I know I know, it's been a while, since Christmas I believe. But seriously, how can I give up on my first successful fic! Not as great as my comedy fic apparently though...

But I digress, you probably want the actual chapter.

A response to a review picked at random since it's been so long.

xzavx: Glad you approved! I was a little worried that the use of so many OCs might not go well, but at least you didn't seem to mind! Hopefully the same can be said for most of the other readers.

Come Together And Fall Apart

Naruto was instantly on guard, he had no idea who could be attacking him. Could it be the Uchihas had come back again? Unfortunately though, instantly apparently wasn't good enough, as he soon found himself in a bone crushing... hug?

"I missed you so much! Sensei is a baka for splitting us up for a year!" his attacker shouted.

"W-wait? Sakura?" Naruto responded in a strained voice. Currently he could feel his entire body, and it all hurt.

"Of course silly, who else?" Sakura replied ecstatically.

"I... can't... breathe..." was all the blond could manage to wheeze.

"Oh! S-sorry." Sakura let go, laughing nervously.

"It's fine, but what are you doing here? I mean, I know it's been a year, but how did you find me?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Hmph, I guess you're not happy to see me." Sakura scowled, crossing her arms and turning away from him.

"Huh? O-of course I am, what are you talking about?" Naruto waved his arms in a panic. "I missed you, really, I thought about you every day! I swear!"

Sakura glanced back at him suspiciously, "Every day?"

"Yeah, every last one!" Naruto grinned.

"Good!" Sakura smiled, giggling. "And the reason I found you is because the town we were supposed to meet up at is only an hour or two away, I just got impatient and started looking around."

"Th-that close?" Naruto's jaw dropped.

"You didn't know?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, surprised Naruto wouldn't know about this. Naruto just shook his head. "Hmm, well, we did get here early. Mitsuru-sensei probably wanted to surprise you tomorrow or something. He's silly like that."

"Hmph, he's a jerk," Naruto grumbled, remembering their heated argument over Naruto's "father" not long ago. He'd never call the Yondaime that.

"Hey! Why would you say that! He's done a lot for us! You'd be dead without him." Sakura scowled, though truthfully, she was very concerned now. Sure, Naruto and Mitsuru had argued before, but she was sensing something deeper this time. They were too old now for spats, weren't they?

"Yeah, I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like him."

"What happened?" Sakura asked, letting her worry show now.

"I don't wanna talk about it. And I never will," Naruto muttered. The surprise and joy of seeing Sakura again had snapped him out of his bad mood temporarily, but now it was coming back full force.

"Come on Naruto, we're supposed to be friends. You can tell me anything." Sakura looked him in the eye and put a hand on his shoulder. Naruto looked back at her, and then hung his head.

"Can it at least wait a while?" he asked.

"Alright, besides, we shouldn't ruin a happy moment, so cheer up!" Sakura grabbed his cheeks and pulled his lips into a smile. Naruto swatted her hands away gently, but the smile stuck, even though it was small.

"Heh, so what did Tsunade teach you?" Naruto asked. "I know I learned a lot."

"Oh, a few things, and she let me try some of the sake stuff, now I'm addicted!" Sakura giggled.

"Th-that's not funny." Naruto grimaced, sincerely hoping Sakura was kidding.

"Matbe not, but your face is!" Sakura grinned and poked him on the nose.

"Hanging around with Tsunade made you mean."

"If you want mean, I'll hang you upside down from a tree again. And this time I won't need sensei's help. Tsunade-sensei's training made me really strong!" Sakura flexed her arm, causing a somewhat decent, but still small, muscle to bulge.

". . . it's not that impressive. . ." Naruto blinked, not seeing what Sakura was talking about.

"Hmph, fine then!" Sakura grumbled and found a somewhat large rock. "I'll prove it by moving this rock!"

"Even I couldn't move that, don't be stupid." Naruto crossed his arms.

"Don't call me stupid!" Sakura's face turned red as she stomped her foot angrily.

"I didn't say you were stupid, I just said trying to move that rock would be!" Naruto argued.

"It's not stupid! I can move it!" Sakura shouted back, the volume of her voice escalating.

"It's not possible! You can't do it!" Naruto yelled back, just as loud.

"SHUT UP!" Sakura's fist flew back into the rock in anger. Naruto's eyes widened and his jaw dropped when she put a large crater in the rock.

