…

"Put you hands where we can see them, motherfucker!" screeched a male voice from behind him, as a knife was pressed into his tail bone.

"An ambush. I so should have seen that coming…" muttered Naruto. From the shadows two more ninja appeared, one wearing a blank porcelain mask with two-lens covered eye holes and shoulder length green-hair, the other with shaggy black hair who was shaking nervously and looking from the cyan-hair woman to Naruto. The one behind Naruto revealed himself to have very short brown hair and a very large toothy, yet sadistic, grin. "Um… I know this will should quite out of place, but I'm from a Konoha delivery team." He licked his lips unconsciously. "My sensei brought a package for you guys."

Suddenly, the woman sitting on the boardwalk got to her feet and turned to face him. Despite her chilling appearance, she was beautiful, almost exotic with her palest skin and light blue hair. "And what…" she spoke in a highly melodic voice. "… Pray tell is your name, young Konoha ninja?"

Naruto met her chilling gaze and spoke clearly, "Naruto Uzumaki."

At this, the mask wearing genin gasped slightly, and tripped over their feet, before landing on their bottom, squeaking in pain. The raven haired boy beside her knelt down to help her. "Are you alright,-" he caught Naruto's gaze and suddenly began to cower in a heap. "Don't look at me!"

Despite the hostage situation, Naruto couldn't help but sweat drop. "Um… Dare I ask what's going on?"

The boy behind him grunted in disgust. "Negi is an Ophthalmophobiac; he can't stand being stared at." After he said this, he kicked Naruto painfully in the shin. "So stop staring at him, dumbass!"

"I get the feeling I ran into some really weird people…" Naruto thought, as he clutched his throbbing knee. Feeling a violent tug to his collar, he crawled to his feet, and felt the sensation of having a knife pressed into his back… Again.

"Should I gut him, sensei?" asked the brunette with an odd relish.

Sighing, Naruto slammed his elbow into the boy's stomach, before spinning round and delivering a kick to the boy's face sending him sprawling on the ground. "That was for the kick, you little bastard!" yelled Naruto, before turning his gaze on the cyan-haired jonin. "D'you mind telling me what happened here?"

"You should already know, Naruto-kun." A quiet but sweet voice stated from his right. Turning, Naruto saw the masked genin get to her feet and remove her mask, letting shoulder-length lime green hair fall free and revealing tanned skin. Her violet eyes stared into his shocked cerulean ones. "It's been a long time, Naruto-kun."

XXX

Kurenai was beginning to panic. The messenger pigeon had been sent, but it could only be a short time before those three monsters appeared again, killing not only Tazuna but her three students. They wouldn't fall for the same genjutsu twice- that was for sure.

She turned to her students. "You guys need to train." It was an order. "Kiba, you work on your power with Akamaru, Shino practice your clan's insect techniques, and Hinata, work on defensive juken techniques." He ran her fingers through her raven hair. "You should know; those two who were attacking us… They're both A-ranked. Guujin the fisherman, an assassin who is fabled to kill using only steel-wire, and Zabuza, the demon of the mist, a proficient user of the silent killing art. I don't know who that other one was, but I'm sure as hell that he's just as dangerous, if not more so."

Kiba managed to show a cocky grin. "Don't worry sensei! I pound those guys to dust, right Akamaru?" *BARK!* "See sensei, we're an unbeatable team!"

"It's useless." Team 8 turned and saw a small child standing there, glaring at them with lost eyes. "You can't stand against Gato. No matter what you do, he'll kill you all!"

"It's not Gato I'm worried about- it's the people he's hired who scare me." Retorted Kurenai. "Gato is a coward if what I've heard of him is true, and him hiding behind giants such as Guujin and Zabuza only proves this fact!" she sighed. "Tazuna, you need to go into hiding for a while. That's the only solution, until Konoha sends a reply."

The bridge builder was taken aback. "But I can't! If I do, the bridge will be destroyed! We've spent years working on it- it's our last beacon of hope!"

"Listen to me!" yelled Inari, with surprising vocals for one so young. "Gato is too strong for all of you! And what would you know of his power? You've all lived lives of luxury- you don't know what it means to suffer!"

Kurenai crushed her glass in one hand, and was about to slap the boy when she realised his age and ignorance, so instead calmed herself down. "All of you return to the house before it gets dark. That's an order." Nodding in confirmation, the genin left the house. Kurenai herself sighed, and poured herself some sake. "Please Sarutobi… We need help."

XXX

Ten minutes after Naruto used his flash bomb, all of Team 7 had gathered by the boardwalk. As soon as he arrived, Kakashi began a heated discussion with the Diamond genin's sensei, who was known as Noa. "We were attacked late at night, too late to record the exact time. Nearly everyone was asleep. Then a massive explosion occurred right beside the gate. A third of our village was destroyed instantly. I, along with four other jonin, were selected to take our genin teams and the villagers and escort them into the caves," she motioned to the dark tunnel at the mouth of the river, "It's a fortress inside, the very end of the gully, and has a tunnel leading out to the forests surrounding Takigakaru. We were sent out to scout the village, to see if anyone else survived, and low-and-behold, we found a team of ninja scouring our village." She smiled at Naruto. "I apologise for ambushing you, we only meant to find the one who attacked our village."

