Untitled_SasuNaru

A/N: News flash everyone!!

These newest -and final- chapters are not as good as I would like them to be. ANY feedback from you, my readers, would be helpful in editing and perfecting them when I go and edit this later. I do not really care myself how these chapters came out but ultimately, it's not me that's reading it. So, read on and review. Please.







If the shock hadn't worked it's way so deep to his bones, he would have sent up an alert but he didn't. Couldn't. One of his worst enemies was sitting right next to him, red eyes locked onto his. And he hadn't made a single move, except for stealing the bowel of ramen, that constituted anything threatening. How had he managed to get in here? Why was he there? Where was the big sharkman? And why wasn't he wearing a black robe? Well, it was black but didn't have red clouds. As if sensing his inner turmoil, Itatchi reached out and knocked the counter. The man peeked around and after ordering more ramen for himself Itatchi looked at his hands.



"How much do you care for those two abominations?"



"That's none of your business."



"Oh, but it is. You see, they are abominations but alas, they are also blood."



"You don't care much for your blood Uchiha. That was made clear the day you killed them all."



"Except one."



"Except one." Naruto didn't take his eyes off of Itatchi's form. "Why are you here? Oh, wait, is it to come and take me away to further your plot to rule the world?" Suddenly, he was having a hard time breathing. But Itatchi hadn't moved a muscle. Invisible hands were around his throat, squeezing.



"You always did talk to much Uzumaki. Just like your father." Shaking his head, Itatchi waved a hand and the invisible hands eased, leaving Naruto gasping for breath. "It is none of your business but I guess it wouldn't harm anyone for you to know. I am no longer part of the organization. Unfortunately, they outlived their usefulness to me."



"So what? You're looking to come back here? News flash, your wanted dead or alive."



"Hn." When his ramen was set down, Naruto watched, still amazed, as Itatchi ate it in silence. After the bowel was empty, he set it aside and turned the full weight of his gaze back to naruto, who immediately looked down. "How much?"



"Enough to kill you to keep them safe." Itatchi smiled then and it made Naruto shutter.



"Fair enough. I will offer my services in finding and retrieving the lost one. But, if turn for my services, you must do something for me Uzumaki."



"If I have to kill someone, myself, hurt someone, betray someone or in any way betray this village, turn around and leave now. I don't want or need your help."



"But you do need my help, and the information I can give you." Naruto scoffed.



"We're doing fine on our own."



"He has moved again."



"Of course." Naruto sighed and rubbed his head. "Leave Itatchi. I want nothing you have to offer." Itatchi leaned over then, making Naruto hold his breath and wait for the attack he could sense coming but...nothing happened.



"I know where he sleeps. How he keeps coming back to life. Where he is now. Where he will go next. I know what he is doing to the child as we speak." Naruto saw red and before he knew what he was doing, Itatchi was against the wall of the small stand with Naruto's, now claw tipped hand, around his throat and starting to crush painfully. The question he'd asked himself earlier had come back to him. The shakrman was sitting on the stool farthest away but his presence seeped into naruto's body and when his red eyes flashed, he growled.



"Leave here traitor before I rip you to pieces!" His voice was low, two toned and was filled with so much menace, even the sharkman stiffened. Itatchi just smiled. Smiled.



"If you wish to see her dead body then I will leave Uzumaki." Naruto let go instantly, eyes turning back to blue and filling with sorrow. Itatchi threw the image into his head, red eyes swirling and watched as Naruto fell to a stool to sit and shake his head.



"Stop. No more." Itatchi's eyes phased to black and he took the stool he'd previously occupied. "What do you want?"



"That didn't take long ne Itatchi?" The sharkman laughed but Itatchi stared at naruto.



"I want five years of your time. After that, I will give you and that pitiful excuse of an Uchiha my help in any way I see it needed."



"You want what?"



"Those are my terms Uzumaki. You'd do well to at least consider them." And with that, Itatchi and the sharkman disappeared. Naruto stared at the empty seat and he could have swore he heard a laugh.



"Naruto-chan?" His eyes snapped up to see the old man holding a cleaver and looking around wildly.



"He's gone jii-san. Don't..." he stopped and felt himself crumbling. "Don't tell anyone about this. A favor for me."



"Anything for my best customer but...Naruto, will you be alright?" Naruto didn't answer as he stood and started walking aimlessly around the village. His mind was reeling. What was he going to do? Did he accept the proposal against his better judgment? Did he tell someone and possibly endanger both twins? Just the image that had been projected into his mind made him shutter. No. There was no way he would see either of them dead.





