Note: This takes place later in the manga during Naruto's fight with Uchiha Madera, also known as Tobi. The 'mask' is one Naruto uses to hide what he is really feeling. Currently taking place at the same time is a fight between Itachi and Sasuke. Jiraiya is believed to be dead. This will end up being a yaoi.

"" Speech

'' Thought or special emphasis if in middle of sentence

'Bold' Kyuubi

Naruto sank back against the tree. Madera was out there, somewhere, and Naruto wanted a breather before he was found. Something about the man seemed familiar, and not just because he was an Uchiha. The blond needed to put his 'mask' back on and prepare himself for more tricks.

'Damn. If only I could remember why he seems familiar. My arm is hurting like hell and I can't make the mask. Double damn.'

He leaned back, tears slipping down his cheeks.

'Kit? I'd be happy to take over.'

'Shut up, fox. I'm tired of all of this. You are too. I can tell. I just want to sleep. No, I want to be me. Not some hyperactive idiotic ninja-wanna-be. I hate orange!'

The kyuubi chuckled softly. His kit was finally breaking out of his shell and dropping his mask. Finally Naruto would be okay. A figure dropped out of the trees in front of Naruto. The eldest Uchiha, known to the Akatsuki as Tobi, quietly stared at the boy.

"If you drop the mask, you'll be happy. You have a kekkai genkai that will activate on your 16th birthday, but only if you are true to yourself. I'll give you a week. If you decide to drop your mask, return here 4 days before your birthday and I'll teach you. If not, well, you'll forget about this. It's your choice. Think about it."

Naruto gingerly opened his eyes. He remembered Madera telling him that it was his choice.

'Where? Oh… The hospital. But how did I end up in the village?'

The door slid open and Naruto turned his head to see a very upset Tsunade standing there with two ANBU.

"Where were you and what were you doing? You were found outside the gates, injured. You are not allowed to leave the village or even your house until I say otherwise. These two are your guards."

Without even waiting for a response Tsunade turned and left. Naruto sighed and closed his eyes again.

'Kit? What are we going to do?'

'We're leaving. I just need to get things out the apartment and ditch the ANBU. Any ideas?'

'Find out how long you were unconscious for. You'll also need different clothes. And maybe those records we found in the Hokage tower and the Uchiha manor.'

'You mean the ones about me? Sure. I'll take those. And some nice, non-orange clothes.' "Hey."

Naruto called out to one of the ANBU. The mask turned his way.

"How long since I was found?"

The ANBU hesitated before replying.

"Three days."

"When can I go back to my place?"

"Tomorrow."

Naruto grinned.

"Cool. I hate being in hospitals."

The blond continued to blab away, as if nothing was wrong.

Not once did he mention where he'd been or what he'd been doing.

Naruto sat on his bed; packing a small bag with everything he wanted to take. On the bed next to him was a pile of clothes that he had sent a henged clone to get, while two other henged clones fetched the records. The ANBU didn't pay attention to what the blond did so long as he wasn't trying to leave.

'Obviously no one believes I'm anything other than an idiot. Oh well, if it works in my favor its fine.'

Naruto finished packing and stood up.

He then quickly changed into his new wardrobe. Black pants and sandals with a tight black shirt. Loose knit black sleeves that partially covered his hands and a black wraparound choker were added. He completed the outfit by replacing his hitai-ate with a black bandana. The only thing he kept from his old attire was the First's necklace. Finally, he wrote a short note and stuck it in the frame that held the old picture of Team 7.

The blond formed the necessary hand signs to produce a clone and henge himself into a spider. 'Naruto' picked up the spider and carried it to the window 'he' had opened as soon as he got home. One of his guards was in the tree outside that window. The guard looked surprised as 'Naruto' leaned out and released the spider. The blond glanced up and grinned.

"I found him in my room and didn't want to kill him so I let him go. I guess I've spent way too much time with Shino."

He turned back into the kitchen and began making ramen.

When the spider reached the ground it scrambled into the bushes. A couple seconds later a black cat slunk out. The cat made its way to the large gates leading out of the village, keeping close to the shadows. When it reached the gates it slipped out into the nearby forest. It crouched and then jumped up to a tree branch. Jumping from tree to tree, he made his way to the border.

When he arrived, the orange clad clone back in the village would disappear. By the time a party reached the border, Naruto would be long gone. They wouldn't notice the missing records for a while, especially the ones from the Uchiha manor, as the records had all been taken from locations nobody visited often.

'We did it.'

'Don't get too cocky, kit. We still have to make it to the meeting place. Interesting idea that, placing blank sheets of paper and scrolls where the records where. Think the ANBU will be punished?'

'Naw, I left a note.'

'Brat.'

Naruto grinned as he changed back and passed over the border. Back in the village, the ANBU outside the kitchen stared in shock at the puff of smoke where 'Naruto' had been.

Tsunade looked up from the paperwork she had actually been doing.

"What?! Naruto is gone? How? He had two ANBU on him. He shouldn't have been able to leave."

The female Sannin stood up and slammed her fist into her desk, breaking it yet again, before storming out of the tower to Naruto's house. She entered, glowered at the two ANBU, and then demanded an explanation. One of them stepped forward.

"I was sitting outside the open kitchen window. It was the only opening, everything else had a barrier. Naruto had opened it as soon as he got home. Anyways, he sat in his room for a couple hours, reading scrolls or sleeping. Then around 3 o'clock he came into the kitchen, went to the window and released a spider he said he'd found. Then he, or what was most likely a clone, began making ramen. The clone stayed in the kitchen until it disappeared around 3:30. I am assuming that that was when Naruto was far enough from the village for it to vanish."

Tsunade walked into Naruto's room. She was surprised to note that it was clean and tidy, almost as if the blonde hadn't wanted to leave a mess behind. The only thing on his dresser was a picture of the old Team 7. Tsunade picked it up and a piece of paper fall out of the frame. She set the picture back down and picked up the paper. She opened it and read it silently.

-XXX–

Dear Tsunade-sama,

I'm sorry but I don't think I can live in the village right now. I will return, just give me some time. I'll bring Sasuke back with me too. Tell Sakura and Hinata I'm sorry. Also, tell Sai that he needs to learn how not to be an ANBU. Yeah, I knew. About Sai and Yamato being ANBU. I was wearing a mask that broke and cannot be fixed. Nor do I have any desire to fix it. I also want you to tell everyone that I am the container for the Kyuubi.

I will be training, both as a ninja and as a person. With my mask gone, my Kohei has returned. Don't worry, my new sensei is good. I cannot tell you any more than this. Forgive me.

Naruto

-XXX-

The med-nin and Hokage placed her hand over her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Tsunade-sama?"

Kakashi stood in the doorway, Yamato behind him. She looked at them.

"He's gone but he said he'd be back. I don't want any search parties going out after him. He won't be listed as a missing-nin either."

Kakashi seemed puzzled.

"Why? I know you're close to him but…"

Tsunade shook her head.

"He has an unusual kekkai-genkai that was woken up. He needs training from someone who knows it. Whatever happened made him lose his mask and start the activation of his kekkai-genkai. It's better if that training takes place outside of the village."

Kakashi nodded and Tsunade turned to Yamato.

"He knew you and Sai are ANBU. He is better at hiding his emotions and thoughts then Sai."

She sighed.

'Naruto, I am so sorry.'