I return! School's been a little crazy the past week and I haven't had a lot of time to write, so sorry about the delay.

Anyways, recap: Last chapter Naruto wakes up to find he is in the hands of Kyuusaisha, the Yondaime tells Kakashi to form a team of trusted jonin, and Sasuke and Sakura set out to find Team 8.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I want to, though. Just because.

Chapter 13

"Come to give me another black eye, Haruno?" Kiba growled. Team 8's members sat in various positions across the forest floor.

"Though I'd love to, Kiba," Sakura replied with equal sarcasm, "We've got bigger problems. Where's your sensei?"

Shino answered that question, "Kurenai-sensei was called out on a mission a few days ago. Why do you ask…and where is Naruto?"

There was a pregnant pause as Sakura and Sasuke glanced at each other out of the corners of their eyes, silently deciding on what would be told and what would be left out.

"Naruto didn't make it home last night," the Uchiha explained, ignoring the startled gasp from the Hyuuga heiress, "The Hokage's got dad pulling together a team of people he can trust as we speak, but we don't know if he can get the people he needs in time."

"P-people he can…trust?" Hinata stuttered, "You mean…Naruto-kun was captured by…"

"People on the inside," Sakura finished the girl's sentence, "Yah. Specifically they're a group of people going by the name of Kyuusaisha."

"Kyuusaisha? As in 'Savour'? I've never heard of them before," said the Aburame, "But how could they-"

"How they kidnapped our teammate is not important right now!" yelled Sasuke, "The point is that Naruto is missing, no one is telling us anything, and we need to find him fast. Team 7's a combat team, we don't do tracking. Not well at least. A blind man could see what your team was created for."

"So you're asking us," Kiba asked, "to team up with you on a mission that you've just given yourself based on half truths and a shit load of lies, track down your teammate who's been kidnapped by a group of people that you have no intel on at all, and possibly get involved in several life-or-death experiences?"

Sakura winced at the bluntness of the Inuzuka's words, "Pretty much."

There was another silence, tenser than the last, as Team 8 made their decision.

Shino sighed, "We're in."

"Kiba-kun and A-Akamaru will need something…of Naruto-kun's to f-find him," Hinata said.

Sasuke smirked before tossing the girl a familiar black shirt with an orange spiral on the front, causing her face to turn a new shade of red.

"Way ahead of you."

"I'm telling you, you uptight noble, that I need to see Hiashi NOW!" Kakashi all but ordered.

"And I'm telling you that Hiashi-sama is in the middle of a very important clan meeting and is not to be disturbed!" the young Hyuuga branch member countered, "When he is finished, I will inform him that you wish to speak with him and – hey! You can't go back there!"

But the former-ANBU was already dashing down the hallway away from the enraged boy, scrambling around the tight corners of the estate like a wolf on the hunt. Finally reaching the door he needed, Kakashi yanked it open and entered with the subtle grace of an earthquake.

"Hiashi! We've got a-"

"What is the meaning of this?" one elder asked.

"Hatake, you better have a good explanation," another muttered.

"That's Hiashi-sama to you, boy" an older woman stood up.

"I'm sorry," the branch member from before entered the room, "I tried to stop him but-"

"Branch member," a young man ordered, "Know your place! Speak only when spoken to!"

"Silence!" the Hyuuga clan head spoke with a voice of rolling thunder, "Let the man speak. I'm sure Kakashi-san has a good reason."

All eyes fell on the masked man before he spoke, "They made their move, Hiashi. They said they'd make their move if we took our eyes off him, even for a moment, and they did."

A look of horror fell upon the Clan Head's face as he slowly came to realize what Kakashi was talking about, "Don't tell me…"

"They've got him; took him last night in the guise of one of his teammates. They practically told us they would be coming for him and we weren't ready."

Hiashi stood and turned to leave, but not before saying, "This meeting is adjourned and the matter will be talked about on a later date."

The elder woman spoke, "But Hiashi-sama, who's been taken? The matter at hand is far more pressing-"

"Concerning Hyuuga Neji, the branch member who has surpassed both of my children, tell him that I say 'Congratulations,'" Hiashi ordered, "The identity of the person who has been taken is none of your business, so if you will excuse me, I have more important things to attend to.

"Let's go, Kakashi."

