Another plot bunny has been haunting me. Like, stalking me. I had to do something. Review if you want more.

Okay, I don't know if this is legal or not, but I'm still asking. Anyone want to write Minato's part for me? I'll explain where I'm planning it to go, and it might be fun to have two different people writing for the same story. Just contact me if you're interested at all. Or if it's totally not fanfiction legal, and I'll take this down.

~Bijuu~

There was a dripping sound echoing across the damp prison. Red and blue light mingled in places, seemingly pouring off the leaking pipes. Little droplets of blue and red pooled into a mess of purple goo on the ground. The sun was nowhere to be found. The soft sound of water dripping onto concrete was the only lullaby here. The damp sarcophagus had mold growing in places, bits of wall chipping off onto the wet ground. Said walls, colored with black lines and shapes, were fading fast. The ink echoed for the taste of blood, pulsing against the cold stone. It was a maze of metal and rock, the corridors going on forever if you let them. This was the same scenery as it had been years ago. Nothing had changed from when this land can to be, with the same tenant as before.

"Kyu wake up!" A voice echoed across the empty landscape, reverberating against the bars stretching from floor to ceiling in a particularly red room. The small voice was the opposite of this gloomy landscape- joyful and hyper. As to be expected of the small boy standing bravely among the water, his hair shining yellow. He was the only one not black, grey or red in this place. In the corner a large red lump of fur stirred with a growl. The boy gave no rest however, seemingly oblivious to the sleeping monster. "It's my birthday today! Wake up wake up wake up!"

"I am not your guardian small one. It is not my job to celebrate your existence." There was a pause and the fur blob let a deep breath out. "Go back to sleep…"

"Nu-uh!" The almost shrill voice was back, increadibly loud for coming from such a small body. "You're the only one I have to tell!" The small one hopped from foot to foot joyously. Even the great monster's pessimism and coldness couldn't get him down today!

Again the beast stirred, now thoroughly annoyed. "The sun is barely up Kit."

"Yeah, yeah." The significantly smaller one said, undaunted by the sleeping one's power and mass. "Come on Kyuubi, you promised to teach me to control our chakra today!"

Another low growl from the sleeping monster cut the young boy's voice off. "If you don't shut up, I'm not teaching you anything Naruto!" A moaning sound reached the Kyuubi's ears, and he flicked them in annoyance. "Don't give me that pouty shit. It's time you learned some manners you untamed wild boy…"

"I'm tamed! At least, I don't bite!" Naruto seemingly struggled with keeping the pout out of his voice and off his face. He had learned long ago that pouting didn't get him anywhere, but it was still fun to do.

Kyuubi huffed and rested his huge head on his paws. "Anyway, I don't remember that so called 'promise'…"

"I do, I do!" Kyuubi bared his teeth at Naruto's excitement. It was hardly six in the morning, how could he have so much energy? "Remember you said that when I managed to steal a shinobi's weapon, I was ready for training!"

That perked Kyuubi's ears. He never expected the young jinchuriki to actually be stupid enough to do it. And how did Naruto do it without Kyuubi knowing? Granted, the fox slept a lot. The boy was only…only…"Kit, how old are you now?" The beast had tried, and succeeded, in blurring out how many years he had spent trapped in this body.

"Eight! I'm eight years old! I know because you taught me how humans count suns instead of moons, because in our way I would be almost 99 moons old! It's special because it's almost a three digit number, which is one hundred!" He was jumping as he explained, his arms flailing in the air. Finally Naruto shut up, waiting to hear Kyuubi's response. Usually the boy could go on and on and on, but today he was excited, enough so to stop talking and listen.

The Kyuubi thought for a moment, weighing his options. If he taught Naruto, the boy would be able to survive much easier, especially with all the known enemies after the Jinchuriki. Thankfully the fox had managed to keep the boy under the radar, but as time went on and he got bigger, it would be harder to hide him. Naruto would get even more restless as well. He had no choice, for his own sake as well as Naruto's. He wasn't going to have the boy rely on other for protection, so the only thing to do was make sure he was well prepared, so not to get them both killed.

Kyuubi sighed. "Very well. But-" He stopped Naruto and his cheering before he carried on. "I'm still tired. I am going back to sleep and you…do something not dangerous." He heard Naruto laugh.

"You already admitted you're not my guardian. Why should I listen to you?" Kyuubi growled. "Be-sides, You're in my body. I can do whatever I want!" The boy turned around flippantly, stalking out of the red room with as much dignity as an eight year old could muster.

