Sanity Chapter 1, a naruto fanfic

Me: …I'm gonna get shot for not updating --;;;

K, so here's the second chapter:D is anyone happy? Anyone? Anyone at all? …nope XD

OMG anyway I went through my reviews a couple weeks after I got them and I realized that LADY HANAKA REVIEWED! I was so fucking excited, man! Dude, she is my favorite authoress, like, ever! I like had a seizure when I realized it XD

In summary, Hanaka-sama, I love you XD

MOVING ON, if you read Desert Flower…please don't kill me, I got writer's block :sweatdrop:. But here's a new chapter! READ!

Note: I changed Lee from the green beast to the golden beast (changed the last chapter, too), kuz...come on, they're in sand. It makes more sense, ne?

Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. If it did, Sasuke wouldn't be currently kicking Itachi's ass (OMG SPOILERS!!! Sorry XD)

The wind whipped around him, sending his dark brown hair flying around his form. His bag was pulled over his shoulder, the white material stained with mud and filth. His training outfit was also caked with dirt, showing the work and training he'd gone through. With his head held high, he stepped through the gates of Suna.

After all this time…

After all these hardships…

He was home.

"I swear to you, it is true!"

The nin rolled his eyes at his comrade. "Sure it is, Lee. Sure it is."

"Well…it c-could happen, Kiba-kun…"

Kiba turned, his black eyes looking at his teammate in disbelief. "Hinata-chan, did you hear a word that Lee just said? He blew up his enemies, fell into a cave, found a pretty girl – with pink hair – and got attacked by demons; one with a read eye that made him feel fear. By looking at him. He's LEE!" Kiba cried, throwing his arms into the air. "He doesn't know what fear it!"

"Why thank you, Kiba-san!"

"That wasn't a compliment, Lee."

Hinata turned her attention to her ramen bowl, swirling the noodles around in the broth. "I-I don't know, i-it c-could be real…" she repeated.

Kiba sighed. "Hinata-chan…-Oi, Akamaru, that's my bowl! Get your own!"

"Arf!"

"Well, I do not care if you believe it or not, Kiba-san!" Lee proclaimed, stepping onto the table and making a heroic pose. "I shall return to that cavern one day and rescue the maiden! It is a promise!"

Kiba could practically see the waves breaking against the rocks behind Lee's moment of 'youth.'

"Lee!"

Another figure entered the restaurant, and her cry caused Lee to jump in surprise and fall off of the table. The girl leaned against the doorframe, panting as sweat dripped down her brow.

"Hey, TenTen," Kiba greeted sarcastically as the brunette stormed in.

"What are you guys doing in here?" TenTen cried. They could see other nins – and a few civilians – running past the building. "He's back!"

Kiba's eyes widened. "W-What? You serious!?" he cried, nearly falling off of his seat.

"N-Nii-san's back?" Hinata whispered, flushing with excitement.

A sudden gust nearly knocked them over; the result of Lee running out of the store at record speed. It had knocked Kiba's hood from his head, and one of TenTen's buns had unraveled. The three figures blinked in surprise, unable to register how fast he'd ran out.

His village crowded around him, welcoming him, asking how his training has been. Although his pride would never allow him to admit it, he'd missed most of the people engulfing him with questions. He'd put himself in solitude for so long that this much human contact was actually nice…

"Oi, Neji!"

Neji's attention turned as the crowd began to part. A golden jumpsuit came into view, a familiar bowl cut and bushy eyebrows topped it off. Neji's eyes softened in respect for the man. "Gai-sensei…" he acknowledged softly.

The man stopped in front of him, a proud gleam in his eye. "How were your travels? Wrestle any bears?"

Neji's pride took over as he closed his eyes and smirked. "Bears, missing nins…whatever I came across."

Gai chuckled, placing a firm hand on the boy's shoulder. "That's my student. Now, really, what happened on your journey?"

"Well-"

"Dynamic Entry!"

With lightning fast reflexes, Neji ducked with one leg bent and one spread out for balance. In the same instant, a golden blur flew over his head. He heard an "OOMF!" as the person crashed into the wrong target. He stood, dusting himself off, and turned to his attacker.

