i sorry for the long wait but i am not doing so great now. Life is too much for me right now, but i will try to update soon thought but the next story will be New Purpose.

i dont have much to say other than that.

Please review and i hope you like the chapter

i dont own Naruto

Chapter 19

Fate

Tears ran down her cheeks like a waterfall. Naruto let her legs carry her and didn't have a care that she was out in the open or where she was going. Life was over for her, and there was nothing for her to do. There was always someone who wanted to wipe her existence off the face of the planet; come to think of it, she hadn't even met all the people who wanted her gone from this world. They just wanted her dead because she was a demon container and the daughter of the Yondaime.

She had no hope for the future anymore; she was going to die in this maze and there was no denying that fact. She lost all her strength and her chakra was sealed from the thing on her neck. She could barely walk; what hope did she have? None, there was no chance she would be able to outran nor outsmart any other beasts and there was no chance in hell that she will be able to defend herself.

Her golden hair lost its radiance and her cerulean eyes lost the life they once held. Her clothes were ripped and bloody; her body was covered with dirt, lacerations and bruises that sent pain run through her with every movement she made. She, however, didn't care anymore. She didn't scream, lacking the energy to even open her mouth.

If she wasn't meant to die today, then she wouldn't. There was no changing fate. She was sick and tired. all her life, she did nothing else but fight against it… she should have listened. You cannot fight fate. If it was meant to happen, it would. If her life was meant to come to an end, then she wasn't going against it. She will let the gods have her and send her wherever they deemed fit.

She glanced up into the sky before closing her eyes. It looked like it was going to rain– no, it looked like it was going to storm. Naruto made no movements to get out of the rain when the downpour started. It was a matter of seconds before she was soaked. The liquid that ran down her already cold body and turned a slight pink as it mixed with her blood. Her hair was glued to her body by the rain and her body began to feel heavier. The addition of weight stopped her in her tracks. She glanced around before falling to the muddy ground. The mud wasted no time in jumping in on her.

Naruto has given up all hope and…never before have let herself fall. Never before had she given up control of her life to fate. Never before had she wished for a sweet end so she would never have to deal with her life again. Her life was worthless in her eyes at that point.

Jiraiya felt his whole life's work come crashing down and he was unable to explain it to his teammates. His old students, Tatsuya and Akemi, were alive, first of all. He thought they were dead. Second, they were Minato's teammates and yet they had kidnapped his daughter. What were they doing– no, what were they thinking?

Akemi glared at the dumbstruck old man with so much hatred that it was a miracle that it didn't kill him right then and there. Tatsuya rested his hands beside hers. He made no motion to move.

Kakashi glanced over to the Sannin with much confusion. Did Jiraiya know these people or was he overly jumping for joy at the beauty of the female captor? Knowing Jiraiya it was probably the latter. The rest of the team thought the same thing. Akemi was beautiful there was no denying that; however, Jiraiya was acting out of line. How did he ever become a ninja? They would never know.

Sakura took a step towards the Sannin before asking, "Jiraiya, is everything is okay?" No one moved or even made a sound. They all wanted to hear the answer.

"I-" Jiraiya started

He didn't get too far before Tatsuya interrupted him. "My old Sensei is just surprise to see us."

"Yea, he thought we were killed in the Great War," Akemi answered with a mild look of disgust in her eyes.

"What do you mean by 'my old Sensei'?" Ino asked looking back from Jiraiya to Tatsuya. Neji, Sai, Kakashi, Sasuke, Kiba, Sakura, Hinata, and Shikamaru remained quiet but their heads followed the same motion as Ino.

Jiraiya bowed his head in shame. "Tatsuya, Akemi," he pointed to them, "and Minato were my first genin team."

"You mean Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, was teammates with them?" Sakura pointed up to them. "What?!"

"Watch where you point that finger, young lady!" Akemi snorted rather loudly.

