Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/General
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Prologue, One
Note The genre most likely will evolve with the story. This also will probably turn into an epic fic. Various couplings. Oh and the Yondaime’s name was given out officially as Kazuma Arashi, so I didn’t come up with that name by myself. ^__^

Goggles
Prologue: Rin

The battle was winding down and with a few well places kunai and a kiai, the two boys looked down at the bodies at their feet. The newly appointed Jônin surveyed the look through apathetic brown eyes while the taller and older boy beside him growled under his breath. “Rin! Where is she?” he looked back down the trail the pair had come down moments before the ambush. “Rin’s back there,” the dark haired Genin noted worriedly.

“The mission objective is to deliver this to Daidôji-san,” the silver haired teenager noted without indicating the scroll on his person. “We don’t have time to go back.”

“She would go back for us,” the dark haired boy countered.

“Obito – ”

“I’m going back, Kakashi,” Obito declared. He took a few steps towards the path as he continued to speak, his voice low and intense, “A ninja who can complete missions successfully might be considered skilled, but a ninja who forsakes his friends is trash.”

With the affront to his pride, Kakashi had no choice but to follow after his teammate. They hurried down the path and as they came to another rather open area, they halted, ducking out of the way of an attack. ‘More enemy nins,’ the boys thought as they began to fight. Kakashi, as usual, took down most of them as Obito tried to catch up in number.

“She’s not here,” Kakashi noted dryly. Maybe she had gone to help their sensei with his part of the mission.

“But…” Obito looked around and then froze slightly, his expressive features registering shock which he tried to hold down. Kakashi walked up to look over his competitive teammate’s shoulder and then he stopped short.

“Rin…”

“Rin!” Obito hurried forward to where the girl was bleeding under several fallen trees. “Rin!” He began trying to move the trees off her.

“Obito…” the girls eyes fluttered open and looked up and then she added, “Kakashi…” as her other teammate came into view.

Obito was already picking up the tree nearest her chest when Kakashi held up a hand. “What the – ” he began to demand why Kakashi would stop him and then he looked down. Rin’s body was too crushed, there was too much blood, there wasn’t anything anyone could do.

“I’m sorry,” she was speaking again, blood trickling down her chin. “They came up and I fought but…”

“Don’t talk,” Obito said. It seemed to be aggravating her wounds and he couldn’t think of anything better to say.

Rin gave an uncharacteristically mirthless laugh. “I’m dying…I can’t even feel anything…” her eyes drifted down as though she wanted to see if her body still was attached to her. “So weird…”

Both boys were at a loss what to do and it showed to varying degrees on their faces. Rin gave them a very weak smile as she closed her eyes. “Don’t join me too soon…Tell Arashi-sen…” her voice trailed.

Kakashi and Obito watched her for a long time. Obito opened his mouth to say something, but there wasn’t anything he could say. Everything seemed inappropriate. Kakashi tried to move but he couldn’t, to move seemed disrespectful. Far in the distance there was a screech of a hunting bird. “We – We have a mission,” Obito said quietly. He didn’t want to stay longer to watch the scavengers poke at their teammate.

Chapter One: Ramen

He was just Obito now, never picking a new last name after the clan disowned him. The nineteen-year-old Chûnin had never activated his Sharigan and his right arm was prosthetic after a nasty run in with a boulder that crushed his arm when he was fifteen. That had only been a few months before his sensei became the fourth Hokage, only to die a scant five months later in a battle with the feared Kyûbi.

Just returning from a low B-rank mission, the teenager walked through the streets of Konoha considering what to do with his spare time. The Sandaime had suggested that perhaps Obito should become a teacher at the academy. They had a position they needed to fill, but he thought seventeen-year-old Umino Iruka was the better choice. Obito would always been too late to class anyway and he wasn’t strict enough to do it.

Hearing a commotion, he looked over his shoulder in time to see one of the vendors charging in his direction. Obito wondered what could possibly have the man in such a mood. “Hell, Fujiwara-san, wha – “

“Where is the brat?” the man demanded.

Obito blinked. He knew of many brats, but he had an idea of which the man might be thinking of. “I haven’t seen him in some time, Fujiwara-san.” His foot slip under a table set out nearby. “Maybe he went that way,” he pointed down a nearby alley. “That is where he always runs off to after all.”

Fujiwara eyed Obito for a time and then he went off back to his fruit stand, muttering obscenities. Watching him leave, Obito pushed his glass up his nose slightly as he spoke out the corner of his mouth. “I’m not going to hurt you, but that was too close you know.”

There was no sound from anywhere nearby.

“If you tell me what you did, I’ll take my shoe off your shirt.”

Again there was no answer and Obito simply kept his position relaxed and sighed inwardly. “If I wanted to hurt you, I would have by now you know.” He waited for a response of some sort.

“I drew on his stand,” a small voice came from under the table after a while.

“Ah,” Obito nodded as he spoke in a friendly voice, “you shouldn’t do that you know.”

“He asked for it,” came a dark response.

Obito considered this. He had to concede that Fujiwara was not his most favorite types of people in the world. “What’s your name?” He knew it, but he wanted to make sure. He wasn’t sure he was stepping on the shirt he thought he was.

“Uzumaki Naruto. Can you let my shirt go now?”

“Are you going to run?” Obito watched as people passed him by. He was known for being slightly exocentric so no one seemed to care that he was seemingly talking to himself.

“Only if he comes back,” Naruto replied.

“Promise?”

There was silence on the other side of the table. Obito took it for the best reaction he was going to get out of the boy. He gently eased his foot off the boys shirt and watched as the toddler slipped out from under the table. He barely came up to Obito’s knee. He was very thin as well and looked like he rarely washed the shirt and shorts he was in.

Obito gave him a smile nonetheless as he watched the boy’s eyes give him a suspicious look. Well, he had the boy’s attention, but what to do with it? “I was going to get some ramen, wanna come?” It was the only thing Obito could think of. Everyone loved ramen, right? Or at least, liked it maybe.

Naruto thought this over. He scrutinized Obito who kept his hands where Naruto could see them. Then the boy reached into his back pocket, but Obito spoke. “It’s my treat you know.” Again came the suspicious look, but Naruto agreed after a minute of thinking. Holding out a hand, Obito said, “Well, come on.”

Naruto looked at the hand oddly. Obito instantly drew it away. “You’re a guy, you’re too old to let me lead you around, eh?”

“What?” Naruto gave him a questioning look.

Obito just gave him his lopsided grin. “Let’s go get that ramen.”

~*~

There was sauce all over the boy’s face and his small hands awkwardly tried to imitate Obito’s style of handling chopsticks. Laughing lightly, Obito carefully took the boy’s right hand and put the chopsticks in it in the proper way. “You’re probably right handed. Try it this way now.”

Naruto tried to make the chopsticks pick up a piece of meat in the sauce and his eyes lit up when it worked. He didn’t say thank you, it wasn’t a word he knew. He simply returned to gobbling up the ramen. It was the best thing he had ever tasted. Ichiraku, the man who owned the restaurant had been very accommodating, which surprised Obito. Most people he knew would have been averse to having Naruto in their shop, but the man had only smiled warmly and asked what they wanted.

Naruto was quiet through the meal and simply began to inhale the ramen especially after Obito helped him with the chopsticks. He had always been clumsy at chopsticks, but he used them in his left hand now after going for several months without a right arm. It was just habit now and was surprisingly easier. Smiling to himself, he began slurping up the noodles watching out of the corner of his eye as Naruto tried to mimic him. After finishing, he asked Ichiraku for seconds and noted Naruto was very excited about a second bowl. The thought of how much Naruto must eat usually never crossed Obito’s mind, he just knew the boy looked hungry.

“You know, I always thought you’d look more like your dad.”

Naruto stopped half-way through his slurp, a lone noodle dangling down his chin. His blue eyes were wide as though Obito had started speaking a foreign language. “My dad?” The idea he had parents never occurred to Naruto or if it had, he had quickly dismissed the thought.

“Yeah,” Obito said. “I thought you’d have his hair, but you look kind of like your mom.”

“You know them?” Naruto was surprised.

“Kind of,” Obito murmured. “I met them, but I never really talked to them.”

“Oh,” Naruto said, his eyes casting downward. He wasn’t sure what to make of this. Then he looked back up at Obito. “Whe…” the question died and then Naruto shook his small head. He didn’t want to know where they were. If they were dead, it would be too tragic, and if they were alive, that would be far worse.

Obito shouldn’t have said anything. Even at nineteen, he still had a tendency to say things without thinking. Frowning inwardly, he put on an apologetic smile and changed the topic, “The ramen here is good, isn’t it?”

Naruto accepted the topic change with a smile. “Yeah.”

~*~

Of course when Kakashi had to find Obito he wasn’t anywhere. Why was he playing messenger anyway? He was a Jônin and he hadn’t even talked to his teammate in about three months. Yet, here he was trying to chase down the former Uchiha. He had tried Obito’s apartment but the older shinobi wasn’t there and his landlord hadn’t seen him in two months. Walking down the street, he heard a familiar voice ask, “The ramen here is good, isn’t it?”

Kakashi paused and looked into the ramen stand. There was Obito talking to someone he couldn’t see. Actually, from Kakashi’s angle, it looked like Obito wasn’t talking to anybody. ‘Great…he is going insane,’ Kakashi muttered under his breath. His Hitae-Ate slid over his left eye he lost in the same fight Obito lost his arm in, Kakashi began walking up to his former teammate. He suspected that this was the Sandaime’s way of forcing Obito and Kakashi to talk to each other. It had been four years since their sensei died and the pair just hadn’t kept contact. They had no reason.

“Are you talking to yourself?”

Obito turned at the voice and felt Naruto shrink behind him as though using Obito as a shield. Obito really didn’t blame him, not with Kakashi’s unique appearance of the slight hint of a scar down the bit of his cheek that wasn’t covered by his band. “Kakashi,” he greeted the teenager with a smile, “what are you doing here?”

Kakashi decided to ignore the hint of ‘what the hell do you think you’re doing here’ in the question and replied, “The Hokage wants to see you.”

Obito held his gaze. “Okay.”

“He wants to see you now,” Kakashi added when it looked like Obito wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’ll go in a bit, I’m busy.”

“Talking to yourself?”

The teenagers exchanged an almost visible spark between them. They had never been on the best terms, but with every year their terms seemed to get worse. Naruto managed to make himself even smaller next to Obito. He didn’t like how this conversation sounded. He hoped he wouldn’t be brought into it. He didn’t want this Jônin to notice him here.

Obito considered his retort. Naruto definitely didn’t want to be shown. “If you want to call it that, sure.”

Kakashi stared hard at Obito. Obito stared hard at Kakashi. “Oh well, you’re late to everything,” the Jônin said. “Have fun talking to yourself.” Then he was gone.

“Prick,” Obito murmured under his breath and then he looked down at Naruto. “Sorry about that. Kakashi and I don’t get along.”

“Then why would Gramps want him to talk to you?” Naruto looked up at him. He knew the Sandaime pretty well he thought and pitting people who so blatantly couldn’t stand each other didn’t sound as smart as the Sandaime normally was. Maybe he was finally getting too old for his job or something.

“‘Gramps…?’” Obito gave Naruto a questioning look.

“You know, the old man Hokage,” Naruto continued.

Obito raised an eyebrow. “Fancy you to call him that,” the Chûnin remarked and then he shrugged. “He thinks he can fix things. He can’t.”

Naruto observed Obito’s face and then he said, “You should probably go see Gramps . He doesn’t like it when people are late.”

Obito shrugged. “He knows that I’ll be late.” It would take some time to find the complex anyway. Obito had a habit of taking the long way to places. Looking down at the blonde, he gave him a smile, trying to keep the boy from looking so worried. “Hey, everything’ll be okay,” he said. Then he put money on the counter. “I should start off now.”

“There’s a shortcut,” Naruto said as Obito helped him off the high stool. “You have to go over everyone’s roofs, but you’ll get there fast.”

Obito only smiled. “Sometimes, Naruto, even if it makes you late, the long way is the best way.” Pausing, he asked, “See you around?”

Naruto considered this and then nodded. “Sure!” He watched as Obito went in the completely wrong direction of the shortcut. Sighing, Naruto accepted it. Nobody listened to his advice anyway.

~*~

Obito smiled sheepishly at the secretary outside the Sandaime’s office. It had been two hours since Kakashi caught up with him.

“Looks like Kakashi probably found you in five minutes and you headed straight out,” she murmured. “Probably ran into a whelping lion and got attacked by birds, right?”

“Actualy, I – “

“I don’t want to hear it,” the secretary quipped. “Hokage-sama is expecting you.” She thumbed in the direction of the door. Obito thanked her and then knocked on the door.

“Come in, Obito,” an man’s voice responded.

Swiftly, Obito entered through the door and closed it quietly behind him. “Kakashi said that you wanted to see me, sir?”

“Have you thought about taking the Jônin Exams?” Sarutobi asked. He motioned for Obito to take a chair. He didn’t like prodding people to do things, but they were in a pinch.

“I did last year,” Obito said. “I don’t know if I’m ready to do it again.” He didn’t add that he thought people wouldn’t let him become one again.

Sarutobi accepted the answer. He knew that would be it, but he felt the need to ask. The council was breathing down his throat again and he was keeping himself from lashing out at them. This was why he relinquished his job to Arashi even though the man had been young. The council had enough of the unconventional man. Of course, now he was back in the position (as the Yondaime had requested) and he wasn’t going to give it up again until he was very old.

“Obito, I have a mission for you,” he said after a time. “I need you to go to Suna for a while, do some spying,” he continued eyeing the former Uchiha. “I will need information before the Chûnin Exams this year.”

Obito nodded. Relations with Suna had always been shaky and there were rumors that the Kazekage wasn’t a stable man, especially after his wife’s death five years ago. “What would you like me to do?”

“I would like you to blend into the general population, see what you can find out,” Sarutobi said. “I will send word when I want you to return to Konoha, but I need you to do something else as well.”

“What is it, sir?” Obito was pleased with the job so far. The chance to get out of Konoha sounded nice enough and he liked spy work.

“Do you remember Naruto?” Sarutobi asked.

“Yeah, I just saw him actually,” Obito replied, blinking.

“How did your meeting go?” Sarutobi asked watching Obito intently.

“Not too bad,” Obito kept from adding, “but Kakashi almost ruined it all, the prick.”

“Good, good, because I want you to take Naruto with you,” Sarutobi said. He held up a hand before Obito could say anything. “Orochimaru is missing, and the rumors circulating over his disappearance means Naruto is in danger. I don’t know how you feel about the boy, but it is important that he be taken out of Konoha and hidden.”

Obito frowned inwardly, but kept his expression calm. “Why would he want Naruto?” At the Sandaime’s look, the teenager nodded. “I’ll do it. Should I tell Naruto?”

“No, I plan to tell him tomorrow morning. Can you arrive at eight in the morning?”

Obito nodded. “Yeah, I can.” Well, it was the right thing to say even though they both knew he would be horribly late.

“Good,” Sarutobi smiled in reply, “you will leave soon after our meeting. You may leave.”

“Thank you, sir,” Obito bowed and then he left to prepare for the trip.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/General
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Two
Notes Happy New Years, loves! I’m not drunk, but I will say I do have a headache. I can’t sleep so I’ll write up chapter two. ^__^

Goggles
Chapter Two: Suna

“What is your name?” a young man inquired as he shielded his eyes with a large hat.

“Ryûzaki Jiro,” a little boy wrinkled his nose slightly as he walked beside the young man.

“And my name?”

“Ryûzaki Taro,” the boy answered. “I know all this, Obito, why do you keep asking me?” Naruto gave the Chûnin a perturbed look.

“Because you keep forgetting to call me Taro,” Obito pointed out. They were nearing their destination. “It’s important that you call me that. Although we are posing as brothers,” Obito considered. Looking down at Naruto, he asked, “What if I called you Tôto and you just call me Nii?” Maybe that would be easier for Naruto to remember.

Naruto gauged Obito. Sometimes the boy could be so innocent and happy and the next he could be calculating and cautious. Obito just wished that the moments could switch. He needed obedience and innocence not thinking and deciding. “Is Taro-niisan okay?”

“It’s kind of formal, but if that’s what you want…” Obito put a hand behind his head. “Just so long Taro comes out of your mouth, Tôto.”

Naruto nodded. “Okay, Taro-niisan.”

~*~

Obito was surprised when the guard didn’t blink at them. When they passed through the tiny grass country, the guard quizzed the hell out of them. Yet, a tall dark haired teenager with a short blonde haired little brother completely biological according to their papers didn’t phase the guard. ‘Maybe he just didn’t’ care,’ Obito noted as they entered Suna.

“Take my hand, Tôto,” he instructed. He smiled slightly when Naruto obeyed. It had taken a while to explain that to him along with other things. Obito knew he wasn’t the best teacher since he didn’t follow most of what he told Naruto, but he tried to explain enough that a simple “What do you say?” would get a “Please” or “Thank you” rather than a weird look.

The history was something simple enough for Naruto to fake he hoped. Their mother had died in childbirth and their father had died when Naruto was two. They came from a small town in the Northlands of the Fire Country and they were in Suna to open a small shop and sell several goods that only could come out of the Fire Country.

“We have to visit Moriboshi Tokiko and then we can set up shop,” Obito said. “Our cargo should arrive in three days.” It wasn’t an odd practice especially in Suna. Many merchants went ahead of their cargo to reserve their spot in the market and their cargo would come in a few days. Also without a cart, it was easier to move with Naruto.

Naruto nodded and tried to keep from dragging his feet. They had been walking for hours with fewer brakes than before now that they were in the desert. He wanted to get this over quickly and find this place they were staying at so he could hide. He always went back to his apartment around this time back in Konoha just before the sun set. It wasn’t safe to be out much later than that.

“Here we are, I think,” Obito said and then knocked on the side of the stone and clay house. After only a few seconds, a woman appeared. She was half Obito’s height, had her hair done up, and looked to be in her fifties.

“Good evening,” Obito greeted her, bowing slightly. He was glad that Naruto followed suit. “We are the Ryûzaki brothers.”

“Oh yes,” the woman murmured. “I’m Tokiko, please come in.” She stepped back a bit allowing them to enter the small home. “I will need you to sign a few forms before I can give you the space,” she told him as she walked to the far end of the room where several papers sat on a carved out desk. “I trust you have seen the agreement before, but please do look it over. I do not want you to be surprised should anything occur.”

Obito thanked her and began skimming the document. It looked like what he expected to be. It covered the Moriboshi’s asses if anything bad happened and put Obito at full blame. He hurriedly wrote his alias with his left hand and gave the paper back to Tokiko.

“Your room is behind your stall,” she took the paper from Obito and gave him a small key, “you are on your own for everything. At the end of each week, we expect the flat rate plus one percent of your earnings for the week.”

“Thank you,” Obito replied. He looked down at Naruto. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” Naruto had been ready for a while. This was taking forever.

They walked down the street and Obito silently counted the stalls. Finding theirs, he carefully inspected it and walked into the room behind it. The room was small. There was a futon rolled up in the back corner and a modest area to store goods. Obito dropped his pack carefully at the door and walked over to the futon to inspect it. Naruto set his pack by Obito’s and sat on them as he watched. Hiding a yawn, the boy watched as the room grew darker.

“Tired?” Obito asked as he fumbled with a nearby lamp.

Naruto shook his head.

Obito stepped back as he lit the lamp. “We can restock tomorrow,” he said. “Right now, we should rest. You’re going to be helping me when the cargo comes you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” Naruto murmured.

~*~

“Can you go to the back and get more of those decorative things, Tôto?” Obito asked looking over his shoulder at Naruto. They had been in Suna for a month and a half and business wasn’t doing too badly. Watching a man walk up, Obito welcomed him to the stand. “Good afternoon and welcome to our shop. What can I help you with?”

The young man gave him a smile. “I’m looking for a present for a young boy.” He looked past Obito and at Naruto who was walking up with a few things in his arms. “About his age,” the man added.

“Well, we have lots of things…” Obito began canvassing the wares he had displayed. “We have some toys made by a woman in the northern regions.” He looked over at Naruto. “Do you know where those are?”

“I think so,” Naruto murmured. He looked over at the man and narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like him; there was something fake about him while at the same time there was something about him that seemed nice. His eyes didn’t leave the man as he quickly disappeared into the small room.

“Jiro doesn’t do well with people,” Obito said quietly.

“That’s all right,” the man smiled, “I’m used to such reactions.”

Soon Naruto reappeared, his eyes fixed on the man. “Here,” he handed some things to Obito since he couldn’t reach the counter.

The man picked up each toy and examined each one carefully. Setting them down gently, he gave them another smile. “I’ll think about it and come back later,” he said. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye,” Obito returned and narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched the man retreat.

Naruto gave him a questioning look, but decided against saying anything.

~*~

The sun was setting when Obito saw the man in the crowd. The teenager looked down at Naruto and said, “I want you to go into the shop and stay hidden.”

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Before he could question the Chûnin, Obito said, “Now.” The voice was intense and firm. Naruto frowned at the unfamiliarity of it but retreated into the storeroom and hid himself from the door.

The blonde man approached the stall, his demeanor casual but his eyes were locked on Obito’s the entire time. As Obito suspected, the man was after something more. “Have you made your decision?” Obito asked and did his best to put up his shop keeping face. Although he suspected that the façade wasn’t necessary with this man.

“Yes,” the man replied in a quiet voice. No one in the area was looking at them. Sometimes they earned a curious glance but nothing more. “You are an Uchiha aren’t you?”

Obito shook his head. “No, I am not.”

The man studied him hard. “You are not from the Northlands of the Fire Country, you are from Konoha.” His hand quickly grabbed onto Obito’s prosthetic arm. “You are Uchiha Obito and that boy with you isn’t your brother.” His eyes held Obito’s gaze. Neither man said a word. His hand still firmly around the prosthetic arm, the man continued, “The Kazekage has asked me to come and get you. Your friend will not be hurt.”

Obito considered his options. His face was impassive but his brain was thinking up a solution. He could deny everything, but if the Kazekage knew who he was, was it worth it? Although the man could be lying about the Kazekage. Obito gauged the man. “Why should I believe you?”

The man didn’t tighten or loosen his grip. “If you don’t come with me now, official guards will come for you later.” His eyes looked past Obito and into the storeroom. “They will not be as kind to your friend I am sure.”

“How do I know that this boy will be safe if I come with you?” Obito asked.

“I am going to take him to the last place the guards would look for him,” the man replied.

Obito didn’t like this. He kept his face as neutral as possible. “Alright. We will go, but if my friend is harmed – “

“He won’t be.” The man gave him one of his smiles.

Obito wasn’t sure if he should be convinced, but this man was better than guards at some hour of the night. “Tôto?” Obito looked over his shoulder and into the storeroom. Waiting a moment, he sighed inwardly. Sometimes he couldn’t get Naruto to do what he needed the boy to do and other times it was easy. Glancing at the man, he said, “Naruto, get out here now.”

At the use of his real name, the boy was at the doorway.

“We have to go with this man,” Obito explained. “I’m going to see the Kazekage and you’re going to be put somewhere safe.”

Naruto eyed Obito and then narrowed his eyes at the man. He watched as the man let go of Obito’s prosthetic arm and then he reached up and took the fake right hand. The man made a motion and walked close to the pair as he led them through the streets of Suna. Obito’s eyes glanced around as they walked, noting various presences around them. Escape was futile, but his gut didn’t scream this was a bad situation. They stopped at large stone and clay building.

“I’m going to have you stay with my nephew and niece,” the man told Naruto. “Don’t worry, they’re just a bit older than you.” Knocking on the door, there was a pause and then a girl who came up to almost the man’s shoulder appeared.

“Yashamaru-ojisan, what can I do for you?” the girl asked.

“I need you to babysit for me,” he said as Obito studied the girl. She could be anywhere from a mature eight to an immature eleven. Girls were so hard to tell the ages of until they got their headbands, and even then it could be hard.

The girl paled slightly and then her dark eyes landed on Naruto. She seemed relieved about something. “Oh. Him?”

“Yeah, I’ll pay you later, Temari,” Yashamaru said.

“How old are you?” Obito asked abruptly.

“Er…” Temari looked at him and then said, “seven, almost eight.”

Obito wasn’t sure what to say to that. He could think of worse people to be taking care of Naruto, but he wasn’t sure if he was okay with a seven-year-old. “Well, keep an eye on him.” It was the only thing he could think of to say. He wasn’t in a position to negotiate anything.

“Take me with you, Taro-niisan,” Naruto said, not letting go of Obito’s prosthetic arm. He didn’t like the idea of Obito going off alone with the man. Also the girl’s hair was so wild that it was starting to intimidate him.

“No, you have to stay here,” Obito said firmly. Firm tones always seemed to work with Naruto in such situations. He didn’t like using them, but whatever would make this go quickly was the best choice.

“But – “ Naruto began to protest and then shut his mouth at Obito’s expression. Slowly he let go of the Chûnin’s hand and took a few steps into the house. He felt Temari put a hand on his shoulder. He wasn’t sure what that was supposed to do, but since it didn’t hurt, he didn’t try to shake her off.

“I’ll see you when we’re done,” Obito said. “Bye.” Obito turned to leave and then stopped.

“Be careful, niisan,” Naruto said from where he was hugging the teenager, his face buried in Obito’s pants.

Gently Obito unwrapped Naruto’s arms and then he knelt down. “It’ll be over soon. Just stay here with Temari, okay?” He watched Naruto nod, then he gave him a quick hug, ruffled the boy’s hair, and then stood up. “We’ll go now. Bye.” Then the ninja left, shutting the door behind them.

Naruto watched the door for several minutes, but before he could take a step towards it, a hand was around his wrist.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the girl’s voice was slightly dry and had a mild warning tone.

“Out?” Naruto offered weakly.

“Come on,” Temari murmured grabbing his hand. “My brother and I were playing a game. You can join in, it’s easy to play.”

Naruto’s shorter legs eventually found a way to walk and keep up with the girl. Looking over at her as she dragged him down the hall, he didn’t know what to say. No one wanted to play with him before.

~*~

Obito resisted asking how wise it was to put Naruto in the care of a seven-year-old. Silently he followed Yashamaru through the crowded streets and soon across the grounds of the Kazekage complex.

“Your friend will be fine,” Yashamaru spoke in reassuring tones. “Temari is young but no one will look for him with her.” He met Obito’s eyes as he spoke as though that would make all of the other shinobi’s doubts go away.

It didn’t. Obito didn’t like letting Naruto out of his sight. He hadn’t received word on how things were going, if anyone had found Orochimaru, and why exactly Naruto had to be kept so safe. He had an idea of why, but he didn’t want to think it was that simple. He followed Yashamaru through the complex and up a spiral staircase. At the fifth floor they entered a long hallway and then Yashamaru stopped Obito. “Wait here.”

Obito nodded and noted the guards positioned every so often. They were all watching him. He watched as Yashamaru knocked on a door and then disappeared into a room. After what seemed like a very long time, Yashamaru reappeared and then beckoned Obito. “The Kazekage will see you now.”

Obito nodded and slipped into the door as Yashamaru slipped out of it, closing the door behind him. Obito glanced at the shut door and then looked back out at the room. The room seemed carved out of the building like a cave with windows. There was an ornate desk carved out of the floor with a man sitting behind it with a wood chair, most likely imported from one of the neighboring countries. He was just a bit above average height with red hair. Obito kept from staring. This was the second person he had ever seen with red hair.

“Uchiha Obito,” the man stated in a tone somewhere between dry, dull, and commanding, “please.” The man gestured to the chairs in front of them.

Obito took the chair to the right and bowed his head. “Kazekage-sama.”

“I have been in touch with your Hokage,” the Kazekage said, his eyes never leaving Obito. “I would like to give you a mission.”

Obito hoped that he hid his surprise well. Before he could say anything, the man continued, “I have an assignation job that I need preformed. Don’t worry,” he moved a hand in the air, “it isn’t your Hokage. It is someone in Suna.”

Obito wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say, if anything at this point. Why would the Kazekage want him to assassinate someone? This wasn’t making much sense. The man had enough Anbu, Jônin, Chûnin, and Genin to work with certainly.

“There is a boy I need taken care of,” the man’s eyes dared Obito to joke about how a boy could be the target, “and I think that you are the best candidate.”

“Excuse me, Kazekage-sama, but how am I the best candidate?” Obito hoped he didn’t come off wrong. He was just curious and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.

“We know of the Uchiha bloodline,” the man explained. “I am certain that it can help us in this misson.”

Obito opened his mouth and then shut it.

“Jin is waiting outside, he will inform you of the details and take you to where you can pick up your friend,” the Kazekage said. “You are dismissed.”

~*~

“You have to b careful though,” Jin finished, “because the sand protects him.”

Obito sighed inwardly. Their target was only ten months older than Naruto and had protective sand. He wasn’t sure how he could work this out, let alone why the Kazekage would want a five-year-old dead.

“Your friend will be taken care of, of course,” Jin said. “We’ll put him somewhere safe incase something goes horribly wrong.”

Obito glanced at Jin. “Where exactly will you put him?”

“That has yet to be decided,” Jin commented.

Obito looked away and down the street. “Thanks, I think I’ll go from here.”

Jin surveyed Obito. “Alright. Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Obito watched Jin disappear down the street and looked around before making his way to Temari and Kankuro’s house. Knocking on the door, he frowned inwardly but did his best to keep it from his face.

A boy with brown hair opened the door. By the wild angles his hair stood out at, Obito assumes this boy was Kankuro, Temari’s little brother. He was rather short and heavy set, but smaller than an Akimichi and had more definition as well.

“I’m Taro,” Obito said. “I came to get Jiro.”

“Okay,” the boy said and then disappeared into the house, leaving the door open a crack. Soon Temari appeared with Naruto following behind.

“Thank you for looking after him,” Obito said and pulled out some of Suna’s money from his coin purse tied to his belt. Giving Temari quite a few, he smiled.

“Thank you,” Naruto mimicked Obito’s tone. He wasn’t sure why everyone said “Thank you” a lot, but he figured it was a good thing so if Obito said it, Naruto would too.

“It’s okay,” Temari said and pocketed the money. Kankuro watched her, his brownish eyes narrowing, most likely thinking up a way to get a cut of her pay. “Bye, Jiro.”

“Bye,” Naruto replied, waving slightly.

After they walked away from the house, Naruto grinned. “I had fun tonight. Do you think I can visit them again, Taro-niisan?”

“No,” Obito shook his head, “we have to leave now.” He bent down so he was on Naruto’s level. “We can’t stay here any longer, it’s not safe.” He sighed. “Remember how we run?”

Naruto nodded. Obito had told him long ago that the true mission was to stay safe and whenever Obito deemed them to be in harm, Naruto had to be quiet and obey what Obito told him to do. At first, Naruto had bombarded him with questions, but now he knew to just be quiet. Carefully, Obito put Naruto around his back and tied Naruto in place with strong cloth. Gripping the cloth tightly, he felt Naruto grab on and secure himself as well.

“Ready?” Obito asked.

“Yeah.”

~*~

Obito began to slow his pace and looked behind his shoulder and past Naruto. “Damn,” he gritted his teeth. Quickly he undid the cloth that bound Naruto to him and helped the boy off. “You need to hide. I don’t care how or where, but you cannot be found. No matter what happens, stay hidden until I tell you to come out.”

“What’s – “

“You’ll see in a moment,” Obito gritted his teeth and shielded his eyes from the sand swirling around them wishing he hadn’t left his goggles behind in Konoha. Noting Naruto’s hesitation, he said in a firm voice, “Now.”

He didn’t watch which direction Naruto ran off towards. Gritting his teeth, Obito stared hard in the direction they had come in. Now it was time to find out if they were after the boy or not. There was suspicion that Suna might not be as loyal as they professed to Konoha and with a renegade Sannin, anything was possible.

Putting both arms up to his face, Obito gritted his teeth as a strong wind gusted towards him. There were several primary weapons of Suna. It seemed they had at least a fan user with them. By his estimates there were about four, but he couldn’t tell what level they were. Pushed back several yards, Obito carefully lowered his arms and bent down low in time for something to fly in his direction.

Looking out in front of him, he saw two ninja standing and two others heading towards the outcropping to his left and their right. He didn’t stare too long and hoped his face stayed impassive.

The man with the fan met Obito’s eyes. “Where is the boy?” he asked.

Obito remained quiet. As he thought, they wanted Naruto. He could think of at least two reasons why they could want him, but he didn’t know which one it could be. There were three men and one woman. He couldn’t tell which level they were since none were dressed to show their rank. None had an Anbu mask on, so perhaps that was a very tiny good sign.

“Do not struggle, we aren’t interested in you, Uchiha,” the young woman stated. “We are only here for the boy.”

Obito debated asking why but resisted. He could find that out later, now he had to concentrate on keeping them from finding Naruto wherever the boy had gone. He had a few options. He could attack those in front of him or the one that were searching. He wasn’t sure if he could hold his own against four, but he could try. The objective was to not let them obtain Naruto.

A high-pitched scream met their ears and Obito launched himself in the direction the men had disappeared. He could feel the others in pursuit and he tried to vary his movements. The open terrain and sharp cliffs weren’t the best fighting areas at all. Obito felt something come at him and he went to dodge one way and then felt a tug at his right arm. The woman had him by the arm and looked like she was trying to break it off.

Swinging around, Obito produced a kunai out of his sleeve as he caught sight of Naruto. The boy was unconscious and slung over one of the shoulders of the ninja that went after him. Diving for the young woman, he heard a snap and flipped backwards as his arm separated from his body, half of it still hanging from his shoulder. Reaching up, he ripped the rest of the arm off and considered who to attack. The man with the fan was at ready, the two with Naruto looked like they might leave him to him. Gritting his teeth, Obito went for the man holding Naruto. He would have to take them as they came and he had to keep them from running off with the boy.

Lashing out, Obito brought the kunai up, sticking it in the man carrying Naruto, but was sent back by a kick from the man beside him. He leaned to his left to catch himself, cursing under his breath. He had to remember to compensate for balance. Flipping up, he went to go at the man and figure a way to get Naruto and try and get away, but the man was starting to make motions as though he was going to run with the boy and leave Obito to his companions.

Obito gritted his teeth. If the man took off with Naruto, he wasn’t sure how well he could fix it. He had four opponents, three of which didn’t have a burden to carry. If he could get a strategy, he could do this, or at least defeat two or three of them. He hadn’t fought in a long time, though he had been training while stationed in Suna.

Obito jumped sharply to his left as the ninja that was helping Naruto’s carrier dove for him. Kicking out, he felt his body began to remember the counter balance techniques he developed for a situation in which he had only one arm. Carefully yet quickly, he began to circle the man with Naruto, impeded by the attacks of the team members. If he could keep them all here, he could have a chance to steal Naruto back and make a break for it. He didn’t know how far he could get trying to carry a boy with his balance mismatched, but he could always find out.

The man with Naruto fixed eye contact with the woman as Obito ducked, the closed fan whistling over his head. Looking up, Obito cursed. The man with Naruto was taking off! As he went to give chase, the woman slid in front of him. His kunai still in hand, he made for her but she dodged and the fan came at him again. Gritting his teeth, Obito charged forward, feeling the man without the fan grabbing hold.

He had to get to Naruto. He couldn’t waste time fighting these three, but he didn’t have much of a choice. Gathering his chakra, he released it in a kiai, giving a bit of distance between himself and his opponents. He had to finish this quickly; he had to get to Naruto. Dropping down, he swung, kicking out the legs of the woman and the man without the fan. As he went to jump back up, he felt something press against his neck. Staring upwards, he looked up the long length of the folded fan at the obvious leader of the team.

The man said nothing and pushed the end of the fan down a bit harder. Obito reflexively closed his eyes. He raised his arm up to pry the fan off, but it was too heavy. Closing his eyes, he gathered his chakra and kicked up. Hearing an “Oof,” Obito felt the pressure lessen on the fan and he pushed it off, rolling away. Scrambling to his feet, he saw the woman ready to charge him again, but Obito was already running in the direction the man had taken Naruto.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/General
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Three

Goggles
Chapter Three: Birthday

He didn’t have much time until the man with the fan and the woman caught up to him he knew. Obito didn’t both to look over his shoulder and simply concentrated on trying to find Naruto. He hadn’t run in a long time without his right arm, but his body adjusted to the change quickly. He had purposefully tried to do as many things as possible before he got his prosthetic incase he ever had to lose it.

Obito didn’t slow as he spotted stains on the ground. Frowning, he thought of speeding up, but he didn’t want to burn out his energy before finding the Suna ninja.

Coming around a boulder, he found he was closing in on Naruto and the ninja. As he thought, there was a trail of blood coming from the side of Naruto’s head. He had to rely on Taijutsu, but if things went wrong, he could try one-handed symbols, but that was highly dangerous. Some symbols were impossible to make one handed. He didn’t have many options. It looked like Naruto was still alive, but if the ninja had slammed the boy against the ground, Obito knew he shouldn’t simply tail them, he had to act.

He took a flying leap and as predicted, the Suna ninja dodged. Shifting his weight, Obito landed on his feet, crouched down. His brown eyes locked on the Suna ninja. He had to end this quickly, somehow securing Naruto and running. He wasn’t sure where exactly he could run, but he had an idea. It was a stupid idea, but it was the only thing he could think of that could be accomplished quickly.

“Well, if it isn’t the defective Uchiha.” The man was large with broad shoulders. He looked most likely in hid early twenties, yet his broad jaw made him seem much older.

The teenager flexed his jaw. He didn’t reward the man with an answer to the smack talk. He knew better than to offer to take Naruto and resolve this peacefully. He would have to take the boy and run. That was the only option he could think of.

The man snorted at Obito’s expression. “If you think I’m going to drop the boy to fight you, you are deceived. If I set him down, you’ll only go after him.” Tightening the ropes that held Naruto to his back, the man smirked slightly. “I will fight with him on me.”

If the man fell in any direction, Naruto would be crushed in some way. He would have to somehow cut the boy free. Setting his face, the teenager charged again, kunai out. He knew that it wasn’t the smartest way to attack the man, but he wanted to be done with this before the ninja he left behind caught up to him. His speed was slower without his right arm, so he was sure they would be here soon.

The man dodged and readied to ram his elbow into Obito’s skull when the teenager pulled back sharply. His goal was to cut Naruto off. He had to keep from getting knocked out and get Naruto out of there so he could fight more freely, or at least leave quickly. Lashing out, he cut one of the ropes, and then flew backwards when the ninja’s leg hit him square in the chest.

Out of breath, Obito sucked in air and tried to quell the pain. He couldn’t let the ninja get away. Hearing the wind pick up, he quickly flattened himself to the ground as a gale flew through the area. It was expertly aimed so it avoided the Suna ninja and scooted Obito several meters. Standing to his feet, he steeled himself for another air gust from the fan as his eyes fixed on the three ninja approaching. Time was thinning. If he cut Naruto loose, he would have to grab the boy and jet. Four people would be after him. He wasn’t sure how well his plan could work then, but it was something to try.

“You know,” the man with Naruto said as his companions stopped, strategically placed, “it will not matter if this boy is alive or dead.”

Obito narrowed his eyes. He was having trouble believing it was a bluff. The head wound was proof enough that it was the truth. He had to get Naruto before they did kill him and get away. He was running out of time.

That’s when the large Suna ninja dropped the boy to the ground, tying the rope around his waist to get it out of his way. “We can do this here. I will take the Uchiha, Kimiko, Hamaru, you take the boy. It’s time.”

Obito rushed forward to intercept Naruto, but the woman got there first, the man who had barely fought soon with her. That’s when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. The bulky man was charging and was right in front of him. Obito didn’t have time to doge. Yet, as he braced himself for the blow, he blinked. The man was just now starting the charge.

Without missing a beat, Obito dove for Naruto. He saw Kimiko go to stab him, but again, the blow didn’t come and she was readying her kunai as his arm was around Naruto’s waist. Deciding that he had no time to figure out what the hell was going on, Obito rolled, trying to keep Naruto’s head safe as he did so.

He felt a violent gust washing over his body and kept Naruto protected. A bit later, the gust came, pushing them across the desert floor. Hurrying up, he quickly flung Naruto over his shoulder and frowned inwardly. Something was draining his chakra, but he couldn’t dwell long on it. Kimiko was approaching, the burly man not too far away.

He had to take the chance. Speeding up, Obito jumped over one of the cliffs, adjusting his weight to compensate so that he didn’t break anything or drop Naruto in the fall. He felt on his feet, but then flew backwards to fall on his butt. Carefully, he kept from flying back and soon got up. The ninja wouldn’t be too far behind.

He felt things being thrown at him – Shuriken, but again, nothing was there. Obito took the time to shift Naruto around so the child was sitting in his lap as Obito took controlled slides down the cliff, catching himself on various outcroppings. He was looking for a cave or some other such place to hide. They were behind him. He had to hope they wouldn’t get in front of them. Naruto was slowing him down, and his chakra was draining. He had to find a place now.

Things were being thrown at him again, but he managed to shift slightly, a shuriken slicing through his sleeve, drawing blood, yet the majority flew around him, some nicking him, but the majority he dodged. Then he saw a cave. It was too easy. Running into it, he continued deep into it, taking three different turns and then he ducked behind a group of stalagmites. He calmed his breathing and waited before pausing.

He didn’t have his goggles on, so why was his vision so orangey red? It was true that his eyes saw things through at least a faint orange hue due to prolonged use of his orange paned goggles, but it was almost as though he was wearing his goggles, only there was redder to his vision.

Feeling Naruto stir, he pushed his concern aside over his vision and looked down at the boy. The boy’s blue eyes opened slowly and he gave a groggy moan. “…niisan…?” a small whisper croaked out as the boy’s vision came back into focus. Then he shoved himself backwards from Obito. “No, you’re not Taro-niisan!”

Obito raised an eyebrow.

Naruto went to get to his feet, but he fell back down. His head was throbbing and his vision was blurry, but the boy was sure that it wasn’t Obito he was with.

“Of course it’s me,” Obito gave Naruto an odd look as he spoke. What was Naruto’s problem? Maybe it was the wounds the sustained? He knew sometimes when people had blood trickling from wounds; they didn’t really look like themselves. Blinking, Obito watched Naruto’s gaze. It wasn’t fixed on any of his wounds, but his eyes. “What’s…?” Obito blinked and felt his chakra abruptly plummet, his vision going back to the slightly orangey hue that was almost unnoticeable.

Naruto’s eyes widened. What was going on?! Now this person looked like Obito. Was it that one thing he had heard grownups talking about once? Where people could transform into others using Genjutsu? The boy scooted himself back a bit. “Prove you’re Taro-niisan.”

“Alright,” Obito agreed. It was a reasonable request. Whatever had just happened had most likely changed whatever his eyes looked like. He thought about any information that someone who wasn’t a spy or didn’t have previous knowledge would know that Naruto himself would know. “When we first met, you were running away from Fujiwara-san because you drew on his cart. We went for ramen at Ichiraku’s and Kakashi showed up. He said I had to go to see the Sandaime. You told me a shortcut where I could hop from roof to roof and get there in minutes, but I told you that sometimes taking the long way was the better way even if it made you late.”

Naruto eyed him cautiously, and then he asked, “What happened to your eyes? Are you a policeman?”

Obito’s brown eyes widened and then he asked, “What did they look like?” It was beginning to make sense.

“They were red with squiggly marks in them,” Naruto said.

Obito grew quiet. The Sharigan! That put everything in perspective. He had the necessary desperation, he had encountered a vision through colors of reds, and he had seen moves before they happened. He had been so wrapped up in solving the problem; the Sharigan was the last of his thoughts. He looked to Naruto and then he said, “I will explain this to you somewhere else. It’s not safe to do so here. Now only that,” he gave Naruto the best reassuring smile he could, “but we have to get out of this cave first.”

~*~

“Taro-niisan.” Obito felt a tug at his left sleeve.

Naruto and Obito were back in the Fire Country now. They were in the Northlands and had been living there for one month. The Sandaime was aware of their location change and the circumstances around it. He hadn’t responded to the shikigami that Obito sent him, but Obito knew that the man had received the coded message.

“Yes, Tôto?” Obito looked down at the blonde boy. They were gathering provisions in the market place of the medium sized village.

Naruto looked over at one of the vendors and then looked up at Obito. “Can I have those?”

Obito followed Naruto’s small finger and raised an eyebrow. He was pointing to a pair of goggles. They were blue with clear lenses, about the size of a Hitae-Ate. “The goggles?”

“Yeah.” Naruto nodded.

It was an odd request. Obito mentally calculated their budget and then shook his head. “We don’t have enough, Tôto.”

Naruto looked at the goggles and then nodded. He understood the money thing. “Okay.” As they walked down the street, he helped carry their purchases. “When do we get to go home?”

“I don’t know,” Obito answered. “Probably not too much longer, we’ve been out for a little over the time we were supposed to be gone.”

“Oh,” Naruto looked down at his sandals, “okay.”

Obito looked down at the boy. “You don’t seem happy.”

“I don’t want to go back,” Naruto murmured quietly. “Do we have to?” Naruto looked up at Obito.

Obito looked down the street. “Yes, we do.”

Naruto looked back down at his sandals and kicked at a rock.

“Don’t worry, Tôto,” Obito gave Naruto his “everything will be all right” grin, “we’ll still be friends, right?”

Naruto looked up at Obito and then mirrored the grin. “Yeah.” Then the boy seemed a little happier.

~*~

Obito and Naruto had a very tiny apartment in the village. Obito went to work at one of the shops, Naruto staying in the room as Obito was gone. Looking out at the village, Naruto rested his arms on the windowsill. He watched as people began to close shops early and special lanterns were hung at corners. Today was the anniversary of the Kyûbi’s death. For two months the demon terrorized the Fire Country starting in the Northlands and heading steadily south until the Yondaime stopped the beast five years ago this day. The day was a day of mourning with special services to honor the dead once the sun went down. He hated this day and always stayed up in his own apartment in Konoha, hiding from his window.

He dove for a hiding place when he heard keys in the door. Today was a very dangerous day for him. He didn’t know why, but this was just the day he stayed in his room the whole day to save himself from the extra dirty looks and the occasional thrown objects.

“I’m back,” Obito’s voice said from the doorway. The young man was used to Naruto hiding when he entered the room. He watched Naruto immerge and he smiled. “I got you something.”

Naruto stared.

“You know, it’s your birthday,” Obito continued and handed Naruto a sack. “It’s not wrapped, but it’s at least hidden.”

Naruto took the sack cautiously. Only a mystery person gave him something on his birthday. It was usually something useful like a jacket or something else that Naruto desperately needed. The bag was about the size of a lunch bag and it was beyond Naruto what it could possibly be.

“Well? Are you going to open it?” Obito asked.

Naruto unrolled the top of the bag and looked inside. Reaching in, he pulled out the blue goggles with the clear lenses that he saw weeks before. Looking up at Obito, he carefully held the goggles in his hands and then he slipped them over his head, pushing them up so they were over his eyes like Obito’s had been when he saw him around Konoha. Although, they distorted his vision and he wasn’t keen on how he could see edges of blue around the corners of his vision. Pushing them up, he rested them on top of his head and grinned at Obito. Then he paused before thanking the ninja for the present.

To be continued…

Goggles
Chapter Four: Massacre

Obito kept the Sharigan to himself. It drained too much chakra to be used freely and he wasn’t keen on mending ties with the Uchiha. He was content not having a last name, and knew that even though he had achieved everything a normal Uchiha should, he would never fit back in with his family. He didn’t want to fit back in with his family either. It had been a bit over three years since his return to Konoha with Naruto. Obito was still working towards making Jônin practicing with and without his prosthetic arm. He had to be able to react in all types of situations. He was sure that this year he would obtain the rank. He was the best he had ever been and he was hoping that the examiners could acknowledge this.

When they returned to Konoha, Obito and Naruto had returned to their respective apartments and stayed that way. They saw each other on the street and on and off when Obito wasn’t on a mission and Naruto wasn’t in school. The boy was doing mediocre and tended to act out for laughs when he didn’t know what was going on. Obito looked over his shoulder and gave a small wave where he sat at the counter of a local open-air restaurant. It wasn’t Ichiraku’s Ramen Shop, but a simple affair two blocks away.

A young man two years younger than Obito waved back and joined the fellow Chûnin at the counter. Ordering soba and water, he turned to Obito and said, “I’m sorry for keeping you. Some students kept me.”

“It’s okay, Iruka,” Obito replied. “What did you want to talk about?” It was a stupid question really. For two years, Obito and Iruka had been meeting in various ways to discuss Naruto and how he behaved in Iruka’s class.

“What else?” Iruka responded good-naturedly and accepted his food. At first the Chûnin had resented the small boy much like the rest of the village, but after a year, he soon saw himself in Naruto more and more. Naruto was secretly his favorite student, but since teachers weren’t allowed favorites, Iruka simply tried to push the boy to behave and do a better job. Naruto had the potential, if only he had the motivation to do what he was supposed to be doing.

“What did he do this time?” Obito had somehow continued his older brother relationship with Naruto long after they returned. It wasn’t uncommon for Naruto to ambush him and shout, “Obito-niisan!” while laughing manically. Obito didn’t mind at all, and he didn’t mind having to prod Naruto so the boy would pay attention in class. Obito remembered when he was in the academy. He had been so hell-bent on proving himself that he had sometimes over studied, and he didn’t want Naruto to suffer the same, but the boy really could pick up a scroll now and then.

“Well, not really what he did,” Iruka spoke in a quiet voice so only Obito could hear, “it’s what he isn’t doing.”

Obito sipped his water. That wasn’t a new one either. Naruto rarely did his homework. Usually he would whine and say, “But it was too boring!” or give a really stupid excuse like, “I wanted to go do whatever.” They twenty-three-year-old looked over at the younger ninja. “What is it this time?” It was probably in connection with Naruto’s recent grades. He was still the worst student in his year.

“Well, he’s not reading,” Iruka replied. “I can’t believe it took me this long to figure it out,” he murmured. “The reason he doesn’t do his homework and can’t pass the tests is that he doesn’t know how to read.”

“He can read,” Obito replied. He had seen Naruto do it. The boy could easily get groceries and such. He had also seen Naruto write, providing that what he wrote wasn’t always school appropriate, the boy did know what he was doing to a degree.

“Then why isn’t he?” Iruka wanted to figure this out. He had considered calling Naruto back after school that day but the boy had been one of the first through the classroom doors when the bell rang.

Obito considered this. He certainly hadn’t taught Naruto to read. It hadn’t ever crossed his mind either. The boy seemed to know. Not able to think of a suitable answer, Obito asked, “Have you talked to him about it?”

“Not yet,” Iruka sighed inwardly. It troubled him that one of his third-year students was having such a rough time of it. The boy would be nine in October; it shouldn’t be this hard for him. “I just wanted to see what you knew about it. Naruto is always one step ahead of me.”

Obito laughed slightly. “You were like that too though, weren’t you?” He could remember that Iruka, even before his parents had died, had made quite a name for himself when they were in the academy. The most impressive thing though, Obito remembered, was at the time both of them were in the academy together; the top prankster had the top grades.

Iruka smiled back and finished his soba. “I have to grade papers.”

“Okay,” Obito wasn’t quite done with his sushi with rice. “If I see Naruto, I’ll check into it.”

“Thanks,” Iruka replied. Then the instructor left Obito to his food.

After a few minutes, Obito studied his glass slightly as he spoke. “So, you don’t like reading, do you?”

An uneasy laugh was heard from under Obito’s chair and then Naruto stood up beside the young man. Obito knew that Naruto didn’t care for this stand, so he finished off his meal and quickly paid for it. Herding Naruto out of the stand, Obito looked down at the boy. “Well?”

“I have better things to do,” Naruto defended when he realized Obito wasn’t going to drop the subject. They were walking out into the market district. With a quick turn to their right, they were heading away from it and towards the mountain. Neither of them liked the tight-packed crowds.

“Like what?” Obito asked.

“Er…” Naruto’s voice trailed. That was a very good question. He knew an answer to throw Iruka off track, but what could he tell Obito? The man always seemed to know when Naruto was lying. He could feel Obito’s eyes on him. “You know…fishing…?”

The closest place to fish was a three days’ journey away for someone at Naruto’s level of speed. Not only that, but the boy was ordered to stay within the village gates until further notice. Orochimaru had officially turned against the Leaf and there was a second threat it seemed towards the boy. Otherwise, Obito might have taken him fishing in the west side of the country by now. “You don’t have to tell me why you don’t like it,” Obito told Naruto, “but you really need to start doing it. You don’t want to stay in the academy forever do you?”

“No!” Naruto dodged Obito as the man went to ruffle his hair. “I’m going to be Hokage after all.”

“Really?” Obito glanced at him. He had heard Naruto say something about the Hokage title a few months ago, but this was the first he had ever heard of Naruto wanting the position.

“Yeah,” Naruto said with a determined look, “I’m going to be the next Hokage – just you see!”

“I don’t doubt you, but don’t be disappointed if you end up the Rokudaime instead,” Obito responded with an amused laugh. “And you know,” he met Naruto’s eyes as they made their way out into the grassy area that lead up to the mountain, “the Hokage reads all day long.”

Naruto snorted. Of course he knew! He hadn’t been pestering the Sandaime all his life not to notice the scores of scrolls on the man’s desk.

“I have to go on a mission next week,” Obito said. He watched Naruto’s face falter slightly. The boy always tried to keep a smile on his face and sometimes it would transform into a large grin, but occasionally it would wavier to show his true feelings.

“But, that’s summer vacation!” Naruto protested. They always did something together then, just like normal brothers would.

“I know, I know, but I’m a ninja, which means I put my village before myself,” Obito reminded him. This wasn’t the first time he had secured an assignment at such a time. “It’s not like I’ll be gone all of vacation either.”

Naruto looked up at Obito and then asked, “How long will you be gone?”

“I’m not sure yet, but not for a whole two months,” Obito replied.

Naruto mumbled something and then he said, “But you don’t leave for a week, right?”

“Yup.”

“Good.”

~*~

Naruto hated going to school. He could read, but Iruka went too fast on the board. Just as Naruto was finally absorbing the information in, Iruka had erased it. It wouldn’t be cool to raise his hand and ask for a bit more time, so Naruto simply got what he could out of lectures and when he got bored, he either acted out or fell asleep.

Walking up to the school grounds, he raised an eyebrow. There were a lot of parents with their children at school today. Was it one of those special days? Naruto tried to wrack his memory for a clue, but came up with nothing. Summer vacation started in two days and by the looks of the schoolyard, some students had started it early.

Naruto quickly made it to the sanctuary of the swings. When he staked them out before going to the academy, he found that no one ever used them, so they were always free for him. Trying to ignore the parents’ comments, he tried to pick out pieces of sentences that probably had nothing to do with him.

“…Uchiha,” someone had finished saying.

Naruto perked. That had been Obito’s name when he had a last name, right? At least, that’s what the Suna ninja had called him all those years ago. Naruto liked to pretend he didn’t remember all the fighting, but he had feigned unconsciousness through some of it to stay alive. Only when he whimpered had his captor acted out.

“I hope it isn’t a serial killing,” a mother murmured even quieter. Naruto’s hearing was a bit above his peers and when he concentrated, he could hear almost anything.

“I’m sure it’s not,” someone else’s responded reassuringly. “Many people had things against the Uchiha.”

“I heard it was that genius,” a father said from where they stood far enough away from their children to watch them but not have their children hear the conversation. “He killed them all, even those who weren’t ninja.”

Naruto froze.

“He didn’t kill his little brother,” the man continued. “Who knows why though.”

Naruto’s mind raced. The Uchiha were wiped out? He felt his hands slip on the swing ropes. Obito wasn’t an Uchiha any longer, right? He had told Naruto that he hadn’t been one since before Naruto was even born! Yet, Naruto fidgeted. He wanted to go and find Obito, but if Obito was alive, he knew the man would be very upset that Naruto skipped school because of him. School was very important to Obito and Naruto respected this. He always went even on days he wanted to stay in bed.

Getting off the swing, Naruto snuck into the school building. As intimidating as Iruka could sometimes be, he was sure his instructor knew if Obito was all right.

~*~

Obito had gotten sick over supper that night. He had been in his apartment and had felt ill most of the day. It was rare for the former Uchiha to get sick, but when he did it was a horrible affair that lasted several days. He didn’t have his goggles on to quell his headache and had been doing somewhat okay when he vomited soon after the stars came out. His stomach clenched and jabbed at him for hours.

At seven in the morning, he felt cold water splashed on his face. Looking up, his vision focused quickly and his brown eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here, Kakashi?”

The younger Jônin looked down at him through one eye. “What are you doing hung-over?”

“I’m not hung-over,” Obito defended. “I got sick last night.”

“Same thing,” Kakashi murmured as Obito began to run the tap water in the very tiny bathroom of his apartment.

“What are you doing here anyway?” Obito reached into a cup by the sink for his toothbrush.

Obito expected a smart ass remark or maybe about how Kakashi had entered his apartment and even splashed water on Obito without the ninja noticing. Bracing himself for ridicule, Obito reached for his toothpaste, when Kakashi half-stated, “So you don’t know?”

“Know what?” Obito could play this game. This was better than shouting or ridicule, though he would much rather Kakashi go find someone else to pester.

“About your clan.”

Obito raised an eyebrow as he stuck his toothbrush in his mouth. Kakashi dancing around an issue was very rare. This had to be bad. “What about them?” He decided to bypass an argument about how he was not in anyone’s clan.

“They’re dead,” Kakashi stated in a flat and blunt tone.

Obito almost spat his toothbrush out as he stared at his former teammate.

“Last night around eight, the entire Uchiha clan was killed,” Kakashi explained. “Every man, woman, and child except for three.”

“Three?” Obito had quick hold on his composure. He would not let this shake him.

“Yeah,” Kakashi replied. “You, the killer, and his little brother.”

“Who was…?”

“I don’t know, the rumor is it was Itachi,” Kakashi answered. “Hokage-sama wants to see you about it. He asked me to come find you.”

“Of course,” Obito murmured, both men wondering why the Hokage couldn’t just let them ignore each other in peace. Although, now into their twenties, they were better at dealing with each other. “Is that all?” he spit his toothpaste into his cup and then rinsed it out in the sink.

“Yeah, but I’m supposed to come with you. They don’t want you wandering around the place,” Kakashi remarked.

Obito nodded and said, “Let me change and get my goggles.”

“Whatever, just hurry up.”

~*~

“Here he is,” Kakashi announced as the door to the Hokage office opened. Kakashi had kept Obito from making three wrong turns and five detours. Normally, the Hokage would tolerate Obito’s truancy but today it was too dangerous. Someone had killed the entire Uchiha clan and it was important to keep watch over the survivors.

“Thank you, Kakashi,” the Hokage said, motioning that the taller ninja could leave. Once he was gone, the elderly man’s eyes turned to Obito. “Have you heard?”

