Naruto 1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Between Life and Living is currently on hold, as I cannot access that computer. It will be completed once I can get a hold of it. In the mean time, here is another story that I have been working on with an accessible computer.

**What Matters Most**

Chapter One

A feminine figure stood atop the edge of a hill overlooking the homely land of Konoha; the village hidden in the leaves.

"Well…this is it."

Sakura Haruno was finally home.

"Whaaat? Doesn't _look _any different…" came another feminine voice, underlined with clear disdain. Behind the young kunoichi, leaning against the trunk of an aged, leafy oak tree was Konoha's own legendary Sannin turned Hokage. Sakura tossed a short-lived smirk over her shoulder at the blond woman, only to see that her head was bent down, and her amber-colored eyes were closed. Shifting her attention back to the endless expanse of sky and the bustling town below, the eighteen year old medic nin heaved a weary sigh.

She clapped a hand over her forehead at the next words that came from her sensei's mouth.

"Let's go, already Sakura! I need a drink."

The pinkette merely shook her head in what she told herself by now should not have been disbelief, as she kicked off the ledge and raced down the hill with Tsunade following close behind her.

**xXx**

Nearing the entrance to the village, the trees began to part and the buildings began to tower above them from the shortened distance. The tall green gates stood bold and proud, just as Sakura clearly remembered them the day before they'd taken their four year leave. As much as she wanted to dwell on the memory, however, the returning Hokage and her student paused only for a moment to reminisce.

A certain pair of familiar looking shinobi guards stumbled into attention at the sight of the two, acknowledging them with a quick nod as they passed through the gates. Sakura cupped a hand over the side of her mouth to call out their names, waving an arm around in their direction, while Tsunade only gave a subtle nod in return, continuing to look ahead.

A mock frown of disappointment traced down on the kunoichi's face, before she realized where here shishou's thoughts may be. After all, they weren't the only ones expected to be returning to Konoha this year.

Acclaiming a rather familiar pose and a small grin, Sakura folded her arms behind her head and lifted her vibrant green eyes to the sky. The day star shined down on her, its warm glow radiating on her skin while a comfortable breeze played in her shoulder-length rosey tresses.

She wondered momentarily if Naruto and Jiraiya had beaten them back to Konoha.

"Come on, slow poke!" Tsunade's voice startled the young woman right out of her thoughts. By the sound of it, her shishou's patience was waning by the minute. Knowing how dangerous it was to be in the company of an alcohol-deprived Tsunade, the pinkette kicked off at full speed, bounding right past the woman with a tell-tale smirk.

"I'm gonna go ahead, Shishou!"

Tsunade's mouth fell open, but Sakura had only a half of a second to realize it wasn't to bark out a snarky reply. Quickly, she whipped her head back around to see what had startled her sensei so, but was instead met with a force that sent her flying backward. With a surprised cry, the kunoichi landed on her butt a few feet away from where she originally stood, rubbing her forehead and willing away the stars of confusion that were now circling around her head. It only took a moment for the little shops around the area to stop leaning on each other, and the ground beneath her to appear level again.

Tsunade's footsteps halted a foot or two in front of her. Sakura blinked her eyes rapidly a few times, until the two pairs of sandaled feet on the ground before her became clear in her vision.

"Well, I suppose that's _one_ way to put that forehead of yours to use."

"Sakura-chan—_Ero-Sennin!"_

The two familiar voices came at Sakura from seemingly both sides, though she knew that their owners were only a few feet in front of her. The second voice was shortly followed by a muffled chuckle in response to the first, but Sakura barely heard it over the deafening sound of a large collision, as her fist firmly connected with her insulter's abdomen. The white-haired sage flew back a few meters, before his back hit the wall of a building across the street. Clapping the non-existent dust from her fingerless-gloved hands, the pinkette turned sharply on her heel to meet the eyes of the rude sennin's apprentice; his wide, _blue_ eyes.

"Naruto!"

"What?" the blond took a countering step back, as Sakura took one dangerous step forward. She bent the upper half of her body forward as well, eyeing her seventeen year old team mate with steely green eyes. The wind picked up a stray amount of fallen summer leaves between them, carrying them away on the breeze. Her attention momentarily lost as they lazily danced away, Naruto was unprepared when a hard fist abruptly slammed down on the top of his head.

"Wh-AHHH! Sakura, that _really_ hurts, you know?"

"I _heard_ you laughing," the pinkette sniffed, before placing a hand atop the teen's moppy mess of disheveled blond hair. His eyes squeezed shut and rolled back in his head as a delayed tremor of pain wrecked through his skull. Moments later, the cooling sensation of healing chakra tingled through his body; an implied forgiveness and a sign that Sakura had begun to heal the lump beginning to form on the top of his head.

Naruto sighed in near relief, feeling the pain already starting to fade. Being beat up on by fist-wielding kunoichi used to mean that you'd have to tough it out until it healed on its own. Taking the whooping and then getting patched up all in the same moment seemed kind of silly to him, but hey, at least it seemed to soften the blow.

"Geez, Tsunade. That girl packs a punch that nearly rivals your own! What _else_ have you been teaching her?" came Jiraiya's voice from a distance. He was now making his way back in their direction, dusting debris from his robes with a combination of disdain and approval etched onto his aging face. The impatient tapping of a heeled sandal caused both Sakura and Naruto to look to their left and up.

A dark scowl marred the forever-young features of the female sennin, her ruby lips twisted into a pout. Well, she was at a considerable distance, at least…he figured he would try his luck.

"Anyway, welcome back Tsunade! I'm sure the village has missed you something terrible…"

Tsunade's mouth twitched and she crossed her arms under her bountiful chest. If the godaime Hokage had heard the small remark from her former team mate and close friend, she didn't let on. Sakura sighed warily, feeling the waves of impatience practically radiating off the woman in question. Having finished healing the bump on Naruto's head, she patted the top of it once, subtling signaling for his cooperation.

