Mending Broken Pieces Chapter 4

A/N: I am SO sorry for being so late, but I was extremely busy, went through some emotional turmoil, and I was rarely in the mood for writing,and then I would be busy. This chapter is quite long though, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I also wanted to thank you all lovely people for the reviews, follows and favorites .That's what keeps me going!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does... Actually, I do own Itachi you know. *nods* You see, Kishi said he doesn't need him anymore, so I can have him!...Ok, fine I DON'T own him.-_-

Enjoy!

Blood rushing through his veins at a panicked pace, heartbeat pounding in his ears, he ran at a frantic speed through the dark, bare tress that clawed at his disheveled being. A very tiny part of his mind that could still come up with rational thoughts told him he should stop and fight, being fully confident in his abilities as a ninja. However, every time he even thought about stopping, his body seemed to get a mind of its own and take off at an even higher speed. He didn't know what was chasing him at breakneck speed, he only knew that the persons (or was it creatures?)emanated such a dark, malicious aura, that it made fear grip at his chest, ripping through his insides and clawing at his heart, just like the eerie trees were clawing at his body. The woods seemed to be never-ending, but as soon he thought that he came to an abrupt halt as he was only centimeters away from falling from a cliff that led to a dark abyss. Looking behind him, the young man had two choices: jump and die, or wait for the creatures that would most likely offer him more than mere death. As the dark creatures neared the edge of the woods, and more fear clawed at his already disturbed mind, the young shinobi turned and without a second thought or glance behind him, he launched himself in unfathomable depths.

Panting and sweating, the young ninja sat up straight, his air deprived lungs swallowing the air around him, so desperately that he was close to chocking. Sweat glued his ebony locks to his abnormally pale skin (even for him) while his clothes desperately stuck to him in a somewhat disgusting manner. His heart still hammering in his chest and pupils dilated to the maximum, the young Uchiha reached across the bed, his long nimble fingers grasping for the glass of water he knew was on the bedside table.

Sasuke made it his habit to never go to sleep without first filling a glass with water and putting it within his reach. The reason for this weird habit was the nightmares he got pretty much every time he went to sleep. He's been incarcerated for two months now and he already couldn't take this anymore. The boredom put together with the inability to do any kind of activity was slowly driving him up the walls. The Uchiha, believe it or not was an avid reader since he was 7, and he never thought there would come a day in his life when he would get bored of reading. But however interesting the books were, he simply couldn't sit still to read anymore with the sheer amount of pent up energy he had inside him. Even the katas he did every single day were not enough anymore for his hardened body.

'Calm down Sasuke, only one more month and you will be out of here' thought the raven to himself as he paced up and down. The thought that he won't be able to go on missions for another 3 months almost made him groan out loud. Almost. He would never admit this to anyone, but he also wanted to get out because he was curious about Naruto. In the last two weeks he heard nothing from the blond ninja which surprised him considering that he visited him every day. Tsunade wouldn't say anything to him and neither would Sakura or any other ninja that visited him from time to time. The last time he saw the blonde ninja, there was something…off about him…

"Naruto!" yelled the pink haired kunoichi as she pounded her fist against Naruto's door.

"What are you doing? You are SO late for training, that Kakashi-sensei sent me after you." shouted Sakura through the wood door. Just as she was about to give up being nice and knock down the door, Naruto appeared in front of her. A black loose t-shirt swayed loosely on Naruto's frame, while a pair of dark blue pyjama bottoms hung on his hips.

The blond ninja's thinner body was not what surprised Sakura the most, but his eyes. The usual brilliant sparkle of his cerulean eyes was replaced with two, dead holes that showed the emptiness of his soul.

"Yes Sakura-chan?" Naruto's flat voice resounded through his chapped lips.

"N-naruto? What happened to you?" asked the green eyed young woman. Last time she has seen him was after Tsunade's decision on what would happen to the remaining Uchiha. Immediately after that she was sent on a very long mission that entitled her doing research in Suna on medicinal herbs. Last time she saw him, he was jumping up and down. What happened?

"Oh nothing…I'm just tired. Sorry I was late. I'm going to go get ready and come as soon as possible." replied the Jinchuuriki as he started closing the door to his apartment.

"Wait. Can't I come in and wait for you?"

"Ummm…I gotta change and stuff. "said Naruto as he threw a quick glance behind him.

"Hm. Okay. We will be waiting at our usual meeting spot" announced Sakura as she threw a suspicious glance towards her friend.

"Thanks Sakura-chan." finished the young man as he closed the door.

Naruto leaned against the door and let himself slid to the floor while cursing under his breath. He has been caught so unguarded. He hoped Sakura wasn't suspicious...

He wasn't the same anymore... When Minato left, he took a small piece of Naruto's soul. A bigger piece of his sanity. And a huge chunk of his happiness. Despite that, he didn't blame his father. Oh no. He was too happy to have seen him. But he just wasn't the same. As much as he tried to keep up the facade, the mask was slowly cracking and showing the true emotions. He was snappy, he had a temper that matched Sakura's...and most importantly, whatever he did, wherever he went, he felt empty; there was this very dull pain in his chest and a never ending emptiness that took refuge in his stomach. Something, that he could never get back, was missing. He didn't know what to do with himself anymore, but he kept going on regardless. This is Uzumaki Naruto: whatever happens, keep going on...The villagers hate you? Keep going on. You are an orphan? Keep going on. Your best friend shoved a hole through your chest leaving you for a 50 year old snake pervert? Keep. Going. On.