Naruto shook his head. "No, it's fine." He looked at Fuu, who blushed as his gaze fell on her. "It was just nice to meet you again."

Noa chuckled. "Ahh, young love…" she murmured, under her breath. "This is my genin team, by the way. Negi Tarou is the scaredy-cat…"

"Don't look at me!" yelled the raven haired boy as the team of Konoha genin glanced in his direction. He wore a loose white shirt with baggy sleeves that fell over his hands, and rather baggy black pants. A butterfly knife was holstered on his belt. He looked weak built and rather frail- so frail that the first face that came to mind when Naruto saw him was the human part of Ooi.

"Kagami Mozou is the hardhead who your little blonde friend beat up." She received a glare from the near-bald genin. He did have a rather 'hard' look, a green shirt with the sleeves ripped off, and shorts which revealed an assortment of holstered strapped to his legs, including daggers, kunai and shuriken pouches. "And last but certainly not least is Fuu, a prodigy of the village."

At the compliment, Fuu blushed, and laughed in embarrassment. "I'm not a prodigy, Noa-sensei!" Apart from the obvious changes, her significant gain in height, her darker tone of skin, and more notably in some cases her rather large bust, she now carried a rolled-up sash which seemed to be covered with multiple complex seals. When she noticed Naruto looking at her, she turned away, blushing furiously. Though no one said anything, she knew that he'd changed too. Unlike the small boy who had captured her heart six years ago, he was now a young man… And he still held her heart.

"Mah, mah…" Kakashi mumbled, nonchalantly. "The main thing is we found some survivors. He took the ocarina from his pouch and handed it to Noa, who looked perplexed. "We were sent to deliver this to your village."

Noa examined it, then gasped, before rubbing it furiously with the hem of her shirt. "This- this is it!" she held the instrument up to the sky, part of the rust warn away revealing a bluish hue. "The ocarina of dust!" she began to rub the non-rusted part against her cheek with a Cheshire cat-like grin on her face. "This ocarina can activate a space-time ninjutsu- it's super rare!" she giggled pervertedly. "I can destroy loads of stuff with this."

"I think I'm in love." Stated Kakashi, looking up from his porn to stare at the cyan-haired beauty.

"Did you…" Everyone's gaze turned on Naruto. "… Did you find out who attacked the village?"

The grin on Noa's face fell, and she gained a somber look. "I have no idea… Like I said, we were sent on an escort mission down the caverns. And there are no survivors."

At this, all of Team 7's eyes widened. "N-No survivors…?" muttered Sakura. She clasped her hands together and began to shake. "What about your leader?"

Noa shrugged. "Seventy percent of those dead have no remains."

"What kind of screwed up logic is that?" roared Sasuke. "How can a ninja village fall so easily! Were you attacked by an army or something-?"

"No." Noa cut him off, and gained an icy glint to her eyes as she recalled the night. "It was… Only one man." She clenched her fists. "I've dabbled in sensor techniques- I'd know if there was anyone left in the village… But that man…" she shivered. "His chakra dwarfed anything I've ever seen before. I don't know why he came, and I don't know who he was. All I know is, after he destroyed part of the village, he gave us enough time to rally together a small force of jonin and evacuate the majority of civilians." She gazed at the ruined village. "None of our forces returned. And that was five days ago! And for those who have not been found… We can only guess what happened to them."

"You have my condolences." Stated Kakashi, while bowing his head in respect. "If you want, I can send a messenger pigeon to Konoha. They'll send some back-up and we can escort you and the other villagers back to Konoha. The Hokage will only be too happy to set up an estate for you."

At this, Noa smiled. "There is no need. We have sufficient shinobi forces, but we would however be grateful for your team to accompany us." She motioned to the caves. "Please follow us. Some of the villagers may voice disapproval at moving, it will be best to call a meeting."

XXX

"We could kill them now." Growled Zabuza. He was glaring at his three companions, sitting cross-legged on a rock with Kubikiri resting beside him. Guujin was leaning against a tree, fishing calmly, a small smile on his face.

"Give them false hope. Make them think we've given up." He glanced back at Zabuza with his grey eyes. "It makes the victory so much sweeter."

"I'd rather just kill them and get paid." Grunted Zabuza, his hand unconsciously moving towards his blade's hilt. "We're running short on funds, and that bastard Gato isn't a patient fellow. Besides, he doesn't think your little friend there is up to much."

At this, the rose haired male glanced at him coldly. "My name is Phantazmal. I've told you that at least fifteen times. If you don't address me politely I'll just kill you." As he spoke those words, a skull shaped plectrum appeared in his right hand with a puff of black smoke.