"I-I thought you were j-just gonna move it..." Naruto whimpered nervously, now scared out of his wits.

"Well you made me mad!" Sakura puffed up her cheeks in a mix of frustration and embarrassment that she had lost control.

"J-just make sure you only hit rocks and not me." Naruto gulped.

"But that hurt my hand." Sakura pouted, rubbing the slight scuff mark on her hand.

"I think you hand hurt the rock..." Naruto chuckled nervously. Sakura couldn't help but giggle as well.

"Oh well, Tsunade taught me how to fix something like this." Sakura made a hand seal and a green glow came over one hand, and then she placed that hand on her injured one. In moments there was barely any sign the skin had ever been damaged.

"Cool!"

"I know right? Now what did you learn?" Sakura asked.

"Hmph, not that much. Mitsuru only taught me one big jutsu. He says I'm still not ready for anything more, and even then he only taught me that for emergencies! He's stupid!" Aside from the Arashi Fungeki technique he'd learned only minor jutsu and the rest of his training had heavily focused on basic chakra control and taijutsu.

"Oh, well I'm sure he had his reasons."

"I'm starting to think his reasoning is broken." Sakura sighed at that. It was a little painful to see Naruto so upset, and to see him direct so much anger at the man who'd risked his life and career for them. Mitsuru was far from perfect, but his heart was in the right place.

"Well Mitsuru is really strong, I bet you could beat me in a fight after training with him so much!" She hoped that would life his spirits.

"Well, yeah, but I think I've always been able to beat you," Naruto replied deadpan. Sakura's jaw dropped at that.

"H-hey! Y-you don't know that!"

"I can summon giant caterpillars and I have a massive demon inside me."

"R-right." Sakura had to give him that one.

"GIRL, WHERE ARE YOU?" They both flinched as a shrill voice pierced the air.

"I-I guess Tsunade-sensei followed me. I-I may have forgotten to tell her where I was going." Sakura giggled nervously. "Can I hide behind you?"

"I don't have a death wish, you're on your own." Naruto smirked.

"You suck!"

"There you are! Wh-" The two nearly jumped out of their skin, but fortunately it was only Tsunade. The busty woman marched over, her figure rather intimidating. "Well, I guess you two just couldn't wait, could you?"

"Sorry, sensei," Sakura apologized meekly.

"Well, no harm no foul I guess. But don't do it again!" Tsunade turned her gaze on Naruto and smiled warmly. "Well, it's nice to see you again, kid. Why don't you lead us back to Mitsuru and we can have a big old reunion?"

"Right... reunion." Naruto let out a long sigh. "This way." Sakura moved to follow him but Tsunade grabbed her before she could.

"What's wrong with him?" Tsunade asked.

"Err, I think he had a fight with Mitsuru-sensei," Sakura began. "He got all upset when I mentioned him too."

"Did he say what it was about?"

"No, he didn't want to talk about it yet."

"Hm, we'll see, come on." Tsunade pursed her lips and then began following Naruto.

. . .

Mitsuru was honestly starting to get sick of living in the woods and using stumps for chairs. Occasional stops in towns kept it bearable, but he didn't have a steady income since he was considered a criminal and had to keep a low profile. He and Naruto had fought before, but this time he didn't see a quick resolution on the horizon. It reminded him of when Naruto and Sakura had been fighting. Back then, Tsunade had cleverly put and end to it. He didn't see that happening for him.

"And on your left, you'll see a deranged forest hermit. Try not to stare, it tends to agitate him." He raised an eyebrow and turned to see Tsunade of all people smirking at him. He'd have laughed at the coincidence if he wasn't in such a bad mood.

"Sensei!" Mitsuru couldn't help but smile when Sakura ran over to him. She hugged him, but Mitsuru glanced up over her shoulder to see Naruto giving him a dirty look.

"So I take it from the way Naruto is glaring at you, things haven't gone so well lately?" Tsunade got right to the point.

"Well-"

"No." Naruto interrupted Mitsuru with a frown.

"So, what happened?" Tsunade aimed a scowl at Naruto for interrupting.

"Can we talk in private for a moment?" Mitsuru sighed and stood up. He brought Tsunade to spot a short distance away. "So, I suppose he's not trying to hide it. Probably wants people to know he's mad at me."

"Why?"

"He has daddy issues to put it mildly," Mitsuru began. He had some explaining to do.

. . .

