Well, here we go, my first Naruto fic. I decided to do something challenging, SO I'm gonna do a Naruto and Tayuya fic. They may be romantic, maybe not, I think I'd like to give it a shot considering her character doesn't really have depth in the anime or manga. It's gonna pick up the day Kakashi brought Naruto back from the fight with Sasuke. I used that episode for part of this intro (It's pretty much the episode written out, so feel free to skip to the last couple of paragraphs of this chapter if you know that episode well), but it shifts into my ideas, and will stay that way. Though I may use the storyline of the show as a driving base, following the Akatsuki and what not. Either way, this will have Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, and pretty much whatever else. That's enough explaining.

Seriously, Skim to the last few paragraphs if you don't want to read that episode, because once It gets past that point at the end of this chapter, this story is original.

Italics are thoughts.

I don't own Naruto. (Disclaimer)

No Oath, No Spell

The young genin's eyes slowly opened as he uttered four simple words, "Kakashi sensei…where's Sasuke?

There was no reply, the only noise that could be heard was the sound of the forest whipping by, and it seemed as though the depressing atmosphere that had befallen them would consume the entirety of the forest itself.

Yet the silence was interrupted by three Leaf Village Medical Ninja, they had begun to talk with Kakashi, but the blond haired ninja only picked up bits and pieces. All he'd managed to hear was that Both Choji and Neji where in really bad shape.

He had one final thought before he passed back out, "Everyone…

...

Shikamaru sat impatiently outside of Choji's operating room, his fingers interlocked and fidgeting aimlessly. He was deep in thought, but It was interrupted by a certain troublesome woman, "No point in making yourself crazy you know, don't you remember your psychological training? With every mission comes sacrifice."

He paused for a second, staring straight into her eyes, "Training and reality are two different things, I thought I knew about missions, I thought I knew what it meant to be a shinobi…now after this mission…my first as a squad leader," his voice dropped into a sadder tone, "only one thing is clear…I'm just not cut out to be a shinobi."

"Honestly, all you men with such fragile ego's," It seemed to be her misguided way of trying to cheer him up.

Shikamaru stood, "This mission…I thought all I had to do was…depend on everybody else…some leader…" his voice and face showed he was disgusted with himself, "I should have done more, but I didn't have the strength, It's all my fault."

Her eyes narrowed, "What, are you afraid you might get hurt?"

Instead of replying to the snide comment, he simply placed his hands in his pockets and began to walk away. After only managing to cover a few feet, he was stopped by a voice, it was his father.

"A girl disrespects you like that and you just walk away?"

Shikamaru turned his head over his shoulder as he snapped back, "You bet I do, standing around arguing isn't my thing, that's something girls like to do."

His father gave him a sour look, "And what are you? Not a man, that's for sure, far as I can see, your nothing but a coward."

Shikamaru didn't reply as his father continued and the girl looked on, "You think if you quit, missions will stop? Someone's gotta do it, your comrades will be sent out again, on other missions, with someone else leading them. They'll face the same risks, and some of them might not make it. People you might have saved if you'd been there to lead them. How are you gonna feel then? You've got a chance to reflect on your mistakes, and to learn from them. Use your failures to make yourself a better leader. You won't help your friends by running away, instead, you should be trying to make yourself stronger for their sake, so that the next mission goes perfectly and everyone gets back safe. The choice is simple; you're either a leader or a coward! So…which are you?"

The words cut deep, even the usually stern girl who'd been listening in thought that last statement was harsh, evident by the concerned look on her face. Yet just then, someone emerged from his best friends operating room, it was The Hokage.

"He's gonna be just fine."

At those words, Shikamaru tilted his head towards the ground and began to shake, not really listening as The Hokage went on explaining about the procedure and thanking his father Shikaku for the material he had provided for the procedure.

Another voice rang down from the direction in front of Shikamaru, "Lady Tsunade! Neji Hyuga is safe, his condition has stabilized. There's more, I just received word that Kakashi Hatake and Naruto Uzumaki have returned and they've been examined, Naruto's injuries are serious but not life threatening, he's going to be okay."

The information had seemed to hit Shikamaru hard as the fan wielding Sand ninja looked at him with sympathetic eyes.

Tsunade sighed to herself, "Huh, just two…" She followed it, speaking adamantly, "Shikamaru, your mission was a failure."

He hung his head even deeper.

