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The Orange Flash: Lost Chapters	By : Breath_of_the_Wiz Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 120666 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 16
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did, it wouldn't suck so hard. Also, I am not the owner of the fandom, nor am I doing this for any monetary gain or profit. Enjoy.

Chapter List
- 24
- 25
- 26
The rays of sunlight coming through the kitchen window woke Sakura from her sleep. She squinted and repositioned herself so that she could go back to sleep, Naruto made for a nice pillow, and heater.
Sakura's grogginess evaporated when she saw the manner in which the light was hitting Naruto's face. He appeared like a work of art, never to be disturbed or moved in any way. Sakura, for the first time since Naruto came back, took the time to seriously just look at him. He really looked like the 4th Hokage, it was almost disturbing, but the whisker marks and his demeanor made him distinctly different from the photos of Minato Namikaze that were in the history books at the academy… he seemed more… approachable. While people said Minato Namikaze was an incredible person, the pictures made him seem like he was some God-like figure, completely impossible to relate to.
Sakura gingerly took Naruto's significantly larger hand into both of her own, she found it hard to fathom that he'd grown so much in just two and a half years. Even still, It was even harder to fathom that he was nowhere near done growing yet too, be it mentally or physically, they were still technically kids after all. She tried to imagine another two years into the future, she'd figured she probably wouldn't even recognize that Naruto if she saw him now. He already seemed so alien to her, especially since she'd never given him the time of day when they were younger, but now, only now was it just hitting her how far removed from Naruto she actually was, and she was likely one of his best friends.
Naruto, who was still asleep, shifted slightly and Sakura felt something brush across her stomach, it was twitching. She became flustered for a second, but nevertheless shrugged it off; he was still asleep anyway, so there wasn't anything to worry about… yet.
Naruto's eyes abrutly snapped open when he subconsciously picked up on Sakura's spike in heart rate, he immediately locked eyes with his mortified teammate, who froze in fear. Sakura's first reaction was to knock him out, but she was unsure of the consequences of such an action, she just stared at him instead.
Naruto, unaware of Sakura's reluctance to resort to violence, made an attempt to diffuse the situation; he didn't want her to hit him with that super strength of hers. Naruto had figured he could be out of commission for a day at least if she connected solidly.
In light of this probability, he forced up the warmest smile he could possibly muster, enough to melt ice even.
"Morning Sakura-chan! Ya know, If you were cold, you could've just asked if you could sleep over here with me, I don't mind."
Sakura just stared back, speechless, for several reasons really. There was the morning wood jabbing her bellybutton, there was the myriad of innuendos running through her head because she woke up on top of him… and lastly, but most importantly, the way Naruto was looking at her made her heart start to melt all over again.
Sakura, despite the fearful and confused look in her eyes, couldn't help but smile back at the sight of Naruto's patented 'fox grin'. Naruto was confused by her horrified smile, something he'd only seen once before, the day he'd returned. Naruto considered the possibility of her fainting and tried to make sure she was firing on all cylinders.
"Sakura-chan? Are you okay? … You're not going to faint again are you?"
Sakura, who was starting to look like a strawberry, bashfully shook her head. "… Hey Naruto-kun… you're uh… UWAH!" Sakura felt another twitching sensation and recoiled backwards, going to the other end of the couch. She pointed to the tent in Naruto's sweats. "… poking me."
Naruto's eyes widened and he turned pink, putting his hands up in defense. "Sorry sorry! Just don't hit me, please! I can't help it! It's supposed to do that!"
Sakura's heart sunk a bit at his reaction. Completely disregarding the awkward situation, she crawled back over and gently moved Naruto's hands out of the way.
"Naruto, I'm not going to hit you… and just to go on the record, I'm sorry about all those other times, it was uncalled for… I'm a bit more mature no- KYAA!"
Naruto's friend had twitched again, this time, brushing Sakura where her muscular thighs met. There was some hooping and hollering in the back of her mind, courtesy of her inner self, also, her budding physical attraction to Naruto pushed a few other buttions, far more than she'd hoped.