“Yes, Kakashi told me,” Obito replied, leaving out the circumstances around it. “Who did it?” A small voice within chided him for even caring. Certainly, he could remember the ceremony in which they stripped him of the Uchiha title? Certainly he could remember their cruel words? Obito chased the voice away. The clan was still family after all even if sometimes it felt more like a union.

“We still are looking into that,” the Hokage said calmly.

Obito nodded. Of course the Hokage wouldn’t tell him even if the man knew and was already tracking the murderer down. It would minimize the risk of Obito running off to seek vengeance. Though, the man had no vengeance to seek. He was sad about his immediate family’s death and felt a bit of pain over the others, but he felt not even the slightest compulsion to avenge “his clan.”

“I heard there were survivors?” Obito looked to the Hokage. He wondered if he knew them. Kakashi had mentioned an Uchiha genius with a little brother, but Obito couldn’t place who it was.

“Yes,” the Hokage replied. “One is resting and the other escaped. We will question the one who is resting later.”

Obito could tell by the Hokage’s expression that the one resting had to be a child. The Hokage was relatively easy to read and more so in front of people like Obito and Kakashi. Obito figured that it was because they were the students of the Yondaime and the Sandaime considered them something like family because of it since their teacher had been taught by one of the Sandaime’s students.

Most likely this was a head count to see if Obito had been overlooked by the assassin. Obito wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. Should he see the boy who was resting? If it was a child, did Obito even know him? He had stopped paying attention to the Uchiha after his excommunication, so if he didn’t know the child, the oldest he could be was just a bit older than Naruto.

“I think I’d still like my mission,” he said after a time. There wasn’t anything he could do to remedy the situation and he needed the money that the job would bring.

The Sandaime surveyed the young man and then nodded. “Alright.”

~*~

Naruto was the first one out of the classroom and out of the academy. All day long he had stared at Sasuke’s empty seat and the more he stared, the more worried he became. He had to find Obito and make sure he was all right!

He heard random disgruntled curses thrown at him as he hurried towards the district he knew Obito’s apartment was in. He had never gone there before or bothered to learn where it was. He always saw Obito out on the street, but Naruto thought maybe Obito would be at his apartment. After all, the whole Uchiha clan had died except for Sasuke and his brother, so that meant that Obito’s family died, right? Naruto knew that if Obito died, he wouldn’t come out of his apartment for a long time even for ramen.

He rounded a corner and was preparing to scale a nearby dead end when he stopped. Obito wasn’t like him even though they were oddly similar. Obito wouldn’t lock himself in his apartment, right?

The eight-year-old leaned against the alley wall and considered where his friend could actually be. His first impulse was to check Ichiraku, but he knew that Obito might not be there and if Naruto was tempted with ramen, he might get sidetracked.

“You aren’t going tagging are you?”

Naruto blinked and looked at the opening to the alleyway. Laughing slightly, he put a hand behind his head. “I’m looking for Obito-niisan,” he told a very pretty pink haired girl. Haruno Sakura was perfect in Naruto’s eyes. She was determined, smart, and had the most unique normal eyes he had ever seen. He had a horrible crush on her that was a few months old.

“You have a brother?” Sakura’s curiosity was peaked. She wasn’t keen on Naruto – he was too loud, too stupid, and was always distracting her in class. She, like most girls, preferred Sasuke who was smart, hot, and always had a welcoming expression on his face. Yet, as much as she didn’t care for Naruto, that didn’t stop her from finding out what he was up to. Even if it was a pointless activity, Naruto was usually doing something interesting.

“Yeah,” Naruto replied, grinning. He was talking to Sakura and she wasn’t trying to hurt him!

“What’s he look like?” Sakura wanted to see Naruto’s brother. Maybe she could ask him to get his brother to stop staring at her in “that way.” She really didn’t like the extra attention Naruto lavished on her. It might fool Sasuke into thinking she was attached, and she didn’t want to lose the Uchiha’s possible affections.

“Tall with dark hair like mine and orange goggles,” Naruto said subconsciously adjusting the goggles on his head.

“Oh!” Sakura’s eyes lit up in recognition. “I know who he is!”

That got Naruto’s hopes up. It would be nice if Sakura had seen Obito. She was easier to talk to than the adults around them.

“But not today,” she continued. Then she adjusted the ribbon around her head. “Anyway, I’m going to go visit Sasuke,” she awkwardly waved, “so see you around.”

Naruto watched her leave and then he paused. Sasuke was related to Obito, right? Maybe Obito went to see Sasuke! His idea in place, Naruto called out for Sakura to wait up, he was going to go with her.

~*~

When he wanted to be alone, Obito went to the mountain. It was easy to climb and from the Yondaime’s shoulder, Obito could see almost all of Konoha and the Uchiha crime scene. He was too old to cry and even if he did, he would feel foolish. He could remember the good things and the bad things. He could see his old house where he first preformed the Gôkakyû and accidentally set the living room on fire. He could see the entry way where sometimes Rin came to pick him up so he wouldn’t be late. He could see the streets he used to ride his toys around when he was little too. He also saw the wall he was pinned to when his grandfather shouted about how long it was taking him to learn the Gôkakyû. He also saw his front porch where he was sent out to when his mother was exasperated with him. So many good things and so many bad things within two blocks of the same type of buildings.

Standing up on his perch, Obito put his hands in the pockets of his black jump suit. He scuffed his sandal slightly as he took one last look at the complex before sighing inwardly. This was the last time he would look back at his past as an Uchiha. The Uchiha were no more and he hadn’t been a part of them for almost a decade.

~*~

The longer the day went on, the more worried Naruto became. Obito hadn’t been at the hospital and he hated trying to explain to Sasuke why he showed up with Sakura. He hated to think how his visit had come off to everyone.

He wandered down the market district. He needed answers and he was considering going to the Hokage to get them. Then he paused, something orange catching his attention. Within seconds, he turned down a side street and then launched himself at the person who had just gone down it. “OBITO-NIISAN!”

Obito braced himself as the boy nearly tackled him to the ground. Naruto had a way to get overly emotional at times.

“You’re alive,” the boy wailed at him. He was so relieved. He had near convinced himself that Obito had indeed been murdered with his clan.

Obito stared down at the boy who had a death grip on him. He hadn’t thought about how Naruto would react. Mostly he had been thinking about his next move rather than if anyone was worried about him. “Hey now, of course I’m alive,” he tried to sound reassuring. Naruto wasn’t stupid enough to think Obito invincible.

“They said everyone but Sasuke and his brother were dead,” Naruto whimpered.

Obito only recognized Sasuke’s name from how many times Naruto complained about the boy. Other than that, he didn’t know of the child. Kneeling down, he ruffled Naruto’s hair. “Hey, no need to cry.” He never knew what to do when Naruto got like this. When he was little, he too had been a slight crybaby, but it had never been handled gently.

Naruto sniffled a bit and soon the tears stopped. Obito was alive, so crying was pretty stupid. Looking over at the man, he proclaimed that Obito was going to buy him ramen. It was only fair since Obito had disappeared all day when Naruto was worried. Obito laughed slightly and stood up, agreeing to do so.

To be continued…

Goggles
Chapter Five: Sasuke

Obito was going to pay for this. Kakashi would have made the Sandaime pay for this, but the Sandaime was his boss and the leader of the country, so Kakashi decided to take his frustrations out on Obito when the man returned from his mission. Hearing a clinking noise, Kakashi looked up from his udon.

Sasuke was picking at his food again. He was currently poking at his glass with his spoon. Kakashi watched as the spoon hit the glass with enough pressure control to make the liquid swish around in the glass, but not to make it spill over. According to Konoha law, Sasuke was now Obito’s to take care of, but the man had taken off on a mission the day that the council approved the action. Thusly there was no one to take care of the boy for at least a week and a half. So, out of some bout of insanity, Kakashi had found himself volunteering for the position. Well, not in the classic sense. All he had said was, “Well, give him to someone Obito knows and you know will take good care of him.”

That must have been code for, “I really want to take care of the little twerp,” Kakashi had decided days ago. Now there was at least one or two days left and then he could hand off the boy to his second cousin once removed or some weird relation like that. Kakashi had never been fond of children even when he was one. He especially didn’t like the loud ones, so he considered himself lucky that he was stuck with Sasuke and not Naruto. How anyone could handle the blonde loudmouth was beyond Kakashi’s comprehension.

Kakashi leaned back in his seat and studied Sasuke. He probably should get the kid to eat; it would be the right thing to do especially since Sasuke had eaten a scant amount since the massacre. Clearing his throat, Kakashi tried to channel his instructor so he could get through this. “You know, ninja eat whenever they can so they have strength when no food is around.” That wasn’t too bad of a sentence. Kakashi would have rather stayed quiet, but if the boy died of starvation on his watch, it would be bad.

Sasuke said nothing. He rarely said anything at all really. Kakashi was relived that at least the boy had stopped hitting his glass with his spoon.

Kakashi took a breath through his mask. It wasn’t too hard eating with it. If he used some sneakiness, ninja speed, and skill, he easily ate with normal people without anyone seeing his face. There wasn’t anything wrong with his face, but he wore the face mask because it was family tradition. This kid was exasperating at times. He looked like the type that could be randomly talkative if you got to know him, but so far he had been silent except for a few quiet phrases every so often.

“I’m not hungry,” the boy responded in a whisper.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Eventually the boy would realize he had to eat, Kakashi was sure. He had given a tidbit of advice and it was up to Sasuke to take it however he wanted to take it.

~*~

Naruto slowed as he flew out the academy’s door. “Uh oh,” he said and began to shrink back, but found that there wasn’t anyone to really hide behind. Walking up to the man standing by the sidewalk, he gave him a very large and innocent grin. “Hey, Obito-niisan! Why are you here?” Oh that didn’t sound suspicious at all, not in the least.

Obito decided to deal with whatever Naruto was covering up later. “I came to pick up Sasuke.”

Naruto’s face faltered and then he screeched, “WHAT?!”

“Don’t yell so loud,” a quiet voice grumbled from behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Naruto saw Sasuke walking up to them a very disgruntled expression on his face. Their eyes met for a moment in which a visible spark traveled from Naruto’s gaze, but Sasuke’s gaze didn’t return it.

Obito considered what he should say next. He had only met Sasuke early that morning before the boy had to go to school. Obito really didn’t want a scene to develop. He had enough of confrontation right now. He watched as Naruto’s mouth opened and then it quickly shut. The boy’s eyes narrowed and he stared hard at Obito.

“Are we going to go?” Sasuke asked. He had seen Naruto stare at people like this before and he really didn’t want to be out in the schoolyard for the rest of the afternoon.

“Yeah,” Obito replied. He wasn’t sure what to do about Naruto. He couldn’t invite the boy along, but he wasn’t sure how to avert a possible disaster either. “I’ll see you later, Naruto.” It was the only thing he could really say.

Naruto simply continued to stare at him. It was a throwback to when they first met and a reaction he sometimes used on certain vendors still. “Okay,” the boy said and watched as his rival and best friend walked off together.

~*~

“It’s small, but it should work,” Obito said as he closed the door behind Sasuke. The apartment was a small bathroom and larger living space. It was designed for rolled up futons for sleeping and cooking with a microwave. He watched Sasuke survey the room.

“I don’t have much to eat,” Obito continued when Sasuke began eyeing the refrigerator. “I just got back from a mission early this morning. So I can go get stuff, you can come if you want.”

Sasuke shook his head.

Obito nodded. “I’m going to go get some things. Is there anything you don’t like?” He didn’t want to come back with a bunch of things Sasuke wouldn’t touch.

Sasuke considered this and then answered, “Udon.”

~*~

Naruto wasn’t sure what to make of this. Obito let Sasuke live with him but not Naruto! That made no sense. The Uchiha had disowned Obito and Naruto thought that they were brothers. It should be him living with Obito, not Sasuke! Fuming, the blonde looked out at Konoha from his perch on the Yondaime’s shoulder. When he wanted to be alone he came here, even long before he knew Obito.

He probably demanded an explanation out of Obito at school, but when he opened his mouth, he had thought better of it. Obito looked worn and had that expression he got when he dealt with Kakashi. If it had been anyone else, Naruto probably would have pressed, but after Obito talked to Kakashi, Naruto tended to remain quieter than normal.

Pulling his legs up, Naruto frowned slightly. It just wasn’t fair.

~*~

If anything, this only fueled Naruto’s rivalry with Sasuke. Sasuke got the best grades and Naruto got the worst grades. Sasuke got to live with Obito and Naruto still lived by himself. Sasuke got the girls and Naruto got nothing except weird looks from that Hinata chick. Obito, to his credit, tried to pay attention to both boys equally, but he could always see the millisecond of a frown on Naruto’s face whenever he left or if they came across each other with Sasuke by Obito’s side.

The boys were getting older and Naruto had managed to resign himself to the situation. He even begrudgingly joined Sasuke and Obito on some things. The humidity was rising, signaling that summer vacation would soon arrive. It was the last summer vacation Naruto and Sasuke would have as academy students and Obito decided to do something special with the two months they had. The Chûnin Exams were in the Hidden Village of the Cloud this year so that meant most would be up north. He had entertained the idea of taking the boys to see it, but he knew better. There was more information on the second group targeting Naruto and it would be better to keep the boy away from a large group of possible enemy ninja.

Obito had been surprised that the Sandaime let Naruto out of the village. “This is only between you and me,” the man had said. That must mean that the Council, who had final say over the Hokage, had no knowledge of this. It would be a short affair lasting a week, possibly two.

Obito had told Sasuke first mostly because the boy hated surprises and spur of the moment events. Naruto would be told last because he would tell people inadvertently. Looking over his shoulder, Obito observed Sasuke for a bit. His eyes were cast down at the ground and he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was. Sighing inwardly, Obito simply continued on his way to Naruto’s apartment, Sasuke in tow.

“You don’t have to come up with me,” Obito said.

“Hn,” Sasuke replied.

Judging by the tone, Obito surmised it meant, “I don’t want to but it would hurt his image to hang out in front of Naruto’s apartment.” Obito led Sasuke into the building and up a narrow staircase. They went to the top floor and then went down a narrow hallway, rooms packed together like rows of broom closets. Obito could sense Sasuke taking the entire place in, whether out of hidden interest or simply practice, Obito didn’t care.

They arrived at one of the doors in the middle and Obito knocked on the door with one knuckle. Three short raps, a pause, followed by two raps. Sasuke watched his relative out of the corner of his eye as two knocks came from the other side of the door, Obito answering with six. Then there was the sound of a chain lock and then the door lock unlocking before the door opened.

“Obito-niisan!” Naruto greeted the man cheerfully. He couldn’t see Sasuke who was standing purposefully out of his eyesight. Stepping back, Naruto said, “Come in, they don’t like people standing in the hallway.” He was about to close the door behind Obito when Sasuke stuck a hand out stopping the door from hitting his face. The pair locked eyes, Naruto frowning and Sasuke simply regarding him.

Obito watched as Naruto locked the door back up and then the boy asked, “Why are you here?”

“I was thinking of taking you fishing with us in the West,” Obito told him.

“Really?” Naruto’s eyes lit up and then faded slightly, “But – “

“I got it cleared with Hokage-sama,” Obito replied. Naruto wasn’t as dense as he let on at times, the boy was aware he wasn’t allowed outside of the village.

“When do we go?” Naruto asked excitedly.

“Well, as soon as you’re ready,” Obito replied. He watched as Naruto easily gathered another set of clothes, swimming shorts, and a few other items hurriedly. The boy had his backpack on his shoulders within minutes, grinning brightly. “Let’s go!”

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/General
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Six

Goggles
Chapter Six: Kidnapping

It took three days to get to the small villages in the West. This area had been untouched by the Kyûbi during the months of terror almost twelve years ago. Naruto’s eyes took in everything around them. “It’s different than the Northlands,” the boy noted. The people had simpler clothing and many had ropes tied around their heads like the headband Obito wore.

Obito nodded. He had been here three times with his Genin group. It was one of their sensei’s favorite areas. “I have to get us licenses,” he said, shaking déjà vu away. “You should probably wait out here. The shop’s kind of small.” He saw Sasuke give him a short nod and Naruto agreed half-listening. Naruto liked traveling and seeing new people and places, so his attention was on the people surrounding them more than what Obito was doing.

After Obito left, Sasuke observed Naruto. It was easy to see that the blonde was the youngest person in their year asides from the fact he was definitely the shortest. He always seemed to be operating on a level bellow, like right now where he was watching people unabashedly. Although, Naruto never did get out, did he?

“What are you looking at?” Naruto glanced at Sasuke. The boy was always watching him as though trying to figure something out. It unnerved the blonde. If Sasuke wanted to know something, he could just ask! Naruto, of course, wouldn’t answer the question, but it would be better than Sasuke trying to stare it out of him.

Sasuke snorted. It was as though Naruto was expecting a long answer. “Dobe.”

“Hey – “ Naruto began but Obito quickly appeared between them.

“Here are your licenses,” Obito said, handing a piece of blue paper to each boy. “We need to find a good place to camp at. Come on.”

Naruto glared at Sasuke who ignored the boy as Obito led them through the small village.

~*~

Obito, Sasuke, and Naruto stood at the bank of the creek. Their campsite was only a few feet away. Obito looked down at the water as though deciding what to say and then he took off his shirt. “Okay, the secret to fishing is stealth,” Obito said as he slipped off his sandals. “Also speed and precision,” he slipped into the water quietly. Wading into the water so it was up to his waist, his eyes scanned the water around him.

Sasuke and Naruto watched from the shore. Then their eyes widened slightly as they watched Obito quickly dive into the water before appearing only seconds later with a large fish. He gave them a grin and then silently moved through the water up to them. “See? The trick though is to be quiet when you leave too. That way they come back.”

“Shouldn’t the fish be moving?” Sasuke asked. All the fish he had ever seen caught before usually put up a fight, especially one as big as Obito’s.

“I broke its neck when I caught it,” he explained. “That way, there’s less noise.” He showed Sasuke and Naruto how he had grabbed the fish and the technique he used. “You can do it other ways, this is just how I was taught.”

“I never learned this before,” Sasuke noted. Certainly the Uchiha would have taught him this when they taught him how to swim! Maybe he had to meet some other requirement first.

“Sensei taught my Genin team this,” Obito took the fish and put it in a bucket they designated for the caught fish. He looked at the boys. “Now that you’ve seen it, go try it.”

~*~

Naruto and Sasuke spent the afternoon trying to outdo each other, but their fish were very similar and smaller than Obito’s original one. The man watched them carefully, and then he spoke. “We should get out of the water. The current is getting stronger.” He watched the boys carefully as they made their way to the banks.

“Now we will gut the fish and cook them,” Obito explained.

A few days passed. Obito showed them how to track things and other survival skills for forest missions. Naruto always made new information into a challenge. Watching from where he walked behind the boys, Obito frowned slightly. Maybe taking the two places was like when the Sandaime forced Obito to work with Kakashi. He always did it with a smile, Obito always introduced what they were doing with a smile. He knew that the motivation behind both tasks were different, but at the same time, he wondered if either was productive.

Like Obito used to with Kakashi, Naruto would challenge Sasuke. He then would either receive silence or he would get a disparaging reply, which only fueled Naruto to do better. The Uchiha, unlike the Hyûga, didn’t put much stock in fate, but Obito wondered if these two wouldn’t wind up in the same Genin group. They wouldn’t be bad as teammates, and he knew they would cope with it, but he wasn’t sure at the same time.

“Obito-oniisan,” Naruto called back at him, “come over here!”

Obito snapped back to reality and then hurried up the trail. Looking at the body in front of Naruto and Sasuke, he froze slightly. He knew this boy. “Step back,” Obito instructed and knelt beside the body. He didn’t know much about medicine, but he had watched Rin enough to get an idea of what he could do. First, he needed to check for a pulse.

“Is he dead…?” Naruto asked.

“No, he’s unconscious I think…” Obito said and then he stepped back quickly as a kunai appeared in his hand.

“Your reaction time is faster than anticipated,” the teenager commented.

Obito narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t going to honor the comment with a response.

“Of course, it has been twelve years since you lost your arm,” the boy stood up, ready for any retaliation.

“Kabuto,” Obito began and then he shifted, blocking someone from grabbing onto Naruto. In the same instant, he found himself flying backwards, skidding right into Sasuke.

“Though, you still will never become a Jônin,” a man responded from where he had Naruto firmly in his grasp, using a pressure point to make the boy’s body go limp.

Obito went to move to his feet, but the enemy ninja’s tongue shot from his mouth, hitting Obito square in a pressure point that kept him immobilized.

“You don’t recognize me, do you?” the man taunted as he handed Naruto off to Kabuto.

Obito narrowed his eyes. This man seemed familiar, but he knew that he would have remembered such a chakra signature. Gauging the man, his eyes widened and he said, “Orochimaru…” He had met the man on two occasions and it had been ten years since Orochimaru left Konoha. The man’s body seemed different, yet it was still the same in some respects.

“I will leave you for another day,” the man continued. “Come, Kabuto, let’s leave them.” Then the two ninja left, Obito cursing that he couldn’t move.

~*~

Sasuke had been powerless and it angered him. It shouldn’t though since it wasn’t like Naruto and he were friends. Almost twelve-years-old, Sasuke would soon be acknowledged as a Genin, so naturally he should have been able to act like one! Yet, he had been scared. There had been something about the situation that instantly made him choke.

He felt responsible, which he considered was also part of why he was angry. He shouldn’t be responsible for Naruto being captured or Obito in one of the hospital wounds recovering from temporary paralysis. He of course was going to do something bout it. It was early June, so it wasn’t like he was going back to school soon. He had until September to fix this. Once the Chûnin Exams were over in the Cloud, it would be time for school to resume.

“You’re beating yourself up over this, aren’t you?”

Sasuke looked up from where he was sitting against a far wall. Obito pushed himself up into a sitting position on his bed. It had been one week and the medic ninja were certain that Obito would make a full recovery. “Don’t,” Obito said after a time. “If I couldn’t do anything, you wouldn’t have been able to either. We’re both alive, we should be happy.”

“But what about Naruto?” Sasuke asked without thinking. It was a valid question regardless. It wasn’t too suspicious he thought.

“Exactly,” Obito said. “Once I get out of here, I plan to find him, but you aren’t coming with me.” He waited for Sasuke to argue the point, but he only received an indignant look in return. “It’s too dangerous. Orochimaru is one of the legendary Sannin, you aren’t even a Genin yet. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. I don’t want you getting hurt either.”

Sasuke assumed it was also that he would slow the search party and probably get in the way. Obito never said those things, but Sasuke assumed they were factors. Obito always seemed to give everything a dusting of sugar, but he never coated things.

“Sasuke – “ Obito eyed the boy. He was clearly taking this the wrong way. He always seemed to assume the worst in people. Yet, before he could continue, there was a knock at the door. Looking up, he stared slightly and then said, “Hokage-sama…”

The Sandaime gave him one of those familiar smiles. Then he looked down at Sasuke. “Sasuke, I have to talk to Obito privately.” He held the boy’s gaze and Sasuke merely stood up and left the room, watching both men before he closed the door. After a few minutes, the Sandaime spoke. “How are you?”

“Better, sir.” Obito moved his left arm to illustrate the point. He paused and then asked, “You’re here about the report, right?”

The Hokage nodded. “You said that you saw Orochimaru?”

Obito didn’t look at the Hokage and merely nodded. Long ago Orochimaru had been the Sandaime’s student along with the other legends, Jiraiya and Tsunade. “He wore a headband with a symbol I haven’t seen before. It was a musical note,” Obito drew it in the air absently, “and he had Kabuto with him.” Kabuto was famous amongst ninja. As a boy he had defeated several ninja all at once, but the teenager had yet to pass the Chûnin Exams.

The Sandaime was quiet, but Obito found the silence surprisingly not uncomfortable.

“They took Naruto. Why? I don’t know,” Obito continued. “I thought that it’s either that he harbors the Kyûbi or because of his parents,” went to intertwine his fingers but then opted to play with his blanket instead. He sometimes forgot that he wasn’t wearing the prosthetic. “It could also be both.” Yet, Obito didn’t know what Orochimaru planned to gain. Naruto’s parents weren’t aware that their son was indeed alive.

“What are we going to do next?” Obito asked, finally looking towards the village’s leader.

“That is for the Council to decide,” the Sandaime said. He seemed tired and as though perhaps he had been arguing with them already. Both were aware that the Council could go either way on the matter. They might be quite happy to be rid of the Kyûbi’s vessel. Though, there was the possibility that Orochimaru could use Naruto against them as well.

“You won’t go unpunished,” the Hokage informed him. “I know that I authorized you to take Naruto out of Konoha, but the Council will find retribution.”

“I know,” Obito replied.

“I’m sorry,” the Hokage said.

“It’s okay,” was all Obito could say.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/General
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Seven

Goggles
Chapter Seven: Jinchûriki

It was almost late June now and Sasuke knew Obito wouldn’t be able to take off after Naruto for at least another week. That meant he had to act. It was late and he knew no one would be out. He even had a plan how to get outside of Konoha without going by the guards. All he would need to do would be to gather information and then he would find Naruto and bring him back. That would show that he could have done something if he hadn’t choked. Not only that, but Sasuke had his own mission he hadn’t told anyone of yet. If he couldn’t bring Naruto back, then how could he accomplish his ultimate goal?

“Where are you going, Sasuke?”

The boy froze and then looked over his shoulder. It was the most tenacious of his groupies Haruno Sakura. The girl had her arms folded, her long hair blowing slightly in the gentle breeze. He hated girls. They were annoying and clinging, and to Sasuke, she was the worst. She was near convinced that she was going to win him over and with just as strong competition from Yamanaka Ino, which only fueled her. She also had insatiable curiosity. He would have to give her what she wanted and she would go away. The last thing he could do would be to make her more curious. “Nowhere.”

Sakura eyed him. She had liked Sasuke for two years now and she thought that even if he rarely spoke to her, she could safely assume that she knew something about him. He was wearing a traveling pack, and he wasn’t looking at her. Even when he was ignoring her, he would at least glance at her.

“Is it about Naruto?”

Sasuke paused and finally looked at her, gauging her.

“He hasn’t been around all summer vacation,” Sakura pointed out. “He always comes around to pester me, and he hasn’t yet. No one’s been complaining about him either in the market place. What’s going on?” Naruto was annoying, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t worry. It just wasn’t normal for him to be absent. That and while her parents were out on their own vacation, Naruto coming around every so often would have brought some excitement to her vacation.

Sasuke said nothing. He needed to leave soon. He wanted to be clear of the forest by sunrise.

“I’m going.”

“No – “

“I’m going,” Sakura repeated. She had nothing better to do. Not only would she get to spend a long time with Sasuke alone, she would also have something to do for the rest of break.

Sasuke gauged her and then he sighed. He didn’t have the time to argue.

~*~

Obito would only be able to go after Naruto if he could find four Jônin to go with him. The Council of course would bar him from ever becoming a Jônin, but that didn’t matter to him. He had screwed up and he had to right it. It was a slight challenge to gather four Jônin. He knew of two he could definitely get, but he needed two more.

Currently, he was working on one of the first of the group.

“So, you want me to fix your mistake?” Kakashi glanced at him through his one eye. He had one hand in his pocket and one of the breakaway hit Icha Icha manga series in his other hand. The series had been around for roughly eleven years.

“I wouldn’t say that – “

“What’s in it for me?” Kakashi asked. There had to be a really good reason to make him forego good pay to run off to who knew where to bring back one of the loudest brats he had ever met.

Obito looked at the book and the author on it. “Jiraiya was sensei’s teacher and you read his books,” Obito commented. “Shouldn’t you help save his son?”

Kakashi eyed Obito and then he closed his book in defeat.

~*~

“…and then Orochimaru – “

“I’m in.”

Obito blinked. He hadn’t explained the scope of the mission yet. The Jônin in front of him ran a hand through her short hair as she asked, “What?”

Obito straightened slightly as Kakashi glanced at the twenty-four-year-old woman in front of them. “But, Anko, I haven’t finished explaining yet.”

Anko snorted. “You know that Orochimaru was my sensei. Of course I’m in!” After ten years, she had stopped hoping for an explanation as to why he had left Konoha, and now she wanted to stop him.

“Okay,” the twenty-seven-year-old said. “Next, we’ll talk to Asuma and then we’ll go from there.”

“You don’t know who the fourth Jônin is, do you?” Kakashi murmured.

Obito merely snorted. “Of course I do. Let’s go find Asuma.”

~*~

Asuma had been a bust. He was going on an important mission in two days. He suggested they check in with Kurenai instead. He knew she had come back from a mission last week and he didn’t think she was going out again soon. Kurenai agreed to the job, always one to help out.

The fourth Jônin was going to be a problem. Obito wasn’t sure who would join them. He would have asked Iruka, but Iruka was also a Chûnin. He considered admitting that he had no clue who the fourth Jônin was when the group stopped watching a green blur come up to them.

Maito Gai was near legendary in Konoha, not just because of his speed, but also because of his unique personality. He was very extroverted and had marked Kakashi as his eternal rival since the pair were toddlers. “I have a message from the Hokage,” Gai announced. His typical flamboyant personality was toned down, which gave the group pause.

“What is it?” Obito asked. Kakashi kept his distance lest the seriousness was an act.

“An academy student has gone missing,” he explained. “Hokage-sama thought you would be interested in the note she left.” He reached into one of his vest pockets and produced a folded piece of paper.

Obito took it and read it over once before paling slightly. “She left to get Naruto ‘with a friend,’” Obito said. He had heard of Sakura, she was one of the girls who was after Sasuke and the one Naruto liked. Why would she go after Naruto? From what he had seen, Naruto annoyed the hell out of her.

“Has anyone else been reported missing?” Kurenai asked from where she was reading over Obito’s shoulder.

“No,” Gai replied. “They asked her mother who Sakura might have run off with, and the names she gave are all in Suna to watch the Chûnin Exams.”

Obito frowned. It would have to be someone Sakura trusted, she didn’t seem stupid. Then his frown deepened. “Sasuke.”

“What?” Anko asked, but Obito was gone.

~*~

He should have connected it before, but it hadn’t been on his mind. Sasuke had a way of skulking about when he was mad, especially when he felt inferior. When Sasuke didn’t show up for several days, Obito figured he was either training or just keeping to himself. The idea that Sasuke had gone after Naruto hadn’t crossed his mind.

Entering their apartment, Obito went right for where he knew Sasuke kept his traveling supplies. They were gone just as Obito feared they would be. Why would Sasuke take off to challenge a Sannin? He was smarter than that! Or, at least, he was smart enough not to take someone with him and put them in danger as well.

Folding his arms, Obito made his decision. Even though Gai had a Genin team, he had to be the fourth Jônin on the squad and they had to get moving soon.

~*~

Sakura had given up trying to make small talk with Sasuke. He was focused and determined on his goal and she decided to be happy that he let her come. She wasn’t sure what they were going to do about Naruto, but she had one advantage that kept him from ditching her:

She knew where they were going.

A while ago she had read an article about a new village somewhere around the vicinity of the Grass country called the Sound. When Sasuke told her what Orochimaru’s headband looked like, she instantly remembered the article. She had a good idea of where it could be – there had been a war over a part of land around the Grass years ago, and so she was a valuable asset.

“Which way?” Sasuke asked. He was always checking to make sure they weren’t going off the path.

Sakura chased her thoughts away and took in their surroundings. They were halfway across the Grass, a country with no ninja. It was mostly plains and many countries imported their grain products. “We need to keep going east and then cut over a bit south,” Sakura replied. They didn’t bring a map with them in case they were caught, but they had looked at one in the library of one of the bigger villages of the Grass.

Sasuke nodded and the pair continued on. They had most likely another day of traveling through the Grass and if Sakura’s conjecture was right, they would be in the Sound when they hit the next tree line.

“I wonder if they’ve started looking for us,” Sakura said after a while. She had left a note only to calm her parents, but she was sure they would turn it in to someone soon. She doubted anyone would assume she was out with Sasuke, but if his guardian found out, she was sure they would be found.

“They don’t know where we’re going,” Sasuke pointed out. They had to get into the Sound before any ninja caught up to them. Knowing Obito, he was sure that he had already planned how to get Naruto back, but it would take too long. Sasuke wondered if Obito was even out of the hospital yet. He probably was, and he probably thought Sasuke was avoiding him. He was of course using this to maximum advantage. Looking over his shoulder at Sakura, he knew they would have to restock before they entered the Sound. “At the next village, we’ll get supplies.”

Sakura nodded. They had to be prepared to stay in hiding, and neither had brought too many things when they started out as well. “There should be a village before we hit the border,” she said. “I’m not sure exactly where, but I’m sure there is one.”

~*~

“You’re awake,” a voice noted.

Naruto went to move, but found braces holding him in a standing position.

“We had to restrain you just in case,” Kabuto continued. “A Jinchûriki can become too strong to handle if angered.” The nineteen-year-old observed Naruto from a few yards away. The room was lit by a kerosene lamp and looked to be made of earth and plaster. It had a musty smell and a table was laid out to Kabuto’s left full of experimentation equipment.

“A what?” Naruto reflexively strained against the bonds even though he was aware he couldn’t escape them.

“Jinchûriki,” Kabuto repeated patiently, “a tailed beast.”

“Hey, look, I’ve been called some names in my life,” Naruto began, but Kabuto cut him off.

“It’s not a name, it’s a fact. Certainly you know why the villagers treat you like trash.” His eyes met Naruto’s and he smirked when he saw he had the boy’s attention. “Didn’t anyone tell you? Didn’t you ever wonder about that tattoo on your abdomen?”

Naruto shrunk away. He wasn’t sure what to make of the situation. Whenever the tattoo on his stomach came into play, no good came of it.

“Roughly twelve years ago one of the Jinchûriki began attacking the Northlands. No one is sure where it came from, but some think it might have started even farther north than that in the wilderness.” Kabuto paused to let his words sink in. “It had the power of fire and began burning villages to the ground. The Hokage in Konoha had only been in place for two months when it began. He was powerless to stop Kyûbi from advancing on Konoha, but in the months leading up to the first attack, he had found a solution.

“The solution, however, was hard to master,” Kabuto continued, Naruto never taking his eyes off the teenager. “It involved taking a newborn and placing the beast inside of the child. The Yondaime foolishly believed that the villagers would treat the child as a hero, as someone saving them from complete destruction.” Again came a pause to let the information sink into Naruto’s brain.

“By fate on October tenth at just the right time, a baby was born and the Council snatched it up, forcing the nurses to tell the parents that the baby had died in the attacks,” Kabuto said. “The Council presented the baby to the Yondaime and he took the baby into the wilderness. He confronted the Kyûbi and sealed the beast into the child, placing a seal so the beast couldn’t take over the child’s mind and rule it psychologically. That had been the mistake of Suna when the Ichibi attacked them, and he wanted the child to grow up normally without a voice in their head.”

He moved somewhat closer to Naruto as he spoke. “The Yondaime exchanged his life for the village by cursing a child in actuality. He had too much faith in the villagers. They ostracized their child and even though they weren’t allowed to tell their children what the child carried inside, the children instinctively knew to avoid the boy who carried the beast, which was you.”

Naruto tried to back away as Kabuto advanced.

“There is a group after the Jinchûriki, but that’s not what we want,” Kabuto continued. “You are leverage. Orochimaru-sama plans to use you to get something he wants, and he needs your parents for it.”

“My parents are dead,” Naruto said, but the words didn’t feel true.

“Is that what they told you?” Kabuto snorted. “Your parents left Konoha days after you were born. No one knows where they are, but we will find them.”

~*~

“They came through here five hours ago,” Kurenai said as she and Anko exited a shop. “The shopkeeper said they restocked on basic things, but he didn’t see where they went.”

“Where are they going?” Anko asked no one in particular. “They act like they know where they’re going. If they were randomly searching, it wouldn’t be in such a deliberate line.”

Kakashi looked up from his copy of Icha Icha Whisper and looked out at the woods behind the village. “There was a war over land and boundaries were redrawn. Maybe they’re heading into that territory,” Kakashi said.

“Where is Obito?” Anko put her hands on her hips. “He and Gai should be back here by now.”

Kakashi snorted and then they heard people walking up to them.

“We found a lead,” Gai announced, Obito following. It had been agreed that someone would go places with Obito so he didn’t take forever getting back to their meeting spots. “They disappeared into the forest,” he pointed to the trees to his left. “They said something about the new territory and asked about a boundary.”

“They have five hours on us,” Kakashi said. “When we catch up with them, we’re going to split up. Anko, you and Obito are going back to Konoha with Sasuke and Sakura. Gai, Kurenai, and I will go on to find Naruto.” He saw Obito open his mouth to protest and Kakashi glanced at him, daring him to challenge his decision.

“Why do I have to go back?!” Anko demanded. “Orochimaru was my – “

“I know,” Kakashi cut in, “which is why you’re going back with Obito. This is going to be a short job if I have my way, and if you’re there, it will take too long. If we don’t run into Orochimaru, the faster this will go. If you come, you’ll just seek him out and doom us.”

“Prick,” Anko murmured under her breath and the group started for the forest.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/General
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Eight
Note I have learning problems which caused the snafu in chapter seven. When I have the time I will fix that chapter, but I don’t have the time yet.

Goggles
Chapter Eight: Children

“I hear something,” Sasuke said, motioning for Sakura to stop. He had a bad feeling about this. They were already hours into the Sound, so it could be anything.

Sakura strained her ears, but kept her eyes open. She restrained herself from saying that she heard nothing. It was best to keep quiet when Sasuke did this.

“Yeah, you did,” a voice came from in front of them, causing both teens to instinctively move in the opposite direction of the voice only to find a man in green spandex behind him. To their left was a woman with short messy hair and to their right was a woman with long hair. Turning in the direction of where they had been heading, they came face to face with Kakashi and Obito.

Obito didn’t say anything; he met Sasuke’s eyes and held his gaze until the boy looked away. Sakura’s first reaction was to shrink behind Sasuke, but she stood her ground. “I’ve come to take you home,” Obito finally stated. His voice was controlled, but his jaw was flexing. “Both of you,” he added, “with Anko.”

Neither child looked at him. Both were looking at the ground without saying anything.

“If you think you can cause a divergence and get by us, you can’t,” Kakashi said. The group watched as the students’ heads turned to him. “It would be best that you give up and let us do our job. You aren’t helping Naruto by being here,” he continued. The faster he got this over with, the faster he could get the loud mouth brat and go back to Konoha. “Actually, if anything, you’re hurting him. We could have found him by now, but we had to find you first.”

Sasuke looked to Obito. Kakashi was clearly taking Obito's lines, but the older Uchiha didn’t seem to mind it at all. He could only imagine what Obito would say once they were back in the apartment.

“It took us two days to find you. In those two days, we could easily have breeched the Sound and found Naruto. Now, we have to cut our forces to take you two home,” Kakashi continued. He didn’t care what happened next. He just wanted to make sure that Sasuke and Sakura wouldn’t slip out of Obito and Anko’s grasps and continue on their quest. The guiltier the pair felt, the more assurance Kakashi had that they wouldn’t become a problem again.

The Jônin looked down at them from his eye and then said, “This is where we split. Gai, Kurenai, and I will continue on. You four go back.”

No one gave argument as the group split.

~*~

“You lie,” the woman hissed slightly. She was nursing yet another cup of sake and her hand was shaking.

“I don’t,” Orochimaru replied. “I – “

“Please stop,” a woman with dark hair said from on the other side of the drunk woman. “You’ve caused Tsunade-sama enough grief.”

Orochimaru gauged Shizune and then he snorted. Standing up from the bar, he said, “Think about it, all of what I have said.” Then he was gone.

“Tsunade-sama,” Shizune began, searching for words of comfort.

“Be quiet, Shizune,” Tsunade murmured as she poured herself another cup.

~*~

Jiraiya glanced at the man beside him at the bar. It was one of their odder meetings, he would admit. His first impulse was to attack, but he had quelled it enough. He didn’t want to get run out of this village.

“That only exists in manga,” he said resolutely.

“I never said I brought him back from the dead,” Orochimaru answered. He was using the very public location to his advantage. Jiraiya loved towns filled to the brim with people, which meant that the pair couldn’t duke it out right at the moment. “He was never dead to begin with.”

Jiraiya shook his head. As if he was going to believe his renegade teammate.

“Regardless, I know you’ve already made up your mind,” Orochimaru said, “but,” he casually let a photograph slip onto the table, “you can still think about it.”

Jiraiya considered stopping the other Sannin, but Orochimaru was gone. Picking the picture up, he paused. There was a boy strung up so it looked like he was doing a cartwheel in midair. He looked very much like Tsunade’s little brother, but there were differences as well. Before he could waiver, Jiraiya put the photograph in his pocket. He would think more on this in the morning.

~*~

“Do you realize what could have happened?!” Obito demanded. His group was lodged in a village halfway between the border and Konoha. Anko was sitting on one of the beds in the room, half paying attention. Sasuke and Sakura were sitting on the other bed shoulder to shoulder, Obito standing in front of them, keeping his eyes on them at all times. He knew that Kakashi had already said things, but he was Sasuke’s guardian, so he felt that he too had to say something. Not only that, but he knew from experience that if you had done something wrong at least two grown ups would lecture you on it.

He waited to see if either would answer his question, but Sakura only stared at her hands in her lap and Sasuke looked at his sandals.

“You two aren’t even Genin yet,” Obito continued. “anything could have happened.”

“But nothing did,” Sasuke pointed out. They were sitting in front of Obito, right? Didn’t Kakashi lecture them enough already?!

“That’s because you were six hours into the Sound,” Obito countered. “Not only that, but you hadn’t encountered enemies yet. What did you expect to do when you ran into Orochimaru? He’s a Sannin, his skills rival Hokage-sama’s,” Obito continued.

Sasuke opened his mouth and then closed it. He knew most of Obito’s lecture was directed at him. He had initiated the whole fiasco, but he knew some words were meant for Sakura as well.

“Uchiha-san,” Sakura began, “please don’t punish Sasuke for taking me along, I begged him to.”

Obito turned his gaze onto her. What was he supposed to say to that? Most people might channel their father to think of something to say, but Obito decided against that. Instead, he thought about what his sensei might have said. “Sakura,” he began, “Sasuke shouldn’t have even gone with or without you. You also should worry about your own self. Once we return to Konoha, Anko and I have to take you straight to Hokage-sama.” He watched both children’s eyes snap right onto him. “He will decide what will happen to you; this is completely out of my hands in some respects.”

Then he said, “We should get some supper and then rest for the journey tomorrow. I want to get both of you back in Konoha as soon as possible.”

“Are you going to join Kakashi and the others once we’re back?” Sakura asked.

“No,” Obito shook his head, “I have my own punishment to serve.”

~*~

“We have to approach cautiously,” Kakashi instructed. “From what I can tell, Orochimaru is around in the area. We can’t engage him unless we have no choice. The goal of the mission is to bring Naruto back alive.”

“We’ll split two and one,” Kakashi continued. “That way we can create a diversion if necessary. Of course they will look for other groups, so always be on your guard. From what we have gathered, Naruto is somewhere underground, most likely in a basement-like area. The group of two will engage people above ground in the building and one person will go bellow to free him. This needs to be over with as quick as possible. Most likely someone will run into Orochimaru. The important thing is to remember why we are there. It isn’t to challenge him, it’s a rescue mission.”

With his right eye, he surveyed the pair and then he said, “Okay, when I have Naruto, I’ll send the signal. When you receive it, I want both of you out of there. We will meet in the place we designated earlier.” Pausing, he gauged them again and then he gave the command to begin.

~*~

Naruto’s arms and legs ached from being in the same position for several days now. There was enough slack to the ropes to allow him to bend his knees and elbows, but not enough to help him free himself. He had started out being rather loud, but it had gotten him nowhere. He wasn’t sure what he could do anymore either. There weren’t many options and it had driven him into silence. Kabuto came and went, mostly to draw blood or give him food. The teenager told him that silence would only drive him mad, but Naruto didn’t listen.

There had been a man with dark hair that visited him a few times. Naruto thought he recognized his name, but he wasn’t sure where he had heard it before. Maybe it was one of those people everyone talked about – the Sannin, or whatever they were called. Naruto always pretended to be asleep when the dark haired man came down to see him. He heard something about people and a jutsu the man needed. He had to gather two people together with him and he could get what he wanted. Naruto didn’t know what would happen to him after that. He was starting to doubt he would live.

At first he had hope that Obito would come for him, but that had died away about a week ago. If Obito was going to come, he would have been here by now Naruto was sure. Maybe all Obito cared about was Sasuke, maybe Naruto was nothing to anyone. He had tried to free himself a few times, but nothing had worked. Something inside of him told him he wasn’t even a Genin yet, let alone on par with any Genin. He couldn’t free his own self and why would he rely on others? It reminded the boy that most of the village reviled him, he was a Bijû after all.

“You’re still in silence aren’t you?” Kabuto asked. He had readied his syringe again, only this time it held a puss-colored liquid instead of being empty.

“What’s that for?” Naruto’s voice was a bit hoarse from lack of use. He tried to back away from the needle, his eyes never leaving it. Even if his life was better than it had been years ago, his instincts never left him.

“You have to be moved,” Kabuto told him. “It seems Konoha has finally caught up to us.”

Naruto stared. Then that meant that Obito hadn’t forgotten about him! In that instant, he felt Kabuto grab his arm, but before the teenager could stick Naruto, a blur appeared and sent Kabuto flying into his table of medical supplies.

“O – “ Naruto began and then his eyes widened at the man standing between him and Kabuto. “Kakashi-san?!” Obito said one time that Naruto shouldn’t disrespect Kakashi. Just because Kakashi and Obito didn’t get along, it didn’t give Naruto the right to disrespect the man.

Kakashi made a noise in his throat but didn’t look at Naruto. First he had to take care of Kabuto and then he could send out his message to Gai and Kurenai. Kabuto was up and had his gaze leveled at Kakashi. The teenager was talented even if he never passed the Chûnin Exams.

Kabuto rushed Kakashi, the syringe still in his hands and filled with the liquid. He had other ways to incapacitate Naruto, and he had to get the boy out of there fast. Kakashi rarely worked alone. Even if he wasn’t a team player, he always had other people with him.

Kakashi saw the needle and reached out instantly catching the arm. He then brought a leg up to block Kabuto’s knee from hitting his stomach. Many people thought they could use his two-dimensional vision against him, but he had trained himself to the point in which it wasn’t a problem. He also was aware of attacks coming from his blind side. He watched as Kabuto tried to get into that area, but Kakashi kept him from doing so. He would be dammed if he got stuck with whatever was in that needle.

Naruto watched helplessly, though instinctively he knew he could do nothing. If Kabuto stuck Kakashi with that needle, he could only imagine what Kabuto would do to him. He was too valuable to kill, but that didn’t mean Kabuto wouldn’t kill Kakashi.

That’s when Kakashi forced Kabuto down on the floor and got the syringe away from the teenager. “You are skilled, but there is a reason I am a Jônin and you are not,” the twenty-five-year-old said. He went to stab Kabuto with the needle, but the teenager kicked him away. Kakashi knew though that he now held the advantage. He knew what he was doing. Kakashi might have been apathetic about his teammates, but he had observed Rin enough that he knew he had to stick Kabuto in a vein.

“This is where it ends,” Kakashi said, rushing at Kabuto. The teenager tried to deflect the needle or at least break it. He had to disarm Kakashi and get Naruto away. Reaching behind himself, he found a plastic vial amongst the ruins of his medical supplies. He tried to get to a distance where he could uncork it, but Kakashi kept up with him. Gritting his teeth, Kabuto went to uncork the vial, but in that movement Kakashi saw his opening and injected Kabuto with the contents of the syringe in the hand. Kakashi didn’t know if it would work, but he it was he knew he had stuck Kabuto in a vein.

Kabuto faltered, splashing the contents of the vial across Kakashi’s vest. On contact, the liquid began to steam, eating away at the fabric. Throwing off the vest, Kakashi observed Kabuto. The vein had been small and Kakashi knew he might have missed.

Kabuto collapsed to his knees, holding his throat. The purpose of the contents had been to put the body into a temporary sleep. The dosage was meant to knock a Bijû out for a few hours. Kabuto struggled to keep consciousness, knowing that soon he would be out for several days. Grabbing up something from the floor, he tried to fight back but soon his body was limp.

Kakashi waited until he was sure Kabuto wasn’t going to do anything. Approaching the teenager cautiously, Kakashi knelt by the body wearily. Putting a gloved hand to the teenager’s neck, he felt a faint pulse.

From where Naruto was watching, he couldn’t tell what Kakashi was doing. Seeing a swift motion, Naruto expected Kabuto’s neck to be broken, but instead his captor looked as though he was sleeping. Opening his mouth, he went to ask Kakashi what he had done, but at the Jônin’s expression, Naruto continued to remain silent.

Unceremoniously Kakashi cut Naruto’s bindings and adjusted the boy onto his back. It would take too long if Naruto ran himself, and he wanted to get out of there as fast as he could. It was going too well for them to stay any longer. Making a few symbols, he put his palm down on the ground, a small pug appearing.

Naruto’s eyes widened at the shikigami. He had never seen such a thing before.

“Pakkun, I need you to find Gai and Kurenai and tell them that I have Naruto,” Kakashi instructed the dog.

“Anything else?” the dog asked, causing Naruto’s eyes to widen even farther.

“No, they’ll know what to do,” Kakashi replied. Watching the dog disappear in a cloud of smoke, he instantly took off for the meeting place.

~*~

Meanwhile, Gai and Kurenai were walking down the corridors of the first floor. The base was set up like the home of a wealthy merchant or someone of equal stature. However, the curtains were closed keeping everything in a very dim light. Neither Jônin said anything as they walked through the manor. It had been a few hours since their arrival, and they both had yet to run into anyone.

Hearing a noise, Gai looked over his shoulder, but Kurenai kept her eyes straight ahead. It had been an agreement between the two to avoid unneeded surprises.

Pakkun looked up at Gai, relieved that the man wasn’t going to do anything to him. Sometimes when he delivered messages on missions, some of Kakashi’s companions would lash out at him. The dog didn’t say anything, his presence the signal. As the two Jônin left and the dog disappeared, a man stepped out from within the shadows.

“Good job, Kakashi,” he said with a smirk. “But how far will you get before they catch up to you?”

~*~

Sarutobi looked between the two academy students standing in front of him. This was the first time he had heard of academy students running off to help another student. This was behavior common of cells when restrictions were placed on them or they didn’t like the way a problem was being handled. “This cannot go unpunished,” he began. He knew that others had already gone through the speech about this hurting Naruto more than helping him and other such speeches. He wanted to let the gravity of their situation sink into them, but he didn’t want to repeat what they had already heard. If he said the same things, they would only begin to tune him out. “What you both did was very dangerous and irresponsible.” He leaned back in his chair and then asked, “What punishment do you think would be most appropriate?”

Both children stared at him. “Hokage-sama…?” Sakura tried to figure out a diplomatic way to ask him what he meant.

“Both of you have been told the gravity of your mistake, right?” He watched them nod. “Then, you should be able to come up with a punishment for it.”

Sakura glanced over at Sasuke. He was clearly trying to figure out where Sarutobi was going with this. “Well,” Sakura said, “I…” her voice died slightly. What would she do? She didn’t want to say something too harsh for fear that the Hokage might act on her suggestion.

“I wouldn’t let them advance for a year,” Sasuke said as Sakura wavered.

“But that doesn’t work,” Sakura countered. “No one is allowed to repeat a year in the academy.”

Sasuke glanced at her. He had answered truthfully. It would be a bit harsh to bar academy students from ever becoming ninja, but he wondered if they should become Genin right away. The Hokage had asked for a punishment, so he gave him a suggestion.

“Then what would you suggest?” Sarutobi asked.

Sakura snapped to attention and then she said, “Well, I think that it would be extreme to bar the students from becoming Genin. They did go to save someone, even if it was foolhardy.” Inner Sakura panicked, but Sakura tried to suppress it on the outside. “If you restrict them, though, their squads could suffer.” Frowning slightly, Sakura said, “Perhaps they should be barred from becoming Chûnin for a certain time period?” It was the only thing she could think of. She didn’t want to have her ninja career stopped over this.

Sarutobi surveyed them. “One of you thinks that the students should be held back from becoming Genin, but the other thinks they should be held back from being a Chûnin.” He considered this. The Council was apt to prevent either student from becoming a Genin, but Sarutobi thought it was too harsh. They made a mistake, they would be punished, but it would be too severe to keep them from becoming ninja. What other skills did they have?

“I will consider your punishment,” Sarutobi decided. “For now, both of you are barred from leaving Konoha. You will also have a curfew until school resumes.” He wrote something on a piece of paper. “Give this to my secretary. He will get the papers ready for you.

“You are dismissed.”

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/General
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Nine

Goggles
Chapter Nine: Running

He hadn’t been in Konoha in years. Walking through the gates, he took in the village. It looked just the same with some minor changes. The Yondaime’s face was finished on the mountain and there were new vendors in the streets. Jiraiya wanted to check on Orochimaru’s claims. He wasn’t about to walk into a trap.

~*~

Tsunade looked at the man on the other side of the table. Her eyes were narrowed and her arms were folded. Despite being fifty years old, Tsunade had found a way to keep her appearance to that of someone in their thirties. Her gaze was hard and direct. “Is it true?” she pressed.

Sarutobi studied his former student. He hadn’t seen Tsunade since her brief visit in Konoha nine years ago. She had only been passing through but bothered to see him. She was here now, though and wanted answers. Orochimaru had told her that her son had lived and she wanted to know why she never knew this. Sarutobi, after all, had been the person who told her the baby died in the first place.

He intertwined his fingers and then nodded. “Yes.” No one could lie effectively to Tsuande, especially those who she knew well.

Tsunade’s eyes held his gaze. She wasn’t sure what she could say to this. Her sensei had lied to her! Lord knew what had happened to the child since, but all she knew was that Orochimaru had him.

A knock came at the door, and Sarutobi shifted his eyes off his former student. “Yes?”

“Kakashi-sempai is here, sir,” his secretary reported. “He says the mission was successful and is here to give you a detailed report, sir.”

Sarutobi nodded to himself. That was good, Naruto was alive and back in Konoha then. “Send him in,” he decided and then looked to Tsunade. “If you want you may stay. He just rescued your son from Orochimaru.”

~*~

He was there again, that random forest. His senses heightened, he sniffed the air and smirked slightly. It felt natural even if his body was hairy and enormous.

Looking around, Naruto peered through the trees at the village nearby. Taking in a breath, he reflexively growled quietly. It was him! That man again. Naruto narrowed his dark eyes and drew his body into a crouch, his nine tails waiving in anticipation behind him.

The man was walking right towards him, a small baby in his arms. Naruto felt his mouth water at the prospect. Perhaps these people were as stupid as those north of them who made several sacrifices before he attacked and killed them all. Yet, that man – the man with the fire over shirt had that look in his eyes again. Certainly he didn’t think that Naruto would leave him be if he brought a baby out with him! What a fool the village’s leader was.

Suddenly Naruto couldn’t move. He felt as though something was pulling his stomach towards the man and then…

“CURSE YOU, YOU BASTARD!”

Blinking Naruto found himself sitting up in bed in one of the hospital rooms. Instantly he flopped back down on the bed, his head spinning. “Ugh….”

Someone made a noise from the doorway, causing Naruto to look over at it. Sasuke and Sakura stood in the doorway, Sasuke wearing a very disgruntled expression. Eyes widening, Naruto slowly sat up and tried to replace his disbelief with a reassuring grin. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“We came to see how you’re doing,” Sakura said as she gave Sasuke a nudge. “We only have a few minutes though,” she continued as she herded Sasuke into the room so she could enter.

Naruto watched Sakura walk over to him. “What are you doing here?” he asked without thinking. Maybe he was having a new dream? Not only that but Sasuke was there too. This had to be some sort of warped dream.

Sasuke snorted. What a stupid question. They had only risked their lives to go save him.

“What kind of question is that?!” Sakura demanded. “You’ve been missing for months! School starts in two days!”

Naruto stared. “What?!”

“You’ve been back for a week,” Sakura continued since it seemed Sasuke was going to stand a few steps behind her and make his ‘I don’t care, really’ face.

“We have five minutes,” Sasuke spoke up as he looked at the clock on the wall.

Naruto followed his gaze and then asked, “What happens at five?”

“Curfew,” Sasuke replied.

At Naruto’s bewildered look, Sakura shifted her weight. “Naruto…” she began and then a knock came at the doorway.

“Don’t you two have curfew soon?” Obito asked as he walked into the room.

Sasuke shrugged and Sakura put a hand behind her head. “We came to see Naruto first,” she replied.

“I don’t want you guys in more trouble,” Obito said. “Naruto will be here tomorrow.”

“We’ll come see you tomorrow then,” Sakura told Naruto. “Bye.” She waved and then was gone, Sasuke soon following.

Naruto watched them leave and then looked at Obito. “What’s going on?” He was hoping this wasn’t one of those dreams he had been having as a captive. This was a new theme, he had to admit, but with Obito’s presence, the hope that this was reality was dwindling.

“Well,” Obito said as he pulled up a chair, “a lot has happened while you were gone.” He surveyed Naruto. The boy was scrutinizing him as though he was trying to determine if he was truly Obito or not. He wasn’t sure what exactly he was supposed to tell Naruto. There were so many things and Obito wasn’t sure if he was supposed to tell him any of it yet.

“Am I really back?” the boy looked at Obito.

“Yeah,” he replied.

Naruto studied him and then he lifted his arm up. There weren’t any marks from his restraints. He had always healed at an unnatural pace. He almost wished he didn’t heal so fast. Without scars, it made it feel surreal.

Obito watched Naruto with a guarded expression, trying not to look too worried. The boy was thinner and paler and Obito could tell that some of Naruto’s muscles had atrophied.

“I can go back to school, right?” Naruto asked.

Obito raised an eyebrow. Naruto was always bemoaning school and talking about how he wanted to get out of it. “I’m not sure.”

Naruto continued staring at his wrists. He could feel Obito’s eyes on him. “Obito-oniisan…” he began, his voice trailing off.

“Yeah?”

“Do I have parents?”

Obito gave pause. He tried to keep his face neutral as he spoke, but he wasn’t sure how well it was working. “Everyone has parents,” he offered. Naruto always avoided the subject as parents. He would grow unusually quiet and try to become invisible whenever people talked about them. “You do too.”

“Are they alive?”

Obito hesitated and then he nodded. “Yes.” It couldn’t hurt to answer the boy. He wouldn’t name names, but the boy was eleven and almost a Genin, so he wasn’t too young to know.

Naruto began picking at his blanket. He should tell Obito what he overheard. Yet, if it was a dream and he talked in his sleep, then what? “Orochimaru said,” he paused and then continued, nothing could be worse than being strung up in that place, “that he needed my parents for something, that I was ‘leverage,’ whatever that means.”

