A/N:

Here we go people! Thank you for your lovely support on chapter one! It was great! Uhmm, let's see...right! Shout outs!

To all my readers and ESPECIALLY to my REVIEWERS, you were all my motivation! Without you guys, I'd have absolutely no motivation, cause ya know? Who would want to write a story that no one appreciates? So, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

ENJOY!

Warning! Grammars, always...

Pairing: Not sure. Maybe implied ones?

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!

Leaving Behind

Chapter Two

When the sun found Naruto, he had already been awake hours before. The young boy was in the kitchen of his apartment, cooking breakfast. He'd already had an onigiri, miso soup, sashimi, and tamagoyaki done and he was moving on to sushi.

It wasn't any kind of special occasion, but his kids had wanted some food made by him. Not that Kurama was any slouch in the kitchen. They were probably just missing him.

The thought that his kids missed him, made Naruto smile. It was a warm feeling that made his toes curl with happiness. He hadn't woken up feeling happy. In fact, when he woke up, he felt the opposite of happy. He felt terrible.

Sighing, Naruto waved the thoughts away. He had some packing to do and he didn't have to worry about training since today was the rare day that they had off. He only hoped that he wouldn't run into his teammates or anyone from the academy on his way home.

Home, he thought with a smile. His apartment given to him by the Sandaime Hokage was considered home, and the place that he brought for himself and his children were considered home. And sometimes he would get confused when someone asked him if he were going home. He wasn't sure if he could consider his apartment as home, but for now, he wouldn't think over it too much.

He was home free with no teammates to annoy him and no teachers to pick on him. It would just be a happy day with Haru, Kiyoko, and Kurama. They'd probably play all day and picnic in their backyard.

The blonde boy was looking forward to it.

Until...someone knocked on his door.

Cautiously, Naruto opened the door. The face that greeted him was unexpected. "Sasuke?" He asked. "What are you doing here?"

The black haired boy gave a grunt, not that Naruto knew what it meant, but he interpret it as a , 'Let me in'. Surprised, Naruto robotically opened the door wider, giving the moody boy access to his apartment. Without a word, the raven came in, looked around, walked towards his dining table, and plopped himself on one of the many chairs that surrounded it.

"I followed the smell." The raven said with his usual stoic look.

"What?" The blonde couldn't stop himself from looking stupid.

Rolling his eyes, the Uchiha repeated himself again. "I followed the smell."

Like that makes any sense, Naruto thought sardonically. "What smell?"

"The smell of food. I followed it and it led me to your door." The raven spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why did you follow the smell?"

It must've exceeded the Uchiha's words of the day, cause Sasuke clammed right up, but not before giving the blonde a haughty look. Sighing, Naruto decided that the boy had to go. Today was supposed to be teammates-proof and he intended to keep it that way.

"I'm not sure what you're doing here, but you need to go." Naruto said slowly, testing out each syllable to make sure they were the right ones. "I won't be home. I have things I need to do." The blonde waited patiently for the raven to stand and make a move for the door. He waited and waited. "Okay, what are you doing? I don't know if you know, but that was me kicking you out." Silence and a blank look. "Can you leave?"

Naruto groaned when Sasuke made no move to get up. "Did you notㅡ"

"I want food."

The blonde blinked incredulously. "You want something to eat?"

When the raven didn't reply, blue eyed boy looked around his apartment, a little confused as to what to do with his unwanted guest. He really didn't have much time. His cooking wasn't even done. He had a lot other dishes to make and he was due to meet Haru and Kiyoko in less than three hours.

Rubbing his head, he sighed loudly. With an exasperated glare, he walked to his small kitchen and grabbed an open bento box. "Here!" He said loudly, pushing it towards Sasuke. "Leave after you eat it."

The blonde huffed and walked back into the kitchen. The raven's behaviour was unorthodoxed. He had half the mind to think that the boy sitting at his dining table wasn't actually the Uchiha. The genius boy never did things like this. It was unlike him.

