Hey guys. I'm sorry for not updating my other fics for a while, but my laptop charger is broke and I can't get a hold of a new one for a little while. Just so that you guys don't think I'm dead, I'm posting up the first chapter of the first fic I ever wrote, and I will be continuing it if you think it's good- I like it quite a lot and I have a lot in store for the plot. I will finish the three stories I have up, including this one, and I will update in a cycle of a different one every day as soon as I get my charger back.

So review, and bare with me for the lack of updates.

Hoshikage Chapter One

Naruto walked back into Konohagakure no Sato, nearly exhausted despite his high levels of stamina and chakra. He and his team had just completed their first A-rank mission, and during the course of it he had summoned up the Kyubi's chakra for the first time. No matter how powerful it was, it took a lot out of him and now he was exhausted. They struggled their way into the village and made their way to the debriefing they were required to attend with the Hokage. Any mission above B-rank required a debriefing with the Hokage himself, or else it was not classed as an official mission.

Upon reaching the Hokages office, and giving a detailed description of everything that had happened during the course of the mission, the jinchuuriki couldn't help but notice the shocked face of the Hokage and has advisors. One ANBU guard had left during the course of the explanation, when they had reached the portion about the Kyuubi's chakra, and as a result, the meeting was cut short. The Hokage knew that it must have been a ROOT ANBU and that they were going to report to Danzo- it was the only likely possibility. He knew it wouldn't bode well for the blond haired genin, but really there was nothing to do about it. As much as he hated to admit it, he was just a figurehead now. No longer did he have much power over the ninja of the land. The only real pull he could give was regarding Naruto, and even there he had to bend at some point.

As soon as the debriefing was finished, Sarutobi was immediately called into a council meeting called by Danzo and his old teammates, Koharu and Homura. Sitting in his spot at the front of the room, he looked over the members of the council. He could count on one hand the amount of them who were ninja, and only two others- his teammates- who he could guarantee had been through as traumatic experiences he had. Shikaku, head of the Nara clan, along with Hiashi Hyuuga, head of the Hyuuga clan was there also, but both were youngsters in comparison.

''Hokage-sama, we have recently heard from Danzo-san that the demon brat has let its power free. Something must be done about this. The seal of the Yondaime cannot be as powerful as we had expected if his chakra is leaking out now, so early in his life. He is a threat to the village!'' a civilian council member yelled. Sighing heavily at the ignorance of the man, the Hokage began his speech.

''Despite what all of you may think, the chakra leakage was not the result of the seal weakening, or the seal breaking in anyway. The seal was built so that Naruto would have access to the Kyubi's chakra to aid him in battle. Admittedly, it was not supposed to take effect so early in his life, but there is the possibility it was activated by severe emotional turmoil and therefore was not his fault. He has never shown signs of the Kyubi in the past and we cannot take action against him for this.''

''So Hokage-san,'' Danzo himself began. ''You are telling me his release of the Kyubi's power relies on his emotional state? Preposterous. What you are saying is that if he were to get mad, he could set the Kyubi on us all. That is a threat to the village, and something we cannot tolerate. There are only two possible choices for the demon-child.'' the council nodded. They had discussed briefly before the Hokage's entrance and knew exactly how everything was going to happen. ''We can either exile the boy, which I am sure you do not want. He is like a grand-child to you, and despite what many of you think, I am not harsh enough to disrupt family bonds. We can do that, or...we can teach him to master his emotions by enrolling him in the ROOT training regime.''

The Hokage looked up at Danzo with a fire in his eyes. The ultimatum he had been offered was simple horrific. He could either dump his faux-grandson out of the village and abandon him for life, or he could pit him into the harsh and cruel training programme of the village's best known war hawk. ''Danzo, I refuse to allow either of these things to happen. He is a shinobi and is therefore under my rule. You cannot harm him, or force him into any training I do not want for him.''

''Oh by Hokage-san...I can.'' everyone turned to look at Danzo at this point. This was not a developement they were expecting. ''There is a law, unused but still valid, which states if emotional ties prevent you from making the best decision for the village, we can bypass your judgement and go for a direct vote in the council. It is obvious you care for the brat too much to make a fair and balanced opinion, and therefore we must hand it over to the council. There will be each clan head recieving one vote, along with myself and you, Hokage-san. This vote will decide the Kyubi-brats fate.''

Practically snatching the paper from Danzo's hand, Sarutobi began to frantically read every word on the sheet. Processing the information as quickly and as efficiently as possible, he found that there was no other way for this to happen. He couldn't think of any loop-holes, not so quickly, and his mind was less quick than the Yondaime's in coming up with rousing speeches- there was no way he was going to convince the entire council to allow him to keep Naruto in the village. He thought back to the proud face of the genin as he celebrated his first high rank mission, and the look of happiness as he declared he was going home for a long nap. It was history, and the Sandaime knew it.

''I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, declare a vote for Naruto to stay within the village.'' Not a single person in the room was surprised. It worked its way around the clan heads.