He watched as Naruto entered a building and waited. He'd been following the blond for some time now, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Now, he had one. His proposal had been made in the perfect time. A time when the blond was vulnerable, in need, desperate. There was no way he could refuse. And if he did, well, there were ways around that. Any of them would be interesting. Now however, he just watched. A light came on in one of the top floor windows and when his gaze locked on, he knew that was the one Naruto had gone too.





Sai watched, eyebrow quirked, as Naruto walked into his apartment and started turning on all the lights. he'd woken at the sense of something being...wrong but he wasn't sure what it was until he'd come out to see Naruto. Now, the blond was walking towards him, a broken look in his gaze. he went tense the moment Naruto came into his personal space but when the blond pulled their bodies together, he relaxed. Just as he was about to voice a question, Naruto sealed their lips together.



The kiss, if there was any way to describe it, felt like it was the end of the world. It was pleasureful, deep, demanding, sad and everything he knew he couldn't express himself all rolled into soft lips. When Naruto pulled away, Sai was left a little breathless but watched as Naruto let him go, turned and then left the apartment. Touching his lips gently, Sai watched the door and then walked immediately to an empty canvas, grabbed up some pre-paint pencils and started drawing.





When the blond walked into her office, again, she looked up. Jiraya was still there and they were talking about the next plan of action. he didn't say anything but stood, across from her, staring at the floor. She noticed his eyes and was jumping up in seconds, only to be stopped by some sort of invisible forcefield.



"Naruto!" he looked up and she noticed a look she thought had left him forever. Apparently she'd been wrong.



"I'm sorry Tsunade-sama. It seems I haven't been able to do my job adequately." When she went to speak, he shushed her by holding up a hand. "I..." He paused and thought for a minute. "I am leaving, willingly, but know that I am not leaving permanently. I am not changing sides and I am not going to go on a killing spree. I just...need to go. I'll be gone for a while so if you think you can, take care of them for me while I'm gone."



"But, Naruto! What's going on, what's the matter? You can't leave! what about your training?!" He continued just as if she'd never spoken.



"Sasuke is hard headed, we all know that, but I'm more worried about Aito. Make sure...make sure, you know, just in case you find my body somewhere, they are taken care of ne?" He chuckled a little. "Can't believe I'm doing this..." Silent tears started down his cheeks. "I guess after everything we've been through since they were taken, I'm willing to do anything to get her back." He looked from her to Jiraya and smiled. "Ja ne." With that, he vanished in a plume of smoke. Tsunade was released from her prison and she left her office in a rush. ANBU were all over her and as she gave them orders, she knew, somewhere inside, that it was already too late. He was gone.



Two hours later, every single shinobi she sent out had returned empty handed.



She cried.





It was insane. He'd had four of the Rookie Nine come rushing into his home babbling something about Naruto missing. What he hadn't heard them say was left. Willingly. No, after searching the Fire Country for three days, he'd shown up in the Hokage's office and she'd told him. Naruto told her he'd left and he was doing it willingly. That had been a week ago. And in that week, he hadn't left the first training grounds. He'd ended up ruining it entirely. It wasn't until Sakura dragged him back to his house, forcefully, that he'd actually slept any at all. And then she'd had to put him to sleep. Now though, he was sitting in his living room staring out the window. Aito was staring out it from her crib. he knew now why she stopped doing anything when naruto left. It was quiet. Uchiha Sasuke never would have thought he'd be sick of the quiet. He was now.



Sakura was sitting on the couch, staring at Sasuke. She hadn't thought it was possible to make him seem even more far away than normal but now that Naruto was gone, it seemed like Sasuke was somewhere far away. Looking to the crib, she noticed Aito staring out the window just like her father and she sighed. Standing, she went to the kitchen to make some tea. Her hands were shaking to the point that she nearly dropped the pot. Biting out a fruitful curse, she used both hands and set the pot on the stove, letting the water heat. Sasuke wasn't the only one suffering but amazingly, she was handling it better than anyone in the Rookie Nine. Even Sai. Just thinking about her other teammate made her grit her teeth. He'd come to her a few nights ago and for the first time, ever, she'd seen genuine emotion on his face and it was...sadness. They'd talked for hours and after he left to go home, she cursed Naruto.



"Need help?" She jumped and before she knew what she was doing, she sent a punch flying at the voice that startled her. It was caught and she saw Sasuke. Shaking her head, she jerked her fist from his grasp and started busting about the kitchen.



"No."