"You are the biggest losers ever I swear. USE BOTH HANDS!" Ino swatted Chouji on the back of his head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Chouji whined sadly. Mostly because Ino had just made him drop his bag of chips. Five whole chips had spilled out and been ruined.

"Look, this gardening crap sucks, I know, but you'll get it done faster if you aren't eating while you work!" Ino scolded him.

"This is so troublesome," her other teammate Shikamaru complained. He was currently staring at the clouds.

"Ugh, at least Sasuke would have been useful."

"Funny how hindsight works, isn't it?" That was their sensei, Asuma. He was almost as bad. Not exactly lazy, but he was very laid back. His smoking got on her nerves too. Her family ran a flower shop, she was used to the pleasant fragrance of roses and peonies. Cigarette smoke smelled awful in comparison.

"Hey, you're making it sound like she'd be better off without us!" Chouji scowled at Asuma.

"Well, I'm not saying that Sasuke isn't a skilled genin," Asuma replied offhand. "But hey, put in a little effort and you can achieve great hings too!"

"I want my chips back..."

"GET TO WORK!" Ino cracked the proverbial whip with a shrill yell.

"Women are troublesome." Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Ino made him regret that one later when she taught him just how sharp a rose's thorns could be.

. . .

"That's zero to twelve, are you sure you want to keep going?" Saburo asked. Sasuke was relaxing while his teammates sparred, with Emi losing every time.

"I have to get better," Emi mumbled weakly. She was losing confidence with how often and easily she was losing.

"You're using the same strategies every time, it's no wonder you're losing," Sasuke told her from where he was reclining in the grass nearby. "I've taught you things, but you're not using them."

"It's hard-"

"Of course it is, and it will stay hard until you practice. This is sparring, you're supposed to practice new things, not build up bad habits."

"O-oh, r-right." Now Emi looked horribly embarrassed. "Umm, I-I kinda forgot... some of it..."

"You were supposed to practice at home too." Sasuke sat up, looking further annoyed at Emi's incompetence.

"I don't have anyone to practice with."

"What about your parents?"

"My father isn't a shinobi." Emi looked at the ground.

"OK, and what about your mom? She ain't one either?" Saburo rose an eyebrow.

"I-I don't know who my mother is." Emi hung her head, wishing their conversation hadn't gone in that direction.

"So whose idea was it for you to become a ninja?"

"W-well, we didn't have much money, so... I-it was my idea."

"You wanted to be a ninja?"Saburo gave her a surprised look. He figured that must have been a fantasy gone wrong once she figured out how bad she was at fighting.

"Well, I-I don't know if I would say I wanted to. More like I felt I had to."

For the rest of the time spent with his team Sasuke thought about that on and off. He felt bad for Emi. He couldn't guess how she felt, he was good at being a shinobi and for the most part liked it. Emi must have felt trapped.

In the end, Sasuke ended up walking Emi home, trying to re-explain some of the simpler things he'd taught her. He was starting to get the hang of the whole "teamwork" thing Kakashi had wanted them to learn. Frankly it was annoying, but it had its uses. He figured it would be less painful if Emi was actually useful, so he'd been making at least a small effort to try and help her improve.

Also it was funny when he was around Emi, he could practically feel some of the other girls in the village writhe at the sight of another girl walking with him. Sometimes it was the small things in life that brought a smirk to his face.

"We're here, umm, thank you, Sasuke," Emi said when they arrived. Sasuke realized that until right then he'd had no idea where she lived. It wasn't impressive. It was small and the pain was peeling in places. The neighborhood wasn't the greatest either, though crime in shinobi villages usually wasn't too bad. Robbing the wrong house could end up being fatal.

"Ah, Emi, is this your teammate?" Sasuke looked away from Emi and saw an older looking man walk out of her house. His hair was rapidly graying, though it wasn't falling out yet. His hands looked strong, but otherwise his build wasn't impressive or imposing.

"Oh, y-yes, father. This is Sasuke."

"Right, the Uchiha. Nice to finally meet at least one of you," the man smiled warmly, accentuating the many wrinkles that were forming on his face. Sasuke nodded back.

"Right, well I'll be going. Nice to meet you too, Kusabana-san," Sasuke responded. Strangely, the man didn't seem to immediately react to Sasuke's words, but then smiled after a few moments.

. . .

"Father." Sasuke was home now, and he had an idea.

