A/N: My rant at the beginning of the first chapter was too long, so I'm adding this here: Thanks again to the Levianthan for being my beta yet again. You guys have no idea how much I torture her... :sweatdrop: You rock, I heart you.

Disclaimer: It's the strangest thing. I was coming home, and Kiba just sort of followed me back here. Of COURSE I didn't bribe him with food. Of COURSE I didn't sneak into K. Masashi's house to get him to follow me in the first place. It was all him, honest. :crosses fingers:


Guide to my writing, please note the quotations:
'Naruto talking to people via chakra.'
'Naruto signing.'
Thoughts
"Naruto and Kyuubi talking in Naruto's head."

"Screaming is bad for the voice, but it's good for the heart."- Conor Oberst

Naruto walked into his apartment and was immediately greeted with the scent of cooking.

"About time you got back, damn moron."

Naruto just smiled as he shook his head, closing the door. For the life of him, he still didn't know why he got dinner cooked for him every day.

A figure walked into the kitchen doorway, a rag in hand. "Well? Aren't you going to apologize or something?"

'I was on a mission, cut me some slack, will you?' he signed as he headed for his room, pulling his shirt off as he went.

"You were off visiting large-forehead, and we both know it!" Yamanaka Ino hollered after him. Naruto just smiled as he entered his room and closed the door.

He didn't know why Ino came over to cook him dinner every day. She'd started doing it when they were sixteen, and he'd never gotten around to asking her why. Maybe she was worried about his health, but who knew?

Naruto threw his shirt into a corner and grabbed his towel, heading for his bathroom to shower. As he entered the small room, his eyes looked anywhere but at the mirror above his sink. He hadn't been able to look in the mirror since his throat had been ripped out. He knew he'd never been one to scar, but it had been an awful wound. To this day, he still didn't know whether or not he had a scar on his neck, and he didn't want to know, either.

The blond showered quickly, the scent of food reaching him even behind the two closed doors of his bedroom and bathroom.

He jumped out of the shower and towelled himself before pulling on a pair of black drawstring pants. With the towel around his neck, he exited his room, rubbing the end of the towel against the back of his head to dry his hair.

"Are you trying to make me drool?" Ino demanded with a fake glare as she put a plate of food on the table.

Naruto grinned at her. 'Sorry, Ino. I always forget how dashingly handsome I am.' he signed to her.

"How you can forget is beyond me with the group of fangirls you've picked up over the years."

Naruto plopped down in his seat and slapped his hands together, his new way of saying 'Itadakimasu' since he could no longer yell it out. He began eating shortly after, Ino sitting across from him with her own plate.

Naruto's appearance had changed drastically over the years, most notably during the last one. He'd lost all of his baby fat for muscle, looking particularly yummy to every pair of female eyes whenever he didn't have a shirt on. His tanned abdomen rippled with a six-pack, and his upper chest was so well toned one would think a sculptor had visited Naruto while he slept and carved it out. His shoulders were strong and broad, and his arms were muscular. His face was long and lean, having lost all of the baby fat that gave him a round face, and his whisker marks had faded to a point where they were almost invisible. His blond hair had grown, falling shaggily around his face and into his eyes, which were still an intense blue.

He was a walking God, and not a single person would ever refute it.

But, of course, he was still the demon vessel. Nothing had changed between him and the general populace. Girls would admit he was good looking, but they would still stay away from him and call him a monster. He'd learned long ago not to care. He had friends, and even if they were few, they were enough.

Heck, his Genin's parents had specifically asked for Naruto to train their children, and always acted kindly towards the blond ANBU Captain. A few people had changed their minds about the demon vessel, but for the most part, nothing had really changed.

A knock at the door interrupted the comfortable silence between the two blonds and Ino stood up to answer it. No one stood there when she opened the door, so they both immediately knew who it was.

Ino stayed by the door and Naruto calmly tilted his head slightly to the left just in time for a kunai to fly past it and embed itself into the wall.

"Just as I'd expect from my eternal rival!"

"Dammit, Konohamaru!" Ino hollered from the door, waving her fist angrily at the Chuunin perched on the windowsill. "You're going to actually hit him one day! Why do you always aim for his head?.!"

"If I hit him, he has no right to be an ANBU Captain! He agrees with me. Right, boss?" Naruto just smirked down at his plate, his back still to Saito Konohamaru. "Oh yeah, he agrees."

"Konohamaru-chan." Moegi appeared beside the Chuunin, causing a girlish shriek to emit from him.

Ino burst out laughing. Naruto just smirked, shaking his head before turning to look at the fifteen year old.