"Ah, Shishou. Naruto and I are going to go grab some ramen down at Ichiraku's. H-have fun! I mean, I'll see you later," the pinkette quickly stumbled over her sentence in order to correct her unwise choice of words. Naruto, clearly lost on all conflict at the mention of ramen, was already pulling out his frog wallet and checking on the money inside.

"Yeah, that's plenty enough for ramen! Hey, Sakura, if you want—"

"Yeah, sounds great," the pinkette agreed hastily, not really concerned with who would get stuck with the bill at the end of their meal. Grabbing onto Naruto's wrist, she began a practical sprint away from the two sennin and up the street to the village's square.

Konoha hadn't seemed to change much.

Sakura was almost a little disappointed to see it in nearly the same condition as she'd left it in. Walking through the lively streets with her old friend at her side, she was also a little shocked to find that no one seemed to notice their return. She didn't mind too much though, she decided while pulling back the curtain flap and settling onto a stool inside the small ramen shop. Naruto hopped hastily onto a seat beside her, calling out to the shop owner, as there was currently no one waiting behind the counter.

A small smile pulled at the corners of Sakura's lips, nearly elated at the idea of being back in the comfort of her home. With Naruto here, it could have been any old day that she was out to lunch, enjoying a nice bowl of ramen. She could have been younger, and having the same thoughts about whether or not Naruto could really managed to wolf down the five bowls of ramen he had ordered himself, or if the sight of such a thing would be crazy, fascinating, or both.

And then Sasuke, he would definitely—

She didn't want to finish that thought…

"Still quite the appetite, I see!" Teuchi laughed heartily after receiving Naruto's order. He probably already knew what he was going to order, and the young man did not disappoint. Drumming her fingers on the edge of the bar contemplatively, the kunoichi had not noticed the older man had turned to her until Naruto suddenly cleared his throat.

"Huh?" Sakura turned a little too casually in her seat, trying to come off as a bit more dazed, rather than profoundly confused. Teuchi arched an eyebrow at her, and she nearly sank below the bar with embarrassment; she wasn't aware until then that he'd been waiting patiently for her to order.

"Ah, I'll have lemon tea with miso ramen," she replied, leaning forward and folding her hands together on the counter. The man's expression softened as he scribbled down her order, tore the scrap of paper from his small tablet and turned his back on the two shinobi to begin cooking their meals.

Kicking herself mentally for her lack of attentiveness, Sakura let out a small sigh that blew the pink flyaway strands of hair away from her face. Today wasn't a particularly hot day, but the slight humidity in the hair was enough to do a number on her hair. It wasn't as though it really mattered how it looked while she was out and about traveling the world, but now that she was back home she feared the idea of walking out in public, and having one of her friends catching her with her hair looking like a pink bird's nest.

The kunoichi elicited a un-lady like snort, entertaining the idea of running into any of the old rookie nine. What would they look like now? Would she appear to look different to them? The latter was unlikely, as she couldn't really see much of a change in her physical appearance in the last four years. Not to say that there weren't the small things, though. The heat of many summers spent on traveling and training had splashed a few more freckles onto her skin. Some of them dusted across her nose, while a few others were sprinkled faintly on the apples of her cheeks. For as long as she thought she could get away with it, Sakura had avoided the sun like the plague, in fear that she would be returning to Konoha covered from head to toe with the damn things.

As it would have it though, she'd managed to get away with a few minor burns, and a minimal amount of sun kisses. Sakura decided she didn't mind that much. Besides, Naruto didn't really seem to notice.

Speaking of her goofy team mate, he was awfully quiet over there! Shifting in her chair and propping her elbow up on the bar, the pinkette tilted her head to the side and rested her cheek in her open palm. The blond appeared to be staring down unseeingly at the menu in his hands, or maybe he was even reading it. She wasn't exactly sure what kind of behavior she was expecting from him, but to put it simply, he was kind of acting…normal.

Well, _this_ wasn't right.

The Naruto she knew would be goofing abandon right now, possibly shoving chopsticks so far up his nose, that she'd start to worry whether or not they'd punctured his brain, while crying out, "Walrus!"

Frowning slightly, the kunoichi then realized she wasn't sure she was pleased with her friend's display of new found maturity. While it was certainly something her younger self would have greatly appreciated, she found his silent, well-collected demeanor a little stiff and unnerving. That is why she was thankful for the next sound that came, interrupting the quiet. Even more grateful, that it was the voice of the boy in question.

"Hey, Sakura," Naruto looked up from his menu. Sakura stared back owlishly, waiting for him to say something more. "Can I have your chopsticks?

"Um…I guess…" she replied, picking up the wooden utensils from the counter and handing them over uncertainly. Naruto snapped them apart and studied them for a minute, seemingly unaware that the girl was still observing him. He then turned his back on her, his face momentarily hidden from her line of sight. Arching a pink eyebrow, the kunoichi slowly began to lean a bit closer…

"Hey, Naruto, what do you need those for any—?"

Naruto abruptly turned around then, the pair of chopsticks hanging from both of his nostrils.

"Walrus!"

**xXx **

"So, it would seem that you made it back without any trouble," Jiraiya leaned back in his side of the booth and folded his arms behind his head. Across from him, sat a heavily intoxicated, pink-cheeked Tsunade. After their confrontation near the entrance of the village, the sage hadn't taken more than a second to realize the cure for his friend's grouchy demeanor. He had easily talked her into going over to one of the local high quality bars for a drink and some light conversation, to which she had a hard time refusing. About four drinks later, Tsunade was looking content as one could be.

Then again, drinking was her passion; Jiraiya knew this especially well.

"We made it back alright," the twin-tailed blond confirmed, lazily tapping her cherry-red nails on the edge of the table. "We had a little trouble upon our arrival to Lighting, though. Our war alliance has been inactive since the second time it was reinstated, and we don't usually send any of our ninja out that way."

Jiraiya nodded solemnly, tilting his half empty glass and swishing the amber contents around slightly. He downed it in one swig, before setting it down firmly with a refreshing sigh. He wasn't a hardcore drinker like the woman sitting in front of him, but hell if he didn't like a little sake himself now and then.

