This Chapter as been edited as of 1/21/13. Sorry it's been four years since I've done anything with this. I'm getting back into this story again. I'll be editing all my other chapters first and putting a notice on them. Sorry for the wait.

Chapter 1-Leaving

I followed the familiar street to my dingy apartment in high spirits. I was even whistling something I heard at school. It had been a while since I had been this relaxed, which was unlike me. Thoughts of what had brought me to live in Tokyo began to creep into my mind, but I quickly buried them.

"Iruka-sensei must be here by now." I grinned, excited to see him after half a year. My pace slowed and my hands curled into fists. "I can't believe it's already been three years. . ." I looked up at a street light, my grin fading. "Three years and I can still see their faces. . ."

I shook my head and slapped both my cheeks. No, I can't let myself be stuck in the past. Iruka would scold me if he saw me. I pushed away the pain in my heart and tried to smile. Iruka was the only person I had left now.

I picked up my pace. My apartment came into view; small and dirty, but habitable and the neighbors were nice. Iruka knew where I kept my spare key and would probably be inside already. I started to jog toward my place.

A block from my apartment, the lights went out down the entire street. The sun had just set, and it was too early for everyone to be asleep. I stopped, alert. Is there a power outage? It was quiet too, far too quiet for an urban neighborhood. My chest went cold. They've found me!

Alarms went off in my head, and I could feel the adrenaline begin to pump into my veins. I leaped into a sprint as I dashed towards my apartment building. "I've got to warn Iruka-sensei and get the hell out of here!"

I bound up the steps to the door and grasped the door handle. Everything happened so fast, I'm surprised it was burned into my memory. The moment I twist the handle, there was a slight click. "Shit," I cursed as an explosion engulfed the building and blew me back. I flew through the air and bounced and skid across the tarmac before finally coming to a stop.

I ignore the injuries I had sustained; serious burns, cuts, and some scrapes; and climbed to my feet. The pain I felt was brief as my healing abilities quickly fixed my body. My ears were ringing and I felt disoriented. Wha- What happened? . . . Then the inferno before me encompassed my vision. The blood in my veins went cold and a familiar pain lanced through my heart. "IRUKA-SENSEI!" I shouted as the building continued to burn.

Only the crackle of the fire answered me. . .

"It is unfortunate Iruka-sensei had to die. We were only after you, but he insisted on protecting you," an emotionless voice said behind me. "We told you we do not make idle threats. We said we would find you and drag you back to the village by any means necessary."

I felt three familiar chakras appear behind me. "So it's you three. . . I thought our fight at the Valley of the End would at least make one of you think twice before coming after me." I spun around and gestured at the burning building. "I'll make you all regret this!"

Three figures in black cloaks stood a few feet away, accompanied by a big white dog.

"You forced our hand, Naruto," Shino stated. "Our orders are clear. We are to capture the traitor Naruto for the murder of the Godaime Hokage and four others."

Kiba stepped forward, jabbing his finger at me. "Yeah, you're not going to get away this time! We're going to drag you back even if it kills us!" he exclaimed. Akamaru growled his agreement.

Finally Sasuke spoke up. "Surrender, dope. Last time you got lucky, but we've all grown stronger. Especially me." His dark eyes changed into his Sharingan.

My hands were taut fists and my entire body was trembling. I could already feel my anger beginning to cloud my mind. "You three sure are persistent. . ." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This ire was loosening my hold on the beast within me.

"You know you need my assistance, gaki,"

Shut up! I snapped my eyes open and glared at them. "Your last attempt left you all smeared on the side of a cliff. Why should I surrender when I've already beaten you all once?" My tone was cold and cutting, just like that cold night years ago.

"Don't sound so cocky!" Kiba bristled, taking a step forward.

"Calm down Kiba. Do not let him goad you," Shino said as he grabbed Kiba's arm.

"Don't try to calm me down Shino. Have you already forgotten what he's done?! " He glowered at me.

The longer I talk with them, the harder it is to stay in control. . . Sweat was rolling down my neck and my nails were digging painfully into my palms, drawing bloody crescents.

Sasuke stepped forward. His red eyes were cold and calculating, exactly as I remembered. "Enough," he snapped. A smirk lifted one corner of his mouth. "Shino, Kiba, stand down."

I could feel the blood run down my fingers as I stared at him. My entire body was shaking violently now with rage. "Sasuke," I growled gruffly. My control was slipping. I was already dangerously close to losing it as I felt my prisoner's chakra dribble into my system.

He let out a low chuckle. "You haven't changed a bit, dope. You still let your emotions control you." He started to walk toward me. "I want to see who is stronger this time."

"Our orders are clear, Sasuke," Shino spoke up.

"It's just a friendly spar. Don't worry, we'll capture him," Sasuke assured him, waving him off. "I'm just curious . . . to see his power."

"This is unwise, but we will be on standby then." Shino lifted his arms, and I heard a distinct buzzing emanate from his sleeves.

I could feel my prisoner's chakra begin to alter my appearance. "In other words, you want to see if your power is greater than mine. . . Unbelievable, even after everything you did to Sakura and the village, you still want power!"

