So I entered the Sonic and the Black Knight fan art contest. Anyone else do that? (Yeah, I spent 8 and a half hours Thursday the 18th working on that to make it for the deadline. -still recovering from that-

Today I thought it'd be about a good day to update.. And well, I thought about what should happen this chapter a bit more in depth. I hope you don't mind me jumping a bit. I'd rather not follow some of the manga events to the smallest detail- that's boring. -shrugs-

Final thing: WHY BRAVE SAINT SATURN!? WHY REESE! WHY ISN'T ANTI-MERIDIAN ON iTUNES STILL!! DX -headdesk-

I even bought a 15 iTunes card just to get it… -sobs- I'm reducing myself now to see if it's on YouTube, 'cause otherwise I'm gonna end up killing Starling and Mercenary before I even buy the whole album…

Maybe I should just buy the rest of Relient k's The Birds and the Bee Sides to make up for my suffering and to distract me.

Pfft. Like that'd work.

Thanks to: CrabbyOldHobbit, arosario, Mrs-N-Uzumaki, CelticReaper, thinking-about-it, DuckTapePlotMaker, Namikaze777, Yonboy86, shelvesinthecloset, atlantis-rob

..Holy crap. I just went to Anberlin's myspace, and the new version of 'Feel Good Drag' is AWESOME! WOOHOO!! The new CD come's out September 30th… muahahahahahaha. -rubs hands together- (the lyrics for some reason are already available. .. ) - Ah yeah. Once this CD comes out, I may change the title of this fic to part of the below lyric song title. Don't know yet though.

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Live, I wanna live inspired
Die, I wanna die for something higher than myself
Live and die for anyone else
The more I live I see this life's not about me

Burn Out Brighter (Northern Lights), Anberlin- New Surrender

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Naruto laid on his bed staring at his cracked and peeling ceiling staring into nothing, and yet taking in all that was around him at once. It was one of those few mornings where meditation and contemplation was necessary, for something was coming over the horizon.

He just didn't know what was looming in its shadow.

He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, thinking back to words said and wondering about the ones not.

"What if Sasuke doesn't want to go with you? …You said you thought of Sasuke as a brother. Well, I'm asking what'd you do if Sasuke were to attack Konoha?"

"Could you weigh Sasuke's life against Konoha?"

"You're such a child… There are times when ninja must make painful choices."

"I've given you some of my power. I hope… the day never comes when you have to use it."

Uchiha Itachi, a man Sasuke knew as his older brother and the man who slaughtered his clan.

What sort of man was he? Naruto's personal perspective was built around what little he knew of the older Uchiha brother, yet during there talk…

Uchiha Itachi smiled, faintly, as if filled with a little hope from his foolish words.

Did he imagine it? No, of course not. Despite being in a genjutsu the power that Itachi shoved into Naruto was quite real, an it rested heavily in his mind and on his soul. Like a bird awaiting the end of the storm in its nest, it sat huddled in wait. Will is be caged forever, or will it burst with the embers and flame of a phoenix?

Naruto turned over before pushing himself up, placing a hand to his forehead.

'This is stupid.' Why did he keep remembering and studying his run-in with Itachi before he…

Itachi was a dead man.

For some odd reason, Naruto felt… sad about it. He couldn't figure out why it was, but he felt something was lost.

Something had gone horribly, horribly wrong down the line, and he would probably never know just what that was.

Itachi smiled.

It was absurd.

Naruto hauled himself out of bed and got himself ready for the day, hoping it'd be better then yesterday.

Oh god, how he was wrong.

He studied him as he laid there, wondering if he was making the worst decision of his life.

A young Anbu appeared by his side, "Hokage-sama…"

The addressed turned slightly, "Yes?"

"The front lines have been decimated. We need you to go through with your plan soon."

The older ninja nodded, tired and wishing his time hadn't run out so quickly. He'd made the final arrangements, but…

What about his final words?

He took the carefully bound child from its holding place with strong, yet shaky hands. His breath held just barely a shudder as he turned, "Will you accompany me a little?"

The young man stood and nodded, the family crest of a fan on his person.

Minato ran swiftly from the hospital as the younger ninja following swiftly behind, studying his Hokage's back.

"What's your name?"

The younger stayed silent for a moment, "Uchiha Itachi."

The older blond nodded, "I see…"

Silence reigned the rest of their run, yet just at the halfway point to where the Kyuubi was attacking, the Yondaime stopped in his step for a moment. "If you had to choose… between those you loved, and Konoha, what would you choose?"

Itachi paused, "Choose?"

"Yes. Konoha, or your loved ones?"

"Konoha, because protecting Konoha also protects the people I care about."

The Fourth Hokage thought for a second before nodding and looking back to the young Uchiha and smiling, "Remember those words. Thank you."

