You Can Never Go Home Again

A/N: Well, notebook never turned up. So I went and wrote a new outline, up through chapter 12, so at least that much is planned now. And damn it all if I didn’t throw in some new ideas. I still really wish I had the old outline, but oh well…

…I suck at fight scenes, so…uh…blame that for why this took so long…coz I wanted to perfect them…not sure what I think of them still, so…sorry if they’re bad, they’re not my forte!!

Thank you all so much for all the reviews! It was so awesome to know people are still willing to pick up this story!

Terra Minuit – I really got myself confused on the whole water/wave country thing. It is actually, Kirigakure, the Hidden Village of Mist that Tsugi’s from, which is ‘Water Country’ that the dub turned into ‘Wave Country’. This is what I get for actually bothering to watch any part of the dub.

Nates – You…are incredibly observant…and I’m not going to say anything more or I’m going to give things away. XD

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Naruto or any characters therein associated with him. All are copyright Kishimoto-sensei. Thank you for your brief attention.

ENJOY!

You Can Never Go Home Again
Chapter Seven: Hold Your Head High, Heavy Heart (And Save your Strength for the Morning After)


“People meet and people separate.
They have a past, a present, and a future.
The brief moment when they shined even more brightly than the stars, was when they lived earnestly.”

-Glass No Kantai ep. 5

Her laughter made him think of a house of mirrors, made him confused and scared as he thought of a thousand versions of himself and his team. Her laughter made him think of the sting of silver, the sweet noise that could follow any of her movements, if she dared to draw her short sword.

She won’t get far if she does.

She made Kyuubi think of things beyond the cage, of dark corners and moving shadows far worse than anything these human children had ever seen.

“Who are you?!” Konohamaru. He cursed the kid under his breath.

The woman grinned, a set of pearly whites glittering in the backdrop of her darkness, “I am the third and first, the outer edge of the shadows. I am the beginning of the blur. Soon, you will be trapped inside.” Her fingers drew slim kunai, in a motion faster than Naruto’s eye could follow. But she didn’t move.

And that was Naruto’s first mistake.

They weren’t fast enough, he knew. But he didn’t try to retreat. He should have. He should have had them take the Lightning family and run. Instead, he dropped his center of balance lower, drew his hands in front of him and let his chakra begin to pulse, blue and brilliant, around him.

Her grin grew wider.

That was his second mistake.

And then they were moving, the two of them, a blur of hands and arms and legs and steel, a dance that kept Naruto’s mind blank. If he missed his steps, they were dead. If his charges dropped their guards, they were dead. If any of the other nin that had been following appeared…they were beyond dead.

Dead. Dead. Dead.

And then her kunai vanished. All he saw were those white teeth, glittering, and then he was falling. Falling. Falling.

His eyes met brilliant blue skies, and the edge of the forest, the edge of a cliff…and his teammates were falling after him.

And they fell like rain against the cloudless blue sky. Then heaven must have risen to meet them, as he was surrounded by brilliant gold.

And then he knew only dark.

!!!!!!!

Tsunade’s eyes could break his shell. She could read how the story was affecting him. There were words between the lines, but she didn’t push him and didn’t interrupt.

“We were in a field. I don’t know how the rest survived the fall.” Kyuubi saved me, the others, Fate had plans for. “When I opened my eyes, I was disoriented, and I couldn’t hear the others.” Terror. The thought of being alone. “And then I heard that laughter.”

There was a knock on the heavy door, startling both of them.

“Enter.”

“Tsunade-sa…ma…” a feminine voice.

Naruto was on his feet in an instant, blue eyes wide. Familiar pink hair, bright green eyes, slender frame…

“Naruto!”

“Sakura!”

The two stared at each other, looking across time. She’d matured beautifully, just as he knew she would, tall and slim, her pink hair long and cascading down her back. Her figure was well toned, but hidden under barely tanned smooth curves.

The moment was tilted when Sakura stumbled into the room and broke her gaze to glare at the doorway.

Neji Hyuuga had always been an intimidating force to be reckoned with. As he grew into maturity, this factor had only developed. It’d only been a year, but Naruto barely saw any signs of the friend he’d left behind, as he met the cool eyes of the shadow in the doorway.

He’d cut his hair short, leaving two lengths extending to his clavicle, framing his face, and had his hitai-ate dropped almost casually around his neck.

Tsunade frowned at the two, “I said two hours.”

Sakura spared her a glance of almost apology, before she squeaked and launched herself at Naruto.

If it hadn’t been for years of refined training, Naruto would have found himself on the floor. Instead, he was caught in an awkward hug, her arms tight around his neck, his loose against her hips.