Sakura yelped, immediately leaping off of the couch and running into the kitchen.
"UM! BREAKFAST! YEAH, BREAKFAST; I'LL DO THAT NOW! YOU LIKE TOFU RIGHT NARUTO? TOFU IT IS!"
Naruto raised a finger in protest, as she started to scramble around the kitchen in a flustered haze. "No. I don't like tofu." The jinchuuriki got a smug look on his face. "You could just take a cold shower if I got you all revved up or something… Sorry, but It's usually what helps me out when Mitsuki teases me."
Sakura, disheveled by her own adolescent urges, and the mental images of Naruto's beautiful servant getting all cozy with him, finally went over the edge. She paused, took a deep breath, and silently walked to her room. Naruto started to laugh out loud when he heard the water in her bathroom start running and Sakura's occasional objection to its low temperature.
'Let's join her, you can't say she wouldn't enjoy it.'
Naruto rolled his eyes and mentally smirked at the fox. 'Ah shut it. I'll let her ask me to do that on her own. Last thing I need is for her to faint again and hit her head on something… people die like that. Besides, she still hasn't told me what she meant by "anything can change". I'm still not quite sure if she knows what she wants yet, be it Sasuke or whatever else. I need more information to go on.'
Naruto would have listened to the Fox's smug retort if it weren't for the fact that someone knocked on the door. Naruto mentally commanded his erection to subside, rolled off of the couch and walked over to the door. Abruptly swinging it open, he surprised the person on he other side.
"NARUTO?!"
Naruto yawned and cracked his back; he beamed when he saw who it was.
He snatched her up into a bear hug, completely unaware of the implications.
"Hey Ino-chan! … You wanna hang out later today?"
"Eh? … Of course I wanna hang out with you. … But… what're you doing at Forehead's house at 7 in the morning?!"
Naruto stuffed his hands into his pockets and smiled. "She invited me over for dinner and insisted I stay the night. It's a miracle; Sakura-chan's cooking is actually edible now. I'm glad I didn't have to switch myself out with a Shadow clone this time!"
Ino glared at Naruto. "Stayed the night?" She paused after shaking her head and then smirked at the Uzumaki "… Naruto, I want you to come visit me tonight, I just got my own place recently and I want you to see it."
Ino realized that Naruto was staring above her. Ino turned around to see Kakashi with squad of ANBU behind him.
Kakashi looked confused when he saw his student. "Naruto? …Okay… we've got an emergency mission, get Sakura so we can go to the tower." Kakashi turned to the ANBU squad. "I want you all to gather the rest of the team. Move!"
They all shouted in unison and flew off in different directions. "Hai, Kakashi-taicho!"
Kakashi rolled his eye. "I really wish they'd stop calling me that." Turning to Naruto and Ino, he apologized.
"I'm sorry for interrupting Ino, but something just came up, I'll need to borrow Naruto and Sakura for a while."
Ino looked at Kakashi and sighed. "Ah well. Stuff happens right?" She looked back to Naruto and grabbed his hand.
"Naruto, come see me when you get back. I'll be waiting." She smiled at him, putting special emphasis on that last part. Naruto stared at her in intrigue as she left, likely headed home.
Kakashi raised his eyebrow at Naruto. "So you finally got Sakura-chan to-"
Naruto cocked his head off to the side when he interrupted his sensei. "Sex? No, I just came by for dinner and stayed the night. That was it."
Naruto turned his head and called his teammate. "SAKURA-CHAN! WE'VE GOT AN EMERGENCY! COME ON!" His sharp ears picked up on the sound of the shower cutting off and a rustling of fabrics. She came hustling out of the bathroom in a very revealing, red bathrobe, "What? What's wrong?"
Kakashi, in light of Sakura's state of undress raised an eyebrow at Naruto. "You did nothing. Really?"