“You should tell Hokage-sama that,” Obito said.

“Yeah,” Naruto murmured.

~*~

“It was too easy,” Kakashi told Tusnade and Sarutobi. “We didn’t experience any resistance other than Kabuto. It doesn’t feel right.” He watched Sarutobi scanning the report he made.

“So you never ran into Orochimaru?”

“No,” Kakashi responded.

Tsunade remained silent. She had listened to Kakashi and had filed information away. She was still unsure this Naruto boy was her son. She would never name her child Naruto and she knew that Jiraiya wouldn’t have either. Was he really her child? Intertwining her fingers, Tsunade began to form a strategy to answer her questions.

~*~

Naruto hated the hospital. He always healed quickly and there was never enough space to train. He needed to go see the Hokage and just lying in bed was beginning to drive him crazy. A dark haired woman came and swabbed his cheek two days ago and he hadn’t seen her since. He was going to tell the Hokage about that too. He was also going to see if he could get back in school. He was not going to be kidnapped again! He was going to become a Genin and get stronger and kick Orochimaru’s ass the next time they encountered each other! Or, at least, not get captured again.

Sitting up, he looked around the room. It was morning and he knew there wouldn’t be anyone coming to check on him for two hours. This was the perfect opportunity to get away. He stood up and took a few steps. School had been in session for a week now. Sakura brought him his work, Sasuke always a few paces behind her. It still didn’t make any sense why either of them would care about his injuries, but Naruto wasn’t complaining.

Walking over to the closet, he rummaged around and then pulled out pants that he had seen the medic ninja wearing. He then pulled out one of their shirts. They were both big on him, but with some tape, he kept the pants from falling off. He only needed them until he got to his apartment after all and then he could change back into his normal orange clothes.

The window was already open and he only had to open it a bit farther. Getting up on a chair, he pushed the window and then frowned. Putting more force into it, he managed to get it where he wanted it. Looking over his shoulder, he soon slipped out of the window and then began running for the market district.

He didn’t go as fast as he wanted to go and had resorted to slinking through the shadows once he was a few blocks from his apartment. He wasn’t sure where he would go once he changed his clothes. He knew better than to go to the academy, but he wasn’t going to barricade himself in his room either.

Looking over his shoulder, he went to jump up onto a roof, but hit something and went flying backwards. Looking up, he saw the tallest man he had ever seen before. He had long white hair and extremely broad shoulders.

Scrambling to his feet, Naruto considered his next move. He could be nonchalant, but that might not work in scrubs that were several sizes too big. Putting a hand behind his head, he grinned. “Sorry.” There politeness threw most adults off and then he could get away! Or not since it didn’t seem to be fazing the man in front of him.

Jiraiya looked down at the boy in the scrubs. He knew exactly what the boy was up to. Although, he had to admit that the scrubs were a good idea. He hadn’t thought of that one when he used to sneak out of the hospital.

“Er…” Naruto tried to think of a way to jet out of there.

“Running away from the hospital?” Jiraiya asked.

Naruto put a hand behind his head and laughed uneasily. His guard kept going down and he kept trying to put it back up. A ninja should always be weary of people and since he was a Bijû and had never seen this man before, he had even more reason to have his guard up. Yet, it kept faltering for no apparent reason.

Jiraiya surveyed the boy. He was on the thin side and looked like he had been slacking off from training. His skin was pale for the season and he was on the short side. He couldn’t see anything medically wrong with the boy, although the boy’s joins seem to be shaking every so often as though they weren’t used to being used so much.

The voice he now knew was the Kyûbi whispered from its cage deep within that Naruto should leave right then. He was becoming too careless. He had never met this man before! The fact he was letting his guard down so much was a red flag! Also, the Kyûbi noted, that due to the restrictive seal he could barely keep Naruto’s knees from giving out soon.

Naruto shifted his weight and chased the voice away. After Kabuto told him about the Kyûbi, he had sought it out using it to pass the time in captivity. Now that he was free, he was having bizarre nightmares and the Kyûbi commented more than he ever had beforehand.

“You’re going to fall down if you keep doing that,” Jiraiya noted. He was beginning to wonder if this wasn’t the boy from the picture. However, as far as he knew, his son was still with Orochimaru.

Naruto blinked and then tried to stand still. It didn’t hurt as much if he didn’t move his knees, but they were stiffening pretty fast. He shouldn’t have stayed so long with this man, but he didn’t feel like leaving either. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do actually. “Who are you?” he asked.

“Jiraiya. Who are you?”

Naruto shoved the Kyûbi’s hesitance away and replied, “I’m Nar – “

“ – uto!” a voice called from a few yards away.

Looking over his shoulder, Naruto stared. There was Sasuke and Sakura. He should have figured they’d come after him eventually since they were always coming over to the hospital. He still hadn’t asked them why they were doing this. Before the fishing trip, Sakura would always tell him how annoying he was and Sasuke would ignore him outright at times. Now the pair were bordering on protecting him, and it wasn’t making any sense to the eleven-year-old.

“What are you doing out of the hospital?!” Sakura demanded. The last thing they needed was for Naruto to hurt himself out here. If they boy wasn’t careful, he wouldn’t be able to take the Genin exams and would fail the academy.

Sasuke wished Naruto had the sense to stay put. After getting kidnapped, didn’t the idiot know he was safer in the hospital since he hadn’t fully recovered yet?! Sasuke would be dammed if Naruto got kidnapped again. He hadn’t received a curfew and some other restrictions for nothing. He wasn’t even sure how Sakura had talked him in to coming with her to see Naruto. Sometimes he decided that not knowing might be best for them all. Not only that, but Sasuke knew he was stronger than Sakura so if Naruto’s knees gave out, he would have to carry the blonde and he didn’t like that idea.

“I don’t need to be in the hospital,” Naruto defended. “I’m just fine.” With that, he steadied his knees again. They had been stationary for two months and by running with them, he had almost worn them out completely.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He did not want to carry the idiot.

“Naruto, you aren’t fine,” Sakura countered. She wasn’t sure when she became concerned, but when Naruto returned, she had felt compelled to make sure he was all right and that he wasn’t doing anything stupid. She had also done some research on Orochimaru to see what Kakashi and the others were up against and what she learned alarmed her somewhat. The man was completely insane and power-hungry. She of course had transferred this information over to Sasuke, and knew he listened because it was pertinent to a common enemy and goal.

“Sure I am,” Naruto countered. “See?” He bent his knees a few times for effect. Then he went crashing down on the street. “Owwww…”

“Naruto!” Sakura stared while her inner self fumed. The idiot! Certainly he had more sense than that!

“Dobe,” Sasuke grumbled. Great, he was going to have to carry Naruto now.

Jiraiya had been watching the three interact, wondering how it would end. As he predicted, Naruto collapsed to the ground after trying to prove he was tough to a girl. They would have to get Naruto back to the hospital and quickly. The boy’s cheeks were flushed as well and he seemed tired. Swiftly he scooped the boy up, startling Sasuke and Sakura.

“Who – “ Sakura began and Sasuke had instinctively moved into a stance.

“I’m taking him back to the hospital,” Jiraiya told them. As he thought, Naruto was running a small fever due to overexertion.

“But – “ Sakura began and then she watched as the man disappeared. Looking over at Sasuke, she saw he was heading in the direction of the hospital.

~*~

Tsunade was walking down the hallway of the hospital. To keep from gambling, she had been roped into helping the hospital and checking to make sure things were running as they should be. Shizune was also helping out but she was taking a more active role in things.

Tsunade stopped in front of one of the rooms and considered her options. From the swab she had Shizune conduct, Tsunade had confirmed that the boy in this room was indeed her son. She had gambled a bit the night they arrived and she had won only one game out of countless others. She wasn’t sure what that meant, but something bad was inevitable.

She gave a swift business knock at the door. She would go in and see what he was like and then go from there. She wasn’t going to tell him – what would she say to him?! But, she could at least see what he was like, if he looked like her, and so forth. Walking into the room like a medical ninja, she stopped short. No one was in the room, his hospital gown was on the floor, the closet had been ransacked, and the window was open! Narrowing her eyes, Tsunade kept her temper in check. This was the type of stuff Jiraiya used to pull when they were this age!

She would have to tell the staff that Naruto was missing and find people who knew what he looked like to go after him. Walking back out into the hallway, she considered who would be the best person to tell when she stopped short.

~*~

Jiraiya had let Sakura and Sasuke catch up to him, and they entered the hospital together. “What room is he in?” Jiraiaya looked at Sakura.

“He’s in 202,” she replied from where she stood, keeping Sasuke between Jiraiya and her.

Jiraiya nodded and the group started off down the hallway, some people giving them intrigued looks as they passed. When they rounded the corner to Naruto’s hallway, Jiraiya stopped short, Sasuke and Sakura almost walking right into him.

Tsunade was half way down the hall staring right back at him. Her eyes moved down to Naruto who was asleep and then back to Jiraiya. “What are you doing?”

Jiraiya held Tsunade’s gaze as Sakura curiously watched them and Sasuke made a face.

“Taking him back to his room,” Jiraiya indicated the sleeping boy.

Tsunade looked at the boy and back at Jiraiya and then she said, “This is all your fault!”

Jiraiya continued down the hallway, slipping into the room as Tsunade followed him. “How is it my fault?”

Sasuke and Sakura followed the pair. Neither of them knew these people and they didn’t trust them alone with Naruto. Orochimaru certainly had associates, so anyone was suspect.

The adults didn’t seem to notice that the children were in the room with them. Tsunade simply continued on accusingly, “Orochimaru told me that you knew!”

Jiraiya glanced at her. What was this? It wasn’t unusual for their former teammate to play them off each other, especially when he wanted something from both of them.

“If you knew that he lived, why did you tell me he was dead?!” she demanded.

Sakura stared from where she and Sasuke were standing silently in an unobtrusive corner. This was like some soap opera or something! She wished that she understood exactly what was going on. The fight was clearly about Naruto and it did indeed have something to do with Orochimaru, but it seemed that at least the woman wasn’t working with him. Sasuke, however, was making a face. This was too much drama for his taste and he had to wonder what he was doing in this room. This was obviously a private argument that had nothing to do with him or Sakura. He considered escaping, but he was the one closest to the corner and Sakura was blocking his way.

“Because I didn’t know,” Jiraiya stood up from where he had finished setting Naruto in the bed. The boy instantly rolled over so his back was to the arguing adults.

Tsunade observed him with a dangerous expression. “I talked to Sarutobi-sensei, he knew! Hell, even your student’s team knows!” She poked him in the chest as she spoke. “If they knew, how can I believe that you didn’t!”

She had a point. Although Tsunade, like Orochimaru, had only taken on one student to train and her student disappeared with her after Naruto was born. There wasn’t any way that Shizune could have found out and Jiraiya hadn’t even seen Kakashi and Obito since before the Kyûbi attacked.

Tsunade fumed, thinking of things to say to him. There were so many things she wanted to say but the more she went after him, the clearer she could tell that he really didn’t know. “It’s still your fault!” she continued. “You’re the one that was obsessed with getting information! How could you let this get past you?!”

Sasuke heard a noise and looked at the door. Sakura followed his gaze, seeing Obito in the doorway looking as though he might disappear. He seemed to know exactly what was going on here.

“I didn’t think to check into it,” Jiraiya countered in a firm voice. He knew how these arguments went. It was best to keep his voice level and calm to hopefully get Tsunade to calm down slightly.

Tsunade opened her mouth and closed it. She wanted to take her anger out on something or someone. Jiraiya was a logical target, but before she could make another point she paused and looked over her shoulder. She knew the man standing in the doorway, he was one of the Uchiha, but she couldn’t remember his first name. She could distinctly remember the ridiculous orange goggles though and as always a swift thought of how he was ruining his ability to see colors when not wearing the goggles flew through her mind.

“Er…” Obito watched as everyone’s eyes turned to him. Tsunade and Jiraiya were clearly fighting and he had no idea why Sasuke and Sakura were in a corner. Naruto seemed to be sleeping at least, which was probably for the best. “Hi,” he finished rather lamely but he couldn’t think of anything better to say.

The room was silent and then Sakura spoke up. She hated silences especially ones that no one wanted to break. “Uchiha-san, Naruto escaped from the hospital and he,” she indicated Jiraiya, “helped bring him back.”

Obito glanced at Naruto a very clear “that idiot” expression on his face. Then his eyes shifted to Jiraiya and his expression changed to a very respectful one. “Thank you for doing that, Jiraiya-sensei.”

Sakura’s jaw dropped. That man was one of the Sannin?! That would explain why he seemed to know Orochimaru so well, and if that woman did too, then she must be…

“It’s good to see you again as well, Tsunade-sama,” Obito said. Once long ago Jiraiya had helped him train for the Chûnin Exams, but he had only met Tsunade a few times. She was also the granddaughter of one of the former Hokage, which made her like royalty in Konoha.

Again the group fell back into silence. There wasn’t anything to say to anyone really, and Tsunade planned to corner Jiraiya somewhere else and get to end of things.

“CURSE YOU, YOU BASTARD!”

Even the Sannin gave a very slight jump at the exclamation. Naruto was sitting up in bed, looking wildly around before flopping right back down on it having sat up way too fast. From the corner Sasuke narrow his eyes, a clear “…” expression on his face. Why did Naruto always have to look at him when he did that?! At first Sasuke had taken it personally, but after a while he realized that he just simply positioned himself right where Naruto was going to look when waking from some bizarre nightmare. Naruto didn’t wake always like this as far as he knew, but it was still annoying.

“Nnnngggg…” Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose. That stupid dream again! It only happened once or twice a week during the day, but happened more often at night.

Tsunade shifted instinctively into medical mode. Judging by everyone’s reaction this wasn’t the first time the boy had done this. Carefully, she gauged his temperature as Naruto’s eyes instantly snapped on her. He didn’t recognize this woman but he didn’t feel the urge to shake her off. “You have a slight fever,” she noted and then began glancing over the charts by his bed. “That was stupid running around before you were told you could,” she noted. It was clear that he would be out of the hospital in one week, but with today’s adventure, she wasn’t sure. “You probably have set yourself back running around like that.”

“Who are you?” he asked. This woman was just rattling things off at him like she was some medical ninja, but he’d never met her here before.

The woman looked down at him. “I am Tsunade.”

Naruto nodded and then sat up slowly, his joints popping. “When can I go back to school?” She was obviously a doctor and since he hadn’t seen her before maybe he would get a straight answer. No one else would answer this question.

“Well, according to these, next week, but,” she looked down at him, “after today it’ll probably be a few days after that.”

Naruto frowned. He thought he was better now but he’d only put himself back. That was stupid. How could he possibly defeat or at least get away from Orochimaru if he did such stupid things?

“Dammit.” Sasuke didn’t seem concerned when everyone looked at him.

“What’s wrong?” Sakura glanced at him then followed his gaze to the clock. She opened her mouth then closed it thinking better of herself before cursing as well.

Obito frowned. One of them should have noticed the time! It was now fifteen minutes past curfew. Without thinking Sakura grabbed Sasuke’s arm and began pulling him from the room. Bowing to the Sannin, she hurriedly bade them farewell and the pair were gone.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/General
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Ten

Goggles
Chapter Ten: Changes

By the end of September, Naruto was back at the academy. He had only two weeks until the exams on his birthday. Determined to ace the exams and become a Genin, he worked harder than he ever had. Frowning as he tried to meditate, Naruto found himself returning back to the two people he met. There was that nurse Tsunade who seemed to think she could boss him around. Well, she was a medic ninja, but still…. Then there was Jiraiya who showed up a few other times after Naruto tried to escape the hospital. He had to admit he liked them, but the Kyûbi refused to shut up when they were around.

He still hadn’t asked Sasuke or Sakura why they had visited him so much. Back at school, they acted like they always had, but he had to admit they were slightly nicer. Sasuke still called him dobe and Sakura still refused to date him, but all in all, they did treat him nicer than beforehand.

Closing his eyes, Naruto concentrated. He had asked Iruka about how to pull a Bushin successfully off since it was the thing he still struggled with. His teacher tried to explain it, and drew some diagrams on the board. The important thing here was to remember to keep concentration and visualize what he wanted to become.

Opening his eyes, Naruto looked down at his arms and then tested them. He was getting better, but the arms didn’t move quite right. He had to get everything right during the test or he would be out of the academy. Naruto refused to accept defeat. He had to become a ninja especially because of the fact he was a vessel. He was not going to be kidnapped again. He wasn’t going to be strung up or prodded either. The only way to assure this was to become a ninja.

Undoing the Bushin, Naruto looked around at his messy apartment and then out the window. He could see straight at the Yondaime’s face in the mountain from this angle.

~*~

Obito walked down the street looking at the preparations. It was October tenth and people were getting ready to observe the anniversary of the Yondaime’s death. In Konoha, it was customary to honor the Hokage on the date of their death. Many people went to the local shrines, made offerings at the mountain, and did other such ritualistic tasks. The Yondaime’s anniversary, however, was strongly associated with the fall of the Kyûbi so it was the largest of all remembrance days. He could hear bell tolls in the distance of one of the smaller religions in the area. Everyone had their own way of honoring the dead.

Yet, today was also Naruto’s birthday. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do for it yet. There were two ways this day could go and it would all depend on the Genin Exams. Most likely it would be like most years, Obito reasoned. They would end up going to Ichiraku Ramen Shop, make an offering at the mountain, and then hang out somewhere that people weren’t at. He always let Naruto decide what was happen along as it wasn’t something illegal like tagging.

He turned a corner and wandered towards the academy. On days like this, he always told himself he would be at the academy around lunch so then he knew he would get there at about the time the students began coming out of the building. He was always habitually late so sometimes he used such tactics when the situation called for it. He arrived a bit before classes let out until November. It was three hours after he told himself he would be there, which worked just fine.

The doors opened and younger students began running, shouting about how the year was over and they had advanced. Obito’s eyes scanned the students and then saw Naruto come out of the building. The boy was trying to run and tie his Hitae-Ate at the same time. The knot seemingly secure, Naruto’s eyes lit on Obito and he ran over to him. “Look, Obito-oniisan!” Naruto grinned proudly and pointed to his headband.

“Good job,” Obito congratulated him. He didn’t say that it called for a celebration, which would happen if the boy managed to pass the test his Jônin instructor gave him.

Sasuke trudged over to them giving Obito an odd look. It was always weird to see Obito on time somewhere, although after going on trips with the Chûnin, Sasuke had figured out how Obito managed to be relatively on time to things like this. “Hey,” was all he said.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. He might not be as much of an ass as before, but that didn’t mean he liked it when Sasuke butted into his conversations with Obito.

“I’m going home,” Sasuke added. He knew what today was and he didn’t want to be invited either. Who knew what Naruto would drag them into doing.

“Okay,” Obito said. “See you later.”

~*~

“…and that’s how I aced the exams,” Naruto finished, beaming brightly. Aced wasn’t the correct term, but he had passed and he could take creative license.

Obito smiled slightly as he watched Naruto slurp up more noodles. “What do you want to do after this?”

Naruto leaned back in his stool and thought about it. It was his twelfth birthday which made him a man in the eyes of Konoha law. He could do anything he wanted within limitation. Normally he did what most people did and gave an offering to the Yondaime and then did whatever.

Obito watched the boy grow oddly contemplative but remained silent. He felt the dead weight of his prosthetic arm brush his knee as it slipped on his pants. Ichiraku gave Naruto a second bowl for free and didn’t seem concerned that he was serving only five customers rather than usual numbers. Many people avoided Naruto on this day or sometimes threw things.

“I don’t know,” Naruto finally answered. “I can do anything, but I don’t know.” It was daunting. In a way this was his last night before responsibility bit him hard and he couldn’t think of a thing to do.

“Take your time,” Obito said. He thought about adding not to take too long since Naruto did have to get up early to get his team assignment, but he refrained. Naruto was now a Genin, which meant that he could realize that for himself.

Naruto considered if he wanted to leave an offering. The man he had respected all these years was the one who put the Kyûbi inside of him. He knew that he should give an offering, but he knew he wouldn’t mean the words he would have to say. “Thank you for saving the village,” just didn’t seem right anymore. What he really wanted to say was, “Why me?” but he knew that wouldn’t go over well with the people in charge of getting people in and out of the offering area.

“I don’t want to leave an offering,” Naruto said slowly in a very quiet voice. He didn’t want Ichiraku to overhear him. “You can, but I don’t think I want to this year.”

Obito stared for a moment, but didn’t ask. He was sure Naruto knew about the Kyûbi by how he had changed since coming back from Otô. “I already did today, so don’t worry.” It was true to a degree. Part of the three hours he had spent that morning had been outside of the memorial stone just thinking. To him, that held more honor than burning incense in a line could.

“When?” Naruto asked without thinking. He knew that the processions usually started at sundown and Obito had been with him since school let out.

“This morning,” Obito replied, “at the monument.”

Naruto gave him a look that clearly said, “How do you given an offering at the memorial stone?” but he remained silent. Instead he asked, “He was your sensei, right?”

Obito blinked. He hadn’t expected that question. “Yeah.”

Naruto grew silent, thinking about something. Obito watched him curiously. Had Naruto really changed this much? Finally, the blonde asked, “What was he like? And I don’t mean the ‘He’s the hero of the village’ crap, but you know…what he was really like,” he added quickly. The last thing he wanted was the page from his history book.

Obito looked to his glass of water and grew quiet. He thought about his sensei a lot, but never really tried to capture memories. He normally let them slip through his mind and he paid attention to those he wanted to remember and pushed away those he’d rather forget. “Well,” he said slowly, “he looked a lot like you. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, but he was sort of reserved…” The twenty-seven-year-old considered his words. “He wouldn’t lecture, he would come out and say a command if we were getting rowdy. He would say something like ‘Kakashi is right, you should do this,’ or ‘Rin has a point, let’s do whatever…’” His voice trailed and he tried to organize his thoughts. He could feel Naruto’s eyes on him, waiting expectantly for more information.

“He liked the outdoors,” Obito continued. “All our D-rank missions were things like gardening and errands because he didn’t like being inside for too long. He was out on the balcony a lot when he was Hokage. He worked hard, but he liked being outside more than inside.”

“Why?” Naruto found himself asking.

“I never asked,” Obito replied.

“Oh.” Naruto looked down at his ramen. It was getting cold. “Did he like ramen?”

“Not like you,” Obito said and ruffled Naruto’s hair. It hurt to talk about Arashi.

“Hey!” Naruto protested and ducked away from Obito’s hand.

The man laughed and the conversation shifted.

“Hey, Obito?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know who my instructor will be?” Naruto made a face as he slurped up cold noodles. It was his own fault for not eating while Obito was talking.

“No, only the Hokage knows,” Obito replied.

Naruto gauged him and decided that Obito was telling the truth. “I wonder who it’s going to be…” he murmured, then asked, “Do you think Sasuke and Sakura are going to be in my cell?”

Obito was a bit taken back by the question. Normally he would think Naruto would say something along the lines of he hoped Sasuke wouldn’t be in his cell and Sakura would be in his cell. Maybe their constant visitations had made an impression on the boy. “I don’t know that either. You’ll find out tomorrow.”

Naruto nodded. He knew that the person with the lowest marks was with the person with the best marks when Genin squads were put together. Sasuke had the best grades in their class, but Naruto was worried that with his improvements on the test, he might have shifted with Shikamaru in the standings for the last person in their class rank. He knew that Sasuke and Sakura would be put together. No one had come out and directly said it, but from snippets of conversation, he knew that Sasuke and Sakura were under punishment for something or other, so he was sure they wouldn’t be split up. It would be easier to punish one squad rather than two.

“Hey, Obito-oniisan, do you know why Sasuke and Sakura have a curfew?” He had been wanting to ask this for a while now, but he never seemed to find the right moment. If he was an adult in Konoha’s eyes, perhaps now would be the time.

“That’s not for me to say,” Obito replied.

Naruto frowned and whispered, “Then…it is about me.”

“Did you say something?” Obito asked.

“No.” Naruto shook his head and then perked. “Obito-oniisan, I want to show you this place. Let’s go there to celebrate.”

~*~

Sasuke and Sakura’s curfew had ended the moment they became Genin. Sakura had celebrated by getting her things ready for the next day and then deliberately went outside at five o’clock. She knew it was rather childish, but Inner Sakura was all for it.

Walking down the street, she stopped by the memorial stone rather than going to make offering. She found the smell of incense to be suffocating and preferred to simply pay her respects at the stone. Closing her eyes, she stopped short. There was a tall man from the rescue mission standing in front of the stone with a blank expression on his face. If she remembered right, his name was Hatake Kakashi.

Considering her options, she knew he was aware of her presence, so she continued up to the stone and stood in line with him, but far enough away to give him space. As she scanned the names on the stone, she felt Kakashi’s presence as though it was pressing on her, trying to chase her away. Standing her ground, Sakura closed her eyes as she did every year and bowed her head somewhat. Kakashi’s aura seemed to relax, but she still felt that he found her intruding.

‘Thank you, Yondaime-sama,’ Sakura thought and resisted sneaking a glance at Kakashi to see what he was doing. ‘I’m a Genin now, and I hope to become a strong ninja so I won’t be helpless next time.’ Opening her eyes, she looked over at Kakashi, but he had his eyes closed. Quietly she left the memorial stone, looking over her shoulder only to find the Jônin gone.

~*~

“From here you can see all of Konoha, but no one can see you,” Naruto explained.

Obito was surprised to find them in his hiding spot. How many times had they missed running into each other up there?

“Sometimes I come here when I want to remember why I want to be a ninja,” Naruto said more to no one rather than Obito.

Obito took his typical spot towards the back of the stone and watched as Naruto sat more forward on it. The October breeze was chilly, but not cold. Both ninja sat and looked out at the village thinking their own thoughts before abruptly Naruto said, “I’m sorry I lost my goggles.”

Obito blinked. Where had that come from?

“I had them and then…I don’t know…I lost them when Kakashi-san rescued me I think…” Naruto didn’t like remembering those months so for all he knew, he might have woken up initially in the laboratory without the goggles. “Maybe before that…” He hung his head slightly. “Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Obito asked. “There’s nothing to apologize about.”

Naruto opened his mouth then closed it. If Obito was okay about it, he wouldn’t press, but he still felt bad. This was the most time the pair had spent together since Naruto had been back and he had been meaning to apologize for a while. It had been one of his first birthday gifts and he had even cried when he realized they were gone. He quickly shoved that memory away. He wanted to forget Kabuto completely.

“I should probably go to bed,” Naruto stood up and looked over at Obito. “Good night, Obito-oniisan.” Then he jumped down the face of the mountain before striking across the field bellow as fast as he could to avoid the villagers.

Obito watched him leave and then looked over at the deserted Uchiha complex.

~*~

Naruto was one of the first people in the room. He couldn’t wait to find out his teammates and get started as a Genin! This was his first step into proving himself and accomplishing a dream he had since he was too little to remember. First, he would become a Genin, then Chûnin, then a Jônin before becoming an Anbu and then finally the Hokage! He would prove to the villagers that he wasn’t someone to fear and gain the respect he deserved.

“Why are you so sickening awake?” someone asked as they slid into the seat next to him.

Naruto merely put a hand behind his head and laughed slightly. He was just too excited. He had to practically will himself to sleep the night before.

Soon students filed into their typical seats and Iruka waked into the room carrying a piece of paper. Beginning his congratulatory speech, he watched as some students pretended to pay attention. Wrapping it up quickly, he began announcing team assignments. Naruto paid rapt attention to each squad. So far his name had yet to be called along with Sasuke and Sakura. Finally Iruka came to the seventh cell.

“Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke,” Iruka waited for Sakura to cheer loudly, but she was quiet, even though many girls in their class predictably looked very disappointed, “and Uzumaki Naruto.”

Naruto looked over his shoulder up at where Sakura was sitting two seats away from Sasuke. Sasuke glanced in his direction before looking quickly back at Iruka as though it wasn’t worth his time to look at Naruto and Sakura was saying something to the girl beside her. Sighing, the blonde wasn’t sure why he wanted so badly to be in their team, but he felt glad for the placement even though his teammates seemed to care less.

~*~

It was only a minute after Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto assembled in their assigned classroom that the door opened. Instantly Naruto was on his feet swallowing a protest, Sasuke’s eyes were locked onto the figure, and Sakura’s eyes widened somewhat. Kakashi observed the three twelve-year-olds in front of him and cursed his fate. This had to be Sarutobi’s doing; only he would think to put him in charge of Sasuke and Sakura’s punishment and for him to be in charge of Naruto.

“Let’s go,” Kakashi said and immediately left the room. Instantly, the Genin followed him like a group of ducklings out into the school yard. Naruto wasn’t sure how he felt about this. On one hand, Kakashi had saved him, but on the other he was a complete ass at times! Sakura was a bit shocked but after a bit of thought, she reasoned that Kakashi was a logical choice, especially given her and Sasuke’s special circumstances. Sasuke wasn’t really happy about being put with Kakashi, but he would survive.

Kakashi leapt into the trees by the academy without giving any indication where they were going. Curious, the Genin soon followed and did their best to keep up with their instructor. Soon they were in the south most training ground, slightly out of breath. Kakashi surveyed them and then said, “We’ll give introductions and then I’ll give you your first mission and we’ll go home.” He sat on a log nearby and the Genin sat on the one facing him. Once they were situated, he said, “Just say your name, a like, a dislike, and a goal.” It was a standard introduction. After a bit of silence, he said, “I’ll go first. I am Hatake Kakashi, and the rest is none of your business.”

After a silence, Sakura spoke up, “I’m Haruno Sakura. I like to read and I dislike the color green. My goal is to be able to fight and not be helpless in battle.” She turned her head to Sasuke who was sitting in the middle of the group indicating that she would done.

“I’m Uchiha Sasuke,” he said with a very faint sarcastic undertone. They all knew who he was after all. “I don’t really like anything and I don’t like Udon.” He paused and then he said, “My goal is to restart my clan and kill someone.”

Naruto’s jaw dropped. Who would Sasuke want to kill? Naruto really couldn’t think of anyone. Sakura was also giving the dark haired boy an odd look. Kakashi, however, was unfazed.

“Naruto, it’s your turn,” he said when it became apparent that Naruto had forgotten what was going on.

“Oh! Right!” Naruto said and put a hand behind his head. “I’m Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen and I hate cold noodle dishes.” He grinned brightly and then declared, “And I will become Hokage someday!”

Kakashi glanced at him but said nothing. He could only begin to imagine the brat as Hokage. “Okay, now that we know each other, here’s your first mission. You will meet at this training ground at five tomorrow morning. Also, don’t eat breakfast.” Then he disappeared, clearly done with them.

“Well, that was…” Sakura searched for a polite description, “interesting.”

Sasuke only snorted.

“Why do you think we can’t eat breakfast?” Naruto asked. He didn’t like the idea of starting the day hungry.

“I don’t know, but we should probably skip it all the same,” Sakura replied, adjusting her Hitae-Ate slightly. Blinking, she looked around and asked, “Where did Sasuke go?”

Naruto looked around with her, but the boy was nowhere in sight. Looking back over at the girl, he opened his mouth and then closed it. Could he ask her? He knew he definitely not ask Sasuke. “Hey, Sakura…” he started.

“Hmmm?” she asked. Naruto was acting oddly, although he really hadn’t been the same since he returned from Otô and they met Jiraiya and Tsunade. She had really noticed his change when those adults left a week ago.

“Why…” Naruto started and then wondered if he should even ask. Obito couldn’t tell him, but maybe Sakura could. “Why do you have to go home at five?”

“Oh I don’t have to do that anymore,” Sakura hurriedly replied. She wasn’t sure if Sasuke wanted Naruto to know about them going after him. Sasuke was always bad with such things, and she didn’t want him mad at her.

“Oh…” Naruto murmured and then he grinned. “Want to grab some ramen?”

“I have to do some stuff at home,” Sakura said. “Maybe another time.” Then she waved and left him at the training grounds.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto's life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Eleven
Note I too am not happy with Chapter Ten, but if I hadn't written it when I did, it would probably never have been written. I'm in some sort of writing funk, and I apologize profusely for my less than normal quality of writing. Hopefully Chapter Eleven will be to everyone's liking. Oh and I actually have a coupling in the works XD It just won't happen yet, but I know one now! I just haven't worked out all the logistics of it, but it's a start oh yes…Also itoko means cousin.

Goggles
Chapter Eleven: Test


'At least he's on time,' Sasuke thought as Kakashi entered the designated training ground. Sakura had arrived only a few minutes after Sasuke did and predictably Naruto was there before all of them.

Kakashi surveyed the three before him. He didn't know much about Sakura, but he did know that Sasuke and Naruto had both changed since he first met both of them. He still didn't like kids, but he thought that he might be able to handle these three. So far they were the least annoying of all the Genin groups that he had been presented with in the past four years.

"I'm going to try something different with you three," Kakashi said without wasting time. He didn't want things to go too fast, but it would be pointless to waste words. Typically he would test a fledgling cell with a test that dated back to whoever had taught the Sandaime, but this cell would clearly pass it too easily. It wouldn't be fair to anyone to not challenge these twelve-year-olds to something that challenged them. "This is called a survival test," he continued, knowing he had everyone's attention. "I have marked off a specific part of the forest on this map," Kakashi handed it to Sakura and watched as Sasuke and Naruto looked over her shoulders, "and I'll give you a few minutes to memorize it. Your goal is to get to the area marked with a square by tonight."

Sasuke was making a face and Naruto was squinting at the paper.

"There are obstacles all around the area," Kakashi informed them. "I'll be waiting for you at the designated area, and if you can get there before sunset, you will be Genin. If not, you fail."

Sakura was chewing on her lower lip now, her green eyes marking out some landmarks she knew of. It wouldn't help once they got deep into the forest, but she had confidence. She had helped Sasuke find Otô, so she knew she was capable.

Kakashi took the map. "I'll be waiting for you," he said and then disappeared.

~*~


"I'm starving," Naruto groaned.

"We all are," Sakura grumbled as she assessed their surroundings. It was almost three in the afternoon and she wasn't sure where they were any longer.

"Where are we?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know," Sakura said, "but I'm trying to figure it out. We're going to an area in the north west of the forest, but we have to make sure that we didn't pass it."

"You found Otô," Sasuke pointed out as his stomach growled loudly.

Naruto blinked. Why would Sakura have wanted to find the Sound? "What do you - " before Naruto could finish his sentence, he was hanging upside down in mid air, his foot in a very tight noose-like knot. That would mark Naruto's third trap he had set off. Sakura had set off two and Sasuke had set off one and gotten ensnared in one of Sakura's around noon.

"Dammit!" Naruto grouched.

"Just hold still," Sakura murmured as she checked around them. She was not going to get caught up in a trap while trying to free Naruto. Reaching up with a kunai, she grabbed the rope and tried to cut it.

"What are you doing?!" Naruto spun slightly as Sakura put a foot against the tree to steady her hands.

"It's not cutting," Sakura answered.

"Kai!"

Instantly the rope disappeared and Naruto fell right on top of Sakura. Sasuke looked down at them. "I thought that it was Genjutsu."

Sakura frowned. She should have realized it when the rope didn't cut, but she was focusing on moving on and not the moment. Making a face, she pushed on Naruto's jacket. "Get up!"

"Sorry!" Naruto scrambled to his feet and soon Sakura was on hers.

"We should find something to eat," Sakura commented as she gathered her hair in her hand so it would fall against her back and not on her shoulders. "We can't start fighting and if we eat, then we'll be able to move better and find where Kakashi-sensei is."

"Eat what?" Naruto looked around the area. He saw bushes he knew were poisonous and other plants that just seemed like decoration.

"I don't know…Just keep your eyes open," Sakura decided. She should have known better than to not bring something with her. Just because Kakashi asked them not to eat breakfast didn't mean they couldn't bring something for lunch.

"Let's keep trying to find Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke brought them back to task. "If there's something on the way, we can eat then." Putting his hands into his pockets, Sasuke gave them a look that clearly said they were wasting time and that was the most he wanted to say for a good time.

~*~


"So what are you avoiding?"

Obito blinked and looked over his shoulder at Kurenai before giving a wave. "Hey. I'm not avoiding anything. I just came back from receiving a mission." He paused and then asked, "How is your Genin squad?"

"I have to test them in an hour," Kurenai answered, "but I think they'll do just fine." Glancing over at the older shinobi, her lips turned up in a slight smile. "I'm sure Naruto and Sasuke will be just fine."

Obito nodded. "I'm not worried." Then he paused at the turn to his apartment building. "I have to get my things ready."

"Good luck," Kurenai said and then she gave him a wave before they both parted ways.

~*~


"We have an hour," Sakura looked at what sky she could see through the trees.

"Are you sure this is the right direction this time?" Sasuke glanced at her.

"Yes, I am," Sakura retorted. When they finally found something suitable to eat to hopefully settle their stomachs to a degree, Sakura had accidentally continued north a bit too far.

"Didn't we see that tree there two hours ago?" Naruto pointed to what looked like any other tree.

Sakura made a face. "Naruto…"

"Yeah, we did." Naruto walked over to it and started sniffing the air. Sasuke and Sakura exchanged looks. "I've been marking trees as we go," Naruto explained. "That's why I kept running to catch up and kept hitting traps."

"Naruto, there is such a thing as too much…" before Sakura could finish her sentence, Naruto was pointing in a direction.

"We haven't gone that way yet." Naruto looked at Sakura. "Do you think this is the way?"

Pushing her initial reaction aside, Sakura checked the sun and other factors and then she said, "We only have this chance. We should head in that direction and curve a bit to the right." She made a motion in the air with her hand. "If we run, we should be able to find him before sunset."

Instantly the group began running in the direction Sakura decided.

~*~


Kakashi hated waiting. He had half a mind to go and do something else and come back later, but there was always that very minute possibility that Team Seven might actually appear before sunset. Flipping through the book Sarutobi had recommended him, Kakashi narrowed his eye. The man was an incurable pervert and it was only natural that his student Jiraiya had written the smutty series.

'Why did he give me this?' Kakashi flipped back to where it left off. The heroine's name was Tsunade who was with her sidekick Shizune looking for this guy called Jiraiya… Kakashi snorted silently but continued to read. There was a slight thread of political intrigue that was weaving itself into the story, and the story was beginning to flesh out.

Hearing a noise, Kakashi glanced up from his book. There was a flash of pink, orange, and off-white and then the three graduates appeared in the clearing.

"We did it!" Naruto proclaimed. The clearing was already growing dark, but the sky was only beginning to change.

"Wait," Sasuke instructed, stepping in front of Naruto. "It's too easy."

Kakashi considered the Genin. They all had a bit of damage on them ranging in varying degrees. His silence was clearly unnerving them as well. "You hit fifteen traps," he noted. No one said anything. "Naruto tripped the most of them, and Sakura tripped the least," he continued. They weren't questions or even thinking out loud. They were simple facts. Finally he said, "Report."

Receiving three blank looks, Kakashi watched the trio exchange looks and soon Sakura stepped forward. "We left training ground fifteen around six in the morning," her voice wavered slightly, but she thought this was what he wanted. "We received our mission and began it around seven. Naruto, Sasuke, and I started off in the direction we thought might be quickest to the target, but we encountered the first trap pretty early on." She paused as though seeking affirmation that this was what Kakashi wanted. Receiving no sign of encouragement or discouragement, she went to continue, but Naruto stepped in.

"I thought I smelled something so I went forward and I began sinking," Naruto recounted. "It took both Sasuke and Sakura to pull me out. We kept going and hit a couple more traps. One time Sasuke ended up flying across the forest and we couldn't find him…" at Sasuke's expression, Naruto's voice trailed slightly and then he continued, "Anyway, we hit a bunch more traps and then we stopped for lunch."

Sasuke watched their sensei, finding Kakashi's face was unreadable. Naruto was going to screw them over for sure and he would be damned if he never got the chance to even become a ninja! "We encountered two more traps after that," Sasuke interrupted as Naruto searched for the best way to word their mission. "Both were taken care of faster than the previous ones. After that, we back tracked and decided to go in a south west direction and that is how we arrived." Naruto never paid attention when Iruka was explaining how to properly write a mission report. Sasuke wasn't sure if it was the same as verbally giving the report, but he did know that Naruto's weakness was anything that had to do with writing or anything like it.

The group looked to Kakashi expectantly, but the Jônin remained silent. Naruto frowned. Kakashi was so damn hard to read and when he wanted to be an ass, he was a first class one! Gritting his teeth, he kept from saying something he knew he shouldn't. He had promised Obito that he would be polite to Kakashi after all, and Naruto did owe him.

"A shinobi needs to know how to report so that the most information can be given in the least amount of words." His eye passed over all of them. "Sakura, you need to be less detailed. Specifics are necessary, but you can't get too wordy and descriptive. Naruto, you need to realize that reporting after a mission isn't like telling a friend about your adventure. You have to show respect for the person you're reporting to and also follow certain protocols. I'm sure that Iruka told you about them in the academy." He paused and held Naruto's gaze. Finally, his eye turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, you are on the other extreme from Sakura. You need to add a few details to your report.

"Now," Kakashi paused, "report."

"We left training ground fifteen at seven this morning," Sasuke spoke up. "Our mission was to locate Kakashi-sensei by sunset. Within minutes we encountered the first of several traps scattered about the woods."

"We stopped around three-thirty to find food," Sakura reported next. "That's when we got off the trail, but by backtracking and a marking system, we were able to sort out the direction to go in."

"We ran into two more traps," Naruto finished with a slight nervousness in his voice. He wasn't sure if this was a part of the test or not. With Kakashi, there was no such way simply making it to the designated area would make them Genin. "But we kept going in the right direction, and then we noticed the target - Kakashi-sensei - through the trees. We entered the grove right before sunset, and completed the objective." He decided to tack on some jargon at the end to make it seem like he knew what he was doing. He hated giving reports or writing them. He was good at just explaining a mission over a bowl of ramen, but he was hopeless at writing the reports.

Kakashi's gaze stayed on Naruto, but the boy summoned as much will power as possible not to squirm. He didn't want to ruin this chance.

"There are two key objectives in being a ninja," Kakashi spoke finally, not indicating if their report had been satisfactory. "The first is that you must always be clear of the objective. Naruto ended his report as all reports should end, with the status of the mission's objective. If you get hung up on other details such as what time you encountered whatever trap or stopped for lunch, you will forget why you are on the field at all." Folding his arms, he paused to let it sink in. "There is also another key to being a shinobi. As a shinobi you must be as aware of your comrades as the missions. The mission objective should always come first, but remember that teamwork in a team is just as important."

The children were silent. Sasuke was giving Kakashi an odd look and Naruto looked rather shocked. Sakura, however, was taking in the information and filing it away. Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it. He knew he had heard Obito say something like that before, and it was odd hearing it from Kakashi, but the pair had the same sensei, so perhaps it was something he had said to them.

Kakashi had said all he thought he needed to say. There was no need to channel his sensei to think of things to say to the fledglings because Kakashi was his own person. He had spoken his own philosophy and added words from his sensei that he thought were worth repeating.

"At eight tomorrow, report to the Hokage's office. We will receive our first official mission there." Kakashi looked at each of them and then said, "I trust that you can leave this forest easily. The traps have all been deactivated." Then he was gone.

~*~


Opening the door, Sasuke stepped into the small apartment and didn't bother announcing himself. Obito was writing something on a piece of paper only to look up and give Sasuke one of his foolish expressions. "I was leaving you a note," Obito explained. "I have a mission over the next two weeks. It's a low B-rank, but that's all I can say about it."

Sasuke nodded. It had taken three hours to return from the forest. In the darkness, it was hard to get an idea of where exactly they were.

"You passed," Obito noted with a grin. He wasn't sure exactly what he was supposed to say. Everyone had someone who gave some sort of speech of sorts he was sure. He could remember the speech his father gave him when he became a Genin, but that wasn't a speech he wanted to repeat to anyone. "I'm very proud of you." It was all he could think to say that was true and wasn't overdone.

Sasuke said nothing but nodded. "When do you leave?"

"In a few minutes," Obito replied as he double checked that he had everything. He rarely left things behind now, but he always checked.

Sasuke watched as his relative finished checking his bags. Sasuke had seen the ritual enough to know that Obito would be gone in a few minutes. Shaking his head, Sasuke remained quiet and began rifling through the cabinets. He was starving and had passed up Naruto's offer to go get something from whatever was still open in the market district.

Obito gave Sasuke an odd look. He thought about asking if Sasuke wanted to tell him something, but he decided not to ask. "I'll see you in about two weeks. You will probably have to do some grocery shopping so I left money for that. Good luck on your first mission."

"Hey, Obito-itoko?"

Obito paused at the door and raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind," Sasuke said and looked back over at the cabinet he was rifling through.

Obito nodded. "Bye." Then he closed and locked the door behind him.

~*~


"It's too bad Sasuke didn't join us," Sakura said as she blew on the hot potato in her hands.

"Ow!" Naruto drew his mouth back quickly and exposed his tongue to the cold October air. It was after nine and only small vendors were still open.

"You always do that," Sakura scolded as she gingerly began peeling back the tan skin of her potato, exposing the soft orangey insides. She was dead tired, but at the same time she doubted that she could sleep. It still hurt from when Naruto fell on top of her and slammed her back into several tree roots. Gingerly she took a bite and then whimpered slightly.

Naruto laughed and then leaned against the bench they were sitting on. He stretched his legs out and then tried his potato again, finding it to be hot, but not burning hot.

"You know, ninja are supposed to take advantage of any time they can sleep soundly," a voice noted from behind them.

"Obito-oniisan!" Naruto's face broke into a bright grin. Pointing at his Hitae-Ate, he declared, "I passed!"

"I know," Obito returned the grin at both Sakura and Naruto. "I'm proud of both of you. I went by Ichiraku, but it was closed. I thought you might have gone home."

Naruto put a hand behind his head. He knew he was predictable, but sometimes it surprised him.

Sakura cocked her head and then asked, "Where are you going, Uchiha-san?"

"I have a mission and I won't be back for two weeks," he explained. "I just wanted to congratulate you and wish you good luck on your missions. I'm sure you'll have one almost every day, maybe even more than one."

"Really?" Naruto asked excitement flaring. If anything, he knew that the more missions he accomplished, the closer he got to his goal.

Obito laughed good-naturedly. He knew that within days Naruto would probably be begging for something exciting to do. "Anyway, I'm later than usual, so I'm going to go before they leave without me." Ruffling Naruto's hair, he waved and then he began hurrying down the streets without taking any shortcuts.

Naruto watched Obito leave as Sakura began nibbling at her sweet potato. Glancing over at her teammate, Sakura raised an eyebrow, but before she could ask what was wrong, Naruto began eating quickly.

"Next time, we bring food on a mission," he said as Sakura nodded.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Twelve
Note Watch me be lazy towards the end of this chapter. You see, I was talking to seme-sama about the next chapter. I was trying to figure out the Gaara equation since things are so different. She led me in the most exciting path that I can’t wait to show you. However, I had this to finish before I could get to the exciting idea. So I stopped because I couldn’t figure out what to do next and how to word a confrontation, so after two days of ignoring this fic and writing chapter two of another fic, I finally picked it back up and decided to be a lazy ass. I’m very sorry. Oh and for future apologies, next chapter is going to be a cliffhanger.

Goggles
Chapter Twelve: C-Rank

“Man this bites,” Naruto grouched. Sasuke snorted and Sakura simply looked up and down the street before they crossed. “If I have to babysit another brat…”

“You’re starting to sound like Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura noted. “Besides, we’re Genin. D-rank missions are reserved only for us.” Taking another step, her eyes widened and then she instantly slipped behind Sasuke.

“What – “ Sasuke began.

“Just hide me,” she said hurriedly.

“What’s going on?” Naruto asked. Sakura was acting really weird.

“Just keep walking and keep me out of sight,” Sakura instructed in a rushed voice.

Giving her a weird look, Naruto sighed and hooked his hands behind his head trying to block her tell-tale pink hair from view as Sasuke only rolled his eyes. They passed by a group of three Genin from a year ahead of them. The one in the middle of the group was talking animatedly, his bright green jumpsuit and amazingly thick eyebrows brought both boy’s attention right to him.

“Ah!” His odd circular eyes instantly brightened and he gave a very big and enthusiastic wave. “Sakura-san!”

Naruto’s jaw dropped and Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. This guy was way too excitable and the expression was just too enthusiastic for simply glimpsing any girl. “Who the hell are you?” Naruto asked as both he and Sasuke subconsciously moved closer to keep a wall between the upperclassman and their teammate.

“Guys, this is Rock Lee,” Sakura said and emerged from between the two boys. There was no point hiding if Lee had seen her. Lee gave them a grin and a thumbs up sign.

“What is up with your eyebrows?” Naruto asked. He had never seen anything like them before. They were like wooly worms.

“Lee!” a girl with two buns walked over to them. “Are you bothering Sakura again?”

Sasuke locked eyes with the last member of Lee’s team. The boy was taller and of the Hyûga clan, just as silent as the Uchiha genius. Both quietly agreed that their teammates were far too dramatic, but they kept their distance. Hyûga and Uchiha weren’t supposed to get along.

“There’s nothing wrong with my eyebrows,” Lee answered Naruto’s question and then turned his attention to Sakura. “What are you doing Thursday night?”

“Not going out with you,” Sakura answered, folding her arms.

“Friday?”

“No.”

“Lee, if we don’t go now, we’ll be late,” the girl with the buns cautioned. That seemed to shift his attention.

“We shouldn’t be late! If we are late, I’ll run five hundred laps around Konoha!” the boy proclaimed and then winked at Sakura.

Sakura tried to keep her face blank and hoped Lee would go away.

“I can’t be late for training. I’m going to become stronger and protect you, Sakura-san,” Lee said before looking at Naruto and Sasuke. “It was nice meeting you. Bye!” Then he and his team were gone.

“Okay…” Naruto blinked, “who was that and what just happened?”

Sasuke looked at Sakura as though to ask the same thing.

“That was Lee and his teammates Ten-Ten and Neji,” Sakura explained. “I ran into some trouble last month and he came and saved me. He seems to think I like him or something.” She smoothed out her dress. “He doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘no.’ Supposedly his sensei is a rival with Kakashi-sensei. They’re taking the exams this year.”

“Kakashi-sensei didn’t say anything about a rival,” Naruto murmured.

“He doesn’t say much of anything,” Sasuke pointed out as he began moving away from them.

“You’re going to get supper with us, right?” Sakura asked. Sometimes Sasuke ate with them after missions and other times he went to be alone.

Sasuke shook his head. “I have things to do.” Then he left in the direction of the deserted Uchiha complex.

“What do you think he’s doing?” Naruto asked.

“I really don’t know,” Sakura sighed. “What do you…” her voice trailed and she cocked her head. “What…?” before she could finish her question, Naruto was already walking around a corner. “Wait!”

Hurrying around a corner, she almost ran right into Naruto where he was watching a group of people from behind a pole. “What are you doing?”

“I know them,” Naruto murmured as he narrowed his eyes. “I know I do!”

Sakura watched the three teenagers and then made a face. “They’re from the Sand, Naruto. There’s no way.”

“I went to the Sand once,” Naruto said as he stared hard at the trio. The taller two looked familiar, too familiar. There was something about that spikey hair and the girl’s four pigtails that just screamed at him. Kyûbi was making noise, but Naruto pushed him to the side.

“What are you two looking at?” the tallest of the group looked directly at Sakura and Naruto as he spoke. He had a distinct wide and flat nose and his brown eyes were quite small.

“Er…ahaha…” Naruto came out from behind the post first, hand behind his head. They even smelled familiar, but he was having trouble coming up with a clear memory. “Just…”

“Hey, you’re that kid, aren’t you?” the girl spoke up, her dark gray eyes showing recognition. Their red haired companion simply observed Naruto and Sakura like a wild animal observing humans with disdain and dissociation.

“Er…?” Naruto paused. So maybe he did know them!

“I recognize your tattoos,” the blonde put a finger to her cheeks indicating the striped scars on Naruto’s cheeks.

The brown haired Sand ninja looked Naruto over. “I don’t remember him, Temari.”

“It was a long time ago,” Temari answered. “Besides, I remember things better than you do.”

Kankuro snorted and gave Naruto one last look. “What’s your name?”

“Uzumaki Naruto,” the blonde responded. He was beginning to recognize the Temari, but he was having problems placing Kankuro. His memory was too foggy and he had been too young.

“That’s right,” Temari remarked and gave him a slight smirk. “I remember now. You came and spent the night with us when you were in Suna.” She could remember it. It was a rare time that she had watched over someone other than Kankuro and she had spent the night wandering periodically if their little brother would interact with them like Naruto had.

Naruto gave them a blank look and then his eyes lit up. “I kind of remember…I think I remember what happened after I left more.” He could remember when Obito’s eyes changed into the Sharigan and how scared he had been. He had a decent memory of Kankuro and Temari because children about his age rarely played with him.

“We need to get going,” the redhead interrupted the reunion. The places of skin where his eyebrows should be were knitted together in annoyance.

“Who are you?” Naruto asked. He didn’t remember this guy. He had to be near Naruto’s age.

“Gaara,” the thirteen-year-old answered. “Come on,” he addressed his siblings, “let’s go.”

“Well, we’ll see you around, Naruto,” Temari said as she gave him a wave.

“Yeah,” Kankuro echoed, but he seemed a bit on edge, his eyes flickering back to his brother as though watching Gaara’s impatience grow with worry. “Bye.”

Naruto waved and as soon as the Sand ninja left, Sakura instantly asked, “Who were they?”

“Oh, they took care of me when I was in Suna,” Naruto answered.

“When were you in Suna?” Sakura stared.

“When I was little. I went on a trip with Obito-oniisan,” Naruto answered and then started off in the direction of the ramen shop. “I got to stay with them before we were chased by Sand ninja.”

Sakura stared. “How can you explain this so calmly?”

“I don’t really remember it that well,” Naruto answered and then perked, “What kind of ramen should I have? I had pork yesterday…”

Sakura sighed. He was clearly avoiding her questions.

~*~

Obito instantly went on guard out of reflex before relaxing slightly. He knew that foreign ninja were journeying to Konoha for the Chûnin Exams, but he couldn’t help being on edge. He had always been weary since his trip with Naruto to Suna, but after the kidnapping incident, he was more on edge than normal.

Sasuke stopped from where he was approaching Obito. The man seemed to have tensed at his presence and Sasuke didn’t want to trigger anything. It was the fifth year anniversary of the massacre. It was the first time that both of them had been on the complex at the same time. Watching Obito calm slightly, Sasuke continued walking over until he stood beside the man.

“I lived over there,” Obito said after a time as he pointed to one of the more modest houses. “My grandparents lived with us and I had the smallest room.” He didn’t know why he was saying it, but he continued, “I went to extra training over there,” he pointed at one of the houses far off to their right. “It really didn’t help anything. I was late with everything.”

Sasuke watched him point at the houses. He remembered the people who lived in Obito’s house. The elderly man had always been gruff and Obito’s parents had always seemed stern. The other house was where one of Sasuke’s aunts and uncles lived. He could remember his aunt wishing him good luck on his way to school every morning. “I can’t make the Sharigan,” Sasuke said quietly.

Obito looked over at him. “It took me until I was about twenty,” he said. “Don’t think of it as – “

“Itachi could do it at ten!” Sasuke burst out unexpectedly. Quickly recovering, he said in a darker and quieter tone, “I’m going to be thirteen, and I still can’t do it.”

“The Sharigan isn’t something you can will to come like the Gôkakyû,” Obito said. “There has to be a need, there has to be a moment. You can’t fake it either,” he cautioned at Sasuke’s expression. “You’ll do it, don’t worry, but once you can do it, you should practice, but never use it all the time.” He watched Sasuke’s eyes fix on him. “If you over use the Sharigan, you risk ruining your own sight.”

Sasuke took the information and nodded. “So that’s why I’ve never seen you use it.” Then he asked, “Why didn’t you use it last year?” It had always bothered him. Certainly Obito could have done more if he had used his Sharigan when Naruto was kidnapped.

“I didn’t have time to activate it,” Obito replied. “I’m not even sure if it would have made a difference. Never underestimate the Sannin, Sasuke, or you brother.”

Sasuke held Obito’s gaze. Did the man know his true goal? Looking away, he stuffed his hands deeper into his pockets and decided to remain silent on that topic.

~*~

“Hey, Kakashi-sensei, why aren’t we in the Chûnin Exams?” Naruto asked. The group was in the market place gathering things for one of the shut-ins. Kakashi had split them into two groups, sending Sasuke and Sakura to the other side of the market district.

“You three aren’t ready yet,” Kakashi answered.

“Why not?” Naruto asked as he put some shampoo into his basket. “I met this guy from the Sand – “

“Age has nothing to do with how ready you are,” Kakashi interrupted Naruto mid-whine. “I took the exams when I was five. I passed easily, but I was ready for them. You three haven’t had a C-rank mission yet. Once you can see how you fight outside of Konoha, then you can make the right decision. A ninja who has only been getting groceries, changing babies, and finding lost pets isn’t ready for the exams yet.”

“When do we get to go out in the field?” Naruto asked. He was tired of all the D-rank missions. He wanted to get outside of Konoha again.

“I don’t know,” Kakashi answered. He had tried for a C-rank mission for his Genin team three times now. He knew that they were ready, but he couldn’t seem to convince anyone to let Naruto out of Konoha. They of course didn’t put it in such terms, but Kakashi knew why they kept getting the bottom-barrel missions. Watching Naruto put the last thing they needed in the basket, he said, “Okay, go pay for that, I have something I have to do.”

“Fine,” Naruto murmured. He knew that his whining never got anywhere with Kakashi, but he had trouble keeping it at bay. Trudging off to the check out line, he sighed.

~*~

“I WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE!”

All present froze for a moment, a very small hidden smile playing onto the Hokage’s face, but as soon as it appeared, it was gone. “Naruto,” he said in his calm voice, “you just can’t order a mission. You have to take what’s given to you.”

“We’ve been doing that,” the boy argued as his teammates watched him and Kakashi merely watched. “We’ve babysat, visited old people, found ungrateful cats…I’m tired of it and I’m sure Sasuke and Sakura are too!”

Sasuke gave Naruto a look that clearly said, “Don’t drag me into this!” and Sakura considered saying something. She agreed completely with Naruto, but there had to be a better way of going about it than shouting at the leader of their country.

“Hokage-sama,” Sakura spoke up, stepping in front of Naruto slightly, “we would all like the chance to prove ourselves. I understand the hesitancy to give our squad a C-rank mission. We all have done irresponsible things as academy students, but I think that we’ve proven ourselves to have overcome that. Also,” Sakura took in a deep breath and then she said in a hurried voice, “I think it’s wrong to punish Naruto for what Sasuke and I did last year.”

