How's it going. Names Banish, thanks for being interested in my story. Hope you enjoy this first chapter, but it might be kinda boring.

Recognition: Chapter 1

Troubled times

Two figures stood some fifty feet away from each other, surrounded by bodies of deceased shinobi. The stench of war filled the air as the stared at each other, neither moving, as if sizing up one another. Suddenly, the long silence was broken, and the battle began.

"Well, well, well! What do we have here! My old teammate. It seems that it is time for our fight."The black haired man yelled, chuckling with a deranged look etched onto his face.

"It would seem that way Sasuke. It's finally time to end this. Time to end the violence. Madara and Kabuto are dead. All that stands in the way of peace is you my friend." Replied the opposite man, blonde hair shining as he smiled. The stayed there, staring at each for what seemed an eternity other before rushing forward. The fourth shinobi world war was drawing to a close.

The sky was seemingly engulfed in despair and anger as it shook from the force of the thunder and rain. Wind blew harshly through the trees of Konoha, ripping leaves from their branches. Seemingly void of life, the city of Konoha looked like a ghost town. The vast storm above them forced most living things into the shelter of their homes or shops. Yet, there stood one. He stood quietly, allowing the rain to coat his body in a cold embrace. He stared vacantly at a large stone, eyes glued to the many markings littering the boulders face. One could sense the pain seemingly radiating from him, even if it was almost 3 years ago, the memory still clung desperately to his heart. The thought of their final moments. Her scream. His laugh. Both of them had died that day. He watched the one he loved die at the hands of the one she loved. He watched helpless as his steel blade… He couldn't even think about that moment. The pure anguish and rage that it brought him. His fist's clenched, desperately trying to keep himself calm. He slowly relaxed, sighing deeply. He stared at her engraved name. 'Haruno Sakura'. He closed his eyes, holding back the tear that had been welling up for hours.

Behind the blonde man, stood another figure hidden in the trees. She kept herself hidden not wanting to disturb the man in front of her. She studied him, watching him constantly tighten up and relax. She wanted to comfort him, to be a good friend. But this was something that he wanted to overcome alone. She and all of his friends had try to consul him, but he made it blatantly clear he would have none of it. They watched from the light as he stood engulfed in his own shadow. She was shook from her thoughts as she heard a deep sigh coming from the man. He lowered his face and his long blonde hair fell over his eyes, blocking them from view. His body slouched for a moment before he straightened up, and slowly walked away, trudging through the mud that had collected around his feet. She watched him leave, longing to follow him. 'Naruto…' She whispered in her head. But it was her turn to grieve. She had lost her team as well. She emerged from the trees and took his same place, staring at the three names that brought such sadness in her life.

Naruto pulled open the door to his apartment and stumbled inside, desperately trying to escape the freezing rain. He had stayed to long again. He was soaked to the core and shivering. He ripped his clothes off and practically raced into the shower twisting the knob waiting for the hot, steaming water to cascade onto him. He stood for several seconds before he became aware that something was wrong. 'God Dammit' He thought to himself before twisting the knob back and forth repeatedly, hoping for a response. He closed his eyes in annoyance. A minute later he was walking down the hall of his apartment complex frustration evident in his face. He pulled open a door and stared at the man behind the desk.

"Just felt you should know, my waters gone. No tap water at all." He growled at the man, awaiting an answer. The man quickly wiped away a smile that did not go unnoticed by the blonde shinobi.

"My apologies. I'll get someone right on it." He replied, gaze returning to the book that he held.

"Could you do it soon? Or maybe now?" Naruto growled in response, his small amount of patience evaporating.

"Mhm… I'll get right on it." He grunted in response, not looking up from his book. Naruto was done. In an instant he was on the man, lifting the pathetic sack of flesh off the ground. Fear grasped the landlord, as the demon's eyes turned red with anger. Naruto would've liked nothing more than to tear the man's throat out, but he would never harm a citizen of Konoha. He quickly calmed himself and let the man fall back the ground, stumbling as he went.

"Sorry… I lost my temper." He said sincerely, offering the shaken man his hand. The man slapped the hand away and backed against the wall.

"You've crossed the line demon! Get packed and leave my complex! You're out of control!" The man yelled, pointing a shaking figure at the blond.

"You've gotta be shitting me. After everything I've done, I'm still the demon. Unbelievable. You know what? Fuck it. I'm gone." He growled before storming from the office. He ran up the stairs slamming the door behind him. He quickly packed his few belongings into a seal and stuffed it into his backpack. Then he was gone. He left the small apartment for ever. He had once been on reasonably good terms with the landlord, but after the last war like many villagers, their opinions of him turned back to what they were when he was nothing but a child. Perhaps 40 percent of the village thought that he was a hero. The rest believed that he was the cause of the war. Which is true in a sense, but Naruto could do nothing about it. He saved them, and this is what he got in return. He rushed past a crowd that had gathered around the complex. Somewhere in the middle he heard a familiar voice.

"- and then the demon threw me against the wall! I may have broken my wrist!..." Naruto didn't bother to listen to the rest of his 'story'. He jumped onto the roof tops and began to leap away from them. His thoughts were jumbled with anger as he moved from roof to roof. 'The hell should I do now? Where do I go from here?' He thought to himself. The anger slowly disappeared, only to be replaced with despair. The heat of the moment was gone, and Naruto remembered how cold he was. He shivered, thinking desperately of somewhere to go.

Ino walked slowly through the streets of Konoha. The rain had subsided for now, and People were slowly returning to their posts. She noticed a small crowd of villagers who seemed quite upset and were pretty fumed about something. She approached the group cautiously, listening to their speeches.

"Damn Kyubi brat!"

"He's causing so much trouble!"

