I Win (Naruto Abandoned / Betrayed Fanfic)

Left Behind

A/N: As I said before, I really hope people enjoy this more than my last one. I'm going to try and only make it 10 chapters... famous last words. Anyway, hope you enjoy :)

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"Please get Sasuke back Naruto," pleaded Sakura, "Please!"

Naruto would never forget those words. These words played over and over again in his head. They would be what motivate him to keep going but also what made him feel so sad he wanted to throw up. Here he lay in a hospital in Konoha after failing his promise to his teammate. He shouldn't even be here, he should be out there trying to get him back, right now! Naruto didn't even know why he made the promise in the first place. He had never been good with 'friends' as he had never had any when he was younger. Now that he had some in Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi, he never wanted to let them go. The closest person that could be considered a friend was the Sarutobi Hiruzen. Naruto shut his eyes. Oh how he missed that old man. He was the first man to ever eat with him, way before Iruka even met him. Back when he was truly all alone, a tiny, deathly thin four year old placed in a dusty apartment, Hiruzen did check up on him every once and awhile. Even if it was only once a month or so, to Naruto it meant the world. But now he was gone. And Sasuke was gone. Naruto clenched his fist.

'I won't let anyone else get away,' he thought determinedly. The door suddenly burst open. Sakura and Kakashi bolted in.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called out urgently, "Sasuke's been spotted! We need to go. NOW!"

Naruto instantly jumped out of bed. Kakashi and Sakura were already gone before he got back into his jumpsuit. He ignored the multitude of bruises and injuries that still littered his body. That didn't matter right now. What mattered was getting Sasuke home.

As Team 7 jumped through the trees, Naruto noticeably lagged behind. His breathing was off and he was still very tired. The only thing keeping him going at this point was his drive. It seemed like they were jumping forever through the vast, never-ending forest. Their destination was a large mountain on the edge of the Land of Fire. As Kakashi had said, there had been repeated sightings of Sasuke around that part. Naruto noticed he was falling even more behind. Did Kakashi and Sakura even notice they were so far ahead? He paused for a second to get his breathing back under control. Then he went back to full speed.

For Kakashi and Sakura, the mountain was in sight. Neither had talked for their journey. They were focused entirely on getting their teammate back. They had been debating on even telling Naruto but had come to the conclusion that he deserved to know.

They were now at the mountain. They began to make their way up to the peak. The motivator of Sasuke stopped them noticing that Naruto was nowhere near them. They scaled it like it was no problem at all.

Naruto saw their distant figures hundreds of feet above him. With considerable effort, he began to jump up the mountain. He had to stop multiple times to breathe. He didn't notice it at the time but there was a large trail of blood behind him. It was trickling out of his bandages. Naruto's eyesight was getting bleary but even so, he persisted.

'I... will... get... Sasuke...'

Kakashi and Sakura finally reached the top. At the peak of the mountain, there was a large flat surface, covered in snow. A few feet in front of them, they caught sight of a recognisable silhouette. Kakashi leapt forward.

"Sasuke!" His voice sounded more 'ready for battle' than 'ecstatic to see him.'

Sasuke turned around to see them. He smiled, "Kakashi-sensei! Sakura!"