The Will of Fire: Kindling the Flame

by Star of the West

Narumi Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Saburo Haruno have just graduated from the academy. They have now taken the first step on the path that will lead them into the adventure of a lifetime. The journey of team seven and their comrades has begun.

14. Akatsuki

Kakashi flashed through the trees, following Pakkun with all the speed his tired legs could muster. Not since the end of the Third Great Shinobi War had he participated in such a large scale battle, and his body was intent on reminding him that even he was limited. His mind, however, still thrummed with tense energy, old instinct surging to the surface as he flicked his eyes over the surrounding greenery for enemies.

The Oto-nin and Suna-nin had been quite determined to keep him and the other jounin present from leaving the stadium, much to his agitation. He'd thought his heart would stop when Narumi ran off after the fleeing Suna-nin. Something about that Gaara kid put him very much on edge, and he truly didn't want the girl anywhere near him.

He'd been unable to follow her, and had thrown all his energy and frustration into the task of eliminating the thrice-damned shinobi who dared invade his home. After plowing through the greater portion of the enemy, he'd seen Gai's boy, Tenma.

The genin were apparently much less of a concern to the enemy, because the boy was able to slip by them with only slightly more trouble than Narumi, before making his way over to a section of the stands being held mostly by genin, including his other two students.

The silver-haired jounin hadn't thought much of it, until he'd spotted two familiar heads, one rose colored, the other blue-black, vanishing over the wall of the stadium in the direction Narumi had gone.

He still couldn't decide if what he'd felt had been horror at his other students placing themselves in danger as well, or relief that at least the girl would have some backup in whatever hare-brained scheme she was attempting.

Kakashi had redoubled his efforts, and once he'd helped wipe out the Oto-nin present, he'd spared only a moment to alert Gai to his intent before summoning Pakkun. After the mission to Nami no Kuni, he'd quietly acquired scent samples of all his students, just in case.

Now that he needed to track the wayward genin, he was insanely grateful he had. After Pakkun had caught their scent, he and Kakashi had headed out at the fastest pace the little dog could manage. Kakashi fairly vibrated with urgency, hoping that his students were alright.

He had no idea what he'd do if anything happened to them. Particularly Narumi. He'd already failed Minato-sensei once, when the man had died in the battle against the Kyuubi. He couldn't stand the idea of failing him a second time by allowing something to happen to his daughter.

He'd been completely focused on following Pakkun, so it wasn't until he heard the hissing rumble from up ahead that he looked up. His dark eye widened in shock. Up ahead was the familiar, enormous, dull orange figure of Gamabunta. His sensei's summon, the very one he'd ridden out to his last battle on.

Kakashi hadn't seen the great toad since then, the image of his sensei's proudly straight back and fluttering white coat superimposed on the top of the creatures head as his sharingan eye opened, overlapping the past image with the present reality.

The silver-haired jounin nearly missed his footing, the hesitation in his stride speaking volumes as he stared speechlessly up at the not too distant toad.

'How...who the hell could have summoned him? Jiraya-sama isn't anywhere near the village as far as I know!'

Before he could really process what he was seeing, the summon disappeared in a blast of displaced air and white smoke. Shaking himself, he glanced back down at the equally surprised Pakkun.

"How long?"

The little dog looked back over his shoulder at his summoner, expression as deceptively laconic as ever.

"Maybe twenty minutes. Smells like the girl's up around where the toad was. The boys are a lot closer to her, but they seem to be engaging another group."

Kakashi narrowed his eye, increasing the levels of chakra in his legs and feet just slightly. Pakkun huffed slightly, stretching his legs a little further as he tried to accommodate Kakashi's desire for speed.

"Don't worry so much. I don't smell either of their blood."

Kakashi just grunted, eyes focused on the trees ahead. Pakkun sighed, but didn't speak again, focusing on the scent trail they were following. They were about twelve minutes out when Kakashi heard a weak murmur somewhere beneath him.

Instantly stopping, he sent out a chakra probe. He hated to lose time when he was so close to his goal, but he couldn't take the chance of bypassing an injured comrade. There, just below him, he found a weakened chakra signature, still young, not fully developed.

To his surprise, that signature was overlaid with thousands of minuscule dots of chakra, teeming and swirling in a very precise pattern. Those signals told him that the shinobi beneath him was an Aburame, and he could be quite confident that no genjutsu were involved.

The only foreign shinobi who thought to replicate the signatures of the insects were true masters of the art, and even then, they never could quite duplicate the pattern of the nests residing within the bodies of the Aburame.

Furrowing his brow, he signaled Pakkun to wait for him, and dropped a few branches down. After a moment, he spotted her. Shinako, one of the genin who had made it to the third exam, but hadn't had a chance to fight. He wondered what she was doing here, sprawled across a wide branch almost bonelessly.

Springing over to kneel beside her, he rested a hand reassuringly on her shoulder, voice low and firm.

"Easy, Kid."

She shifted a little, attention shifting to him as she spoke. Her voice was impressively calm, showing the rational, logical mindset that seemed to be a genetic trait in her clan, despite her obviously weakened state.

"There was...a Suna-nin. I...beat him but...got poisoned. He ran off..."

Kakashi nodded once, his grip on her shoulder tightening approvingly.

"Well done."

Poisons were not Kakashi's area of expertise. There was not much he could do for her, which meant that he had two options. The first being to take her back to the hospital for medical attention, which would mean a huge delay in locating his own errant genin. The other option was to scan the surroundings for friendly or identifiable chakra signatures, and flare his own chakra to draw them in, leaving the girl in their care.

Closing his eyes, he swept the surrounding forest, mentally chanting a request for someone else to be present. While he would never shirk his duty to any comrade, Kakashi was not above playing favorites, and given the choice, he'd much rather go to his students.

To his relief, he almost instantly found the signature of another Aburame heading in their direction. This one was mature, and he allowed himself a small sigh. Who better to hand the genin over to than her own clan. Flaring his chakra sharply, he felt the other shinobi veer towards him, homing in on their location.

Straightening, he murmured encouragingly to the prone figure at his feet, eye curving shut in a reassuring smile.

"Maa, it looks like someones already on their way to get you."

It wasn't more than a few moments before a man with spiky hair, glasses, and a high-collared coat alighted on the branch beside the girl, reaching out to lay one hand on her hair. The girl relaxed under his touch, sighing quietly.

"Papa..."

The head of the Aburame clan tilted his face up to Kakashi and nodded once, voice stoic as ever.

"Thank you for watching over my daughter, Hatake-san."

Kakashi returned the nod, voice deceptively laid-back.

"Don't mention it, Shibi-sama. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to."

Satisfied that he'd been more than courteous given the circumstances, Kakashi returned to the higher branches of the canopy and nodded to Pakkun. The two of them set out again, Pakkun sniffing several times at the air.

"Oi, Kakashi. Smells like those boys of yours have caught up with the girl."

Kakashi felt some of the tension drain from the rigid set of his shoulders, grunting an acknowledgment at Pakkun. He'd taught them well, so if the three of them were together, he was sure they'd be able to hold out until he got to them.

Not long after that, they approached a section of forest that had suffered heavy damage. Gouges littered the earth, and swathes of trees had been torn up by the roots, others crushed and felled where they stood. Sections of the forest were dripping with water, while others were as dry as the rest of the forest.

Kakashi eyed the destruction warily. He knew the signs of battle, and this looked like it had been left behind by a fairly intense one. Before he could ponder further on the possible meaning of that, Pakkun barked out sharply.

"There they are."

Snapping his attention back to Pakkun, he followed the little dog down into a mostly untouched clearing. The boys were crouched one either side of Narumi, both looking uncertain as to how to proceed.

The girl herself looked as if she'd been through a difficult battle, but appeared largely unharmed. Rather than being unconcious, she simply seemed to be sleeping deeply. Above her, her other teammates were arguing softly.

Saburo was waving his arms emphatically, scowling up at the other boy from where he crouched, while Sasuke had folded his arms across his chest and was regarding the rosette coolly. Kakashi nearly sagged in relief as he and Pakkun approached the little group.

"...and I'm telling you, we can't move her without being sure!"

Sasuke snorted, opened his mouth to reply, and then nudged Saburo with his toe. The other genin followed his teammates glance, and then lit up.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

The silver-haired jounin carefully masked the concern that had been racing through his veins as he sauntered up to his students. It wouldn't do to let them see how worried he'd been. Because wether he liked it or not, the fact was that they had preformed their duty as ninja of Konoha admirably under extremely difficult circumstances. It wouldn't do for them to think he was less than proud of them for that.

So he greeted them casually, mentally promising himself to have a talk with Narumi about going off on her own at some point in the future.

"Yo."

Coming up beside the small gathering, he crouched down, frowning slightly as he looked over his most exuberant student. Pakkun trotted up beside him, eyeing the girl curiously.

"Looks like she's one tough pup."

Silently Kakashi agreed. Battered and bruised, chakra signature drained beyond anything he'd ever felt from her, and she was still smiling. He shook his head slightly. She took after her parents more strongly than most of the village would care to admit.

Beside him, Saburo was hovering anxiously, jade eyes flickering back and forth between his sensei and his teammate as he babbled.

"She looks pretty beat up sensei. That's why I was telling Sasuke, we shouldn't move her 'cause she might have hurt her spine or something, and that would be bad right? But he says she'd be fine and we should get her back to the hospital. I don't know though, because when we got here the team from Suna-"

Sasuke broke in, voice sharp, eyes hard and indignant as he argued his point.

"That's exactly why we should hurry up and take her! Who knows what they might have done before we got here? She could be poisoned or-"

Kakashi rolled his eyes and spoke in a firm tone to the both of them.

"Both of you calm down. As far as I can tell, she's just tired. Maybe suffering from a case of moderate chakra exhaustion."

Leaning forward, he gently scooped the slight frame of the girl into his arms, standing easily. The child in his arms wrinkled her nose slightly, and shifted a bit before settling back into slumber.

Throwing a glance at Pakkun, he voiced something that had been bothering him. Narumi's hitae-ate was missing from it's place around her forehead. He knew how dear it was to her, just from the lengths she'd gone to to retrieve it from Zabuza.

"Pakkun, would you see if you can find her hitae-ate?"

The dog nodded, trotting off into the surrounding forest.

"Sure thing, Kakashi. Just give me a minute."

Saburo finally seemed to register what was going on, whipping his head around to stare wide-eyed at the retreating form of Pakkun, and choking out in a startled voice.

"A talking...dog?"

Kakashi ignored the implicit question, fixing both boys with a level stare.

"Report."

