Chapter 1 - Divergence

'Huh, it's been a while…' Naruto mused as he looked on the gates he hadn't seen since the day he left, 'since the day we nearly killed her…'

*Many years earlier*

"Here you go Sasuke-kun" said Sakura happily, "Would you like some apples?"

*crash*

Without even looking at her, Sasuke slapped the plate of apple slices out of her hands.

"..."

'Huh? What was that crash? And why is there food on the floor?' thought Naruto as he entered Sasuke's hospital room.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Naruto when Sasuke turned his angry gaze upon him.

"Fight me, Naruto."

"Huh? You're still recovering. Why would…."

"Shut up and fight me!" yelled Sasuke as he got up off the bed and stared down at his teammate with red and black eyes.

'Sh, sharingan' thought Naruto wondering where this was going.

"You really think YOU could help me?" sneered the Uchiha, "Bringing that old woman of a Hokage in here, and butting into other peoples' business?"

"Nani?" Naruto barked.

"Sasuke-kun? What are you doing?" Sakura fearfully questioned, "Naruto! Tell him to stop!"

"Alright…" as a grinned Naruto, not seeming to hear his pink-haired teammate, "let's do this Sasuke, I've been wanting to kick your ass!"

"Hey, cut it out you two" said Sakura hurriedly trying to lighten the mood.

Ignoring this Sasuke motioned with his head towards the door saying, "Come with me."

As he heads towards the door, making sure Naruto is following, he unknowingly smashed one of the apple slices under his foot. The only one to notice this was a downcast Sakura.

*On the roof*

'This feeling, this… Excitement' thought Naruto remembering what Sasuke Said at the Chuunin Exams.

"I want to fight you too, Naruto"

'This shivering…'

"Hah" laughed Naruto.

'So that's what it is,' he thought

"What's so funny, dead last?" said Sasuke while scowling.

"Funny? No… I'm overjoyed actually…" Said Naruto excitedly, "To think… I finally get to beat you… teme"

"What did you say?" angrily said Sasuke, "Stop babbling, dead last."

"I'm not longer the 'dead last' you knew! I've changed!"

"You dimwitted baka! What are you so full of yourself for huh?" Snarled Sasuke.

"Heh, what are you losing your cool for?" sarcastically said Naruto "that's so not like you."

Smirking Naruto continues "…What? Are you afraid now that you ACTUALLY challenged me to a fight, Huh? Sasuke?"

"Just shut up and Fight!" shouted Sasuke.

"Put on your Forehead Protector first."

"I don't need it"

"Just do it!"

"Why should I? You won't even be able to scratch me!" said Sasuke condescendingly.

"NO…" Naruto corrected, "This is the symbol of a Konoha Ninja! It means we fight as equals!"

"And that's why I say you are full of yourself! Thinking you are equal to Me!"

"Of course I do! I've never thought of myself as anything less, not even once!"

"You are pissing me off!"

"That's because you are still weak, Sasuke-'chan'!" taunted Naruto.

"NARUTO!"

"SASUKE!"

And thus their fight begins.

It rages back and forth as they attempt to hit the other in a brief taijutsu bout.

Separating, the blonde combatant yells "Taaju Kage Bushin no Jutsu" as he makes his favorite cross-like hand sign.

Suddenly, a large group of clones appear and rush at the now surrounded Uchiha.

After annihilating several of the clones, the Uchiha suddenly spots four slide under his guard and kick him up into the air, yelling "U, ZU, MA, KI" with each kick.

Seeing similarity to his own 'Shishi Rendan' he knows what come next and attempts to turn himself in midair bringing up his guard.

The last clone above him yelled out "NARUTO RENDAN" as it brought its leg down in a vicious kick.

Grabbing the clone's leg Sasuke flipped them around so the 'Naruto' was below him as he put his hands in a familiar hand sign.

'Tora!' thought the clone worriedly

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled just before he unleashed a Massive Fireball towards the horde of Blonds below.

