Disclaimer: I own nothing Naruto or Yu Yu Hakusho-related (except a few DVDs for YYH), and nothing I could possibly own is the rights to either show. As such, don't sue cause all the credit goes to their respective Owner/Distribution companies.

A/N: Nothing here except to enjoy this and let me know what you think.

Naruto wearily opened the door, slowly rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He had returned from a typical, boring escort mission hours before, and promptly dropped on his bed, passing out simultaneously.

"Can I help you?" he asked as the world came into focus. Chuunin he might be (in rank anyways), but he was dragging after the mission, normally they included some form of confrontation that would keep him awake, or on his toes, even if the confrontation was rather one-sided.

But no, he had to deal with 3 days of a snooty stuck-up princess who didn't like sleeping outside, after a shopping-trip-gone-bad (apparently Anko-nee-san had taken the last dango in town), and didn't approve his clothing choice (to which he told her where to shove it, happy when she looked throughly offended).

"Yes, I've been sent to gather ninja for a retrieval mission. You are Uzumaki Naruto, correct?" the Chuunin (he noted the flak jacket) questioned curtly.

"Yes. Who is it you're being sent to retrieve?" Naruto shot back. While normally he would join no matter who it was, he was woken up after a 3 day mission of no sleep (he didn't trust the princess as far as he couldn't throw her), and would turn down the mission if he didn't like the person, which surprisingly was a small number of people.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he informed the blonde.

"I'll go, just give me a few minutes to make myself presentable. Please, come in," Naruto opened the door more to allow the Chuunin into his apartment. Years ago he had moved out of the Hokage-funded apartment he had shared with Anko for so many years, wanting to live on his own, with his own room. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy her presence, but she was rather..proud of her body, in which she never bothered the dress herself unless they had guests, of course, that was when she was in a good mood and had agreed with Naruto to not embarrass him.

It went without saying, however, that he picked up on the habit of not dressing unless he had guests, which was rare due to him taking missions constantly to afford his apartment and everything else he needed to get by on a day-to-day basis. Slipping off his clothes from his previous mission, he quickly took a shower to rid himself of the sweat he earned walking in the hot sun, as he didn't wish to blow such a simple mission by smelling bad.

Five minutes later he walked into his living room, clad in black shinobi clothing; black tank-top underneath his Chuunin vest, dark-blue cargo pants, standard issued shinobi sandals, and dark-blue cut-off gloves. "Let's go," Naruto commanded, indicating they leave. Shikamaru left, with Naruto behind him, locking his apartment as they left. "Lead the way."

Ten minutes later they met a group of 4 Genin, who stood around in a circle waiting for Shikamaru (apparently). "Is this the one you went to get Shika? He looks no older than any one of us?!" one with a parka (with a dog on his head) shouted at the Chuunin.

"Listen Kiba, he's the only one in Konoha that isn't seriously injured and willing to help us. And he outranks any of us here as it is, so he could order you to do D missions for a year, if he wanted," he responded, earning a glare from the dog-boy. "Now shut up and let me see all of your supplies, so I can figure out how we'll go about retrieving the Uchiha."

"Wouldn't it be smarter for us to get each others names first? So I don't have to refer to any of you by nicknames which would probably be demeaning, on your side that is," Naruto suggested.

Shikamaru sighed after a moment to think on it, "Neji, Kiba, Shino, Chouji, this is Naruto. Naruto, this is Neji," he pointed to a boy slightly older than Naruto with long black hair, "Kiba," the dog boy, "Shino," a slightly taller boy with sunglasses, "and Chouji," a chubby boy.

Naruto nodded, then handed his supplies to Shikamaru, "I've heard good things from your Genin teacher, and was never good at planning as it was. More of lone wolf, to be truthful," he muttered the last part to himself. "Just don't count the black tags, no one but me are capable of using them."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at this, but dismissed it, taking note of everything else in Naruto's pack (2 exploding tags and half a dozen kunai and shuriken), before moving onto everyone else's packs. Ten minutes later they were out of Konoha, in a straight line, with Naruto placed behind Neji, who was acting as their scout, keeping an eye out for traps and various other hindrances. They traveled in silence, not wanting to alert their prey they were being trailed. It was half an hour into the chase before Naruto spoke up.

"They know we're following them. They're about 200 meters ahead of us, well out of the reach of the Byakugan."

