"Monster!" shouted someone.

"Demon!" called another.

"Why won't you die?!"

"Haven't you've done enough already?!"

"No, stop! O-negai, yamero!" The boy began to run, the mob hot on his tail. He dashed through the alleyways of the village. Left Right Left Left Right A dead-end. He back tracked and took a left. Left Right Right Left Another dead-end. The boy chocked back his tears and turned around. Gasp In front of him was the mob. The shinobi were holding kunai, shuriken, and one even had a kodachi. The civilians were carrying knives, bats, and other less effective yet easy to come by weapons. He shuffled back in fear, his back hitting against the fence blocking his way. He looked over his shoulder and stared at the fence. It was too high for him to jump over... he knew that. He turned back to the crowd and shivered. The crowd was closing in on him like a horde of Akamichi's at an all-you-can-eat BBQ restaurant. He knew yelling wouldn't do him any good. No one came to his rescue, no matter how many times he yelled, but it was the only option left. It was always the only option he had left.

"Help! O-negai, someone help me please! Help, please, help!" he screamed out, tears flowing down his cheeks. His tears brushed against the whisker-like marks on both sides of his cheeks. He didn't know why... What had he ever done to them. He didn't kill anyone... did he- No, he didn't. He shook his head. Of course he didn't, he knew he didn't, and so did the old man...

"Ji-ji..." he whispered. "Where are you?" No one answered him. A shinobi wearing an animal mask came forward. He had a kunai in one hand and a kodachi in the other. The shinobi raised his left hand over his head and paused for a second.

"Time to die, demon." The boy cowered against the fence. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the pain to come, like it always did... Nothing happened.

"Ahhhhhh!" He quickly opened his eyes and gasped at the sight. A woman stood behind the shinobi. She pressed one of his hands behind his back and the other to the side.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she questioned. The boy shivered. This woman... she was scary. The man grunted and looked out of the corner of his eyes at the woman.

"We're killing the demon." he replied, hissing as the woman began to squeezed his wrists.

"Bullshit." she hissed dangerously. "You were trying to hurt an innocent little boy." The boy gasp... someone was actually defending him. But...

"No, don't!!" he shouted. The woman looked back at him. He dropped to his knees, one hand stretched out. He was sobbing.

"Don't... O-negai... please, don't. They'll hurt you! Please... yamero, o-negai." The woman's eyes softened, but her grip on the man tightened. He grunted and bit back another grunt.

"Bitch..." he hissed out. SMACK The boy opened his eyes again. The shinobi was lying down, his mask a couple of feet away from him, holding his hurt cheek.

"This is your last chance... Go away. Get the hell out of my sight, and leave this poor boy a lone." her voice was low. She wasn't yelling, but she was loud enough to be heard. The shinobi scoffed at her.

"Boy?" he asked. He pointed at the boy behind him. "This isn't a boy." he called. "This... this thing," he spat, "This thing isn't a boy. It's a demon!!" he roared. The crowd behind the woman roared in agreement. The woman looked over her shoulder at them and turned back to the man on the ground.

"A demon you say." He nodded in agreement. She snorted.

"I don't give a shit if he is a real god damned demon!" she yelled. "Accusing him of being a demon doesn't justify the fact that you're trying to hurt a little boy!" The boy gasp, tears welling up in his eyes. This woman... she was defending her. He heard a roar. The shinobi on the ground got back up and charged at the woman.

"No, don't hurt her!" he shouted at him, but it fell on deft ears. The woman did nothing and waited for the shinobi to try and hurt her. He squinted his eyes shut and covered his ears.

"No..." he whispered. GURGLE He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the gruesome scene. The woman was alright... but the shinobi was on the ground holding his neck. He gasped. The man was bleeding... he wouldn't last long. He looked back at the woman and she smiled at him. His heart felt warm... it never felt that way before...

The woman turned back around and stared down at the crowd. They began yelling. There were too many voices yelling at the same time. He didn't understand what they were saying. In an instant screams filled the alleyway. Protruding from her back were these shadow-like... things.

