Naruto 1. Chapter 1

"Saving Grace"

'By: Racheal Insanity'

"Sasuke, please stop! You're being stupid. Please, just stop." Naruto choked out, dropping the kunai he had gripped in his hand.

"No." Sasuke chuckled. "You're just being foolish. You really think that after all these years I'd even _think_ about going back there?" He pulled his Kusanagi out of its sheath on his back and held it out in front of him, ready to attack.

"Naruto! You're the stupid one." Sakura screamed behind him. "He'll kill you." He didn't even acknowledge her until he sensed her moving forward, to defend him.

"Stay out of this." He ground out, deciding that, somehow, this would end here. He couldn't keep chasing their teammate anymore. It would end in his death one way or another and he wasn't afraid of that anymore.

"But she's right, you know. I will kill you." Sasuke told him, moving his sword like a child's play thing. He set the point into the ground, leaning on it, when he saw the passive look on Naruto's face. He was confused, but he kept his expression as emotionless as ever.

"Then kill me. I won't stop you." Naruto laughed, opening his arms wide. "You'll be the death of me either way, so why not just end it here?" Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he knew he was taking this too lightly and he could faintly hear Kyuubi trying to yell some sense into him. Too bad it just didn't matter anymore.

Sasuke let his confusion show for a moment, before he put his emotionless mask back in place, as he reached into one of his pouches for a kunai. As his hand gripped it, he silently wondered what had gotten into his old teammate. The action of self sacrifice to protect no one wasn't like him. _Maybe he's protecting himself …_ The thought fled his mind as quickly as it had come. He flipped the weapon once in his hand before throwing it straight at Naruto's heart, expecting him to move and attack. A look of surprised pain graced the blondes face as the kunai hit its target.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed again, running towards the falling figure. He was dead before his body reached her arms. Sasuke's eyes widened as he witnessed the scene before him. He didn't understand what had just happened and realized that his bond with Naruto was not broken in the least, just locked away in hid mind.

_**You really are a fool boy.**_Naruto let out a strangled breath as Kyuubi's thought, before his mind finally went black. While his body would have been considered dead, his mind was very much alive as Kyuubi tried his hardest to save the boy he would never admit he cared about.

XXX

"- you listening?" the voice snapped the boy to attention. He opened his eyes and, realizing he was laying on his back, sat up, not understanding what was going on in the least.

"What-? He asked, hoping that he would get an explanation. He felt like he should know where he was, what was happening, like he had gone through all of this before.

"Sasuke just finished introducing himself when you fell back." Kakashi told him. If you knew the Jounin well enough, you would be able to spot the concerned look in his eye.

"Oh. Sorry." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. _What the fuck is going on here?! Kyuubi?_

_**You're the one that thought it would be fun to let the Uchiha kill you! I didn't want to die, so I did the only thing I knew that would save me.**_ The fox sounded apologetic, and the boy knew immediately that he was lying.

_Tell me the truth you damn fox. I've known you for eighteen years. I sure as hell can tell when you're lying by now._

_**Well, if you want to be technical, you've only known me for about twelve.**_ Naruto paused for a moment and then it dawned on him what the fox had done, but he didn't believe it was possible.

He was about to voice his arguments when he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He drew in a shallow breath as he brought his left hand over his heart. He felt something sticky and when he pulled his hand away, he could smell the metallic scent of blood.

"Sensei, I think something's wrong." He muttered quietly. Sasuke let his gaze drift towards him and Sakura moved forward so she could see what was going on while Kakashi pushed off the railing to see what happened. Hi eyes widened when he saw the blood and Sakura gasped. No one could imagine how Naruto could have gotten hurt while they had been sitting there or how they missed the scent of blood.

As Kakashi bent down in front of Naruto, he saw blood on the concrete behind the blood. He put his hand on the boys back and confirmed his suspicions. The wound seemed to go right through him and it looked dangerously close to his heart.

"Can you walk, Naruto? We have to get you to the hospital." The silver haired Jounin asked. Naruto nodded his head as he stood up. He was almost positive that his wound was from when Sasuke killed him. He shot a glance at the raven at that thought. He gave a small frown as he took in the twelve year olds appearance. It was such a drastic change from the boy he remembered seeing, to him, only minutes ago.

He adverted his gaze from Sasuke to Kakashi, who was pushing him forward with his teammates following beside. The walk from the Academy to the hospital felt short to the blonde, he was lost in his childhood memories.

"What happened?" a nurse demanded when the four walked into Kohona Hospital and saw the blood seeping through Naruto's jacket.

"We don't know." Kakashi told her as he pushed the blonde forward, and into her grasp. She nodded her head and led Naruto into and empty room while Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke followed.

