Konoha, a peaceful village of strength and friendship nestled at the base of a cliff and surrounded by a lush forest, a perfect place of harmony; at least on the surface. For under the happy faces was eyes of hatred and under the buildings the baked in the warm glow of the sun, men of shadows, men whom work to take what they want or protect how they seem fit and their main target was going to walk into the city once again.
"So Naruto is coming back today?" spoke the voice of a platinum-blonde haired blue eyed girl, her hair tied high in a ponytail while dressed in a purple strapless dress with a little name tag that stated 'Ino'. Ino was sitting at a counter pruning a bushel of roses accompanied by her closest friend Sakura Haruno, a pink hair girl dressed in a dark red top and black bike shirts that were covered by a light pink skirt. As they both worked on their set of flowers Sakura's deep green eyes cut to the blue of Ino's in suspicion.
"Yeah he is... why are you asking? Have you given up on Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said smirking at Ino.
"Maybe and I'm asking because unlike you, Naruto just happens to be good at looking after plants, that, and I miss talking about flowers with the baka." Ino replied with a small smile gracing her lips at the goofy yet giddy grin of Sakura after hearing the word maybe before it clicked that Ino had insulted her.
"Whatever, I'm going to go check the main gates again, want to take a break and come with?" Sakura asked walked out the door, a clicking sound and a quite tapping of feet gave her an answer.
Outside of Konoha two figures walked in silence towards the main gates.
"What if I go blank and feed on someone? I shouldn't return, not yet. I might hurt someone Jiraiya-sama." A low sad voice spoke barely at a whispered level. The figure, covered in a tattered cloak, its hood covering his entire body as a few fared strains swayed in the breeze.
"It'll be ok Naruto. You'll do fine, just remember to keep focus and if you do need to… 'Feed', Tsunade has a supply set up for you in your new home." Jiraiya said as they both continued in silence for a few minutes.
Back in the busy Village of Konoha, Ino and Sakura sat under the shade of a tree; a clear view of the main gates in their vision.
"So, how strong do you think he is?" Ino asked Sakura as she tried to block the silence in waiting for the return of Naruto.
"How would I know?" Sakura said turning her head away, her hands folded tightly under her chest pressing her breasts out.
The two again sat in silence until Ino looked back to the gates spotting a large man with flowing white hair in a long ponytail and a large mass of black cloth.
"Hey Sakura, is that them?" She said sitting up and pointing them out, to which Sakura looked and gave a large smile.
"Looks like, Jiraiya-sama! Yeah that's them alright, NARUTO!" Sakura yelled, running towards them but only died in mid step as the black mass scattered away in a murder of crows.
"Wow I didn't know Naruto could do that." Ino whistled catching up to Sakura, both seeing Jiraiya turn and look to them they both paused as he flicked his head towards the Hokage tower.
"I'm guessing that's where he went, let's go Ino… teach that baka for ignoring us like that." Sakura growled as she stomped towards the tower with Ino.
Tsunade, the fifth Hokage also known as the Slug Princess of Konoha, one of the three senin, a legendary healer in the eyes of the elemental nations and standing in front of her one of her last remaining loved ones in pain and she couldn't do anything to stop it; oh how she was going to punch that white haired toad when she saw him next.
"Naruto, welcome home, I want you to know that we are here for you, I love you brat and I won't let anything else happen to you, we'll find a way to reverse this…. infliction." Tsunade said her voice shaking from one of power and authority to that of a mother all the while working herself to calm from the sight of hundreds of crows barging into her office to form into Naruto. She pulled herself up from her large chair, slowly walking to the boy covered in black rags, looking to support the boy in this issue.
"Hokage-sama, I'm cursed like this, I cannot be cured… the fox said." His hollow voice echoed in the room all the life was missing from it, the sound of was almost breaking Tsunade.
"The Kyuubi is lying to you Naruto! We can save you!" Tsunade yelled at Naruto as she gripped at the neck of his cloak, slowly a slender pale hand moved from inside it gently grabbing her hand, its cold embrace around her wrist made her spine shiver, an action Naruto noticed.
"No you can't." Naruto whispered as he pulled her shaking hand away from him, her wrist still in his cold hands as all she can do is look at the boy she failed.
Knock, knock…
At the break of silence Naruto's grasp released the Hokages hand, returned to the shadows of his cloak. Breaking from her daze Tsunade looked up to the door before bracing herself for whatever was to come next.
"Enter." She called out in all manner of authority, her eyes harden and a small frown pursed her lips as a pair of pink and blonde hair entered the room and the thought of 'We'll this just what I needed, sigh' into her mind.
