Author Notes: Ok I'm back with another chapter.

Chapter Twelve

When Naruto woke after getting a solid four hours of nightmare free sleep he pulled out his journal scroll and recorded the events that led him to be sheltering in his hidden cave. Then he took his kettle to the waterfall and refilled it before hanging it over the fire to heat up. From his bag he pulled out a random cup of ramen and sat back down on the stool to wait for his breakfast. He thought about the past couple of days and everything that had happened. He was still tired but not as tired as he'd been when he had gone to Oba-chan's office for a new mission. It still bothered him that she wouldn't give him one. At least not until he passed that strangers evaluation anyway. He hated meeting with civilian strangers. Oba-chan should have known that by now. It didn't help that time was running out until that stupid festival. His thoughts whirled in circles as he tried to find a loophole.

"Fox?" he asked, walking through the familiar corridors of his mind. "You awake?" He came to the last turn before the cage that held the great demon. One blood-red eye peered at him but the great Fox was laying down with his head resting on his front paws.

"Kit, I'm tired. What do you want now?" rumbled the deep voice sounding more like rocks grinding against each other in a creek bed.

"I just wanted to talk. I'm going in circles trying to figure it out alone. But if you're too tired I guess I'll just go figure it out on my own." He turned to leave but the Fox stopped him.

Sigh. . ."Sit Kit. Your chaotic thoughts aren't making rest easy. I really do not understand how you puny humans have survived at all if your mind is any indication of what's normal for your species." Kyuubi lifted his head and gave a vigorous shake before laying it back down. "So what exactly is the problem that's got your tail in such a twist anyway?"

"Oba-chan won't let me leave the village until I talk to this friend of hers. That wouldn't be so bad except the friend is a civilian and takes an abnormal delight in exposing secrets. I don't want anything to do with her. I spent too long building our protection to let someone tear it all down."

"Hmm. . .How do you know she'll tear our wall down? Maybe she'll understand why we built it in the first place." Kyuubi knew all about the woman and he had already told her to leave his Kit alone. No wonder the boy was upset. Once again the stupid humans weren't listening. Without intending to he growled and stood up. His tails flared out behind him as he began to pace in the small space of his cave. Two steps this way and four that way before turning to take two more steps back the way he'd come. The cage was really too small for effective pacing but it was all he had until the Kit figured out how to make his cage larger. The Kit was watching him pace so he said, "Kit your kettle is ready. Go eat and try to rest some more. I'll get back to you when I've thought of an answer."

"Kyuubi? You do a lot of pacing don't you?" Naruto had his head cocked to one side and was looking thoughtfully at the space inside the cage. "Is there anyway to give you more space with out destroying my mind or the seal? You know I will not do anything that will let you out."

A deep rumble that could only be demon laughter, filled the mental corridor. "There is but I'm not sure you're ready to do any tinkering in your mind. You would have to shape the mental landscape to allow me more room taking it from the unused portions of your brain. But there's a reason they are unused Kit and it'd be very dangerous for you to go messing around without knowing what each area is for. Just leave it alone for now and go make your food."

"Ok, Fox." Naruto walked away looking at each hallway of his mind as he exited the mental landscape and came back to reality. He poured the boiling water into his cup of ramen and covered it with a cloth to let the noodles steep. When the three minutes were up he ate quickly and threw the empty cup into his small fire. Then he went back to his futon and laid back down. He knew he should go back to his apartment but he really didn't want to. That woman knew where he lived. Even if Tsunade Oba-chan hadn't told her someone else would have.

