Hey everyone, I finally got round to giving one of my first stories some well-deserved TLC.

For those of you who are new to this story here's the plot:

When team-7 are sent to a hazardous mountain of the snow contrary there he encounters an enemy that will leave him fight for his life and his village. Meanwhile Sasuke finds that he still hasn't managed to completely shut off his emotions leaving him questioning his true reasons for leaving his friend behind.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

Additional information: Takes place after the Kage Summit, contains torture and mild Yaoi, Sasuke x Naruto.

Nightmare's And Bonds

I'm Still Bleeding

Above the hidden leaf village, a full moon floated in the sky, bathing Kohana in its sliver light. The only sound that could be heard, came from the crickets soothing song. The cooler nights and falling leaves, signalled the end of summer.

Since the Akaktsuki's recent attack, both ninja and civilians alike had been on edge. But tonight the air felt noticeably different, for the first time in months. Thanks mostly to the speedy reconstruction The hidden leaf was starting to look more like a village, than a building site. New houses weren't the only thing that beginning to return to normal. With Tsunade reinstated as Hokage, and the scars from Pains attack had almost healed, citizens and ninja enjoyed a rare moment of calm.

Yet, despite the tranquillity. One person couldn't enjoy the peaceful night.

At first glance the small house looked no different to the other many temporary houses. If anyone had peeked through the window, they'd see a young boy named Uzumaki Naruto, asleep in bed. To the untrained eye the teenager seemed to be sound asleep. But a closer look would reveal a different story. Every so often, the young Jinchuirki's eyes would twitch. He let out a small moan before rolling over on to his side. For a few minutes nothing seemed wrong, until a few seconds later he began to thrash. Naruto's quite moans soon turned into terrified screams. "Nooo! Dad it really hurts!" The boy yelled, clutching at his stomach.

Just as soon as the ordeal began, the blond's eyes flew open. The frightened teen sat bolt upright in his bed shaking and sweating. Both the nightmare and his ninja instincts forced Naruto scan the room for threats. Once he determined it was safe the shaken teen sat there in a cold sweat. slowly got out of bed he winced a little. The blond-haired teen reminded himself it was just a dream. "I'll be fine in a minute," he said to himself as he towards the bathroom.

In a bid to cool down the sixteen year old, filled the sink with cold water. Once the sink was half full Naruto splashed water in his face provided little relief from the heat. "That's weird, that didn't make me feel better at all." It didn't make sense. With autumn fast approaching the days had began to cool. The teen looked at his medicine cupboard skeletally. "Nah, it's probably nothing." The blond joked to himself.

But the nagging feeling refused to go away. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to check," Naruto told himself. He pulled open the cupboard door and fumbled around until he found the thermometer. Still sceptical and put it in his mouth. A few seconds later the machine beeped. As Naruto pulled it out he still thought there was nothing to worry about. predicted it to come back as normal. So when saw the numbers flashing, 38.9 the surprised boy nearly dropped the device. "What! This thing must be broken," The teen concluded. But this theory was quickly quashed when the teen remembered he'd just restocked his medicine cupboard.

Thanks to his healing abilities, Naruto rarely experienced illness; so the unexpected fever came as a surprise. Naruto began to assess himself in the mirror. The reflection didn't seemed out of the ordinary apart from his cheeks looked a little flushed. With nothing else wrong, Kyuubi he had a slight cold. For the second time that evening Naruto returned to his medicine cupboard. This time the blond took out a bottle cold and flu medicine. Using the plastic spoon provided, he poured out the liquid and swallowed it.

"With this and the Kyuubi's chakra, I should feel better in no time." Naruto said proudly, confident that he'd be back on his feet by morning.

With that settled, Naruto slowly walked back to his bed. No sooner did he lie down under the covers his body started to tremble. "Damn it," The blond cursed, wishing that his body would make its mind. "I felt hot just a few minutes ago, now I'm freezing." Naruto pulled out his extra blanket and snuggled up under the duvets. To keep his mind off his discomfort, Naruto tried to remember his dream from earlier. This wasn't the first time he'd woken up in the middled of the night. For the past few weeks he'd experienced the same nightmare. Naruto often lay awake at night and tried to recall the dream, but Just when it seemed he was getting close to remembering something, the details would slip through his finger like water.

Not all of Naruto's dream was quite so hard to recollect, The beginning always started the same. He'd find himself inside his subconscious facing the nine-tails The imprisoned demon would whisper to him Naruto would then begin walking towards the cage, as if under a spell. No matter how hard the Kyuubi host tried to resist he'd always pull the seal off the lock. Just when it looked like the fox had one; a hand would pull him away from the cage door. The tall man would introduce himself as the Fourth-Hokage. The man was his father. This is the part when his memory would become hazy, and then he'd wake up unexpectedly.

More often than, the young ninja would think about his father. The unexpected reunion had left the teen with mixed emotions. "I know I should feel happy that I finally know who he is, but then why do I feel angry whenever I think about him." Even now the blond could feel his blood boiling. While his father had stopped him from unleashing the nine tails; but instead of a happy reunion, the subject turned back to the the night of the Kyuubi attack. There were so many questions that would never be answered. But there was one burning question he wanted to know. "I didn't even get to ask him about my mum." He thought with dismay.

