What Happens Now...

Oh the wonders of vacation. I went to Virginia for the weekend but stupid me, I didn't bring my laptop. And the room had free wireless internet! To top it all off, I felt inspired to write!! Oh well... So, does Naruto survive? Will Sasuke kill Sakura? Will I get to have ice cream later tonight?!? You'll find out the answers in the next chapter...except for the last one. If you really want to know that answer, you my friend are considered a stalker. Go get some help! CHAPTER TIME!!

There was nothing but light surrounding me. I couldn’t tell where I was or how long I had been there. I just wanted to sleep, to get away from everything; even myself. Off to my left I see a spark of light. Turning towards the source, I almost lose my sense of balance. There in front of me are two people. One is a tall, lean man; his shocking blond hair and his soft blue eyes calm my spirit in an instant. It’s the Fourth Hokage. Why was he here? My dream was to be just like him; a Hokage that protected their village with everything they had. For years I perfected my jutsu so I could say that I had the strength to become the next Hokage. Yet for some reason, that dream seemed unattainable. I couldn’t place my finger on why I felt this way, but my life’s goal seemed to be too farfetched now. I looked to the Fourth for any sort of hint. All I see is him smiling at me; like I’m something to be treasured.

It is then I notice the other person beside the Hokage. It’s a woman, but not someone I recognize from my life. Her slight figure betrayed the inner strength that I sensed she possessed. The slightly rounded look to her face and the way she had her hands clasped in front of her also revealed that she was a very kind person. The way she had her long, brown hair tied at the back of her neck and her light blue eyes made her seem like an elegant beauty. Like she was gracing your life with her very presence yet, she didn’t seem arrogant. I wanted to know this woman; wanted to learn all I could about her. Still, why was I in a vacant world with my childhood hero and a woman that I never met, but felt like I should know her? The subtle movements of their bodies may have been missed by others, but to me it made all the difference. His left hand and her right hand were clasped together in a familiar embrace. They were lovers. I knew the body language; Sasuke and I had done the very same thing. I felt out of place. I didn’t belong in this picture. Another small movement caught my eye. The Fourth brought up his free hand, holding it out towards me. It beckoned me towards it; asking me to join the lovers. Both of the people were giving me warm smiles, like they already loved me despite the fact that none of us had actually met.

Then it clicked. They were my parents. My heart started to pound in my chest at the implication of my current epiphany. How could this be? Was I really the son of the famous Fourth Hokage? My head shot a look over to the Fourth, hoping to confirm my thoughts. His face had turned serious, but I was determined to get an answer. Slowly, his eyes slid shut and he nodded his head in a yes. All air left my lungs. My father was the Fourth Hokage and he gave up his life to save me and the village. Then that meant… the woman beside him was my mother. My eyes work their way over to her. Her smile is beaming, happy that I finally realized who she really was. Tears were starting to sting my eyes. She had also given up her life, to give birth to me. I wanted to know her so badly. For so many years, I dreamed to know both of my parents; wanted them to be there for me. Now, they’re standing right in front of me; smiling with warmth and approval.

“Mom….Dad…” I stepped towards them. Suddenly, everything went red. My parents looked behind me in horror. I whipped around and my heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. It was the Kyuubi Kitsune in its full demon form. Its jaws were dangerously close to my body, but I wasn’t worried about my own personal safety. I feared for my parents. I started to run towards them, wanting to protect them with everything I had. I almost reach my father’s outstretched hand, but we never touch. One of Kyuubi’s tails wraps around my waist and pulls me back. I struggle; biting and clawing at the damned tail. Nothing I did made any difference. The tail still pulled me away from my parents until I was left standing beside one of Kyuubi’s giant paws. I wanted to run for them again, but Kyuubi’s tail kept me in my place. My head whips up to look at Kyuubi, questions flooding my mind. All I can see is the wicked smirk on the fox’s face. My head drops to my chest, tears overtaking my vision. There was nothing I could do. I knew damn well what the demon had in mind. My parents were going to die, right in front of my eyes. It wasn’t fair. I had just realized who my parents were and now they were going to be taken away from me. No, I couldn’t give up! I launched myself forward against the tail. I reached for my mother and father, begging them to run away. Yet, they couldn’t hear me. They just stared at Kyuubi, their expressions unreadable.