Kyuubi rolled his eyes and set his head back down, closing his large eyes slowly. There really was no stopping the brat. He was annoying, but unfortunately he was also the only hope for Kyuubi's freedom.

~Naruto~

In the middle of a clearing stood the boy. He was stretching his neck upwards, facing the sky as wind brushed the leaves. His blond hair ruffled slightly, the points never falling from their gravity-defying perch. With his eyes closed, he looked like he was sleeping. Small leaves dropped and swept by the boy, a single green leaf touching his feet before being swept by the wind. The small eight year old was calm, a rarity in any child especially this one. He let the wind caress his whiskered cheek before taking in the deep scent of the surrounding forest.

His bare feet rested gently on the ground, uncovered by shoes and perfectly comfortable. The boy had never worn shoes as he can remember. And because he was raised in the forest, the thrum of the earth beneath his feet was a familiar feeling. He didn't know what he would do if he were cut off from it. His baggy pants barely came to his ankles, swaying in the wind. Once white, the now pale and brown blotched pants were barely clinging to his small frame, stained from many adventures in the forest. His chest was uncovered, with small strips of brown on either side that could barely be recognized as a vest.

A gust of wind flew through the forest, flattening grass as it went. Blue eyes snapped open as the boy fell backwards onto his behind with a loud protest. The wind flapped his vest as a tanned hand went up to cover his face. The wind roared for a moment and a pointy grin spread under his dark arm.

Naruto's ocean eyes shown as he lowered his arm again, shimmering with excitement.

~Naruto~

The boy wandered, kicking stones on his way. He wanted to start training NOW. But Kyuubi was stubborn, and the human couldn't make him do anything he didn't want too. Still, Naruto could hardly complain. After all, Kyuubi made sure he could hunt for himself, and he gave him sufficient enough exercises to do to keep him busy.

Naruto wandered, unconsciously shying away from the road. He had lived in the forest as long as he could remember, finding food for himself by stealing it or hunting it himself. He had never had a home, but he didn't really mind. The forest was his home.

Naruto had plenty to do! He convinced himself, trying to lift his spirits after his disappointing birthday morning. There was always the next meal to plan, the next prank to pull, the next person to scare or steal from. He picked the sharp object from his pocket. He thought it was called a Kunai? He began to twirl it in his fingers, remembering the man he stole it from.

The unsuspecting human male was just walking, humming to himself with an odd look on his face. His long, white hair was only topped by the red stripes on his face. It was an odd man, dressed in large clothing and walking on wooden shoes that clamped every time he stepped. He had a huge nose and weird face. Still, he had looked like the perfect target for his next prank.

Naruto crouched in the bushes, watching carefully. He clutched a grey circular container tightly in his hand. Kyuubi had taught him to hunt, so like a demon he crouched silently. For years he had been doing this, and he was only caught once. And that didn't last long either. Kyuubi would have been proud, if he had any excess pride to give. You'd think the ego-inflated fox would dish out a compliment now and then.

When the man was in the perfect position, he stopped. His eyes darted around and Naruto smiled. The man was probably a ninja. And like all the other ninja he'd encountered, the man knew he was here but knew not where. Suddenly, Naruto jumped. The man surged into action as well, twirling around and pushing out a foot towards the boy.

The blond used the foot to propel himself over the man, and once over his unsuspecting head, cracked open the container he clutched. Pink dust scattered and the man began to cough, looking around for his attacker. He threw two Kunai, but they hit wood by the sound of it. Naruto went and picked one up, shoving it in his pocket and waited for the dust to clear.

It didn't take long. The dust cleared and as the pinkness settled to the ground, the man stared at him, mouth wide open. Naruto smiled evilly, the man's long, perfect, white hair now a horrid pink color. The man had yet to notice, and was still staring at him. Naruto didn't really care though, he had his kunai and his mission was complete. He laughed and rushed into the forest.

He heard yelling behind him, but he barely spoke human, so he ignored it. His silver necklace bounced against his bare chest as he ran, laughing hysterically. That would teach travelers to invade his territory!

Still, that look had bothered him over time. A lot of people gave him that look, like they were surprised he was there. Of course, that might be because he was a Bijuu hiding in a forest, a child all alone. But some yelled at him, even chased him. And some he didn't even prank.

Maybe they just heard of his reputation or something. Yeah, that must be it. They heard he was pranking people, innocent travelers and decided to do something about it! Well, they can't, because Naruto was the best ninja there was!