He drifted off into sleep and it wasn't long before he began tossing and turning. Sweat rolled off him in waves. His mind was filled with pictures of his village destroyed. Bodies and parts of bodies were strewn everywhere, each one more grizzly than the last. He tried his hardest not to look at them, knowing full well that each would be someone he knew but it was no use. Even if he didn't know the names that went along with the faces he knew that each body belonged to someone he'd recognize. It was no use. When he wouldn't voluntarily look the bodies went into motion, leaving trails of fresh blood in their wake. They danced into his view and swayed in front of him, each part calling him a murderer, their murderer. Even parts that shouldn't be able to speak at all did so. Mouths appeared where they shouldn't have and spewed the hate forth. Weapons jutted from skin as the crush of body parts pressed in on him. He tried to flee but the body parts wouldn't let him get away. Sharp objects pierced his flesh and he began to scream. Tears ran down his cheeks and screams tore his throat to ribbons but the images wouldn't go away. Over and over he suffered as the jagged wounds healed and were made anew.

In his cage the Fox cursed as he sensed the Kit's life force tremble. What the hell was the Kit doing now? Quickly the Fox took a look around. Immediately he saw the boy was asleep on his bed and understood what the problem was. Damn. He never should have tried to punish the Kit like this. The Kit had no more choice in the sealing than he'd had. Why had he done this to the boy he thought as he raced into the dreamscape to try and wake the boy. As if those stupid villagers hadn't tortured the kid enough for the both of them anyway. One by one he cornered the images and banished them. It wasn't as easy as it might seem. Each villager had to be reconstructed before he or she could be banished and the Kit was watching as the Fox reassembled them all. Kyuubi knew the Kit recognized each person but what really upset him was when he saw one of the images was his Oba-chan. The Kit collapsed, crying and screaming, without tears or sound. Even the Kyuubi was disturbed by how deep that image hurt him. OH Crap he thought. He tried to fill the Kit's head with pleasant images but over each one was the nightmare image of Tsunade. The Kit couldn't forget it and he was bringing it back every time Kyuubi banished it. Finally the Fox gave up and just sent the Kit into a sleep that was too deep for dreams or nightmares.

He snarled at himself. He was just as bad as those stupid villagers who taunted and tortured him every time they saw him. Who got themselves rip-roaring drunk and then went looking for him to feel like they were real men. Who overcharged him for simple things that they knew he had to have to live while knowing full well he had no choice but to pay their price. He hated this place with all it's phobias and prejudices but he knew the torment he'd given the Kit for the crime of being his vessel was ten times worse, no make that a hundred times worse than anything the whole blasted place could have ever done to him.

In another area of town Watarimono was once again looking for her patient. Where the heck could that kid be? She'd checked his apartment but he didn't answer the door and all the lights were off. She'd checked the ramen stand, his training ground where he trained with his team and the one he used when he wanted to train alone. She'd walked to each of his friends homes to see if any of them had seen him, to which none had or would admit they had, anyway. It really irritated her that all his friends seemed to not want to help him. Well, Pinky had offered to go to his place and see if he was hiding under the bed or in a closet but Pinky wasn't someone Watarimono thought of as Naruto's friend. Now she and Ino were just walking around town hoping to spot the boy somewhere, anywhere.

"Ino, has he ever just vanished like this before?"

Ino shook her head. "Well, I mean he used to disappear before but only after he'd pulled a major prank on someone and everyone was looking for him to punish him for it. But he was always found in a short amount of time and he never tried to wiggle out of the punishment once he was caught. Then of course when he has to be in town for the Festival no one can ever find him. He disappears then and doesn't show again until the next afternoon. No one can hide like Naruto can." She finished with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Why does he disappear during the Festival? Most kids like celebrations."

"Don't know but he doesn't disappear during the festival. He is gone before it begins."

Watarimono sighed and stopped walking. "Well, let's go see if we can work with the Uchiha then since we have no idea where the Uzumaki is. Maybe I can help him at least."

"What exactly are we supposed to do for Sasuke? You never did explain," asked Ino, turning around and heading for the training grounds Team Seven usually used when they were all in town.

"The goal with Sasuke is to get him to where he can express his emotions. He has them but years of burying them has made it near impossible for him to express any of them except for his rage. That he expresses by beating up Naruto but I would like to see him smiling and talking more. My understanding is that he rarely if ever has much to say about anything."