Tatsuya lifted Akemi off of him before he stepped forward. He glanced to each of the Konoha ninjas so he could get a sense of their chakra. They were only a few of them he had to worry about. Well in truth, he had to worry about all of them. They were all strong and dangerous in different ways. The three females, the medical kunoichi, wouldn't be too much a challenge. "Alas, Jiraiya, we met again."

"Tatsuya, why are you doing this?" Jiraiya growled regaining his stance while he recovered from his shock.

"Simple, we hate Minato and since he is dead, we will hurt his 'beloved' daughter instead," he mocked. He knew everything about Naruto down to how she was treated by those villagers. The poor girl was treated like trash.

"Where is she," Sasuke growled while taking a step. Kakashi put up a hand to block him. "Let me at them!"

"No, we need to play this right," Kakashi ordered.

"Haha! It doesn't matter," Akemi laughed. "She's probably dead any ways!" She received glares from everyone including Tatsuya. She was annoying to him even, sometimes; if she knew, she didn't care. It was the way she was and no person was ever going to change her.

"What do you mean by that," Sasuke snapped. Kakashi had to physically hold him back or else he would have charged right at her.

"Akemi meant that she is dead. There is no probably. She has been in the maze for a couple of days now with no chakra. There is no way she could survive that," Tatsuya commented.

"Anyone can survive without chakra," Sai argued while he took a step forward. The look in his eyes were slightly different from the others. It was angry than that of Sasuke. It was stronger welled than anyone in the room. Sai wasn't going to give up without a fight.

"Not the maze we have," Akemi stepped forward. She placed her hands on Tatsuya's shoulders and rested her head on her hands. "There are thing in there you couldn't even dream of."

"Why are you doing this," Jiraiya growled drawing the attention back to him. Oh, he wished he had both of his arms again. He would make Tatsuya and Akemi pay for ever dreaming they could hurt their teammate's daughter.

"It was always Minato this and that," Akemi interjected before Tatsuya was able to open his mouth. He hissed quietly so she was the only one to hear him. She didn't speak again.

"Minato wasn't perfect as you may think, Sensei," Tatsuya stressed. "He cared only about himself."

"No, he cared deeply for Konoha!" Kakashi yelled which surprised everyone. "He gave up his life for the Village." His hold on Sasuke weakened but the teen didn't fight to get out. "If he only cared about himself, he wouldn't have done that."

"Haha," Tatsuya chuckled, "he did that so he wouldn't have to face what he has done, and no one would be stupid enough to ruin the good name of a dead Hokage."

"No!" Sakura hollered. "He saved the village!"

"And I can fly," Tatsuya waved. "Look at the life he gave to his only child. He shamed her," he hummed. "You can't deny that."

"He had no other choice!" Jiraiya hissed.

"Yea, he had no other choice to leave us, abandon us. He left us to die! I remember 'our' last mission. Minato came back to the village alone and said we were dead!" Tatsuya pushed Akemi away with no care if she fell. "Are we dead to you?"

"He was heartbroken!"

"No, he was happy. He didn't have to compete with us. If I was still in the village, I doubt he would ever be the Hokage!"

Jiraiya had to stop himself from running up and killing Tatsuya right that instant. "You would have never been Hokage. Minato was chosen for his abilities and character. He was the reason why Konoha survived the great ninja war!"

"Then tell me why he reported us dead?"

"I don't know, but he probably thought you were dead!"

"No, he trapped us in some kind of anti-chakra thing and left us there to die. It was a miracle we were able to get out!" Akemi hissed.

Tatsuya grabbed Akemi and turned away. "Don't touch anything," he demanded to the Jiraiya and the others.

"Where the hell are you going?" Jiraiya demanded to know.

"If you can find us, we will tell you." Akemi and Tatsuya disappeared without a trace. It was like they were never there.

"They disgraced the Yondaime and leave?" Shikamaru muttered while he thought ever so dangerously.

