I do not own any part of Naruto. This is my first FF ever, so please be a little kind with your reviews.
Four years have passed since Saskue Uchiha managed to kill his brother Itachi. But the Shinobi never returned home. Instead he began to wander, hunting for the other Murderer who had slaughtered his clan. Now, after several months of hunting him down, Junin Naruto Uzumaki, Saskura Haruno, Rock Lee, and Hinata Hyuga have finally caught up to their freind...
Chapter 1 Down the Dark Passage...
He felt his heart pound in his ears as he sprinted down the corridoor, his teammates close on his heels. The half lit hallway seemed to go on forever as the four shinobi continued through the forsaken underground facility.
Damn! Where is he? He thought savagly.
He continued to hurtle down the hallway, sweat sliding down his face. The air was hot and stale, the floors covered in a layer of dust. His feet left puffs of dust rising behind him as he looked for his lost friend.
There!
He saw a hallway branching off to the right ahead of him. Skidding slightly from the dust, the young Jounin took a sharp turn down the right hallway, into a new, even haggard looking area. He felt his anticipation welling up inside of him, along with his anxiety. His pulse was beating so hard, he though his head would explode.
Fueled by his determination and his adrenilene, he put on a huge burst of speed, almost flying down the hallway.
"Naruto! Wait up!"
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw his fellow squad members tearing down the hallway, trying to keep up. He had no doubt who had called out to him. A pink haired shinobi was trying to cath up to him. Sakura Haruno. One of his oldest and most trusted friends. Behind her were two other people. Fellow Jounin Rock Lee, one of his strongest friends, and Hinata Hyuga, the most powerful of them.
He had realized that he had put a huge distance between them. Feeling slightly foolish, but glad the poor lighting hide his face, Naruto slowed down and allowed his team members to catch up.
"Sorry."
"It's okay. We all want to get to him as fast as possible. Just remeber, it'll take all of us to defeat him." Sakura reminded him, some of her old personallity presenting it's self.
He knew what she meant. Last time they had caught up with him, Saskue had managed to leave just moments before they reached the chamber he'd been in at the last facility.
"I am sure we will bring him back."
Naruto noded his head in thanks to Lee as they continued down the hallway.
"We will bring Saskue back. I too, am sure of it." Hinata's soft voice calmed Naruto down as he lead them down the hallway. He stole a quick glance at her, her dark blue hair flying behind her. A slight blush crossed her face.
Damn, she looks cute like that. He thought
WTF?! Now isn't the time for that! He berated himself.
He pushed his rather surprising thoughts aside and focused on the mission.
We must succeed. No Matter what.
They continued down the hallway, no hesitation in their movements.
He was near. Naruto could sense him.
"Hinata! Can you see him?" He asked.
Hinata activated her byakugan and began her serach. After a few moments, she found him.
"Got it. Thirty meters. Second door on the right."
"Everyone, get ready." He ordered.
"Hai!"
The Leaf shinobi ran down the hallway, skidding to a stop outside a weathered door. All four Jounin were silent as they prepared for the inevitable battle. Without a second thought, Naruto gripped the door knob and turned, opening the door to a well lit room.
"Naruto. So, you here to kill me?" a harsh voice sounded out.
The voice belonged to a being sitting in the center of the room, head bowed. A sword lay next to the lone figure, half a foot away.
"No. Our orders are to bring you back."
"Naruto?"
The figure rasied his head. With half opened, bleary eyes, the rundown looking man gazed at the four nin in the room.
"Sakura? Lee? Even Hinata?"
Naruto heard a sharp intake of breathe from Sakura. With good reason. Saskue was a mess. His clothes were torn, his hair was longer than it ever was. And he looked sick. They had been worried about this.
"So. You must have made Jounin by now. One step closer to becoming hokage, eh, Naruto?"
Naruto saw a flash of red and shouted a belated warning to his team.
"Don't look into his eyes! Look at his feet like Gai sensai and Kakashi Sensai taught us!"
"Wha-?"
His warning had barely left his lips before Lee and Sakura were hit full force by Saskue's Genjutsu. Only Naruto and Hinata were spared from it.
"I see you remembered." He smirked at Naruto.
Saskue stood up while retriving his sword. After stowing the finely crafted blade, he glared at the two combat ready shinobi before him.
"Yes. I did. We didn't come to fight you. But if you force us to, we will."
Naruto positioned himself in a fighting stance, kunai drawn. Behind him, Hinata too, prepared for the coming fight, moving to cover Naruto.
"I too, did not come for a fight. I mearly want to tell you to leave me alone. If you continue hunting me, I will kill you."
A surge of rage and hatred had filled Saskue's voice as he practically spat out the words, still glaring angerly at Naruto.
Naruto took his chance. "Than release your Genjutsu and we'll talk on the way back to the village."
"No. You don't understand why I'm doing this."
"Then make me understand." He pleaded.
"Alright. I'll tell you, you idiot." Saskue unsheathed his sword, holding it lossly at his side. Anger etched over his face. Pure hatred settled on his former team mates face.
"When I last encountered my dear 'brother', I asked himwho had helped him massacre my clan."
Saskue paused, enjoying the feeling of adreneline that spiked through his body.
"He gave me the name of the other murderer."
The four Leaf Shinobi stood stock still, not daring to move an inch, eyes glued to the young Uchiha.
