Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Aliens/Predator/AVP.

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Abomination

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Chapter One

"Na-ru-to...Can you say that?" Tensei inquired as Naruto sat in her lap at a desk as she tried to teach him how to speak, his tail wrapping around her waist. "Can you say 'Naruto'?"

"..." Naruto was quiet for a few moments before trying to repeat what the woman had said, his voice quiet with a slight hissing undertone. "Na...Ru...To..."

"Very good!" Tensei praised as she leaned down and gently kissed the top of the boy's head. Confused by the foreign action, Naruto 'looked' up at her while Tensei could only smile at him with warmth. Pointing at him, she repeated the word. "Naruto."

"...Na...ru...to..." He reiterated quietly, making Tensei smile again.

It had only been three days since she had taken him from the laboratory and adopted him as her son. In that time, Naruto showed an incredibly high level of intelligence for his age and a very sharp learning curve. She had been teaching him how to talk for only two days now. Yesterday, he could barely utter a single syllable, but now he was starting to progress into saying words with clarity, albeit, a little slow, but words nonetheless. However, he was still having trouble getting used to walking, both on his hands and feet as well as just on his feet, so Tensei had taken to carrying him around most of the time.

"Now, can you say 'Mama'?" Tensei inquired while pointing to herself as Naruto continued to stare up at her. "Mama."

"...Mmm...Ma...ma..." Naruto mimicked, struggling a little at first, but succeeding. Tensei suddenly felt her heart flutter at the word as she was filled with a great maternal warmth, making her smile more happily and wrap Naruto up in a loving embrace, cradling his head against her bosum to keep him from seeing her tears. They were of joy and only a couple, but she didn't want to worry him over nothing. Reacting instantly, Naruto wrapped his arms around her as best as he could, nuzzling her chest slightly, knowing he was safe so long as he was in her arms.

"...Mama..." Naruto muttered into her chest, forcing Tensei to choke back a slight sob as she smiled all the more...

xXxXxXx

"...Do I have to?" The young boy questioned, his soft-spoken voice holding a slight tone of hesitance. In one year, seven year old Naruto had learned how to be a 'normal' person. He learned how to read, write, talk, walk, run. He was even taught some minor taijutsu to help refine his already instinctual and reflexive natural fighting ability. His mother had even helped him unlock his chakra a few weeks ago and had begun teaching him how to control it better by doing a set of exercises taught to him by his mother.

"Yes, Naru-chan. Attending the Academy will help you grow stronger and help you learn how to control that strength. If not for that, then do it for me? Please?" Tensei replied, kneeling before her adopted son and smiling warmly. Unable to resist, Naruto nodded a little shyly, making Tensei smile happily and hug him with a tender kiss on his forehead before releasing him and leading him out of their small home set in a secluded and wooded area within Konoha's walls, his body shrouded in a baggy black cloak with a hood pulled over his head and a white featureless hunter-nin style mask over his face; a little unusual for a child to wear, but it was better than people freaking out over his appearance. Grasping his mother's hand as they walked, Naruto couldn't help feeling out of place, having always found the shadows welcoming. The darker the shadow, the more comfortable he felt. Tensei noticed this and frowned slightly. "I know you don't like it, Naru-chan, but you have to get used to it some day. At least as a shinobi, you won't have to be so exposed all the time."

Standing at 5'8" with a lithe and slender figure, twenty-one year old Genkou Tensei had raven black hair streaked with natural blonde highlights and pulled back into a low pony-tail that reached down to her slim waist, her skin being the color of light cream while her eyes were an exotic and dazzling golden yellow. Like usual, she was dressed in a black kimono with golden trimming along the edges of the fabric with a stylized sun image decorating the left sleeve of the kimono in the form of golden embroidery.

"I know, but still...I just don't like the light for some reason..." Naruto murmured quietly, feeling a little ashamed about it since he knew his mother didn't like it when he always hid in the shadows. It was just natural for him, though. Noticing his unease, Tensei squeezed his hand reassuringly, giving him a loving smile as he looked up at her. Unable to stop himself, Naruto smiled slightly under his mask. However, it worked. He wasn't feeling ashamed any more...

Tensei could only imagine the trouble he would soon end up causing her...

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Kra-KOOM!