Naruto rolled his eyes and walked out next to his sensei. "Let's just go to the tower yeah? Sakura-chan, meet us there."
Naruto and Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Sakura standing there confused. Naruto was once again a completely different person when he'd come home from that mission, she never did know what happened during that last sortie. Sakura resolved that she'd have to ask him about it later.
She went to her room and slipped on some jean shorts and a red t-shirt, along with her forhead protector. She didn't know where they were going on this mission, so she would get the most practical attire on after the briefing. She jumped out of her window to the nearest roof and made a sprint for her master's office.
On the way there, she thought about her previous night with Naruto.
Sakura quietly giggled to herself. 'I can honestly see myself being his wife at some point… If only I could identify my feelings for Sasuke… I need to know… Ah well, I'll deal with that day when it arrives.'
She landed on the tower's windowsill and climbed in. Inside, she saw her master, Jiraiya, Mitsuki, Shikamaru, Naruto, Kakashi, Temari, and a squad of 4 ANBU, one of which appeared to be Kakashi's girlfriend from the festival. She couldn't quite tell all the way with those masks on.
Temari, who had blood and dirt on her clothes seemed rather distraught and burnt out.
Shikamaru helped Temari up, getting beneath her shoulder for support. She limped over to Naruto with a grim look on her face. Tsunade nodded to the girl and she spoke in a rasp, clear and concise. She took his hands and pleaded to him. "Naruto… Gaara-chan's been captured by the Akatsuki. They're holding her hostage, and the only person they'll negotiate with is you. Please, save my sister."
Sakura looked to Naruto to gauge his reaction. While he had a stone-like expression that conveyed determination and grit, his eyes were slitted, and a shade of red she hadn't seen for a long time.
"Obaa-chan… when do we leave?"
Tsunade looked at him, worried. "As soon as you're ready, Naruto-kun... Go, save your fiancée."
Naruto stared back at Tsunade. "You're not gonna stop me? No explanation on why I gotta stay here?"
Tsunade shook her head. "I know better than to get between you and the Kazekage… just be careful, I don't have to tell you that this is a trap."
Sakura had vague memories of Gaara. She was that scary redhead from the sand that got all doe-eyed around Naruto, and she was his fiancée? Better, she was the Kazekage? Sakura looked at Naruto, clearly worried for him, but she couldn't help but feel he was pulling farther and farther away from her, in spite of her efforts. It felt all too familiar to Team 7's experience with Sasuke, the more she moved to understand what made Naruto tick, the faster he'd pull away. First she learned that he was an orphan, then, a jinchuuriki, following that, he was royalty, and now, he was to be wed to the youngest Kage in history.
Tsunade let the silence continue for a few more seconds, for Naruto's sake. She broke it to relay the final details of the mission.
"All of you, meet at the gate as soon as you're geared up. Jiraiya won't be going with you this time around, so stay on your toes, this can get ugly. S-Rank missions are not to be taken lightly, especially since you'll be dealing with Sasori of the Red Sand, and Deidara of the Akatsuki. Check your bingo-books for up to date information on their abilities that we know of… Temari-chan, you need to get those wounds looked at, come with me."
Sakura tried to speak to Naruto as she walked over to him, but he was in another world, the fiery look in his eyes cut her sentence short. He appeared to look through her almost, those red eyes of his… she hated seeing them. It always meant that he was in pain.
Naruto looked to his bodyguard. "Mitsuki-chan."
She nodded and grabbed his arm by the elbow, she appeared to be saying something to Naruto, but before Sakura could hear it, they were gone in a flash of orange light. Sakura was snapped from her thoughts concerning Naruto by her sensei.
Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder. "He's a tough guy, he'll be fine. Just be there for him, he's got a lot to deal with right now."
Sakura looked at the floor, downtrodden. "What makes you say that?"
Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "These eyes of mine… they see a lot of things, and one thing I've seen, is that friends don't look at each other the way you two do. Just promise me you'll do the right thing in the end, whatever that may be. I've been down this road myself, though not exactly in your position… Let me tell you, it isn't a pretty one to travel."