The nurse instructed Naruto to take of his jacket and then the black shirt underneath. They were covered in blood and she threw them away without complaint. She saw the cut on his chest and knew he had been hit with a kunai; nothing else would give it that shape. As she checked his back, she gasped. It looked like the wound went right through his chest, through his heart. She used her chakra to check and her eyes widened. The wound seemed to pass right over the heart. The kunai went into his chest and out his back, and should have gone right through his heart, but there wasn't a scratch on it. It was astonishing, and it was already starting to heal.

She didn't say anything as she started to clear away the blood. The flow has almost stopped completely and she just wrapped a thin layer of bandage around his chest before addressing Kakashi. "He'll be fine. The wound seems to be healing already and he should be able to take the wrapping off in a few hours. It looks to be two separate wounds made to look like one. Unless they're something someone's not telling me, there's no telling how this happened.

"I don't know how it happened." Naruto shrugged. "I spaced out and when Kakashi-sensei snapped me out of it, I felt a sharp pain." The nurse pursed her lips, not believing a word, but nodded her head regardless. The blond tried not to sigh in relief when she dropped the issue.

XXX

"So sensei. Do we get a mission now?" Naruto asked as they exited the hospital.

"Yes. We'll have our first mission tomorrow." Kakashi told the three, keeping an eye on the youngest. He had an inkling that he wasn't in danger from his wound because of the nine-tailed fox.

"What kind of mission are we going to have?" Naruto laughed happily, remember how this scene was supposed to have played out.

"A survival exercise." The Jounin stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I thought we were supposed to have a real mission, not more practice. We already did this stuff at the Academy. That's how we got here." Sakura questioned. She was tired of being an academy student and wanted to have a mission where she could spend time with Sasuke.

"This is not like your previous training." Kakashi told her, looking into one of the shops as they passed.

"What kind of training is it then, _huh sensei_?" No one caught the taunting edge to his voice; he smirked at that and let it quickly fall into a grin, knowing that when he was twelve, he hadn't yet picked up on that Sasuke trait. Naruto almost started laughing himself when the Jounin started laughing. He knew exactly what was going to come.

"Hey. Hold on. That's a normal question. What's so funny?" Sakura demand, not seeing anything funny.

"Hm. Well if I tell you the answer, you're not going to like it." Kakashi sang as he laughed again. He continued when he saw the confused look on all three of their faces. The confusion being less prominent on the young Uchiha's and less realistic on the Kyuubi vessals. "Of the twenty seven graduates that just came here only nine will actually be accepted as Genin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back the Academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it, pass/fail test and the chance that you'll fail is at least sixty six percent." He smiled when he saw the slight horror filled looks at the possibly of going back to the academy. "See, didn't I tell you, you wouldn't like it?"

"Then what was that da .. that graduation test for anyway?" Naruto stuttered. He didn't that this would be the most appropriate time to display the colorful language he had picked up while training with Jiraiya.

"Oh that. That was just to select candidates that might become Genin, or not." He told them, easily waving it off. "Well that's how it is. I decided whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at five A.M. and bring your ninja gear. That's it. You're dismissed. Oh, tomorrow you might want to skip breakfast or... you'll puke." With that, the Jounin disappeared and left his students to themselves.

Team 7 stood there for a few moments after Kakashi disappeared, letting the information set in. Naruto knew that the ex-ANBU was lying, but he wasn't in any position to tell that to Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke would just glare at him and Sasuke would call him stupid and probably hit him. He opted to let out a small, unnoticeable sigh instead, shifting his weight to see if one of the others would break the silence first.

"So Sasuke," Sakura sang, a bit high pitched, "would you like to go out to lunch with me. I bet you're hungry and it'll be great team bonding!" The raven in question just glared at her and started to walk away, leaving the blond and pinkette alone.

"Humpf. I'll get him to fall for me sooner or later." She muttered under her breath, turning around to go back home or rub it into Ino's face that she was on a team with Sasuke, Naruto couldn't be sure which.


	2. Chapter 2

'Chapter Two'

When Naruto woke up the next morning, he looked over at the alarm clock he had forgotten to set the day before. He had gone to sleep as soon as he had gotten home. He let out a short laugh when he saw that he was already an hour late to the survival test. He threw the blankets off and walked towards his kitchen area to make some ramen. As he waited for his breakfast to cook, he went looking for something to wear that wasn't completely orange. Searching through his closet, he found clothes that resembled what he would wear in years to come. He didn't remember ever owning them, but he also used to wear nothing but orange.

He decided to change after he ate and since it took about ten minutes to find something to wear, he headed back over to the counter where his ramen was waiting and dug right it. He didn't bother to sit, knowing how fast he could finish.

He took a quick shower, not having the time to do so last night. When he emerged from the bathroom he was dressed in an elbow length, black fishnet shirt under a tight red tank top, plain black pants with a buckle on his right thigh and calf, and black shinobi sandals. He had three weapons pouches on his legs. Two were strapped around his right thigh, one holding his kunai while the other contained his shuriken. The third one was tied around his left calf. It held various poisons and scrolls he knew he wouldn't need. His hitai-ate was tied around above it, facing the side.