The room grew silent. Naruto gave Sakura a questioning look and Sasuke avoided all eye contact. People were always eluding to something Sakura and Sasuke had done last year, but he had no idea what it could have been. All this time, he had thought that no one was letting him out of the village because of the Kyûbi and Orochimaru.

Sarutobi leaned back in his seat and appraised the three Genin in front of him. Then he reached for one of his stacks of missions and began glancing over them. “Alright,” he said, “you can have a low C-rank mission. Sakura is right, no one has the right to keep you three chained to Konoha.” Handing a scroll to Kakashi, he said, “This should be just fine for your squad. Good luck.”

~*~

Their mission led them into the small country of the Grass. There was an animal that was attacking their livestock and it moved too fast for the farmers to deal with it. Since the Grass had no ninja of their own, they asked Konoha to spare some of their ninja to catch the predator. Already into the Grass country a few hours, the group had set up camp in a well hidden area. No fires were made and shifts had been dealt out, Sasuke taking first watch, Sakura second, Naruto third, and Kakashi last.

It had only been a few hours into his watch and Sasuke was sitting under a tree using the time to think about what Obito had said about the Sharigan. One hand under his chin, he frowned slightly. There had to be a moment and he couldn’t fake it. He wasn’t exactly sure what type of moment he was looking for. He liked to have a plan, or at least have an idea of what to anticipate, but Obito’s description had been vague. He had never asked how Obito had activated it either; he just knew that Obito had been an adult when it happened.

Hearing an unusual noise, Sasuke instantly snapped to attention and then rose to his feet as a burst of movement came to his right. Gripping a kunai, he faced the sound and then relaxed. “What are you doing, dobe?”

Naruto seemed to be looking through him from where he was sitting up. Then the blonde closed his eyes and made a groaning noise, his forehead buried in the palm of his hand. “Dammit…”

Sasuke merely observed him. Did the idiot even know he had an audience?

Looking up, Naruto seemed to be seeing Sasuke for the first time. Jumping to his feet, he soon has his kunai out as well. “What’s going on?”

Sasuke put his kunai back in its pouch. “Nothing. I thought I heard something.”

“Oh,” Naruto put away his kunai too, but his eyes searched the area around them. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” Naruto gave one last look and then sat down under a tree not too far away. Ever since he had contact with the Kyûbi, he would dream of the carnage the Kyûbi experienced. The beast’s memories became his dreams, but he had learned not to cry out or stir when sleeping. Recently, there had been another beast in his dreams. Something called a Shukaku.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Sasuke glanced at him after a while. He was not going to make conversation with Naruto. Having the younger boy up with him put him on edge.

“No.”

Great. Sasuke looked through the trees at nothing in particular. His only consolation it seemed was that Naruto was being quiet.

~*~

“It only comes at night,” the farmer explained to Team Seven. Squinting his eyes, the man studied Sasuke and Sakura a moment and then he said, “Weren’t you two...?” He shook his head and then sighed. “No, you probably have more sense then they did. My eyes are bad. I haven’t gotten a good look at whatever is attacking my cows but you’ll probably all be able to take care of it, I’m sure.”

“Is there any idea what the creature could be?” Sakura asked. Kakashi had instructed them that they would lead the questioning and he wasn’t going to simply babysit them on this mission. He was there in case something bad happened and also to help them recognize mistakes so they could become excellent shinobi.

“Nope. I just know my cows are dying,” the man murmured casting a weary eye at the sunset. “I’d let you stay inside the house, but it’s too small. The barn’s where the cows are, so you’re on your own. Camp out wherever you like, all these fields are mine.” He walked up to the front door. “Good luck.” Then he was inside the house.

“If we could find some of the dead animals, we could see how they died and that would tell us if it was done by a person or an animal,” Sakura commented.

“So what do we do? Just stay up all night watching the cows?” Naruto asked. The cows looked extremely boring. Mostly they were eating grass and mooing periodically.

“We should first check the barn,” Sasuke answered. He remembered this farm from when he and Sakura passed through the Grass country. They had managed to stow away in the barn only to be found early the next morning.

“That’s right,” Sakura met his eyes for a brief second, “there might be a way to enter it and get to the cows.”

“Like where?” Naruto asked. “There’s little cracks everywhere, but I don’t think something little could kill a cow.”

Kakashi hung back and watched them work together. He found that letting them work out their own problems without his intervention was best for the team. Looking back at the farmhouse, he checked the sky. There had to be an hour before everything was in total darkness, but the man had been in a hurry to leave. Looking back at the Genin, he noted that none of them seemed to have picked up on it, or at least, hadn’t thought about it yet.

“Here it is!” Naruto called out and Kakashi walked around to the other side of the barn with Sakura and Sasuke. “I can get through here,” Naruto was saying, his feet still outside of the barn. “Ewwwwwww…”

“What?” Sakura asked.

“I’m covered in shit.”

“…” Sasuke looked at Naruto’s feet and then kicked one of them. “Keep going.” At Sakura’s questioning expression, he said, “The door’s locked.”

~*~

“I feel really gross…Where’s Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura asked. The Genin were sitting up in the loft, Sasuke monitoring the hole they crawled through while Sakura was looking at the cows directly bellow them, and Naruto was looking at the cows towards the front.

“He said he was going to watch things outside,” Sasuke answered.

“It’s not so bad, Sakura,” Naruto noted. “You aren’t as covered as Sasuke and me – “

“Let’s just not talk about that,” Sakura snapped and then she grew quiet. “You know, this place was kept up better when we were here.”

Sasuke nodded. It had been cleaner and the smell had been less pungent.

“It wasn’t a new barn either…” Sakura murmured to herself. Naruto gave them both an odd look. They were having one of those conversations again. “Do you think he’s afraid to come in…kyah!” Sakura shifted slightly as one of the cows bellow began butting their head against the post just bellow her.

“What the…?” Naruto scooted back so that he wasn’t sitting over the post. “What’s it doing?”

Sasuke crawled over to them and looked down at the cow. The animal gave a moanful moo and then hit the post again.

“It’s not natural,” Sakura murmured. “Is it…?” Looking around, she stood up. Both boys looked to her and then watched as she jumped down landing outside of the cow’s stall.

“What are you doing?” Naruto asked as Sasuke merely watched.

“I don’t think anything’s killing her,” Sakura answered. “I just wanted to get a closer look.” Careful not to get too close to the stall, Sakura tried to gain a better idea of what was going on from a new viewpoint, but it wasn’t working.

Soon Naruto and Sasuke were on the ground with her. “What can we do?” Naruto asked. He had never seen cows in person before except when traveling back to the Fire Country, but that had been yards away and only a quick glance.

“I don’t know…” Sakura murmured and then she reached out and grabbed Sasuke’s arm. “What are you doing?!”

Sasuke looked over at her, his kunai still raised. “She’s going to kill herself.”

Sakura watched the cow butting its head against the pole. Slowly she let Sasuke’s arm go and nodded. Naruto watched his teammates in confusion at first and then his eyes widened. “What are you doing?!”

Sasuke wiped his kunai off on a blanket slung over one of the stall’s walls. He gave Naruto a look and Sakura decided to answer. “The cow was trying to kill herself…” Sakura looked down at the animal as Sasuke stood up, putting his kunai away. The other cows in the barn were unusually quiet during the entire occurrence. “This was a faster way.”

Looking at his teammates, Sasuke put his hands in his pockets. “We should talk to the farmer.” Then he began walking out the front door.

~*~

Kakashi could only imagine what the three had been doing in the barn. Sitting in a hidden area, he watched his apprentices immerge from the barn covered in animal droppings, blood, and straw. They didn’t look hurt, but Naruto seemed distant, Sasuke was directing them, and Sakura seemed to be contemplating something. Watching them a bit more, Kakashi stood up and soon was right in front of them, a hand easily stopping Sasuke from running right into him.

“Report.” He knew better than to let them wake up their host, and wanted to hear what had just happened since it seemed Sasuke was leading. Over the months, Kakashi had gathered that Sakura was the best at dealing with other people. She was a natural moderator and was able to piece her words together easily with tact around adults. When she led, there was usually a purpose that could easily be explained and made sense. Naruto rarely led the group. If he was in a leading position, he usually had made his mind up about something he wanted or needed. He need a C-rank mission, he wanted to talk to the cute girl at the corner, he wanted to prove whatever, and so on. If he was leading, Sakura and Sasuke were tagging along and making sure something bad didn’t happen. When Sasuke led, disaster was just as likely to follow as if Naruto was “leading.” Sasuke was quiet and a strategist at times, but when it came to dealing with people, he still had much to learn.

“We took up positions in the loft,” Naruto replied instantly, which instantly caught Kakashi’s attention. He had seemed to be thinking about something other than what they were doing, but maybe he had been on task all the while. “Then the cow under Sakura began slamming its head into the post under me. It kept doing it, so Sakura went down to see if she could figure it out. Then Sasuke and I went down, but we couldn’t do anything, so Sasuke killed it.”

Kakashi’s expression remained unreadable. His eye shifted to Sasuke and then Sakura. “Did any of you try to figure out why the cow started slamming its head into the post?”

“I looked to see if there was some sort of animal in the pen with it,” Sakura spoke up. “I really couldn’t tell from where I was, but I thought that it was too weird to be something that simple. Although…” her voice trailed and then she asked, “Why is this a C-ranked mission, Kakashi-sensei?” If these cows had some sort of disease, certainly a medical ninja would be better than three Genin and a sensei with no medical knowledge. “I know that the report said we were going to take care of some sort of animal, but I think the cow we saw was sick.”

Kakashi observed the children a moment. “If you tried to disturb our charge now, he probably wouldn’t come to the door.” This was another reason he decided to step in. He was dealing with a thirteen-year-old and two twelve-year-olds. They wouldn’t understand timing like a twenty-six-year-old would.

“What should we do?” Sakura asked. She highly doubted that the farmer would take

“I’m sure you three can figure it out,” Kakashi responded.

~*~

Walking back into Konoha two days later, the Genin were wondering what their next mission could possibly be. When the farmer came out in the morning, they explained to him what had happened. It had only ended badly. The man swore to enlist another village to help him catch what was killing his livestock, and said a few other remarks about in competency. The only thing the team was able to take back with them was experience with hard-to-deal with people and how to handle missions when things don’t turn out even if the objective is met.

“We won’t have another mission on Friday or training,” Kakashi said as they passed through the gate. “It’s not a free day though.”

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked. How could they not have a mission or training and not have a free day?

“On Friday, the last part of the Chûnin Exams will take place. I want you three to watch the fights and see what you can pick up from them. You weren’t ready this time, but by watching, you will be able to focus on what you need to work on to succeed in six months.”

Sakura and Sasuke said nothing, but Naruto pumped a fist in the air. He was psyched. In only six months, he might have enough experience and luck to become a Chûnin! It was another step closer to Hokage, and a way to prove himself to the village.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Thirteen
Note If not for The Kitty-Kitty (aka seme-sama), this chapter wouldn’t be as exciting. Go bow down to her now! Also it hit me at the end of the first scene that Naruto never developed Sexy no jutsu in this o_o and no, he’s not about to, just it hit me.

Goggles
Chapter Thirteen: Ichibi

There was something about Gaara that repulsed and drew him towards the older boy simultaneously.

Naruto looked down the street as the redhead disappeared to wherever he was going. The Kyûbi hissed and Naruto could feel his hair bristle like intimidated fur. ‘What’s your problem?’ Naruto asked inwardly as he went in the opposite direction of Gaara. He rarely engaged the beast in conversation since his return, but he found that it was just as easy to talk to the beast as it had been when he was in the Sound.

‘It’s him,’ the Kyûbi kept hissing and tugged at Naruto’s legs. ‘We should go confront him. He should be stopped.’

Naruto tried not to make a face as though he was actually looking at the beast. ‘People say that about you.’

Kyûbi turned indignant. ‘He’s worse than me. You humans exaggerate everything, but the Ichibi is far worse than any of us.’

‘Riiiight,’ Naruto murmured and then froze. He tried to move, but only his fingers twitched slightly. It felt like his airway was constricted, but he knew this wasn’t a jutsu. He tried to will his eyes to stop widening and will his legs to move, but everything seemed to be frozen. He had even lost his link to the Kyûbi to help jar him. It was him…It was Orochimaru! He knew it!

The man with a long dark ponytail had his back to the boy. He was walking down the street as though he was just another foreigner. He stopped and asked one of the vendors where something was, but Naruto couldn’t take it as proof. His whole body knew that it was Orochimaru, but that was ludicrous. It was even bordering on stupid, and as weird as Orochimaru was and how much Naruto wanted to forget him, he knew Orochimaru wasn’t stupid.

Feeling a hand rest on his shoulder, Naruto visibly jumped and gave a shout before spinning around only to stare up at Jiraiya. “Oh it’s you…” Naruto didn’t like the serious expression on the man’s features.

“I saw you and thought I’d say hi,” Jiraiya said, the expression disappearing. He had thought about letting the boy do his own thing, but then Naruto had frozen stiff as though terrorized by something. He tried saying the boy’s name a few times, but he hadn’t responded. He didn’t like the reaction he received from the boy, but there could have been worse reactions he was sure.

Naruto found himself grinning involuntarily, his concerns about Orochimaru pushed away instantly. “Are you here to see the finals?” Naruto asked.

“Yeah,” Jiraiya answered and started walking with the crowd, Naruto instantly falling in step with him so that they weren’t standing in the middle of the overcrowded streets. “Are you in it?”

“Nah, but next time, I’m going to be in it and I’m going to become a Chûnin!” Naruto grinned brightly. He wasn’t completely sure that he would make it, but he knew that if he didn’t, certainly Sasuke or Sakura would. He knew that all three of them trained by themselves on free days. In November, the next Chûnin Exams would begin their first round in Suna. That gave him extra confidence since it was somewhere he had lived before even if it was years ago.

Jiraiya gave him an amused expression.

“Don’t you believe me?” Naruto eyed him. He had a feeling that either Jiraiya was half-listening or was finding something funny.

“Yeah, I believe you, but you have to work hard,” he replied. “Not a lot of people make Chûnin on the first try.”

“Oh,” Naruto murmured looking at the street. Then he looked back at Jiraiya. “How long did it take you?”

“Two tries,” Jiraiya stopped at a crossroads. Looking down at Naruto, he said, “I have things I have to do, so I’ll see you at the finals, okay?”

Naruto nodded. “Okay!” Waving, he wandered off in the first direction his feet took him, deciding to stay clear of the market district and Orochimaru.

~*~

“Where’s Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto looked around as he walked up to Sakura and Sasuke.

“Guilt trip,” Sasuke muttered as he leaned against the bridge. Naruto gave him a questioning look, but Sasuke didn’t offer anything more.

“Naruto they found a body last night,” Sakura explained. “I overheard things…One of the examiners was killed last night. It’s a rumor that it was the Sand who did it. Kakashi-sensei has duties to do today, and he said we should go to the finals without him.”

“Who was it?” Naruto asked. Who would be stupid enough to murder a ninja during one of the exams, let alone a ninja from the host country?!

“I don’t know,” Sakura replied. “We should go soon if we want good seats,” she added and motioned to the arena.

~*~

“Well if it isn’t Big Forehead.”

“Bite me, Ino-Pig.”

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at two of their former classmates as Sakura exchanged words with the girl. Beside her sat a rotund boy named Choji. Their team entered the exams, and only their teammate Shikamaru made it this far. He gave Naruto and Sasuke a wave as Sakura sat on the other side of Ino.

Sitting by Choji, Naruto tuned the girl’s banter out. They claimed to be rivals, but sometimes he had to wonder about them. Looking out at the crowd, Naruto tried to see if he could spot Obito or Jiraiya, but there were too many peoples and he hadn’t trained his nose enough to be able to catch a whiff of them like an Inuzuka could. Although if one of their own had been killed, he was sure the three were out doing something about it.

“Naruto?”

Blinking, the blonde looked over to his left where Choji was standing. “I was going to get some snacks. Do you want anything?”

“No, I’m okay,” Naruto answered and watched Sasuke refuse the offer as well before Choji left. Looking back at the preliminaries, Naruto frowned. Maybe it hadn’t been the Sand who killed last night, but the Sound. He had seen Orochimaru after all.

~*~

Obito shifted his weight from where he stood looking out at the crowd. Orochimaru had been spotted in the market district by several people, and Tsunade had shown up in the Hokage’s office after he was leaving, most likely citing the same thing. There were several ninja on the lookout for him. Chûnin were stationed in two man teams in various area of the stadium as lookouts.

Feeling movement beside him, he looked to Iruka who was watching someone coming towards them in the stands. “What’s Anko doing?”

Obito’s eyes landed on the twenty-five-year-old Jônin worriedly. Anko still had a vendetta against her former sensei, and some had wondered what she would do once she encountered the man.

“There you are,” Anko said to Iruka. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Obito glanced at the pair as they started talking about something in quiet voices. Scanning the crowd, he wondered what exactly he could accomplish. If they alerted the Anbu that would engage Orochimaru, he didn’t know what they could do either. He wasn’t even sure which Anbu were on the squad that would confront the renegade Sannin.

“But – “ Iruka’s voice suddenly got louder.

“I’m going. He was my sensei, and I feel responsible,” Anko declared. “I can stop him with a jutsu, and – “

Iruka opened his mouth to protest. He knew what she was going to do. Yet, Anko’s hand went over his mouth. “Don’t try to stop me, Iruka. I am the only person who can kill him.”

There was a silence and Obito glanced over at them just as Anko broke away from Iruka. She let Iruka’s hand run through her hair one last time and then she waved. “Good bye.” Then she was gone.

~*~

“That guy is really amazing,” Ino said as the Genin watched Gaara’s second match. His moves were calculated and utilized the gourd on his back. “I’m glad I didn’t have to fight him.”

“Huh?” Naruto looked over at her.

“Oh, we had to fight after the second round of exams,” Ino explained as she looked past Choji at Naruto. “I fought Lee. He’s really good.”

“He’s holding his own against Gaara,” Sakura noted. She never thought Lee could be cool at all.

“Woah,” Naruto murmured as they watched Gaara go flying down the arena. “He actually touched him.” In Gaara’s first fight, the audience learned that he had an impenetrable Sand armor.

Sasuke’s eyes were transfixed on both opponents. Logic told him that only one of them could possibly pass this exam, and he wanted to be prepared to fight the loser in the next exam. Without the Sharigan he would have to train harder than ever to be able to even touch either of them. Glancing at Naruto, he snorted to himself. The younger Genin was excited. Sasuke wondered if he was even paying attention to the fighting styles.

“We’re going to have to watch out for that Sand,” Naruto abruptly said.

Sasuke nodded. It seemed the boy was paying attention after all.

~*~

“We should have kept an eye on her,” a man in a bear mask said.

“It’s her own fault,” another in a dog mask murmured as he knelt by the prone body a few streets away from the arena.

“What did she think she was doing?” a woman in a bird mask asked. “Anko knew better…”

“Maybe it was whoever killed Hayate,” Bear Mask suggested.

“No, this is a different set of injuries,” Bird Mask murmured. “Any ideas?”

“I think I know,” Dog Mask answered. “This wasn’t done by anyone but herself. She probably was trying to kill Orochimaru.”

“Wait,” a woman in a tiger mask held up a hand, “do you hear anything?”

The group grew silent and then someone answered, “Nothing.”

Then there came an unearthly screech. The group of Anbu turned their attention towards the arena, and saw what looked like a large tail loaming over the top of the stands.

“The hell…?” Bear Mask murmured.

~*~

Thirty minutes before the ball of Sand began to form the Kazekage left the VIP box in the stands. As he watched Gaara’s sand cocoon grow, Sarutobi felt increasingly ill at ease. Once the onlookers fell into a trance due to a Genjutsu, he was on his feet and on the field. The exams were over as far as he was concerned and he wanted to get Rock Lee out of the arena before Gaara immerged from the Sand.

He had heard of the Ichibi, but didn’t know the exact circumstances of how it was sealed into the youngest son of the Kazekage. Yet as the stone-like one tailed Racoon appeared, he knew he had to get it away from the area somehow. There were too many people in the area. There wasn’t an ideal location anywhere in Konoha, but as long as he got the Ichibi away from the crowd, the body count could go down.

~*~

Naruto’s eyes snapped open and he sat up. “What happened?”

“A Genjutsu,” Sakura replied as Sasuke looked down at the arena. There was evidence of a major battle they hadn’t seen. Frowning, he hated that it took him so long to break free. He should have been stronger and figured it out faster.

“I remember Gaara started gathering sand and then…” Naruto frowned. He didn’t like this waking up amongst sleeping people thing.

“You’re awake,” a familiar voice said from nearby. Looking over to their left, the Genin watched Iruka walking towards them, Obito following.

“What happened, Iruka-sensei?” Naruto asked.

“There’s an attack happening,” Iruka explained standing in an empty spot on the bleacher above theirs.

“The Ichibi appeared,” Obito continued, standing by Iruka. “Hokage-sama is battling it as we speak.”

Naruto stared. The Ichibi was Gaara! He tried to imagine Sarutobi fighting Gaara as some demon, but something felt wrong about it all. “So…will he kill the Ichibi?” Naruto asked cautiously, though he knew the answer. After a silence, he set his features. “I’m going.”

“What?” Sakura turned to her youngest teammate. “Naruto, you – “

“I can’t let him kill Gaara,” Naruto said.

“Naruto, there’s nothing you can do against the Ichibi or Hokage-sama,” Iruka cautioned. He didn’t want Naruto to charge off blindly. A large battle such as that wasn’t the place for any Genin.

“I don’t care,” Naruto tightened his hitae-ate, “I’m going to save Gaara.” Before anyone could do anything, Naruto was gone. Instantly Sasuke and Sakura were gone as well.

~*~

“Dammit,” Sasuke muttered as he and Sakura came to a stop.

“If you go left, I’ll go right,” Sakura said. “We’ll head for the fight and if you run into Naruto, give the signal and try to hold him,” Sakura instructed. Sasuke only nodded, finding no fault with her plan. Then both of them split into their directions.

~*~

Naruto could see the battle just ahead. The Ichibi seemed to be losing steam and the battle. Gritting his teeth, Naruto pushed himself faster. Gaara was just like him, only he could call his demon into being. That didn’t mean that Gaara had to die. Naruto wasn’t sure what exactly was driving him, and the Kyûbi was warning him to not save the other tailed beast, but Naruto pressed on.

~*~

The Ichibi was beginning to detransform. Sarutobi didn’t like the idea of killing a thirteen-year-old, but the boy had joined in the attack on Konoha by the Sound and Sand. He had broken the oath all ninja agreed to during the exams. Not only that, but without a seal, he was just too dangerous. Preparing the jutsu that would finish the battle, the Hokage watched as more of the Ichibi’s features turned back into Gaara’s.

~*~

Sakura skidded slightly and turned sharply to her left. She had just seen a flash of orange!

“Naruto!”

~*~

Hearing Sakura from not too far away, Sasuke looked to his right and saw Naruto bounding over rooftops, Sakura lagging behind. Springing up, he began to follow his teammates across the roofs just outside the market district.

~*~

Naruto drew closer, watching as the Hokage prepared his attack. He only had seconds to make it. Gaara was barely able to stand and Naruto knew that if he didn’t do something, the boy would die.

With a burst of chakra, Naruto charged.

~*~

Sarutobi gathered his chakra. In one move, the fight would be over. With Gaara’s weakened state, the decline of the Hokage’s chakra and stamina didn’t work against him. He knew that he would be able to finish the job and have a decent amount of chakra to spend. Once he got rid of the major threat, there would still be smaller threats to help take care of around Konoha.

Calling out the jutsu’s name, he let the chakra hit his target. A white-blue explosion followed and chakra crackled in the air. Stepping back, he looked down at his work and then froze.

Lying across Gaara’s body was Naruto, his breathing shallow and body pale.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Fourteen
Note When I used Shizune-sensei, I’m using the term as someone who’s a nurse or doctor, not a teacher.

Goggles
Chapter Fourteen: Abyss

Gaara’s breath hitched. Everything around him was hot and static filled his ears. Falling to the ground, he felt something heavy over him, but he knew it wasn’t the sand since it was too soft. His eyes closed tight, he gripped the street, feeling the force of the finishing move rip into him indirectly. Something weighed his body down. He was beginning to wonder if this was some sort of crushing jutsu.

Then the static stopped and the bright light ebbed away. Gaara tried to sit up, but whatever had been pinning him to the ground was still there. It had to be less than one-hundred pounds, but in his weakened state, Gaara knew that even ten pounds would have been hard to lift right then.

“STOP!”

Hearing a voice, Gaara saw something orange over him and a pink girl standing not too far away. From his angle he could see up her skirt, but that wasn’t where his attention rested. He just couldn’t figure out what was going on. There was a dying boy on top of him and a girl barring the way between the Hokage and him.

Sakura took in a gulp of air and pleaded again, “Stop, Hokage-sama!” It had taken more strength than she knew she had to catch Naruto. He had gotten there first and within seconds of the attack, Sakura was blocking the way, her arms outstretched. Badly winded, she tried to gulp air and speak.

Sasuke was now in front of her, easing her back with his elbow. He was slightly winded but it seemed he hadn’t tried to catch up to Naruto. “I don’t know what this is all about,” Sasuke stated, “but we won’t let you kill them.” He could hear Sakura panting behind him. He had caught sight of Naruto the instant the attack was released and watched Sakura swoop in seconds later. He had never seen either of his teammates run so fast. He thought of pushing his limits, but when he saw the Hokage’s face, he knew that another attack wasn’t immanent.

Gaara felt the muscles in his face protest as his jaw dropped, his guard momentarily shattered. At first he thought that the newcomers were simply protecting the blonde haired boy draped over him, but they were also protecting him. He couldn’t see the Hokage, but he could tell both of the Genin standing had yet to drop their guard.

“I won’t attack,” Sarutobi said and held up both hands to show he meant it. He didn’t like the idea of leaving Gaara in the care of three Genin, but there weren’t many options and he was needed elsewhere. “I have other battles.” Then he was gone.

Sakura instantly fell to her knees. It had taken all of her not to make her legs collapse after skidding to a halt in front of Naruto and Gaara.

Sasuke looked down at her and then Naruto and Gaara. “We have to get them both out of here.”

“I – I know,” Sakura was beginning to look more normal. “Just give me a moment…”

“Y – You don’t have to take me.”

Sakura and Sasuke froze, looking over their shoulders at the voice. Gaara only looked away and spoke in a quieter voice. “Take him…I’ll be fine…” He didn’t know why he was saying this or why he felt so…so a word he didn’t know.

“No,” Sasuke stated.

Sakura nodded. “I’ll take you.” She paused, “Well, if that’s okay…” It wasn’t much of an option. Naruto was heavier than this boy and he was unconscious. Sasuke was stronger, so he should carry Naruto.

Gaara tried to remember what he was supposed to say. A faint voice came to him, but it was garbled. “Okay,” he said after a pause.

~*~

The hospital was chaos. Walking down the main hall to check on rooms and who could triple up if need be, she heard someone call her name. Stopping, her face lit up in recognition and then morphed to masked worry.

“Shizune-sensei,” Sakura said, “Naruto and Gaara…”

“I don’t know where to put them,” Shizune answered. She didn’t like this. Both boys were in horrible shape, especially Naruto who needed to be hooked up to one of the few machines in the complex. “Uh…Sasuke…?” Seeing she guessed the dark haired boy’s name right, she said, “Follow me. Stay here, Sakura.”

Gaara and Sakura watched Shizune disappear down a hallway with Sasuke. Biting her lip, Sakura felt someone run by her, hitting her arm hard in a rush to get somewhere. “Ow…Let’s go over…” Sakura looked around and then motioned her head towards a wall where there were a few free spots left. Gaara nodded and Sakura managed to drag them over to the wall before she eased Gaara to the floor and soon slid down the wall to sit beside him. Closing her eyes, she rested the back of her head against the wall, feeling her muscles burn as they finally got to rest.

Gaara glanced at her. She had somehow gotten him all the way here and without complaining. He didn’t know what to say to her or what to do. He expected to have his killing intent flare up, especially with all the hustle and bustle around them, but he didn’t. He felt something he didn’t know the word to. He also didn’t want the blonde kid to die. That was the most bizarre thing of all. Normally he would be indifferent, or he might contemplate how much pain the boy would go through, but he didn’t want the boy to die.

“Sakura,” a voice said and she opened her eyes.

“Iruka-sensei?”

Gaara looked up at the man. He looked worn and tired.

“Tsunade-sama asked me to come and get you. They’re moving Naruto, and she thought you would like to go with him,” Iruka explained. Sakura could see something hidden in his eyes, but she tried not to focus on it.

Sakura took the offered hand gratefully and then stopped. Gaara! Looking down, she said, “Iruka-sensei, Gaara – “

“Go,” Gaara interrupted her. He held her gaze. This was too bizarre for him. Maybe if she left, everything would return to normal.

“Are you sure?”

Gaara made a tired gesture with his good arm as though to say, “We’re in a hospital.”

Sakura nodded. “Good luck, Gaara.” Then she looked to Iruka. “Where did they take Naruto?”

~*~

There was a little girl sitting in the middle of a dark area. It didn’t strike him to ask why he could see the girl so clearly as though they were in the sun. He didn’t know what to do. Running a hand through his hair, Naruto debated his options. There weren’t any to debate. It was just him and this little girl in an area of pure blackness.

“H – Hey,” he said sheepishly. He never knew what to do with little kids, especially ones that were crying.

The little girl turned her face up to him, tears streaming down her cheeks. Then she buried her face back in her knees, her short pink hair falling around her face like a veil.

“Er…ah…what’s wrong?” Naruto sat down beside her.

“He’s dying!” the girl wailed.

“Who is?” Naruto tried to channel one of his teachers or even Obito. What did they do when someone cried?

“My best friend,” the girl sniffled. “He’s going to die today.”

“Hey, you don’t know that,” Naruto tried to sound convincing.

“But…” the girl whimpered and then she stood up. “I have to go find him.” She looked down at Naruto. “Will you help me?”

Naruto hesitated then stood up and held out his hand. “Okay.”

~*~

Iruka watched as Sakura instantly took the chair beside Sasuke at Naruto’s bedside. She looked like she was about to cry but she was holding back. He didn’t know what had happened exactly, but it seemed as though they had a confrontation with one of the powerful ninja lurking through the streets. Sakura was suffering from exhaustion and using too much chakra, and Naruto had gotten hit by something. Remembering the boy Sakura had been talking to, Iruka mentally frowned. Somehow the three had caught up to Gaara, who had transformed into the Ichibi after someone put a Genjutsu over everyone present. He liked the possibilities less and less.

“Umino-san,” a polite voice said from beside him, “there’s something you must know.”

Iruka looked down at one of the helpers in the hospital. “What is it?”

The helper glanced at the teenagers and then back at him. “Someone wants to tell you. I just had to come and get you,” the helper explains.

Iruka put his hands in his pockets and told Sasuke and Sakura he was going. He wasn’t sure if they heard.

~*~

“Ah!” the little girl’s eyes lit up and she broke away from Naruto, running forward.

“Hey – “ Naruto called out but she was gone. Looking around, he couldn’t see anything. The only choice he had was to walk in the direction she had run off to he figured. It was better to hang with a little kid than try to wander through a void by himself.

Soon he saw her familiar light again and she was kneeling by a boy who looked smaller than her. Naruto made a face. What was this, a toddler convention?

“This is my other friend,” the little girl helped the boy who had to be barely three up. He gave Naruto a shy look through big brown eyes. “I promised that I would find you.”

“Okay…” Naruto thought this had to be the weirdest dream he ever had. Who were these kids? They weren’t even old enough to be in the academy!

The little boy simply stared at Naruto and stuffed his fingers farther into his mouth. The little girl smiled brightly.

“So…is this who you wanted to find?” Naruto asked. This was starting to creep him out.

“No,” the little girl shook her head, “we still have to find our friend. We want to see him before he dies.”

“How morbid…” Naruto muttered and felt her grab his hand again. The little boy continued to stare up at him with one hand stuffed in his mouth. Naruto sighed and took the boy’s dry hand. Why was he babysitting? He hated babysitting!

~*~

Kakashi felt nothing from this part of the job. He didn’t like it, but he didn’t hate it either. Putting his hands deeper into his pockets, he thought about giving the typical speech. The Anbu squad disbanded when the Hokage decided to directly go after Orochimaru, if the man was still in Konoha.

“Here he is, Hatake-san,” the helper announced. Kakashi met Iruka’s eyes. He had run into the younger ninja a few times, but they never really talked.

“You wanted to see me?” Iruka had an idea why Kakashi had sought him out. He wanted to play the game regardless.

“Yeah,” Kakashi replied and studied the Chûnin. The man already knew what he was about to say. Kakashi hated wasting words. “You probably already know what happened.”

Iruka faltered slightly and then he nodded. He knew. “She told me before she left,” he said quietly. “I didn’t think anyone would come to tell me formally.”

It had been Kurenai’s idea, but Kakashi was the one going around telling families of their losses. He didn’t understand why he was telling Iruka. It was true that he lived with Anko, but normally that didn’t count for a formal visit.

“I have to go,” Kakashi said.

“Thanks,” Iruka said. He couldn’t think of anything better.

~*~

“So…” Naruto asked, “where is your friend?” They seemed to have been walking for hours. There weren’t any clues if there was something other than complete darkness.

“Just ahead,” the girl urged him forward. “We have to get there before he dies.”

Naruto looked down at the little boy but he only stared up at Naruto with his big brown eyes and adjusted his mouth on his fingers.

~*~

“Hey.”

Sasuke looked up from where he was sitting back in his chair. Sakura had fallen asleep in hers. Tsunade had been in once to check on Naruto and Sasuke could tell there wasn’t anything good happening. “Hey,” he returned as Obito walked over to the bed.

“I heard what happened,” Obito said. “How’s the boy from the Sand?”

“I don’t know,” Sasuke replied.

Obito looked down at Naruto. As always, the Kyûbi was healing his body, but with the amount of damage he sustained from the Hokage’s attack, it looked to be going slowly. Obito wondered if the Kyûbi had also been hurt. “Everything’s calming down,” Obito reported as he brushed some of Naruto’s hair out of his face. “There’s a rumor going around though, but nothing’s been confirmed. All I know is the fighting is over and there are massive casualties on all sides.”

Sasuke watched as Obito put his hand in his pocket His second cousin looked tired and had a few bandages made from his pants on his body. It was clear he had bypassed all the doctors. He turned his head towards the window, a gong ringing. It was a signal to all of Konoha. Three gongs signaled a victory, or at least an end to the battles. After a pregnant pause, the gong began again, only the beats were slower, almost like the ringing of the bell on New Year’s.

“What?” Sasuke looked to Obito. He didn’t know what this meant.

“Hokage-sama is dead.”

~*~

“Do you hear that?” Naruto looked around the abyss.

“Hear what?” the girl asked.

“The gong.”

“Oh that? It’s nothing. We have to hurry!” She was practically pulling Naruto now. He didn’t know that little kids could run so fast. “There!” Again, she broke away and ran out of sight.

Naruto looked down at the little boy and received the same stare in return. Picking it up, he ran to catch up to the girl before he lost her.

~*~

A tentative knock came at the door. Sakura was awake now and Sasuke was asleep. Obito was up as well, sitting on the floor, resting. The rims of his eyes were red, but he hadn’t been crying as far as anyone knew.

“Gaara,” Sakura said and sat up straighter. He looked just fine, but he had a slight limp and a few bandages.

“How is he?” Gaara asked. His voice was quieter than more expected it. He felt subdued, but he wasn’t fighting it. He didn’t know why he was there, but he had given up trying to figure anything out for the time being. His head still hurt from being slammed into the ground.

“I don’t know,” Sakura replied as she watched Gaara inspect Naruto. As she watched, she found her lips curling into an amused smile. Gaara was almost like a child with a first encounter with something. Provided this “child” was a few months older than her and had sever frown lines on his face, but for someone who had been something deadly hours ago, he seemed almost innocent.

“I have to find Temari and Kankuro,” Gaara said. “If he wakes…” he paused and then finished, “tell him I’m…” he thought of a word but nothing came to him. He saw that Sakura was waiting and he finished lamely, “leaving soon.”

Sakura doubted that, but she nodded regardless. “Okay.” Then she watched Gaara leave looking as though he was somewhere between shock and disbelief.

“What did he want?”

Sakura looked over at Sasuke and she ran a hand over her hair to get it out of her eyes. “To see Naruto I guess.”

“Okay, I need you to leave,” Tsunade said as she walked into the room. Jiraiya soon followed her in through the door. Obito raised an eyebrow but the simultaneous appearance didn’t faze Sasuke or Sakura.

“But – “ Sakura stood up.

“No but’s,” Tsunade said. “There are things you two both need to do. We’re at a critical time right now, and Konoha is vulnerable.”

Obito stood up. “You should be lucky you’ve been in here at all,” he said. “Usually only family is allowed.” Sakura looked like she was about to protest that they were Naruto’s family, but she remained quiet at Obito’s expression. “Come on, once he gets better, you can come back.” He herded them out the door and left himself.

“What happened?” Jiraiya asked as Tsunade began checking Naruto. He had heard several rumors flying wildly around, but he had only been hearing things from unreliable sources.

“From what Sasuke told me, Naruto went to save a boy named Gaara from the Sand. Gaara transformed into the Ichibi, and Sarutobi-sensei had no choice by to kill the boy,” Tsunade paused as she wrote down readings from the machine. Medical jutsu was designed for on the field injuries that could be fixed. However, such severe injuries like Naruto’s were deadly on the field. Ten years ago a doctor in the Cloud developed a machine to monitor a person. Konoha had seven such machines and five were in use at the moment. “Naruto got in the way of the finishing move, shielding Gaara who was in a very weak state. I think that’s why he is still alive, Sarutobi-sensei probably wasn’t using as much chakra as he could to kill the boy.”

Jiraiya looked down at the blonde in the bed. He was still pale, and his stats were still dismal, but he seemed slowly to be getting better.

“The Kyûbi was also injured, which is why he’s healing slowly,” Tsunade continued explaining. “I still don’t know if he’ll pull out. It will depend on his will to live and what exactly the jutsu was designed to do.”

~*~

Naruto saw the girl kneeling by something he could barely see. Unlike her brightness, the person she was kneeling over had a dull glow, making him almost as dark as the abyss. She looked up at Naruto as he and the boy came over.

“You have to help him,” she said. “He’s dying. See? You can’t really see him anymore.”

Naruto set the boy down and watched him sit, putting both hands into his mouth. Walking over to the person on the ground, he found a teenager lying prone. He was wearing a black jacket and orange pants. He looked ashen and his breaths were few and far between.

“He suddenly grew up,” the girl said, “and then he started to die.” Her tears were coming back. “You have to help him.”

Naruto looked at the older boy and frowned. What the hell could he do? Sakura always knew what to do in these situations, and if she didn’t, she knew to get help. Sasuke would always hang back and let her handle it normally. Naruto just was always there, and if she wanted something done, he would do it, but normally she was telling him what she needed. It was never so big as saving a person.

“What do I do?” he looked to the little girl.

“I don’t know,” she said.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Fifteen

Goggles
Chapter Fifteen: Awake

Naruto surveyed the teenager in the dreamlike world.

“You have to save him,” the girl pressed. “Only you can save Naruto.”

Naruto looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. The way she had worded that seemed strange, but maybe he hadn’t been listening. The little boy with his fingers in his mouth only sat on the ground and watched, his wide brown eyes taking in every movement around him.

“What’s your name?” he asked cautiously. Maybe he was stuck in some weird genjutsu or something.

“I’m Sakura,” the little girl said and then she pointed to the small boy, “and this is Sasuke.”

~*~

“You’re still here?” the voice was slightly surprised.

Jiraiya looked up from where he was sketching out a chapter cover. “Yeah.”

Tsunade moved farther into the room. It had been a week and Naruto was still slowly recovering. He had more color in his cheeks, but his breathing was still shallow. As she suspected, the jutsu had been designed not only to kill the vessel, but the tailed beast inside as well. The last injured ninja from the battle had been sent home just the day before, and only Naruto remained.

“I heard they offered you the position,” Tsunade said as she sat near the boy in the bed. There wasn’t anything else for her to do at the moment, and Shizune knew where to find her if she was needed.

“I turned it down,” Jiraiya didn’t look up from where he was refining the sketch, “not my thing.”

“I know,” Tsunade glanced at him, “they said you suggested me.” She watched as he continued drawing, it was a technique he used since she first knew him to avoid looking at her when she was trying to confront him over something.

“Did you take it?” he asked as he finished up something and looked at her.

“I don’t know yet.”

~*~

“We’ll tell him,” Sakura said. She, Sasuke, Kankuro, and Gaara were standing by the gates. The sibling’s sensei had been killed during the battle.

“Good,” Gaara replied then frowned. “Where’s Anue?” The last word came out oddly, his lips looking strange as he formed it.

“Probably with that kid,” Kankuro grouched slightly. Looking past Sasuke, he snorted, “See?”

Temari said something the others couldn’t hear to Shikamaru and put on a cocky grin, which only made him mutter something. Then she walked up, adjusting the strap on her fan. Looking at Sasuke and Sakura, she said, “Tell Naruto we hope he gets better soon. The next exams are in Suna.”

Sakura’s expression was cryptic, but she nodded. “Okay.”

Once the siblings were gone, Sakura turned to Sasuke. “The exams are in six months, right?”

“Three,” Sasuke corrected. The Chûnin Exams were set on a biyearly cycle and various villages hosted them. The next exams would start in November.

Sakura frowned. She didn’t want to take the exams without Naruto, but they were barred from passing the first time around, providing they could even make it far enough to look like they could be Chûnin. “When do you think Naruto will get better?”

“I don’t know.” Sasuke shrugged and looked at his watch. The Genin were involved in the cleanup of Konoha, and the pair were assigned to help rebuild parts of the academy that afternoon.

~*~

Naruto stared at the children and frowned. Sasuke and Sakura? That made no sense!

“What’s wrong?” the little Sakura asked. “Naruto’s dying!”

“No, I’m not,” Naruto blinked.

“Not you, him,” she said and pointed at the teenager on the ground.

“He’s not me!” Naruto countered. “He’s too old, and I don’t like black!”

The very small Sasuke watched Naruto as he shouted.

“You have to save him,” little Sakura pressed. “With you out here, he will die.”

~*~

Obito stood before the memorial tablet silently. It had been fourteen years since the day they almost left Rin behind. He could remember turning to Kakashi, but he couldn’t remember what he had said, he knew he had meant it whatever it had been. It had been two weeks after their first try at the Chûnin Exams. He didn’t try to chase the image of her body away when it came to him. He let his eyes dull slightly as he remembered everything, but there was no sound, just actions. There was their sensei telling them about the mission and the typical argument between Kakashi and Obito with Rin trying to break them up…It had started out so normally.

Looking up at the stone, he put his left hand in his pocket and considered his next move. He had to report to receive a mission soon and turn in his paperwork from a short one. The village was recuperating from the loss of the Hokage and the chaos from the attacks. He had no idea who was going to replace Sarutobi, and part of his mind kicked him and berated him for always being late. It reminded him that the next Hokage might not be so accepting of his truancy.

~*~

Naruto didn’t like this. How could he possibly save this person that was him? Kneeling by the body, he made out the three whisker marks on the body’s cheeks, proving that it had to be him. “How do I save him?” he asked as he looked over to the little Sakura, but she had vanished. Looking around, he saw that the little Sasuke had as well along with the body.

Standing up, Naruto brought his right hand down to his weapons pouch, but it wasn’t strapped to his leg. Hearing a slight growling noise behind him, he turned and then froze. Standing in front of him was the Kyûbi locked tightly away in his cage. It had been a year since Naruto had first seen the Kyûbi like this.

“Close your mouth, boy,” the Kyûbi hissed. “You act like you don’t know me.”

“Sorry,” Naruto mumbled and then he looked around. “Why am I here?” He was standing in what looked like a sterile room with a tile floor. There were many locked doors around them all made of unbreakable metal.

“You were about to kill yourself,” the beast explained. “I recovered in time to keep from dying with you.”

Naruto was used to such commentary, so he let it pass. “So…what happened?” He wanted to know why he was in some bizarre world and how “saving” himself could have killed him.

“That bastard’s jutsu damaged both of us,” the Kyûbi explained, ignoring Naruto’s glare. “You slipped away from me and into a subconscious world. It took me a while to get strong enough to get you back.”

“How long has it been?” Naruto doubted that it had been a few hours. The last time he had been unconscious, it had been days even though it felt like minutes.

“I don’t know.” The Kyûbi didn’t care and didn’t understand why Naruto would always ask him.

Naruto folded his arms. He hated this. The idea of almost dying before being able to even get his feet wet in his ultimate goal irked him.

~*~

Naruto stirred in the small room. Alone, the shades were drawn, but some of the moonlight managed to give the room a very dull glow. Making a small indistinguishable noise, he opened one of his eyes and then closed it again. Of course he would finally wake up in the middle of the night. Turning his head, he frowned as best he could. There was something over his face and he had a needle in his arm.

“How are you feeling, Naruto?”

Looking up, he saw Shizune watching him. She seemed to be changing something. He tried to say something and then gave her a rather disgruntled look. He really couldn’t tell her if he couldn’t talk to her.

“Tsuande-sama will see you in the morning,” Shizune told him as she began writing down the statistics. “You should keep resting until then.”

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed inwardly.

~*~

Naruto felt the mask slip off of his face, catching on his hair before it was finally gone. His eyes watched as Tsunade put it aside.

“What day is it, Obasan?” Naruto asked. He hoped it wasn’t months later. He needed to prepare for the next Chûnin Exam after all, and he wanted to figure out how many missions Sasuke and Sakura might have gone on without him. As much as he didn’t like the idea of them advancing without him, Naruto knew he’d like holding them back less.

“Monday,” Tsunade replied as she checked some of the readings. It was apparent that the Kyûbi had recuperated and was beginning to work on healing Naruto. It was still going slowly, but the transition was apparent.

Naruto made a slight face. He should have known better than to ask her right then regardless.

“You’ve been out for a week and a half,” a voice came from the foot of his bed. Looking down, Naruto brightened slightly as Jiraiya began looking over Tsunade’s shoulder. He instinctively liked both of them a lot, but he kept this to himself a bit afraid to jinx something if he let on too much.

Tsunade glanced at her former teammate and then she looked down at Naruto. “You should be out of here in a week according to where you are now,” she said. “Shizune is going to take over starting tomorrow.”

“What?!” Naruto didn’t like this. He liked Shizune, she was nice enough, but he didn’t understand why Tsunade would just stop. “Why?”

“Because tomorrow I become Hokage,” she answered in her matter-of-fact way. She turned to go and hang Naruto’s chart on the end of his bed.

Naruto stared. “Wha…?”

Tsunade looked over her shoulder at him and then gave pause. He had slept through the ringing of the gong, and naturally he wouldn’t know. Naruto had even slept through the funeral. She wasn’t sure what Naruto’s relationship with Sarutobi was. She had heard it wasn’t bad, but she didn’t know how good it was either.

Tsunade didn’t baby people. She was known for saying what had to be said without a sugar coating. “Naruto, the Sandaime died in the battle. His funeral was two days ago.”

Naruto tried to swallow, but didn’t. He didn’t want to appear weak, but he could feel himself shaking slightly. “Gramps…” Naruto paused, “died…?” Something inside him ached, dulled by the Kyûbi’s vengeful laughter.

“Yeah,” Jiraiya answered. He hadn’t expected Naruto to be this shaken either.

Naruto kept his eyes on his hands as he sat in the bed. He wasn’t going to cry. The Kyûbi taunted him slightly, using his leverage of saving Naruto as reason enough to pester him like this. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he closed his eyes.

~*~

Sakura sat up on the bridge’s railing looking up at the sky. She had arrived at the meeting place a little early. The day before, Sasuke, Kakashi, and she had received a D-rank mission from the new Hokage. It would be weird doing a mission with their sensei but without Naruto, but Tsunade told them that Naruto was awake and recovering, so Sakura was planning on checking in on him after the mission. She would see if Sasuke would like to come too, and maybe Kakashi as well.

Feeling a small rock hit her on the shoulder, Sakura looked up and then she paused.

Naruto grinned from where he stood a few feet away. He got out of the hospital the day before, and after hearing that his team had a mission, he decided to show up at the bridge around the typical time the team got together. “Hey.”

“Are you supposed to be out?”

Naruto’s face faltered at Sakura’s question. “Yeah…” He watched as she walked over to him and put a hand on the back of his neck to check his temperature since his hitae-ate was in the way. “I can be out…honest,” he said in a stronger voice.

“Just checking,” Sakura murmured. The last thing she needed was trouble.

Before Naruto could say anything, Kakashi appeared. He took a head count and then the shape of his mask changed slightly. “Where’s Sasuke?”

“Naruto just showed up,” Sakura replied, “and I’ve been here for about ten minutes.” Normally Sasuke would have been there about the same time or a bit after. Sasuke was never late.

Kakashi didn’t look amused. Naruto frowned. He didn’t know where Obito was, but he knew that Sasuke was responsible enough to get up on time without anyone kicking him out of bed.

“We’ll give him ten minutes, and then we’re leaving without him,” Kakashi decided.

~*~

The three Genin stood over the sink at the local barbeque silently working a cycle to clean the dishes efficiently. Sakura continued placing bones in the designated bag before handing the dishes over to Naruto, who washed them, and finally Sasuke dried them and stacked them where the head cook asked them to put them.

“We should start training,” Naruto said as he handed a sake cup to Sasuke.

“You just got out of the hospital,” Sakura said. Inwardly, she wanted to agree loudly, but she knew she was the most practical of the three. Someone had to be the voice of reason. They didn’t need an emergency during the exams or just before them.

“So? I feel fine,” Naruto said as he handed a plate off to Sasuke.

Sakura sighed and decided to avoid an argument. Certainly Kakashi would close the matter. Blinking, she looked past Naruto and then asked, “Is something wrong, Sasuke?”

Instantly the plate in the Uchiha’s hands shattered on the ground. Wide-eyed his teammates froze as the head chef swooped in on them, barking about how they were going to pay for it. For the rest of the mission, he watched them like a hawk as the Genin completed it in silence.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Sixteen
Note I’ve started a dôjinshi version of this fic on my Deviantart account if you’re interested. It gives me something to do and it’s fun to draw it out as well. If you’re curious, go to the Deviantart website and look up the name Uozumi.

Goggles
Chapter Sixteen: Fault

Obito quietly adjusted his prosthetic arm so it rested casually across his lap. He watched as the man behind the counter walked over.

“All we need is a bottle of sake,” the young man to his left said.

“You’re only seventeen – “ Obito began.

“Eighteen,” the teenager corrected. “We want a bottle of sake,” he ordered again and the man behind the counter nodded and left them.

Silence engulfed the pair and then Obito asked, “Why are you here, Itachi?”

“Not to kill you,” Itachi paused, “or Sasuke.”

Obito gave him a dry look. “I figured that much out.”

“Good for you,” Itachi responded in his typical level and bored voice. He was just like he had been the last time Obito saw him, only he seemed more bored and apathetic. On Itachi’s other side sat a young man who strongly resembled a shark. From what Obito could gather, his name was Kisame.

“Then why are you here?” Obito repeated. He could remember when he was forced into babysitting Itachi when the boy was just a toddler. It had been a pain in the ass, if he remembered right.

“I have something I need to check up on,” Itachi said. “I just need you to stay out of my way. Not that you ever could defeat me.”

Obito kept his expression blank. The brat knew how to push his buttons somehow. It was like talking to Kakashi when they were younger.

“Just as I remember you,” Itachi commented as he poured their sake, “only weaker.” His Sharigan eyes lit onto Obito’s right arm.

Obito remained silent as he watched Itachi give a cup to Kisame as well. “Stay away from them.”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Itachi responded. “You never could.”

Obito didn’t want to know why his second cousin had looked him up. He knew that Itachi was most likely after Sasuke or Naruto, if not both. He had heard a group of assassins named the Akatsuki wore the coats that Itachi and Kisame wore, and were after all of the vessels that contained the tailed beasts. He could only imagine what checking up on Naruto would entail.

~*~

“Sasuke is acting strange,” Sakura looked to Naruto, “don’t you think?”

Naruto looked over his shoulder at Sasuke who was walking several paces behind them, clearly brooding heavily. “I don’t know…I think he’s been acting weird all this year.”

“Naruto, I’m being serious!”

“Sorry, sorry.” Naruto returned his gaze to Sakura as their team made their way to the Hokage tower. “Yeah, he is.”

“Any idea why?” Sakura asked.

“How should I know?” Naruto made a face. He wasn’t Sasuke’s keeper! Taking another step forward, he almost fell backwards when he walked into someone.

Sasuke was standing right in front of the pair, his body position gesturing that there was a threat only he could take care of. Sakura and Naruto looked past their teammate and stared.

“I’m not here to hurt you, Otôto,” Itachi snorted. “Actually, I don’t have business with you at all.”

Sakura’s eyes widened. That’s right; Sasuke did have an older brother. She could remember Itachi vaguely from when they were very little, but he looked very different now.

Naruto stared and straightened slightly. That man had Sharigan eyes! But they were different than Obito’s eyes. “Who are you?” he demanded and tried to get in front of Sasuke, but the Uchiha wouldn’t let him.

“That isn’t important,” Itachi walked forward, ignoring the murderous glares he was getting from his brother. As he got closer, he reached out and grabbed Sakura’s hand so she dropped her kunai and drew back reflexively, her arm going numb from the pressure point he chose.

Sasuke kept his gaze on Itachi and tried to ease Naruto back. This was his battle and his chance to kill his brother. It had been his goal for years now that he kept to himself. Preparing to strike, he felt himself flying backwards, skidding against the dusty side street. Itachi had caught them in one of the various shortcuts across Konoha where barely anyone would be passing through to see their confrontation.

Naruto took a step back instinctively. He wanted to appear tough, but inside he wanted to run away. He could hear Sakura dimly as she told him to run, but his feet felt paralyzed. It wasn’t the same fear he felt when he saw Orochimaru months ago, but a different fear. His fingers twitched as he reached for a kunai, fighting the urge to run. He had to protect Sasuke and Sakura. Besides that, he was the true target and he didn’t want to drag them into the fight.

Instantly Obito was between them, blocking Itachi from touching Naruto. “Go you three,” he ordered. “We’ll take care of this.”

“Kisame,” Itachi spoke and then gave an order in the native language of the Wave Country.

Kisame replied, but before he could act, Gai was standing in his way, Kakashi standing in a strategic spot nearby.

Naruto felt a tug at him, a familiar voice in his ear. “Come on, Naruto, we have to go.” Looking over his shoulder, he saw Lee with Sakura on his back. Neji was their cover and Ten-Ten had helped Sasuke up. Naruto watched as Itachi tried to get around Obito as the older man tried to use the six inches he had on Itachi to block him.

Nodding, Naruto ran, the other Genin not too far behind him.

Itachi saw an opening once the Genin had left the area. His Sharigan was made advanced than his opponent, and he had more practice with the jutsu, and as predicted, for a fraction of a moment, Obito let his guard down slightly in relief that the Genin had escaped. Striking out, Itachi watched the slower reaction of the Chûnin and with a well placed attack, sent him tumbling backwards.

Obito stood up as fast as he could to dodge the next attack that came his way. In his world of red, he could see Itachi’s movements coming at him, but he knew the boy was twice as fast as the movements projected. It was a way to defeat a normal Sharigan. Itachi couldn’t fake Obito out, but he could give the illusion of how fast his attacks were coming.

Meanwhile, Gai was fighting Kisame. Kakashi watching both fights keenly so he could stop any who broke away. The Akatsuki could not gain the power of the tailed beasts. His eye mostly watched Obito’s fight. His former teammate was doing better than expected against Itachi, but he was using his skills of compensation, which could only last so long. By using his height and build against Itachi, Obito was expanding a bit more energy than he normally did when fighting. Kakashi knew that he was going to have to step in against Itachi soon. Gai seemed to be holding Kisame back, and seemed in no danger of losing immediately.

Itachi had a move from his massacre of the Uchiha clan. There was a way to overpower a normal Sharigan through use of the Mangekyou Sharigan. Making hand symbols quickly, he watched Obito’s eyebrows furrow slightly. The man was tiring, he knew, and even if he could see the attack, Itachi knew he couldn’t possibly know what it would do.

~*~

“This way,” Lee continued leading.

“Where are we going?” Naruto asked. They had left the residential area long ago, and were headed for the woods where Team Seven had their survival test.

“You have to disappear,” Lee explained. “We were put in charge of hiding you.”

Naruto stared. He almost asked why, but then he quieted. Itachi said he had business with him, and the twelve-year-old was sure it had to do with the Kyûbi.

~*~

Kakashi watched as Obito’s body froze up as though he was connected to Itachi in some form. A bad feeling growing, the younger ninja sprung into action, preparing to destroy Itachi’s eye contact with Obito only to have Itachi duck his attack. Obito instantly slumped to the ground like a body of rags, heaving weakly as blood trickled down his chin.

Itachi met Kakashi’s eyes and then he turned to Kisame speaking in Kisame’s native language again. Instantly Kisame broke away from his fight with Gai. Kakashi made a motion, a few figures immerging from the shadows to take off after the two missing ninja. “We need to find Naruto and put him in a secure place. Obito also has to be taken to the hospital,” he didn’t raise his voice to speak over the retching noises behind him.

Gai nodded. He had an idea where his students had taken the boy. With another look between the two, Gai was gone.

Turning to Obito, Kakashi looked at the pool of vomit and blood growing in front of the man. “Get up.”

Coughing, Obito spat out more blood and shakily stood up, his knees quivering. Cursing, he took a step and fell forward, Kakashi catching his arm roughly. Without saying a word, the two started for the hospital.

~*~

“I approve your idea, Kakashi,” Tsunade said as she looked at Team Seven as she spoke. “You have a few months until the exams begin in Suna. With my permission, your cell can leave on a long training period before the exams.”

“We’re leaving Konoha to train?” Naruto blinked. He wondered if it wouldn’t make more sense to stay in Konoha to train. It was only two hours after Gai brought the Genin back from their hiding place, and Naruto was keenly aware that going outside the walls might just bring more problems.

“Yes,” Tsunade met his eyes.

“Why?” Naruto thought he knew why, but he wanted to hear someone say it. He was tried of people dancing around the topic and it made him nervous how much he thought he was the reason behind almost every decision.

“Because of you,” Kakashi answered simply. “It’s too dangerous to keep you in Konoha, so I’m using the opportunity to not only get you into hiding, but give Sakura and Sasuke training experience in places other than Konoha as well.”

The Genin were all quiet. Kakashi shifted his weight and then he said, “Once we leave here, all of you need to get the things you think you will need for a four or five month trip. Meet back at the bridge within one hour of that time. It’s important that we leave immediately.”