"I can imagine they were probably prepared to hear something important, especially with a Kage from another village traveling so far away from home."

Tsunade shrugged one shoulder, the green robe sliding down just a little before she realized it was slipping, and pulled it back up. "I filled them in on the situation and told them that Sakura and I were just there for a visit. I figured while we were there though, it wouldn't hurt to speak to the Raikage and make sure our countries' friendship is still intact."

"And it was," Jiraiya said, making it more of a statement, rather than posing a question. The godaime nodded her head in response, but her eyes appeared to be glazed over with faraway thoughts. Uncertainly, the sage studied her with growing curiosity until her youthful hand twitched towards her glass, just as a waiter had begun to walk by. Before she could grab his attention, however, Jiraiya had stealthily snatched it from her light and unsuspecting grasp.

Tsunade scrunched up her face and slumped back in her seat with a dejected groan.

"Jiraiya…"

"You've had enough now." Anymore than that, and she'd be druk as a skunk. Jiraiya needed her to be somewhat self-aware in order to grasp the severity of what he had planned on relaying to her. His intention had been to have a more serious conversation at the moment of their reunion, but a cranky Tsunade is a stubborn Tsunade. Not to mention relaying unpleasant news to either one of her foul moods might as well be like telling her she was leaning too far over her desk, and you could clearly see a good portion of her cleavage; kind of in the way he could now.

"Listen," the toad sage lowered his voice, all sense of his tasteful humor fading from it. The sudden change in his demeanor caused the woman to sit herself upright, sobering a little at the severity in his tone. Her amber eyes hardened as she trained herself to listen to his next words.

"A couple weeks ago, I stopped with Naruto on the outskirts of a border town in Rain. Naturally, the kid made a fuss over the weather, so I let him run off to keep him out of my hair."

Tsunade said nothing in response to this, and so Jiraiya continued. "I spoke to a resident who ran one of the local bars. My usual source of intel was supposed to meet me for a briefing the next day in a secluded part of Rain, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to pry a little, and see what sort of casual gossip I could learn from the locals."

"Casual gossip," the Godaime repeated, her brow pinching together in thought. "At a local bar? Enlighten me, Jiraiya. I'm not understanding what sort of useful information one could walk away with, here."

Jiraiya simply shrugged. "Hey, there was no gain or loss in the matter, as far as I can tell. Besides, what other way to soften the atmosphere in a bar full of glary-eyed drunks, than to start up a healthy conversation?"

The blond appeared to be lost by the end of that explanation, and could only offer a small grunt in reply. Jiraiya sighed; he really hoped he wouldn't have to escort her home in a state like that, but…

"Anyway, turns out the residents of the border town are a lot more open and talkative, as opposed to the central part of Rain. From what I gathered, most of the villagers there have never personally met their current leader, let alone see what the guy looks like."

Tsunade visibly paled, but Jiraiya pressed on.

"And if you think that's anything suspicious…I went into Hidden Rain with Naruto the following day. We entered under a henge due to both border patrol, and the village's tight surveillance. There, I met my intel source."

"You mean…" the medic Sannin's eyes darkened and her hand clenched around the middle of her empty glass.

Jiraiya nodded. "That's right. Itachi Uchiha."

The legendary Uchiha had been made his life line of information regarding the ruthless organization that he'd been masquerading under, for so many years. Meeting Itachi on a number of occasions during his world travels had been routine for Jiraiya, but the meaning behind their recurring encounters was never mentioned, and never exploited.

"Our meeting was brief, just as the last few had been. I never really questioned his deeper, ulterior motives, but I trusted him enough to know that the information that was given to me was legitimate…"

**Hidden Rain **

"_And you're sure about this?" thunder rumbled in the distance, resounding closer and echoing down the narrow alleyway of one of the vacant, rain-darkened roads. Two obscured figures leaned against opposite walls of the weathered crevice, their shadowed forms contrasting eerily against the gloomy grey hue of partially stolen sky._

"_I'm sure," replied a second voice, its timbre lower, smoother and strangely, very soothing. Jiraiya steeled his senses in order to avoid becoming affected. He was no helpless woman or an innocent child, but the carmine colored eyes gleaming beneath a high collar in the darkness were enough to make the great sage shift with discomfort. Not that in any real sense, he was in any immediate danger. The stoic Akatsuki member appeared to have his bloodline limit activated upon nearly every event of their brief encounters. Despite the tear-shaped tomoe spinning lazily in the elder Uchiha's eyes, Jiraiya knew that he had virtually nothing to worry about._

_With a sigh, he tilted his head back against the aged brick wall, and stared up as the rain sheeted down from the sky. _

_If what Itachi had just told him was really true…_

"_You are right in your way of being apprehensive about accepting what I have just told you," the Sharingan wielder said quietly, crossing his cloaked arms under his chest. The older man had clearly been suspicious from the start of their meetings, but had decided, for the sake of Konoha, and the rest of the Fire country, to install a bit of trust within him. Itachi found those reasons both to be honorable and commendable. _

_Aside from being able to leak information to a resident of his former home, and the place that he could only secretly depend on in regards to the safety of his brother, Itachi also found it somewhat alleviating to have someone to share his thoughts and burdens with. Over the past few years, Jiraiya had learned of his situation, and the ties that the young man could not bring himself to sever between himself and Konoha. They had formed a stable alliance, where Itachi could keep an eye on his younger brother from a distance, under the shadow of the precarious organization _Akatsuki_, while providing Jiraiya with the knowledge of its current affairs and whereabouts. It seemed well enough to rival the debt he felt he owed to Konoha; or at least…up until this point in time._

"_If the Akatsuki has already begun to actively hunt Jinchuuriki, they will expect you to do the same," Jiraiya realized, interrupting the Uchiha's pendulous thoughts. Itachi brought one hand up to touch the necklace hanging around his neck; a gift he'd received from his brother in congratulations on successfully being admitted into ANBU a very a long time ago. _

