Naruto woke to the gentle caress of a hand running through his hair. He was drowsy and still incredibly frightened, so the touch made him freeze at first. His stomach ached and felt tender as he flinched away from the violating hand. When it continued he let out a noise in protest and jerked away. Still, the hand continued.

Cautiously, he opened his eyes.

Only then, when he could see the man in front of him, did he realize he was being held. His upper body was lying in the man's lap who never stopped petting him. Naruto jolted up, but the man grabbed his shoulders and forced him back down again.

"Alice, you will start bleeding again. You don't want that do you?"

Naruto swallowed, trying to understand the situation. "My name isn't Alice...I'm not even a woman."

The man's fingers ran through his hair again and was followed by a wistful sigh. "The other plane has ruined you my Alice. You don't remember a thing." Then he held Naruto's wrist and stood, bringing Naruto up with him. He looked into Naruto's eyes and when the other man looked away he held the sides of Naruto's head to keep him still. His eyes were a deep black and flashed red for only a moment before he too looked away.

"It's not too late."

"What?"

"Alice, remember what you promised me?" The man said, almost frantically. "You promised me I could have what was inside of you if I let you go to the other plane."

The man's grip on his hand loosened as he began to ramble about promises and how this wasn't fair. His eyes kept flashing a dangerous red as he talked himself into a rage, working himself up. He turned towards Naruto and let out a snarl, his hand darted out and snatched the man close to him. Naruto let out an unintentional yelp. The man grinned, his smile sinister. He ran his tongue over his canines as he let out a short, humorless laugh.

"You wont do this to me, Alice. I will have my reward."

The man let out a violent hiss and opened his mouth. He descended into Naruto's neck, mouth wide.

The man jerked suddenly, making a loud yell as he released Naruto and fell onto the ground. An arrow was lodged in his temple. He crumpled to the ground with a groan. When blood began to creep out of the wound, Naruto looked away and began searching for the attacker. As if on cue, a woman on horseback came riding in quite calmly. Instead of worrying about the man she shot, her eyes locked on Naruto and widened.

"You are..."

"Naruto," He finished for her, having a feeling she was going to say the same as the man before had. The woman stared at him confused then gave a small smile and dismounted from her horse.

"Of course. Naruto," She paused, her eyes flicking quickly to the skies as she tested the name. "Please forgive me for not being able to give you a proper welcome. We must move."

The man on the ground let out another groan as he sat up and felt the spine of the arrow lodged in his skull. With an annoyed snort, he yanked out the arrow before licking his palm and rubbing the blood away. He continued to do this action, his eyes locked on his attacker and Naruto. He paused in mid-lick and stood, walking towards the both of them. The woman swiftly pulled out her bow and aimed her arrow, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"There's no reason to be testy, Sakura. I just wanted what I had been promised."

Sakura scoffed. "You will never get his Beast. Leave." She aimed the arrow a bit better, this time aiming for his throat.

"If you kill me Sakura, Alice will be sent back to the other plane where she will stay until the end of her life." The pale man let out an airy chuckle, the idea tickling him. "That would kill the Royals wouldn't it? Having their Alice back only for her to be snatched away again."

Sakura let out a growl, her bow lowering as she faced Naruto again. Said man was watching the interaction with mild curiousity and confusion. She led him to her horse and helped him get on. Naruto felt akward being on such a large animal-even a bit frightened-but he stayed on the horse for fear of what the woman would do if he got off. She climbed on behind him, holding the horses reins in her hand.

"You plan out outriding me? Sakura, I could have sworn you were smarter than that."

Without another word, Sakura jerked at the reins and they were riding through the trees, leaving the man far behind. As the trees became thinner, Naruto looked to the sky and realized that the sky was a familiar orange.

They rode for what seemed like hours. The trees of the forest were long gone. He expected to be riding into the town when the trees ceased but soon realized as he saw a dirt road go on for miles in the distance, he wasn't at home anymore. Then, as if called by his realization, his panic that had disappeared when he woke came rushing back. He let out a yell and grabbed into the female rider's side, screaming at her to stop and take him back. He didn't know where he was. He was terrified. Eventually, after he was about to have a panic attack, the woman stopped her horse and helped him off.

After tending to her horse, she began gathering wood. The orange tint of the sky was beginning to darken. Already, Naruto had spent a day in this strange place. He watched as the woman put the wood in a pile and sprinkled something from her pouch onto it. It burst into a controlled flame.

"So, Naruto," She looked at him unsurely, wondering if she got his name right. When he nodded she continued. "What brings you back to the Fire Nation?"

"I was attacked..."

"Attacked?"

He swallowed. "Attacked by a monster with black fur. It was almost as big as a tiger!"

"Tiger?" The woman asked before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I'm unfamiliar with the beings that live on a plane other than this one."