"Hands" a little voice told him. Those were shadow hands coming out of her back. Each hand pierced into each person in the mob. A dozen of them fell to the ground in a heep. The rest turned to run. There was fear in their eyes... they were afraid of dieing. The hands lashed forward and struck down every last person. In a few seconds everyone in the alleyway that were trying to hurt the boy was dead. He stared in awe at the woman before him. She turned back towards him and smiled warmly. That smile that made his heart warm. She walked over to him and bent down so she was staring him in the eyes.

"Daijobu?" she asked quietly.

"H-hai... hai."

"O-genki desu ka?"

"Genki desu." She smiled and held out her hand. He stared at it. She chuckled and nudged her head at the hand.

"Hold my hand... I'll take you to the Hokage."

"Ji-ji?!" he asked. She chuckled again.

"Hai." He cautiously took her hand and she slowly pulled him to his feet. She stood up next to him and gently combed her fingers through his head.

"C'mon..." he nodded and they began walking.


"So, you're just passing through?" asked an elderly man. The man in front of him sighed and nodded his head again.

"Hai... my wife and I were just passing through." The old man nodded cautiously.

"And where is your wife?" he asked. The man shrugged his shoulders.

"I' unno..."

"Nante?" The man's eye twitched.

"I meant to say that I have no clue where my wife has gone too. She said something about going out for a walk... she's very claustraphobic and tends to leave a small area when there are too many people around."

"I see, and when will she be coming back?"

"Hell if I know..." The old man sighed and made a gesture with his hand. A couple of cloaked people with animal masks appeared in the room.

"Now then, could you give a description of your wife to my Anbu here and they shall find her for you."

"There's no need for that." came a voice. The group turned towards the door and saw the woman from earlier and the small boy in her arms. She walked over to the man and kissed him on the lips.

"Have you been causing trouble?" she asked him.

"Iie... I've been behaving."

"Honto?"

"...Baka..." She lightly hit him in the chest.

"Quiet you." She turned towards the old man and gave a sweet smile.

"As for you..." her smiled dropped and a venomous expression took it's place. "I found a group of villagers, a few shinobi, and an Anbu trying to kill this little boy. I may be just passing through and I'm not accustomed to how you run things around here in your village but I'm pretty god damned sure you don't allow adults to beat the shit out of a little boy!" she yelled, releasing a massive amount of killing intent. The woman's husband slowly inched his way to the door. She placed the boy on the floor and walked up to the old man's desk. She reached over and hauled him up at eye level by the scruff of his collar.

"You've got ten seconds to give me a reason why I shouldn't beat the shit out of you, old man." she hissed. The Anbu were prepared to intercept when two shadow hands protruded from her back and held them at bay. She huffed at the old man but dropped him right back into his seat, but she didn't let the Anbu go. The little boy shuffled across the room to the old man.

"Ji-ji..." he whispered. The old man smiled slightly at the boy and turned his attention back at the woman. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at the man.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you the reason. It is a SS-Rank secret."

"I see... I want to adopt the little boy I rescued tonight." The old man's tobacco pipe fell out of his mouth. His mouth opened and closed like a fish. He shook his head and stood up.

"I can't allow you to do that. I appreciate your concern but since you are new here and do not know the boy's condition." he gave the little boy a look to keep him quiet. "I have reason to not trust you." The woman snorted.

"So you have no reason to trust a stranger, but you trust a group of people who were out for this boy's blood? That's pretty fucked up..." she sneered. The old man held his gaze.

"I'm sorry, but that is final." The woman walked back up to the man and stood in front of him, staring him down. She was clearly taller than the old man, but the boy didn't know which was stronger.

"I know all about the boy's tenant. I know about the fact that he's a jinchurikii." She whispered low enough for the boy to not have heard but loud enough to shake the old man.

"Who told you this?"

"1) The Anbu that was trying to kill the boy told me he was a demon so I just went ahead and took a guess. 2) You're in no position to question me. I saved the boy's life, you're in my debt. And 3) you told me." she answered.

"I haven't spoken a word about this to you or your husband."