"They never liked Minato," Jiraiya revealed. "I was surprise they were able to even work together, but Minato would never try to kill them." Jiraiya started to recall his memories of Minato, Tatsuya, and Akemi when they were children. They were all innocent enough. Was he missing something?

"We don't have time for this," Neji studied the surrounding areas with those eyes of his. "I can't see anything in this place."

"I can't even," Hinata revealed.

"Shit!" Kakashi blustered. "We will never find them now!" His hold on the Uchiha didn't existent anymore.

"We will have to split up," Shikamaru pointed out, "if we want to save Naruto." They all nodded.

Every rain drop felt like a needle against her tan skin. The cold weather that surrounded her felt like ice that burned her body. The sun's rays that peaked through the clouds hurt her eyes as it fell behind the mountains; effectively making the temperature drop all the more.

Naruto was void of any emotions at the time. She has given up all of them in the hopes of never feeling them again. Emotions are the things that hold people back. If she didn't follow her emotions all the time, she wouldn't be in this situation. Haha, she wouldn't have been in half the life threatening events she had been through if it wasn't for her emotions.

She was like a stone thrown into a pond. She was sinking rather fast and there was no one there to keep her head above the water. The waves were too much for her to fight back on her own. So she stopped struggling. She was going to die so why prolong her life if she was going to suffer, why prolong the agony?

Naruto felt her soul die a little in a sense that she had never given up like this before. She never went down without a fight and now she was. What had changed? Did she lose the hope to and will to go on? Did she lose sight of the future that she always dreamt of? Was there nothing else to live for?

Her lids felt heavy to. They threatened to fall and to never open again. Her body was becoming too heavy to move. She was too weak and had no way to defend her dead-like body.

All thoughts in her little head of hers were negative, so negative that it was impossible to believe that she was ever an optimistic person.

She was like a lifeless statue staring off into space… Yes, she was still alive. Her chest rose up and down. Her eyes would blink every few minutes just to keep them from getting dry. She had no control over this function. If she did, she wouldn't care if her eyes were dry. She didn't care to move them at all.

The search party broke into different groups. Ino, Neji, and, Kiba went in one direction looking for Naruto. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura went in the opposite direction in search of her. Hinata, Shikamaru, Sai, and Jiraiya went after Tatsuya and Akemi. The situation wasn't looking any good with each group thinking the worst case scenario: Naruto was dead. It was the ugliest feeling in the world, especially for the people who were after her heart. Each of their crystal hearts were beginning to die. Naruto made their life worth living. Without her innocence and light, the world seems like a dark scary place to live in. Hey, she was the reason why half of them got up in the morning.

Kakashi would glance back to Sasuke every once and awhile. The look in the Uchiha's eyes told him that he was truly dead inside. Kakashi shivered knowing he would probably end up like that too. He had lost everything already and it was about to happen again. He was about to end up in darkness again. It was unbearable to even think about it. He recently have truly came out of it and he was about to go back again. NO, she is alive, damn it… what if she is not?…… can't think of that.

Sakura kept up slow behind as too make sure no one was looking or staring at her. She felt better this way. She was a mess and she wasn't sure if it was visible or not. She hoped it wasn't; the belief that Naruto was dead did not help her. In fact, it made her sick to her stomach which wasn't a good thing since she was pregnant. Well, she shouldn't be on this mission to begin with but she didn't tell anyone besides Naruto. Lee knew, of course, but that didn't count. She needed a female friend well besides Ino who would flip out when she finds out.

Sasuke wanted to cry but he was an Uchiha and damn it, Uchiha didn't cry. They glare and smirk… well he was the last Uchiha. So if he wanted to, he could change the old ways. However, that involved children and a family, and there was only one person he ever wanted to have a family with. She was mostly likely dead considering she was gone for almost five days. He doubted that Tatsuya and Akemi kept her alive for that long. Shut-up! She isn't dead!… she isn't… I would die if anything happened to the dobe.