Ino thought it over and then said, "You know he does talk. I was out for a stroll one night and I came across this lake. It looked so pretty in the moonlight I sat for a bit just staring at the play of the moonbeams on the surface. Water, especially still water, carries sound very well. I heard voices coming across the water and so I looked at the other shore. Sasuke was sitting with Naruto on a pier over the water. They were talking together about being alone. That's something the two of them would understand better than anyone else in this village. We all have someone we can go to but the two of them don't. That night I think I finally got an idea what sets the two of them apart. I think I finally began to understand that what sets them apart from the rest of us is also what draws them together. They have a bond formed by loss none of us can comprehend." It was a long statement for Ino to make and she was a little embarrassed by it as it didn't fit with her image of the air-headed blonde that only cared about fashion.

Watarimono looked at the girl from the corner of her eye and smirked at the faint traces of a blush that graced her cheeks. "So you pay more attention then you let on huh?"

Ino shrugged one shoulder. "Eh. We all have secrets we keep. Sometimes though it is necessary to be aware of the secrets someone is keeping so that you don't expect them to do something they won't do. Like Shika. I know he's super smart but he hates to waste his energy so he won't do anything that isn't necessary. That doesn't mean he won't fight for a friend or for himself. But he won't take steps he doesn't need to take like helping you find Naruto."

"Hmm. Maybe that's true but Naruto needs help and I can give it to him. The sooner he gets help the better off he'll be. So that should necessitate finding him."

"Not for Shika. Shika knows that when Naruto is ready he'll come find you. Naruto has never disobeyed a direct order from the Hokage before so Shika knows he won't do so now. Tsunade-sama ordered Naruto to get cleared by you so he has no choice but to do so. And Shika knows that helping us find him won't produce any results if Naruto isn't ready."

They had arrived at the training grounds to find two thirds of the team ready to end their training for the day. One look at Sasuke was enough to tell Watarimono how angry the boy was.

Sakura took off her gloves and put them in the pouch at her waist while giving Sasuke a sweet smile. "Sasuke want to go get something to eat? It's past lunch time and we've been working hard this morning."

Sasuke didn't answer as he turned to walk over to Kakashi-sensei. "Dobe?"

Kakashi looked up at him for a minute without answering. Sakura joined them and said, "Well, I don't care really where he is. Practice went much smoother without his annoying comments and yelling. Besides why does it matter? All he does is pick on you and call you names. Then he tries to fight you to show how strong he is but we all know it isn't even his strength. He doesn't have any real strength of his own to use."

Sasuke looked at her like she was lower than a bug under a rock. "Tch. . .You're so annoying." Then he turned back to Kakashi with and eyebrow raised still waiting for an answer to his question.

"I don't know where he is Sasuke. All I know is he didn't like what he was told the other day and now no one can find him." Sasuke frowned. He was more than a little worried about Naruto.

"So basically he's gone off to pout and make a scene like any spoilt child just because he has to do something he doesn't want to," Sakura ranted. "Well, if I know that loud-mouth he's probably hiding in his apartment just trying to get everyone worried enough to let him off the hook. I'll find him and drag his butt where ever he needs to be." She stormed off towards town and Naruto's apartment, muttering under her breath about loud-mouth spoilt little blond idiots who were more trouble than they were worth.

Behind her Sasuke glared holes in her back. If looks could do physical damage Sakura would have been sporting about a hundred kunai between her shoulder blades. Luckily they couldn't and she went on her way without a clue as to how much she'd just ticked off her other teammate and sensei.

"Don't worry about it Sasuke. She won't find him unless he wants her to. Naruto has spent more time hiding from her than almost anyone else in town."

"Hn. . ." Sasuke fumed, his eyes still spitting kunai in the direction the kunoichi had disappeared. All Kakashi could do was nod his head in agreement. Both of them knew Sakura had made the biggest mistake of her life in underestimating Naruto and his character and both half hoped they'd be around on the day he let her know just how wrong she was. The other half of them wanted to be as far away as they could get suspecting that Sakura wouldn't survive the lesson intact.

