"Damn it! Let me go!" Naruto struggled to let the snake man release his vice-like grip around his body, arms prickling with goosebumps as the rough, long tongue touched his bare skin. The term- slimy snake- applied very well here. As struggle as he did, nothing seemed like it would work. Already he was feeling the prickling edges of despair.

Panic set in, and his trashing increased. Naruto's body was still unable to even budge an inch; the snake's tongue made firmly sure of that. Hate glared into the coal black eyes of the man before him, the Kyuubi tested again the seal, which imprisoned it. Naruto's red demonic eyes seemed to glow even more as untamed anger wanted to lash out, yet he was still in control. Although if this continued, he didn't know how long he would be able to maintain control.

"He, he, he. . . So the Nine-tails brat is still alive. . . " Orochimaru made a hand seal, as he brought Naruto closer, the Genin's eyes narrowed with rage. The whisker-like markings on the side of his face darkened even more, three solid black lines on each cheek, as the fine barrier between suppressed rage snapped. "When your emotions are heightened. . .the power of the Kyuubi overflows. . .Very interesting. . ." Orochimaru noted cleverly to himself, obviously pleased with the entire situation.

Things were playing out very much to his favor. The man smirked and lifted the blonde's orange jacket up, revealing his stomach- and the thing that cursed his life from the beginning- oily words smoothly coming out, dripping with smugness and confidence. "Oh my, the seal is visible. . ."

The snake-bastard's hand started to glow with heated chakra, still in that strange hand seal that Naruto didn't recognize. Naurto's breathing quickened to the point where he was gasping for air, his breaths choking him and his eyes started to water.

Was this going to be the end for him? To die in the middle of the Chuunin Exams? But he still had so much to do! What about being Hokage? His lifelong dream to prove to the village his worth; for their acknowledging his achievements, were they all going to be for nothing?

But then again. . . So what if he died? It was not like anyone cared about him. Maybe Iruka-sensei, but he had other people to take his place, like Konohamaru or some other lucky kid who'd get free ramen. And his team? Sure, they would fail this part of the exam... but they'd always get it next time. Sasuke didn't care about him, and Sakura-chan just loved Sasuke-bastard too much to notice him. Kakashi-sensei was just. . . Kakashi-sensei. . .

And his dreams? Being Hokage. . .

Maybe, just maybe life was worth it, but . . .

"Jitsuzai irekae no jutsu!"

Naruto couldn't but help but let a cry of pain. The bastard slammed his hand onto the seal for the Kyuubi, fire burning onto his flesh and bone, his insides twisting that way and that-torture in its purest form. He couldn't remember being in this much pain before. The edges of his vision tinged with white and everything was becoming hazy.

There's a point until a human being could take pain until their brain shuts down; being conscious would kill them. Being the vessel for a demon didn't come with any expeditions. It was a strange relief almost, one point when you feel like you're being burned alive, until like someone threw you into a pool of water. Naruto slumped over, before he lost everything, he heard Sakura-chan screaming, but already his brain had gone too far to distinguish what she was hysterical about.

In a moment of brief coherency, he found it terribly ironic that she cared for him after all- when he was about to die. His life really did suck- if only he'd been given a different life, a different path given. Another chance, but with better odds. It'd be nice if the whole world wasn't out to get him.

Then blissfully Naruto entered darkness, his mind finally at rest- no nightmares to haunt him, no angry stares, no more haunting looks, just rest.

--

--

When Naruto finally woke up, it took him a while to realize that he was in a bed, but not just any bed- a hospital bed. What about the exam? The snake-man who attacked them? Was his team all right? Were the exams over? What the hell was going on? A million questions whirled around his head, but he had the worst of headaches ever. What'd he do for some painkillers. . .

Groaning, the blonde sat up and eyed his surroundings, he was in a room that was too large to be used for solely himself, (Maybe he was the only patient around?) and various equipment was placed next to his side. He decided that he most definitely did not deserve to be hooked up to the said so machines and immediately pulled out the plug. There was this satisfying feeling of watching the monitor blank out with a, 'bleep.'

It looked like half of a flower shop was here, a greenhouse with lilies, roses, and other colorful assortments arranged in vases or pots. The sweet scent of flowers made him sneeze once as he soon found out that being exposed to large amounts of pollen wasn't good for him.

Huge binds were closed on the single window that nearly doubled his size, as he could tell that it was daytime, sunlight peeking through the cracks like weeds in the pavement.

The walls were painted with a lovely color of light blue, and paintings of flowers, parks, and other happy things lined up the walls. A few chairs and couches were pushed against the wall to his right, and the only door was shut tight, maybe even locked.