Saburo was still muttering to himself about talking dogs, but Sasuke cleared his throat and straightened slightly. The boy looked tired, even more so than he had during his chidori training. But that was only to be expected after his first large-scale engagement.

"Saburo and I were engaging the Oto-nin on the west side of the stadium along with four other genin, including Nobuye Hyuuga, and Shika Nara. Tenma arrived to aid us, and informed us that Narumi was pursuing the genin team from Suna."

Glancing at Saburo, he continued more tentatively.

"We decided to provide back-up, and followed her out. On the way we ended up engaging a group of Oto-nin, and were delayed. By the time we caught up to her, she was like this."

Saburo shook his head a bit, frowning, his cheeks nearly as bright a pink as his hair.

"Sensei...when we got here, two of the Suna genin were standing over her and Gaara..."

He blushed and stuttered, evidently beyond embarrassed on behalf of his female teammate.

"H-he was sleeping in her lap."

Kakashi lifted an eyebrow at the boys, but before he could reply, Pakkun was trotting back up to him, Narumi's hitae-ate held delicately between his teeth. Nodding his thanks to the small summon, Kakashi crouched a bit, and took the limp cloth from his mouth.

Laying it on her chest, he wrapped one of her hands gently around the metal plate. Narumi shifted again, and clenched her tightly, instinctively tucking it against her chest. Shaking his head, Kakashi allowed a small smile to curl at his lips. So much like her parents. All her fathers promise and loyalty combined with her mothers vivaciousness.

Turning his attention back to the boys, he allowed his eye to slide closed in a proud smile.

"You've both done well. By now, stage three of the protocol for enemy attack on the village has likely been completed. We should head back."

As he turned and sprang into the trees, heading back towards the village at a much slower pace, the two boys followed him closely. Saburo came up beside him, looking curious.

"Sensei, what protocol are you talking about?"

Kakashi glanced over at the boy, voice much more relaxed now that he had all three of his students in his sight.

"In the event that the village is attacked, there is a three stage plan in place. The first stage is to repel the enemy. If that fails, and they infiltrate the village, we proceed immediately to stage two. In stage two, we focus all our efforts on evacuating women, children, and civilians to designated safe areas around the village."

Shifting his eyes back to the front, Kakashi was amused to note that while Sasuke was trying not to show it, the Uchiha was also intent on what he was saying.

"After stage two is complete, we proceed to stage three. In stage three, the full force of Konoha converges on and eliminates the enemy units."

Saburo's eyes widened slightly, and he breathed out a single, awed word.

"Counterattack!"

Kakashi nodded. Saburo looked impressed. Sasuke spoke up, voice somewhat disgruntled, even aghast.

"It's over? We've missed it?"

The boy's brows were drawn tightly together, and his fists were clenched, eyes flashing. Kakashi blinked in surprise. Well. Most young shinobi would be disappointed if they felt they'd been left out of such a grand sounding venture. However, Sasuke's reaction seemed more frustrated than disappointed.

Kakashi shrugged one shoulder, frowning slightly beneath the mask.

"No, I wouldn't say that. True, by now the enemy should be dead or fleeing, but it isn't as if you three haven't played a part."

Sasuke snorted, the sound a trifle bitter. Saburo was watching his teammate with confusion, and concern. The rosette was definitely less battle hungry than either of his other teammates, and Kakashi silently thanked the kami for that. He wasn't sure how he'd handle three recklessly aggressive students.

"Played a part? We hardly did anything!"

Kakashi glanced sharply at his dark haired student, voice serious.

"That's not true, Sasuke."

When the boy opened his mouth to protest, Kakashi spoke over him firmly.

"No, listen to me. Both you and Saburo were part of a small force that defended one entire section of the stands at the stadium, were you not?"

Reluctantly, the boy nodded, jaw locked and eyes sparking.

"And when you heard that your teammate had left the area, you went to back her up?"

Another nod.

"Did you, or did you not, engage a group of Oto-nin on your own, without aid, in order to reach said teammate?"

Slowly, the Uchiha's expression began to lighten as Saburo piped up helpfully.

"That's right, Sensei. You should have seen Sasuke! He was amazing!"

Kakashi inclined his head, expression still grave.

"Finally, did you defend your teammate from the possible threat of yet more enemy shinobi when you found her wounded and unconscious?"

Not waiting for a reply, he gave the boys a small smile.

"Sasuke, do you know what genin are usually tasked with in case of an attack such as this?"

Uncertain, the boy shook his head. Kakashi rolled his eyes inwardly. Young shinobi, particularly the geniuses, were always comparing themselves to the older shinobi they saw around them, without ever stopping to think about how their age affected their duties.

"Officially, in such an event, genin are assigned to help evacuate and guard the non-combatants. In practice, genin can be called on to fight, as you two were at the stadium, but overall, they are not to engage the enemy."

When both boys stared at him, he chuckled slightly.

"The three of you preformed extraordinarily well, given the circumstances. Far better than I would have expected."

Soothed, Sasuke lifted his chin, eyes shining with pride, a small smirk curling across his face. Saburo's shoulders squared, and he grinned widely.

"Hah! Inori's gonna have a fit!"

Shaking his head, Kakashi allowed himself another low chuckle as they approached the place where Shibi was lifting his daughter onto his back. Dropping beside the man, he offered him a small smile.

"Shibi-sama. How is she?"

The two boys had come to a stop a few branches back, watching curiously. Shibi looked back at his daughter, who spoke quietly for herself.

"I am well, Hatake-sensei. Thank you for your concern."

Saburo frowned, scrambling forward to examine the limp girl.

"Shinako-chan? What happened? Are you alright?"

The boys voice rose slightly, anxiety creeping into his tone as he scanned the Aburame. Her father answered for her, voice soft and calm.

"She faced a Suna-nin, and was infected by poison. Not to worry, my kikaichu have removed it from her body."

The rosette looked confused, glancing back and forth between Kakashi, Shibi, and the boneless form draped across the clan heads back.

"Why didn't your back-up take you to the hospital already?"

Shibi's tone didn't change, but Kakashi had fought alongside enough Aburame to hear the question in his voice when he answered.

"I am unaware of the reason for such neglect, Haruno-kun. I have not yet had the chance to question my daughter as to such matters."

Kakashi cleared his throat slightly.

"Both the girls need to be taken to the hospital. Perhaps we could discuss this as we return?"

Sasuke snorted as his teammate reddened slightly. The clan head nodded gravely, and the enlarged group continued back in the direction of the village. Kakashi could sense the receding presence of what had to be enemy ninja, but none came near them.

Saburo and Sasuke watched Shinako expectantly, though they remained in formation near Kakashi, obviously devoting the greater part of their concern to their own teammate. When Shibi turned his head very slightly, Shinako quietly explained her presence.

"I was the back-up. I followed Narumi-chan on my own. When I caught up with her, she was facing the puppeteer from the exams. He seemed intent on stopping her from reaching her quarry."

She fell silent for a moment before continuing, and Kakashi imagined that if her eyes had not been hidden by the traditional dark glasses of her clan, he would have seen her eyes drooping slightly. Her chakra signature definitely showed signs of physical exhaustion, though that was probably more from her body trying to recover from the poison than actual battle fatigue.

"I decided that if the enemy didn't want Narumi to reach the genin she was chasing, that it would be wise to give her the greatest possible chance to apprehend him. So I told her to go on, while I faced the current opponent."

Shinako's youth showed in the tinge of shame that colored her words, face tilting slightly towards Narumi's still form.

"I had intended to continue after her, but I was careless and was unable to follow her after the battle ended. I see that my actions had unpleasant consequences."

She was silent for a moment, and Kakashi understood the implied question and the darker girls distress, though from the looks on the boys faces, they hadn't a clue what she was trying to say.

"Not to worry, Shinako-chan. Narumi's fine, just a bit tired. Given a few days, she'll be right as rain."

The kunoichi relaxed slowly with a barely audible sigh, before falling into a light doze on her fathers back. Kakashi exchanged a look with Shibi, both of them emanating undertones of amusement and affection. Kids.

Sasuke rolled his eyes behind them, muttering about female foolishness under his breath, while Saburo fixed oddly intent eyes on Shinako's back. Kakashi sighed as they approached the village gates.

When they reached the gates, they alighted on the path, the last of the tension ebbing from both the jounin's shoulders as they approached the two desolate looking chuunin guards. Now that they'd reached the village, they could relax and entrust the possibility of threats to shinobi without genin to care for.

Kakashi strode up to the two guards, nodding to them briskly.

"Special Jounin, Hatake Kakashi, and Special Jounin, Shibi Aburame, with genin's Saburo Haruno, Narumi Uzumaki, Uchiha Sasuke, and Shinako Aburame, reporting in with two injured."

The chuunin's eyes flicked over them quickly, and one spoke, his voice sharp.

"The genin? Are the injuries serious?"

Kakashi blinked at the urgency of the mans voice, and shook his head.

"Not as far as we know."

Both chuunin's slumped in relief, the older one allowing his eyes to slide closed and muttering under his breath.

"Thank the kami."

Kakashi and Shibi glanced at each other, tensing. The silver-haired jounin was vaguely aware of his two students drawing slightly closer to him, Sasuke eyeing the two guards suspiciously, while Saburo looked concerned.

"What's wrong?"

The older chuunin opened his eyes and looked at them blankly for a moment.

"You don't know?"

Kakashi shook his head uneasily, forcing himself to be patient as he questioned the lower ranked shinobi firmly.

"Report?"

The chuunin both shook their heads slowly, the appointed spokesman sounding incredibly weary and lost.

"Sandaime Hokage-sama was killed in the battle, facing Orochimaru."

Kakashi's eyes widened in shock, and he swore viciously, arms tightening instinctively around his blonde student. He was suddenly, uncomfortably intensely, reminded that the last time he had been informed that the Hokage had fallen in battle, it had been Minato-sensei they'd spoken of.

"That thrice-damned, traitorous, bastard of a snake!"

Kakashi rarely voiced his more intense reactions to things aloud. It wasn't good form for a shinobi of his standing and reputation to be easily provoked or riled. However, such an occasion as this called for verbal acknowledgment.

The chuunin nodded grimly, and Shibi's rigid posture and frosty silence spoke volumes. The genin were all staring in a stunned silence. They'd grown up with Sandaime-sama, and didn't know what to make of this news.

The older guard motioned to the two girls.

"Sorry. But seeing kids coming in hurt after that..."

He shook his head, eyes hard and voice grave.

"...it's hard to take."

Kakashi nodded silently. Konoha expected a lot from it's young ninja, but it was also a village that was fiercely protective of it's young.

