Recap

"…never…" Sasuke said as he began to blackout, and the last thing he saw was the silver-haired assistant, speaking to the snake man.

"Orochimaru…"

~Chapter Four: The Start and a Story~

!

A loud echoing crash was heard as the poor alarm clock met its fate smashed against the wall. The cocoon in the middle of the bed stirred slightly, a pale appendage sticking out from under the blankets.

"Unhh…" The cocoon shifted, revealing slender, pale legs; while the arms where overhead as the person stretched. Getting up and rubbing the sleep the sleep out of her eyes, bright green orbs peered about the room, trying to figure out the time. Pink bubble-gum hair was sticking out at odd ends, and a strap of her tank top had fallen down her shoulder.

Finally, jade orbs landed on the broken alarm clock near the wall, and another groan emitted from the soft pink lips.

"That alarm clock cost twenty dollars! Ugh, now I have to buy another one. And… oh shit! What time is it?"

The petite girl quickly shot out of bed, and ran to the kitchen to check what time it was. She skidded to a halt, bumping into the island at the center of her kitchen. 4:50. Damn, she was late.

"Oh, Sakura Haruno, you choose the day of the mission to wake up this late. Fick mein leben!"(1)

With the speed that could rival that of Lee, Sakura took a quick shower, got dressed, ate breakfast, checked her supplies and was out the door in a record-breaking 30 minutes, and still managed to look presentable. Now all that was left was to get to headquarters in… less than 10 minutes! And once again, Sakura dashed off, and in the background, you could her Lee saying, "Oh! I feel as if a youthful someone has matched my youthfulness!"

~Following You~

"Troublesome."

Shikamaru said once again, checking his watch for the umpteenth time. Sakura had arrived just ten minutes ago, looking quite worn out as she leaned on her knees, trying to get her panting breath evened out. If Kakashi was here, he would've mentioned that she looked as if she just finished a sex marathon, and Sakura would've then strangled him. Neji had been the first to arrive, looking as stoic as ever, while Shikamaru, on the other hand, looked as if he just got out of bed, and proceeded to fall on the floor and look at the clouds. And all that left was Naruto… "Troublesome."

"Ugh! Where is the dumbass! He should've been here ten minutes ago. When I see him, he's gonna wish he never even left his house. Why I outta-"

"-Sakura-chan! Naruto the Great has arrived!" Naruto shouted as he, finally, got to headquarters, not sensing his impending doom.

"Naruto, I'm going to kill you!" And with that, Sakura began chasing Naruto, while he screamed for his life and for god to save him.

"Tro-"

"-Don't even say it."

~Following You~

Sakura, Neji, Shikamaru and Naruto were lined up, waiting for the directions of their mission. Sakura had finished beating up Naruto and was as calm as ever. And Naruto was too, despite looking as if he had been hit with a steel bat repeatedly on his face… which he had. The building which housed Headquarters seemed to be an average building of an average company. But inside, it was completely different. With sleek interior and state-of-the-art equipment, the Konoha Yakuza Headquarters Building was beyond amazing. Countless people were typing away furiously on brand-new laptops, and others were heading out to or coming in from a mission. Countless of hallways led to rooms of different caliber. Currently, the quartet was standing in the weapon room with Tsunade, while Tenten, the weapons manager was picking out the supplies needed for their journey.

"The journey will be long and rough, and since this is more of an investigating mission, I will be giving you a limited amount of supplies. Use your weapons wisely; I don't think I'll be able to give you that many, so try to be unnoticed. You're going to have to make them last."

While Tsunade said this, she and the rest looked pointedly at Naruto, who rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"What're you guys looking at me for? I know not to do something stupid, have more faith in me, will ya?"

Just then, Tenten came in, holding four pairs of SS 550 rifles. She also had a couple of grenades, four hand pistols, knives, and two swords for Neji and Sakura. Extra bullets, a safety-kit, GPS and other hi-tech instruments were included in the heap.

"Well here ya go, some of the best weapons we have. Light yet effective, and they go with pretty much every outfit." Tenten said, as she dropped the items onto the table in front of the assassins. "This should last you the whole time as long as you use your bullets and grenades wisely. And as long as you don't get hurt so much."

