The cold winds but harshly at Naruto's skin. Even with his fur, he could feel the painful, frigid cold.
'Gotta keep going' he thought. After pushing through the repeated cycle of walking a few steps, falling, and getting back up again for about 4 hours, he was one bad event away from quitting or dying altogether. His strong will and beating heart that refused to give up were the only two things keeping him going. By now he was miles away from the house, which was
saying a lot considering it was hard to get even a few feet in this snowstorm. The only things he could make out around him were the dark shapes of trees looming above him. It was getting darker, and his body was getting numb. But the small creature continued nonetheless. 'Dammit......I wonder if Sasuke even realized I'm gone...'
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Meanwhile back at the cottage, said Uchiha had just been woken up from another nightmare and was now sweating. "Stupid fucking-" he angrily mumbles to try and cancel out the sad memories and fear that the dream had brought back. Until just a second ago he was back in the Uchiha compound, staring at the corpses that were once his friends and neighbors. Pale lifeless faces were forever contorted in a silent scream. Their blood stained the street a dark crimson and led to the man he once called his older brother. Along with the voices 'your weak'
'you never avenged us'
'It should have been you'
This was a reoccurring dream he had for a while after his parents death. But it hadn't happened for about 4 years and it was unclear what triggered it this time. Maybe it was the sense of being betrayed for the first time in a while, maybe it was stress, or maybe it was just random. But the dream was never pleasant. After sitting up in his bed for a few minutes trying to even out his breathing, Sasuke's mind wandered to Naruto. 'Stupid fox' he thought. 'You ruined everything...'
He held his head in his hands and willed himself not to cry. The raven cursed anyone and anything he could think of. He cursed Suigetsu for being a dick, Juugo for being worried all the time, Karin for existing, Itachi for causing him all that pain. He cursed Naruto for coming into his life, making him feel something he hadn't felt in a while, smiling that stupid fox grin, and his ocean blue eyes. How his hand seemed to fit perfectly when the blonde had placed it over his during their talk on the balcony.
"Dammit!" He huffed and strode out the door to get some water from the kitchen. On the way there however Sasuke passed the common room and noticed a lack of obnoxious snoring.
'Wait...' millions of possibilities flooded his mind. 'No he wouldn't....would he?....'
his fears became true when he looked around the couch and saw an empty space where the small orange creature was once sleeping. 'No....this could just be a misunderstanding..' Sasuke looked under the couch thinking Naruto might have rolled under in his sleep. Nothing. Next he ran into the kitchen and searched all the cabinets and corners, as well as under the table and any other place the fox could fit.
'Where are you!' Sasuke began to panic. Naruto wouldn't last out there. He could barely stand last Sasuke checked. He may very well be already dead....
Sasuke shuddered at that last thought and it felt as though a piece of his heart had been ripped out. Naruto was gone.
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Numb. Fear. Loneliness.
These were the only things Naruto could comprehend other than the sound of the wind blowing in his large fox ears. Which were now covered in a thin layer of frost. 'Why am I still going?....' he thought. 'What else is out there for me...'  'what do I live for now...."
his thoughts were interrupted when Naruto noticed a pair of feet about 6 feet in front of him. He stopped walking and shifted his eyes upward. The figure had a dark cloak with red clouds on it, dark hair, and a deep voice.
"You seem to be having trouble."

'No....this can't be happening..'
Memories of that day flashed across his vision. His family, cousins, and friends. Taken. All eventually had the life ruthlessly drained out of them. Naruto didn't get a good view of the faces, but he could definitely make out the blood red clouds on the clothes of the perpetrators. And now, after years of running, there in front of them stood someone wearing the one pattern he wished he'd never see again.

'Akatsuki...'

"What's a red fox doing out in this storm? Pretty dangerous if you ask me."

Naruto's legs were now shaking in the snow. Not only was he about to be taken to his death, but the man standing in front of him looked an awful lot like Sasuke. Which didn't help at all.