Bypassing the gate, he leapt through the village, taking in the damage as he went. Fortunately, he didn't see many bodies, and spotted only a few shinobi carrying the solid black scrolls with the red symbol of the leaf that indicated they contained the bodies of Konoha's fallen.

The destruction, however, ranged far across the village. Buildings had been smashed, set alight by stray katon jutsu, flooded by suiton jutsu, and sliced by fuuton jutsu. While some parts of the village - including, thankfully, the hospital - had been spared, large tracts of the village had suffered immense damage.

When Kakashi reached the hospital, he found it bustling with no-nonsense iryo-nin tending to the wounded. All were grim-faced, and the occasional, telling glance would be thrown up towards the now-cracked stone face of the Sandaime.

The boys and Shibi followed him, the genin uneasy, and Shibi as grimly practical as the other shinobi who had managed to survive the last great war. An iryo-nin approached them assessing the girls condition, and then showing them to a small room on the third floor.

After seeing to it that both jounin laid their burdens carefully out on the beds, the female iryo-nin shooed them out, assuring them that they'd be contacted in due time. Her voice was crisp and collected as she addressed them.

"Hatake-san, Aburame-sama. If you would report to Jounin Commander Nara, I will put the genin to work."

Glancing over his two students, Kakashi watched as they looked around themselves, managing to look both nervous and determined. He summoned up a weary smile for them, ruffling both their hair affectionately.

Sasuke scowled and ducked out from under his hand, while Sasuke batted his hand away in embarrassment. He chuckled quietly.

"I'll see you two later, alright?"

They exchanged glances, and then nodded to him, Sasuke speaking up in a proud, firm voice that could have come straight from his father, Fugaku.

"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei. We'll keep an eye on Narumi."

Saburo elbowed him hard in the ribs, and the Uchiha grunted slightly, glaring at his teammate before adding in as an afterthought.

"And Shinako."

Kakashi gave them another smile, this one less tired and more amused. With a nod of acknowledgment, he turned and walked over to where Shibi stood waiting for him at a nearby open window.

Quickly, the two of them leapt through the open frame, and started heading to the Hokage tower. Kakashi wearily shook his head.

'It's going to be a very long week.'

---

Narumi sat up in the hospital bed, chattering to her teammates. Sasuke leaned on the foot of the bed, arms folded over the metal railing as he listened. Saburo sat perched on the side of the bed, wide jade eyes fixed on her as she gestured wildly.

The moment she'd woken up in the hospital, they'd been there, scolding her furiously for running off on her own. Saburo's furious demands that she use her head, combined with Sasuke's cutting remarks had combined into a joint scolding that left her a bit wilted and feeling guiltily apologetic.

After they'd extracted several promises to at least try to 'use the thing between her ears', they'd eagerly demanded that she tell them exactly what had happened with the genin from Suna.

So here she was, drawing to the end of her retelling with a shrug.

"...and the next thing I knew, I was waking up here. That's about it really."

Both boys stared at her. Saburo's eyes were wide as he stared at her, while Sasuke's brows were tightly furrowed, and his head was cocked slightly to the side. She stared back at them, finally settling on her standard response to such a situation.

"Oi, teme! What're ya lookin' at me like that for?"

Sasuke's frown deepened, and in a nonplussed tone, he spoke very slowly, as if unsure he had heard right.

"You...hugged Gaara...?"

She nodded warily. Sasuke frowned intently at her, mouth slightly open as if searching for words. She glared at him suspiciously.

"Spit it out, teme!"

After a bit more struggling, he finally spluttered.

"You're such...such a GIRL!"

Saburo snorted and turned his face away, covering his mouth with his hand as Narumi immediately surged forward, scowling and snatching up her pillow. Hurling the fluffy missile at her teammate with all her strength, she growled indignantly at him.

"I am a girl, 'ttebayo!"

Sasuke dodged the pillow, still eyeing her with that strange expression, though a smirk had begun to tilt the corners of his mouth up.

"You'd never know from the way you usually act."

Narumi leapt to her feet on top of the bed with a roar, and lunged for Sasuke's throat. The Uchiha darted backwards, and Saburo tackled her before she could reach their dark-haired teammate, struggling to keep a grip on her as she scrambled for freedom...and Sasuke's very vulnerable looking jugular.

Exasperated with the two of them, Saburo tried to calm the thrashing blonde.

"Narumi-chan! Narumi-chan, calm down!"

When the growling girl was finally soothed enough that she merely glared murderously from the bed at the Uchiha, and Sasuke was reinstated leaning against the foot of the bed with his usual smirk, Narumi turned to the rosette.

"So, what happened back at the village? How is everybody?"

Both boys went very still, exchanging an unhappy glance. Narumi frowned at them, suddenly feeling uneasy.

"Guys? What's wrong? Is Kakashi-sensei okay?"

Saburo hastily nodded, hands held out soothingly.

"Of course! Sensei's just fine, Narumi! The village took a lot of damage during the attack but rebuilding has already begun so everything is-"

Even more alarmed at Saburo's nervous babbling, Narumi's blue eyes raced back and forth between her teammates. Sasuke took pity on her, dark eyes tentative and uncertain as he interrupted Saburo.

"It's the Hokage, Narumi. Sandaime-sama was killed in the attack."

The Uzumaki went very still, eyes wide and fixed on Sasuke's face. Her voice was odd as she stared at him.

"Jiji? He's..."

Sasuke nodded, and she felt like she'd been hit over the head. Sasuke was still talking to her, but his voice sounded oddly stretched and thin.

"The funeral is in two days time. Saburo and I will go with you."

The rosette nodded vigorously at her, and she swallowed hard, forcing herself to speak.

"Th-thanks. I...I'm kind of tired now, so..."

Sasuke nodded quietly, though both he and Saburo looked a bit concerned.

"Go to sleep, Narumi. We'll just stay a bit longer."

She nodded faintly and lay back down, turning on her side and pulling the covers over her head. Staring at the white blanket draped over her face, she simply lay there for a long time.

It wasn't until she realized that the boys scents were still in the room, still marking their watchful presence, that she was able to relax enough to fall asleep.

'It'll be alright. I'll just...just rest for a bit.'

---

Saburo leaned back on the fence, staring quietly across at his female teammate. Narumi was different today. Instead of her usual orange outfit, she wore the standard issue mourning for kunoichi.

A long-sleeved black dress that reached halfway down her thighs, along with black combat sandals. The girls hair was bound back in a tight, complex braid with a black tie, but her bangs had been left free to fall over her face, and her hitae-ate was tied loosely around her waist.

The day was overcast, and the wan light that seeped through the clouds added to the strange seriousness she exuded, washing her golden hair out to a shade of electrum, and deepening the shade of her eyes to a stormy blue.

Her injuries had long since healed, but rather than bouncing around cheerfully, she merely stood across from him, eyes on the sky, hands hanging limply at her sides. It seemed so wrong to see her like that, but he somehow couldn't bring himself to break the silence.

It wasn't long before Sasuke walked up in between them. Like Saburo and Narumi, he wore standard issue mourning, though the boys version was a simple black jumpsuit. Obsidian eyes flickered between them, before he jerked his head quietly in a beckoning gesture.

Narumi and Saburo walked up on either side of him, answering the wordless call as the three of them walked the rest of the way to the center of the village, where the funeral would be held on the roof of the Hokage tower, under the gaze of the faces of the Hokages past.

As they moved out onto the main street leading to the towers entrance, they joined into a stream of equally silent, black clad ninja. Pressing closer together, team seven moved through the crowd, and headed into the tower.

When they reached the roof, the boys were separated from Narumi by the press of the crowd. Saburo frowned, trying to jostle his way back to his teammate, but Sasuke laid a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head, and tugging him forward to join the forming ranks.

The two of them ended up standing side by side in the second row facing the raised stage where the ceremony would take place. Lee, Tenma, and Hirohito stood around them.

They could see Narumi, standing in the front row, near the open aisle that had been left empty by the two blocks of shinobi. Kakashi-sensei stood right behind her, with Shinako and Konohamaru on either side of her. Saburo eyed her rigid back with concern, before turning his eyes back to the front.

As he stood silently to attention, Saburo wondered if his parents and two elder brothers were standing in the crowd of civilians outside the walls that surrounded the Hokage tower. If they were, it was probably only because they knew how important this was to him, not because they felt the weight of the lives lost during the invasion.

It was something Saburo had realized during the days following the invasion. His family did not truly understand the reality of life as a shinobi. Not the good, or the bad. They'd spent the first day trying to convince him to abandon his team for civilian life.

Even after he'd dug his heels in and threatened to move out if they didn't drop it, they hadn't understood why he was so upset about the casualties. They had been safely hidden away during the attack, and once they'd heard that he hadn't known any of the lost personally, they had become confused by his reaction.

It had been a relief to leave the house, and take refuge in the company of his teammates. He had often found himself dreading returning home. That was when he had realized.

He loved his family, loved them dearly. But they would never understand his life, not really. Not anymore. He had a new family now. The shinobi force of Konoha, the comrades who fought with him and supported him, they were who he instinctively turned to now, and they held his first loyalty.

Pride swelled in his chest, mixing with the grief and sorrow he felt for the loss of those who fell in the battle. Suna had officially surrendered before the war had even started, claiming that Orochimaru had tricked them into attacking. Saburo believed it whole-heartedly.

Shaking himself mentally, he returned to the present, eyes flicking over the assembly around him. He relaxed slightly, feeling comforted by the presence of his mourning comrades and the teammate who stood beside him.

No one made a sound, not even the few academy students in attendance. The air was completely and utterly still. As the elders, old teammates of Sandaime-sama, climbed up onto the stage to give speeches, the assembled shinobi looked on with that same silence.

Rain began to fall, and Saburo looked up in surprise, before exchanging a glance with Sasuke. Somewhere among the ranks of shinobi he heard a deep male voice speak, the tone serious and soft.

"Even the sky is crying."

Turning to face the picture of the Sandaime on the long table on the stage, along with the white flowers laid gently in front of it, one of the elders spoke solemnly as a bell tolled deeply.

"We honor Sandaime Hokage-sama, who lost his life fighting Orochimaru, and the other victims who gave their lives in this battle."

Slowly, shinobi began to process forward, one line at a time. Each would walk across the stage, turn to face Sandaime's picture, and gently lay a white carnation on the table. As the moments slipped by, the pile of flowers grew steadily.

Saburo heard only one person crying. The rough sobs of a distressed child reached his ears quickly as Konohamaru turned to the side, and wrapped his arms around Narumi's legs, burying his face in the side of her dress.

For a moment, he thought she might not react, given the painfully rigid set of her shoulders and the stiffness of her bearing. But Narumi just laid her hand comfortingly on the boy's back, rubbing soothing circles there and murmuring to him under her breath.