"Hsss!" Eight year old Naruto hissed quietly and a little fearfully, clinging to his mother's side on the couch. Tensei could only smile faintly, holding him against her as it continued to storm outside. It had started up in the middle of the night and the thunder disturbed Naruto's slumber, prompting him to sneak into her room and curl up beside her, accidentally waking her up. Now, she sat in the living room with him, trying to keep him calm. As it turned out, he didn't like thunder very much. Not one bit, actually.

"Shh...Mama's here, Naru-chan." Tensei hushed gently, pulling him into her lap fully and holding him close while gently brushing a hand over his head; the boney growths on his head were slowly starting to form a shallow backswept carapace of sorts, but it didn't look like it would ever get much bigger, proportionally. Like always, Naruto wrapped his arms around his mother as much as he could, his tail wrapping around her waist. As another flash of lightning was answered with a crack of thunder, Naruto buried his face against Tensei's chest, shivering slightly. "Mama's here, baby...It'll be alright..."

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"Very good, Naru-chan! Oh, I'm so proud of you." Tensei gushed as she hugged her son, making the now eleven year old Naruto grimace faintly at the praise. He had just finished learning the Kage Bunshin technique, being unable to perform the basic Bunshin technique due to his abnormally large chakra reserves; no matter how much he practiced his chakra control, it was virtually impossible for him. Normally, such a technique was practically forbidden to be taught to someone that wasn't at least being promoted to jounin, let alone still attending the Academy, but the Sandaime had been the one to offer the technique after hearing of Naruto's problem. Beaming with pride, Tensei pulled a scroll out of her pocket and handed it to Naruto, who seemed a little curious, looking it over in his hands. "It's two new techniques that use a variation of the Kage Bunshin. One of them is called Shuriken Kage Bunshin and the other is Kunai Kage Bunshin. I've got a present for you, but you'll only get it once you finish learning these techniques. Okay?"

"Hai." Naruto answered with a slight smile, wanting to make his mother proud of him...

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"Hm...Interesting..." Naruto murmured to himself, now thirteen years old, was busy staring at his back in the mirror. During the night as he slept, he had suddenly started shedding for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past year. While he wasn't looking forward to handling his own old skin for cleanup, he was just glad it was all in one piece; it made it so much easier. With each set of skin that he shed, he usually just grew a little bigger, but this time, he had developed a set of four protrusions on his back with two on either side.

The top pair juttered out just below his shoulder blades and centered on either side, either one being roughly a foot long and looking not unlike a 'stretched out' S-shaped tube of some sort. The bottom pair, resting only a few inches lower and closer to his spine, were almost identical to the top pair, only they were about five or six inches long. All four were pressed flat against his back, following the curvature of his spine and appearing almost as if they were merely distended ridges on his back.

"Oooh..." Tensei whined quietly with worry as she stood with her son, staring at them. Touching one, Tensei quickly retracted her hand with a slight squeak of surprise when they all twitched slightly, lifting up from his back for a moment before settling back down. Getting an idea, Naruto concentrated on trying to move the muscles on his back, focusing primarily around the base of each protruding object. Hearing a gasp from his mother, Naruto looked behind him again, discovering that the tubes had indeed moved.

They stuck almost straight out with an upward incline that left the tips of the top pair level with his shoulders while the tips of the bottom pair were level with the bases of the top pair. He also discovered that he had a far more detailed 'image' of the area around him in his mind's eye. Like usual, he could still 'experience' what was on the other side of a wall without them, but his range was greater now and in much greater detail. Normally limited to a twenty foot radius, Naruto could now sense things as far as almost a hundred feet; quite literally, five times the range he normally possessed.

"Very interesting..." Naruto muttered to himself, not at all phased. Relaxing the muscles in his back, the four protrustions instantly folded back down against his back, the motion catching his mother off guard and making her squeak with frightful surprise again.

"S-Stop that! It's creeping me out..." Tensei sputtered, flustered and unnerved by the strange bone-hard fleshy tubes sticking out of her baby's back. Just to be mean, Naruto made them twitch, only this time, Tensei fainted...

"...Mom?" Naruto quietly and curiously asked, finding her passed out on the floor behind him. Sighing, Naruto decided to stop tormenting her and kept them folded down on his back before reaching down and picking her up, carrying her over to the couch so that she could recover comfortably...