The search of the back yard was draining, and it seems like the place was eating them alive. The green foliage seemed like it had a mind of its own. Every time they turned around, there seemed to be more of it. Despite the evil plants, it was beautiful even in the down pour. The flowers shined through the rain like lights and the nothing seemed to be weighted down from the rain. It was like magic.

"What is that?" Sakura pointed to the line of bushes and other plants.

"It looks like a maze." Kakashi studied it for a second. "Look there's the starting point," he pointed to the far left.

"Maze? Didn't Akemi say Naruto was trapped in a maze with no chakra?" Sakura asked hurrying to it without a reply.

"Wait!" Kakashi grabbed the stoic Uchiha and rushed to her before she did something stupid like going in alone.

The maze was about ten feet high and it blocked out most of the sunlight, though there wasn't really much rays of sunlight left at that time. The sun was about to set. The gates to the Maze only made the maze scarier. Demons framed the gate and words were scraped into the metal: "The Gates to Hell." Underneath those words was a crimson color and the iron smell filled the air.

"It is blood," Sakura announced. The smell was getting to her rather fast, but hey she was pregnant. She shouldn't be smelling things like that.

"Very good, Sakura. Is it red too?" Sasuke snapped. His sharingan were flaring like never before and his voice was filled with hatred and anger. He was never this angry before in his life; consequently, it seemed like he was always going to be this way until he got his light back.

"Shut-up," Sakura pushed back her sleeves.

"Enough!" Kakashi got between them. "I know we are all on edge, but we don't need you two fighting!" He pranced to the gate and pushed it open. After he reached for a kunia to cut his finger. "Summoning Jutsu!" In a poof of smoke, hound dogs appeared ready to serve. He showed them something, that Sasuke and Sakura didn't see, something which belonged to Naruto. "Find her."

Hinata, Shikamaru, Sai, and Jiraiya found themselves in an abandoned hallway of the mansion. The colors were faded and cobwebs decorated the walls. It didn't really have a smell that is if you don't consider the old-person smell.

Jiraiya lead the group and Shikamaru followed close behind the one armed man. Hinata was in front of Sai and behind Shikamaru. There were only a few feet between each member of the team. They didn't want to get lost in this big palace, which was what it was. It was fit for a King that is if they changed the faded colors.

"Are you sure they went down this way?" Jiraiya glanced back to Hinata.

"I am sure. I still sense their chakra," Hinata nodded while she pointed ahead. "It is behind those doors." Two giant French doors appeared ten feet in front of them. They had a golden frame which to uncommon belief wasn't faded. In fact, the doors looked new like they were put there the day before.

"That is strange," Shikamaru scratched his chin. "Those doors don't match the rest of the hallway."

"I don't see any traps or anything wrong with those doors. I just sense Tatsuya and Akemi," Hinata revealed while glancing to Jiraiya who was emotionless at the time.

"Okay," Jiraiya called back. "Let's see what is behind those doors. Everyone be on your guard," he ordered with a tone they never heard before.

"Hai!" Sai, Hinata, and Shikamaru responded as they followed Jiraiya to the door. The Toad Sage stood aside and let Sai open the doors.

They were blinded by a bright light for a second. Once the light disappeared, a garden filled their eyes. The flowers were so unique, each a different color, each had a different shape and color. Even the foliage was a different shade of green. In the middle of the room were round gravel and a fountain with crystal clear water. The flowers formed a single ring around the base of the fountain. Windows covered the walls and the ceiling. The sight was breathtaking.

"I am surprise you four were able to find this room," Akemi smiled. She jumped down from some hidden ledge. "This is my private garden."

"I am not. It isn't that hard to find," Tatsuya appeared next to his wife. He had a purple rose in his hand. He played with it before placing it in Akemi's hair. "The golden doors are very noticeable."

"But it is in an abandoned hall," she protested. Her smile turned into a haunting glare. "Can we kill them now?"