While cooking, Naruto was a little absentminded. Right in front of him was Sasuke, eating the bento he'd been given, quietly. It was unnerving. It left Naruto anxious and uncertain. It was clear that the raven was suffering from something since he'd search Naruto out. It was easy to spot; the tightening around the eyes, the tense way he was holding his chopsticks, the way his lips quivered as if he was ready to cry, and the way his eyes seemed to just glaze over the food like they weren't even there in front of him.

The blonde could just feel his barriers dropping and his will weakening. He wanted to help Sasuke. The black haired boy seemed to be in pain, in a dimension of his own and trapped there. Whatever made him seek out Naruto was a mystery. Perhaps the smell of food was similar to a comforting memory? The blonde had seen this happen to many people, usually it was on a traumatic date or something that reminded them of it.

Slumping, Naruto figured that he shouldn't just leave the Uchiha like that. His plans with his family would have to wait a while longer. His kids and Kurama won't be happy with him, but it wasn't like he could just leave a fellow teammate in that state.

Alright, he thought as he walked towards the seat across from the raven, I'll bite. There was a pregnant silence before the blonde boy broke it. "Wanna tell me why you're in a slump like this?"

All he got was silence and he was expecting that. Usually when Kiyoko got angry, she would retreat within herself and refuse to talk to anyone. He'd have to pry out her problems from her. It was common for kids to do that when they felt misunderstood.

He waited for Sasuke to talk patiently. "I just came for the food, dobe." The dark eyed boy murmured under his breath but Naruto heard it perfectly.

Naruto shrugged and raise both arms in surrender. "If you don't want to talk, it's fine." But the blonde didn't make any move to leave. He just sat there in front of the Uchiha, silent, patient, and waiting.

For a long while, it was just the two boys and their silent breathing occupying the room. Five minutes into waiting, the blonde had gone back into the kitchen. He figured that there was no point in waiting for a person unwill to speak. If Sasuke ever wanted to seek him out again, he was free to do so and if Sasuke wanted to talk with him, he'd be waiting and ready to listen.

"Here." Naruto glanced up. Since he had walked into the kitchen, he'd been busy making whatever caught his fancy. He'd tuned the Uchiha out, so when the boy walked up to him with his hands stretched out in front of him, Naruto was a bit lost.

"What is it?" The blonde asked cautiously.

"It's a seed." The bright haired boy raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "It's from a rare flower found only in the Uchiha district. When it blooms, it's supposed to give you something completely loyal to you. Granted you're the one that takes care of it."

The Uzumaki boy looked at the hand held out for him and then back towards the owner of it. "Why are you giving it to me?" Don't you need it more, thought the blonde.

"These flowers haven't bloomed in centuries. I have no need for it. It's just a myth, but the Uchihas kept it closely guarded. You can have it."

Naruto crossed his arms and frowned. "So you're giving me something that doesn't even work? Why would I accept it?"

The raven scowled. "You don't have to accept it, dobe! I was just being nice for once!"

The blonde rolled his eyes. "I'll take it." He thrust an open palm towards Sasuke. "If you're going out of your way to be nice, then who am I to refuse?"

Glaring at the blue eyed boy in front of him, Sasuke slapped the seeds on Naruto's waiting hand. "They're the last of their kind. Take care of it." The raven testily bit out before stomping his way out of Naruto's apartment.

The boy left behind had a confused smile on his face. Why give it to me, he thought looking at the small, brown seed in his hand. The seed didn't look special, and it probably wasn't. It was probably just some rare flower that grew around the Uchiha estate. It certainly didn't look like it could be a magical plant or anything that would warrant a myth of.

Shaking his head, Naruto slipped it in his pocket to plant later. He went back to the kitchen, grabbed a few bags on the counters and walked out the door. The blonde only hoped that nothing else would ruin his day with his precious ones.

.

.

.

Naruto was on his back, his head damp and his body aching in places that he didn't even know existed. A few days after Sasuke had barged into his home, Naruto had acted stupid and made a request for a C-rank mission. The blonde knew that the Hokage would not say no to him, and he took advantage of that. He had thought, what could go wrong on a C-rank mission? He hadn't thought that they'd encounter anything more than bandits.

