chapter 1

Naruto stood in the back of the room, away from the croud that had gathered this particular evening. He was at a celebration party for all the ninja who put their lives on the line with the recant threat increase against the village. Also to honor all those who had died during the struggle. Naruto knew a few of the people who showed up that evening. Kakashi was there in a corner re-reading the same paradise book that he had for years. Sakura sat at a table that held most of the people he had graduated from the academy with. Neji spoke with Ten Ten over by the exit. Hinata and Iruka sat at the same table as Sakura, telling stories of the days when they were still in class under the older mans tutelage. Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya were by the stage conversing, though by the annoyed look on the hokages face, Jiraiya wasn't much longer for this world. Among the guests that Naruto knew, other ninja whom Naruto have never seen, conversed and carried on in the crowd, adding to the merriment.

Naruto was leaning against the wall thinking about what has happened during his life up to this point. What he felt he has done with his life to make everything peaceable and normal. The battles he had fought. The lives he saved, and has taken. The intense training he spent the last few years of his life undergoing. If only…

"Hey there Naruto. Why so down?" Someone asked in a light voice causing Naruto to lose his thoughts.

"Oh…Hey Kakashi sensei. It's nothing important." He said to the silver haired mentor he once had

Kakashi smiled under his masked, not being fooled in the slightest "what do you mean Naruto? Your smile is a bit too sad to be real. Why not enjoy yourself a little?"

Naruto sighed and looked back out over the crowd again letting his smile drop. "The seal keeps getting weaker. You know that already though. I feel I'm losing control of myself sometimes." Looking at his friends and other happy ninja, he couldn't help but feel like a burden or a threat to their happy lives. Sakura was talking to lady Tsunade now, probably about how the hospital was going. Neji was talking to Iruka, Ten Ten lost within the crowd somewhere. Jiraiya was flirting out of Tsunades' line of sight though. Hinata was looking in Narutos' general direction, seeming to be lost in thought. "Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be safer to leave the village. Find someplace that if the nine tails gets out he could be contained or something for some time."

This really threw Kakashi back a bit, though he never let it show. Naruto was actually talking about giving up, let along giving up his dream of being hokage one day. He must really be down. "Listen Naruto, things might seem bad now but soon things will look up. Seals grow weak; they can be made strong again. Doubt and self-pity" he smiled and looked at Naruto "they can cloud our judgment. Persevering can make you strong again."

Naruto gave a faint smile, though this one genuine. "Thanks Kakashi sensei."

"Any time Naruto." Kakashi smiled down on the blond boy before he was pulled aside by lady Tsunade.

Sakura walked up and gave Naruto a hug. This was a surprise to Naruto accepted it gratefully. His crush on Sakura had dwindled away in his time from the village. They're more like siblings now, always able to tell when something is wrong with the other, even when everyone else couldn't tell.

"What's the matter Naruto? You look like someone died."

"I'm sorry Sakura, I'm just having a tough time." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head.

Sakura smiled and took Naruto by the hand and led him to her table "well enjoy the fun and lighten up a bit"

"That seems to be a theme tonight" he said chuckling softly. Naruto smiled at Hinata and sat in between them both. Neji came and sat next to his cousin at their table.

Lady Tsunade stood up at the podium and called out the three finalists for the prize. "Whoever wins tonight's vote gets off of S-ranked missions for a month. Though I'm sure there's quite a bit of you who would like to win this pot." She smiled when a few ninjas cheered "before we do though I would like us to take a moment ot remember those we lost in the past years."

Everyone went quiet. A few raised their glasses while the rest just silently looked on.

"Alright, while we lost those close to us, we should also celebrate the lives that are still with us today. The finalists for today's vote are Kakashi, Asuma, and Naruto. The winner is" Tsunade let the tension build as she opened the envelope "a tie? It looks like we have two winners this year. One is Kakashi Hatake the other is…Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto went up on the stage and stood next to Kakashi as everyone clapped or cheered. After Kakashi gave his thanks, Naruto stood out in front of the crowd.

"I wanted to say thanks to everyone who voted for me. It means a lot to know that I have the support of so many comrades on my side." This brought some cheers and whistles from the crowd. "There are a few here tonight who have been by my side since the beginning." He looked at Sakura with a smile. "Sakura, we had a rough start. You only had eyes for one person and wouldn't give me the time of day. Even with that I'm pretty sure if you hadn't have told me how to control my chakra, I'd STILL be out at Naruto bridge trying to run up that tree." That brought out a few chuckles from the crowd. "And Hinata" He said looking at her "always in the back cheering me on silently. Always pushing me to do my best, and even protecting me when I needed it most. You both mean the world to me. And that's why I'm going to give you both my month off."

This caused whispers and murmurs to fallow throughout the room. "It's not that I'm ungrateful for what you all have done for me, I am, but I feel they deserve this a bit more than me." Naruto said before stepping down from the stage. He silently made his way out a door behind the stage and disappeared back to his house, unaware of the dark creature that was making his way towards the hidden leaf village.