"Thank you, Tenten. Well now, since you have everything you need, I'll brief you in-"

"Gah, so cool!" Tsunade was interrupted as Naruto shouted, cradling the gun against his chest and jumping up and down.

BANG

There was a deafening silence, as Tsunade glared at Naruto, who tried to look anywhere but at her. Sakura stared at Naruto with sympathy in her eyes, Neji just stared straight ahead, and Shikamaru Tch-ed and rolled his eyes. While Tenten just stared at the new hole in the wall.

"…NARUTO! I'm gonna kill you!" Tsunade roared, and that commenced the almost daily Tsunade-chases-Naruto ritual.

~Following You~

"Naruto, wait!"

The four were just about to exit the gate of Konoha, but turned around to see Hinata running as fast as she could towards them.

"Ah, Hinata-chan. Why are you here? I told you already that I'm not going to take you, and please don't follow me." Naruto said, as he stared at Hinata with eyes filled to the brim with love and concern for his girl.

"N-Naruto, don't worry, I know that if I tagged along, all I would do is cause trouble, but I just wanted to give you something." Hinata spoke in the shy voice, though she lost her stutter long ago.

Hinata pulled out a necklace, which shone from the light of the bright sun. The necklace had an orange fox which was hollowing upwards on a gold chain. The fox seemed to have gleam of its own, and in the right lighting, it looked as if the fox was breathing. It was breath-taking.

Naruto grabbed the necklace and put it on, while a warm feeling spread through his chest. He then leaned in close, his lips ghosting over Hinata's; his eyes half lidded.

"Hinata-chan… thank you." And with those words, He closed the distance between him, letting his emotions flow through the kiss, hoping Hinata would realize what she meant to him.

Hinata broke the kiss first, only to tackle Naruto into a fierce hug, and with tears flowing and her face in his chest, Hinata whispered; "Come home soon."

~Following You~

The moon shone brightly, illuminating the forest with a smooth, white light as four lone spies traveled quietly with astounding stealth. They stopped in a clearing up ahead, and it was obvious that they would set up camp here. Each person set out to do their jobs. Naruto went to collect firewood, Shikamaru went to find some water, and Neji and Sakura began setting up the tents.

A comfortable silence descended on the clearing, as Neji and Sakura helped each other with their jobs. Soon they were able to get the tents up, build a pit for the fire, and anything else that needed to be done. They sat down waiting for Naruto and Shikamaru to show because they needed water and the firewood to make dinner. Neji sat stiffly as Sakura watched the stars, obviously having something on her mind.

"Ne, Neji…"

"Hm?"

"Do you think Sasuke is okay?" Green, innocent eyes bore into pale lavender ones, as if expecting them to know the absolute truth.

"I don't know Sakura; we have to hope for the best."

"Neji… why did you come? I know you don't hate Sasuke, but I do know you and him aren't the best of friends."

"I had to make sure you were safe at all times. Even if we do find Sasuke, I doubt he'll have enough energy to defend himself, much less you."

Sakura rolled over onto her stomach, resting on her arms to keep her head up. Neji stretched out so that his arms were behind him keeping him up and his legs were spread out in front of him. Sakura was looking at him intently, trying to find a different answer that could perhaps be written on his face.

"Humph. I'm a big girl you know, I can defend myself. But… thank you, Neji. After all these years, you'd always been by my side. You were one of my first friends, and you're also the best. And I thank you for that, Neji Hyuuga. Thank you for being my best friend."

Neji could feel a ghost of a smile on his lips and looked at Sakura as she stared right back, almost as if challenging him to say something contradictory. But instead, he got up and after ruffling Sakura's hair, which resulted in a profound "Hey!" Neji made his way to his tent and off to bed.

Sakura just gazed at the spot where Neji was just seconds before, before smirking slightly and shaking her head.

"Does that mean you don't want dinner?"

~Following You~

Sakura and her teammates ate dinner in a peaceful silence, while Neji still hadn't come out of his tent. The spies were strangely quiet; they all had something on their minds. Shikamaru was thinking about different strategies they could use when and if they faced Orochimaru or his henchmen, Sakura was worrying about Sasuke, and Naruto, well…

"Haa…"

The pinkette and brunette looked up when they heard Naruto sigh. It sounded as if he was truly trouble, and his teammates were truly worried about his well being.