How wrong he was...The events leading up to the final battle hadn't been good. The Uchiha had become even more vengeful than he already was. The Haruno girl became more withdrawn and it was painful to watch. He had promised himself that he wouldn't get close to his teammates, but he wasn't so cold hearted to ignore their pains. When the final battle actually came, his team had to witness a slaughter.

The people that were slaughtered deserved it, that, Naruto could fully agree, but his two teammates weren't ready for those things yet. The mission was completely Naruto's fault. He had asked for it.

The boy rolled onto his side. The blonde knew he wasn't powerful, but he was strong. But in that situation, he was utterly helpless. He couldn't reveal his abilities without drawing attention, and he couldn't even fight properly. The whole entire trip consisted of him being completely distracted. He had things he had to hide. Things that needed his full attention.

He was truly and utter pathetic.

"Kit…" Naruto groaned. He tried waving away the shadow that obscured his vision of the clouds.

"What do you want Kurama?"

"Shouldn't you be at your apartment or in Team Seven's training grounds?" The redhaired man asked gruffly.

"I'm hiding from them." Naruto replied and turned his body to the other side. And away from the fox.

Kurama huffed and sat down, cross legged. "Kit, you have to talk eventually. You can't ignore your teammates or me forever."

"Watch me." The fox sighed and stood up. He grabbed the blonde's arms and dragged him up also. "What are you doing?!" The boy cried.

"We are going to talk. Then you are going to man up and face your teammates." Naruto opened his mouth to protest. "If you open your mouth to complain, Haru, Kiyoko, and Kyo are going to have a fun trip to the hot springs near Mount Haruki. Without you. And I'll be here to torture you." The blonde snapped his mouth shut. "Now, let's talk."

The blonde grumbled under his breath, but didn't resist. For that, Kurama was happy. He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle a petulant Naruto. Not that the blonde was petulant much.

"I'm up. We can talk, now."

The fox pinched the point between his eyes and blew a large gust of air out of his lips. "I'm not sure how to prep you for this so I'm just gonna jump in and be blunt." The redhead faced Naruto with a serious expression, all traces of earlier's indulgence gone.

"Then go for it." The blue eyed boy gestured for Kurama to continue impatiently.

"You used my chakra on your Wave mission."

The blonde blinked, nothing betrayed his inner turmoil. Everything was a mess and he wasn't expecting for Kurama to confront him so quickly. He shouldn't have been surprised though. The fox, for all his trickery, was always blunt and to the point.

But still, he wasn't sure what to say. Using Kurama's chakra wasn't something that he'd been forbidden to do, but it was something that the fox hated. Not for any childish reason. The man Naruto considered a father, had a great reason for not wanting the blonde to use it.

Silence permeated the air around them. One was uncertain of what to say and the other was waiting for an answer, an acknowledgement.

Finally, the blue eyed boy opened his mouth to speak. "I wasㅡ"

"I told you not to do it if you weren't in mortal danger!"

"Iㅡ" The blonde was cut off again.

"You know what it does to you! It's dangerous!" Naruto could only watch helplessly as Kurama ranted on and on about the dangers of using the malevolent chakra. "It could kill you!"

The boy lowered his head shamefully and swallowed guiltily. He was perfectly aware of the dangers of using Kurama's chakra. He knew how powerful it made him and how addictive it was, but did he have any choice? Was he supposed to show his rookie teammates the true extent of his strength and have them shun him like all the others?

He went on and on about how he wouldn't get close to his teammates, how he could care less for anyone outside of their ragtag family of broken backgrounds, but when it really came down to it, their opinions mattered. They were important. They had warmed themselves into his heart and they gave him light and filled up the emptiness that his family couldn't no matter how hard they tried.

They made him forget where he came from, his responsibilities, and the imminent and unchangeable path that he'd have to walk on, eventually. They were his hold on reality. The ones that yanked him back and made him feel like he was just a normal boy. How was he supposed to let that slip through his fingers?