"_I know this…and I've already participated in more than one extraction," Jiraiya's expression visibly darkened at the revelation, but otherwise he remained quiet. The silence wavered between them for a lingering moment, with the exception of the rain pelting relentlessly against the roof of the buildings behind them with a gentle, metallic ping. _

_It wasn't a surprise to Jiraiya to hear such a thing, as Itachi could not simply get by with only looking the part. But at the rate of quickly dissipating Jinchuuriki…not to mention that Konoha had a sealed beast of its own—_

"_I will no longer be feigning my pursuit of Uzumaki Naruto."_

"_What?" Jiraiya felt his body grow cold, and the color quickly leaving his face. "What do you mean, you won't be _feigning_ it?" Surely he wasn't implying that he would now actively begin hunting the boy in earnest…_

"_It's not what you are thinking," the Uchiha assured quietly, still running his fingers over the small loops of the delicate silver chain. He seemed to be taking a moment to properly string together the next words of his sentence. Letting out an almost audible sigh, Itachi then pressed his lips into a hard line, before he began to speak._

"_My younger brother is a close friend of the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki. By no longer pursuing him, I am hoping that he will also to continue his pursuit of Sasuke. I also know that it is only a matter of time before Sasuke begins to look for me. When I am no longer here…that boy will be the only person to stop my brother from fully submitting himself into darkness."_

_A long silence stretched between them. _

_Aware of at least a few of the most severe intentions behind Itachi's past ministrations, it did not come to him as a surprise that everything boiled down to revolving around Sasuke; theirs was a tragic family history. The elder Uchiha only wanted what he believed would be in his brother's best interest, and keeping himself available for an encounter for the younger Sharingan user was probably the key to the final act of their tale._

"_I think I understand," Jiraiya inclined his head as he responded quietly. He was about to push away from the wall, ending their meeting without seeing a need for any further words when Itachi abruptly spoke again. Vaguely aware of the young man's unchanged position, Jiraiya was certain that he would not be followed after. It was the gravity of his words that rooted toad sage to the spot. _

"_This is my resignation from the Akatsuki, as well as the last time we will probably meet again. Thank you for what you have done for me, Jiraiya-sama. Good-bye."_

_The shadows shifted in the alley behind the white-haired man, as he was now facing the entrance. Knowing that the ex-ANBU was long gone, he squared his shoulders and trained his eyes on the empty street ahead. The wind howled against his ears, accompanied by a rainy whoosh. Closing his eyes against the cold grey light of the bruise-colored sky, the sennin stepped out into the street again, disappearing easily into the sheeting rain._

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**What Matters Most**

**Chapter Two**

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. I was just trying to cheer you up," Naruto laughed nervously while scratching the back of his head. After dealing him a brand new bump to the top of his head, the kunoichi seemed to have calmed down a bit. Now she sat facing front again, her hands folded neatly into her lap and her eyes focused on nothing in particular. The implication that something had clearly been bothering her had caused the girl's body to visibly stiffen. Naruto had noticed the change in her demeanor since the moment they had entered the shop, and he had a feeling he knew why.

"Sakura-chan…"

The pinkette shrugged her shoulders once and heaved a sigh, slowly coming out of her starey-eyed trance as if Naruto's voice had been the sound that brought her back to reality. She offered him a side glance and with that, a small smile. Her round green eyes were lined with a subtle hint of sadness that he was all too familiar with. It was very clear to him now what she had been thinking about.

However, it appeared as though Sakura had reached some sort of internal resolve. The smile on her face was now a genuinely happy one, and the sadness in her eyes had been subdued by a peaceful gleam. Naruto had to lean forward and crane his neck in order to confirm what he was seeing. He found himself disappointed when it suddenly vanished before he could take it all in.

Sakura was now leaning over the counter, a stoic expression on her face as she had begun to dig around in her ladybug wallet for the proper money to pay for her meal. Before the blond could argue, she had already slapped down double the amount required, and was getting up to leave.

Naruto abandoned the menu in his hands and hopped off the barstool to chase after her.

"H-hey, Sakura-chan. Where ya goin'?" he called out to her hastily, as he caught up to her within a matter of seconds. The kunoichi squeezed her eyes shut against the assaulting rays of sunlight, and brought a hand to her mouth in order to stifle a yawn.

"I was just going to take a walk around," she replied casually, dropping her hand to her side. A small grin that brightened her face and alleviated the nin's abounding worry traced up on her perfect pink lips. "I figure I won't have much time to do it later, since Tsunade-sama will want me back on hospital duty. Then, I'm sure Ino will come and drag me off somewhere as soon as my shift is over once she finds out that I'm home. Anyway…" Sakura tossed him a curious glance while gripping the hem of her skirt. "What about you?"

"Ah…" the blond scratched at his cheek with one finger, wrecking his brain for a swift response. Knowing Jiraiya and his recent claim to be, "_running on creative vapors"_ earlier that morning, Naruto had the sinking feeling that his sensei would be off perving it up around the village for the remainder of the day. That left out any serious means of training. Maybe he'd go and find his old team leader or something.

_Where _was_ that masked pervert, anyway…_

"Eh, I've got nothing," Naruto admitted finally. If anything, he would probably go home and check on his house and his plant, Mrs. Ukki. Mrs. Ukki had been transplanted to a small garden he'd created before leaving on his four-year journey. Ino, the specialist of all things flower-related had agreed to look after the small patch of foliage while he was away. With the expanse of nearly have a decade having gone by, he was a little anxious to see how his creation had been fairing; or, if Ino had managed to tell everyone in the village about his secretly green thumb.

Well, it wasn't exactly a secret or anything…it was just that—

"Great. Why don't you come with me, then?" the questioning tone of Sakura's voice shattered the remains of Naruto's previous thoughts. Having been so submersed in his own inner ramblings, he'd failed to notice where their route was taking them. The solid ground beneath their sandaled feet was beginning to transcend into gravel, and the area that surrounded the winding path ahead was covered in a blanket of lush green grass. The sun, seemingly moments ago having been high in the sky, was hanging lazily just above the glowing horizon. Bold streaks of oranges and pinks bled into the remains of a light blue expanse, and a soft golden light glowed gently on the underside of the feathering clouds.