Sakura looked at the ground and nodded. "Thanks for the word of advice, Kakshi-sensei."
Kakashi eye smiled and patted Sakura on the head. "Here's another one, we're going to Suna, invest in a cloak, it'll protect your skin and your clothes from the dust and sun. See you at the gate."
Everyone cleared out of the office, save for Sakura and Jiraiya, who could tell there was something she wanted to talk with him about. The toad sage raised an eyebrow and sat down on Tsunade's desk, waiting for Sakura to say something.
She finally did. "We're a lot like you all were, the Sannin I mean. Way back in the day?"
Jiraiya smirked and nodded. "Strikingly, it's uncanny really. I just hope you two don't make the same mistakes that we did."
Sakura looked at Jiraiya quizzically. "You're talking like I'm already with him or something."
Jiraiya laughed. "You are, in a sense. You've already got his heart by the balls, all you've got to do is seal the deal, and you'll have a once in a lifetime partner, or husband… if you so desire at some point."
"Jiraiya-sama, where do you think you went wrong with Tsunade-sensei?"
Jiraiya thought for a moment. "Well… we're okay now… sort of. See, Tsunade-hime's been the only woman I've loved so far, so I sat on my hands, and waited. I kept myself busy, writing books, traveling the world, you know, sagely things. My mistake… I think I got too absorbed in what I was doing at the time and waited too long. She'd only seen me as a friend for the longest time, so I put her behind me and left Konoha, in hindsight, a bad idea. Mere weeks after I left, her life began to fall apart, her fiancée died, and then a while after that, Orochimaru went rogue, and after all was said and done... I wasn't there for her. She turned to drinking and gambling, and when I came back, she wasn't herself anymore. She wouldn't blame me for it, but it's been bugging me ever since. Old wounds healed, and eventually, we started seeing each other, but we found it off-putting, you know, the amount that we'd changed, I took to 'research' to cope, and she took to the bottle... Even so, we became close, hell, we almost got married!" Jiraiya chuckled and motioned to the two matching rings on his pendant.
Jiraiya sighed out of his laugh, somberly staring at the floor. "Almost…"
The Sannin cocked his head off to the side and stared at a picture of Tsunade on the wall next to the previous Kage. "Anyway, I realized that I couldn't quite deal with how much she'd changed, the drinking and gambling and all. We parted ways, only seeing each other for the occasional roll in the hay when we felt nostalgic. Up until I took Naruto with me to ask her to be the 5th Hokage, we hadn't seen each other for several years. Only since Naruto brought her back has our relationship had any form of stability… There's more, but it's a long, depressing story. What I'm saying is, don't let the world get in the way of your happiness. You'll regret it until the end of your days."
Sakura nodded. "I suppose you're right… But it's not fair to Naruto if I just pursue him out of nowhere."
Jiraiya grabbed his chin. "Hmmm. Your promise with him is an interesting set of circumstances. Far as that goes, I can only tell you to confirm exactly how you feel about the third party in this little equation... but don't take too long; it'd serve you well not to end up like us, picking up the pieces after 20 years of lonely frustration. Heh! Look at me, an old man spouting wisdom, where's the time gone? I've kept you long enough. Go and save Naruto's fiancée, you've got a wedding date to beat!"
Sakura smiled a bit and nodded, she jumped out the window and sprinted off to gather her supplies. Jiraiya pulled out a scroll with his leads toward locating the Akatsuki leader, all except two were crossed off. He had two choices, Amegakure, or Kusagakure. Jiraiya went back and forth randomly and landed on Ame. He groaned, as he'd have to go shopping for a raincoat, and he hopped off the desk. When he hit the ground, one of the laces of his geta snapped. He stared down at the bad omen and shook his head.
"Nope! Nope! Nope! Kusagakure it is!"