"How on earth," Neji groaned, "can you still be so…so…"

"Youthful?" the boy suggested hopefully, jumping off of the person he'd landed on. "Energetic? Inspirational? Youthful?" His hands were clasped in front of him, excited to hear Neji's description of him.

Neji twitched. "Sure…" he muttered. "Youthful…"

He suddenly found himself being crushed in Lee's arms, picked up and spun around. "Oh, Neji-san, it is good to have you back!" he cried, as he set the boy down.

Neji's eyes softened as they had for his sensei. It was a relief to be home, to be surrounded by familiar people. Even Lee couldn't get on his nerves. "It's good to see you too, Lee."

Lee grinned, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Neji-kun!"

Everyone turned and the crowd parted again. TenTen rushed through, crashing into Neji's chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Neji-kun!" she cried, sobbing into his chest. "You're back…you're really back…"

Neji sighed, giving TenTen the softest look of all. He'd missed TenTen the most out of his team. He'd remembered their training sessions separate from Gai-sensei and Lee. "Hai…" he chuckled. "I'm sorry I left you with those two by yourself."

Something that sounded like "You should be" was mumbled into his chest.

"Neji, Kazekage-sama will want you to report to him," Gai advised as TenTen pulled away from her teammate.

Neji nodded. "Hai," he confirmed. He turned to make his way to the Kazekage's tower, but only managed a step before he stopped. In front of him, eight nins stood, blocking his path. Most had their arms crossed, with smirks adorning their faces. He recognized his cousin hiding toward the back of the group, and her teammate Shino held no expression. Everyone else stood as if they were expecting something from him.

"Where do you think you're going, Hyuuga?" Kiba demanded smugly.

"A whole year, we've been missing a haidu siiku player," a blond girl he'd come to know as Temari threatened. "You owe us a game."

Neji sighed. "Is now really the time – "

"Damn straight!" another told him. This one – Temari's younger brother, Kankuro – was covered in black. "A whole year, Hyuuga. It's too easy for Lee to win when he's 'it' and you're not here."

"Please, Neji-san?" another blond – Ino – pleaded, clasping her hands together.

…

Neji sighed. "If I get beaten, you will all be paralyzed from the neck down."

The group of genin cheeted, and Ino ran up and hugged the Hyuuga. Neji rolled his eyes and shoved the blond away. "Last one to the starting point is an academy student!" someone cried, and the Suna Eleven sped off.

"Oi, Teme!"

The figure turned, seeing an all too familiar blond running toward him. "What do you want, dobe?"

"What makes you think you can visit Sakura-chan without me, huh?" the blond demanded. He crossed his arms, his blue eyes glaring into the other boy's dark ones.

"What makes you think I can't?"

"Teme!"

"I've been under control," the boy insisted coldly.

"Kakashi-sensei said-"

"Forget what he said! I'm fine!" Almost immediately, he cringed. His hand gripped the cloth and skin on the back of his neck, his eyes clenched shut as he hissed in pain. He panted when the pain subsided, glancing at the blond.

The blond gave him a combination of a glare and an 'I-told-you-so' look.

"Fine," the boy spat, shoving past the blond. The blond followed, smiling after a moment. "Think she'll be happy to see us?"

"Of course, dobe."

The long, damp corridor went on for what would seem like forever to someone who didn't live there. "Why wouldn't she be glad to see us?" the boy asked softly, the tone screaming 'that was a stupid question.'

"Ano…" the blond drew out, "she did seem kind of unhappy the other day, when we got rid of that weird yellow guy…" He laughed. "'The youthful golden beast of Suna!' 'I shall rescue this youthful blossom!'"

"I'm killing him next time I see him," the boy growled.

The blond rolled his eyes. "Not by yourself, you're not, teme. Some of his ass is mine."

The two stopped at a door near the end of the hall. In the cold, damp corridor, the door seemed to radiate warmth. The boy placed his hands into a tiger seal, muttering "Kai" to dispel the seals placed on it and slowly opened the door. "Sakura-chan," he murmured as light began to fill the room. When the door was only partially open, he froze. Three things were wrong.

One, the lights in the room were off. Sakura always kept her lights on. She hated the dark.