“You’re BACK!” She pulled back, hands flying to his cheeks, turning his head left and right, “You’re not injured or anything?”

He couldn’t help laughing softly and shook his head, “I’m alright. I’m home.”

She smiled at him and for a moment he was distracted by how nice maturity had been to her.

“If he was injured, I’d have killed him.”

Sakura glared at Neji over her shoulder.

Neji ignored her and politely shoved her aside, stopping close in front of him.

Naruto met his eyes, quiet, and then extended his hand.

Neji’s hand was warm and rough, a firm grip to match his firm eyes. Naruto felt a genuine smile tweak at his lip.

“Come find me later.” Neji’s voice was deeper, water over rocks. Naruto red his eyes, an invitation to spar. A challenge to test his strength. Naruto nodded, but Neji was already turning away.

He suddenly got the feeling of being an outcast in a pack of animals. And actually, now that the idea came to him, that’s what ninja were. More than human, less trust or emotional attachment. They were feeling him out, wondering if he would challenge their strength, if he would take over as Alpha Male.

Somehow, he had a feeling they’d blindly follow him if he did. After he proved himself.

Neji spoke softly with Tsunade and Sakura stood close to his side, arms tucked behind her back. Naruto raised an eyebrow when he noted this, then it dropped and his eyes narrowed as a scent reached his nose. He smirked.

Sakura must have felt his eyes because she glanced at him and froze. His smirk grew and his gaze flickered to Neji, then back to her. She blushed and quickly looked away.

So…

“....nd since Naruto’s here, maybe he can assist-“

“Don’t get trigger happy, Naruto just got back, give him a few days to relax.”

“It’s fine, Tsunade-baba…” Naruto broke in, “Sitting around doing nothing makes me nervous. I’d be glad to help.”

“See? Same old Naruto!” Sakura quipped in.

No one noticed the look the blond shot at her, or how quickly he captured his falling mask and put it back in place.

!!!!!!!

“Good MORNING, Sunshine!”

Sasuke groaned and tried to pull his comforter over his head. The sun was shining in through the window, meaning it was way too early still. Uchiha’s don’t do early mornings if they don’t have to.

Or at least this one didn’t.

There was silence in the room.

Wait Hadn’t someone…said…somethi--

His eyes flew open.

“Ah, finally…” Someone was grinning at him, someone with blonde hair…

He sat up, scowl on his lips, fully ready to tear Naruto a new asshole…and froze.

Tsugi quirked an eyebrow at him.

Fuck.

“How do you keep getting IN here?”

Tsugi grinned and rose, “No questions, get on up, let’s have some fun.”

“Not with you, thanks.” Uchiha’s don’t do fun either.

“No need to be a spoil sport. UP!” His blankets vanished, and flew across the room. He watched with dismay as they landed on his nice clean floor with a soft noise. His eyes moved from the pile of soft warmth to the man standing beside his bed, “The day is young and so are you!”

“Get the hell out of my house.”

“Make me.” Tsugi shot him a cocky grin and headed for his closet, “Let’s see…hm…mm-hm…” Clothes flew across the floor.

Sasuke’s scowl grew as he stood, rubbing sleep from an eye, and looked around for a kunai or shuriken.

“Here! Wear this!” Clothing hit his face. Damn it, he hated mornings.

“Go to hell.”

“Put it on and I’ll take you to heaven, baby.”

Cocky bastard.

“I’ll bring coffee.”

…damn it.

“I’ll make coffee right now if you get dreeeessed.”

Sasuke grunted.

Tsugi grinned and bounded out of the room.

A bird chirped outside his open window.

He really, really wished he knew where the kunai he kept next to his bed went.

!!!!!!!

The two ninja bowed to the Hokage, and backed away for the door, Sakura stopping close to Naruto, fine fingers reaching out to touch his shoulder.

“I’ll wait for you to finish.”

“It could be a while.”

She smiled at him, “I don’t mind waiting. Today’s a good day for a chat.” Then flicked her wrist in a wave and followed the other nin out of the room.

Tsunade watched them leave with a half smile that dropped as soon as the door closed.

“I still don’t understand why this mission couldn’t have been wrapped up in a much shorter time.”

“Because things became complicated. These people weren’t normal humans. Weren’t normal ninja.”

“What were they, then?”

“Rogue like we’ve never experienced. Not like the Akatsuki. They’re like a complicated web, with one person at the center, controlling it all.”

“Who was it?”

“Not was…is. He’s still out there, waiting.”

“For?”

“Me. You. Konoha. And everything else.”

“So we’re dealing with a mad man, then.”

Naruto shook his head, and couldn’t help pacing across the floor, “No. If anything, if you ever hear him speak, he has more sense than any of us combined. He holds himself in such control. He knows what he’s doing and where he’s going to take this all.”