Sasuke shook his head, his smirk turning in a self-satisfied smile. "No, I don't need power anymore. I avenged my clan a few months ago, all is right again. Now, I just want to put you in your place." He slid into a taijutsu stance. "The Uchiha clan will once again be the elite."

I let out a bitter laugh. "You're jumping to conclusions teme, thinking you could kill Itachi." I pulled up my shirt, revealing a scar that covered the side of my stomach. "A month ago, I could smell my body being cooked."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You don't know what you're talking about. I killed Itachi. I wiped his blood from my blade."

"Then you're eyes aren't as great as you think," I said. I lowered my shirt. "He gave me that scar, and his fire jutsu is still more impressive than yours."

Sasuke was speechless for a moment. Then his anger burst forth. "Damn him! How could he tricked me so easily?"

"I think you should get those eyes of yours checked out. You only cared about power, so you were blinded to the truth within the truth."

Sasuke lowered his head, his body trembling. "Curse you brother, curse you!" he muttered, his voice dripping with much venom.

Shino stepped forward. "Since our squad leader is mentally incapable of performing his duty. I will take charge for the moment," he spoke calmly. Thousands of beetles flowed from his sleeves. "We will apprehend the fugitive, Uzumaki Naruto and transfer him back to Konohagakure to face his punishment for the murder of the Godaime Hokage Tsunade, Jiraiya, Yamoto, and Hyuga Hinata."

Each of those names tore at my heart. It was painful, hearing them after so long.

"Yes, sir!" Kiba charged forward, followed by Akamaru.

"Release me!"

My control finally broke at that moment and my prisoner's entire chakra burst forth. A red cloak enveloped me, burning my skin. "You know. . ." My voice was gruff, almost bestial. "You should have given up hunting me. . ."

"Tsuuga!" Kiba shouted, turning himself into a spinning drill.

". . . Maybe you would have lived."

XXX

That was my living nightmare. . . It was the second worst night of my life. My only regret, besides allowing Iruka to die a meaningless death, was that I failed to kill any of those three. They took the life of the last precious person in my life, and I never returned a favor.

My name is Uzumaki Naruto, former shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato. For the last three years, I have been on the run from hunter-nin and members of the Akatsuki, an organization bent on removing the demon sealed inside me. The reason I have been running for the last four years are not something I like to discuss openly, but maybe you will learn of it. . .

XXX

A year after that night…

"Naruto, wake up."

Someone was calling to me softly and shaking me. Only one person. . . My stepmother, Usui Fumio, continued to shake me and call my name. Her voice was urgent and very sad. I opened my eyes slightly, about as I wide as I could manage at the moment. She was kneeling by my bedside with a coat over her nightgown. "Mother, what is it?" I asked, my words slightly slurred by sleep.

"I need to do some shopping. I want you to come," she told me. "Come on, get dressed."

"Okay." I crawled out of my futon and got dressed. "Why do we have to go this early? I'm still tired. . ." I looked at the clock, it read 4:34 A.M.

She panicked for a second. "Yes, we have to go right now. There's . . . uh . . . an early bird sale!" She thrust a duffle bag into my arms. She was lying, even half asleep, I could tell. She was never really good at it.

I nodded, deciding to go along with it. "Alright."

XXX

We got to the train station by five. I kept slipping in and out of consciousness; I was almost left behind when the train arrived.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I know you're tired," she apologized as I lumbered after her to our seats. I stumbled and fell flat on my face.

"It's alright," I assured her, pulling myself off the floor. My busted lip stung for a second before it healed. We took our seats as the train lunged into motion. ". . . Mom, where are we going?"

"Um. . ." I finally noticed her appearance. Her brown, glossy hair hung down, instead of being tied up as usual. She looked more sad and depressed than usual too. "Somewhere far away. . ." She looked at me. "We're leaving home," she said seriously.

"I see. . ." The news came as a surprise to me. It has been a year since I ran into any trouble. She looked away, her eyes welling up with tears. She's thinking how much of a failure she is as a mother again. Mom, you're not a failure, trust me. I wanted to say that, but keep quiet. She wouldn't believe me.

"I know you must be upset." She didn't look at me as she said this.

I shook my head. "No, not so much." I leaned my head against the hard seat. "I'm used to leaving without much warning." I knew the reason behind this, why she was so sad all the time. "Are we leaving because of her?" I asked, with a sharp tone.

She nodded, dejected. "I didn't like how she was treating you. I thought she would change after all this time, but. . ."Her voice was starting to crack with emotion and the tears were rolling down her cheeks.

I felt my anger start to boil. That hag. She's supposed to be her mother. How can she treat her own flesh and blood like that? My so-called grandmother has ignored my existence ever since I arrived on their doorstep, and the act bothered Fumio immensely. "You don't have to worry about me. It'll take more than being ignored to bother me." One person isn't much compared to an entire village.

She wiped her eyes with a worn handkerchief. "Iruka raised you well. . . But I can't continue to let her treat you like that, not with everything that you have already gone through!"

Her words pierced my heart. It has been a long time since someone cared about my wellbeing. "Thank you. . ." I whispered.

She smiled at me. "No need to thank me. I'm you mother, I'm supposed to protect you from those things."

I smiled back, feeling optimistic. "Oh, where are we going exactly?"

She took out her ticket stub. "Um. . . Shihaba."