Symphony of Fate

Chapter 1: One Door Closes

Author's Note: This is my first fanfic. I've had it in my head for a while now and just decided to type it up. I'm not completely happy with this first chapter, I feel its a little rough but oh well. Please read and review but no flames please. This is a NaruTayu fic. The first two chapters are more of a prologue before things get moving.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, they all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Rain began to fall in the Valley of the End as the viscous clash of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha had come to a close. The clouds above were grey as the sky continued to weep at the events that had just taken place. Laying on the ground not far from where the two had clashed just minutes earlier was Naruto, with Sasuke's headband in his hand. Sasuke stood over Naruto, barely the victor of their intense contest. Their battle now over, Sasuke fell to his knees and leaned over Naruto's unconscious form. His face drew closer as he stared at his former teammate's face as though he were looking for something that he just couldn't see. It was no use, he couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to kill Naruto. A lone tear fell from Sasuke's face as he looked at the expression of his one true friend.

He remembered Itachi's words to him long ago. 'Foolish little brother. If you want to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life. And then some day, when you have the same eyes as I do, come before me. ' Sasuke clutched his head in pain at hearing Itachi's voice in his head. Gritting his teeth he again looked at Naruto. As he stared into the closed eyes of his former comrade he could do nothing but remember all they had been through together. He thought of Naruto's words earlier.

Flashback

"Why, why won't you just leave me alone?" Sasuke screamed at Naruto.

Naruto frowned, his eyes were red and the marks on his face more defined. "Because you… are the first bond I've ever had… And I'll do anything to protect that bond!"

Sasuke was shocked as Naruto was enveloped by a menacing fox-like aura. His appearance had become less human and more like that of a demon. Sasuke could do nothing but stare in awe at the raw power emanating from the blonde. Finally he was able to speak as he uttered the only words on his mind at that moment, "What are you?"

Tears welled up in Naruto's eyes as he got on all fours, his one-tailed transformation complete. "I'm your friend!"

Sasuke was taken aback by the statement but he quickly regained his composure and the two continued with their bout.

Flashback End

Shakily, Sasuke rose back to his feet, stumbling a few times in the process. A million thoughts and feelings swirled around inside him. He looked up at the sky with a sad expression and closed his eyes in thought. 'Naruto….Itachi… I won't be like you.' The raven haired boy glanced back at Naruto one last time. 'I'll obtain power my own way.' Adopting a serious expression, Sasuke turned towards the path to Orochimaru's hideout and set off, intent on obtaining the power he so desperately needs.

Not far away from the Valley of the End, Tayuya quietly made her escape. She had no idea how she managed to survive having practically an entire forest dropped down on her but somehow she had made it out without serious injury. She was also able to cast a small genjutsu on a log to make it look like her and place the log amongst the carnage so that it looked like she had been killed. It wasn't much but it was enough to fool that worn out pineapple head and the Suna bitch who were busy flirting with one another. They just gave the decoy a quick glance and thought it was good enough, giving her just enough time to escape. She had almost blown it immediately after by running into another Suna shinobi and a Konoha shinobi wearing a ridiculous green jumpsuit in a nearby clearing. Luckily they were both dog tired and she was able to slip around them without them noticing her. After she had snuck by she continued on her path.

She would admit, she was incredibly lucky to be alive at the moment. Though she was rather cut up and she was pretty sure her left arm was broken. She had also lost her hat in the chaos so her red hair flowed freely to her waist. Her clothes were dirty and torn but not too bad. On top of it all she was almost out of chakra and was completely exhausted. Even so she continued on through the forest.

Eventually she ended up at a huge roaring waterfall with two giant shinobi statues on either side of the river that flowed through. This was the Valley of the End, she could tell there had been a fight here not long ago. The ground was torn up and burned in places.

Since the place where the Suna boy and the Konoha jumpsuit wearing boy were was where Kimimaro fought, she guessed that Sasuke must've awakened and fought someone here. 'I don't know what happened here but from the looks of this place, someone got fucked up.' She thought as she looked around for any bodies or blood.

