Size Never Matters

Summary: During a mission, Naruto obtains a minor injury, which somehow leaves him in his eight-year-old body! Sasuke has conflicting feelings over the situation. Unwittingly, a soft spot for the child grows within him, glimpsing the ghosts of the boy's childhood and allowing Sasuke a deeper understanding of his teammate. Could the attachment to the child translate to deeper feelings for the older version? And things are getting chaotic rapidly with foreign groups melding in the picture. What will happen to our beloved ninja?

Chapter 1: Innocent Youth

It was at the break of dawn that Neji Hyuga woke. He sat up and stiffly rubbed his pupil-less eyes, quickly taking in his surroundings. Something seemed out of place... Glancing up into the canopy above him, he noticed Kiba to be fast asleep, Akamaru curled up into a ball on his lap. Neji tensed instantly, shifting a hand to his kunai pouch, a scowl playing at his lips. Mental note: never again let the dog-nin take up night watch for an extended time. Potential murder in their sleep was promised under the care of Kiba. Activating his Byakugan, he scanned the entire area, checking it for disturbed traps or hints of chakra. He relaxed visibly when none were found.

"You insolent moron! What the hell are you doing sleeping?" the dark-haired youth roared.

At this, Kiba nearly leaped from the tree in fright; Akamaru landing on his furry head.

"Wh-What the hell was that all about?" screeched the brunette, dangling from the tree, looking all but composed.

"Why in God's name were you asleep during your watch?"

Kiba snorted indignantly. "For your information, I went to sleep five minutes ago! I can tell when night's at its end." The dog loving ninja dropped to the ground and crossed his arms over his chest defensively.

Neji scoffed, although internally relieved. "You should've woken us up before you dozed off."

A scowl molded Kiba's face. "Always have to win don't you?"

The genius chose to ignore his teammate's statement. Instead, he turned and approached a bundle of sleeping bag, nudging it with his foot. "Wake up," he intoned, voice lacking any emotion whatsoever beyond annoyance. When there was no response he pushed a bit harder. "I said wake up!"

Slowly, but surely, there was a groan and the bundle moved like some living fabric worm. After several seconds of shifting and whispered curses, a bright disarray of blond hair popped right out of the sleeping bag. Glistening azure eyes still bleary with drowsiness stared blankly into space. A yawn escaped the boy as he stretched his limbs.

The pale-skinned shinobi looked upon his fellow ninja in mild disgust. Unlike the blond, Neji could rise from bed with naught a hair out of place, as such, he found it revolting how Naruto could let himself get so muddled.

"Hnn…What's up, Neji?" the kitsune probed languidly. He abruptly froze, as though suddenly remembering something of importance, and jumped up, kunai in hand. "Are there enemy ninja around?"

"No," replied the Hyuga slowly, staring at the boy with an unsatisfied air.

"Then why did you wake me up at the crack of dawn!" he all but screeched, clenching his fists and shaking them furiously in front of the other's face.

"You want to go home don't you?"

Naruto blinked then pouted, knowing he'd lost. Damn that stupid Hyuga and his logic. He huffed loudly and moved to pack his things.

Two hours past dawn saw the three man cell bounding swiftly through the treetops southward toward Konoha. All three bound from branch to branch so swiftly, they appeared blurs to the untrained eye. They took naught the risk of resting for prolonged periods of time on the assumption they might still be pursued.

It had been a guard and deliver mission. They were to keep safe a ceremonial dagger called the Malir and deliver it to a small village far out on the outskirts of Konoha. It was a sacred dagger said to hold a mysterious power—an artifact coveted by many. Found during a scout mission, it was turned in to Tsunade and kept safe until requested by the rightful owners. After three years, the Kuyaha Clan sent a messenger to claim the artifact. Once proven the lawful proprietors, a three man cell was appointed to the job of delivering it. Since the mission would prove to be dangerous, Tsunade organized a group she saw fit for the job.

As leader, Neji Hyuga was chosen. His intellectual status, ability to use the Byakugan, and his ultimate defenses seemed ideal for the task.

Kiba Inuzuka, along with his faithful dog, Akamaru, were selected due to their enhanced sense of smell and direction which would provide course on the mission; their wild, successive attack style was only an added benefit.

And finally, Naruto Uzumaki was the third member chosen. His impulsive, volatile, and quick battle style was commendable; his resilient fortitude and nearly endless supply of chakra was also instrumental in such a targeted mission.