"I'm a mother fucking mind reader. A whole lot of information about the boy has been swimming around in your head constantly. It was easy to get the information I wanted and more. Now then, here are your options. A) You can let me adopt the boy. B) Once I adopt him I can and will take him out of the village. C) If I can't take him out of the village than you have no right to question me if I end up killing a whole lot of your denizens in not only self defense but to keep the boy a live. D) You don't let me adopt the boy and I take him by force. E) If I do take him by force than there will be a whole lot of death and mass destruction in my wake and he is never coming back. Those are your five options. Choices A through C are less of a hassle, yet it won't cause too much collateral damage. At least with those choices not only is the boy safe but you can still keep tabs on him. Choices D through E are not so good. Either way those choices have a lot of death on your hands and the boy is never going to be coming back and you pretty much just failed the boy's father. I've search the banks of your mind and know everything there is to know about this boy. I'm a negotiator, and I'll be willing to become an interrogator and or a ninja once the boy and I return. I'll be the boy's permanent mother and where he goes I go. Also, just a little confession but I killed a mob and an Anbu in less than five seconds before we came here. Not only will you be losing the boy but you'll be loosing a potential interrogator, an excellent shinobi, a professional negotiator, and a whole lot of man power because I do plan on killing people in my wake. Now then, either you agree to allow me to adopt the boy and we agree on a few terms, or you loose the boy, by force, and a whole lot of other people at the same time. I'm a very patient woman, but I do have my limits, so which is it going to be." The old man was flabbergasted. Not only had a woman he just met saved the boy he cared so much about, but she displayed a large amount of power, had the balls to challenge him, and outsmarted him to boot. This power would no doubt turn the council towards his side, but he had no information on the woman and if this were a ploy to hurt the boy...

"I have no intention of hurting boy." she spoke up. The old man began to worry his bottom lip. Even though it was a great risk, all the pros of this risk greatly out weighed the cons. The old man sighed.

"Fine... you can adopt the boy." The two Anbu stared in awe and shock. Not only did this woman have the balls to challenge Lord Hokage, she actually got him to give in to her demands.

"Excellent. Now then, here are the terms; You allow me to leave the village and the boy goes with me. Every month I give you a report of the boy's progress. If I fail to give you a report without specifying a change in the date of delivery than you can send in some of your Anbu to retrieve the boy and he'll go back without any hassle on my part. I'll keep him out of the village for a number of years until..."

"The genin exams will be in eight years, I want him back by then."

"Then he'll return in eight years, unharmed but stronger. I'll be allowed to teach the boy anything I choose, but it won't be anything lethal. You'll have to provide me with certain reading material. I want to be allowed into your achieves and grab a few scrolls, any that you'll allow me, make a few copies of the scroll and give you the originals. I'm fluent in several languages so I'll write the copies in a different text to ensure privacy. You have my word when I say I won't leak any information to outsiders. I make sure the boy is safe, healthy, and happy and I'll bring him back. He'll be allowed to write you any letters at any time and anyone else he wants to and if I ever mistreat him he has the full right to record any misbehavior on my part in his letters and you have full authority to come and get him. Agreed?" The old man reluctantly nodded.

"Excellent. Go and make a contract as well as get me the adoption papers and I'll be out of your hair before you know it." The old man motioned for the two Anbu, who were released once the man agreed to allow the woman to adopt the boy, and the two left to get all the papers necessary. The woman smiled warmly and knelt down to the boy.

"Now then, I know I'm not your real mother, but I'm willing to raise you like you were my own flesh and blood. Watashi no namae wa Urameshi Tsukiko desu. O-namae wa nan desu ka?" she asked.

"Watashi no namae wa Uzumaki Naruto desu... Arigato."

"Doitashimashite, Naruto-kun."


Japanese Translations;

O-negai: please
Yamero: stop
Ji-ji: grandfather
Daijobu: are you okay?
Hai: yes
O-genki desu ka: How are you?
Genki desu: I'm fine
Nante: what
Iie: no
Honto: really?
Baka: idiot, moron
Watashi no namae wa ... desu: My name is...
O-namae wa nan desu ka: What is your name?
Arigato: thank you
Doitashimashite: you're welcome.