"However, everyone's alive, that's the most important thing."

The relief he felt from hearing everyone was okay quickly combined with the feelings he was already mulling over, and he couldn't hold it in any longer, his voice cracked through thickly flowing tears, "Next time the mission will go perfectly."

…

A snake like bastard walked slowly with two people at his backside, he grinned wildly, "Sasuke, you are the chosen one."

The stuck up Uchiha spoke back cockily, "Yeah Yeah, whatever."

The last of the three men whispered something into the kid's ear, "You better watch what you say to Lord Orochimaru, he may no lo-"

He was interrupted when Sasuke gave him a look so full of malice that it made Orochimaru elated, the snake thought to himself, "Yes, he's the one, my future lies in him!" He licked his lips and walked on ahead.

...

A blond haired ninja sat in a hospital bed while resting his hands on a slashed headband. He was wrapped head to toe in bandages, making him almost unrecognizable. His mind was racing, "I just don't get it…why Sasuke?" His mind kept racing through the fight and the promise he had made, a look of depression consuming him as he did so.

He was shaken from his thoughts at the sound of a door opening and a voice, "Well, well, so you're awake, huh?"

The bandaged boy's eyes lit up, "Shikamaru!"

The two had been talking for a few minutes when a pink haired Kunoichi approached the door of the room they sat in. She heard the two talking and decided to eavesdrop.

"I see…well at least everybody's okay…that's good."

"So, so Sasuke's?"

"Yeah…," the blond replied sadly, "he's gone."

That last comment sent a wave of shock through the girl outside, her arm's fell to her side, and she just stood there, too overwhelmed to do anything else.

…...

The silence of the hallway that held the pink haired Kunoichi was interrupted by the voice of the Hokage, "Come for a visit? News travels fast I see."

Tsunade proceeded to open the door to the room before waiting for a reply, and as she looked in, she saw Naruto and Shikamaru sitting on a hospital bed, both looking up in surprise at the interruption.

Naruto noticed the pink haired Kunoichi that accompanied the Hokage immediately, "S-Sakura?"

She looked at him with concerned eyes, "Naruto."

He couldn't keep eye contact as his eyes welled up; he fought back the heavy emotions as he hung his head.

The older Kunoichi spoke up with a smile on her face, "I'd heard that your injuries were pretty serious, you seem to be doing well considering."

The room fell silent, a few seconds passed before Naruto said anything, "I'm sorry Sakura."

A look of shock swept over the young girls face, but she quickly replaced it with what was obviously a forced grin, and she spoke through an overly happy tone, "Sorry? What have you got to be sorry about? Let me guess, you got reckless and went off half-cocked again? Look at you now, you look like a mummy."

He just hung his head further, and his voice shifted to an even more somber tone, "I'm…I'm so sorry."

She seemed to be trying to ignore it, "Hey, why do you have the curtains closed, it's a beautiful day outside!" She finished, opening the curtains and looking out the window as she did.

The acting wasn't doing it for him, and Naruto started in again in what seemed to be a plea to prove himself, "I…I haven't given up! I'm still gonna keep my promise! It was the promise of a life time, I meant it!"

She didn't look back, "It's okay Naruto, Really."

Shikamaru cut in, "He Tried Sakura!" Yet before he could get another word out, Naruto spoke up again.

His tone had shifted to a serious one, "If I say I'm gonna do it, then I'm gonna do it, Kay?" He looked up at them with a grin, "Don't forget, my way of the shinobi means I always stand beside what I say!"

Tsunade giggled to herself, while Shikamaru smirked, "Ha."

Naruto had started to lightly laugh as Sakura observed his tattered body, "Thanks Naruto."

…...

Everyone had left as Naruto lay back in his hospital bed, "I've got to focus on healing these wounds if I'm gonna bring Sasuke back."

Suddenly there was a huge crash outside, causing the blond to shoot up out of bed and open his window, "Huh, pervy sage!"

The pervy old man gave him a grin, "Hey there!"

The old man proceeded to take a seat on the window sill next to Naruto.

Now settled in, he started on the reason he was there, "What I have to tell you is important, it can't wait. From now on, you're my only student, I need to make a full-fledged shinobi out of you in three years, and I'll do it."

"Why three years?"

Jiraiya continued on, "We received some disturbing information regarding the Akatsuki. We've reason to believe they've chosen you as their next target, and we have three or four years before they come after you."

