Manicherryblossom33
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Hey guys! I wish I had some good news for you, but today is the anniversary of something very tragic that happened to my family when I was ten. So its a sad day, and on top of that, we received a certain package that only made things worse. And we saw crows flying in an ominous formation which, according to my superstitious (and much more intelligent) younger sister is a sign that someone died. Scary... Anyway, about this chapter. I know I promised Hinata would make up for her major screw up from last chapter but I just couldn't make it fit. She will perform brilliantly in future chapters. I'm currently making rough drafts of chapter sixteen and am settling on the romance. (My brother is such a pervert... Ugh the suggestion he made for the "romance" part of this fanfic is so disgusting... I want to slap him...) anyway, enjoy.
Chapter fifteen:
FLASHBACK STARTS HERE
"Where's that idiot run off to?" Sasuke stalked through the forest, impatient.
First, Naruto bugs him into buying Sakura a present. Then he leads him into that fan girl death trap called a flower shop. Then he disappears after treating him and Sakura to ramen.
Sasuke wasn't the type of person who believed you could feel when the people close to you are in pain. But after the way Naruto acted tonight... He just had to talk to him.
"Are you giving up on Sakura-chan?"
Sasuke hid behind a tree. Great. He'd found the clown. But he was talking with the Hyuga girl. And butchering a tree with some kunai. Which meant he was in a bad mood.
"I never give up! You know that!" He wiped the sweat off his brow. "But... She said it could never be like that between us. And I can't force her to love me... Besides, she asked me to stop. She only wants Sasuke. She can't ever think of anyone the way she thinks of him. Even if he died. At least that's what she said."
He fell back to the grass, sitting and resting one arm on his bent knee.
"But it's the same way for me." He said, frustrated. "At least that's how I feel about her..."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Why did that Hyuga girl suddenly look so... Well, depressed.
She sat on her knees beside him, pulling on her jacket.
"I'm sorry." She told him.
He stared forward, his expression a combination of angry and saddened.
"But," she took his face in her hands, and made him look at her, "I'm here."
With that, she pulled him into her chest, hugging him.
Sasuke waited for her to make some hostile movement. He'd always thought there was something off about her. She wasn't like the silly fan girls that filled the rest of their class during the academy days. She seemed more intelligent because of that, more cunning.
But Naruto was no rookie. If she were an enemy, he wouldn't have let her get more than ten feet in front of him.
And he wasn't shoving her off now. Instead, he was hugging her back with one arm.
So Sasuke left them there, believing her to be trustworthy.
FLASHBACK ENDS HERE
"I was a fool!" He cursed under his breath as he made his way through the thick trees. "What is this illusion?"
Even with his sharingan activated, all he could see was endless trees and fog. He'd never heard of a genjutsu the sharingan could not peer through! This was so frustrating... He felt like a blind man trying to catch smoke!
He stopped, deactivating his sharingan, folding his arms, and pinching his nose bridge.
"Why did it have to turn out like this?" He asked himself.
Sighing, he continued onward, noticing a shadow.
A SPIKY-HAIRED shadow.
"Naruto." He ran forward, finding him there.
He stood stock-still, looking at the ground with wide, horrified eyes. His arms were shaking.
And he was crying silently...
He activated his sharingan again.
"Genjutsu..." He said. "But how? This is cast on the forest, so it's like a maze. It's not supposed to enter your mind..."
Then again...
He took a closer look around, touching the trees, the grass. Everything that should have been green and healthy was pale, almost white.
So that was it... This was only part genjutsu.
Looking into Naruto's mind, he saw what the genjutsu was making him see.
A child's corpse. And he was crying harder there, looking broken and guilty... And helpless.
Sasuke pulled out and broke the jutsu, catching Naruto with one arm as he fell forward, unconscious.
"Kairi..." He whispered.
Sasuke shook his head.
"It's not like you to hold onto the past." He said, shouldering him as he advanced forward. The safe house had to be somewhere FORWARD. "This new you is starting to scare me..."
A few minutes of silently trudging through the fog and listening to Naruto mutter some garbled nonsense led him straight to the Hyuga girl, who was dashing through the fog when she ran into him.
"Naruto-kun!" She skidded to a stop and carefully reached out to him with both hands, barely brushing his cheeks witht her finger tips.
"You're safe!" She smiled, relieved.
"Just what were you up to?" Sasuke questioned. "I thought you were on guard duty. And where are the other guards?"