"In due time," Tatsuya answered before taking a single step toward Jiraiya. "Here we are again, Sensei. What do you have to say?"

"You two are traitors and you will meet a traitor's death," Jiraiya hissed. "But first, I want to hear your story."

"Very well," Tatsuya nodded before taking a seat on a bench. "But then you die."

Neji, Ino, and Kiba found themselves in a very larger round room, a ball room, if you asked Ino. She knew these kinds of things. The boys didn't have a clue what a ballroom is even if it came up and bit them in the ass, which would be a very funny sight indeed.

The room was huge. It would still take them a few minutes to get to the other side even when it was empty. Just image how long it would take if the room was full of people. However, it was doubtful this room would ever be full of people. The ballroom was decorated in all reds and golds just like the rest of the mansion. It was truly a beautiful room when you look at it.

"This place is huge," Ino announced loudly causing her voice to echo throughout the room. Her mouth was wide open as if inviting the bugs in.

"Can you shut-up!" Kiba growled. Ino was too loud and annoying for her own good.

"Make me dog breath!"

"Dog breath! At least I am dating someone!"

"I know! What does Hinata see in you?"

Neji was getting a headache the size of Konoha and it was getting worse. Who in the hell put those two idiots on my team? He had a hard time just handling Naruto on missions, but these two make Naruto look mute, which was a funny thing to think of.

Neji stepped forward and glanced around. "There is someone in here," he revealed. The two idiots shut-up immediately. "He has been here for some time."

"Where is he?" Kiba asked appearing next to Neji. Ino appeared at his other side.

"I don't know," Neji growled. "Something is messing with my Byakugan. I can sense something but I can't pin point where it is. If I were to believe my eyes, I would say he was everywhere."

"Then maybe it is more than one," Ino said looking around.

"No, I thought that at first; however, it is the same chakra everywhere. It has to be one person but I don't know how they are doing it," Neji pushed away from them.

"It has to start and end somewhere, right?" Kiba asked scratching his head.

"I can't find him," Neji snapped. When he snapped, you know the situation was turning from bad to worse.

"I don't want you to find me," a voice called out from somewhere.

The group quickly formed a triangle and got into battle formation. They didn't need to have blind-spots especially when the enemy could be anywhere. Judging by the amount of chakra in the room, the missing-ninja, for no one but a ninja could be this powerful, was extremely dangerous. "Show yourself!"

"Why should I?" the voice asked.

"Fight us on equal ground!" Kiba hollered. "Fight honorably!"

"Who do you take me for? I am not the person you want to see." the voice revealed. "I do not fight honorably like the person you came to find."

"Come out!" Ino yelled. "Tell us where she is?"

"I don't know. You have to ask Tatsuya or Akemi," he called back, "but I will reveal myself!" A cloaked man magically appeared in front of them.

Neji cursed under his breath. He didn't know how he could lose track of the guy. How did he get there without revealing himself? "Who are you?"

"Ryu," the ninja revealed. With a flick of his hand, the doors locked. "The only way you are getting out of here is by killing me."

They knew who Ryu was and they knew this battle won't to be easy to win. In fact, this battle would be one of the hardest ones they would ever fight. Ryu seemed to know how to work this Hall of mirrors.

A bloody corpse lay on the ground separated from its head, which lay a few feet away. The animal, an unknown species, was a mixture of a lion, eagle, and goat. It was an ugly sight. It truly was, and Sakura was sure she would have nightmares of. Sasuke was playing with his hands to make sure they weren't broken. Kakashi was kneeling by the creature. He quickly wrote down some notes about the thing in front of him.

"What the hell was that, Sensei?" Sakura asked backing up.

Kakashi let the Sensei part slide. "I don't know but whatever it was, I am sure there are more," he commented while he stood.

"What! We had a hard time with just that one!" Sakura exclaimed. She held her hands to her mouth in disbelief. How could there be more of those things out there? How could Naruto survive out here alone with no use of her chakra?