~*~

Naruto ran as fast as he could, using his arms as well as his legs to propel him over the roofs in the village. Dropping down at the hospital, he ran into the building without pause, his stuffed bag swinging dangerously as he turned a corner. He had fifteen minutes until he had to be at the bridge.

Skidding around a startled medical ninja, he scanned the names on the doors. He had only minutes to stop, say goodbye to Obito, and then leave for the bridge. Stopping, he burst through a door and then froze. Obito lay motionless, clearly unconscious. He wasn’t hooked up to any machines, but there was a blood bag hooked up to his left arm.

Taking a few tentative steps into the room, Naruto looked down at Obito and then he said quietly, “I’m leaving for training.” He paused and continued in a quieter tone, “Bye.”

~*~

Sakura launched off the ground with her feet, flipping backwards twice to avoid Naruto’s jutsu. Gritting her teeth, she lashed out, smacking her arm against Sasuke’s as Naruto went for his blind spot. From a spot nearby Kakashi watched their movements over a copy of Icha Icha Violence. He admitted that the group’s creativity was growing, and the level of synchronization between the trio was at the highest he had ever seen it. Even if they were fighting each other, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto worked as any well trained cell could. If Sakura did something with her eyes, Naruto knew to go left, but Sasuke would know to block their oncoming assault, and so forth.

Shutting his book, Kakashi stood up and gave the signal. Almost instantly, the teenagers stopped fighting and turned their attention on Kakashi. “Hesitancy is still a problem,” he said as he walked towards him. “In the moment you were unsure of your attack, Sakura, Sasuke was able to land a hit on you that you could have easily blocked. Naruto, you need to trust the signals you are given and when given conflicting ones, go with the one that makes the most sense. And, Sasuke, you can’t let your mind wander while you’re fighting. Turning an opponent into another person to fight them better will not work in actual battle. You must always focus on the person at hand, not someone else you want to fight.”

Pausing, he let the information sink in. They were all improving, but the typical core problems still existed. Naruto was still too hasty at times, Sakura had abrupt bursts of self-doubt, and Sasuke was still too hung up on doing everything by himself. Putting his hands into his pockets, Kakashi spoke again, “We are five days from Suna. We’ll rest tonight and then get an early start tomorrow.”

“Do you think we’ll become Chûnin, Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked as he unzipped his jacket a bit to cool off. On either side of him, Sasuke and Sakura said nothing as the three sat down to rest before eating.

“The Chûnin Exams are set up so only a few Genin can pass each year,” Kakashi explained. “The purpose is to keep the level of ninja in the villages at an equal level so no country can be more powerful than the rest.”

Naruto wasn’t sure how that answered his question, but he left it be.

~*~

“You should be sleeping; it’s not your watch.”

Sakura tilted her head so she could see up and to her left. Kakashi’s eye met her eyes. “I can’t,” she murmured quietly so she didn’t wake the boys. Getting up, she walked over to him and sat nearby but not too close. “I can take watch now, if you want.”

“No,” Kakashi replied.

Sakura looked up at the sky. They were in a land somewhere between desert and forest where there were skeleton trees and dusty patches of what looked like dust balls instead of bushes. The temperature was steadily going down and she shivered inside her coat. “Kakashi-sensei, what happens when one person becomes a Chûnin.”

Kakashi looked over at her. “Their teammates take the next exams with someone who’s teammates have already passed.”

“So the cell stays together?” Sakura looked over at him. “I mean, in normal missions.”

“Yeah,” he replied and looked up at the sky.

“Good,” Sakura said more to herself than Kakashi. Hugging her knees to her chest, she closed her eyes, but was still awake. The pair lapsed into silence and then Sakura asked, “Kakashi-sensei…you don’t have to answer, but,” her voice dropped and she angled her face so hopefully only he would hear, “what’s wrong with Naruto?”

Kakashi felt her green eyes on her. It wasn’t his place to say. “You can figure that out, Sakura.” He knew she was smart enough, and she had all of the clues she could possibly want to put the answer into place.

“So he is the…” she glanced over at Sasuke to check and see if he was possibly awake or listening then she spoke even quieter, “the Kyûbi?”

Kakashi remained silent and then he turned his face so his right eye could appraise her. Finally he nodded. “Yes.”

Sakura looked across the barren land in front of them and said, “I won’t tell Sasuke.”

~*~

“Wow…” Naruto looked at all the buildings as they entered through Suna’s gates, “I’ve never seen buildings like these before.”

“They’re made out of the rock and sand,” Sakura explained. “They’re made to keep the heat out, although I’ve read that they get very cold at night.”

Sasuke looked around the village as Kakashi led them towards the place they were assigned to stay at. There were some clouds in the sky, but they were few and far between. The sun beat down on them, but it was the temperature of a cool spring day in Konoha rather than the typical November weather the group was accustomed to.

“Hey, Naruto!”

The group turned at the voice and watched as Kiba walked up to them, a grin on his face, Akamaru close by. Shino was a few steps behind him and Hinata seemed to be walking very slowly and looking at the ground.

“I see your team is entering the exams?” Kurenai asked Kakashi as Akamaru began licking Naruto’s hands.

“Yeah,” Kakashi answered, keeping an eye on the two Genin groups. They seemed to be getting along well enough, but they still had to register and get their room. “How long have you been here?”

“One day,” Kurenai answered, her eyes also watching their cells interact. “We shouldn’t hold you up. Registration ends in an hour.”

~*~

Naruto looked down at the room from his perch on the top bunk of one of the beds in the room. Sakura took the bunk under him while Sasuke took the top bunk of the other bed and Kakashi the bottom. “I think I’m going to go find Gaara,” he announced and jumped down.

“Naruto – “

“We already registered and the exams start tomorrow,” Naruto interrupted Sakura.

Sasuke landed easily off his bunk and said, “Then I’m going.”

Naruto blinked. “But – “

“We shouldn’t go off alone here,” Sasuke explained, making a face that clearly stated he didn’t want to talk this much. “So I’m going with you.”

Naruto sighed and then said, “We’ll be back later.”

~*~

Gaara sat up in the topmost room in the home he shared with his siblings. Sitting so he could see out the carved out window, but no one could see him, he stared off at the setting sun. It was Sunday, and there were faint bells ringing in various places around the village, the dominant religion finishing the last services of the day. Hearing someone coming up the ladder, he looked to his left without taking his chin off his palm.

Kankuro easily hoisted himself into the room. He was growing at a faster rate than Gaara and his black uniform looked smaller than it had only four months ago. “He’s in Suna.” Kankuro walked over at sat in a chair on the other side of the window from Gaara.

Gaara looked back out at the village. “Where is he staying?”

“With the rest of the Genin from Konoha,” Kankuro replied.

Gaara frowned slightly and then he stood up. “I’m going to go out for a bit.”

~*~

Naruto and Sasuke navigated the busy streets. Pausing at a corner, Naruto looked up and down it and then he said, “I think I know this place!”

Sasuke only glanced at him. This wasn’t the first time he had heard Naruto say that. Following Naruto down a street, he watched as they passed several foreign vendors.

“Obito-oniisan and I had a stand here,” Naruto said as he indicated a vacant spot on the strip. “I kind of remember it.” Feeling Sasuke tense beside him, Naruto looked over his shoulder and then grinned. “Gaara!”

The redhead gave a reserved wave as he walked up towards them, people watching them curiously. “Hi, Uzumaki,” he gave Sasuke an expression that looked unsure of itself, “Uchiha.” He thought that was Sasuke’s name at least. He had heard it in passing.

“I’ve been looking for you,” Naruto said as he put a hand behind his head. “I didn’t know where exactly to look, so I figured if we wandered around enough, you’d appear.”

Gaara gave them another odd expression as though he couldn’t think of the right face to make in this situation. “I can’t be gone long,” he said. “I have to meet with people to prepare for tomorrow.”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but Naruto simply grinned. “That’s okay. We’ll see each other a lot soon.” It was true. They would be in Suna or near the area for the next four months.

“Not really,” Gaara responded. At Naruto’s curious look he said, “Anue and Aniki will be glad to see you. They were wondering if your team would be in the exams. Anyway,” Gaara finished, “I should get back to my duties. I wanted to see you before the meeting.”

“What meeting?” Naruto asked. It sounded too formal to be between Gaara and his siblings.

Gaara didn’t respond and gave the pair another subdued wave. “Bye.” Then he disappeared into the crowd.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Seventeen
Note Yes, I do watch Dirty Jobs if this chapter made you curious.

Goggles
Chapter Seventeen: Teammates

“Our mission can’t be accomplished. The last two left are under heavy guard,” a man pointed out as a group of about seven or eight huddled around each other.

“You can leave it to me, yeah. I – “ another man began.

“No, we have to think creatively here,” a third man interrupted. “The Ichibi is too hard right now, but there’s a way we can secure the Kyûbi…”

~*~

“Sakura-san!” Lee waved with a typical grin on his features.

Sakura sighed inwardly as Lee walked up to Team Seven. It was six in the morning and Genin from all the countries were gathering for the first part of the exam.

“I wonder where Gaara is,” Naruto murmured looking around. Sasuke simply analyzed their competition. There were several teams from Suna and Konoha along with a few teams from the Mist, Stone, and Cloud. Freezing involuntarily, Sasuke’s eyes narrowed.

“What is it?” Naruto looked at the taller Genin. Looking past Sasuke, he saw two teams with music notes on their headbands.

“Sakura…” Sasuke turned to their teammate and then made a face. Lee was distracting her at a very critical moment.

“…with my life,” Lee finished with a pose. Sakura only sighed.

“Lee! There you are!” Ten-Ten appeared, Neji beside her. “Stop bothering them and come on. We have things to do.”

Sasuke didn’t wait for Lee’s parting statement. “Sakura,” he said instantly winning her full attention. Meeting her eyes, he moved his indicating the group from the Sound.

Sakura’s breath came up short and then she said, “There’s nothing we can do.”

“Do?” Naruto raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” His teammates looked so serious and again he was completely left out.

“They’re from the Sound,” Sasuke said as quietly as possible. “Orochimaru’s country.”

Naruto’s eyes widened a brief moment and he looked around. He couldn’t freeze up like this when Orochimaru was brought up. If people from his country were here, Naruto figured he would definitely see Orochimaru before the exams were finished. Feeling a hand on his arm, Naruto jumped and then let out a deep breath.

Temari blinked. She hadn’t even tried to sneak up on him. “Er…” Looking to Sakura and Sasuke, she noted they were just as shocked by Naruto’s reaction.

“Gaara wanted us to say hi for him,” Kankuro said. It was too early to expect normal anything from anyone in his opinion. Konoha had the sense to start the exams at nine in the morning.

“He’s not here?” Naruto made a face.

“You don’t know?” Temari asked.

“Know what?” Naruto’s brows came together. There was a blonde boy hanging off to the side and no sign of Gaara.

“He’s – “

“Silence!” an examiner entered the room and instantly everyone snapped to attention. The man was tall and carried a fan strapped to his back.

Naruto frowned. There was something about this man, but he couldn’t place how exactly he knew him.

“One of you from each cell step forward,” the man ordered.

Before Sasuke could step forward, Naruto blocked him. “I’ll – “ He stopped himself when he realized Sakura was already with the group assembled by the man.

A woman shorter than Naruto appeared in the doorway. “Will all of you please follow me?” The group threw questioning glances at each other, but readily followed her out of the room.

Once the door closed, the room fell into silence. The man with the fan looked out at the faces staring back at him. “Please draw a kunai, each of you.”

With some shuffling, the group managed to obey. Seeing that everyone was again paying full attention, the man said, “Now, fight your partner to reclaim the one that was taken.”

~*~

Sakura frowned and then felt someone standing by her. Looking up, she blinked as Choji smiled down at her. He was taller than she remembered and it looked like he was growing his hair out. “Choji…?” she whispered.

“Quiet!” the woman said as she ushered them into a room. “Do not converse amongst yourselves.” Once they were all assembled, she closed the door. There was a naked light above them and the room had a damp and moldy smell to it. “Currently your teammates are dueling to the death to exchange one of their lives for yours.” Pausing, she felt the worry in the room rise. “To save their life, you merely have to leave through the door you came through. I warn you though,” she smirked in the dim light, “I’m going to turn out the light.”

~*~

“How is this going to get Shino back?” Kiba demanded from somewhere in the middle of them.

“Fighting each other to the death is a simple test really,” the man explained. “It shows how serious you are about becoming a ninja and if you have the right psychological and emotional skills to become one. Physical strength and strategic prowess is all well and good, but if you don’t have the right mindset to go with them, you’ll be useless.”

People were shifting their weight and glancing at one another.

“You are to follow a strict code during this task,” the man’s eyes traveled over them. “It is one of the most paramount codes of the shinobi. If we catch you violating it, you fail.”

~*~

“If you talk, you fail. If you leave, you will also fail,” the woman said as someone yelped. Instantly she was over to the boy and escorted him out of the door. He was met by another ninja on the other side.

Sakura bit her lip. She was dying to ask if those who were ejected were able to save their partners, or if they would wait for one of their teammates to die. There had to be a trick to the test. Hearing a noise near her, she watched as another person unwittingly hit the door and failed the test. There was no way they could sit still either. There were hidden traps and the woman in charge of them was throwing out jutsu at random.

~*~

Sasuke frowned. There had to be something to what that man said. What was the most important code?

“If you would like to leave, I will let you. You will be reunited with your teammate, and your entire team will fail.”

The room grew quiet and a few hands went up. Naruto and Sasuke stood by each other without moving. There had to be a trick to it all, but neither were sure of it. There were several important ninja codes, and none of them had to do with killing someone, especially a comrade who had done nothing wrong.

“Anyone else?” The man’s eyes gazed about them. Half of those present remained, all looking quite nervous. “Alright then, we can begin the second faze of this test – put your kunai away.” No one moved. Narrowing his eyes, the proctor spoke louder, “I said, ‘Put your kunai away.’” Instantly kunai flew back into their proper places. “Good.”

Shifting his weight, the man continued, “You all passed this portion. Now, you must go and rescue your teammate. This will be very difficult. Your teammates are hidden away somewhere nearby. The room will be dark, and you cannot talk to each other. If you grab the wrong person, your team fails.”

~*~

Sakura collided with the wall and bit her lip until it bled. She couldn’t scream even though her shoulder throbbed. Then the door opened and two figured entered the room, the light angle making them impossible to discern. Soon another pair appeared followed by yet another. This time she recognized one of them to be Temari.

Feeling an arm around her waist, Sakura quickly threw her elbow back, hitting her assailant in the stomach. Hearing a flood of foreign curses, she watched as one of the Stone teams left the room. At that moment, she watched what looked like Naruto and Sasuke enter the room.

~*~

Neither were happy about the idea, but it was the only way to stay together. Sniffing the air, Naruto adjusted his grip on Sasuke’s hand. The older boy’s hand was clammy and slippery and sometimes his nails dug into Naruto’s hand. Frowning, Naruto tried to find Sakura’s scent. There was a perfume that nearly blocked everything out.

Sasuke didn’t like the fact Naruto was taking forever. They were standing in place like idiots. There had already been two jutsu thrown at them as was. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke tried not to growl at Naruto to hurry up or at least move somewhere else. The idiot must not be getting Sakura’s scent. Sasuke knew that he should have led.

~*~

The door opened again and Sakura tried to strain her eyes for something familiar. Receiving nothing but shadows, she resisted making a frustrated noise. Naruto and Sasuke were in here somewhere and there had to be barely anyone else left, right? She had even seen Ino, Choji, and some upperclassman leave earlier.

A hand abruptly grabbed hers and before she could cry out in surprise, a different hand was over her mouth.

~*~

Sasuke felt Sakura tense and hoped she wouldn’t attack them or possibly bite his hand. Naruto had given him little warning before he did whatever he had done. Sasuke wasn’t even sure why he had reacted as he did, but Sakura did make noise if you gave her enough of a shock. After a few minutes, he removed his hand and felt Naruto give a signal. Sakura must have his other hand.

Frowning, Sasuke looked around for a bead on where the door was.

~*~

“So, you made it?” a voice caught their attention once Team Seven entered an open room.

“I see you did too, Ino Pig,” Sakura shot back. Sasuke snorted and Naruto put his hands in his pockets.

As the girls exchanged banter, the boys looked around. A decent number of people had passed the test, leaving about a quarter of the original number left. Kiba and Lee’s teams had made it to the second stage as well.

The man with the fan appeared again. “Congratulations on passing the first test,” he said as conversations died away. “We will promptly move to the next challenge. Outside of Suna is a cave system. You have five days to navigate the caves from various starting points. They all should lead to an endpoint under the Kazekage tower.” He paused. “If you find that you want to quit, send out this signal,” he demonstrated a simple code, “someone will come to you shortly and help you out of the caves.”

He paused and then said, “And a word of advice. Don’t make fires in the caves. Some areas have poor ventilation.”

~*~

Kakashi frowned at the paper in his lap. Looking across the room at the various Jônin instructors from the different countries, his eye kept coming back to the instructors from the Sound. There was every precaution being taken to avoid another incident that happened at Konoha, and no one from outside of Suna was really sure who the Kazekage was. Kakashi knew it wouldn’t take too much guess work to figure it out. The Kazekage position was passed down through a family. Either the previous Kazekage had resumed office much as the Sandaime had done after the Yondaime died, or one of the Kazekage’s children was in the position now.

“Aren’t you going to open that or at least pass it on?”

Kakashi looked over to his right. Kurenai was peering down at the note in his lap curiously and then let her eyes meet his. “Well?”

Kakashi felt Asuma and Gai’s eyes on him as well. The shikagami had rested on his lap with what looked like a very official letter. Touching it with one finger, he considered his options and then he opened it, Kurenai giving him his space so they could each read it in turn if it concerned all of them.

~*~

“How many days has it been?” Naruto asked. It felt like the time limit had long since passed.

“I don’t know,” Sakura answered as she watched bats fly in the direction they entered from. “Let’s just concentrate on getting out of here.”

Freezing, the three strained their ears. Periodically they could have sworn they heard someone screaming. It didn’t happen often, but this had to be the fifth or sixth time they’d heard it.

“It just keeps coming…” Naruto murmured as the screams became more frequent. “What’s going on…?”

“Let’s get out of here,” Sasuke said and tightened the rope around his waist that kept him connected to the others.

~*~

Gaara frowned at the message on his desk. Pushing up the Kazekage hat on his head, he frowned. The Akatsuki were something to worry about and were high on his list of priorities. With two tailed beasts in Suna, he was acutely aware that they might try to pull something. Yet, this message from Konoha seemed to state otherwise. There was intelligence warning him to keep people away from that area until the exams were over.

Leaning back in his chair, Gaara looked out the window. It had been two days since the survival test had begun. Temari and Kankuro’s cell had been back for three hours and they were both recovering from the lack of sleep. Turning back to his desk, the teenager eyed the stacks of papers in front of him and grabbed some off the left stack.

~*~

“Shit.”

Naruto and Sasuke froze. Sakura rarely cursed.

“Don’t come any closer, there’s something wrong,” she warned.

“What’s going on?” Naruto asked from the back of the line. He didn’t like standing in one place for too long in the caves.

Sakura instantly reached both arms out grasping onto rocks behind her. “I’m sinking!” she hissed repressing the impulse to shriek. Letting out a slight screech, she quieted when she realized the thing around her was only Sasuke’s arm.

Naruto couldn’t see anything, but Sasuke had made some swift movement, which dragged him along by the rope around all their waists. “What the – “

“Dobe,” Sasuke grouched. “Help me.” Sakura wasn’t too heavy on her own, but whatever she was sinking into was winning their battle of tug of war.

Naruto could make out dim shapes in front of him. Sakura was leading because she had the best sense of direction, Sasuke was in the middle for backup from any side, and then Naruto brought up the rear because he could detect things from behind.

“Ow…” Sasuke hissed as Naruto stepped on his feet.

“Sorry,” Naruto murmured and reached out to grab Sakura as well.

“NARUTO!” Sakura screeched and the blonde instantly pulled his arms away.

“Don’t shout so loud,” Sasuke grumbled. He didn’t want to know whatever had just happened.

“Sorry, sorry,” Naruto apologized hurriedly. He really hadn’t meant to do that, but it wasn’t like he had many options with Sasuke’s arms around Sakura’s middle.

“Ah…I’m losing my sandal…” Sakura gritted her teeth and tried to pull back. “Naruto, grab my leg – “

“Where is it?” Naruto wasn’t going to screw up twice in a row.

Sakura grabbed his hand and put it on her leg. “Pull.”

Carefully Naruto braced himself against the rocks around them and pulled up. Sasuke kept Sakura from slipping farther, his grip tightening.

With a sticky pop Sakura’s left leg immerged. Quickly she brought it back and kept it up on the rocks as Naruto clumsily moved around to her other side to help pull her right leg out. With another slushy noise, Sakura’s leg came free and the boys helped pull her away from the edge and farther up on the rocks.

“What the hell was that stuff?” Naruto asked as he peered into the dark. It didn’t look too different than the cave floor they had encountered so far.

Sakura was hurriedly picking things off her legs blindly from where she sat by Sasuke. “Guano,” she explained.

“Gua-what?” Naruto raised an eyebrow. Was it some ninja weapon he was unaware of?

“Guano,” Sakura repeated as though Naruto naturally would know the word. “With large amounts, it acts sort of like quick sand and you can get stuck in it. Eeeah!” She flung something across the cave. “Also, flesh eating bugs live in it.”

Naruto wasn’t sure whether this was gross or cool. “So how do we get through it?”

“We walk over it,” Sasuke answered as Sakura stood up, brushing off her legs.

“We don’t know how far that leads,” Naruto pointed out. They had learned how to climb trees, so most likely it was the same principle, but it made him nervous.

“We have to cross it,” Sasuke said as he stood up. “Make sure your rope is tight.”

~*~

“She wants all of us to stay out of the area,” Kakashi informed the group. “Not just the Genin, but even us as well,” he added.

“How does she know that Konoha will be attacked?” one of the Konoha instructors asked, his eyes staying on Kakashi.

“That isn’t of concern,” Kakashi answered. The note hadn’t gone into detail, but it was unnerving. “Our Hokage has given orders, which we will follow.”

~*~

“The air changed,” Naruto remarked. “Go left.”

Sakura looked over her shoulder, even though she could barely make Sasuke out. “What?”

“The air is different to the left,” Naruto repeated. “I think that’s the exit.”

~*~

“The time is approaching, sir,” a Jônin said.

Gaara nodded, and resisted shifting his weight. He didn’t want the others to know he was Kazekage. He had thought of telling Naruto when he saw him, but he couldn’t. He didn’t know why, but he decided it was probably some emotion he didn’t know how to define yet. “How many teams have made it through, Shiro?”

“Five so far,” the Jônin looked around the empty room. Once time was up, they would herd the Genin that made it through the second task into the room. “Two from the Leaf, one from the Sand, one from the Stone, and one from the Cloud.”

Gaara nodded and kept his face even. He was Kazekage, which meant he had to be impartial. He was sure that his siblings were in the Sand cell, and he hoped Naruto’s cell was one of the pair from Konoha.

~*~

“WE MADE IT!” Naruto crowed as they entered a brightly lit room.

Sasuke shielded his eyes. “Don’t let your guard down.” This would be a perfect time for an attack. By putting them under intense light after five days of darkness, he was sure there would be another step to this task.

Sakura put out a hand as a cloud of smoke appeared. They had to be ready. It would be hard to fight tied together, but they could easily cut themselves apart if they needed to.

“Good work,” a voice stated. As the smoke cleared, a tall Jônin came into view. “Your made it with two minutes to spare.” Surveying the Genin in front of him, he gave a slight smile. “I’m not here to fight you. Untie yourselves. There’s a meeting with Kazekage-sama in ten minutes.”

~*~

Sakura tightened the knot in Naruto’s jacket. “This is what I get for wearing a short skirt,” Sakura grouched. Looking behind her, she made sure that no one could see the large rip in it.

Naruto put his hands in his pockets, shivering slightly in his white undershirt. It had to be about ten at night and the air was just as cold outside as inside the room. Tiredly the trio got into the same formation they had gone through the caves in as the Jônin in the room arranged the Genin in rows by teams.

Yawning, Naruto rubbed at his eyes. The lights still hurt, but he was getting used to them. Feeling eyes on him, he glanced over to his right only to watch Hinata hurriedly look away, her face bright red. Raising an eyebrow, he turned his attention forward and then froze.

“Congratulations on passing the final test,” Gaara addressed the crowd, purposefully ignoring the stares he was receiving. If he conducted himself in the manner he did around heads of state, he knew he could easily get past that odd feeling he couldn’t place. “The exams, however, are not over yet.” He paused to let it sink in, but received many tired looks in reply. He knew he had many of the Genin’s attention though. “Three months from now, there will be a tournament. From this point on, you are all on your own, there are no more teams in these exams.”

“What?” one of the Stone ninja asked impulsively.

“The third part of the exams is a fighting tournament,” Gaara explained. “You will draw lots three months from now to determine the order you fight in. You could fight one of your teammates in the first round.” He watched as some of the Genin shifted weight nervously. “You can always resign from the exams,” Gaara informed them. “However, this will not affect your teammates in the least. If you resign, they can still compete unless they too resign as well.”

“So are we stuck here training for three months?” Naruto asked. Something inside of him wanted to go back to Konoha. Something didn’t feel right.

“No,” Gaara answered, “just come back on time or you’ll be disqualified.”

~*~

Naruto sat on top of his bunk and stared out the window. He didn’t like this feeling he kept having, but he knew he should push it aside. He couldn’t get distracted. Everyone would be training hard for the next three months and he couldn’t be an exception. He was only thirteen years old after all, and he doubted anyone would listen if he said, “I want to go home, I’ve got a bad feeling about something.”

“Hey, Naruto, what’s wrong?”

Naruto looked down at Sakura. Her hair was wet and clipped up. “Nothing,” he said and gave her a reassuring grin.

“Okay, everyone in here?” Kakashi asked as he walked through the door. Doing a headcount, he didn’t wait for a verbal answer and continued, “I’ve arranged for you three to have trainers during this time. The goal during these three months is not only to improve your strength and skill, but also to prove you are worthy to be a Chûnin.” Kakashi didn’t look at Sasuke and Sakura at the last line. They could continue with the exams and get an idea of what the fighting portion was like, but they wouldn’t be allowed to become Chûnin even if the committee deemed them worthy.

It made sense that they would be split up, but it never occurred to any of them, if any of them had even thought about what exactly would happen in the next few months.

“Tomorrow morning we will split up and meet back here in three months time,” Kakashi said. “Get some rest.” Then he turned off the light.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Eighteen
Note Yes, for those of you who can’t access the latest chapters of Naruto, Yamato is indeed a canon character.

Goggles
Chapter Eighteen: Separation

Naruto shifted the strap on his backpack. Team Seven were standing in a nondescript area of Suna where few people passed but it wasn’t dangerous. Sakura was playing with her nails and Sasuke was watching the people who passed by.

“Who do you think we’ll get?” Naruto asked. He didn’t know what else to say. Kakashi had placed them here and said something about talking to someone and disappeared.

“I’ll probably get Obito,” Sasuke spoke up, ignoring Naruto’s expression. “He has the Sharingan, he can teach me how to get it.”

“Uchiha-san isn’t a Jônin,” Sakura pointed out. “I doubt that Kakashi-sensei would put us in any Chûnin’s care no matter how skilled they are.” She decided to leave out the part of wondering how Kakashi exactly felt about Obito. She doubted that even if Obito was a Jônin, Kakashi would have asked him to train either boy.

“Here he comes,” Sasuke said, hoping to avoid any form of a scene.

Kakashi walked up to the group and knew he didn’t want to know why Naruto was giving Sakura a rather put out look. “I’ve got everything arranged. Sakura, I’m going to place you with Yamato.” Kakashi indicated a dark haired man behind him. Yamato wore an outdated head garment much like the Shodaime’s fighting gear. His eyes were large and dark, carrying an almost creepy quality.

“Naruto, I arranged you to work with Ebis – “

“WHAT?!” Naruto’s jaw dropped. “I caught him looking – “

“Let me finish,” Kakashi interrupted Naruto. He didn’t want to know whatever perverted secret Naruto had seen. “But, I have a different person now. He’s in town somewhere.”

Sasuke looked at Kakashi. He couldn’t imagine who Kakashi would stick him with. It could be anyone since Sasuke didn’t have the Sharingan yet. “Sasuke, you’ll be coming with me.”

“Let’s go, Sakura,” Yamato said. “We need to be clear of the Wind Country as fast as we can.”

Sakura nodded and after saying her goodbyes, the pair left.

~*~

“Whoever he is, he’s a bigger pervert than Ebisu-san,” Naruto noted as he peered down the alleyway. Sasuke snorted. They were standing on the edge of town that led towards the less-than-respectable part of town.

“I have one more place to check,” Kakashi said as he walked up to them. “Come on.”

Naruto put his hands in his pocket. Kakashi looked like he wanted to be clear of Suna soon. Opening his mouth, Naruto thought about suggesting to look for his new sensei himself, but thought better of himself.

“Finally,” Kakashi murmured. “You two wait out here.” Then he disappeared into a bar.

Naruto glanced through the window of the bar as inconspicuously as he could. They had finally found whoever it was. Looking back out at the street, Naruto sighed inwardly.

“Okay, this is where we leave,” Kakashi said as he stepped out of the door, soon followed by Jiraiya.

Naruto found himself grinning again. This was definitely better than Ebisu, although he had to wonder why Kakashi had to look in the brothels for Jiraiya.

~*~

“This jutsu isn’t something you can learn,” Yamato explained. He and Sakura traveled to the south and into the Wave Country where they had been for a month. Yamato’s jutsu typically worked with the manipulation of wood; however, it was a special skill that only he possessed. “But, it can be modified into something that you can,” he continued.

Sakura nodded. At first, she wasn’t sure why Kakashi had picked Yamato to help her. Yamato was unusual and his eyes were disquieting. However, he gave short explanations and didn’t humor her. He was stricter than Kakashi, but the way he approached teaching worked better for her. They woke early to train everyday, and she knew she was getting stronger. He was teaching her how to manipulate her surroundings to suit her needs. By changing some hand symbols, she was able to use variations of the things he perfected.

Taking a sip of water from her flask, Sakura looked over at her new sensei. Her curiosity was dying to ask him why only he could use wood – maybe it was a kekki genkai – but she knew better. Capping her flask, Sakura began to inspect her rations.

~*~

Naruto looked down at the mark on his palm. “What is this for?”

Jiraiya stepped back and capped his pen. “It’s to help you. That is where you need to concentrate your chakra to pass this next step in your training.”

Naruto looked at the spiral on his hand and then made a face. He had trouble bringing his chakra into one point. With the Kyûbi inside of him, he had two strands of chakra flowing through his body. Many times he found that the Kyûbi’s chakra refused to blend with his own, which was part of the reason he had almost failed his Genin exam.

“Now, I’ll let you figure out how to pass the next part,” Jiraiya said.

“You’re going out again?” Naruto looked over at the tallest of the Legendary Sannin. It seemed that Jiraiya would always get him situated and then leave for God-knew-where.

“There’s nothing else I can do for you,” Jiraiya pointed out.

Naruto sighed and then nodded as the man left him to practice.

~*~

“You can’t over concentrate,” Kakashi spoke as he observed the setting sun in the distance.

Sasuke looked down at his hand and frowned. He wanted to have the technique now. He wanted to be able to perfect it before the fights began, but he just couldn’t get his skills to move as fast as he wanted.

“We’ll stop for today,” Kakashi said. “You don’t want to burn out before you get anywhere.” Frowning behind his mask, he watched the boy a moment and then sighed inwardly. The boy was just as impossible as he had been five years ago when Kakashi watched him after the massacre.

~*~

“We have one month until the exams,” Yamato announced one morning. Sakura was surprised he let her rest longer than usual. Trying to make her grogginess disappear quickly, she kept her eyes on the Jônin in front of her. “That will give you plenty of time to get back to Suna.”

Sakura gave pause, finding herself wide awake now. The wording didn’t seem quite right. “Uh…Yamato-sensei…” she tried to find the right way to say her question. Did he mean that she was going back on her own? Also it was only a two week journey, so why leave so early?

“I need to return to Konoha,” Yamato explained, but didn’t expound on it. “You are going to have to find your way back to Suna on your own.”

Sakura swallowed back momentary panic. She wasn’t quite sure where they were in relationship to Suna, but she was good at directions, so once she got going, she was sure she could easily make it in less than a month. “Yes, sir,” she said. “Are you leaving now?”

Yamato nodded. “I need to leave as soon as I can.”

Bowing, Sakura thanked him for teaching her jutsu and helping her on her tactical skills. Yamato nodded, waved, and then was gone.

~*~

“It looks like this,” Jiraiya put a ball of chakra into his hand. They had one month until Naruto had to return to Suna and the boy was doing quite well mastering the new jutsu. Like Sasuke’s training with Kakashi, Naruto was concerned with one jutsu, an ace in the hole that would drain his chakra if he used it without thinking.

Naruto studied the ball carefully. Feeling the chakra in the pit of his stomach, he created a pulling motion, forcibly bringing the Kyûbi’s chakra into his control. For two weeks he worked solely on trying to harness the Kyûbi’s chakra. Once he could control it, he found that jutsu became somewhat easier to do all around. That was what helped him get to the last step. Keeping his excitement under control, he watched as a small ball began to form in his hand. He was doing it!

~*~

“Chidori!” Sasuke called out as he threw what looked like an electric ball. An ear piercing shriek of birds echoed around the area. Kakashi folded his arms and watched how far Sasuke’s attack went. Sasuke had finally managed to resign himself to moving slower, and once he did, he was able to latch onto the jutsu.

“It’s better,” Kakashi noted. “You always lose some chakra right before you throw though,” Kakashi critiqued. “You have to throw without anticipating the throw. Aiming is what you need to concentrate on solely, once you start thinking about releasing it, that’s where you lose chakra and the impact lessens.”

“It’s not as strong as I want it,” Sasuke murmured as he surveyed the damaged caused in the rock formations around them. At first he wasn’t sure why Kakashi took him out into such a desolate place, but after practicing, he fully understood why.

“Like I’ve said, you can’t progress that fast,” Kakashi responded. He hated how he had to repeat himself constantly. Sasuke was a smart kid, but he really didn’t use that to his advantage when he wanted something. “Besides, if you go too fast, you’ll end up in the hospital and not participate in the exams.” He watched as Sasuke considered this logic.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Sasuke mumbled.

~*~

It was odd being in the room alone. Sakura looked around at the four beds and the flopped down on hers. She was working on stamina training for the exams and other such training that she could do without rising suspicion too much. She didn’t want to give away her secrets readily. Now that she was back in the Wind Country, she made sure that she could compete to her fullest.

Rolling over, she hugged her pillow and frowned. Yamato said he had to go to Konoha, but why?

A picture of Itachi flashed in front of her and Sakura shook her head to clear it. She could still remember when she lost all feeling in the right side of her body. She had been helpless again. Rubbing her wrist subconsciously, she sat up and looked out the window. It would be a good idea to get supper before the shops closed.

~*~

Gaara stuck to the shadows out of habit. Regardless of the turn the villagers seemed to have towards him, he was still nervous being alone in the streets. He would see a smiling face, but his mind could remember the fearful scowls from the same person. In only three weeks the Chûnin exams would come to a close. Shoving his hands deeper into his pockets, he could feel an emotion he thought could be apprehension as he remembered the Konoha attack. He had to be alert to threats to everyone involved. He couldn’t act too late on anything.

Walking around a corner, he heard a surprised noise as the girl in front of him stepped back.

“I’m sorry, I should have looked where I was…” the voice trailed and then she said hurriedly, “Kazekage-sama…”

Looking in front of him, the fourteen-year-old shifted his weight. He knew this girl, even with her hair cut short, it was uniquely pink. “Hi,” he tried to keep his voice steady, but not too harsh like he used for meetings. He couldn’t remember her name.

“Are you okay?” Sakura asked. She had cut her hair on the way to Suna to get it out of her way. It had been years since it hung above her shoulders. She could always grow it back out.

“Yeah,” he answered. “Is Uzumaki here?” There was that weird feeling he got when he talked to anyone his own age, even his siblings. He kept meaning to ask Temari what it was, but she had been busy training, and he wasn’t sure if he could ask her much of anything yet.

“No, I had to come back early,” Sakura left it at that. Watching Gaara’s expression change for a moment, she bit her tongue. She wanted to know what was going on, but even if Gaara was a few months older than her, he was still the leader of Suna, and that would make questioning him grossly inappropriate.

“Oh,” he murmured and shifted his hands in his pockets. He never knew what to say in these situations.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. Gaara looked increasingly uncomfortable, and somewhat awkward. “I should go…” she said. There wasn’t really a good way to word it.

Gaara opened his mouth and then he took in a deep breath. He had an opportunity to get over his extreme whatever this was around people his own age. He had to practice if he wanted to overcome it. “I was going for a walk,” he said, voice cracking slightly. He hated when that happened, but at least this wasn’t an important meeting.

Sakura looked over her shoulder at him. Was he asking her what she thought he was asking?

“Do you…” Gaara tried to figure out the words he wanted. Sakura only watched him, waiting to make sure she knew what he wanted. “Come with me?”

Sakura blinked and then she nodded. “Why not?”

~*~

Naruto and Sasuke hit the gates at the same time. Frowning, Naruto noted that the Uchiha was now a few inches taller than him.

“Kakashi,” Jiraiya greeted the younger man as the boys eyed each other.

“Learn anything cool?” Naruto asked. He didn’t know what else to say.

“Yeah,” Sasuke answered as the guards inspected their papers.

“I wonder if Sakura’s back yet,” Naruto commented as he looked behind him. It would be great if all of them could enter Suna together. Even if in two days they would be fighting each other, Naruto liked the idea of the whole team being together again.

“I have to get some things,” Sasuke said as though talking was a real pain. “I’ll see you at the embassy.” Then he walked off towards the market district.

Naruto looked over at Jiraiya and Kakashi. They were probably going to a bar or something. “I’m going to go to the embassy,” he announced. “Bye!”

Hurrying through the streets, he saw a woman in a doorway wave at him. “Jiro!”

Slowing, Naruto looked over at her. She had graying hair and a no nonsense air about her. “Er…hi,” he said cautiously as he walked over to her, but kept his distance.

“I thought I saw you three months ago,” the woman commented. At Naruto’s unsure expression, she said, “I’m Tokiko.”

After a moment, Naruto’s eyes lit up in recognition. She was the woman that gave Obito and him the shop stall! “I remember now,” he said with a hand behind his head. He had long since forgotten her.

“You’ve really grown. I see you’ve become a ninja.”

“Yeah…” Naruto laughed nervously. This woman still thought he was Ryûzaki Jiro apparently.

“How’s your brother?” Tokiko asked as she leaned against the doorframe.

“He’s okay,” Naruto said. “He can’t come to the finals though.”

“That’s too bad,” Tokiko said. “I don’t want to keep you from wherever you’re going. Good luck, I’ll be watching in the stands.”

“Thanks,” Naruto replied and then left hurriedly. He wasn’t sure what she’d think or anyone else who possibly could remember him when they learned he wasn’t who they thought he was.

~*~

“PERVERT!”

A brush hit Naruto instantly in the head as he came through the door.

Sakura hurriedly pulled her shirt down over her head, her hair dripping wet. “Don’t you know how to knock before unlocking the door?!”

Naruto turned around towards the door, hurriedly closing it. “Sorry! I didn’t think you were back yet!”

Sakura glanced at him and smoothed out her skirt. “You still could have knocked.” Sitting on the bed, she said, “You can look now.”

Turning around, Naruto slunk over to the bed, chucking his jacket onto his own bunk. “When did you get back?”

Sakura put a hand under her hair as she brushed it out so it laid flat. “Two weeks ago.”

Naruto gaped.

“Yamato-sensei had to go back to Konoha,” Sakura explained. At Naruto’s expression, she added, “He didn’t say why. Hokage-sama probably didn’t know he was giving extra training.”

“Or Obasan didn’t have any other options,” Naruto said quietly as he kicked off his sandals.

Sakura looked over at him and then she said, “How was training?” It always worried her when Naruto began to get serious.

“It was really cool,” Naruto replied with a grin. He liked spending time with Jiraiya. “Ero-sennin taught me this really cool move.” His grain widened. “I can’t tell you though. Maybe I’ll have to use it when I fight you.”

Sakura’s brush paused and then started again. “Yeah…We will fight each other, I’m sure.”

Naruto’s grin lessened at Sakura’s expression. “Sakura – “

“Don’t go easy on me,” Sakura pointed her brush at him. “If you don’t give me everything you have – “

The door opened and Sasuke entered. He was dressed in different clothes, his others having been too small for him.

“Hi,” Sakura greeted him and received an acknowledging noise in return. Setting a bag down, Sasuke jumped up into his bed and rolled over onto his side.

“What’s with him?” Naruto asked. Sakura only shrugged.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Action/Drama
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Nineteen
Note Sorry about only updating this story. It’s the only one I’m getting inspiration on. Also in case you were wondering, I paused my MP3 player and if it landed on an even number the second fighter won the match and if it was an odd number, the first fighter won. XD Just wanted you to know that it was all fair in its own cracky way. Also the first order was picked randomly.
WARNING Violence

Goggles
Chapter Nineteen: First

“Numbers?” a Stone Genin asked as a basket was passed down the line.

“I guess so,” his teammate grumbled as he took a number out of the basket.

Naruto closed one eye as he reached in and drew a piece of paper out of it. Looking down, he watched as Sakura drew hers and Sasuke dres his. “I have number ten,” he said.

“Twelve,” Sakura replied.

“Four,” Sasuke answered.

“Good,” Naruto grinned. “We won’t fight each other right away.”

“Who are we fighting anyway?” Sakura stood up on her tiptoes to see over Kankuro’s shoulder. “Naruto is fighting a Sand ninja, I’m fighting Ten-Ten, and Sasuke is fighting Lee.”

“Weird,” Naruto murmured.

“Okay, let’s lay down the ground rules before you get out there,” the proctor spoke over the voices of participants. “One of the Stone has missed the deadline, but that doesn’t affect the numbers that you drew. Remember that this isn’t just about winning the fights. Many times the winner of everything doesn’t make Chûnin for various reasons. There is a system in place so the numbers of ninja in all the countries can be kept at a relatively even number all around. Just show why you should be a Chûnin, and hopefully you will receive the honor.”

He looked out at the crowd of young teenagers and then he called Temari and one of the Sand ninja from the other Sand team forward, telling the remaining Genin that they could wait on the upper deck.

Gathering in a group, the villages mostly kept to themselves. The Stone ninja were talking in their native language most likely about their missing teammate, while the Sand ninja mostly remained quiet, and the Sound ninja watched the fight like hawks.

“Stop staring at them,” Sasuke said through his teeth as Sakura averted her eyes.

“I just worry,” she said as Naruto watched them with a curious face. Quickly she dove for the spot between Naruto and Sasuke as Gai’s team joined them.

“It’s too bad the others didn’t make it,” Ten-Ten said as the group staked out a place to watch the fight.

“We would have had to have an elimination round if another team finished,” Neji pointed out. Their previous Chûnin exam had been marked by the largest amount of fighters that finished the second part of the exams. There had been too many to successfully have a final exam with so they split up and fought to determine who would go on to showcase their skills.

“Close combat is hard with a fan,” Naruto noted after a while of watching in silence. At least, that’s what it seemed like from his memory of the Suna fight. He didn’t know why he could remember it so clearly. He could barely remember meeting Obito and had only a snap shot or two of memories from their life in the Wind Country, yet the parts of the battle he saw were sharply grained in his mind. “You should start out close I think. That’s why the other girl’s losing.”

“Temari-hime is very strong,” the Sand ninja from her team spoke up. “She or her brother will win.”

“That’s only because they’re related to the Kazekage,” one of the Sound spoke up. “Like last year in Konoha, the only Chûnin will come from the host country.”

“That’s not true,” Naruto defended. “The exams were cut short – “

“By one of the Sand,” the Sound ninja reminded them. “How can you be so comfortable in the village that crushed your own leader six months ago? The beast who led the charge is Kazekage here. You need to be more alert.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Sasuke asked. The Sound spouting such words of “advice” didn’t sit with him.

“Words of wisdom from one foreigner to another,” the Sound Genin murmured. “We share the same tongue after all.” After a pause, he snorted and then waved a hand. “Fine, rest in your own ignorance.” Then he returned to his teammates.

“Prick,” Naruto growled slightly.

“Don’t pick fights,” Sakura reprimanded. “Save it for the field.”

~*~

With a few back flips, Sasuke barely kept out of range of Lee’s attack. The older and taller Genin was attempting to master Taijutsu since he couldn’t perform Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. Thinking as fast as he could, Sasuke began making symbols as Lee quickly caught up to him. He had never fought anyone so fast before. Sasuke knew that Lee was the fastest Genin, but he had yet to even catch up to his instructor who was listed as one of the fastest ninja in all of the countries.

Lee recognized Sasuke’s symbols. Though he could never use them, Lee had paid attention to Neji and Ten-Ten’s training so he could anticipate his enemy’s attacks. He had to finish this quickly and move on to his ultimate goal: fighting Neji. The Hyûga had been at the top of their class at the academy and due to Lee’s disability, he had been at the very bottom. Lee was a boy who set the highest goals for himself, a trait that Gai encouraged. If he won this fight against Sasuke, he would be able to fight Neji, because Lee had no doubt that Neji would win the next fight.

Sasuke managed to put an arm up in time before Lee’s foot could connect with his jaw. Skidding backwards, Sasuke looked around at the arena. Unlike the many trees in the Konoha arena, Suna’s was barren much like the wasteland that surrounded the village.

~*~

“Looks like my protégé is beating yours,” Gai remarked with a bright smile.

Kakashi decided to ignore the comment. He wasn’t sure why he had to suffer through Gai’s constant yammering. He wasn’t even sure how they possibly could have ever been in the position to ever inspire Gai to proclaim him his rival.

“The Uchiha is impressive though,” Kurenai remarked from where she stood beside Asuma. Their Genin teams were somewhere in the crowd, most likely cheering for both Sasuke and Lee. “If he manages to advance, he might be able to become a Chûnin.”

Kakashi narrowed his eye but said nothing. He was paying close attention to Sasuke. He had instructed Sasuke and Sakura to do their best even though neither of them could become Chûnin during this exam. He reminded them that it was rare to advance the first exam in, so their punishment probably wouldn’t affect anything. Naruto, of course, had gone on about which one of them might be Chûnin by the end of the day. He didn’t seem to notice his teammates’ reluctance over the subject.

~*~

Sasuke rolled out of the way and got to his feet, his legs shaking slightly. How could Lee just keep coming? He had barely broken a sweat yet! Wiping his brow, Sasuke took Lee’s momentary pause to think. Lee had him hopping around the exam field and soon he would be out of energy. Looking down at his hand, Sasuke considered his chakra supply. He could do it,d max ere was a distinct possibility that he could max out when he attacked.

Eyes widening, Sasuke felt the kick before he could comprehend what was happening. Lying on the ground, he watched as Lee sprang into a finishing move when he rolled out of the way and raised his hand. Watching as Lee stopped his attack, Sasuke gathered all the chakra he could manage, but it wasn’t enough.

To give up in a fight, a contestant needed to say “I resign” or some form of it. Lee watched as Sasuke put his hand up, but he knew the boy wasn’t giving up. Stopping his attack, Lee played along and after a moment, he decided to call the bluff and launched at Sasuke.

~*~

“Holy shit!” Naruto gaped from where all the examinees were watching the fight. “I didn’t know Fuzzy Brows was that…” Naruto searched for the right word.

“Yeah…” Sakura’s eyes were wide. “Sasuke’s not getting up,” she noted.

“Lee’s not finishing him off either,” Naruto commented.

“Sasuke’s getting up,” Sakura exclaimed. “Did he give up?”

Naruto leaned over the railing of the arena and watched as the medics took Sasuke off the field. “Shit…”

“We have to stay here,” Sakura said quietly. “We can always visit him after we’re eliminated.”

Naruto looked at her and then nodded as Neji and one of the Sound ninja were called to the field.

~*~

Naruto surveyed the Sand ninja in front of him. The boy was slightly taller than him with reddish-blonde hair. The proctor stood between them. “Remember the rules?” he asked. After both teenagers nodded, he raised his arm. “Once I leave the field, your fight will begin. If you want to quit for whatever reason, please raise your hand and say, ‘I resign,’ ‘uncle,’ or whatever you want to say that tells me you’re giving up, okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Okay,” the proctor began walking towards the interior arena walls, “once I cross the boundary, you may begin.”

Both Genin tried to keep one eye on the each other and their other eye on the proctor. The instant the proctor crossed the line, the Sand ninja reached into his pouch and threw several shuriken in Naruto’s direction.

Caught off guard slightly, Naruto managed to dodge most of them, but not all. Setting his face, he decided to go with a direct attack to the Sand Genin as he tried to secure the Kyûbi’s chakra so he could perform jutsu easier.

“Taijutsu?” the Sand ninja asked as he dodged Naruto’s attack, his hands forming symbols. “Are you trying to insult me?”

Naruto didn’t answer. It was most likely trash talk or a bad translation of some phrase Suna said when they weren’t using the universal language. The Kyûbi demanded to know why Naruto needed his cooperation. Trying to keep his mind on the fight, Naruto hoped the Kyûbi would take his mental silence as a cue to get his rear in gear.

“Oh well, here we go,” the boy remarked as he met Naruto’s eyes a moment and then took out a kunai. He would have to defeat this threat in close combat it seemed.

Naruto could feel his chakra blending with the Kyûbi’s slowly. If their chakra couldn’t meld together, his jutsu wouldn’t be as strong. The same river couldn’t have two currents. “Ungh…” Naruto felt the boy slice into his arm as he sprung back, distancing himself from the threat. He had to come up with a plan. Judging by the packs the Sand Genin had, he obviously was studying weaponry like Ten-Ten did.

Making hand signals, he watched as the foreign Genin dove for him just as Naruto let lose some chakra. It wasn’t a large attack like what Jiraiya taught him, but a simple controlled blast. Watching as the other Genin staggered back, his shoulder bleeding profusely, Naruto gritted his teeth and preformed a round house kick, sending the boy sprawling a few yards away.

Taking a slight reprieve, Naruto made sure that the Kyûbi wasn’t about to leave him and then he charged forward. This enemy could be fought close or far. It was clear that the Suna boy had pretty decent aim, so Naruto had to use the battle to his advantage, which was close combat.

Rushing in, he drew out his kunai as his opponent sent more Shuriken at him, enough that most hit Naruto this time. Circling around, the Sand Genin picked up discarded Shuriken as Naruto tried to get him with the kunai. With a kick, the Genin sent Naruto sprawling.

Getting to his feet, the Suna ninja seemed to understand that long range combat would be key in this battle. Retreating behind the rocks, he disappeared from Naruto’s vision.

Sniffing the air, Naruto could smell the Genin’s blood clearly, but the exact position was unclear. Hearing a scuffing noise, he hit the ground as a kunai flew where his shoulder had once been. Rolling out of the way he hoped, Naruto began calling his chakra, feeling the Kyûbi growing bored of the battle. He couldn’t lose the harmony of their chakra. He had to finish this, but without pulling out the ace in his hole.

Promising the Kyûbi that this was the last time he would need to blend their chakra in this fight, he managed to get the tailed beast to agree to keep it together. Running straight for the blood smell, Naruto dodged another weapon attack and went over the rock cropping as another attack came from the side of the rock.

Letting out a shout, Naruto hit his target squarely in the back with his attack and then rolled out of the way in case it hadn’t worked. The instant he stood up, he could feel his legs wobbling and the Kyûbi’s chakra doing its own thing throughout his body. He had to keep standing though. If he wanted to be a Chûnin, he had to give the impression that he could continue on with whatever mission he might have been on before being attacked.

Watching the proctor come forward, the match was called in Naruto’s favor. Grinning, Naruto made his way up the stairs.

~*~

Sakura passed Naruto on her way down the stairs. Her battle was next against Ten-Ten. She wondered what the crowd would think of having two weapons intensive Genin in a row. Reaching out, she went to put a hand on her arm as he passed to tell him good job, but he batted it away. Frowning, Sakura tried to figure out what was wrong with her teammate, but decided to put it aside so she could fight Ten-Ten to the best of her ability.

~*~

“You did great, Naruto!” Lee exclaimed with a thumbs up sign and a wink as Naruto made his way to the Konoha group cursing that they were the farthest away from the stairs. Ever since he beat Sasuke, Lee had been excited. There was some rivalry between Lee and Neji from what Naruto could figure out, and they were the first match of the next round.

Naruto nodded and as soon as he grasped the railing, he felt his legs give out and he sat hard on the floor. At Lee’s face, Naruto waved a hand through the air. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.” Standing up again, Naruto sat up on the railing so he could watch Sakura fight without standing on his legs.

~*~

Sakura didn’t meet Ten-Ten’s eyes as they both of them launched into action. Yamato’s voice kept playing in her head during the other matches. She had to come up with a strategy for the terrain. She also could add to the strategy based on whatever knowledge she had of her opponent. That was her strength in battle, and she should use it to her advantage.

Sakura was already preparing her jutsu as she looked in Ten-Ten’s direction. Without eye contact, she knew she couldn’t give Ten-Ten a hint to the direction she would go in, but it also put her at a disadvantage. Looking to her right, she managed to dodge part of Ten-Ten’s attack. Feeling blood drip down her cheek, Sakura resisted breaking concentration. She was almost done with the first phase of her plan.

~*~

“What the hell is she doing?!” Naruto demanded as he leaned forward slightly. Sakura didn’t seem to be paying to Ten-Ten at first, and then she almost took an attack head on.

“Gathering her chakra,” Neji replied dryly. Naruto was such a pain, always so loud and unobservant.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. How could Neji possibly know this? Sure enough, however, Sakura seemed to do something on the field.

~*~

Kakashi eye narrowed. Yamato had been the right person to give Sakura to after all. Out of the trio, Sakura had been the hardest to place. Watching her eyes and position, he could tell she had a goal and a plan. The true test would be to see if she could change plans when Ten-Ten broke the Genjutsu.

“My money is on the pink haired chick,” one of the foreign Jônin said conversationally. “She’s really thinking things through and tricked that girl from last year into it so easily.”

“Yeah, but the ones in the buns is going to win it, you know,” his companion remarked. “She’ll win the match, but I agree. That pink haired girl might make Chûnin.”

Kakashi glanced at the Stone ninja but said nothing. The true test hadn’t happened yet, and even then, Sakura still had the penalty to suffer through.

~*~

Something was drastically wrong.

Feeling something gripping her ankles, Ten-Ten looked down and tried to keep composure. The rock formation under her was crumbling and her feet were too far into the holes to easily pull out. Looking ahead of herself, she saw Sakura coming towards her. Stuck in the rock, she couldn’t move her legs, but that wouldn’t be a problem.

Sakura looked at Ten-Ten and heard murmurs of the crowd in the stadium. It had worked. Close combat with Ten-Ten could be bad. The trick with a weapons specialist was to figure out how to anticipate attacks and stay far enough away that you can hit them but they can’t hit you.

Frowning inwardly, Ten-Ten kept her eye on Sakura as she continued sinking into the crumbling rocks. She couldn’t give into the fear of falling or never coming out of the rocks again. Her fears were strong, but they weren’t the fears that normally plagued her. Closing her eyes, Ten-Ten let out a bit of her chakra as she called out, “Kai!”

Sakura momentarily let her guard slip. She knew that Ten-Ten would break free of the Genjutsu, but this was too early. Jumping back just in case of attack, Sakura began to modify the original plan as Ten-Ten came at her.

Ten-Ten knew that she had to fight Sakura in close combat. Unlike Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura seemed to be more comfortable in long distance fighting.

Taking out her kunai, Sakura knew she couldn’t beat Ten-Ten in hand to hand combat. She had to complete a bluff and then lead Ten-Ten over to what she had been preparing. It wasn’t finished yet, but it was ready enough that she could at least disorient the weapons kunoichi.

Ten-Ten watched Sakura’s feet move back. Sakura was faking her out again. Moving in the opposite direction, she watched as Sakura shifted, but that only made Ten-Ten’s strike less serious.

~*~

Lee had been quiet for most of the match. Naruto kept making commentary punctuated with curses while Neji simply gave him bland answers, hoping that Naruto would shut up after a while. It was quite obvious that he was annoying the hell out of the Hyûga genius, right?

Narrowing his eyes, he watched Ten-Ten and Sakura’s fight. He wasn’t sure what Sakura had done during the fight when Ten-Ten was making odd motions without attacking, but he assumed it was some sort of Genjutsu. Both of them were quite impressive, but he kept quiet. He wanted to root for Sakura, but Ten-Ten was also his teammate and he wanted both to pass.

“It’s over,” Neji said as the other boys snapped to full attention.

~*~

She wasn’t going to let Sakura lead her into something. Gritting her teeth, Ten-Ten lunged forward and heard her kunai enter Sakura at a critical spot to cause massive blood loss, but not damage any organs.

Sakura felt something rise up in her throat and her left side seemed numb. Falling backwards, she could feel blood collecting in her throat and dribbling out of her mouth. She had to give up.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Action/Drama
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Twenty
Note Also in case you were wondering, I paused my MP3 player and if it landed on an even number the second fighter won the match and if it was an odd number, the first fighter won. XD Just wanted you to know that it was all fair in its own cracky way. Also the first order was picked randomly.
WARNING Violence, description of a dead body

Goggles
Chapter Twenty: Second

Naruto looked at both beds in the room. Sasuke was awake and sitting up, but Sakura was resting from blood loss. Neither boy knew what to say to each other. Naruto reasoned that he should say something about how he wanted to fight them, but it didn’t feel right. The exams were still going, but the second round most likely would take place the next day.

Hearing a noise, both boys’ eyes snapped to the doorway where Kakashi stood. His eye observed his three students, and then he entered the room. “Naruto, you need to be out watching.”

“I just – “ Naruto began, and then he nodded. Leaving, he gave a slight wave and disappeared down the hallway.

Kakashi watched as Sakura stirred. Emitting a small groan, her eyes opened and she groggily looked at Sasuke and Kakashi. “Wha…?” Wasn’t she just fighting Ten-Ten?

“Good, you’re awake,” Kakashi remarked. Now he wouldn’t have to repeat himself or expect Sasuke to relay his words over.

“What happened?” Sakura went to sit up, and then lay back down. Her side hurt too much.

“You were wounded in the side and collapsed from shock and blood loss,” Kakashi responded. He could feel both their eyes on him as he took the chair Naruto had been sitting in earlier. He hated giving such talks, but it was necessary, and it was something the two thirteen-year-olds needed to hear.

“Both of you did well, you especially, Sakura,” Kakashi began. “However, as you know, neither of you can become Chûnin.”