"How do you know this?" Neji asked.

Naruto was silent for a moment. "Call it a hunch, if you will."

"Che, you're lying. There's no way they could know they're being trailed, with us this far away," Kiba growled out.

Naruto merely raised an eyebrow at the comment, then tossed a piece of spider-web towards the mutt-boy. Kiba looked at it in confusion, "When you slashed through the web about 5 minutes ago, you failed to note the obscure color. Not once have I seen a web this color, and I've been to all of the Elemental countries. Which indicates they have someone with a Spider contract, with them."

Shikamaru took the web from Kiba an examined it. "Naruto's right, it's definitely not made from an animal from around here. And he's right that they'd know we were trailing them. However," he said, stopping on the tree branch he landed on, "this helps more than it hinders. We know he's traveling with at least one person, and we know they are capable of summoning Spiders. Now we can make a plan."

Naruto looked deep in concentration, before speaking up, "Uchiha Sasuke is traveling with at least 4 people. A girl, an over-weight guy, someone with two heads, and a four-armed guy. All are carrying headbands to indicate Hidden Sound is behind this little mission. And it seems that Uchiha Sasuke is being sealed into a barrel, for whatever reason. Possibly to allow easier transportation."

Everyone looked at him in shock, before reaching for their kunai, "How do you know that, traitor?" Kiba growled out.

"I have more...advanced techniques for information gathering, which allow me to spy without being seen. Of course, it goes without saying that it's harder to control at longer distances, not to mention consuming, but in a situation like this, it's invaluable," he said simply. "Besides, if I was a traitor, I would have said nothing about the web, or the number of people in their group." Everyone sans Kiba relaxed visibly, who looked as though he was going to strike Naruto.

"We don't have time to sit around and make wonderful conversation, so lets figure out how we're going to attack them," Naruto commented, reminding them of the mission at hand. Scowling, Kiba relaxed slightly, turning to Shikamaru for orders.

Apprehension filled him as he stood before the group, his hands at his side, idly awaiting his fate. The rescue mission had failed, with the target being killed before arriving Konoha, but not before killing the other drained members of the group, leaving Naruto moderately wounded before the dispatched Medic team had arrived to heal all ninjas possibly injured in the mission (they had been dispatched hours after they had initially left, and met Naruto halfway back to Konoha), but were shocked to see a blood-soaked Naruto standing above the bodies of his dead comrades and the traitor. Unflinchingly he told them to not worry about him, but to give his comrades a honorable burial, walking towards Konoha intent on giving a mission report.

He met no resistance at the gate, in fact it seemed the guards were dying to get out of his way when he approached it, even the ANBU who was supposed to escort him to the Hokage's Tower seemed slightly unnerved at his aura of calm that betrayed his clothes and probable mental state. Inside he questioned where he went wrong, what he could have done to prevent Sasuke from making the move he did. Attacking a fellow ninja was considered treason of the highest count, with the punishment usually being death, it was all drilled into their heads as children at the Academy. Continuing to dwell on the incident made him kick himself internally for not following protocol and subduing the traitor; every time a traitor was retrieved alive, they were subdued to prevent a sneak attack such as this, until they reached the custody of the ANBU to be interrogated.

The door to the Hokage's room was open upon his arrival, signaling him to enter the extravagant room where the Fourth resided, sitting amongst a large stack of mission reports and mission requests. Ah the power of bureaucracy and what it holds over the most powerful ninja in the Fire Country. If only there was a jutsu that allowed paperwork to be finished at inhuman rates, but of course, finishing the paperwork faster would cause the amount of intake to potentially triple, thus creating a vicious cycle.

"Can I help you Uzumaki-san?" the Hokage might be a man of higher ranking, but he did take it upon himself to learn quite a bit about the more...unique members of Konoha, including the resident Jinchuuriki.

"I'm here to report on the rescue mission including Uchiha Sasuke," he stated emotionlessly.

The Fourth merely nodded, taking a more serious look on his face. The betrayal of the last Uchiha would leave a sour taste in the mouths of the Elders, and would more than likely seek a scapegoat in the form of the Jinchuuriki, claiming he was a "bad influence" and should be "fittingly punished".