'Chuunin?'

"Shut up!" Konohamaru insisted as he jumped into the apartment, Moegi following suit.

"Konohamaru-chan, sensei will get angry if he doesn't find you at the training grounds." Moegi reminded her teammate.

"Who cares about sensei?" Konohamaru waved his hand about irritably. "How was your mission, boss?"

The blond shrugged before turning back to his plate and continuing to eat, much to Konohamaru's annoyance.

The Chuunin sat down in the seat adjacent to the ANBU Captain, the chair turned backwards so that he could rest his hands on the back, his chin resting on top of them. Ino closed the door and took her seat again as Moegi took the last remaining seat across from Konohamaru. Nobody spoke, Konohamaru staring at Naruto, Moegi staring at Konohamaru, and the two blonds staring down at their respective plates.

As if on cue, there was another knock at the door two minutes later, and Konohamaru jumped out of his seat as if he'd been burned.

"Shit, I'm not here!" The Chuunin ran down the corridor, disappearing into the guest room and slamming the door behind himself. Moegi just rolled her eyes as she stood up and answered the door.

"Hey, Udon. Sensei."

"Hello, Moegi." A smooth tenor replied as its owner walked into the apartment. Naruto simply raised a hand in greeting to Team Nine's sensei. "Hello, Naruto. Ino. How was your mission, Naruto?"

The blond just shrugged, continuing to eat. He was used to this. It happened every time he returned from a long mission. Everyone somehow found themselves at his place and he spent the entire night having to make sure drunk people didn't break things while sober people proceeded to bombard him with questions on the missions he couldn't tell them details about.

"Long time no see." Ino said as she spun around in her chair, smirking. "Not hiding, are you?"

The raven boy glared at Ino as he closed the door, Udon and Moegi having retreated to the living room.

"As a matter of fact, I've been busy."

"Sure." Ino smirked. "The fact that Urama Hiroko is in love with you has nothing to do with you disappearing all the time."

Baikan Sai shuddered visibly before looking around the kitchen, as if he was worried said girl would randomly jump out and attach herself to him. He only had one stalker, and he was grateful, but the girl was damn persistent!

The door opened and closed without a knock being heard, Sakura walking easily through the apartment, headed for Naruto's guest room.

"Hey, Ino-pig."

"Large-forehead." Ino greeted as Sakura opened the door to the guest room, a shriek emitting from within.

"Out, Konohamaru. Sai knows you're here anyway. And if he didn't, the shriek informed him." Konohamaru was promptly shoved out of the room and the door closed with a slam.

"You know, it's a wonder why Sakura doesn't just become your roommate. She has practically everything she owns here, anyway." Ino commented, looking at Naruto. "Heck, I almost never see her, and I am her roommate." Naruto just shrugged.

In reality, he knew why she wasn't his roommate. He wouldn't let her be. He couldn't stop her from coming over and staying the night, this was true, but he didn't want her actually living with him. He didn't want people to think they were dating or anything and treat her horribly because of it. He was a monster, after all.

"Konohamaru." Sai said sternly.

"Hai, sensei!" The Chuunin exclaimed in his most respectful tone, as if trying to diminish his punishment.

"I'll have a new training schedule ready for you tomorrow. And I'll sit by and watch you do it all." The raven smiled sadistically as Konohamaru groaned.

"Told you to just do it!" Moegi exclaimed from the next room.

"Shut up!" Konohamaru insisted as he disappeared into the living room to join Udon and Moegi.

Sai let out a small laugh as he took one of the empty seats, leaning back comfortably and cracking his neck.

"How'd it go? Any problems?"

Naruto shook his head, wiping his mouth on a napkin and standing up to put his plate in the sink. He'd do the dishes later. There was no point in starting now, because he knew the sink would be full by the end of the night. He'd found that the less room there was to shove things in the sink, the less people tended to eat his food. He'd started piling the dishes up a long time ago to have less people eat. He found he went shopping for food way too often, and half the time, he never remembered eating all that much.

There was a knock at the door and Ino called for whoever was outside to come in. The door opened, Nara Shikamaru and Akamichi Chouji entering.

"Yo." the lazy Jounin said as he raised one hand in greeting. "You're back."

"What's for dinner?" Chouji asked immediately afterwards.

"I'm ashamed to call you my teammates!" Ino hollered at the two by the door.

Shikamaru just scoffed as he closed the door and put his hands back in his pockets. He walked to the table and sat down in one of the free seats, Chouji going into the kitchen to grab some food.

