Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Sekirei

Chapter 2 – A rock and a hard place

The council was in session. The Hokage had called on them shortly after noon. Many had already heard at least rumors of what happened late last night. Thoughts varied, but there were those that were salivating at the opportunity that had presented itself to them. They would finally be rid of the orange menace that they fondly called 'the demon'. This group included Inuzuka Tsume head of the Inuzuka clan, the minor clan heads, and some of the civilian council.

A few were worried as they had done their best to try to protect the blond kid that resembled their fallen hero and friend. These people had tried to honor the Yondiame's dying request, but like the Sandiame even they felt a smidgen of resentment towards Naruto. This group included Aburame Shibi head of the Aburame clan, Yamanaka Inoichi head of the Yamanaka clan, and Tetsuko the only civilian councilor with any positive thoughts on Naruto.

Others were relieved that he was gone. The fear they held of what lay in side of him colored their view of the boy, although those that knew about sealing wished him no harm for fear the beast would escape and come after them again. This group included Chōza Akimichi head of the Akimichi clan, some of the shinobi department heads, and the rest of the civilians.

The rest simply didn't care choosing to ignore the matter all together. This group included Hyūga Hiashi head of the Hyūga clan, Nara Shikaku head of the Nara clan, and the remaining shinobi department heads including the current leader of the ANBU.

After a few minutes where the council chattered among themselves the Hokage finally walked through a door and stood in front of his seat at the head of the council.

"I have called you all here to discuss last nights incident and to decide on what must be done about it" the Sandiame says.

Already those that hated Naruto could feel the end nearing as they would finally get their long desired revenge.

"Last night the Scroll of Seals was stolen by civilian Uzumaki Naruto …"

The old man never got any further than that before the shouts started.

"He should be killed!"

"Finally the demon has made his move! Kill him before he kills us!"

"Allow me to kill the filthy beast, Hokage-sama!"

"Avenge the Yondiame's spirit!"

"Fuck the Yondiame, avenge my family!"

"SILENCE!" screamed the seemingly nice old Hokage silencing everyone.

"As I was saying …" he dared anyone to interrupt "… Uzumaki Naruto stole the Scroll of Seals last night. He was told it was part of a test by former Chūnin teaching assistant Mizuki …"

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama but are you implying that Mizuki-san is a traitor and that Uzumaki-san is innocent?" asked the Nara clan head.

His two friends were surprised to find the overly lazy man hadn't already fallen asleep and seemed to be paying attention. Of course they knew better than to assume he wasn't paying attention even when it did look like the man was sleeping. Nara's were sneaky like that.

"Yes and no. Mizuki is a traitor, but regardless of what he was told Naruto-kun should have known better and not fallen for the obvious trap" the old Hokage responds.

"This is all probably some lie that demon made up! No way a fine upstanding shinobi like Mizuki-san could be a traitor!" shouted one Haruno Sakiko.

'How could a woman with such a lovely name be so unpleasant' thought a lot of people even those that agreed with her.

"I think what council woman Haruno is asking Hokage-sama is why exactly are you accusing Mizuki-san of being a traitor?" asked Matsuo Haruhito another civilian merchant.

"There has always been suspicion following Mizuki. Some of his mission reports don't quite add up most notably the one where a team-mate of his was killed after the mission had already been complete and away from any areas of danger or trouble, but nothing could be proven. Last night he used another Chūnin his friend and fellow academy instructor Umino Iruka to track Naruto down. He confessed right where he thought Naruto was that he had used the boy to steal the scroll so that he could use it to gain power"

"It was later after an intense session with Ibiki-kun that the traitor admitted he was working in secret with Orochimaru …"

That got a new round of mutterings and mumblings. This time the Hokage was in no hurry to stop them. It wasn't until a few minutes later when things calmed down that someone posed an interesting question.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, but where is the Uzumaki boy? I don't believe I have seen him anywhere in the village today and shouldn't he be here to face trial for stealing the Scroll of Seals?" asked the ever stoic Hyūga Hiashi.

'Damn you would say something now wouldn't you? You stuck up little prick! And to think you who once called himself a friend of Minato will be the one who ultimately sentences his son to death with your poor sense of timing' thought Hiruzen harshly.

"As I said when Iruka and a little later Mizuki arrived Naruto and the scroll were not to be found. It is believed he has taken the scroll and somehow managed to make it out of the village" the Sandiame says regretfully.

'I'm sorry Naruto, but even if I wanted to help you I couldn't. The moment you left that forest you resigned yourself to this fate' thought the old man sadly.

"This is beyond treason! The demon needs to be found and killed!"

"Send out our best trackers and bring the demon back to face judgment!"

"No kill him before he can return and destroy us all!"

"No we must find him and see what he knows. We need to secure him and find out why he left before we do anything" said Yamanaka Inoichi.

"Demon sympathizer! We need to kill it immediately!"