"We left Konoha at 0400 hours, first encountering a Sound ninja by the name of Jirobu at 0600 hours. Akimichi Chouji initiated a fight with him to allow the rest of the team to escape and follow the rest of the team. At 0650 we encountered another Sound ninja by the name of Kidomaru, who was intercepted by Hyuga Neji, again allowing us to escape. We encountered the rest of the group at 0800, going by the names of Tayuya and Sakon. Nara Shikamaru distracted Tayuya while Inuzuka Kiba took on Sakon. I encountered a member of the Kaguya clan that goes by the name of Kimimaro, until Rock Lee interrupted the battle and sent me ahead to apprehend the traitor."

"I engaged him and quickly disabled him, to which he surrendered and agreed to accompany the team back to Konoha. When the rest of us met up, I discovered a team from the Sand was sent to assist us, to which I sent them ahead to ensure there was no stragglers to hinder our progress. I severely underestimated him and didn't assume the traitor would try anything with me already beating him once, but I underestimated his treachery and it cost me the team and the mission. I met with the dispatched Medic team and told them to give them a honorable burial, to soften the blows I inadvertently dealt by not following protocol and subduing the traitor. I assumed him already defeated, and they paid with their lives."

Naruto stood in silence while the Fourth digested what he had just learned. The Elders would jump at the chance to pin him as the scapegoat, since he was the only survivor, and the only one that suffered the least amount of injuries. They would call for his death at the least, but the Fourth had a feeling he could get the blow softened with various support from high-ranking Clan Heads and shinobi who personally knew the Jinchuuriki.

"I regret saying this, but due to the...situation, you will be put on paid leave, and are requested to attend psychological evaluation. During which an investigation will be conducted by the Elders. You may collect your paycheck for the mission, and your leave is official upon receiving that check. Dismissed," Signing a check for a substantial amount of money, the Fourth leaned back in his chair, wondering for the nth time, why he accepted this job.

Naruto stood solemnly in the room, awaiting his fate that was in the hands of the old people that ran Konoha's petty dealings. Business licenses, civilian and shinobi matters, it all was up to the judgment for the Elders of Konoha, who had the displeasure of receiving the position, however, this was one of the few instances that the Elders were pleased about something, it being the fate of the Jinchuuriki of Konoha. Shaking his head sadly, Naruto wondered how unoriginal the old coots would be; he already knew they were going to strip him of his position as a Shinobi, and possibly order his death, though the latter would be quite hard to prove with numerous other shinobi's testifying for his good character. But the old coots should be considered lucky, Naruto could have easily resigned prior to meeting, and flee Fire Country, thus wasting the towns money on the meeting that was supposed to seal his fate. Well, that's Naruto's view on the whole situation anyways.

The three Elders talked in a hushed circle, one clearly disliking the others punishments while said Elders had sadistic grins on their faces. After five minutes of hushed talking, they faced Naruto, the sadistic Elders, as Naruto mentally dubbed them, no longer carrying their grins on their faces, quite the opposite actually, while the third Elder looked slightly pleased.

"Upon review of your psychiatric file, and investigation of the circumstances of the death of the 6 Genin that were traveling with your after the retrieval of Uchiha Sasuke, we the Elders hereby strip your position as a Konoha Shinobi as acceptable punishment," the female of the group muttered, spitting it out as though it left a sour taste in her mouth. "You are dismissed."

Hours later found Naruto standing on top of the Hokage Mountain, overlooking Konoha. He was neither surprised, or affected by the ruling of the Elders, he figured the Fourth had flooded them with paperwork that would paint a good picture of who Naruto was, and it would take only one other Elder in order to get a good ruling for a punishment, and apparently the Sandaime, who had taken up the position of an Elder shortly after the demon attack on Konoha, had managed to convince another Elder of his innocence.

Not that it mattered to Naruto. Even if he had been punished with a death sentence, he would escape and seek asylum in another Hidden Village, probably Suna since he was on good terms with Gaara of the Sand, or he could just give up on being a shinobi period, and instead living in seclusion. The last thought seemed absurd to Naruto, he could never see himself purposely living the life of a hermit; sure, he was never very social in the Academy, but he always made an attempt to bond with his classmates, before and after he was accepted as an apprentice for Anko. That was another reason for him to go into seclusion; Anko. When he was starting off as her apprentice, he didn't think to highly of her, considering how she was always creeping him out one way or another, but eventually it grew on him and he came to look forward to it, despite how embarrassing she could be at times...