"Oh, hey Shik, how's it going?" Sakura asked as she emerged from down the corridor, tying her hair into a ponytail. It was still fairly short, so a few strands fell into her eyes and down her cheeks.

"Not bad. Came by to check on Naruto."

"And raid his fridge." Ino shot him an annoyed glare.

"I'm not the one in the kitchen, thank you very much." Shikamaru insisted as he leaned back in the chair he occupied.

Naruto sighed. It was going to be another one of those nights.


Naruto stretched as he made his way towards his bed, cracking his neck. He'd managed to convince Sakura to go home tonight—well, okay, he'd gotten her drunk and had Ino take her home, but it was still better than her staying the night. The neighbours had started to notice, and Naruto was worried about her.

The blond pulled back the blue covers of his bed and got beneath them, stretching out on his back. He put both hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling, scanning every crack and stain he saw. He'd memorized them all by now, but he liked to be sure he still remembered them perfectly.

Letting out a sigh, he brought his hands up and performed a seal before his eyes closed and his hands fell limply to his sides.


Naruto walked slowly across the water-covered floor, feeling the cold liquid sloshing around his feet and ankles, wetting the bottom of his drawstring pants. He shivered slightly as he walked through the corridors half-naked, cursing himself for always doing this right before going to sleep. Really, he should've known better by now.

He emerged into a large room, which contained a large cage. The inside of the cage was drowned out in darkness.

There were no eyes hovering in the air to stare down at the eighteen year old. There were no rows of sharp teeth to grin out at him the way they used to years ago. No, things were different now.

"Kyuubi-jisan." Naruto called through the large expanse.

A form appeared on the other side of the cage, and Naruto walked towards him, slowly. He was staring at himself, only—not. The person on the other side of the cage had flaming red hair, sharp red eyes and dark, thick whisker marks on his face. He also had long fangs and sharp nails that reminded Naruto of claws. He wore a shirt and pants similar to those Jounin wore, except his were red. Not surprising to Naruto, in all honesty.

"You're back again, kit?" Kyuubi inquired as he leaned forward on his bars, smirking at his host. It always scared Naruto to see himself looking like that, even though he knew it wasn't actually him.

"Yeah. Thought I'd come visit you."

"You didn't let me out this time." Kyuubi commented, a scowl on his face. "This is the fifth ANBU mission you've been on without letting me out."

"I didn't need your help."

"I didn't think it had anything to do with needing my help. Wasn't it to appease me?" He smirked, the action looking menacing even though he didn't necessarily mean it to be.

"I let you out often enough, cut me some slack." Naruto sniffed. "Besides, I'd rather have you here working on other things that are more important."

Kyuubi laughed. It was deep and throaty. It sounded wrong coming from Naruto, even if it wasn't actually him.

"You just like hearing the sound of your own voice, don't you, kit? It's why you always come here to talk to me. You want to hear yourself. You want to know your voice isn't completely gone."

"If you'd healed me like you were meant to, you stupid parasite, I wouldn't have to come down here and bother you all the time." Naruto grumbled, crossing his tanned arms over his strong chest and looking away from the other person inhabiting his body.

"I'm still working on it, you ungrateful brat." Kyuubi growled, his eyes flashing dangerously. "That big-breasted bitch who calls herself Hokage screwed it all up by healing you, so it's taking longer than I thought it would."

"It's been a year." Kyuubi looked at Naruto as he whispered this.

The blond was looking at the floor, his eyes lowered and a sad expression marring his face. Kyuubi couldn't help but feel bad. He sighed as he leaned away from the bars, running one hand through his shockingly red hair.

"I'll fix it, kit. It annoys me as much as it does you, because I can't voice myself while I'm in control, either." Naruto just nodded before turning his back on the fox-turned-human. "Where are you going?"

"To bed. I have to train Team Eight tomorrow."

"Those brats are annoying." Kyuubi growled. "Is there no way I can just kill them?" Naruto shot a look over his shoulder and Kyuubi just rolled his eyes before walking backwards. "Next time, I better be let out, kit." he called as he was swallowed by the darkness. "You don't want me fighting against you, do you?"

The last thing Naruto saw was the fox's smirking face before he felt himself get wrenched backwards.


"What are you doing here, brat?" Tsunade asked as she wrote something down, speaking to the boy before he even walked through the doors. To her, he was still the annoying little boy she'd met years ago, and no amount of growing or maturity was going to change her mind on the matter. He was like her son, and by God, he was going to stay that way!

Naruto opened the doors before him, walking purposefully into the room. He was wearing a standard Jounin uniform today as opposed to his ANBU one. She knew why; he wasn't on duty, nor did she have any pressing missions for him.

