I do not own Naruto or any characters, but the ones i made up for this story....If i did own this anime, so much things would be different.

...Sorry, it took me so long to update....I lost interest in writing (not the story). School is eating my soul. It takes up so much more time then last sem. In addition to that, My boyfriend had got me addicted to WOW (World of WarCraft.)... I know... I weird..., but who isn't?.....

I would like to give a special thanks to Iana Sabelle, who proof this for me....

I hope you like this chapter... I suck at fight scenes so please be understanding on that point!

So enjoy! Plz review! I love reviews, but i wont be mad if you don't. (well if least one person has too, though.) I dont review too often myself.

But Plz do!

Chapter 20

Forgiveness

The mystifying and ridiculously huge ball room made fighting hard, as it not only makes chakra hard to read, it also made chakra attacks miss by inches if not feet. This annoyed Neji and Kiba as so many of their attacks missed. Ino, who watched from a distance tried to catch Ryu in her jutsu but her chakra couldn't be controlled whenever it leaves her body.

Ryu was facing the same disadvantages as the other, but unlike them, he trained in this room many times before. He knows how this room works; He knows what it does; He knows everything there is to know about this room.

The red head dodged every attack that was thrown at him without really trying. In fact, he wasn't trying to dodge at all. He even didn't real care about this fight. He really didn't care about Tatsuya and Akemi or what they wanted. What he wanted was to disappear and never be seen again. He wanted to retire in a sense, but that was never going to happen. Not after he was enslaved by them and not after what he did to that girl. If you really think about it, the girl was known to be very forgiving and hey he never did hurt her as bad as Yuki did.

"What is this?" Kiba growled as Ryu threw him aside. "I can't even touch him." It was like he was a toy and Ryu was playing with him.

"No one can, so calm down," Neji ordered while he glanced back to Ino silently telling her to keep far away from the battle. She nodded her head to tell him she understood.

Ryu cocked his head, trying decipher the silent message passed on by his enemies to each other. Quick lesson, communication isn't just verbal communication. It is also nonverbal. Now usually, the red hair was very good at reading nonverbal cues, but it was like he was blind. "Don't even try to escape. There is no hope once you are trapped in this room."

"What do you mean by trapped?" Ino asked as she glanced back to the area they came in.

"Do you see a door?" He glanced around. "I don't… You have to kill me to get out." He spoke with an almost bored expression followed by a smirk as if taunting them.

Jiraiya felt his blood turn cold when he heard Tatsuya and Akemi's story about what 'really' happened all those years ago. His fists curled up as those sick words filled his brain. There was no way in hell that Minato was that cold hearted. Minato would never torture anyone and leave them to die. That is like saying Naruto would destroy Konoha…. Never going to happen.

They both had a knack for taking the high road…well Naruto was more forgivable than her father; he would, without a doubt, forgive anyone. Hah! She would probably forgive these idiots in front of him. Jiraiya wouldn't let her though.

"Don't like what you hear?" Tatsuya asked, while he picked an orange lily. "Minato didn't have any values. He did what he wanted. He didn't let anything stop him and that includes us."

Shikamaru stepped to the left of Jiraiya and placed his hand on his shoulders telling him to calm down. "He's just trying to get under your skin," the lazy shinobi whispered.

Jiraiya glanced at him from the corner of his eye and he nodded his head. "Hm, it seems like you are very much mistaken," Jiraiya said with a straight face that Naruto always give to her enemies. "But I can fix that with this." He showed them his fist.

Tatsuya savored the wonderful scent of the flower before he started to pick it apart. "Or it will be me." He glanced toward Akemi and she glanced back. They looked like they had an idea.

"Get ready!" Shikamaru shouted back to Hinata and Sai. There was going to be a fight and it wasn't going to be pretty. That was for sure. If anything, this was going to be a messy fight.

The words, Gates of Hell glowed as they ran out of the maze. Sasuke held the girl tightly against his chest. He would protect her as if she was the most important thing in the world…well to him she is.

Kakashi lead the way while Sakura stayed by Sasuke to keep a medical eye on Naruto. It was a long silent and tense journey for the three ninjas as they made their way to the front of the mansion to the meeting place, where they were greeted with an empty space. It seems like everybody else was still inside the mansion.

"Kakashi, do you think they are okay?" Sakura asked while keeping her eyes on Naruto. She healed the blond enough so that she can make the trip back to Konoha, but not too much that Sakura would be the one drained and can't make it back… yea that wouldn't be good-- two unconscious bodies, that is.