“So you’ve met him.”

“Several times.”

“Does he have a name?”

Naruto looked up at her, “It’s in the report.”

“All the report mentioned was a quick sentence about ‘Mercy’.”

Naruto nodded, and glanced towards the window, “And if you’re lucky, no one in this village will ever have to know why.”

!!!!!!!

“Sea of gold…sea of red…it’ll all be pretty in the end.”

Laughter.

God, he was starting to hate that noise.

“Everyone alright?” he heard called from his left, then shifting and Konohamaru appeared beyond the half veil of gold. His eyes focused, finally having a point of reference, and realized they were in a field. Others rose out of the blur around him, so he moved to follow suit.

“Climb on up, little fox. Time to see the road to the end.”

She was perched on a rock, in a crouch, obviously grinning underneath her mask. He wondered why she didn’t attack while they were so disoriented. Her laughter strung over him as he climbed to his feet, swaying a little. He shook his head, then looked up at her, then around at his team. They looked worse for wear, Mizuo with a gash in the center of his lower lip, a nice bruise forming on his chin. The others looked little better, and all moved to keep themselves between the woman and the Lord and Lady.

Focus.

She tilted her head.

FOCUS. This is still the first part of the battle…be weary…know that she doesn’t have her guard down, despite appearances…

Her fingers tightened just the slightest.

This is still where she’s measuring us out…

Her eyes flickered to the right.

Where she doesn’t know our strengths…

She flew left suddenly, startling everyone. The movement was a blur, a quick drop of the legs, and she landed on the ground in front of Konohamaru. Naruto saw the way Konohamaru froze up, caught off guard.

There was a clash of metal against metal. Naruto’s body instantly reacted and he squeezed his eyes shut.

“Come now.” Naruto opened his eyes again, “The road is long, but all too short for each of us. Play a little wilder now.” Konohamaru was still frozen, eyes wide. His body shook ever so slightly. A kunai pressed against the center of his hitai-ate. She grinned wildly.

The blade slipped down, scratching a crooked line down the metal plate. Her grin grew, as it made a clipped sound as it slid off the plate and past the cloth to reach skin. A red line streaked down the middle of his forehead, slowly, slowly drawing down too close to the eye…

She drew back, “Hurry and draw your weapon of choice, boy-o. Time waits for no one, especially the blood-stained.”

Konohamaru’s eyes sought out Naruto, then over the other members of the team. Naruto felt Kyuubi issue a low growl, which made its way out of his throat. Konohamaru gulped, and drew a set of kunai.

Her teeth flashed, “That-a boy.”

She moved too quickly for Naruto’s eyes to see, but somehow, Konohamaru got his hands up in time to block her from crashing into him, though he stumbled back, and lost his footing in the soft dirt.

Naruto heard someone draw a weapon in the team. He glanced away.

One look was all it took. All it ever takes.

Konohamaru screamed.

The woman’s kunai was glistening red. Konohamaru had dropped his weapons, had fallen to his knees, and was clutching his eye.

“Gods of humans gave eyes to see the beauty and the pain in this world. Gods of Gods take that sight away. Mercy welcomes those blinded from the terrors of the world.” Her voice was like the cold, bloodied steel in her hand, dripping, pooling on the ground and somehow, tainting it.

Konohamaru let out a quiet sob.

“Is this the best Fire Nation offers? This weakness? This pitiful, crying beast?”

Still, Naruto didn’t draw his weapons.

“Perhaps I shall put you out of your misery, boy-o.”

Wait. Just wait. This is the transition, the second part of the dance. He’ll decide. He’ll make his move or fall…

“This isn’t our battle anymore…” He whispered softly.

Get up, Konohamaru…

Get up.

!!!!!!!

Sakura was waiting faithfully, leaning on the railing of the bridge, watching the water. He strolled up casually, slipping into a softer roll, pushing his hands into his pockets, “So you really did stay.”

“Of course.” She smiled at him, “Come on, walk with me.” She looped her arm through his, and took the lead, “The village has changed a lot since you left.”

“That’s what happens when life gets in the way.”

She laughed softly, “I suppose.”

He cast a sideways glance at her, “So…you and Neji seem close.” She stiffened, but kept walking. He couldn’t help grinning, “I saw those dirty looks you were shooting each other.”

“Naruto!”

He laughed.

She smacked his arm, but settled comfortably against him again, and sighed, “Are we that obvious?”

“Of course not. I just happen to be good at picking up on these things.”

“Oh yes, because you’ve had so many many women falling all over you.”

Ouch.