Ahead of them, the trees began to thin out, fully revealing the breath-taking view for them to see. Naruto continued his lazy saunter, the muffled crackle of his feet dragging over the crushed rocks being the only sound to rival the soothing silence. His eyes began to close against the comforting light, the warmth of it beginning to ease his tired lids when abruptly, he felt the front of his body collide into something solid and grounded.

The blonde's eyes fluttered open in a split second, anticipating the sound of feminine laughter or a groan of embarrassment, as he was momentarily convinced that he'd walked into a wall. He was surprised, however, if not a little alarmed and concerned, when he realized that Sakura was standing in front of him. Her back was to him and her head was slightly inclined to the sky. A light breeze picked up and traversed between them, the ends of her light pink hair fanning away to reveal the nape of her slender neck. It took all that he had to resist reaching out and tracing a single finger from there, down to the start of the zipper on her dress.

Zipping it down...and underneath that, was—

Sakura turned around and grabbed the tops of his shoulders, the familiar gleam of happiness in her eyes seemingly enhanced by the bright glowing sky behind him. The innocent expression on her face dissolved his most recent thoughts, and Naruto let free a slow breath of air he hadn't been aware he'd been holding.

"Show me yours!"

The color in Naruto's face suddenly had a hard time deciding on whether to stay or leave.

"Wh-what?"

"Your skills!" Sakura laughed, doing her impression of a playful punch in the arm. Naruto wasn't sure if he should feel grateful that she hadn't caught onto his reaction to the subtle suggestiveness behind her proposal, or worried about the small, cracking sound his shoulder had made upon the impact of her fist.

He decided neither one was really relevant at this time.

It was then that he noticed what was laid out before them. Sakura's hand was outstretched pointedly at the stretch of land marked _Training Ground Seven. _Three familiar stumps of wood, now covered in vines poked up from the grass in the distance; an immense wave of nostalgia captivated all of his sense for a long minute. Realizing what it meant, and what the scenery had caused him to remember, the nin declined his head to measure the amount of discomfort in Sakura's expression. He was strangely relieved when he found none.

"The old training field," the kunoichi sighed, the tone of her voice a little more pleasant than he had been expecting it to be. She brought both hands to rest on her hips, surveying the area with a startling sense of wisdom in her eyes. Naruto felt himself beginning to smile, amazed with himself at the way her unpredictable behavior still seemed to reel him in, and the way that her reactions were still able to catch him off guard.

The fading light of sunset stretched out weakly to cast against her back, leaving her front veiled in an elegant shadow. Sakura turned to him again, clasping a hand around his wrist and tugging him forward. The pleasant feel of her warm fingers touching his skin had effectively scattered his uncertain thoughts, granting her the easy task of leading him up the small hill and into the center of the grassy field. Momentarily lost, Naruto looked around once Sakura had let him go. Seeing all but one of the familiar tree stumps laced in flower-adorned vines upon closer inspection hit him again with a stronger wave of remembrance, but the sound of Sakura slipping on her combat gloves and adjusting the velcro quickly caused him to snap back into attention.

A yard away from him, the kunoichi was lowering herself into an offensive crouch, her fist firmly planted onto the ground and her green orbs set on him straight ahead. Even from the considerable distance between them, he could see the clear determination in her eyes. The amount of concentration in them almost threw him for a loop; he had to remind himself that he was not about to face an enemy.

After observing her from across the field another moment longer, Naruto finally lowered himself into a ready stance of his own. Upon training his eyes to her face again, he nearly swore he'd seen a hint of a smirk twitch up on the corners of the pinkette's lips.

"Ready?" she called out.

"Whenever you are," he spoke loud enough for her to hear.

The two shinobi kicked off simultaneously, from a distance neither one being more than a shadow darting artfully against a bright stretch of tea-colored sky.

**xXx**

"You had better be kidding me,"

"Now, why would I do that?"

The sound snap of a pair of chopsticks caused Jiraiya to stiffen with discomfort on his side of the booth. The intention behind his tone had been nothing short of outright honesty, but the woman seething in the seat across from him was absolutely livid.

"You are kidding with me, Jiraiya tell me you are joking!" the blond shot up from her seat, grabbing the man by the collar while ignoring the sudden lack of background noise around them. The white haired sage forced his eyes to look only into the ones belonging to his former team mate. Looking anywhere else was nothing short of a sign that deemed blatant ignorance, thus the result of that being thrown into the nearest ungrounded object. He waited for the moment for her whiskey colored eyes to soften, and her grip to loosen with a sigh.

Upon being released, Jiraiya settled back into his seat, while Tsunade slumped down into hers, the two of them ignoring the sudden outbreak of resumed chatter without batting so much as an eyelash.

Seeing the worn look on the Godaime's face after informing her about the youngest Uchiha's beginning movements nearly inspired him to call for another round of drinks, but Jiraiya quickly thought better of it.

Her nails were tapping without rhythm against the wooden table now, the way her face was pinched in a near-pained expression clearly telling him that she was having a hard time processing every last detail of recently acquired information. To her knowledge, Jiraiya had not spoken a word of his encounter with Itachi, or the Akatsuki's commencement of hunting Jinchuuriki to his apprentice.

And with that especially crucial last bit of information…

Tsunade lowered her voice. "So, you are telling me that Naruto is unaware of all of these things? That you've been able to travel to several different countries without so much as peep from him regarding Sasuke or the Akatsuki?"

The toad sage studied the woman's expression, weighting her words carefully as to try and conjure up an acceptable response. Let it be known that his apprentice was far from being a raving idiot. Being caught by the boy sneaking out of several inns with a telescope in hand on a number of occasions, Jiraiya had learned that lesson well. The art of deception was one of the few techniques that the young man had yet to completely conquer though, and it was with this well-tuned shinobi instrument that the sennin was able to deflect his apprentice's inquires based on certain topics.