Then something caught her eye: a spot of orange at the feet of the statue of Hashirama Senju. Deciding to investigate it, she made her way down to the feet of the statue. To her surprise she found the blonde boy from earlier. Something about the sight was unsettling. His shirt had a hole through the chest as though he had been pierced by something, yet there was no hole in his chest or even a small wound. Also he seemed to be clutching a Konoha headband with a scratch across it. She guessed it wasn't his seeing as he had one on his head already.

But the eeriest thing was his face. Despair was etched all over it, even while he was unconscious. She knew that face well. The face of someone who has lost something important. The face of loneliness. She felt her own heart ache at the sight. Feeling tired from her battles and escape she decided to take a seat on the foot of Hashirama's statue and rest for a few minutes.

Tayuya looked up at the waterfall and watched it flow as she lost herself in her thoughts. 'Now that I think about it… I can't return to Orochimaru, I'll only be killed. There's no way he'll be forgiving with the death of Kimimaro and Sasuke's late arrival. He probably ended up taking another host body by this time… I…. I have nowhere to return to… Just like before.' She closed her eyes and her hand drifted to the Curse Mark on her neck. She could still feel it. As long as she still had it Orochimaru could kill her with it. But the worst part for her was that she could feel his presence inside of her as long as she had the seal. She opened her eyes and looked up at the statue of Madara Uchiha. 'As long as I have this seal, my life could end at any minute. If he finds out I haven't died yet then he'll surely kill me to prevent his secrets from being leaked to anyone… Nowhere to go… No one to run to… My life could end at any moment… Why did I even bother running from those two in the forest? Why didn't I just let myself be crushed by all the trees… It would've been better than having to be alone again…'

She was shaken from her thoughts by a groan. On instinct she stood up and drew a kunai. She spun around to see that the source of the groan was the blonde boy from earlier. His eyes were now open and he was trying to raise himself off the ground but was in too much pain. He had apparently not noticed her presence. She slowly walked towards him in a defensive stance should he try to attack her.

He finally was able to raise himself to a sitting position. Hearing the girl's footsteps he quickly turned his head to look at her. She froze in her tracks as they stared at each other for a moment. After a couple of seconds his eyes widened and he realized he was clutching something in his hand. He looked to see that it was Sasuke's headband, with a single scratch across it. His eyes softened as he stared at it.

Seeing this, Tayuya relaxed from her stance and put up her kunai. "You're the brat from earlier right?" She asked.

Naruto, who had seemingly forgotten her presence, was snapped out of his musings by the girl's question. He stared at her for a second before realization hit him. "You're the Sound Four girl. The one with the foul mouth." He stated as his memory slowly came back to him.

A tick mark grew on Tayuya's head at his statement. "It's Tayuya and who the Hell has a foul mouth shithead?" Despite the situation Naruto chuckled at her words. She let out a sigh as she walked over to him. He gave her a puzzled look as she extended a hand towards him. He stared at it for a second and blinked. "Here, you're having trouble standing right?" She asked as she looked away with a slight pinkish tint on her cheeks.

Naruto blinked again then took her hand. She pulled him to his feet and he almost fell back down immediately but she caught him. He smiled sheepishly at her. "Thanks for the help." She nodded and steadied him before letting him go so he could stand on his own. "So, not that I don't appreciate it, but why are you helping me exactly?"

Tayuya shrugged. "I don't really know why myself. Technically I failed my mission for Orochimaru so if I were to return the fucker would kill me. Although, with my Curse Mark that pedo-bastard could probably kill me anyway if he found out I'm alive. The point is as of right now I have no ties with Otogakure or Orochimaru."

Naruto stared into her eyes intently, searching for any source of a lie, causing her to give him a curious look. After finding no indication of a lie he smiled at her. "I believe you, and thanks for helping me up."