Jiraiya produced another shoe from the scroll on his back and went to get something to eat before he left for Kusa no Kuni, he'd try his luck in Amegakure some other time.
Naruto grabbed a sleeveless white t-shirt and threw it on; he then grabbed his flak jacket and reversible haori. Knowing it'd be hot; he wore the white side out. Last, but not least, he grabbed an orange scarf from a box in his closet, he could fashion it into a hood if need be, until then, he tied the scarf around his waist to use as a belt.
Naruto looked to his dresser, and grabbed his orange-bladed ninjato, he fastened it to his scarf belt and went down to the front door to wait for Mitsuki. Sure enough, she came down the stairs geared up for a trek through the desert, she wore a tan ANBU uniform that she'd dug up from the back of her closet.
They walked out the front door and jumped off into the sky. Naruto was silent as they made their way to the gate, so Mitsuki opted to pry a bit.
"Namikaze-sama, I know how you feel right now, but you must refrain from doing anything rash. If the Akatsuki were to capture both you and the Kazekage, we'd be in for a truly rude awakening."
Naruto nodded and looked to her, his irises still red like the fox's. "Mitsuki-chan, if I lose sight of the bigger picture, I want you to knock me out. I can't promise I'll keep my cool in the event I see my nightmares come true."
Mitsuki concernedly took Naruto's hand and squeezed it. "Let's hope the situation doesn't degrade that far. Stay strong… Naruto."
Naruto gave Mitsuki a strange look.
Mitsuki slapped her forhead. "Sorry, slip of the tongue."
Naruto shook his head. "No, it's fine. I'd prefer you called me by my first name anyway. Let's get moving."
Naruto and Mitsuki took one final jump and landed next to the team at the gate plaza. Sakura, Kakashi, Shikamaru, and four ANBU operatives were all doing final checks for their equipment. Naruto landed and walked through the group as if they weren't even there.
They silently stared at Naruto, who inquired. "Are we ready?"
Kakashi spoke for the team. "We're following your lead, Naruto."
Naruto turned his vision from Kakashi to the Gate as it growled open. Naruto issued a 'follow me' gesture and took off into the sky. The other ninja silently followed suit, at least until Shikamaru spoke up.
"Hey Naruto. What time do you wanna get there? If we go too quickly, we'll be gassed if we have to fight."
Naruto replied without looking back. "Whaddaya have in mind?"
"They think they've got us by the balls, but I believe we're the ones holding the cards. Temari told me that Sunagakure forces have them surrounded in a network of caves and are ready to move in if they kill the Kazekage. This whole thing is probably a gamble and an act of desperation on the Akatsuki's part. She told me Gaara lasted longer than they'd anticipated, so they were on the defensive by the time they'd subdued her. I'll have a course of action ready by the time we reach the outskirts of Suna this afternoon."
Naruto nodded. "Good. We'll hold this pace for another hour and walk the rest of the way. By my estimate, we should get there before sunset."
Sakura frowned at Naruto, she could feel the frustration rolling off of him in droves.
Sakura thought to herself as she stared at his back. 'I can tell, he wants to go all the way there in a dead sprint... It hurts to see him like this.'
Sakura called ahead to her teammate. "Naruto. This is all a ploy to get you out in the open, if you act out, we can't protect you."
Naruto responded, but not in the tone Sakura expected from him.
"I don't care. Keep your pace up, Sakura-chan."
"Oi, Kabuto. Why haven't they made any move to extract the Shukaku? My Sharingan hasn't caught any genjutsu… We didn't miss our window, did we?"
"No… they've got something fishy planned…" Kabuto looked to one of the sleeper agents with him. "You there, have this message sent to Orochimaru-sama immediately."
He handed the masked ninja a scroll, and off she ran.
Kabuto turned his attention back to their primary target, he eyed Sasori with suspicion, thinking of ways in which this could be a trap for himself, and/or Sasuke.
"…We may need back-up."
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The Orange Flash: Lost Chapters