"Is something the matter, Naruto?" Expectant green eyes looked at her close friend whom she now considered as a brother, trying to catch his eye. But he seemed expectant on avoiding them.

"I don't know… Sakura, how sure are you that Sasuke-teme will be, well, alive?"

Shock hit Sakura in waves. Is Naruto really worried about something like that? Sakura couldn't understand why Naruto, who usually was so optimistic, be so pessimistic. Something was wrong…

"Naruto, of course Sasuke will be okay. He sent us the message yesterday, what are the odds o him dying in less than 24 hours?" Leave it to Shikamaru to be as logical as possible.

"Naruto… don't you believe Sasuke will make it? Aren't you his best friend? So why are you so upset…?"

"Sakura-chan, you don't understand. I… I know what Orochimaru is like, believe it."

"But Naruto, how would you know?" You could hear the gears turning in Shikamaru's head, as he was trying to figure out what Naruto was talking about.

"I… I don't know if I can tell you…"

Sakura placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder in a sisterly gesture, and used her free hand to make Naruto look her in the eyes. You can ALWAYS tell us anything.

"It's a long story, but it started when I was really young."

*~Naruto's Story~*

"Daddy! Daddy look! Look what I caught! All by myself, too!" A mini Naruto, no older than 4 years old shouted as he ran towards his father, a tall well built man who looked like an older version of the little chibi.

Naruto's dad, Minato, looked up from his papers that he was going through, looking at his son and feeling a smile on his face. His son was all dirtied up, mud on his hands, face and hair, and he was holding a little baby frog with the happiest expression on his face.

He reminds me so much of Kushina, Minato thought, as he ruffled his son's hair, earning himself a pout.

"Wow, Naruto, where did you find the little guy? Have you named him yet?"

"I found him by the lake! Isn't he so cute? His name is Gamakichi! He can be part of our family, right Dad? We'll be a happy family, you, me, and of course Gamakichi, believe it!"

Naruto was jumping up and down with excitement, stuttering over words from talking to fast about how they were all gonna be a happy family. His eyes were shining brightly with unconditional happiness, and the poor frog in Naruto's hands kept croaking loudly even though he went unnoticed. Minato sat quietly, watching as his son talked animatedly, his smile small and his thoughts upsetting. He couldn't help but wish that his son, his beautiful baby, be protected from the outside world that seems to haunt Minato.

"…and maybe we can go to the movies. And I can take him to school! He's gonna be my best friend, and he'll sit right next to me. Though I'm kinda scared cause I won't know anyone, but I'll have 'Kichi to look after me and – hmph." Naruto was silenced after his dad pulled him into a hug, his head resting in his son's golden locks.

"…Dad?" Naruto felt wetness on his cheeks, and for a second, he thought he was crying, but then he realized that it was his father.

"Dad, are you okay?" Naruto puller away a bit to look at his father, and wipe the tears from under his eyes.

"Yes son, I'm okay. I just, I love you, Naruto."

"I love you too, Dad."

-The Accident-

"Dad I'm home. My first day of kindergarten was great! …Dad?"

Naruto stood quietly, as he stared down the hallway. No noise was heard, and Naruto was beginning to worry. He didn't like the strange feeling he was getting. He was a four-year-old, it was all so confusing for him.

Suddenly, he heard a scraping noise, followed by muffled voices. It sound like more than one, and from what Naruto could tell, one of them sounded angry, very angry.

Naruto felt as if he should run out the house, and keep running until he found someone who could help him. But he knew his dad was still here, and he wasn't going to leave without him.

With surprising stealth a four-year-old could muster, Naruto crept down the hallway towards the door to his father's office, the muffled voices getting louder.

"-the fucking brat."

"I don't know, but we have the man, why don't we just go?"

"No! Master wants us to bring the brat too."

Naruto didn't understand what they were talking about, but with each step, he felt a dreadful foreboding. Who are these people? Where is my daddy?