Surprised by his words and kind smile, a slight blush crossed the redhead's face. She'd never been thanked for anything before, not seriously anyway. Sure Sakon or Jirobo had given a 'Thanks' when she covered their asses in a fight but this was different. It was genuine. Tayuya looked away to cover her blush and spoke up once again. "You really believed me that easily, even though not even an hour ago we were enemies?"

Naruto's face became serious and the air around him became dark, surprising the redhead. "The way I see it, right now we both have a common enemy." He paused and smiled sadly at the redhead. "And besides that, when I looked in your eyes I saw something… They're the same as mine. Eyes that hide sadness, loneliness, anger. They're eyes of someone who desperately needs a friend."

"What the fuck do you know about what I've been through! Don't talk as if you know me!" Tayuya yelled as she took a step towards the blonde. Naruto looked at her with the same expression. She suddenly regretted her harsh words. The redheaded teen sighed and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that, it's a habit."

"It's alright I-ACK!" Naruto was interrupted by a sharp pain in his ribs causing him to double over and fall to a knee.

The redheaded girl took a step towards him and steadied him so that he wouldn't fall over again. "You're injuries are pretty bad… We gotta get you to a hospital quick."

Naruto looked up at her and smiled weakly. "Thanks again for this."

Tayuya sighed as she draped his arm over her shoulder so he could lean on her. "Yeah, yeah, don't mention it shithead. So from here we can either go to Konoha or to the closest hospital which, as far as I know, is located a little ways off just into the Land of Sound."

Naruto looked down at the ground. "Not Konoha… I…. I can't show my face there right now. Not until I've brought Sasuke back."

Tayuya simply sighed and turned in the direction of the Land of Sound. "Land of Sound it is then." And with that the two set off.

After taking Naruto to the hospital in the Land of Sound she sat at his bedside. It had been two days since they arrived. Tayuya had been treated for minor injuries but Naruto's were a bit more serious. He had many broken and fractured bones and lots of cuts all over his body along with some internal bleeding. Surprisingly though he healed very quickly and was pretty much just resting now.

She had decided to atleast stay until the blonde was released. After all she really didn't have anywhere to go anyway. Besides that there was something odd about Naruto Uzumaki, something that intrigued her that she couldn't put her finger on. Perhaps it was that look on his face he'd had since she found him at the Valley of the End. It was a face full of sorrow and despair, the face of someone who had been betrayed.

She carefully studied the blonde sleeping in the bed next to her. She could tell that even now losing his friend was troubling him. The Uchiha had clearly been a very close friend of the blonde. Since the time she found him he hadn't let go of Sasuke's old headband. He still had a death grip on it.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Tayuya watched in shock as Naruto inhaled a sharp breath before shooting up to a sitting position, breathing heavily. Naruto took a quick look at his surroundings and relaxed a bit as he tried to catch his breath. Tayuya sat in her seat beside the bed a curious expression on her face. "Damn blondie, you scared the shit out of me. Was it a nightmare?" The redhead asked.

Naruto looked down to the headband he clutched in his hands. He closed his eyes as memories of Team 7 rushed to his head. "Yeah…" He answered in a low tone.

Tayuya's face hardened at his response and she looked out the window beside her seat. "It was about the Uchiha kid right?"

Naruto didn't answer, he just opened his eyes and continued to stare at the headband.

Flashback: Naruto's Nightmare

Naruto stood on the top of the statue of Hashirama Senju staring at the raven haired boy standing atop the head of the Madara Uchiha statue. He gritted his teeth as the boy began to laugh maniacally. "You're a fool Naruto, there's no way you can beat me." Sasuke taunted.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he charged at the boy only to be met with a well-placed kick to the head sending him to the foot of the waterfall below. He qucikly got to his feet just in time to be hit with a huge fireball. With no time to dodge it he took the brunt of the attack and shrieked in pain. The feeling of his flesh melting off his bones was the most intense pain he'd ever felt and the fact that his best friend had caused it was even more painful.