Hinata bowed her head in shame. "They're out looking for him too. The representatives from Kumo got lost in the genjutsu before we started patrol and entered the house. I told them how to leave after they swore themselves to secrecy, and Naruto overheard me."
Sasuke could have slapped her if his hands weren't full. So instead he glared like a basilisk.
"You let OUTSIDERS see NARUTO?"
She shifted, uncomfortable.
"This is pointless!" She told him. "He hates to be locked up like this! And now that he knows the way out, it's only a matter of time until he tries to escape again. He won't stay with us if we treat him like a prisoner."
An anbu appeared beside them, kneeling.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked.
"Lady Tsunade asked me to inform you that the mission for team Kakashi has been called off."
"Why?"
"There is no need for it. Uri Uzumaki has entered Konoha of his own free will."
NARUTO'S POV [THE FOURTH'S HOUSE]
"*GASP*!!"
He sat up, breathing heavily, and angrily glared down at his hands.
The bed sheets... He was back in his parents room. In his parents house.
How did he know it was their house? Simple: the pictures. There were more pictures of them, just like the one Ibiki showed him, all over this place.
But... It was weird. This house was surrounded by genjutsu fog, out in the middle of nowhere. There were several training rooms. A kitchen, dining, and living room. The only room left had been locked until he kicked the door in. It was a baby room, with a crib and toys, and no windows. Everything was so heavily coated in dust, like it had never been used.
If this was his parents house, then that had to be his room. But why did it have all that baby stuff? Like, why not a real bed? And no toys...
Just how long had he been missing? All he could remember was the last few months. Was he sleeping for that long? Eighteen years...?
And why was he back here? It was just genjutsu! He was supposed to be immune to it!
He looked up as the door opened, and Tsunade, Ibiki, and Uchiha entered the room.
"How did you sleep?" Tsunade asked in a tone that implied the question "Done trying to escape?"
He threw the covers off and stood up.
"Let me out of here NOW." He ordered.
"No." She told him, shaking her head. "That is, unless you agree to my terms."
Naruto's gaze shirted to the floor, the wall, the door and back to Tsunade.
"...What terms?" He asked.
Uchiha crossed his arms. "Uri approached Konoha of his own free will, before we could start our mission to search for him."
Naruto's eyebrows shot up. "What?! Wait, why were you going to look for him?! And why wasn't I able to get through the genjutsu?! Answer me!
"Calm down." Tsunade commanded. "We had a proposition for him. And that isn't mere genjutsu out there. It's part labyrinth genjutsu, designed so anyone who enters is doomed to be lost, and part poisonous gas, that causes hallucinations but doesn't kill you. Even an Uchiha with sharingan would get lost unless they'd taken the antidote beforehand, and I'd made a point of giving some to all those I deemed trustworthy in case there was an emergency."
"But... I didn't have hallucinations until I was deep into the genjutsu."
"You got caught in one of the areas where the gas AND the genjutsu are bizarrely strong. It's actually OFF the exit path. In other words, you got lost."
Naruto looked both angry and disappointed.
"We had a proposition for Uri Uzumaki." Tsunade repeated. "So I was sending out a team to search for him. But as Sasuke told you, he approached us of his own accord before we could start the mission, and offered his own deal."
Naruto knit his brow. "What was it?"
"In exchange for your freedom, he would offer us any information we asked for, and one favor. I agreed on one condition: that you follow my orders indefinitely."
Naruto leaned away, surprised... And horrified.
"You're lying!" He accused.
"No I'm not." She stated. "He did this to free you... And to save what you're trying so desperately to protect. However, I won't take the deal until you agree to my condition, and he left that decision up to you. He won't sell you to me... Because he cares about you."
He grit his teeth. That did sound like Uri. But if Naruto said yes... He'd be putting the entire clan in danger!
The children... The nine kids who were too young... He didn't want them to have to fight for their lives, or sacrifice themselves like Kairi did! He didn't want to see that again...
He squeezed his eyes shut, grinding his teeth, and slowly looked at Tsunade through narrow slits.
"You've got to SWEAR you won't hurt them..." He said, pointing. "I don't care if you are a lady! I'll slug you, got it?!"
Tsunade smiled weakly, giving a little laugh.
"What are you laughing at?!"
"I can see a boy I used to know in you." She told him, making him blush.
She's just messing with you! He told himself, snapping out of it.
"Do we have a deal then?"
He paused, to think it over once more, then met her eyes.
"Fine." He said, angry. "Deal."
Tsunade smiled. "Okay, then I'll give you your first mission now."