"What is it?" his father asked nonchalantly.

"The Uchiha clan is old right?"

"Yes, your point?" His father turned to look at him, seeming impatient.

"Does that mean we have records of... things?"

"Is there a point to this? What do you want, I'm busy."

"I'm wondering who one of my teammate's mother is," Sasuke admitted. His desire to learn about the girl had spiked after meeting her father. She didn't look much like him, and the delayed reaction when he'd used Emi's family name made him suspicious.

"I don't have time for this," his father grumbled. "Ask one of the older clan members, they'll know more anyway." Sasuke figured the admission that someone else would know more would have hurt if it wasn't simply an excuse to get rid of him. Sometimes his father could be pleasant, but not too often. When he was, Itachi was usually around.

Sasuke asked around, and finally was directed to a more distant relative who was old and skilled, or at least lucky, enough to have retired from being a shinobi. He was let into the man's house with a small smile. The man may or may not have wanted him there, but at least he was being polite.

"So, speak up kid, what can I do for the clan's latest prodigy?" the older Uchiha asked.

"I heard you have access to old records including records about people," Sasuke explained his reason for the visit.

"All right, anyone in particular you want to know about. I'll see what I can do."

"Does the name Kusabana mean anything to you, or can you see if there is a record of it?" The man's reaction to Sasuke's words was surprising. His eyes widened noticeably.

"Kusabana? Why do you want to know about her?"

"Well, mostly I want to know about her mother," Sasuke specified. It seemed he'd come to the right man.

"Her mother? What? Why?" Now the old man just seemed confused more than surprised.

"Well she says sh-"

"Whoa, hold on, who are you talking about, I think I'm not understanding what you want." The man waved his hands to silence Sasuke. "Start over."

"My teammate, Kusabana Emi, doesn't know about her mother and doesn't look like her father. I'm curious," Sasuke said, being as specific as he could be.

"She had a kid? Damn," the old man shrugged. "Don't need my records for this."

"Wait, you knew her mother?"

"See this scar?" The man pointed to his face. "I fought a mercenary named Kusabana working for another village many years ago. Young thing, strangely polite, and used a hell of a weapon. She was good, but I was better. She got away though once she realized she had no chance of winning."

"How did you know her name?" Sasuke was confused on that detail.

"Like I said, strangely polite. She introduced herself like we were having an official duel or something, strange girl. I stole her weapon from her if you want to see it, by the way." Without waiting for an answer, the man got up and started digging through a box. He pulled out something that looked like a coiled up whip. "Got to be careful not to slice yourself open just holding this thing, but that girl was waving it around this way and that. It was like trying to fight a swarm of angry hornets!"

When he brought it over, Sasuke could see that it was a whip, a thick one, with a barb on the end. Also, it had tiny, razor sharp blades along the whole length of it. It certainly looked nasty, though it would take a very precise strike to be fatal. Or poison.

"There's a good chance my teammate is that mercenaries daughter," Sasuke told him. "I don't suppose I could take this and show her?"

"Hm, well it's just been sitting around in that box for the last decade. Sure, why not. Maybe you or your teammate could even learn to use it!" The old Uchiha shrugged and found a cloth to wrap the razor-whip in before handing it over.

"Thank you," Sasuke took it and gave a polite bow. "I'll take my leave now."

. . .

After Mitsuru had finished explaining, Tsunade had suggested they let Naruto have some time to calm down. They headed to the town they were supposed to have met at the next day. Once there, they found a worried Shizune anxiously awaiting them at a small hotel.

"You found her! Oh, and Naruto-kun and Mitsuru-san?" Shizune was surprised to see them all together.

"Yeah, Sakura managed to find them skulking in the woods as usual," Tsunade smirked at her own joke.

"Hey, I do not skulk!" Mitsuru resented the accusation. "You'd hide too if you were being hunted by the Uchiha clan."

"Well, why don't we go get some food and we can catch up on things, shall we?" Tsunade suggested. "I'm sure Naruto is dying to eat some decent food."

Naruto was indeed ready to eat hot, restaurant quality food. They found a quaint little place where one would sit outside rather than inside and served a variety of foods. Despite the food, Naruto's mood was still on the glum side and improved little. Eventually Shizune couldn't stand it anymore.

"Come on Naruto, we should be happy right now. Smile!" Shizune urged him and smiled herself, trying to set an example. Naruto gave a clearly forced, mirthless smile in return. "That doesn't count," Shizune whined, her own smile fading.