Kakashi sat crouched in a tree, reading his little orange book while keeping one eye on Sakura who looked close to pummeling Sai. His silver hair swished in the light breeze, his black mask hiding a small perverted smile. The quiet was interrupted by a set of feet landing in the clearing.

"Ohayo!" greeted Naruto as he walked towards Sakura and Sai.
The two awaiting shinobi greeted the blond back while their Sensei landed next to them.

"Naruto-kun, can I ask you something?" inquired Sai innocently.

"What is it Sai?"

"Well, seeing as you are 2 hours late, I was wondering...Does the deficit of a penis affect your sense of time?" Sai's blank eyes peered at Naruto as he asked his 'innocent' question. The blue eyed ninja's face blanched, after which he turned towards Sakura and 'pleasantly started a conversation'. Kakashi chuckled under his mask and put his book away.

"Listen here. We have no training session today. I called you to tell you to pack your things as we are going to go on a two week mission. It's the longest we had in awhile and we are leaving tomorrow at dawn. I am going to share the info about this mission on our way there. Any questions?" asked Kakashi.

"Two weeks..." murmured Naruto thoughtfully as he raised his head and looked at the white, passing clouds."But that's when Sasuke comes out!" exclaimed the blond and looked at Kakashi so quickly, that he winced at the whiplash.

"Yare, yare" said the copy nin in a calming manner. "I am fully aware of that, so don't worry because we will be back in Konoha in time to greet him when he comes out." informed Kakashi with a small smile.

"Ah, I guess that's fine then..." Naruto said thoughtfully.

"Ok then guys! You have the rest of the day to get ready!" exclaimed Kakashi and clapped his hands together. "Shoo away now. Have important matters to attend to."

"Reading your porn that is." muttered Sakura under her breath.

"Ja ne!" waved their Sensei cheerily as he disappeared in a puff of smoke, his fingers already grasping the book in his pouch.

"Ah, well then, I'm gonna go and get ready, just like he advised." said Sai as he got ready to leave. Naruto pretended he wasn't there, while Sakura waved to Sai, after which she turned on him:

" I'm kinda hungry. Do you want to get some ramen, Naruto?" inquired Sakura, keeping her eyes glued on his face, searching for any unusual reaction. Now, if she asked this a few years ago, Naruto might have released the Kyuubi by accident from how happy he would have got. However, seeing how things were NOW...

"Um, well Sakura-chan, I've got to shop for some weapons and things, I gotta clean up my apartment, because you see, Sasuke might have to live with me for awhile, and I don't want the bastard complaining you know? And then, I also have to get my things ready for tomorrow...So yeah, heh, I'm kinda busy." finished Naruto with a nervous laugh, his hand scratching behind his head in a nervous manner. Sakura looked at him for a few seconds, seemingly debating something in her head, after which she shrugged and said:

" That's very thoughtful of you. I see you are busy, so we'll leave the ramen for another time." Sakura responded, though it felt alien in her mouth to talk about leaving ramen for later, when talking to NARUTO.

"Yeah, thanks Sakura-chan. See ya later!" exclaimed Naruto as he started turning and walking away.

"Yeah, see ya..." murmured Sakura as she watched the blonde's retreating back.

Two days before Sasuke was to be released...

"Heh, this went better than I expected." shouted Kakashi to his students as they bounded through the trees, back towards Konoha.

"Well, considering that you left us in a town that we had no idea about, just so you could get the limited edition of Icha Icha Paradise from there..sure! It went well. I mean, we just got attacked by some kekkei genkai ninjas when we got lost. And they weren't dangerous or anything (!)Oh no (!) Spitting acid isn't dangerous at all..." muttered Naruto. Kakashi looked strangely at the blond ninja, after which he gave a questioning look to Sakura. Since when was Naruto sarcastic? Since when did he whine about fighting strong ninjas? Its not like they even got injured, and Naruto usually blabbered non-stop about how their missions were too easy. The pink haired girl only shrugged. She had her suspicions why her teammate was so...moody, but she didn't feel it was something she could share, since she wasn't too sure about it herself.

Last night, when everyone was sleeping, but Naruto who was on watch, she woke up. It was too hot, since they were in Sunagakure, passing through the village to get home, and she couldn't sleep. Her Sensei and Sai were sleeping, so, without waking them up, she tiptoed her way to the opening of the large tent.

As she started pulling the zipper down, she heard a sound. She stopped, listened, and then pulled the zipper some more so she could hear better. When the flap was halfway open, she could clearly discern the sound. It was crying. Someone was crying,and judging by where they were and what they were doing, she knew it was none other than Naruto. Her first impulse was to get out and see what happened, but thinking about it, she wasn't too sure it was such a good idea. After all, she noticed that there was something off with Naruto even before the mission, and it was clear that, whatever the problem was, he was trying his best to hide it.