As far back as the teen could remember, he'd always admired the man everyone called a hero. For years Naruto had looked up at the stone face, carved into the mountain, with respect and awe. But now, even just a small glance at the monument left him feeling angry. "He's was supposed to protect me, but instead he sealed a monster inside me and died." He spat.

Naruto hugged himself as the shivers continued to rack his body. "If this keeps up, I'm not going to sleep again. I don't want to be tried on my mission again."

Wanting to suppress his discomfort, Naruto blindly reached over to his bedside table and pulled the top draw open. After rummaging around blindly for a few seconds, until he found what he was looking for. Slowly Naruto pulled out a Leaf-headband. However This one didn't belong to Naruto, Unlike his own this one was blue, with a long scratch running across the metal plate. Belonged to friend, Uchiha Sasuke. It had taken the determined teen hours of searching through seemingly endless rubble to find the item.

For a while Naruto just gazed at headband fondly, remembering all the happy times with its owner. Pressing his face into the fabric and inhaling deeply, despite it's age the blond could still detect his rival's scent. Somehow this helped the blond forget his fear and the chills. Filled with more happier memories, Naruto eventually fell asleep, still clutching on to his cherished possession.

A few hours later, the full moon began to set and the sun rose bathing the village with it's golden rays. Soon the birds singing replaced the crickets late night serenade. The empty streets two Jónin made their way through the deserted streets of Kohana. Kakashi only just woken up and yet his stride gave the appearance that he'd been awake for hours. "Come on Yamato," he called back to his comrade.

Trailing a few footsteps behind, Yamato dragged his exhausted body at a much slower pace. Ever since Pain's attack the brunet spent most of his time using his wood-release to build new houses. Being useful gave Yamato pride however, using his kekei-genkia so frequently had taken its toll on Yamato. Now that most things were begging to return to normal, Yamato wanted to use this time to recuperate. So when Kakashi turned up at his door woken him up he wasn't too pleased. "Remind me, why do you needed me to come with you to get Naruto?" The Jónin yawned tiredly.

"Tsunade-Sama has summoned my squad for a mission this morning. But when I saw how beautiful the sky looked this morning, I thought it would be nice to share this wonderful sunrise with you and my student." He explained.

A bead of sweat rolled down the sleep deprived Jónin's face. Whatever the reason the Sharingan-user had in mind, Yamato highly doubted the sunrise had anything to do with it. "Fine, just as long as you go in first." The ANBU begged. After being a victim of Naruto's rough sleeping, the wood user was less than keen to wake Naruto this early in the morning.

Once they arrived at his student's house, Kakashi knocked on the door but got no answer.

Yamato took this as sign to sneak away. "Maybe he's already up and training." The ANBU deduced. More than happy to search for the adolescence elsewhere the man turned to leave, but Yamato stopped in his tracks when his trained ears heard the sound of a lock being expertly picked. Seconds later he heard the sound of a door as it creaking open.

Stared wide-eyed at his friend's conduct. "What are you doing, Senpai?" Yamato exclaimed.

Satisfied he hadn't damaged the lock, Kakashi stood up and explained his actions. "Oh, I heard the sound of a cat crying inside. As responsible citizens, it's our duty to investigate any suspicious sounds." He explained.

"Naruto doesn't even own a cat!" Yamato shouted.

The copy-ninja spun round putting his finger to his lips. "Shh, honestly Yamato people are still sleeping at this time." Kakashi reprimanded as he stepped inside.

Both Kakashi and Yamato quietly entered the house. As expected, they found Naruto sound asleep under the covers. Like always, the teen wore his black night cap over his head. But it was the item Naruto held in his hand that grabbed their attention. Naruto seemed to be tightly grasping a blue fore-head protector. The colour and the damaged metal plate, made identifying the owner very easy.

As Kakashi approached the bed, his light foot-steps didn't make a single floorboard creak. The Jónin knelt down and ran his hand through the sleeping teenager's blond hair. Kakashi found the sight both adorable and sad at the same time. After Sasuke's the Jónin often wondered if he could have changed things. But it was times like this, when the Jónin wished that the missing-ninja could see just how much his friend cared about him. "He's still missing you." Kakashi said out loud.

Seeing Naruto asleep like this, Yamato forgot his own exhaustion. It felt wrong to intrude on such a private moment. "I'd to let Naruto sleep a little longer, but they really needed to get to Tsunade's office." To grab his senior's attention; the ANBU captain cleared his throat. "Senpia," Yamato called. "I think we should wake him up." The wood user suggested.

Remembering the reason for his visit Kakashi set about waking Naruto. With a heavy heart, the sliver-haired shinboi gently shook his young subordinate. "Naruto," he called softly. His student appeared to flinched at the contact and pulled the covers tighter around himself. Without getting frustrated, the Jónin tried a few more attempts.