"So what shall you do, brat?" his 'tenant' made her presence known, though in a rather sarcastic matter on this occasion.

'So the she speaks, impressive. And here I thought a cat had your tongue...' Naruto mused to himself.

"Yes, well when one has nothing to do but communicate with a half-witted ape, one chooses to be silent rather than loud." she shot back. Their relationship was complex, to say the least. Most of the time they communicated by merely throwing insults at one another, however there was times where they could be quite serious and civil.

'...I think I'm going to leave Konoha, for good. It's the logical choice, since I no longer am a shinobi, and thusly am incapable of making an honest pay. That, coupled with the fact more people will hate me for killing the Uchiha when it's made public knowledge, makes me prefer to leave for my own health.'

"But what will you do? You said it yourself, you're incapable of getting an honest pay, since being a shinobi is obviously not an honest job. You could always join Suna, since you are on good terms with the former Yondaime's son, he could vouch for your loyalty. Of course, you could just wander the planet, to escape the cultists who wish for the souls of demons, however that would require more...drastic measures."

Naruto's interest piqued at this option. 'What do you mean "drastic measures"? And what do you mean "wander the planet"? I was unaware there was a way of leaving the continent.'

She snorted at his last comment, "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the reasons I despise the human race. By 'drastic measures', I mean traveling through the demon world. And by 'wander the planet', I mean exactly that. You could walk the planet and find somewhere nice to live, free of the demon-hunters, and possibly forget about this hellhole."

'And how do you propose we get to demon world?'

"With my help, of course. You know it never fails to amaze me how stupid you humans are at times; I tell you to travel to the demon world, and you just happen tohave a demon sealed inside your useless body, and yet you still question how we're gonna get there." she sighed dramatically, as though offended by his comment.

Naruto scowled at her comment. 'Look, I'm sorry about that comment, but I think the fact I no longer have a home has put me in some form of shock, and thusly am incapable of delivering the enticing conversations you're used to.'

His "friend" sighed, but remained quiet while he continued, 'So how do you propose to get us to the demon world? Is there some sort of technique that opens a gate right underneath me, or do I have to go hunting for one?'

"If you were to open a gate underneath yourself, it would suck in all surrounding objects in a radius of 20 meters, so obviously you need to find a portal, however it lays to the north, in Wave Country."

'Wave Country? Why there of all places?'

"Well we didn't choose the location, it was just convenient. Unless of course you'd rather walk out in the middle of the fucking ocean and start swimming for the one located there..."

Naruto shook his head quickly. 'No, Wave Country is fine. I was just wondering why.'

The demon raised an eyebrow at his comment (well, as much as an eyebrow less animal can raise one). "Do I look like the creator of the fucking thing? I don't know why it's located there. It just is. Now quit complaining about the location before I decide to make you walk out in the middle of the ocean."

"So what the hell are you doing here. I thought I made it clear 50 years ago that I was not to be disturbed by you people," the old lady spoke, sipping her tea.

"I apologize for intruding, I came through a portal and after noticing the forest, figured that it could eventually lead to civilization," Naruto replied apologetically. After emerging from the portal, he was left quite disoriented, but surrounded by a forest. Since there was obviously no beaten path, he figured it would be a while before he found civilization, how long though, he didn't know. Hours of travel had lead him to this shrine, which seemed rather...peaceful, if one ignored the defenses that were found amongst the complex.

"What do you mean, portal? There is no portal on my land," she growled out.

"Yes, there is. It's located about 10 miles to the east, in a secluded clearing surrounded by considerably vicious creatures."

"No there isn't."

"Yes there is."

"Listen brat, I've lived on this land for over 50 years, and I can tell you there is no damned portal."

"Well I'm telling you that there is."

"Then show me."

"Fine, I will."

Upon arriving at Naruto's entrance, the old woman looked around the clearing, looking quite concerned about the portal.

"This isn't a portal, brat."

"Then what is it then?"

"A breach in a wall, that somehow eluded the notice of Spirit World."

'Spirit World?' he wondered, thinking of its implications.

"Spirit World?" his demon echoed, "Then it would seem the rumors were true, that there are 3 planes of existence."

'What do you mean by "3 planes of existence?" I figured there was just two, from what you were implying; the human world and the demon world.'