Finally, it came time for the rows where team seven and the rest of their graduating class stood to pay their respects to their fallen leader. Saburo slipped the delicate carnation from his pocket, fingers tight around the stem as he followed the others into line at the side of the stage.

Shika was the first, stepping up to lay her flower gravely among its fellows, her dark eyes steady as she locked her eyes on the photograph before her. The rain had soaked her shaggy ponytail, slicking it down to a dull black that matched her eyes and dress.

When she turned away, Chouji took her place, the chubby boy abnormally silent and serious as he laid his flower among the glowing pile of blossoms, before following his friend back into formation.

Inori stepped up to lay his tribute atop his team's. Like Narumi, his hair was washed out, though his looked practically white and was held back in a low tail, and his eyes were downcast. Saburo's turn was next, and his hand trembled slightly as he walked up across the stage to make his offering.

He glanced up at the picture, and then quickly away. That picture looked all wrong. Sandaime-sama wasn't wearing his hat, and peered solemnly out at the young rosette. That wasn't right. Sandaime always had his hat, and he never failed to give the younger generation a warm, grandfatherly smile.

Laying the flower among the others, he took in a deep breath, lifted his eyes beyond the picture to the familiar stone face above the tower, and then turned and walked off the stage after Inori.

Following his best friend back into place, he let his eyes go back to the line of genin yet to cross the stage. Sasuke was just moving across the stage, placing his carnation firmly atop the others with a very slight bow of his head, before striding down to take his place beside Saburo.

Kira followed Sasuke, the rambunctious Inuzuka almost unnaturally subdued, followed by the deathly silent Hirohito, who looked nearly as pale as the flower in his hand. Shinako followed her teammate onto the stage, looking a bit worn still from her encounter during the invasion, but otherwise steady and calm.

Narumi was next, the end of her braid dripping water down her back, droplets running down her face and across the whisker markings on her cheeks as she looked up at the picture.

Her back was to Saburo, so he couldn't see her expression, but her hand was steady as she laid the flower down, and when she left the stage, she didn't look back. When she rejoined the formation, he saw Shinako move closer to her, and almost hesitantly brush Narumi's shoulder with hers.

The blonde smiled faintly at the other girl, returning the gesture. The two girls stood like that, shoulder to shoulder, almost as if they were leaning on each other. On Narumi's other side, Konohamaru had taken hold of her hand, scrubbing furiously at his eyes with the other.

It was another hour before the ceremony drew to a close and the gathering began to disperse. At some point, the rain had stopped, and now the clouds had broken up and drifted away, revealing a rich blue sky behind.

Warm sunlight streamed down, bringing the color and life back to the shinobi below. Narumi's hair shone gold again, her eyes that same sparkling blue he'd become accustomed to, and she smiled brightly as he and Sasuke approached.

Even Sasuke seemed to relax slightly at the more normal expression on Narumi's face as she waved to them. Ikuye-sensei had already escorted the academy students away, and Narumi stood between Kakashi-sensei and Shinako.

Grinning, Saburo walked up to her, trailing Sasuke as he waved back.

"Hey Narumi-chan! I'm starved! Want to go for Ichiraku's with me and Sasuke?"

The blonde brightened, bouncing slightly.

"Of course!"

Kakashi chuckled, and shot Saburo an approving smile. The rosette lifted his chin slightly, delighted that his sensei had acknowledged his effort to cheer up the kunoichi. Sasuke grumbled slightly behind him about not saying he'd do any such thing, but Saburo ignored him, knowing that the Uchiha would come just the same.

An older shinobi walked up to Kakashi-sensei just as the reached him, eyes tired but a smile on his lips.

"Kakashi-sempai! Leave the kids be, and come and have a drink with us."

Kakashi-sensei furrowed his brow, looking down at the three of them, before nodding to the other shinobi.

"Give me a minute."

As the other shinobi walked off, Kakashi reached out and set one hand on each of the boys heads, ruffling their hair mercilessly. Sasuke scowled, batting the mans hand away as the jounin smiled at the two of them.

"Look out for each other, okay?"

So saying, he turned and followed the other shinobi off, leaving the boys trying to unruffle their hair. Shinako nodded to Narumi, and started to leave, but Saburo started forward and caught her sleeve.

"Wait a sec!"

When Shinkao turned to look at him, he flushed in embarrassment and stuttered.

"I-I just thought that you m-might like to eat with us?"

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at him, and Narumi whooped excitedly.

"Yeah, come have ramen with us, Shinako-chan!"

Cheeks turning slightly pink, the dark haired girl nodded once. Sasuke snorted, and Narumi stuck her tongue out at him, snatching both his and Saburo's wrists, and dragging them toward the stairs.

With a yelp, Saburo instinctively reached back and grabbed Shinako's hand, pulling her along behind them as they went. If he'd looked back, he'd have seen Shinako's blush deepen to a darker pink as they clattered down the stairs.

The four young shinobi raced through the village at a breakneck speed, heading towards Ichiraku ramen. By the time they reached the stand, Narumi was beside herself with excitement, and Sasuke was glaring exasperatedly at the back of her head.

As the blonde released her teammates to bounce inside, Saburo laughed, following after her and tugging Shinako after him. It wasn't until Narumi had hopped up on a stool and cheerfully ordered a large miso pork ramen that he realized his fingers were still laced with Shinako's.

The rosettes face turned a bright, tomato red that clashed horribly with his hair, and he dropped the Aburame's hand like it had turned into a lit exploding tag. Scratching his cheek with one finger and muttering excuses under his breath, he hastily gestured her forward.

Shinako nodded quietly, cheeks still very faintly pink as she glided forward to sit gracefully beside Narumi, placing an order in a soft voice. Saburo looked to the side, and saw Sasuke staring at him with raised brows. Coughing, Saburo awkwardly looked away, and quickly took the seat on the opposite side of Narumi from Shinako.

Sasuke took the seat on the other side of Shinako so that the girls were seated between the boys, and Saburo spared a moment to be grateful that their typical formation allowed him to avoid sitting next to either of the dark haired ninja.

After the four of them had all ordered and the old man who owned the stand was cheerfully turned to fixing the food, Sasuke cleared his throat and spoke seriously to Shinako.

"Aburame. Thanks for backing this dobe up during the invasion."

Shinako tilted her head slightly, looking slightly surprised as Narumi grumbled about not being a dobe.

"Of course, Sasuke-kun. After all, is that not our first duty as ninja of Konohagakure? To lend our strength to our comrades to defeat enemies and protect the village is the greatest honor."

Sasuke snorted slightly, propping his chin in his hand and staring quietly at the man preparing their food.

"If it were me, I'd rather be strong enough to fight on my own."

Shinako cocked her head, her frown echoing Saburo's own confusion.

"But Sasuke-kun...do we not all become stronger by pushing ourselves to protect each other? By helping each other to train for that purpose?"

The Uchiha blinked, and then cautiously inclined his head.

"Then how will we ever grow stronger, if we are not willing to admit our weaknesses and lean on our comrades when we need them."

Just then, Teuchi, the man who owned the stand, brought out the ramen, much to Narumi's very vocal delight. Saburo snapped his chopsticks apart, politely ignoring Sasuke's wide-eyed staring at Shinako, and focusing on his food.

'I just hope Sasuke and Narumi don't start another eating contest in front of Shinako.'

The very thought made him groan with embarrassment, and he took a moment to wonder if inviting everyone out to eat had been a terrible idea.

---

Sasuke walked quietly through the streets of Konoha with his hands in his pockets. All around him were people working on rebuilding the half-destroyed parts of the village. Watching them, he fervently hoped that team seven wouldn't be put back to D rank missions any time soon.

Their experience with construction after helping with Tazuna's massive bridge from the mission to Nami no Kuni left him in no doubt of exactly what the three of them would be doing. The Uchiha snorted and looked away uneasily. He'd much rather be training.

When he reached the tea house where he was supposed to meet Kakashi-sensei, he was surprised to see the silver-haired jounin standing outside it, orange book in hand, along with two other jounin, a red eyed woman and a man with a cigarette.

Surprised, the Uchiha spoke up as he approached his sensei, voicing his shock at seeing his ever late sensei actually arriving before him.

"Kakashi-sensei? You're here first?"

The man replied to him in a laid-back tone, but didn't glance away from his intense scrutiny of something behind him.

"Maa, it happens from time to time."

Confused, Sasuke followed his teachers gaze, and found that the other jounin shared it. The three of them were looking intensely at the interior of the tea house, but as far as Sasuke could tell, the table they were looking at was empty except for two steaming cups of green tea and a plate of sweet dango.

Confused, Sasuke looked back at Kakashi, face twisted into an expression of confusion. Before he could ask any questions, Kakashi flicked a look at the other two jounin. They nodded, and then vanished.

Sasuke's instincts murmured in the back of his head, and he warily looked at the place where they had just vanished. Something was up, and considering what had just happened during the exams, and the current state of the village, he did NOT like the idea of alarmed jounin sneaking around being mysterious.

But before he could say anything to Kakashi, his teacher turned to him with his usual benevolent smile.

"Sorry about this Sasuke, but somethings come up. Can you train on your own today?"

Without waiting for a reply, the copy-nin vanished in the same manner as the two jounin from before. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

'Yeah, something is definitely up.'

Suddenly feeling uneasy, Sasuke decided to go train, as Kakashi-sensei had suggested. Turning on his heel, he headed out to the train grounds, intending to work his suspicions out there.

He could use the training anyway. He didn't like to admit it, but it seemed like Narumi was becoming really strong. The girl couldn't lie to save her life, so when she said she defeated Gaara, he believed her. He couldn't defeat Gaara even with the chidori, which meant that Narumi had accomplished something he couldn't.

The idea left a foul taste in his mouth, but on the other hand, the Aburame had a point. He'd never improved as fast as when he and Narumi had been training together in tree-walking. So if she was stronger than he was now, the best way to draw even with her again was to admit it, and then get stronger than her so they could train together again.

Besides, training with Narumi was more fun than any other type of training he'd ever tried.

Still, as much as he tried to calm his mind, the image of the three jounin staring at two cups of tea, and then vanishing away without a word of explanation continued to bother him throughout the morning. No matter how hard he tried to focus on his training, the doubt remained.

It wasn't until his stomach forced him to stop for lunch that he had to admit to himself that this particular method of calming his mind wasn't working for once. Disgruntled, he returned to the Uchiha compound. He was hot, sweaty, and starving, and he intended to take care of those desires first.

Closing the gate of the compound behind him, he trotted up to his families old home and slipped in the door, heading straight for the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator he pulled out a bowl of tomato salad that he'd fixed specifically for after todays training.