Two, Sakura's bed wasn't made. Despite the fact that no one came in but her, them and Kakashi-sensei, she felt the need to make it every day.

Three…

Sakura wasn't in the room.

The boy slammed the door open, nearly shattering the wood against the stone. "Sakura!" he cried, her name echoing through the empty room. His eyes bled red as he looked frantically around the room. She wasn't there. She wasn't there!

Where was she!?

The blond backed away, eyes widening in disbelief. He stared ahead, partially at the boy and partially at the dark room. "Sakura-chan," he whispered, "you-"A pulse of pain shot through his head and his hand clawed at his scalp, his eyes clenching shut. He took another step back, unsure of what to do until another pulse attacked his head. He cried out, running back down the corridor, calling their sensei's name.

The boy remained in the threshold, tensing by the second. He clawed at the back of his neck as dark violet chakra poured from his body. He leaned his back against the door frame as heat crept through his body…

"Yosh! I found you!"

An explosion erupted somewhere half a mile from Neji's post. "Kuso," he muttered, leaping through the trees to get further away. Lee had – purposely – been the last to arrive at the starting point (Suna's gates). Wonderful.

Haidu Siiku was a game unique to Suna's highly trained nins. The closest trees to the desert were an hour away, but it was the only place to play. The person who was 'it' would stay at Suna's gates for half an hour while the rest of the players started out their trip. The players would all have to hide in the forest as the 'it' person tried to find them. If found, they would spar. If the player won they hid again. If they lost, they had to go back to Suna.

A cruel game to most other countries, but it was nothing compared to the training they went through in the academy.

Ino's scream ripped through the forest and Neji went faster. Deeper, into a part of the forest unfamiliar to him. Trees flew by for ten minutes – Neji counted every moment – before he heard Lee shout again and another sparing match begin. He cursed again under his breath before landing on a branch. He clasped his hands together, gathering chakra into his eyes before his eyelids flew open. "Byakugan!"

He'd missed his ability to see everything during his journey, as he'd sworn not to use it. He'd sworn only to train his body and senses, butdamn. Adrenaline rushed through him as his vision seemed to soar. 'Concentrate,' he thought to himself, scanning the area for a hiding place.

Tree…

Oh…that was interesting.

Only a small distance away was a formation of rocks, and from what he could see it went underground for miles. The paths twisted and turned and –

…were there chakra signals in there?

He heard a crash behind him and decided not to dwell on it. He leapt forward once again, burying himself into the trees.

"Sensei! Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi turned as a familiar blond head slammed into his stomach. The blond wrapped his hands around the man's waist and began shaking and sobbing into his chest. Kakashi blinked his single eye, trying to make sense of what the blond was mumbling into his chest. "She…empty…Sakura-chan…teme…"

Kakashi's eye widened at the mention of Sakura's name. He put his hands on the boy's shoulders, pulling him away from his body, and lowered himself to the blond's level. "Naruto," he demanded, glaring into his blue eyes, "What happened to Sakura?"

Naruto sniffed, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Sakura-chan, she…sh-she-"He cried out in pain, clutching his head and shaking. Kakashi watched as the blond's nails grew into claws, digging into his scalp. Kakashi's single eye widened again.

"Naruto, did she –"

Crash

Both winced as rubble flew at them. Naruto coughed as the dust flew up and Kakashi turned in the direction of the explosion. He pushed up his hitai-ate, his sharingan reading the movement through the dust cloud. He could feel the massive chakra pouring into the area, and as the dust cleared he found himself staring into two eyes identical to his own single red orb. The boy's fist was placed where the stone wall had once been.

"Sasuke…" Kakashi murmured.

"Where is she!?"

A crash echoed throughout the damp cave, but Neji ventured deeper into the dark tunnels anyway. The stone labyrinth was astounding. Patches of glowing pink crystal were scattered among the walls and ground. He'd stayed somewhere with these crystals – he recognized the growth pattern and shape – but he'd never seen them grown pink before. He kneeled down in front of a particularly large patch of crystal, breaking some off and activating his byakugan. He was surprised when he could see paths of chakra streaming through the glittering form. What on earth…

Gasp

Neji's head whipped around as a flash of pink and red flew around the corner. He didn't move, even as his hair fell onto his back. He stared at the corner, a scrap of crimson fabric poking out from behind the wall. Cautiously, he began to pour chakra into his eyes, allowing his vision to pass through the stone and focus on the figure behind it. He saw the figure's chakra points, though he could see them trying to cover their chakra signal.