And with that, the two left.

Not many know this, but not all of Konoha's fallen heroes' names are engraved on the memorial stone. There is one person that is missing on that statue.

Her name is Uzumaki Kushina.

Her name resides on a different stone, just outside of Konoha's walls. It is her gravestone, though not hers alone, and she is buried on the exact spot where her fiancé, Yondiame Hokage Namikaze Minato, defeated the Kyuubi no Kitsune twelve years ago.

The exact spot where Minato stood now.

"I wish you could have lived to see him grow up, Kushina-chan," the blonde man whispered, "He's a lot like you, just like you said he'd be. He's all fire and wind and chaos, but at the same time he's cool, calm and controlled."

The Hokage let his fingers trace over the kanji on the stone, "Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if everything had gone right all those years ago. I wonder what his life would have been like as a jinchuuriki. I wonder if he'd hate me for what I would have done to him.

"I wonder if they'd both hate me.

"But I can't rewrite the past, and even if I could, I probably wouldn't anyways. Naruto's my son – our son, and I want him to grow up to be Hokage, get married, and have kids and grandkids running all over the place."

Minato gave a sad sigh, "I just want him to be happy.

"The kinen seal is failing and his memories are returning to him and you were right all along. He's just a kid looking for his family. He's got eight brothers and sisters out there, you know. I haven't got the slightest clue as to where the other bijuu are now, but I'll help him find them."

Tears fell to the ground, dampening the earth beneath the Hokage's feet.

"He's gonna be fine. Naruto's gonna come back. He's gotta come back.

"I don't want to loose anyone else…"

Minato wiped his eyes before pulling out a rose – red, just like her hair – and placed in on the ground before her grave, turning to go and…

"Wait…"

The dirt in front of the marker was fresh and upturned, like someone had been digging.

Digging.

At Kushina and his grave.

"Oh…my…god…"

The sound of flesh hitting flesh sounded through out the room, followed closely by a cry of pain.

"I asked you a question demon!" Kenshiki shouted, "What is your name?"

"I told you already: My name is Uzumaki Naruto, bastard!"

Chained to a wall, covered in bruises and cuts (why the hell was he not healing?), Naruto's will refused to break. They had tried beating the answer out of him first. Then there had been kunai. The old man apparently was a medic-nin, so a couple of his tendons were pretty much shot right now.

And they kept asking him that question; over and over "What is your name?"

He kept telling them the answer, Uzumaki Naruto.

Before there had been no name, but they did not need to know that.

Gokai sneered, "Move it closer Doki."

Naruto did not need to see the boy to know that the insane smile was there as he slid the box closer across the table. The blonde coughed up blood, knowing that his lungs would start shutting down soon. Kenshiki had already informed him that his liver had all but stopped working.

"Come on, freak," Doki yelled, "Say it! Say your real name, just once for us. Pppppplllllllleeeeeaaaaaasssssssseeeeeee?"

In response, Naruto sent a well aimed ball of spit and blood his way.

"BASTARD!" the dark haired boy snapped, barely restrained by the beautiful woman in the back, "LET ME AT EM', BOSS! I WANNA RIP HIS HEAD OFF AND STICK IT ON A POLL FOR HIS PRECIOUS FATHER TO SEE!"

"ENOUGH DOKI!" Kenshiki ordered. This had not been the first time the lunatic had lost it today, "DO AS I SAY OR-"The man stiffened and glanced at the door.

"What is it, Kenshiki?" Gokai asked.

"It seems like the Hokage works fast," the older man mumbled, "The seal at the front has been tripped. You two go find out why. Kill anyone who's not with us."

That brought Doki back to the real world, but Gokai hesitated, "And if they are children, sir, and unaware of the monster that lurks among them?"

"I told you to kill them, girl. I didn't say to give them a speech."

"Hai."

And with that the two left the room.

"Now where was I? Ah yes, your name demon, what is it?"

"Uzu…maki N-Naruto-Arg!"

Kenshiki rolled his eyes and lowered his fist once more, "You know if you tell me, I'll let them go. I'll let the ones who have come to save you go."

The blonde looked at the man, looked him dead in the eyes, and knew he was lying. He had sent Gokai and Doki out to kill and there was no coming back from it. But…

Naruto recognized those scents, even through a bloody nose; the scents of two people that he would trust his life to. And they had come for him because…because they…

They cared.