"I'll make him smile," Sakura said and got up form her seat. She went around behind Naruto and grabbed his cheeks, forcing him to smile.

"Stawp thah!" Naruto complained, his speech coming out awkwardly. He tried to get away, but Sakura grabbed him in a headlock. As they struggled, Naruto's chair tipped over and Sakura's grip on his head was the only thing that kept him from going with it. He gagged as all his weight ended up being supported by his throat. Sakura let him go upon hearing that.

"Hehe, sorry," Sakura giggled nervously.

"I'm getting you for that!" Naruto growled, an evil grin appearing on his face and he lunged at her. At least he was grinning.

"Eek!" Sakura squealed and turned on her heel, running away. It was quite the spectacle and soon the three adults watching were laughing at them, even as the few other customers stared I total confusion. Naruto finally seemed to catch Sakura, but she managed to slip out of his grasp and turn the tables, and soon had him in a bear hug from behind. She then proceeded to lift Naruto clean off his feet. Naruto struggled helplessly, arms and legs flailing in a vain attempt to escape, only further fueling the now uproarious laughter from Mitsuru, Shizune, Tsunade, and even some of the other customers.

"Gaaah! Let me go, let me go!" Naruto continued his useless flailing.

"Are you smiling?" Sakura asked. It was such a ridiculous question considering the circumstance that it caused Naruto to stop his struggling for a moment.

"What? Of course I'm not!"

"Why not?" Sakura laughed, already knowing the answer, but wanting to harass Naruto.

"Just put me down!" Naruto demanded, once again squirming in an attempt to get loose.

"All right, all right, you heard the man. Besides, you're making a scene," Tsunade said, trying to get her own laughing under control.

"Fiiiine." Sakura finally relented and placed him back on the ground. Naruto immediately turned on her and glared. "What?" Sakura batted her eyelashes innocently.

"You know what!" Naruto crossed his arms. Sakura just stuck her tongue out at him at first, but then without warning hugged him, without yanking him off his feet this time. One of the other female customer's let out a quiet "aww" at the sight.

"Just cheer up already!"

"No," Naruto grumbled, though after a noticeable pause. Unfortunately, that set the tone for the rest of their time at the restaurant, effectively killing the good mood.

. . .

"So, I assume you'll be taking Sakura back now?" Tsunade asked. She was now sitting alone with Mitsuru back at the hotel.

"Yeah." Mitsuru nodded.

"You realize they're probably safer with me, right?"

"Hmm, you think you can handle Naruto?" Mitsuru almost considered it for a moment.

"Can you?" Tsunade countered.

"Ha, good question," Mitsuru hung his head. "There were times when I almost felt like he was my son, but now he just hates me."

"Hmph, kids always act like they hate the person raising them, doesn't mean they really do. He'll get over it soon enough," Tsunade assured him. "I only had her for a year, but I still had an argument or two with Sakura."

"I suppose." Mitsuru then turned to Tsunade, his growing lack of confidence starting to show on his face. "Be honest with me, have I made a big mistake with this entire scheme of mine? I don't even have an end goal beyond trying to keep Naruto away from the Uchiha. And Sakura, I feel like I just used her to get Naruto out of Konoha. She should be in her own home with her parents. Hell, her parents are probably tearing their hair out thinking some terrorist has stolen their child. I'm ready to tear my hair out because, technically, I have!"

"You're falling apart in more ways than one, aren't you?" Tsunade asked. "You've ruined your body by abusing your kekkei genkai and now you're tearing yourself apart mentally."

"I thought you were a medic, not a psychiatrist," Mitsuru frowned. "Now answer my question."

"I don't know, you did take two kids without any permission whatsoever. But, did you have any other options?"

"What? Tell someone what they were planning? With what proof?" Mitsuru snapped. "I walked out the damn front gates with those two and nobody even tried to stop me. You think a few Uchihas would have had any trouble getting to him if they tried? Nobody gave a damn about that kid, no one would have protected him if I hadn't!"

"So, it wasn't a mistake," Tsunade replied simply. "Question answered. You did what you had to with what you had to work with. Yes, Sakura misses her family, but she's holding it together, she understands what's going on now, she doesn't blame you. She's gotten attached to Naruto, she wants to protect him just as much as you do. She's gotten attached to you to, and I'm sure Naruto has as well. So for their sakes, get your act together and stop whining!"