While Sasuke admired his work from the top of a conveniently placed fence, he suddenly noticed a swirling in the flames as they cleared.

Two Naruto's are in the flames, apparently untouched, with a bright swirling mass of chakra forming between their hands.

"Tch"

After Sasuke voices his displeasure and surprise he grabs his left wrist and yells:

"Chidori!"

The two combatants eye the other and then leap at each other holding their respective Jutsus out in front of them.

At this, Sakura finally finds the two boys as they are about to kill each other.

"Stop it you two" She says worriedly as she starts moving without thinking.

"Stop!" She screams as she jumps in between them.

'No! I can't stop!' thinks Naruto.

He angled his attack away from the girl enough to only graze her arm, Sasuke is another matter as his lightning filled hand passes through Sakura's back with ease.

Scattering blood the three of them collide and land on the roof.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Screamed Naruto as he watched Sasuke pull his hand out of her back.

"Tch, she should have stayed out of the way," comments Sasuke without care.

"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan come-on stay with me" Naruto exclaimed hurriedly as he saw the arm sized hole in her back that was now streaming out blood.

"Sasuke get a Doctor!" Yells Naruto.

"Why? It's her fault for getting in the way."

"I Said get a Doctor" leaked a quickly angering Naruto.

As Sasuke looked at him, Sharingan still activated, he recognized the feeling of intense chakra coming from his blond teammate.

Before anything could happen though Jiraiya appeared behind Naruto.

"Naruto, stop. We need to get her downstairs now," he commanded.

Gingerly picking up the now unconscious pink-haired girl, he sped through the door with a still angry Naruto behind him.

"This isn't over Sasuke," warned Naruto before he disappeared.

*Just after sunset*

"If she hadn't of been so close to treatment she would have died before help could get to her!" yelled an extremely irate Hokage.

"What the hell happened!?" Tsunade demanded of Naruto.

"Is she going to be okay, Tsunade baa-chan?" whispered an extremely subdued and downcast Naruto.

Calming somewhat because of the tone of the boy in front of her.

"I don't know, Naruto…" Tsunade said sadly, "There is a lot of damage to her internal organs and she lost a lot of blood… But don't worry! This is the best Hospital in the world!"

Putting on a somewhat convincing smile, Tsunade tried to cheer him up. Switching focus, she then said "Now, what happened."

"Sasuke and I fought, she got in the way of our attacks," Naruto said simply.

'Why? Why was she even there?!' he thought to himself.

'She was probably trying to protect the Uchiha brat' said a rough voice in his mind.

"Huh?"

'Really gaki you don't know anyone who could talk in your head?' the voice said sarcastically.

'Kyuubi!?'

'What do you know? He isn't as dumb as he looks…' laughs Kyuubi.

'What do you mean she was trying to protect Sasuke?' demanded Naruto.

'What do you think I mean? She was probably trying to protect HIM from YOU…'laughing harder, Kyuubi continued 'and look where it got her, dying from him sticking his hand in her back!'

'Sakura-chan is not dying!' yelled Naruto at the fox.

'You sure about that? You really think the village would tell its' weapon if its' crush were dying? Hah!' the Kyuubi barked in amusement, 'They just don't want you going after the one who is responsible!'

"Shut up" yelled Naruto

"What was that, gaki?" said a surprised Tsunade in a dangerous tone.

"Sorry…"

"Hmm, you should go home and rest, Sakura's condition probably won't change for some time while we try to repair her body." Tsunade said, "That's an order as the Hokage."

Getting up sullenly Naruto made his way out of the hospital. When he got to his apartment, Jiraiya was sitting on his bed.

"What do you want, Ero-sennin?"

"I'm disappointed Naruto." Jiraiya said evenly, "Rasengan is not something you use on your friends, between you and Sasuke, Sakura would be dead right now."

"I know, Ero-sennin," said Naruto starting to tear up.