Too hungry to simply serve himself out some on a plate, he grabbed a pair of chopsticks from a nearby drawer, and snatched up a slice of tomato, leaning against the counter as he ate. Popping it into his mouth, he chewed slowly, savoring the fresh taste of tomato combined with the salt, pepper, and oil he'd marinated them in.

As he ate, his body cooled and relaxed, returning automatically to a ready state, but his mind continued to race, as disturbed by the events of the morning as ever. He had planned to shower after he finished his tomatoes, but even the time it had taken him to eat hadn't allowed his mind to settle.

So with a frustrated grunt, he decided to go confront Kakashi-sensei about it. Pulling his combat sandals back on, and securing his gear, he left the compound. Moving through the village quickly, he dodged those working on reconstruction as he went, heading straight for Kakashi's apartment building.

When he arrived, he found that the building had taken only light damage in the attack, meaning there was a distinct lack of construction workers in the area. They were all working on the more heavily damaged areas, dealing with the most critical projects, such as the wall, first.

Mounting the stairs, Sasuke quietly climbed up to the second floor, and padded along the hall to Kakashi's door. Raising his hand, he hesitated as the voices of this years jounin sensei drifted through the door.

Opening the door, he stepped in with a slight frown.

"Kakashi-sensei..."

He froze as he spotted his teacher laying in his bed without his gear, apparently fast asleep. The two jounin from this morning, and Lee's sensei Maito Gai were standing around his room with guarded expressions.

Sasuke furrowed his brows in concern, his gaze going back to the jounin on the bed. Sasuke wasn't stupid. He could tell that Kakashi was unconscious rather than asleep, and he'd never seen that faintly strained, agonized expression on his sensei's face before. Sasuke felt his heartbeat begin to speed up, but he kept his voice even.

"Why's Kakashi-sensei asleep? And why are jounins here?"

Alarm rising, Sasuke moved forward into the room, eyes intent on Kakashi's still form before swiveling around to drill aggressively into Gai as he snarled at them.

"What happened to him?"

Gai's voice was nonchalant as he fixed his gaze casually on a spot near the end of the bed.

"Nothing much happened."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He knew his sensei almost as well as he knew his teammates, and he was not stupid enough to believe even for an instant that 'nothing much' could put Kakashi in this sort of condition. Did they really think he was such a fool?

Before he could say anything else, a chuunin came running up to the door, out of breath, his voice wild and unnerved as he panted. The man ignored Sasuke, directly addressing the jounin in the room.

"Is it true that the Itachi came back? And he's after Narumi?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. The breath whooshed out of him, and he felt like he'd been sucker-punched in the gut. His vision seemed to tunnel down, the mans voice echoing as if it were coming from a long way off.

'Itachi...Itachi is back? And he's...'

The blood drained from Sasuke's face.

'...he's after Narumi!'

In his minds eye, he saw his traitorous brother standing under a red moon, sharingan eyes glowing brilliant red, standing over the body of his cheerful blonde teammate. He could practically smell the dark blood oozing up from a wound in her chest, see her vacant, clouded blue eyes staring up at her murderer even in death.

His stomach twisted violently, and his eyes widened, chakra surging as rage burst into being within him, racing through his veins. It felt like someone had set the inside of his body on fire. Suddenly to stand still, to not move, to not ACT, was more than he could bear.

'I absolutely won't allow it! I'll kill him first!'

Exploding forward, he shoved past the chuunin still standing in the door, and raced down the corridor, down the stairs, and out onto the street. He had to find her! He had to find Narumi right this instant and make sure she was alright!

Springing from roof to roof, he sprinted at top speed through the village, eyes wild. His brother was back. He wasn't here for Sasuke either. He'd hurt Kakashi, and now he was going after his teammate. What the hell was going on?

It didn't take Sasuke long to arrive at Narumi's apartment building. This building had taken moderate damage during the attack, though Narumi's apartment hadn't been too badly damaged. Ignoring the stairs, he sprang right up the side of the building, throwing all thoughts of decorum out the window as he raced for her door.

Grabbing the handle, he wrenched it open. Someone cried out, and Saburo stumbled forward, hand on the door handle, pulled off balance by Saburo's sudden yank. The other boy dropped a bag of groceries on the ground by his feet as he regained his balance, squinting up at Sasuke in surprise.

"Sasuke? What in the-"

The Uchiha cut him off harshly, wide obsidian eyes fixed on him, desperately searching for information as he questioned his teammate in a harsh, urgent tone.

"Where's Narumi?"

Looking confused, Saburo scratched his cheek with a finger, squinting one eye closed.

"I just got here but she's not..."

Sasuke ignored the rest of the sentence, dashing off down the hall at top speed. Leaping away from the apartment building, he shot off across the village towards Ichiraku's determined to find Narumi as fast as possible.

'If Itachi gets to Narumi first, she'll be killed! I won't let that happen!'

Skidding to a stop outside Ichiraku, he peered hurriedly inside, but found no reassuring blaze of orange. Ducking inside, he shouted at Teuchi, heart pounding wildly in fear.

"Old man! Narumi should have come here! Do you know where she went?"

The man looked up in surprise, voice congenial as he lifted his hand thoughtfully to his chin.

"Oh, Narumi huh?"

Humming he looked towards the ceiling, and Sasuke manfully resisted the urge to shake him and scream for the older man to hurry.

"Let's see...Jiraya-san came here around noon and had some ramen with her. Then they said they were going somewhere..."

Impatiently, Sasuke snapped at him, fists tightly clenched, body practically vibrating with tension.

"Where?"

Humming again, Teuchi spoke slowly, as if working his thoughts out even as the words left his mouth.

"I think...it was the small lodging town that clients use. You know, the one just a little ways away from the village...?"

Nodding, Teuchi grinned in a satisfied manner.

"Yep, she went there with Jiraya-san!"

Sasuke furrowed his brow, forcing himself to cool down a bit. It was important that he know as much as possible.

"Jiraya?"

Teuchi nodded, his grin widening as he held up three fingers.

"Jiraya, one of the three genius ninja known as the Sannin! They're legendary you know."

Chuckling ruefully, the old man shook his head.

"Well, the fact is that Jiraya only looks like a big guy with white hair but..."

Nodding hard, Sasuke turned and sprang away from the stand, leaping high into the air as he raced towards the village gate, muttering under his breath as he went.

"Lodging town...bit and white-haired..."

Technically speaking, genin were not supposed to leave the village without permission, and supervision from a jounin, but Sasuke didn't particularly care at that moment. The chuunin who usually kept watch over the gate were busy helping with man the walls, so he was able to sprint through and into the forest without being stopped.

Pumping as much chakra as he could into his legs and core without ripping through the muscles, he picked up his speed, sending himself hurtling through the trees at a pace that would be suicide for anyone but a shinobi born into Konoha and raised among the trees.

"Narumi, you'd better be alright!"

At the pace he was going, it wasn't even fifteen minutes before he reached the crowded town where he'd been promised Narumi would be. Racing in, he stopped at the top of a flight of stairs that led down to the main street, his eyes darting wildly over the festive, noisy thoroughfare.

His face bunched into a snarl as he jumped the stairs, landing lightly on the road and flashing down it so fast that the civilians who made up the crowd never even noticed his passage. As he ran, he strained his chakra sensing abilities as well as his eyes, searching for a flash of orange, or the sense of a brilliantly warm fountain of chakra as familiar to him as his or Saburo's.

But his sensing capabilities were still weak compared to Saburo, so he ground to a stop in the middle of the street, looking around with narrowed eyes and muttering to himself.

"I'll just have to check every shop."

Crisscrossing across the street, he searched each with a quick probe, but could not find Narumi. Mind working furiously, he turned his eyes towards the inns. Perhaps this Jiraya had decided to stay the night?

Darting into the nearest inn, he raced to the counter, leaning over it to stare intently at the wide-eyed civilian woman behind it.

"Is a blonde girl with a stupid face around my age and a big man with white hair staying here?"

The woman smiled nervously at him, her voice unfailingly polite.

"I'm sorry, but our inn is for women only..."

Before she could finish, he was gone again, racing to the next place. This time it was a man behind the desk, who peered sourly at him as he breathlessly gave him the same description. Even Sasuke could hear the panic in his own voice now.

"Please, is a blonde girl around my age staying here with a big, white-haired guy?"

The man sniffed at him, glancing away as the boy panted.

"I'm afraid not."

Ignoring him, Sasuke turned and dashed back out to the street, chest heaving, mind racing with desperation.

'Come on, Narumi! You've gotta be somewhere around here!'

Sucking in a deep breath, he leapt over the crowded causeway, and ran along the street to the next inn, skidding up to the desk.

"Are a blonde girl around my age and a big man with white hair staying here?"

The woman blinked at him.

"White hair?"

Losing his patience with the civilians who were preventing him from reaching his teammate, Sasuke slammed his hand down on the desk, causing the items placed atop it to jump and the woman to squeak and lean back.

"Are they here?"

The woman squinted thoughtfully, apparently already over her fright, and disregarding him as an unthreatening child.

"I may have seen one when I was changing shifts..."

Grinding his teeth, Sasuke trembled and resisted the urge to drag the woman across the desk by the front of her uniform. Finally she looked down at him with an enlightened expression.

"Oh right! The blonde girl and the white haired man!"

Anticipation heightened, Sasuke leaned forward, eyes intent as he growled desperately at her.

"Are they here? What room!

The woman looked down at the guest logbook in front of her, running her finger down the page and murmuring thoughtfully to herself.

"Let's see...

Impatiently, Sasuke leaned over the desk to stare hard at the book, vaguely surprised it didn't burst into flames under his gaze.

"Second floor, end of the hall, room one..."

Ignoring her slow paced babble, Sasuke turned away from the desk and flat out ran for the stairs. He was gone before she ever looked up.

Bounding up the stairs three at a time, he fixed his eyes on what he could see of the landing above him. When he skidded into the hall, he turned and threw himself towards the door at the end of it.

Breathlessly, he lifted his hand and knocked on the door, careful not to infuse any chakra into his muscles for fear he'd break the thing in his anxiety. When the door started to unlock, he wrenched it open, shouting out.

"Narumi!"

The girl looking up at him in alarm was certainly blonde, but her face was round and pudgy, her squinched looking eyes a plain green-brown, and her face liberally dusted with freckles. Beyond her sat an old man, and both were most definitely civilians.

Drawing back in horror, he breathed out three soft words, feeling like his stomach had dropped into his feet.

"It's not them..."

That was when he felt it. A chakra spike that turned his blood to ice and sent shivers running down his spine.