"I don't know." He walked away from the team and stared at the mansion with a meaningful look in his eyes. "There is Tatsuya, Akemi, and don't forget, Ryu in that place."

"Ryu? Are you sure?" Sakura inquired, walking to her old Sensei's side.

"I am sure… Even if I didn't sense his left over chakra, I am sure he would be here," Kakashi answered, glancing back to Naruto. "Tatsuya is his master. I doubt he would be anywhere else."

"So do we stay here?"

"No."

"Then what?" Sakura asked, talking a step back to Naruto and Sasuke.

"We go in."

"What about Naruto?" she asked with a shocked tone.

"One of us will go out in the forest and stay with her. The other two will go into the mansion; one will look for Neji and his team, and the other will look for Jiraiya and his team." Kakashi would be going to find Jiraiya. That was for sure. Now, who would stay with Naruto was still up in the air. There was a valid reason for both of them to go or to stay, whichever you would want to focus on. Sasuke would be better if someone were to attack Naruto, but then again, he would be better in the Mansion. Sakura, on the other hand should stay with Naruto to make sure she was well enough to make it to the village….but if the others were hurt, she would save their lives. Plus, Sakura wasn't a weakling, not with those fists of hers.

Naruto would be okay for a few hours and Kakashi was sure he wouldn't need anymore time than that. Sakura would go after Neji and his team, who he was sure, was fighting Ryu. Besides, he was sure Sasuke wouldn't leave the blonde's side for anything. He would go after Jiraiya and his team. He relayed his plan to Sasuke and Sakura who nodded as if they were expecting it.

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Sasuke was positioned in the forest a few yards from the mansion's gates. He had his back against a tree and he had Naruto resting safety in his arms-- his arms that formed a protective wall around the weakened blonde.

His heart would skip every time she would try to move in his arms as if it is a sign that would gain consciousness and hug him. She had started to look better after Sakura and he got that collar off of her; the color started to return to her face, not much so that it was still not back to her normal glowing tan complexion.

With his free hand, he gently touched her face. He frowned when he didn't see her hitae-ate. Sure, he knew she didn't have it on her, when they found her but it just didn't seem right without it, since she never took it off. To her, it was the symbol of her loyalty to the village. A loyalty, he never really had for the village which was funny if you think about it. The village treated her like shit, but she loved it. It treated him like a prince, and he didn't want anything to do with it.

His hand left her face and traveled down her body. He hated seeing her like this. Weak and defenseless. It made him angry. He wanted to hunt down the man who did this and kill them…He wouldn't, however, be the one to kill him… Come to think about it, it was probably best that he wasn't in there. You never know what he would do and could do when he was angry.

It was hard for him to see her so hurt, so destroyed like this. He loved watching her and now it killed seeing her.

Watching her sexy body would drive him crazy. (Keep in mind, it only has been a month since he came back to a village and find out he was really a she.) He wanted her in so many ways and it got him in trouble. Just look at what happen in the cave. When she yelled she hated him, it killed him. It sent arrows through his heart to hear that…it was his fault though and he knew.

He made a mistake and he had to pay dearly for it. He wasn't allowed to see her and she wouldn't see him. No one would tell him how she was doing. He was upset, but it was his fault. Sure, the village was not happy he was spending time with the demon, but they didn't know she was the daughter of the Yondaime.

He couldn't wait until they find out about it, when the council did, they went crazy. They were all fixated in setting them up, but then again, they only wanted her blood line not her. However, they did seem to be nicer to her when ever one pass her by. It was strange sight.

Sasuke sighed as he pulled her closer to keep her warm. She felt so far from him even though he had her in his arms. Naruto's soul felt different, which made him doubt that she would ever be the same. No one would if they went through the same thing she did. It was highly unlikely she would be the same dobe….but come to think of it, if she was a little bit quieter, he would be a very happy camper…

A quiet dobe?

Now that was funny.

She shifted her weight once again and his breath was caught in his throat. She is moving more. Is that a positive sign? He wasn't any good at medical crap. It was never his forte and he had no interest in picking up any knowledge regarding that field.

Her fingers started to move, but it wasn't any big movement. It looked like she was just waking up. "Naruto," he whispered while watching her face like a hawk.

Her eyes flicked.

His heart skipped a beat.