"Since it seems you don't have the common sense to know when to do something I'll just have to beat it into you. We are going on a training trip for a while. Start packing, we leave in 2 days and if I find out that you have been fighting in that time, I'll make your life hell."

Seeing the pained look on his students face he softened some and said "For what it's worth I saw how you pulled back at the last second and kept from hurting Sakura, unfortunately I was too far away to stop Sasuke."

"Sasuke…." said Naruto angrily making his way to the door.

"Naruto I said no fighting!"

"I don't want to fight him! I'll just 'talk' with him," as he disappeared out the door, Jiraiya started to go after when he felt a hand on his arm.

"Let him go, he needs to work this out with Sasuke"

Without turning, "You do realize if it gets out of hand the Kyuubi may make an appearance, Tsunade?"

"Don't worry Jiraiya. Naruto isn't that weak or stupid" laughed Tsunade.

*With Naruto*

"Gahh, where is that teme!" loudly pondered Naruto, "He not in the Uchiha District, he's not at the training grounds, where is he!?"

While he was raging right next to an old stone the path that led out of the Village, a voice he knew well said,

"Looking for someone, dobe?"

"Sasuke… We need to talk." Naruto said noticing Sasuke's traveling gear.

"I have nothing to say to you, now get out of my way."

"What the rush, you got a date? Oh wait, the only girl who was even close to you is in the Hospital!" yelled Naruto.

"She got in the way, just like you…" said Sasuke shoving his way past Naruto.

"What are you doing? Don't you care that Sakura-chan may not survive!?"

"I'm leaving the village Naruto. Unlike you I have a goal that I can't achieve playing with you two," Said Sasuke looking back at Naruto, "so no, I don't care."

'What?'

"Leaving the Village?" said a confused Naruto, "What do you mean?"

"I mean I've gained all the power I can from this place, I'm going to get more power elsewhere."

'Huh?'

"Who are you?"

"What are blind as well as stupid?"

"You aren't Sasuke, the Sasuke I know wouldn't run from his problems, or are you being a scaredy-cat again?" growled Naruto.

"Hn, you don't understand Naruto."

"What's there to understand? You're a little scaredy-cat who thinks I might be better than you. And that you won't be able to gain power without the help of some snake-pedo"

"Hn, goodbye Naruto."

Suddenly Naruto felt something slam into the back of his head, but before he passed out he thought he heard "You were my best friend."

The next thing he knew, something was poking at Naruto's side and he heard,

"Hey kid, you can't sleep out here."

"hnnnn, 5 more minutes Kaka-sensei…"

'Wait a sec'

"Sasuke!" He yelled jumping up off his place on the ground. Not seeing his Uchiha teammate anywhere, he then noticed 2 men carrying large piles of paper, "What time is it!?"

"Whoa kid calm down" said a new voice, "Its right around 4 in the morning."

"4! Damn, Sasuke's been gone for 6 hours!?"

"Huh, Uchiha Sasuke? What do you mean he's gone?"

"I need to see Baa-Chan!" said the short blonde now making a run for the Hokage Tower.

"Well that was weird" said the first man, suddenly thinking something "Hokage is gonna be ticked isn't she?"

*several minutes later*

SLAM!

"Baa-chan!"

"Huh? Be quiet gaki, can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" said the blonde haired woman groggily from her desk.

"Baa-chan, Sasuke left!"

"What?" said the now fully awake Tsunade, "What do you mean he left?"

"I mean, he left the village last night! That teme wasn't even sorry about almost killing Sakura-chan!" yelled the irate blond boy.

"NARUTO SHUT IT!" thundered Tsunade, trying to think through her hangover.

"ANBU" she called out "Bring Nara Shikamaru Immediately. Naruto when exactly did he leave?"

Surprised to suddenly find himself being asked a question "Uhhh, around 10 last night I think? I don't really remember, he knocked me out."