The flames cleared and Naruto stood burned and panting as Sasuke landed on the water a few yards away, a smug look on his face. Naruto mustered up what little strength he had and rushed at his friend, intent on beating some sense into him. But Sasuke intercepted the blonde easily, dodging a punch from Naruto and connecting with a knee to the stomach. He followed with a right hook and then a kick to the chin that sent the blonde flying into the air. Sasuke then leapt into the air after him, charging a chidori, which he then slammed into the blonde's torso. The force sent Naruto rocketing into the water below.

Underwater his body felt heavy, much heavier than usual. It was like each of his limbs weighed hundreds of pounds and just moving one was a battle. He struggled to fight his way from the depths up towards the surface, all the while on the verge of suffocation. He finally was able to surface from the water but couldn't move at all. He was paralyzed as Sasuke began to chuckle darkly and transform into his second level of the Cursed Seal.

"You know Naruto, you're my best friend in the world… And that is why I need to kill you!" The Uchiha said as he formed some quick handseals and began charging a black chidori. "Now just die!"

Without any time to react, Sasuke's chidori had pierced his chest. The raven haired Uchiha pulled his hand from Naruto's chest and began once again laughing histerically as Naruto descended into the water he had been floating on. He felt his body becoming cold and going numb as he sunks lower in the water. Unable to move he sunk lower and lower, the water pressure crushing his body as he sunk for what seemed like an eternity, slowly descending into darkness. Finally he felt himself run out of breath and the pressure simultaneously crush his body. Forcing him awake.

Flashback End

After a few seconds of silence Tayuya spoke again, "I know it's tough… Being betrayed by someone close to you… someone you love…"

Naruto looked up at the girl, her words finally catching his attention. She continued to stare out the window as the sky began to darken from thunderclouds rolling in. "It hurts… I can tell when I look at you, you've been through a lot of pain too… There's nothing I can say to make you feel better. I can tell you all day that 'It'll get better' or 'Maybe he'll come back one day' but the truth is he's gone. The best thing you can do now is face it and move on."

Naruto gritted his teeth and lowered his head. "So you're telling me to give up? You're saying I should let him follow Orochimaru? You don't know Sasuke! He was… my best friend… I can't just stop trying to bring him back!" He yelled.

Tayuya now looked back at the blonde. "I'm not saying you should give up on him, I'm saying you should move on. You should get stronger, so that one day you can bring him back with your own power. Sitting around and moping isn't going to help anything."

Naruto relaxed hearing her words. He had snapped at her without understanding what she meant. "Sorry… I didn't mean to snap like that…"

Tayuya leaned back in her chair lazily and closed her eyes. "Don't worry about it shithead, I completely understand where you're coming from." Naruto gave a small smile though the girl couldn't see with her eyes closed. "So are you sure you don't wanna get back to your village? Won't your parents get pissed?"

Naruto tensed at her words and the smile left his face. "It'll be alright, I'm an orphan."

Hearing this Tayuya, who was in the middle of strectching her arms back and yawning, froze. She sat up at attention and to Naruto's surprise gave him a small smile. "Seriously? I'm an orphan too actually. I grew up in a small town on the border of the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Earth. My dad had been a missing-nin from Iwagakure and my mom was a medic-nin that worked at the town's hospital. My dad died when I was a baby and my mom got sick and died when I was seven. After that I decided to become a shinobi so I could have the strength to support and protect myself. I went to Takigakure graduated at their shitty academy and became a shinobi at the age of ten. Then one day pedo-fucker stopped by the village and promised that if I came with him I'd be able to get stronger and being the lonely dumbass I was I fell for it. The rest is history."

Naruto was surprised to hear a story like that from her. Something about it didn't add up but he didn't feel right prying for more after she just confessed all of that to him. "I can relate to that, I never knew my parents so I lived in an orphanage till I was six then they kicked me out. After that the Hokage got me a small apartment to stay in. Most of the villagers didn't like me so I was pretty much ignored or beaten if I went out. It sucked being alone so I always tried to get people to pay attention to me with pranks. After a while I realized that wasn't enough and decided I'd become Hokage so that people would acknowledge me. For that reason I became a shinobi and here I am today."