That, and Naruto was also a little frighteningly easily distracted by the small, but effective diversion called ramen.

"If I had told him while we were out, what do you think he would have done?" Jiraiya asked seriously, tilting their empty glasses on the table onto their sides. He then turned them upside down completely, and watched a drop of moisture slide down from the inside of the first.

"He would have taken off—and you would be there to stop him," the Hokage didn't skip a beat, anticipating an interjection from Jiraiya. His mouth went slack and his expression fell, having lost his place in where he saw a point to argue. Another drop of moisture rolled down from the inside of the glass. He frowned, but otherwise just ignored it.

What he couldn't understand was Tsunade's argument. If anything, he was sure that she would have agreed with his decision. There was an advantage to having Naruto back safe and sound inside the village, where the news could be relayed to him and his desire to immediately pursue would be extinguished hopefully by the Hokage, or better yet, the council themselves. It was what he had been hoping for, but apparently Tsunade's intentions for the situation would have been different; his only question was what those would be. She answered him before he could ask.

"The shock of the news is sure to be devastating…even with the confines of the village, it's certain that we will have a hard time persuading him to wait…" Tsunade laced her fingers beneath her chin, propping her elbows up on the table. Her amber eyes were narrowed and unclouded. Jiraiya, while listening to her speak, was impressed to see how easily she'd managed to sober without suffering any physical repercussions.

"And if I cannot manage to pacify him, then I will be forced to involve the council for more…permanent means of confinement. Surely, you understand where I am coming from, don't you Jiraiya?"

The sage nodded once; he did. He also knew the like factor of which his apprentice would appreciate such a treatment; zero.

The Hokage let out a drawn out sigh, dropping her hands onto the table with enough unintentional force that it caused the downturned glasses to jump. "Very well, then," she said, getting to her feet. She stuffed her hands into her robe pockets, appearing to be fishing for something. "I need to write up a brief report regarding my return. I also need to kick Kakashi out of my office. Kami knows what kind of shape it's in right now," she sniffed, and then added as an afterthought, "not to say that it previously looked any better."

Jiraiya nodded once again, getting to his feet as well. He stretched slightly, while listening to her next words.

"I'm leaving it up to you to say what you have to say to Naruto. After a separate mission briefing, I will send him your way."

"I understand," the sage replied, though not bothering to question why she wished to see them apart. He simply offered her a wary smile, to which she responded in likeness, though the practical meaning behind the gesture did not touch her eyes. Ending their meeting with no other need for words, the Godaime turned away from the table and made her way out of the bar, blonde twin tails fluttering out behind her.

Heaving a sigh, Jiraiya collapsed back into the booth and stared down at the small slip of paper sitting on the table in front of him. He smirked, and then shook his head in what should not have been disbelief.

Tsunade had left him with the bill again.

**xXx**

_Above…left. Right…_Sakura quickly shifted her eyes in all directions, concentrating on the shift in the area around her. The air was thick with a near-tangible tension, and the atmosphere around her appeared to be unnaturally quiet and slow-paced. Tentatively, she waved a hand in front of her face, checking for some kind of landscape-manipulating jutsu. Shortly after doing so, she immediately laughed a little to herself.

_Yeah, right_ Sakura snorted, shaking her head.. Surely, that was giving Naruto a little too much credit. A small tremor in the ground directly below her feet caused the kunoichi to take a cautious step back. Wasting no time, she clenched her hands into two green chakra- laden fists, and slammed them down into the earth.

"Then, _below_!"

A reverse rain of rock, accompanied by a large spray of dirt and grass blasted from the ground, as Sakura took a chakra-enhanced leap into the air in order to avoid the shower of debris. Wiping the sweat from her brow in the same instant, she was sure she'd seen a flash of orange and black escape from the newly formed crater. A triumphant smirk curled up on the corners of her lips at the small victory, but she forbid herself from becoming further distracted. The atmosphere around her appeared to settle unnaturally again, as she crouched down in the crook of a thick branch behind the foliage of a tree, and this time after a closer observation, Sakura realized what was wrong.

The wind was gone.

The kunoichi waited for the moment when she would feel the breeze, keeping her guard up and holding onto her breath for one long minute. She was troubled when the air around her remained still.

_A genjustu falsely affecting the elements? _

"Can't be…" she decided, shifting her weight between the branches. Readying herself to leap off and inspect the crater down below, she suddenly stilled at the hushing sound on the all leaves in the trees surrounding her.

A firm pair of hands pushed against her back, and with a surprised cry, the kunoichi scrambled around in the air below her. Upon sticking a graceful landing in the cushiony green grass, she strained her ears at the sound of masculine laughter.

Turning around to her former height, she saw nothing there.

"Damnit," she cursed to herself. Turning around to face the sedgy clearing, Sakura was only granted a brief second to leap away, before a series of sharp projectiles came flying at her. She jumped back to the height of her tree, eyes widening and body falling backward off the edge of the branch after seeing the familiar seals written on the tags attached to them. Just barely they missed her, instead hitting the tree with a sound thud and then exploding.

Safe on her feet once more, the kunoichi reached down to retrieve the short-bladed sword tied at her waist near her apron, pulling it free from its sheath in time to deflect another round of kunai. Once the barrage had ceased its assault, she returned the kodachi to its place.

Tentatively, she stood to full height and cautiously surveyed the seemingly vacant landscape. A tormenting breeze rolled over the clearing, causing the tall grass to sway under its ministration.

A single leaf floated down from the tree above her, lazily tumbling into her open palm. Curiously, she turned it upside down between her fingers to see where it split clean down the middle.

…And now she had an idea of what she was dealing with.

**xXx**

Naruto barreled into the woods again in a quick orange blur, swiftly dodging the mighty fists of his powerful opponent. Leaning against the trunk of a wide tree, he trained himself to catch his breath, head tilted back to stare up into the sky. After his heart had begun to beat normally inside his chest, he could only let out a low chuckle; to think that Sakura had been pulling her punches on him up until now. With the brute force that she was currently using to blast holes into the ground, he realized that there had been plenty of times where she could have easily cracked his skull right open. The thought caused him to shudder mildly, though he figured the chill on the wind might have also had something to do with it. Realizing how good it felt against the exposed back of his neck, he pulled the zipper down on his jacket and tossed it somewhere behind him. He nearly sighed out loud as a second _woosh_ of air came about, seizing gentle assault on his skin through the snug mesh shirt.