"Don't get smart with me you little shit-"

Guujin cut them both off. "If you'll both refrain from killing each other…" he sent them a chilling smile. "You'll realise that it's far more simplistic than you think. They'll put themselves on high alert at first, perhaps waiting for reinforcements to arrive, but eventually they'll tire of waiting and continue work on the bridge building. And if reinforcement's do arrive, they'll be outclassed in every aspect… After all, Phantel-chan here hasn't ever appeared in the Bingo book, and this…" he tapped on the brass scroll he had beside him. "… Hasn't been seen yet. I'm confident that its contents will be… 'Fitting' for the battlefield."

Zabuza grumbled in discontent. "You're keeping too many secrets, Guujin. I don't even think I should trust you."

"Clever- you should never trust me. I hardly trust myself nowadays." The line at the end of his rod began to tug slightly. "I offer all who get close to me bait, and when they accept it with open arms…" in one movement, he flicked the rod out the water, causing a large salmon to come flying at him, before it was sliced to pieces by unseen steel-wire. "… I gut you like a fish." He pulled a toothpick from his bag, and skewered one of the fish pieces, before cooking it over the fire.

Haku, who had not yet spoken, looked away from her companions at the village in the distance. It was so helpless- held under the rule of a tyrant who saw no further than the lining of his own pocket. In his ideal world, Haku would save this village. But alas, the world was not his ideal. It was cruel, ugly and treacherous. And for that reason, this poor wretched village would live under Gato's iron rule until some other power hungry tyrant emerged.

But as long as Zabuza-sama was happy, Haku was happy. After all, a tool belongs at its master's side- and without the master, the tool is useless.

XXX

"Leave? Preposterous! We can't leave the sanctuary of these hills- it would be suicidal!" screamed a village elder. A few murmured in agreement, but Noa wasn't backing down.

"Whatever attacked us might be back- and if they are they may have an even greater force behind them. This may be a fortress, but wasn't the village itself also supposed to be one? Look what happened to the gate- in less than a second it was destroyed! Our only option for assured safety is to go to Konoha seeking sanctuary. The Sandaime Hokage has a reputation for being a benevolent soul; it's unlikely he will refuse a plea for help." She paused for breath. "I call a vote. Those who wish to stay in the Diamond caves?"

The village elder who had spoken earlier raised his hand, along with the three beside him. The six other elders didn't budge. "And those who wish to leave for Konoha?" asked Noa, with a grin. The six other elders raised their hands.

Across the room, the other jonin were chuckling. "I've got to admit; Noa does put up a fight." Stated one, with a bark of laughter.

"If it wasn't for the circumstances she would be laughed at- remember that." He looked down at the gathered villagers bellow, and sighed. "We are the last four jonin of diamond village, no chunin seem to have survived, and only twelve of our genin remain. Yesterday we had a jonin force of over fifty, and a countless number of genin." He shrugged. "I don't understand why he left so abruptly though. Nothing of value seems to have been taken- all he did was massacre our forces."

The final jonin, who had not yet spoken, grunted. "Maybe it's as they say- the calm before the storm, you know. Maybe, whoever the bastard is, they plan on coming back and taking whatever they wanted in our weakened state."

Noa meanwhile, was grinning like a cheshire cat. "Alright, so we have a majority agreement- we evacuate the Diamond village and move to Konoha. Form her weapons pouch; she pulled a white-cloth headband, with a diamond insignia etched into the metal plating. She tied it around her forehead, then nodded at her three jonin companions. At dawn, the diamond village would move out.

XXX

"It-It's been a while, hasn't it, Naruto-kun?" asked Fuu, with a nervous smile.

Smiling sadly, Naruto nodded. "Six years, not counting letters. You've certainly grown- but you are still smaller than me."

Fuu giggled, and looked up at the starry sky. "Did he tell you, or did you work it out?" She caught his questioning glance, before placing a hand over her stomach. "The thing we share. I can tell you know, but you didn't before. When did you find out?"

His smile now gone, Naruto tossed a stone into the river. They were sitting side-by-side on the river bank, which in itself was twinkling as it reflected the star light. "I was told by one of them. The group who wear red-cloud's. Utakata told me about you three years ago, but I haven't changed my opinion of you. I can't." he flashed a toothy grin in her direction. "Promise of a lifetime, remember?"

For a moment, her fuchsia eyes seemed to sparkle, just like the stars, when suddenly she turned away with a furious blush on her face. "… I remember…"

XXX

Alrighty, not so happy with this one, but I think it serves more as a 'bridge to the next arc for Naruto and co.' rather than a chapter. As for Team 8, I've had some people asking for the blood of one of the team… But who? 0_0

I'll give it some thought. Clone Emperor's not getting off the ground much, so I implore anyone with ideas for it to PM me, I NEED INSPIRATION. PLEASE. THANKS.

Maybe I should leave a signature this time… The Hanged Man.

Ooh… That was quite cool.