"I know," Kakashi admitted. He was just as worried about Naruto as Sakura was. He knew Naruto was a sitting duck without her chakra. We have to find her now!

Sasuke, who seemed to have lost all shades of emotions, looked off into the distance. He was trying to see if he could find Naruto with his sharingan but it wasn't working. It must have been the fact that Naruto's chakra was blocked. Shit, dobe, where are you. I need you! He bit his lip. "Let's go, we don't have time for you to be scared, Sakura!" he blustered. "Stop being a baby! You are useless!"

Sakura turned away from the enraged Uchiha. "…I am not," she whispered but she couldn't whole heartedly disagree with him. She wasn't as powerful as Naruto even with her chakra-enhanced fists.

"Enough!" Kakashi rubbed his forehead. "We don't have time for this. If you two don't stop fighting, we won't find Naruto period! I am not a babysitter!" he hollered. They both shut-up and stared at Kakashi, who they both knew was right. They didn't need to act like children. If they did, Naruto would surely be lost to them.

In the distance, barking could be heard. Spirits rose with the sounds of the dogs call. It seemed like they found something.

"They found her scent," Kakashi announced. He took off in the direction of the sound. He was going to find her. He was going to find the girl he loved with all his heart. He didn't care if he could never have her. He was going to save her… no matter what it takes.

Sasuke and Sakura followed close behind. Each of their moods was still dead but they had found hope again. They prayed that they find her before it was too late.

Her body was still as a statue. Her eyes were closed. Her heart, waiting to give out, was ever slow. The rain, which stopped a few hours ago had soaked her and married her to the ground. Her hair was dirty with mud and branches; her clothes were covered with much grime that they didn't look orange anymore.

A creature roared in the distance. Its roar didn't stir Naruto who was like a log in the mud. Its troubled cry was louder as it came closer to the half sleeping girl. It was a matter of minutes before the beast had Naruto in its sights. It licked it lips catching her sweet scent. It eyed her. If it could eat her with its eyes, it would already have done so.

The creature moved it half deer, half wolf paw closer to the girl. Its mouth hanged open. Its brown tongue was a few feet above the ground. The liquid from its mouth melted the ground at a quick rate.

The thing was only a few feet from the fallen heroine. Her scent filled its noise and it drove the beast crazy. It never wanted a meal as badly as this one before. She smelled innocent and tasty unlike its many other meals.

Just before it was about to jump at its meal, a metal thing flew and it hit it on the leg causing it to jump back in pain. It roared at the sight of three humans, whose scent didn't even compete with the half dead girl in front of him.

"Get away from her!" the boy hollered. His anger was beyond anything the beast ever felt before. The girl and the old man followed suit and attacked the ugly creature. It didn't take long before the creature was dead. "Naruto!" the boy called out while he ran to Naruto. He reached out to touch her.

"Is she dead?" he heard Sakura asked Kakashi.

"I don't know," Kakashi admitted. His voice worried Sasuke who had never seen emotions in his Sensei before. "I don't know."

Sasuke's fingers danced on Naruto's cold skin. He felt himself shiver as he prayed she wasn't dead. His other hand reached for her wrist to check her pulse. He was able to breathe again. He was able to find a slow and steady pulse. It wasn't the best but it was better than nothing, right? "Sakura, she is alive. She needs some medical attention!"

"Coming!" she yelled while she rushed to Naruto's side.

"Dobe, please open your eyes," Sasuke whispered in her ears. "I need you. I love you, damn it."

Sakura froze. Did she just hear what she thought she heard? Did the stoic Uchiha just openly admitted he loved Naruto? She blinked. I have to help Naruto. She went back to her work of saving her friend and teammate.

"S…" Naruto's lips moved but no words were audible. She drifted back into a deep sleep. Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke gathered around the Kunoichi, hoping to hear another sound from her lips but nothing came.

thank you for reading please review.