Naruto frowned, feeling out of place. He looked towards the fire and sighed, basking in its warmth. Closing his eyes, he pretended that he was at home. He pretended that he was in his apartment with his paintings and not in some strange land. The thought made him feel better, but it wasn't enough to stop the unhappy feelings he had from being here.

"Ah, forgive me, I haven't given you a proper introduction." The woman stood only to bow before him. Startled, his jaw dropped as he watched her place a hand over her heart. "I am Sakura Haruno, medical servant and ranger for the Royals. I am proficient in geography and many herbs, poisons and craft."

"Oh, H-hello Sakura?" Naruto stammered softly. As silence gathered, he noticed that she hadn't stood back up. Concerned, he met her eyes and recieved an expectant look. Unsure of what to do, he looked away and made a pitiful noise. I must be doing something wrong, he thought and swallowed with tremendous difficulty. "Why wont you stand...?"

Sakura gawked for a moment before letting out a soft laugh. It sounded like a sigh. She waited, staring at him for a few moments before returning to her sitting position. She seemed reluctant. "I was waiting for you to give me permission to stand. I wanted you to acknowledge me."

Sakura sounded so disappointed, not at Naruto exactly but at herself. If that didn't make Naruto feel bad, her facial expression made him feel horrible. Her eyes lost their happy gleam and though she smiled, it held no mirth. He hurt her feelings.

"I'm sorry..."

Sakura looked at him pointedly, surprised. "You...don't apologize. I had forgotten you are suffering from amnesia." She looked away. "It isn't your fault."

Then without speaking she was up again, leading her horse closer to the campsite. She unhooked a rolled up fabric from the saddle and began setting it up. It took a few minutes for Naruto to notice that she was building a temporary hut. It looked very comfortable. She set another piece of fabric on the ground of the hut and made sure the outside was stable. No wind or rain would be able to damage this tent. She returned to Naruto and held out her hand, when he held it she yanked him up.

"Sleep. We will have to move early tomorrow."

She pushed him inside of the hut. Grabbing a blanket for herself as she sat beside the fire. She reached for water to put it out.

"Won't you be sleeping inside too?"

Sakura gave a hearty laugh that she tried to stiffle with her hand and shook her head. After calming down she whispered "You really have changed, dear Alice."

Not thinking much of that reoccuring name, Naruto slipped inside the hut and curled up. The warmth of the fire still present in his mind,he fell asleep and dreamt of home.

When Sakura said they would be leaving early, she really did mean they would be leaving early. When she woke Naruto up, the sun had just begun to peek in the horizon, stars still lit in the sky. It was beautiful seeing the dark of the night meet with the beginnings of the morning and he desperately wished he could paint the image. He never wanted to forget this amazing image.

Sakura continued to pack up her supplies with haste and make sure her horse was ready to mount. The animal stomped the ground impatiently, ready to ride.

Naruto let out a sigh, shaking his shoulders to be rid of the drowsy feelings he had. The morning air was cold and the grass around them was covered in dew. The shaking only annoyed him, there was no way he could shake these tired feelings away when he was constantly being reminded it was early. He let out a loud yawn, covering his mouth a second too late.

"Oh, my poor Alice. You seem so tired." A sly voice cooed from behind him. Two arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him back, his back hitting a chest. "I would be delighted to carry you."

Naruto began, "What-" but Sakura was beside them both before Naruto could finish.

"Sasuke, you are no longer allowed to be close to him! Be gone!"

"Dearest Alice is tired and you have failed to accomodate my host properly. It is my sworn duty as a chesire to treat my master with the most respect...unless you would like it if I went to the Royals? They would love to hear that you openly disobey their laws."

Sakura let out a violent shriek and continued to pack. Still pressed against Sasuke, Naruto squirmed uncomfortably but stopped when the man responded with a warning growl. Sasuke leaned in and pressed his nose against the top of Naruto's head. Sighing, he continued to inhale, walking them both towards the furious woman. Once he got close to her, he let Naruto go and gave the blond an interested look.

Then he shuddered and closed his eyes.

Struck by sudden awe and disgust, Naruto could only stare.

He lowered himself to the ground, his hands arching slightly as they touched the dirt. He continued to shake, his body molding and changing in front of Naruto. Black fur grew and creeped along his body. His skin rippled, muscles becoming more animalistic. The man began to heave, his body arching and staying that way. The hunch reminded him slightly of a hyena. The beast growled, his body still shaking with the afteraffects of the transformation.

Naruto's eyes widened and he took a step back. This was the beast who was eating his chest earlier.

"Y-you..."

"I am so glad you remember me, Alice." Sasuke trotted towards him, ran between his legs and lifted himself to his full height. "I will carry you and you can sleep. When you wake we can talk about our promises."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but suddenly he felt tired. Very tired. He let out a confused noise as he began to slump against Sasuke's back. Whimpering slightly, he squirmed as he fought the sleep but to no avail. This time he dreamt of darkness.