Sakura made her way through the mansion which was worse than finding her way through that maze… well at least there wasn't any monsters…well there could be, she guessed but she would rather not think about that. She already had enough share of bad times that would last her for centuries; she doesn't need anymore.

She ran as fast as her feet could carry her making the faded wallpaper zoom by her and the lights flickered with every passing movement.

She blinked her eyes a couple of times when she came across a door at the end of the long hall way. When she arrived at the final door, she could sense more than one chakra which seemed vaguely familiar. She threw open the doors to reveal a huge ballroom, much to her surprise.

She gasped when she spotted her teammates. Ino, who looked semi-beat up was on her knees against a wall trying to catch her breath. Kiba and Neji were both attacking the enemy head on… To her surprise, the enemy was Dai, the guy her and Lee ran into in the village the other week. All three of them appeared to be in trouble, but it seemed like Dai was pleased with the fight. Did he have something under his sleeve?

Sakura made her way to Ino who slightly changed her position. The blonde held her arm tightly to her body and bit her lip. Her expression changed when she caught sight of Sakura running to her. "What are you doing here?" she whispered. "What about Naruto?" She was scared and it was mighty clear to her best friend.

"We found her," Sakura smiled. She started to look over Ino to see if she was in any dire need of medical assistance while giving her a quick briefing of what has happened.

"That is good." Ino looked down as she updated Sakura.

Sakura shifted her eyes on the newly renamed Ryu and bit her lips. This wouldn't be an easy fight to win, especially in a room like this.

Kakashi didn't second guess anything when things didn't appear faded anymore. To him, it meant he was on the right track. So when he came across a newly installed French door, he took it as a sign he was in the right spot. Why else would there be new doors in a hallway like this? Seriously, think about it.

He pushed the door open to reveal a colossal battle. Jiraiya and Sai were both taking on Tatsuya, while Hinata and Shikamaru dealt with Akemi. No one noticed Kakashi come in the garden. Everyone was too busy wrapped up in their fight to even notice him… which only showed how intense the battle really was.

When ever one side got ahead, the other side would do something to get the better hand. This battle was evenly match on both sides and there was no clear end in sight. If both sides could go on forever, Kakashi believed they would.

Sai blocked Tatsuya's attack while Jiraiya got a Rasengan going in his hand. Sai was thrown back, but bounced back when he collided with the wall. Tatsuya was ready when the raven came flying back and landed a kick in his back. As a result, Sai slammed into the ground. His battered body twitched as he tried to get up. Tatsuya never noticed Jiraiya charge at him with a fully charged Rasengan until it was right in his face which in turn cased Tatsuya to be thrown against the wall.

A smile never appeared on the old man's face. Instead, he frowned and he had a look in his eyes that Kakashi couldn't place. Was the Sannin sad for his own pupil? Was he upset at the path the man chose for himself? Was it anger for hurting his goddaughter? Was it exhaustion? Jiraiya was an old man, way past his retirement days. Heck, Kakashi was getting close to his own retirement.

Jiraiya didn't even turn back to face him. "Kakashi, what are you doing here?" His voice sounded dead. It was like he was expecting now that it was too late. That they were too late to save her.

"It looks like you need help and we have found Naruto. She is safe and sound now," he reported.

Just hearing those words—that wonderful news brought back all the life that seemed to drained from the Sannin, as if he got additional more years to live young. A small smile stimulated across his face, barely noticeable to anyone who wasn't looking for it. "Make sure Sai is okay and come here."

Kakashi kneeled down next to the young man and checked his vitals. "He is fine. He is still awake."

"Good, now we have to deal with Tatsuya," Jiraiya ordered. His voice was still dead, and it scared Kakashi whenever he was this serious. It was like when Naruto was quiet. When that happens, there was something deadly wrong.

Tatsuya's body twitched, signaling that he was still alive. Akemi, on the other hand, was fairing okay. Hinata and Shikamaru had a hard time hitting her, since she could heat any surface of her body at any time. That was, however, the only thing that was saving Akemi at that point. She couldn't compete with such highly trained Shinobi of Konoha. She only bested Naruto, because Naruto couldn't use her Chakra and would receive shocks at anytime Akemi pleased. Now was that fair?

Hinata had Akemi trapped in a corner of the circular room, which wasn't to hard to do. You could still corner someone in a circular room. It wasn't too hard when you were in a garden like this. Their best bet was Shikamaru family's jutsu which would have her under his control.