It was then that my father turned his gaze toward me. I was screaming my lungs out; feeling my throat starting to burn from the effort. I will never forget the look on his face. He was signaling to me that everything was going to be alright and that I shouldn’t worry. I couldn’t believe him. I knew what Kyuubi was capable of; there was no way that they were going to survive. With my arms still flailing out towards my parents, tears streaming down my face, Kyuubi leaned forward. His massive jaws caught them both in one swipe. I heard a slight chuckle in the fox’s throat before he bit down.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” It was too late. Their blood splattered everywhere, some of it even landed on my face. My body went lax. Kyuubi sat back on its haunches and its tail released its hold on me. I couldn’t support my body any longer; I fell onto the floor. I was still the weak little twelve year old. I couldn’t protect anyone. If I had never found them, maybe my parents would still be alive. I truly was a monster. Kyuubi had disappeared from behind me but that made little difference. Nothing was going to wake me up from this nightmare. I had killed my parents because wherever I went, Kyuubi was sure to follow.

“Get up Naruto.” My head shifted to the source of the voice. I just wanted to be left alone. My eyes caught the figure and a whimper almost escapes my lips. It was Sasuke. I immediately got up and started to dash towards him. He brought me out of the darkness before and I knew he would help me now. He had accepted the fact that I held a demon within me and he was well prepared to defend himself against it. Sasuke opened his arms to me; waiting for me to embrace him. Our fingertips brushed, but that was all. Kyuubi suddenly reappeared and slammed his paw in-between Sasuke and I. We were pushed away from each other, both of us landing on our backsides. I scrambled up to try to reach Sasuke again, but this time I couldn’t find him. I looked all around me, but all I saw was empty space that contained me and the fox. A sharp scream attracted my attention. Right before my eyes, Sasuke was flung up into the air via Kyuubi’s tail and then chomped in two by his almighty jaws.

“Sasuke….” I whispered, no longer able to scream in anguish. I was truly alone now. There was no one left to care for me; no one left to really tie me to this world. I wanted to die. Screw being Hokage. Screw protecting the village. If I couldn’t protect the few people that I love, how could I possibly claim to be a good leader? I started to collapse to the floor, but never made it as Kyuubi caught me within his jaws. Maybe he was going to spare me by letting me go to where Sasuke and my parents were. I shut my eyes, welcoming death. Instead, he just laid me down on the bed of his nine tails. Why was he being so cruel? Couldn’t he just end my miserable and meaningless existence?

“You have to wake up kit.” If only I could. All of this was way too real for it to be a dream. I curled into myself, tears coming easily out of my eyes.

“Just kill me. There’s nothing left for me now.” It was true. He couldn’t be kinder if he just ended everything.

“I can’t do that. You have to wake up. Please Naruto, for me.” Kyuubi never sounded like that. His voice carried too much compassion. I just shut my eyes, willing for all of this to just disappear.
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(Naruto’s POV)
My eyes shoot open and are immediately blinded by light. Maybe it wasn’t all a dream. Maybe they are all dead. No, my vision starts to focus and the world isn’t just a white room. Trees and bushes start to flood my vision, granted they’re blurry but they’re there. It also comes to my attention that I’m in an extreme amount of pain. The nerves in my arms, legs, and chest were all sending signals to my brain that they were in bad shape. Looking down, I see that my arms and legs are nothing but bandages; not even my fingers were uncovered. My chest is in the same condition. Though it wasn’t bandaged, my butt was still sore. I must have been sitting on it for a while. Then something obvious struck out at me. There was a pair of legs that were lying outside of my own. I then felt, with my back, that those legs were connected to a body and the body’s arms were encircled around my waist. How had I missed that before? I tried shifting my weight so I could look behind me, but only succeeded in putting myself in more pain.

“Naruto…?” A hoarse voice questioned. That voice could only belong to one person, Uchiha Sasuke. He was alive. So that was a dream. Or… was I actually dreaming now and waiting to wake up to a harsh reality?

“Please don’t let me wake up.” Was all I could muster to say. Sasuke shifted behind me at the sudden sound of my voice.

“Naruto you’re finally awake. Thank God you’re ok. I really thought I was going to lose you this time.” His arms tightened around my middle. Sure it shot indescribable pain down my spine, but I really wanted this contact with him; to make sure that this was all real. His head was suddenly on my shoulder and I could feel his tears starting to soak my shirt. No sobs escaped from him, just tears. “Don’t you dare leave me like that again. I don’t want to be here without you. I just couldn’t…” He buried his face further into my shoulder, unable to finish his sentence. All I could do was lie my head on his; my body unwilling to comfort him any other way.