"Aren't you supposed to be training your Genin team?" the blonde woman asked as she put her pen down and leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers against each other as she regarded the boy before her.

All she received for her efforts was a pink tongue sticking out from between pouting lips. She cocked an eyebrow.

With a defeated sigh, the ANBU Captain began to sign to the Hokage.

'Ne, Tsunade-bachan, my team wants a mission. They said they won't train until you give them one, and I'm too tired to argue with them.'

"So instead, you come to argue with me?" She narrowed her eyes. "When did twelve year olds become more fearsome than the great Hokage?" Naruto snickered at this.

'I'm sorry, great what? For a second there, I thought you were talking about yourself, but that can't be right.'

"Brat." Tsunade threw the closest scroll she had at his head, the blond catching it easily before beginning to open it. "That's not for your Genin team."

The blond boy grinned, as if telling Tsunade that her throwing it at his head seemed to suggest otherwise. Tsunade hated it when he got like this. The bastard was too cheeky for his own good.

"I'll give you a mission for your team." she sighed, shaking her head. Naruto began to hand the scroll back, but she waved her hand at him. "It was for you, anyway. It's a mission for tomorrow. You and your ANBU squad are to head to Stone and rid them of Sound spies that have begun to assassinate various important people. The Stone shinobi aren't enough to overcome them."

Naruto nodded, his face seeming years older as he reverted into ANBU Captain mode. Tsunade sighed, half-loving and half-hating it when he was like this. In some ways, it proved the boy had grown up, while in others, it showed her that he was no longer the boy she'd loved to tease.

Too many horrible things had happened to Naruto. She was lucky he'd retained even a spark of his old self. A spark that was rapidly being extinguished.

"Neji went to talk to the Mizukage about our mission to Sound. Similarly, Kakashi has gone to speak with the Kazekage, and Shikamaru is on a recon mission." Naruto cocked an eyebrow before tucking the scroll safely away and signing to the Hokage.

'Am I to carry out this mission alone?'

"No, I want you to go with your squad. They're all gone, which is why I want this mission to commence tomorrow. Kakashi and Neji should be back by then, and Shikamaru is said to be on his way back as we speak. You will leave tomorrow. Make sure you review the scroll's details and relay them to your team." Naruto nodded. "And brat?" He cocked his head to the side, regarding the Hokage. "Don't let Kyuubi out."

The blond sighed at this before his hands flew into motion, explaining to the Hokage that he couldn't do that.

"Why not?" she inquired, frowning.

'He's upset I haven't let him out for a while. He said he would fight me for control if I didn't let him out on my next mission, and I don't feel like breaking down screaming while we're fighting off Sound nins, if it's all the same to you.'

Sighing and shaking her head, the Hokage realised they had no choice. The only reason Kyuubi had stopped trying to take over Naruto's body was because the blond had developed a seal that allowed him to give control of his body to the fox for a short period of time. It was always during missions, which appeased the caged fox because it allowed him to vent off his anger and frustration by killing off enemies. Naruto was always in control of when Kyuubi would return to his cage, but he tried not to force him back in. Only if Kyuubi crossed the line did Naruto pull the fox back into the far recesses of his mind.

"Fine, the fox can be let out." She sighed, rubbing her face with both hands. She felt much, much older than she looked, and it was starting to wear her out. "Make sure he knows the mission."

The blond nodded before Tsunade held out a D-rank mission for his Genin team. Smiling to the Hokage, he turned to exit the room, reaching the door in three steps.

"Naruto?" The blond turned, his hand on the doorknob. "This mission you're going on tomorrow, there's a possibility you'll run into Sasuke." She saw the Kyuubi vessel wince, but he showed no other sign of discomfort, so she continued, "I can't ask you to kill him, but please promise me that if it comes down to you or him, you'll choose yourself."

She regarded the boy who was like a son to her and waited for confirmation. Naruto smiled at her, his usual brilliant smile that everyone who knew him could tell didn't reach his eyes.

'I'll be fine.' he signed to her.

Then, he turned and exited the room. Tsunade sighed, shaking her head.

"You didn't answer me, brat." she whispered. "I better not lose you to Uchiha."


"But sensei." Nikkou whined. "This is boring."

The blond sensei just smiled at his student, giving him a 'you wanted a mission, you got one' look that the younger boy knew only too well.

"Baka." Hankousha muttered under his breath.

"Teme!" Nikkou shot back.