Checking his alarm clock one last time before heading out of his apartment, he found that he was running two hours late. Naruto just laughed again and locked the door behind him, deciding that maybe he should hurry up to the training grounds so Sasuke and Sakura wouldn't be too mad.

XXX

"Morning guys. I sure hope Kakashi-sensei isn't here yet." Naruto greeted sheepishly as he walked into the clearing.

"You're lucky!" Sakura yelled at him while glaring. "He isn't here yet … and I'm starving." She wined as she sat on the ground. The two of them had been waiting for two and a half hours before Naruto showed up and she realized that Sasuke really wasn't one for making conversation, no matter how hard she tried.

"Heh. Yeah. I was kinda hoping he wouldn't be. I forgot to set my alarm last night." He told her as he sat down, realizing that he didn't bring a bag like his teammates. "Morning Sasuke."

"Hn. Morning." Sasuke muttered, walking away a few feet before coming back. He was getting bored of just standing there, but he wouldn't admit it.

"Why didn't you bring anything? Kakashi-sensei said to bring our ninja gear." Sakura asked. Naruto vaguely wondered why she was being so nice. He distinctly remember her not liking him for a few more weeks, or maybe it was months. He was going to bet on months.

"Huh? Oh. I guess I forgot. I was in such a rush. I hope I don't need anything." He confessed. _'It's a damn good thing I don't. I always hated lugging the thing around.'_

_**Be careful kit. You don't want anyone to suspect anything. You're outfit change is enough attention for one day.**_

As if Sakura knew Kyuubi had mentioned his outfit, she noticed it as well. She tilted her head to the side. It was a nice change from the orange he always wore, but she was curious as to why he changed. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Was I not supposed to wear something other than orange?" he questioned. He looked up when he felt Sasuke gaze at him. Sasuke's eyes seemed to go up and down his body and it left Naruto feeling uncomfortable, like he had done something I shouldn't have. "Is it really that big of a deal?"

"No. It's just different." Sakura told him while Sasuke just hn'd. Naruto sighed contently as he laid down next to Sakura and closed his eyes, ready to take a quick nap.

XXX

Naruto woke up when he felt Kakashi getting closer. He yawned as he sat up, feeling Sakura and Sasuke glare at him. He stood just in time to see the silver-haired man walk into the clearing.

"Morning everyone. Ready for your first day?" Kakashi greeted, not bothering to mention that he was five hours late.

"Hey! You're late!" Sakura accused and Naruto chimed in.

"Well a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way." He told them, no one buying it for a minute. "Well." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Let's get started." He pulled an alarm clock out of his bag and set it on a nearby stump. "Here we go. It's set for noon." He pushed the alarm and then pulled out two bells from his pocket. "Your assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me. That's all there is to it. If you can't get them by noon, you go without lunch. You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you."

"Wait a minute. There are three of us. How come there are only two bells?" Sakura asked.

"Well that way, at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission. That one goes back the academy. Then again, all three of you could flunk out too. You can use any weapons, including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells." Kakashi grinned, seemingly taking joy in the possibility in failing them all.

"Those weapons are too dangerous sensei!" Sakura yelled. She didn't want to be sent back in the academy and not become a Genin, but she didn't want to hurt her sensei either.

Kakashi just shrugged it off. "When I say start, you can begin." He waited to see if any of them would do anything before he started them. Naruto was tempted to attack like he did before, but thought against it. "Get ready. Annnnd .. start!" Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all went to hide. Sasuke in the trees, Sakura in the bushes below, and Naruto in the bushes on the other side of the clearing.

"Ninja must know how to conceal their movements and hide effectively." Kakashi told them after they hid. He nodded in approval when he saw that they could easily hide themselves, but frowned when he realized that he could only sense two chakra signatures. It took him a few minutes to find that it was Naruto whose signature was missing. He frowned when it would appear for a few seconds before disappearing again.

He shrugged it off for the moment pulling out his orange book, Make-out Paradise, making Sakura and Sasuke stare at him from where they were hiding.

Naruto looked around to spot where his teammates where hiding. He laughed when he saw Sasuke grab kunai and shuriken out of his weapons pouch, thinking that Kakashi was unaware due to the book. As the weapons hit their target, Naruto heard a gasp directly in front of him from where Sakura was hiding. As Kakashi's body hit the ground, smoke appeared and when it dissipated, the three were left looking at a log. _Replacement Jutsu._

There was movement on the other side of the clearing and Naruto saw both the trees and bushes move. _I can't believe she had followed him._

_**Why are you so surprised, kit? I know you were obsessed with her at this time, but couldn't you see the lust she held for the Uchiha boy?**_ Naruto just shook his head and ignored the fox for the time being. He made sure his chakra signature was hidden before carefully following his teammates. He stopped in the trees when he saw a clone of Kakashi. Looking around, he saw Sakura running and sliding to a stop on her knees when she saw the man.