Watarimono and Ino strolled over and Watarimono said, "Pinky sure thinks highly of herself. I wonder what she plans to do when he won't open his apartment door."

Sasuke snorted. "Bust her way in."

"And he let her?" Watarimono looked shocked.

"He's used to it. Most the civilians treat him like that. He's nothing to them and nothing doesn't deserve any privacy or respect," Kakashi said.

"So he sees her barging into his apartment as a civilian move? I wonder if that means to him she is a civilian. . ." She pondered the statement for a couple of minutes never noticing how startled the ninja around her were. "Anyway, Sasuke are you ready to begin your sessions now? The sooner we get started the sooner you can go on missions again."

"Hn," He shrugged. The four of them walked over towards the bridge where team seven usually met up at the beginning of the day whenever they were in town. When they got there Kakashi asked, "Sasuke, do you want me to stay or do you want to do this in private?"

Watarimono shot a look of outrage at Kakashi but he turned a blind eye to it as he waited for Sasuke's answer. "Stay."

So Kakashi sat on the grass bank of the tinkling creek with Sasuke at his side and waited as Ino and Watarimono seated themselves across from them. He pulled out his little orange book and saw, out of the corner of his eye, the smirk that spread across Sasuke's face. Although the book disgusted Watarimono, seeing it in his hands also reassured her that he wouldn't be interfering as she did her job.

Across town, Sakura had reached Naruto's apartment and was banging on the door. The place was pitch black inside but she refused to believe he wasn't in there hiding somewhere. After another round of pounding that shook the whole building she kicked the door in and stomped into the small space. She flipped the lights on yelling, "I know you're in here, you little punk. Get your ass out here and do what you're told." She stormed over to the closet and ripped the door off it's hinges as she pulled it open. But Naruto wasn't in the closet either. She tossed the door towards his beaten down couch, never noticing as the coffee table in front of it splintered and broke under the assault. She put her hands on her hips trying to decide where else he could be hiding. She threw his bed against the wall and tore the door off both his small bathroom and bedroom closet before deciding he really wasn't in the apartment at all. She stood still for a minute trying to think where else he would go to hide. Finally she walked out of the apartment without bothering to put his doors back It never even occurred to her that someone would break in to the place and wreck the rest of his stuff since she herself had done basically the same thing. She wandered down the street deep in thought until she saw Hinata heading off in the direction of her family's estate.

"Hinata," She called out. The timid girl stopped and waited for her to catch up.

"Excuse me Hinata, but have you seen Naruto anywhere around the last couple of days? He seems to have gone into hiding but we need to . . . find him."

Hinata looked down at the ground and shook her head. She knew where Naruto was but she hadn't actually seen him so she could truly say she hadn't. Besides she really didn't like it that it was Sakura asking for him.

"Are you sure? You usually follow him everywhere. How'd he manage to hide from you?"

"I. . .I don. . .don'ttt f. . fol..low hhhim eeeverrrry where," the shy girl stuttered.

Sakura grinned. "Yes you do. I can see you peeking around the corner whenever he's at the ramen stand or out from behind a tree when we're training or just standing across the street when he's in his apartment. You always know where he is. So just tell me alright. He has something he's supposed to be doing and he's hiding like a spoilt brat cause he doesn't want to."

Hinata frowned. "No," she said and turned to walk away. Sakura stood in shock. Did gentle little shy Hinata just tell her no? Well at least that confirmed that she knew where he was.

Hinata stopped a few paces away from Sakura and lifted her chin. "Even if I did know where Naruto-kun is I wouldn't tell you who have no respect for him for all that you are his teammate. You care nothing for him or his struggles, seeing him as nothing more than something in your way to your precious Sasuke-kun." She turned around and resumed her trek to the Hyuuga Estate where she knew her Father and Neji would both be waiting for her, never noticing the lack of stuttering in the statement she had just uttered.