In the depths of his slumber, Naruto could feel someone shaking him. "No, not now just a little longer." Ignored whoever it was, but every time his body rocked, Naruto felt a shooting pain in his stomach. "Who's shaking me, that hurts." The teen thought to himself. With the pain getting worse, Naruto slowly opened his eyes. Once his vision cleared he saw a mop of sliver hair standing over him. "Sensei?" The teen called groggily. Not wanting to worsen his pain, Naruto sat up slowly. As he looked around he saw Yamato was there as well. "Good morning Captain-Yamato." While the sleepy teen greeted his superiors, he discretely slipped Sasuke's head-band under his pillow.

To save Naruto from embarrassment, both Kakashi and Yamato pretended not to notice. "Sorry to wake you, but Tsunade-Sama has a mission for us." Kakashi informed.

At first the blond assumed he'd missed a meeting. "Did I oversleep?" Naruto asked, he didn't even wait for his sensei to answer and frantically grabbed his clothes. The last thing the teen wanted to do was anger both Tsunade and Sakura.

Kakashi chuckled at the sight of his sixteen year-old student running around to get ready. "No, it's actually still early." The Jónin pointed out.

When his teacher said this, Naruto to turned to the clock and saw it was indeed very early. Knowing this this only reminded the teen how tired he was. "If I'm not late, then why did you both need to come and get me?" Naruto questioned, slightly annoyed he'd been woken up so early.

He cocked his head to the side. "When did you get so suspicious?" His teacher asked. "Can't a sensei drop into see his student?"

Now that Kakashi and Naruto were together, Yamato felt he wasn't needed anymore. "I'll meet up with you at later, Senpai. I have to check how the repairs are coming along." The wood-user explained leaving the two alone.

"We don't have to leave straight away, you can grab yourself something to eat before we leave." Kakashi suggested.

Not wanting to make his stomach ache worse, Naruto decided to skip breakfast. "Nah I'll eat later." He blurted out. A few minutes later Naruto locked his front door and followed his teacher. Even though Naruto still felt tried the teen managed to keep up with his instructor. He'd only been awake for a few minutes, but the teen already wanted to return to his bed. "Looks like It's going to be another long day." Naruto told himself silently praying for an easy mission.

In a few moments both men made it to the Hokage tower.

Unlike Naruto, Tsunade's day began just like every-other. As the Godaime's desk was piled high with paperwork, Shizune wouldn't allow her to drink until she completed it.

On paper the mission sounded simple. All they needed to travel to a distant village in the mountains called; the Glacier village. It turned out this was a diplomatic mission, and required them to deliver secret documents. But trying to negotiate with a hyper-active teenager is anything but simple. For the loud and boisterous ninja, it surprised him that the mission he'd been handed was even being classed as C rank. To him this could easily been ranked as a D rank and been given to a junior ninja instead.

Once she explained the mission objectives, the medic stared to list the various hazards they'd likely encounter. "Because of the erratic weather, you'll all be required to equip yourselves with thermal clothing, snow cloaks won't be enough to protect you this time, further more-" As Tsunade continued her recommendations most of the team listened intently. All except a certain orange-clad.

As the woman trailed on, Naruto stopped listening about half-way-through. "So much for an easy mission." the teen thought sullenly. The journey alone would take them at least a week. The mission wasn't the only thing bothering the blond shinobi. Lately Naruto found it difficult not to glare at the legendary Sannin.

Given Tsunade and Jiraiya's close bond, Naruto suspected that both of them knew his parents identity. The orange-clad felt outraged when ever he pictured the pair talking about his parentage behind his back. "Surly you knew the truth." With his anger growing by the second, Naruto needed to find an excuse to lash out before he exploded. "Oh, come on Ba-chan, how come we always get the boring missions?" Naruto hoped that complaining about his missions wouldn't arouse any suspicion. "Why can't one of the rookie do this? I think even the academy students could do this load of crap. Don't you have an S-rank mission written on that list that deserves our attention!" Naruto demanded.

Naruto's outbursts in the Hokage's office were such a regular occurrence that Tsuande didn't even bat an eyelid. But that didn't stop her the fiery apprentice, Sakura, from punching her loud team-mate in the head. "Shut up you idiot," she yelled. "After the amount of times you've screwed up lately, you're lucky to even get a mission." Even though her team-mate was now considered a hero that didn't stop the kunoichi from reprimanding her friend.

Unlike the rest of his team Sai stayed silent, while Kakashi tried to hide his embarrassment. It had taken a few minutes before she could get a word in edge way. It did struck a core when he started to shout and rage that he felt wasn't appreciated or treated as well as the others.

Meanwhile Tsunade just sat in her chair and allowed her apprentice to talk some sense into the teen.

After taking a small breath and exhaling to compose her emotions, she explained the reasons she'd picked his team. "Naruto not only was team-7 requested by the village." She explained "But I've graded this mission as a C rank is due to the harsh environment, this is not a simple mission. You'll be heading towards a very dangerous mountain range, known for its landslides are the least of your worries. Blizzard season started a week ago making the risk even higher," The woman explained. "I would normally send more highly experienced Jónin or a team of ANBU, but regrettably we're low on ninja at the moment."

The blond, who'd sat silently on the floor while he nursed his new swollen lump, smiled. Suddenly his new mission didn't sound so bad in fact, it sounded like a challenge. Even it did little to Naruto's bad mood. "I've faced worse," he muttered. "I have been to snowy places before dattebayo?" He boasted as he put on his famous pout.