"Sakura. Behind you." Kakashi whispered. Naruto was thankful of his enhanced hearing to be able to listen in.

"Huh?" Sakura questions as she turns around. When she saw Kakashi she let out a scream and watched as he made hand signs. Leaves started to swirl around and Sakura started to sway. Naruto quickly dispelled the jutsu, not really caring for what it was going to be. The blond let out a quiet laugh when he watched as Sakura fainted.

"I think I overdid it a bit, but … she's got to learn to see through these things." Kakashi muttered to himself as he flipped to the next page in his book, knowing that Sasuke was coming up through the trees. "A shinobi battle skill, the illusion jutsu. Sakura studied it in class, but she still couldn't see it coming."

"I'm not like Sakura and Naruto." Sasuke told him, showing himself.

"Say that after you grab one of these bells, _my Sasuke_." Kakashi laughed as he pushed himself off the tree he had been leaning against. He put his book back in his pocket as he stood facing the raven. After standing there for what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes, Sasuke reached into his weapons pouch and threw several shuriken at his silver haired sensei. Naruto watched in from the trees as they both dodged to the right.

"There's no point in using normal attacks." Kakashi sang, smirking slightly underneath his mask.

Kakashi dodged as Sasuke threw a kunai at him and then quickly realized that he wasn't the target. The kunai cut a rope just above his head which sent several more shuriken and kunai at him. He quickly slid out of the way while Sasuke appeared behind him at an attempt at taijutsu and tried to kick him in the head. The Jounin blocked the kick while grabbing the Genin's ankle with his hand. Sasuke flipped around to punch Kakashi in the face, but he was blocked again. As the raven flipped around again at another attempt to kick his sensei, Kakashi let go of his fist to grab his other ankle.

As Sasuke was held, upside down, in his sensei's grip, he smirked and reached out to grab a bell. Kakashi noticed what his student was planning just in time and dropped the boy, sliding out of grasp. Neither one noticed Naruto as he sped past; grabbing the bell Sasuke had just ghosted over and slipping it into his teammate's pocket.

"Well, you are different from the other two, I'll grant you that." Kakashi admitted as he straightened up. He watched as Sasuke preformed the hand signs for the fireball jutsu.

'_What? Genin can't do fire jutsu! It takes too much chakra! There's no way!'_

'_**You know Uchiha is powerful, but you had also been hanging upside down in a tree at this time. Or maybe you were attempting to eat lunch. Who knows?'**_

'_Oh shut it Kyuubi. I still can't ... oh who am I kidding? Of course Sasuke can do fire jutsu. He's a damn Uchiha!'_ Naruto just growled as he heard Kyuubi laughing inside his head.

As Naruto watched the smoke blow away and wondered for a moment where he went; he dashed into the trees behind Sasuke as he watched the boy look around for their missing sensei.

"Where?" Kakashi asked. His hand shot out of ground, grabbing a hold of Sasuke's foot. "I'm where you least expect me." Sasuke let out a blood chilling scream as he was pulled into the ground. "Right under your feet." Kakashi crouched down in front of Sasuke's head, his only body part above ground. "Earth style. Head hunter jutsu. That was ninjutsu, another shinobi battle skill. You have talent and you were right. You are ... different from the others, but different isn't always better." Kakashi stood up and started to walk away. "They say that the nail that sticks up in the one that gets hammered down." He told him as he pulled out his book and began reading again.

"Great." Sasuke muttered as he watched his sensei walk away. Naruto choose that moment to come out of his hiding place, letting his charka signature show. Kakashi whipped around when he felt Naruto's presence.

"Hey sensei?" the blonde asked, making sure there was an innocent expression on his face. Kakashi humed something in response as he continued. "Why do you only have one bell?" Sasuke's eyes went wide as Kakashi looked at his side. He did, in fact, only have one bell. Their sensei looked at him, thinking that he took it, while Naruto just shrugged. "Hey. Don't look at me! I don't have it." _'At least that much is true._'

Kakashi's gaze immediately went to Sasuke, whose eyes were still slightly wide. The Jounin walked up to the raven and easily got him out of the ground, hearing a jingling in the process. Sasuke dug his hand into his pocket and gripped something cold. As he pulled it out, he found that he had the missing bell. He wouldn't fail.

"Now how did you get that?" Kakashi muttered. Sasuke didn't say anything, but Naruto's eyes just twinkled with knowledge as he yelled his goodbye and went off looking for Sakura.

**Authors Note** I'm so sorry for taking so long with this next chapter. My computer crashed and I had no access to another computer until now.


End file.

Naruto