"Damn, I once Shikamaru gets here I'll have a mission for you both."

Suddenly a 'poof' was heard along with a 'Troublesome' as Shikamaru and an ANBU appeared in the room.

"Good work, that is all" she said just before the ANBU disappeared "Nara Shikamaru, last night Sasuke left the Village"

*Sometime Later*

"How did it come to this" screamed Naruto, as he and Sasuke started charging up their strongest attacks.

Naruto in a cloak of red Chakra and Sasuke looking like a gargoyle.

"We had to leave Chouji fighting that big guy, Neji to contend with the 6 armed Freak, AND got separated from Kiba and Akamaru. Hell even Fuzzy Brows jumped in to fight that Bone Guy, and he is still recovering from fighting Gaara!" He screamed at Sasuke through his tears. "For I know they are all DEAD and it's your fault!"

"Hn, so?" said the black haired teme. "Why should I care? They were all dragging me down anyways. They are better off dead."

"How can you Say THAT!" Yelled Naruto. "They're our friends! But then again I guess you wouldn't know the meaning of the word. Seeing as how you tried to kill Sakura."

'Just kill him gaki, you know he doesn't deserve to live' interrupted the fox. 'Hell, I'll even give you more of my chakra for you to do it with.'

Suddenly Naruto's pain from the cloak increased tenfold as the Kyuubi started pumping more chakra through the seal.

Sasuke suddenly noticed that Naruto wasn't talking and was now distracted, he lunged trying to stab his arm though the blond's heart. But he didn't count on Kyuubi.

Just before he hit, he stopped only to realize that Naruto had caught his lightning filled arm, and now sported a feral grin.

"Goodbye teme" growled out the boy.

And the blond slammed his still whirling Rasengan into the black-haired boy's chest.

As suddenly as it came, Naruto's anger was gone. And he realized he just killed his best friend, no matter what he had done.

"SASUKE!" He yelled as he blacked out.

Jutsu Translations:

Taaju Kage Bushin No Jutsu - Mass Shadow Clone Technique

Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu - Fire: Grand Fireball Technique

AN: Yello!

And that is the start of my first FanFic ever!

So yeah Canon fights cause I too lazy to work stuff out, besides I think they are very well done. Other than Naruto Vs Sasuke thus some of my minor alterations for their fight. Before anyone freaks out thinking that Naruto wouldn't lose control that easy, this is the first time he has ever tapped into that much Kyuubi Chakra. Thus I don't think he could control himself that easy. Also with Chidori, the way Kakashi explained it it's a thrust attack. thus it makes a poor blade. That's why Naruto was able to catch it without causing harm to himself

So the basic concept behind this story is how Naruto and his effects on the world change if Sakura had been seriously hurt in the hospital fight, I think the changes would be significant as this is one of the defining moments of the entire series. Even going as far as to mellow out and mature our favorite Hero from the loudmouth brat we all know and love! I mean seriously look at what I made him do! He nearly kills Sakura, and actually TRIES to kill Sasuke! If that doesn't change Naruto I don't know what would.

Also I do intend for this to be a romance fic that partially follows the canon story. Though at this point I have no idea who I want to pair him up with, DEFINATLY NOT Hinata. While she is a good person I have never liked her paired with Naruto, besides I HIGHLY doubt that the super strict Hyuuga Clan would even let her marry outside the clan so as to preserve the Byakugan… Wait that doesn't work cause I think she works best with Kiba… Hmm (*_*)… Aww well. Wait a sec, this argument just invalidated my favorite pairing as it is. Fooie. I'm still not pairing him with Hinata.

Please Read and Review! As a Grammar Nazi I would appreciate knowing about any typo's or grammar errors you find!

BTW, YES I meant to make Sasuke-teme an ass. And if anyone says that I have the Family Names in the wrong spot… well to quote a somewhat famous freak out video on YouTube. "I will find you, I will kill you, and I will EAT your first born child!" Lols!