“It’s not like we could have,” Sasuke noted. They were both eliminated in the first round. Also, his fight had been embarrassingly pathetic in his mind. He must have looked like a fool.

“Maybe not,” Kakashi kept his reply cryptic. The brat was probably thinking about the power he could gain from the Sharingan again. From what Kakashi had seen of that jutsu, the less he thought anyone would want it.

“I’m going to go back up,” Kakashi stood up. “Naruto and I will come back down later.” Then he was gone.

~*~

Sakura and Sasuke made their way through the crowd. Sakura was still pale, and Sasuke was sporting a few nasty bruises and one of his wrists was still taped up. Walking through the crowd, they heard a shout come from two rows above them.

“Hey! Up here!” Kiba waved. Team Eight and Ten were sitting in a line together, two seats empty in the middle of them. “We saved you some seats!”

Sakura and Sasuke took a shortcut up to the seats between Kiba and Choji.

“You guys were great,” Kiba commented as Sakura sat down to his left.

“Sasuke, you were really cool,” Ino commented from the other side of Choji. Shikamaru simply rolled his eyes.

Ignoring Ino, Sasuke hoped she wouldn’t start shouting over them at Sakura. Turning his attention to the field, he watched as the second round fighters lined up.

~*~

“Okay, since the chart’s not down here, I’ll clarify who you’re fighting,” the proctor addressed the group before him. He was barely taller than the tallest fighter and only two years older than the oldest one, yet he kept their attention as though he were many years older. “The first match will be between Temari of the Sand and Rock of the Leaf, the next fight will be between Hyûga of the Leaf and Miyuzaki of the Stone,” he paused and shifted his weight. “The third fight will be between Uzumaki of the Leaf and Ten-Ten of the Leaf. The fourth fight will be between Kurosaki of the Sound and Kankuro of the Sand.” Looking at the remaining fighters, he said, “Anyone wanting to give up before we begin?

“No? Okay, then everyone clear the field but Temari-hime and Rock,” the proctor said as he turned to the first two fighters to remind them of the rules and such.

~*~

Gaara leaned forward slightly. Rock Lee had a strategy against the fan, and it looked like it was working. The older boy was fast and despite his initial impression, showed he was very capable. The last time Gaara had seen Lee fight, it had been against one of the Sound ninja, and Lee hadn’t been this good.

“Very interested in this fight, young one?”

Gaara blinked and looked over to his left. The leader of the Stone gave him a slight smile. He was the oldest of all the leaders in the box. Gaara at first thought about not answering, but spoke in his voice he used for dealing with other leaders. “Fights interest me.” It was short and simple, his voice steady and pointed, yet carried an undertone of respect.

“She is your sister, isn’t she?” the man asked. “She’s very skilled.”

Gaara decided to let that one go. People from villages tended to show nosy interest in his family. They were all biological siblings, which wasn’t unusual for the region, but for villages like the Leaf and the Stone, having siblings that looked so different was unheard of unless there was more than one mother or father. Even then, neither village had anyone with red hair.

Looking over to his right, he looked past the leader from the mist and studied Tsunade. The woman was looking at the battle, but her mind was somewhere else. It didn’t look like an expression of someone who was remembering their own exams or one who was remembering the disaster six months ago either.

Glancing away, he watched as Lee sent his sister flying.

~*~

She wasn’t going to be beaten by this guy. Doing a roll, Temari shot forward. Lee had separated her from her fan, but she knew that even if that was the crux of her battle style, she could fight without it. She knew she couldn’t attack him head on.

Watching the sixteen-year-old shoot in the direction of the fan, Lee changed his tactic. Speeding up, he blocked her path. Normally, he would be the type to refrain from attacking women, but this was the Chûnin exams, and even in real life, chivalry could lead to death.

~*~

Naruto’s eyes widened as he watched Temari hit the ground. Neji said nothing from where he stood near the younger Genin. “Wow…” Leaning forward on his elbows, he followed the fight with excitement.

“There’s nothing ‘wow’ about it,” Neji said, hoping that Naruto would quiet down. The boy had been exclaiming things throughout the battle. “It was a simple strategy, which targeted his enemy’s weak spot. She didn’t train hard enough to fight without her weapon, there is no other way this could end.”

Naruto narrowed his eyes and looked over at Neji. The older teenager was so weird. He was always going on about fate or destiny and acted as though all outcomes were strikingly obvious. “Temari can win,” Naruto countered.

“No,” Neji shook his head, “watch.”

~*~

Temari had given up trying to get to the fan. Exchanging blows with Lee, she felt blood trickling down her face and several bruises across her body. If she continued to fight Lee, she knew that nothing good could come of it. Holding up her hand, she said after a blood-filled cough, “I resign.”

Her legs shook, but she had her pride. Walking over to her fan, she picked it up and then she carefully walked off the field, trying to keep up a façade that everything was just fine. Once out of the view of the spectators, she let the medics usher her off without drawing attention.

~*~

Neji’s fight against the Stone ninja lasted slightly longer than Lee and Temari’s fight. Naruto tried to figure out exactly what Neji was doing. He wasn’t sure if Lee or Neji would win in the next round, but he knew that he would fight one of them once he defeated Ten-Ten. She had been standing by him quietly for most of the fights. She didn’t look tired or standoffish like Neji seemed, but she simply kept her eyes on Neji as though confident that he would win the fight.

Ten-Ten said nothing to him as she began walking down to the field after Neji’s victory was called. Naruto simply followed after her. He didn’t remember much about when Sakura and Ten-Ten passed him on the stairs after his fight the day before, but he assumed she had remained quiet towards Sakura as well. It was a way of respect for the other as an adversary maybe. Naruto wasn’t sure, although he half-wished he had paid more attention to what Ten-Ten did to win. He had been more focused on Sakura during the part of the fight he really should have been watching Ten-Ten.

Squaring off with her, he listened as the proctor ran through his typical procedure. Yes, everyone understood the rules. Yes, everyone knew how to give up. No, no one wanted to give in before the fight even began. “Okay then, once I’m out of bounds, you can begin,” the proctor finished and then made his way to the wall.

Once he was gone, Naruto sprang forward with a flying kick. Ten-Ten ducked under him and brought her leg up, hitting him slightly to the side and caused him to fall prematurely. Retrieving a kunai, she kept her mind focused on the battle, but also tried to remember side notes from the one she had already seen Naruto have against the weapons specialist. Without letting him pause, she came at him. Close combat might not be the best option, but it wouldn’t be a waste of projectile weapons.

~*~

“People are calling this a grudge match,” Kiba said as he sat back down in his seat as he and Hinata handed out water to everyone.

“It doesn’t look like one,” Shino remarked quietly as Hinata handed him a water bottle. It was very important to stay hydrated in the Wind Country. The fighters received free water down where they gathered before and after fights.

“Naruto, you idiot,” Sakura murmured. “Did he even pay attention?!”

“Who knows?” Sasuke responded. He hadn’t seen Sakura’s fight with Ten-Ten, but by the older Genin’s reactions, he figured that Naruto was either repeating mistakes or making glaring errors that he could have avoided if he had been watching the fight.

“He’s not losing as much energy as he did with the Suna ninja,” Choji noted. “He looked really bad this far in last time.”

~*~

Ten-Ten and Naruto broke apart, both getting a bit away from each other. Wiping her brow, Ten-Ten’s brown eyes never left him. She could tell that there was something different about how he was fighting her than how he had fought the other ninja, but he didn’t seem to be tiring as fast. Going full at him had been a miscalculation.

Swallowing to slow his breathing, Naruto tried not to miss any possible movement. For minutes the pair had been locked in close combat filled with hand-to-hand fighting and a flurry of weapons. Both Genin were bleeding, but the kunai in their hands weren’t dripping yet. Naruto was trying to keep from blending with the Kyûbi. He knew better than to irritate the Kyûbi too much since he would need him more in the next round. He also wanted to conserve his own chakra as well.

She needed to gain more time, and the only way to do that would be to use projectiles. Reaching into her bag, Ten-Ten saw him charge, and instead of showering him with shuriken, she threw a few judiciously. This allowed for more chance of impact by aiming. Springing off with her feet, she jumped up and back, landing on top of one of the steeper rock formations in the field. Watching him follow her, she narrowed her eyes and took out a longer kunai than her others.

Naruto saw the movement, but he was still in mid-air. Twisting as best he could, he tried to change attacks. As his foot connected with Ten-Ten’s shoulder, her elongated kunai ripped down his arm, blood squirting across both of them.

Sliding down the rocks, Ten-Ten tried to gain control enough to at least fall on her own terms while Naruto fell backwards, landing upside down on the other side.

Standing up, Ten-Ten gritted her teeth. She knew she had done some damage, but she wasn’t sure how much. She had watched Naruto wobble up the stairs after his fight only to see him able to run back down them to chase after Sakura at the end of their match. Approaching around the rocks rather than over them, Ten-Ten kept her weapon handy.

On the other side of the rocks, Naruto was sitting up dazed. His head throbbed and his arm was burning and sticky. Dimly he registered the Kyûbi talking to him, but it sounded like gibberish. Shaking his head, he stood up and tried to regain his bearings. He was fighting Ten-Ten who had fallen to the other side of the rocks.

He knew the Kyûbi was healing the wound on his arm. Hearing a noise, he turned around with his kunai out hitting Ten-Ten’s kunai before it could strike him.

Ten-Ten instantly came at him again and Naruto tried to parry her attacks. With the Kyûbi’s chakra flowing through his arm, he felt his own go into a bit of confusion. This always happened when the Kyûbi tried to heal him. Matting a guttural noise, Naruto tried to even out the Kyûbi’s chakra so it made his flow steadier, but the Kyûbi wasn’t paying attention.

Finally it seemed that Naruto was wearing down. Ten-Ten knew that it wasn’t completely her doing as she tried to find a way to end the fight. The wound on Naruto’s arm was almost done healing, and she had a feeling that his energy might surge once the wound was done healing.

Part of being a weapons specialist meant knowing as much about a body as a medic knows. Organ placement, bone structure and nerve endings were necessary knowledge to know how to instantly kill a person or give them a slow and painful demise. Placing her kunai back in its holster, she took out a shuriken and shoved Naruto to the ground.

Preparing a ninjutsu, she stabbed him with one of the shuriken in a pressure point near the shoulder of the arm she slashed, and then with the other, she hit him in a point on the other side of his body, keeping him from using his arms.

~*~

Naruto had clearly not paid attention to Ten-Ten’s side of the first round. Kakashi watched the battle keeping Kurenai between Gai and himself. Making a slight face, he went to file something away when a cat shikigami appeared. Asuma looked down at the bird and then took the message from it. After a bit of mental translation, he passed the note to Kakashi.

The note was from Yamato, and gave them an update on the situation in Konoha. Things seemed to be clearing up, and it looked mostly like a go for returning as far as anyone could tell.

Passing the note on to Kurenai, Kakashi turned his eyes back onto the fight in front of them. For months, there had been the threat of an attack on Konoha. It was thought to be misinformation to split up forces or keep ninja of the Leaf out of the field. Kakashi thought it was just someone trying to start something since they knew people were vulnerable to worry during a Chûnin exam. He wondered if the patrolling ninja were only used as comfort for the people along with keeping an eye out in case the reports were true.

Straightening, Kakashi stopped leaning on the balcony railing and watched as an unconscious Naruto was taken off the field.

~*~

Sasuke and Sakura were in the room with Naruto finding him awake. With Ten-Ten’s chakra away from him, he had regained consciousness and the staff had bandaged him up and made him drink a nasty concoction that they said would help with something she had done.

“Naruto, you shouldn’t take those off yet,” Sakura commented as Naruto stopped picking at the tape around his arm.

“But, it’s healed,” Naruto replied and then ripped off the tape, hissing as it took arm hair with it.

Sasuke stared at Naruto’s unmarked arm as Sakura grew quiet reasoning that it was probably part of the power of the Kyûbi.

Sitting back slightly, Naruto intertwined his fingers and lowered his eyes. Sasuke was looking at the shadows on the blankets of the hospital cot and Sakura was studying the view out the window.

Kakashi watched them from the doorway and made a face inwardly. These three woke up feeling dramatic every day he was sure. Walking into the room, he put his hands in his pockets and stood on the opposite side of the cot from Sasuke and Sakura. “You three should finish watching the fights,” he said, “and watch them carefully. Gaining knowledge on different types of fighting styles is important, and there is a possibility that you could meet some of the Genin here today on the battlefield as well.

“How you act now is also what can hold you back from being a Chûnin. Think on that while you watch the last of the matches for today and the final match tomorrow.”

~*~

Ten-Ten had sought out her family to sit with, so only the Genin from Naruto’s year were sitting up on the same bench in the bleachers together. Neji and Lee’s fight had ended with Lee centimeters from death and most likely unable to ever fight again. Sakura had gone to visit him before supper, and came back quiet, disappearing until long after the boys were asleep.

“Who do you think is going to win?” Kiba asked.

“I don’t know,” Naruto replied. “They’re both pretty good.” He was rooting for Kankuro, but he decided not to voice this. Neji was just too uptight and focused on a stupid and rather annoying philosophy which rubbed Naruto the wrong way. There was something rather defeatist about always claiming that fate controlled all actions.

“Neji-niisan might lose,” Hinata said cautiously. “If Kankuro-san has a strong defense, and can stay out of close-range, I mean.” Even if Neji was of the branch house, she didn’t like speaking ill of him. He was still her family as dysfunctional as the Hyûga clan was.

~*~

Only a year apart, both teenagers were near the same height, but Kankuro was built thicker than Neji. The proctor stood between them, and looked at both of them. He was tired of repeating himself, and certainly after about four rounds, these two knew what they were doing. “If you forgot any of the rules, tell me,” he said. No one answered. “Okay, anyone want to give up now?” Again, no answer. “Alright then. Once I’m off the field, you can fight.”

Walking off the field, the proctor raised his arm once he was off.

Brown eyes met translucent eyes. Many had simply instantly started the fight, but they waited. Then Neji assumed the stance of the Gentle Fist and Kankuro brought out Karasu, both of them moving in the same instant. Sliding back, Kankuro shot Karasu forward as Neji wove his way towards the puppeteer. Hand out, he watched as at first, Kankuro rose an arm up to block the attack before thinking better of himself and moving farther back, beginning to make hand symbols. His chakra made noticeable wires to his puppet, twitching slightly as he worked his counter attack.

~*~

Gaara put his chin on his hand as his greenish blue eyes followed the fight. His brother and Neji were sustaining equal amount of injuries and seemed to be going back and forth. Neither seemed stronger or weaker, and neither seemed to have more energy over the other.

“Excuse me, Kazekage-sama,” a voice said to his right.

Looking over, Gaara watched as Tsunade stood up. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say, and watched as she left the special observation area for the leaders. Turning his attention back to the fight, he frowned.

~*~

“They’re even,” one of the foreign Jônin stated. “But not in a bad way, not at all.”

“I agree,” one of the Suna ninja murmured.

Feeling movement to his right, Kakashi watched as Kurenai turned in the direction of the stairwell, Tsunade approaching them in her typical attire, her Hokage robes tucked away. “How is everything?” It sounded almost like a question about the fight, but her ninja knew better. Tsunade was checking up to see if there was new information on the threat towards Konoha.

“It’s slowing,” Kurenai said. “They say nothing significant has happened yet.”

Tsunade nodded as she blended herself into the middle of the group to avoid detection.

“Most think nothing is going to happen,” Kurenai continued. “That it will be a stalemate.”

Tsunade’s lips frowned slightly and then she turned around with her back to the field, her arms resting on the railing. “The word is that something will happen before the return.” Standing straighter, she said, “Keep watch for me.” Then she left the instructor area.

~*~

“That was amazing!” Naruto buzzed as they sat in their room later that night. “It looked like they were both knocked out and then Kankuro stood up and – and – “

“We were there!” Sakura grouched. Naruto looked down at her curiously. She had been acting weird all day.

“Hey, Sakura, are you sure you’re okay?” Naruto made a face. She was still kind of pale.

“Yes! I’m just fine!” Sakura huffed and then she said, “We should sleep soon. We have to check out and then go back to Konoha early.”

“Kakashi’s not back yet,” Sasuke pointed out. Since when did Sakura run the show anyway? The last thing he wanted to do was go to sleep, although the prospect of getting Naruto to shut up was tantalizing.

“I wonder if Ero-sennin was watching,” Naruto remarked. “I saw Obasan. She was talking with Kakashi-sensei and the others during the fight.”

That got both of his teammates’ attention. “What?”

“Yeah,” Naruto continued. “She was talking to them and she wasn’t dressed up like the Hokage.” Leaning back, he sat so his knees were bent and the soles of his feet touched. Clutching his ankles, Naruto rocked slightly. “It didn’t look bad though.”

“Something bad must have happened.”

Sakura and Naruto instantly looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke sighed as though explaining this was a gratefully painstaking process. “She didn’t want to attract attention when she talked to them. If everything was okay, she would have stayed up with the other kage.”

“But what could have happened?” Sakura asked.

“Nothing happened,” Kakashi said as he walked into the room. Feeling their eyes on him, he set his things down in their usual spot. Sitting down on his bed, he rested his arms on his thighs. “We’re going to leave early tomorrow. Go to sleep.”

~*~

“Kakashi-sensei has been really quiet, don’t you think?”

Sasuke looked over at Sakura. They were only a few miles from Konoha now. “He’s always quiet.”

“No, I mean…” Sakura tried to find the right word. She looked over at Naruto and then shook head. He wouldn’t help her.

“We should start working to make Chûnin,” Naruto remarked abruptly. “We can’t fail twice.”

“Where are the exams next?” Sakura asked.

“I don’t know,” Naruto replied as Sasuke simply made a guttural noise. “Ah! We’re home!” Grinning broadly, he handed his papers to one of the guards. “I’m going to go get some ramen. Anyone want to come?”

“No,” Sasuke said as they walked through the gates. He had had enough of his teammates for a nice long time.

“I think I want to go home for a bit,” Sakura said quietly. Her parents hadn’t been able to come out to Suna to see her fight and she missed them.

“Oh,” Naruto murmured, “okay.”

“You have tomorrow off,” Kakashi commanded their attention before the group split up. “On Tuesday, meet at the bridge at eight in the morning.”

The Genin agreed and then the four went their separate ways.

~*~

Sasuke went to unlock the apartment door and then stopped. Pulling the key back out, he held his breath and listened. The door had been unlocked. Even when Obito was in the apartment, the door was locked. Taking out a kunai, Sasuke crouched and opened the door swiftly, preparing for an attack.

He took in the entire room, waiting for movement, waiting for a presence, but it felt hollow and empty. The window was open but the glass was shattered, the shards scattered throughout the room. Putting his hand over his nose and mouth, Sasuke tried to channel his breathing. There was a putrid and almost moldy smell in the room.

Carefully, he stepped farther into the room. From what he could tell, there wasn’t any immediate threat. Hearing a crack, he quickly stepped back and looked down. On the floor lay a large black shape amid the shards and pieces of furniture and other things form the apartment room. Checking one last time for a threat, Sasuke carefully brought out a field light.

Stretched out on the floor face down was Obito. A large stain of dried blood spread out from his body. His face was turned to the side, his neck at a ghastly angle, both his eyes gouged out. Maggots were already infesting his body, small white bugs wriggling out of his open mouth.

His left arm was pinned around his back looking as though the fore arm was no long attached with an elbow. His black robe was torn in places, dried wounds gathering flies and other pests.

A bluebottle fly buzzed close to Sasuke’s head, causing the teenager to blink. Collapsing to his knees, he began retching on the floor, heaving violently. Glass dug into his legs and palms but he couldn’t stop. After a while, the heaves dried and he breathed in and out, paling at the putrid stench.

~*~

The night was pleasant and slightly warm for March.

Putting his hands into his pockets, Naruto looked up at the sky. The stars were out, but it wasn’t too late. He had his fill of ramen and told Ichiraku and his waitress about all the great battles in the Chûnin exams much to their amusement. He didn’t feel like going home just yet, but he didn’t feel like going out to the mountain either.

Pausing at an alleyway, Naruto took a flying leap over it. He would go visit Obito, even if Sasuke didn’t want him there.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Action/Drama
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Twenty-One

Goggles
Chapter Twenty-One: Loss

Naruto carefully entered the building and stealthily climbed up the stairs. He knew that he wasn’t supposed to go to Obito’s apartment, but Ichiraku said he hadn’t seen Obito in a while, so maybe he had just come back from a mission or he was still out on one. The only way to really know would be to go to the apartment and at least ask Sasuke. Walking down the hallway, he paid attention to the numbers until he slowed. The door to one of the apartments up ahead was hanging open. Crouching low, he continued on, pausing every so often to listen. It sounded like someone was retching and the stench was horrible.

Gagging slightly, Naruto took off his headband and tied it so it was over his nose and mouth like a cloth. Coming up to the door, he pulled out a kunai, and stirred the Kyûbi just in case. Rushing into the room, he froze. Sasuke knelt not too far away, a pool of vomit in front of him, and then beyond Sasuke lay…

Eyes hollow, Naruto froze. Feeling his limbs move, he fought to keep consciousness. His arm reached out and he felt his hand grab Sasuke’s shoulder roughly, but at the same time, he felt nothing at all. Pulling Sasuke up, the older boy lashed out at him but Naruto blocked it subconsciously.

Grabbing Sasuke’s arm forcibly, Naruto began to drag him out of the room without understanding what he was doing. Once they were down the stairs, Sasuke wrenched his arm out of Naruto’s grasp as the boy seemed to come out of his out of body trance.

Neither of them spoke. Naruto was shaking where they stood at the first landing of the staircase. Sasuke leaned against the banister before wincing and taking in a sharp breath. The palms of his hands throbbed and his legs stung. He could feel blood flowing down his hands and legs.

Naruto pressed a hand to the wall beside him. They couldn’t stand here. They had to get out. Looking over at Sasuke, he watched as the boy sat down hard on the steps. He had glass in his skin from where he had collapsed in the room. Naruto looked down at him, hesitating and then he Grabbed Sasuke’s arm, put it around his shoulder, and started down the stairs.

~*~

“Kakashi-sensei! Kakashi-SENS – “

“Naruto...” a voice intoned form a room a few feet away. Naruto backed up, Sasuke now on his back passed out from blood loss and shock. Kakashi stood in his doorway peering into the darkness. He had only been asleep for twenty minutes, but his senses were keen. “Naruto, what – “

“Kakashi-sensei! It’s – It’s – Obito-oniisan – he – I – Sasuke – “ Naruto tired to figure out how to start. Part of him tried to fit this into the report format, but he just couldn’t. He didn’t want to remember. If he didn’t think about it, he could focus.

“Why are you here?” Kakashi asked. It was clear that the first stop should have been the hospital.

“I…” Naruto’s voice trailed. When Sasuke collapsed outside of the apartment complex, his first thought was to find Kakashi. “Er…”

Kakashi sighed and said, “Take Sasuke to the hospital and stay there. I’ll go check on Obito.”

Naruto opened his mouth and then he closed it, hurrying as fast as he could in the direction of the hospital.

~*~

People were gathered outside of Obito’s apartment when Kakashi arrived. Frowning behind his mask, Kakashi heard one of the women muttering about a horrendous stench. No one seemed to know the cause, but all had evacuated. Looking through the crowd, Kakashi didn’t see Obito anywhere.

“Excuse me?” Kakashi asked a man nearby. “What happened here?”

“Hatake-san!” the man exclaimed. “There’s something up on the third floor. There’s blood too – we were going to call someone…”

“Third floor?” Kakashi interrupted. He didn’t know this man, but he could surmise that the man was a wordy one.

“Yes.”

“I’ll look into it,” Kakashi said and then disappeared into the building. Looking down at the steps, he saw a blood trail leading up them, one pair of sandal prints soon turning into two pairs. Over them were a few other foot prints, but the oldest prints were from sandals. Following them, he took in a sharp breath at the third landing. There was a sickening scent in the air, but it wasn’t unbearable.

As he neared the Uchiha apartment, he felt as though he placed on an Anbu mask. His face was expressionless and looked almost detached. He didn’t pause before the door; he instinctively knew what he would find. Procedures were already running through his mind on how to secure the scene and get the right people in to examine it.

Walking into the room, he heard his sandal break a rather large shard of glass as he took in the scene. His eyes instantly inspected the door. There wasn’t a sign of forced entry. It looked like whatever entered had come through the window, which had been open. Kakashi moved deeper into the room. It looked like the fight had happened in the main room, and hadn’t spilled over into the bathroom. How no one had heard this, he wasn’t sure.

It looked like a ritual killing almost, but at the same time it looked completely random. The most noticeable thing about the corpse was that both eyes were missing, a clear indication that Obito had been fighting with the Sharingan activated. Kakashi knew he would need someone else to positively figure out how long the body had been decomposing in the varying temperatures of early spring.

Stepping out of the room, he blinked as a Chûnin not much younger than he was came up the steps. “Ah! Kakashi-sempai,” Tsukijime slowed, “I was just coming to look into the smell.”

Kakashi considered him a moment and then he said, “You stay guard. Don’t let anyone into the building.”

~*~

The last shard was pulled from Sasuke as he gritted his teeth, trying his best not to scream.

“There we go,” the apprentice medic ninja said as he carefully disposed of the blood and glass shards. “Do you feel any more pieces?”

“No,” Sasuke said.

“We’re going to have to keep you over tonight,” the man told Sasuke. “I’ll get you a cot. You can stay in this room.” Instantly the man left.

Naruto was playing with the tie strands on his windbreaker. His hood was pulled up over his head, obscuring half his face from Sasuke. He wasn’t sure how he felt. He knew that the Kyûbi had somehow gotten them to the first landing in the apartment complex, but he just couldn’t seem to reach out to the beast. Either he wasn’t really trying or the Kyûbi didn’t want to talk to him at all.

Sasuke said nothing and looked down at his feet. His sandals and toes were stained red. Looking away quickly, his eyes snapped to attention when the man returned with the cot.

“Here you go.” He set it up in the small room. Turning to Naruto, he said, “You can’t stay here. You’re going to have to go home.”

Naruto continued playing with the tie strings. He wasn’t listening at all. His defense mechanisms were in overdrive, and the outside world was of no importance at the moment. Feeling the apprentice’s hand on his shoulder, Naruto jumped out of the chair and his eyes widened in shock when the man caught his foot. “Er…ah…”

“I said you need to go home,” the apprentice repeated firmly. He was uncertain around this kid. He knew that he wasn’t the Kyûbi, but at the same time, he was the emblem of several of the worst days in the apprentice’s life.

“But…” Naruto quivered slightly. Kakashi had told him to stay at the hospital, and he wouldn’t go home if they kicked him out of the hospital.

“Come on,” the apprentice put a directive hand on Naruto’s shoulders. “Your friend will still be here later this morning.”

~*~

“Another?” Tsunade asked the messenger.

“Y – Yes, another has been found,” the young man reported. “He’s been dead for several days. We’re waiting on confirming the number.”

Tsunade folded her arms and then asked, “Does anyone know what happened to his charge?”

“Uchiha Sasuke reported into the hospital a while back. They’re keeping him overnight for observation. They said he fell to the floor and several shards of glass were embedded in his calves, palms, and one toe.”

Tsunade nodded. “Umino Iruka and Obito…” Her eyes narrowed.

~*~

Naruto wasn’t sure why he was there, but it was better than going to his apartment room. Dragging his feet, he felt eyes on him, but he kept his eyes down. Finally he stopped and looked over at the woman sitting outside of the Hokage’s office. “Is…Is Obasan busy?”

Shizune blinked. Typically Naruto would barge through the door and she would desperately try and stop him. “Er…ah…yes,” she answered after a moment.

“Oh,” Naruto replied and shifted his weight. Looking down at his sandals, he could see the blood still on them. “Can I wait for her?”

“Of course.”

~*~

“Kakashi, there’s another problem.”

Kakashi looked over his shoulder from where he stood in the hallway. Several specialized ninja were checking the scene. The most disconcerting part about the murder, from a state perspective, was the fact whoever it was took Obito’s eyes. Kakashi tried to keep himself detached. He couldn’t let this affect him, especially since he was in charge of the operation.

“What is it, Yamato?” Kakashi put his hands deeper into his pockets.

“Someone thought you needed this,” Yamato said as he held out Kakashi’s hitae-ate.

Kakashi was still dressed in the first pants he could find when Naruto woke him up. He still had on his black undershirt with the mask up over his face, but he hadn’t bothered to grab the headband. Taking it, he tied it up and over the scar that was across where his left eye should be. He received the injury in the same battle Obito lost his arm under a boulder.

“Umino Iruka is also dead,” Yamato said. “They found his body two days ago.”

“Anyone else?”

“Not that anyone knows yet. They want to question the boys who found him first though,” Yamato continued, “but they can’t find Naruto.”

Kakashi made a face. He couldn’t predict what Naruto would do. He didn’t even know where Naruto would go. He thought about sending someone after him, but then he changed his mind. The only people he would trust to actually do any good were dead. “I’ll go look for him. You take over.”

~*~

Naruto opened his eyes. He was tied up in the basement Orochimaru’s hideout, but he was taller and felt older. There was stubble on his chin, and his clothes were very different. Across from him was a tall teenager cloaked in shadow. His hair was stuck up and pointy almost like a character in a fighting manga. Two Sharingan eyes met his and held his gaze almost with disinterest.

“Obito…?” Naruto asked, his voice hoarse from lack of use.

There was a mirthless laugh and the teenager in shadow took his chin off the palm of his hand. “No, dobe.”

Naruto instantly felt his muscles tense. His first impulse was to rouse the Kyûbi just in case he needed to project his chakra, but the Kyûbi seemed to be inaccessible. “Sasuke – “ he started, but was it really Sasuke? When did Sasuke achieve the Sharingan?

“I’m not going back to Konoha,” the Uchiha stated plainly. “Not even after I achieve my goal.”

“You left…?” Naruto felt like he was missing something big.

Sasuke slipped off Kabuto’s old working table and walked over to Naruto, but the instant his face came into light, the features shifted and Itachi stood before Naruto. No longer was Naruto tied in the basement, but he was out in an area of the Wave Country, or at least what he had seen draw in scrolls of the scenery.

“Deidara was almost successful in capturing the Ichibi,” Itachi spoke in a level tone. “He made several errors though, but I will not.”

Naruto’s eyes widened. Yet, before Itachi could begin his jutsu, the setting changed again and Naruto became very small, smaller than he ever remembered being.

Looking around, he almost fell over, his legs stubby and clumsy.

“Hey, watch it.”

Naruto felt an arm catch him before he could hit the ground. Looking up over his shoulder, he stared.

Obito smiled down at him, younger than Naruto remembered him ever being. He was wearing a dark blue and orange outfit, but his goggles were the same. “You shouldn’t stand here; it’s dangerous for someone your size.”

Naruto felt his eyes well, but he bit his lip. He couldn’t cry. Ninjas didn’t cry. Although, was he even a ninja? Memories of Sasuke, Sakura, and even Iruka were slipping away. He moved away and simply stood in front of Obito, sniffing periodically. Crying was something to do back where he lived, where no one could see and no one could smile about it.

“Ah…don’t cry,” Obito said hurriedly. He looked worried about making a really little kid cry, especially in a crowded street where everyone could see. Naruto wasn’t sure why anyone would care, let alone get angry.

“What’s your name?” Obito asked.

Naruto opened his mouth, but unintelligible gibberish came out as though it was the Kyûbi speaking, but Naruto knew the Kyûbi wasn’t speaking through him at all. Then, without warning, the Kyûbi surged and bit Obito on the hand before putting Naruto’s body into a crouch and running away on all fours across the roofs of Konoha.

Opening his eyes again, Naruto found the world slightly fuzzy. There was a heavy crust of sand in both eyes, his cheeks streaked, and nose stopped up. Rubbing his eyes, his picked out the sand with his fingers at points, and then yawned before freezing. Where was he?! Hurriedly he swung his legs up and to the right, finding himself sitting up on the couch in the Hokage’s office. The sun was streaming in through the window, signaling that it was probably about eleven in the afternoon.

Tsunade was at her desk, looking as though she hadn’t sleep the night before. She was reading a rather large report, frowning deeply.

“Obasan…?” Naruto wasn’t sure if he was still in his dream or not. Although, he was dressed in his normal clothes, and he seemed to still be twelve and a half years old.

“You’re up?” Tsunade set the papers down and observed the boy.

“Yeah…” Naruto said groggily and then looked around frantically. “My headband! Where is it?!” Getting off the couch, he started sticking his arm underneath it. “Dammit!” Running his hands through his hair just in case it was still where it was supposed to be, he started looking on the floor.

“You didn’t have it when you came here,” Tsunade said, shifting the boy’s attention back to her.

“Oh,” Naruto murmured, pausing. What could he have…? An image of Obito’s corpse appeared in his mind. When he pulled Sasuke up, it fell to the ground off his mouth. Shaking his head quickly, he froze. Sasuke! He was supposed to stay put at the hospital with him! Kakashi was going to kill him!

Tsunade watched the emotions fly across Naruto’s face.

“I have to go,” Naruto said and hurried to the door. “I’ll see you later!” Then, before Tsunade could say anything, Naruto was gone.

~*~

Kakashi had found Naruto asleep in the Hokage’s waiting room when he came to report on the investigation. The boy was pale and he grimaced in his sleep, sometimes lashing out or speaking in gibberish, but he wasn’t loud.

Looking at his sensei’s name on the memorial, Kakashi kept his hands in his pockets. After leaving the Hokage complex, Kakashi made his way to the memorial and had yet to leave. Rin’s name wasn’t too far away from his sensei’s name, but Obito’s, of course, wouldn’t make it on the stone. He hadn’t died for their country during a mission.

It hurt. Even if he had never gotten along with Obito or held him in high esteem, it still hurt that he was dead. Kakashi kept his eye closed and blocked out the world until he was ready to rejoin it, his emotions carefully boxed away again.

~*~

“Has Kakashi-sensei been here yet?!”

A woman stared stunned as a medical ninja looked up from where he was examining her twisted ankle.

Naruto stared back and then put a hand behind his head. “Must have the wrong room…sorry.” Then he walked hurriedly down the hallway. Sasuke had been in that room last night, right? Although, it was lunch time, and he doubted that Sasuke would still be here. Maybe they moved him?

Coming to a halt, Naruto quickly backed up and slipped into an empty room. It was Sakura. He didn’t want to face her. He wasn’t ready to face someone who was outside of all of this. Sure, Sakura had known Obito, but not like he or Sasuke did. As much as he liked Sakura, he wanted to keep away from her.

“Naruto…”

Naruto looked up and tried to figure out the face he should put on for her. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he wasn’t sure how exactly to make her go away.

“I saw Sasuke,” she said quietly.

Naruto didn’t look up. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. It hurt.

He felt thin arms wrap around him and Sakura’s voice was in his ear. “I’m sorry, Naruto.” His body stiffened unsure of what to do. Sakura broke away at his reaction. “Do you need anything?”

Naruto shook his head.

“If you do, just tell me,” Sakura responded and then she left him.

~*~

Sasuke wasn’t sure how he felt about this. His legs and palms ached, and there had been a few pieces of glass found that morning. He had spent the night sleeping minutes at a time. His mind kept bringing him back to the Uchiha massacre. He could remember all the bodies he had seen in detail no matter how much his mind tried to suppress it. None of the bodies had their eyes gouged out though. Frowning, Sasuke put his chin on his hand and brooded.

When he first met Obito, he had been resentful. He had never known Obito existed, and the man had been too older brotherly. Sasuke hadn’t trusted him in the slightest, but went along with everything because it was the best path to gain what he wanted. He never paid attention to when he lost his resentment and trusted the man. It hurt a lot, it hurt more than it should.

Hearing a noise at the doorway, Sasuke’s eyes instantly snapped to it, meeting Naruto’s eyes, throwing the younger ninja off-balance. “Er…ah…” Naruto began and then finished, “has Kakashi-sensei been here yet?”

“No.”

“Okay, good.” Naruto walked into the room and sat on the first chair he came to near the foot of Sasuke’s cot.

Neither boy said anything. Naruto looked out the window and Sasuke stared off across the room.

“Why did they take the eyes?” Naruto abruptly asked quietly. Looking over at Sasuke, he asked a bit stronger, “Why?”

Sasuke met his eyes and then looked away. “Because, he had the Sharingan activated.”

“But…why just the eyes?” Naruto persisted. They could have taken all the head, or the whole body…

“Because a body would be too hard to transport,” Sasuke growled slightly.

“But – “ Naruto started.

“Someone wanted the eyes,” Sasuke glared from his cot, “for their own means.”

An image of Kabuto and his equipment flashed before Naruto’s eyes. “So they’re going to experiment on them?”

Naruto wasn’t taking the hint. Sasuke looked away, knowing that Naruto wasn’t going to shut up until all his questions had been answered. At least Sakura knew when to back off. Actually, she had barely said anything to him. “I don’t know. They didn’t take the brain.”

Naruto looked rather green, most likely visualizing what that might have looked like if the brain was also missing. Before he could say anything more, Kakashi walked in through the door.

“Kakashi-sen – “ Naruto began.

“I know you weren’t here, Naruto,” Kakashi cut him off and didn’t elaborate. Turning to Sasuke, he asked, “Has the interrogators been here?”

“No,” Sasuke replied.

“Both of you will need to stay here until they come to talk to you.”

“Do they know who did it yet, Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked.

Kakashi noticed that Sasuke was also waiting raptly for his answer. “No, they don’t.” He observed the boys and then he said, “Revenge won’t solve anything.” Both boys looked up at him immediately.

Kakashi shifted his weight and continued. “Some shinobi when this kind of thing happens vow revenge on the killer,” he began, making sure he had their attention. “They work towards this goal, trying to gain power simply to kill the ninja who killed their loved one.” He paused. “It could take years of their life to become powerful enough to finally defeat their foe, but once they achieve this goal, there is nothing.”

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked. For him, each goal he set led to another goal, and even once he became Hokage, he would have an ongoing goal to protect Konoha and be the best of all Hokage.

“Revenge is unfulfilling,” Kakashi replied. “Training for revenge is wasted time. Ninja don’t focus on the past, they concentrate on the moment.”

Sasuke was watching Kakashi, but the man wasn’t sure the boy understood what he was driving at. Looking at Naruto, Kakashi saw him mulling over this concept.

“Have you ever gotten revenge, Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked.

Kakashi merely gave him a look. “Just keep this in mind. It’s your choice to throw your life away, but revenge is not strength.” Turning towards the door, he paused. “I’ll see you both later. I have things I have to do.”

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Action/Drama
Rating PG-15
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Possible epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Note I brought the rating up slightly. This really isn’t an R fic, but it’s not really a PG-13 fic either. I know that in some countries they have a PG-15 and I think that this fits that rating the best at the moment.

Goggles
Chapter Twenty-Two: Chûnin

A year passed and the Genin soon became Chûnin. No major incidents since the death of Iruka and Obito had occurred, but still no one knew who had done it or why yet.

“I can’t believe you’re wearing that hideous thing,” Sakura commented from where she sat up on the bridge’s railing. Team Seven were getting ready to report to Tsunade for a mission.

Naruto looked at her and stared. “Why aren’t you wearing yours, Sakura?”

“Because it’s ugly!” the fifteen-year-old replied as though this was the most obvious fact in the world.

“Where’s Sasuke?” Naruto asked looking around.

“I don’t know,” Sakura looked up at the sky.

Naruto shrugged and then perched up by her before grinning. “I’m taller.”

Sakura looked over at him. Of course he was taller! He was a boy and boys kept growing, but he didn’t have to keep rubbing it in every so often. Before she could defend herself, Sasuke approached, also foregoing his vest.

Naruto made a face. Was he the only person who took this position seriously?! “Where’s your vest, Sasuke?” he asked.

Sasuke looked at him. “At home.”

Naruto sighed and decided to let it not affect him. Now, if Kakashi showed up without one…

“Everyone here?” Kakashi asked, dressed in his typical blue standard issue pants and shirt along with his vest. As he thought, Naruto was the only one dressed in his vest. “Okay, let’s go.”

~*~

“Three years ago the wealthy businessman Gato took over several areas in the Wave Country,” Tsunade explained as Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto studied the mission forms carefully. “Two years ago, he near destroyed a town who was building a bridge, and succeeded in killing many of the workers and the man heading the operation.”

“Why are you sending us here anyway?” Naruto asked. The town was obviously far gone and he doubted that after two years of chaos, three newly appointed Chûnin could help anything, even if they three of them had caused considerable damage to the fighting grounds during their final fights.

“Because they’re trying to establish a new government,” Tsunade explained. “It’s a B-rank mission. Gato has moved out of the area for one year now, and there are reports that he’s loss interest in the town. They asked for someone to come and help them.”

“The man who died was named Tazuna, right?” Kakashi asked. He remembered hearing about a second-year Genin team who had all died at the hands of Zabuza the Demon two years ago when their escort mission had taken a harsh turn.

“Yes.”

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets. It wasn’t uncommon for instructors to continue to aid their underlings for a few years after their making Chûnin. A B-rank mission typically could go either way. A fifteen-year-old and two fourteen-year-olds definitely couldn’t help reestablish a government. This mission not only required strength, but general experience at life. Depending on the mission they received, Kakashi had considered letting them take care of it on their own, but with Zabuza’s death unconfirmed and the type of mission they were facing, he knew better.

~*~

Naruto’s eyes took in everything on the small boat. Sakura and Sasuke glanced at him and then continued talking in low voices. “There has been Akatsuki movement in this area,” Sakura stated. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to involve Naruto, they didn’t want him to know they were keen on looking out for him as though he was also a charge. He wouldn’t like the idea of being protected one bit. They had been prepared at the last Chûnin exams in the Cloud, but nothing had happened.

“The Akatsuki wear Mist headbands,” Sakura pointed out. “I don’t know who we’ll encounter, but…”

Naruto continued to take in the area around them, but he couldn’t help catching Sakura’s and Sasuke’s conversation. He trained very hard to develop his keen senses and also get his chakra to blend with the Kyûbi’s better. He had reached a truce with the fox, who had finally given up and kept their chakra flowing together at an even rate for two months now. That was what helped him in the last Chûnin exam, even though his fight against Sasuke had ended in a draw. The Rasengan and Chidori were at the same level.

“You’re going to have to move quickly once we come ashore,” the man rowing the boat said. “Where are you staying again?”

“Something called The Red Horse,” Sakura replied. Kakashi had instructed them to lead the mission and he would jump in when necessary, which was their usual repertoire.

“You’re going to be very careful, especially you,” the man said to Sakura firmly. “There are few nice places left, and the Red Horse is in a very dangerous part of town for a girl, especially a pretty one like you.” He looked to Kakashi. “You should keep an eye on her, sir. I know she’s a capable ninja, but some men in here could easily overpower her.” Kakashi didn’t respond.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. He wasn’t sure if Sasuke got his message or not, but Naruto knew he was definitely going to keep an eye out for trouble. Sasuke probably was too, but like usual, Sasuke didn’t give him much indication of his answer.

“The first meeting is at five tonight,” the man continued, “but those under eighteen can’t come. Our country, unlike yours, doesn’t have a ninja system, so our children aren’t as strong of mind as yours.”

The Chûnin knew that he said it to be nice to them, to give them credit for their achievement. Kakashi only nodded.

“I can take you to the meeting place,” the man continued, his voice dropping even lower. “We will have to leave immediately though if we want to be accepted into it.”

“You three can find the Red Horse,” Kakashi said. “I want someone with Sakura at all times,” he gave her a look when she went to protest, “and be smart about what you’re doing. Also,” he said, “I want you to remove your Hiate-Ate.”

“But, Kakashi-sensei – “

“If you want to secure a room, it would probably be best if you don’t look like ninja. That’s also why I told you to take your vest off earlier, Naruto.” Naruto gave him a sheepish expression. He had put up a fight over that one.

Kakashi watched as his team put their Hiate-Ate away, Sakura taking out a simple headband to keep her medium-length hair how she wanted it. “You’ll be on your own for supper. I’ll tell you what I’ve learned later.” He didn’t ask if it was clear, he knew they understood what he wanted.

~*~

Sakura looked at the clothes and frowned. They fit, but they were baggy in many areas. “Don’t you have a belt, Naruto?”

Naruto put a hand behind his head. Once they secured a room, Sakura demanded that he give her some of his clothes for the time being. She had brought some pants herself, but she wanted clothes that hid her figure, cursing that she never thought of that before. Sasuke’s clothes would definitely be too big for her, and Naruto’s fit for the most part, but the waist was far too big.

“I don’t need one,” Naruto replied, blinking slightly.

Sasuke tossed her a belt out of his bag, Sakura catching it instantly. “Thanks.” Slipping it on, she pulled it so it kept the pants up, but didn’t make her waist look too small. Looking in the crude mirror, she inspected the outfit. “Why don’t you ever wear this, Naruto?” It was a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants with orange rectangles on the knees and elbows.

“I don’t like black,” Naruto replied. He tended to scavenge anything he could out of habit, and he had grabbed that outfit just in case he ever had to resort to it.

Sakura shrugged. It wasn’t anything she would pick, but at least it wasn’t completely orange. Taking up her long hair, she put it in a low pony-tail, letting the shorter strands fall forward. Tying it off, she began scrubbing the makeup off her face. “There.” Turning to Naurto and Sasuke, Sakura asked, “Do I look like a guy?”

“No,” Sasuke answered flatly.

“Not really,” Naruto replied.

Sakura sighed and then sat down on the bed. “What do we do for supper?”

“One of us will stay and the other will get something,” Sasuke replied. After watching how many guys eyed Sakura when they rented their room, he wasn’t leaving her alone anywhere.

“I can get stuff,” Naruto said. He hated waiting around for things to happen. Sasuke didn’t seem to put up a fight either. “Okay,” he reached into his backpack and then put his frog wallet into his jacket pocket. “I’ll be back later.” Then he disappeared through the door.

~*~

Naruto didn’t know where he was going. The town wasn’t giving him any hints at all. Everywhere seemed like “the bad part of town” and he hadn’t found anywhere that looked like it sold food. Mulling over whether he wanted to figure out a place to go fishing, Naruto paused.

“We finally cornered you, girlie,” a large man said as he and two other men loomed over someone Naruto couldn’t see. One of the other men gave an ominous laugh.

“Now we can – “ the third man began to say but instantly hit the ground when Naruto shot a flying kick to his head. Without pausing, Naruto kicked the legs out from under the second man and sent him flying into the first. Before he could go at them again, Naruto felt the girl take his hand and pulled him away from the scene.

“Hey – “ Naruto began but the girl put a finger to her lips. Her eyes were oddly friendly and her long dark hair brought out the paleness of her skin and her natural beauty. Stopping, she let his hand go. She was taller than Sasuke and wore a simple dress that was just right for the wet and warm climate of the Wave Country.

“Thank you,” she said smiling amicably.

“It was nothing.” Naruto grinned with a hand behind his head. He felt slightly nervous, she was very pretty and he really liked her smile. “You shouldn’t be out alone,” he noted. Sakura wasn’t as pretty as this girl and a lot of guys back at the Red Horse had tried to feel her up as they walked to the counter and then to their room.

“What’s your name?” she asked as they stood in the alleyway. Hardly anyone was around.

“Naruto,” he replied without thinking. He probably should have given her a false name. “You?”

“Haku,” she said in her gentle voice.

“Oh!” Naruto looked around. “Do you know where I can get some food around here? If I don’t get back soon, my friends are going to worry.”

“Yes,” Haku pointed in a direction, “my friend and I run a small shop down this way. I’m sure you can find something there.”

~*~

“He’s late,” Sakura looked at her watch. It was slender and pink, making her wonder if she should put it in a pocket rather than keep it on her wrist.

“He’s fine,” Sasuke grouched. Sakura was worrying too much. After walking to the Red Horse, Sasuke wasn’t sure how anyone could find food anywhere. He decided to give Naruto two more hours and then he would allow himself to worry.

Hearing a knock on the door, both of them froze. That wasn’t any coded knock their team used. Hearing voice talking to each other beyond the door, Sasuke and Sakura prepared for an attack. Approaching the door, Sasuke looked to Sakura. She nodded for him to open it.

~*~

The man behind the counter was tall and muscular. If he hadn’t been born in the Wave, Naruto was sure he would have been a ninja.

“Who is this, Haku?” he asked in a somewhat dark voice.

“A traveler,” Haku said and looked at Naruto. “You should get the supplies you need. Stores can go out of business without warning here.”

Naruto nodded and approached the counter. The store couldn’t be bigger than the room he and Obito shared in Suna. It seemed just as packed with things, but it looked like there was a door leading to another room behind the tall man. He examined the things offered, feeling the man’s eyes on him.

Feeling the Kyûbi stir, he tried to keep it suppressed. He had to concentrate right now, and the last thing he needed was the Kyûbi making him feel paranoid. Thinking about the amount of money he wanted to spend, he picked things that would keep and would make good rations in case something happened and they had to move locations. Bringing it up to the counter, he knew the man was studying him. Naruto shifted his weight and then took the bag. He wanted to get out of there fast.

“Bye,” he told Haku and then left as fast as he could. He knew that if he didn’t get back soon, Sakura might be tempted to come after him.

~*~

Sasuke exchanged a look with Sakura. She looked prepared enough. Opening the door, he prepared for a direct attack, but instead his eyes widened as the pair at the door simply walked into the room.

“Aniki – “ Sasuke started as Itachi began looking around the small room.

“I have no business with you,” the nineteen-year-old commented. Glancing at Sakura, he added, “Or you either.”

Sakura watched Itachi a moment. Briefly she remembered how he made the left side of her body numb the last time they met. Yet, she knew his target was most likely the Kyûbi. “You can’t leave,” she said as firm as she could. She couldn’t let Itachi secure the Kyûbi.

Itachi straightened from where he was inspecting the room. She was braver than the last time, but he could tell she was scared.

“I won’t let you,” Sakura added. She was in a corner, but she could easily get over the bed and to the door. She knew that Sasuke wanted to fight Itachi, but he hadn’t made a definite move yet.

Abruptly Itachi was inches in front of her. Looking up at him, Sakura resisted the urge to brush her hair out of her eyes. She had to appear stronger than she felt.

“Sakura – “ Sasuke began. How dare she take his claim! He was supposed to kill Itachi! What the hell was she thinking?!

“Sasuke, guard the door,” Sakura said, her gaze not leaving Itachi. “Don’t let anyone in or out.”

Sasuke made a face, but before he could move to assert his claim on a fight with Itachi, he felt someone move behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he watched Kisame take a position to keep out of Itachi’s way, but have a good position incase the fighting began.

Sakura tried not to squirm. Itachi simply held her gaze. She knew she could never beat him, and she doubted that Sasuke could either no matter how much they had improved. “You’re too smart to fight me.”

Sakura didn’t respond. She could feel Sasuke’s killing intent from the other side of the bed. She knew he wanted to charge directly at Itachi, but someone had to make sure Kisame didn’t leave. “I won’t let you leave,” Sakura finally said. What else could she say? No one knew where Naruto was.

Itachi looked down at her, but remained silent. Then his arm shot out, grabbing her wrist. Twisting it around, he heard her give an involuntary shout as a sickening popping noise came from her elbow. Gritting her teeth, Sakura twisted as best she could, trying to kick at him or at least get him to let her go.

Sasuke started for Itachi, but Kisame cut him off. Sakura had claimed the Itachi fight, and Sasuke wasn’t going to interfere.

~*~

Naruto was lost. He had followed Haku through a maze of alleyways and backstreets, and had no idea where the Red Horse could possibly be. He knew better than to ask around, and he ruled out standing up on a roof top as well. Sniffing the air, he found it stank and flat as though all the smells blocked each other out, leaving nothing but mold.

Wrinkling his nose, Naruto knew Sakura was going to kill him the instant he showed up at the room. He didn’t have a watch, but he was sure he had been gone for hours. Glancing around, he idly wondered if Kakashi would make it back to the room before he did. Frowning at the prospect, Naruto picked up the pace and tried to find something familiar.

~*~

Sasuke cursed under his breath. Not only was he fighting Kisame, but the room was too small. Skidding backwards on the wood floor, he reached behind, grabbing the wash basin nearby before he could hit the table it rested on. Bringing it up, he watched as Kisame dodged it, the basin shattering against the wall.

Sakura lashed out but Itachi evaded her kick. She didn’t delude herself into thinking that she had managed to get out of his grasp, she was well aware that he had let her go himself. Watching him moving towards the door, Sakura summoned her strength. Forming her hands into symbols, she locked her eyes on to Itachi’s form.

“We’re wasting our time here, Kisame,” Itachi spoke, his body twitching before he stuck a hand out in Sakura’s direction, sending the girl flying into the windowsill, her head slamming against the metal corner. “Come on.”

Sasuke dropped to the floor, Kisame having hit a pressure point to render his muscles numb. He didn’t even look at Sasuke as he joined Itachi in the doorway, both leaving without a word.

~*~

Naruto shifted his bags and groaned as he walked up the stairs. He didn’t know how many hours had passed, but he was sure Kakashi had beat him back. Walking down the hall, he shook his head slightly to get his bangs out of his eyes. Pulling out his key, he opened the door slowly and heard a shout from the other side of the door.

“Sasuke, what are you doing?” Naruto entered the room while Sasuke moved away from the door. Hearing a crunch under his sandals, Naruto looked down at the shattered porcelain and then over at Sasuke. “What…?”

Sasuke didn’t answer as he placed the shards in the trashcan. Finally he said, “Aniki came.” It would be better if Sakura was conscious. She could answer all of Naruto’s impending questions. Why did he have to have two noisy and curious teammates?

Naruto looked at the room and saw Sakura lying on the bed, a bandage around her head. “Itachi…”

“And Kisame,” Sasuke added. He might as well.

Naruto looked at Sakura and then Sasuke before growling.

Sasuke looked up at Naruto from where he was putting the last of the porcelain in the trashcan. Making a face, he stood up and then turned quickly around, Naruto snapping out of it with the swift motion.

“Why is the door open?” Kakashi asked as he stepped into the room. Looking around it, his eye paused on Sakura, the window, the trashcan, and the table the washbasin used to sit upon.

Naruto opened his mouth and then closed it. Telling Kakashi that he accidentally left it open seemed like the wrong thing to do at the moment. He wasn’t sure how to explain anything. He hadn’t been present during the attacks, and typically Sakura took over if neither boy could think of what to say.

Kakashi walked over to the bed and sat Sakura up. There was a decent bloodstain on the pillow, but it didn’t look like she had lost a damaging amount of blood. “Who dressed this?”

“I did.” Sasuke was the worst of them at first aid. He tended to utilize the first thing he came to in the kit that looked right and then would either do too little or do too much in a situation. Sakura was the best at first aid, and Naruto was decent.

“You did it wrong,” Kakashi began undoing the bandages, motioning for someone to bring the kit. Taking out the right supplies, he said, “Watch, Sasuke.” Carefully Kakashi inspected the wound. It wasn’t a deep one, and it seemed the blood had dried over. Taking out a different kind of bandage, he made sure that it covered the wound entirely and wasn’t wrapped too tightly or too loosely. Taking out a bottle, he tipped it into Sakura’s mouth, letting a very small amount in, rewarded with her coughing violently.

Sitting with her legs crossed like a pretzel, Sakura leaned forward and away from Kakashi as she put her hands over her mouth, coughing up phlegm into them. Kakashi watched as her fit subsided and she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of the large sweatshirt. Jumping slightly, she looked around. “Where did…?!”

“They left,” Sasuke replied simply. Now that Sakura was awake, he might not have to talk so much.

With Sakura awake, Kakashi knew that she was out of danger of slipping into unconsciousness and he would get a more accurate report from her. As much as he disliked how the boys used her for a crutch during reports, given the choice between Sakura explaining or Sasuke explaining, Kakashi would much rather hear her account.

“Report,” Kakashi ordered.

After a silence, Sakura gave another cough, and offered a high pitched, “We,” before Naruto interrupted.

“I went out to get supper after we got here. When I came back, Sasuke was picking up the pieces of the jug and Sakura was on the bed. You came back a few minutes after I did.”

Sasuke glanced at him. It was more than a “few minutes,” however, it wasn’t unlike Naruto to get that glassy eyed look and forget whatever happened during that time. It was like there was something else inside of Naruto. “Two hours after Naruto left, Itachi and Kisame appeared,” Sasuke said, deciding to leave out the part about how they kind of let them willingly into the room. “We fought them, but Itachi sent Sakura into the corner of the window.”

Kakashi looked at Sasuke. Typically he had decent reports, but he seemed to be avoiding what truly happened. Kakashi didn’t have time for this game. If Itachi and Kisame had purposefully sought them out and during a time in which he was absent from the room, it complicated things.

“What happened at the meeting?” Naruto asked. He didn’t like this subject. Clearly Itachi and Kisame were looking for him. He knew that they couldn’t easily relocate and if Itachi and Kisame were in the same area, wherever they stayed wouldn’t make much difference.

Kakashi gave him a look, but decided to shift the topic as well.

~*~

The next day the group split up, Kakashi and Sakura went to do more with those trying to restore order, while Sasuke and Naruto went out to learn what they could about situations around the area. Yawning, Naruto looked around the area. He was trying to pay attention to where exactly they were in relationship to the Red Horse so it would be easier to get back later.

Sasuke looked at the people around them. Most of them wore simple clothes that looked a little ratty. The state of their clothes didn’t stick out too much with those around them, but Naruto’s clothes were too loud. Naruto didn’t seem to be aware of their stares though. Watching Naruto perk, Sasuke followed his gaze, seeing a tall girl walking towards them, her hair down and slightly stringy. She was smiling.

“Hey, Haku,” Naruto greeted her, grinning back. It was good to see a familiar face.

This girl was going to distract them from gathering information Sasuke was sure. Then he gave pause. His eyes fixed on the girl’s choker, but she didn’t seem bothered by his stare. Or…

“Sasuke,” Naruto gave him a swift jab. “This is Haku.”

Obviously Naruto had been yammering on during all this time. Sasuke looked over at Naruto and then at Haku and kept from making a face. It was becoming obvious that Haku wasn’t a girl, but Sasuke had the sneaking suspicion that Naruto hadn’t caught on yet. Especially since Naruto had “that look” and was making himself seem taller.

“Hey,” Sasuke murmured. He wasn’t down with this.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Haku returned with a pleasant expression.

Naruto didn’t understand what was wrong with Sasuke. He wasn’t a social person, Naruto knew, but he wasn’t this hostile. “We have to go do stuff,” Naruto said with a large grin.

“Alright, good luck then,” Haku returned and the group split.

After a few streets, Sasuke said, “You know Haku’s a boy, right?” Naruto was growing into a good example of the type of ninja that might be done in by a beautiful woman.