''I, Danzo Shimura, Elder of Konohagakure no Sato, declare a vote for the exile of Naruto Uzumaki.'' once again, this vote was completely expected.

''I, Shibi Aburame, Head of the Aburame clan, declare a vote for the exile of Naruto Uzumaki. I do not know the child personally, and therefore my vote is completely unbiased. I simply believe it is in the best well-fare of the village to eliminate any and all possible threats as early as possible. It is nothing personal Hiruzen, you understand, it is merely business.''

''I, Shikaku Nara, Head of the Nara clan, declare a vote for Naruto Uzumaki to stay within the village. I believe you are all fools for wanting him gone. His tenant has stayed in check for 12 years, and at the slightest sign of wavering you immediately declare him a threat? Do you believe the Hokage so foolish as to allow a major threat to remain. This vote is troublesome, and you're all stupid.''

''I, Chouza Akimichi, Head of the Akimichi clan, declare a vote for the exile of Naruto Uzumaki- my reasons are the same as Shibi-san's, I believe he is correct.''

''I, Inoichi Yamanaka, Head of the Yamanaka clan, declare a vote for the exile of Naruto Uzumaki. I believe all the valid reasons have already been stated by fellow council members.''

''I, Tsume Inuzuka, Head of the Inuzuka clan, declare a vote for Naruto Uzumaki to stay within Konoha. I think you should all be ashamed of yourselves, abandoning a poor pup in his time of need. You know if he was one of your own, if he had a bloodline like the Uchiha he would be forgiven all of his misdemeanours.'' for this she recieved an icy glare from Danzo.

It was hopeless, Sarutobi knew. No matter what happened, Naruto would be exiled from the village and there was nothing he could do about it. He was already planning how he was going to tell the poor boy. He had little enough already, and now he was going to lose his village as well? What more could they take from the boy? Would they cut off his hands and tongue, leaving him useless in the world outside of Konoha? Unfortunately, he couldn't put it past those who would abandon a 12 year old genin for something he had no choice in.

''I, Hiashi Hyuuga, Head of the Prestigious Hyuuga Clan,'' everyone sighed at this, even Danzo. ''Declare a vote for the exile of Naruto Uzumaki. We cannot have such a threat to the village inside our midst. It is nothing personal, but we must remove the infected limb before necrosis takes over the entire body. You understand my meaning, Hokage-sama.''

Unfortunately, as much as he hated it, Sarutobi did understand. He understood very clearly. Naruto was a danger to the village, as much as it pained him physically to admit it. He knew hate and scorn were enough to turn someone away from the path of light- but he knew Naruto wouldn't succumb. If only the other council-members understood the Will of Fire, they would allow Naruto to stay. They wouldn't exile him for something so completely childish. For the first time, the Sandaime truly felt his age. He wasn't just sick of paperwork, oh no. He could geniunely feel the age in his bones, the creak of bone against bone from lost cartilidge as he moved. Sighing and standing, he turned to the council.

''Very well. I am going to retire to my office. Naruto will have to letter declaring his exile tomorrow. He will have one day in which to pack all of his things and say goodbye to everyone. He will leave before sunset tomorrow, and become Konoha's first missing nin since Itachi Uchiha. He will be set as a D-rank nin, due to only being a genin, but due to his jinchuuriki status, and probability of improving his raw chakra power, he will be moved up a rank each year, until he had reached A rank status, where he will stay until proven otherwise.''

The council nodded, and inside Danzo simultaneously smirked and damned the Hokage. He was happy that the Kyuubi brat would leave the village, but saddened because he hoped beyond all hope that Sarutobi would admit him training to the Kyubi vessel, and allow him to train him. He just knew that with the jinchuuriki power he would be the perfect weapon, but the Sandaime had to just ruin it. The old man threw a wrench in one too many plans, and he would be eliminated soon enough. But that is a story for another time.

Sarutobi retired to his office and scribed out the letter. With each word he wrote, each letter he scrawled, he felt himself becoming more and more physically ill. It wasn't a sadness, no, he geniunely knew this was the wrong thing to do, yet he continued to do it as if he would die if he didn't. As much as he loved the child, he knew that the village itself was more important. The Yondaime himself had seemed to place the village above the child, and now he would have to do the same thing, although in a different circumstance.

When he finished the letter, he immediately sent it off with a nearby ANBU in a monkey mask. As much as he would have loved to deliver it himself- it was personal connection he had with Naruto- he knew he wouldn't be able to face it, and that it was better done in a more inpersonal fashion. Naruto may feel his heart break stronger, but at least he would be more ready for the outside world, where everything was dissapointing.

Naruto awoke that morning in a cheerful mood. He always slept well due to the Kyubi's recovering chakra, and last night was no different. He dreamed of swimming in a ramen ocean, on a beach made of ramen noodles which were slowly cooking in the ramen-y broth of the sea which he drank, and ate, and ate and drank until it was all gone...then he woke up. Quickly, the genin threw on his orange jumpsuit, ate some ramen and made his way outside. On his way, he saw a small piece of paper under his door. He carefully flicked it open, wary of the fact that it might be an explosive note, like the one that was on his door not too long ago.. that was a huge mess to clean.