Naruto smiled, despite feeling a pang of intense pain in his chest. The bickering between Hankousha and Nikkou reminded him so much of the bickering between himself and Sasuke. It would always start the same. Sasuke would call him "dobe" and he'd reply with "teme". It would escalate until blows were thrown and the two of them lay panting and sweaty in the training grounds, neither one of them wanting to admit defeat, but knowing they didn't have the energy to continue. Naruto missed those spars with Sasuke, and he always smiled sadly when he thought of the last fight he and the other shinobi had ever had.

It had been about two years ago. It was because of Naruto that Orochimaru hadn't been able to transfer to Sasuke's body back then. The two of them had met up while he was on his way back to Orochimaru, and they'd fought. Sasuke and Naruto had fought for close to eight hours before Naruto had finally defeated Sasuke. But then, luck hadn't been on his side. The current Sound Four had appeared and battled with the blond, and while this was happening, Kabuto had appeared, whisking Sasuke away.

Naruto had killed the Sound Four and almost died, he'd been so exhausted. He passed out and woke up with Sasuke hovering above him. And once again, he'd been left alive. The stupid Uchiha had summoned a damn snake that brought Naruto back to Konoha.

But then, the fight had cost Sasuke a heavy price. Orochimaru hadn't switched into his desired body, and so he'd stopped teaching Sasuke Jutsus for close to four months until the raven threatened to return to Konoha. Naruto still wished Sasuke had gone through with that threat, but the stupid snake bastard had started teaching him again.

Naruto only knew all this because an ANBU had been sent out to find out what was happening in Sound. That ANBU had been him.

Naruto still found it hard to believe he was an ANBU, let alone an ANBU Captain. Heck, he outranked Kakashi, for crying out loud! Although, he had to admit, he knew why. When Kakashi had rejoined the ANBU the same year Naruto had been accepted into it, Kakashi had asked to be placed on the same team as Naruto. The second the blond gained his Captain rank, Kakashi requested to be placed under him. Tsunade had complied, if only to appease the man. Everyone knew that there were only a select few who worried all the time about Naruto, and Kakashi was one of them. Being on dangerous missions with him—especially when Kyuubi was let out to play—made everyone feel better, because Kakashi knew what to do. Kakashi knew how to control and read the blond when things got out of hand.

"Ne, Naruto-sensei?" The blond shook himself from his thoughts, looking down at Nikkou. "Why does Sakura-chan have such a large forehead?" he asked with a frown.

Naruto chuckled slightly as he looked down at Nikkou, wondering where this sudden thought had come from, when a small rock hit him in the forehead, a sharp end jabbing into his skin, causing blood to trickle down from his wound.

"Monster!" a girl no older than four or five exclaimed.

"Hey!" Nikkou hollered angrily as he took a step forward, only to have Naruto put a hand on his shoulder to hold him back. "Don't call my sensei that, or I'll beat you!"

The girl stuck her tongue out at him before turning and running away. Naruto wrapped one arm around Nikkou's neck and the other around his stomach to hold the furious boy back.

"Let me go, sensei! I'll beat her! I'll kill her! No one calls you a monster and gets away with it!"

Naruto sighed, shaking his head. He turned to look at Hankousha and Yurusu, but frowned when he noticed they were gone. He was losing his touch. First the rock hitting him, now this?

He looked forward again to see if he could spot them, still holding Nikkou, and noticed Yurusu dragging the girl who'd thrown the rock at him. She was crying and tugging at her wrist, which was being held by the irate raven. Hankousha was trailing behind them, looking around with his arms crossed, as if making sure no one was going to stop them.

Yurusu stopped in front of Naruto, forcing the girl to stay where she was as well. The girl was crying desperately, and Naruto suspected she was terrified.

"Let me go, sensei! Let me beat her!" Nikkou insisted.

Naruto let his student go, but lightly pushed him behind himself, bending down in front of the small, crying girl. The girl watched him fearfully, but he just smiled before opening his hand and holding it out for her to see. She frowned, tears still falling down her face. Naruto closed his hand, shook it slightly, and then opened it again. Inside was a small blue flower in full bloom. The girl's eyes widened as she stared at it, and then looked up into Naruto's eyes.

Smiling, the demon vessel placed the flower in the girl's hair, patting her head sweetly before standing again. He motioned for Yurusu to let her go and, despite wanting to injure the girl, Yurusu obeyed.

Hankousha, Nikkou and Yurusu watched with narrowed eyes as the girl ran away from them. Just as she was about to turn behind a house, she turned back to the group and smiled brilliantly at Naruto before disappearing around the house. Naruto smiled slightly before shoving his hands in his pockets and continuing down the street, the wound on his forehead already healed, as well as the one in his heart.