One source was definitely Narumi. Warm, bright, and crystalline as usual, but threaded with a deep-seated terror. The other, he also knew. Dark, brooding, and hungry, it reminded him of a blood-soaked night beneath a red moon.

A single though penetrated his horrified daze.

'Oh kami, he found her first...'

With a sudden, virulent expletive, Sasuke spun on his heel, and crossed his arms, launching himself through the window at the end of the hall, smashing the glass with his own body, ignoring the small cuts that opened along his forearms as he exited the building.

Ignoring the streets, he raced across the roofs, fear lending speed to him even as it killed his ability to think beyond the moment. When the building holding those signatures came into sight, he dropped to the ground, and swept through the lobby and up the stairs.

As he leapt into the hall, he heard a rough, gleeful voice address his brother.

"Just to make sure she doesn't move around too much, maybe we should take off a leg or two, don't you think Itachi-san?"

Sasuke stared. His brother and a blue skinned shinobi with a large sword stood at the end of the hall, both wearing long black cloaks with red clouds. Between them, he could see Narumi. She was staring up at them, wide-eyed, breathing in and out heavily, her body shuddering.

When Itachi didn't answer, the other shinobi stepped forward, hand going to the hilt of his sword.

"Then I shall."

Narumi swallowed hard, pupils dilating as she suddenly backed up and lifted her hands into a cross shape.

"K-kage Bunshin!"

Four clones appeared with her, and the swordsman snorted. With a swing of his sword, he cleaved through all four clones, and smashed Narumi between the wall and the broad surface of his weapon as she turned to face the oncoming threat.

The blonde girl gasped, grabbing the bandage wrapped, rounded edge of the blade in both hands and struggling. The man chuckled, and suddenly the part of the sword touching her erupted into what looked like hundreds of moving steel fangs that suddenly stood up, bristling into a field of sharp points, shredding the bandage wrappings wound around the blade.

Narumi screamed, chakra flaring erratically as the surface of the sword bit deeply into her palms, abdomen, and lower ribcage. Red blood welled up and dripped down her legs, splattering onto the floor beneath her.

"Now girlie, if you'll hold still, this'll be much easier."

Sasuke hissed and took a step forward as her attacker chuckled. Itachi suddenly spoke up quietly.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it Sasuke?"

The other man suddenly went quiet and turned to look at him, and Narumi's pained blue eyes turned to him as well. She called out to him, her voice strained and small.

"S-Sasuke...help me..."

Sasuke remembered the Aburame's words to him at Ichiraku, about becoming stronger by protecting your comrades when you're strong and relying on them when you're vulnerable. Rage blazed up in him. Narumi was strong, she was the teammate he trusted. How dare his brother try to harm her.

If she was vulnerable right now, that meant he had to be strong enough to face his brother, and face him now. He had no more time. Chakra rushed to Sasuke's eyes, and his vision sharpened as his sharingan bloomed into existence.

Grinning lopsidedly, the man whose sword was still pinning Narumi to the wall spoke casually to Itachi.

"Oh, the sharingan...and he's very similar to you."

Itachi's voice was flat when he spoke.

"He is my little brother."

Narumi's eyes widened, and fixed questioningly on Sasuke, but he kept his eyes focused on the threat, growling viciously at Itachi's back.

"Get the hell away from my teammate!"

Itachi turned to face him, sharingan whirling lazily as red eyes met red eyes. Sasuke summoned his chakra, charging up a chidori that sang in his hand, it's blue-white heat reminding him comfortingly of Kakashi.

Slamming the chidori into the wall, he charged his brother grimly, the tomoe of his sharingan whirling so fast that they blurred as he roared exactly what his brother would expect at him.

"Die!"

His brother began to move as Sasuke closed the distance, and relief spread through the younger Uchiha. At the last minute, he changed the direction of his strike. Twisting, he dropped to the floor on his side and slid between the two men, slamming his chidori towards the swordsman's legs.

Swearing, the strange man leapt back, allowing the chidori to create a crater in the floor where he had been a moment before. Sasuke didn't wait for the man to recover, instantly rolling to his feet, and springing to Narumi's side.

Now that the swordsman no longer had the leverage and strength provided by a steady stance, Sasuke would be able to get Narumi away from him. Grabbing the edge of the sword along with Narumi, he flinched at the pain of the steel teeth ripping into his palms and fingers before heaving with all his strength, tearing the sword backwards.

Narumi gasped, instantly dodging to the side, away from the blade. Sasuke caught a full body glimpse of her as she moved, and his stomach rolled. The clothes covering her lower torso had been literally shredded, hanging in strips over the bloody gouges left on her flesh.

Turning back to face Itachi, he started to assume a defensive position in front of his wounded teammate. As he angrily met his brothers gaze, his mouth twisted up into a terrible snarl.

Suddenly, Narumi moved up beside him, gulping hard. Throwing her a glance he hissed at her.

"Dobe! You're hurt, get back!"

Keeping her eyes on the enemy, she moved closer to him and muttered angrily, though her face was still drawn with pain.

"No way! We're comrades and I am NOT letting you fight alone!"

Bringing her hands together, a look of concentration came over her face, and suddenly chakra surged around them, a circle of red blazing up and swirling around their feet. The two men seemed to perk up, eyes sharpening. The swordsman spoke lowly.

"Ho...I recognize that chakra, girlie. Can't have that, can we?"

The man started to move forward, and Sasuke growled, sharingan gaze flickering back and forth between the two men as he pulled out a Kunai, holding it out warningly as he prepared to cover whatever Narumi was about to try.

Itachi suddenly surged forward and grabbed his wrist as he lifted the kunai. Both Itachi and the other shinobi had their eyes fixed on Narumi.

"You're a bother."

Before Sasuke could attempt anything, Itachi broke his wrist. Crying out, the boy dropped to his knees, vision hazy with pain. Beside him Narumi yelled in alarm.

"Sasuke!"

He was vaguely aware of Narumi's leg whistling over his head towards Itachi. The older shinobi caught the kick with one arm, stepping back slightly to steal most of the power of the blow. Instantly, Narumi snapped her leg back into her body, spinning full circle, and crouching beside Sasuke. Quickly she flashed through several hand seals. But before she could finish, the swordsman advanced, slicing out towards her and speaking cooly.

"Too slow."

In an instant, the swirl of chakra around them disappeared. Narumi stiffened, eyes widening. Then she cursed, her voice choked with alarm.

"Why? Where did my chakra go?"

The swordsman snorted and heaved his bloodied blade over his shoulder, staring down at them condescendingly.

"My Samehada can shave off flesh, and devour chakra."

Narumi stared up at them, obviously stricken and alarmed.

"It would be annoying if you tried to use any of your petty techniques."

Sasuke growled, reaching out to grab Narumi's wrist with his uninjured hand. She shifted closer to him in response, both of them determined not to go down without a fight. Sasuke glared up at Itachi, lips tightly compressed as he stared his brother down.

'Not this time! I won't let you take anyone from me this time! Especially my teammates!'

The swordsman chuckled at the two of them, pointing his sword at Narumi, it's teeth writhing sickeningly as if it were reaching for her, the red of their combined blood causing it to glisten wetly in the light.

"Maybe I should take your arms as well as your legs, girlie. Samehada here certainly won't complain!"

Physically sickened by the threat, Sasuke pulled himself into a crouch, angling himself so that he was poised to leap up and block the coming blow, reaching into his weapons holster for another kunai.

The swordsman smirked down at him, inhumanely sharp teeth, like those of a shark, glistening at him from the mans mouth.

"Futile."

The blade came whistling down, and Sasuke lifted his Kunai, finding that Narumi lifted one of her own at the same time. Both of them braced for the blow, tensed for the shock of the heavier sword smashing down on them.

Instead there was a sudden explosion of smoke, and an armored toad appeared, catching the frightening looking blade on it's upraised arms. Sasuke stared numbly up at the thing. It took him a moment to convince himself that was he was seeing was real.

After that, he remembered Narumi mentioning that she had been taught to summon toads, and wondered how she'd done it without him noticing. But when he glanced over at her she looked just as surprised. Bewildered, he wondered if this was good or bad.

Another explosion of smoke erupted behind them, and Sasuke turned to glance over his shoulder. A low, relaxed voice came floating out of the smoke.

"You two...don't know me very well."

As the smoke cleared, a very large man with white hair, a broad grin, and long red stripes running from his eyes to his jawline appeared behind them.

"You don't actually think I'd run off thoughtlessly with a woman after being entrusted with the care of a little girl, do you?"

Narumi joined him in looking back, her eyes alight with relief.

"Ero-sennin!"

Glaring at the men standing across from them, he stooped to lay the woman tossed over his shoulder gently beside the wall.

"Really, you two are a disgrace to all men. Using those eyes of yours to hypnotize a woman into trying to separate me from my apprentice."

Standing, he moved back up to stand directly behind the two crouched genin, facing the nuke-nin down easily.

"So you were after Narumi after all."

Sasuke knew that by now of course, but he still felt uneasy hearing it said out loud. No matter how he thought about it, it was just weird. The only reason he could think of for his brother being after Narumi would be to further torment him, but then why did this guy know? And why hadn't they gone after unguarded prey?

Itachi fixed his cold red gaze on the larger shinobi, his voice unchanged from the moment he'd broken Sasuke's wrist.

"I had wondered how Kakashi-san knew. I see now though. You are the source of his information."

Cocking his head, the Uchiha fixed the three Konoha-nin with a blank stare, his voice unyielding, without a hint of doubt or hesitation.

"We are ordered by our organization, the Akatsuki, to take Narumi with us.

The blonde beside Sasuke flinched, and he shot her a reassuring glance. She met his gaze and nodded tightly. The toad between them and the enemy suddenly vanished, and Jiraya spoke in a low, warning voice.

"I won't hand Narumi over to you."

Itachi just eyed him, not budging an inch, not backing down.

"We'll see about that."

Jiraya snorted, stepping closer to the crouched genin, his large form becoming a broad shelter for the two of them as he rumbled at the akatsuki members.

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to get rid of the two of you here."

Sasuke tensed slightly at the words, his jaw clenching. He was supposed to kill Itachi! It was his duty to avenge his clan, to make his brother pay with his life! That had been his goal since he woke up in the hospital after the massacre. It was what he had trained so hard for!

He made as if to stand, intending to challenge Jiraya for the right to Itachi's life, but as he did the movement caused him to brush into Narumi, knocking her slightly off balance. The kunoichi threw out her hand instinctively to catch her fall, hissing in pain as her bloody palm came into contact with the rough grain of the wood floor.