He was smiling broadly again, the memory significantly raising his spirits. He wandered for a while before deciding to throw the kunai around a little. Kyuubi hadn't woken up yet, so he might as well train with something. Naruto chucked the knife object at a nearby tree, scattering squirrels.

"Sorry!" The blond yelled in panic, speaking in the only language he knew. The language of the beasts. "I didn't mean to scare you!" After a few moments, the squirrels re-emerged and scuttled towards him. Naruto smiled widely. He had friends everywhere. In the trees, in the water. Who needs humans?

~Later~

Naruto was doing his regular thing when Kyuubi woke. The boy was doing crunches while balancing a stick on his head, using chakra. It was hard, and it made his forehead break out in sweat. He relished in the challenge. Maybe Kyuubi hadn't taught him any dangerous, fighting techniques yet, but he knew how to fight and hunt and control chakra pretty well. After all, he had been doing this his entire life. He had to advance quickly, if he wanted to survive.

Kyuubi yawned and rolled over, knowing he had to wake up eventually. The brat would pester him once he got bored, and it was about time he taught the kit how to protect himself. Maybe a simple demon ball jutsu would be enough. It would take a while to learn and keep him occupied, that's for sure.

In the back of his mind, the demon worried. Could there be any harmful effects to the human interacting with him so much, at such a young age? He was already borrowing his chakra, and his whisker marks had gotten more pronounced. Because the boy had been subject to the Kyuubi's chakra in the womb, Naruto would be even more susceptible to his chakra now. Which would make it easy to corrupt him, but at the same time it could kill the boy. Which, in turn, would kill Kyuubi. And he couldn't have that.

The fox sighed. Why couldn't he just return the annoying brat to his village? Oh right, he wanted to corrupt him. For some reason, he didn't think it would be that easy. The boy had a will of his own and even though he was a little more violent and harsh than he normally would have been, he still wasn't up to Kyuubi's standard. The brash boy was hard-headed and stubborn, and not budging to look at the world and see it for what it was-a dark and sinister place. He didn't believe you had to eat or be eaten. No, the stupid boy had to stop to help every passing human. Sure, he played pranks like any self respecting kitsune, but the range of his stunts were severely hindered by this morality of his. Even when Kyuubi brought that up, the boy didn't budge.

And that boy loved his pranks. The huge fox stood wearily and stretched. He had hoped that growing up in the forest would give the boy a more harsh nature, but the human still had soft spots as often as he had skin instead of fur. Well, there wasn't really anything Kyuubi could do about that-

The fox stopped his thoughts abruptly. Actually there was a way he could do that. He began to make a list in his mind, jutsus and training methods, exercises that the boy would actually WANT to do.

This would be the kit's best birthday yet. This is the year he actually learns how to fight.

~Naruto~

Naruto sat in a clearing, cross legged and listening to his inner mentor. The fox was demonstrating how to control a Beast ball. For once, the kit was sitting and listening acutely, excited about learning something! For Kyuubi to trust him with these Jutsus must mean he thought he was responsible and at least a little proud! He wouldn't give him a reason to distrust him, ever! Naruto almost pined for acknowledgment from the fox, and the Kyuubi put up with it because he knew the child would eventually. After all, he didn't have a real father or mother around to give him this… 'support'. And though Kyuubi knew next to nothing about raising kits, he put up with the bragging and pining for love. He once even gave the boy a compliment. Now the boy was determined to get more. He was listening silently, not even squirming. If he knew how to write, he would have been taking notes.

So Kyuubi lectured him like he had never lectured him before. Before this, the boy was small enough to go unnoticed. The Kyuubi had made up his mind to train the human container to the peak of his ability-even if that meant having to give positive reinforcement. While living in the wild was a great way to learn to survive, the container was weak and unprotected. All the boy had was his physical prowess and hunting skills, which wasn't very encouraging.

The Kyuubi taught him how to control his own chakra, and now it was time for him to learn to control Kyuubi's. After all, how could an eight year old get by without leaning on the older and more experienced demon? They would be dead before his first real ninja fight. Kyuubi had an entire plan in mind for training. The real test began tonight, with the annual festival in Konoha.

~Naruto~

A small blond blur darted past a great stone wall. The boy skidded to a halt behind a tree as Kyuubi instructed him. Gingerly, the boy placed his foot on the tree trunk and heaved himself up with chakra. He slipped onto a tree limb at the very top, his arms shaking from excitement.