"Hokage-sama Naruto is… here, hey Naruto what's up with running away from us huh? And what's with the cloak? Aren't you going to say something?" Sakura hollered to towards the two inside the room, finishing her rant at the mass of black that only replied in silence. Tsunade knew this was going to go well but decided to get it the news over and done with, hell they were bound to find out sooner or later.
"Sakura, Ino close the door and take a seat, this is going to take a while to explain and we might as well get it out into the open." Tsunade ordered her frown still laced on her lips caused the pair to move faster to the couch at the side of the office, as this all happened Ino was looking to Naruto's back in confusion, why was he dressed like this and why was the Hokage on edge over it?
"Sakura, Ino, during Naruto's training trip there was an issue that appeared involving the Kyuubi." The seriousness in the kages voice halted the girl's questions of fear as they worriedly looked over to the hidden boy who fidgeted at the word Kyuubi.
"Why are you telling them this Hokage-sama? What about the law?" Naruto's dead voice drawled out from behind the vicarage of darkness that housed his hooded features, frightening the girls at how the voice of such a lively person could sound so dead.
"Naruto, w-what happened?" A fearful Ino stuttered out a first for such a strong willed girl as herself as she merely looked to the boy in sadness, a boy she cared for; a friend in pain.
"I fucked up." The answer came from the Toad sage Jiraiya as he sat perched on the window ledge doing his best to ignore the anger in the eyes of his teammate and fellow senin Tsunade. "I screwed up the seal trying to gain more of the Kyuubi's chakra but all I did was curse Naruto, It's my fault." Jiraiya continued looking out the window as silence hit the room his head hung low shame of his eager hopes of giving the boy power.
"Ino, Sakura. No human was truly meant to hold the power of the Kyuubi and when Jiraiya-sama tweaked the seal he released it all into me, killing me." Naruto said breaking the silence as well as earning gasps for the females of the room.
"B-But if it killed y-you then how are you here and s-speaking, you've got to be alive." Sakura tried to reason with logic but the ninja world always seems to bend and break logic every day.
"The fox in a bid to prolong its life used the chakra that was causing me to die to heal me, to do all it could to keep me functioning but even that failed so in rage it cursed me, 'if it couldn't live then I couldn't die' was its last words and now, and now I'm this thing… this creature, an abomination, undying yet never truly living." His voice was dripping with a cold embrace, chilling the occupants of the room.
"So what did this curse do?" Ino asked it new found strength shaking off the cold feeling his words gave off. Naruto remained silent, as if he was thinking of all the issues this curse gave him; he gave a dead chuckle as the mass slowly pivoted towards the girls.
"I… I'm cold, always cold and empty. The perks if you could call them to this curse are strength that matches Hokage-sama's and as for my speed, well let's say I'm fast, really fast. I can pick up the scent of any and every one and see perfectly in the dark, but the sun hurts my eyes and my skin itches in it like I'm being bitten, but worst of all is the real curse of this; the hunger." Naruto said is body unmoving as the girls all wondered what this hunger was.
"Well let's get some ramen for you, I'm sure we'll figure a way to change all this and get the old you back!" Sakura said shakily, her eyes closed as tears threatened to break down her face as her faked smile trembled, a small dry chuckle escaped Naruto's lips catching the girls in front of him.
"I wish that would solve it but everything I've eaten since has had no taste to me. Sakura, Ino, my hunger, the very thing that makes me a monster it's not a hunger for food, no, it is a hunger for blood." The bomb was dropped as the colour of the two girls faces paled at the idea of their friend forced to drink blood to survive.
"Naruto, take off the cloak, show them what I've done to you." Jiraiya spoke in a hushed tone, sorrow weeping from every aspect of his appearance as he turned from the window ledge walking to the room to stand between Tsunade and the girls.
"Very well Jiraiya-sama.' Naruto replied as Tsunade shuddered at the lack of his old mannerism of ero-sanin and oba-chan. She tugged her hands in closer hugging herself as she watched the boy slowly remove his cloak.
Ino watched as a white slender arm slid out of the cloak, its soft texture shined from the light in the room, 'almost like a dolls hand' she thought as he continued, pulling a small latch as the base of his neck a clicking sound echoed the room as the cloak fell quickly around his feet. Ino stared at the boy; he was dressed in a small dark grey shirt with netting underneath the cut off before his elbows, his pants were black that sat over his boots but the real shocking part of his unveiling wasn't his outfit or his pale skin but his face. The baby fat was gone leaving a thin frame of pure white skin, his whiskers almost gone as they were faded by the pale tone of his skin, his lips a light tint of blue and his once bright sun kissed hair now sat lifeless almost faded as the roots were a greyish black but the one thing that Ino couldn't look away from was his eyes, what was once a sea of blue was now nothing more than a tearful wash of stone grey. A slamming sound woke her from the gaze as she noticed that Sakura had fled from the room as Naruto slowly kneeled to collect his cloak.