The sound halted Sasuke, drawing his eyes to Narumi. The tense set of her body, and the way her eyes flicked back and forth between him and Itachi made him feel guilty. Right now, he should be worried about protecting his comrade, not chasing after his damned brother. Catching Narumi's wrist, he cautiously stood, and pulled her behind Jiraya.

The kunoichi gave him a long, hard look. Then the corner of her lips twitched up into a small smile, and she whispered quietly to him.

"Thanks, Sasuke."

Itachi spoke up, his voice wintery and sharper than a blade.

"Foolish little brother. You would let another fight your battles for you?"

Sasuke's head shot around to meet his brothers gaze, and his sharingan picked up speed, whirling dangerously. Narumi stepped up beside him, shouting indignantly at Itachi, though her eyes showed her nervousness about provoking such a powerful shinobi.

"Hey! Don't talk about Sasuke like that!"

In that moment, Itachi's sharingan morphed, and Sasuke found himself falling, the world around him inverting. When he found himself standing in his parents room, six years old with black skin and white hair, he trembled. Not again. Oh kami, not again!

A small voice sounded beside him.

"What the hell? What is this?"

Turning, Sasuke was surprised, and terrified to see a six year old Narumi, black hair only chin-length, flopping over death-white skin that nearly glowed against the blackness around them.

Wide eyes fixed on him, and her voice trembled.

"Sasuke? Is that you?"

He nodded once, frantically trying to convince himself that he was not six years old. This was not happening again. And how had Itachi drawn Narumi into the genjutsu with him? When he spoke, his voice was high and thin, the voice of his child-self laced with the terror he desperately wanted to hide.

"We're in my b-brothers genjutsu. Th-this is..."

Itachi's voice resonated around them, menacing and silky.

"This is our house."

When Sasuke looked up sharply, he saw them. His father and mother, sitting on the far side of the room with their eyes closed, his brother behind them. Alarmed, he cried out to them.

"Dad! Mom!"

Itachi's voice sounded around him, darkly amused.

"You are weak. For the next twenty-four hours, you will wander within that day. I will teach you your weakness."

Sasuke stared, unable to stop himself from whimpering.

"Stop it..."

Beside him, Narumi's voice whispered uneasily.

"What is it, Sasuke? What's going on?"

The blade in his brothers hand lifted and scythed down, slicing through his parents. Sasuke screamed in agony, throat aching as the guttural cry ripped from his chest. Beside him, he heard Narumi's own horrified cry join his.

White blood splashed across the black floor, and Sasuke twisted his fingers through his hair, shaking his head wildly, trying to block out the sight and sound of his worst nightmare creeping out of the darkest depths of his mind.

The scenery changed, and they were standing in the street, the bodies of his clan falling around him, their blood soaking the street and splashing up against the walls, as his brothers voice rang out around him.

"Their deaths are your fault. The result of your weakness."

Sasuke began to hyperventilate, unable to process the horror of it all, screaming and screaming until he thought his throat must be bleeding. Suddenly small arms wrapped around him from behind, tiny hands pressing tightly over his eyes to block out his sight, a shaky voice sounding in his ear.

"It's alright, Sasuke, it's alright! Don't listen to that bastard, this is definitely not your fault! You were only six years old, and you weren't even here!"

Taking a deep breath, Narumi continued to shout in his ear, doing her best to drowned out the sounds around them.

"Do you hear me, Sasuke? This twisted bastard is just screwing with your head! Don't you let him! I know you're too strong for this guy, I know it! It's not your fault dammit!"

Sasuke homed in on her voice, body trembling, as his screams died out, hands coming up to grip her wrists, squeezing so tightly that she gasped in pain before continuing.

"C'mon, teme, you can beat this! Calm down! It's not your fault, it's not your fault, it's not your fault! No one is strong when they're six years old! If anyone tells you otherwise they're lying! There is nothing you could have done! You didn't do anything wrong!"

He knew that if he could see what was going on, he'd lose it again. He didn't want to live through this again. Tightening his grip on Narumi, he focused on breathing, letting her words soak into him as she kept up a constant stream of sound, not even stopping for breath.

The younger Uchiha had no idea why Itachi had brought her here, but he was insanely grateful that his brother had made that particular miscalculation.

Then everything went suspiciously still, and Narumi's hands vanished from his eyes. Blinking, he looked around wildly for his teammate. He found himself standing atop a black lake, under a red sky with a black moon.

The lake water surged up, wrapping around his arms and legs, holding him in place. Across from him, appeared his brother, and his teammate. Narumi was in her own form now, her jacket and hair ink black against the glowing white of her skin.

The kunochi stood in front of Itachi, facing Sasuke with wide-eyes. Itachi wore his akatsuki cloak, a sword in his hand. Sasuke's stomach dropped and his eyes widened. The sensation of sick realization, of agonized horror, only multiplied when Narumi raised her eyes to his and whispered in shock.

"I can't move. Sasuke, my arms and legs won't move."

Itachi reached out, his hand curling around Narumi's throat as he leaned down, his face hovering next to hers as he stared at Sasuke. His cheek brushed against the inky strands of her discolored hair, his voice soft and silky.

"What was it she said? The massacre wasn't your fault?"

Glancing sideways, Itachi withdrew his hand slowly, trailing his fingers across her jugular before he stepped back.

"Well, perhaps she's right. Not protecting the clan may not have been your fault..."

Itachi raised his sword, and Sasuke's eyes widened as he thrashed wildly against the restraints imposed on him, knowing what was coming, unable to prevent it.

"...but this will be."

The sword whistled down, cutting deep into Narumi's back. Blood sprayed against the red of the sky, Narumi's eyes widening, her jaw locking to muffle a scream as she fell forward into the water.

Sasuke screamed profanity at his brother, throwing all his weight into struggling. But it was no use. The world of tsukiyomi was entirely under his brothers control. Ignoring him, Itachi kicked Narumi in the side, rolling her onto her back, causing her to groan at the mistreatment.

With an impassive face, the older shinobi reversed his grip, and plunged his sword through her stomach, his arm lifting and falling as he stabbed her again and again until she could only writhe and cry out brokenly.

Sasuke screamed until he was hoarse, fought the restraints until they bit into his flesh, sending rivulets of white blood dripping into the blackness of the lake they stood on. After what seemed like ages, Itachi stepped back and waved his hand.

Narumi vanished, and reappeared in front of him, unharmed and panting for breath. Her gaze locked with Sasuke's as Itachi raised the sword again, his voice ominously calm and flat, a smirk tugging at his lips as he stared at Sasuke.

"Do you wish to kill me yet, foolish little brother?"

Sasuke could feel the heavy heat of his brothers gaze burning into him, but he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of meeting his gaze. He had bigger concerns at the moment. Determinedly, Sasuke ignored Itachi's demanding eyes, keeping his gaze locked with that of his teammate.

After a long moment, Itachi spoke, his voice not carrying even a hint of displeasure at the small display of defiance by the two genin caught within his trap.

"Twenty three hours, thirty-nine minutes, twelve seconds left to go."

Narumi's brows drew together, and she snarled defiantly even as the sword fell towards her.

"It ain't real! I ain't scared of you, 'ttebayo!"

White blood sprayed up again, and Narumi's teeth clenched, her body refusing to obey her as it splashed to the waters surface, staining the black of the lack with a puddle of white. Itachi rolled her over and lifted the sword.

Sasuke screamed.

---

When Sasuke finally opened his eyes with a shuddering gasp to find the world painted in colors almost too vivid for his eyes to handle, he thought he would weep with relief. Almost mindlessly, he whirled to Narumi. She was all brilliant orange and gold and tanned skin again, but she was falling forward, unconscious.

Fighting off the blackness dragging at the edges of his own vision, Sasuke flung out his arms and caught her, scrambling backwards to put as much distance between them and Itachi as he could manage. Jiraya crouched in front of them, hands flat against the floor as pink flesh spread across the entire inside of the corridor they stood in, sealing them in.

Jiraya's voice growled out angrily.

"You're out of luck, Itachi, Kisame. You're inside a stomach now."

Sasuke panted for breath as the man continued, doing his absolute best to shield his vulnerable teammate from Itachi's view, and he couldn't stop himself from running his hand across her back, compulsively checking for the sticky heat of blood as Jiraya continued. He suddenly wanted to take all three of his teammates, including Kakashi, and lock them firmly away in the safe areas in the Hokage mountain.

"I summoned the esophagus of a gigantic frog from Myouboku Mountains rock inn. I'll turn the both of you into food for this rock frog!"

Sasuke looked around dazedly, not sure what was going on.

"What the..."

Jiraya's voice rang out sharply.

"Boy! You stay there and look after my apprentice! Don't worry, I'll protect the both of you, and deal with these two!"

Sasuke swallowed hard and nodded, not trusting his voice. Itachi's voice rang out, and the younger Uchiha flinched, half expecting the world to bleed black and white.

"Kisame, come."

The two nuke-nin dashed off down the corridor, heading for the exit. Jiraya growled after them.

"It's useless. No one has ever escaped this technique before."

The two of them ignored him, whipping around the corner. After a moment, there was an explosion, and Jiraya growled, darting after them.

Jiraya came back shortly afterwards, looking dissatisfied. Frowning, he sat down in front of Sasuke, opening a scroll and pulling out an ink laden brush. Bending over it, he began to write, and when he spoke, his voice was gruff.

"They're gone. You can relax."

Sasuke nodded jerkily, but his body continued to tremble, and he had long since dropped the sharingan. After Jiraya finished what he was writing, he flashed through several hand seals.

"Fuuinjutsu Fuukahouin!"

Chakra ghosted up from the scroll, twisting and winding up and around the corner, and out of sight. After a moment, the chakra returned and settled back into the scroll. A glowing red kanji appeared in the blank spot on the scroll, and the sannin quickly rolled it up, tying it shut with a length of cord.

"This should do for now."

Slamming a hand into the wall, Jiraya waited as the pink flesh receded, leaving behind a normal wooden floored inn corridor. Reaching out his arms to Sasuke, he spoke in a gruffly gentle tone.

"Alright, kid, let me see her."

Sasuke hesitated, afraid to let go for fear something awful would happen to the unconscious kunoichi. Jiraya gave him a half aggrieved look.

"Oi, she's my apprentice! You don't seriously think I'd hurt her, do you?"

After a long moment, Sasuke loosened his grip, and handed the limp blonde over to the older shinobi. Standing, Jiraya heaved her effortlessly into his arms, cradling her against his chest.

A kunai suddenly flashed between them, and Jiraya swore. A large hand clamped around Sasuke's shoulder, and he found himself yanked forward as Jiraya sprang backward. A large, green-clad shinobi came spinning in, crying out as he launched into a flying kick at the air where Jiraya had been half a second before.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

As the jounin sailed past them and created a large hole in the wall, Jiraya sighed and shook his head silently.