The sun had long since abandoned the sky, taking with it its last remains of light. A darkening blue blended in with the vanilla hue in the upper atmosphere, a sprinkle of stars dusting beneath the deepening, periwinkle layer. He wasn't exactly aware of the time, but if he had to make a rough estimate, it'd been about two hours since they'd been in non-stop combat. Sakura was relentless, swinging her fists and her legs down on the terrain, shattering whatever piece of earth he happened to be walking on. She was wild, and he barely understood the strategy behind her seemingly impulsive attacks. A few times, she'd come flying out of the trees, her fists clenched in front of her and laced with the same lethal chakra that she used for healing purposes. Naruto had narrowly avoided getting some sort of critical injury on nearly every occasion, hurdling back into the bushes and gasping for air all in the same moment.

Of course, she would never know just what she was doing to him, let alone catch a glimpse of him; she couldn't even see him.

_xXx_

_Naruto flopped down onto the squeaky inn bed and sprawled out with an irritated sigh. Once again, he'd been abandoned by his own sensei turned guardian for a perverted night on the town. _

"_Dumb perverted sage," the blond scowled, tossing a lumpy pillow at the closed door of the room. It was a crappy hostel just like the last few, with the same peeling wallpaper and the same squeaky beds. Fisting his hands into his sunny hair, he rolled over and punched the edge of the bed, causing a spring to break through the mattress. He stared at it distrustfully at first, before grabbing the other lonely pillow behind him and placing it neatly over hole. _

_There; no harm done._

_Rolling his eyes back in his head, a gesture of unadulterated boredom, the genin caught a brief glimpse of the time. His blue orbs fluttered open in disbelief, taking a double take at the numbers on the digital clock. _

Nine thirty? I don't believe this…

_It was obviously way past Naruto's bedtime, but the heck if he was going to just sit around and waste another entire day away, having gone untrained for the third time this week. When confronted Jiraiya on the first about his lack of tutoring, the old man had told him to continue practicing what he had been taught during the previous week. The Rasengan, hardly anywhere near the point of completion, was in dire need of improvement. He'd been working on it for the past month, though! Wasn't there anything _else_ he could do…? Something else he could try?_

_Naruto sat up so suddenly from the bed, he nearly gave himself a head rush. Sliding off the edge of the mattress, he jumped down onto the carpeted floor and silently made his way to the door. The lock was placed on the very top of the door, making it rather hard for him to reach. Desperately, the boy stood on his tip toes, swiping his hand back and forth in attempts to push back the latch. One…no! Two…almost! Three! _

"_Got it!" he cried, pulling the chain away with his fingers in the process. He then twisted the smaller lock on the knob, gave the handle a turn and then pulled open the door. Their room was on the second floor of the building, but what did that matter to a ninja? Excited about his new found freedom, the blond hopped up onto the balcony railing, blatantly ignoring the stairs sprung into the air to stick a safe landing on one of the nearby roofs. _

_Had he been a little older, Naruto would have appreciated the scenery around him a little bit more. The way the night sky spanned out before him with a perfect view of the twinkling village below…but he would see many more starry nights and villages like this later on in his journey. Right now, the orange clad nin had more _productive_ things to do with his time; like messing around with this awesome jutsu and eventually surpassing his totally warped sensei, of course. _

_Then he'd become Hokage._

_Finding a comfortable spot along the large stretch of flat roof, the genin plopped down and crossed his legs. He placed one hand out in front of him, closing his eyes and inhaling slowly as he attempted to concentrate. The familiar flow of chakra began to course through his palm… but his concentration suddenly dissipated at the sound a bird squawking loudly as it flew overhead._

"_Hey!" Naruto's eyes popped open, his head inclining to the sky. _

"Idiot! Idiot!"

"_Urrghh!" he stood up and began angrily shaking his fist at the feathered creature. "I'll show you who's an idiot! No freakin' birds allowed in _my_ village when I become _Hokage_!" _

_Clearly lost on all sense of reality or at least, for the moment, the blond stared on at the sky, watching the bird's wings arch out to sail on the wind beneath them. For a moment, he entertained the idea of what it would be like to fly. He could go anywhere, right? Nothing on land would be able to pull him down! Well…nothing that wasn't a sharp or pointy projectile…and other birds…and planes. The idea of it began to seem silly to him, so Naruto sat himself back down on the roof again, this time allowing his feet to dangle over the edge. He looked down upon the village, wondering just where his sensei might be among all of those little buildings. _

Probably a bar or something…_he thought with disdain. He folded his arms behind his head. It wasn't really any of his business, but it seemed to him that Jiraiya would develop an excuse for every nearby town they'd happen upon, usually reeling Naruto in with the idea of a comfortable bed to sleep in that night, though that, as it turned out, was never the case._

"Idiot! Idiot!"