"Why don't you come out of your fox form so we can chat.." the stranger said before going quiet. He wore an unreadable expression but Naruto was pretty sure  they were just curious what he looked like. Nevertheless, if the enemy gave a reasonable request like that, than he gave the typical Naruto response and did the exact opposite. He plopped his furry butt stubbornly on the ground as if to say 'make me why don'tcha'
the creature did his best to look way stronger and more menacing than he felt. (Which was like shit.)

"I see, so that's how it's gonna be" after the last comment, the man began to stride towards him slowly. Not cautiously, just slow. Like he knew Naruto was in no shape to fight.

'Weird...' Naruto thought. 'He's underestimating me'

Once the man came close enough Naruto attempted to activate his kitsune powers. But instead of the huge nine tails he was planning on releasing, the air around him instead grew hot and glowed a bright orange before dispersing into thin air. This was then accompanied by a splitting headache. The akatsuki member in front of him was unaffected.

'What?...why can't I use my power?.."

"I'm impressed you managed to activate it at all...the kyuubi should be completely sealed."

Naruto was too busy trying to maintain control of his body to hear what the other was saying. It felt like someone was hammering his skull from the inside. There was no way he could beat this guy in this condition. But like hell was Naruto gonna sit here and do nothing. 'If I'm going down...I'm going down FIGHTING!' Naruto suddenly lept off the ground at the perpetrator as high and as fast as he could and attempted to bite him. Much to his satisfaction, Naruto felt his teeth sink into the skin. Despite this being a small victory, his attack had little to no effect.

"You're fast" the man stated bluntly. Before swinging his foot around and kicking the small fox into a nearby tree. Naruto sword he heard something crack before his limp form slid back into the snow. Weather it was his ribs or the tree he had no fucking clue.  "Can't have you pulling another surprise on me can I .." he began his way over again.

'I can't win if I'm this small...gotta turn back'  red embers and smoke surrounded his limp body and within 2 seconds he was back to the tan skinned ocean eyed blondie we all know and love. Naruto shakily shoot up using the tree as support and waited for the dark haired male in front of him to make a move.

"See? That wasn't so hard" the man said in an almost comforting tone. "As unfair as it may be, this ending was unavoidable."

"Go...to... hell...." Naruto bit back through gritted teeth. And chose that moment to lunge at the man and pin him down or something. But before they even made contact he sidestepped the blonde which resulted in Naruto falling flat on his face in the cold snow instead. 'Well that didn't work....unless...' Naruto immediately hoisted himself up and tried the same tactic 4 more times before realizing it was futile. 'Ok...never mind..' the blonde jumped away to a safe distance. Pure adrenaline was the only thing keeping him from doubling over in pain from his headache, or just passing out altogether. But even so, Naruto managed to spot a slightly uneven part in the snow which he knew from.......past experiences......was a hole of some kind. Along with a nearby branch hanging off of a tree that looked one kick away from falling. "That'll work...."

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Meanwhile back at the cabin Sasuke has been banging on Suigetsu's door for almost 5 minutes and was about to just chidori through it. But the swordsman finally opened with a yawn wearing nothing but some boxers. One of his eyes were half lidded.

"What the fuck...Sasuke...it's like 3 in the morning." Another yawn and a scratch to the butt made Sasuke inwardly sigh.
'So much for being a deadly assassin team ready to strike at a moments notice.' He thought.

"Suigetsu, what's the word on Karin"

"She hasn't woken up yet if that's what you're wondering." A frown crossed the other's features.

"You know I can look through your memories right? So if you're lying I'll know immediately."

"Aww, you don't trust me?" Suigetsu joked but got no response. "Fine, she woke up earlier today but she was still half asleep so I just assumed it didn't count."

"And?..."

"And I knew you'd put her to work the second she showed signs of not being comatose or something! Jees man! Give her a break!"

"She has a role to this team just as you do Suigetsu" Sasuke stated plainly before heading to Karin's room. Once inside he stood at the side of the bed and looked at Karin's sleeping figure. "Oi, Karin." No response. "Karin wake up." Still nothing. So Sasuke resorted to shaking her until he got a reaction. (Much to Suigetsu's dismay) Which in this case was a small groan and weakly opened eyes.