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As time passed, Naruto continued to grow in body, mind, heart, and skill. Due to the information stored in the laboratory Naruto had been found in being heavily encrypted, it took a great deal of time just to figure out what it was that had been bonded with Naruto's genetic code. As it turned out, Danzo had come across some sort of creature labeled simply as a Xenomorph, captured it, experimented on it, and had eventually spliced its DNA with Naruto's just a week after the Kyuubi had been sealed within the newborn, having originally intended to place him in Root after properly training him and nurturing him into Konoha's most powerful weapon.

From the data left behind, they discovered that, according to the information, Xenomorph's were essentially an apex predator with near-hyper intelligence that gave that an insane learning curve. Their bodies automatically adapted to their environment, no matter what it was. Their blade-tipped tails, claws, and fangs were more than enough to kill almost anything they came across, but if they weren't, their blood alone was a dangerous weapon; due to certain biochemicals they naturally produced in their bodies, their blood was highly acidic, capable of melting through almost anything. Even metal.

It was also reported that they had a second 'mouth' of sorts hidden within their jaws, though Naruto hadn't shown any sign of possessing one that they knew of. This proboscis-like tongue was what they used for both feeding and, strangely enough, killing in addition to their claws and tail-barb. The muscles and jaw-like bones in the anatomical part were strong enough to punch through bone and even thin pieces of metal. Just like Naruto, however, they didn't have any visible eyes or any other apparent sensory organ apart from the nerves in their skin, but they did have a sort of omniscient sensory organ of some kind located in their brain directly behind the forehead that allowed them to 'see' everything around them much like the Byakugan while their nervous system acted not as just a sensory receptor for 'touch', but also so that they could 'smell', 'hear', and even 'taste' something to a certain degree.

After some tests were done, it was discovered that Naruto had almost every single characteristic of a Xenomorph with the only exception being the fact he was lacking the proboscis-like tongue. It had been discovered that while Naruto could only sense things like a Xenomorph, having developed the same omniscient sensory organ during the genetic bonding procedure performed upon him when he was just a baby, he was still capable of determining colors and even reading normally. Although lacking the proboscis, Naruto was, however, capable of lengthening and strengthening his tongue through the use of chakra, but he didn't use such a skill very much, having stated it was simply 'weird', even for him.

During his time in the Academy, Naruto had become something of a cross between being 'popular' and an outcast amongst his peers and classmates, something that left him rather confused at times. And it was all because he had worn a baggy hooded black cloak over his body and a mask on his face since day one. His popularity only came from the mystery of his ppearance.

Now, ten years after enrolling, seventeen year old Naruto was a genin and the teams would be assigned in two days. Naruto couldn't wait to tell his mother that he had passed, that he was a genin, a shinobi. However, something wasn't right. Although he dismissed it as just being jittery and a little paranoid, Naruto's pace soon began to accelerate from a casual stroll through the streets as the sun neared its departure behind the horizon to a brisk walk, escalating further to a light jog before eventually reaching a full-blown sprint. His senses were going crazy, his instincts screaming at him to get home, but alas...

He was too late...

"No..." He whispered under his breath as he came to a dead stop, his lips curling into a frantic snarl as he stared upon the flaming wreckage of what had been his home. Nothing more than smoldering ruins of charred wood now, Naruto started to shake as he fearfully and hesitantly approached what had once been the home of Genkou Naruto and Genkou Tensei. Coming to a stop where the front door would have been, Naruto saw the one thing he dreaded the most, cursing his lack of eyes for not being to shed a single tear over the horror he was witnessing. "No...No, no, no, no, no...No! This...This can't be real..."

Lying in the middle of what had once been the living room was his mother, her body burned to ash and bones scorched black. He knew it was her because the dimensions of her skeletal structure matched the dimensions of the skeleton before him. That, and the metal knee joint in her left leg confirmed it, having been seriously injured during a mission when he was ten, forcing her to retire for good...

"Naruto..." Someone spoke up from behind him, making Naruto whip around with feral anger, though it was barely suppressed by his more logical and rational side. Standing there was the Sandaime and three ANBU agents. The elderly man held the same look of shock, heartbreak, and pain as Naruto did, but only at a lesser degree; it was only natural, seeing as the woman had raised him since his 'genesis'. "I'm so sorry, Naruto...We weren't fast enough..."