"No, Yamanaka-san is right. We must approach this calmly and think of where the boy might go. As far as I know he has never left the village before so the places he could go should be limited …" reasoned the Aburame clan head.

"Troublesome, by that logic it would also mean he could be anywhere as well" stated the lazy Nara clan head.

"It doesn't matter finding him and the scroll is more important than making any decisions on the boy's life. My clan would be willing to help in the search for Uzumaki-san" Shibi says.

"My clan also volunteers" came from Inuzuka Tsume.

Many questioned her motives and some thought she only wanted to find him so she could kill him herself as she blamed him for the death of her best friend Kushina and her husband. Although that last bit was a lie she told to save face as she knew the bastard had run off with some civilian girl he had been screwing on the side until she caught them. No one save those that liked the blond questioned the fact they knew of the man's philandering ways and the fact he was seen weeks after the attack.

"My clan will be ready if called upon Hokage-sama" says Hiashi.

He simply didn't want his clan left out of such an important event. He was also sure if a Hyūga caught and killed the boy they would gain much favor around the village and a boost in power. Perhaps they would even finally be allowed to take over the village police force that was left under staffed in the wake of the Uchiha massacre.

"Very well, if there are no further questions …" the old man tries to end things.

"Actually Hokage-sama, shouldn't Uzumaki be placed in the Bingo book. Failed academy student or not when he stole that scroll he became a criminal and he does have a little ninja training" voiced civilian councilor Musashi.

Many began to mutter that he was right. It would be embarrassing if anyone found out a 3 time failure of an academy student managed to steal the most valuable and prized scroll in all of Fire Country and right from under their leaders nose. Of course they could omit the reason about why the kid was marked, but it would look very suspicious.

"I suppose … what rank would you suggest he be given" the old kage says with resignation.

"He's a D-rank in skills, but an S-rank in threat not only due to the scroll he stole but his own status. I say he should be labeled with the rank of A" comes from one Shimura Danzō.

This definitely got excited whisperings. An A-rank would make Naruto a prime target for the bounty alone, but when they list his stats many were sure even civilian kids would take a shot at the boy to claim the reward. It was very risky since an A-rank also came with the moniker dead or alive without condition, but Hiruzen couldn't refute his old rival as many agreed some even clamoring for S-rank.

"Very well, Uzumaki will be listed as an A-rank criminal threat at the end of the month when the books are updated again. If there is nothing further meeting adjourned" the old man says tiredly walk back to his office.

None of the councilors left instead choosing to converse and strategize and out right gloat about what had gone on in the meeting. They would finally get their way … Uzumaki Naruto (A.K.A. the Demon) wouldn't live to see his next birthday.

Two weeks later

Naruto had an interesting journey so far, but it was coming to an end. He had made it out of Konoha and traveled east towards the coast of Fire Country where he searched for and found a boat that was willing to take him across the sea to Mizu no Kuni.

It turned out to be a pirate boat and to pay his way they had him do all kinds of chores. Naruto didn't mind too much except for when they made him clean the toilet. It was disgusting and clearly hadn't been cleaned in a long time.

They were good company though. He even weaseled a free jutsu out of one of the pirates that had been a ninja before he became a pirate. They even let him have a little something they called rum.

When they reached shore he had parted ways with them and he headed into Mizu no Kuni. The place was crazy. He found himself in the middle of a war zone.

Having led a pretty sheltered if isolated life in Konoha Naruto had never experienced anything like it. Even a couple of beatings and that one time he got mauled by a pack of crazed Inuzuka dogs couldn't compare to just a few of the things he saw as he ran for his life.

Of course this also had a silver lining as he met up with a group of resistance fighters that helped him make it safely away from a majority of the fighting. He remembered briefly meeting their leader and had to admit Sakura-chan had nothing on her.

Unfortunately they were busy so unlike the pirates he got nothing out of this encounter except safe passage and a little stealth training. They did tell him he should visit again when they won the war. And the leader he found out was named Mei even gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Now he was trudging through a swamp. He had moved beyond what was considered Mizu no Kunai and into mostly uncharted land … or maybe waters.

There were big islands, little islands, and little ity bitty dots of dirt that were barely big enough to stand on. The wildlife in this region was also interesting and scary. He once mistook one for another island and tried to set up a make shift camp only for the island to move and try to eat him for setting it on fire.

That chase lasted a few hours with the creature giving up and going back to where it was. Although it did take back a trophy after catching a bit of Naruto's orange trousers and tearing a huge whole in them.

Unfortunately that was also the only pair of pants he had. He hadn't really had an opportunity to get more clothes. The rebels had insisted he wear something dull to make him less noticeable, but after leaving them he had ditched those dull brown and black clothes for his now clean jumpsuit.

So now he was moving around in shorts. He did have to admit he might have to reconsider his color scheme. He had always been proud of his stealth skills, but after the Kiri rebels got through with him his already existent skills made him almost ghost like. It kinda scared him how good they were, but it was cool to sneak in and out of Mist defense bases like he did.