That day on Wave, it was a life changing moment. He couldn't intervene even if he wanted to. The people's hopes and morals were on the line. If he showed his true abilities, he feared his teammates would not accept him. They had their own ideals at stake in that moment. There was a lot to lose and not much to gain.

But then a small, malicious voice whispered in his ears, contradicting his whole reasoning. You didn't rely on Kurama's powers because you were afraid to show your true strength. You didn't even have any strength to use during the trip. You were in too much were hopeless...weak. You contributed to nothing. You didn't have a choice but to use the fox's chakra…

Naruto clenched his fists and closed his eyes. "I know." He wasn't sure who he was saying that to. The voice, Kurama, or both.

Kurama straightened up and his eyes softened. "I just want you to understand the consequences it could've had. I'm not angry. I'm just terrified that the next time you make a reckless decision, it'll be your last."

The blonde finally looked up and gave a rueful smile. "I'm sorry."

Sighing, the fox rolled his eyes. He gave Naruto a small smile to show that the boy had been forgiven.

Forgiven but not forgotten, the fox reminded himself. "Eat then go find your teammates. You didn't ruin them. It's better that they're prepared for the cruelty life can offer early on than to face it later. That way, they have time to heal and come terms with what awaits for them in their future."

"They're children." The blonde argued.

"So are you." The fox reiterated, slinging his long arms over Naruto's neck. "Besides, this is the road they chose and it's not gonna end up pretty if you coddle them."

"Hmmm." The boy hummed. He wasn't convinced but Kurama made sense. Maybe he was just biased because he just wanted to care for his teammates like he'd never been cared for.

"You're gonna meet up with them right after you finish eating, alright? And don't sulk. Just look at the bright side. You have a place named after you and you got treated as a hero, right? Keep it up and…"

Naruto let Kurama's soothing voice wash over him. He seeked comfort in it. Everything about the now was normal. He didn't have to worry about anything. If only time would come to a standstill and capture this moment, Naruto would be eternally happy. It felt like the before. The time before he became a shinobi. The time when he didn't have to worry about another person's life other than his own family members.

If only, thought the blonde.

.

.

.

"Where have you've been Naruto?" The boy in question fidgeted under his silver haired sensei's hard stare. He truly didn't have any excuse to give to the man.

"I'm sorry." Naruto whispered, his cheeks were red from the attention of both his sensei and his teammates.

"You mean to tell me that you skipped three days of training, but you have no excuse? Even something unbelievable would suffice!" Kakashi's voice was dangerously low.

Naruto kept silent and his head down. He knew that this wasn't the usual behavior that he showed to his team, but he pushed the thought aside. "I don't have any excuse…" The blonde's voice was quiet and shameful.

The silver haired man narrowed his eyes. He wasn't angry at the blonde, but he was worried and upset that the boy in front of him hadn't deemed it fit to inform his superior that he'd be missing for a couple of days.

Yes! Missing! Kakashi had searched everywhere in Konoha for the boy but he was nowhere to be found. No bright head and certainly no bright tail was found. Finally, after two days of constant searching, he'd gone to the Hokage to report that one estranged bright eyed, blonde haired boy was missing. He was shocked to find that the Hokage didn't even bat an eyelash. That didn't sit well with him.

"None?" The silver haired man nodded. "Alright then. Go run around Konoha a hundred times before the three days end. Go."

The blonde boy blinked. He wasn't sure if the man in front of him was being serious or not. Konoha was large and ninja or not, there'd be no way he could run around it a hundred times before three days. The kind of speed needed were those of the current Raikage and the Yondaime. But even with their speed, they wouldn't be able to go around Konoha a hundred times before three days were up. Maybe thirty-five times. Or if they were really pushing themselves, then maybe sixty. But they'd be right at death's door and he didn't have anywhere near that speed to succeed!

"Senseiㅡ"

"Go before I increase your punishment!"