"Kyu, are you sure this will work?" He whispered.

The fox snapped angrily. "If I thought you would get caught, I wouldn't be having you do this would I? Besides, it's good practice." The beast liked his paw contently. "No more stealing from civilian stores, this time, we infiltrate a village." A glint of evil could surely be seen in his eyes. Naruto smiled softly, thinking of the Fox's words. Does that mean the demon cared about what happened to him? Kyuubi snarled again. "And stop calling me that ridiculous name! I am not a pet you little-" He bit his tongue and refrained from swearing around the Kit.

Naruto nodded, examining the wall. Channeling chakra to his eyes like Kyuubi taught him, his eyes turned red in the night and he could see all the clearer. There were no shadows, only a slight green tinge. He suppressed a whisper of amazement and focused on his task. Two sentinels, one on either side of where Naruto was. If he could go straight through the middle, without being seen, he could be home free. It seemed too easy though, and Kyuubi suspected the same thing.

Before the fox could advise more surveillance, the boy leapt forward, his feet landing on the wall and sticking to bother their relief.

"Naruto you brat what on earth-" Kyuubi's scolding was cut off as the boy rushed upwards, keeping low to the wall so not to be seen. But before he got to the top, a siren went off and kunai buried themselves at his feet. He skidded to a halt, managing to dodge or deflect the rest of the kunai with his own. Without any prompting, the blond dropped, rushing off to another section.

"You slug-brained idiot." Kyuubi hissed.

"Well, look at it this way. At least they'll be watching THAT area right now. Like a distraction!" Naruto whispered to himself, determined to be optimistic. Kyuubi simply rolled his eyes. Let the chaos continue.

Naruto again launched himself from three different sides, only to have the same thing happen each time. He was beginning to think they had some kind of detection system. Hanging back on a tree, Naruto looked on as the festive lights glittered above the wall, accompanied by the music, the tantalizing smells of sweet and sickly human food. Laughter echoed throughout, undisturbed by the sirens and the demon boy trying to get in.

Finally, Naruto decided to try something different. This approach was obviously not working. Kyuubi, once again, rolled his eyes. Better late than never. The blond crouched along the wall and reached out a hand, touching the cold surface. So, the wall itself didn't have a system. That was the first step. A shimmer could be seen in his eyes as Naruto's IQ spiked, the intellectual challenge demanding a solution. He had an idea.

Sending tendrils of chakra out, he roamed the wall. His hand grazed the surface and after three rounds, his blood began to eke out from under it. Finally, he came to a halt. His chakra had found the weakest part of the wall, where cracks were forming and the structure was damaged. He was going to get in!

Pulling a fist back, he rammed it into the wall, sending little chunks of dust and rubble reigning down.

Kyuubi sighed. Maybe the boy wasn't yet ready for this. "Naruto, you can't-"

"I can." He half whispered, pulling his fist back again. "I will." He punched the wall, blood mixing with dust as his knuckles scraped the wall.

Kyuubi just watched in disbelieve as the blond, pointy haired boy punched a wall. Disbelieve, at first, because he was stupid enough to try. Disbelieve, because even when his hand pained and his middle finger broke, he kept punching. Disbelieve, at last, because it was working.

With every hit the small section of wall shuddered. Kyuubi then noticed the odd coloring, slightly darker than the rest of the wall. If the boy had begun hitting any part, nothing would have happened besides a broken hand. But here…it was old. Old, broken and not repaired. The circle of different colored wall shuttered with another hit.

He pulled back his hand, fire burning in his bright blue eyes. He plunged his hand forward again, envisioning it going completely through the wall. A loud crack sounded and he bit his tongue. He couldn't disappoint Kyuubi. He had to show him, he was ready!

~Hinata~

There was a pond, surrounded by gently pruned trees and flowers. The garden was uninhabited save for one small girl. About seven or eight years old, the young girl sat in the flowers gently, watching the water move with pale empty eyes. Her perfect purple dress, the one her nanny had picked out for her, was getting stained with the grass, but she hardly noticed. Her purple hair, cutting off at her chin, swung up as the girls head jerked forward. She had been day dreaming, not really excited about the festival. So she had snuck off and come home, to her favorite garden.

The garden was next to the wall, and older part of the wall were no one really ventured. This way, she was closer to the outside, closer to the forest. Closer to freedom, to escape. Hinata secretly wished to see the outside, her sheltered life driving her away. Thoughts of being like a bird, flying free, made her thoughts drift as she began to hum.