Not that things like that ever stopped him before. Naruto swung himself out of bed, and wobbled slightly as his muscles were too taut from staying still. "Damn!" He all but fell over, making a whole bunch of noise as he pulled down a vase of flowers, crash and all.

"Oww!" He rubbed the tender spot, as a perplexed look crossed his face. "Aww man! Look at this!" Around him, there was a mess of water, flowers, and shards of what used to be a purple vase.

Immediately the door swung open and several ninjas came pouring in. About five or six circled him, all hidden by white porcelain masks that were designed to look like animals. Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine. These weren't just your ordinary shinobi... they were ANBU, the best of the best... and why the hell were they standing outside his door?

Before the genin could protest loudly about his predicament, a tall ANBU ninja with a dog mask scooped him up in his arms and gently placed him back on the bed. Two ANBU bent down and quickly cleared the mess without fuss- Naruto was at least expecting a scolding or something for his clumsiness at least.

"What the hell's going on?!" Finally frustrated of feeling like he was missing out on something, he did what anyone would do in that situation- he blurted out the question without thinking. As soon as he opened his mouth, a sudden chill made him tremble slightly. What was he thinking? These people were ANBU for God's sake, trained assassins, elite among the elite! Good going moron, the inner voice that sounded suspiciously like Sasuke mocked him.

He'd be lucky to get off with a slight warning!

The dog masked ANBU turned his head around so that he could size up the out-spoken blonde, behind the slit-like eyeholes Naruto could see the dim outline of a dark opal, light catching off the surface like a cat's eye. He cocked his head to the side, as he smoothed the sheets on Naruto's bed. "Well it seems that you're awake, that's good. Hokage-sama will be pleased."

The voice sounded so familiar, like he heard it somewhere, but he couldn't match the voice with the face.

Still confused as hell, Naruto shook his head. "Why the hell would the old man give a damn about me? I mean it's not like he cared before, believe it!" He scrunched his face into a pout, sticking his lower lip out and crossed his arms in a huff. Something was off, his ninja instincts were telling him.

You could practically see the eyebrows of the ANBU arch up under their masks, in danger of disappearing into their hair. Coughing once, the dog-mask ninja continued as if Naruto hadn't interrupted him. "Ahem, anyway. . . you were knocked out for quite a while you know. I think it was around three days."

"THREE DAYS?! WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT ABOUT THE EXAMS?!" A bomb literally exploded from Naruto's mouth, his vocal volume rising and it continued to get louder, until it was impossible to exactly hear him.

Several of the ANBU winced; the boy's voice was deafening. They shifted uncomfortably, looking shifty eyed at each other, as if they were unsure of how to act in this situation. They were trained assassins, top ninja, but there were somethings that you just can't teach to a shinobi, and childcare was one of the few on that list. For everything else, there's always some poor unsuspecting genin team out there somewhere to complete the dirty work for them.

The dog-mask shinobi merely shrugged, most likely used to this kind of behavior from little kids, and patted the Blonde's head affectionately. "It's all right Naruto, there's still time. They haven't started yet."

In the middle of his rant, Naruto froze, stopped on the word 'ramen'; no one knew how he had so quickly switched subjects while yelling about missing out on the most important ninja milestone of his life. "What? But. . .But. . ." He spluttered, clearly confused as ever. Sure, he wasn't the sharpest tool in the Kunai pouch, but clearly he was in the middle of the Chuunin Exams when he apparently 'fainted.' Unless there was a time-travel jutsu (even he was pretty sure that didn't exist) things weren't adding up.

Could this possibly be a Genjutsu? If it was, then he was in deep trouble. Back at school, Genjutsu wasn't exactly his strong point.

A deep chuckle escaped from the dog-ANBU, as he shoved his hands into his pockets nonchalantly. "Don't worry Naruto, I'm sure that you'll pass with no problem." The blonde swore that he saw one eye close into a happy crescent moon. . .

"Kakashi-sensei?" He gaped at the ninja before him. "You-you!" There were at times where miracles seemed to exist, and this was one of those precious Kodak moments.

Uzumaki Naruto was at a loss for words.

A gloved hand reached for the mask and pulled it off, revealing the copy-nin, Hatake Kakashi, same as ever, with his headband slanted and covering his right eye, and the black facemask hiding his identity. A shadow of a smile graced his lips as he found this all amusing. "Well the last time I checked, I thought that it was 'Uncle Kakashi,' but sensei will do."

"You... How the hell are you in ANBU?!" Naruto's voice dropped to a whisper. This was too much for the hyperactive boy. He couldn't see Kakashi-sensei as an ANBU, but only as a perverted hentai who read those disgusting books. If his mind wasn't in overload already, it was most certainly now.

Feeling a sweatdrop drop down his head, the silver-haired Joann sheepishly rubbed the base of his neck. "Err. . ."