"Tell that to my hand painted tea cups." He plucked said cups from her shaking hands and set them on the counter. She cursed, for the second time in five minutes, and leaned against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest in a pose that reminded him of a lazy shinobi they both knew.



"How-"



"I don't know Sakura."



"He didn't even say goodbye." He looked to her and noticed her gaze pin pointed on the floor, hard. He wondered what his tile had ever done to her but then again, he'd done the same thing many times.



"According to the Hokage, he did to her and Sai."



"But why Sai? Why not me?" She gasped and slapped herself in the forehead. "I'm sorry."



"Hn." She was still mad at him but she'd all but forgotten his 'temporary leave' as it had been called and they were working harder on their relationship as friends.



"We questioned Ichimaru." His hands stilled and he stared at the tea cups. "he said the night Naruto...left, he got a crazy looking customer." She scoffed and moved a little, then started talking again. "All he could tell us was he had swirling red eyes and had two bowels of beef ramen." There was a crash and Sakura looked over quickly. Sasuke had dropped the pot of boiling water on the floor and was leaning heavily against the counter. His hands were fisted and his eyes were phasing between red and black. She could see chakra swirling around him and that was nothing small. When she went to touch him, he screamed at her not too. She recoiled as if he'd slapped her. Survival instincts kicking in, Sakura ran out of the kitchen and grabbed Aito who was staring at the door to the kitchen, face contorted in what looked like concentration, and she left the house in a plume of smoke.



Swirling red eyes. There was only one living person with two swirling red eyes and that was his brother. What on earth was Naruto doing with Itatchi? If Sasuke knew his brother any, it wasn't good and Naruto hadn't gone willingly. Sure, he might have thought he was but in all reality, it was Itatchi. He was a sadistic, calculating bastard and he planned for every possible outcome of a situation. If something didn't work as planned, he made the person who ruined his plans pay. Too many times as a child he'd found that out. What did Itatchi want with Naruto? Why had he shown himself? Why now of all times? With a hiss that would make anyone's blood boil, Sasuke transported himself into the Hokage's office. She was in a meeting but he ignored the other shinobi in attendance and stormed over to her desk. His eyes were red and his chakra levels were almost enough to make the ANBU members outside her office worry if everything was going to be alright.



"It was Itatchi." She waved behind him and he felt the other presences in the room leave. Then, she looked back down to her desk and started writing. He noticed her hand shook a little.



"I know."



"We need to find him."



"I know."



"Then why aren't you doing anything?!" His hands slammed down on her desk and he broke it into pieces. He watched as the woman who'd become Hokage stood and slowly raised her head. he saw her green eyes shimmer with unspilled tears and saw her finger come up and start poking him in the chest.



"I am doing everything in my power to find him Sasuke. I have people from the other three hidden villages looking for him and still, I have nothing! You are not the only one suffering from this loss damn it so stop acting like a self-centered, spoiled brat before I put you to the ground!"



"I'd like to see you try woman." She hissed and he just glared at her.



"Be careful what you wish for Sasuke because you just might get it."



"Find him." With that, he left her office and went back to the first training ground. New training stumps had been put up and he made quick work of them, training out his anger and frustration. he didn't register the presence behind him until he was eating dirt. When he came up and wiped his mouth, he saw Sai standing where he had been previously, staring down at him with a blank face.



"He left because of you." Sai walked forward and yanked out a scroll, hand moving a mile-a-minute as he painted something and when he let it go with a release of chakra, Sasuke was on his feet and dodging the ink creations. Sasuke tried to tell Sai that it wasn't his fault but it seemed the former ROOT ANBU didn't believe him. And he didn't stop attacking. "I almost had him and you forced him to leave."



"No, I did not."



"You did. If you hadn't returned, he would have been mine. Mine! But you came back toting two life forms of minimal proportion and he took to you. Because of you, he's gone and he may not come back. For this offense Uchiha, you will die."



"You care about him don't you?" Sai stopped in mid stride and seemed to think about it. Sasuke just solidified his defense as he waited. He nearly fell over when he saw Sai's face fill with genuine sadness and his eyes with loss. Was it possible for this shinobi to feel? Even a little bit? Yes, it was. There was just something about Naruto that changed a person.



"I..." He stopped and looked back at Sasuke. "Die!" He didn't worry about painting this time, he simply rushed Sasuke, short sword drawn. Sasuke watched as something flitted by his eyes. They say you see your life before you die. Could this pitiful excuse for a shinobi actually kill him? No. It was just wishful thinking on Sai's part. Just as Sai reached Sasuke, a figure jumped in between them and stopped Sai's attack by grabbing both wrists and holding them in the air. Sai cursed and struggled to get free but he was genuinely stuck. When Sasuke didn't move, he was inwardly started at the voice that yelled at him.