“It’s ok Sasuke. I’m still here.” I whispered into his hair.

“No you’re not ok. You used yourself as a human shield against a bomb! Wasn’t there another way for you to protect Sakura?” All the memories from that event started to seep back into my mind. Sakura’s mom landing on top of Sakura. Me grabbing the elder Haruno and dashing away. Her exploding. The immense pain from the blast. Sasuke holding me as I was dying. I almost died. The last thought hit me full force. I didn’t want to leave this life yet. There was no way I was going to leave Sasuke behind. No. Too many times have each of us been left to fend for ourselves. I had to be here; if not for myself, then for him. Then I remembered Sakura.

“Where’s Sakura? Did I save her?” I felt Sasuke release a sigh. He was probably upset that I had avoided his question, but Sakura’s wellbeing was a heavy burden on my mind.

“She’s fine. Actually, she’s the one that saved you. I wasn’t able to do anything until she showed up.” There was a strain behind that admission, but I let it slide. I knew it hurt him that he couldn’t help me when I needed him most. Sasuke was a proud person and it was rare that he admitted that he couldn’t do something. A small smile spread across my face.

“It was enough that you stayed by my side. You were probably the only reason I hung on as long as I had.” I wanted so badly to turn around and see Sasuke’s face. Yet, all that would result in is pain for me and making Sasuke upset; so I stayed put. Sasuke then leans up against my back, his lips only centimeters from my ear.

“You’re such an idiot.” There goes the nice moment. Sasuke always did have a knack for changing the subject when things got a little too uncomfortable for him. I just had to sigh. Some things just never change. Sasuke then started to shift even more behind me. “Naruto, I’m going to lean you against the tree. I need to get up and stretch and I’m sure you’re tired of talking to me behind you.” I nodded in agreement and he slowly starts to pull away. Keeping his arm behind my back to brace me, he gently slides me back so I can lean against the tree. Granted, it wasn’t as comfortable as Sasuke was, but it would do. He then leaves my side completely, moving instead in front of my line of view.

With his back towards me, he starts to stretch. His hands go to his lower back as he arches back, going all the way up onto his toes. He then pulls one arm across his chest, while pulling it with the other. This little scene reminds me so much of the first morning we woke up together; except this time I’m enjoying the view instead of Sasuke. Sasuke then turns back to me, a smirk on his face. I try to focus on him, but my mind starts to wander back to what we were currently supposed to be doing. The mission had come to a complete halt because of my accident. Added to that, I had no idea where Sakura was, how long I had been out, or how far away from the Sand we were. Sasuke must have seen the perplexed look on my face; his smirk being quickly replaced by a frown.

“What’s wrong Naruto?”

“Not even two days into the mission and I already have jeopardized the entire thing. I’m a liability now and I can’t help you get Sakura to the Sand.” His frown only got bigger at my statements. It was all true; he couldn’t change the fact that I screwed up. Sasuke walks to my location and stops right in front of me. Bending down, he makes sure that my eyes can only see his face.

“Shut up. You were only performing your duty as a shinobi of Konoha. You took the quickest action and acted upon it. If it wasn’t for you, our mission’s objective would be dead; not to mention that the two of us would be in critical condition.” He had a point. If I hadn’t run off with Sakura’s mom, we would all probably be dead right now. I bowed my head slightly; showing Sasuke that he was right. His position quickly changed; his stance going vertical, arms dropping to his sides, and his back turned towards me again.

“I’m going to be carrying you the rest of the way to the Sand. We’re only 40 miles away and we should get there by sundown tomorrow on foot. Sakura will be back shortly; she went off to gather some herbs for your healing wounds.” Sasuke was all business now. I had to admire him. Here I was, bloody and broken, and he had enough sense not to break down and cry mercy. I think I would be a mess if I had found Sasuke in the condition I was in after the explosion. Though he might not see it himself, Sasuke really does have an inner strength that is hard to compare.

“Fine. By the time we get there, Kyuubi should be finishing up with healing me. Then we can talk to the Kazekage about Sakura’s arrangements.” Sasuke turns his body around and walks to sit by my side. Once he’s done repositioning himself, I lay my head on his shoulder. Careful of my wounds, Sasuke wraps an arm around the back of me; pulling me closer to himself.