"You can run away as well if you want to Ino, I understand." His voice was painful to her ears as she picked her herself up and rushed the boy dropping his shroud again shocked by the contact and strong scent. 'He's so cold and… I can't feel his heartbeat, he really is dead. No he isn't! He's sick that's all! He needs our help and I'm not going to abandon him.' Ino consoled in her head as she tightly hugged his frame.
"I-Ino you're not scared? But I'm a freak!" Naruto said, his voice, breaking at the feeling of still being accepted even in his, this state.
"We'll fix this, we'll find away but for now I'll always be at your side Naruto, friends never abandon each other!" Ino cried as he pulled her head from his chest look at him with a crumbling smile. Tsunade and Jiraiya could only look on at the act of true friendship, Tsunade slightly ashamed at Sakura but understood her fears as her last teammate was stricken by this curse.
"Hmm, Ino I'm assigning you to assist Naruto in all of his daily needs for now, Anko will be supplying you with blood Naruto from residence of the prison so you won't have to worry about that. Ino you'll be staying with him until further notice. "Tsunade ordered as she scribed what she was saying to scroll, missing the look of horror on her face.
"But Hokage-sama, Naruto-kun's apartment is only has one bedroom!" Ino yelled a red mask adorned her cheeks as Tsunade smirked devilishly.
"Well lucky for you, due to all of this Naruto has a new home. It's located in a secluded area just past the Nara clan compound, we have a service tunnel connected to it to the ANBU headquarters should anything happen, the ANBU officer will escort you two to the tunnel." Tsunade spoke, her hand gesturing for them to leave. Nodding to the unspoken command both teens stood making their way out to be lead to the tunnels by the ANBU officer that had appeared but were stopped by Tsunades voice.
"We'll fix this Naruto, I promise."
Her reply was the softly clicking over of the door.
"And for your sake Jiraiya, you better hope we can fix this." She growled turning to the Toad sage only to find a gust of wind and an open window.
Drip, drip, drip….
The sound of water splashing on the ground echoed down the dark cold tunnel as Naruto slowly walked followed by Ino whose hand was gripped to the edge of Naruto's shirt unable to see in the darkness. As Ino hung on Naruto for the foremost, Naruto felt weary of the ANBU officer that was leading them to his new home, his new curse allowing him to see everything as clear as day also allowed him to notice as the man seemed to twitch in his direction every so often and the odd scent of fear and… hatred? 'I guess I should get use to that' Naruto thought as he turned his head to look at Ino, hoping that she won't leave him if the others do.
"This is the entrance; only use this in the event of an emergency." The gruff voice of the ANBU cut the silence as he stopped and pivoted around marching past Naruto and Ino without a reply.
"Well, might as well go in." Naruto mumbled gripping a handle dragging a large panel of a wall across, the 'door' lead to bare room with few windows; all covered with hanging drapes which caused the light from the windows to give a tinted warm yellow tone.
"Well isn't this… welcoming?" Ino muttered her voice laced with sarcasm.
"You don't have to stay Ino, I don't mind if you want to leave." Naruto replied with a hint of sadness.
"I'm not leaving you Naruto, I was just saying that this place isn't really, well the lack of, well everything makes it kind of bleak." Ino shot back worried that she'd spoken out of turn in her sarcastic opinion; she turned to look at Naruto's reaction but found his back as he shuffled into another room. Following behind him Ino noticed it was a small kitchen, cozy it might have been if not for a lack of windows, Ino noticed Naruto's head in the fridge.
"What you looking for?" Ino questioned him.
"Just checking the blood supple, not much might last a week tops, might have to snack on a beautiful blonde I've seen around here." Naruto joked with a small sign of emotion.
"Bite me." Ino replied, secretly she was happy to see him show some form of his old self.
"Yes, yes that was the idea."
"True, but still wouldn't it leave a suspicious mark on my neck if you did that?" Ino agreed feeling as she won that little battle of flirting.
"Who said anything about your neck my sweet Ino?" At that she froze face red and the idea of all the places he could bite her each one steamier than the last.