The amused woman explained herself even. "Oh really, Tell me, have you ever experienced the mind numbing effects of -30 degrees? It gets even colder than that at night, I wouldn't just send a bunch of amateurs into conditions like that, unless I was confident they could handle it." "However, if the mission scares you that much, then I'm sure I can find a more suitable team for the job."

Just moments early the teen hadn't the. Now all Naruto wanted to do was get away for awhile. "When do we leave?" He asked impatiently.

With her young subordinate more cooperative Tsunade finish her orders. "You'll be leaving later today. In the mean time you all need to prepare and make sure you don't slip up." She warned. While I debrief Kakashi about the mission details." She finished.

Naruto clenched his fists, desperate to question the Godaime. But like always he quickly lost his nerve. As soon as Tsunade dismissed them Naruto practically bolted out the door, while Sakura and Sai followed their team-mate at a more leisurely pace, shutting the door as they left.

Tsunade's gaze followed the teen out the door. "Just what's got into you lately?" She wondered.

Now that they were alone, Tsunade her real reason for making the Jónin stay behind, Not too long afterwards a someone else entered the room with a soft poof the tall Yamato announced himself as always the team captain greeted his superior respectfully. "Morning Tsunade-Sama, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." He said.

The Fifth-Hokage smiled back and greeted her trusted subordinate warmly. "No, you're just in time, Yamato."

Kakashi had a feeling he knew why she wanted to speak with them alone. The topic it had been on everyone's mind lately. Ever since the Kage-Summit, Naruto hadn't been himself. It started off with small things. The usually loud teen seemed more clumsy recently, even on the simplest missions the teen would make mistakes. From dropping large boxes, being distracted, falling out of trees and being late.

The former ANBU looked at Kakashi then back at Tsunade it seemed she too had also noticed.

With both Jónin present, Tsunade revealed her real reason for this second meeting. "I'm guessing you both already know what I want to discuss." She began.

The pair nodded. It wasn't uncommon for Naruto to complain about missions, but this latest outburst had been uncharacteristically hostile. "I just don't know what's gotten into him lately." She said out loud. Since Kakashi and Yamato spent more time with the boy, it made sense to ask them. "Do ether of you have any idea what's wrong with Naruto?" She asked hopeful that between them they'd know the answer.

As Naruto's sensei, Kakashi spoke up first. "I'm not entirely sure, he's been a little short with everyone lately." For now he'd managed to pull the wool over his team-mate's eyes, No matter how well Naruto pretended it wasn't enough to fool his superiors. Naruto's temper wasn't the only noticeable difference. "He's also been turning up late for training and he's not concentrating during missions. Both myself and Yamato paid him a visit this morning to see if we could figure out what was going on." He explained.

"Did you find anything this morning?" She asked, pleased to hear that Kakashi had used his initiative.

He'd hoped catching the teen off guard would reveal what was troubling him. "Nothing seemed out of the ordinary." The house had been reasonably clean. and he'd seen no clues that could point towards a definite answer. It may not have sounded like much, but Kakashi still felt like he should inform her about his findings.

While Tsunade and Kakashi discussed their concerns, Yamato found it slightly odd that Kakashi hadn't told the Hokage about about his plan. He two had noticed Naruto acting strangely. "We did find him sleeping with Sasuke's forehead protector this morning." He added.

The Fifth-Hokage turned to look at Yamato surprised. "Is that true?" She asked fixing her gaze on Kakashi.

The Jónin sighed, Although he admired Naruto's devotion to save Sasuke, the copy-ninja often forgot that Naruto was still young. But after witnessing the teen hyperventilating, the instructor began to wonder just how much strain this put on such a young boy. Even though everything seemed to point to Sasuke, Kakashi didn't believe this was the real reason for Naruto's recent behaviour. "I can't rule out Sasuke as a possibility, but when the two of them faced off after the Hokage summit, Naruto seemed to find a new resolve to save him." The copy ninja finished.

At this moment they had no idea what was wrong. Sending in Kakashi and Yamato to keep a close eye on Naruto would allow them to observe the teen without him knowing their true intentions. "For now, I want both of you keep a close eye on him during this mission. If ether of you find out what's bothering him, let me know." After this she dismissed them.

In one of the newly built storage rooms; Sakura, Naruto and Sai what they would be packing and preparing for their mission. Like always Sakura advised explaining to what equipment they needed to take with them. Even so the chuunin didn't enjoy rummaging through dusty old clothing. But with only a few shops reopened they didn't have much of a choice.

While the trio packed, they began discussing their mission amongst themselves. One of the burning questions on Naruto's mind was what type of village they would encounter. Even on his travels with Jiraiya he;d never heard of this village. "Have ether of you been to the village?" Naruto asked his team-mate's while he'd never been to this village there was a strong chance that Sakura or Sai at least knew of it.

Sakura shook her head. "No, until today I'd never even heard of it."