"...Who...did this?" Naruto hissed, dropping his mask to the ground as he snarled at the Sandaime, baring his eight fangs as his sorrow quickly started giving way to his anger. Before the man could answer, Naruto detected the pheromones and scents of the party in question, their 'scent trails' appearing in his mind's eye like lines of smoke. Without another word or warning of his intentions, Naruto pumped his legs full of chakra before taking off, his cloak left floating in the air where he had been standing as he shot through the forest, following the trail of the men who killed his mother.

"Hsss!" Hissing sharply as his lips curled in a vicious snarl, Naruto dropped to all fours, his speed jumping from mid-chuunin to high-jounin in an instant as he flooded his limbs and muscles with more chakra. Quickly breaching the clearing the two men were in, Naruto lunged, tackling the first one from behind as he gripped the man's shoulders with his 'double-thumbed' hands and the man's hips with his clawed 'double-thumbed' feet. Without hesitation, Naruto charged his tongue with chakra before opening his fang-filled mouth with a hiss, the organ darting forward at inhuman speeds and spearing through the back of the man's head, the back of his skull erupting in a burst of blood, bone fragments, and bits of brain matter as he was killed instantly. It all happened within two seconds.

"AAAAH!" The other one screamed, redirecting Naruto's attention to him. Again, without hesitation, Naruto lunged at the man with a shrill and inhuman shriek as he tackled him to the ground, grabbing the sides of the man's head with his hands, jabbing his inner thumbs into the man's eyes and ignoring his deafening cries of fear and pain before squeezing his hands together as hard as he could, swiftly and easily crushing the man's skull like a rotten melon between his palms.

"Hssssssss..." Naruto hissed once more, though more placidly as he slowly started to calm back down now that his mother's killers were dead. Standing up and staring down at their corpses with cold eyes, Naruto's appearance was finally made visible to the outside world for the first time, a cloud moving aside to let the Full Moon's pale illumination shine down on him as if it were willed by the gods that he been seen in his dark and otherwordly glory...

Standing at 6'3" with the same lean and muscular, yet lanky build he'd had since he was a child, Naruto had developed numerous exoskeletal plates of bone all over his body that partially mimicked his endoskeletal frame, such as a pseudo-ribcage on his torso that further shielded his internal organs while sectioned plates covered his pectoral and abdominal muscles without limiting his range of movement. His limbs were plated similarly with segmented exoskeletal bones with the exception of his joints. His 'hair' had formed a solid crest-like carapace that extended behind his head by a few inches, his face still lacking any kind of features apart from his mouthful of translucent fangs and sharp teeth.

Like usual, Naruto was dressed in only a pair of black leggings that ended at his knees with a tailor-made hole in the back for his tail that tied together above the prehensile limb, a pair of dark grey satchel-like pouches hanging from his belt at his hips that reached down to just above his knees with a black strap reaching around his legs to keep them secured, and his Konoha hitai-ate tied around his waist on a long strip of black cloth like a belt while a three-inch long hexagonal golden amber gem hung from a black cord looped around his neck with a pair of thin three-inch long metal rods flanking the crystal; it had been a birthday gift from his mother when he had turned nine...

"Hss..." Hearing something behind him, Naruto slowly turned his head and looked over towards Sarutobi, who had just arrived with two of the ANBU, the third undoubtedly having been left behind at the crime scene. Once more, Naruto's lips curled in a faint snarl in the place of shedding tears, his face speckled with the blood of his kills. "...They killed her...They killed her because of me..."

"No, Naruto. No, they didn't. Look." Hiruzen tried to correct the newly graduated genin, pointing towards the two dead shinobi, bringing something to Naruto's attention; they were both from Iwa. Not Konoha. Virtually no one knew of Naruto's appearance except for those that had been present when Naruto had been found and the Shinobi Council. "Towards the end of the Third War, Tensei had graduated to jounin at the age of thirteen, not unlike Kakashi-san. She was very skilled and had killed many Iwa shinobi because of that talent. However, it also painted a target on her back. After being forced to retire from ANBU, Tensei became comfortable with her life and settled down to raise you as a full-time mother. She let her guard slip and they finally managed to get her..."

"You mean...they've tried before?" Naruto whispered harshly, his snarl worsening as he turned to face the Hokage fully. "Why was I not told?"