She was confused. How could she still feel her body? Why was she still warm? Where did all her pain go? Sure, she was still in pain, but it was a lot more bearable now. Earlier, she was ready to give up, so why was she still alive? She was sure she was alive. How else would she be feeling this?

She could feel someone's warm body around her. She felt someone's hand against her face. She could feel their hands move down her body which caused her to twitch. She prayed that it wasn't Ryu or some enemy's hands on her. Or else she would be dead.

She, however, doubted that. She recalled hearing the teme's voice…she could have been dreaming then. She hoped not…well he wasn't her favorite person right about now, but she would take him. She really didn't want to die…maybe, it wasn't her fate. Maybe, she was supposed to live. Was there something in life she was supposed to do?

Her cerulean eyes flicked. She didn't know if she wanted to wake up. What would be there when she opens her eyes? She had to see, right? She forced her eyes, and her breath was caught in her throat.

The teme was staring at her with a strange look in his eyes. She had never seen that look in his eyes. If she had to guess, he looked weird. "S…," she coughed. I can't speak…It hurts just trying to speak.

"Naruto," Sasuke spoke; his voice was soft and sweet, so unlike him. "Everything will be alright." He brushed back the hair in her face. His face had an odd expression on it, well for him anyway.

She blinked. This wasn't the teme she was used to. She was waiting for him to call her dobe or something along those lines. She was ready for him to start insulting her….but it never came. He just looked her with a loving look in his yes, which confused her to no small extent.

"…" He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He looked worried. He probably was afraid of what she would think about what he was going to say.

Naruto was barely able to keep herself from drifting back to sleep which would probably be a good thing if she did. She needed her rest….well she didn't want to go to sleep. Tsunade would probably sedate her anyway. What is he trying to say?

"…"

If she had the strength to glare at him, she would have. If she had the strength, she would hit him…well she really wished she could. He deserved so much worse that a sharp knife to his lower body would be nice… yes, that thought was so tempting and pleasant.

Sasuke shifted his body. Her eyes made him shake in his boots. He never felt his way before; it was insane to him. How could he be this weak over a girl? The dobe of all people? "I am stupid."

I could have told you that. She wished she could slap him.

"I let my anger get the best of me in the cave. I didn't mean what I said," he paused. He took in a deep breath. "I…am…sorry."

She gasped. Did she hear what she thought she heard? …Am I hearing things? I must be…Sasuke would never say he is sorry. She wiggled slightly at the touch of his semi-warm hand against her face.

"I… care about you."

Her heart almost stopped at those words. What was he saying?

"….I."

I what? She thought. If she was sitting, she would be on the edge of her seat. This was abnormal for him and it was kind of freaking her out. She wasn't sure if it was really scary or not.

"I…lo.."

She wished she had the strength to roll her eyes. Naruto's hand twitched. It seems little by little that her energy was coming back but it wasn't enough for any major body movement.

"Damn it," he cursed. "Why can't I just say it?" he asked himself. His internal-conflict was painfully written on his face. He looked like he was going through some sort of torture. "….ILOVEYOU," he said as quickly as he could.

Naruto, who barely understood what he said, was in shock,…but then again, he told her that last time before he broke her heart. It was nothing new. It was an old wound and he was opening it up again. Why was he doing this to her? What did she do to him? She wanted to scream. She wanted to yell at him to leave her alone! "…" Her throat was killing her. She couldn't get a word out.

"…In the cave, I said words that I shouldn't have. I don't like to wait for things…and with you, it was all that I did," he paused. "I just couldn't wait anymore." He was pouring his heart out to her. "I need you. I never needed anyone else…I was scared…still am, really," he revealed. He looked way, not wanting to know what she was thinking.

"…stop," her voice was hoarse. Her throat hurt just staying that.

"…Why?"

"No more lies," she whispered. Her voice threatened to give out on her.

"Nar-"

"NO MORE LIES," she screamed as long as she could, trying her best to be able to tell him the things that were eating her from the inside. "Why do you want to hurt me?" she asked, tears running down her cheeks.

He stared at her in disbelief. She didn't believe him. "Listen," he begged. Some kind of liquid run down his face. "I am an idiot. I messed up big time. Please, I will do anything to show you how much I love you. Just tell me what to do." His body started to shake.

Naruto started to breathe heavily and her heart stopped for a few seconds as his tear hit her face. It sent waves through her entire body like a boulder falling into a lake.