Tayuya let out a whistle as he finished his story. "Dang you had it rough blondie. No offense but I don't see how you can grow up like that and not be a complete asshole or a fucking emo prick."

Naruto looked her in the eyes. "You're right. At first I was so lonely that I hated it. There were times I wanted to hurt the people that spat on me and called me names. I was lonely and depressed and I probably would've ended up a lot worse if I hadn't found something important."

The girl gave him a puzzled look. "Something important? Like what?"

Naruto smiled brightly as he thought of Iruka, the Sandaime, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, Tsunade, Shizune, and the rest of the Konoha eleven. "I found people that were precious to me. People I could count on and wanted to protect. Friends. And now that I have those bonds I cherish them, I make them my reason to continue on."

Tayuya was impressed by his speech. She hadn't expected such words to come from an idiot like him. Even she had to admit it was pretty damn inspirational even if it was kinda sappy. She looked away to hide the small smile spreading on her face and decided to change the subject. "So tell me, if you're not going back to Konoha then what will you do next?"

Naruto frowned and started to think. He really hadn't thought about it until now. He knew he wasn't ready to return to the village though, he couldn't face everyone after all that had happened. The more he thought about it he only had one choice. "I think I'm gonna travel around. I can't return to the village yet, there are people there I'm not ready to face…" Visions of Sakura and Kakashi ran through his head. "I've always wanted to see what the world is like outside the village."

Tayuya nodded. She could sympathize with that. She couldn't return to Otogakure either unless she wanted to die quickly. Traveling around didn't sound like too bad of an idea. "Not a bad idea at all shithead." She stood up and extended a hand to the boy for a handshake. "Alright, I'll tag along too!"

"EH? You mean you want to come with me?" The blonde asked, surprised by her actions.

"Well someone has to keep you out of trouble, atleast till your injuries are completely healed. Besides, thanks to you and your damn friends I failed my mission so you have to take responsibility!"

"Well when you put it like that…" Naruto took her hand and gave it a shake as he gave her a foxy grin. "Welcome aboard!"

Tayuya smiled at the blonde and the two shared a laugh. "So I don't think I ever caught your name shithead."

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki. You'll wanna remember that name, because I'll be the Hokage one day!" He said with another foxy grin.

"Yeah I'm sure." Tayuya rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure what to make of Naruto Uzumaki. He seemed alright, though he was clearly very dense. "Well I'm Tayuya, Tayuya Utawara. I don't really have anything like becoming the fuckin' Hokage for a dream. I'll settle for living to see tomorrow."

After a few seconds of silence Naruto remembered her Curse Mark. He remembered what she had said about Orochimaru being able to kill her with it at will. If he could do that then chances are it was only a matter of time before he sensed she was alive and killed her with it. "Tayuya-chan, you're Curse Mark, you said Orochimaru can kill you with it?"

She rubbed the mark with one hand as she looked up at the ceiling nonchalantly. "Yeah. If he finds out I'm not dead he'll most likely use the Curse Mark to kill me. So there's no telling how long I'll be able to travel with you but it probably won't be very long before he finds out the truth."

Naruto put his hand on his chin, deep in thought. After a few minutes he snapped his fingers. "I've got it!" Tayuya gave him a puzzled look as he formed a few handseals. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" In a puff of smoke a small orange toad was sitting on the bed with Naruto. "Gamakichi!"

The toad looked up at its summoner and smiled. "Hey Naruto, long time, no see!"

"Alright I need a favor Gamakichi. How fast can you get Jiraiya here?"

Instead of answering with words the small toad made a few handsigns. "Gyakyu Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Gamakichi exclaimed as a puff of smoke again filled the room.

Naruto looked to see standing before them in a crouching position with a spyglass to his eye and a perverted look on his face was none other than Jiraiya of the legendary sannin.