"Sasuke?..." her voice was hoarse from lack of usage.

"Karin, I need you to find Naruto. He couldn't have gotten far in this weather."

Suigetsu, who was leaning in the doorway, was also shocked at this news. "He's gone? And you decided to just not tell us?"

"Yes Suigetsu. Because as you so bluntly put it, it's 3 in the morning." Anger was evident in his voice.

"........."

"Yes...of course Sasuke-kun.." Karin made the chakra focusing sign and closed her eyes to help with concentration. And Suigetsu sighed at how willing she was to completely disregard her health to help Sasuke.

"Got him" she said after a while. "He's either far away or weakening." Sasuke hoped it wasn't the latter. "Wait...there's someone else"

Sasuke's attention was drawn back to the redhead.

"It's...a very strong strong signature....extremely menacing....Sasuke this one is close. It feels foul. Whoever it is, they're powerful."  Karin paused to look up. "More powerful than you."

"What would someone so powerful be doing in a small village like this?" Suigetsu inquires.

"Plenty of reasons are possible.....but it's too much of a coincidence that they showed up right after Naruto left..." A light bulb went off in Sasuke and karin's head as everything clicked together. "Oh no..."
(Suigetsu was still in the dark XD)

As much as Karin hated to admit it, Naruto had an effect on Sasuke that no one else could. And she would do whatever it takes to keep him happy. Swallowing her jealousy, the redhead stated "6 miles East, you'll make it if you run."

Both Sasuke and Suigetsu looked shocked at this, when had Karin become so serious. "Karin" Sasuke started out the door. He was too happy to describe in words. There was a possibility that they would see each other again. He was never one for cheesy thankfulness. So he simply said "You're truly irreplaceable....thank you" It was simple, nothing much. But coming from him it was more than enough.
After grabbing his sword from the table by the front door, Sasuke was gone.

"Thank you Sasuke."

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Back in the forest, Naruto was running atop the snow to lead Itachi to the whole. (If u haven't guessed already, the man is itachi) He has successfully made it look like he was running normally and not avoiding that specific part in the ground that went down. And he could only hope the man chasing him wouldn't notice it. Once Itachi walked over the hole, the thin layer of snow instantly crumbled away and Naruto was overjoyed to see the man lose his balance if only for a second. This was his chance! Using the last of his strength, Naruto quickly rolled over to the tree with the branch hanging off, and kicked it to make the large piece of wood fall off. Then he lifted it into the air as high and as fast as he could, before attempting to slam it down on the back of the dark haired males head while he was trying to regain his footing. Naruto was able to do this all in a matter of seconds. But even so,  before the stick came crashing down, the man spun on his heel and swung a fist into Naruto's rib cage. Effectively making him drop the branch and double over in pain.

"Your fast" he said. "I'll give you that. You almost landed a hit. I underestimated you. However...." the man trailed off. "We can't have any more surprises..."
Before Naruto could even begin to comprehend what those words meant, he felt a harsh kick to his side and another to his head. Pain blossomed through his skull and abdomen. Pretty soon all over was aching one way or another. The beating went of for a good two minutes before the man stopped to make sure Naruto was incapacitated.

It hurt, his vision was blurry, his heart pounded in his chest. But Naruto still felt himself standing back up.

"You're not gonna quit are you" Itachi sighed and charged. Naruto threw up his forearms like an offensive lineman blocking a defensive back, but Itachi slipped to the side, pushed his elbow down and away, caught his head, and rolled him into the floor. Third of a second once contact was made, and Naruto was on his feet, watching the akatsuki member rush toward him in slow motion. Naruto waited, anticipated knowing it was gonna be useless in the end but he held his ground regardless.

After a measly five more minutes, he collapsed onto the cold floor. Naruto was badly bruised, had multiple cuts, lacerations, and at least one of his teeth had been knocked out. Leaving his mouth a salty bloody mess. But instead of feeling himself be dragged away, he felt nothing. Only heard distant voices along with another vague presence. Naruto was able to painfully position his head into a place where he could somewhat see in front of him. And he was honestly shocked at what he saw.

"Sasuke?....."