"Leave, now!" He noticed a shock of Grey hair. Nodding once, dumbly, he left the field and went back to the compound.



Kakashi stared down at his teammate, sharingan uncovered and when Sai looked dead into his eye, he watched the teen start to fall. Catching him before he hit the ground, Kakashi sighed and looked at where Sasuke had run. he didn't know if Tsunade was out of her mind for reassigning him to their team in Naruto's place or utterly suicidal but whatever her reason, he was going to ask her, again, if she really knew what she was doing. And with a last look to the passed out form in his arms, he picked Sai up, much like a child, and took him home. When Sai was tucked away under the covers of his bed, with a command to sleep, Kakashi left for the one person who needed him the most.





In all the years of working at the academy, not once had Iruka taken leave. The non-taken vacations stacked over the years and when Tsunade finally told him to take leave or be fired, he'd had no choice. He was torn between grieving for Naruto and his job and it was affecting the way he was teaching so she'd called him into her office and gave him the ultimatum. So, he'd taken the leave. Now, he sat curled up in his only living room chair with a picture clutched in his hands. His knuckles were white from how hard he was holding it and he wasn't sure how it stood up to the pressure and didn't break, but inwardly he was grateful.



His eyes were puffy from the tears that had just recently stopped and his throat was dry from the sobs. No matter how much he preyed to the fallen Hokage or whoever was listening, Naruto hadn't come walking back, big, dopey smile on his face saying it had all been a big joke. At first that's what he himself thought it was, some sort of joke, until Tsunade had looked at him with a sadness that tore his heart out. Not that Naruto leaving hadn't already done that.



After losing his parents because of the demon sealed within Naruto, he'd been alone. utterly. And then he'd found the little terror running around. Of course, the Third had made sure Naruto was taken care of secretly in the years he was most vulnerable but when his position as Hokage had been compromised, he'd had no choice but to stop. That was when Iruka found him. He'd been being chased away from a restaurant with a broom by some woman. At the time, naruto had only been five. Iruka knew then that Naruto was just as alone as he was and not responsible for what happened the night of his birth. So, Iruka had started protecting him, when he could. And a couple years later, Naruto enrolled in the academy with his ridiculous dream. And their relationship had never been stronger.



But he'd left. And he hadn't even said goodbye. Iruka sobbed, no tears falling from his eyes and dropped the picture to his lap in favor of hiding his face with his hands. He never knew he could hurt so bad. He hadn't even hurt this bad when he'd become an orphan over night. He felt like he lost a part of himself and no one could help. He had been fine, almost, the night before he'd left and then...out of the blue he left without a reason. Or saying where he was going. The worry for his adopted family member burned in his gut and he couldn't stand it. He felt like he was going to be sick. He ran to the bathroom, just in the nick of time, and wretched up the few bites of food he'd managed to eat earlier that day. When his brown hair was pulled away from his neck and face, he reached up and grabbed at the hand, holding tightly.



Iruka felt rough, callused fingers and knew who it was. When he was down to dry heaves, he looked up and saw a smiling face. How could he be smiling at a time like this? It wasn't a laughing matter! And in seconds, Iruka was holding his mouth in horror. Kakashi's cheek sported a red spot in the shape of a hand print. Iruka's hand print. Kakashi just blinked for a moment, the smile gone, and picked iruka up, much like he had Sai, and took him into the bedroom. Iruka protested the whole way, but Kakashi just ignored him. And after they were both stripped naked, he crawled onto the bed and pulled his lover close to his body and covered them with the blankets. Iruka still protested but his body was relaxing even if he didn't want it too. And when he lost the fight with sleep, Kakashi just curled around his body protectively. Iruka wasn't the only one suffering and kakashi would be damned if he lost someone else he cared about. He may not live through it. As it was, he wasn't doing well with the loss of Naruto. No one was. And, amazingly, even the village was feeling the loss.



No matter how much they austrasized him, called him a demon and genuinely hated him, they missed him, his light hearted attitude and that stupid smile. It was as if Naruto had died and indeed, that's exactly what it felt like. If he didn't come back in a weeks time, Tsunade would have no choice but to declare him a criminal and put him in the bingo book as wanted, alive. Then he would have to hunt Naruto down, just like the rest of the ANBU. Naruto wouldn't be his adopted son, friend and teammate. He would be just another criminal.



And that's what hurt the most.