However, he was her friend, who always helped her through hard times, so, biting her lip, she opened the tent completely and stepped out. Naruto, who was up in a nearby tree, heard her immediately, and turned his back to her as quickly as possible. Sakura slowly made her way to him, and before she could climb the tree, Naruto jumped down in front of her. Seeing the blonde's face, Sakura was confused. From what she's heard earlier, the blond was crying pretty hard, so she expected red eyes and tears streaming down his face. She was surprised to say in the least, when she looked at her friend and saw the usual goofy grin etched on his face, no sign of crying whatsoever.

"Hey Sakura-chan! How comes you are not sleeping?" inquired the Uzumaki.
For one second, Sakura thought she might as well drop it. Maybe she heard wrong. But remembering about how Naruto seemed off lately, she decided to go with it.

"Um, well, its really hot and I can't sleep. Also...I heard a sound..it um, sounded like someone was crying?"

" What?" asked Naruto as he tilted his head.
"I heard nothing. You were probably dreaming Sakura-chan." finished the young shinobi with a small laugh.

"Hm. Yeah, I guess so." said Sakura, still trying to find any sign of crying on the tanned face. In the end she just sighted and turned around, walking back to her tent.

"Try and sleep Sakura-chan!" exclaimed Naruto, waving after her. She turned around before entering the tent, giving him a calculating look, and then she nodded, stepped inside and zipped the tent up.

Naruto stood on the same spot for 5 minutes after she stepped inside. Only after that, he went back in the tree...where he released his Henge. Now, the red, puffy eyes and tear streaks running down his face were showing, that he indeed has been crying. The blond just looked off into the distance, sighted and rubbed his face. Another close one. He would have to be really careful with Sakura from now on.

"Damn!" he muttered and slammed his fist against the hard trunk of the tree, closing his eyes, and feeling the pain shoot up his arm.

So, Sakura wasn't sure what to believe. She saw nothing on his face showing he cried, but she knew she heard him. And no, it hasn't been a dream, dammit Gah, she was getting frustrated with this! She was genuinely concerned for her friend, but had no idea how to help him, or what was wrong. She stole a few glances at him, seeing that his face didn't betray any emotion, being completely blank. 'Great. He's going to be a blonde Sasuke...or something.' thought the girl bitterly. She sighted as she thought about only having a few days until they reached Konoha. Knowing the blond, he's going to get busy, especially now that Sasuke is coming back, so she won't have any time to talk with Naruto.
She just sighted once more, wondering when her life became such a drama.

The day before Sasuke was to be released...

33...
34...
35...
36...
'Agh! Why won't it go quicker?!' thought the frustrated Uchiha, as he glared at the clock. God knows that if he could use his Sharingan, he would have burned that annoying clock on the spot! But seeing that he was in prison and had no access to his chakra, the only thing he could do was glare death at the poor, innocent clock. Tomorrow he was getting released, and damn he was happy about it! He just wished time would go faster! It was only 17:00 and too early for him to go sleep yet.

He looked around the small cell, his dark eyes resting on the box that held his meager possessions. He walked towards it, picked up a book at the top of the small pile, and started reading it again, for the n-th time. He had to pass the time somehow, or he would go crazy and destroy that enemy of his...the clock.

Four hours later...

Despite having read that book so many times, he was still captivated and absorbed in the story. So, when shouts and explosions rang out from outside the cell, the Uchiha dropped his book and sprang to his feet.
The cell having no windows made it impossible for him to see what was happening, so he went to the door and started banging and shouting:

"Hey! What's happening? Open up!" he shouted, but in vain, as the guards ignored him. So he stopped, put his ear against the door, and tried to listen despite the yells and explosions outside that seemed to get closer to his cell. Just when he was about to give up, not hearing anything behind the door, he heard someone running towards the cell.

"Hokage-sama ordered us to join the fight as well! There are not enough men!" explained the unknown shinobi.

After a few seconds, he heard three puffs of smoke and he deduced they left. But how could they just leave him? The Uchiha would be happy that they left, if it was not for him not being able to use his chakra and defend himself if needed. Who were the attackers anyway? And what were they after? Sasuke growled low in his throat as he stomped across the room. Looking through the cell, he tried to find anything that might defend him. However, as he stopped rummaging, he realized the explosions stopped. For ten blissful seconds, there was complete silence, and then BOOM! He was showered in bits of wall, as an explosion blew the door away and made a gaping hole in the wall. Sasuke coughed, crouching on the floor, covered in chunks of wall, as he tried to peer through the dust. The only thing he could see was three hooded, dark shadows as they walked towards him and loomed over his body.

"Well, well. If it isn't the Uchiha scum himself." rumbled a rough, cruel voice.

That's the only thing Sasuke saw of his attackers before they lunged towards him.

So, um yeah. Heh, I hope you enjoyed this? This is my favorite chapter so far! :D Sorry for any spelling and grammatical mistakes. PLEASE review! It makes me sooooo happy.