When the note was proved to be safe, he peeled it off the door and opened it to look. He read it quickly, and broke down in tears.

Naruto Uzumaki.

As much as I hate to say it, bad things are happening. Due to the use of Kyubi's chakra in a recent A rank mission to the Land of the Wave, you have been deemed by the Konoha council as a danger to the village. Myself, the Inuzuka, and the Nara clans voted for you to stay, but we were simply outvoted. I feel horrible for this Naruto, but as a result of the vote, you have been judged as suitable for exile. Beginning sundown today, you are a Konoha missing nin. I managed to get you one extra day to allow you to gather up as much stuff as you humanly can, and say goodbye to all of your precious people. I'm sorry for taking your dream of becoming Hokage one day away from you, but I can't change this.

Sincerely,

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato.

P.S. The large black shape at the botton is a seal. Hold whatever you want over it, and when you tell it to seal it, it will be sucked into the paper. You can retrieve it later by asking the seal for it. It's not very powerful, but I made it last minute. I'm really sorry for all of this Naruto.

It took the genin-cum-missing nin a full half an hour before he dragged himself back to his feet and made his way out of his apartment. Sarutobi had given him the seal, not knowing that all he had were some shuriken, kunai and several hundred ramen cups which took less than five minutes to seal. He slowly shuffled to his teams training area. Naruto knew he was late, but he didn't care anymore- it wasn't as if he'd still be there tomorrow. Despite the clear wording in the letter it was still hard to believe, and the tears he had shed were almost reluctant to come. He felt strangely happy, and simultaneously crushed at the fact that he would be leaving Konoha. On one hand, no longer would people look upon him with disgust, but on the other, the few friends he had made would have to be bid farewell today...

When he arrived, Kakashi was strangely there already. Seeing Sasuke throwing shuriken and kunai into the dead-centre of several targets, and Sakura almost cry over her fangasming, he was mostly surprised at the look of seriousness on his sensei's face. As he drew closer, wiping off the final tear, he saw Kakashi nod and smile sadly, as if he knew what was happening. Naruto realised that as a Jounin, Kakashi probably did know- and it was the only reason he was on time for once.

Once he drew alongside Kakashi, Naruto watched as Sasuke and his fangirl trundled into line in front of him. Kakashi cleared his throat with little enthusiasm, and when he spoke, it surprised everyone except Naruto with its alarmingly sombre tone. ''Sasuke, Sakura, your teammate has something important to say. Don't interrupt, don't react strongly until he is finished, do nothing out of line or I swear to god I will send you both back to the academy, Uchiha or not.'' he added the last part glaring at the boy who was smirking, Sharingan fading from his eyes.

Naruto cleared his throat slightly louder, and, voice still thick from crying, he began. ''Hey guys...I have something really sad to tell you. Since the mission protecting the bridgebuilder in the Land of Waves, some big things have happened. What you may not know, is that the entire reason the village hates me is because I'm a jinchuuriki. When the Yondaime defeated the Kyuubi, he couldn't kill it- no human could- but he did the next best thing. Sealing it. He couldn't ask any parent to give up their child, so he sealed it in me- an orphan who was born on the day of the attack. No-one knew my parents, or at least that's what I was told. During the fight on the bridge, I used some the Kyuubi's chakra to defeat Haku. The council found out about this, and they don't think I'm safe anymore. Starting the end of today, I'm a Konoha missing nin...I'm being exiled.''

Sakura was stunned. She had said nothing from the beginning of the speech, and continued to say nothing right through to the end. Sasuke's smirk grew wider and he simply looked at Naruto and said five words. ''Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish.'' Turning, the Uchiha began his training again, this time threading kunai through he holes of each shuriken, causing them to grow out of the side of the target. Dejectedly, Naruto turned away as Sakura chased after Sasuke again. She hadn't said anything, and that had put him down.

As he began to walk away, he was stopped by Kakashi. Upon turning, he saw a scroll. It wasn't large, but it looked precious, bound in a thick red ribbon. Kakashi began to speak again. ''This is the scroll for my own technique...the Chidori. I need you to take it and learn it- it might save your life one day. I'm only a Jounin, I can't change your predicament, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. Take care of yourself Naruto.''

The genin nodded and left the training ground, feeling prouder than ever that Kakashi was his sensei. When push came to shove, the man knew what to do.

By the end of the day, he had said goodbye to everyone. He had seen off Teuchi and Ayame at the ramen stand, he had said goodbye to Chouji and Kiba- despite the fact they argued, it was only a good natured rivalry- he had bid farewell to Hinata-chan and Shino, and then made his way to the gate. The sun was setting and he didn't really have anything left to do. He began the long walk out of Konoha. His headband had a scratch directly through the leaf, and was tied around his arm now, no longer feeling proud of being a Konoha nin. With no where to go, he set of randomly. He just knew this would end up more confusing than his life already was, and that was saying something.