"To be truthful, there are two planes of existence; Spirit World, however, is a different plane all-in-all. It's where the departed drift to await placement in the afterlife. However, this means that we didn't travel through Demon World, but Spirit World, and judging from the old ladies comment, a part of Spirit World that had been sealed off for one reason or another."

"So what's that mean then?"

"It means you'll be staying with me until further notice."

"Why?" While he wouldn't mind having a place to stay, he was rather curious as to why the old lady would have him stay with her, for no apparent reason.

"Because, if demons come through this breach, then you'll be the one to clean up the mess you made."

"Me?! Why the hell should I be the one to deal with demons?! I don't know how I went through a barrier, let alone how to fight a demon!" Naruto wasn't one to usually lose his cool, but when he was being blamed for something he had nothing to do with, it caused him to get rather temperamental.

"Because you're the dimwit that discovered the breach, and will cause other demons to use it! And don't worry about not being able kill a demon, I'd be surprised if you could kill one." At this Naruto relaxed visibly, not wanting to fight things on level with his inner demon, However, I'm going to rectify that by teaching you how to kill one, whether you like it or not," she snapped back, walking away from the clearing, making Naruto wonder if he had renewed his insurance back home.

'At least if I die, it'll be worth something,' he thought to himself morbidly.

"Yes, it'll be worth a total sum of 1000 yen," his tenant replied sarcastically.

Naruto mentally shrugged, 'Eh, it's better than nothing.'

His inner-demon merely chuckled at the comment.

"I didn't expect this many people to show up, Master Genkai," Naruto confessed staring at the large group of Psychic's that had shown up to try for her apprentice spot. It was an unspoken agreement that Naruto wouldn't become her apprentice, for numerous reasons. One was the fact he didn't want to become her apprentice. It was nothing personal, he just didn't see himself devoting years of his life to learn all her secrets, he had enough nightmares of her "training" to last him 10 lifetimes. That, coupled with the fact she already knew of his tenant, which was hard to miss when her anti-demon wards were going off every five minutes, made it quite the simple choice of not letting him become her apprentice. Of course, there was no hard feelings, he knew that his choice, though he had no say in the matter to begin with, in life, made it impossible to train properly without parting with the demon.

It surprised Genkai, when he informed her that he didn't wish to part with his friend, she had become quite dear to him, and it felt like it would be killing a part of himself in the pursuit of power, which he told her he wouldn't do no matter what; he wouldn't become another Uchiha Sasuke for a lost cause. That didn't mean he would stop training under her, learning all other techniques she could teach him that could give him a step above the other demons, and he dived into learning said techniques with a frenzy, getting advice from his "furry friend" on how to improve certain techniques, and make them more effective.

"You and me both, kid. But lets get this over with, I'm not getting any younger just standing around," she replied, walking to the front of the shrine, and getting the attention of the other Psychics.

"Thank you for coming. I'm not going to beat around the bush, so lets get the preliminary rounds out of the way, so we can weed out the weaklings. You will form a line, and withdraw a piece of paper from the basket; do not open it until I say it is alright or you will be disqualified."

The first preliminary went without a hitch, in getting the paper that is. A few muscle-bound men approached Genkai, attempting to intimidate her because they didn't pull red paper, it turned out that your spiritual strength turned the paper red, if sufficient enough, but was interrupted by Naruto.

"You two didn't pass the preliminary, which obviously means you're not fit to become her apprentice. Leave now, before you're forcefully ejected from the premises," he muttered.

"What's a small fry like you gonna do? Cry to your mommy?" one taunted.

Naruto merely smirked, "Don't tell me I didn't warn ya." Gathering spiritual power, which was the end product of mixing mental power and physical energy, which was very similar to chakra, he sent the two men hurtling towards the entrance of the complex. "Be lucky that I wasn't trying to send you farther, I guarantee you would have died from the speed, not the fall. Are there any other brave souls that wish to object to the preliminary?" It was more rhetorical than anything else, and apparently everyone understood that, as no one else objected to the test. "Good, now if you would follow Master Genkai, she will lead you to the next text."

"Thank you Naruto. Alright you punks, this way." Genkai lead them to a quasi-arcade, in which she explained the purposes of the three machines that lined the walls of the room. After explaining that two out of the three needed to be passed in order to proceed, she and Naruto stood back and watched the various Psychics. "What do you think, Naruto. Any worth noticing?" Since Naruto had been fused, in a sense, with a demon, he had gained their sense of noticing all things spiritual, which turned out quite effective for him.