_The genin frowned and sat up again, this time seeing an entire flock of birds flying over his head. They dipped down below near the roof, feet stuck out as if making preparations to land but instead they pulled themselves back up and took to the sky again. They cawed out as they disappeared into the darkness, leaving the atmosphere once again silent. Naruto rolled his eyes and brought his hand out again at a second attempt to analyze the jutsu._

_It wouldn't be so bad if he knew a better way to do the Rasengan right about now…_

_In all of his previous training exercises, he'd at least had some kind of object to work with. Working with the bare elements of the jutsu basically left him back to square one, and as far as he knew he didn't have the correct amount of chakra control to pull it off without a shadow clone in the mix. Naruto reminded himself that he was not actually trying to execute the technique, but instead pull it apart. The first step was to rotate an amount of chakra into his palm in multiple directions, and with that, a denser amount. Memorizing this, he closed his eyes again as a light breeze picked up and caused the sunny spikes of hair atop his head to sway back and forth. _

It's kind of like that…_he thought off-handedly, imagining what the wind was doing to his hair right now; making it move in all directions rapidly, and with more force the faster it went. An immense amount of pressure in the blonde's hand caused him to open his eyes a little. A transparent, yarn-like ball of air streams had taken form there in the center of his palm. Bewildered, he tried to close his fingers around the orbicular object, only to feel the force of its currents pressing against them with the same amount of pressure. _

_What was it?_

_It only took him a moment to realize that he had captured an actual amount of wind in with his chakra. _

_But…how did that happen?_

_This was great and all, but Naruto wasn't exactly sure what to do now. The orb appeared to be dense like the Rasengan, but only to a certain point. Upon experimenting with it a little more thoroughly, he found that it was just what he'd assumed it was; a compressed sphere of air. Not only that, but unlike the Rasengan, he could actually move this…whatever it was, freely from one hand to another. _

_Through many trial and errors, Naruto discovered what was possible and what was impossible. For instance, throwing the ball of air would result in putting a large hole into whatever it was aimed at. In his case, it was the chimney centered on the roof of one of the inns…yikes. He hoped he wasn't found out about that. _

_For the next few days, Naruto continued to study his new found ability on the roof. He would return there during the afternoon and remain there a good part of his night, only returning in time before his sensei came back muttering happily about his success on his _research.

_It was at the end of the week that Naruto returned to the roof of the inn for the last time. Jiraiya had mentioned before he left that they would be leaving upon his return, and so before heading up to resume his training, he made sure that all his things were packed._

_Apparently someone had discovered the large hole blown into the side of the chimney, because it was now patched up nicely with a shiny bit of duck tape. Ignoring the lack of creativity in the town's reconstruction work, the blond made his way over to the edge of the roof, where he began working on forming a sphere of air into his hand. It materialized much easier than it had the last several times, and possibly a bit larger than he remembered it had been the first time. He tossed it around a little, careful not to do it haphazardly, as there was no need to go about putting more holes into a town that was too lazy to properly fix them._

_A few more hours had gone by, and Naruto was sat in a criss-cross position, pouring a good amount of concentration into forming the air sphere in his hands into something larger. Maybe if he kept at it, he could eventually create the Rasengan like this! A fleeting thought told him that was highly and unlikely, and that he was obviously missing a step but that was just fine. What he had discovered just might have been something twice as great…_

"_CAW! CAW!"_

_Flinging his arms into the air and releasing the technique, Naruto let out a startled scream. His head jerked up to the sky, brows pinching in anger at the sight of two birds flying directly over the roof. Their raven colored wings glistened against the golden light of the horizon, and then, just like the other day, they dipped down in a false preparation to land and took to the sky before their feet could touch the ground._

"Idiot! Idiot!"

That was about it.

"_C'mere, you rats with wings! I'm gonna show you who the idiots are!" the blond yelled out, standing up suddenly. Without thinking, he stood onto his tiptoes and reached out desperately to take a swat at the taunting creature. The bird arched its wings gracefully as it turned on its side, and then circled around his head, leaving the boy momentarily confused before it took off completely and flew into the sunset._

_With his hand outstretched past the edge of the roof, Naruto stumbled to regain his composure. Kicking back with one foot to bring his balance to the safer side only caused an entire shift in the upper half of his body, and before his mind could register the fatal mistake of his movement, he was slipping off the ledge, both legs flying out awkwardly in front of him. _

_Naruto was thoroughly convinced that he was now seeing his life flashing before him. Colors flew around in every inch of his vision, all one overwhelming blur in his wide blue eyes. A terrified scream came out of his mouth, though it was barely audible over the roar of the racing wind against his ears. Overcome by the immense rush of adrenaline and the anger that still lingered in his system, all acquired ninja skills were lost on Naruto in that moment…save for one._

_Reaching his arms out to the ground as he was now flying head first towards his fatal destination, the genin conjured up the largest spherical compression of air he had created yet, and aimed it at the ground several feet down. It met with its target within less than a few seconds, and just before he could perform a face plant, he swiftly twisted his body upward so that he would instead land on his feet. _

_Bracing himself, Naruto prepared for a crash landing that never came. Instead, he felt his body fly upward, the air beneath his feet flinging him straight into the sky like a bird without wings. Holding it to the balls of his shoes with a trained amount of chakra, he made another safe landing on the roof, and then without hesitation kicked off again while letting out an excited cry._

_It was then in that moment, that Naruto had first begun to appreciate the scenery around him. Every early star in the sky appeared reachable, and the higher he jumped to see over the horizon, the more intense the lasting glow of the sun and the colors that bled behind the clouds became. His only regret was that it was only visible for a briefest of moments, before gravity would pull him back down to earth for another jump. _

_This was better than any chakra enhanced jumps he could perform. No form of teleportation could rival his new found ability, because it was his and his _alone_. Not a soul would learn of the specifics, he told himself while finally planting himself back down on the ground. A near sense of vertigo overwhelmed him as he looked down at the ground and back up again, but went away within in the next second with the cool breeze that sailed through his hair. _

_Wearing a secretive grin, Naruto tilted his face to the sky and folded his arms behind his head, as he watched the birds soar off into the light this time, without a sound._

**xXx**

Quickly summoning an amount of air to his feet, Naruto kicked off from the ground and into the forest as his tree was suddenly knocked to the ground. He chuckled to himself, a small thrill of seeing Sakura furiously tearing down an entire training field just to get to him, at the small price of probably losing one of his favorite jackets.

Ah, well. It wasn't like he didn't have plenty more.

**TBC**

**A/N:** Due to future events in the story, Naruto would not have had time to discover his wind element. Therefore, I have made it so he has already discovered it in advance.

Thank you for your reviews. I apologize for the length of this chapter…it is so long. Like seeing long chapters? Like this story? Leave me a review and tell me so. The more reviews I get for this story, the faster I will put out chapters.

Until then.

~Smiles


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Naruto