“WHAT?!” Naruto stared. That was the stupidest thing he had ever heard! Haku was way too girly to be a guy! Haku was way more feminine than Sakura even.

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets. Why was Naruto always so loud? “Yeah. Look at his neck next time or how he walks, maybe.”

“You’re kidding,” Naruto looked over his shoulder. “Haku’s too girly.”

Sasuke decided to let it drop. Naruto could figure this out on his own. “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know,” Naruto replied as he looked around. He didn’t know why he had jumped at the chance to gather information. It sounded like it would be more fun than listening to people talk about government stuff.

Great. Sasuke knew he should have gone with Kakashi. Although, by being out in the area, they might run into Itachi again, and then he could fight his brother for real.

Sasuke was getting that weird look again. Naruto made a face and then stopped. They had come to a crumbling bridge. It looked like it was relatively new as far as bridges went, but it looked unfinished and abandoned. “This must be what Kakashi-sensei was talking about,” Naruto murmured. “He said that there was a big fight here and a Genin squad was killed, and their instructor brought Zabuza the Demon down, but died.”

Sasuke didn’t remember this conversation, but it wasn’t uncommon for Naruto to stay up at night, so maybe he had heard the story when they were on their way to the Wave Country.

~*~

Sakura watched quietly, dying to cut in. She knew better, though and considered it a privilege to even be present at the meeting. Watching two of the men begin to talk animatedly over what rights should be given to which classes, she looked over at Kakashi. He was paying attention but he seemed to be thinking about something else at the same time.

Watching as one of the men finally tired of the argument, the winner looked directly at her. “Who are you?”

“Uh…Sakura, sir,” she answered. She hadn’t thought anyone would talk to her. Kakashi had said he would do all the talking, but he didn’t seem against her answering at the moment.

“This isn’t the place for women – “

“Now, that’s uncalled for,” the man who lost the prior argument interrupted.

“We won’t get anywhere if you two don’t stop arguing,” a tall man stood up from where he had been quietly sitting in the back of the small room.

“Kaiza is right,” the only elderly man in the room acknowledged. “We are here to stop the chaos, not aid it.” He smiled at Sakura. “It is important to have a woman’s input as well, Ichimaru. They are the ones who need the most protection right now.”

Sakura gave a nervous expression and shrunk away in her seat. Kakashi glanced over at her, but said nothing.

“Setting up laws and enforcing them won’t be enough,” the man who lost the argument said. “There are already many children who don’t remember a time before everything fell apart. Even you don’t know what it was like, Kaiza.” He turned to the tall man with the x on his chin. “Why are you even helping us? This town isn’t yours. You’ve been here only a year and a half.”

Kaiza looked over from where he was leaning against the wall. “Time doesn’t matter.”

Kakashi surveyed the group before him as they began talking in a less argumentative way. So far, he had nothing to do but observe the process. Keeping himself in the room, he mused the Itachi problem in the back of his mind. Sasuke still hadn’t put aside his vengeance yet and he was now out with Naruto who held the target. There wasn’t much Kakashi could do about it. This was the most logical way to split the group up, so that was how it had to be.

~*~

“Who are you?”

Naruto and Sasuke turned to their right. A little boy with a metal hat stood before them with a crossbow in his hands, a rubber dart-tipped arrow in it.

“Who are you?” Naruto asked the boy right back.

The ten-year-old kept his distance. “I asked you first.”

Sasuke looked between the two. This could take forever. “We have to get going,” Sasuke turned towards the direction they had come in. If he diverted Naruto now, he wouldn’t start going back and forth with the kid.

Naruto glanced at the kid and then back at Sasuke who was already walking back to town. Giving one last glance at the kid, he finally turned around and followed Sasuke.

~*~

“…but didn’t pick up anything,” Naruto finished his report including everything that had happened. He didn’t like Kakashi’s face when he mentioned Haku or even after mentioning the boy at the bridge, but Naruto plodded forth. Sasuke looked like Naruto had said far too much, but Kakashi said “Report,” so Naruto gave him the type of detailed report he wanted.

Kakashi was seriously debating if he should have taken Sakura with him now. Naruto had instantly jumped at the idea of gathering information. Then Sakura voiced interest in observing the government process, and Sasuke didn’t put up a fight about going into town with Naruto.

“Haku was a boy,” Sasuke added. Naruto kept calling him a girl, but Sasuke was sure that Haku was a boy.

“No, she wasn’t.” Naruto countered. “She was prettier than Sakura. There’s no way she was a boy.”

Sakura twitched from where she sat across from Naruto in their room, but she held back. Her head was still killing her. “You shouldn’t trust him outright,” she said instead.

“She’s a her,” Naruto insisted.

“Anyway,” Kakashi cut in, “if you’re going to volunteer to gather information, you need to make an effort to gather information. Also, if you chase after girls, you’ll only end up sick.”

“Sick?” Naruto blinked and then made a face. Kakashi wasn’t about to make some allusion to that stupid cootie thing from the academy, right?

Kakashi held Naruto’s gaze a moment. Certainly someone at some time had sat this boy down and explained sex to him, or at least why a ninja couldn’t afford to go traipsing off into the brothels. Though, Jiraiya wasn’t exactly the greatest influence of course. Glancing at Sasuke, Kakashi narrowed his eyes, frowning inwardly. There was no way that Obito explained sex to either of these two. Kakashi didn’t like the idea of explaining it, and decided to go another route. “Just don’t do it.”

“Do what…?” Naruto was completely lost. Sasuke was saying nothing and not looking at anyone, showing that he too wasn’t exactly following what Kakashi meant by that last sentence, but knew better than to pursue it.

“Go after women,” Sakura answered. “You could end up dead if you aren’t careful.” Was Naruto really that dense?

“What happened at the meeting?” Sasuke asked. Anything to be off this stupid topic.

“There was progress,” Kakashi answered.

“Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura looked over at him, “why did they ask for our help? “

Kakashi leaned back where he was sitting and shrugged. There were many variables, and most likely they would find out later. He had a few theories, but he decided to let them figure it out for themselves.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Action/Drama
Rating PG-15
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Twenty-Three

Goggles
Chapter Twenty-Three: Beast

Naruto propped his chin on his hand and looked over at the man beside him. Nobody cared if two fourteen-year-olds were in the bar, and that was the only place Naruto could think of to get any information that would help anyone. “Is that so,” Naruto murmured and sipped at the drink in front of him.

“Yeah, but you didn’t hear it from me,” the man to his right whispered.

Sasuke looked past Naruto at the man and then down at the glass in front of him. Naruto had gone through three of them and he had only a sip of his. Glancing at the bartender, he cursed inwardly. The bartender kept giving him dirty looks. In one swift move, Sasuke downed the entire glass, feeling it burn down his throat.

“So this man you told me about…?” Naruto inquired, but left it open. After spending three months with Jiraiya, he had learned things. Once he discovered they could get into bars, he began to use it to his advantage.

“He will be here, he is always here,” the village man’s eyes shifted around nervously. “I must leave you…he will come here in eight hours. Goodbye.”

Naruto leaned back in his stool and finished his glass. Looking over at Sasuke, he blinked and then made a face. “What the hell is with you?”

Sasuke shook his head and then waved a hand. “I’m…fine…” Sliding off the barstool, he almost went crashing to the ground. Naruto caught him just in time and groaned inwardly. He thought Sasuke knew better than to drink the whole damn thing at once.

~*~

“YOU DID WHAT?!”

Naruto cringed and Sasuke said a few choice words from where he was lying on the bed. “It was the only way – “

“You’re fourteen!” Sakura countered. How could Sasuke let Naruto drag him into a bar?! Wasn’t’ Sasuke smarter than this?!

“So?” Naruto asked. Maybe he could divert her. How was he supposed to know Sasuke had a low tolerance? Sasuke tended to be stronger, taller, better at many things, so Naruto couldn’t have guessed that Sasuke had almost no tolerance for alcohol. “It was the only way to get information.”

“There had to be a better way – “ Sakura stopped when they heard a knock at the door. It was in the required code, but it put her on edge.

Naruto walked over to the door and sniffed a bit. Sakura made a face from where she watched. It was always bizarre whenever Naruto relied on his heightened senses. “It’s Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto announced.

Walking in, Kakashi looked at Sasuke on the bed and then over at Sakura and Naruto. They had been in the village for two weeks, and only now were things beginning to come together. He really didn’t want to know. Looking down at Sasuke, Kakashi kicked the bed slightly and said, “Get up. Uchiha have low alcohol tolerances. It’s your own fault you’re like this.”

“Aniki – “

“Is not a part of this conversation,” Kakashi cut off Sasuke’s impending whine. “Naruto, report.”

“We went into a bar down by the bridge and we really got a lot of information,” Naruto answered instantly, repressed excitement on his features. He began recounting some details he received from three sources, citing which he thought might be simple rumors. He also relayed the information about a man who seemed to be between both sides that showed up late at night at that particular bar. “Sasuke had one drink, but he drank it all at once, so that’s why he’s like that,” Naruto finished. Sasuke glared at him.

“How many did you have?” Kakashi asked.

“I don’t know…” Naruto’s voice trailed as he thought. “Three? Five? Something like that,” he put up a sheepish grin, which faded at Kakashi’s expression.

Great. Naruto had his father’s tolerance for alcohol and the Kyûbi probably made it stronger. Kakashi didn’t like this. Why did they have to act like irresponsible brats? Why couldn’t they just look for information in normal places? Making a face, Kakashi had to admit the bar was the most logical place to gather any information that could be useful.

Sasuke rubbed the bridge of his nose. Wonderful. Naruto was going to get them both kicked off this side of the mission and they’d both die of boredom doing whatever it was Sakura did.

“Here’s what you’re going to do,” Kakashi spoke, the three Chûnin looking at him. “The two of you will join Sakura, and I will go out after information. Also, you two,” he indicated Naruto and Sasuke, “and I are going to have a few talks.” He hated this, he really did. Obito could have told them not to go out after women and booze. He could have explained what “do it” meant. He really could have.

“Kakashi-sensei…” Sakura began. If he was talking about what she thought he was talking about, she really didn’t want to be in the same place at the same time. She had suffered through “the talk” years ago, and she really didn’t want to hear Kakashi’s version of it.

Kakashi looked over at her. Sakura was a bit of a problem. The only logical solution was to leave her in the room and vacate to another place. He trusted her to be smarter than to repeat the mistake Sasuke made on their first day in town. Also, she was cunning with traps and other plans to keep intruders out of the room when she was alone in it.

“You two,” Kakashi stood up and indicated the door, “let’s go.”

~*~

They were out by the bridge. Hardly anyone came out there, even the more shady characters. Looking out at the water, Naruto gave Kakashi a questioning look. “What are we doing out here for, Kakashi-sensei?”

“As your sensei, I guess I have to do what Obito didn’t,” Kakashi said.

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged glances. What the heck was Kakashi talking about? He rarely brought up Obito, and if he did, it was only a passing comment regarding their behavior at times.

Kakashi had considered giving them both Icha Icha Morning, but somehow he doubted that they would understand why he gave it to them. It would benefit everyone in the cell if these two knew about sex, especially Naruto, who seemed to flirt with girls a lot. How the hell was he supposed to start this? He could remember when the Yondaime explained it to him just before Obito and Rin joined him to form a cell. He was never good at repeating what the Yondaime had done, but it was the only way to go about this. “How much do you know about sex?”

He received two blank stares in reply. Then Naruto said, “It makes babies…?” Why were they talking about this? It was kind of bizarre. He knew it was in the manga Kakashi read, but that was about it. Sasuke had no comments to add.

Great. Fantastic. Kakashi looked between the pair. He had thought about making Sakura tell them, but that wouldn’t work at all. “Yes, but not exactly.” Kakashi put his hands in his pockets. He would approach this like teaching a jutsu. Go into how it works first and then let them ask questions. There just wouldn’t be any demonstrations or practicing.

~*~

Sakura lay on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. There was only one bed in the small room, and they all took turns sleeping on it. She rarely slept on it since she had used it for several days straight after her head wound. She still wore Naruto’s extra clothes and with her hair growing stringy, she thought she looked very boyish, or at least so homely no one would touch her.

Frowning, she tried to imagine exactly how she would handle Sasuke and Naruto tagging along with her the next day. Some of the discussions would probably go over Naruto’s head, and Sasuke would probably be bored to tears. Sakura found it boring, but she had been allowed to participate twice now, and that’s what made it worth it. Kakashi rarely spoke in the meetings and simple thought about things. It was hard resisting asking him what he had been thinking about when they walked back to the room, but she managed it.

Hearing the coded knock, Sakura was instantly on her feet and prepared. Anyone could know the knock, but she had a gut feeling it was the rest of her team. Carefully, she unlocked the door and let the boys and Kakashi back into the room, her eyes on them as they moved. Convinced that they weren’t henge, she simply closed and locked the door. Looking over her shoulder, she noted that Sasuke was sitting on the bed pointedly not looking at her, while Naruto was watching her with a curious look on his face.

“Look in my bag, and I’ll beat you,” Sakura said quietly as she walked by him. It was time to sleep for the night.

~*~

“I have to meet someone,” Naruto said abruptly as they walked back from the meeting.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. Kakashi told her not to let either of them wander away. “Naruto – “

“I’ll catch back up to you at the room,” Naruto said and prepared to go off in a direction when Sakura grabbed his arm.

“No, you’re not.”

“But – “

“Naruto, you can’t go off by yourself,” Sakura stated, causing Sasuke to stare at her. “It’s even more dangerous for you to be alone than for me.”

Naruto looked down at her. “No, I’ll be fine,” he replied with a reassuring grin.

“No, you won’t. Naruto, we both know why Itachi and Kisame were in our room, and it wasn’t Sasuke.” She ignored the Uchiha’s expression.

Naruto held her gaze. Was she talking about the Kyûbi? Shifting his weight, he tried to get out of her grasp. “That’s sil – “

“No, it’s not,” Sakura interrupted. “You’re not going anywhere without Sasuke or me with you. You aren’t getting kidnapped again.”

Naruto shook slightly, but he calmed himself quickly. He didn’t like thinking about that summer. “I – you – “

Sakura reflexively gripped his arm tighter. He wasn’t leaving, if she had any say. “We should go back to the room.”

“I can’t,” Naruto responded as he managed to get out of Sakura’s grip. “I have to meet them.” Then he disappeared.

~*~

Itachi had a plan. He knew how to get Naruto to come to him alone, and he was sure that it would work. Sitting in an area of the village that wasn’t too deserted, he considered his plan. He was disguised as an almost nondescript citizen, a large brimmed hat obscuring his eyes. The boy was overconfident and would naturally meet him anywhere he decided to accomplish his mission. Not only that, but Itachi knew that Naruto would honor their agreement and come alone. The boy wasn’t the most trusting person, but he had pride and honor. He wanted to help the town, so he would come.

Kisame stood not too far away, suppressing his chakra as he kept an eye on Itachi. The Uchiha told him that only if he needed aid should Kisame come out of hiding. There was a specific code he would use to signal. Shifting his eyes, Kisame looked down the street and smirked slightly. Naruto was coming.

~*~

“Goddamit,” Sakura cursed. She could sense Sasuke’s surprise even though his face was blank. She rarely cursed. “I’ll go this way – “

“We can’t split up,” Sasuke reminded her. He had promised to keep an eye on her, and it was just like any other mission.

“Sasuke – “ Sakura went to point out that their search would be more effective if they split up when she watched him pause.

“This way,” Sasuke changed course.

~*~

“I’m here,” Naruto announced as he surveyed Itachi.

“Good,” Itachi forced a smile upon his face and closed his eyes to hide his Sharingan. He would have to bait Naruto first before capturing the Kyûbi. He stayed seated. Naruto would come to him. It would make the jutsu easier by conserving his energy.

Naruto kept his distance. Something felt wrong, but he had to get what he could. “What can you tell me?”

“Come closer, I don’t want to tell everyone.” Itachi kept up the persona he developed in the bar.

Naruto’s heart pounded. The Kyûbi was on alert, its chakra beginning to blend with his just in case.

Itachi kept smiling as he had in the bar. He had developed a plan that would help gain the Kyûbi.

Naruto took a few steps forward, but kept his distance. His abdomen felt warm with the Kyûbi’s chakra threading with his. Stopping, he thought that this was a reasonable distance. “I won’t come closer.”

“Alright.”

Naruto watched as Itachi unfolded his arms before springing forward. Instantly the Kyûbi made Naruto jump back as the boy watched Itachi’s hat fall back. “You – “

Two red eyes stared into Naruto’s blue eyes. Blinking as fast as he could, Naruto tried to keep from getting sucked into the jutsu.

~*~

Sakura lagged behind, Sasuke’s longer legs helping propel him ahead faster even though they moved at similar speeds. Trying to maneuver in the baggy clothing as best she could, Sakura gritted her teeth. “Sasuke – “

“I know,” he responded and then gave the signal to show he was going to go on ahead of her.

~*~

Naruto dodged the attack, but Itachi managed to get him. Growling subconsciously, Naruto tried to figure out a way to get out of there. The Kyûbi was talking at him, but Naruto tried to push the voice away. It was taking all of his concentration to keep from getting killed. Itachi reached out and grabbed Naruto’s arm. “You aren’t going to do that.”

Naruto stared up at the nineteen-year-old. He had planned to use the Rasengen and run, but as he suspected, Itachi stopped him. Feeling a hand on his chest, Naruto tried to struggle out of the older teenager’s grasp.

~*~

Sasuke stopped on a rooftop surveying the scene bellow. Itachi had just grabbed Naruto’s wrist. Sasuke couldn’t tell if Kisame was in the area or not, but he doubted Kisame would let his brother do this alone. Jumping down to the ground, Sasuke approached in the shadows.

~*~

Itachi made a fist and began reciting an incantation. Naruto let in a sharp breath as he felt a searing pain shot from his heart right down to where he knew the Kyûbi rested. Feeling Itachi’s fingers curl inward, his body shifted as the Kyûbi cried out in pain. It was high like a howl and filled with what sounded like gibberish.

Making a pulling motion, Itachi continued reciting the incantation, sliding his tongue along his teeth as he did so.

~*~

Kisame was in front of Sasuke before the boy could register anything. Feeling the blow before he could see it coming, Sasuke skidded backwards, hitting a group of barrels. Naruto was still going on in that gibberish Sasuke had heard from time to time when Naruto had nightmares in his sleep. Even during battle on occasion, Naruto would say things in that same manner. Sakura never offered up an explanation and seemed to quell her curiosity over it.

From across the alleyway, the Kyûbi had abandoned its pride. It was being ripped away from its vessel at an alarming pace. At first Naruto had tried to thwart the chant, but as the chanting grew stronger, Naruto faded away. Unable to fathom how he had been reduced to pleading for his life, the Kyûbi barred his fangs, but the protective seal around Naruto’s abdomen kept him from releasing his powers. That was the crux of the problem, and why the time for victory had long since passed.

Sasuke lashed out and tried to get closer to Itachi and Naruto. His brother was his prey, and he didn’t like what Itachi was doing either. The fight should be between them, and no one else.

Hearing a noise, Sasuke watched as the dirt alleyway irrupted and began to engulf Itachi, who seemed unfazed. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke knew Sakura was nearby as he watched Itachi avert her jutsu. Hearing a muffled shriek, Sasuke frowned. With his brother’s level of Sharingan, he could anticipate almost all attacks. Taijutsu was the way to beat the Sharingan, but Sasuke knew that he and Sakura wouldn’t be able to bring down Itachi with taijutsu alone.

Yet, he still had to fight Kisame. He could barely think straight, the attacks were coming so fast. Blocking a jutsu as best he could, Sasuke gritted his teeth. Sakura was making another move, but Kisame seemed unconcerned.

~*~

Sakura wasn’t sure what she could do without killing Naruto in the process. Furrowing her brows from her perch, she watched as Itachi easily thwarted her attempts. Blinking, her green eyes shifted. If she got rid of Kisame, then Sasuke could aid her. She didn’t know if both of them would be much better against Itachi, but it was worth the gamble. Both of them working together would give Naruto a better chance at survival.

Quietly she resituated herself so she had Kisame in her vision. Yamato had taught her to use her surroundings to her advantage. There were jutsu that could manipulate many things to become weapons in fighting. Even if she couldn’t use the wood jutsu that Yamato could, she could find ways to apply the techniques to other mediums.

Crouching low, Sakura began making symbols. If she was able to trap Kisame in something, she might be able to buy Sasuke enough time so they both could make a move on Itachi.

~*~

Naruto clawed at his throat. He was in the Kyûbi’s cage within himself and something was constricting around his neck. Gasping for breath, he tried to call out to the Kyûbi, but the beast was nowhere it seemed. Looking to his left, he noticed something fading. With each gasp, the light diminished from the orb nearby. Painstakingly Naruto began making his way to the light source. It was beyond the cage, but if he tried hard enough, he might be able to reach it.

~*~

Kisame was shifting focus. Sasuke lashed out, landing a blow on Kisame. He was saving his Chidori, but he knew that he had enough chakra for two, with only a tiny bit of chakra left to spare. He could use one on Kisame, and then use the last on his brother, but Naruto would get caught up in the jutsu. He needed to join up with Sakura and get to work on separating Naruto and Itachi.

Watching Kisame head towards one of the nearby rooftops, Sasuke cursed. He was going after Sakura!

~*~

“Dammit!” Sakura tried to recall her jutsu before Sasuke got caught up in it. Kisame was coming right at her! Standing up, she prepared to meet the threat head on. If she took on Kisame, then Sasuke could work on Itachi. Itachi was Sasuke’s target after all and she had already taken a battle with Itachi from him.

Flexing her limbs, Sakura tried to anticipate Kisame’s move. She wasn’t sure how well a rooftop battle would work, but none of the villagers were in the area at least. Kisame didn’t try a direct attack when he landed on the rooftop. Surveying the girl, he knew she was a strategist. Looking out of the corner of his eye, Kisame noted that Sasuke had joined them.

“Sasuke, try to – “

“We’re not finished,” Sasuke ignored Sakura’s order. He didn’t like the idea of Sakura taking over the battle.

~*~

He almost had it. Stretching his arm as best he could, Naruto could feel his consciousness draining. The orb was barely visible now, but he forced his eyes to stay open and flexed his fingers. He could reach it, just a little bit more…

Bending forward, he coughed up blood. He was running out of time. He didn’t understand why the orb was important, but he had to get it. Trying to keep from doubling over again, Naruto slid one leg outside the cage. He was too big to walk out of it, but he could touch the orb with his foot now.

“Come…on…” Naruto squeaked and nudged the orb with his foot. Things were starting to fade all around him. He couldn’t let this happen! “Dammit…” he cursed as the orb began to crack open.

~*~

He only had a bit more and then the Kyûbi was his. Twisting his hand, Itachi felt the urgency of the Kyûbi’s shrieks grow. He could also feel Kakashi in the area. He had to finish this quickly, but the vessel was stubbornly holding onto the beast. Raising his voice, he kept the chant at an even keel. He had to break Naruto’s soul.

~*~

Kakashi sped through the area. Leaping across rooftops, he knew that stealth was important, but speed was more so. At first, he hadn’t understood the pained screeching that rocked the town, but he could feel something sinister stirring. Gritting his teeth, the twenty-eight-year-old skidded to a halt. He could see it, the tendrils shot into the air, not only the white showing the draining of Naruto’s chakra, but red sparks were flaring. The barrier was shattering.

Setting his features, Kakashi began to approach more judiciously. He had to think up a plan. He couldn’t let the Kyûbi appear.

~*~

The pain was intense.

An electrical jolt running through his body, Naruto fell back into the cage, a glowing aura engulfing the cage as he had seen when the Kyûbi was housed in it, only the glow was red rather than golden orange as he remembered it. Looking at the broken orb, Naruto frowned. It was completely dark, but there was chakra pulsating around him.

What the hell was going on?!

~*~

Something was going drastically wrong.

Itachi gritted his teeth and kept chanting. It was almost as if his chant had been reversed. The Kyûbi was surging in power and Naruto’s features were contorting.

Dropping Naruto from his grasp, Itachi quickly skidded backwards. He knew that it would be impossible to extract the Kyûbi in this state with the chant he started. Looking around, he saw Kisame fighting Sasuke and Sakura up on a nearby roof. They had to leave before the Kyûbi fully awoke. This situation called for a different jutsu, but Itachi knew he didn’t have the right amount of chakra for it, and Kakashi would only cause a problem when he arrived.

~*~

Kisame abruptly froze, causing Sasuke and Sakura to almost run into each other. Pausing, the teenagers looked down at the alleyway bellow as Kisame jumped down.

“We have to follow them,” Sasuke said as he prepared to follow the Akatsuki members, but Sakura grabbed his arm.

“No, wait.” Casting a worried glance down at the ground, she felt Sasuke tense.

“What the hell…?” Sasuke’s eyes widened. What was Naruto doing?!

“Sasuke, get out of here,” Sakura said as she jumped down.

Sasuke blinked and followed her. “You just said – “

“Don’t follow Itachi, go somewhere far away,” Sakura said as she made hand symbols. She had to do something before it became too big a problem to handle.

“Sakura – “

“Trust me, Sasuke,” Sakura called out the jutsu she wanted, “you need to get out of here.”

Sasuke watched as the dirt under Naruto erupted up and around. Standing slightly behind Sakura, he watched as she seemed to weave the dirt around Naruto, but not in a way to suffocate him, but in a way to possibly trap him.

~*~

Someone was attacking him.

Growling under his breath, the Kyûbi turned his head to look behind him. He wasn’t done transforming yet. He only had one tail formed and a second coming. His features were still more Naruto than his own. Sucking in a breath, he let out a high howl, feeling the ground around himself shake, and the dirt began to fall back in place.

Content that he had distracted his attacker for the time being, the Kyûbi continued to bring himself out and contain Naruto inside of himself. Some of the seal was still intact, but in Naruto’s weakened state, the Kyûbi found it irresistibly easy to take over his vessel.

~*~

Kakashi surveyed the scene bellow just as Sakura went flying into Sasuke, both of them skidding into a nearby building. In the center where three alleys met, something between the Kyûbi and Naruto crouched low, clearly transforming.

He had no idea how exactly to revert this. He knew that as Naruto got older, the seal would begin to weaken until it either had to be repaired or the boy might have to be killed if the Kyûbi could easily take control of his body. Kakashi knew that if he couldn’t find a way to reverse the transformation, he might have to kill Naruto.

“I told you to leave!” Sakura ordered from nearby.

“No,” Sasuke countered. He was standing directly beside her. There had to be a way to stop this. Sasuke doubted that whatever was happen was reversible, but there had to be a way to stop this before a third tail immerged.

“Both of you,” Kakashi said as he appeared beside them, “leave.”

“But, Kakashi-sensei – “

“Go, Sakura. This isn’t our mission. I have to take care of this alone.”

Sakura opened her mouth, but Sasuke was the one who spoke. “We aren’t leaving.” He ignored Kakashi’s look. If they got written up for insubordination or were punished again, so be it. He knew Kakashi well enough to know that Naruto could be dead the next time they saw their instructor.

“Don’t get in my way,” Kakashi said. He would deal with those two later. Right now, they were in too much danger to argue.

~*~

Naruto didn’t like this. He was trapped inside a large cage and he had no way to get out of it. Looking up at the ceiling of it, he wondered what exactly was going on. Whenever he had been in this area of his soul before, the Kyûbi had always been here, but the beast was nowhere to be seen.

Frowning, he shouted, “What the hell is going on?” But he only received silence in reply.

~*~

The brat was acting up. See how he liked being down in the chamber for a nice long time. The Kyûbi could feel Kakashi nearby. They had once faced each other before, but only briefly almost fifteen years ago.

Whirling around, the Kyûbi conserved his energy. If he created a third tail, that would hinder him too much. Two tails would be enough. Not only that, but there was enough Naruto in this form that he could use it to his advantage against Naruto’s companion brats. They wouldn’t attack as heartily if he looked like their companion.

~*~

Sasuke jumped up as the Kyûbi charged him. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get anything done. If they couldn’t revert the transformation, Naruto would die. Jumping up, he glanced to his right. Sakura looked like she was trying to think up a solution. To his left, Kakashi was chanting something. He would be a decoy then.

~*~

Naruto let out a muffled scream of frustration. He didn’t care if this was a lesson in how the Kyûbi had felt for fourteen years. He had to get out of here. With the Kyûbi in charge, he knew he would die. Kakashi wasn’t one to try endlessly to fix things. If the situation didn’t improve, he had no doubt the Jônin would kill him.

There was only one way to fix this. He would have to get out of the cage.

~*~

Unfortunately this wasn’t a fairytale. The maiden couldn’t run up and stop the beast from charging with the power of love and friendship. Though, Sakura never though of herself as a maiden and somehow romantic love and Naruto in the same sentence didn’t seem right. There had to be a way to trap the beast and then revert the transformation. She knew it was overly optimistic, but if they made some progress, they might not have to resort to the inevitable.

Sasuke frowned as he flew into another building. Was Naruto possessed by something? Had his brother put something into Naruto? Getting back up, Sasuke barely missed getting bitten by the beast. Naruto was like a wild animal, with two tails flying as he spit and snarled. His attacks were coming too fast for Sasuke to handle, and just by moving randomly was he able to avoid anything fatal.

Hearing a noise from behind, he hit the ground and watched as the beast was showered with shuriken. The beast was shifting his attention to Sakura.

“You idiot – “ Sasuke scrambled to his feet as the beast charged Sakura. But Kakashi got there first, shouting out the last bit of the chant.

~*~

Naruto broke through the cage, falling to the floor, blood streaming from his body in numerous wounds. There. With neither of them in the cage, it would be only minutes before they would die. Coughing, he resisted closing his eyes. The Kyûbi would have to go back into the cage. He knew that the beast wasn’t keen on dying, and his soul could always heal once the Kyûbi returned to the cage.

Hearing a howl from the main consciousness of his body, Naruto gave a weak smirk. Soon the beast would return.

~*~

Sakura drew her jutsu back in surprise when Kakashi jumped between her and the Kyûbi. She had only meant to give Sasuke some time to regain his bearings, but Kakashi was taking the opportunity for a direct attack. Watching as the beast crumpled before them, Sakura froze. What exactly had Kakashi done? He was preparing to stick something that almost looked like a chakra ofuda on Naruto, but his body crumpled before Kakashi could even finish the last syllable of the chant.

Kakashi didn’t retract his jutsu. Even if Naruto was overtaking the Kyûbi within the body, he had to make sure that the seal stayed intact somehow. He knew that this would only be a temporary fix, but it was better than letting the Kyûbi come out whenever he damn well pleased.

Sasuke stopped running towards them as the chakra flew around Naruto’s body. He didn’t feel any killing intent from it, but the white-blue electricity seemed to carry a great deal of hate with it. His brown eyes fixed on Kakashi, but as always the man’s expression was unreadable.

“What did…What did you do?” Sakura asked hesitantly. They were going to be in so much trouble.

“You can figure it out, I’m sure,” Kakashi answered in a dark voice. “He should be fine later.”

~*~

It was hot. It hurt. It burned unlike anything Kabuto had done to him years ago. Gritting his teeth, Naruto let out a howl on the floor in the Kyûbi’s room within his soul. It felt like a knife carving something into his flesh. Taking in pained breaths, he felt arms helping him up, but he couldn’t see anyone or anything. The Kyûbi was cursing at him, but the voice was faint.

“Will you stop screaming in my ear?” a disgruntled voice griped.

Blinking, Naruto registered his surroundings and then his jaw dropped. “Sasuke?!”

Sasuke shifted his weight as he walked down the street with Naruto on his back. Kakashi was God-knew-where, and Naruto was too big for Sakura to carry. She could have easily carried his weight, but Naruto’s frame would have impeded her movement.

“Where’s Sakura?” Naruto looked around. He had thought about putting up a fight, but he could barely move his head to look around.

“Right here,” he felt her hand on his left shoulder. She had a strained smile on her features and dread behind her eyes.

“What happened?” Naruto asked. He could vaguely remember being in the room with the Kyûbi, but the memory was slipping away too fast to latch onto it.

“Er…” Sakura tried to figure out a way to phrase this. “We’ll tell you in the room,” she said hurriedly. It would give her time to think. Sasuke didn’t know that Naruto housed the Kyûbi, and she wasn’t sure if Naruto even knew it himself. Looking down the road, she put her hands into the large pocket on the front of her sweatshirt.

“Okay,” Naruto murmured as he eyed her carefully. They were going to keep something from him again! He hated this. He was sleepy and his abdomen hurt worse than he could remember, and he was bleeding from several places at once. He wished he could remember, but the Kyûbi had fallen silent and refused to talk to him.

~*~

Kakashi didn’t like this at all. First, he had Sasuke and Sakura disobeying him, and then he had the Kyûbi to deal with as well. He didn’t know how long his seal would last, but only the Hokage could redo the seal properly. Once, when Naruto was ten, the seal had weakened causing the Sandaime to strengthen it, but it hadn’t been this far gone.

He didn’t know what he was going to do with them when he got back to the room. They had to finish their mission here of course, but it was like he was dealing with inexperienced Genin still! Didn’t they learn anything at all?! He had seen their exams. He knew that they could act like Chûnin when it counted.

Turning towards the town, he decided to work on the mission and figure out how to deal with his underlings later.

~*~

Naruto was sleeping on the bed, his cheeks flushed with a light fever, but most of his wounds were bandaged and seemed to be healing successfully on their own.

“Kakashi-sensei is going to kill us,” Sakura murmured as she looked over at Naruto. “We’ve never refused him outright before.”

Sasuke snorted. There wasn’t any use in talking about it, they both knew what was coming. Pausing, he glanced at the door and then at Sakura. “What happened back there?”

“Uh…”

“You know something,” Sasuke commented, narrowing his eyes.

She had promised not to tell, but if this happened again, Sasuke would have to understand what they were dealing with. “Sasuke, I can’t tell you, but I’m sure you can figure it out.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes further. What was she up to?

“Just think about his birthday and then what you saw today. I’m sure you can figure it out.” Sakura turned away so she wouldn’t have to see him scrutinizing her. She should check Naruto’s bandages anyway.

“I don’t know when his birthday is,” Sasuke countered. He was supposed to pay attention to that? All he needed to know was that Sakura was older than him and Naruto was younger than him.

Sakura twitched slightly from where she was unwrapping the bandage around Naruto’s left arm to check the multiple wounds. “Sasuke, where do you think Naruto got tails from?”

“Aniki put something in him?” That was the only reasonable explanation Sasuke could come up with.

Sakura sighed and put the bandage in a pile to be washed. The Kyûbi seemed to be hurriedly healing Naruto. “No, Itachi was taking something out of Naruto. From what I can tell, he’s part of some group that’s going around extracting tailed beasts.”

Sasuke looked down at Naruto as Sakura rewrapped Naruto’s head with a fresh bandage. Handing him a bucket, she said, “Go get water. I’m going to wash the bandages.”

Sasuke gave her a “Why do I have to do this?” look, but he took the bucket and left the room.

Sakura glowered at the door when it slammed and then jumped when she heard her name from behind. Turning around, she put on a pleasant expression. “Naruto…”

The younger Chûnin put himself into a sitting position. “You know…” he murmured as his joints popped. He ached all over and his abdomen still burned as though he was being tattooed. “You know about him,” Naruto said in a stronger voice as he looked at Sakura.

Sakura decided she didn’t have to be vague with Naruto. “Yes, I figured it out a few years ago.”

“Does Sasuke…?”

“He hasn’t figured it out yet,” Sakura answered.

“Oh.” Naruto looked down at his fingers. Sakura knew, but she didn’t seem mad about it. She’d never looked too afraid of him either, but Sasuke…Sasuke could be unpredictable at the worst times. Twice Naruto had seen him completely chicken out of something, and then there was Kakashi. Even though he had known the whole time, Naruto wasn’t sure how Kakashi would take to having the Kyûbi truly amongst them and not safely tucked away within Naruto’s soul.

“Naruto,” Sakura sat on the bed and took one of his hands, “don’t worry about it. You’re still you, and Kakashi-sensei did something that will hopefully keep the Kyûbi at bay. We won’t kill you,” she squeezed his hand. He looked like he didn’t believe a word of it. “Naruto…”

“What happened, Sakura? Why can’t I talk to him? Why am I bandaged up?” Naruto looked over at her. “What did I do?” Someone had put the barrier between the Kyûbi and him back up and he had never felt this beat up ever before, almost as though his body had been against him.

“Do you remember what happened in the alley?” Sakura asked. “Any of it?”

“I met up with that guy from the bar and the Kyûbi…he started blending our chakra – “

“Blending?” Sakura blinked.

“Yeah,” Naruto explained, “you know, when two chakra flow in the same direction so they can both be used together in the best way.” At Sakura’s nod, he continued, “And then I really don’t remember much after the guy stood up.”

That must have been when Itachi began pulling the Kyûbi out of Naruto. Sakura observed him a moment. Then, when prodded for an explanation of what happened next, she began ton consider her words. “Itachi was pulling the Kyûbi from you, and then suddenly the Kyûbi…” how could she put it? “…came forward. Your body grew two tails, but it didn’t seem to have any form of you about it. The Kyûbi was definitely in charge.”

“Did I hurt anyone?” Naruto asked.

“No, Kakashi-sensei did this jutsu and got everything under control.” Hearing the coded knock, Sakura stood up and let Sasuke back into the room.

“You were outside,” Naruto said as his eyes locked onto Sasuke. He hadn’t said anything to Sakura about it, but Sasuke had been there when he explained what chakra blending was.

“So?”

Naruto opened his mouth and then closed it. Did he really want to pursue this?

“You could have told us,” Sasuke pointed out. It would have been a bit nice to know what his brother was doing. He wouldn’t have even bothered with Kisame if he understood the whole story.

“But – “ Naruto began. He wasn’t supposed to tell them – hell, even he wasn’t supposed to know!

Sasuke snorted. It explained everything, even why Orochimaru had kidnapped Naruto. That had never had a clear reason.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and then looked out the window. Things had gone better than he expected.

~*~

Tsunade observed the Jônin in front of her. “Thank you for your report,” she said automatically. It sounded as though Kakashi had led a troop of preschoolers through the mountains by the way he described events. He had used basic terms, but he was unusually intense.

“There’s more, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi stated. First, he always reported on the actual mission, and then he would talk about discrepancies and unexpected occurrences.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. The mission sounded like any other first time Chûnin mission. There were the typical trouble transitioning over to the idea of a new rank, and there were the typical teenager issues.

“The Kyûbi appeared,” Kakashi said in a low voice. He could feel his rage boiling up, but he made his face blank. “I had to put on a temporary seal, but it can’t last.”

Tsunade’s eyes narrowed. She thought that they at least had one more year until the seal unraveled.

“I want out.”

Tsunade’s eyes instantly locked onto Kakashi’s eye. “You – “

“I want out. I have done my duty, they are Chûnin now. Give them to Yamato,” Kakashi said. Because the next time the Kyûbi appeared, Kakashi knew he would kill Naruto.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Action/Drama
Rating PG-15
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Twenty-Four

Goggles
Chapter Twenty-Four: Squabbling

“You’re going to do what?!” Naruto shouted, his voice cracking.

Tsunade gave him a dry look. “I’m not going to do anything. Yamato is going to do it.”

“But do what?” Naruto demanded. He was not into this. Tsunade had told him to take his shirt off so there could be some sort of ritualistic mish mash to do something to his abdomen, and he was not going to do it.

“Seal the Kyûbi again,” Tsunade responded. Why was this so hard? Why couldn’t he just be a man and do it? “It’s not going to take long – “

“No way.”

Tsunade twitched. Why couldn’t Naruto be more like her? Why did he have to be stubborn like Jiraiya?! “Listen you – “

“Let me try, Hokage-sama,” a man in an outdated helmet said as he stepped forward. These two could argue all day long he was sure. “Naruto, what happened in the Wave put everyone in danger. If I don’t reseal it, you could attack your teammates again.” Yamato watched as Naruto averted his gaze. Yes, this was the right way to approach it. Sasuke and Sakura were like family for Naruto, so they were the key to making the boy go through with this. “It is true that they didn’t get hurt this time, but next time, you might severely injure them or even kill them both.” He watched Naruto shift his weight. “By letting me put the seal back on you, you will ensure their safety.”

“Fine,” Naruto grumbled and unzipped his windbreaker, throwing it on the floor before pulling his undershirt over his head. “Just get it over with.”

“You’re going to have to lie down for this – “

“No way in hell!” Naruto folded his arms.

“Naruto, if you don’t have this done, you can’t be a shinobi,” Tsunade said watching as his eyes instantly locked onto her. “You are too dangerous as you are right now.”

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Obasan really wouldn’t demote him, right?

Yamato looked between the two. They had the same expression and the same posture. It was almost comical.

“You wouldn’t,” Naruto said.

“Try me.”

After a long stare between the two, Naruto finally lay down on the table in the room. “Fine.”

“Okay,” Yamato said, “this won’t take too long. You need to remain still, or as still as possible.”

Naruto grumbled something not worth repeating and then Yamato began chanting, his hands places over Naruto’s abdomen where the Kyûbi was housed.

It burned even worse than whatever jutsu Kakashi had used. The chakra pulsated like a second heartbeat, and Naruto thought he heard the Kyûbi screech in pain. Balling his hands into fists, he gritted his teeth. He could feel blood trickling from his palms where his nails dug in, and he felt his chakra flying about his body in a panic as though something was attacking it as well.

Yamato kept chanting, trying to ignore Naruto’s incessant wiggling. At least he wasn’t screaming. This was also going faster than anticipated. Gritting his teeth, he began to feel Naruto’s chakra assembling to attack. It wasn’t a conscious attack, but a reflexive repelling of an invading chakra. He was almost at the end of the jutsu, so he would just have to hope the chakra could wait just a few more minutes.

Without warning, Naruto let out a bloodcurdling scream, releasing his chakra in a kiai, blowing Yamato across the room just as he finished the jutsu.

A red symbol glowed brightly on Naruto’s abdomen, some blood trickling from the marks on his cheeks.

“The seal has been restored,” Yamato reported as he stood up, brushing himself off.

Naruto went to sit up, but laid back down, growling slightly. It hurt too much to move, and his cheeks felt like someone had slashed them open. “The hell…?!”

“You’re lucky to be conscious,” Yamato noted.

“What happens now?” Naruto asked. Without the Kyûbi’s chakra, it changed how he would perform all his jutsu.

“If you’re concerned about your jutsu, you’ll be fine,” Yamato answered. “You should be able to perform them faster, and don’t worry about chakra strength, you have more than the average ninja without the Kyûbi’s aid.”

Naruto blinked. “No, I don’t.” If he did, he would have ruled the academy. He was only able to do what he did to pass the Genin exams because he had the chakra boost he was sure.

“Trust me, you’ll see,” Yamato said.

“What if something goes wrong?” Naruto asked. “Kakashi-sensei – “

“Is going to do some solo work for a while,” Yamato interrupted. “He’s given me indefinite control of your cell.”

“He…?” Naruto stared. Why would Kakashi do that? He was still their instructor! They had only had one mission as Chûnin!

“Yamato is the only person who can handle the Kyûbi if something goes wrong,” Tsunade entered the conversation.

“Why?” Naruto asked. He wasn’t sure if he liked this guy. Sure, he had mentored Sakura, but that didn’t mean Naurto wanted him as his instructor!

“It’s something only I can do,” Yamato gave a simple explanation. “Kakashi worked hard to be able to do what he did, but in a dire situation, that jutsu wouldn’t have been enough.”

“Dire?” Naruto asked. He didn’t like this lying down business. Why wasn’t his body healing fast enough so he could sit up?!

“When a tailed beast takes over its host, it tries to obtain its true form,” Yamato explained. “Remember the Chûnin exams when the Sandaime died?”

“Yeah,” Naruto answered. Who could forget that mess?

“Did you watch the last fight before the attacks started?”

“You mean Fuzzy Brows and Gaara?” Naruto asked. “I remember them starting their fight and then Obito-oniisan and Iruka-sensei were telling us that Gramps had gone after Gaara.”

So he hadn’t seen Gaara’s transformation then. Yamato put his hands in his pockets and then said, “The reason that the Sandaime went after him was that he had transformed fully into the Ichibi. That is why the Sandaime was going to kill him, he was that dangerous. He could have destroyed not only all of Konoha, but those on his own side simply because the Ichibi had his consciousness. That is also why you don’t remember attacking Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi. Your consciousness went to sleep and the Kyûbi took full control over your body.”

Naruto sat up slowly, his knees cracking loudly as he folded his legs across each other. “So, I won’t attack Sasuke and Sakura again?”

“For now,” Yamato replied. “The seal is always going to be temporary until you’re done growing. The first seal was supposed to last roughly sixteen years.”

“Then why didn’t it?”

“I don’t know.”

Naruto sighed and then looked over at Tsunade. “I’m still a ninja, right, Obasan?”

Tsunade gave him one of her slight smiles. “Yes.”

~*~

Sasuke didn’t say anything when Naruto relayed the information on their change of instructors. The Uchiha furrowed his eyebrows and poked at his ramen. Naruto had taken them out to dinner for some bizarre reason, and as always, Naruto chose Ichiraku Ramen Shop. Sasuke knew Naruto was evading the true reason why Yamato was taking over their cell. Most likely it had something to do with the Kyûbi, so it wasn’t exactly a topic for a public place.

“What’s he like as a sensei, Sakura?” Naruto asked. She had spent three months before each Chûnin exam studying with him after all.

“I don’t know,” Sakura said as she chewed on a piece of beef. “He gets straight to the point, and he isn’t afraid to say what you’re doing wrong. He’s sort of like Kakashi-sensei, only not as harsh.”

“He wants us to meet up at Obasan’s office at seven tomorrow morning,” Naruto added through a mouth of noodles. “He wants us to go on a mission together before we start going on separate missions.” He stirred the bowl in front of him at the last part. Soon they would all have to go separate ways. He didn’t even know what surviving teams did. Maybe they all ended up like Mr. Yamanaka, Mr. Nara, and Mr. Akimichi and reminisced, taking missions separately when they wanted.

“Normally Chûnin don’t get split up for several missions after they pass the exams,” Sakura said, hoping to soften things. “And even when we do go our separate ways, there’s always the option to join up on higher-level missions.” She decided to leave off the part about them dying. It was rare for an entire team to survive, especially once they hit the age of twenty. If an entire team did survive, they were either very skilled, very lucky, or possibly very cowardly. Wiping her mouth off, Sakura slipped off her stool. “I have to go see Tezuka-san about my apartment.”

“You’re getting an apartment?” Naruto asked, openly gaping. Sasuke was clearly interested as well. Sakura always came back from a mission and instantly headed home most times. Her parents weren’t ninja, and they always worried about their daughter while she was away.

“I’m fifteen and a Chûnin,” Sakura pointed out. “A lot of people have apartments.” Giving a small wave, she said, “See you tomorrow.” Then she left the shop.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. The older boy’s face was blank. Finishing his bowl, Naruto slid off the stool at the same time Sasuke slid off his. Putting down the money for the meals, Naruto shifted his weight and left the shop, Sasuke not too far behind. After walking a bit, Naruto turned around and said, “Don’t you live that way?” He didn’t like being followed or babied, though Sasuke wasn’t the babying type.

“Why is Yamato replacing Kakashi?” Sasuke asked. He wanted to know the truth. He was surprised how unconcerned Sakura seemed when Naruto mentioned the switch. Typically Sakura would have at least hinted at pursuing exactly why this was happening, but she didn’t seem to be the least bit curious.

Naruto blinked. Sasuke rarely asked questions. Typically he either let Sakura do it, or he kept it to himself. “Er…well…” Naruto put a hand behind his head. Sasuke gave him a hard stare that said Naruto better answer truthfully since he bothered to ask. “Let’s get out of earshot,” Naruto motioned his head in a direction.

~*~

Naruto looked down at Konoha from somewhere on the Yondaime’s head on the Hokage mountain. The breeze blew his hair back from his face. Sasuke wasn’t too far behind, coming to stand just a bit behind him. Blinking, Sasuke stared off to their left. There was a perfect view of the Uchiha complex from their perch. The quadrants looked dilapidated and neglected, but they didn’t look like haunted houses.

“So…?” Sasuke prodded. He wasn’t down with being able to see the Uchiha complex and he really didn’t know why Naruto liked to be at such a place either.

“Right,” Naruto said almost as though he had forgotten about Sasuke. “Yamato is replacing Kakashi-sensei because he is the only person who can handle me.”

Sasuke glanced at him, the tone had been too light, and the structure was rather vague. He could still recall the amazing amount of hate pulsating from Kakashi’s sealing jutsu. He wanted to ask if Kakashi had simply resigned and Yamato was put in place because he knew Sakura, but he didn’t.

Naruto had his arms across his abdomen subconsciously. It still burned, but it was lessening. He knew that if he lifted his shirt, the seal would probably still be visible like a fading tattoo. Yamato told him not to make contact with the Kyûbi and to ignore him if he tried to speak to Naruto. It would help keep the seal stable until it unraveled on its own, most likely after Naruto was done growing.

Sasuke wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say if anything. He had his answer, even though it was an ambiguous one.

“I think that I don’t want to see Kakashi-sensei again,” Naruto commented, commanding Sasuke’s attention. It was a gut feeling. No one had to tell him that Kakashi personally opted out of being his instructor, he just knew. “You guys can, but I think that he doesn’t want to see me again.”

“Hn,” Sasuke said and gave a slight nod to show he understood. Naruto must have felt that hatred in the sealing as well, whether he remembered it consciously or not. He was surprised Sakura had never brought up the near killing intent their instructor had either. Normally she would bring up such a concern to him, but she had remained silent.

Actually, Sakura hadn’t said much of anything lately. Normally she was talking his ear off about this and that. It wasn’t like when they were academy students and she mooned over him, it was more like she considered him a close friend. She hadn’t mooned over him since their trip to rescue Naruto.

“I HATE THIS!”

Sasuke involuntarily jumped at Naruto’s outburst. It was so unlike Naruto, even when he was in a whiny mood, to simply shout out something like that.

Naruto’s hands were balled so tight, blood trickled from his palms. His fangs were barred and his glare intense. “I hate how I’m not taken seriously, I hate how everyone has to touch me, I hate how I’m only a pawn in everyone’s eyes! And I hate that I can’t change a fucking thing!”

Sasuke was surprised that Naruto’s voice didn’t carry or echo. Maybe that’s why he liked this spot so much. Maybe he was accustomed to shouting here.

Slumping down, Naruto gave a very dark barking laugh. “Sakura is already starting to leave us and Kakashi-sensei hates our asses.” Naruto looked over at Sasuke. Something was different about his eyes. “They sealed the Kyûbi away. Now I’m all alone.” Standing up, Naruto dusted off his pants. “I don’t know why I told you that. I’m going back to my apartment.” Giving a small wave, he started down the mountain, Sasuke watching his movements.

What the hell had just happened?!

~*~

“You wanted to see me, Obasan?”

Tsunade looked up, setting her pen aside. As usual, Naruto simply walked into her office on his own accord. “Sit down.” She watched as he sat down and she said, “You left before I could check on you.”

“I was hungry,” Naruto said, his voice in an even tone.

“How do you feel?” Tsunade asked. She didn’t have to check physical signs. The problem with redoing the seal wasn’t problems with what the jutsu did to the body, but what it did to the mind. Many vessels like Naruto who gained contact with their beast had bad mental reactions to being separated from the beast. Everything they had overcome with chakra had been set back, which caused general irritation, aggression, and frustration. She could tell a difference the instant Naruto entered the room by opening the door with his foot, and his eyes also looked different.

“Like shit,” Naruto replied, his voice cracking again. It was the truth. He hadn’t felt too bad after the sealing, but after supper he felt worse. His head hurt slightly as well.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and observed him. “Resealing has many side effects, which is what you’re feeling.” Although, he also seemed like a typical teenager in the middle of puberty. She could remember days when any of her teammates, even her, would rebel against Sarutobi when they were his age. Although Orochimaru rarely acted up, he mostly preferred to watch as Jiraiya and she drove Sarutobi crazy. She could still remember a teenager Jiraiya constantly calling her “flat-chested Tsunade.”

“I hate it,” Naruto responded and slouched in the chair. He didn’t feel like he usually did and it had been a fight to keep face in front of Sakura, because he knew she’d make a fuss if he didn’t put up a mask. Without the connection to the Kyûbi, everything Naruto had been trying to forget flooded into him. Ever since the sealing, all his worst memories kept playing in his head, especially his summer vacation in the Sound. He couldn’t concentrate on the familiar warmth of the Kyûbi to make it go away.

“Obasan,” Naruto’s voice suddenly dropped, “when I met Obito-oniisan, he said that I reminded him of my mother instead of my father.” He played with his fingers.

Tsunade watched him. Such a mood change was to be expected. His mind was scrambling to reorganize with the sudden change in chakra levels and general body chemistry.

“Do you know if they’re still alive?” Naruto looked up at her, meeting her eyes. “I don’t want to know who they are, but…are they alive?”

Tsunade wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but she wasn’t going to lie. “Yes.”

“Oh,” Naruto murmured and lowered his eyes again. Standing up, he said, “I’m going to – “

“Sit back down, we’re not done yet,” Tsunade said and watched as he turned around and did what she told him.

“Now what?” Naruto whined, his voice cracking yet again.

“These,” Tsunade said reaching into her desk and bringing out an orange bottle. “These should calm your mood swings and keep you on an even flow.” She kept the bottle in her hand as she spoke. “Also, keep in mind that you’re going to be more tired than usual for a while, so try to get as much sleep as possible.

“Take one each morning, and only one,” she emphasized the last part and finally handed him the bottle. “And don’t forget. This bottle should have enough; you shouldn’t need more or less of what is in here.”

“Okay, okay,” Naruto murmured and stood up. “Are we done now?”

Tsunade nodded.

Pausing at the door, Naruto looked over his shoulder and gave her a slight but genuine smile. “Thanks, Obasan.”

~*~

“Naruto, what’s wrong with you?” Sakura asked as she stopped in mid attack, dodging Sasuke’s attack just in time.

“Nothing,” Naruto went to use the pause to throw a punch at her, but Sasuke blocked him. It was late in the day and they had decided to train together after a simple mission with Yamato. It was a C-rank mission that took them to the next town over. The mission hadn’t been a difficult one, but the level of skill needed for it was what made it a C-ranked mission. Yamato, like Kakashi, took the approach that Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura could handle the majority of the mission on their own. He also introduced the idea of splitting into two groups as well.

Naruto went to make a simple kiai to burst from Sasuke’s grasp, but his chakra was still reorganizing itself. He had planned to train his chakra up after their mission, but when Sakura suggested joint training, he agreed.

Sakura stepped back and folded her arms. Giving a motion, Sasuke let Naruto go. “Naruto, I want to know what’s going on. You’re not fighting like you normally do, and it was almost like you were back in the academy today, only a bit more accurate.”

“So?” Naruto found himself saying. He felt more impulsive than usual and like he couldn’t stop his mouth any longer or control how much his voice cracked or sounded strange. “You haven’t been acting normal either.”

Sasuke considered leaving. If these two were going to square off, he was just going to go home. Although, he was sure that the moment he moved from where he was standing, he would get caught up in the argument.

“Yes, I have,” Sakura replied.

“No. You’re not questioning anything and you haven’t said much of anything since we were in the Wave,” Naruto pointed out. “If anything’s wrong, it’s wrong with you.”

“With me?” Sakura snorted. There was nothing wrong with her. She wasn’t PMSing or anything else that drastic.

“Yeah, with you.” Naruto admitted that of course he was different, but he didn’t have to say that out loud. Besides, Sakura hadn’t been herself for quite some time.

“Like what?” Sakura folded her arms and locked gazes with him.

“I already told you. You haven’t been doing what you always do,” Naruto tried to figure out how to word this. “You didn’t ask why Yamato-taichô replaced Kakashi-sensei, you didn’t – “

“I know why Yamato-taichô replaced Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura interrupted. “I’m not an idiot and neither are you. You know why that happened too. You had to have felt that.”

Naruto involuntarily stepped back. Felt what? He could remember his abdomen burning from Kakashi’s seal, but no other sensations other than that. “Wha…?”

“When Kakashi-sensei preformed that jutsu he did at the Wave, it pulsated with hatred,” Sakura said. It was the truth and she didn’t feel like stepping around it or sugaring it for him. He was fourteen-years-old and a Chûnin, so he had to face this. “He didn’t even look at you for the rest of the trip. You can’t hide from this, Naruto.”

“Then what about you?” Naruto demanded. “Do you hate me too?”

A silence fell between them and Sasuke shifted his weight. He didn’t like this, but there wasn’t anything he could do if he wanted to stay out of it.

“No,” Sakura shook her head, “I don’t hate you. I just don’t want you to hide away from this. I don’t want you to hide this from us.”

“I can do whatever I want to do,” Naruto turned away as he spoke. “I’m going home.”

“Naruto – “ Sakura reached out but Naruto batted her hand away.

“Just leave me alone. I’m fine,” he said and stalked off towards town.

~*~

Part of Yamato had to wonder if Kakashi really resigned from the team due to the Kyûbi. Teamwork was a hit and miss issue now, and sometimes all three of his charges would go at it. The only good thing, though, was that they didn’t do it in front of clients. Most likely they’d all put their best foot forward, get their mission, and then bicker through the whole damn thing. His team needed to calm down somehow. He had tried threatening them with a large wooden box, but sometimes he didn’t think even that would work.

“…and that’s why!” Naruto finished an impassioned explanation of something. Yamato hadn’t been listening to the newest issue.

“Whatever,” Sasuke brushed it aside.

“Okay, that’s it,” Yamato stepped in before the boys could get worse. At Naruto’s bared teeth in Sasuke direction, Yamato’s face took on an expression that looked like he had a flashlight under his chin. “If you three don’t get your act together, one of you is going to die soon if not all of you.”

Instantly the Chûnin were paying attention. None of them were sure how Yamato could achieve that look, but they all agreed silently that it was best not to push him after it came out.

“Naruto, just because you don’t feel well doesn’t mean you can go after everyone in your path,” Yamato said as he looked to the youngest of the group. “Sasuke, just because you can doesn’t mean you should push Naruto’s buttons, and Sakura,” he turned to the shortest of the group, “you’re the oldest. I know you can restrain yourself and them as well.

“So I have decided to put our team on hiatus until you three can stop being a danger to yourselves,” Yamato announced, daring them to interrupt him. “You three will be working on team dynamics in a small town outside of Konoha.”

“Doing what?” Naruto asked. He had a bad feeling.

“Living together,” Yamato answered as though this was the most normal solution in the world.

“Yamato-taichô,” Sakura began but then shut her mouth at his expression. He really meant it. He was going to stick two fifteen-year-olds and a fourteen-year-old together in God-knew-where for God-knew-how-long to do God-knew-what.