"Madora Uchiha." He spat with pure anger.
If Saskue's apperance had shocked them, that was nothing to how they felt about this out burst.
"Saskue. That's...impossible. Madora Uchiha fought the first hokage a hundred years ago. He can't still be alive."
"Idiot. You don't know anything do you?" Saskue smirked, sword still held loosely.
"Madora unlocked the final secret of the sharigan. It granted him some form of immortallity." He began, "I don't know why he did it, but he helpped Itahci murder my clan. For that, he will die."
Naruto couldn't belive what he was hearing. Saskue, the man he thought of as a brother, had lost all sanity. Suddenly, Naruto felt a numbness wash over his body. He couldn't move!
"Now, Naruto. I didn't plan on killing you, but you've been a pain for to long."
Saskue raised his blade, eyes shinning red over the well crafted blade. Saskue uttered one word.
"Die."
The word was almost a whisper.Quicker than anything Naruto had seen, Saskue lept from his position, sword extended, fully intent on killing his former friend.
Naruto couldn't move. He'd been hit by a paralizing Genjutsu when he had locked eyes with Saskue. He'd been stupid. He was going to die because of...what? Compassion? Pitty? Whatever it was, it would be his last mistake. After all the training he had recived, from Kakashi-sensai and Pervy Sage, he'd lose his life because of a mistake.
Time slowed down as Saskue got closer. What was only three meters, felt like three hundred miles. In agonizingly slowed movements, Naruto watched as the blade grew closer and closer. A sudden flash of dark blue hair. The flash of steel. A sickening thuck, A sharp intake of breathe. The splatter of blood. Naruto felt his world shatter into a million pecies.
Standing before him, Hinata stood tall with the leathly blade protruding through her lower back. Hinata glared at Saskue with pure murderous intent and hatred.
"If you try to harm my Naruto-kun, I will kill you."
Her Naruto-kun? What the hell?
Naruto's shock at her words echoed in his mind.
"Foolish girl." Saskue snarled as he yanked his blade back, sending droplets of blood in every direction.
Hinata swayed on spot for a moment before toppling to the ground. Naruto caught her mid fall and, together they dropped to the ground. Naruto held Hinata close as tears began to well up in his eyes. His heart was being torn from his chest. He felt a deep pain at the thought that Hinata might die here, in his arms.
A sudden anger and hatred bubbled up inside of him. A familar mocking voiced sounded through his mind.
Come on Brat. Let me help you.
No. Naruto replied firmly
You won't be able to avenge your pretty little friend's death if you deny my help.
No. The last time you helpped, I almost killed the ones I was trying to protect. He shot back in anger. I'll defeat him with my own streangth.
Fine. I won't help. But, just remeber. If you start to loss to badly, I'm helping weather you like it or not. I have no intention of dying just yet.
Naruto smiled at the fox. He'd realy started to like the demon, even if it didn't care much for him.
Thank you.
But Saskue vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving his former comrades behind.
"Saskue! You bastard!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs, tears streaking down his face.
"Naruto! Hinata! No!"
Sakura ran over to her two friends and began to inspect the young woman's wound. It was bad, but she was certain she could heal her.
"Naruto."
The voice was barely a whisper
Naruto looked down at her face. Her beautiful lavender eyes where half opend, her mouth slightly smiling.
Naruto muster up his will and gave Hinata a goofy grin, with tears still running.
"Hey. Save your energy and instead of wasting it on me, Hina-chan."
His reply was also a whisper. Sakura had managed to close the wound and remove the posion that the blade was coated with form Hinata. However, she had lost a lot of blood.
Hinata however, felt her pulse quicken.
He called me Hina-chan! He...he does care!
She felt her face heat up as she looked into Naruto's cerulean eyes, wet with tears.
"Naruto...kun. You called me...Hina-chan. Why?" She asked weekly, some color returning to her face.
Naruto felt his hand slide up to the back of his head, his goofy grin even more goofy, with a blush starting across his face.
"Well...Ya see...I, uh, I...kinda..." God I'm hopless. He mentally kicked himself for his sundden shyness.
You just figured that out, kid? The Fox asked him, somewhat amused.
Go to hell! And who asked you any way, you dirty old fox? He retorted angerly.
The fox chuckled as Naruto continued to blunder.
"I'm...sorry." Hinata whispered.
Hinata smiled at him, her eyes slightly bleary.
"For what?" He asked gently, not realizing he was stroking her hair. Sakura didn't tell them that Hinata would recover yet. She was too busy watching the two.
Awe. How cute. She thought.
"For not being braver and stronger." As she said these words, she felt some streangth return to her.
"Hey. You just saved my life. That took both streanght and guts. You are brave and you are strong."
He grinned at Hinata. Not one of his fake grins Sakura noticed, but a real one.
"Naruto-kun" Was all Hinata managed to say before she passed out.
Naruto looked to Sakura in alarm as fear and socked played across his face. Sakura smiled at him.
"She'll be fine. We still need to get her back to the village."
Naruto nodded in agreement and picked up Hinata, bridal style and ordered his team back home. All through the trip, Naruto couldn't help but smile upon the beauty he held in his arms. Perhaps, when they got back, he'd ask her out. After all, she looked damn cute when she snuggled against his chest with her soft smile.