Jiraiya quickly realized he was no longer spying on a women's hot springs and had been summoned to another location. He hung his head in disappointment. "Just when it was getting good too!" He whined as he cried anime tears. He then took notice of Naruto in bandages laying in a hospital bed. His expression quickly turned serious. "Naruto, you're alright! We were worried when the search team couldn't find you. We thought you had been killed."

Naruto frowned. "I…can't return to the village just yet… I actually had gamakichi bring you here for another reason." He said gesturing towards the redhead at his bedside.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow and looked from the redhead to the blonde a few times before adopting a creepy smile and nudging Naruto in the side. "Ah, I get it now. You've been playing house with this girl the past couple of days, that's why you're not coming back yet ri-" He was stopped by a hit on the head courtesy of a certain blonde jinchuuriki.

"Stop with your perverted thoughts Ero-Sennin! This is important!" He yelled as Tayuya raised an eyebrow at the two. Jiraiya rubbed the lump on his head and glared at Naruto who glared back before pointing to Tayuya. "This is Tayuya, she's a former member of the Sound Four." He paused expecting a strong reaction from the toad sage.

Jiraiya just nodded calmly. "Yes I know who she is gaki. And I'm guessing by the look of things she helped you out and you had Gamakichi bring me here to do something about her Curse Mark right?" Naruto and Tayuya both blinked and looked at each other then back at the toad sage dumbfounded. "What? Don't forget I am The Great Jiraiya of the Sannin! I have an incredible intelligence network all over the shinobi world." He boasted as he struck a pose.

Naruto looked at him with admiration. "Ero-sennin is so cool!"

"Hahahaha! Of course I'm the coolest and strongest there is gaki!"

Tayuya sweatdropped at the display. "So, uh… does this mean you'll help remove my seal?" The redhead asked nervously getting the two's attention.

Jiraiya's expression became serious and he crossed his arms. "I'll help you but I won't be able to remove the seal. I can however counter the part of it that allows Orochimaru to have any control of its power."

"Really? So you could cancel it out so that he couldn't kill me or sense me with it but I could still use its power?"

"Yep, basically. I've done extensive research on Orochimaru's Cursed Seals and although I haven't yet been able to remove it this is the next best thing."

The redhead nearly leapt out of her seat at the news. "Hell yeah! I can't wait to see the look on that pedo-fucker's face when I use the Curse Seal against him!" She said with an evil grin.

Naruto and Jiraiya sweatdropped at her antics. "Alright, enough talk. Let's get started." The Sannin said as he made a handsign and a small scroll appeared in his hand. He opened the scroll and began drawing the proper seals. Both Naruto and Tayuya watched in fascination as he expertly drew every seal with speed and precision. After a few minutes he stopped and pulled out a kunai. "Ok, now Tayuya I need some of your blood for the next step."

"No problem." She said as he tossed her the kunai. She made a quick cut across her palm and extended the hand towards the white haired sage. Jiraiya pulled out a small brush, dipped it in her blood, and began drawing the rest of the required seals.

After about ten minutes of drawing the seals he was done. Tayuya had bandaged her hand to stop the bleeding. They had both been intrigued by the man's knowledge of fuinjutsu, Naruto more so as Tayuya got bored watching the Toad Sannin draw the seals after the first few minutes. With one last seal Jiraiya finished.

"There we go. That was the last of them." Jiraiya said as he closed the scroll and formed a series of handsigns that caused the scroll to glow then disappear. "Alright Tayuya, let me see your seal." The girl did as was asked and turned her back to him holding her hair up revealing the seal on the back of her neck. "This will hurt a bit but bear with it, it'll be a lot better than dying one of Orochimaru's slaves. Fūinjutsu: Juutori Fuin! (Sealing Technique: Ten Birds Seal!)" Jiraiya yelled as his hand began to glow a bright blue color. He slammed his hand into the seal on her neck.