"Hm, the one with the Elvis-like hairdo has interesting spiritual powers, more focused in awareness than anything. Then there's the street-punk, with the opposite, more in his power than awareness, but he's not blind. There's a few other above-average people, however those two are above them, despite the scores of the machines. The fact they're young allows for more growth potential than say, the Neo-Nazi over there," he said pointing to the Karaoke.

"Good observation. And can you detect the demon that was rumored to be amongst them?" Genkai had been informed weeks before the actual day, that a human hunter by the name of Rando would visit the complex, intent on becoming her apprentice; she had also been informed of the spirit detective that would be visiting to defeat said demon. It was the first time Naruto had met the guardian (so to say) of the human world, Koenma, and definitely not the last, since he was quite curious on how one soul was sealed and fused with another, to which Naruto replied he didn't know how since he was only a few hours old, but should ask the Yondaime in his previous residence.

"No, I can't detect him. However, I get the feeling he's masked his energy to resemble that of a humans, in case there was someone similar to me amongst the potentials," he replied.

"Heh, guess he's smarter than we were told after all," There was no more talk afterwards, since most of the room had been cleared of the potentials, unable to pass two of the three tests required. "Okay, everyone follow me, it's time for the third preliminary, then we can move onto the actual test."

No one spoke as they exited the room, instead staring wide-eyed at the forest that lay before them. "You're next test will be to traverse that forest and get to the tree in the clearing within 2 hours. You may use any amount of force so long as you do not burn the forest down. Begin," and with that everyone in the group, except those who ran after sensing the forest's dark intent, sprinted towards the tree, shocked when the old lady and kid who followed her easily out-paced them thirty seconds after the test began.

After arriving at the tree, a grand total of 5 minutes later, they made idle chit-chat about who was impressive in the group, and who was substandard in the group, making predictions on who would go how far, and the possible identity of Rando. An hour and a half later, the first person emerged from the forest, it being the boy with Elvis-style hair. "Am I the first one here?" he asked, rather stupidly.

"Yes, which is rather impressive. We predicted you would pass this test, however not this quickly. Take a seat, you deserve it after the forest, and you've got enough time to recover your energy and breath," Naruto said praisingly.

Twenty five minutes passed before the test was to finish, six more individuals joining the kid. As she was about to announce the end of test, the kid pipped up, telling her to wait five more minutes, that one more person was just around the corner.

"Sorry, but I don't make exceptions to my rules," she replied.

"Actually, the kids right, he's right at the bottom of the hill. I've been tracking him for a little, since he's the only one left in the forest that's worth tracking, and he ran into that annoying bat-demon of yours, you know, the one who likes to hear himself talk a lot?"

"He ran into him and lived? Impressive, he might become something great, if trained properly," she commented.

"Yep, ran into him, and beat him, rather easily too."

As the boy approached the rest of the group, his friend, or who they assumed to be his friend, told him that he was over the time limit, and didn't make it, thus having him ask Genkai if it were true.

"Yes, it is true you went over the time limit, however, I believe I can make an exception this one time," she replied, much to his joy.

While walking towards the shrine where they would hold the first "real" test, he took notice of an unusual spirit in their midst. It felt human, but yet it wasn't... At first Naruto figured it was Rando and letting his energy concealment slip slightly, but when it fluctuated, it resembled that of a creature made of pure spirit energy, which was odd, for Genkai had drilled into his head that nothing can be made of pure spirit energy and be living; which meant that this...being was a rogue spirit that was masquerading as a human, for whatever reason they choose. Tapping Genkai on the shoulder, she cocked her head slightly, letting him know she felt it too, and that he should go investigate.

Using his skills as a ninja, he fell to the back of the group and casually parted ways on the staircase leading to the shrine, instead cloaking himself in the shadows of the surrounding forest, intent on ambushing the perpetrator. He didn't have to wait long, as a teenage girl, Naruto estimated her to be maybe 16, stumbled onto the stairway, panting due to the lack of breath, and slowly ascended the staircase. Naruto took a second to analyze the girl, she seemed harmless, with rather weak spiritual power and awareness, but there was something...odd about the girl, as though this wasn't her chosen form, but instead a substitute for what she normally wore. When she was one-quarter of the way up the stairs, Naruto stepped out of the forest to approach his presence, to which the girl froze, not liking the sound of someone following her.