Despite the adequate preparations, from the very start, the team had been ambushed and openly attacked by stray ninja as well as an organized group set on larceny of the Malir, the Gukaba.

Though Gukaba did not contain high level shinobi, their sheer numbers and stealth skills proved to be a constant danger. And now, even after they'd successfully delivered the artifact, they remained cautious.

A sharp, stinging pain brought Naruto to a complete halt. He hissed and gripped the side of his neck, closing his eyes for only a moment. Kiba and Neji stopped a few branches ahead and looked back at him.

Hyuga frowned, but showed no signs of the slight worry rooted in the pit of his stomach. "Hurting again?" It was hardly a question.

"Yeah…I'm ok now," he replied quietly, sliding his hand over the gauze that enclosed the wound.

Neji, as well as Kiba knew something was wrong about the injury. A cut such as that would—on any normal circumstance—be nothing to a ninja, much less cause a striking pain that forced him to stop and grit his teeth in agony. What solidified their suspicions all the more was its effect on Naruto, who both had witnessed stand and fight when his body was virtually broken.

With a slight nod, they continued on. Lacking else to occupy his thoughts, Neji's mind drifted to the fight two days prior.

They were surrounded. It had happened so quickly while they were distracted that now they stood back to back, facing at least fifty Gukaba ninja. At first, the leader of the group simply tried requesting the Malir. Of course that was a dead end. Needing no further enticement, the attack ensued.

In a heart-beat, Kiba and Naruto took to the branches and Neji seized his opportunity to strike with his ultimate defense; knocking twelve enemies unconscious off the bat. Dashing by, he commenced taking out the rest with his Gentle Fist…

…

High in the trees, Kiba and Akamaru fought their own battle.

"Akamaru!" called out Kiba as he pounced onto another enemy and rammed him into the trunk of a tree.

The little white dog let out a short bark in understanding and leaped high into the canopy before diving down biting one of the stronger ninja in the arm. Kiba then came up from under and uppercut the shinobi. The brunette grinned wolfishly as he took off once again. "Beast Mimicry…" he whispered to himself as he charged towards his other victims, Akamaru at his heels…

…

Somersaulting off the end of a branch to avoid a shower of shurikan, Naruto summoned thirty clones as he fell and landed on a lower branch of a different tree. The multiple clones split apart— a sudden abundance of orange dotting the forest. A small group of Gukaba ninja rushed the original blond for a single, coordinated pasting, but in vain.

"Thanks for the easy target!" the boy cooed as one of his clones finished forming the rasengan on his right hand. He bound forward and hit the first assailant dead on, causing a ripple effect that sent the other three spiraling off fifteen meters back. "Bring it on," he muttered, glimpsing seven more enemy ninja attacking his clones, one of them heading straight for him…

…

The battle was falling in their favor and soon, there were only eight Gukaba still standing in opposition. One of the ninja who had dark red hair precipitously smiled; a glint reflecting in his cold eyes. Before the leaf ninja could react, the other seven Gukaba shot out in different directions, only to converge, attacking their flanks and roof.

With Kiba and Naruto so close, Neji couldn't risk using his ultimate defense, so he opted for his gentle fist once again; his Byakugan activated all the while. But this time, one of the enemies pulled out a flash bomb and detonated it right in front of Neji. Out of surprise, he backpedaled and fell back. Before he could blink, the small box in which the Malir was tucked into was swiped from his pack. "Damnit!" he cursed, kicking away two other ninja. Luckily, Kiba intercepted, performing his fang over fang jutsu, and halted the thief's advances. With the momentum the enemy was hit with, the package split open and the dagger went sailing outward.

Naruto lunged at the object and would've successfully caught it if a paper bomb hadn't exploded just behind him. The force of the blow sent him flying right at the Malir. Twisting in mid-air, he was able to move slightly and prevent the item from impaling him directly through the throat, but it was hardly enough to avoid the impact entirely. The dagger made a long, clean cut on the left side of the blonde's neck, drawing an enormous amount of blood. The slash fortunately missed any main arteries—although landing quite close—but dealt enough damage to have him fumbling with his balance when he landed at the loss of blood.