Sai answered next, but couldn't offer much information."I've only heard bits and pieces." Thanks to his research into emotions; Sai knew he was helping when his team-mates turned to look at him. "Not much is known about how the village operates. The people that live in mountain enjoy the solitude and have always kept out of ninja affairs." The ROOT ninja explained. That was he did have one other piece of information but he doubted it would add anything to the conversation. "I did hear a rumour that many years ago they was talk about the village adopting the ninja system and forming there own ninja. Apparently, the Fourth-Hokage was in charge of it but after his death they stopped communicating with the leaf all together."

At first Naruto listened intently to what Sai said. But when the black-haired teen mentioned his father Naruto bit his lip as hot rage returned. The burst of anger last only a second and Naruto relaxed again. Quickly brushing the moment off, the young shinobi nodded and went back to packing his cloths. "Who cares if there's ninja or not, I'm just happy to get out of the village." He said unaware that he'd caught Sakura's attention.

The medic studied her team-mate's reaction carefully, ever since the day he became a ninja Naruto always got excited about missions however, Sakura still found her friend's eagerness to leave the village slightly odd. Naruto's mood had improved for the better. But she was still worried about him. Just like her sensei, Sakura had also sensed something wasn't right. "You seem keen to leaving the village," she noted trying to question him as subtle as possible.

To the young Kunoichi's relief Naruto smiled. "It'll be nice to get away from the village for a little while. We've been cooped up for so long I've almost forgotten what a real mission feels like." The teen chuffed as he found a nice thermal cloak.

Feeling more confident; Sakura decided this was a perfect time to ask her friend about his reaction towards lady Hokage. "Naruto, can I ask you something?" Since knew that her friend might lose his temper Sakura approached the subject carefully. "Is something bothering you."

Naruto looked over at her he knew what she was going ask. She was bound to ask him sooner or later. "I'm sorry about earlier Sakura-chan, I didn't mean to yell at Ba-Chan. I was just a little tired this morning, that's all. " He said smiling.

His recent outbursts weren't the only thing Sakura had noticed. From the blond hadn't asked her out for a while. And her team-mate's recent mistakes were were out-of-character. "Are you sure that's all that's wrong?" The medic asked. "You keep turning up late and you've been unusually clumsy lately." She added. Sakura wouldn't normally bring it up but lately the something that hardly ever happened.

It seemed like his sharp team-mate was about to break down his defence, when he got an idea to evade the topic. Putting on his widest grin the blond could muster. "Nah, I'm fine. It's just being a Genin is so frustrating. Everyone's a Chuunin expect for me. I feel like if I was the same rank as you, I'd get better missions that's all." No sooner did he say this lie Naruto was almost immediately racked with guilt. But more than anything he hated lying to one of his closest friend's.

Sakura sighed as usual, her team-mate was letting his impatient nature get the better of him, however she couldn't blame him for feeling left out. "Naruto, the Chuunin exams will come around faster than you think." She promised. Knowing this alone wouldn't be enough to raise her friend's spirit. She leaned across and began to whisper into the sad boy's ear. "Oh by the way, just between you and me, the whole village has been talking about you lately," The girl revealed. "And it's not just the villagers. Even Tsunade-Samma brags about you to everyone that will listen." When Sakura finished the look.

This revelation left Naruto with even more guilt. He felt bad enough for lying to Sakura but now he felt bad for disrespecting Tsunade. Naruto promised himself that he'd make it up to her later. Realising that Sakura was still waiting for him to respond; Naruto swallowed hard and forced himself to smile. "Thanks, Sakura-Chan, that makes me feel better," He lied. "I feel really bad for giving Ba-Chan such a bad time, I promise I'll apologise to her before we leave. But for now, let's finish packing our winter clothing." Naruto's attitude had changed dramatically.

The pink-haired girl smiled warmly, glad to see her friend back to his old self. "Don't worry Naruto, Tsunade-Sama will forgive you." She reassured.

As Sai looked on he started to feel a little left out. Wanting to connect better with his team-mates, the ROOT ninja tried a new tactic. "Sakura, I have a question for you." He said.

To Sai's joy the girl seemed only too happy to help. "Because you're a girl, I was wondering if you'll be using anything to protect your nipples. I've been reading about different methods and because of your small chest I think you should-" Before Sai could finish the last syllable, Sakura punched her socially-awkward friend in the jaw-sending him crashing through the wall.

A seething Sakura stepped through the hole and grabbed her pale team-mate by his shirt. "Don't say such a thing you emotionally challenged freak!" She yelled.

Sai twitched painfully on the ground. While he recovered the pale-boy couldn't understand were he'd gone wrong. The Cherry-Blossom's reaction left the teen confused. "S.s...orry," the black-haired teen stuttered. He hoped explaining what he meant would calm Sakura down. "I was just trying to help. I've read that showing concern for your team-mates well-being strengthens your bonds with them." Unfortunately for Sai, his apology and explanation fell on deaf ears.

Still angry Sakura continued to shout at Sai. "It doesn't when you mention that kind of stuff! That's something a female would say to one another!" Sakura's rant continued while a few startled on lookers walked passed them.

Unable to resist taunting and humiliating Sai further, Naruto stepped ot the store room. Although sympathetic the amused blond couldn't help but laugh at his friend misfortune. "Sai, I would very be careful if I were you. Your skin is always so pale that it might be hard for Sakura to tell if you have hypothermia or not. So wrap up warm."