"It makes me sick!"

"I cant Believe Naruto-sama would do such a thing!"

"Don't call him Naruto-sama! He's the plague of our village."

"Did you see him? He took off Across the roof tops towards the monument."

Ino immediately took off, thoughts racing through her mind. 'What happened? Did he hurt someone?' She wondered, heading in the direction they had said. She leapt from building top to building top, eyes scanning the alleys and streets for any sign of the sage. Her mind raced for his possible location. 'Of course. He would always go their.' She smiled at her "brilliance" and jumped down to the street. Dashing around a few corners she came upon is favorite place. She quickly pushed the curtains away, to find the old man and his daughter standing behind the counter. Not another soul was present. They looked up from their tasks with an odd look on their face.

"Can I help you miss?" Asked the man.

"Have you seen Naruto? Did he stop here recently?" She blurted out, breathing heavily.

"No, he hasn't… Whats wrong? Did something happen?" Questioned the girl, worry spreading across her features.

"He was kicked out of his apartment" Responded another voice, right behind Ino. She spun around to find Blue eyes staring at her. "Hey Ino." He greeted moving past her, sitting at the counter. "Three please." He said, smiling at the two behind the bar. He gestured for Ino to sit next to him. She hesitated slightly, before sitting down. He smiled warmly and they waited in silence for the food. When it came he handed one to her and devoured the other two. She couldn't help but chuckle quietly as she too began to eat. Once they had finished, Naruto thanked the cooks for the meals and left. Ino quickly followed, racing to catch up to her fellow ninja.

"Naruto! Wait!" She called, grabbing his shoulder.

"What do you want Ino." He said quietly, stopping but not bothering to look at her. She suddenly felt a little unsure. She was surprised how cold he was being.

"Well… um… I know that you were kicked out, so you obviously need a place to stay. I offer my residence for a temporary solution." She stated, finishing the sentence rather quickly. Naruto stopped.

"You've never done anything nice for me before, why now?" He whispered, looking at the ground. Ino too looked at the ground, hurt by his blatant words.

"Well, I can't leave a friend out in the cold. Please take up my offer." She responded, looking back up with determination in her eyes. He stayed quiet for a moment before sighing.

"Fine. Thanks Ino." He replied, giving her a small smile.

"No problem. I'll think up a way for you to repay me." She said, sticking her tongue out at him. She then grabbed his arm, pulling him down the street towards her home.

"God dammit Shizune… How can there possibly be soo much paperwork to do…" Grumbled a slightly buzzed Godaime Hokage.

"Don't worry Tsunade-sama, all there is left are the new team captains. Then were done for the week." Her assistant replied smiling. "And, as a present, I already did all of them except for one. Make any changes you deem fit." She stated, placing the piece of paper in front of the Hokage. Tsunade read over the list nodding in approvement for each name. Then she reached 7. She pondered on who to place in charge of this odd team. 'The dead last, top of the class and one of the most intelligent. It worked for them in the beginning… Why not now?' She thought, making up her mind. She scribbled in a name and handed it to her assistant.

"… Do you think He'll be alright with this? He hasn't been his old self since." Shizune whispered, staring at the paper.

"He needs something to work on. Its worth a shot I think." Tsunade replied, rubbing her face.

"He's a bit young though. He's only just turned 19." She commented, staring at her teacher

"I suppose, but he's as ready and qualified as anyone else." She asserted, meeting her apprentices eyes.

"Well, there's no argument there. I'll put my faith into him like always." Shizune conceded, sighing. Tsunade smiled and nodded.

"Well, here we are. Make yourself at home. But don't mess it up to much." She said, smiling.

"It's really nice Ino. Much better than my old place. You really know how to live" He joked, admiring the large home. She looked down, feeling slightly ashamed, but shook it off.

"Thanks… My mother sold the shop to buy me this house. We were too busy since father died to keep it running while doing missions." He explained, while her expression darkened slightly at the painful memories. Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her.

"Its beautiful. Now, where's the couch." He laughed, looking around. Ino merely scoffed.

"I'm a Yamanaka. You'll be sleeping in the guest room. Right over here Naruto." She explained, gesturing towards a door on the other side of the hall. "This is where you can sleep, I'm right across if you get scared." She joked, sticking her tongue at him again. He rolled his eyes and entered the room.

"Thanks Ino. It's really nice what you're doing for me." He said, before closing the door. She smiled and retreated to her own room.

"You're welcome."

Deep in the wilderness of the land of Iron, a freezing wind blew through its snowy mountain ranges, sending chills up a man's neck. He tugged his cloak close around his body and stepped through a large open cave mouth. He continued through the damp darkness, following the twisting rock into the cave's bowels. Slowly, a light appeared in the darkness. Upon closer examination, a door appeared in-between two torches. He approached the doors and pulled them open. He slipped inside a dimly lit room, with a lone figure sitting, hidden by darkness.

"My lord, our spy in Konoha reports that Uzamaki will be instated as a team-captain. This may prove tricky for our future goals." The man reported, kneeling before the dark figure. He heard no response so he continued speaking. "Our informant in the cloud has learned that Bee will be making a solo trek into the iron for personal business. This might be the time. He is scheduled to leave at the end of the month." He revealed, hoping to get some kind of response. His eyes widened when a weak chuckle was emitted by the darkness.

"Good. Soon the time will come. Soon, after so many setbacks, I will have another shot to regain power. Soon, I will become a god." The figure cackled, rising unsteadily to his feet. His eyes would soon need replacing.

Hope you enjoyed, I had fun writing it. Hopefully the next chapter will be more interesting for those of you who found this kinda dull. Review if you would, tell me what I could do better, or tell me how awesome I am. See you next time -Banish