"Please, give me one last chance."

She started to shake. Her brain, the more logical side of her screamed to tell him hell no. Her heart, on the other hand, was screaming yes, which was confusing all in itself. "…yes." if he hurt her again, she doubt she would ever be able to get back up…..Though she doubt he would too. There would be a lot of people hunting for his head…haha.

He pulled her closer. "I won't let you down," his tears poured out even harder, but he wasn't alone. Her tears followed.

I hope I didn't just make a big mistake, she prayed. She was still alive, so that had to mean something right. Maybe this wasn't a mistake. Maybe this was supposed to happen.

His face got within inches from her and he breathed against her face. It didn't take long before he captured her lips with his. It was a semi-long kiss due to the fact she had little to no energy.

He jumped slightly ending the kiss when he felt her hand in his hair. A smile was present on her face which in turn brought a smile to his. "I love you, dobe." The smile slightly disappeared when she heard the nickname. "We will take it slow."

"Yes," she whispered. Slow was good. Slow was her friend. Doing things fast always ended bad in her case.

The fight had changed suddenly as Ryu collided against the room due to Sakura's great plan. She wasn't Shikamaru but that didn't make her chop liver… Kiba and Ino weren't the best when it came to making up plans. Neji was way on a whole different level. He was way better than those two fools.

Ino and Sakura stayed out of the fight while Kiba and Neji attacked Ryu from two different sides. Even with Ryu's bonus, he was still human and all humans have to run out of stream at some point. It seemed that it was Ryu's time.

However, that meant the same law applied to the Konoha ninjas. It was only a matter of time for them too. This battle was coming to a quick end. It seemed like Kiba and Neji had the upper hand, but there was no clear end in sight. And things could …well things could change drastically especially when people least expect them to.

Ryu picked himself and faced his options he had in front of him. To be honest, he really didn't care if he lived or died. Sure, no one really wanted to die but it was an escape from his place, his life, and his many problems. On the other hand, he had dreams. He wanted to retire and spend his last years on the beach…which were only a few years from then. His life spend was ten times shorter than the average ninja…let face it; it was even ten times shorter than the average citizen.

It was a troubling fate, but that was the life cursed to his family. His blood trait was a powerful tool, but it murdered more of his family than anyone or anything else. Ryu was already used to that idea. He was ready for his death. He just wanted to rest before he died since he wouldn't rest to where he was going. Oh, he knew where he was going. It was his own fault really….but come to think of it, he would be better off in hell than with Tatsuya and Akemi, who he knew would die soon after him. Konoha wouldn't let those ass holes live. That was at least some good news. He would die happy knowing that.

The read head picked himself off the ground and prepared himself for his timely death…It was his time to depart this world and he's going to embrace it gracefully and with much dignity fit for a ninja.

Akemi was gone. She was killed shortly after Tatsuya was trapped by Shikamaru. Tatsuya didn't seem to take it too well; although no tears were present on his face. It was the look in his eyes that revealed what he was feeling. The look of brokenness stung the team with guilt. Sure, they were going to kill him, but watching a love one die was no easy thing. It was a fate worse than death. A few in the room knew how that felt personally that even they wouldn't wish that on their worse enemy.

Tatsuya's eyes, the only body movement in his control never left her body. It was like the world was blind to him…well it was, but that isn't what I mean. His soul was connected to hers…he would be joining her soon… As sickening as that sounded, he was glad he would see her again. Sure she was annoying. Sure she wasn't very smart. Sure most of her habit annoyed him to end…but he loved her.

Kakashi and Jiraiya moved closer to Tatsuya who was slowly dying on the inside. Sure, they felt sorry for him for losing Akemi, but that was all it was. He was going to face the consequences of his crimes. "So are you ready to die?" Jiraiya asked, while signaling something to Kakashi.

"You can't kill me. I am your student. I am the only one who knows the truth about Namikaze," Tatsuya spat. His killer intent started to increase rapidly.

"No, you only spread lies," Kakashi injected, who was fed up with the traitor's demented delusions. Tatsuya started to spout off more lies before his life was expired.

The End!!!!!

I hoped you like story!!

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Just kidding.... there will be at least one more chapter for this story...

I plan on doing season two, so not done just yet!

I hope you liked this chapter!

I hope you liked the SasukeXNaruto moment... and If you dont, well you will very happy in season two....hehe...