“Well, since our prisoner hasn’t returned yet, we might as well enjoy the peace and quiet.” I whole-heartily agreed with him. These moments were going to be few and far between when the mission started up again. Closing my eyes, I let myself relax, but not to the point where I would have fallen asleep.

Sleep? That thought triggered the memories from the dream I had only moments ago. Were those people really my parents? Why didn’t Kyuubi heed my words? I had to know. I didn’t care if the fox was busy healing me; I needed answers and I was going to get them now.

‘Hey, stop what you’re doing and listen to me.’ I knew Kyuubi could hear me; it was just getting him to answer that was the problem.

‘What do you want? If you haven’t noticed, you’ve taken on some serious damage. I have to concentrate or the both of us are going to die pretty quickly.’ There was no way that the fox couldn’t multi-task. He had the power to destroy the entire village of Konoha and he’s trying to tell me that he can’t heal and talk at the same time?

‘This won’t take long. I just have a question.’ I heard no objection from the demon so I continued. ‘We’re you aware of the dream I was having earlier?’ He didn’t answer right away; which made me even more suspicious.

‘You weren’t supposed to see that kit.’

‘What are you talking about? Why wasn’t I supposed to see that? It was just a dream, wasn’t it?’ I couldn’t understand what Kyuubi was saying. Wasn’t I supposed to know everything about the fox since it resided inside of me?

‘I mean, you weren’t supposed to see that until you were older. Before I was sealed inside of you, the Fourth Hokage made me promise on my pride as a demon to not reveal your heritage until you had a family of your own. He wanted for me to wait so that he knew that you were loved; that you wouldn’t feel even more alone after you found out that you had parents at one time.’ I opened my eyes, tears falling silently from them. So it was true. The Fourth Hokage was my father and the woman that stood beside him was my mother. They had loved me and had given up their lives to protect me and the village. A weight lifted off my chest. I had been loved before Sasuke.

‘I only want to know one more thing, what was my mother’s name?’ It was a simple question, but it meant the world to me. Maybe when I returned to the village, I could look for information about her or ask Tsunade Obaa-chan.

‘Uzumaki Kirai, that was her name.’ That was all Kyuubi said. I let him go back to work; knowing my body couldn’t survive long if he didn’t continue his healing. I curled into Sasuke more; needing his presence now more than I ever did. I feel his arm tighten around me, asking the silent question if I was ok.

“Sasuke, I know who my parents are.” At this, Sasuke stiffens in shock.

“How? I thought they both died when Kyuubi attacked.”

“In my dreams, they came to me and I knew they were proud of me.” My throat tightens in despair. For years I had been trying to vie for the acceptance of the village, when all along I had it from the two people I had always dreamed of having in my life.

“Well I knew that dobe.” My head twisted up to look at his face. There was the classic Uchiha smirk plastered on his mouth. “There wasn’t ever a doubt in my mind that they were proud of you. You have overcome so much atomicity and hate that you have become strong. Not to mention that you’re a caring and loving person that would do anything to protect what is important to you. I think your parents would be terrible if they weren’t proud of you.” I knew that all of what Sasuke said was true, but seeing the pride on my parent’s faces was the confirmation I needed. I buried my head into his chest, trying to hide the dried tears.

“The Fourth Hokage was my father and my mother’s name was Kirai.” Sasuke went still again.

“I guess I should have known about your father. After watching you fight, your strength equals that of a hokage; even if you’re not as focused as one.” There was a slight chuckle in his voice. It was nice to know that he wasn’t going to treat me any differently because of my parents. I just closed my eyes; glad that Sasuke was there to understand and support me.
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“Dobe get up.” I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes, a pair of emerald ones were looking back. I gasp at the closeness of Sakura but quickly settle down when my brain finally registers who it is.

“Geez Sakura, give a guy some room when he’s trying to wake up.” Slowly I push away from Sasuke to sit up. My muscles were sore and my wounds were starting to throb in pain.

“I just need to do a check up and apply these herbs before we can head out.” Sakura’s voice was firm, giving me no other options. Sighing, I give a nod in the go ahead and she starts with the procedure. Right off the bat, she takes off my shirt and starts poking and prodding me. She removes my bandages and her hands start checking over the wounds. Her movements are quick, but careful to not put me in anymore more pain than necessary.