In the blink of an eye Sakura turned on Naruto next.. "Naruto, don't say such things!," The medic shouted, deeply offended by Naruto's remark. "Are you saying my medical skills are inadequate?" She questioned. "If that's how you feel, then go jump in a frozen lake and let's see if I can tell!" Sakura roared.

At this point, Yamato and Kakashi were just leaving Tsunade's office, when stumbled across the unfolding scene. By now the pair were used to seeing the trio being scolded by Sakura. As they quietly watched, they noticed that the two teenage boys looked only slightly injured, which when considering what usually happened when Sakura lost her temper; was a miracle. The enraged medic didn't even see Yamato and Kakashi standing behind her.

To prevent the argument escalated Yamato stepped in to break up the fight. "Are you all ready to leave yet?" The squad leader asked the trio, unsure about what was unfolding in front of him.

From the moment Sakura heard the voice of one of her superiors, the hot-tempered girl's mood changed from anger to a pleasant greeting in a split second. "Hey Captain-Yamato." She said cheerfully. "Yes we are all ready and willing to go." She proclaimed loudly.

Pleased to hear this; Kakashi gave his team their new instructions. "Good, we will leave in a few minutes. Stay out of trouble until then," He said pointing to the remains of the shop behind them.

Naruto looked up at both his teachers surprised that were leaving so quickly. The blond wanted to return to the Hokage tower so he could apologise to Tsunade before they set off. "Never mind. I guess I'll have to do it when I get back." He told to himself. "So Captain Yamato, are you coming with us as well?" The teen asked curiously.

The captain scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, since this is going to be a hazardous mission Tsunade-Sama asked me to go with you.," he replied.

Aware that Sakura and Sai were watching his every move Naruto decided that he needed to at least pretend to be excited Naruto about this mission. fist pumped the air. "All right, with both Kakashi-sensei and Captain Yamato at our side this is going to an easy mission," he bragged.

As much as Sakura was pleased to hear Naruto's enthusiasm. she still found her sensei's sudden urgency a little strange. "That soon, why the sudden hurry, Sensei?" She asked.

The jónin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, trust Sakura to notice something was amiss. "Ma, well you see, things have changed slightly. Tsunade-Sama says we have to gather our equipment and leave as soon as possible. There's a blizzard forecast to hit in a few days if we don't leave now we'll get caught out in it." He explained.

His two team-mate's Naruto wasn't sure he believed his sensei's explanation. "It wouldn't be the first time Kakashi-Sensei hid something from me." He thought bitterly. Fresh anger began to bubble inside the teen. All those years we spent together the man had never told him that he knew his father. "You could have could have told me who he was but you didn't." He thought. His Sensei wasn't the only one that knew. "I bet everyone had a really good laugh behind my back." It was times like this Naruto desperately wanted to shout at the Jónin and demand an answer. But the teen decided wasn't worth the hassle. Plus he didn't want to make Sakura worry again.

Before Naruto worked out what they were really up to, Kakashi gave his team the next set of instructions. "We'll will meet you at the gate be quick we need to get leave before night fall .when the temperature will drop."

"OK, sensei, try not to turn up too late will you?" The blond muttered earning himself a playful smile from his teacher. Naruto and the others ran off quickly, while Kakashi and Yamato stood together. "He's a bit of a dunce at times, but I have to agree with him this time. It's not like you rush to get somewhere senpai it's a very easy mission I'm sure we can handle it."

Kakashi turned to his subordinate, "You heard what Tsunade said, just observe him for now."

Since they'd left Tsunade's office, the Jónin hadn't said much. Yamato suspected that his former mentor's didn't approve of his meddling. "Are you mad that I mentioned what happened with Naruto this morning?" He asked.

His friends question came as a surprise. The Jónin didn't know what could cause his friend to worry. "No, I'm not," he reassured. "You were right to tell Tsunade about that, but I just feel like there's something else bothering Naruto. But I know if I question Naruto it will only make him more secretive. For now just leave him to me."

As soon as Tsunade dismissed him, Kakashi hadn't stopped thinking about his student. Even before the Kage summit, things hadn't been right between them for sometime. Ever since Pain's attack his student began avoiding him and pushing him away. It didn't matter what he tried Naruto would give him an icy stare and walk away.

Yamato watch his friend curiously he could see something how troubled he was. Kakashi, Yamato also doubted Sasuke was the root cause of the problem. He too had been watching Naruto's behaviour and had come up with his own theory, as to why he'd changed. Since defeating Pain Naruto had become an instant celebrity. While the ANBU was happy for the teen to at last be acknowledged by the village, he couldn't help but wonder if the cocky teen was letting his new-found fame go to his head. The Jónin thought the best way was to confront Naruto directly, but there was never an opportunity to talk to the blond alone. He hopped that this mission would give him that chance. "I'm sure a good talking will snap him out of his mood." The ANBU thought to himself.