Behind her Sakura's jaw dropped. Her Inner shouted, "What the hell does that mean?"

Sakura answered, "You're asking me?"

Inner ranted, "He's a Dobe as Sasuke-kun says. - dead last of our class. What does she see in him that's worth anything? I just don't get that girl."

"You and me both. If it weren't for that thing inside his belly he'd never measure up to Sasuke-kun in terms of strength and that means Sasuke-kun is way better than him. Besides he was born a nobody and he'll always be a nobody."

"Well. . .maybe," Inner sounded thoughtful.

"What does that mean? Of course he's a nobody," Sakura fumed, still standing still on the sidewalk though Hinata was long gone.

"Nothing. Just he does keep the Demon inside and I wonder how much strength that takes. Maybe he's stronger than we think."

"Nah. He doesn't have any control over that. That seal works off his chakra pool. The chakra just swirls around and keeps the seal intact. It's not like he directs his chakra to control the Demon or the seal," Sakura told her inner self. Inner didn't respond and Sakura continued looking in all the places where she had found Naruto before. But the boy wasn't in any of them. It was dark by the time she got home and her Mother was more than a little angry.

"Sakura where have you been?" her mother said, standing in the doorway to the kitchen with her hands fisted and resting on her hips.

"Looking for the idiot. He seems to have gone into hiding and I got tired of everyone asking where he was so I went looking for him. I didn't find him though."

"You should have been home hours ago. You really had me worried when your friend, the girl with the blonde hair showed up asking for you. She seemed . . .upset with you about something."

"Sorry Mom. Yeah she's probably upset because they can't find Naruto. I'll go see her after I shower and change. Maybe after we eat. That smells good."

"Ok well, get a move on. It's ready to eat whenever you get to the table." Sakura sped up to her room and got a change of clothes for after her shower. Forty-five minutes later, just as her mother was getting ready to eat without her, she stepped into the kitchen wearing two towels. One was wrapped around her head while the other covered her body.

"Get back to your room and get dressed. Anyone can see you from the windows," scolded her mom.

Sakura grinned and said, "I'm hungry so I came down to grab a roll to munch." She plucked and egg roll off the platter of them and disappeared back into her room to dress. Her mother sighed and took an egg roll also knowing it'd be at least another thirty minutes before her daughter was ready to eat. She didn't remember it ever taking her that long to dress but Sakura was particular about her appearance.

An hour and a half later Sakura went to Ino's house and knocked on the door. Ino herself opened up and let her in. Together they disappeared into Ino's room.

"Mom said you came by and seemed upset. Did Naruto show up and do something stupid again?"

"No and I am. I'm angry over the way you've been acting. A lot of people are but no one else will tell you. They're too afraid of your blasted temper." Ino sat down in front of her dressing table mirror and picked up her hairbrush as she watched Sakura in the mirror.

"What do you mean? I just spent the better part of the day looking for my teammate that no one can find."

"Yeah. I saw what you did to his place." Ino slammed her brush down and real fury filled her eyes. "If anyone did that kind of damage to my place they be in a cell right now. And you didn't even try to hide the fact that you did it."

"Yeah well. I was angry. He shouldn't be hiding. If he'd just face the music it wouldn't have happened."

"So what you're saying is it's his fault you trashed his place?" Ino held herself in check by sheer willpower alone.

"Well, yeah. I had other things to do with my afternoon like going to lunch with Sasuke-kun and maybe a spot of shopping but I had to drop my plans to go look for him. I don't get why anyone cares anyway. You have to have a brain you can actually use to be able to build any kind of mask. Naruto doesn't. Every thing he feels is right out there on his sleeve for the whole world to see. So what's the big deal. It's not like that woman is going to discover any big dark secret."

