Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. This is my first fan fiction and I hope you like it. Feedback is much appreciated.

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Chapter 1: From Rain to Mist

'It's almost too much to stand'...After all the training, after all the sleepless nights, and all the talk, he still could not convince his closest and truest friend to return to Konoha. A soft mist began to fill the air as Naruto looked out into the night sky from atop his rooftop. While gazing out at the village he desired to protect with all his heart, a disturbing thought filled his already distressed mind: 'Will I fail them all as well?'

The past few weeks had not been kind to Naruto. As much as he wished for times to be peaceful, he could tell that much of the storm still lied ahead. While events were at a stand still for the moment, he knew in his heart that this relaxing and gentle mist would soon turn into a torrential downpour. Events that had taken place the past few weeks were still playing over and over through his mind and it was hard for Naruto to believe that things could get any worse. Usually he was up for any challenge and willing to dive in head first without considering the pains that he might endure, but after what happened, after what he did, after what she did…

'It is too much to stand.'

From a distance two shinobi looked on at the seventeen year old with concern etched onto their hardened faces. "Jiraiya-sama, you don't think his spirit has been broken?

"For his sake, I hope not."

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Miles away from Konoha, a certain medical ninja all too familiar with the feelings that Naruto was experiencing, found herself between a rock and a hard spot. She glanced down at the ailing, unconscious Sasuke who was obviously in a great deal of pain. Sweating profusely and squirming from side to side, Sakura bent over and gently kissed his forward in the vain hope that her touch might bring him some comfort.

'Not only have I betrayed my home, but I betrayed him…no…I hurt him…I hurt him in a way that he may never recover from...Naruto…please, forgive me, but I had to follow my heart.' Sakura sighed a deep breath as she remembered the difficult decision she had made the previous week. She had to fight every impulse in her body from taking the weakened Sasuke back to Konoha by force, but something was stopping her. His words still played fresh in her mind.

flashback

Praying that her ninja skills were good enough to keep her from being noticed by the two teammates in the hospital room, Sakura tip-toed to the cracked door and listened in on their conversation.

"Sasuke, now that your back in Konoha, I can help you ge---"

"No, Naruto," Sasuke interrupted, "you can't help me. No one can help me. This is something I have to do on my own…without you." He uttered these words without emotion, without feeling; just stated them as a matter of fact as he lay in bed bandaged from head to toe. Tsunade had described his injuries as extremely severe. Any abrupt movements could damage his internal chakra networks to the extent that his ability to perform certain high level jutsu would be compromised. So, there he lay, for the moment, allowing his body to heal and contemplating his future plans for taking Itachi's life in the most painful way imaginable.

"Sasuke…aren't you…aren't we…brothers?"

"Naruto, I have a brother and that's not you. We have no such bond."

At this statement, Naruto got up out of his seat and turned towards the door in an effort not to reveal how much Sasuke's words had hurt him. "Maybe…maybe in time you will remember how much Konoha means to you," Naruto chuckled through a forced smile. "And you will remember how much your friends mean to you…."

'Because in my heart I know you haven't forgotten'

"He's all yours know Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he headed towards the door.

'Damn, I guess I need to work on my stealth.' Without a word Naruto walked past her and out the door. Sakura took the seat next to Sasuke's bed. Not reacting to her presence, he simply stared at the ceiling with an empty look in his eyes. Instead of staring back at him, she looked out the window and admired the sunny day in Konoha. Simply being there with him, it was enough for her. It was enough to last a lifetime. She could imagine spending the rest of her days simply being near him, hearing his breath, knowing that although he was emotionally distant, he was capable of a tremendous amount of love…if only he were near.

"Sakura…" Hearing her name caught her off guard. Usually, with Sasuke, she began the conversation, but this time he took the first step. Anticipation built up in Sakura as she knew that whatever he wanted to say, it must be important enough for Sasuke to break this trend of her speaking up first.

"You must know that I will not be staying in Konoha and that it is just a matter of time before I leave again. Deep down, you know that what I am saying is the truth." Her heart sank and her mind was sent into a flurry. It was true, based on his conversation with Naruto and based on his undying urge to defeat Itachi; she reluctantly knew that Sasuke would rather die than to stay in Konoha while his murderous brother was still out there, living on.

"Because I know that you know this, I am going to ask a favor of you." Her eyes widened and her heart began to pound. 'What could it be?' Suddenly, she wished that he had not begun to speak at all. She almost felt the need to cover her ears like a small child and ignore his words. All she was willing to do at that point was look out the window and listen to his breath, but now…now things were about to get…real.

Sasuke continued with his request. "Take me away from Konoha…tonight." The pace of her heart beat doubled again. "If I wait until I am well to leave, everyone will be watching me, trying to make me stay in Konoha…especially Naruto. I am confident that my strength would be enough to overpower anyone that tried to stand in my way, but…you know as well as I do that it is not my aim to harm anyone in Konoha. It is not my desire to destroy the streets that the Uchiha clan once sought to protect. So, I want to leave tonight because no one is expecting me to leave while I am this injured and because it wouldn't cause a commotion. But… in my condition I need help…the help of a medical ninja…the help of you."

'No…I can't…I can't…' Sakura's mind began to race, her eyes drifted off to nothing in particular. She just wanted to escape, escape from the room and escape from the situation. She wanted to act like none of these words had ever been said.

"I know what you're thinking right now, but you should know just one more thing…If you don't help me, I will escape by any means necessary, and as you probably already know, that will most likely include hurting those close to you. And…additionally…if you don't help me, I will never ever come back to Konoha…or to you."

"So…Sakura…will you help me?"

end flashback

Sakura ringed water out of a cloth and placed it atop Sasuke's head. She had tried to be extremely careful with him as they crept out of Konoha, but some of the wounds had reopened and his chakra network was stressed by all the additional effort Sasuke had to put into the simple task of walking. His fight with Itachi had been that serious, but despite putting his body and life on the line, Itachi was still free…wounded for sure, but free.

'At least…at least I got the chance to leave Naruto a note. Hopefully he will understand the decision I made and why I had to make it. Hopefully…he can forgive me."

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Elsewhere that night, a sinister set of red eyes pierced into the sky. "Pein, in order to maintain a new world order, we're going to need the third piece to the puzzle. In order to have the strength necessary to command all the Jinchuuriki, we'll need a special technique capable of putting these demons at our mercy, but that technique will need the combined secrets of the three major eye bloodline limits. With Itachi's Sharingan and your Rinnengan, the only thing left for us to possess is…the Byakugan.

"Hai...Madara-sama."