Naruto thought for a moment before speaking, "No way, that's not gonna work!"

Jiraiya gave a simple response, "Hmm?"

"I don't have time for that, do you think I care what might happen three years down the road!?"

Jiraiya looked shocked, "What are you talking about?"

Naruto's eyes looked fierce, "Orochimaru's already got his hands on Sasuke, he needs help right now! That's what I'm talking about! Orochimaru plans on taking his body!"

The old man smirked, "Ha, I see you know all the gruesome details about Orochimaru's little scheme."

"Wait, you mean you knew all about it too?"
"Of course! Don't you think I've been studying that immortality jutsu of his? That's also how I know our good friend Orochimaru won't be able to reincarnate himself in a new body for three more years. Fortunately he ran out of time and had to take over another body before Sasuke could get to him. That means Sasuke is safe for three years, so you do have time.

Naruto was eager with relief, "Really, are you sure of that Pervy Sage? Are you absolutely sure!?"

Jiraiya gave a quick reply, "Yeah."

Naruto let a sigh of relief escape him, but it was short lived. The next words he heard his teacher speak threw him for a loop.

"Forget Sasuke," his was deadly serious, "You can't help him, so just forget about him. Sasuke went to Orochimaru of his own free will, no matter what you do, he will not change."

Naruto scoffed, his face shifting to show anger.

Jiraiya continued, "I've seen many like him, I know the type. Orochimaru and Sasuke are cut from the same cloth."

Now Naruto was just plain pissed off.

"Don't delude yourself into thinking you can bring him back. You can't, it's hopeless, A fool's Errand!"

The spiky blond snapped back, "Maybe it's easy for you to give up on him Pervy Sage, but I can't! He may mean nothing to you, but he's MY friend!"

"Idiot," the old man shouted, "Just take a look at the condition you're in, and he's the one that did it to you! Was that the work of a friend!?"

The boy's face sank, and he only mustered two words, "No….but…"

The old frog wrangler couldn't help but remember the time when the same exact thing happened to between him and Orochimaru, "All my pleading meant nothing, he left us, and wouldn't return. After the pain, all I was left with was helplessness…and regret. Above all, I want to save you from going through that Naruto." His thoughts shifted into words, "If you insist on going after Sasuke, then you'll get no training from me. I'll get the ANBU black op's assigned to guard you, and prevent you from leaving the village."

Naruto was surprised at his words.

"You're not just some ordinary kid, you've got something inside you the Akatsuki wants, the Nine-Tailed Fox, but if you're going to behave like a kid, and not listen to what I tell you, then I'll do what I have to do!

Naruto just listened, surprise still evident in his face.

"Eventually you're going to face enemies far worse than Orochimaru, and it's time you started preparing for them. The first thing is for you to give up on Sasuke. What happened was destined to happen, dismiss him from your mind…and move on. To be a shinobi, you need more than strength and Jutsu. You must acquire the judgment to make the right decisions; you must become smarter…the longer you remain a fool, the harder it will be for you to live in this world."

Naruto took everything his master had said to heart, and his decision was all too easy, "Fine then," his voice was deadly confident, "If being smarter means what you say it does, I'll remain a fool my entire life!"

Jiraiya was taken aback!

"I'm going after him, and I'll do it alone if I have to! I'll create my own incredible jutsu, and whenever the Akatsuki show up, I'll smack em' down!"

Jiraiya shook his head as he tensed up, "The thought of my leaving you to come up with jutsu on your own, like that idiotic Sexy Jutsu of yours…no, it's too depressing." He leapt out onto his frog, "This is more than foolish, it's so colossally foolish that it just might work! We've got a lot of work to do when you get out of the hospital, so be ready to hit the ground running! See ya then…"

Naruto couldn't help the grin that broke out on his face; he threw his hand up in a salute, "You Got It!"

The day was left to fade.

…...

The cave was dark, and an overall dark feel consumed it. Several human shaped figures filled it's empty spaces.

"How long has it been since we all came together like this?"

"Seven years, not since Orochimaru left us."

"And now Orochimaru has the Sharingan."

"Is that true Itachi, your little brother?"

"Don't be impatient, we'll deal with our old friend Orochimaru in due time, we have three years to prepare, and we all know what we need to do to be ready, right?"

"Of course, no mistakes, remember what we seek, everything…including the Nine-Tailed Fox!"

…...