Naruto made it to the door, and grabbing the door handle, gently pushed open the door far enough so he could see inside. Bringing his face to the crack, took a peek. The only thing he could see well was a mop of golden hair, dirtied with the color of read, and that moment, he knew, something was wrong. He knew he should've ran far away, away from this unsafe place but he had to make sure… "Dad?"

It went deathly quiet. The voices had stopped talking, and all that could be heard was muffled breathing. This was his chance. Naruto could have taken this moment to run, but he was shocked stiff. And suddenly the door jerked open, and Naruto saw the bloodied face of his father…

"Gotcha."

A man with a black mask around his face and circle rimmed glasses was the last thing Naruto say before he blacked out. DADDY!

…

The steady noise of water dripping, probably from a leaky pipe, was the noise that Naruto woke to. He could hear the scurrying of little mice feet, and the sound of his own breath. It was humid down here, and extremely dark, which was terrifying to the young boy who was still scared of the dark. The only source of light came from a teeny tiny window high up, the gap just big enough to bring in breathable air. The stench was disgusting, as if someone left something dead for years and never took it out. If Naruto strained his ears enough, he could faintly hear the sound of someone moaning from pain, and the hushed whispers of the guards outside. He began to feel lightheaded, as he felt as if he was breathing through a straw. The door opened, and the light was so bright that Naruto had to shield his eyes. His vision blurred, and as if speaking from far away, he heard a guard say, "…kill him." And at that moment, everything went black.

...

A-am I… am I dead?

The boy drifted into consciousness slowly. First he felt the hardness of a metal bed under him. Then he felt the cuffs around his wrists and ankles. Then the dull throbbing in his head became more profound, until it turned into a full blast migraine. And then, the unbearable pain. Naruto felt a scream rip through his throat as he felt the pain all over his body. It felt as if he was being burned all over, and just as quickly putting ice on his body. He could feel the coolness of blood on his arms and chest, running down his thighs and dripping onto the ground. He felt wetness on his cheeks, and somewhere in the back of his mind labeled it as tears, but in truth it was the poor child's blood. He screamed over and over, each scream being quieter, but the emotion behind it the same. Finally, the roars of pain died down to a pathetic whimper, lip quivering, tears falling. The pain was there, and it was still horrible, but Naruto withstood it. He felt himself slowly drifting away, until he felt the unnatural cold of a knife on his cheek. And the unmistakable hiss of a snake near his ear.

But when Naruto finally opened his eyes to brave the beast, he never imagined he would stare into the amber eyes of some unmistakably evil man. His sickly pale skin contrasted with his long dark hair, and his eyes held no warmth, only malice. His lips twisted into a disgusting smirk, and Naruto for once in his short four years of life, felt unconditional fear.

"W-who are y-you? What do you want?"

"I only want to play, Naru-chan. Don't you want to play with me too?" The scary man smiled to show a row of disgusting yellow teeth.

"I-I want m-my d-daddy…"

"Well why didn't you say so? He's right here."

The man stepped to the side, revealing Minato. It took Naruto a while to register who that man was, for it was hard for him to believe it was his father. The man was tied to a bed similar to his, except it was completely upright, making it seem as if he was standing. His face was swollen, and blood dripped from various wound all over his body. There was a hole near his heart where a bullet must have hit, and he was covered in dirt and grime. And even though he was unconscious, it seemed as if he had already admitted defeat, for his shoulders were slumped and his head was hanging down. It was impossible to believe that that man, who looked so small and defeated, was Naruto's dad, the immortal superhero who could do anything and everything.

But when Naruto realized that it was, in fact, his father, Naruto lost his thoughts, and thrashed wildly as animalistic roars echoed in the dark cavern. He tried to get free, to help his father, but his attempts were futile. And finally, after what seemed like years of trying, Naruto calmed down, and could only stare helplessly at the immobile form of his father.

"Now now, Naruto-kun, you hurt my feelings. I feel as if you don't want to be here, but all I want to do is play." The man spoke as he strode towards Naruto only to stop mere inches from his face. Grabbing his hair in a harsh grip, he made Naruto turn his head and spoke,

"Don't you want to play with Uncle Orochimaru-sama?"

And Naruto did what any child could think of doing, he spit in the man's face.