"Whining?"

"What would you call it?"

"A nervous breakdown?" Mitsuru suggested and sighed into his palms before standing up. "But you're right, I guess. I got myself into this, I'll figure out what to do from here."

"Right. Now keep it together this time, I don't want to give you any more pep talks after this. It's sad seeing a grown man almost cry."

"Right, well I guess we'll get going tomorrow unless you have other plans," Mitsuru said.

"Great, now I'm going to miss that kid," Tsunade grumbled, referring to Sakura.

. . .

They spent the better part of the next day with Tsunade and Shizune, but then Mitsuru announced they'd be going their separate ways again. Unfortunately Tsunade was too high profile for them to all stay together. The Uchiha didn't really care about Sakura, so leaving her with Tsunade had been fine, but if Naruto and Mitsuru were there as well they'd attract attention before too long.

"Well kid, I'll admit it, I'll miss you, but you're back with Naruto now, so it's not so bad, right?" Tsunade said to Sakura.

"Yeah, but, will I see you again?" Sakura asked, looking a little teary-eyed.

"Of course! We've bumped into each other a few times now, it's bound to happen again!" Tsunade gave her a reassuring smile.

"Why can't we just stay with Tsunade? I'm sick of the woods!" Naruto complained, though more likely he just wanted to get away from Mitsuru.

"Because I've pissed off a lot of people, it's not too hard for someone to find me if they look hard enough. Eventually I'd unintentionally lead people right to you, sorry," Tsunade explained with a sigh. She was starting to regret her gambling a little.

"Yeah, exactly." Mitsuru nodded. "Come on, we should get moving while the sun is still up so we can find a good place to set up camp." Before he followed through with that though, he turned to Tsunade. "Thank you, for everything. You've done more than you had to."

"I did it for the kids, but you're welcome," Tsunade said. "Now get out of here before this gets too sappy, dammit!"

"Bye, Tsunade." Unfortunately for the woman, Sakura decided to hug her.

"Darn it, girl, what did I just say?" Tsunade complained, but put an arm around the girl. After Sakura did the same with Shizune, and with Tsunade holding back a few tears, they separated once again.

. . .

Not far from where Mitsuru and company were saying their goodbyes to Tsunade and Shizune, a gloved hand turned on a small microphone.

"You were right, she led me right to them... Yes, they've separated... I understand, I'll keep track of them. They'll probably set up camp soon, I'll contact you once they have... Of course I'll be careful, they'll never know I'm there."

. . .

Chapter 25: I can't get through to Mitsuru and it's worrying me. The worst part is it's not even that he won't talk to me, he just doesn't listen. The kid is quite simply brilliant, and possibly has the most talent for ninjutsu I've ever seen. That's part of the problem unfortunately, he thinks he's invincible. Most teenagers go through a stage like that, but I'm afraid he'll never stop thinking he's a god until something bad happens to him.

Another issue is that he's surprisingly charismatic and has Akira completely wrapped around his finger, whether she knows it or not. He still seems unaware of why she's so willing to follow his lead, so now I'm worried about Akira getting hurt by him in more ways than one. Kyo isn't buying into Mitsuru's act, but I think at the same time peer pressure makes him go along with them. No matter how right Kyo is on something, if Mitsuru disagrees with him, so will Akira, meaning it's always two against one and majority rules.

Chapter 26: I must be a terrible sensei. I've entered them into the Chuunin exams. Part of me wants them to fail to teach them, and especially Mitsuru, a lesson in humility. They make an excellent team to be honest, but I worry that one day they'll take on more than they can handle and pay for it with their lives. I'd hate for any of them to end up like me, with survivor's guilt too.

Chapter 26 addition: They've all passed. Now I'm really worried.

After that, Naruto noticed the handwriting changed. Normally he didn't read too much of it at once, it wasn't a big journal, in fact he was getting close to the end and he wanted it to last at least a little while longer. He was too curious not to see what the next chapter held though.

Chapter 27: We were sent on a mission. It didn't go well, not all of us made it back. I wish I'd done things so differently. It-

"Naruto!" He heard Mitsuru shout. He tried to ignore it, he was trying to read! He didn't want to deal with the man right now. However, a second later something clicked in him, Mitsuru's voice had been urgent, worried, almost panicked. He shoved the small journal into his pocket and got up. He jumped out of the tree he'd been sitting in and ran towards where he'd heard Mitsuru shouting from.