The other shinobi sniggered quietly to themselves, the infamous Sharingan Kakashi smiling pleadingly to the blonde while flapping his hands up and down to quiet the Uzumaki.

"I mean a lazy perv like you couldn't possibly pass the test or whatever, 'cause remember the time where you let the chalk board eraser fall- Oumph! Mmmrrrimma!"

Kakashi had Naruto's mouth clamped shut with his hand, the blonde withering and struggling in his firm grasp as sky-blue eyes glared angrily at the smiling nin.

"Yes, now why don't you stay quiet like that for a minute while I go and get your fath..." Kakashi never had a chance to finish what he was saying because suddenly, the remaining ANBU quickly lined up and deeply bowed their heads to the figure who had walked into the room with calm authority.

Naruto stared at the man with an open mouth: well as best as he could anyway, with Kakashi-sensei's hand over it.

The man looked. . . well. . . like a splitting image of himself- only older and a lot more serious about things that shouldn't be his concern. It was like having a mirror in front of you that showed you the future self in twenty years.

The same golden yellow spikes that were somewhat longer and more untamed, yet you couldn't say that it wasn't unkempt, like he purposely had his hair styled like that. Deep blue sapphires gazed sternly ahead, in each, a fire intensely burned, something that was impossible to place a finger on: determination and courage flickered deeply within those eyes like a powerful flame.

A familiar robe hung loosely around his body, and a hitai-ate leaf headband was tied around his head, letting blonde bangs hide most of the metal. What really offset the blonde was that the attire belonged to the Hokage.

Naruto couldn't help but feel safe in this stranger's presence, like the man had created a barrier that made him feel like. . .

Somehow, it was so. . .

It was like the time when Iruka-sensei acknowledged him for who he was, not because of the demon that made everyone look at him with disgust and loathing.

However. . . it was so different.

Was it pain? But it was never like this. . . there was no sadness that followed, but like. . . meeting someone you haven't seen for a long time.

It was deep inside his chest, and it kind of hurt, but it made him happy of all the stupidest reasons; what was that word Sakura-chan would have used?

Bittersweet.

"Kakashi, you can release him now. I think that he needs to breathe, don't you think?" The man's voice was light and teasing, cheerful and bright, quite unsuspecting from his appearance of a stiff and formal man.

Bowing his head, the silver haired Jounin did as he was told, but there was a twinkle in his eye as he released Naruto, who still had that stupid expression on his face, like he didn't know what to make of his stranger.

Crossing his arms, the growled, "Just who the hell are you anyways? Where's old man Hokage?" He glared reproachfully with a doubtful look in his eyes. This person. . . Naruto had a faint inkling that he saw his face somewhere. But where? Racking his brains, he'd yet come up with an answer.

A mix of surprise and shock registered across every ninja's face, Kakashi and the stranger exchanged worried looks as Naruto remained impassive about anything, in fact, he had a glowering scowl plastered across his face and he rumpled the bed sheets even farther by kicking his legs out.

Calmly, the man took a step forwards and asked Naruto, "Do you remember anything at all?" His tone seemed hurt, yet his face remained impassive, like a rigid statue's expression.

Should he tell the truth? What did Kakashi-Sensei once told him? Something about gathering more information before acting rashly? Really, he needed to start paying attention- and he vowed to, once he figured out what was going on. Scratching his head, Naruto racked his brains for an answer, finally answering, "Err. . . I was in the Forest of Death and then. . . I kinda blacked out? Hell, how should I know?"

The man nodded once before saying, "Yes, Itachi-kun found you unconscious, but what on earth did you do in there that nearly put you into a coma?!" His voice was stern and commanding, and it had the biting edge of anger that turned his question into one of scolding.

"Hey, don't yell at me! Just who do you think you are, huh?" Naruto snapped, rolling his blue eyes in annoyance. Man, this guy was acting a whole lot like. . .

He froze.

Uzumaki Naruto wasn't a complete idiot, even though many believed so otherwise. He had a brain somewhere locked up there in his ten-inch thick skull, and it just so happened that it decided to lend a helping hand.

An impassive face looked at the blonde Genin's, before answering, "Your father."

Naruto suddenly felt the room spin around him before falling backwards with a thump. This was too much for his mind to handle. It couldn't be helped that it suddenly wanted to shut down. (Again for the second time that day.)

"He'll be all right. After all, Hokage-sama. . . he does take after you," chuckled Kakashi as he pulled down his ANBU mask over his face.

"I hope you meant that as in a good way, Kakashi." Blue eyes twinkled, a large grin stretched across his face. Tenderly, the man tucked the sheets around Naruto but no one missed the sorrowful look that flashed on his face before resuming a smile.

"Maa, don't I always?" Kakashi sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with a laugh.