Ino shook her head. "Sakura. Stop. And think for a minute about who you are talking about. He holds inside him the biggest secret this village has ever had. And she's a stranger to our village. So as far as he knows, he does indeed have a secret for her to discover. And it's a douzy of a secret." She paused for breath. "And as for how you've been acting you're making so many people angry I've lost count of the numbers. What I do know is both your Sensei's and Sasuke are just about up to here with you." She indicated a spot somewhat higher than her own head. "You can expect to get lectured very thoroughly tomorrow by both Kakashi-sensei and by Tsunade-sama for the damage to Naruto's place. Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke are fixing the place now after Tsunade-sama went and got new doors for them."

Sakura gulped. She had ripped all the doors off their hinges in her rampage to find him but it was his own fault. If he hadn't gone into hiding she wouldn't be searching for him. She said as much and Ino rolled her eyes. "You just don't get it do you, Forehead Girl. Naruto is not the same Dobe he was in the academy. That Dobe was never real anyway. It was just who he pretended to be to try and make some friends. But what I really don't get is how you can claim to be so close to your other teammate and still be so totally clueless to how he feels every time you insult and hurt his BEST FRIEND."

"Sasuke-kun doesn't like Naruto. He just sees him as someone to battle because of Naruto's other half. It's a way to measure his strength when he can fight a demon and win."

"You're really dense aren't you Forehead? How can you have such a large forehead and be so stupid? Naruto and Sasuke are best friends. They have been for years. Everyone but you seems to know that and you're on their team. Yes, Sasuke and Naruto like to battle each other but they fight with each other to improve on their skills. Not against each other to dominate. You really need to try shutting your mouth and opening your eyes before they both give you a taste of the dish you have been serving Naruto. Believe me you won't like the taste at all."

Sakura couldn't believe her best friend was saying all this. They had discussed Sasuke and Naruto many times over the years and they'd always seen things the same way. What had happened to change Ino's mind? First Hinata had acted all snooty and now Ino was telling her she didn't know her own Sasuke-kun as well as she thought she did? What was going on? She shook her head to clear her mind. "I don't know what you think you're pulling here, Ino-pig but you're not coming between me and my Sasuke-kun. I love Sasuke-kun."

"Why would I want Sasuke when I have Choji? Choji is a much nicer guy and he's loved me for a long time. He sees the real me and is ok with me no matter what mood I'm in."

"Choji! You're dating the fattest boy in town? And you want me to believe that because. . .?"

"Yes I am dating Choji and I really don't care what you think about it. I really like him. And he isn't all that fat. A lot of that is muscle and what isn't is needed for his jutsu so I don't care if he carries a little extra weight around. He's healthy and I'm proud to be his girl."

"Choji! Healthy? No way. All he eats is junk food."

"Enough Forehead." Now Ino was getting mad. She was just about ready to toss her best friend out of her house and tell her not to come back until she gained a heart. "You need to start thinking about how you treat other people. You walk over everyone's feelings as if you have the right to do so and I'm tired of it. I'm tired of going along and having to pick our friends back up and dust off their egos cause you trampled them." She stood up and pointed to her door. "Now if you'll excuse me I have an early appointment in the morning and I'd like to get some sleep."

Sakura stood up from the bed and walked to the door. "Well, I don't know what game you think you're playing but there's no way I'll leave the field clear for you to get my Sasuke-kun. Sleep well, Ino-pig."

Two Tails: Twitch... twitch... MUST KILL PINK HAIRED BANSHEE!... Ahem, Well there ya go a brand new chapter for ya. Thank you to all those who have reviewed Roses stories, Especially the reviews for "What they didn't see". Now how about some more reviews! They make Rose happy which makes my life easier so come on and help a poor little two tailed Kitsune! .

Rose: I know a lot of you are thinking that I am really having Sakura behave much worse than she really does and that's true in a sense but really I am not having her do anything in this story that she hasn't already done to a lesser degree in the cannon. I'm just exaggerating her less than desirable character traits. So if you are offended by it I apologize and rest assured it will come to a boiling point soon.