The artifact imbedded itself into tree trunk. The red-headed ninja made a lunge for it, but was knocked back by Akamaru biting down on his neck. The dog's fangs ripped the flesh viciously and unrelentingly, drawing streams of blood, and fatally injuring the shinobi. With their leader severely injured and the awareness of their inbound failure, the remaining Gukaba retreated. But before they left, a few Gukaba glanced back at the blond who was cupping his neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding, feeling disquiet in that truth…

"Hey guys! I think we're close to the village! I can already smell that scrumptious ramen!" Naruto moaned dreamily, licking his lips at the thought of warm ramen just waiting to be eaten. "Come on, guys! Move faster! Hurry up! I'm starving!" he shouted gleefully, quickening his pace.

"Naruto! You're freaking annoying. We'll get there when we get there!" yelled Kiba, running on his last strands of sanity with the overly hyper shinobi.

Tossing back a glare, the blond stuck out his tongue, replying, "Who cares what you think, dog-breath!"

"What did you call me, shorty?"

"D-o-g-B-r-e-a-t-h. That's what I said you mutt!...I'm NOT short!" he fumed. He loathed being called short. So he was a tad small for his age, so what? Just because even Sakura and the other female ninja pass him by at least half of an inch didn't mean he was tiny…fuck.

"The hell you aren't! Look at yourself. You're a friggin' midget!" the brunette snarled, clenching his fists.

At this Naruto halted, seething, only this time, he changed tactic. Dropping on all fours, he began to act similar to a dog in a much exaggerated manner, swinging his bottom side to side as if he had a tail to wag. "Look at me~ I'm Kiba, with my horrible dog breath! But that's nothing compared to how I smell when I'm wet! Talk about reeking!" he cooed, drawing out the last word for emphasis.

The next thing he knew, Kiba tackled him to the ground. "I'll humor you, shorty," he barked then bit down on the blonde's arm.

"Ahhh! Get him off! Get him off! Rabiiiiieeesss!" Naruto screamed, wildly trying to shake the brunette off. When he found he couldn't, he mirrored the elder and chomped down on Kiba's arm—his abnormally sharp canines digging into the other's skin. Akamaru was quick to start gnawing at the younger boy's leg.

"Enough! …Morons! I can't believe I got stuck with such nitwits like you three!" roared Neji, cuffing the two boys in the head.

The blond and brunette cradled their heads, looking ashamed. "He started it!" wined the kitsune, pointing an accusing finger.

Neji bent and came face to face with the blue eyed boy, glaring like the end was coming. "Naruto, don't fuck with me. Now either move it or so help me I'll murder you both."

The younger audibly gulped and nodded furiously.

Afternoon saw the team back in the village. Once they'd been debriefed in Tsunade's company, save the whole laceration, they parted in their separate ways.

Sakura was walking down the street on that lovely late afternoon when she spotted a familiar orange-clad boy sitting inside the Ichiraku Ramen stand. "Naruto!" she called happily as she approached and sat down on one of the stools next to him. "How'd the mission go?"

"Ah! Sakura-Chan! The mission went great! What have you been up to?"

She smiled and set a bag of groceries onto the counter. "Oh, not much. Just running some errands."

The blond smiled back before turning back to slurp up his sixth bowl of ramen. At this, Sakura gagged. "Naruto, how can you eat so much? What do you have, a black hole for a stomach? Tapeworm maybe?" The blond just laughed and waved it off saying he was only hungry.

In truth, she was secretly jealous of the boy. He could eat however much he pleased—of anything—and never gain a pound, unlike her. She constantly had to watch what she ate, exercise, and perhaps diet here and there like most other girls so she could stay in shape, all with the ultimate goal to impress Sasuke. Naruto's metabolism was something otherworldly she thought.

"Hm? What happened there?" she asked pointing to the long bandage wrapped around his neck, her brows furrowing.

"This? It's just a scratch," he replied, suddenly losing his appetite. He gently pushed the half consumed bowl of ramen away and placed his hands on the countertop. This was a touchy subject for him. The cursed wound was somehow making him weaker, he just knew. Why? He hadn't the faintest idea. Nothing really made sense.