The day had passed in a blur. It was all so hectic, but now that all those involved in the battles were out of harm's way, Tsunade had returned to her office. She had already received a battle report from Shikamaru, but had decided it was best to let the others rest before probing for information.

Three ANBU black ops members stood in front of her desk, one called out, "What are your orders mam?"

Tsunade grabbed a piece of paper on her desk, handing to the man that seemed to be the leader of the ANBU squad.

"What's this mam?"

Tsunade stood up, turning to look out a window behind her desk, "Those are areas I wish for you to search. We combined the information we received from young Shikamaru with the areas we found all of our ninja's at on the battlefield. With the combined information, we were able to make a rough guestimate where the remaining deceased sound ninja's bodies are. I need you to search those areas and bring the bodies back. They could provide vital information on the experiments that Orochimaru has been executing on his underlings and himself, I'm sure I don't have to explain the sort of advantages that could potentially give us."

The ANBU squad leader spoke through his mask, "No mam, I understand, but may I pose a question?"

She nodded her head in approval.

"This list only mentions two bodies…I thought that other than the Uchiha boy, there were a total of five enemies faced?"

The blond woman was quick to reply, "Your right, but only two of the enemies are still unaccounted for, and one was discovered in the same place as Neji Hyuga, another was brought back by the sand ninja Kankuro, and the other, according to Shikamaru, was buried deep in sand by Gaara. Considering the boys prowess with sand techniques, I have no reason to doubt this information."

The ANBU nodded in understanding.

At the sign that the conversation was over, the Hokage barked out one final command, "Be on the lookout for more Sound Ninja, some may have been dispatched to recover the fallen…Now Go!"

All three spoke in unison, "Yes mam!"

All three disappeared in a large puff of smoke, leaving the Hokage alone in her office. She let out a loud sigh, "Sheesh, this is troublesome." She motioned towards her desk, slowly taking a seat as she thought aloud, "Well, what next?"

…...

Night had fallen on the vast forest in the middle of the Fire Country. It was quiet, even the crickets hadn't made a peep. Not surprising, considering they had all escaped a certain area of the forest. It had been ravaged by a battle, leaving nothing but severed trees in its wake.

A few hundred yards away from this spot stood three ANBU black ops officers. All held different heights, and all bore masks.

The shortest of the three whispered to the others, "Looks like the Sound Ninja that was supposed to be here either got away somehow or was recovered by the enemy."

"It would seem so, let's get moving to the location where Choji Akimichi was recovered and start looking for the other one."

The shorter man nodded, "Yes sir, let's get goi-" He stopped mid-sentence, noticing the last of the three men was staring off in the direction of the fallen trees. He approached him, "What is it?"

The ANBU never averted his gaze from the field of fallen trees, "I thought I heard a voice…a feminine voice, that sound nin was supposed to be female."

"We already searched the entire area, there was absolutely no sign of anyone out there," a devilish grin made its way onto the short man's face, not to be seen thanks to his mask, "I bet your just hearing that girl who's heart you broke last week's voice, she's come to haunt you."

The other ANBU turned his head and retorted, "Shut up."

The shorter man had been about to laugh until both he, and the other man got slapped on the head by their squad leader, "You BOTH shut up and let's get moving."

They replied in unison, "Yes Sir!"

All three disappeared into the trees, on their way to the next destination.

The woods fell silent once again.

...…

Naruto had finally fallen asleep, the day had been hell for the young man, so the fact that it took him a few hours to pass out after Jiraiya left was understandable. It was short lived though, as he was currently being roused from his sleep by someone calling out to him. The spiky haired blond slowly opened his eyes, first seeing the moon hanging in the dark night sky, and then he noticed his window was actually open. He slowly sat up, forcing his muscles to move through the pain.

"Finally wake up huh?"

Naruto shifted his gaze to the direction of the voice, he instantly recognized the man, "Kakashi Sensei, what's up, is something wrong?"

The One eyed Jonin leaned in closer to him as he replied, "Well…"

Well, How was it? Let me Know!

I promise, the next chapter will be less introduction and more plot!

Oh yeah, I named this story after a song, It's called No Oath, No Spell by: Murder by Death

It's lyrics kind of fit Naruto's struggle.

This chapter was named after Another song, The Worry List by: Blue October

Oh, and if you want, what's some of your favorite songs, I'm always on the hunt for new music from any genre!

Thanks to all of you!