Meanwhile at an Akatsuki base:

Deep underground, Sasuke lay in his bed-recovering from his recent eye surgery. Occasionally the last Uchiha tossed and turned in his sleep. These small movements gave no hints to the raven's ongoing nightmare. For the past few weeks Sasuke experienced the same dream.

It always began with the raven walking slowly down what seemed like an endless corridor. Along Sasuke's journey, the dreaming teenager walked passed hundreds of empty cells. The passage way was always dark, except for the torch light that guided him. The creepy scenery reminded, Sasuke of the hideouts he'd visited when he'd trained under Orochimaru.

As the dream progressed Sasuke started to hear the echoing cries. "No..p-please . No more, please." The trembling voice begged.

After hearing that pained voice, a door seemed to materialise at the end of the passage way. Without any guidance, Sasuke's legs carried him towards the door. "No, I won't go through this again." He told himself. Knowing what lay behind the door Sasuke tried to stop his hand from turning the door knob. "I won't go in there again." He told himself. As the raven slowly made his way he finally reached the end of the hallway.

As soon as Sasuke entered the room he soon wished he'd hadn't.

Just like the rest of, the small room was even darker than the tunnels and reeked of blood. By a scream, it was this ear-splitting noise that filled Sasuke with dread every night. Every night, the tortured scream grew louder and more desperate every night the dream returned. But this tonight Sasuke could actually see the victim for the first time.

In the middle of the room, there was a table. Sasuke could just make out a body lying on. From where the raven stood, he could see the victims blood stained hair. Despite the colour, Sasuke noticed the spiky hair. It wasn't until Sasuke stared into those piercing blue eyes that revealed the persons identity. "Oh god, why did it have to be him?" He asked. It startled Sasuke just how those azure orbs looked so drained of life.

"Naruto?" The raven could feel his mask breaking slightly when he saw how awful the blonde looked.

Even though he'd heard that scream many time before, Sasuke still hoped with all his heart that somehow he was wrong. He'd wanted it to just be another one of his master's random experiments. There wasn't a part on his rival's body that didn't look bruised and injured. To Sasuke's horror Naruto spoke to him as if he could see him.

"Sasuke, please forgive me for not saving you." He rasped quietly. Naruto's body went limp as if that sentence had used the last of his strength.

The raven listened stunned at what he'd heard. Naruto's voice didn't sound right to Sasuke. He should sound loud and full of life the usual hyperactive boy who would run around with his endless energy bragging about becoming the next Hokage. But the boy who lay before him looked drained of all hope and life.

Then a dark shadow loomed over the boy's exhausted body. Sasuke couldn't make out any distinctive features, but it felt like he knew him somehow. The mysterious man's eyes glowed a chilling yellow making Sasuke's whole body feel cold inside. Sasuke watched wide-eyed as a glowing hand he was thrust it into the blond's abdomen. Blood spilled out of the wound and dripped on to the floor.

As expected, Naruto let out an ear-piercing cry that made his own blood run cold.

Sasuke covered his ears to block out the screaming morphed into something animal like. "It sounds like he's roaring." The raven noted. Knowing there was no way that a sixteen year old boy couldn't produce such a beastly cry. "No, only something hell created could make that sort of blood curdling scream." Sasuke knew that scream he had heard it before. It was the same murderous bloodthirsty cry that he had heard in that valley.

"What the hell...who or what is making that noise?" He thought covering his ears to trying to block out the sound a little.

His gaze returned to Naruto, only to see the blond's features changing. Nails grew longer and sharper making them look like claws, his eye's changed from a sparkling blue to a deep red giving them a frightening blood thirsty quality. The animal like boy pulled at its chains that kept him strapped to the table before they snapped with little resistance.

Instinct told Sasuke to run with all his might, but his body seemed frozen in place.. The man pointed at Sasuke at mouthed the words "Attack." The creature fixed his killer gaze on Sasuke and charged with out questioning his master's order. "It's me Naruto." He called. His words had no effect on Naruto'. new claws unsheathed as he ran and aimed to slash at his face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Sasuke jolted awake, his body soaked in sweat gasping for air while the dream kept playing in his mind. As he caught his breath back, Sasuke noticed that he was holding his hand up to his face from where Naruto had struck him. Ever since his nightmares began he'd taken to just sleeping in just his boxers, it seemed pointless to keep changing. His sudden and loud awaking hadn't gone unnoticed. Even without his sight The raven could still sense different chakra

Darkness had never felt so comforting.

Zetsu appeared at his side and helped him sit up. "I need to start putting a snooze button on you." The being stated.

Thankfully for the clone Sasuke seemed too busy catching his breathe to care. The Uchiha's only lasted for a moment He reverted back to his usual cold self.

"Did you have the same dream again?" the genderless being asked curiously.

"It doesn't matter." He muttered, pushing the creatures hand away.

Changing the subject, Zetsu began to asses Sasuke's recovery. "Are your eyes bothering you?" He asked. Before Madara left, the Akatsuki leader left with a list of instructions. Ever since the operation, the loyal servant had been required to: regularly change the bandages, keep a look out for infections and mange Sasuke's pain levels.

It didn't matter how much pain he'd endured, Sasuke didn't regret allowing Madara to transplant his brothers eyes. Not only did Itachi's eyes save his sight, but they also freed him from the pain he'd been suffering. "No, I can still feel Itachi's power within them. And I haven't been in pain for a few days." He said.