He straightened up. "What?! Now?!"
"Of course."
He squared his shoulders and lowered his head, sulking.
"Pushy little old... Fine. What do you want?"
She looked mad enough to hit him, but instead she just said:
"Lead four people of your own choosing to and through Uzushiogakure in search of Mami. I want her in a Konoha prison cell. Don't fail me."
Chapter fifteen:
FLASHBACK STARTS HERE
"Where's that idiot run off to?" Sasuke stalked through the forest, impatient.
First, Naruto bugs him into buying Sakura a present. Then he leads him into that fan girl death trap called a flower shop. Then he disappears after treating him and Sakura to ramen.
Sasuke wasn't the type of person who believed you could feel when the people close to you are in pain. But after the way Naruto acted tonight... He just had to talk to him.
"Are you giving up on Sakura-chan?"
Sasuke hid behind a tree. Great. He'd found the clown. But he was talking with the Hyuga girl. And butchering a tree with some kunai. Which meant he was in a bad mood.
"I never give up! You know that!" He wiped the sweat off his brow. "But... She said it could never be like that between us. And I can't force her to love me... Besides, she asked me to stop. She only wants Sasuke. She can't ever think of anyone the way she thinks of him. Even if he died. At least that's what she said."
He fell back to the grass, sitting and resting one arm on his bent knee.
"But it's the same way for me." He said, frustrated. "At least that's how I feel about her..."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Why did that Hyuga girl suddenly look so... Well, depressed.
She sat on her knees beside him, pulling on her jacket.
"I'm sorry." She told him.
He stared forward, his expression a combination of angry and saddened.
"But," she took his face in her hands, and made him look at her, "I'm here."
With that, she pulled him into her chest, hugging him.
Sasuke waited for her to make some hostile movement. He'd always thought there was something off about her. She wasn't like the silly fan girls that filled the rest of their class during the academy days. She seemed more intelligent because of that, more cunning.
But Naruto was no rookie. If she were an enemy, he wouldn't have let her get more than ten feet in front of him.
And he wasn't shoving her off now. Instead, he was hugging her back with one arm.
So Sasuke left them there, believing her to be trustworthy.
FLASHBACK ENDS HERE
"I was a fool!" He cursed under his breath as he made his way through the thick trees. "What is this illusion?"
Even with his sharingan activated, all he could see was endless trees and fog. He'd never heard of a genjutsu the sharingan could not peer through! This was so frustrating... He felt like a blind man trying to catch smoke!
He stopped, deactivating his sharingan, folding his arms, and pinching his nose bridge.
"Why did it have to turn out like this?" He asked himself.
Sighing, he continued onward, noticing a shadow.
A SPIKY-HAIRED shadow.
"Naruto." He ran forward, finding him there.
He stood stock-still, looking at the ground with wide, horrified eyes. His arms were shaking.
And he was crying silently...
He activated his sharingan again.
"Genjutsu..." He said. "But how? This is cast on the forest, so it's like a maze. It's not supposed to enter your mind..."
Then again...
He took a closer look around, touching the trees, the grass. Everything that should have been green and healthy was pale, almost white.
So that was it... This was only part genjutsu.
Looking into Naruto's mind, he saw what the genjutsu was making him see.
A child's corpse. And he was crying harder there, looking broken and guilty... And helpless.
Sasuke pulled out and broke the jutsu, catching Naruto with one arm as he fell forward, unconscious.
"Kairi..." He whispered.
Sasuke shook his head.
"It's not like you to hold onto the past." He said, shouldering him as he advanced forward. The safe house had to be somewhere FORWARD. "This new you is starting to scare me..."
A few minutes of silently trudging through the fog and listening to Naruto mutter some garbled nonsense led him straight to the Hyuga girl, who was dashing through the fog when she ran into him.
"Naruto-kun!" She skidded to a stop and carefully reached out to him with both hands, barely brushing his cheeks witht her finger tips.
"You're safe!" She smiled, relieved.
"Just what were you up to?" Sasuke questioned. "I thought you were on guard duty. And where are the other guards?"
Hinata bowed her head in shame. "They're out looking for him too. The representatives from Kumo got lost in the genjutsu before we started patrol and entered the house. I told them how to leave after they swore themselves to secrecy, and Naruto overheard me."
Sasuke could have slapped her if his hands weren't full. So instead he glared like a basilisk.
"You let OUTSIDERS see NARUTO?"
She shifted, uncomfortable.