Sakura gasped, and covered her mouth, “Oh. Oh, Naruto, I’m sorry, that was bad.”

He shrugged and smiled, keeping a firm grip on his mask, “For what? It’s true.”

She let him take the lead, probably as an apology, but he didn’t care. He directed them towards his old neighborhood.

“This area’s fallen apart, I see.”

Sakura nodded, gripping his arm tighter, “It’s not safe to walk around alone here.”

“Good thing neither of us are alone.” He said softly.

She looked up at him, green eyes sparkling in the beginnings of the sunset, and smiled, “No. We’re not.”

The first Hanamachi met them a block from his old apartment.

“It’s become a red-light district?” He asked, curious as women in fine Kimonos passed, looking at the two curiously, then looking away.

Sakura wrinkled her nose, “Sadly. They pretend to be geisha…and put a dirty spot in our city.”

“If they’re a dirty spot…” Naruto said, watching three painted women cross the path ahead of them, watching the two nin as they glided gracefully across the dirt, then speaking to each other quickly behind their fans, “Then we ninja are the blood stain.”

“What?”

He couldn’t look at her, “We’re no different from them.”

“That’s not true!”

“We both wear masks, both work for a greater good.”

“They sell their bodies!” She pulled away, looking up at him angrily.

“So do we, Sakura. They become sheaths. We become weapons.”

!!!!!!!

“Konohamaru...”

Movement. Subtle. The gold waves swirled.

“Get up, boy-o.”

Naruto felt a sudden pull, eyes widening, as he realized what Konohamaru was doing. She realized it in the same second. The boy was making the dive, gathering his chakra into a wall. Quickly.

Too quickly.

Naruto barely had time to dive for the Lord and Lady, before the initial pull drew the long stalks of hay towards Konohamaru, and then the sudden rush of power, too much for someone with Konohamaru’s limited training.

Kit!

Naruto felt Kyuubi’s chakra pour through him, felt the warm energy wrap around him and his team. Save Konohamaru… he thought, before he watched the hay fall flat against the ground and felt the sudden sting of power.

He blacked out for a long moment, when he came to, the energy had subsided, and he managed to drop the burning red shields from around him and his team.

He struggled to sit up, to look at his team.

Konohamaru…

There was cursing, and labored breathing. He found Konohamaru struggling to his feet, one hand still over his eye, the other wiping blood from his mouth. He sought out the others, felt their chakra still pulsing, but dim, knocked unconscious. Konohamaru made a choked noise.

The girl was pulling herself to her feet, looking stunned. Her long hair had come lose, and now flew about wildly for a moment, before settling against her shoulders. Her eyes narrowed, as she wiped a spot of dirt from her cheek.

“Bad move, boy-o.”

Konohamaru coughed, “Then come learn what the Fire Nation is really about.”

Somehow…somehow, we’ve moved from the second stage to the final stage of battle… Naruto thought. Too fast. He’s not ready. Especially after that unfocused release…

Konohamaru laughed softly, and his hand went from his eye to his hitai-ate and tugged it down to an angle, covering his injury.

“I’ll even finish you with one eye.”

Konohamaru’s kunai drew from the ground, along with two more from his holder. The four connected at the handles and began to glow, rising in front of him, and started spinning, slowly, at first, then faster as his eyes narrowed on his opponent. When they were the illusion of a soft blue disk, he lifted his blood-stained hands, using one to brace the other just behind the spinning blades, and set his feet into the dirt.

“KAZE NO SHI TSUNO SEISHIN!” (2)

The blue light exploded, and blinded them, Naruto shielding his eyes.

The woman screamed, an enraged noise. There was the sickening sound of slicing skin.

Blue streaked across Naruto’s vision, and suddenly, Konohamaru held all four kunai again.

Where the HELL had he learned something like THAT?!

Konohamaru was slouching a little, breath heavy, visible eye burning with anger. Naruto followed the gaze.

The girl still stood, an arm wrapped around a nasty slice in her chest.

“Mercy grants life to those who believe in Him. His is eternal life. His is eternal glory.” She attacked, single-handedly. The clash and clang echoed across the field, as the fight grew weaker and weaker.

This is the end.

“Your misguided faith shall be rewarded in DEATH!” She screamed the final word, and threw herself at him.

As he heard the kunai sinking into her chest one more time, Naruto wondered if she was speaking to herself or to them.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ch. 7 Fin.

1. Hanamachi = Geisha house, basically
2. Kaze no shi tsuno seishin = Four Souls of the Wind

Blink. Omfg, I finished it. I actually finished it. Okay, just going to post this up and go to bed. Because it’s late. Damn fight scene.

Next Chapter: The letter. The enemy. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke in a painful reunion.