"Because this..." Hiruzen began to answer, gesturing towards the two dead bodies. "...would have happened, only on a much worse scale with casualties on both sides measuring in the hundreds, if not thousands."

Naruto said nothing as he stared down at his hands, which were still covered in blood, pieces of bone, and brain matter. Without another word, Naruto bowed his head slightly and started walking towards them, only to pass them. As he neared the Sandaime, Hiruzen attempted to hand Naruto his cloak, only for him to glance at it and continue on his way, ignoring the article of clothing. Without stating why he didn't want it any more, Naruto simply kept walking. He ignored the blood and gore drying on his hands as he walked, his head bowed and senses dulled so that he could only detect things within a ten foot radius of him. He paid no mind to the night or the darkness. He cared not for the two ANBU tailing him, watching him from afar...

'...What now?' Naruto thought to himself, never noticing that he had autonomously made his way into Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death, by hopping the fence. Absently picking a tree, Naruto scaled its surface until he reached the top, perching himself on a branch and tightly coiling his tail around it to keep his balance. He didn't know what to do. Yes, he felt the heartbreak and grief of losing his mother, but it was more than that. There was...an emptiness within him. As if something had been physically carved out of him and disposed of, never to be returned to him. Eyeless face blank with uncertainty, Naruto remained perched on the branch, unable to even think properly...

What no one knew or understood, was Xenomorph heirarchy. Naruto, although only a 'hybrid', was still a Xenomorph by nature and he had just lost his Queen-Mother, the leader of his 'Hive', his family...the center of his world. Unlike other people, Naruto didn't cry or grieve the loss of his mother like what was to be expected; he couldn't cry anyways, even if he wanted to. He slowly entered a state of silent depression, appearing most accurately as being 'lost' and without the 'guidance' of his Queen-Mother...

'What...do I do now?' Naruto asked himself once more, losing all sense of time as he sat there...

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Naruto stayed quiet, lurking in the back of the class room as he stared down at the desk in front of him. He had foregone wearing his cloak once more, leaving himself completely visible to everyone, but their mutterings and whispers went unheard by the genin. Yesterday, Naruto had been paid a visit by Yamanaka Inoichi and they had spent several hours simply talking. Well, Inoichi did. Naruto only spoke when he had to answer a question or explain something. Strangely enough, Naruto was found to be competent and stable, allowing him to remain as an active shinobi of Konoha.

"...Freak..."

That word suddenly rang loud in his head, making Naruto's eyeless gaze slowly rise from the desk and lock onto the source; Uchiha Sasuke. Had it not been for him being unable to cast genjutsu, Naruto would have been made the Rookie of the Year; not that he cared. Letting out a quiet and prolonged hiss, Naruto dug his claws into the desk in front of him and probably would have attempted a retaliation of some sort had it not been for the two people to sit down on either side of him. Glancing at the two, Naruto recalled their names in an instant. To his right was Aburame Shinobue, the Aburame heiress, and to his left was Hyuuga Hiatari, the Hyuuga heir.

Standing at 5'4", seventeen year old Aburame Shinobue's black wavy hair was pulled back in a high pony-tail that reached down to the middle of her back and pale porcelain skin, her eyes hidden by a pair of wrap-around sunglasses. She was dressed in a black sleeveless turtleneck over a long-sleeve mesh top, black full-length pants, black kunoichi sandals, and a grey long-sleeve trench coat over everything that she kept closed at all times with a high raised collar that came to a stop in front of her nose while her Konoha hitai-ate was tied around her forehead on a band of black cloth.

Standing at 5'10", seventeen year old Hyuuga Hiatari had dark indigo hair that he kept in an undershave, his chin-length bangs framing his face while the rest of his hair tapered back until it was only about an inch long in the back, a thin six-inch long tightly-woven braid hanging from the base of his hairline that terminated in a tuft of hair the length of his thumb that looked almost like the end of a paint brush, which dangled directly between his shoulder blades. His skin was a bit pale as well and his pupil-less eyes were strangely a light shade of amethyst instead of the stark white like other Hyuuga. He was dressed in a black long-sleeve top that hugged his upper body like a second skin while the sleeves were baggy and hung down past his finger tips, a tan colored body-hugging sleeveless hoodie that he kept zipped up all the way and the hood tossed over his head, a black cloth face mask pulled up over his nose, baggy black pants held up by a black belt and tucked into black knee-high combat boots, and his hitai-ate worn around his neck on a band of black cloth.