"This is pointless!" She told him. "He hates to be locked up like this! And now that he knows the way out, it's only a matter of time until he tries to escape again. He won't stay with us if we treat him like a prisoner."
An anbu appeared beside them, kneeling.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked.
"Lady Tsunade asked me to inform you that the mission for team Kakashi has been called off."
"Why?"
"There is no need for it. Uri Uzumaki has entered Konoha of his own free will."
NARUTO'S POV [THE FOURTH'S HOUSE]
"*GASP*!!"
He sat up, breathing heavily, and angrily glared down at his hands.
The bed sheets... He was back in his parents room. In his parents house.
How did he know it was their house? Simple: the pictures. There were more pictures of them, just like the one Ibiki showed him, all over this place.
But... It was weird. This house was surrounded by genjutsu fog, out in the middle of nowhere. There were several training rooms. A kitchen, dining, and living room. The only room left had been locked until he kicked the door in. It was a baby room, with a crib and toys, and no windows. Everything was so heavily coated in dust, like it had never been used.
If this was his parents house, then that had to be his room. But why did it have all that baby stuff? Like, why not a real bed? And no toys...
Just how long had he been missing? All he could remember was the last few months. Was he sleeping for that long? Eighteen years...?
And why was he back here? It was just genjutsu! He was supposed to be immune to it!
He looked up as the door opened, and Tsunade, Ibiki, and Uchiha entered the room.
"How did you sleep?" Tsunade asked in a tone that implied the question "Done trying to escape?"
He threw the covers off and stood up.
"Let me out of here NOW." He ordered.
"No." She told him, shaking her head. "That is, unless you agree to my terms."
Naruto's gaze shirted to the floor, the wall, the door and back to Tsunade.
"...What terms?" He asked.
Uchiha crossed his arms. "Uri approached Konoha of his own free will, before we could start our mission to search for him."
Naruto's eyebrows shot up. "What?! Wait, why were you going to look for him?! And why wasn't I able to get through the genjutsu?! Answer me!
"Calm down." Tsunade commanded. "We had a proposition for him. And that isn't mere genjutsu out there. It's part labyrinth genjutsu, designed so anyone who enters is doomed to be lost, and part poisonous gas, that causes hallucinations but doesn't kill you. Even an Uchiha with sharingan would get lost unless they'd taken the antidote beforehand, and I'd made a point of giving some to all those I deemed trustworthy in case there was an emergency."
"But... I didn't have hallucinations until I was deep into the genjutsu."
"You got caught in one of the areas where the gas AND the genjutsu are bizarrely strong. It's actually OFF the exit path. In other words, you got lost."
Naruto looked both angry and disappointed.
"We had a proposition for Uri Uzumaki." Tsunade repeated. "So I was sending out a team to search for him. But as Sasuke told you, he approached us of his own accord before we could start the mission, and offered his own deal."
Naruto knit his brow. "What was it?"
"In exchange for your freedom, he would offer us any information we asked for, and one favor. I agreed on one condition: that you follow my orders indefinitely."
Naruto leaned away, surprised... And horrified.
"You're lying!" He accused.
"No I'm not." She stated. "He did this to free you... And to save what you're trying so desperately to protect. However, I won't take the deal until you agree to my condition, and he left that decision up to you. He won't sell you to me... Because he cares about you."
He grit his teeth. That did sound like Uri. But if Naruto said yes... He'd be putting the entire clan in danger!
The children... The nine kids who were too young... He didn't want them to have to fight for their lives, or sacrifice themselves like Kairi did! He didn't want to see that again...
He squeezed his eyes shut, grinding his teeth, and slowly looked at Tsunade through narrow slits.
"You've got to SWEAR you won't hurt them..." He said, pointing. "I don't care if you are a lady! I'll slug you, got it?!"
Tsunade smiled weakly, giving a little laugh.
"What are you laughing at?!"
"I can see a boy I used to know in you." She told him, making him blush.
She's just messing with you! He told himself, snapping out of it.
"Do we have a deal then?"
He paused, to think it over once more, then met her eyes.
"Fine." He said, angry. "Deal."
Tsunade smiled. "Okay, then I'll give you your first mission now."
He straightened up. "What?! Now?!"
"Of course."
He squared his shoulders and lowered his head, sulking.
"Pushy little old... Fine. What do you want?"
She looked mad enough to hit him, but instead she just said:
"Lead four people of your own choosing to and through Uzushiogakure in search of Mami. I want her in a Konoha prison cell. Don't fail me."