"Now tell me about the past three years, what's happened?" He asked leading her to the lounge as they both sat down, hoping to talk about a topic other than him and his issue.
"Well Shikamaru is still Chunin; he's in charge of the Chunin exams this time around. Ummm, Neji is Jonin! He just got it as well, oh and I heard from Shika' that Garra is the Kazekage." Ino boasted loudly with an odd sense of pride.
"What about everyone else?" He whispered leaning back into the couch shaken a little as Ino started to lean into him.
"They're all Chunin. You're the only Genin left, which is kind of funny seeing how you're so strong from what Jiraiya says." Ino replied softly leaning deeper into him.
The back and forth questioning continued until the sounds of Ino's stomach rumblings echoed the empty house.
"Man, I should get something to eat, how about... Oh yeah I'm sorry." Ino stated forgetting that Naruto could no longer really eat.
"It's ok; I'm about ready for a… drink anyway, if you'll excuse me, and we can go for ramen afterwards, my treat." Naruto's chilly voice left Ino with no doubt that he didn't want her to seem him feed.
Elsewhere
"He is a threat and must be contained!" Cutting into the silence of the meeting was the rock hard voice of Danzo, with a clacking of his cane against the metal floor, echoing though the camber of the clan heads and Hokage that had gathered.
"The kikaichū I have placed within his home sense no threat, but they do feel a sense of coldness. Odd, they tell me that Uzumaki is more of a threat to himself, which is if he truly can die. I must say this tragic event that has befallen the boy is truly; fascinating." Shibi Aburame spoke out, silencing Danzo's wishes of keeping the boy for his own personal use, a fact that every member of the meeting knew.
"What do you mean 'if he truly can die' Shibi-kun?" came the gruff untamed voice of Tsume Inuzuka, who merely sat and licked her lips at the idea of a ninja who couldn't die.
"In what I just said, his 'coldness' is just that, cold, In that his heart is not beating yet he lives, that is why I find it so fascinating; don't you agree?" Shibi cryptically replied.
"Dead? Hmm, Ino isn't going to like that, I mean the pair seemed to get along fine and he was good with plants, I wonder how she'll take this, damn." Inoichi Yamanaka softly spoke to the pair sitting on either side of him.
"Yeah, I'm wondering how the rookies will take this news, from what Shikamaru spoke of him; he was the unspoken leader of them, hard to think Shibi-san's talking about the same person." Shikaku Nara whispered back from his position that looked suspiciously like a napping person to anybody else.
"Mmmm." Was all that left the grim looking face on their friend, Chōza Akimichi.
"Fine then, I'll ask." Inoichi grumbled under his breath at the lack of support from his teammates.
"Lady Hokage, I know this may seem unimportant at this time but how will we inform his teammates, seeing how most are clan heirs." Inoichi's troubled voice cut into Shibi's speech on if he would be able to dissect and study Naruto's body seeing that he could not die.
"I would also like to know if it is contagious." Spoke the commanding tone of Hiashi Hyūga
"My insects tell me that it is contagious but only via a large amount of blood injected into the victim Hyūga-san and Yamanaka-san, your daughter already knows." Shibi Answered in his odd way.
"How is it that you know if my daughter knows Aburame-san?"
"Simple."
"And that is?" Inoichi asked with a bad feeling pitting in his gut.
"She is with him right now."
…
"What!" Screamed Inoichi; knocking Shikaku out from his chair as he bolted up.
"Silence!" Shouted Tsunade, "Inoichi, Ino and Sakura barged into my office while Naruto was reporting in; they had mixed reaction, while Ino seemed to be supportive Sakura I fear took it how many civilians will if this isn't properly contained. Now I'm going to ease this in slowly, no one will be allowed to speak of this to anyone outside this room until I say so, also, I'm going to need the rookies meet him and see how they react to this issue; dismissed." With that Tsunade made her way out followed by a silent Jiraiya and the rest of the council but Danzo, the bandage man merely sad in his seat before lifting his hand and dropping it again, an innocent gesture to a normal person but this man was no normal person.
Naruto stood at his fridge, a small glass of blood in his hand; he turned around making sure that Ino couldn't see before taking back the drink, the cold metallic taste and aroma drove his senses wild almost like ramen did when he was alive. 'Why is she acting so nice, doesn't she see me as a monster, it's what I am, isn't it?' He though before entering the lounge room again and freezing, something was off, he could smell three scents instead of two, his own; which smelt of death. Ino, which was of flowers and this new one, it was odd, it smelt moldy and…
"Hurk!"