"...Ignore them." Shinobue muttered quietly without glancing at him. Then again, it was a little difficult, even for him, to tell with her sunglasses on. "Retaliation is illogical. It'll only make things worse."

"Shinobu-san is right. Just let it go. You'll have your moment, but it won't be today." Hiatari added, glancing over at Naruto and giving the much taller male an eye smile. "Just stay calm and don't let it bother you. Isn't that what you told me seven years ago?"

Naruto stayed silent, only a little surprised by the change in Hiatari, who used to be incredibly shy and timid. He had once believed the Hyuuga heir to be scared of virtually everything in existence until he found the male training quite fiercely in an isolated training ground. The look of determination in his eyes proved Naruto wrong. The next day, Naruto found Hiatari on the verge of a panic attack when some of the other males in their class started harrassing the Hyuuga simply because he liked gardening. Upon stepping up from behind Hiatari, the other boys got scared and ran off. Once they left, Naruto had told him those same words of advice before leaving. He never did pay any attention to the others and because of that, Hiatari's calm and more confident behavior caught him off guard. Slightly...

They stayed silent after that, waiting patiently for the teams to be called out. Having been sitting in his chair with it turned around, Naruto waited until Iruka had come in with the papers listing who would be on which team. At that moment, Naruto concentrated and raised his dorsal tubes, the mental image of the room becoming far more detailed and after a few seconds of further concentration, Naruto managed to focus in on the sheet. He was idly surprised to find himself teamed up with the two sitting on either side of him, but it was to be expected. All three of them were skilled in tracking in one way or another and they all shared relatively similar mentalities.

'Hm...' With that knowledge in mind, Naruto lowered his dorsal tubes and relaxed his senses, deciding to go into a temporary 'hibernation'; simply put, he was going to take a nap of sorts. It would be some time before their sensei would arrive. He was curious of this Yuuhi Kurenai. 'I wonder what she's like...'

It wasn't for almost an hour before the first of the jounin sensei came to collect their teams. Stirring from his rest just as the door opened the first time, Naruto grimaced slightly and stretched in place, keeping his tail wrapped around his waist. Once he was fully awake, Naruto watched as one jounin after another came and left with their students. Then came the eighth jounin.

She stood at about 5'5" with light colored skin, deep crimson eyes, and black wavy hair that reached down to just below her shoulder blades. What he found most peculiar about her was the woman's choice in clothing. She was clothed in a fishnet top with no left sleeve and a baggy crimson right sleeve that ended at her wrist while a 'dress' of some sort covered her body, appearing to be white cloth wrappings with a black thorny vine running along its full length, a set of 'shorts' worn under the 'dress' that were also primarily white cloth wrappings. Her hands and forearms were bound with more white cloth wrappings that left her fingers uncovered and black kunoichi sandals on her feet. Tied around her head was her Konoha hitai-ate on a band of black cloth.

'So, this is Yuuhi Kurenai?' Naruto mused idly, though with relative disinterest. 'I wonder how this will turn out...'

"Team 8? Come with me, please." Kurenai spoke up, her eyes glancing over the people in the class until her students stood up. She was a little surprised to have Genkou Naruto on her team, having heard of what happened to his mother. That, and his appearance. All she really knew of him was what the Hokage had told her of him, which included a reassuring warning; 'Don't be afraid of him. He won't hurt you without provocation.'

'I had thought the Sandaime was just joking, but now that I'm looking at him...' Kurenai thought to herself, keeping from showing her emotions and thoughts as she led her team out of the Academy and towards Training Ground 15. As they walked, Naruto concentrated for a moment before becoming aware of everything around him within a twenty foot radius. His target, however, was Kurenai. Detecting the pheromones coming off of her body and decrypting her body language, Naruto came to the conclusion that she was startled and unnerved by his presence, possibly even a little fearful.

'Hm...Strange. Aburame and Hyuuga are not at all bothered by my appearance.' Naruto mentally noted, checking his two team mates for their 'feelings' toward him while he was at it. 'In fact, they seem rather relaxed. Unusual...'

The trip was a silent one and took only a few minutes before they came to a stop in a clearing amongst the dense bamboo forest that filled the area.