He thought back. It was because of that damned Gukaba ninja who set off the paper bomb that he got this wound. So, logically, it was that guy's fault. But as his mind trailed back to past events, his spine grew cold. Something was very wrong…

She nodded at his answer and was about to turn around and order herself something to eat when she saw something odd. Strange vein-like lines abruptly sprouted from beneath the gauze, staining the surrounding skin with dark branches before retracting once again into normalcy. For a moment, she'd thought she was going crazy until she noticed the cloth dampen with a red substance. With it came immediate recognition. "…Naruto…It's bleeding," she whispered anxiously, eyes wide at how much of the crimson liquid had suddenly begun to seep through the gauze. She was on her feet in a moment, worriedly looking over her teammate.

The blond didn't answer. He was already feeling dizzy; the striking pain returning to torture him all of a sudden. He grasped his neck, sweat beading on his forehead, and inhaled sharply as the burning sensation slowly becoming unbearable. "S…Saku…ra…chan…" he hissed between gasps.

The pink haired kunoichi caught the boy just as he fell off his stool. "Hurry!" she cried to the girl behind the counter who was watching nervously. "Get some help!" The girl nodded quickly and disappeared from view. "Come on Naruto! Get a hold of yourself! Help is coming soon!" Emerald eyes brimmed with tears. Here her comrade was, writhing, suffering in her arms, and she could do nothing for him. It had always been like this. She was always so useless…

Her mind was racing. How…why had this occurred just after she pointed out the wound? Why the sudden reaction when Naruto was so obviously fine moments before? More so, how was it possible for a wound in which the blood had already congealed to start bleeding so savagely without being tampered with? What the hell went wrong?

The blood kept slavering incessantly. The boy's body wracked with tremors of agony. She could do nothing.

Although it was only two or so minutes until a group of medic ninja came and took blond away, it felt like an eternity for both Sakura and Naruto. By the time they had made it there, the two were drenched in his blood; the girl's flowing tears mixing with the thick substance.

Sakura followed them without hesitation. One of the medic nin had even offered to get her checked, but she refused to let her friend from her sight.

Dusk was rapidly falling; the stars slowly coming into view from their bed of cushioned darkness. The village was in a hush; ignorant to the happenings that were occurring in the hospital.

A boy, being carted off by several doctors as blood gushed from his wound; a girl trailing quickly behind, the same thick liquid staining her clothes as tears continued to flow down her cheeks; and a group of doctors with naught the slightest clue as what was going on worriedly checking vitals and attempting to stop the bleeding.

Everything was happening too fast. Though what exactly was happening was unknown. There were voices and lights and the din seemed all-encompassing. And then, when time could not have gone any quicker, the white double-doors closed, a red light buzzing to life just above it, and time died.

Hours passed dreadfully slow. How many, she knew not. Neji and Kiba were there too. They'd heard the news. And Tsunade was within the emergency room, but other than that, news hadn't spread even in such silent a night.

Neji was scowling intensely, brows furrowed, a lone drop of sweat trickling down his neck. He was seeing with his Byakugan.

"What's happening in there?" asked Kiba nervously. He absentmindedly stroked Akamaru's soft head, trailing his fingers past the sensitive ears.

"…From what I can see, they've been able to stop the bleeding. He's receiving a blood transfusion to make up for the amount lost. But they still don't know what's wrong."

"Is he awake?"

"No. Comatose." Akamaru whined and solemnly laid his head onto his owner's lap. "But, there's something else."

Sakura raised her head and looked at the Hyuga, dull eyes suddenly interested.

"His chakra system is going haywire. It looks as if it's condensing, though it's hard to tell for sure. It's probably causing Naruto far more agony than we can imagine since it's affecting him physically. I'm not necessarily sure what will happen, but unfortunately, he must suffer silently. His body shows almost no other signs of life." He paused, focusing his jutsu a little harder. "The source of all this seems to come from the wound on his neck…I'm seeing some bizarre form of…chakra?" Neji shook his head, trying to make sense of it all.

Everything fell silent. Sakura was staring at the door, only able to imagine her friend's pain. She could cry no more. Her tears were gone. She dropped her head, fingers threading through her unnaturally pink hair, and spoke through her teeth, "Tell them. Tell them what you know."

"Tsunade is already aware of this. In fact, she probably sees more than I do right now," the raven haired shinobi explained quietly.

"Man…poor guy," muttered Kiba as he stroked his puppy.

This is just something that came to mind and just begged to be written down. So, I said 'OK' and here it is!

I hope you all enjoyed it. Please read and review! Thankies!

That's all folks! Kit, out! 3