Naruto looked down to see a single blade stick out from his chest, the noise startled Ino who span and screamed as the unknown assassin pulled the blade from Naruto's body dropping the 'corpse' to the floor and moved towards the petrified girl.
"And to be able to study a body while the subjects alive would be most use full, I mean, if they boy is dead can poisons kill him? Can fire kill him? Just what could stop him? Jiraiya says he still has a working chakra coil so he must be alive in some way or maybe that is why he's alive? It's so fascinating, hmm?" Shibi mused to Tsume Inuzuka who merely shook her head at the man's thoughts while the Ino-Shika-Cho trio followed behind lazily but for Inoichi slightly tense.
"So? Inoichi's kids with the brat, hey? I hope they're not doing anything dirty, 'coz even death won't save the brat from Inoichi's wrath, hohoho..." Tsume chuckled with a feral grin
"Tsume, please, don't say things like that… It bad enough she's -" Inoichi started before being interrupted by Shibi's hand holding him.
"My have insects have informed me that an unknown ANBU has entered Naruto's house and stabbed him and is now attacking Ino" Shibi stated to the shocked group who wordlessly headed for the estate.
'Ino, hang on sweetie' Inoichi thought has the group rushed off.
'I'm going to die!' Ino thought as she watched Naruto slide from the unknown attackers blade in slow motion, he life passing before her eyes as the man walked closer bringing his sword for another strike he trusted towards the crying girl a hot flash of pain entered her chest before a warm fluid crept down her, with each second she felt colder and colder, 'Is this what Naruto feels like' she thought looking from Naruto to the attackers face, his dark hair, pale skin, if she survived she would find who ever this was and hunt them down till her last days.
"shilk!"
The horrid sound of the blade sliding out from the flesh sliced wound on her body, as she fell to the floor. Ino slowly moved her head towards Naruto, wishing for her sight to be for him but she couldn't find him, all that was in the spot where he fell was a puddle of blood.
"Hurg!"
Her head moved back to the attacker to see Naruto biting down on the mans exposed neck, blood running down his neck as it smeared across Naruto's face, pulling back from the man and with a flick of the wrist he flung the man into the wall as he crumbled to the floor dead.
"Ino!"
"Ino!" Inoichi screamed as he kicked down the door to Naruto's house, running to Ino with Shikaku and Chōza already in a fighting stance.
"Wait!" Shibi stated in a higher elevated yet clam tone.
"Uzumaki-san, Ino will not live long, you need to inject a small amount of your blood into her." Shibi continued.
"Shibi but! You said that would make another person like him." Tsume growled as she stood from the ROOT dead officer, noticing the two holes in his neck.
"Correct but trust me I'll explain later, but first do it Naruto." Shibi again spoke.
"But, I can't" Naruto tried to counter back, fearing that he'd turn her into what he hated, himself.
"Naruto, please." Inoichi asked as he held Ino in his arms, her body growing colder with each passing second.
Looking into Inoichi's eyes was enough to change his mind, the sadness, the guilt and desperation, it was that entire set of emotions he had felt but knew he needed to do this.
"Remember Uzumaki-san; only inject a small amount into her." Shibi reminded Naruto as he leant down to Ino's side, taking her from Inoichi's arms pulling her towards him. Naruto slowly brushed her hair from her face looking now to the dying girl a pull at his heart an ache of what almost felt like a heartbeat, he tilted her head and came down to her neck pausing for a moment before biting down, his instincts kicking in as he pushed his own blood into her until a hand on his shoulder pulled him back.
"Will she be okay?" Naruto asked to the hand before tracing up with his eyes to that of Shibi Aburame.
"Ye-" Shibi started before stopping at the movement in Ino.
"Fascinating, it's working much faster than I thought." Shibi said as he kneeled next to Naruto looking over Ino whose skin had already faded to a pale sheen but still contained a tone of someone of the living.
"Hmmm, it is how I thought, since she was still alive when Uzumaki-san injected her with the 'blood-drinker' virus, she's not 'dead' like Naruto but in a deeper state, my insects tell me that her heart is still, in fact beating, but just at a slower rate. If she has any of the other symptoms we will only know in time. Hmmm, yes, now is a good time to ask." Shibi explained as Inoichi took the girl from them while Shikaku and Chōza left to get the Hokage as Tsume checked the dead assailant for any clues of who he was.
"Ask what?" Naruto questioned the wired bug man that reminded him of Shino. 'Must be his dad, or something I guess.'
"That if I may dissect you of course, hmmm?"
Well that felt good, I had this in my head for a while and it was getting in the way of my other fic. If I get so rave reviews I might do this one more often.