"I…I hope y-you weren't r-really…attached…to t-those two," Naruto smirked.

"And why is that?"

"Because…because y-you've pissed o-off my team. Y-your friends ain't c-coming back!"

"Sasuke-kun? What's wrong?" Sakura asked, touching the raven arm.

"This place was my family's home," he answered, "This is where I lived before my clan…died."

Team 7 and 8 stood in the middle of the abandoned Uchiha sector, the only remnant of a clan that had fallen to its own creator. After learning the truth about his family's massacre from Itachi himself, Sasuke had sworn to never go back into the area again.

He had to break that promise, though, to rescue his friend.

"Hinata," asked Kiba, "Can you find Naruto?"

The girl nodded, before activating her bloodline with a wave of chakra, "Byakugan!"

There was a moment of quiet before she gasped, "Naruto-kun!"

"You found him?" Sakura asked, "Where?"

"He's on one of the lower levels, but…"

"But what?" the Uchiha pressed.

"Something is…w-wrong with him," she answered, "I-I can't tell…if it's a p-poison or n-not…but h-his body's sh-shutting down!"

"Shit, these guys are serious," Kiba muttered, "What did Naruto do to piss these guys off?"

"Sasuke," the Aburame asked, "You said you used to live here. Can you direct us to Naruto?"

"Yah," the Uchiha said, activating his Sharingan.

He knew the house like the back of his hand even though he had not stepped foot in it for years. Guiding the others through the inner hallways of the compound was an easy task. Too easy in fact.

"Oh man," Sasuke muttered, "We just activated a seal."

Behind him, a variety of choice words sounded.

"What do we do now, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"Now you die."

They whipped their heads around and came face to face with two of the three people that had been in the file labelled 'Suspected Threats.'

"Genin?" the boy with dark hair and eyes asked, "The Hokage actually sent genin after him?"

"Has the man gone senile?" asked the woman.

Akamaru growled, followed closely by his master, "Don't talk bad about Hokage-sama!"

"Poor little puppy, all bark and no bite," she taunted.

"Gokai! Gokai, can I have the Hyuuga girl?" the boy asked the question like how a child would ask his mother for its favourite toy.

"Doki, why do you want her? She's not even that pretty…" Gokai trailed off.

Doki smiled, "Cause I can tell she's a screamer. She's gonna scream so much when I rip out her heart!"

"Sasuke, Sakura, you two go on ahead," Shino ordered, "We'll handle these two."

"What?" the Uchiha exclaimed, "That's crazy, we're staying."

"No you aren't," Kiba said, "Naruto's your teammate, you go after him. Besides, these two just threatened Hinata-chan. There's no way we're backing down now."

"You done talking," Doki threatened, "Cause I'm done waiting!" He charged down the hallway, insane laughter spilling from his lips.

"GO NOW!"

Kiba and his ever faithful dog leapt for the incoming dark haired missile with sharp claws and even sharper teeth. Hinata ran with glowing hands towards Gokai as Sasuke grabbed his pink haired teammate and wove in between the two fighters. The woman turned to block their way, but was stopped by a wall of insects.

"Your fight is with us," Hinata said, all traces of fear gone from her voice. Shino, who stood beside her, remained quiet and unmoving.

Gokai smirked, "Fine. You brats want to fight so bad, bring it on. There are worse things where they're going."

Dun dun dun. Team 8 has taken it upon them selve to take of Gokai and Doki, while Team 7 heads deaper into Sasuke's old house now turned Kyuusaisha lair. As they head out of the frying pan, what will await them in the fire? Meanwhile, Kakashi is trying to gather a team, but people are stopping him at every turn. Will he get to his student in time?

I've always wanted to do something like that...

Anyways, I actually do have a preview for you this time:

"What is it, Sakura?" shouted the Uchiha, "What does it say?"

"It's a death certificate," she answered, fear evident in her voice, "Dated October 10th, twelve years ago. It's for...Uzumaki Naruto..."

Later,

Whitfox

PS I've been reading a couple fanfictions lately and I'm wondering: is Akira the Canon name for the green haired Jinchuuriki, or is it a Fandom name? I'm not sure...Can someone tell me?