Lost

A/N: It's Dracen, and I would like to mention a thanks to my editor, Jessica-chan. Otherwise, the chapter would be kinda confuzzling.

Enjoy!

SasuNaru

Neji glanced at us and sighed before answering. "We might get killed."

Silence reigned as everyone stopped talking. It was a relatively new concept, to be killed, when none of them had even graduated out of highschool. Shino coughed. "That's quite a reasonable risk."

Naruto shook his head. "Wait. So, you're saying that we're going to using guns? Like, anything that involves weapons?"

Neji nodded. "Though it doesn't have to be firearms. Knives and blades are fine as well."

Naruto looked disturbed for a few minutes. Neji could understand why. He understood why all of them that were here were distressed. Quite frankly, he was himself. So, he took the initiative, and spoke, breaking the silence. "So, what's the idea? We'll vote. So, those who want to stay out of this business."

No one moved. Neji sighed again. "So I'm guessing that we're going to become a new gang?"

Naruto nodded, some of his previous energy coming back. "Okay. Why not? I keep my word. Besides, I've always wanted to learn how to use weapons. Firearms, I mean. You've all seen my kitchen, right?"

Kiba laughed. "I thought you had a pet fox or something."

Naruto twitched, before lightly smacking Kiba over the head. The chatter began again, before Neji spoke again. "We'll need a name, mascot, and member qualifications. Not to mention the supposed hideout."

Shikamaru yawned. "Name? Let's go with Kitsune, and our mascot or whatever can be a fox." Naruto's face lit up, and he smiled. There were no disagreements on that, and everyone seemed pleased.

Frowns then appeared on their faces as they began thinking of a possible hideout. In the semi-urban areas, there weren't that many good ones.

A light-bulb lit up over Naruto's head. "How about my place? It's not the house I'm talking about. There are two I'm willing to suggest. One is my little niche that I found in the Yondaime's hair, the giant sculptures on the cliff face; it can at least accomodate over twenty people. The other one is this huge underground complex I stumbled over when I got bored and was looking for a good place to make a garden."

Neji nodded, a small smirk appearing on his usually emotionless face. "Both."

They reached the seaside in about less than an hour later, and Naruto bounded out, joy dancing on his face as he savored the salty tang of the air. He hadn't felt this happy before. Though he had to admit, he was usually very happy, especially since middle school. It suited him. The golden spikes and tanned skin went perfectly with the grin that graced his features almost every day.

After him, Kiba and Lee leapt out simultaneously, each trying to out run the other to the sand dunes. The rest followed out afterwards, and unloaded the trunk. Naruto slung his bag over his shoulders, and carried the many picnic baskets that Sai and Neji managed to stuff into the trunks, though Naruto wondered at the sheer amount that did get packed in. Shikamaru and Chouji followed, with the towels and blankets, while Gaara grabbed the drinks. Sai and Shino had the rest of the food, and Neji followed behind with the rest of the stuff he had brought. The place was relatively devoid of people, and the group of eight found themselves a nice spot, just above the tidal line.

As soon as the food was unpacked, everyone dove in, hungry and tired after some hard-core competitions in the waves. After swallowing the last of his seventh serving of ramen, Naruto leapt up, grabbed his surfboard, and ran for the waves. Sai did the same, and ran after Naruto. Naruto gave a laugh as he dove into the water, the water licking him and cooling him down. Then he looked back, to see Sai paddling towards him. A glint of competition flashed in Naruto's ocean blue eyes, and he paddled faster, ducking under a wave as it roared over him.

When he was far out enough, he turned the board around, and sat there, waiting for the perfect wave to come his way. The wind wove through his hair, tousling the gold spikes, and blue eyes gazed out into the water, the reflection in those eyes identical to the waters. Then, Naruto saw it. A perfect wave. Rising slowly, and growing rapidly. Naruto gently maneuvered into the right place, and stood up on his board just as the wave reached him. Immediately, he was carried away, the waves behind him curling at the tips, and he stood there, adrenaline thrumming through him.

The rest were watching, and shocked as the wave curled over Naruto, enveloping him in water. Sai could only watch as the waters swallowed him.

Naruto was in a successful tube, and the water arched over him gracefully. He was gliding faster on the board, and he could see the end of it, where the wave was threatening to collapse on him. Like a bullet, he shot out of the waves, laughing in sheer joy.

Naruto could see the relief on Sai's face as he watched Naruto paddle over. "Dude. It's not like I don't know how to surf. Unlike Neji, who wouldn't even come into the water."

The last part was loud enough for Neji to hear, and the blonde made a hasty escape as the wrath of the Hyuuga descended upon him.

Later that night, when it was dark out, everyone started packing up. All garbage was disposed of properly, and the rest of the stuff loaded into the trunks. Then, they all got onto the van, when Naruto piped up. "Why don't you guys just crash at my house?"

This suggestion was greeted with enthusiastic agreement, and Sai drove while Neji sat in the back, with Naruto and Shikamaru. Kiba sat in the front. Naruto nodded off sleepily, and fell asleep against Neji, gently snoring. Shikamaru managed a slight smile. It was no surprise that the blonde was asleep. He needed it.

They all arrived at Naruto's at midnight, and with a little prodding, got the blonde to wake up. Naruto groggily got the door open, and they all stumbled in, and followed Naruto upstairs to his room, where they all promptly crashed. Some on the floor, others on the beanbag, three on Naruto's bed, and one on the desk.