Her head jerked up as a low sound came from ahead of her. It sounded like a rock pile, tumbling down. It startled her to her feet unsteadily as she saw a shadow flicker.

"H-hello?" Her stutter only made worse by the mysterious shape, she nonetheless inched forward. She tip-toed around the small pond, her feet brushing the flowers gently. Pulling the branches aside, she saw what had made the noise. A small hole, just the size for a small child, had appeared in the wall. And next to it, was a wounded boy.

She couldn't draw her eyes away from the boy. He crouched, licking his bloody hand like come kind of wounded animal. He was barefoot and rugged, his clothes tattered and dirty. Still, she could see his small muscles on his stomach and arms, and his tan skin dirtied with dust and grime. The thing that drew her eyes the most was not the barely clothed body, but his head. His face, as he looked up quickly as she emerged from the forest. Three dark whisker marks spread from the sides of his mouth to this neck. Bright, thought dirty, blond hair went down to his chin, wildly sticking up in random directions. His bright blue eyes pierced hers, and a blush broke over her face.

The children stared at each other for a moment. Hinata, in her formal dress, and Naruto, crouched and licking his broken hand.

Surprisingly, Hinata moved first. She inched forward, one hand outstretched. But the mysterious blond boy flinched, and she paused. Didn't her dad always tell her, wild animals are more afraid of you than you are of them? That was what the boy reminded her of, a scared wild animal.

Suddenly she found courage. The poor boy was bleeding, with no way to stop it. She crouched down next to the boy, who couldn't move due to his back being, literally, up against a wall. Hinata reached to her left sleeve and ripped a piece off. She flinched as she looked at the strip of nice material that was no longer attached to the rest of the dress. The nanny would kill her. She reached out again, but the boy flinched and tried to scramble away.

"Wait." She whispered words of encouragement. "I won't hurt you, promise." He cocked his head at her and muttered some strange words in return. Hinata smiled wearily. She could get into so much trouble for this! "It's okay, I promise. See? I'm trying to help." Her hand eventually found the boys, and she gently wrapped the cloth around the wound. Weird, it was bleeding just a moment ago, but now it looks days old. It might have been a trick of the light. She sighed, setting the boy's hand down gently. He stared at her, now more curious than afraid. Hinata stared, not at him, but at the hole.

There was her outside. Now that she had the chance, she could go see what it was like. Just thinking about it made her hands shake. She could get in a lot of trouble, but still. She leaned forward, past the boy to peer out. There were trees, and it was awfully dark…She became aware that the boy was still staring. She coughed and turned her attention to him.

"M-my name is, is Hinata." She stuck out her hand awkwardly. The boy looked at her, then to her hand and back to her. She smiled weakly. He was so cute. At that thought, she blushed more. "W-what's your na-name?" She asked gently. The blond boy cocked his head, and Hinata once again looked outside the hole. The boy looked from her to the hole and opened his mouth.

"Jinka los maka nert lud?" Hinata flinched and stared at him. He continued to speak. "Bloka Naruto nani ko chas tu. Ed…edie co?" The boy looked at her with worry and confusion.

She smiled. "It's okay, I-I don't understand y-you either." The light of her house's lantern flashed and her eyes darted to his chest. "W-what's that?"

He looked down to his chest, then back to her, a wide smile on his face. He pulled the chain forward, and she leaned in, blushing the whole time, to see it. To her surprise, it had words on it. Words she could read.

"N-naruto?" Why did he have a necklace that said fishcake on it?

"Cos lan di?" He said suddenly. "Dogi tai ma…" He clutched the chain to his chest again. "Naruto aoi. Boka?"

This time it was Hinata's turn to be confused. "I-I don't understand." She shook her head. "I know…Naruto sounds familiar, and not just because of the food…" She had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with the Hokage….

The boy was nodding his head vigorously. "Naruto aoi! Aoi!" He pointed to himself hurriedly. "Naruto ce aoi dogai."

Hinata's eyes widened as she smiled. Gently, she put her hand on the boy's chest. "Naruto? Is-is that you?"

"Naruto!" He smiled.

Hinata pointed to herself. "Hinata. Hinata…a-aoi?" The boy-Naruto-got a glint in his eye and nodded again.

"Hinata." Naruto's smile got even wider. Hinata couldn't help but smile back.

"Well N-Naruto." Her blue hair swung into her face as she blushed more. "Want t-to keep me c-company?"