Hurt, the blonde ran away as quickly as he could. He made his way to the village gate, explained his situation to the guards and started running the perimeter. After one lap around the village, he was already sweating profusely, but he refused to give up and give his body the rest it deserved. If he stopped now, his mind would wander. He didn't need that. When the sun set, he'd managed to run thirteen laps. He'd been pacing himself, focusing on his breathing rather than the situation.

By the second day, he actually made it to sixty-seven laps, but it wasn't something he should've been proud of. To achieve that amount of laps, he had forgone rest completely. Food and water was ignored and any breaks he had were only the ones when his vision went blurry and black spots started to appear. Naruto still had to run thirty-three more laps before midnight of the third day. That was a feat that he didn't think he could accomplish.

However, when the third day ended, by some miracle, he'd managed to run the thirty-three laps left. Exhausted and barely breathing, the boy collapsed on the floor just after completing the last round needed. He was in so much pain. His airways had constricted and he was outright panicking. He tried to gulp puffs of air, but it was for naught.

His lungs burned as soon as any air touched it. He could feel slippery liquids running down his nose, eyes, and ears. His nose didn't hurt but his eyes and ears did. His eyes felt like a thousand needles were stabbing at it and the nerves connected there burned as if lava had somehow gotten itself into the small veins connect to his corea. It felt like someone was scratching the eyeballs and plucking them out without any care. The pains were simultaneous. They were different in they way that they caused him pain, but they were the same enhancing and increasing the intensity of the pain. It was excruciating. All those things seemed to happen all at once, over and over again. All he could see was black and white. Whenever he blinked, the pain would shoot up to his head and if he didn't blink, it felt like fire was being branded onto his eyeballs and into his skull. Both options were painful.

His ears were another matter completely. They couldn't stop ringing. The noises around him just increased the agony he was in, throbbing and aching. They stabbed at him, going deep inside his ears, hitting the nerves in there, only for the pain to radiate back out, increasing the intensity of the torture even more.

Then he started coughing and he didn't have to see to know that it was blood he was coughing up. His lungs burned as he tried to get more air. Everything he tried was useless. He couldn't even move his limbs properly. His legs felt broken. The bones splintering and cracking. He was sure that wasn't true but that's how he felt. His arms were heavy and it weighed him down. It throbbed, burnt, stung...he wasn't sure how to describe it. Maybe it was all three of them. But everything hurt. Every bone felt broken; all over his body. His spine felt as if someone was stomping on it over and over again. His head pounded; it felt light but in a agonizing way and he could barely lift it up. It was so intense that any little movement he made increased the suffering tenfold.

Despite all this, he tried crawling towards something that would help him sit up. He knew that he would not be able to support his own weight. He had to get better and he had to escape. Midnight was fast approaching and he was in a dire situation. Kakashi would be coming to check on him soon. Or he might not, but Naruto was not taking that chance. His sensei couldn't see him like this! This was personal and no matter how much he'd grown to care for the man, Kakashi didn't deserve to know his going-ons.

On his desperate crawl towards something to help him up, he was faintly aware of fast approaching footsteps. His already painful heart pounded in fear. He prayed to Kami it wasn't Kakashi or anybody he knew from his years in the academy.

"Kit! Kit!" The bleeding boy sighed in relief. It was Kurama! "Kit! Wake up! WAKE UP! Don't do this to me! Please!" He vaguely felt strong hands pick him up. Please be careful, he wanted to say, it hurts, but his voice left him and his lips wouldn't move. "Stay with me, Kit! Don't give up! Please don't give up!" Then his hearing decreased and it slowly left him. "... gonna...fine, okay? I know you will. Just don't give…" Kurama's voice became faint and far away. Then his consciousness slipped away and he was left alone with the pain.

It seemed even when passed out, his suffering still continued.

A/N: So what do you think? What do you think is the cause of Naruto's pain? What do you think of the characters mentioned in the chapter? TELL ME!

Please REVIEW! I need it! Badly. It annoys me to no end when someone reads my story, but I have no idea what they're thinking.

PLEASE REVIEW!