The white being smiled at his charge. "Good, that means you can take the bandages off today," it said reaching to take the wrappings off.

Sensing the approaching hand, the black-haired slapped the limb away. "No, I'd rather do it myself," Sasuke insisted before he got up and dressed himself.

The strange being couldn't resit mocking the young Uchiha. For the past few nights the white clones had heard the Black-haired teen call out a name. "Sasuke-kun you're certainly more lively during the night." Zetsu teased.

Choosing to ignore his babysitters taunts, the sharingan-user got of of bed. When he finished tightening the purple cord around his waist Sasuke walked to the other side of the room and picked up his sword.

Naively believing it was safe, the white clones continued to tease Sasuke. "I know the reason he won't talk about it." One piped up. "It's because Sasuke-kun was dreaming about his Naruto again." Faster than a human could blink, Sasuke appearer behind the clone. Even without his sight Sasuke was still fast. At first it seemed as if Sasuke's sword hadn't hit his target. But the upper body fell to the ground while the torso fell in different directions.

The remaining Zetsu's clones didn't mourn for its spear body, instead they stayed still in awe of the young man's speed. "I didn't even see him move." It noted, making sure to speak carefully. "Now was that really necessary?" Zetsu asked keeping his distance. "All of us hear you calling Naruto in your sleep." He revealed.

Scoffing at the creatures concern; "Whatever it doesn't matter what I dream about. The clone was just target practise. I can't allow my skills to decline while I heal." Sasuke retorted putting his sword back inside its sheath.

Despite Sasuke's claim, Zetsu suspected the boy's true intention was to silence his clone. Changing the subject it asked the boy. "How are your eyes today?" The former Akatsuki member asked. Part of his instructions included monitoring the Uchiha's recovery.

"They're fine." He said bluntly.

The artificial being clapping its hands together happily. "Good, that means you can take the bandages off today," it said hoping the good news would brighten Sasuke's mood. "I'll bet you dying to see what your new sharingan looks like." Zetsu guessed.

Appearance wasn't important to Sasuke. As long as the eye transplant restored his sight and improved his strength, he didn't care what they looked like. Allowing Madara to transplant his brother's eyes had been the best decision. From the moment the surgery ended, Sasuke felt his brothers power seeping into him. "I'm going for a walk, 'on my own'." He instructed, hoping Zetsu would take the hint and not follow him.

After a few twists and turns Sasuke soon found the exit with ease. After being cooped up for sometime, Sasuke welcomed the cool breeze. Slowly the raven unwrapped the bandages and threw the rags to one side. Taking a few minutes to prepare himself, Sasuke Uchiha opened his eyes. Once the blurriness cleared the raven found could see perfectly; in fact he could see even better than before. With his sight restored Sasuke felt confident he finally possessed the power to avenge his family. "Nisan just watch, soon you'll see Kohana burn to the ground." He promised.

No sooner did Sasuke start thinking about taking his revenge, the orange-clad invaded his thoughts again. "I'll take all your hate, and we'll die together." The pairs last encounter

Naruto's claim that their next clash would be their last it Amused Sasuke more than anything else. But what bothered the cold-hearted boy more than anything was when Naruto had said, "Because you're my friend." Everyone else from Sasuke's past appeared happy to allow the teenager to descend further into darkness. But it seemed nothing would make the stubborn teen give up.

Before the avenger could linger on these thoughts, Sasuke shook his head. "You don't have time to think about that moron," He scolded himself. To make matters worse his nightmare continued to play over and over in his head. He began to become increasingly angry with himself. In his rage, Sasuke threw a kunai in to the ground causing a small cracks in the stone.

No matter how hard he tried, Sasuke's thoughts always found a way back to his former team-mate. No matter what Sasuke tried he couldn't stop thinking about his former team-mate. It felt like he had an irritating splinter buried deep in his brain, and no matter he couldn't pull it out.

For a second Naruto's broken body flashed through his thoughts again making him cringe. "Both of us will die."

After Sasuke pulled himself out this morbid thought, he decided he needed to put a stop to constant distractions once and for all. There seemed to be only one solution to his problem, kill Naruto. Once he killed the the he could finally be alone in the dark. When Sasuke paused to think about this plan he soon found there was nothing to stop him from leaving. Unlike the rest, Sasuke wasn't interested in harvesting the Nine-tails or any-other of the Bijuu. The boy's only reason for joining the organisation in the first place had been to destroy Kohana. No longer at risk from the effect of of going blind Madara had served his purpose.

The leader wanted to capture the tailed beast and that would mean keeping its host alive. While the masked man had saved his sight, the-raven didn't completely trust Madara. Not wanting the man to interfere with his objective Sasuke made his decision. Without looking back he started walking away from the Akaktsuki base. "If I want to kill Naruto I need to act now, before Madara makes his move," He told himself.

Leaving only a trail of muddy foot prints behind him.

Excuse me while I hop in a time machine, and slap my past self. Leaving it there for now. I hope enjoy the beginning. If you wouldn't mind taking the time please leave a review.