Well, how about this? I... apologize for more than one thing of course. But, maybe this version will be more successful. I hope so. This story has undergone, and has been undergoing, major plot revisions for quite some time. I realize my faults, among other major flaws. So, without further ado, here is the second installment of the same story some of you had come to genuinely like. Round two, I guess...

Well, here goes. Tell me what you think. Big things are riding on this version. I hope that everything falls into place just the way I want it to.

I hope I get the same support as before. For those of you who know of my wrongs, I hope you can still find it within yourselves to like this story. Maybe you liked it before? I'm rambling; forget it. Enjoy!

Welcome to your nightmare
Say good-bye to everything

Disturbed, Old Friend

He could feel the cold creeping through his limbs; his heart was pounding, beating against his ribcage painfully and urging him to stop, to rest. It was the urgent desire to keep moving, to make sure that no harm came to the small child bundled in blankets blackened by soot, that made him put one foot in front of the other in a painstaking advance to the only place his child would be safe.

They were waiting for him. After so many years of attempting to ally with his wife's clan, it was easy to believe that they would keep tabs on them. It was only right that they knew what had happened. However, it was hard to believe that they hadn't stepped in to help. To think that the clan they coveted the most they had allowed to be destroyed.

"Eiji-san," one of the men standing before him said curtly. Eiji glared at the masked man, and then turned his attention to the older man standing in the middle of his guards. His face was lined and his hair was graying, but there was no mistaking this man for another. The Hokage's eyes were full of sympathy, but his face remained passive. Eiji coughed, narrowly avoiding doing so on his child, watching with a grim expression as the blood seeped into his shirt.

"Hokage-sama," Eiji rasped, taking a step forward, holding out the child in his arms. His body was growing colder by the second, and he was beginning to shake. He wouldn't be able to hold himself up any longer. He knew his life was going to be brought to a standstill at any moment. There was something he needed to say before that, however, and definitely something he needed to hear. "Hokage-sama, please take my daughter. You probably already know by now, but my wife—" he was halted by a coughing fit. He keeled over, tightening his grip on his daughter as he went down. Before he could hit the ground, however, he was caught by two pairs of strong arms. "—her whole village—they were all killed. My daughter… please keep… her safe."

The Hokage stepped forward and reached out to grab the child from Eiji. He stared down at the sleeping baby girl and frowned, his eyes showing his level of disgust for this type of thing. The Third Hokage hated when a child was left without their parents. It was something he had seen more than he wanted to in his long life, and something he wished he could put an end to.

But he knew things just didn't work that way in this world.

"I will protect her, Eiji," the Hokage said solemnly. "She will be safe here."

Eiji closed his eyes, feeling the sudden bouts of relief wash the strength from his body. He sagged towards the ground, and the men holding him aloft gently laid him down. His breath was shallow but maintained an even pace. Were it not for the blood seeping through his shirt and burn marks and other wounds on the visible parts of his body, he would have appeared to be asleep.

"Thank you, Hiruzen," Eiji murmured, his expression content. "Her name is Sumiko. I don't want her… to know about us—her mother and I. Or anything—" he grimaced then, and his body tensed as though a sudden pain had taken control of him, forcing him to stop for a moment. He gasped and his eyes opened wide, revealing pale brown irises. "—that involves us. Do not tell her of the Himura clan; she does not need that burden."

"I will do everything I can," the Hokage promised. "You were an honorable shinobi, Uzumaki Eiji, and a good friend of mine. You have my word."

Eiji grinned and resigned himself, satisfied, as his body convulsed with another coughing fit. He reached up to cover his mouth, and when he pulled back his hands, they were covered in blood. He took a deep breath, his whole body seeming to shudder with the effort it took. When he let the breath leave his body, he did not take another.