The man disappeared with the child, only for the boss Toad to be summoned a moment later up ahead and to continue on to Kyuubi's path.

A man had never faced Death Itself with such fervor.

To put it simply, he was a mess. A mess of emotion and angst. He couldn't believe it, a man who had trained and raised him, cared for him and watched as he progressed into adulthood…

Jiraiya was dead.

Jiraiya knew so much and had much to teach him yet, Naruto's training by no means was complete…

And now his teacher was dead.

The Old Man's death hurt his heart, constricted his chest in ways he never felt before. He grieved for him in a totally different way then he had for Haku, or for Gaara and his suffering.

Yet, Jiraiya…

This was far worse. His world had been turned upside-down. One day he was there, and the next, he was gone.

The good-for-nothing money stealing, skirt chasing, trashy novel writer was really dead.

Naruto felt crushed. His world was grayed. He'd never felt this sort of consuming grief before, how in the world could such a guy die like that?

The young blond sat at the riverbank by the bridge, sitting and staring at the water with a blank expression on his face. It was silent, and no one would be there at this time of day, so he could be left in peace.

He was conflicted, there was so much he needed to discuss with Ero-sennin, and now…

"He's not coming back."

It made him want to curl up into himself, "Why did he have to do something so… so stupid." He intook a shuddered breath.

Jiraiya was one of those people who were supposed to grow very old and enjoy doing what he did until he died of natural causes.

"Naruto…?"

The blond clenched a fist at the sound of his name and replied flatly, "What?"

Ino paused, taken aback slightly. She had heard about what had happened and had rushed out to see him, but now she wondered if it would have been better to come to him later in the evening.

She breathed quietly, deciding to go and sit a few feet away from him, to give him some sort of comfort while also trying to be mindful of his personal space, "It hurts, doesn't it."

Naruto pulled his legs close to his chest, placing his folded arms on the top of his knees as he rested his head lightly on one of the sides of his arms. He couldn't really be mad at Ino for wanting to help him, he knew he'd done the same for her. He just wished she would have left him alone for a while longer, he didn't really want to talk. "I guess."

Ino nodded to herself, staring at the water's flow and staying silent and contemplative.

It felt like hours before Naruto felt his agitation fade away, before he began to feel gratitude. He was starting to be happy he had Ino's silent support. He really had absolutely no idea how to deal with grief…

He didn't have a lot of people who he loved and had that love returned.

There was a little shuffle of movement before Ino sat down next to him, opposite his position, and before he realized what was happening, he felt strong arms surround him and pull him close. His arms had become instantly limp before awkwardly wrapping around her lithe form and suddenly realizing what was going on.

Ino was hugging him, trying to comfort him in a way he'd never experienced and suddenly he felt the tears he'd tried to hold back suddenly break loose. He held her a little closer to himself awkwardly before he focused his eyes on the ground as he closed his eyes tightly, attempting to hold in the fresh wave of grief.

Ino felt awkward about the whole thing herself, yet, she couldn't help but feel the need to hug him and give him a chance to cry. How else was he going to be able to release his emotions? What could jolt him to keep him from bottling it up? She couldn't remember a time he had been embraced. Of course there was a lot of his life she couldn't account for, but…

Had anyone ever held him as a child? Had he ever felt a motherly comfort?

She knew she was stepping on boundaries and personal space that she more then likely had no right to cross, and yet…

Who else but her? Who else could carry out this task for him before it was too late?

She felt him awkwardly wrap his arms around her confused before something clicked, and he held her a little closer, a barely noticeable tremor running through him as he did so. "I'm sorry." She felt his grief so strongly and couldn't help but feel her eyes burn as tears started to pour down her cheeks alongside him.

They cried for their loss, and she cried for him and all that was lost.

Despite all of this, she only hoped he remembered, "..Naruto?"

He jolted slightly, but she didn't relinquish her hold on him so he relaxed again, "What?"

Ino paused, "Can you do me a favor?"

"Hm?" He didn't trust his voice as much as she didn't hers.

"Don't forget."

Naruto stared ahead, his eyes waterlogged with tears, "Yeah."

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-covers head- I hope that chapter wasn't too awkward… nngh. I tried to keep things in context, but man, this chapter didn't turn out ANYTHING like I'd originally planned. Darn random Minato moment and random Ino/Naru comfort idea. Hh.. I really had some interesting plot I'd wanted to dish out this chapter, but instead, I got through the Jiraiya death Naruto angst thing. -shrugs- The things that happen while writing….

Well anyway. As for the Minato Itachi talk, I know a lot of authors have him talk to Kakashi, and to be honest, that still could have been possible for him to do in this story, I just wasn't interested in writing it. I may later at another point, but it might never happen. -shrugs- Anyhow…

Chapter preview: Naruto shuffled a little and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly as she looked at him strangely, "Uhm… Ino? I need some help…"

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