Mitsuru and Sakura were shoving things into backpacks hurriedly when he arrived. Mitsuru looked up when he noticed Naruto.

"No time to explain! Leave anything not important, we're getting out of here now!" Mitsuru ordered him. Naruto ran towards where his backpack was, but it was gone.

"Did you already take my pack?" Naruto shouted back at Mitsuru and Sakura. Both gave him a confused look, then he saw their eyes widen, looking at something behind him. He tried to look at what they were, but then he felt a sharp pain in his neck, and then everything went dark...

. . .

"-to! Naruto!" Naruto felt himself being shaken. His eyes snapped open and he tried to sit straight up, but his neck was incredibly stiff and he had to slow down on his way up. "You're awake!" He felt something wrap around him, arms. Sakura's arms.

"Wh-what happened?" Naruto blinked away his blurry vision.

"We were attacked, they looked like ANBU," Sakura told him and helped him stand. "One of them hit you."

"Yeah, and where there's one, there will be more. In fact there were two, and they were strong," Mitsuru walked over. He was clutching his side.

"Sensei, are yo-" Sakura began to ask, but Mitsuru stumbled and nearly fell. Sakura was at his side to assist him a moment later.

"Not quite. I know a some healing jutsu, and I'm sure you do too after Tsunade's training, but there's no time. You have to run, find Tsunade, she'll take care of you."

"What? We're not abandoning you! Why can't you come with us?" Sakura grabbed Mitsuru's sleeve. Naruto was shocked silent. Was he telling them to run off without him because he couldn't go with them? How badly was he injured?

"S-Sakura's right! I won't leave you!" Naruto got up, adamant that he would be staying. He was surprised when Mitsuru just smiled widely. It seemed he was even standing with less effort despite his injury.

"No, I'm sorry, I have to hold off any others that are after us. They won't get past me easily, you'll have time to run. It's the most I can give you now." He turned to Sakura and pried her hands off, the act of doing so bringing tears to her eyes. "You'll be fine, you two are strong in more ways than one. Now go!"

"S-sensei," Sakura tried to protest, but Mitsuru gently pushed her away.

"I said go! That's an order!" He shouted at them. He felt a little guilty at the way they flinched, especially the now red-eyed Sakura. Naruto took her hand though and they obeyed. He watched until they disappeared into the forest.

He then turned back in the direction he'd figured the ANBU would be coming.

"Kyuchiyose no jutus! Tsume!" He placed his palm on the ground and in a burst of smoke, the small, vested cat appeared.

"Eh? Whoa, what happened to you? I can smell the blood," the cat said.

"I fell down some kunai... that made no sense, how much have I been bleeding?" Mitsuru glanced down at the feisty feline.

"Enough," it replied. "Where are the kids?"

"About them, they ran off that way." Mitsuru pointed behind him with his thumb. "Go after them, make sure they find Tsunade, keep them out of trouble until they do."

"Why me and not someone bigger?"

"Tigers stand out too much, not to mention we all know I'm not on good terms with the higher summons," Mitsuru explained. "Besides, we've been through so much, it wouldn't feel right sending anyone else."

"Right." Tsume nodded. "Got it. Hey, will I ever see you again?"

"Heh, probably not." Mitsuru chuckled bemusedly.

"About time," Tsume muttered and stuck his nose in the air. "I smell three humans coming this way."

"I'm honored, they sent five ANBU after me."

"I said three," Tsume corrected.

"I know."

"Huh, you're dead even if you do survive this."

"Yep." Mitsuru's hand twitched, his face slowly turning into a grin.

"That look in your eyes, hm, I feel bad for those ANBU."

"You should, you really should..."

. . .

He was alone now, in a situation he'd never thought he'd be in. A criminal, fighting the ANBU of his own village. He'd been someone once, or so he'd thought, now he couldn't think of anyone who wouldn't look down on him as scum or a disappointment.

But his death would mean something. He'd go out in a blaze of glory fighting for what he believed in. They'd never know why he would fight so hard. It sounded good in theory. He wondered how it would feel when the final moment came.

They arrived.

"He's injured, I'll handle him. You two go ahead!" the lead ANBU ordered. The others moved to go past Mitsuru.