He watched as they slowly turned, poking part of their face from behind the wall. He stopped the chakra flow to his eyes to see properly, and found himself staring into a frightened, curious emerald orb. Slowly, the person emerged from the wall, sensing that Neji held no threat toward them.

Neji's eyes scanned over their face and body. They were female, of that he was completely certain. She looked no older than himself, if not younger. Her red dress was worn, the white trimming and circles stained with dirt. The most interesting thing about her, however, was her hair. Light, almost delicate looking pink hair adorned her face. It seemed unfit that her hair was crudely cut, each lock slightly different length.

"Who are you?" Neji questioned, his hand slowly reaching for a kunai. In the pale light, he could see the glint of metal from her pink head. A hitai-ate. 'She is a kunoichi…'

"You shouldn't be here," the girl warned in reply. He could see her tense body begin to relax, sensing he was not a threat to her.

"Why is that?"

"You'll get hurt."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a warning," she emphasized, trying to get the point through his skull.

"Of course," Neji assured, clearly not convinced. He turned his attention back to the crystal, clearly not viewing her as too much of a threat.

"I'm not kidding," the girl growled. He heard the clinking of metal and his head whipped around again. She held a ripped kunai pouch in her hands, and she ran her thumb over the worn cloth almost lovingly. "There was a boy who came in here yesterday or the day before." She let out a sad sigh as she failed to remember the correct day. "He was frightened off."

"By what?" Neji questioned. The pink-haired girl opened her mouth to reply but an earth shattering roar interrupted her.

"Saaakuurraaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

The walls shook, the crystals jingling as they crashed together. Neji crouched down, pouring chakra into his eyes to find the threat, but nearly found over at what he found. Enormous chakras were surging through the cave's catacombs. It was physically impossible for chakras to be that powerful. Behind him, he saw the pink-haired girl begin to shake, eyes widening.

"We need to get out," she murmured, her voice shaking. He groped for his wrist and, finally latching onto it, began to tug him toward where she assumed lead to the exit. Neji whipped around.

"What are those?" he demanded.

"Talk later, escape now!" she insisted.

Neji opened his mouth to retort, but the deep rumbling of a crash echoed through the cavern, the crystals clinking against each other. He tucked the pink crystal into his pack and held his hand out. The girl raised a pink brow.

"What are you- Ah!"

Neji grabbed her wrist, pulling her forward. As she fell toward him he bent down, scooping her into his arms and – before she could react – dashing through the catacombs.

"NO!"

Naruto slammed his head against the wal, a deep thud echoing through the area. Two chakra-formed tails swished from side to side and his chakra coated his body in the shape of a fox. He bounced off of the wall, landing on his hands and feet, before running forward and repeating the process. Anything to stop the constant clawing at his mind.

At long last, he felt himself being pulled back by Kakashi and pinned to the floor. He thrashed in Kakashi's grip as the man turned to Sasuke. The boy's crimson eyes glared back.

"What is our plan,sensei?" he hissed.

Kakashi waited a moment, pressing Naruto down harder as he sighed. "We wait."

Crash

Kakashi didn't need to look up. Sasuke had embedded his hand into a wall. "What?"

Kakashi looked straight into the boy's eyes, seeing the anger and insanity deep within them. "Sasuke," he explained, "neither you nor Naruto are stable. If we try to find her now, we're more likely to hurt her unintentionally."

Sasuke tilted his face to the ground, his bangs covering his eyes. After running the idea through his head, he jerked his first from the wal, staring at his bloody knuckles. A sick and twisted smirk came over his face. "Yes," he murmured, slowly licking the blood from his hand.

"We'll wait."

Me: Ideas for the next couple of chapters please XD I have the entire climactic part all good, and some random little parts to build up omg-ness, but I still want input and ideas, please :D Review!!! Onegai!!!