"That Gai. Kid never learns."

Looking down at Sasuke, he rolled his eyes.

"I swear, the man gets weirder every time I see him."

Sasuke felt the last of the quivering leave his body, though he still felt that strange, hollow numbness that he dimly remembered as being a sign of shock. Clearing his throat, Gai pulled his foot from the wall, and came over to them, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Um...sorry about that Jiraya-sama...I thought you were the enemy...I'm really very sorry!"

Jiraya rolled his eyes again and sighed.

"Never mind that. Anyway, I need you to escort Sasuke back to the village. I don't think it's a good idea for the kid to go back alone."

Sasuke started, immediately protesting.

"What about Narumi? She needs to be taken to the hospital!"

Jiraya's gaze softened, and he freed a hand to lay reassuringly on top of his hair. Sasuke stilled at the touch, though he was far from pleased at the way things were going.

"Don't worry, kid. I'll take good care of her. She'll be right as rain in no time. Anyway, the two of us were going to see a medical specialist anyway, so she'll be checked out by the best. You go on back, and let your teammate and sensei know what happened, okay?"

Sasuke shook his head stubbornly, and Gai spoke up.

"Kakashi was also hit with this attack. If you remain here, Saburo-kun will be left on his own, with no idea what happened to his team."

Sasuke growled slightly. That wasn't fair. Now he definitely had to go back. He did NOT want to leave Narumi. He wanted to haul her back to the Uchiha compound, grab the others, and not come out for a week. But she had Jiraya to protect her. Saburo was surrounded by civilians, people who were more liability than protection. And Sasuke was feeling more than a little paranoid about leaving any member of his team exposed right now.

Unhappily, the Uchiha nodded, the gesture tightly controlled.

"You'll bring her back soon?"

When the sannin nodded, Sasuke glared ferociously up at him, trying communicate the state he expected Narumi returned in, and the possible consequences of failure to succeed in that endeavor.

Jiraya nodded once to him, before his face became grave and his eyes lifted to Gai.

"The two of them were involved in a very heavy psychological attack. I can sort out Narumi, but I think Sasuke was the main target. He should be looked over."

Sasuke wanted to protest, but he knew there was no point. Gai said a few more words to Jiraya, and then took his shoulder, guiding him gently out of the building, and leading him back off to the village. Sasuke stood for a minute, looking back at where Jiraya was just emerging with an unconscious Narumi.

The Sannin caught him looking and nodded, making a shooing motion with his hand. Sasuke gritted his teeth and launched after Gai, his fists clenching tightly, as he cursed under his breath.

The memory of twenty-four hours worth of watching his teammate tortured flashed across his mind, and his eyes narrowed, his teeth grinding painfully together.

"Damn it!"

'Never again! I won't allow him to touch them, ever again!'

Looking ahead with determined eyes, Sasuke made his promise. He would never, under any circumstance, allow his comrades to be put into danger again. Not by his brother, or anyone else who dared raise a hand against them.

---

A/N: Hello peoples!

Thank you once again, to all those lovely, kind souls who review for me!
To Zelga Lim Li, nope, no generational leaps in the romances of this story. If you think you've really go me nailed on a couple that'll end up together, feel free to PM me, and I'll let you know (^_-)/.
To Hugo0974, Glad to hear from you, and hope this chapter satisfies.
To Your Hoshi, thank you for the compliment, you make me blush (^/^).
To firehottie, I'm glad you liked the multiple POVs. I've missed writing them, honestly. Very addicting, yes they are! Also, I've been making multiple little changes that'll snowball later on throughout the story. I think if you look, you'll find the most obvious breakthrough with Sasuke in this particular chapter. Hope you enjoy it!
To Zandamh, Glad to hear you enjoyed the last chapter so much. Gaara really is cuddly deep down, once you get past the whole 'shuukaku-driving-him-insane' thing. I thought he needed more hugs, so I decided to work it in. Hope you enjoyed this most recent chapter, though I'm afraid Gaara will be sadly absent for a while. And since I have apparently robbed you of study time, I do pledge that I shall cross my fingers for your exam results!
To Ceralyn, Yep, kept the toads! I love them dearly you know. Besides, I'm really interested in how the relationship between them and Naruto would develop if he was female. Also, hope you enjoyed Sasuke and Saburo's reaction to Narumi's fight with Gaara. I've tried to make the rivalry there less self-destructive so...it sort of turned into a comedic moment...
To Bored and Sleepy with Waffles, thank you once more for the very thorough and helpful encouragement and appreciation never fail to put a smile on my face, and word at my fingertips. Since you seem to have a busy time ahead of you, I give you a thousand thanks for the most wonderful reviews you have already given me, and wish you a productive and gratifying summer. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you in the fall!

Notice: The ayes have it! Quite literally in this case. Since I had not a single negative result on the poll, the explanations will be a permanent part of the story structure. Many thanks to you all for the feedback!

Explanations!
First off, Kakashi basically pretty much had a conniption over his students running off to do not-genin level dangerous things. Which is why, as soon as he can justify it, he pretty much dumps things on Gai and takes off running. Of course, when he and Shibi do bring their kids back safe and sound, they still have jounin duties to attend to to help deal with the aftermath. Which pretty much leaves Sasuke and Saburo to watch over the girls on their own. Which is why when Narumi later wakes up, the two boys are the ones waiting for her.
The reason the boys both sort of gang up on Narumi, is that they saw exactly what Gaara could do, and hearing that she ran off after him from Tenma, they were actually more scared than either she or Kakashi. Which resulted in the instant 'what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you' reaction.
As for Sasuke's reaction to Narumi defeating Gaara, he does take that as a sign she's getting stronger than him. However, he's much more devoted to his teammates, and doesn't always believe he always has to be the best. Plus, after hearing what most of the genin were doing during the attack, he feels suitably gratified about his own actions. So instead what he focuses on his disbelief that an all-out beat down devolved into a hug-fest. And of course, his reaction goes accordingly, which nearly devolves into a pillow fight.
Of course, then the boys have to break the news about the Hokage to her. And like Naruto, Narumi was very close to him, so it hits her hard. The boys decide that letting her sleep is the best solution, and continue to stand guard over her and Shinako, which really comforts Narumi and helps her get to sleep.

Then of course there's the funeral. The reason Narumi is able to comfort Konohamaru and spring back so quickly is because she thinks about what she said to Gaara. When she said that he couldn't be erased after he made friends, she meant that no matter what happened to him, the people he was dear to would always remember him. Carry out his dreams, protect that which was precious to him, and if necessary avenge him. Once he had bonds, he would inevitably leave something behind no matter what happened, and therefore his existence was impossible to completely erase. This of course, also applies to the third, which comforts her.

Saburo also has a bit of a flashback to his interaction with his parents and elder brothers since the invasion. Basically, because his parents still view him as a child because he's twelve years old, as do his elder brothers (respectively eighteen and sixteen). They're all very civilian, and don't really get exactly what life is like for him until the invasion, at which point they're both horrified and terrified. So they insist that he return to a 'safe' civilian life. However, at this point, Saburo is a proud shinobi of Konoha. He has already been through danger with his comrades, and is considered a young adult and full shinobi in the eyes of the village. He's not a twelve-year old, he's a successful genin who made it all the way to the final part of the chuunin exam and was only excluded for medical injuries.
So, going from being a full shinobi fighting for his life and his village alongside his comrades to 'we-are-pulling-you-out-young-man' was a huge point of contention within the family. Also, when Saburo said he'd leave home, he wasn't being foolish. He is legally able, as a genin, to live independently on his own, just the same as Narumi and Sasuke. The option is becoming more appealing, because he's becoming less and less comfortable with his family and their conflicting view point.

Saburo and Shinako! Saburo admires Shinako for going to help his teammate and is grateful to her. He also become attached to her while he and Sasuke are on 'guard-duty' and thinks she's rather pretty in her own way. So, he decides to invite her along, gets embarrassed when he holds her hand, and prays to the heavens that his teammates won't embarrass him in front of her. No, he is not head over heels in love. Yes, he is attracted. No, he does not realize that's what it is. Inori will most likely enlighten him though.

And of course, Sasuke! When Sasuke takes off after Narumi, unlike in cannon, he's more focused on the '...coming after Narumi' part than the 'Itachi...' part. Sasuke has mellowed out much more in this story than in cannon. So when he catches up, his first instinct is to get Narumi away from the threat, rather than to attack. Sasuke's determination to protect being greater than his desire to attack, he decides to retreat with Narumi and allow Jiraya to fight. But there is a conflict inside him, which is why he nearly rises to Itachi's bait.

Now, as to the Tsukiyomi incident. I'm assuming that given the genjutsu is completely and utterly under Itachi's control that he can pull in multiple people at once. The reason he does this with Narumi and Sasuke is that he is wanting to feed Sasuke's desire to kill him, because he has the idea that he ought to be killed by an Uchiha. He brings Narumi in for two reasons. One, he wants to try and split up the friendship a bit, and two, in case of an event like what ends up happening. He thinks by harming Narumi, and threatening her life in front of Sasuke, the vengeance/kill instincts will kick in.
What actually happens is that Sasuke's protective instincts kick in, like double hyper papa-bear Kakashi mode. Only reason he lets go of Narumi afterwards is that it's a crazy powerful ninja who just protected them. Otherwise, you could probably forget it. There is probably quite a bit of trauma there, but you'll have to wait and see how it unfolds.
Oh, and the reason Jiraya didn't break them out of it, and spare them both the trauma of a)being tortured for twenty-four straight hours, and b) being forced to watch such events helplessly, is because tsukiyomi takes place in at most forty to fifty seconds of real time.

Also, to the Itachi fans. Don't get me wrong, I love Itachi too. I'm not trying to paint him as the incarnation of all things evil. However, you've got to admit that however good a guy he turned out to be, he did some bat-shit crazy stuff in the beginning of the series. Including excruciating mental torture, which he applied to those he later claimed were his comrades and/or loved ones, such as Kakashi and Sasuke, for extended periods of time, even when it wasn't really necessary to maintain his cover. I love the guy later on in the story, but he is MESSED UP in the first part. Which we are in. So yeah, he's kinda disturbing here. Once again, I apologize to the Itachi fans. Just hang in there with me, kay?

Okay, so that's it! This chapter was a bit shorter than usual, but it would have been ridiculously long if I'd gone into the next set of events. So, I hope you guys enjoyed this! If you have any questions about anything, drop me a line and I'll answer as promptly as I can manage. Please read and review!