“I’m still working it out with Tsunade-sama,” Yamato added, “so do what you will today, tomorrow we will leave.”

~*~

“Two rooms,” Sakura noted as they entered the small room.

“So it’s just us?” Naruto asked. “Yamato-taichô isn’t staying?”

“That’s good,” Sakura murmured from the smaller room in the back. “There’s barely room for the three of us back here.”

Sasuke simply looked at the larger room. Something made him uneasy and it wasn’t connected to the set up. They had stayed in smaller places than the back room before. Running his fingers idly over the table in the center of the room, he frowned deeply.

“What’s with you?” Naruto glanced over at his teammate. At first he thought maybe Sasuke was just brooding over their situation, but it looked like something worse than that.

“Nothing,” Sasuke said. “Just stay on your guard.”

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Action/Drama
Rating PG-15
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Twenty-Five

Goggles
Chapter Twenty-Five: Truth

It was a few weeks into the first month of living together outside of one of the smallest villages in the Fire Country. At first, there was some minor bickering, but now they were tolerating each other. Sasuke tried his best to stay out of arguments, but sometimes they were unavoidable. Currently Sakura was doing laundry, while Naruto was out in the yard doing God-knew-what. Looking down at the bowl in front of him, Sasuke made a face. How did he wind up cooking? It was true none of them were bad at it, but certainly Naruto could be doing more than just sitting outside meditating.

Putting Naruto’s rear in gear was more of something Sakura did. Naruto had a tendency to stay up late into the night doing what he was doing just now. Sasuke could only begin to imagine what it was.

“Where’s Sakura?” Naruto asked as he walked into the through the front door.

Sasuke looked up from where he was still working out the right measurements for the simple spice soup he was making. There was a town nearby, but they only got the essentials. They weren’t sure when Yamato would come to check back in with them. “I don’t know.”

Naruto looked at the spice soup. “I’m going to get some meat,” he said after making a face.

“Be careful about what you get this time,” Sakura cautioned as she immerged from the smaller room. Her face was pale, but she seemed fine enough.

“Okay,” Naruto gave a small wave. “I’ll be back later.”

Sitting down at the small table, Sakura looked at Sasuke’s work and then said, “You’re getting better at cooking.”

Sasuke only snorted.

“Don’t you think this is odd?” Sakura asked. “I mean I’ve heard of team bonding, but to put us out here for who knows how long?”

“I don’t know.” Why was Sakura so talky?

“I don’t have a bad feeling per se,” Sakura spoke slowly as though she couldn’t find the right adjectives to describe it. “I just – “Hearing the door open, she instantly fell silent as Naruto entered the room.

Looking between the pair, Naruto narrowed his eyes. They were doing it again. This time he was sure they were! Sakura and Sasuke were always hiding something from him, even long before they knew he was a vessel. After he was kidnapped, they both got protective of him, but he let it slide. They were teammates after all, and all teams had their quirks. Yet, he hated this one! If they were a team, they shouldn’t treat him like a kid they were babysitting!

“What were you talking about?” he asked, his voice a bit sharper than he wanted.

“Supper,” Sakura stated automatically. She didn’t mean to shield Naruto, but after three years, she automatically covered worries up and pushed them away from him.

“I caught squirrel,” Naruto said. “I already cleaned it, but you can check it if you want.”

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the tone, but Sasuke took the two skinned animals from Naruto. They looked fine enough to him. They were prepared correctly and things he thought someone shouldn’t eat weren’t still on the corpses. Without saying anything, the Uchiha began cutting the meat up and putting it in with the broth.

~*~

They there were crammed into the tiny room. Sakura slept on the far wall perpendicular to Naruto and Sasuke.

Putting his hand on his chin, Naruto frowned. He slept nearest the door, and even though the room was small, it was easy to escape from and spring into action in as well. His mind wasn’t letting him sleep. He thought that if he practiced regulating his chakra without talking to the Kyûbi, it would make everything better and put him more at ease. If anything, it forced him to remember what he locked away.

Closing his eyes, Naruto shook his head and opened them again. He could remember the experiments. Kabuto had taken interest in exploring a vessel in purely medical terms. There had been so many tests of so many kinds. Even though he had never been violated, Naruto still felt mildly sick remembering regardless.

“Naruto…?”

Naruto kept himself from jumping. He should have noticed when Sakura woke up. “What?” he whispered. Sasuke was still asleep, his back to Naruto with his covers wrapped around him like a cocoon. Naruto knew that Sasuke was probably listening in.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.”

Receiving a hard stare, Naruto looked up at the window in the room. The moon was barely out of its first phase, but it gave enough light that he could see shadows.

“Naruto,” Sakura began and then stopped. “Let’s talk outside.”

Naruto blinked. “What – “ But before he could ask anything, Sakura was already in the larger room.

~*~

“When I was friends with Ino, we had this game,” Sakura explained as she sat down on a nearby stump. “It was called ‘this for that’ but it was really pre pro quo.”

“Was what?” Naruto sat down on the ground.

“It’s easier to explain,” Sakura answered. “Basically, you ask a question and I have to answer it and in exchange, I get to ask you a question which you must answer.”

Naruto wasn’t sure if he liked this. Sakura could ask him anything! Fidgeting slightly, he opened his mouth and then closed it. He could use this to his advantage. “Okay,” Naruto decided.

“Okay do you want to go first?” It was only decent to ask, she had suggested the game after all. It was a low ploy she knew, but it was a way to get something out of Naruto without having Sasuke around to clam him up.

“Sure,” Naruto agreed. He would have to use the techniques he picked up from Jiraiya on questioning people to get this to go his way. He didn’t want to start out with the true question. He couldn’t save it too long, but it would be bad to start out with it. Although, he really didn’t have any other question for her either. Pausing, he finally asked, “What was that move you did at the exams?”

“Which one?” Sakura asked. She had done a lot of “moves.”

“The one against Lee,” Naruto answered. “You know, where you could have clobbered him, but – “

“That one,” Sakura said rather tartly. She had a finishing move she unleashed on Lee during their second try at the exams, but he managed to evade it. At first, Sakura had thought that Lee might try to go easy on her or perhaps not fight her at all, but he had honored her by not holding back.

Naruto noted the change. It was only about a jutsu! Sakura looked like it was a guilty thing, but he had seen Yamato use something like it once before.

“It’s modified from something Yamato-taichô taught me,” Sakura answered. “Instead of manipulating wood, by changing a few symbols, I was able to use the ground as a weapon. You didn’t see the full attack, because Lee stopped me in mid-attack. It was the fifth time I’d used the ninjutsu, so I hadn’t thought through how to use it against an opponent like Lee.” Pausing, Sakura checked to see if that had satisfied Naruto’s curiosity.

“Okay,” Naruto murmured. That was fair enough, although he didn’t like her expression. He hadn’t meant to start the questions off with something bad. That might set him back a bit before asking her what he wanted to. “Your turn.”

Sakura considered. She didn’t want to ask anything too personal, but she didn’t want to ask something stupid either. “How long have you known about the Kyûbi?” He probably thought she was going to instantly demand to know whatever was keeping him up late at night. She would get to that, if she thought she could chance it, but that wasn’t a good way to start off the game.

~*~

What the hell were they doing?

Making a face, Sasuke looked at his watch. It was past two in the morning, and he wasn’t sure when exactly they had left the room. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he opened the front door. If they didn’t like him coming out of the house right then, well tough for them.

~*~

Sakura was still laughing at his answer. They had gone through about five questions each, but he knew that her objective wasn’t lost. Deciding he had to move before she did, he made sure to catch her eyes before asking, “Sakura, what did you and Sasuke do when I was in the Sound?”

From nearby, Sasuke froze. Had Naruto just asked Sakura that?! Narrowing his eyes, he hoped Sakura wouldn’t blab. Her laughter had died and she seemed reticent. Neither seemed to have noticed him yet.

“Well, we were on vacation and – “

“That’s not what I mean,” Naruto interrupted. “What did you guys do when I was in the Sound that got you in trouble?”

“Oh,” Sakura said. “Well…” She couldn’t really tell Naruto, could she? It would be against the rules of the game, but it wasn’t fully her place to tell… “We broke some rules, that’s all.”

Naruto gave her a hard stare. He hadn’t messed around with this game to get nothing. He had to remain calm though. Jiraiya always remained calm when he was getting information from people. He had to be like Jiraiya in this situation. “You said ‘pre pro quo,’” Naruto reminded her, his voice going slightly lower. He decided that it was because he was trying to imitate Jiraiya, not because his vocal cords were conspiring against him.

“It’s not a lie.”

Sakura and Naruto looked in Sasuke’s direction. He had a rather sour look on his face as though he loathed stepping into this, but he had no choice. Naruto knew that some people called it his “tragic victim” face.

“We broke some rules and got in trouble,” Sasuke confirmed Sakura’s answer. He really didn’t want to be around when Naruto learned the details. Sakura could tell Naruto whenever she wanted as long as Sasuke never had to see Naruto ever again. It was embarrassing.

“What rules?” Naruto asked. He hadn’t memorized the Shinobi Code, but he had a good idea of some crazy ass rules Sasuke could be referring to. He could always remember the rules that made no sense to him or he hated outright.

Sasuke only snorted and turned away. Sakura said nothing, both knowing that Naruto would swoop down on Sasuke now and divert his attention from the game. As predicted, Naruto stood up, his eyes focused on Sasuke.

“Did you go after me?” Naruto hated how self-centered it sounded. He didn’t really want to ask either, but he had to know. It was probably the start of their protectiveness.

Sakura looked down at her hands and Sasuke didn’t turn around. Naruto felt his heart jump. He shouldn’t have asked. They must have gone after him.

“Yeah, we did,” Sasuke finally answered. He wasn’t going to share details like how he was supposed to be the only person who went, or how they had been reprimanded, or about any of it. The answer should suffice, even though he was sure Naruto would like to know everything.

“I see,” Naruto said quietly. He hadn’t wanted to believe it, but he had always hoped at the same time. “I’m going to go train. You guys can go back to bed.” Then he was gone.

~*~

“Sorry about that, Zetsu-sama,” a male voice said hurriedly.

What could only be described as a creature walking just in front of him said nothing. Pausing, he noted that his companion instantly halted. The newcomer was improving rapidly. He had a good chance of gaining a position at this rate. Changing courses, Zetsu looked over at his companion through a large green claw that surrounded his head. “This way.”

~*~

“Yamato-taichô should come for us soon,” Sakura said. They were entering their second month together, and things were starting to even out around the edges. There was the occasional teeth bearing every so often, but they weren’t endangering each other any longer.

“Liar,” Naruto grumbled as he pointed his chopsticks in her direction.

Sasuke gave him a weird look. Naruto had been acting weird lately as though he was a machine recalibrating. It was almost like being at the theater one time when the movie projector kept breaking down when they were younger. Chasing the memory away, Sasuke stood up. “I’m going to go train.”

“I’ll go with you,” Naruto said and stood up too. Sometimes all three of them sparred, but they rarely did it one on one. With the dishes to attend to, he knew Sakura wouldn’t join them. It wasn’t anything against her, but Sasuke was the strongest of them, and if Naruto wanted to beat him, he would have to fight him.

~*~

“Sakura didn’t put up a fight,” Naruto looked over his shoulder as they moved away from the hut.

Sasuke didn’t respond. Stopping, he surveyed the area. It wasn’t too crowded to spar in, but it wasn’t too open either. They ALWAYS tended to spar or train in different areas so they wouldn’t get used to a certain terrain. “Here?”

Naruto looked around. Tall trees loomed over them, the ground full of weeds that had choked out the grass. It was similar to the location Kakashi had used to teach them to climb trees long ago. “Sure.” It was fine with him. A little cramped, he had to admit, but he could deal with it. He was still working on getting back up to where he had been before the Kyûbi had been resealed. He couldn’t go anywhere until he had worked back up to that, but it was hard going since he couldn’t blend the chakra right yet.

Sasuke got into a stance and waited for Naruto to assume one. It wasn’t as fun sparring with Naruto as it once was since he seemed to be as haphazard as he was back when they were in the academy, but he was getting better. Within seconds of Naruto positioning himself, both teenagers flew at each other. First, they went for a taijutsu volley, using their chakra to strengthen and control their attacks. Rocketing to opposite sides of the area, both began making hand symbols as they stood on the trunks of trees. It was a silent agreement not to use their trump cards against one another in battle. There were ways to practice them for control, but they didn’t want to send each other into the hospital.

Neither moved from the tree as they sent their jutsu on the other, both leaving the tree to survive the impact. Moving his hand, Naruto gritted his teeth and watched as his attack gave a turn towards Sasuke. It was slow moving, but it was obeying his chakra. Sasuke’s eyes widened slightly and then he dodged watching the attack slam into several trees nearby.

“Dammit,” Naruto grumbled. There had to be a way to control the chakra so it could follow and hit the enemy.

Before Sasuke could retaliate, both boys froze in place as Naruto looked over his shoulder and Sasuke followed his gaze. A tall man with what only could be described as a large green claw over his head immerged from one of the thicker clumps of trees, his hands folded, demeanor casual. Yet, neither teenager were fooled into thinking that the creature wasn’t prepared for an attack. Behind him followed an average sized man with a spiral mask that had a hole for only the right eye to see through.

“Good afternoon,” he said in a pleasant enough voice as though this was the best way to win them over. “Zetsu would like to see the Kyûbi boy alone if you don’t mind.”

Sasuke opened his mouth and went to reach for a weapon, but he couldn’t move. Judging by the strain on Naruto’s features, he couldn’t move or speak either.

“We shouldn’t let the other live,” a second voice came out of Zetsu.

“No, we promised,” the first voice responded in a light tone. “We promised to leave him alone.”

“Should I take the vessel, Zetsu-san?” Tobi asked impatiently. He wanted to get to the more important part of the mission.

There had to be a way out of this jutsu. Sasuke tried to flex a muscle, but it was impossible. He could feel his eyes drying since he couldn’t blink, but no matter what he did, his body didn’t respond at all.

“Yes, but first, let Zetsu stop his heart.”

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Action/Drama
Rating PG-15
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Epic fic. Various couplings.
Chapter Twenty-Six

Goggles Chapter Twenty-Six: Fire

Sakura could sense they were getting closer. Yamato had appeared a few hours after Sasuke and Naruto went off to train in the woods. Jumping over a log, she sped up and then skidded to a halt. Sasuke was lying face down, his skin pale and blood trickling from his ears.

Instantly Sakura rolled him over, checking his vitals, finding everything intact despite the blood. “I think his eardrums might have been damaged,” Sakura said, her voice steady. Reaching into the pocket of her skirt, she pulled out a vial and held it under Sasuke’s nose. Instantly his eyes flew open and he sat up quickly only to flop back down, the fast motion throwing off his balance. “Goddammit…”

“Sasuke,” Sakura made sure she had his attention. It wouldn’t be good to bombard him with questions just yet.

Sitting back up, the younger ninja groaned slightly. His head throbbed and both his ears had something oozing out of them, making it near impossible to hear whatever Sakura was saying. Putting a finger in one of his ears, he felt Sakura forcibly pull it back out and help him up.

“…ooo an ooo ah,” Sakura said, Sasuke having no clue exactly what she meant. “…ee ah eh ooo oeh.”

Letting her drag him back to their dwelling, Sasuke tried to piece his memory back together. He felt lightheaded and had a sinking feeling that he’d screwed up again.

“…oh ay en oo ay ruto,” Sakura told him, her voice becoming slightly clearer, but not by too much. “…ow oh ill.”

“OW!” Sasuke felt cold water invade his ear.

“…oh ill!” Sakura ordered and tried to keep him from standing up. “…ooo ah uh eh oo eh.”

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke felt Sakura stick what felt like a rubber hose in his ear, but not deep enough to cause damage. “…ill ee oh ih,” Sakura cautioned as she began pumping cold water into his ear. Sasuke could feel blood trickling down his face, his ear popping painfully.

Trying to block out the cold and the pain, Sasuke returned to trying to figure out exactly what had happened after Naruto tried his new jutsu. He remembered not being able to breathe or speak right before Sakura woke him up.

“Now for the other ear,” Sakura said, though the uneven distortion threw him slightly.

“So what’s going on?” Sasuke asked. He was sure she had said more than just about cleaning his ears.

“Yamato-taichô has gone to look for Naruto,” Sakura explained.

Sasuke went to stand up, but was instantly forced back down. “Hey – “

“You can’t be any help if one of your ears is still clogged up with blood,” Sakura noted.

“But – “

“Just tell me what happened,” Sakura said as she began pumping water into his ear. She watched as blood clots slid down his face.

“Two men took Naruto,” Sasuke answered. “I don’t remember what they looked like, but they had masks I think.” He didn’t know why he was remembering something about a crab, but he was certain one of them had a mask with a spiral on it.

“Do you remember anything else about them?”

“One of them had two voices,” Sasuke replied as he tried to recall as much as possible. “The other was his subordinate. They spared me, they said they promised to.”

Sakura removed the tube and gave Sasuke a towel to wipe his face off with. “Dry off, we have to tell Yamato-taichô.”

~*~

“Tobi must be careful to not damage it,” the monster said in his proper voice.

“Zetsu should eat it,” his other half murmured.

“No, Zetsu will not eat it. It is not to eat.”

Tobi looked over at his superior as they ran. Zetsu was one of the weirder members of their organization, although none of them could possibly called normal in the slightest, even Uchiha Itachi who seemed the most normal of all. They had a few days journey to the Sand and to the leader of their organization.

“You can restart his heart, don’t you think, Zetsu-san?” He knew their leader didn’t want a corpse in rigamortis when they extrated the Kyûbi.

“Zetsu has restarted it faintly. The Kyûbi should stay alive until we arrive back,” Zetsu confirmed.

Tobi shifted Naruto on his back and readjusted the teenager’s arms around his neck. Perhaps when they returned, there would be an opening and then he would become an official member of the Akatsuki.

~*~

“If you keep doing that, neither of you are going.”

Sasuke and Sakura instantly froze in place. Tsunade gave them a hard look wondering if she was dealing with two children around fifteen or two children around five. She hated it when people tried to whisper while she was talking. Sure they were planning, but they could save it for after she was done talking!

“As I was saying, you both can’t go off alone without a Jônin,” she dared someone to interrupt and point out that Yamato was already following Naruto’s captors again. It was as though the pair had regressed mentally slightly or something. “So, I – “

“Excuse me, Tsunade-sama?” Shizune gave a timid knock at the door. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, but this is urgent…”

~*~

“We’ve been watching the Akatsuki for some time now,” Kankuro said as he, Temari, Sasuke, and Sakura hurried towards the Wind Country. “Gaara sent us to warn you about their advancement.”

“Who are they exactly?” Sakura asked as she vaulted over a tree branch, catching another as they moved through the forests of the Fire Country.

“A group gathering the tailed beasts,” Temari took up the explanation. “So far they’ve caught all of them except for the Ichibi, Nibi, and Kyûbi. No one knows what they’re doing to them yet. Every spy has been killed.”

“Why are we just hearing about this now?” Sasuke asked. It was pertinent information to their cell as a whole. It also began to explain Itachi and Kisame’s persistence in trying to capture Naruto themselves.

“It’s a need to know thing,” Temari looked over at him, holding his gaze a moment before the group dropped to the ground as a whole. They were exiting the forests and heading towards the south east to get to the Wind Country.

Sakura put a hand on Sasuke’s arm before he could say anything. She never knew when he would start demanding answers. Now wasn’t the time for that, they knew and they had to get Naruto back. “Wait,” Sakura held out an arm and then knelt down. “Come here.”

The other ninja watched as a cat immerged from a nearby clump of bushes.

“Do you have a message?” Sakura asked the cat.

The cat’s eyes lowered. “Yamato-san was hurt badly. He said that the last time he saw the pair, they were headed for what looked like the southern area of the Wind.”

“Anything else?” Sakura asked.

“Their names are Zetsu and Tobi,” the cat answered. “Zetsu seems to be the leader. They both have Naruto and are keeping him alive, but barely. He hasn’t figured out what they are going to do with him, but they are taking him back to their leader. That is all, Sakura-san.”

“Thank you.” Sakura stroked the cat a few times and then stood up. “Do you two know Tobi or Zetsu?”

“I’ve heard of Zetsu from intelligence reports, but nothing descriptive,” Kankuro replied.

“I haven’t heard of either,” Temari said. “Our concentration has been on Deidara and Sasori.”

“Zetsu is tall with a green claw hiding his head,” Sasuke spoke up. “Tobi has dark hair and wears a spiral mask with a hole over his right eye.”

“You know where we’re going, right?” Sakura asked. She didn’t want to end up searching the desert for the hideout.

“Yes,” Kankuro replied as the group resumed their trek.

~*~

“Zetsu and Tobi have returned, sir,” Zetsu spoke to a man who kept himself in the shadows. “Zetsu and Tobi brought the Kyûbi.”

The man walked towards them, but he kept his distance all the same. The boy on Tobi’s back did indeed have the markings to show he was the correct vessel. “Have you made sure he isn’t a decoy?”

Tobi opened his mouth, but Zetsu kept him from speaking. “Zetsu is certain. The vessel came from the Fire Country, not from the Wind Country.”

The Leader appraised Naruto and then said, “Lay him down, let’s begin.”

~*~

“This way,” Temari said as she steered the group to the north west. “We have to approach from this direction. We’re going to meet reinforcements.” As they slipped through passageway, they came out into an open area of a cave where six Sand ninja were waiting.

“Temari-hime, they entered a few hours ago,” one of the ninja spoke, stepping forward from the group. “They had a boy with them, about Kazekage-sama’s age. We waited as you instructed us to. There are three other Akatsuki members about we think.”

Temari folded her arms and surveyed the group. “Alright, we are going to take the fifth formation for this,” Temari stated. “You two,” she indicated Sakura and Sasuke, “are going to come with Kankuro and me. The rest of you know what to do, right?” After receiving several nods, Temari gave the signal and the groups split off.

~*~

It was getting whiter and the pain was suddenly lessening. The red chakra of the Kyûbi swirled around him as though clinging to his soul desperately, yet the large kitsune form of the Kyûbi was nowhere to be seen. Naruto opened his mouth to call out for it, but nothing came out, though his lips did move.

He dropped slightly as one of the chakra tendrils abruptly disappeared. Then another did and another as though several rubber bands had finally reached their breaking points. Feeling the net give out, Naruto fell at a sharp angle at an almost deadly velocity. Closing his eyes tightly, he tried to gather his chakra to help stop his fall, but there was nothing to gather. There wasn’t any chakra from the Kyûbi nor was there any of his own.

He was surely going to die.

Feeling arms wrap around him, he suddenly fell backwards onto someone, both of them skidding quite a distance. Sitting up instantly, he found a teenager not that much older or taller than he was. Scrambling off the boy, he went to help him up and then paused. “Who…are you?”

~*~

“The Kyûbi is suddenly coming faster, Zetsu-san,” Tobi noted.

“Zetsu heard that once a person nears death, they encounter the most important people who have gone before them in the form they first remember seeing them in. The vessel must have been reunited with whomever Deidara killed when he was initiated.”

“But then…?” Tobi didn’t understand. Why would that make the Kyûbi come faster? It wasn’t like any tailed beast had a hold onto any human but their vessel.

“The vessel is pushing the Kyûbi away now,” Zetsu answered. “It is content to die.”

~*~

“The chakra we felt…it’s fading,” Sakura noted as the group of four approached the outside of the cave.

“That means the extraction is complete,” Kankuro responded.

“‘Extraction?’” Sasuke looked over at the older boy.

“The Akatsuki have been taking the tailed beasts out of their vessels and implanting them into their members for some time now,” Kankuro explained.

“Then Naruto…” Sakura couldn’t ask.

“Is probably dead,” Sasuke concluded. He didn’t like it either, but they couldn’t dance around it. They had to plan how to confront the Akatsuki after all.

“We’re here though, so we should do something,” Sakura said, “at least bring his body back.”

Sasuke glanced at her. There was something about her expression that put him ill at ease, but he pushed it away. Sakura was right, they were there and the Akatsuki should pay. “We can’t do anything until we get through this boulder,” Sasuke noted as he and Sakura began to survey it.

“I know how to break this,” Sakura reminded him dryly. “The trick will be if they infused it with chakra or not.”

Hearing a cough, Sakura gave pause and looked over her shoulder. That’s right, they were working with Temari and Kankuro, weren’t they? Sasuke had a face that clearly stated he wanted them to bug off. It was their teammate after all and his brother’s organization too.

“Er…” Sakura tried to think of a good way to include the siblings or at least make up for blatantly ignoring them. “Well…”

“You can provide backup,” Sasuke said. Just because they brought him and Sakura here didn’t mean they could be in charge of the body retrieval, though he knew that they would probably end up cremating Naruto on their way. It would be too dangerous to have the possibility of someone stealing his head to pick through it for secrets.

Sakura decided to say nothing. It was Sasuke after all and tact was never his strong suit. “Anyway,” she faced the boulder again, “I’m going to try to break this.”

~*~

“They are here, Zetsu-san,” Tobi noted. He could feel someone building up their chakra to do who-knew-what.

“We are ready for them un,” a voice said from nearby. The room was pitch black now that the Kyûbi had been successfully captured. It was awaiting to be transferred into the body of an Akatsuki member.

“There are several groups,” another voice noted. “A five point formation I think.”

“Zetsu thinks we should not engage,” Zetsu spoke up only to have his other voice answer, “Zetsu should kill them all and feast upon them.”

Deidara gave him a look.

“We should leave them to Zetsu and Tobi,” Sassori remarked. “Our objective is the Ichibi after all.” Also, Sasori knew that if Zetsu did eat one person, they all would be at risk.

“I agree, Sassori-danna, un,” Deidara murmured and the pair disappeared from sight.

~*~

“Here we go,” Sakura cautioned and then hit the rock on its breaking point. Hit with recoil from the sealing jutsu, she flew backwards, Kankuro keeping her from flying too far as the rock began to crumble before them.

Standing on the other side was Zetsu and Tobi, both ready for their visitors, Naruto nowhere in sight.

“Sasuke,” Sakura spoke in a low voice, “cover for me, I’m going to recover Naruto – “

“What?” Sasuke stared. It was true that Sakura was the weakest of the three of them, but she was stronger than all the girls he knew their age from their village.

“I – “ Sakura dodged an attack and gritted her teeth as Zetsu surveyed them.

“Zetsu will eat one of you,” his creepier voice stated. “Tobi has been a good boy. Tobi will get the rest of you.”

Temari prepared her fan. She wasn’t sure how Sasuke had taken over, but she could tell it would only be a power struggle if she and Sasuke stayed in the same place. She could tell that Zetsu and Tobi were the only members around, at least this close to the entrance. Looking to Kankuro, she spoke firmly. “You two, go find Naruto, we will take care of them.

“GO!” she repeated loudly at Sakura and Sasuke’s hesitation. Watching as Tobi prepared to give chase, Temari blocked his path. “If you want the other two, we fight first.” Even though she couldn’t see into the eye hole of Tobi’s mask, she knew he was holding her gaze.

“You won’t be a match for me,” Tobi said.

Temari simply spread her fan. It was time to fight.

~*~

Sakura and Sasuke kept the same pace as they entered the network of caves. Cautiously they chose their path as best they could. The only way to really find Naruto would be to find a scent of decomposition but within the coolness of the day, the body wouldn’t smell strong enough yet. They needed Naruto to find Naruto!

Skidding to a halt, Sakura put her arm out, stopping Sasuke from going farther. “Did you feel that?”

“What?”

“This way,” Sakura changed directions. “I think I felt the Kyûbi.”

Sasuke followed her down the corridor. How could Sakura feel it and he couldn’t? Maybe she thought she did. Pausing outside a room, both cautiously assessed it. They had come this far without problems, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t in the next room.

Prepared for an attack, the pair entered the room bracing themselves for whatever came their way only to stop short. Yet, there was only a prone body lying in the shadows. Both stopped short and then broke out into a run, Sakura instantly kneeling by the body, Sasuke standing over her. “It’s Naruto,” Sakura said.

“We should burn him and leave,” Sasuke said. He couldn’t think of anything else to say. He couldn’t even see Naruto’s face from where he stood.

“No, no,” Sakura said and set her features. “There is something I can do.”

“Like what?” Sasuke asked. He didn’t like this. Something was eating at him, he needed to get them out of there, something bad was about to happen.

“Don’t’ talk.” Sakura placed both her hands on Naruto’s chest. Her hands began glowing causing Sasuke to raise an eyebrow.

“What are you – “

“DON’T TALK!” Sakura growled. She had only read this once, and she wasn’t sure if she was doing it right, but either way, there would be the same result.

~*~

Naruto looked over his shoulder. He could have sworn he felt something. The form of Obito that greeted him in the moment of death had just passed over the border between the living and the dead. Naruto only had a few more steps to take.

Turning around, he ran into the whiteness, looking around. He could feel Sakura! Her chakra was somewhere nearby. Running to his left, he thought he heard her voice so he changed direction. There was a soft pink glow to his right. Following it, he felt the stagnant air change, becoming warmer.

Feeling a hand grip his, he at first went to pull back, but another hand reached out and two arms encircled him. “Come on, Naruto, you can do it.” He could hear Sakura’s voice against his ear and her arms wrapped loosely around him, keeping him close to her. “You’re almost back, come on.”

~*~

Sasuke didn’t know what to make of this. It looked like Naruto was starting to wake up, and his chakra was growing. Yet, Sakura’s was dwindling. He still wasn’t sure exactly what she was doing, but he was liking it less and less until Naruto’s eyes opened. There was no way this was happening. Naruto had certainly been dead when they entered the room.

“Sasuke,” Sakura said in a weak voice, “take Naruto away from here.”

Sasuke stared. “What – “

“Take him far away,” Sakura’s arms began to fall from Naruto’s shoulders. Sasuke watched as Sakura slumped down just as Naruto seemed to burst to life.

“What – What’s…?” Naruto looked down at Sakura and then gave her a shake. “Sakura – Sakura!” She was too pale and she wasn’t breathing. “SAKURA!”

Sasuke forcibly pulled Naruto into a standing position. “Get back.”

“Sasuke – “ Naruto stumbled slightly. His legs were numb and weak, but he didn’t fall over. His eyes widening, he recognized Sasuke’s stance. “Sasuk – “

Instantly fire spewed from Sasuke’s mouth engulfing Sakura in flame. Naruto rushed forward grabbing Sasuke’s arm and wrenching him around. “WHAT THE HELL – “

“Shut up,” Sasuke growled.

“But – “

“Do you want them to pick her apart?” Sasuke demanded, voice cracking.

“No, but – “ Naruto started and then he turned away. “Let’s get out of here.” Stalking off, he only got a few steps when his legs gave out from prolonged paralysis. “Dammit!”

Without speaking, Sasuke looped Naruto’s arm over his shoulders as he half-dragged him through the passages.

~*~

Gaara put a hand under his chin. This was beginning to get really old really fast. His siblings were worse for wear in one of the many underground hospitals, several of his forces had died, which he still hadn’t been briefed about yet, and now he was enduring two squabbling ninja barely younger than he was.

“We still could have – “ Naruto was starting in with an argument Gaara was sure he had used before due to Sasuke’s expression. Although…

Instantly Gaara was standing between the two, his left hand on Sasuke’s wrist and his right hand pushing Naruto back. If he hadn’t acted, the two probably would have dissolved into blows. “That is enough,” he said in a firm tone. “I want to know what happened. You can beat each other up later.” Stepping away, he returned to his desk. It was like the Cloud and Stone treaty all over again, only this time, he knew they would take him seriously. “Now, give me the report.”

Instantly both Sasuke and Naruto visibly straightened and then paused as though something was supposed to happen. Naruto opened his mouth and then closed it. This was Gaara, he didn’t want them to start at the very beginning! He was unconscious, if not dead, during the time Gaara would consider the beginning.

“Naruto, Sakura, ninja from the Sand, and I approached the Akatsuki hideout in mid-afternoon,” Sasuke started. Sakura had always been the best at the reports. “We split into groups, and ours approached the main entrance of the hideout. After entering, we split, Sakura and I went to find Naruto’s body and the Sand ninja stayed to fight two of the Akatsuki.” He had never bothered to figure out how to address Temari and Kankuro, so he decided to leave it up to Gaara to figure it out. He already knew Gaara was aware the two Sand ninja were his siblings. “We entered the caves and Sakura found Naruto by following the chakra of the Kyûbi, which was stored somewhere in the room – we didn’t look for the exactly location.” Sasuke kicked himself mentally. He should have figured it out instead of trying to understand what Sakura was up to.

“At first, it was thought that we would burn Naruto’s body on the spot, but Sakura preformed a jutsu that allowed her chakra to enter Naruto’s body and revive him at the cost of her own life.”

Naruto looked down at his sandals automatically. Sasuke hadn’t said that outright and Naruto couldn’t admit it to himself. “It was stupid,” he said quietly. “She should have just let you burn me.”

Sasuke glared, but said nothing.

Gaara leaned back in his chair and remained quiet. After a moment, Sasuke continued. “We burned Sakura’s body and met up with reinforcements in the caves. When we reached the mouth, the battle was over and the bodies were being moved.” It was well known that Suna did not burn their dead unless they had no choice. However, they went through procedures before burial to secure the secrets with the dead.

So they held no details to his siblings’ fight. Leaning forward, he said, “You two should see the medics.” Stepping from behind the desk, he set his Kazekage hat aside and hung the customary robe up, a long sleeved shirt and long pants underneath that were the same color as his hair. Slipping his gourd on, Gaara adjusted the strap and walked through the door, motioning Sasuke and Naruto to follow him.

Naruto could only begin to imagine Sakura’s reaction. It was a horrible color for the Kazekage and he was sure she would have commented on it quietly by now. Shaking his head, Naruto chased those thoughts away. He could think of Sakura when he wasn’t in front of people. That was how he coped and tried to follow parts of the shinobi code. If he didn’t think about it, he could handle such things in public, but once he was alone, he knew he would let everything go.

“This way,” Gaara said as he motioned to them. “We let foreign ninja get treatment here,” he explained. “I’m going to have to leave you though.” Stepping away, he said something in Suna’s native tongue to a medical nin not far away.

Naruto shifted his weight. It was hard standing in one place. Only by using his chakra was he keeping from falling flat on his face again.

“Hello,” the medical ninja said, almost making Naruto lose chakra control. “Uh…both of you come this way,” he motioned down a hall. Sasuke observed him with a hard stare, but followed, Naruto taking up the rear. “Thank you very much for helping us,” the man continued sounding as though he had a basic grasp on the universal language. “I don’t know the circumstances, but thank you.” He received a continuing hard stare and an uneasy laugh in return. “You are very important to Kazekage-sama, so do not fear for your lives please.”

Neither Chûnin replied to that last part. The medical ninja pulled the curtain back from one of the rooms and pointed into it. “I’ll be back after I get some supplies, please go in.”

Walking into the room, Naruto instantly fell onto one of the cots and simply lay there staring at the ceiling. Sasuke observed him from nearby. “Don’t get too comfortable, dobe.”

Naruto twitched slightly. It had been quite some time since Sasuke had called him that. Sitting up, he heard his joints pop embarrassingly loud. “Hey you – “ making a threatening gesture, Naruto went to shout, but then quieted. Sasuke wasn’t even looking at him or anything. He had seen that expression many times.

“It’s just us now,” Naruto said to fill the sudden silence.

At that moment the medical ninja came into the room, saying something in his native language. Naruto raised an eyebrow, but Sasuke seemed to understand what he said. “I mean…I have returned,” the man repeated. It was becoming apparent why he was working the hospitals in Suna and not out in the field. “Could you please sit in the other cot?” the man asked Sasuke who gave him the once over before deciding to comply. He wasn’t wounded, so he knew that if something began to go wrong, he could take care of it.

“Ah…your joints look like they were in a…er…” he fumbled a bit and then said a word in his language as though mulling over the translation.

“Paralysis,” Sasuke said from on the other cot. How the hell had this guy become a medical ninja if he hadn’t grasped the universal language! Looking to Naruto, Sasuke considered that they were probably lucky that the Fire Country’s native language was the universal one.

“Yes, yes, paralysis jutsu,” the doctor said as he observed Naruto’s body. “Do you know how long you were in it?”

Naruto opened his mouth and then he closed it. “Ah…what day is it?” He felt really stupid for not asking before, but he hadn’t bothered to think about how long it had been since he was training in the forest.

“He’s been in it for five days,” Sasuke answered.

“Okay,” the medical ninja murmured. “How long have you been out of it?”

“A couple hours?” Naruto didn’t know. He didn’t want to really think about it either.

“It’s impressive that you were able to get from Kazekage-sama’s office to here without much trouble. Did you use your chakra?”

“Yeah,” Naruto answered.

“Then you need to go to sleep for a bit,” the doctor stood up and began filling a needle. “You need to regain chakra before I can do anything. If you had walked any farther, you might have burnt your chakra out and killed yourself.” He noted Naruto’s shudder and said, “Don’t worry, your friend will guard you. When you wake up, we will be able to work on getting you back to the way you were five days ago.”

“What’s in that syringe?” Sasuke asked and pointed to the object just in case the man didn’t know the term, but only received a dry look in return.

“It’s a harmless agent meant to knock a person out until their chakra is strong again,” the man answered. “As I said before, you are very important to Kazekage-sama. If you were to die, I would surely lose my own life. I don’t want that, so do not worry.” He observed Naruto and then he said, “Though, it is your choice.”

Naruto took in a breath and then held his arm out, moving his sleeve back so his under arm was exposed. “Okay, do it.”

“Alright,” the medical ninja replied and carefully pricked Naruto, letting the solution flow into his blood stream. “It won’t work immediately. It should take a few minutes and then you should fall asleep.” Stepping away, he wiped the needle off and put it in a special section of his equipment pack. “I will come to check up on you later.” Turning to Sasuke he said, “Take care of your friend. If something comes up, I’m just down the hall and to the right.” Then the man was gone.

“What a weirdo,” Naruto yawned and laid back down in the cot. “I don’t want to lie down.”

Sasuke said nothing and watched as Naruto drifted off, leaving him alone to his own thoughts.

To be continued…

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Action/Drama
Rating PG-15
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Epic fic.
Chapter Twenty-Seven

Goggles Chapter Twenty-Seven:Disobey

Naruto charged forward and launched himself at an angle so his hands touched the ground in a rather awkward flip causing him to fall to the side. The medical ninja with only a basic grip of their language gave him a rather worried look.

“That’s how it always looks,” Sasuke noted, his arms folded and a rather sour expression on his face. The medical ninja was such a pain, and he wanted to get out of the Sand soon. He had already sent Tsunade a note about Sakura, and he did other protocols that she typically would take care of.

“Oh,” the man erased whatever he had written and wrote something else.

Standing up, Naruto looked to the pair. “Now what?” It had been a weak and he was still getting over his paralysis. His cheek marks were fading and he was frustrated at his slow healing.

“Everything seems to be checking out,” the medic noted. “You can’t leave Suna yet, but you might be out of here soon.”

Naruto grinned slightly. He was going to get out of here soon! He could tell Sasuke wanted to leave as soon as possible though.

“I’m going to review this and come back to your room later,” the man said. “You should go back there. I’ll get someone to bring you both lunch.” Then he was gone.

Looking over at Sasuke, Naruto turned towards the hallway that led to his room, feeling Sasuke fall into step. “You don’t have to stay here.”

Sasuke said nothing.

“I’ll be fine.”

Again there was no response. Naruto put his hands deeper into his pocket. They were the only ones left after all. First Obito died, then Kakashi left them, and now Sakura was gone. They would most likely be split up when they returned back to Konoha. It was customary after a cell dwindled down to two people, they were no longer matched up in missions regardless of how good or bad their relationship was.

Sitting on their respective cots, they fell into silence.

~*~

“…and that’s it,” Naruto finished his report. They were back in Konoha and in front of Tsunade who had been listening to their haphazard report. Both of them had grown and changed since she last saw them, Naruto the most. His shoulders were broadening and his whisker marks were so faint they were almost unnoticeable.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair. “You both know the procedure.” Her eyes held their gazes. “Both of you will have your own missions now. There are some forms you need to fill out too.” She made a motion with her hand. “If you’re done, that is all.”

Both turned to the door, Sasuke leaving first. Pausing, Naruto looked over his shoulder and opened his mouth before closing it and closing the door behind him.

“Wait.” Naruto pulled Sasuke off to the side after they left. He could feel Shizune’s eyes following the boys, but he kept his voice low. “Do you want to be split up?”

Sasuke blinked. He could feel eyes on them. “What?”

Naruto kept his hands in his pockets as he whispered. “Do you want to go after the Akatsuki?”

“I – “

“If you want to go after them, don’t fill out the paper to split us up,” Naruto finished as he started for Shizune. Without another word, he took the necessary papers to make a report on the mission along with papers to fill out over Sakura’s death.

~*~

Both knew better than to believe they had fooled the Hokage. She knew what they were doing, but why she didn’t call them on it, neither boy truly knew.

“…and here we are,” the Jônin in the room finished his report. It had been over two years since Sakura’s death and he was almost as tall as Sasuke. The Uchiha beside him said nothing as they waited for Tsunade’s reaction along with their teammate from a class bellow them.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and observed them. Naruto instinctively shifted his weight, but Sasuke remained stationary. There was always this growing sense of doom whenever they came back from a mission together, which was more often than not.

“Thank you,” Tsunade spoke in a tone that made Naruto inwardly cringe. It was warm, but carried a hint of danger. “You may go, but I want to speak to Naurto and Sasuke alone.”

Bidding farewell, their teammates from their B-ranked mission left them, shutting the door quietly behind. The seventeen and sixteen-year-olds fixed their gazes on hers, Naruto’s wide eyed and Sasuke’s bored looking.

Tsunade studied both of the boys carefully. Her pale eyes met their gazes in turn and then returned. After a long time, she said conversationally, “When are you taking the Jônin exams?”

Naruto blinked and his jaw dropped. He thought they were finally going to get it. Sasuke didn’t seem phased. “In October,” Sasuke answered. He was convinced that Tsunade liked

“And we’re going to pass,” Naruto said as though there was no way they could fail. A few months ago, Naruto had gone to the Sand on a mission, and returned with a stronger determination to climb the ranks in Konoha. Gaara had become Kazekage at thirteen, and here was Naruto at sixteen and not even one try at the Jônin exams under his belt yet!

“Actually, you’re not,” Tsunade said before Naruto could go on an excited ramble about how cool he was going to be and how he’d so rub it in Gaara’s face once he became the Hokage oh yes.

“What – What do you mean, Obaasan?” Naruto stared. They had passed the required number of B rank missions to apply not too long ago. Many people went in right away and most passed on their second try.

“I have a mission for both of you,” Tsunade said and picked through her scrolls. Picking one out, she checked it, but didn’t hand it over. “First, you’re going to have to promise a few things before I hand this to you.”

To be continued…

Note: Sorry it’s so late! I had to do college finals at Purdue, which were super hard. Then I had a bunch of other junk to get out of the way. I hope that you forgive me!

Title Goggles
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Action/Drama
Rating PG-15
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Funny how a simple shift in fate changes everything and nothing at the same time. Naruto’s life had Obito lived and Rin died. Epic fic.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Note I would like to state that I came up with this before 312 came out.
Vocabulary Nekomusume means catgirl. I used this word instead of catgirl simply because if one is calling Shukaku a tanuki or the Kyûbi a kitsune, then naturally a girl who is the Nibi would be a nekomusume.

Goggles Chapter Twenty-Eight: Nekomusume

There were scrolls set out before them written in a cryptic code.

“I still can’t believe you have trouble figuring this out,” Sasuke mumbled as he moved one of the scrolls in thought.

“Shut up,” Naruto retorted. He had come up with the code after all. He knew it might be easy to break, but he had tried his best. “I know the information already. I don’t know what we can really find from looking at this again.”

“That’s why you almost failed,” Sasuke said calmly as he felt Naruto bristle slightly. They were in Sasuke’s apartment in a decent section of Konoha.

“Also, Obasan made us promise we wouldn’t,” Naruto said as he fingered one of the scrolls idly. Though he knew there was no stopping Sasuke. They had been gaining information on the Akatsuki for two years now, and were very aware of their movements. Naruto seemed to instinctively want to obey Tsunade, but at the same time, he also felt the need to completely rebel against her at the same time.

“She’s sending us in his direction,” Sasuke noted.

“I really doubt that Neji is going to let us get away with this,” Naruto also noted. “Besides, we also promised that – “

Sasuke straightened from where he had been leaning over their scrolls. He hated when Naruto started to wimp out, but he knew the words that would bring Naruto back to the path Sasuke wanted to follow. “This is for Sakura.”

Naruto winced slightly.

“And Obito-itoko,” Sasuke added. He knew this hurt Naruto, but it would get him closer to Itachi. Not only that, but he wanted to fight Zetsu and Tobi again. He had been powerless in that fight and he wanted to prove that he wasn’t a pushover or a weak little kid.

“Okay, okay,” Naruto said quietly and then he looked at the information the pair had collected over the years. He had learned this from Jiraiya, though Naruto still hadn’t quite figured out what bathhouses had to do with research yet. He had the sneaking suspicion that they had nothing to do with being a ninja at all.

“So how do we keep Neji from figuring it out?” Naruto asked. Why did Sasuke always have to bring up Sakura and Obito? Naruto envied how unaffected Sasuke seemed by it all.

Sasuke only made a “Hn” noise. He didn’t know, they could figure it out later. Neji was a genius on par with Sasuke after all. He would have to be very careful and have Naruto follow his lead.

~*~

“This mission calls for stealth,” Neji said calmly, his transparent eyes scanning the group before him. There was Choji, Sasuke, and Naruto. Tsunade always had a habit of sticking people she knew worked well together, and had a good knack for making groups that were perfect.

“Sometimes we’ll have to split up into pairs,” his gaze locked onto Sasuke. “Naruto, you go with Choji, Sasuke, you will go with me.” His lips turned up into the faintest of smirks at the Uchiha’s expression. “We don’t have to do that yet though,” he said and surveyed his team once more. Two Jônin and two Chûnin.

They were going to the Wave to assist in a protection mission, but the details were scant. Something about an elderly woman, a nekomusume, and grandchildren. The messenger requesting the aid had severe burns, and what he did tell them was almost unintelligible.

Looking over at Choji, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. As much as he wanted to seek revenge for what the Akatsuki had caused, he didn’t want to go against Tsunade or even Neji and Choji, whom he considered friends. Sasuke sometimes scared Naruto, especially the way he manipulated him into getting closer to finding Itachi and extracting revenge. Sasuke was very narrow minded, only focusing on his goal, always rehashing old ideas as though he had already made up his mind on how to go about their business.

Naruto knew though that as many times that Sasuke brought up Obito and Sakura, he was really solely focused on avenging what his brother had done solely. The expressions the older ninja used made Naruto shudder. Was Sasuke really like that? He remembered a side comment someone had made once, stating that out of all the Genin, Sasuke was the most likely to become the missing ninja. It was said every so often someone went missing, and people liked to casually speculate on who that would be. Naruto had thought his name would come up, but he knew that the townspeople weren’t given to wishful thinking.

“Naruto, is something wrong?”

Almost loosing his footing, Naruto managed to recover and shook his head giving Choji his famous “you don’t have to worry about me” grin. “Nah, I was just zoning out,” he said casually. Choji was very observant and typically kept things to himself if he thought it would bother someone. Naruto cringed inwardly about how open his face must have been. He was still weak in stealth and he wasn’t too great at poker faces when he was in deep thought.

Slowing, they dropped from the trees the instant Neji and Sasuke appeared. Naruto tried to gauge the Hyûga to see if Sasuke had tried something, but Neji as always had the almost perfect poker face on.

“From her we will go to port,” Neji stated. “Once we get into the Wave, we will be about fifteen miles northeast of the town we are going to. We won’t have to split up again until we arrive there and assess the situation.”

The group settled a few more loose ends and soon met up with the oarsman who would ferry them into the country. Naruto found a small smile tugging at him. He could remember the port town they visited long ago. He heard that everything was squared away now and they were ironing out the loose ends.

They made quick time to the inland village. “We are looking for Ryûzaki Saya,” Neji noted picking the directions out of his memory. First they had to find the town square then they had to go down the south street three blocks. There would be a fabric shop and next to it a high scale set of apartments. They would have to knock three times to gain entrance and the woman should answer the door. At least, that’s what the messenger sounded like he said. It was more along the lines of “Town square, south street, fabric, high apart, three knocks, she answer,” in a strained, gurgling tone.

The four teenagers ascended the stairs to the complex and Neji stepped forward knocking firmly on the door. A few moments later, a woman appeared behind the crinkled glass, the sound of unlocking meeting their ears. She had a slide chain still locked as she peered at her visitors suspiciously, a graying curl falling between her eyes. “Who be you?” she asked in the native tongue of the Wave, though it was hindered by a thick accent pinning her as originally being from the Grass Country.

“We were requested to come here by Ryûzaki Saya,” Neji replied in the Wave tongue. None of them had their headprotectors on or any other indication that they were ninja. Neji wore colored contacts that were provided in Anbu supplies, making his eyes just a bit lighter than Sasuke’s color.

She narrowed her eyes, and hissed, “Prove that you are who you say you are.”

Neji nodded to the others and soon they were covertly showing her their headprotectors and Neji passed the mission report to her.

The woman shut the door, but did not move away from it or lock it, clearly reading the paper. Naruto frowned. He hated when people spoke in other languages. He tried his best to learn them, but unlike the others, he barely knew how to say standard greetings in any. The only one he was slowly picking up was the language of Suna, most likely because of his closeness to its people. That and he was tired of being teased by Temari. When he was four, he hadn’t thought to listen when Obito spoke in it with customers.

After several minutes, the chain lock slid back and she opened the door. “Come in, quickly,” she spoke in the universal language. Once they were inside, she locked the door back up and turned her head, calling towards the only room on the ground floor. “Hana, will you come here?”

The door to the room opened and a girl of average weight and height appeared, the same center curl hanging near her eyes, though the rest of her hair was made of very tight curls unlike Saya’s, whose curls were loose. “Yes, Obaasan?” she asked absently playing with a pimple on her left cheek, she looked to be about twelve.

“These are the ninja I sent for from Konoha,” she informed the girl. Instantly her hand dropped from her cheek and her brown eyes widened. Four good looking guys right in the greeting hall and she was popping a pimple, her face grew bright red.

“This my ten-year-old granddaughter,” the woman say through her narrowed eyes. The ninja shared a look between them. What did she they were? Perverts? Though some glances stayed on Naruto the longest.

“What do you want us to do?” Naruto asked, trying to brush the irritation aside. Just because his hair stuck out like Jiraiya’s and liked to research near hot springs didn’t mean he was a pervert too!

Neji glanced at him. He was supposed to do the talking, not Naruto. Letting it slide, he watched as the woman gave Naruto a look before saying, “Let’s go into my apartment. Hana will look after the door for me.” Ushering them into the room, she closed the door yet left it unlocked as she led them into the main room of the apartment.

“It’s getting very dangerous in these parts,” the woman said as she bade them to sit. “Especially for my granddaughter,” eyeing the boys, she frowned and then looked at Sasuke, “You must be the one I asked especially for.”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. What could that mean? The report said nothing about asking for a specific ninja. He narrowed his eyes slightly. Why would she ask for an Uchiha?

“You must be the Rokubi,” she stated. “You do look very weasel-like.”

Naruto instantly jumped in, noting that Sasuke was somewhere between speechlessness, sputtering, and a possible Sasuke version of a spaz attack. “No, ma’am,” Naruto said, remembering his manners. The almost seventeen-year-old cringed inwardly at her sharp gaze. “I – I was the Kyûbi,” he said, wetting his lips. He could feel Choji and Neji’s eyes on him, but he knew both teenagers had figured it out on their own long ago.

“‘Was?’” the woman asked sharply, her eyes narrowing again. She was certain she was now being taken for a ride. The blonde one was probably trying to protect the weasely one.

“Yeah,” Naruto cleared his throat. It had been equally hard losing the beast, and it was connected to Sakura as well. Opening his mouth to explain, he felt Neji’s foot casually rest directly beside his in a warning. He had to watch his words. “The Kyûbi was taken away from me,” Naruto explained, “and I lost my friend when she saved my life.” That was the truth without too many details. Neji’s foot was now in its own space.

“Could you tell us why you requested Naruto?” Neji asked. He wasn’t liking this, but he didn’t feel threatened or tense about the situation.

The woman held his gaze and she said, “Hana is one of the vessels scattered about the world,” the woman replied as she made eye contact with each young man. “Unlike the others, she decided not to become a ninja,” she explained. “Recently there have been people sighted that look very suspicious with dark coats and red clouds. I have heard from some friends in the Cloud that the people in these costumes have been killing vessels to gain the power of the beasts within them.”

Her eyes flickered to Naruto. “I thought that another vessel would be a good protector with their experience at controlling and fighting with their powers, but I wasn’t aware that Konoha had lost their treasure.”

Naruto resisted snorting and kept his temper, Neji’s sandal pressing lightly against his toes in warning. They pair had been on many missions together and Neji knew how to anticipate possible outcomes and keep Naruto at bay. Sasuke’s eyes had even flickered to the blonde in anticipation. Though Naruto had matured considerably, he still had moments of angry shouting.

Inwardly, he searched his mind for what Kakashi had taught him about respecting clients. Speaking in a steady voice, he tried to imitate his former sensei, but reminded himself to keep from sounding too snide like Kakashi sometimes seemed. “I was a vessel for fourteen years,” he said as evenly as he could manage. “Two of those years, I was a ninja. I am only sixteen, but I remember everything about the Kyûbi,” he fought to keep the growl out of his voice, “so I can assure you that I can help your granddaughter.”

The pair held each other’s gaze for a long time and then Saya murmured something to herself. “Very well then,” she decided. “I will give you the first room on the next floor,” she held out a key, “do not copy this key and you only get one, so don’t lose it.”

Choji took the offered key. “Thank you,” he said with his friendly smile.

~*~

“Sasuke-oniisan, what’s wrong?”

Sasuke looked over at two large brown eyes Neji had split them up in pairs again, sticking Sasuke with Choji to watch over the girl. They went in shifts of pairs and it was apparent that Neji was not going to put Sasuke and Naruto together.

“I’m fine,” he said. He didn’t like little kids, especially little girls, though she luckily didn’t seem to have a crush on any of them.

“We can play a different game,” Hana offered as she set a seven on top of Choji’s six in the pile of cards in front of them.

“I’m fine,” Sasuke repeated as he set a club on top of hers.

Hana bit her lip. She felt like she was being awfully boring. It was the same way with Neji too. They were protecting her, so she felt an obligation to keep them entertained. “Ah!” Turning to Choji, she said, “I bet you know lots of recipes, right?”

Sasuke looked up from his cards. She was implying dangerous things.

“Yes, I do,” Choji said pleasantly.

“Can you teach me?” the girl’s eyes lit up in anticipation. “I only know how to make rice balls, and they’re always too sticky or too dry.”

Sasuke sighed inwardly. Great. First cards, now cooking. He wondered how Neji and Naruto could stand this.

~*~

“…and we are very grateful,” the woman finished with a smile.

Naruto gave her his mask. Hana was very lucky. The village recognized her sacrifice, though many confessed they were scared of her. Some even said they were glad she wasn’t a ninja, which made her less of a danger.

“We aren’t finding out anything vital,” Naruto noted after they bid the woman goodbye.

“I’m not going to go to any bathhouses to spy on women, Naruto,” Neji stated in his firm yet sometimes dry voice.

“That wasn’t what I meant!” Naruto defended as Neji kept his eyes on the people around him. “I mean, the only thing we’re getting is the same thing, if we want the truth, there are other places to go besides the market district.”

Neji looked over at him and said, “We’re covering all our bases.” Did they really have to have this argument each time? Who had taught Naruto that looking in bathhouses, bars, and sometimes even brothels could gain vital information? Neji hoped never to meet this person.

“Then, I’ll go cover the ones in that direction,” Naruto pointed to their right into the more seedy area of the town. If the Akatsuki were going to go anywhere, he figured that it would be somewhere easy to get in and out of.

“No,” Neji said firmly. They were not going to split up. He knew better.

“Neji,” Naruto turned to the oldest of the group, “I’m not going to run away. This is a mission and I accepted it. I can’t reach my goal if I just ditch missions to follow Sasuke’s crazy ass plans you know.”

“You say that now,” Neji pointed out, but left it at that. He had seen Sasuke manipulate the blonde before, and he was sure that with a few choice words, Sasuke could get his way.

“Don’t worry,” Naruto said. “Ero-sen’nin’s methods have yet to be proven wrong.”

Neji’s face remained unreadable, but inside he felt slight dread. Though the fact Naruto was following the advice of a perverted hermit disturbingly made sense. “Alright then,” Neji resigned himself and started for the district Naruto had pointed towards.

~*~

“You can’t stop paying attention for a second,” Choji finished up the lesson, a large bowl of fried rice balls in front of them.

“We should wait for Neji-oniisan and Nauto-oniisan,” Hana decided as she set them aside. “I bet they’ll want food when they return.” Pausing, she head a knock at the door and said, “Oh, that’s them.”

Sasuke went to the door, motioning for Hana to stay put. It was them. Unlocking the door, he stepped quickly away as Nauto rushed into the room, Neji not far behind.

Sasuke looked at Naruto and then nodded. They had an emergency situation.

“Look what I made, Nauto-oniisan, Neji-onii…” Hana’s voice trailed and then she whispered something to herself.

Naruto strained his ears, but they weren’t what they once were. There was something familiar about it though.

“Did you say something?” Naruto asked in the language he used with the Kyûbi, though he was sure he was mutilating the pronunciation. He wasn’t sure how he understood the language, but he had dreams then and since in it.

Naruto’s companions froze. What language was that?

The girl gasped and said, “I – I didn’t say anything,” in the universal tongue.

Naruto eyed her suspiciously and then turned to Sasuke and Choji, beginning a conversation in code.

“I saw a flies around the meat counter,” Naruto noted, but meant Something isn’t adding up here..

What did you find? Choji asked.

No one has seen anyone matching the description that we received last night, Neji replied.

Do you think they wanted to throw us off? Sasuke asked. He should have gone out with Naruto. They were the better pair for these tasks.

From what I could figure, whoever it is isn’t anyone we’ve encountered, Naruto addressed Sasuke, but it didn’t matter if the others heard.

What did they say? Sasuke looked to him. Neji narrowed his eyes and Choji merely filed information away.

Something about a mouth in a hand and puppets, Naruto replied.

Sasuke remained quiet for a minute. A hand with a mouth? Did they say anything about birds?

Birds? Naruto stared. Had Sasuke been hanging out with Kakashi or something?

Never mind. Sasuke turned away from Naruto and then spoke out loud without code. “Let’s prepare.”

To be continued….