"Ew! You disgusting little brat! I was gonna be nice, but now you'll learn once and for all to never underestimate me! NEVER!" Orochimaru's face contorted to pure rage, and he grabbed a big carving knife, holding it in front of his face for the poor boy to see.

"I'll carve you, leave my mark on your skin, and you'll never be able to forget me for as long as you live. Which hopefully won't be too long."

With those words, Orochimaru carved six whisker like marks on Naruto's cheeks, three on each side, and laughed maniacally as Naruto's pain filled screams.

"Oh poor boy, you poor, poor thing. If you can't handle this, how will you be able to stomach what happens next?"

And then the man took the same knife, and walked over to Minato. Then, as if he was doing something down every day, calmly plunged the knife deep into his skin, earning a pain filled scream from Minato, thus waking the man up. And all he did was scream, as Orochimaru continued to carve out the man heart, all the while with a calm expression on his face. And poor Naruto, forced to watch this inhumane torture, screamed until he lost his voice, chanting over and over in his head that his father wouldn't, couldn't, die. But alas, Minato Namikaze had stopped screaming long ago, and laid still as Orochimaru literally ripped out his heart. That was the end of Minato Namikaze, the Godaime Hokage, leader of the Konoha Yakuza, and the very special father of Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki.

*~End of Naruto's Story~*

"I then blacked out, and when I woke up I was in the hospital where Baa-chan worked. I went through years of therapy, and still go to a session at least once every four months. I have never forgotten that time though, for I am reminded every time I look into a mirror or someone mentions my scars. Orochimaru was a sick cruel man, and I know that if he tried enough, he could break Sasuke beyond repair."

Naruto finished calmly, but one could see the swirl of emotions reflected in Naruto's eyes. Anger. Sadness. Despair. Loss. All those emotions and more could be seen in the eyes of Konoha's number one most unpredictable spy. And no one knew, for he hid it so well. Not even Sakura, who is one of Naruto's most important people, knew. And it broke her heart to know the pain he had to go through.

"Oh Naruto… Naruto… why? Why did you never tell anyone? We could've helped you go through it."

"I know Sakura, but I just… this was, is, something I have to do on my own. And I'm doing it. I'm making it through, and maybe one day I'll be able to finally be free from it."

Sakura cut him off as she gave him a fierce hug, tears flowing freely down her rosy pink cheeks. Her baby brother went through all this pain? And Sakura felt it too, deep down, she felt Naruto's pain. And at that moment, with Naruto hanging onto her for dear life, and Sakura crying her heart out, those two were able to share the pain of losing someone that means pretty much everything to them.

Sakura pulled back enough to look Naruto in the eye, and then leaned in to give him a chaste kiss. It was nothing intimate, no. It was just two best friends trying to get as physically and mentally close as possible. It was two siblings, two soul mates, expressing in their love in the only way possible. And it was a warm, familial feeling. A feeling that lasts a lifetime.

"Naruto… I love you. I'll always, always, be there for you… forever."

"I know Sakura, I know."

~Following You~

(1): Fuck my life in German[:

I cried, I really did, while writing this chapter. I had to write it though, to explain Naruto's background, and I'm planning on doing the same with the other teammates. Shika will be next, and I'm thinking of mixing Neji and Sakura's story together to explain their pasts and their reasons for being in the Yakuza. And also explain their weird sibling relationship. While Naruto and Sakura have a more familial, warm relationship, Sakura and Neji's is a little bit more different, and it shows a lot of the mistakes the two made in their pasts.

This chapter does kinda explain to you why Naruto joined the Yakuza right? Please comment if you don't understand, but I think it's pretty clear even though I didn't outright say it.

And NO, Sakura and Naruto have nothing going on, but I just wanted to show their extreme closeness, and maybe I'll explain that when I explain Neji and Sakura's relationship. But that kiss has no intimacy behind it. It was like a kiss you would give to your mother in a way.

I am SO sorry for those who have been waiting well forever for this chapter, and hopefully I'll be able to update by next week.

Thank you for faithfully following this story even if it has been so long since I last updated.

Please tell me how you enjoyed it, so REVIEW! Till next time, dattebayo!