"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" They were halted when Mitsuru fired a volley of fireballs, blocking their paths. "Not happening. Quick question, do any of you have a kekkei genkai?"

"Even if we did, we wouldn't need them against you," one ANBU said.

"You know, I know what you're thinking. A kekkei genkai doesn't mean anything, it's all about skill and making the right choice in a fight," Mitsuru explained. The ANBU looked at each other, wondering what he was going on about. "Unless you're like me. Unless you know how to use your kekkei genkai better than is good for you. It pains me to tell you this, but I know my kekkei genkai to that extent, to the extent that it's no good for you either."

Mitsuru's eyes lost their milky blue color, the blue coloration increasing in intensity until his eyes were literally glowing. Chakra flowed out of him in waves, still not quite visible to the naked eye, but the ANBU could feel it, growing, growing, altering the flow of the air around them.

"C-can you feel that?" an ANBU said, looking around frantically.

"I can taste that!" the third gulped.

"Shut up! It's just chakra, it doesn't matter how much he has.

"Doesn't it?" Mitsuru asked coldly. "DOESN'T IT?" He roared and the earth came alive beneath them.

. . .

Naruto and Sakura were running in the direction of the town they'd just left, hoping that even if Mitsuru couldn't come back, that he'd at least stop the ANBU. Naruto felt something hit his shoulder as soon as the thought passed through his mind.

"Whoa, clam down! It's just me!"

"Tsume!" Sakura exclaimed as they skidded to a halt, Naruto's heart threatening to burst from the shock.

"Yeah, he sent me to watch after you kids," Tsume said to Sakura. "Come on, don't stop now, we can talk while we move. Mind if I hitch ride, though?" Naruto nodded his head in response to the feline and they continued on, Tsume clinging tightly to Naruto's shoulder.

They didn't get far before Tsume suddenly jumped off, landing in front of them causing them to stop again. He looked around nervously before suddenly a long, fleshy tendril shot out and wrapped around the cat, causing Tsume to yowl in protest before he was reeled away.

The culprit turned out to be a large, orange toad next to a man whose clothes made him appear larger than he really was. He had a mane of long, spiky, white hair along with a headband that resembled the forehead of the toad next to him rather than a normal village headband.

"Let me go you bastard! This is disgusting!" Tsume screeched and tried in vain to claw free of the toad's tongue.

"Alright, let's all remain calm," the white haired man stepped forward, but Naruto roared and lunged at him. The man caught Naruto's fist and swung him around, causing Naruto to fly on by. He turned back to face Sakura just in time to see her aiming a punch of her own at him. He almost caught it, but at the last moment his eyes widened in recognition and he jumped away, Sakura's fist instead hitting the ground and leaving a crater in it.

The man caught her before she could recover from missing and simply tapped her forehead. Without warning, she slumped over unconscious.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" Naruto screamed, but didn't wait for an answer, going through hand seals.

"She's f-" the man tried to speak, but then realized what Naruto was about to do.

"KYUCHIY-" The man made his own hand seal and then whipped his long hair around, stopping Naruto when the hair extended and struck him straight-on. The strange part was the hair dug into his clothing, sticking wherever it made contact. It then drew him back towards the man as the hair retracted. It let go before long, but Naruto was already flying towards the older shinobi.

Naruto's face was caught by the man's palm and he was slammed tot he ground roughly, and then pinned.

"Sorry kid, maybe you don't understand, but this is for your own good. I'm taking you home!"

"H-home? No!" Naruto struggled, but soon a strange sensation washed over him and his consciousness faded away.

Oh my, things are going poorly it seems. Who is this strange man who caught Sakura and Naruto... I wonder... heh...

VIEWER MAIL TIME!

NarutoRocks21113043: Writing out those numbers in your name is a pain.

Merry Christmas eh? Well it is- oh my, that was the Christmas before last year's Christmas... oi.

Glad you liked it, hopefully this cliffhanger won't leave people hanging for quite so long.

Strawberry030: Did you read it all in one day? Damn. Hope you liked it. Also I hope the poor quality wasn't too painful, it's not all my fault, the website messed with my format! I know you didn't complain, but looking back at it it bothers me how bad it is...

All the other reviews were short without much to respond to, but as always I appreciate them just as much due to the sentiment! Thank you!

I'll try to keep this fic updated more often now. In fact, though you might not want to hear this, I could probably finish it within a year if I tried.

Anyway, til' next time!