"As your sensei may have mentioned, I am Yuuhi Kurenai. To start off, we'll begin with introductions. I'll go first." Kurenai stated as she turned to face them. "My name is Yuuhi Kurenai, but you can call me Kurenai-sensei. I like wine, gardening, and listening to classical music. I dislike sexism, arrogance, and criminals. My hobbies include wine tasting, spending time with my friends, and dancing. My dreams for the future are rather personal, so I'll refrain from telling you. Now, your turn."

"I'm Aburame Shinobue, the next in line to become the Aburame clan head. I like insects and reading. I dislike people who needlessly harm insects and loud noises. My hobbies include looking for new insects to introduce to my hive and spending time in my clan's gardens. As for my dreams for the future, I seek to surpass my father and become the strongest Aburame clan head." Shinobue responded calmly, her voice naturally soft and monotone. Kurenai then looked to Naruto, but Hiatari spoke up first.

"My name's Hyuuga Hiatari and I'm the Hyuuga heir. I like gardening and swimming. My dislikes include bullies and ignorant people. As a hobby, I like to make herbal remedies such as teas and ointments. My dreams for the future..." Hiatari trailed off slightly before continuing. "I wish to abolish the Caged Bird seal and unite the Main and Branch families of the Hyuuga clan."

Naruto was silent for several minutes, having not exactly been paying attention despite hearing everything. 'Glancing' up at the others after a bit, Naruto realized that it was his turn. The first thing Kurenai noticed was the look on Naruto's face. He seemed...lost. Not confused, but simply without anything to look forward to or even an idea of what to do next. The Hokage had told her what happened the other day; the young man was obviously hurting over the loss of his mother. She was honestly surprised he had even shown up to team assignments...

"Genkou Naruto. I have no reason to tell you my likes or dislikes, so I will not. The same goes for my hobbies and my dreams for the future." Was all Naruto said before turning his gaze back down to the ground, a constant expression of apathy and indifference on his face as he did so. Even as Kurenai went on to explain about the test she was going to give them tomorrow morning, Naruto became lost in thought. After losing his mother, that was all he really did. Think. He would think about everything from what shape his shadows made, what he would eat for dinner that night, and even the color of light reflecting off of his oily black skin. There was never any real 'path' that his thoughts ran along now.

It was almost like he was floating through a great void at times, aimlessly drifting with nothing in sight other than the complete darkness of the void itself. He had nothing to anchor his mind to and it was...troubling. He didn't like it. He needed to fix it, to change it somehow. But...how? How could he change it if he had nothing to change it with, no way of changing his course or halting his progressive disappearance into the void?

"...uto-san! Naruto-san, are you alright?" Shinobue's voice suddenly cut into his thoughts. As his senses focused back on the world around him, Naruto realized he was lying on the ground. When did he fall? Or did he lie down? What exactly happened? Slowly sitting up, Naruto looked around at the others and found them giving him worried looks, his confusion clear to them despite his lack of facial features to form solid expressions. "You suddenly fainted just as Kurenai-sensei said we were free to go."

"I...did?" Naruto whispered, wondering if it hadn't been a void he saw a moment ago, but feeling himself fainting and falling over. It was possible; his senses and nervous system were far different than that of a normal person and his endless thoughts could have possibly caused some kind of mental over-load, resulting in him blacking out without warning. Slowly standing up, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, still wearing a look of apathy on his featureless face. "I...apologize for worrying you. I'm fine. I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

"Shouldn't you go to the hospital? That's not exactly normal behavior, even for you, Naruto-san." Shinobue spoke up once more, but Naruto shook his head slightly.

"Shinobue-san, please make sure Naruto-san gets home-" Kurenai's statement was cut short when Naruto let out a quiet, breathy hiss, silencing her and startling everyone.

"...I said I'm fine..." He rasped out, letting out another hiss as he turned and started walking away. As he left, he was surprised with himself. Why was he getting so upset? They only wanted to help him. Then again, he didn't exactly have a home anymore. He never bothered checking out the apartment the Sandaime had helped set up for him; Naruto had come to find the Forest of Death more...comfortable. No, that wasn't it. It felt...natural for him. That's right...He didn't have a home anymore...

He had a territory...

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A/N: Like I'd stated in the previous Author's Note at the end of the prologue, most of these first couple chapters will be damn-near carbon copies of the originals, but not for long. Bare with me a little bit and they'll start diverging from the original story.