Meanwhile, the Akatsuki was planning the usual nightly raid in their hideout. Except this time, Itachi was going to remain behind. "Family matters," he said.

So while the rest were planning, Itachi stood outside, and looked up at the moon. It shone brightly against the dark sky, and reminded him of the days he and Sasuke would stay outside to look at the moon. When they were still on friendly terms. Before Itachi moved out, leaving his family. Before he joined the Akatsuki. Before Sasuke started hating him for it. Oto-san bought him his own house. It was next to Kisame's, and those two had become close friends.

Now, he was reading a letter, the only one from Sasuke that was sent in the last five years. It was written in neat script.

Dear Aniki,

It's your foolish little brother, so to speak, and I still hate you for leaving us. Kaa-san died of cancer three days ago, and you weren't there for the funeral. I can't believe you weren't there. You left us for your little gang, right?

I'm not surprised. You don't care for anyone. Even so, I still can't fully hate you. You're my aniki, after all. I don't know why I can't do so. You were the world, and you left. Kaa-san was willing to defend you, saying that you left for an education. I don't doubt that. But now that Kaa-san is gone, Oto-san can't take care of me. He's always on those business trips. He said that if you were here, I could stay. But since you aren't, I'll have to go to a different school. So Oto-san suggested that I go to the same highschool as you for my second year. He said I should go to Konoha to pursue my studies. To Konoha Leaf High. But why did you leave? WHY?

I can't believe I agreed to this. I don't want to leave Oto, and I want to stay with my friends, Juugo and Suigetsu. I've know them for years, and I can't just leave all of the sudden. I love the City of Sound, and I don't want to go live in a tree or a bush. Hidden Leaf? Yeah, right.

I think Oto-san said that he bought me a house. Like, one of my own. I guess that's what he could do, as the CEO of the Sharingan Inc. I hate asking help from you, but I ask for help now. Could you pick me up from the airport at the Valley of the End? And show me the house? I think it is 12 Blossom Court. And I'm landing on Sunday, around 3.

Well, I'm coming. I still will have to rant about how I can't believe I'm doing this. See you later, Aniki.

-Sasuke

Itachi looked fondly at the letter, and made note to go pick Sasuke up tomorrow. 12 Blossom Court, isn't it? From what he knew, it was one of the more expensive houses, and one of the two. The other house was occupied by a solitary person as well. And it was on top of a hill. Interesting choice. Itachi smiled.

Welcome to Leaf, foolish little brother. Soon, you'll become part of a gang, whether it be the Akatsuki or some other one.

He was running. But the shadows danced behind him, no matter how hard he ran. It came near him, nearly grasping him, but merely toying with him. He ran harder, but could still see the fear and shock that etched its self in his parents' faces. On his father, he could see a shield of courage, but it hadn't protected him. His father, and his mother. Lost in the same day. He ran. Hard. But he wasn't getting any further. The dark shadows flitted around, taunting him. Tears slid down the innocent face, and the sobs started. Whichever direction he went, he could only be faced with his parents' dead bodies. Again. And again. And again.

The shadows started talking. Its sibilant hiss rang through the darkness. "You killed them, didn't you?" He ran harder, clapping his hands over his ears. But even so, he still couldn't block out the raspy voice. "You just had to kill them, didn't you?"

Tears flowed, unchecked. "Shut up! I didn't kill them!"

The sibilant voice was laced with poison. "Lies. Such lies."

He sobbed harder. "I DIDN'T KILL THEM!"

Neji and Shikamaru, who had been sleeping next to him, woke the instant the screaming and sobbing started. They had tried to shake him out of it, almost terrified by what they heard. Naruto became hysterical, eyes still glazed over when he finally woke. He clawed at Neji and Shikamaru, breaking down into tears. The rest of the gang had been woken up, and Kiba came over as well, restraining the blonde, desperately trying to snap him out of it. Kiba shook him, but after deciding that it was futile, he slapped Naruto hard. "NARUTO! Wake up, Kami, wake up!"

Naruto gasped, as if someone dumped cold water over him. He sat up instantly, breathing hard. He couldn't breathe. His left cheek stung, and it burned. He tried to collect his breath. He looked up, and when his vision cleared, he saw Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba looking worriedly at him.

Kiba sighed in relief. "Man, what was that about? You scared the daylights out of me."

Shikamaru, looking slightly more alert than he usually was, sighed as well. "You better tell me what happened. You were yelling 'I didn't kill them' and crying at the same time."

Naruto looked frantic, and realized that he had been talking aloud in his nightmare. About his parents' deaths. Hell, no. He couldn't tell them. He couldn't. They very might judge him for it. "I-I can't."

The whisper was barely heard, but Kiba understood why. It was something personal. So he left it at that. "Still, Naruto. If you have anything to talk to us about, tell us. I'm not gonna ditch you for nothing."

Naruto smiled slightly. "I'll tell you three when I think it's a right time. Not now, though. Too painful."

A growl issued from Naruto's stomach, and Kiba grinned. He began dragging the blonde out of bed. "We need to talk about the new gang, after all. You don't have to tell us right now."

The four made their way downstairs, and were greeted by a somewhat tired looking group. Naruto frowned. "Everything okay?"

Gaara's face showed everything.

A/N: I like leaving cliffys. Once again. Three chapters for every review. XD

I'll try to write as fast as I can.