They also showed him how they fought with swords. Just the variety of swords they had was a bit awing, but when they actually allowed him to hold one they had to pry it from his hands to get it back. Sword fighting was definitely cool and something he wanted to do in the future.

Thankfully he was nearing the end of his journey if the weird compass thing was right. He couldn't help but feel his excitement bubble up as he hadn't seen a human or animal for a few days. It was all just water, jungle, swamp, water and more jungle. He was really getting sick of it.

He didn't know what he would find once he reached the end of the line, but it had to be better than this. When he finally made it through the latest uninhabited jungle he found himself looking over the edge of a cliff.

Careful not to go to far and fall over Naruto stepped up to the edge and looked out. What he saw was breathtaking. The cliff was over looking a beautiful cove and beyond that a bay (large body of water connected to an ocean/sea by an inlet of land due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds).

Near the edge of the bay he saw an island of indeterminable size and then nothing but water as far as he can see. This was the first time Naruto had ever seen anything like this and it was breathtaking, but now he had a problem.

'The compass thingy is pointing towards that island, but how do I get from there to here?' He questioned.

He could make his way down the cliff side, but that would take forever and he couldn't see another way down either. That left one choice.

Naruto made sure everything he had was tightly secured, took a breath, and jumped off the cliff. For a moment Naruto felt the thrill of being in the air as he sped toward to the water before he looked down and noticed the water was much shallower than he first thought.

'Maybe if I use a jutsu it will slow me down enough to land safely' Naruto thought.

Problem was he only had a minute tops before he went splat and most of the jutsu he knew required either concentration at levels impossible in the current situation or time which was also not happening. He really only had two choices and the one with a highest chance to work was one he was still working on. The one the pirate taught him, 'Mizu no Tatsumaki – Tornado of Water'.

'I have no choice. Let's see the hand seals were ... Ram - Horse - Bird'

"Mizu no Tatsumaki" he shouted.

The water below started to move in a swirling pattern similar to a whirlpool before it rose through the air and finally engulfed him as it spun around his form.

Allowing himself to be caught in the jutsu Naruto's descent slowed enough that when he hit the water he was able to immediately swim forward as the jutsu stopped.

When he came up for air Naruto looked up at the cliff he once stood upon.

'I really need to think more before I do these things' he thought.

Now that he was safe Naruto refocused on his task and started swimming for the island. It would be nearly an hour before an exhausted Naruto managed to pull himself out of the water and drop onto the rocky shores of the island.

'Ouch'

Finally on the island Naruto reached into his pocket and removed the item that guided him here. When he looked at the small screen he noticed it blinked a few times before going black. He shook it a few times, but when nothing happened he got frustrated and slammed it to the ground.

The only good thing about that was he didn't have the strength to slam it hard enough to break the device. Looking up at the sky Naruto couldn't help but feel stupid.

'Great I go through all that and for what? A deserted island. I am now the proud owner of deserted chunk of rock in the middle of nowhere. Jiji would be so proud of me' Naruto thought sarcastically.

"What do I do now?" He asked out loud.

Before he got any further with that line of thought he was hit on the head hard enough to knock him out. In his bought of depression Naruto never noticed the two figures that snuck up on him.

"You didn't have to knock him out like that" said a feminine voice.

"He was intruding on our island. We don't know why he's here. He could be here to use us like that other man" another feminine voice replied.

"He's just a boy Karasuba. What harm could a little cutie like him cause" scolded the first voice.

"You are missing the point and over reacting Matsu. I only knocked him unconscious so we can transport him to the ship where he will be interrogated him and find out his intentions. If he's honest and not a threat he will not be harmed" Karasuba explained.

"I guess … but you still didn't have to be so rough with him" Matsu complained.

"Whatever brainiac, help me get him to the ship. I'm sure Miya will know what to do" Karasuba says.

"Fine" Matsu huffed.

As they picked him up both women noted how light the boy was.

'How long has it been since this kid had a meal' both thought.

Realizing her help wouldn't be needed Matsu watched as Karasuba slung the boy over her shoulder and walked towards where their ship was hidden. It didn't take long for certain thoughts to surface.

'He's so cute and it's been such a long time since a guy other than Mutsu, Shiina, and Homura were here and they don't count' she thought.

'I bet his weapon is big too and so young. I can mold him into the perfect boyfriend. I just need to keep him away from the others long enough to establish a pact and feed him so he isn't so scrawny. He won't end up like Minato' she thought sadly at the end.


Thank you for reading the second installment of 'Sealed with a Kiss' a Naruto x Sekirei story. I want to apologize for the long wait on this chapter, but hopefully the next one comes sooner.

I also want to apologize for not responding to most of the reviews I got to the first chapter. I promise to read and respond (well to those with actual reviews or comments) this time.

Anyone looking for a good challenge should look at the profile of these people: Challenger, Dracohalo117, Narutoenthusiast, and acepro Evolution