"You know, it's not polite to stalk people who are quite capable of killing you, little girl," Naruto informed her.

"Who..who are you?" she asked.

"Uzumaki Naruto, disciple of Master Genkai, though sometimes I wish it wasn't so."

"And what are you doing here? I was unaware she had an apprentice."

"She doesn't have an apprentice, she has an disciple; there is a difference. The difference is I choose to learn her techniques, but only things she deem necessary; her apprentice won't be as lucky, as he'll have to learn all her techniques, which is not a pretty sight."

She was silent as the words sunk in, "Then you know about Rando being here."

"Yes, me and the old hag got a visit from a little toddler a few weeks ago about him, and the possibility of him showing up to learn her techniques. While I can't interfere with the test to choose her apprentice, I have told her I will kill Rando when he starts his apprentice training. Unsurprisingly she laughed at the confession, and told me she expected me to do so, and even talked to Koenma about what will happen if he wins, however he didn't appreciate our humor."

The girl looked quite frightened at the casual tone Naruto used when discussing Rando's death, and slowly started up the stairs again, causing him to release a dramatic sigh, he'd been told that not everyone would appreciate that kind of humor, especially normal humans. Guess his ninja-upbringing wasn't that good after all.

"Look, sorry about that, guess I should watch my tongue like the old hag keeps saying... Come on, if we hurry we might actually see some fighting going on," he muttered, grabbing her hand and leading the way to the shrine, oblivious to the faint pink hue on the girls face.

Five minutes later, the sound of people fighting let Naruto know he hadn't missed the entire first test; a fight to the (potential) death in the dark, using any and all weapons and techniques you know. It was used to judge spiritual awareness in a fight, and let them figure out how to use it effectively in battle, to which the two combatants, the Elvis-kid, and some Kendo dude, seemed trained in, as they moved though in broad daylight, avoiding blows like in a regular street fight. Shortly after walking into the room, Naruto saw the Elvis-kid land a finishing blow on the Kendo-user, incapacitating him and sealing the fight.

"Winner: Kuwabara," Genkai announced, "Next fight: Yusuke vs Kibano."

Following the announcement, Naruto walked to the back of the shrine and sat down against the wall, attempting to get more sleep since he had been rudely awakened at five in the morning to prepare for the test. Of course, it was expected that he would spend the hours before the test doing nothing related to it, but he wasn't going to complain lest he be forced to run laps around the complex...again. It didn't help that her anti-demon wards kept draining his energy, since it drew upon the energy of potential assassin-demons, and instead fueled barriers preventing demons from entering the shrine and it's surrounding buildings. It also went without saying that Genkai quickly noticed his severe lack of energy to do anything but eating and training, and confronted him on it, to which he told her of his inner-demon, and what had led to him ending up in her shrine, figuring he might as well tell her everything and let her decide whether or not he could continue to stay or not, which she told him she'd adjust the wards to drain less energy from him, and more from those that trespass.

"I sense something...primal in our midst. Something I haven't felt for hundreds of years. Though, it feels as though it's...sleeping, like a bear in hibernation, if you will. But the thing is...I don't know if that's a good, or a bad thing." his demon informed him, speaking up for the first time that day.

'So that's why you were quiet up till now... And here I thought the cat had your tongue,' he smirked to himself mentally.

"You know, I see to recall a certain someone, who wouldn't shut up about how a certain old hag would, and I quote, 'be the death of him," she snapped back rather harshly.

'Geez, is it that time of the month again? No need to jump down my fucking throat because of a mere observation,' he defended/apologized to the demon. He knew it was something big if she was quiet for long periods of time, usually analyzing the rest of the world with detail he could never hope to achieve. It was a bit of a parasitic relationship; he would fight the enemies and analyze the physical things, while she would protect him and analyze things in more detail, potentially saving his life in the process. 'So how bad/good is it? And who do you detect it in?'

"Depends on how things turn out. If he trains relentlessly, and has the proper tutelage, he could tap into the power willingly, though that could be a while..."

'And who is it? My spiritual awareness has been a bit off today, no doubt linked to Rando being here.'

"The street-punk is the one.. However, it is unlike our relationship; his 'demon' is in his blood, possibly a trait passed down over the generations from a demonic ancestor."