“The wound on his stomach is still very sensitive, but I don’t think we have to fear of it reopening as long as he doesn’t exert himself. His ribs are also well healed, probably just bruised now.” She then pulls my torso forward and leans me against her chest. I move my head to peer over her shoulder at Sasuke; pleading for him to help me. All he does is smile and shrugs his shoulders; hinting that he doesn’t want to ruin my fun. Sakura’s hands run down my back, repeating the same pattern that she did with my chest.

“All the scratches and scrapes from yesterday are gone.” She was quick to let me sit upright again; not wanting to waste any time on things she already checked over. Her focus shifts to my arms; removing the massive amount of bandage to get a better look. To me they look perfectly fine, but Sakura seems amazed by them. “I didn’t realize how powerful the demon actually was.” Her eyes lock with mine. “Naruto, your arms were in shreds yesterday. You couldn’t even recognize what they were, let alone use them.” Kyuubi wasn’t kidding when he said that he had some major work to do. I was amazed myself that he had worked so quickly.

“Well since your arms are in this condition, I’m probably safe to assume that your legs are the same way.” She then unwrapped my legs. She was correct. There appeared to be nothing wrong with them. Sakura’s hands glided over my legs; green chakra radiating from them. “They still can’t be used, despite how good they look. There are too many torn ligaments and muscles. You’re still going to have to be carried to the Sand Naruto.” She ended the examination with my head. Her green chakra felt funny, but the feeling only lasted a couple of minutes. “Your head is fine, even if you were crazy enough to use your body has a blast shield.” There was slight humor in her voice; even if it was a dark humor.

“I don’t think the herbs I got are really going to help you now. Kyuubi seems to be doing a fine job by himself.” She stands and brushes the dirt off her skirt. Sasuke then proceeds to hoist me onto his back, like I weighed nothing at all. He readjusts my body and then looks back at me.

“Ready?” I roll my eyes. He’s treating me like a kid.

“Yeah. The sooner we get to the Sand, the better.” With that he takes off into the trees, careful not to jostle me.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get there and we can finally relax.”
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Sasuke was right. It only took us a day to reach the Sand; though we did have to make several stops for Sakura to check on my wounds. We also had to put face masks and goggles on to protect us from the sand whipping into our faces. It was an uneventful trip, despite how it began. For that, I was grateful. I don’t think we would have been able to handle another attack; especially if it was more than one ninja. Luckily I stayed awake for the entire time; with Sasuke’s help of course. He would talk to me about various things, the topics never getting very deep. If he ever caught me drooping off into dreamland, he would whisper something perverted to me and that would wake me up. A blush would run over my face and I would smack him in the back of his head. What was he thinking! What if Sakura overheard those things? All Sasuke would do his laugh and shake his head.

“There’s the gate.” I pointed out to the other two. Though it couldn’t compare to Konoha, I had to admit that the Sand was a beautiful place. The rustic style of the buildings was well suited to the sandy terrain. The people here were also very nice, accepting of me despite the fact that most of them knew that I housed Kyuubi no Kitsune.

As we approached the gate, I saw Gaara standing there; his hands behind his back and emotion clean from his face. I really liked the guy, but would it kill him to show a little emotion? We stopped in front of the Kazekage; Sasuke putting me down and holding me up with an arm around my shoulders. Taking off my gear, I smile at Gaara.

“It’s been a long time, huh Gaara?” A slight smile crosses over his face.

“It has been a while Naruto. Follow me to…” His eyes flared in anger, as Gaara took a pose of attack. I followed his eye line and was met with Sasuke taking off his gear to reveal his face.

“Step away from Naruto. You’re an enemy of Konoha and my village. I will put an end to Orochimaru’s plans right now.” Shit. Obaa-chan mustn’t have told Gaara that Sasuke was rescued and that he doesn’t follow that snake anymore.

“Who the hell do you think you are? You tried to kill Naruto back during the Chuunin exams. You’re not coming near him.” Sasuke drew out a kunai; setting me down onto the sand. Double shit. Sasuke didn’t know that Gaara was ok and that he was the Kazekage of this village. If I didn’t do something quickly, I was going to be dealing with two dead shinobi, a village without their Kazekage, and a very pissed off Tsunade. Before I could react, the two of them launched themselves at each other. I wasn’t going to make it; my body was still too weak to move on its own.

“STOP!!!”

Was this chapter worth the wait? It was extra long for your pleasure... Wow that sounds totally sexual. Oh well. Reviewing makes children smile. You do like children smiling instead of them being in dark allies all cold and alone, don't you? Well, until next time kiddies.
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