"HOLY FUCK!" Tayuya screamed as her seal began to burn. It was burning with the intensity of a raging inferno, making the girl cry out a violent stream of curses. "FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK! DAMNIT MAKE IT STOP! IT FUCKING HURTS LIKE SHIT! YOU OLD DICKLESS MOTHERFUCKER! YOU FUCKING COCKBITE SHITEATER!"

Jiraiya sweatdropped as he continued applying the seal. Naruto just blinked, unsure of how to react to what his ears were hearing. Tayuya continued to yell out for the entire ten minutes it took to apply the seal. By the end of it they had heard the redhead scream things that were funny, odd, sick, and just plain messed up.

Once the seal was complete Tayuya had already passed out from the pain. Naruto and Jiraiya took a look at the new seal. It was comprised of her old seal with a small circle in the middle of the three line's and the whole thing was now surrounded by a diamond like shape.

"Whew. That's quite a lady friend you've picked up there Naruto. And quite a colorful vocabulary she's got." Jiraiya said with a laugh as he took a seat next to Naruto's bed.

Naruto sweatdropped and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah well…"

"Naruto," Jiraiya addressed the blonde seriously. Said blonde was caught off guard by the man's sudden change in expression. "I'm ok with you not going back to the village, actually I was waiting for you to come back so I could ask you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Ask me what?"

Jiraiya turned to look at him. "To become my apprentice. I was going to take you away from the village for a while to train."

"Seriously? That's awesome! I've been waiting for something like this!" Said the ecstatic blonde. 'This is my chance. If Sasuke's gonna be training with Orochimaru then I'll get stronger too so I can bring him back.' He smiled with determination at the thought. His thoughts were interrupted however when he saw the redhead sleeping in the chair by his bed. He frowned as he looked back at Jiraiya. "I want to come with you but… I can't leave her alone, she's got nowhere to go now. I'm sorry Ero-sennin."

Jiraiya looked at the boy for a moment, it was obvious he was conflicted. "What is it about this girl that is so important to you gaki?"

Naruto looked back to Tayuya and smiled sadly. "Because she's just like me. I can see it in her eyes, even if she won't admit it. She puts up a false front for others because she's tired of being hurt. She's been through so much suffering that it's her way of dealing with it…I'm afraid if I leave her now, she'll have no one to save her from her own loneliness."

Jiraiya was surprised to hear such things from the boy. Honestly he felt guilty that the boy had to go through the childhood he did, as his godfather he should've been the one raising him. 'I suppose this is my chance for redemption huh, Minato?' The Toad Sannin sighed and closed his eyes. "Well if you feel that strongly, we'll take her with us."

"What? Really?" Naruto asked excited.

Jiraiya chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair. "Yeah really, but only as long as you promise not to let her distract you from training."

Naruto practically jumped out of his seat with excitement. "I promise Ero-Sennin!"

"Alright, well let's meet up at the outside of town tomorrow morning and we'll set off." The white haired man said.

"Got it! We'll meet you there Ero-Sennin!"

Jiraiya chuckled to himself as he exited the room. 'Minato, it seems like he doesn't even realize it yet but your boy has inherited your taste in women.' Jiraiya thought to himself as he heard a commotion on the other side of the door.

"Oi! Where the Hell do you think you're touching me while I was asleep?"

"Sorry Tayuya-chan, you looked cold so I was gonna give you one of my blankets but I slipped and- OWWW! WAIT-AAHH! I didn't mean to-ACK!"

"WHO THE HELL SAID YOU COULD ADD '-CHAN'? YOU PERVERTED FUCKING SHITHEAD, DIE!"

"WAIT! I'M SORRY TAYUYA-CHA- OH GOD!"

Jiraiya laughed out loud hearing the scuffle on the other side of the door. 'If you could only see him now Minato, Kushina.' With that last thought he walked on, the smile never leaving his face.

Author's Note: And that is chapter one. Not too long but chapter two is longer. Not much else to say. Please Review.