'But how would a demon mate with a human? I didn't think it was possible, not to mention the fact Koenma said that demons have been unable to travel here for at least 500 years.'

"That, Naruto, is why I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I sense some feeling of familiarity from this 'demon', but I do not know from where. Perhaps I could glean some information from his mind..." she disappeared afterwards, though Naruto knew what was going to happen. She was going to form a being of pure spirit energy, and 'possess' his mind, to get the information she needed. It wasn't harmful, but neither did it give her control over the body, it merely allowed her to make decisions with his mind for a small amount of time, before being separated and forced to return to her host.

Just as soon as her presence faded, it resurfaced in his mind, making him wonder what happened since it usually took longer to get the information needed.

'Well?'

"I suggest you befriend this boy Naruto, I realized why his power felt some familiar when I left your body. His power is linked to that of one of the Three Kings of Demon World, the 'King of Kings' if you will; Raizen."

'And that's a bad thing if I'm on his bad side, correct?'

"Yes...and no. If he was able to tap into his power right now, it would be a bad thing to piss him off. However at his current level, he stands no chance against you, and won't at the current rate you're growing. But, I do recommend you befriend him, since his friendship could be useful when we encounter those Cultist's again."

'That would be a good thing then. Okay, I'll befriend him when I get the chance, which will more than likely be after he wins the title of Genkai's apprentice.'

"Oh? You feel confident that he will win?"

'It's not so much as to winning, but more of the fact Rando would be killed if declared the Genkai's apprentice. And if that happens, I have no doubt that the boy will emerge victorious for whatever test Genkai assigns him to prove his worth. Plus, I've been aching to spill some blood, so I could just blame my animalistic instincts on his "unfortunate" death and no one would bat an eye. Not to mention no one will miss him if he's dead anyways.'

An animalistic laugh echoed through his head, indicating his demon liked the "excuse" he prepared if Rando had an "accident" happen that got him killed, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems that you won't get to spill blood today. The boy won his battle, like you said."

Naruto ignored the voice and slowly rose from his semi-comfortable position of sitting against the wall, stretching his tired limbs out of sleep and walking up the stairs leading to the final test area. It was a desolate swamp, which had claimed the lives of numerous soldiers in years past, and Naruto made sure to stay as far away from it as possible, since he was able to see the souls of the dead and it tended to creep Naruto out. However, he figured it wouldn't bother him as much today, since he would mostly be talking to Genkai and the new slave for her nightmarish chores.

"What do you mean I can't go to the Tokyo Dome?! You promised me I'd get tickets if I participated in it!" a loud voice caught his attention, as he figured it was his new training partner.

"Promised? I don't recall making any such comments!" the pure-spirit female yelled at him, clearly annoyed at the boys attitude.

"Well sorry for having priorities! It's not my fault I was forced into participating in this damn tournament!" he shouted back. As he was about to continue, Genkai jumped and punched him, in the head. Hard. Hard enough to send him falling face first into the ground, making a nice-sized crater and knocking him unconscious at the same time.

"Finally, I get some damn peace and quiet," she asked him as he stretched for the nth time in two minutes.

"So this is him, eh? I pictured him to at least have some grace when you hit him," Naruto commented jokingly.

"Yes, well I hope he learns some grace by the time I'm done with him, let alone what you'll be teaching him. You're body is in better shape than mine, not to mention you could be what he needs to get his ass in gear and take things seriously once in a while," she muttered.

"Yes Master Genkai," Naruto replied to her order. When Koenma had come by before the tournament, he had given her a couple of folders, which she told him was information on the newest Spirit Detective and about Rando. She had given Naruto the folder on Rando but kept the one retaining to the Spirit Detective, telling him shortly he wasn't to interfere in the tests, as she wished it to be as fair as possible, in terms of outside influences. It didn't matter to Naruto, since he knew he'd find out who it was when they won the tournament, and he'd learn just as much by observing the fights as he would by talking to the fighter.

"Good, now lets get out of here, I'm hungry and we need to prepare a room for our guest," she told Naruto before descending the stairs to start tea for dinner.

A/N: This was something I came up with while watching Yu Yu Hakusho for about the 5th time (the entire series that is), and I rather liked how it turned out. Let me know what you think with either flames, reviews, whatever floats your boat.